Not that i want to get onto the nostalgia hyperlocal thang again but one reason i love living here is despite living in the Second City i am only about ten minutes drive away from farmland. Quiet country lanes that were delightful on a sunny day like today but no doubt a nightmare in the dark. Today i went a-wandering around a few country lanes in-between Minworth and Curdworth. I got plenty of worth out of that and took some nice photographs.
Other than that it has been an uneventful day. I did see an airship in the distance which appeared to be over North central Birmingham for some reason. I was surprised how fast the airship can move. This puts me in mind of a story idea i once had for an Edwardian adventure involving zeppelins hunting people down.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Growing chimneys?
As well as walking the bridleways of medieval England i also did some gardening. I sowed some chives seeds though their "use by" date was 2008 so i would be surprised if much sprouts. The biggest project today was to install the first of three chimney pots i am going to place in the garden as some kind of feature.
The chimneys come from my own house, when i had a roofer some and do some work on the roof (which will no doubt fail miserably to last the 5 year guarantee as usual, but i'd have lost his details long before then as usual) i had the chimneys replaced by aluminum pots. The roofer gave me some bull shit about them being too heavy for the roof but i agreed to that aspect of the job as i wanted those old clay pots for the garden! Mind you they are quite heavy.
So here is the first installed, i shall have something flowery hanging out of it at some stage. Its next to a plot of sowed lavender seeds so if that comes up then it will be a jolly nice part of the garden. Hope springs eternal. My radish plot are sprouting though so you never know, i suspect there is more chance of growing some baby chimney pots though.
The chimneys come from my own house, when i had a roofer some and do some work on the roof (which will no doubt fail miserably to last the 5 year guarantee as usual, but i'd have lost his details long before then as usual) i had the chimneys replaced by aluminum pots. The roofer gave me some bull shit about them being too heavy for the roof but i agreed to that aspect of the job as i wanted those old clay pots for the garden! Mind you they are quite heavy.
So here is the first installed, i shall have something flowery hanging out of it at some stage. Its next to a plot of sowed lavender seeds so if that comes up then it will be a jolly nice part of the garden. Hope springs eternal. My radish plot are sprouting though so you never know, i suspect there is more chance of growing some baby chimney pots though.
Bridleways of England
It being a bright and sunny day i had a most enjoyable walk along a public bridleway between the Tamworth Road and Withy Hill on the edge of Sutton Coldfield. Of course i took my camera with me and you can see the photos here.
This is all Merry old England of course, i imagined myself a Gentleman of the road... oh wait that means a tramp. How about an honest Yeoman? Thats better. A Yeoman traveling along the hedgerows and ancient trees of the local Lord. My life in a knapsack, the ground for a bed and the stars for a blanket. Hmm we're verging on vagrant territory again. Well anyway something like that. Traditional, nostalgic and romantic... without being a tramp. Aha i got it...
Some way along the bridleway i came across a lonely house hidden amid a mini forest. I wonder if this house was occupied, i would so love to live in a house like this. Hidden amid the trees with fields of corn and barley all around. At night you must get a reasonable view of the stars though the nearby M6 Toll means you could never escape endless road noise.
That matters not as you get plenty of the joyous sounds of nature. A flock of birds and maybe the occasional moo of a cow (not that any animals were around). I could imagine myself having an idyllic existence living in the fields. Probably get a rubbish broadband speed though.
Some way along the bridleway i came across a lonely house hidden amid a mini forest. I wonder if this house was occupied, i would so love to live in a house like this. Hidden amid the trees with fields of corn and barley all around. At night you must get a reasonable view of the stars though the nearby M6 Toll means you could never escape endless road noise.
That matters not as you get plenty of the joyous sounds of nature. A flock of birds and maybe the occasional moo of a cow (not that any animals were around). I could imagine myself having an idyllic existence living in the fields. Probably get a rubbish broadband speed though.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Hyperlocal nostalgia
It seems I am Mr Nostalgia as that tag on this young blog is now in the lead (and this post will increase that lead, natch). Actually earlier today i had a sudden feeling of nostalgia as i traveled to work maybe because its territory i have traveled so many thousands of times before.
