Tag Archives: Chasewater Dam

When Amy Turtle silenced the skinheads at Chasewater

You all know I’m fascinated by Chasewater and it’s history – but there’s a period of history that’s not too well documented or understood, and is full of myth and foggy reality: The Amusement Park era from the 60s.  At … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Laying some pipe

Thanks again to the continued treasure trove that is the local historian Gerald Reece and his astounding photo collection, I can now shed light on something that’s made me wonder for years – the arrangements for the modern overflow system … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Reader enquiries, Shared memories, Social Media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chasewater – what of the far pavilion?

An image has been sent to me by a reader this week they tell me they’ve found on internet auction site eBid, but I can’t locate the sale: It’s a fascinating picture of Chasewater before it was developed, so it … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Oh brave new world

One of the most loved and respected contributors to the Brownhills Blog is the great Reg ‘Aer Reg’ Fullelove, historian, commenter, author, poet and honorary Grandfather of the blog. Reg regularly digs out stuff for the blog, and it’s with … Continue reading

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Picture this: A Chasewater childhood

A wonderful one reached me yesterday morning from old pal of the blog Stuart Cowley, whose memories of growing up at Chasewater in the 1960s and 70s have been some of the most popular posts in the history of the … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Walsall community | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Swanning around…

I’ve had a mail in from reader Natalie Edge-Edwards, who like our very own swan lady Irene Hodges, is very interested in her local birdlife in Rochester and monitors the black swans on the lake by JCB there. We’ve had … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A hole lot of sink

One of the curious things about writing and keeping this blog has always been the steady, curious dynamic of story arcs – where an old subject gets continually, slowly and gradually expanded as Google lists it, people search and find the post, comment and expand it.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A remedy to the shortage of water

Several times over the previous eight years of this blog the question of the function and decommissioning of the steam pump that once stood at Chasewater has cropped up, and always provokes interesting debate – well, reader Ian James has been in touch with a snippet of information he’s found in a book relating to the long gone pumping plant.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Get stuck in the bog…

For those of you into conservation and the local environment, there’s this event going on at Norton Bog (that’s north Chasewater) this Sunday, 26th February 2017 – the Friends of Norton Bog are a great group and you can find out more about them at the event.
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Back in the black

Today (Monday, 30th January 2017) I was contacted by Irene ‘The Swan Lady’ Hodges who was in a state of some enthusiasm, as amongst her usual daily cohort of swans and waterfowl at Chasewater, there was a single black swan, which she fed and caught on video.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Open Mike

Yesterday, whilst mooching on Panoramio for an image of Chasewater (sometimes it’s the best way to find my own photos, oddly enough) I came upon a gallery by a reader and contributor the the blog, Mike Leonard – it’s remarkable.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Followups, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Brock and roll

This isn’t very pleasant, so I’ll be short and to the point – people, we have a burgeoning badger population at the moment as these guys come in from the fringes of local countryside into town, just as their brothers the foxes have done, and unfortunately they’re dying in large numbers on our roads.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Clayhanger stuff, cycling, Environment, Followups, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New road safety initiative for Brownhills

You all know that I love local wildlife – and that I’m particularly fond of the local deer population, who have sadly been involved in many accidents with vehicles in recent years on roads around our commons, countryside and open spaces.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Doctor Fell

This is just a quick one, as I thought we needed to get at least a little bit of history in at long last – and this one has piqued my curiosity, as my antenna always twitch when I hear subsidence legends.
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Posted in Bad Science, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Fast and sluice

Last week, I featured the third batch of images from the Canal and River Trust Archive, of the Grove Colliery near Brownhills in the late 1950s – also revealing the archive and inviting readers to go see what they could find.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Shared media, Shared memories, Spotted whilst browsing the web | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

1095 days

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Churches, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall Wood stuff, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Found dog – now reunited with owner.

Thanks to all who shared and helped on social media and in other channels – the lost Border Collie found by Lee Chapman yesterday has been reunited with her owner.

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Border Collie dog found on A5 in Brownhills

An urgent appeal reaches me via Facebook from Lee Chapman, who’s today (Saturday, 3rd January 2015) found a Collie dog near Brownhills Common on the A5.

