Monthly Archives: May 2013

Scrubbing for Solvay

It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s not got to do it. The former pipe pontoons have been disapperaing out of view, but where are they going I wonder? At the “Exhibition” in January- (see post 1) it was intimated to … Continue reading

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The circle of life and the lake of death.

    New life! This week appears to be the main hatching week for many wildfowl, particularly swans. The prolonged cold snap dosen’t appear to have affected many sitting birds’ nests as some had feared, and there are some evidently large … Continue reading

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A cut to the bone- some animals are more equal than others.

    The Birmingham New Mainline canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton was built for business. Designed by Thomas Telford, by 1838 the New Main Line was complete: 22⅝ miles of slow canal reduced to 15⅝; between Birmingham and Tipton, a … Continue reading

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V.I.Ps

This picture shows the scale of the North embankment. Historic records confirm that the original Barnett’s brickworks pit was “100 yards deep”. This is when it flooded in 1899 following the burst of the Birmingham Canal. In Barnett’s day there … Continue reading

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The dog and boat

A man patrols the mere with his animal. You certainly can’t say that the security of the site hasn’t been beefed up, but is it for human health security or that of the thousands of pounds worth of equipment to … Continue reading

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Slim pickings- Food for thought

I have received a reply from The Food Standards Agency regarding the following open letter post. I don’t really believe it answers my question as to why Jo Payne of the AHVLA did not communicate that white phosphorus systemic exposure … Continue reading

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New horizons

PHEW! What a scorcher. Quite a change in the weather in the last week. At the lagoon, several new views have opened up as a result of the North embankment desecration. Looking towards the housing development in Callaghan Drive and … Continue reading

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Sign of the times

I recognised it straight away when I saw it this afternoon. To the untrained eye, just another piece of metal in the distance, but not to the Rattlechain lagoon stalker like myself. This was a piece of history.   All … Continue reading

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Demolition Derby

    The following pictures record the destruction of anything that could be considered “natural” around the lagoon embankments. Bonaparte, Napoleon and their little mate have been digging and pulling out all the trees, and the change from green to … Continue reading

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