Modern Collins (14) : Gothic Pursuit

Another of the Tim Simpson series of stories by John Malcolm mixing art and furniture history with amateur detective work. In this story the hunt for a rare piece of furniture designed by a well known 19th century architect leads to a number of murders.

A fun and easy read on the whole and a well structured story, though sometimes the art and design history can make your eyes glaze over a bit (and i like history!)

776

Another dialphone has joined the collection, a fine but slightly shabby GPO 776. This was the last dialphone designed by the Post Office and was the first intended principally for the residential instead of the business market. After this BT (as they became) would go push-button only on their new telephone models leaving this model as a final last gasp of a more civilised age.

Coventry and Walsall rails

Over the last few months i have been trying to visit nearly every railway station in the West Midlands so i can update my photography ready for my forthcoming book. I have nearly finished that now with very few stations remaining after i visited Coventry and Walsall at the weekend. I think i have all of the photography i need now. The aim is to get the book completed by the end of this month and do plenty of checking before it is submitted to the publisher at the end of next month. You can see my photos here.

Modern Collins (13) : The Fenokee Project

The Fenokee Project by Roy Lewis takes place mainly in the frozen wastes of Canada and takes quite a while to get going. This is a slow moving tale of a cold (in more ways than one) case. 

A man tries to find out how his wife died eight years before. What may have seemed an accident seems to be mixed up with paid off witnesses and big business corruption.

It takes a while to warm up but when it does you are rewarded by a complicated but logical plot. 

Olton freight

Another freight train video, this time at Olton.

Leicester waterways

At the weekend i felt like a change from the heavy railway diet i had had recently, so i headed to Leicester to explore the waterways there. The Soar Navigation, part of the Grand Union Canal, stretches around quite a bit of the city centre and is a terrific walk with some amazing bridges. You can see my waterways photos here, other Leicester photos can be seen here.

Modern Collins (12) : Prime target

Prime target by Martin Russell is an intriguing tale of crime, psychology and terrorism. Pitt starts to get confused when people begin mistaking him for someone else. This continues and he starts to question his own sanity and reality. 

Finally, it is revealed that it is all a trick (a somewhat elaborate one to honest) and he is the captive of terrorists who want him to plant a bomb in Downing Street!

The story has many twists and turns though some are a bit obvious in the end, such as Karen. However, a dog saves the day and that always makes a good story even better.

Fleet Freightliner

Freight action in Hampshire.

Guildford trip day 2

The second day of this year's Guildford trip involved travelling to a number of stations in Surrey as well as walking through the nice town of Ewell. Later on i had time to revisit Farnborough and take some more photos, although fatigue was setting in so i didn't explore too far! My Surrey railway photos can be seen here, Ewell photos are here.

Another successful trip to Guildford, either my sixth or seventh (lost count!) We'll be back next year.

Guildford trip day 1

Last Friday i headed down to Surrey for what has become my annual pilgrimage to the railways of the south west of London (well it is my 7th or 8th trip anyway). On Friday i ticked off a couple of stations in Berkshire then went down to Hampshire to visit Farnborough and tick off stations between Farnborough and Basingstoke. Finally, i arrived at my hotel in Guildford. Tomorrow would have a lot more rail adventures. You can see my Berkshire railway photos here, my Hampshire railway photos here and photos of Farnborough here.

Modern Collins (11) : Payoff

"Payoff" by Hartley Howard is an unsubtle tale of a hard boiled private investigator who sweats a lot and takes a lot of taxis. The story is fairly enjoyable, if not that unique. It never quite manages to reach top gear. There is a good mix of crime and spy drama.

The problem with the story though is the predictability. It isn't a bad read and will certainly pass the time of day but you probably won't want to ever read it again.

Churches (265) : St Nicholas, Elmdon

The parish church of St Nicholas in Elmdon, West Midlands was built in the late 1700s largely replacing an earlier medieval church, though the tower has survived. The church was built by Albert Spooner who had bought the Elmdon estate and had the church built along with the adjacent Elmdon Hall. The Hall was demolished in 1956 but the church is still there!

The earlier church dated from the 14th century and traces of it remain in the foundations of the current church. The tower is 15th century, the rebuilt church in a matching style. The tower has had a parapeted top added to it. The nave was extended in 1979. The church is mostly built from flint and rubble.

Solihull rails

This weekend it was time for another local station update, actually i do not have many stations left in the West Midlands which i really need to get updated imagery for. This time it was the turn of Dorridge, Solihull and other stations along the same line. You can see my photos here. Progress on the third book is being made, i need to get it finished by the end of July which isn't that long away now!

