#365daysofbiking JournalRecent tracks
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A Chance EncounterJunkboy13 hours ago
Sweetheart of the EstuaryJunkboy13 hours ago
The Lower QuarterJunkboy13 hours ago
Cluniac Monks of Prittlewell PrioryJunkboy13 hours ago
Trains, Trees, TopophiliaJunkboy13 hours ago
Old Camera, New FilmJunkboy13 hours agoRecent Comments
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Tag Archives: Silly
Chasewater – you can’t polish turds
Of late, Lichfield District Councillors and Staffordshire County Council have been cock-a-hoop about Chasewater – they’ve suddenly discovered our local reservoir, and just how fine it is – but there’s a bit of a problem.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall community, Wildlife
Tagged bird, boating lake, bread, Brownhills, Canal, Chasewater, consideration, Councillors, cynical, ducks, feed, feeding, geese, hazard, Lichfield, mess, New Photos, pollution, poo, Reservoir, Rose Maria Burnell, seed, shit, Silly, Staffordshire, swans, Things to do, wildfowl, Wildlife
10 Comments
Down with the kids
Yet again, the young David Evans has played a blinder and come up with some fantastic images of the classes and staff at Walsall Wood County Primary, which was the school that formerly existed in the youth club building at Streets Corner.
[caption id="attachment_19576" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Image courtesy Eleanor Holland & David Evans.[/caption] Continue reading
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged 1950, 1951, 1952, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, David Evans, Eleanor Holland, Events, interesting architecture, Lichfield, Local History, New Photos, Rhyl, Shire Oak, Silly, Staffordshire, teachers, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood, Walsall WOod ounty Primary, Youth Centre
9 Comments
A different class
A quick one here from the young David Evans, who’s found a couple of gems from the postwar years of the Walsall Wood County Primary School at Streets Corner – this is the building that David returned to recently and documented so beautifully.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged 1950, 1951, 1952, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, David Evans, Eleanor Holland, Events, interesting architecture, Lichfield, Local History, New Photos, Shire Oak, Silly, Staffordshire, teachers, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood, Walsall WOod ounty Primary, Youth Centre
11 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.
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 12 hour, 2014, 25th May, Brownhills, charity, Chase, Chasewater, Chasewater Dam, Events, Facebook, inflatable, Lichfield, Reservoir, Silly, Staffordshire, Stephen Sutton, Stephens Story, TCT, Teenage Cancer Trust, Things to do, Wakeboard, waterski, watersports centre
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.
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Just plain daft, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community
Tagged Afternoon, appeal, Bench, Brownhills, Burntwood, Camera, Canoe Club, Chasewater, Chasewater Dam, Events, Garmin, GPS, GPSmap 64s, Lichfield, Lost, Memory card, Nikon, reader, Reservoir, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, Watersports club
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The model
Oh my goodness, this is unusual – but knowing you lot, you’ll be able to help – top bloke and long-time friend of the blog Ian Morton-Jones has been in touch to ask a very interesting question about a model boat he took a picture of at Chasewater in 2012.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Barmouth, boating lake, Brownhills, Chasewater, club, Events, Facebook, Ian Morton Jones, Lichfield, Lifeboat, Model, Mystery, New Photos, Reservoir, RNLI, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, Twitter, Walsall Council
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The Tat Man cometh
I know it’s short notice, but there’s a great show going on this afternoon at 2pm in the museum at Lichfield Street in Walsall – ‘The Life and Times of the Tat Man’ is a continuation of the great shows created by Dave Calcutt, Glen Buglass and the team working on the history around the Bayards Colts.
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Posted in Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council
Tagged 2014, 3rd may, amateur dramatics, Bayards Colts, Dave Calcutt, Events, free, Glen Buglass, Lichfield, Life and Times of the Tat Man, local blogs, Local History, Mummers, museum, Performance, Saturday, Silly, Street Theatre, Theatre, Things to do, Walsall, Walsall Council
2 Comments
Going Back
I’ve noticed over the five years that this blog has been running that it brings out often hidden sides to readers, and uncovers talents folk didn’t know they had – the young David Evans of late has been discovering a new talent for a genteel, polite form of Urban Exploration.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Brownhills, Brownhills local history, David Evans, Events, interesting architecture, Lichfield, Local History, New Photos, Shire Oak, Silly, Staffordshire, urban exploration, Urbex, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood, Walsall WOod ounty Primary, Youth Centre
34 Comments
Thanks for an ingratitude
From time to time, I like to feature articles out of old gazetteers here on the blog – they are a great love of mine, and they help shine a new light on old, familiar places, as well as giving a neat insight into the times they were written in.
