Fisherman’s blues

This afternoon, while passing the new fisherman sculpture erected on the canal towpath beside Walsall Wood bridge I noted that it had already been vandalised. The fish that so vulnerably dangled from the end of the silhouette’s rod had been stolen. My views on vandalism in these parts are well known, and I shan’t reiterate them here, but I would just like to point out that whilst the artist, Luke Perry, may be a charismatic and talented craftsman, he clearly understands little of human nature. To hang a trophy like that fish, at a reachable and tantalising distance from a bridge parapet as it was, is just an invitation to take it. Indeed, I’d call the positioning naive. We used to televise challenges like that and call them ‘The Krypton Factor’.

Needless to say, if you know of some scallywag that’s suddenly become the proud owner of a large, metallic fish without very good reason, it may be a good idea to call the local police.

Let’s hope there’s a bit of a rethink before they splash out on a replacement piscine pendant….

The one that got away... barely 4 days after unveiling, the catch of the day was snatched away. 4:54pm, Tuesday 9th February 2010

Hanging folorn, the perils of using low guage fishing twine are evident.

Facade66's photo of how the artwork looked when unveiled. Note the copper coloured fish hanging from the line.

Thanks to Facade66 for the use of his photo, you’re a gent, and a scholar. Check out his Panoramio gallery, it’s fantastic…

Reality bites

Click on image for readable version - From the Express & Star, Monday 8th February 2010

I noted this evening with sadness but no surprise that both the Express & Star and the YamYam continue to ponder over the fate of Brownhills market, now undoubtedly in the death throes, pretty much like the town itself.

What I was not prepared for, however, was the shock that jarred my not indelicate sensibilities when I read some of the opinions of our elected representatives concerning the issue. It seems that several years after the terminal decline of our once-bustling town commenced, some people have stopped whistling in the dark and have finally noticed that we’re up shit creek, without a paddle to our name.

The market is failing currently for a number of reasons – many people still think it’s closed, as it was for eight weeks during the awkward interregnum between the council axing it under Spook Erection’s auspices and resurrecting it belatedly under their own. That indecision – now historically airbrushed by the press office as the Council bravely stepping in, even though they killed it – did a huge amount of damage. People read of the death of the attraction, and never came back. Upon reopening in September – a full two months after it was closed over the height of the summer, when business would have been greatest – the Council generated a positive maelstrom of publicity. There was talk of three days a week, resurrecting the free busses – but barely two months later, they weren’t even mentioning it in their market seasonal opening hours releases. In short, they went cold on the project, and it withered.

Rents were far too high, and there was no incentive for traders to stay. By the time those in charge realised they had a serious problem, it was too late. With stalls dwindling in number, the market withered to nothing. Part of the problem was almost certainly that problems with Walsall Market clearly distracted from those in Brownhills, but even still, this has been an unmitigated disaster.

I note in this article on the YamYam last week, the cabinet member in charge of Regeneration, Councillor Adrian Andrew, remarkably branded the traders who’d gone elsewhere ’selfish’, as well as vowing to continue beating the dead horse mercilessly. Is he not aware that these people do what they do to make a living? If Mr. Andrew would like to drop rents to a peppercorn for a few weeks, he might stand a chance, but I’d suggest there’s more likelihood of Mike Bird cracking a smile. I’m no captain of industry, but the best way to rebuild bridges doesn’t seem to be to insult your traders. Little wonder that the only difference between Brownhills and the Titanic seems to have been the presence of a band.

Meanwhile, somewhat astoundingly, the normally exuberantly optimistic Councillor Barbara Cassidy seems to have become tired of arranging deck chairs on the stricken ship, and seems to be making preparations to leave the vessel by her own means. In tonight’s article, reproduced above, she asserts correctly that ‘The whole of Brownhills High Street is a massive problem’ and that ‘…there are 26 fast food outlets… people aren’t coming to Brownhills because there’s naff all to buy’. Whilst I welcome the sudden outbreak of reality in civic quarters, I can’t help wondering where Mrs. Cassidy has been for the past 15 years. Surely it was the council who granted licenses to those outlets? Take a look at our High Street. Partially block paved, critically not where the pavements are roughest; a deserted, decaying central precinct. Empty shops mingle with patches of unkempt wasteland, peopled by loafing groups of drunk, disaffected youths. Weeds sprout round street furniture, and the only shops doing good business seem to be bookies, off-licenses and fast food merchants. Even the charity shops have started to close up.