Although i have traveled to the other side of the world quite a few times i have lived within the same Birmingham postcode area since 1975. Since 2000 in my own house but thats got a postcode only 2 letters away from my parents'. To makes matters worse (if indeed it is a problem) i have spent 15 years at Birmingham City University, my workplace, though the first 5 years as a student. Just for a bit of variety I did spend just over 5 years working in the city centre inbetween graduating and going to work at BCU.
So if you were to trace my movements over the last few decades on a map the lines between Erdington and Perry Barr would now be so thick it would no doubt tear the map or at least destroy the universe.
So why didn't i go anywhere? Although other people did, indeed my best friend now owns most of America, maybe i never felt the need. This is my "territory" that i inhabit. I travel through parts of Witton every day, not far from where my Mum was born. My grandfather worked at a mine in Hamstead so probably traveled through where BCU is located now everyday.
You see the family history is everywhere, i really should write a book on it one day. The church near the Villa ground is where my Nan got married and Mum was Christened. The Edward VII pub i often pass on the Lichfield Road used to one of the family's main hangouts before the war. In the ceremony that overlooks Perry Barr my grandfather and uncle were buried. Sometimes i walk on the playing fields next to the primary school i went to. To get to work every day i pass the site i failed my A levels. You see it just goes on and on.
I could in fact go on and on so shall. Some of my Nan's siblings were (according to the 1901 census) "rubber workers". Its reasonable to assume they worked at Dunlop. If i look out of the window to my right i can see the roof of... Fort Dunlop, now of course a swanky hotel and entertainment hub. When my Mum was young she stayed at an Aunt's for awhile. That Aunt lived in Pype Hayes, thats literally just up the road from where i live. In fact another Aunt is apparently buried in the churchyard just off Erdington High Street.
So this is where my ancestors lived and worked and now i am here too. It does maybe sound a rather insular existence though i am not like the proverbial peasant who never leaves his village. I like going to other places but i like to get back home afterwards much more. Its where i feel comfortable, maybe the only place. Perhaps this area is a magnet drawing me back after i have been dallying elsewhere. I can go away but quickly need to return and recharge.
Its memories, its heritage and it defines me. Nostalgia for a lifetime in one place. Hence i am Mr Nostalgia.
Although i have traveled to the other side of the world quite a few times i have lived within the same Birmingham postcode area since 1975. Since 2000 in my own house but thats got a postcode only 2 letters away from my parents'. To makes matters worse (if indeed it is a problem) i have spent 15 years at Birmingham City University, my workplace, though the first 5 years as a student. Just for a bit of variety I did spend just over 5 years working in the city centre inbetween graduating and going to work at BCU.
So if you were to trace my movements over the last few decades on a map the lines between Erdington and Perry Barr would now be so thick it would no doubt tear the map or at least destroy the universe.
So why didn't i go anywhere? Although other people did, indeed my best friend now owns most of America, maybe i never felt the need. This is my "territory" that i inhabit. I travel through parts of Witton every day, not far from where my Mum was born. My grandfather worked at a mine in Hamstead so probably traveled through where BCU is located now everyday.
You see the family history is everywhere, i really should write a book on it one day. The church near the Villa ground is where my Nan got married and Mum was Christened. The Edward VII pub i often pass on the Lichfield Road used to one of the family's main hangouts before the war. In the ceremony that overlooks Perry Barr my grandfather and uncle were buried. Sometimes i walk on the playing fields next to the primary school i went to. To get to work every day i pass the site i failed my A levels. You see it just goes on and on.