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The lost Howdles Lane dam

In a remarkable instance of coincidence, last Friday, reader and top local history ferret Andy Dennis sent me an astounding piece on a lost reservoir near Howdles Lane, in north Brownhills, between Chasewater and the Watling Street.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Shared memories, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

On a clear day

The wonderfully generous and knowledgable Sir Gerald of Reece recently sent me some scans of aerial images dating from 1948-52, taken of Brownhills and and stored on transparency, which I feature here today.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Urgent – Harris Hawk lost in Burntwood

I have no idea what to make of this – lost raptors are a new one for the blog, but never a dull moment – just has this report of a lost Harris Hawk in from Jim Mason of Burntwood:
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A musical evening in Brownhills – this Saturday!

Local chap and musician John Carver contacted me a week or so ago to ask me to give this fine folk gig a plug, starring a lady with a rather remarkable local tale to tell – and she’s supported by some rather excellent welsh musicians, too.141018 Poster Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Churches, Clayhanger stuff, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Overcome with emulsion

As I alluded yesterday when I featured the image of the Chasewater pump house, reader and friend of the blog Ruth Penrhyn-Lowe has been slaving over a warm scanner yet again to share with us some wonderful postcards from her late father’s personal collection, and all of these have a Chasetown theme.

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Pumping clear water

This is remarkable – I’m just going to leave it here for those among us interested in Chasewater, and the arrangements with the steam pump that used to return water from Anglesey Basin into the reservoir.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Paint it black

There has been huge interest in the post I published last week on the subject of the rare and rather beautiful black swan spotted at Chasewater last Wednesday by The Swan Lady, Irene Hodges.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Take to the water this Sunday!

There’s an interesting, fun-looking event taking place this Sunday (25th May 2014) at Chase Watersports Centre, at Chasewater – it’s a twelve hour continuous waterski event in aid of the Stephen’s Story appeal for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lost – Keep your eye out folks

I’ve had a couple of notes about lost items at Chasewater yesterday – a camera and a GPS – one of which got mangled by the server, so I’d appreciate the person involved contacting me again.

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Swept everything before it

Last weekend, I revisited for the first time in ages the subject that was once so prominent here – Chasewater dam – but not in reference to the recent renovations, but to the creation of the reservoir and the failure of the earthwork dam in 1799.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Shared memories, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

When the dam burst

Chasewater has been, as any long-term reader here knows, a continual and recurring obsession of mine – I love the place; I grew up with it, visiting regularly I came to love its air of faded, end-of-the-pier decay and beautiful, often unexpected wildlife.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Shared memories, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

To be in England, in the summertime

Another day, another great ride – I headed out early afternoon, firstly to Chasewater then on to Lichfield and the festival market, then from the busy city, I headed to the quiet of the east Staffordshire countryside – Whittington, Croxall, Walton, Rosliston, Lullington, Harlaston and back via Wall.
[caption id="attachment_14740" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Pipe Hill poppies Pipe Hill poppies[/caption] Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Churches, cycling, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, Local music, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Finely tuned aerials

Rather than do the drip-drip-rip thing with the wonderful aerial images shared by top geographic geek Gareth Thomas and Lichfield District Council, I’m going to share the whole set of 1:5,000 aerials of Chasewater and surrounds. All were taken in December, 1976, and show some remarkable detail.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The scale of things to come

Gareth Thomas, top geographical services officer and mapping wonk from Lichfield District Council has been dipping into the aerial photography archives, and sent me a whole truancy of new wonders.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Golden hours

Busy most of the day, I managed to slip out late afternoon for a ride – it was glorious -Chasewater was busy, yet there were deer on the dam. – the countryside was alive, and bursting into leaf and bloom everywhere I looked[caption id="attachment_13982" align="aligncenter" width="225"]Wall church itself is impressive and unusual in style Wall church itself is impressive and unusual in style[/caption]
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Churches, cycling, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fun events at Chasewater this weekend!

