At this time of year, as Autumn slides intractably into winter and the nights draw in, the nature of my cycling changes. Rather than the longer dayrides of the summer, I embark on shorter rides around more local haunts. The sunsets, twilights and night views provide different photographic subject matter to that of my summertime excursions. At this time of year I frequent Cannock Chase, central Staffordshire and the area to the east of Tamworth.

You may have noticed by now that I’ve got a bit of a fascination with Rugeley power station. I make no apologies for the fact that I find it beautiful and fascinating, particularly at night. The facility represents the triumphalism and scale of the post-war infrastructure boom of the fifties, and the scale and belligerence of the industrial design never ceases to leave me speechless. Visible for miles, I find it endlessly wonderful to photograph.

'I dunno about you, but these starlings are really starting to take the piss...' Shenstone Park, Staffordshire 12:29pm, Sunday 15th November 2009

Dunstall church in the golden hour, Dunstall, Staffordshire 3:32pm, Sunday 15th November 2009

Rugeley Power Station and beyond from Hoar Cross, Staffordshire 4:11pm, Sunday 15th November 2009

Rugeley Power Station from the historic High Bridge, Handsacre, Staffordshire 4:49pm, Sunday 15th November 2009

Looking up the Trent Valley from Handsacre to Armitage, Staffordshire 4:52pm, Sunday 15th November 2009

]]> http://brownhillsbob.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/autumn-almanack/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:15:55 +0000 BrownhillsBob http://brownhillsbob.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/autumn-almanack/

Fallow deer in domestic garden, Kingsley Wood Road, Cannock Chase, 3:02pm, Sunday 25th October 2009

South Street, north of the old rifle range, Cannock Chase, 3:14pm, Sunday 25th October 2009

Fly agaric - the original spotted toadstool, Anglesey Branch Canal, 3:16pm, Saturday 31st October 2009

Wolseley Plain, Cannock Chase, 3:19pm, Sunday 25th October 2009

Don't touch that oilcan, Draycott Steam Party, Draycott-in-the-Clay, 2:00pm, Sunday 18th October 2009

Abraham's Valley, near Strawberry Hill, Cannock Chase, 3:22pm, Sunday 25th October 2009

Between Haywood Park and Haywood Slade, Cannock Chase, 3:41pm, Sunday 25th October 2009

Boletus fungus, Anglesey Basin, 3:21pm, Saturday 31 October 2009

The Avenue, Tixall, Staffordshire, 4:00pm, Sunday 25th October 2009

Carroway Head, near Canwell, 5:44pm, Sunday 4th October 2009

Rugeley Power Station from upstream, imperious at dusk, 5:09pm, Sunday 25th October 2009

Amb l’eina Panoramio hem fet l’exercici de situar en el mapa algunes fotos del nostre viatge a París. Ho podeu comprovar clicant en la imatge.

Non-cyclists find it hard to understand that cycling in the rain can be an enjoyable experience. With some waterproof clothing, and a little extra care, bad weather isn’t necessarily a problem. The rain this afternoon gave rise to some wonderfully contrasting views of sun and rain, autumnal colour, a rainbow and a gorgeous golden hour over the Swag and Ryders Hayes. It was so lovely I took the long way home…

Walsall Canal at Reedswood, 5:04pm, Thursday 22nd October 2009

Goscote Valley toward Pelsall, 5:15pm, Thursday 22nd October 2009

Brownhills and Shire Oak across Ryders Mere, 5:33pm, Thursday 22nd October 2009

Cada vez menos Webs y Blogs  se resisten a la tentación de insertar mapas de Google para localizar geográficamente la información que ofrecen. Desde páginas como Panoramio (que ofrecen una localización de las fotos de los usuarios y que fue comprada por Google), hasta otras menos conocidas como UFOStalket que informan de los últimos avistamientos de OVNI’s en el mundo.

Gracias a la facilidad de insertar un mapa que ofrece el uso de la API de Google, todo el mundo se lanza a geolocalizar las cosas más diversas. Algunas son muy inquietantes como Healthmap que alerta de la evolución de las epidemias y pandemias del mundo, o Earthquakes, que elabora un mapa con los movimientos sísmicos del planeta.

Otras nos informan del Tráfico Marítimo Mundial o del Tráfico en carreteras. También de rutas a pie o en bicicleta. O de ambas cosas a la vez como Wikiloc. Podemos buscar piso con Geoviviendas o repasar las guerras por las que ha pasado la humanidad a través de Conflicthistory.

Hay algunos con información algo más lúdica, de interés para parejas que no saben dónde dejarse caer. (sin comentarios)

En fin, que si conoces algúna página más donde ubicar espacios interesantes, utiliza un comentario para darlo a conocer.

Dumped in a field gateway: the remnants of somebody's life

Note the bag of coat hangers amongst the smashed furniture

The entire content of a home seems to be here

Next time you give something to one of the jolly tat-men who seem to proliferate the streets these days, or hire that handy bloke with a van (but no MOT) from that card in the newsagent’s window, think on this. Whilst cycling down Whitacre lane in Sandhills yesterday, I came upon this  dreadful sight. Flytipped in a field gateway, secluded  by a small copse and well out of view, the remnants of a house clearance dumped illegally. The dumped items seem to be almost the complete contents of the flat of an older person, from bags of wooden coat-hangers to a sofa and cutlery. The material was clearly dumped from an open truck, as it surrounds the sides and rear of a vehicle sized space, and the gate has been propped open with an old tire.

Did you pay some chancer to clear out Grannies flat? Did it enter your mind to consider why they did it for fifty quid in cash? Ever wonder what happens to the plastic bits on the fridge you just gave to the tatters? It all gets dumped like this. These people are operating illegally, have no morals and are trashing our back lanes and laybys to make the price of a pint. Not far away, in Gravelly Lane, there’s a dumped pallet of asbestos roofing. Elsewhere, I saw old cookers, domestic refuse and piles of rubble, all discarded by the pond scum that evolved in the shallow end of our gene-pool.

When you call people in to remove waste or carry out work on your property, check they have a waste transfer licence. Use real companies, with a published address – or go to the local tip… there’s identifying material in this heap, and not only the tippers will be prosecuted, but the people who hired them. It’s a prosecutable offence to give rubbish or scrap to an unlicensed operator, whatever the circumstances.

I’ve reported this on the excellent fixmystreet.com who have notified the appropriate council. I recommend you do the same for any such tipping you see. It’s easy and free.

People make excuses for this behaviour, they say the tips are too restrictive, that commercial waste should be free, and all kinds of other justifications for those who would defecate in their own drinking water. There is a simpler explanation; these people are the dregs of society, with no respect for their environment, for others, or the law. They’re lower than a snake’s knees and don’t deserve to live among civilised human beings.

]]> http://santcugatenimatges.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/sant-cugat-509-imatges-publicades-a-panoramio/ Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:49:53 +0000 sant cugat en imatges http://santcugatenimatges.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/sant-cugat-509-imatges-publicades-a-panoramio/

Sant Cugat en imatges, Arxiu amb 509 fotografies (publicades a Panoramio)

Sant Cugat en imatges Monestir images Monastery imagenes Monasterio

Lovely weather lately. Chilly evenings, great sunsets. Work calls, but some great commutes; it’s a bumper season for fruits of all kinds; the trees are laden with conkers, sweet chestnuts and hawthorn berries. Hedgerows glisten with ripe fruit of all varieties, and in villages, roadside trestles seem laden with surplus marrows and plums. Soon, it’ll be winter, and I’ll return to the Chase for dusk rides and frosty walks, but for now the lanes of Staffordshire enthral with their seasonal transformation.

You know the drill; click on any photo to see it in Panoramio.

Shute Hill, Chorley, 3.18pm, Saturday 12th September 2009

Far Hoar Cross, Staffordshire, 5.42pm, Saturday 12th September 2009

Wychnor Church and lone hot air balloon, viewed from the A38 River Trent Bridge, 6:27pm, Saturday 12th September 2009

Crossing the Trent & Mersey, 6:47pm, Saturday 12th September 2009

Farm track, near Sudbury, 4:10pm, Sunday 20th September 2009

Quando c’è necessità di caricare delle foto su internet, gli utenti novizi incontrano le prime difficoltà. Spesso il formato non è riconosciuto, è troppo grande, vi sono limitazioni per la dimensione dell’immagine, ecc.

FastStone Photo Resizer è un nuovo software che ridimensiona una vasta mole di immagini in pochi secondi, trasformandole in formati più leggeri, piccoli, ideali per facebook, flickr, panoramio e tanti altri network.

Per far partire una conversione occorre creare un batch con le immagini da trascinare all’interno dell’area di modifica. Poi, si preme il tasto Convert, accompagnato da una simpatica freccia di colore verde, et voilà!

I noticed last weekend that some odd, low fencing had sprung up around the dam at Chasewater. At first, I thought it was a rabbit-proof fence (the  material is actually buried at he base) and when I enquired at the Innovation Centre, I was incorrectly told it was about bracken control.

They look even odder in reality. Chasewater last weekend...

I should have known that the excellent Chasewater Wildlife Group would have the straight dope on this odd occurrance; from their diary, they state the following:

14th September 2009

‘Over the past week the south end of the dam has been covered with a maze of newt traps which are designed to capture newts migrating to their hibernation areas. Before works start on the dam it must be seen that all efforts have been made to protect any Great Crested Newts.’

And also, looks like work on the dam is moving forward:

16th September 2009

‘The sluice was fully opened this afternoon as a test prior to the planned November drawdown to allow work on the dam to commence at the start of 2010.’

Thanks, guys, that’s really informative and rather fascinating. I’d be interested in more details, if you’ve got them, like who is actually monitoring the newt situation, and what would they do with any evacuees? It’d also be nice if somebody could inform the desk staff at the Innovation Centre the correct facts of the situation. They often aren’t informed of the happenings in the park and they’re the public’s first port of call, as rangers are understandably, not that publicly visible.

Taka oto stronka która działa na bazie polskich miast (baza mysql + apache) oraz pobiera fotki przez xml z panoramio.com

Took a short ride along the old railway line across Ryders Hayes today, and off to Walsall, returning along the Daw End Branch through Aldridge – mostly following the excellent, traffic-free National Cycle Route 5. Don’t let anybody tell you there’s no wildlife here in Walsall; in the stretch from the Swag (The marsh between the old Railway and the Pelsall Road) and Ryecroft cemetery alone I saw no less than four herons – mostly in the environs of the Ford Brook, and eight in total. They stand as a testament to the cleanliness of the water they fish from – in my youth the water was so poisonous that one rarely saw any trace of life. On this dull, autumnal Sunday, I also saw a couple of foxes, various wildfowl and a rather irritable badger…

These pictures aren’t of the standard of The Edditer’s recent Heron, but they’ll do for now. When I was a kid the very idea of seeing these elegant birds in Goscote would have been unthinkable. Click on the pictures to see them in Panoramio, which will also show the location where they were taken.

The Swag, from the old railway line, 5:03pm Sunday 13th September 2009

Goscote Valley, south of Harden Road, 5:24pm Sunday 13th September 2009

Goscote Valley, north of Cartbridge Crscent, 5:29pm Sunday 13th September 2009

There’s an odd bit of engineering in the Goscote Valley, on the north side of the Harden Road. At a spot just through the kissing gate, a little to the east of the pedestrian crossing where the cycle route 5 crosses the road, there is a point where an unnamed stream crosses the Ford Brook by means of a shallow, low aqueduct. I’ve known about if for 15 years or more, and when I first saw it, the upper stream didn’t overflow into the lower as it does today. I’d love to know why such pains were taken to keep these two watercourses apart. [Howmuch] heard a rumour years ago that there was a tannery feeding waste water into the upper flow, and the polluted water was kept apart from the Ford Brook, one of the rises of the Tame. That sounds feasible, as the stream does seem to flow toward the sewage works at Goscote. If you know anything, please do comment. It’s a particularly curious, and has puzzled me ever since I first noticed it.

The crossing of two streams... an unusaual arrangement in Goscote Valley

]]> http://brownhillsbob.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/positively-silver-street/ Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:36:59 +0000 BrownhillsBob http://brownhillsbob.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/positively-silver-street/

It was a lovely day yesterday, and I took the opportunity to pay a second visit to the relaunched Brownhills Market on my way out for a ride in the early autumn warmth. I was pleased to see that the market appears to be bedding in, and was indeed expanded and busier, even at 2:00pm when I visited, quite late in the day. There was only one empty pitch, and the clothes stalls seem to be returning.

