As the sun sets on another year, why not take time out to see if you can win some fine Brownhills ale?
This post is pinned to the top until the quiz ends – new articles will appear below.
It’s been a long time in the making, but great fun – here it is, the Brownhills Blog New Year 2014 quiz. Get stuck in and see if you can win! Last year’s was a great success, so I’ve made this one bigger and hopefully better…
Answers to most of the questions can be found in the past articles of this blog, my 365daysofbiking tumblr, or by going for a walk and exploring. I have included lots of reference questions, so that those living locally and those distant both have a fair crack.
Many questions can be answered using Google Streetview, too. Think laterally. Wikipedia may be handy, as will the search box on the right.
If an answer seems obvious, it probably is…
Just to make it interesting, I’ll offer the prize of a case of Backyard Beer (or something nice to equal value if you’re a non-drinker) to the winner. There will also be sub prizes of books to people who come up with particularly good answers, or who otherwise impress. The books will go on a totally arbitrary basis for contributions that catch my eye.
Readers have set a few questions, obviously I won’t accept answers from the question setters to their own questions… but longstanding readers and commenters are very welcome to participate.
To give everyone a sporting chance, comments will not open until 7pm tonight, 29th December 2013.
Points will be awarded to the first person to comment the correct answer to any question. All questions worth one point unless stated. After that, no points will be handed out for answering it again. I will tot up the scores as we go. Answers will only be accepted as comments to this post, and my decision will be open and final.
Remember to include the number of the question in your comment, otherwise it won’t be counted!
Don’t worry if your comment is held in moderation, I will take the submission time if necessary.
I don’t expect anyone to get lots right. I think the questions are diverse enough that a fairly low score might well win – so do have a go. If the result is a draw, I’ll hold a tie breaker. What form that will take will depend on the result. Please just take a punt, and have fun.
The competition will close at 9pm, Sunday 5th January 2013, but I’ll leave it for fun, reference and interest. My decisions will be final, and I’m doing this for fun. Please be sporting.
All images are from Brownhills and Walsall Wood.
Good luck!
Q1: Reader Andy Dennis asks: ‘Where was the photographer standing to take the above photo’?
Q2: Who got into trouble with the coppers for lighting his pipe?
Q3: What are ‘Batters’ and where did the term originate?
Q4: Reader Andy Dennis asks: ‘Where can you find the above detail’?
Q5: Where is the patch of wasteland I pass on my travels, whose flowers fascinate me?
Q6: What ailment somewhat unfortunately prevented W.E. Harrison from seeing active service in the Great war?
Q7: Where is this ornate woodwork?
Q8: How much electrical power did it take to supply Aldridge and Walsall in 1949?
Q9: What is the above object marked with the fluorescent tape?
Q10: Where can it be found?
Q11: Which Walsall gentlewoman ‘…faced death a hundred times’ according to a gazetteer writer?
Q12: Just visible from the pile of leaves, an OS flush bracket benchmark. Where is it?
Q13: Where did Captain Peake live?
Q14: Another OS flush bracket benchmark. Where is this one?
Q15: In March, who did I spot in Pelsall, apparently about to drive off in a blue van?
Q16: This gutterbowl isn’t original, but where can it be found?
Q17: What didn’t Banksman Collier John Hill like?
Q18: Where can the above metalwork be seen? For a bonus point, what’s special about the structure it’s attached to?
Q19 Where and what was the Dolric?
Q20: This large slab is lying in the grass at the canal side at the top of the bank to the new pond at Clayhanger. What is it the remains of? (Clue: this isn’t a foundation; it has been left lying here)
Q21: Shire Oak historian Clive Roberts asks ‘What year did Shire Oak Brewery win the Gold Award’?
Q22: This weathervane and bellcote is a new addition to the roofline. Where is it?
Q23: What cheesy film did the Burntwood Bluebirds Jazz band feature in?
Q24: Where is this bridge?
Q25: It has a colloquial name. What was it?
Q26: Where did Audrey’s Dad have his allotment?
Q27: A recently renovated local milepost. How many miles to Lichfield and Derby?
Q28: Which town is marked on the other side?
Q29: What was the cafe called that David Oakley recalled at The Bullstake?
Q30: Where is this odd feature?
Q31: It actually has a basic and important function – describe what that is.
Q32: What is the normal surface level of the Wyrley & Essington canal?
Q33: Where are these sinister-looking gates?
Q34: What specific hazard does the yellow sign warn of?
Q35: On July 28th 1925, who visited St. John’s School, Walsall Wood?
Q36: What is this brickwork the remains of?
Q37: What is my favourite term for polished gravel and detritus that forms a common road hazard after bad weather?