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Posted in Churches, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Shared media, Shared memories
Tagged 1930's, Arthur Mee, Burntwood, Garrick, Gazetteer, Johnson, Kings England, Lichfield, local blogs, Local History, Lore, Nelson, New Photos, Panoramio, Shenstone, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, Wednesbury
1 Comment
Lose yourself in the mapping
If you’re engaged in the local online community, you’ll have no doubt caught up with this already, but for those who haven’t, there’s a new historical mapping resource available online right now, free of charge, and it’s really rather special.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged 10000, 1250, 2500, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, cartography, Clayhanger, David Evans, guide, how to read, key abbreviations, Large Scale, Lichfield, Local History, Mapping, Old maps, Ordnance Survey, sheet, Silly, street plan, symbol, Things to do, Walsall Wood
7 Comments
Making a splash!
You readers really are a remarkable bunch – last Friday, I featured a couple of images posted on social media by Chris Leggett of the Express & Star, as part of their bid to gain funding to digitise and open to the public their photo archive – a huge treasury of newspaper images that current exist in print form only.
Posted in Brownhills stuff, cycling, Environment, Events, Express & Star, 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
Tagged 1973, archive, Bid, Brian Stringer, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, caught, Chris Leggett, crash, Cycle rides, cycling, Events, Express & Star, Facebook, Helicopter, Karen, Kenneth Cornwell, Lichfield, lines, Local History, Malcolm Wright, Malcom Wright, New Photos, overhead, parachute, photo, Reservoir, Show, Silly, skydiver, Staffordshire, Stowe Pool, Stuntman, survey, tangle, Things to do, Twitter, winch
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The parachutist, the helicopter and the Brownhills daredevil
Last year, I asked readers to show support for the Express & Star in their bid to gain funding to digitise and open to the public their photo archive – a huge treasury of newspaper images that current exist in print form only. 
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, cycling, Environment, Events, Express & Star, 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
Tagged 1973, Aldridge, archive, Bid, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, caught, Chris Leggett, crash, Cycle rides, cycling, Events, Express & Star, Facebook, Helicopter, Kenneth Cornwell, Lichfield, lines, Local History, Malcom Wright, New Photos, overhead, parachute, photo, Reservoir, Show, Silly, skydiver, Staffordshire, Stonnall, Stowe Pool, Stuntman, survey, tangle, Things to do, Twitter, winch
12 Comments
Dazed
I’ve had a request from the young David Evans to re-run some photos from a post I created in 2011 – David has requested this as new reader and commenter Roger Mosedale has joined us in the last few days, and David feels that he may be able to help with the school photos here.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Churches, Clayhanger stuff, cycling, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged 1932, 1953, 1955, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, choir, Clayhanger, cycling, Cycling Proficiency, David Evans, Ebenexer, football, Lichfield, Local History, New Photos, Roger Mosedale, school photos, Shire Oak, Silly, soccer, Staffordshire, Things to do, violinists, Walsall Wood, Walsall Wood Primary
6 Comments
Duck soup
Hi folks – this is a plea for a bit of common sense, and it would be really nice if folk could perhaps think about it a little bit – It’s a nice weekend, and with that, we all like to go for walks and visit our local parks and greenspaces.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Walsall community, Wildlife
Tagged boating lake, bread, Brownhills, Canal, Chasewater, consideration, ducks, feed, feeding, geese, hazard, Lichfield, mess, New Photos, pollution, Reservoir, Rose Maria Burnell, seed, Silly, Staffordshire, swans, Things to do, wildfowl, Wildlife
7 Comments
A century in 12 objects…
I see that there Kate Cardigan from the wonderful Lichfield Lore is going from strength to strength with her informal and fun Lichfield local history group, Lichfield Discovered.
