WME Flickr Focus: August 2016

The final day of August brings with it the twice-yearly merry-go-round that is Transfer Deadline Day, where football clubs up and down the country join the mad scramble to finalise their playing squads ready for the months ahead. Not wanting to miss out, the West Midlands Exploration photostream has its own hectic comings and goings to report...

Our biggest spender this transfer window is WME Staffordshire where recruitment has reached double figure proportions. Among the intake are Pye Green Fish Bar, Cannock's Shoal Hill Tavern, a field near Shareshill and a crafty canine mural from Stoke Market. Bridges have been bagged from the Shropshire Union Canal with No. 18 (Wheaton Aston) and No. 32 (near Gnosall) eagerly joining the fray, plus a pair of pottery players have been picked up from Spode.

Also busy wheeling and dealing in a Barry Fry kind of fashion we have WME Birmingham, snapping up street signs from both Hawkesley (Shannon Road) and Stirchley (Pineapple Road). An evening shot of a Sutton Coldfield station sign was a last minute registration, beating the 11pm deadline by a matter of seconds (with thankfully no need for a fax machine).

WME Dudley has bolstered its defence courtesy of a flurry of Stourbridge-related arrivals (a Parry's People Mover at Junction station, an evening Class 153 at Stourbridge Town, a bus station rebuild snapshot) whereas WME Wolverhampton has sought attacking reinforcements in the form of Tettenhall Library, a Showell Circus bus stop and two separate sightings of Springfield Brewery. 

Every deadline day traditionally offers up a smattering of free transfers and loan deals among the lower divisions, although in this case WME Warwickshire has prised open the chequebook to secure the signatures of Stratford Racecourse and the Old Thatch Tavern. WME Walsall was very much concerned with bargain buys, thus rummaging around on the Rushall Canal for a sequence of lock scenes, while WME Sandwell coaxed the Scott Arms out of retirement for one final attempt at glory.

With that the window has slammed shut, but whereas the football fraternity now have to wait until January before their next batch of signings, the WME photostream will be permitted to continue squad-building right the way through the year. Until September then, enjoy the photos!