Q38: I will give a book prize (plus a point) to anyone who can tell me which Brownhills public building this OS Benchmark is carved upon, and whereabouts it is on that building. Most precise answer wins.
Q39: An oddly truncated window. Where?
Q40: Reader Warren Parry asks: ‘What is the rather industrial name given to the Green ‘saddle tank’ steam engine, based at Chasewater railway’?
Q41: Groovy mosaic. Where can this be seen?
Q42: Who made the ‘NIPTA’ box?
Q43: From David Evans. Where the devil is this? (My, that’s a good one!)
Q44: Where is this chimney stack?
Q45: In the context of it’s surroundings, it’s unusual. Why?
Q46: Reader Tony Winn asks: What was the name of the Formula 1 racing driver who lived locally until his death in 1989 at the age of 82?
Q47: Not far away from Q44, this plastic raptor on a TV aerial – where is it?
Q48: Local historian and Shire Oak expert Clive Roberts asks: ‘What is the name of the building that houses the D.E.I Convenience Store on Freizland Lane, Shire Oak’?
Q49: Where’s this?
Q50: What caused it?
Q51: David Evans asks: What were ‘Boyproofs’?
Q52: Where is this sinister-looking, head-spinning owl?
Q53: What was the number of the motorbike being run up at Mallory Park in 2007?
Q54: Where are these hands?
Q55: Who was the champion pig roaster making tummies rumble at Brownhills Carnival in 1934?
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question 1 Ogley canal basin bridge.
question 3 Railway embankments called batters from being made with rubbish coal waste known as Bat.
Question 40 Asbestos
question 36 remains of Coombe House coppice side
question 31 to allow planks to be fitted to close a section of canal
question 30 under canal bridges 1 at the Slough Brownhills.
question 24 Walsall wood midland railway bridge
question 25 Rabbit bridge.
From oakparkrunner
I think there is a footpath under Walsall Wood MR railway bridge …
Heh, see my reply…
Hi Oakparkrunner.
You got all those, except 24: The bridge is in Walsall Wood, but there’s more than one.
You got off to a flying start with 7 points.
Cheers
Bob
It must be the one in Coppice lane then rear of old Focus where the clay lorries went under
No, It’s the Vigo Road/Queen St bridge. Tony got it.
23 Take Me High
Excellent, 1 point.
question 33 canal towpath Walsall Wood overlooking Leigh environmental
question 34 Explosive Atmosphere
oakparkrunner
q33: No, wrong, sorry.
q34: Yes. Bonus point for why the atmosphere is explosive, I.E. what’s causing the hazard. We’ll call that question 56.
You now have 8 points
42 Allbrookes Mineral Water
Just what NIPTA stands for is still a mystery!
Nope, that was who it was made /for/
question 23 Take Me High starring Cliff Richard. oakparkrunner
Sorry, Take Me High is correct, but Tony beat you to it! Bad luck
question 11 Dorothy Patterson AKA Sister Dora
question 19 Dolric was a club in Wilkin Road
Yes, both right – I’ll give you the Dolric, I think it was variously a cafe and club.
You have an amazing 10 points!
13 The Grange Rawnsley
Correct. You now have 2 points
question 42 Richard Cliff of Bromford Rd West Bromwich
Yup, you got it. Now on 11 points.
Q6 Tonsillitiis – so sad that he wasn’t able to lead the men he had recruited (coerced) into battle!
Q17 Beer at Railway Tavern – I took umbrage until I realised that my ancestor Tom Dennis was not running the place then.
Q32 144.6 metres?
Q34 Explosive Atmosphere.
Q39 Top of Brownhills High Street, upstairs from radis community care.
Q43 Walsall Wood FC Stand
Q46 Morris “Mo” Nunn
oakparkrunner is right about Q1.
Hmm. Quandry.
Q6 – correct, leading to ‘strained the muscles of his heart’ whatever that was…
Q17 – correct.
Q32 – Um, difficult. You’re a little bit out, so I can’t give it to you, sorry
Q34 – Correct, but Oakparkrunner beat you to that one
Q39 – Correct – impressed. Never noticed it until the other day
Q43 – no, but not far away.
Q46 – can you elaborate on this, please? I have another name, but there may have been more than one we’re aware of.
You have 3 points, possibly 4 based on Q46
I’ll have to admit defeat on Q46. Mo Nunn ran the Ensign team in the 70s and 80s and I thought that began somewhere in Walsall Wood.
I’ll do some research on that, and get back to you. No sweat. Tony gave a different answer, but it’s possible there was more than one, after all. Give me a few hours.
question 41 Ravens Court
No, it’s not that one. Sorry
2 Ernest Frank Bagnall
Correct! You have 3 points
I’m going to be picky about Q11: sp Pattison.
