WME Flickr Focus: March 2012

Here we go again with your latest monthly digest of the comings and goings on the West Midlands Exploration Flickr photostream...

March was a month when I finally got my teeth into the WME Sandwell archive, prising out 40 images for your delectation. The canals did well out of it, with the Old Main Line, New Main Line and the Dudley No. 2 all putting in a showing, and there was bus representation from the 402 at Tipton, the 646 at Princes End, the 417 at Blackheath and the 406 at West Bromwich. The local arrivals took me to Rowley Regis (with the Robert Peel and Britannia Pubs), Langley (the Bridge pub and the former Maltings building) and Bearwood (Lightwoods Park and the Abbey) - a tap away on the calculator reveals that 105 of my original 180 Sandwell shots are now back in place.

The other major mover in March was WME Coventry, rousing from some soporific slumbers to register 25 entries of its own. Buses were very much to the fore as I reinstated a handful of the 17s and 27s I've photographed outside Coventry Station, plus we had the 32 and 33 at Tanyard Farm and the 4 at Binley to contend with. The Coventry Canal made a big stride forward thanks to pictures of Bridges 1 and 8, whilst it was pleasing to see further building blocks for Radford (Jubilee Crescent shops and library), Canley (another library, this time with an Elmer mural) and Canley Station. The calculator in this instance tells me I've scored 34/80 where Coventry is concerned, so still a fair bit more to be done.

The only other collection to make an impression last month was WME Dudley, which was much quieter than it had been in January and February. Mind you, progress is still progress so please accept some buses (the 002, 006 and 007 at Halesowen spring to mind), a view of Coseley Station and a look at the Railway pub in Lye by way of keeping things ticking over, and that is another month done. Incidentally, March marked a full 12 months since my Fotopic gallery bit the dust, and in that year I've grappled back 1,090 photos to furnish my new Flickr home. I think this is a pretty good effort all things considered, and whilst there remain lots and lots of holes to fill, at least I now feel settled in as a Flickr member and I look forward to further adding to my photostream in future.