The year lies dying in this evening light

In late October and early November 1906, Edith wrote relatively little about nature but more than made up for it with poetry. One of the poems, translated from German started ...

The year lies dying in this evening light ....

In the 21st Century we defy the seasons and the dark with bright lights and night life.  On the 4th of November, I cut through the Symphony Hall and over the bridge that crosses the New Mainline canal.


New Mainline Canal and Brindley Place - 4 November 2015

In the photo above, you can see part of Brindley Place, named for James Brindley, the canal pioneer.

New Mainline Canal looking towards Broad Street.

From the bridge, I could see down the canal towards Broad Street. If I went that way, I would find myself at Gas Street Basin, which I had visited previously. Wanting to see something new, I headed in the other direction.

The Malt House pub.

There was a bit of a bite in the air and the Malt House pub on the opposite side looked warm and inviting. I hovered indecisively unsure whether to continue my walk or cross the narrow arched bridges to the warmth of the pub.  Then I heard the jazz.  Over the bridges it was.

Turning into the Oozelles Stret Loop.

As I was crossing, I heard the unmistakable sound of a narrow boat and watched while its crew skilfully steered it round the junction between the New Mainline and the older Birmingham and Fazeley canal before disappearing into the Oozelles Street Loop.

Open Fire in the Malt House pub.

Then into the pub for an enjoyable meal of fish and chips in front of a traditional fire and the sound of live jazz music.

Back to Brindley Place.

After leaving the pub, I walked back along the canal and found another boat - this time moored at the canal side.

Central Square Fountains

I crossed the canal again, and made my way inland to Central Square in Brindley Place.  As I photographed the fountains, I noticed some trees with yellow leaves.



Trees - with "Autumn Fire"

At the end of October, Edith quoted William Allingham:

"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods,
and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt,"

Fountains and Autumn leaves - not quite ready to fall and melt.

 

Covered in Red and Yellow Leaves

In her entry of 14th October 1906, Edith talks about going for a walk in Catherine de Barnes ...

Hips made a great display all along the route, especially on a wild piece of common land we crossed, covered with Gorse and briars. I noticed great numbers of Finches here, feeding on the berries. Some of the Gorse bushes were in flower, these with the bushes of scarlet Rose-berries, and trailing Blackberry briars, covered with red and yellow leaves, made fine patches of colour in the bright sunshine.

Exactly 109 years later, I spent an early hour exploring the rather more manicured surroundings of the NEC.

14 October 2015, Red Oak.

Red Oak and flags at the NEC.

The most spectacular colour comes from the foreign tree varieties planted amongst the NEC gardens.  The leaves of a Red Oak gave me a hint of the spectacular "Fall" that Americans enjoy.

Flags and maple leaves fluttering in the feeble breeze.

Although the flags were barely stirring in the early morning breeze, leaves from the maples beyond were already being blown away.

Native lakeside trees showing golden tones.

Looking back towards the lake, most of the native trees were still green, highlighted with subtle yellows and golds. Nearby a Great-Crested Grebe was dipping below the water and bobbing up to feed her well-grown youngster.

Resort World, Pendigo lake.

I spent a little more time at the lakeside and enjoyed seeing the ripples on the blue waters before going into work.

Horse of the Year Show

In 1906, when Edith Holden wrote her Country Diary, horses were working animals. In my Not far from a pond post for this blog, I mentioned Austin starting to make motor vehicles at the Longbridge plant but it would be many years before cars and tractors took the place of horse and ponies.  Although Edith's diary dealt with nature rather than farming, she included a delightful scene for February, in which a horse is being used to plough a field. These days, horses are mostly used for leisure and sport.

The British Show Jumping website tells us:
... a show jumping class was held in the first international horse show to be staged in England, at Olympia in 1907.

Me, at 12 years old and a young New Forest pony.

As a girl, I was obsessed with horses and ponies. I took riding lessons, read pony books and was thrilled by the exploits of Harvey Smith, David Broome and other show jumping stars.  I loved to watch horse of the year show on the TV and dreamed childhood dreams of being there.  Then I grew up, decided that driving was more practical than riding and left it all behind.



7 October 2016 - Show-jumping practice - speeding up.

On the 7th of October, 2015, both I and the Horse of the Year Show were both in Birmingham so I took a morning off and found my way into the sparse audience for the early morning show jumping practice session. It was absolutely thrilling to see several horses in the ring at the same time - being shown the jumps and, with a sudden burst of power, flying over.

7 October 2015 - Small Hack of the Year.

The exciting show jumping practice was followed by the dainty "Small Hack Showing". Riders, in elegant outfits with top hats, put their beautiful horses through their paces and somehow the judges picked a winner from these heavenly creatures.

7 October 2015 - Ponies greeting their adoring public.

The native breeds on show in the shopping area were more like the ponies that I patted and rode as a child. One was so friendly that it was difficult to photograph her - she kept snuffling my camera.  After tickling her ears for a few minutes, my attention turned to some young girls and their mum. They making friends with the ponies - just as I did when I was their age and still do today.