Nice try, and well spotted. I live in that glasshouse and can’t chuck stones 😉
29 Spot Café
Correct, 4 points.
37 Marbles….like cycling on ball bearings
Correct. Coming up on the outside. 5 points.
53 Norton number 30
Correct. You evaded the trap, which was the picture in the article showed number 5. You’re on 6 points
question 32 533 feet
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Q1 canal bridge near grassmere gardens
Q22 on top of the row of 3 new houses in Hall Lane Walsall wood
Hi Caz
Q1 -yes, but you were beaten to that, sorry.
Q22 – I’ll accept that. Correct – 1 point.
The weathervane was spinning well when I took the picture.
Question 52
Don’t know where he is around your neck of the woods, but I think I saw him in Lyme Regis, at the back end of the summer!
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/96433161
Happy New Year to all, Pedro
Heh. Happy new year, Pedro. They seem a fairly common thing, like plastic decoy herons. Wonder if they work?
Q33 these could be the entrance gates at the top of the track leading to the sewerage farm off Green Lane, Walsall wood.
Sorry, no, but they are similar.
Great answers, folks. Some right, some not so… Keep going. I’ll tally up the scores sometime tomorrow morning.
Cheers for taking part!
Bob
Question 35… On July 28th 1925, who visited St. John’s School, Walsall Wood?
The ex inmate of Strangeways was not yet born. EI now that’s the real deal!
C2 H5 OH ?
Most elephants prefer bananas! But I prefer your intoxication.
Giraffes?
Heh!
Q51 pocket watches?
No. If only. Sorry.
Q51: David Evans asks: What were ‘Boyproofs’?
Durability, Reliability, and Excellence ??
No Johnny Cash required, no 😉
On the other hand, however…
Q35 David Dickenson, ex mayor of Blackpool visited the school.
Well Caz, I think our Bob should give you that one.
But I suspect that it is a spelling mistake!
Yes, you get that and move up to 2 points. The mistake, to be fair, could be mine or David’s. I’ll check it out :-/
Thank you Bob, thats the real deal lol
Hah!
55 Harry Johnson of Cradley Heath
Bingo. This is real tortoise and hare stuff. You have 7 points
15 That was a long haired dog (Bearded collie?) there was a Bagpuss on the dashboard
Yes! Charming chap he was. Clearly talented
http://brownhillsbob.tumblr.com/post/46707166480/march-30th-you-see-i-told-you-pelsall-was-odd
8 points
24 Vigo Road/Queen Street
Yes, correct. There were also, of course, bridges at Coppice Road, High Street, Brookland Road and Coppice Lane, so accuracy was key.
9 points
25 Vigo Bridge
No, good guess. It was the Rabbit Bridge. No idea why, and Oakparkrunner got that one – he’s a Wood mon through and through 🙂
18 Pelsall Old Railway Bridge carrying the Walsall to Lichfield South Staffs railway line over the Wyrley and Essington canal. It is a listed building
That’s brilliant. Didn’t think anyone would get the other part.
There are only two listed structureds in Brownhills. For another point, can anyone tell me the other listing in Brownhills? We’ll call that q57.
11 points
8 191 megawatts
Nope, sorry.
5 Green Lane near the junction with Hall Lane just down from the Blackcock Bridge
No, sorry, although that is a fine patch for Honeysuckle
Q53 No. 5.
Yes, you fell in the trap. But Tony beat you anyway, sorry.
(edited after I got confused, sorry)
4 Coopers Bridge Northfield Way/Swingbridge Farm
Cock on.
12 points.
57 Canal aquaduct on the A5 near Newtown
You had your shredded wheat today for sure… 13 points
14 United Reformed Church Coppice Lane
Astounding! Yes. Expect you to get the other one next. 14 points. You are using the resource as I intended…
Q32. 473 ft. From Ray Shill pp 44 & 58. Equivalent 144.17 metres.
Phew. Glad you got that – it’s in a number of places, including here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_levels_of_the_Birmingham_Canal_Navigations
It can also be seen marked as spot heights on various maps I’ve used in articles.
Oddly, the article on Wikipedia about the W&E doesn’t seem to mention it’s level, which is one of it’s defining things…
You have 4 points (5 pending)
Hi folks!
Phew… forgotten what hard work quizzes were.
Some brilliant answers. As usual, the ones I thought were impossible go straight away, and the ones I thought were easy seem to be hard.
Current scores:
Caz – 2 points
Andy Dennis – 4 points (5 with one pending)
Oakparkrunner – 11 points
Tony Jakeman – 14 points
I’m using a google spreadsheet to keep score – take a look at the following link. I’m not infallible, so feel free to correct me.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjDyIBR-mN5YdGhxeFdYcV91U3RLMHNRS0ttRWUwN0E&usp=sharing
Outstanding questions – surprised the woodwork and creepy owl haven’t gone yet…
Q5 Wasteland
Q7 Woodwork
Q8 Power
Q9 Object
Q10 Where is object
Q12 Leaves bracket
Q16 Gutterbowl
Q20 Slab
Q21 Gold award
Q26 Allotment
Q27 Milepost
Q28 Town on milepost
Q33 Gates
Q38 Benchmark
Q41 Mosaic
Q43 1948 where?
Q44 Chimney
Q45 Why unusual?
Q47 Plastic bird
Q48 Shop building name
Q49 Groove?
Q50 What is groove?
Q51 Boyproofs
Q52 Poltergeist owl
Q54 Hands
Q56 What is q34 hazard?
Cheers for being good sports all
Bob
38 Watling Street Primary School East Face NE corner
8 Almost 34,000 kilowatts. I read the wrong article the first time
Heh. You got it. 16 points.
Come on folks – an observant challenger could still take this!
Could I Cash in on Question 51 by David?
Boyproof shoes would be useful for kicking stones around the playground
That’s not the answer I have here, David was quite specific – in fact, you’re getting cooler…
Q5. A bit off patch … South Wigston Station?
You got it. A small patch of once kept margin land that always seems to have interesting flowers or fruits. I’m a bit obsessed with it.
http://brownhillsbob.tumblr.com/search/south+wigston (scroll down)
Andy, you now have 5 points (6 with the pending one)
27 Lichfield 5 and half miles, Derby 29 miles
Wow – you went and checked! Correct. The milepost is on the Lichfield Road halfway up the hill on the left.
Tony, you have 17 points
28 Walsall 4 miles
Yes, quite correct. 18 points.
48 Known locally as the Red Shop. The building name is Mount Pleasant …….something, Villa? House? Cottage? People in the shop didn’t realise it had a name.
Just Mount Pleasant, apparently. 19 points.
Q5 Andy beat me to this one as well lol June 27th South Wigston, Leicester. You even think the dandelions going to seed are pretty……..rose coloured spectacles comes to mind
Heh! They are. They’re a wonder of natural engineering. Love the dandies.
Q7. can’t believe i missed this one..it’s on the corner of King street Progressive club, over what would have been the original entrance.
That’s right. I thought you or Oakparkrunner would get that, well done.
Caz, you have 3 points
Q12 The railway ran through there so is it part of a raiway building ?
Q26 Audrey Proffits Dad had his allotment behind the off licence on Streets Corner.
Q12: no, Tony got that; it’s a surveying datum for mapmakers.
q26: Absolutely correct. Well done!
4 points
Not me Guvna, I’ve not answered question 12, the Leaves Bracket
My error. You have, but to the wrong question number. Q38 still up for grabs, So is question 12 until you submit a revised answer…
question 43 on the top of Walsall Wood Club house
Well done – that’s correct. The clue is the phone connection – you can see the telegraph pole next to the clubhouse on Google Earth
You’ve got 12 points
34 I’ll go out on a limb and have a guess at methane being emitted from a landfill site as the danger. Can’t find the gates though
That’s correct. However, you’ve given me the wrong question number… so it’s still open ;-p
“Q34: What specific hazard does the yellow sign warn of?”
Was the question I was answering
Q34 has gone; the sign warns of general explosion hazard. This may help…
http://brownhillsbob.com/2013/12/29/2014-new-year-quiz/#comment-28362
Sorry to be picky, but…
Hello Bob, Q9 Methane vent, Q10 old rubbish tip at Coppice industrial estate
Q16 its the house which stands on the old jolly collier ground Pelsall Lane next to the canal bridge. Q20 Capping stone of the old railway bridge! seen these on my walkabouts.
Hello Clive. Your Mount Pleasant question didn’t last as long as I thought 🙂
Q9 Correct. It’s a vent and monitoring well – to let gas escape and enable groundwater testing
Q10 Correct – it’s the former landfill at the Potters Clay and Coal works, Coppice side.
Q16 Again, correct. It’s visible on the rear of the house next to the Jolly Collier Bridge, just off the Pelsall Road, Brownhills. I’m not even sure the date is correct for the house. Anyone?
Q20 That’s right, too; I noted the of the one still known to exist forms a stepping stone in the new pond, only visible in very dry spells.