I’ve spotted the following on the Chasewater Country Park Facebook page, which should give some ideas to families wanting to enjoy the good weather but not travel too far this bank holiday weekend.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Letting off steam

I was saddened to receive yesterday from Chasewater Transport Show organiser Helen Borton, a copy of a mail she’s sent to Chasewater Park management, detailing some conflict within the park community over this popular free show – it doesn’t make pleasant reading.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Chasewater wakes

Readers who are Chasewater fans will remember that back in February, I wrote a post that set out to explain the planning application that had been submitted to construct a wakeboarding facility in the south east corner of the lake, from around the old pier to just past the valve house on the dam.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Followups, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Local politics, News, planning, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Ghosts on tape

Old mucker [Howmuch?], fresh from a morning rootling around the Chasewater Transport Show on Sunday, was inspired to go trawling for interesting Chasewater related historical footage on the internet when he got home.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Jasmine cottage remembered

Following on from all the remarkable stuff about Jasmine Cottage, Louise Sedgwick has been back in touch with some family photos she’s found of the house and garden.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, planning, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Jasmine childhood

Here’s a great email I’ve received from reader Louise Sedgwick about her memories of Jasmine Cottage, up on Wharf Lane, Brownhills – The warm, lovely memories Louise shares sit nicely alongside those of Michael Sarsfield from Wharf Cottages, featured a few days ago.
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When Billy came knocking

I’ve had a great email from long time reader and friend of the blog Michael Sarsfield – after reading my questions about Anglesey Wharf and nearby cottages, he’s written a really nice piece about his childhood memories of the place.
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A bride in Jasmine

Here’s an excellent find sent to me this morning by Peter ‘Pedro’ Cutler, in response to my somewhat tenuous enquiry about Jasmine Cottage.

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Churches, Events, Followups, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The scent of jasmine

I’m still perusing my recent acquisition ‘The Wyrley & Essington Canal Through Time’ by Ray Shill…

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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Shared media, Shared memories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Shut the wardrobe door!

Oh, my goodness – Narnia has escaped from the wardrobe again, and as ever, I’ve been out having fun The cycling was fine on main roads, but side roads and tracks were bad. The snow – falling gently all the time I was out – was being driven by a northeasterly surely crafted on Satan’s back doorstep.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Shared media, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Chasewater: prepare for controversy

An application has recently been submitted to Lichfield District Council to construct a wake boarding corse at Chasewater, based between a refurbished pier and dam. This is generating some controversy.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Followups, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Local politics, News, planning, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Levelling out

Those who follow my 365daysofbiking journal will be aware that I’ve been a little bit obsessed with the rising water level at Chasewater over the summer and winter months. Since the lake was drained to enable improvement works to improve the dam and overflow resilience, it was considered that, unless we experienced very wet weather, the lake would take a good couple of years to refill.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Local politics, News, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Chasewater childhood

Regulars will remember that recently, I featured a post from reader Stuart Cowley, who generously recounted mhos memories of of summers spent in and around Chasewater, where his family worked at the cafe.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Walsall community | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

2013 New Year competition winners!

The 2013 New Year Quiz  has now closed, and we have a winner. The final scores are as follows: Fred Butler has 7 points. Andy Dennis has 6 points. Oakparkrunner has 4 points. BrownhillsDavidNotBob has 3 points. Grande Pablo has … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Competition closes 12 noon today, 5th January 2012

Last chance, folks. The 2013 new year competition closes at 12 Noon today, 5th January 2012. Answers received after that time will not be counted. Running scores: Andy Dennis has 6 points. Fred Butler has 4 points. Oakparkrunner has 4 … Continue reading

Posted in Brownhills stuff, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Cycling trivialities

Thanks to everyone who took time to express opinions on my navel gazing contemplation on completion of my 365daysofbiking goal. I really was touched by the unexpectedly large amount of goodwill expressed about the project by a hugely diverse range of commentors. The compliments, encouragement and kindness are not something I’ll readily forget.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Cannock Chase, Chasewater, Clayhanger stuff, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local Blogs, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2013 New Year quiz: only five questions left

The 2013 New Year Quiz closes at Noon, this Saturday, 5th January 2013. I’m amazed at how popular it’s been and thank everyone for their sporting good humour, interesting answers and thoughtful, considered sleuthing.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Panoramio updates, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments