Geese vs parks

 
Canadian geese are probably the least liked of all birds to be found in Britain. They can be aggressive and hard to disperse.  But, worse than this it seems, park managers despair when they see the birds settle on their patches. This is because, over time, the birds simply nibble away at the luscious swards - and create bare grounds of uncovered mud. There are even guides online on how to cull them (humanel, of course).

The geese like to settle by water.  Here they have destroyed the greens on the riverside walk in Burton.

Medieval practices - coming back

It's amazing to think that there are over thirty almshouses still going in Burton.  Dating back to medieval times, these charitable institutions still provide small homes for the elderly & bereft. 
And, believe it or not, almshouses are still being built by these charities even today; clearly there is a need for this medieval practice...
The Consolidated Almshouses Charity manages this particular, rather lovely one (built in the nineteenth century) in Wellington Street.

Peace undermined

With Armistice Day this week, one looks to war memorials.   This statue of Peace (with dove in hand) stands on one side of the war memorial in Burton. 
As is usual - but extremely odd to modern eyes - this female classical figure seems to be wearing a tight body-stocking under her voluminous cloak and helmet.  One wonders what the point of that is...

Her message of peace is also rather undermined by a huge figure of Victory which stands on the top of the plinth, towering well above her (see a photo of the whole memorial by clicking here).
Oh well.

The gulls of St Modwen

Gulls regularly line the roof of St Modwen Church in Burton.  They seem to find it a good look-out for the adjacent River Trent.

Burton is of course hundreds of miles from the sea, but the Trent is navigable all the way up to the East Coast (yes, this surprised me too)... so maybe these gulls floated down from the North Sea.  Hmm.  Perhaps.

Incidentally, St Modwen's parish district now consists of ... basically ... the small island in the middle of the Trent river. Now that is weird.

Dominated by beer

If ever a town was dominated by one industry, it's Burton by beer.  And if ever a town's beer industry was dominated by one brewer, it's Coors.

The American firm originally came to Burton to take over all of the Bass Beer firm's works - but, oddly, another firm actually walked off with the 'Bass' name.  So poor old Coors had to change all the branding in the town.  As you can see.

Cafes are good for the species

We need cafes.  Is this a strange statement?  After all, it seems daft to go somewhere to pay sometimes outrageous prices for wet-but-hot flavoured water.

Yet, there is something communal about a cafe.  One gets the chance to be with one's species in a friendly way - and relax.  Giving oneself time to relax, even at home, is hard.

It's just a matter of finding cafes with reasonable prices and pleasant ambience - like the market cafe in Burton.

Nazi outlaws

I was astonished to see this poster on the noticeboard of a local cafe.
The Nazi flags, including the SS logo, are proudly - unembarrassedly - displayed by the Outlaws Bikers society in this, their annual group photo.

In some countries in Europe, this public display would be illegal of course. 
I still find it hard to believe that I actually saw this in a public space.

The spooky eyes have it

This rather spooky piece of art appears to be watching one through very beady eyes - but then that's what the artist Hattie Coppard wanted us to think.  The piece is called 'Watching The Washlands', and overlooks Andressey Island, the little piece of land in the middle of the River Trent at Burton.

The eyes idea is reinforced by the legends of Saint Modwen whose hermitage was on the hills opposite. St Modwen was famous for miraculously curing diseases of the eye.

Whether this is a reassuring piece of work though, I'm not so sure.  It's a little disturbing to come across it on a grey day.

Anarchy in Burton

The crossed A inside a circle - the Anarchy sign, beloved of 1977-style rebellious 'punk' youth - seems to have lost some of the terror it could once inspire.

Nowadays the symbol is used to advertise a cheap drinks night at the Association night-club in Burton.  Everything fades, huh?

PS - what is a 'Teapot'?

Locked into love

Is Burton upon Trent a romantic place?  Well, there are four pairs of lovers in the town at least...

On the Andressey foot-bridge, you will find four padlocks. 
Each is a 'love-lock', following the recent tradition (can a tradition be recent? hmm) started in Paris, where couples etch their initials on to a padlock, fasten it to a bridge, and then throw the key in the river - as a symbol of their enduring love for one another.

