Skull & crossbones flag

The pirates' flag flies proudly over this canal boat as it sails through Tixall along the Trent & Mersey canal.

Pirates are quite colourful these days, but seem law-abiding at least. Well, in Staffordshire anyway...

Pylons as giants

I like electricity plylons. I know that might seem odd in someone like me, who walks the countryide so much, but these giant structures in the landscape give it a surreal edge that appeals to me. A bit like Don Quixote's windmills, that he saw in his mind's eye as ogres.

Of course, I wouldn't be happy about them too much in natural beauty spots (such as The Highlands), and I wouldn't want to live under one, but, yes, I do have a soft spot for them. Their webbed arangement strikes me as high design.

This photo is part of City Daily Photo's theme day for March - which is on the subject of electricity.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Meir Tower

The water tower at Meir Heath rises up incongruously behind some bungalows, as you can see.

I did think it might be cool to say to someone - "my house lies in the shadow of a huge old tower". But then, you might not tell your listener that the 'tower' you refer to is a old, concrete water tower.

The structure is now no longer used for storing water; and does nothing but act as home to a number of mobile-phone antennae stuck on top of it.

Abandoned bottle oven

The old JH Weatherby Factory, at the north end of Hanley, is in dereliction after closing in 2000; and none of the plans for it has come to fruition, so it just sits, decaying.

Through its gates, you can see the bottle oven that dominates the courtyard. It's not sure what will happen to that either.

Devils' territory

The story of Devils Lane sounds like it good be a good one. It doesn't sound like the sort of name that the local community chose for its lucky-charm value...!

On a rainy day, this lonely country lane (in Longsdon, just outside Leek) makes for a sobering walk.

Shenstone ladies

Few football teams play in pink, and I know of only one for sure - the women's team in this picture! However, Shenstone Ladies FC are proud to play in pink, and are a pretty good team at that.
Today I saw them beat league leaders Florence Ladies (in purple), to go third in the Staffordshire County Women’s League Division Two.

Link: Staffordshire County Women’s League Division Two

Triffids on the common

Rough Close Common is a pretty boggy piece of ground at this time of year, so the dog-walkers who use it must pick their steps carefully.

These tussocks protruding out of the marshy land make the place look oddly sinister in my opinion - like small triffids on the move.

Save The Coachmakers

The Coachmakers Pub is one of the iconic watering holes of Hanley. It’s a strange little place that looks exactly like what it is – a nineteenth-century former terraced home.
Each of the little bars in the pub is tiny, hardly big enough to take a couple of benches.

However, a huge shopping mall is earmarked for this site – so the Coachmakers is heading for the demolition yard.
The estimate is that it has two years of life left – so get your orders in now…

Link: Countdown for the Coachmakers

'Womb to grow'

Shops that use puns in their title have an irresistible draw for me, as readers of this blog will know. Dunno why, because some puns can be really terrible.

This one is witty through (‘womb to grow’ – ‘room to grow’ – geddit?).
Womb To Grow is a maternity clothes shop in Lichfield, and it’s nice that it has a smile on its face.

In memoriam tree

This brass plaque, nailed into a tree by the road through Winkhill, tells its own sad story. Peter, just a teenager, died on this spot, presumably in a car accident.

I guess his family or friends must have seen this 'roadside memorial' as they are called as a special tribute; and fixed it to the tree themselves. Over the years, the bark has begun to grow again around it.

Staffordshire is no worse nor better than any other county for road accidents, but even recently, one person a week was dying on our roads, many of them youngsters.