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Posted in Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web
Tagged 100 years, 12 objects, century, Dave, David, Discovered, event, Events, Everyday Items, Facebook, history, Kate Gomez, Lichfield, local blogs, Local History, Lore, Moore, museum, New Photos, Panoramio, Sandfields, Silly, St Marys, Staffordshire, Talk, Theatre, Things to do, Twitter
1 Comment
Brownhills School: driven to distraction
The ongoing issue of Brownhills School’s withdrawal of community access to it’s facilities rumbled on this week, as the Walsall Advertiser published another excellent report about how the Spotlight Youth Theatre Group were told they’d have to move from the school last December.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Followups, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, Local politics, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community
Tagged Brownhills, Brownhills School, club, community, Doug Birch, Express & Star, facilities, football, governors, Head, Headmistress, Helen Keenan, history, lessons, Letter, Lichfield, Local Committee, Local politics, mining, Report, Richard, School, Shepherd, Silly, Sir, soccer, swimming, trust, Walsall Advertiser, withdrawal
14 Comments
Brownhills School: Express & Star catches up
Just a quick note to point out that the Express & Star have finally got around to covering the Brownhills School community facilities withdrawal story, with a few extra details.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Followups, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, Local politics, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community
Tagged Brownhills, Brownhills School, club, community, Doug Birch, Express & Star, facilities, football, governors, Head, Headmistress, Helen Keenan, lessons, Letter, Lichfield, Local Committee, Local politics, Report, School, Silly, soccer, swimming, trust, Walsall Advertiser, withdrawal
3 Comments
Brownhills School: News of community facilities withdrawal spreads
Recently, as many readers will be aware, I covered the shocking story of how Brownhills School – formerly Brownhills Community School – has elected to stop all community access to its facilities, resulting in a large degree of disquiet in the town.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Followups, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, Local politics, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community
Tagged Brownhills, Brownhills School, club, community, Doug Birch, facilities, football, governors, Head, Headmistress, Helen Keenan, lessons, Letter, Lichfield, Local Committee, Local politics, Report, School, Silly, soccer, swimming, trust, Walsall Advertiser, withdrawal
24 Comments
That rings a bell…
That there young David Evans has been very busy – not content to loaf around convalescing like any normal person after his recent operation, he’s been preparing some new local history projects, and updating others.
[caption id="attachment_17624" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Image generously supplied by David Evans.[/caption] Continue reading
Posted in Churches, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Aldridge, Brownhills local history, David Evans, Hand, Hand of glory, Lichfield, Local History, New Photos, Pubs, Ringers, Shire Oak, Silly, Staffordshire, Stonnall, Things to do, tintabulist, Walsall Wood
2 Comments
Free talk on Heritage at Risk tonight!
Tonight’s talk is all about threatened architecture and heritage buildings in Ye Olde City, where there seems to be a more enlightened attitude than here in Walsall, where we regard heritage as merely ‘fuel’.
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Posted in Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web
Tagged 2014, Architecture, at risk, buildings, Dave, David, Discovered, event, Events, Facebook, free, heritage, Heritage Centre, Kate Gomez, Lichfield, Lichfield and Hatherton Canal, local blogs, Local History, Lore, meeting, Monday, Moore, New Photos, Panoramio, Sandfields, Silly, social medial, Staffordshire, Talk, Theatre, Things to do, Twitter
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Rhyme and reason
While service is operating on reduced power, I thought I’d share this curious mystery – over the new year period, a Brownhills history group was created on Facebook, and it’s proved to be very interesting indeed.
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Churches, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web
Tagged A walk down High Street Browmhills, Anchor, Brewes, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Brownhills Past and Present, Cooper, Events, Facebook, Jim Simpson, Lichfield, local blogs, Local History, Mystery, old shops, Poem, poetry, Princeps, Pubs, Redevelopment, rhyme, Selwyn Smith, Silly, Staffordshire, Station Hotel, Things to do
23 Comments
And now… the intermission
Still labouring over a warm hard drive here, so while I prepare some stuff for tomorrow, why not have a look around a YouTube channel that’s getting quite a bit of local attention?