Swinging out up Silver Street, I noted a fun day in progress at the Canoe and Outdoor centre, so popped in to take a look – there was a busy little bric-a-brac fete with food and games, and a plastic duck race was taking place. I didn’t actually get to see how that worked on the generally millpond-like canal, but all concerned seemed to be having fun…

Followed by a spin up to Hoar Cross and Tatenhill, it was an enjoyable ride with only an unusually large quantity of idiot driving to detract from the day. Cracking stuff!

Fruit stalls still seemed to be doing well

The market was much busier than on the relaunch day...

I really like the new, wide aisles

The meat van has been a staple of the market for years

It's great to see outdoor activities for kids, the canoe centre is a real asset to Brownhills

The fun day at the centre was in full swing

Duck racing, what was your number?

http://www.panoramio.com/
http://www.panoramio.com/blog/
Panoramio is a geolocation-oriented photo sharing website. Currently, some of the photos uploaded to the site can be accessed as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps, with new photos being added at the end of every month. The site’s goal is to allow Google Earth users to learn more about a given area by viewing the photos that other users have taken at that place. The website is available in several languages.

History
Panoramio was started in the summer of 2005 by Joaquín Cuenca Abela and Eduardo Manchón Aguilar, two Spanish entrepreneurs. It was officially launched on October 3, 2005, and by March 19, 2007, it had archived over 1 million user submitted photographs. Three months later, on June 27, 2007, the number of photos reached two million. After a further four months, on October 25, 2007, the number of archived photos reached five million.
On May 30, 2007, Google announced plans to acquire the website, and Panoramio was acquired by Google on July 2007.
Google Maps API has recently been used by some other websites like Everytrail.com, Globalmotion.com, twip.org, Wolpy.com and Wikiexplora to allow users upload and geotag their photos and by Mapyro.com to allow users upload and geotag travel videos.
Features

Organization
Panoramio asks users to organize images using tags (a form of metadata), which allow searchers to find images concerning a certain topic such as place name or subject matter. Panoramio was also an early website to implement tag clouds, which provide access to images tagged with the most popular keywords. The website also hosts a list of world famous sites.
Images that have (or are perceived to have) as their central subject people, machines, vehicles or anything within the interiors of structures, or depict public events such as fairs or concerts, are excluded from the GoogleEarth layer, as are any potentially controversial images. No waivers are granted even if the images are historical or otherwise vintage in nature. Images judged to be too creative or “artsy” in concept might also be excluded from GoogleEarth regardless of other requirements met.

Interaction and compatibility
Licensing
Panoramio allows photo contributors to choose the license type of their photos. Contributors choose to keep all the rights as author or to give some of them using Creative Commons licenses.

One by one, these dwellings have fallen into disuse...

This is a heads up, and also an appeal for information. These dilapidated dwellings are located on Brownhills Road at Street’s Corner, opposite the Walsall Wood school – you can see their actual location from the picture’s Panoramio page, accessed by clicking on the image above. The two houses in the centre – 20 and 22 – have been derelict for a very long time, and have had several fires during their period of decline. The block with the passageway, on the right hand side were converted a decade or so ago into flats, and now appear to be completely empty, save for the single, ivy-covered house at the end. Bizarrely, the white half of the building on the left also appears to be still in use.

I’m interested in the history of this situation – who owns these houses, and why have they been left to rot? Are they all in the possession of the same owner? I’m aware that in 2006 a planning application was submitted and refused to build two blocks of apartments on the site of the grey house in the middle (06/0256/FL/E4), but there appears to be nothing else indicated for the site. In a time when affordable housing is in such short supply, this looks to me like a terrible waste, as well as being an eyesore and a magnet for vandals.

I’m prompted to ask, because a couple of weeks ago, I noted a group of besuited men clustered round a high value sports car on the pavement right outside these buildings, clearly discussing them. Is something about to happen?

That’d be brownhillsbob at googlemail dot com, in confidence if you prefer. Cheers.

I find through my Panoramio gallery that a pub I feared was lost for good – The Swan, up on the Pelsall Road – has since reopened. After initially restarting with an interim management a few weeks ago, this comfy, welcoming hostelry is now in the very capable hands of Lynne & Vic, who previously ran the George and Dragon in Clayhanger, where they developed a great reputation.

All are welcome for a selection of ales and spirits in a warm, welcoming family atmosphere, so I’m sure all you readers will join with me in wishing Lynne and Vic well in their new enterprise. I look forward to a second review on PubBlog, as I’m sure that Stymaster won’t leave a new prospect unsampled for long!