I went to purchase a cycling magazine just before Christmas from the town’s newsagent, only to find that the copy they had in stock dated from the previous October. If Brownhills wants custom, it has to meet us half way. I found it kind of symbolic.

The municipal neglect evidenced in Brownhills should serve as a warning to other, more prosperous satellites of Walsall, such as Bloxwich and Willenhall. It is through municipal neglect that we’ve come to this forlorn place – this didn’t start with the downturn, but the recession of the early eighties. There’s clearly no development direction for Brownhills, as is amply demonstrated by the likes of the McWarreners saga – now looking even worse as a car wash that it did in abandonment. We’ve only just started to get stuff built on the site of housing demolished 6 years ago, and huge swathes of the town are just scrub. Where there were homes – and customers – there are now weeds, and no plans to replace them with the bricks and mortar of community. Why has been allowed to happen? When the hateful flats in Pleck were demolished, there was rebuilding almost straight away. A huge amount of store was clearly invested at a civic level in the almost mythical new Tesco Development, which still seems to be stumbling. Every doomed ‘consultation’ – be it about bypasses or wider redevelopment issues – chews up time but achieves nothing. These things – coupled with greater social mobility – have contributed to the great decline of a once thriving town.

This is why I rail about the likes of the Walsall Wood pit head; we’ve got a miner that was going to stand as a symbol of regeneration and pride, yet with pick and lamp in hand, I suspect him to be more Ozymandias than optimist. Perhaps that’s why he’s gazing out of town, maybe like so many others, he’s making plans to desert Brownhills, and frankly, I wouldn’t blame him if he did.

Don’t forget…

There’s a big do on today in Walsall Wood, to mark the unveiling/opening of our new public art – the pit head and sculptures in the High Street. My views on this exercise in white-elephantine wastage are well known and I shan’t reiterate them here. It looks like there’s free food and entertainment, and if you should find yourself stood next to an unusually smug councillor do try not to be rude and ask why so many of our day centres are closing.

Free food - that'll pack 'em in. Sensible insurance...

New cycle hire and shop at Chasewater!

I noticed today that a new bike shop had opened in the craft centre at Chasewater. ChaswaterCycle offer cycle hire, parts, accessories, energy food and the like, as well as selling a range of bikes from Kona, Genesis, Ridgeback and more. Talking to the chap there (sorry, didn’t get his name) I was impressed that he was passionate about bikes and was a cyclist himself – too many people in the trade don’t ride themselves. He had some great, interesting views, a nice store with great potential, and a positive, can-do attitude. If you’re up that way, do pop in.

Kids love riding in a trailer...

Cycles can be hired from £7 an hour to £30 for the whole day, plus the standard returnable deposit. I note that they also offer children’s bikes, kids’ trailers, tag-alongs and copilot seats, so there are options for the whole family. If you’re thinking about getting into cycling you could do far worse than give these guys a try.

Chasewater has been crying out for such a facility, and I wish all concerned well. I have no connection with them, I just admired the cut of their jib.

I can’t possibly match this – The Hippo strikes back

I was going to wax lyrical about Walsall’s new member for leisure, recently elected to replace the hapless previous incumbent, Barry Sanders. However, it seems that the some-time commenter in these parts has beaten me to it, with such a brilliant job that there’s nothing more to say. I can heartily recommend the rest of his blog, too.

Roll up…roll up…roll over… « The Plastic Hippo.

You’re doing a cracking job. To the Plastic Hippo, I doff my cap.

Reservoir dogged

I note from the local press that the saga of Michael Fabricant, Lichfield Council and the amazing failing dam continue unabated. Coverage has ranged from the plaintive screech of the frankly alarmist to the more measured, with some excellent coverage by the Lichfield Blog. Michael Fabricant chose to reply to me personally on this article, to which I have responded I include the exchange here as I feel the debate needs to take place in as wide an arena as possible.

Chasewater has been at a very low level for months

Meanwhile, back in the real word, there have been updates to Lichfield Council’s Chasewater Dam Blog, and this week the valves were opened for the final draining of the lake before work commences in the spring.