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Posted in News
Tagged 1981, Birmingham, Bullring, cinefilm, Events, Facebook, Hagley Road, Lichfield, Local History, Paul Donovan, Redevelopment, Silly
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Lichfield discovered – great events upcoming for 2014
I see that there Kate Cardigan from the wonderful Lichfield Lore is going from strength to strength with lots of upcoming events for her informal and fun Lichfield local history group, Lichfield Discovered.
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Posted in Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web
Tagged 2014, Dave, David, Discovered, event, Events, Facebook, free, Heritage Centre, January 13, Kate Gomez, LHCRT, Lichfield, Lichfield and Hatherton Canal, local blogs, Local History, Lore, meeting, Monday, Moore, New Photos, Panoramio, Sandfields, Silly, social medial, Staffordshire, Talk, Theatre, Things to do, Twitter
5 Comments
2014 New year quiz!
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!
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, cycling, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged 2014, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Canal, Clayhanger, Cycle rides, cycling, David Evans, Events, Lichfield, Local History, New Photos, New Year, prize, quiz, Shire Oak, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, Walsall, Walsall Wood
218 Comments
Following the map – those abbreviations in full
One of the good things about Christmas is having time to catch up with the posts I’ve been meaning to compile for ages – this one is a specific one that’s been needed since I started the blog really, and is a key to very large scale maps I use here on the blog.
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged 10000, 1250, 2500, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, cartography, Clayhanger, David Evans, guide, how to read, key abbreviations, Large Scale, Lichfield, Local History, Mapping, Old maps, Ordnance Survey, sheet, Silly, street plan, symbol, Things to do, Walsall Wood
3 Comments
Bloxwich: men in tights!
I see that Glen, Dave and all the folk behind the wonderful Cart Before the Horse community theatre company have a great Christmas production on this weekend at the Bookmark Theatre, Bloxwich, which is situated in the new library.
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Posted in Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council
Tagged 2013, amateur dramatics, Bayards Colts, Bloxwich, Bookmark Theatre, Dave Calcutt, Events, free, French Magician, Friday 13th December, Glen Buglass, Lichfield, local blogs, Local History, Mummers, Performance, Robin Hood, Saturday 14th December, Silly, Staffordshire, Street Theatre, Sunday, Sunday 15th December, The Cart Before The Horse, Theatre, Things to do, tickets, Walsall, Walsall Council
4 Comments
Changes to local bin collections this week!
This is a headsup for everyone in the local area – this week, some refuse bin collection days change hereabouts – a full calendar leaflet can be downloaded from Walsall Council’s website, but here’s how it works for local readers.
Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Events, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, Local politics, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Aldridge, Bins, Brownhills, change, Christmas, Clayhanger, collection, collection day, Events, Facebook, Friday, household waste, information, Local politics, Monday, Politics, Recycling, Refuse, rubbish, Shire Oak, Silly, Twitter, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics, Walsall Wood
1 Comment
Fist of Glory, fists of rage
I see the genius of SalmonCorporation has been at work again – this film is an uncomfortable piece of genius that needs to be spread far and wide, like it’s precursor ‘Walsall: Everything a pound’.
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Posted in Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Local politics, News, planning, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council
Tagged animation, £1, Cheap tat, Derelict, Events, Everything a pound, Fist of Glory, Local History, Local politics, planning, Politics, Pubs, Redevelopment, SalmonCorporation, short, Silly, Stuart Williams, Tesco, Tesco Development, Twitter, Vandalism, video, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics, Youtube
3 Comments
A Brownhills drinking den is raided – in 1921
Here’s an odd snippet I found in the newspaper archives whilst looking for something completely different, which as anyone who’s ever researched any local history will tell you, is generally the way all the best stuff is found.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Events, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Shared media, Shared memories, Spotted whilst browsing the web
Tagged 1921, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Brownhills Progressive Working Men's Club, Brownhills West, Cheap tat, Hednesford Road, Lichfield, Local History, Mercury, New Photos, Police, Pubs, Raid, Silly, Staffordshire
3 Comments
11pm, and still no sign of Dick
It seems Panto Season is coming a wee bit early to us here in Brownhills, as Aldridge Musical Comedy Society stage their latest show, ‘Dick Whittington and the Return of the Rat’ from Thursday 21st November to Saturday 23rd inclusive.