I could in fact go on and on so shall. Some of my Nan's siblings were (according to the 1901 census) "rubber workers". Its reasonable to assume they worked at Dunlop. If i look out of the window to my right i can see the roof of... Fort Dunlop, now of course a swanky hotel and entertainment hub. When my Mum was young she stayed at an Aunt's for awhile. That Aunt lived in Pype Hayes, thats literally just up the road from where i live. In fact another Aunt is apparently buried in the churchyard just off Erdington High Street.
So this is where my ancestors lived and worked and now i am here too. It does maybe sound a rather insular existence though i am not like the proverbial peasant who never leaves his village. I like going to other places but i like to get back home afterwards much more. Its where i feel comfortable, maybe the only place. Perhaps this area is a magnet drawing me back after i have been dallying elsewhere. I can go away but quickly need to return and recharge.
Its memories, its heritage and it defines me. Nostalgia for a lifetime in one place. Hence i am Mr Nostalgia.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Big Brother returns
Is this legit? It seems so. Big Brother bowed out with a slow drawn out fart last Summer on Channel 4 but has apparently been resurrected and will return on Channel 5 this Summer! To be honest i was a BB addict for the first few seasons. The first season started not long after i moved into my house and back then i didn't have Sky or cable so Big Brother filled the usual Summer TV void.
It was addictive viewing back then of course, the iconic Nasty Nick and later on Jade who became probably the only bona fide star out of Big Brother UK. For the first 3 or 4 series i watched religiously and could probably list every single housemate for you. I bought Dean's novel about being in the BB house (which is a jolly interesting read by the way). I even bought the first 2 series on DVD...
By about series 5 or 6 (its hard to remember now) my interest faded rather quickly and for the last few series i was content to just see the opening night and play housemate stereotype bingo. I did harbour a dream about being a housemate myself once, maybe thats still possible.
So this new series, i hope they take the opportunity to totally reboot the format, trying to bring Davina in for example would be a mistake (in my view Ch4 should have got rid of her after series 5). I wonder what we can expect from the new series, well apart from sleeze and inanity. I guess thats enough!
I did once plan a novel (or collection of short stories) based in the Big Brother house. In one story a gangster on the run from the police underwent plastic surgery and entered the house to establish his new personality. The police sent their own man in to try and work out who the gangster now was. I later reused that idea in my comic series as Dino Big Brother.
It was addictive viewing back then of course, the iconic Nasty Nick and later on Jade who became probably the only bona fide star out of Big Brother UK. For the first 3 or 4 series i watched religiously and could probably list every single housemate for you. I bought Dean's novel about being in the BB house (which is a jolly interesting read by the way). I even bought the first 2 series on DVD...
By about series 5 or 6 (its hard to remember now) my interest faded rather quickly and for the last few series i was content to just see the opening night and play housemate stereotype bingo. I did harbour a dream about being a housemate myself once, maybe thats still possible.
So this new series, i hope they take the opportunity to totally reboot the format, trying to bring Davina in for example would be a mistake (in my view Ch4 should have got rid of her after series 5). I wonder what we can expect from the new series, well apart from sleeze and inanity. I guess thats enough!
I did once plan a novel (or collection of short stories) based in the Big Brother house. In one story a gangster on the run from the police underwent plastic surgery and entered the house to establish his new personality. The police sent their own man in to try and work out who the gangster now was. I later reused that idea in my comic series as Dino Big Brother.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Repositioned
As this blog is starting to take off i have decided to reposition it and my music blog. (I work in marketing so i use words like "reposition" with a straight face). My music blog was a blog for creativity and included everything from CD reviews to my model kits. All but the music and graphic novel reviews will now be moved to this blog instead. So i'll write about my badly made model aeroplanes and endless photographs of canals here from now on. Legacy posts i'll leave on there (apart from a couple i have already moved).
So thats all very exciting and will help to strengthen the brands of both blogs (more marketing nonsense, natch).
So thats all very exciting and will help to strengthen the brands of both blogs (more marketing nonsense, natch).
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