Michael Fabricant says:

4th February, 2010 at 6:02 pm

Brownhills Bob makes his point in his usual unpleasant (and inaccurate) way. The fact is the Council gave me all the information which I duly passed on – without exaggeration or change in any way – to the Prime Minister and the media. If he doesn’t like it, complain to them. All the estimates of damage and loss of life arising from a breach in the dam are that provided by the Council’s own consulting engineers. Bob doesn’t like it and neither do I. But unlike Bob, I believe the truth should not be hidden from view. (I experienced enough of that when I worked in the Soviet Union back in the 80s!)

BrownhillsBob says:

5th February, 2010 at 1:29 am

Right, lets cut the cobblers, and address a few points here. i’ll address the member personally, if I may.

I’ve been tracking progress of this issue for months on Brownhills Blog.

As I have stated all along, I believe Lichfield Council should be helped with the cost of the dam upgrade. This shouldn’t come directly from the government, but from the partners with an interest, like British Waterways. I believe the way to achieve this is always through quiet diplomacy, rather than scaremongering.

Michael, (I) would be grateful if you and your mates at the council would credit some of the observers of this melee with the technical skill and ability to understand what’s going on with the dam. I’ve seen the report; there is next to no danger of the dam bursting in the immediate term. If there had been any such danger, that lake would have been drained quicker than you could say controversy – as it is, a low water level has been maintained for the past 18 months or so, and planned work is ongoing, with the drawdown having commenced this week. Engineers are in charge of this. They know what they’re doing.

All earth dams leak, and erosion is an understood, controllable effect. Upgrades to the retention structures at Chasewater are necessary and desirable, as they are with several hundred other such facilities in the country. These works will ensure continued safety in the event of freak weather events, and provide many years of further service for this important reservoir. That the report recommending them contained the very worst case scenarios does not mean they’re impending, likely or probable.Your histrionic, alarmist statements about scores being killed contributed nothing whatsoever to rational debate on the subject, and instead have caused alarm and distress to a good many local residents, whilst achieving a predictably negative response from the government.

Since your ill-advised cry of ‘Fire’, my blog has been continually hit by searches based on terms like ‘Chasewater death toll’, ‘Chasewater dam burst’ and the like. At no point did you consider it necessary to point out to your distressed and incredulous audience that the works were due to start as planned, exactly has they had been for months, and that there was no real cause for panic. Instead, the local press, TV and other media parroted your shrill mantra that doom was a hairs-breadth away. This was neither sensible or productive.

In the midst of this manufactured storm, you chose to play party politics, which was also regrettable. I suspect the faux-hurt you claim to feel was more to do with the precision of the uncharacteristically observant snipe by Gordon Brown to you at question time. I suspect the Christian Aid lot have been pushing him steroids, he’s normally as sharp as a marble.

You’ve wheeled out a lot of hairy old chestnuts in this affair, including lofty accusations of inaccuracy addressed at myself and Steve Norman, but never actually pointing them out; you’ve made loft allusions to the USSR and also a claim that you’re only repeating what you’ve been told. I note you’ve also wheeled out the tired ‘lurkers support me in private’ defence, which didn’t work on Usenet in 1996, nor on web fora in 2003 and it certainly doesn’t wash here. Anecdote isn’t evidence, so please don’t insult our intelligence.

I suspect you’ve probably done more harm than good, but your modus operandi has always been to sensationalise. I wish LDC well in their attempts to get assistance with this project, but scare tactics are ill advised, misjudged and regrettable, particularly to those of us who do indeed cherish the concept of truth.

I thank the Lichfield Blog for allowing me the space to post this lengthy reply, which will also appear on the Brownhills Blog (just click my name at the top of this post).

Best wishes

Bob

Winter colour

I’ve been thinking for a while that it’s about time we had a photo update. As this particularly cold winter draws on, I have come to reflect on some of the photos I took over the Christmas period. As is usual for my photography at this time of year, my subjects have been predominantly dark, but it’s surprising just how much colour can be present in this, the coldest and cruelest of seasons. Heres to Spring, lighter evenings, green shoots and warmer days.

Night ride home, Hilliard's Cross, overlooking the A38 south, 4:37pm, Saturday 12th December 2009

Red frame, white light. Blithbury, Staffordshire, 4:57pm, Wednesday, 23rd December 2009

New moon on Monday, Hints, Staffordshire, 4:57pm, Sunday 20th December 2009

The next service may be subject to delay, Chester Road, Shire Oak, 9:52pm, Tuesday 29th December 2009

Return to the Fauld, Coton-in-the-Clay, Derbyshire, 3:06pm, 26th December 2009

A full head of steam, Handsacre, Staffordshire, 5:17pm, Wednesday, 23rd December 2009

A deserted, frozen Chasewater, Staffordshire, 11:16am, Saturday 2nd January 2010

Are you happy now?