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Aldridge, Aldridge Musical Comedy Society, amateur dramatics, Anthony N Britt, Brownhills, Clayhanger, community school, Dick Whittington, Events, Lichfield, local blogs, New Photos, pantomime, Return of the rat, Show, Silly, Theatre, Things to do, Twitter, Walsall Wood
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Cannock Chase Messines Model on Countryfile
The first world war model of Messines, it’s history and recent archeological dig have been the talk of Staffordshire for a while, and tonight formed the basis for a great article on the BBC program Countryfile.
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Posted in Cannock Chase, cycling, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Wildlife
Tagged Archeology, BBC, Brocton Field, Cannock Chase, Chase Trails, clip, country file, Cycle rides, cycling, David Evans, Dig, disappointing, Film, Lichfield, Local History, Messines, Model archeology, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, Wildlife, World War 1, WW1 Great war
6 Comments
Severe car crash at Walsall Civic Centre
There’s been an unfortunate RTA at Walsall Council, and it deserves as wide exposure as possible.
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Posted in Bad Science, Express & Star, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local media, Local politics, News, Shared media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council
Tagged 50000, Broadway centre, Car, Cheap tat, credibility, cuts, Express & Star, justification, limousine, Local politics, Manor Youth Club, Mayor, Mike Bird, redundancies, Silly, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics
15 Comments
Lichfield discovered – everyday objects tell wonderful stories tonight!
I see that there Kate Cardigan from the wonderful Lichfield Lore is going from strength to strength with her informal and fun Lichfield local history group, Lichfield Discovered. Now they’ve got the basics sorted, the Lichfield Discovered Group are moving on to … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web
Tagged 12th April, 2013, Dave, David, Discovered, event, Events, Everyday Items, Facebook, Garrick Studi, Kate Gomez, Lichfield, local blogs, Local History, Lore, Moore, New Photos, Panoramio, Sandfields, Silly, Staffordshire, Talk, Theatre, Things to do, Twitter
2 Comments
Do the walk…
Andy Dennis touches on a sporting phenomena which seems to largely have lapsed: pedestrianism, to which these days, power or nordic walking would be comparable.
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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
Tagged Anglesey Arms, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Chase Inn, ercury, Events, Fleur de lys, Gerald Reece, john, Lichfield, Local History, Pedestrian, Pedestrianism, Pubs, Samuel Jones, Shingler, Silly, Staffordshire, Walking match, Wallace
4 Comments
Pallets still needed for Brownhills bonfire!
I know I plugged it a couple of days ago, but Walsall Park Rangers are still in need of pallets to build the bonfire for the Holland Park Fireworks event, scheduled to take place this Saturday evening
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged appeal, Bonfire, bonfire night, Brownhills, Events, fireworks, Guy Fawkes, Holland Park, Local politics, pallet, Pallet appeal, park rangers, Silly, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics
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Everyone enjoys a burnup…
Brownhills Bonfire & Firework Display
At Holland Park
Saturday 2rd November 2013
Enjoy our bonfire and fireworks display, food and children’s rides available
Car Park Entry off The Parade. Pedestrian Entrance is through Chester Road North & The Parade.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Bonfire, bonfire night, Brownhills, Events, fireworks, Guy Fawkes, Holland Park, Local politics, Pallet appeal, Silly, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics
1 Comment
Stag do?
This is just a quick note to warn people given to exploring the open spaces of the area that the deer population are getting amorous. Continue reading
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, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Wood stuff, Wildlife
Tagged Brownhills, Chasewater, Chasewater Wildlife Group, Chaz Mason, Clayhanger, Clayhanger Marsh, Cycle rides, cycling, local blogs, Neil Tipton, New Photos, Red deer, Reservoir, rut, rutting, Shire Oak, Silly, Staffordshire, Walsall Wood, Wildlife
1 Comment
Lane’s end
In the circles of my cycling mates, I’m fairly well known for my forthright and controversial vies on cycle facilities – bike lanes, shared use paths, coloured bits of tarmac etc – that generally non-cycling traffic engineers create to try to make junctions easier for us on two wheels.
