Like one of those all-you-can-eat oriental buffets, or maybe a box of liquorice allsorts, May has been a month of tasting a little bit of everything. My pick and mix approach has yielded 66 new photostream arrivals so let's assess where that leaves me (apart from craving sweets and curries that is)...
The first thing to note is that - unusually - there was a tense fourway battle for photostream supremacy with Wolverhampton, Dudley, Staffordshire and Birmingham all slugging it out to supply the most material. In the end there wasn't an outright victor as Wolverhampton and Dudley both tied on 12 photos each with Brum slightly behind on 11 and Staffs performing honourably with 10. Reaching double figures for updates in a given month is my measure of meaningful progress so all four can consider themselves recipients of a Paul gold star.
But what of the pictures that brought this about? WME Wolverhampton mostly meddles with Spring Vale (an unexpected fixation on football pitch markings at the local park) whilst also picking up parking personalities outside St Jude's School; WME Dudley deals with Quarry Bank mince pies and Sedgley Thai doll figurines, not to mention Shell Corner Lest We Forget wreaths; WME Birmingham plucks a series of Perry the Bull mascot statues from the 2022 Commonwealth Games; and WME Staffordshire summons Shropshire Union Canal bridges, Stafford platform numerals plus a Spode China Halls lettering extract from the Potteries.
Falling just short of making it a fiveway tussle, WME Shropshire can nevertheless reflect on some steady accumulation of its own. Shrewsbury leads the way here, supplying Belle Vue pub signage and British Transport Police parking bays, although Shifnal's assistance care of the Odfellows Wine Bar should not be overlooked. WME Telford & Wrekin was considerably quieter by comparison but can claim two extra Quackers ducks in the Ironbridge vicinity.
Handing out the dolly mixtures is the twin-pronged 'W' combination of WME Warwickshire and WME Worcestershire. Warks stocks up its Stratford-upon-Avon goody bag thanks to assistance from the Stratford Alehouse - a very fine micropub - and some station walkway mosaic action whereas Worcs stops by at Stoke Cross, a small settlement on a crossroads below Finstall. Shenstone near Kidderminster isn't that much bigger but can contribute the Granary hotel-restaurant plus a sighting of Back Lane.
Arguing over the remaining scraps, WME Sandwell snaffles a Queens Head pub sign from West Bromwich as accompanied by an overall pub picture of the New Inn at Rowley Regis. WME Coventry and WME Solihull hardly ever trouble the scorers but even they have shown some intent this month. Coventry collects an excerpt from Pool Meadow Bus Station's City of Culture mural, then Solihull scoops up a Purity Longhorn pint at the Tap & Tandoor. I wonder what kind of assorted treats will be on the menu in June?
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