I never liked yellow anyway.

It was with sadness today that I noticed that the hoarding surrounding the Housing21 development by Anchor Bridge has been repainted, obliterating the vibrant, fun street art mural created by local kids during the summer. Whilst I have no idea what the reason was, I sincerely hope it wasn’t due to the high-pitched whinging by an overly vocal minority of the town’s finest moaners. The fun, bright artwork was a talking point, a burst of colour in an otherwise drab urban landscape, has now been replaced by a vivid, migraine inducing yellow that seems sure to form a delightful blank canvas to the less creative numpties that seem to continue daubing the town unchallenged.

It’s a shame that whilst the work of moronic Malpas continues to go unerased (Walsall Council don’t seem to care much about that), a true creative, collaborative enterprise has been removed. What better way to destroy any belief these kids may have developed in themselves, their community or indeed in authority itself than to destroy a thing that they worked very hard on and must have been rightly proud of. Well done guys, I bet your mothers are proud of you.

At least Marjorie will be happy.

Spotted by Pier Street pedestrian Bridge, Christmas Eve, 2009. An entire community wishes the ice had been thinner...

On a related note, a female companion of Mr. Malpas actually left a somewhat foul mouthed comment here some time ago defending him: clearly none too bright, she used her real email address which just happens to contain her name. So if you’re reading this, Miss Neville, you spell ‘wanker’ with an ‘er’, not ‘aa’.  You may also have meant ‘absolutely’ instead of ‘apsolutly’. Kids today, eh?

Tesco Brownhills: A planning application at last. Sort of.

Our town's aging retail emporium. Photo by Adrian Rothery.

This is just a short post to point out that there’s recently been a planning application submitted (Walsall planning application number: 09/1832/FL) relating to the Tesco Store in Brownhills, but it’s not what one might expect. Indeed, it’s rather surprising. Spotted by a keen-eyed reader, the retail giant has applied for planning permission to erect a generator system on the roof of the existing store.

The application – submitted just before last Christmas – concerns the installation of a fairly large Combined Heat and Power unit, the explanation of which can be found here (PDF file, Adobe Reader required) in documents submitted along with the proposal. In essence, it’s an engine-driven electrical generator, the exhaust gasses of which can either be used to provide hot water or drive refrigeration equipment.

Given that we were being led to expect news of a new development in by the company in Brownhills, it seems a little odd that Tesco should consider spending what must be a considerable sum of money to install plant at a supposedly life-expired store. I note the literature suggests this equipment can pay for itself ‘in as little as two years’. Hmmm.

If anyone has any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me in confidence; brownhillsbob at googlemail dot com.

Another local history challenge: Any ideas?

I have just discovered that Google Mail includes an anti-spam feature I wasn’t aware of. Lurking within said spam folder – siting uncomfortably with spam for pharmaceuticals of dubious provenance and fake watches, was this enquiry, sent to me on the 1st January. To Graham, I can only apologise. Now I know it’s there’ I’ll try and rake out the spam folder on a regular basis, to prevent such things falling through the cracks.

Dear Bob,

My grandfather Henry Harrison was a miner living in Walsall Wood (the old school house on Beech Tree Road, see picture attached). His father was William Harrison, who is described in the 1911 Census as a “night rail foreman” with the U.D.C., living at Salters Road. He was born in Dodderhill, Droitwich–if I’m reading the original entry correctly. I haven’t been able to trace his move from Droitwich to Walsall Wood so far. I imagine that perhaps the majority of residents of Walsall Wood were newcomers to the area, for the coal mines. Most of my relations on both sides of the family were miners.

Is there any way in which I can get in touch with the U.D.C. About possible employment records for this William Harrison (born about 1850)?

All the best,
Graham Harrison
County Donegal,
Ireland.

The old schoolhouse on Beechtree Road, residence of Henry Harrison as sent by grandson Graham.

I would respectfully suggest that Graham gets in touch with Stuart Williams at Walsall Local History Centre – they can be contacted on +44 1922 721305, and are an invaluable source of such information.

If any blog readers have anything to contribute, please don’t hesitate. I know I have a few readers from The Wood, and your input could well be invaluable.