Posted in Bad Science, cycling, Environment, Events, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local media, Local politics, News, planning, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall Council
Tagged Advance Stop Line, ASL, Beyond the Kerb, Bez, Bikeability, Cheap tat, Cycle rides, Cyclecraft, cycling, cycling facilities, cyle safety, danger, Darlaston, Lichfield, Lichwheeld, Local politics, Lorries, New Photos, planning, Politics, Silly, Things to do, Tipping out the paint, Vehicular cycling
1 Comment
Is this your ferret?
Hi folks – I spotted on Facebook that a clearly mislaid, meandering mustelid has been found in the Whitehorse Road area of Brownhills.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Wildlife
Tagged Brownhills, Canal, Chase Ferret Rescue, Chasewater, Chasewon, Dale Preece Kelly, Events, Facebook, Ferret, found, Lichfield, Lost, New Photos, Newtown, Norton, Reservoir, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, White's 1854 Pipehill, Wildlife
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Not worth the paper it’s written on
The saga of Aldridge Manor and the winding down of youth services in Walsall is still rumbling on, and the issue is still being pursued by doughty campaigner Linda Mason – in a post on her blog a few days ago Lind detailed a recent letter she has received from Walsall Council which appears to be in almost total denial of the facts.
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Followups, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local media, Local politics, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Aldridge Manor, by election, Cheap tat, Closure, Councillors, cuts, Facebook, Independent, Liberal Democrat, Linda Mason, local blogs, Local History, Local politics, planning, Politics, Public Meeting, Rachel Andrew, Redevelopment, Shire Oak, Silly, sold, Twitter, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics, Walsall Wood, Youth Club
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A walk in the woods
Just a headsup for folks interested in Lichfield history, geography and miscellany – top local historian, blogger and cardigan enthusiast Kate Gomez from the wonderful Lichfield Lore has organised a walk tomorrow around the woods, lanes and greens of Leomansley.
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Posted in Churches, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media
Tagged cardigan, Christ Church, Events, guide, history, Kate Gomez, Leomansley, Lichfield, Lichfield Lore, local blogs, Local History, Marin Heath Hall, New Photos, Silly, Staffordshire, Sunday 6th October 2013, Things to do, walk
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A ghost of a chance…
Ghosts and such things; a rumination…
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Posted in Bad Science, Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Brownhills, Brownhills Barry, Brownhills local history, Brownhills Market, Clayhanger, Cycle rides, Derelict, folklore, Ghost, haunting, local blogs, Local History, New Photos, Nick Duffy, oral, Panoramio, Pubs, Redevelopment, Silly, Staffordshire, story, Tesco, Tesco Development, Things to do, Walsall Wood, West Midlands Ghost Club
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Amphibious Ferrie
I’m very pleased to note that Tony Winn has been in touch again – Tony seems to be something of an expert on the Ralph Ferrie history, and has formerly contributed some fine material relating to the larger-than-life local entrepreneur.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Chasewater, Environment, Followups, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, Local politics, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community
Tagged 1960's, 1965, Amphibian, amphibicar, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, Car, Chasewater, Events, Ferrie, Local History, New Photos, pleasureboat, Ralph, Reservoir, Silly, Staffordshire, tony Winn, Walsall Observer
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The cruel Manor of their deception
I’d like to flag up a very angry post Lind Mason has written about the situation with Walsall Council’s Youth Service and the vexed question of Aldridge Manor – the Councillors may have wandered away now that the election is over, the Council Officers may be trying to fob us off, but neither I nor Linda have forgotten the issue of Aldridge Manor and the winding down of youth services in Walsall.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Followups, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local media, Local politics, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged Aldridge Manor, by election, Cheap tat, Closure, Councillors, cuts, Facebook, Independent, Liberal Democrat, Linda Mason, local blogs, Local History, Local politics, planning, Politics, Public Meeting, Rachel Andrew, Redevelopment, Shire Oak, Silly, sold, Twitter, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics, Walsall Wood, Youth Club
8 Comments
From the Station to Paradise
Mike Leonard, the reader who supplied the wonderful images of The Railway Tavern and Wheatsheaf last week has done it again – this tie with two super photos.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, planning, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community
Tagged 1980's, AH Taxis, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, CK Electronics, Construction, Derelict, Events, island, Local History, Meehans Shoe Repairs, Mike Leonard, miner, Mitsubishi DA-L70, New Photos, planning, Plumbers Paradise, Pubs, Redevelopment, Silly, Sport and Leisure, Station Hotel, The Sportsman, Things to do
16 Comments
The dirty old town I love
I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I love the Black Country with all my heart – this dirty, post-industrial powerhouse of a place has been prominent throughout my life, although, technically, I live outside it. 