See you there…

Today, along with a considerable number of my fellow Brownhillians, I visited the relaunched Brownhills Market. Due to family stuff, I didn’t get there until 12pm, but it looked like it had been fairly busy – and the gridlock happening on the Tesco car park attested to this. Coming down into Pier Street from the pedestrian bridge, my heart sank when my eyes alighted on a trestle table under the trees on Pier Street – after all that was the modus operandi of the pirate DVD sellers. I was, however, pleased to note that the pitch belonged to Walsall Trading Standards. Whether erecting their stall there was a deliberately ironic gesture or a chronic lack of historical awareness I couldn’t tell, but they seemed to be doing brisk business explaining how to spot fake trainers and jeans to passers by. As this is a subject that I suspect many of the local teenagers are far better qualified in than the officers concerned, I found it quite amusing, but all power to them.

There was an impressive mingling of council officials, trading standards, reporters from the Express & Star and even a couple  of coppers at one point – one must assume they were lost and had stopped for directions. I even noted Walsall Council’s publicity officer, Dan Slee, who must be the first person in internet history to actually look like his twatter avatar, except that in real life I don’t think Dan is overly concerned that anyone might call him weedy.

The market was quite a bit smaller and occupied a more compact area than the original, and worryingly, some stalls remained vacant. It was also clear that some traders needed to get used to the new style of stall without a fixed roof, the stalls that were without a cover gave a peculiarly ‘open’ feel.  Business was quite brisk, with a steady flow of people wandering round, and there seemed to be a reasonably wide diversity of stalls – household stuff, clothes, mobile phone accessories, butchers, shoes, car accessories, food and even computer consumables. There were a couple of confectionary stalls to satisfy my craving for jelly sweets.

If the momentum can be maintained – and it’s going to require plenty of publicity and good policing, just like there was today – I think there’s every chance that the facility will grow and improve. The atmosphere was quite good, the aisles broad and airy, with a relaxed feel. If the past reputation can be conquered – and that will require plenty of plugging in the media – then there’s ample potential to restore a bit of bounce back into Brownhills. The High Street was noticeably busier today. Lets hope it continues.

Clicking on any of the photos below will open them in Panoramio.

Good to see they fixed those floodlights!

The aisles are quite spacious...

I was concerned to note that some stalls were vacant.

Fruit and veg seemed to be doing well.

A steady flow of shoppers ebbed through the site...

The area of the new market is quite a bit smaller.

It was good to see some of the old favourites.

Boarded up and left to decay: The Old Corner House is a surprisingly large building

Further to my post ‘The pubs we’ve lost‘, I noticed a couple of weekends ago that the Old Corner House Hotel, formerly The Muckley Corner Inn, had closed and was boarded up. Last weekend, I got chance to photograph it, it’s a huge site – it must have been quite a business in its day. Positioned in the middle of nowhere, it stands on the traffic island that forms the junction of the A5 and A461. It’s always mystified me as to how the pub got enough trade to survive – it wasn’t in a particularly attractive spot and there was no local trade to speak of, the only custom being drivers passing. It did function as a hotel and Italian restaurant for some time, but I’ve never noticed it being particularly busy. Oddly, it’s not a house I’ve ever had a drink in.

Lets hope something can be done with it. Perhaps those nice people at The Lichfield Blog have some more information about the situation there?

The poor weather continues. Today was a traditional bank holiday, featuring traditional bank holiday weather – overcast with  sharp sqaully showers and windy. I still got out around Cannock Chase, and even on a dull day, Staffordshire is full of beautiful views. Everywhere is spectacularly green right now. Here’s to an Indian Summer…

Click on any of the images to open them in Panoramio.

The view of Hammerwich (Lichfield Cathederal just visible on the horizon) from the Anglesey Branch Canal, Brownhills, 2:52pm Monday 31st August 2009

Abraham's Valley, between Rifle Range Corner and Seven Springs, Cannock Chase, 4:41pm Monday 31st August 2009

Summerhouse Avenue, Tixall Estate, 5:14pm 31st August 2009

Hoo Mill Bridge during a short shower, 5:24pm 31st August 2009

Looking South to Cannock Chase and Pye Green from Newton, Blithfield, 6:01pm 31st August 2009