Heading through East Malling

In Kent.

West Midlands Places (20) : Kings Norton

Kings Norton is an area in the south of Birmingham, originally in Worcestershire.

There has been human settlements in the area since at least Roman times. Kings Norton itself has Saxon origins and was the northern most manor of Bromsgrove. The name comes from the Old English Nor Tun or northern settlement. The manor was held by Earl Edwin at the time of the Norman Conquest. After Edwin revolted against William his lands, including Kings Norton, were taken from him and held by the King.

King James granted Kings Norton a market charter in 1616. A mop fair for people looking for work was also held every year in October. Kings Norton expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries thanks to new transport links including the Worcester & Birmingham and Stratford Canals. Kings Norton also gained a railway station in 1849.

Kings Norton became part of Birmingham in 1911 and has continued to develop and urbanise. Kings Norton continues to have a number of buildings which survive from it's time as a separate market town. The oldest is the church of St Nicolas which dates from the 13th century.

Churches (264) : St Luke, Goostrey

St Luke's is the parish church of the village of Goostrey in Cheshire, however it isn't the first church on the site. The village has had a church since at least 1244, though this church was timber framed, and much changed over the years. Finally, it was replaced by the current church in the 1790s. The church has a three bay nave with a small chancel and an apse. There is a tower to the west.

The church is built from red brick with an ashlar dressing.

Gardening update

I want to get some more colour into the garden and i am going to try and get some wild flowers growing such as corn marigold and daisy ox-eye. I bought some seeds the other day and have sown some in an unused patch of the garden. I've also put some in a dead patch of the lawn (these i put in Monday - i think something is already growing there!)

Another level crossing

Another railway level crossing video, this time at Birkdale.

Southport

Well the weather is nice so why not go to the seaside? So, at the weekend i did! I went up to Liverpool then travelled on a bit further to Southport. I had a walk along the beach, unfortunately the tide was a long way out but it did mean i could walk under the pier. You can see my photos here.

West Midlands Places (19) : Tile Hill

Tile Hill is a western suburb of Coventry.

Tile Hill was situated in the ancient Forest of Arden and also situated on Drove Lane which ran from London to Wales. The village grew as a resting point for travellers along the ancient road. It is possible Tile Hill took it's name from a tile manufacturer. Most of the area was under the control of the Stoneleigh Estate until being purchased by Coventry Corporation in 1926. The area remained mostly rural until recent decades. However, Massey Ferguson had a factory in Tile Hill, the largest tractor factory in western Europe in it's day. The factory has now been closed and demolished.

During the Civil War, the Roundheads used Tile Hill as a staging point before the battle with the Royalists at Kenilworth. Today, Tile Hill is a mostly residential area, it has a railway station on the West Coast Main Line. It was also host to a Network Rail training centre though this has now closed.

Through the level crossing

At Cradley Heath.

Churches (263) : St Mary, Lowdham

The parish church of St Mary in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire dates from the 13th century. The church has a nave with north and south aisles and clerestory, a chancel and a vestry. The tower is 13th century but the spire was added in the 15th.

The church was restored in the 19th century. The church is built from ashlar.

Silver-Reed calculator

Another calculator has joined the collection, a Silver-Reed Mini-M ER 8095. This is the second Silver-Reed machine in the collection, the other was the very first calculator in my collection (1250PD) which i got many years ago. Over twenty in fact!

Stourbridge

It is full steam ahead now (so to speak) with my third book on the railway stations of West Midlands. Therefore, at the weekend i concentrated on updating my photography of a number of stations in the Stourbridge and Black Country areas. I also took some photos around Stourbridge Junction station and the nearby church. You can see my photos here.

West Midlands Places (18) : Quinton

Quinton is nowadays a western suburb of Birmingham but has a history stretching back into early medieval times.

The name Quinton is thought to derive from Cweningtun meaning the Queen's settlement, Quinton was also known as Ridgeacre. This was the name of a grange of the convent of Hales in early Norman times (or earlier). Quinton was a chapelry of the ancient parish of Halesowen and was part of Shropshire until 1844 when it was transferred along with Halesowen to Worcestershire. In 1909 Quinton became part of Birmingham.

The major trades in Quinton were agriculture, nail making and construction. Quinton retained a village feel well into the 1930s when large scale housing helped turn it into a suburb, in the 1960s the construction of the M5 motorway passing through the heart of Quinton also changed it's character. Quinton is nowadays almost entirely residential in nature. One reason for this was that residents in Edgbaston did not want heavy industry in Quinton in case the fumes came their way!