Goddess in Hednesford

You come across this pediment sculpture, high up on a block of flats, if you walk along Anglesey Street in Hednesford. There is no real indication what the scene is meant to depict (and no plaque) so it's a bit of mystery.
However, Nozlopy's guide to Sculpture in Staffordshire says she is probably the Goddess of Science trying to teach what she knows to two poor boys (you know they are poor because they are barefoot).
It turns out that this building was once the Hednesford Technical Institute (built 1912).

Using car park is illegal !

This comes under the heading of 'bizarre instructions one sees on signs'.
Apparently, it is "illegal to drive cars or motorbikes" on the Hednesford Hills car park.
I guess that must make actually using the car park a rather risky venture.

Bring on the bangers

Easter is also the time that 'summer sports' get in gear - and the phrase is a literal one for the Hednesford Hills Raceway, where bangers and hot-rod racing is on view.

I like Hednesford Hills.    The circuit is small so you can see everything, and, because the arena is in a crater at the top of the hills, as a spectator, one looks down on the whole event.
It's an odd feeling too.  All we spectators are up there in the arena at the top of the hills, knowing that, down below in the town, they can barely hear the crashing din of what's going on...

Hednesford Honi Soit

Hednesford has a reputation as a no-nonsense mining town (well, ex-mining town, I should say), so to see a rather aesthetic tiled work above the shop-fronts in the town centre was a bit of a surprise. 
In the diamond it reads 'Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense' a motto which appears on the royal coat of arms.

It seems oddly out of place; I'd love to know the history of it.

Hell's Grandad

It had to be happen - sooner or later, the customised mobility-scooter was bound to make an appearance.

Roy Cox is a bit of a legend in Hednesford.
Here he zips around in his leathers doing speeds of up to eight-miles-an-hour on a limited-edition 'Drive' scooter - with its high handlebars, chrome fittings, solid tyres and extra mirrors.  He says he's the founder member of the Hednesford Old Rockers Club.
It's best to keep out of his way.

Lourdes in Hednesford

This extraordinary structure is a copy of the grotto at Lourdes in France.  The famous grotto there is where St Bernadette had her vision of the Mother of Jesus in the mid-nineteenth century.

The structure - complete with statue of the Virgin Mary - stands outside the Our Lady Of Lourdes Church in Hednesford.   On the anniversary of St Bernadette's first vision (February 11th 1858) the church members have a celebratory event here.

Regina Poloniae

This installation in Hednesford's Roman Catholic church neatly sums up the influence of the local Polish population in this former mining town.

The Poles came here to work in the mines after the war, and brought their fervent native religiosity with them: the Black Madonna is a famous icon of Polish devotion.  The shield on the left shows the Polish eagle, and the one of the right shows the arms of the Papacy.  The words Regina Poloniae mean 'Our Lady, Queen of Poland'.