June 23rd – Been meaning to point this out for a while. On the Chester Road at Stonnall, there’s a set of abandoned steel gates to the old lower quarry that operated here for a while, a few decades ago. Both the gates, and the land they provide access to have been overgrown for years – but recently, someone has cleared the area of scrub, and the tyre tracks of heavy machinery can be seen.
Can’t find a planning application anywhere, and I’m interested to see what becomes of this…
June 20th – Passing quickly through Lichfield, I spotted this interesting folding bike locked up. It’s a cheap Brompton copy, but nonetheless a fine bike, with some neat engineering solutions. Remarkably well designed luggage, too. Interesting to note the rider felt confident enough to leave the luggage attached, and his jacket hanging on the post…
June 19th – At that moment, the battery in the camera died. This one has a slight design flaw in that you can accidentally turn it on to display mode without noticing as you put it away, drawing power unnoticed. Hate it when that happens.
I had to make do yet again with the phone camera, which doesn’t seem to like bright sunlight very much at all, but the beauty of Lichfield’s Friary Gardens on a bright summer afternoon is undeniable.
I love this spot, with it’s mature trees, weathered paths and great flowers and shrubs. An overlooked, tranquil jewel.
June 17th – It had been a tough day, but recent issues should improve now, and I slipped out again, this time at sunset. I just took a lazy loop of the canal out of Brownhills, over Catshill Junction and up to Chasewater.
At Newtown, the dying sun caught the water and rush-irises, and rendered everything precious. A pleasingly serene end to a difficult, scary day.
June 17th – Thanks are due to reader Julie P., who I think was the last one to report the canal bank falling away on the bend between Catshill Junction and Pier Street, Brownhills. There are signs that six months after being initially (and repeatedly since) reported, the Canal & River Trust (C&RT) have finally sent someone out to survey the problem.
Not sure on the longevity or effectiveness of those post flags and polythene tape, though – but it’s a start, and at least they’ve acted.
Dealing with the C&RT is like trying to nail blancmange to a tree…
June 16th – I had to go a long way, early in the day. I still wasn’t well, and felt dreadful, but the weather was reasonable, and the ride to Lichfield Trent Valley made a nice change. Whilst on the train, I noticed I was sharing the bike space with a state of the art, Wiler road bike – carbon fibre frame, forks wheels and bars, and high-end Ultegra gears. That’s about £3,000-worth of seemingly well-used bike. Not an ideal commuting steed, I’d wager, and the owner nowhere to be seen.
Not my thing – I’m not ready to trust a plastic bike yet – but a remarkable thing to be sure.
This one is for Bob. Out for a ride on Friday and went to Chasewater and these little ones were were enjoying the sun at the very end of the canal. I know he follows their welfare. Dad was feeding on sandwiches just to the left of the picture, kindly being supplied by two people who were picnicking.
Aw, thanks!
June 12th – They missed one! Thankfully, here are still one or two marsh orchids the mower didn’t slay; I spotted this healthy speciment on the opposite flank of the Clayhanger Bridge opposite the towpath. I still can’t forgive the buggers for mowing the others down.
These are gorgeous blooms. Look out for them.
June 11th – The swan family are definitely down to seven from the original eight, but that’s still a large family, and they all look healthy. now four or five times the size they were just a few weeks ago, the cygnets are now around the size of an adult coot or moorhen.
They’d been loafing on the opposite bank of the canal from the towpath, near Clayhanger Bridge, where they seem to have a hidey hole. Obligingly, they all came out when I showed an interest. If they’ve been roosting there overnight, I’m surprised they’ve only lost one cygnet; that area is a busy thoroughfare for Brer Fox, who at this time of year, wouldwelcome of the easy pickings for the cubs’ lunch.
As they get older, they get harder to take and more worldly wise, so hopefully the remaining offspring will survive. They were certainly very relaxed today, preening, grazing and just scudding around with mum and dad.
I was glad to see them, I’m starting to feel an attachment to these grey balls of fluff…
June 11th – An odd day, really. I went over to Leicester early afternoon on a short notice call, and ended up leaving there late afternoon. Like the muppet I am, I left my camera there, and ended up having to use the phone camera, which I hate.
Waiting for a return train at South Wigston, I spotted this moron. Sat with his legs dangling over the platform edge at a station that sees fast through traffic, he ignored anyone (including me) who remonstrated with him to get up.
A candidate for a Darwin Award if ever there was one.
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