Back to the Midlands

In her post for Sept 25 1908, Edith says:

"Goodbye to Scotland and back to the Midlands".

Birmingham International Airport - 23rd September 2015.

On the 22nd and 23rd of September 2015 I stayed at the Birmingham Airport Holiday Inn. This time I was lucky and got a room in the "Executive" area, with a good view over the runway.  There would have been plenty of people coming back to the Midlands from all over the world including Scotland and I saw some of their aircraft touch down.

Birmingham Airport - 22nd September 2015.

In this night shot a row of conifers - just right of centre. is picked out by the lights - in daytime they were often visited by Goldfinches.

Control Tower.

One sure sign that autumn is well on its way is the start of the football season. On my way to the lift, a manager swept by with a tray of breakfasts. On the way down I met a group of young footballers, who play for West Bromwich Albion. They were looking rather lost - but fortunately I was able to send them after their food and went on my way. While waiting for the bus in the hotel car park, I noticed a number of very pretty sports cars and wondered if they belonged to the footballers.

Great-Crested Grebes - 2015

I'm not so sporty but I did enjoy taking part in the company's "Walk round the world", in which groups from each office took a walk at lunchtime. From the Birmingham office, we visited Pendigo Lake at the NEC. While we were there, I spotted a Great-Crested Grebe feeding a youngster.

In her next post, for September the 30th, Edith mentioned signs of Autumn ...

"Some of the Beech Trees are quite bare ... Weather still continues perfect. Hot sun during the day, cold and clear at night, mist in the mornings".

My photos from the same time last year show that Birmingham was basking in sunshine. This year, after a late heatwave, there were thunderstorms.

Bolete fungi - 15 September 2015

109 years later, I started spotting some hints of Autumn at about the same date. Under some confers, at Trinity Park I found some Bolete fungi.

Owls and the Edwardian Country Lady

As far as I know Edith only mentions owls once in her 1908 diary. Her June 8 entry says ...

I saw an Owl tonight, flying across the gardens at the back of the St. Bernard's Road. This is the first I have seen at Olton.

I didn't see any live owls while at Birmingham but there were some, painted by school children, at Birmingham Airport.  I photographed these at the end of August, 2015.

 

The Birmingham Mail says that these are just a few of the 120 "Owlets" painted by school children and displayed round the city.

 

These owlets were part "Big Hoot" in which larger owls were also displayed in various locations. They have now been sold but the Birmingham Mail has tracked some of them down.

The Nights Watch.



The board by the Nights Watch owl by Tudor Grange Academy, Solihull, said:

"The Nights Watch owlet features a montage of designs created by students at the academy. It reflects the work of Van Gogh and Mondrian and incorporates surrealism, with a night-time theme reflecting the owls' nocturnal activity. The cogs and mechanical aspects represent Birmingham's historical and industrial links, with the feather element taking it back to nature."

During Van Gogh's lifetime, he was considered a failure. He died in 1890. Wikipedia tells us

"In Paris in 1901 a large Van Gogh retrospective was held at the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery", which inspired the Fauves and that "Van Gogh's fame reached its first peak in Austria and Germany before World War I"

In 1908 Mondrian, like Edith, was creating art firmly rooted in Nature. Later, he moved into abstract and cubism.

 

I love the way the children's work had been displayed where everyone can see it and I think Edith, who was a teacher, would have appreciated it too.