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Posted in Bad Science, Churches, Environment, Events, Followups, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, It makes me mad!, Just plain daft, Local History, Local media, Local politics, News, Panoramio photo discussions, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged birthday, Bullstake, Darlaston, Derelict, FH Lloyd, GKN, Local History, Local politics, New Photos, Panoramio, planning, Politics, Redevelopment, Rubery Owen, Silly, Staffordshire, Tony Martin, Vandalism, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics, Walsall Wood, Wilkings and Mitchell
43 Comments
Some Mummers do have ’em
There is a long tradition in British history of Mummer’s Plays – folkloric parables, stories and satires – performed for the benefit of the working classes by mostly itinerant actors and Walsall has seen a revival of this very old tradition in recent years with the plays written by former Walsall Wood teacher and local arts supremo Dave Calcutt.
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Posted in Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Just plain daft, Local Blogs, Local History, Local media, Local music, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council
Tagged 1st September, 2013, 31st August, amateur dramatics, Bayards Colts, Bloxwich, Bloxwich Telegraph, Bookmark Theatre, Dave Calcutt, Events, free, Glen Buglass, Lichfield, local blogs, Local History, Mummers, Night Market, Performance, Robin Hood and the Giant, Saturday, Silly, Staffordshire, Street Theatre, Stuart Williams, Sunday, The Cart Before The Horse, Theatre, Things to do, Walsall, Walsall Council
10 Comments
Les Fleurs
Some time ago, reader and Bon Viveur David Evans found this image for sale at a church fayre in Brownhills, at I believe at St James – he didn’t purchase it, but he did take a crafty snapshot.
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Posted in Brownhills stuff, Environment, Fun stuff to see and do, Interesting photos, Local History, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Shared memories
Tagged Allsops, Brownhills, Brownhills local history, David Evans, Derelict, Disaster, drawing, Fire, Fleur de lys, fox hunt, fox hunting, Grove pit, Local History, meet, New Photos, Norton, Pubs, Redevelopment, Silly, Staffordshire, Things to do, Vandalism, Water Margin, Watling Street
35 Comments
Choose wisely
Today, there is a council by-election in the ward of Aldridge Central & South, brought about by the sad passing of longstanding councillor Tom Ansell – this election will be interesting in a number of ways – although usually a safe Tory seat, it will be intriguing to see how the other parties fair – particularly UKIP and the Labour.
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Posted in 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, planning, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council
Tagged Aldridge Central and South, Aldridge Manor, by election, Cheap tat, Closure, Councillors, cuts, Facebook, Independent, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Linda Mason, local blogs, Local History, Local politics, planning, Politics, Public Meeting, Redevelopment, Silly, sold, Tom Ansell, Twitter, Walsall, Walsall Council, Walsall politics, Youth Club
14 Comments
Brownhills Big Saturday!
Hey – if you’re looking out for stuff to do today (Saturday, 10th August 2013), look no further than Brownhills Activity Centre (The old Central Boy’s School, or Annex to my generation) and Holland Park, opposite.
Posted in Brownhills stuff, Clayhanger stuff, Environment, Events, Fun stuff to see and do, Just plain daft, Local media, News, Reader enquiries, Shared media, Social Media, Spotted whilst browsing the web, Walsall community, Walsall Council, Walsall Wood stuff
Tagged 10th August 2013, activities centre, Annex, BCA, Brownhills, Brownhills community association, Clayhanger, Community Fun Day, Events, Facebook, fun day, Holland Park, Its a knockout, Lichfield, Ranjiy Kaur, Shire Oak, Silly, Things to do, Walsall Area Partnerships, Walsall Council, Walsall Housing Group
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