You’ve got 4 points! Nice one…
Question 21
Could be at Fauld
No sure which you meant, but no questions relate to Fauld. But that would have been a good sign to ask about…
Not 21 but 33, for the sinister gates
Nope. There’s hough info now to work it out from other answers…
Q21. 1910.
Bingo. According to an advert reproduced in Clive Roberts’ book ‘Snippets of History In and around Shire Oak’, Boulter’s Shire Oak Ales were awarded Gold in Brussels, 1910.
Thought that was a toughie. I had to really hunt for it.
6 points (7 pending)
56 I’ll go out on a limb and have a guess at methane being emitted from a landfill site as the danger. Can’t find the gates though
Yup. Gotcha.
12 Watling Street Primary School East Face NE corner
That’s correct. My error. At least I don’t have to adjust scores now.
You found the benchmark database at
http://www.bench-marks.org.uk/viewsearch?q=8abd84a9dbfd4c4f1df4e04944a37066
You can work out which they are from the backgrounds in the images and tying up with the database.
Interestingly, the benchmark in Q38 isn’t apparently listed in the database.
38 Brownhills activity centre. Chester Road North between the Tinman island and the pedestrian crossing. First set of windows with the tower thingy on top, under the middle big window
38 Theres an airvent on the left side of the bay. The mark is 16 bricks to the right of the vent on the second and third rows up. Theres a broken brick 1 brick to the right and up from the mark. Approximately.
How the sodding hell did you get that? Do enlighten me, please…
Correct, of course. 21 points…
Eyes peeled Bob, just watch whats around you when you’re out and about.
A torch and a magnifying glass helped
Um, and the OS Benchmark finder, at a guess? Didn’t know it existed.
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/benchmarks/
Bang in Sk0405 – second entry?
Well done, anyway. Didn’t think anyone would get that. I only found it because I was looking for a flush bracket from memory in the wrong place… I had to look it up again to find it was at Watling Street. My goodness.
Seriously impressed. Now, what about the owl?
Didn’t use a database for that one, it was down to logic and streetview. Not many public buildings in Brownhills. Streetviewed the medical centre, wrong brickwork. Swung round to the Activity Centre and zoomed in, spotted the blueies round the base. Started at one end zoomed in and looked. The mark shows up on Streetview, seemples
If you ever want a change of career… crikey.
You have marmalised my quiz setting ability. Well done.
There are still 11 outstanding. Amazed no one has got the gates, the owl or the groove.
Cheers
Bob
Righto folks, time to tot up. By some margin, Tony Jakeman is in the lead…
(I dropped a goo lie with marks, which is now corrected. Apologies – it’s hard to keep track)
Caz – 4 points
Clive – 4 points
Andy Dennis – 7
Oakparkrunner – 12
Tony Jakeman – 21 points
These questions are still outstanding:
Q33 Gates
Q41 Mosaic
Q44 Chimney
Q45 Why unusual?
Q46 Racing driver
Q47 Plastic bird
Q49 Groove?
Q50 What is groove?
Q51 Boyproofs
Q52 Poltergeist owl
Q54 Hands
Spreadsheet of results and answers can be seen at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjDyIBR-mN5YdGhxeFdYcV91U3RLMHNRS0ttRWUwN0E&usp=sharing
Any queries, differences, points of order, etc. welcome.
Cheers for being such good sports
Bob
For anyone wondering what the hell Tony is talking about, the benchmark on the Activity Centre – the answer to question 38 – is here
http://goo.gl/maps/d5Oza
Here it is highlighted in a screenshot
https://brownhillsbob.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/untitled-69.png
Right, the racing driver question. This is really, really interesting; there was indeed a Formula 1 team based in WalsallWood – Ensign, as Andy Dennis says, and it was run by Mo Nunn.
From this:
http://www.motorsportforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=113018&start=20
Post by Neil Andrew » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:21 pm
‘We carried on from Donnington to Ensign’s base at Walsall Wood. I remember the roads were very icy, but we arrived safely to find the new car almost ready for testing. Clay, Mo Nunn, my brother and the rest of Ensign’s small band were making minor adjustments for Clay’s comfort in the car. There were going to test at Donnington in the morning. I will always remember Clay’s wolfish grin when I mentioned how icy it was outside. Sorry, but I do not remember the year.’
There’s quite an extensive writeup here
http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/cref-nunmor.html
Quite clearly, there’s articles to be written here. I’m going to give Andy the point, but there is another answer that’s quite different supplied by Tony Winn, which is also interesting, so I’ll leave the question still hanging.
Cheers, everyone. You can never, ever tell…
Bob
Well this took some getting! I took a punt with Ancestry looking for people who died in 1989, registered Lichfield, and born 1907. Lo and behold; luckily beginning with A was one Frederick Ashmore.
So answer to Q46 is Fred Ashmore, fl. 6 Sep 1907 – 22 Nov 1989.
3 races: 1949, Formula 1 BRDC International Trophy, 8th; Belgian Grand Prix 6th; San Remo no position.
Links:
http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/fred-ashmore/career/
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16248/lot/560/ – search Ashmore – crashed the car pictured.
I thought Ensign was set up in Walsall and I know they moved to an workshop in Chasetown (near Collis DIY). I thought I was a F1 “expert” – looks like I need to do a bit of research on the Walsall Wood connection !
46 After an exhaustive search the only F1 driver we can find who almost fits the facts is Francisco Landi. Born 1907, died 1989, but in Brazil. Can’t find any local links to him.
http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-lanfra.html
Sorry, nope
Q46. Fred Ashmore.
I’ll try this again:
http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/fred-ashmore/career/
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16248/lot/560/
For some reason I can’t post a reply with weblinks.
This took some getting. I searched Ancestry for death registered Lichfield 1989 with birth 1907. As luck would have it, beginning with A was one Frederick Ashmore. In search engine Fred Ashmore prompted racing driver and the scales fell from my eyes.
I’ll try these refs:
Greaves Motorsport, driver database, Fred Ashmore carreer stats.
Bonhams.com The Ex-works/ Raymond/Mays … / Arthur Brothers …
Brilliant – so glad you got that one. That deserves a special prize – he lived at spring hill Farm, apparently. Later, I’ll elaborate. Well done, Andy.
D’oh, nice one Andy, thats some serious dedication to research.
We found his nephew Gerry Ashmore on Grandprix.com and it mentions his dad Joe and his uncle Fred racing maseratis with Reg Parnell but we didn’t follow it up
I knew nothing of the chap – or Mo Nunn. This is clearly an avenue for fresh research…
Cheers, lads
“Lets build a Formula one car at the back of a garage in Walsall”
There’s some japes and fun to be had there. My ex neighbour worked on that car with Mo, they both went on by different routes to be big noises in Indy/Champ/Kart racing in America. I’d better not name names without permission.
Please, anything you’ve got. As someone with no experience of motorsport, this is fascinating.
By the way, extra point for that, so you’ve now got 8
44 House on Chester road/Lichfield Road junction Opposite Shire Oak pub
47 128 Chester Road bungalow just down from Shire Oak pub
Q44 that’s bang on. So as to Q45, why is it unusual?
47 Correct. I noticesd the one as I took the picture of the other…
So that’s 23 points…
45 Chimneys look unusual because they don’t fit with the rest of the row, they’ve been changed
q45 Yes, I’ll give you that. They chimney pots of all the other houses tin the run up to Shire Oak from Paterson Place are all the same style, as the houses were all built at the same time to the same pattern. That end chimney you can see from the junction has four Queen pots which aren’t original and stand out, clearly added afterwards.
Often sat looking at that from the lights northbound at Shire Oak…
24 points. Real wipeout stuff here…
51 Boy proof is a book by Cecil Castellucci, so boy proofs could be several copies and i’m getting desperate now lol
You’re not the only ones, we’re going nuts trying to solve these.
Current plan is to follow every cyclist we see back to their homes and CSI their computers for the answers, one of them has to be Bob.
I’ll not be responsible for this. David Evans swore this was local slang…
Pedro was closest.
Bob
Don’t know why I didn’t search for “boy proof boots” before, but it appears they were available elsewhere … http://www.farnhamians.org/ofa/farnhamian_jul23.pdf
It’s not boots. Think of what may want proofing against boys. I have double checked this. If there’s a riot, I’m sending David to sort it out!
51 or are they something to do with the boy scouts?
No generally.
Q51. Pure speculation. Miner’s slang for safety lamps?
Nope. Getting *really* cold now.
51 clarks shoes…tuff shoes….wellies…..steel toe caps…..brogues….bovver boots,definately not slippers lol
51 Or what about those t bar leather sandals, with a thick spongey transparent like soles, the boys were usually tan but i had a red pair with a holey pattern.
Not footwear. Higher.
Jeans?!
Nope
First come the ankles, then come the knees…
It could not possibly be a Chastity Belt!
It could possibly be a variety thereof. You are very, very close Mr. Cutler…
52 The poltergeist owl, perched on top of the Furniture Store in Brownhills High Street. All down to my wife searching and searching till she found the original picture
Yes, well done. We first spotted it last summer; [Howmuch?] posted a pic on Panoramio of it. It actually disappeared for a few weeks, only to materialise again. I think it’s demonic.
25 points.
Hi Bob, Q53. number of the bike at Malory Park is 5
Check the video – it’s number 30. Tony beat you to it, sorry
Thanks for another entertaining end to the year !
Still looking for 33 ? Around the corner from Potters Clay?
41 and 54 are not far from each other on the High Street.
49/50 will these be the questions to last the longest?
Heh – wondered where you’d got to. Sorry, Tony seems to have rather cleared up this year, but always good to see you old chap.
Q33 Yes. Amazed that too so long. Covered in my Panoramio and 365days – I even gave the meaning of the notice I think
Yes, 41 and 54 are close to each other…
That 49 and 50 haven’t gone surprises me. It’s one of the defining things of our local history and landscape.
(For those that don’t know, David runs the oldest still standing – possibly the oldest of all – local history site on Brownhills and without his inspiration this blog would be jack shit, frankly.)
Happy new year David.
All the best
Bob
PS 1 point, but assailing Tony’s lead could be problematic now.
Q33. If the hazard is ground gas, then it must be associated with a landfill, I thought. Vigo/Utopia? Highfields South? Joburns Tip? Veolia? Then I realised where I had seen it. Someone hit on Coppice Side, but didn’t follow it up. The gates are into the old Coppice landfill site opposite Saddlers Court Manufacturing on Coppice Side. I’ve been such a dim-wit; it’s even posted on Panoramio by a cycling cynic near you (or at least me) and can be viewed via Google Earth!
Oh well, Happy New Year!
Yes, indeed. I featured it on Panoramio here:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/81370588
And I discuss them on 365daysofbiking here:
http://brownhillsbob.tumblr.com/post/34602837164/october-28th-today-british-summertime-ended
I’ve never seen such a warning posted on a landfill before. They’ve been burning off the gas there since the late 80s at least; of course now, at Highfields South and the Vigo Utopia, they have gas powered generators making use of the gas.
I notice that my autumnal obsession with light and bad weather is unchanging…
Surprised nobody got it; I see a lot of folk dog walking over there.
Sadly, BrownhillsDavidNotBob beat you to it.
I think we can safely say Tony Jakeman has the beer… but spot prizes announced when the quiz finishes.
BrownhillsDavidNotBob – 1 point
Caz – 4 points
Clive – 4 points
Andy Dennis – 8
Oakparkrunner – 12
Tony Jakeman – 25 points
These questions are still outstanding:
Q41 Mosaic
Q49 Groove?
Q50 What is groove?
Q51 Boyproofs
Q54 Hands
Spreadsheet of results and answers can be seen at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjDyIBR-mN5YdGhxeFdYcV91U3RLMHNRS0ttRWUwN0E&usp=sharing
Any queries, differences, points of order, etc. welcome.
Cheers for being such good sports
Bob
51. On the back of everyone elses work. Would boyproofs be underwear worn by young ladies to keep boys at bay? Happy New Year to Bob and all his readers
That answer is pants. And yes, you’re right.
David Evans asserts that ‘Boyproofs’ was local slang, when he were a lad, for girl’s knickers.
You have 26 points, sir, but that really was a team effort.
Great quiz Bob! I have enjoyed following it, I of course only knew the answer to 42!!
A Happy New Year to you and all the readers.
Heh, and to you, Ann. Your contributions are always wonderful. We’d all love to find out what NIPTA actually meant, I think…
Happy New Year
Bob
Happy New year to you all and well done to Tony. Enjoy your beer.
Q41 I’m sure i’ve seen this mosaic in Brownhills and was thinking it was on the ground but now wondering if it’s part of the Mosaic on the wall on the side of Subway, originally the chemists.
Well played, Caz, well played. Think it’s the third along. The one with the pharmacy symbolism sure looks odd now it’s no longer Lloyds chemist!
You now have 5 points.
Q54
A guess that these hands would not be found in a Public Convenience, more likely in the Methodist Church?
Happy New Year All, Pedro
They do look ecclesiastical and I wonder if they are on a board outside a church, but can’t place them. I also wondered if they belong to an illusionist about to release a dove.
Heh. Yes, they are outside a church – one often overlooked.
Yup… but so many to choose from in Brownhills! We’ll have more churches and chapels than pubs, soon. Is that critical mass?
54 Brownhills Excelsior Spiritual Church in the High Street. Two pairs, one each side of the door
Absolutely correct. 27 points.
41 On the side wall of Subway on the pathway between the High Street and Short Street
49 The corrugated roof of Pat Collin’s tin tabernacle at the junction of Lindon Road and Clayhanger Road
50 The crazing in the paint? The difference in the expansion and contraction rates of the metal and paint.
Or the groove might have been worn by the passage of wheels somewhere? Looks like rusty metal under the paint. Chasewater Railway? Something to do with mining? Not used now because the paint isn’t worn
Or a local pub that has seen better days? (A bit of a guess on my part.)
We got a bit obsessed with this quiz, it was the challenge of finding all this stuff thats in plain sight, but we all walk, ride and drive right past every day. Its been fascinating. we’re down to guessing now.
This is so much in plain sight it’s painful. If anyone asked me the question I thought would last longest, it wouldn’t be these two.
Nope. You have passed this, in your documenting Brownhills. No doubt run your hands over it, as generations have done.
No, none of those things. What caused the groove has been superseded now. Wheels most definitely not involved.
Yes, but you were pipped to it by Caz! Bad luck…
No 51. As a boy with two sisters in the ’30’s, I remember a female article of apparel called a ‘Liberty Bodice’, leaving the upper chest completely covered.
Heartily disliked by most young females.
Hello David, Happy New Year to you! Hope the weather where you are has been better than here…
I suspect you’re also right, but they just got there a shade earlier.
best wishes
Thanks, Bob, and a Happy New Year to you and fellow bloggers. Weatherwise, I think we have had slightly less ‘liquid fallout’ than other parts of the country up to the present, but so far, so good…..I am keeping my huskies well fed and my sled in good condition, just in case……
Cheers.
Heh.
It isn’t going to snow. I can guarantee that because I bought new snow tyres.
It’s the law of Murphy!
Cheers
Bob
Spot prizes to be announced when quiz finishes. The scores on the doors so far are:
BrownhillsDavidNotBob – 1 point
Clive – 4 points
Caz – 5 points
Andy Dennis – 8
Oakparkrunner – 12
Tony Jakeman – 27 points
These questions are still outstanding:
Q49 Groove?
Q50 What is groove?
Spreadsheet of results and answers can be seen at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjDyIBR-mN5YdGhxeFdYcV91U3RLMHNRS0ttRWUwN0E&usp=sharing
Any queries, differences, points of order, etc. welcome.
Cheers for being such good sports
Bob
Q49/50
Having taken into account the various guesses and hints – I can confidently say that the answer lies with canal bridges (but going over them, not under them).
NOTE – Confidence = cleverness if correct or stupidity if wrong!
49/50 Superseded transport going over canal bridges? Horses towing barges. Grooves worn by the ropes towing barges
Hi Tony
I’d give you this one, but it’s too general from my clue, really. I’m going to give it to Stymaster, because he clearly knows the spot.
I’m late to the party, but yes, 49 & 50 is Ogley Junction crossoever bridge, groove worn by a boat towrope.
Yes. Being specific, it’s the western guard rail of the Ogley Junction crossover or roving bridge. Horses were left hitched to the boats, and walked over the bridge, which like Catshill Junction, has ground-commencing walls and rails to smooth the passage of the rope.
Ogley Bridge has a bit of a design fault in that there’s a boss on the outside of the casting, central, and it caused the ropes to snag on it, wearing deep grooves in both directions.
You can see pictures of the groove here:
http://www.panoramio.com/user/189895/tags/Groove
Generations of Brownhills kids have run their fingers down there, as I did while me dad explained what it was nearly 40 years ago.
Stymaster, you have 2 points.
Great quiz again Bob, i came on tonight all pumped as i had most of thanswers. Yet again the knowledgeable followers of your blog have beat me to it lol. i must admit i couldnt find the Owl for love nor money so off to read the spreadsheet.
Hi Warren
Sorry old chap. There were several aimed specifically at you – I knew you’d have got the groove, for instance.
Tony was certainly very keen, and I can’t fault him. Perhaps next year, I’ll release questions in batches to make it last longer…
That owl gives me the willies.
Cheers, and happy new year
Bob
That’s it, mission accomplished. Well done!
Cheers to everyone for taking part, and for being such gracious sports. It’s been fun. I have to salute Tony’s relentless research and dedication here – it really is impressive.
I shall sort out spot prizes in a post over the weekend, but right now I’m knackered.
Final score:
BrownhillsDavidNotBob – 1 point
Stymaster – 2 points
Clive – 4 points
Caz – 5 points
Andy Dennis – 8
Oakparkrunner – 12
Tony Jakeman – 27 points
Spreadsheet of results and answers can be seen at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjDyIBR-mN5YdGhxeFdYcV91U3RLMHNRS0ttRWUwN0E&usp=sharing
Any queries, differences, points of order, etc. welcome.
Cheers for being such good sports
Bob
Hi Bob
Well done Tony…and well done you,too…an excellent quiz ..and now an excellent local history resource…..happy new year
Kind regards
David
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