I have a feeling there will be more added during Valentine's Day.

This post was featured on the My Town Shoot-out Photo Blog

Colourful 107 development

The '107' project in Burton really seems to be coming along after a hiccup when it looked it could all fold. 
If Burton had a docklands-style area which was being redeveloped for up-market lifestyle venues (restaurants, art gallery, modern offices etc etc) - then I suppose this would be it.  It's on the site of a huge old, now disused brewery.

I also like the fact it just believes in a bit of colour - something to savour in grey mid-winter urban days.

Burton at Euston

Being a fan of things Staffordshire, it always gives me a buzz to see a Staffordshire reference in an unexpected place.

Recently, coming into Euston Station on my way home from London to Staffordshire, I glanced at the frontages of the old lodges, which face Euston Road.  The square, stone lodges are the last bit of the old Victorian part of Euston Station (and now house a small bar).

On the sides of the lodges are listed the names of all the towns that you can reach directly from Euston - including the likes of Glasgow, and so on.
I was surprised to see the name of Burton there.  Burton's rail link is now simply on a provincial line between Birmingham and Derby - there is no direct connection to Euston.  
It just shows how old these lodges are!

Stapenhill... well?

Is it a cave? a blocked-up old well?  I wish I knew.  This structure on the Stapenhill side of the river in Burton has no marks or plaques to help one identify what it might be.

Burton does have a lot of wells, though.  The natural water of Burton is one reason that the beer made here tastes so good...

Playtime at 107 in Burton

Walking into the big car-park that fronts the old building on '107 Station Street' in Burton is a bit like entering an architect's playground.
The old brewery building (on the right) has been revitalised by a property development company, but they also had some fun with what looks like huge lego bricks during the process.

Grave of honour for dogs

Dogs are not often buried in historic town squares, but that is the case here in King Edward Place in Burton. Across the square from the old town hall you'll find this marker, which indicates the spot where three Staffordshire bull terriers lie.

The dogs are no ordinary ones of course. The dogs, all named Watchman, are the most recent mascots of the Staffordshire Regiment.  Watchman the Fifth (aka Watchman V) is now in post, and curiously (don't you love weird traditions?) is actually a Lance Corporal in the army.

The Staffordshire Regiment was mightily reduced under recent spending cuts and is now the '3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment' - so who knows if there will be another Watchman?

(By the way, 'Watchman' preceded the 'Watchmen' super-hero series... )

Link:  The history of Watchman 

This post was featured on the Cemetery Sunday website

Vikings like Land & Water

This installation is a tribute to the Viking past of Burton, though at first it looks like some abandoned word-carving and bits of stones. Strangely, that was partly the sculptor's ambition, as she wanted her work - called Land & Water - to look like a half buried Viking grave/boat.

The maker, Rosemary Terry, deliberately placed it on Andressey Island, the slice of land that sits in the middle of the River Trent at Burton.

It's a weird thought - because Burton is virtually in the middle of the country - but the Vikings managed, in 874, to SAIL all the way here from Scandinavia.
The river is navigable all the way from the North Sea to this point; and the Vikings only stopped here in the end because the river was no longer navigable going west.

Burton Town Hall Gothic

Burton Town Hall is pure late neo-Gothic. Wandering around its insides is like being in some Middle Ages castle complete with bosses and stone arches and wide, echoey stairwells. Bit crazy really.

Of course, it’s all mocked up: the Victorians just loved a bit of medievalism, no matter how fake. (It was built in 1894).
But – I like it. It’s a bit of escapism.

Link: Burton Town Hall history

Bettie Brewer

Burton Albion’s mascot didn’t have much to cheer until a few years ago – the ‘Brewers’ were in the doldrums of non-league. Then, along came Nigel Clough (now manager with Derby County) and slowly but surely the club thrived. It’s now in League Two.
On Saturday (12th November) they play - at home – against Oldham in the first round of the FA Cup.

What’s interesting is that the mascot, Bettie Brewer, is quite distinctly female. Albion has made a point of trying to be a family club, and wanting to attract women to watch games.
Bettie does have a male counter-part, Billy Brewer, but it’s still an interesting aspect of the club’s philosophy.