WME Flickr Focus - November 2025

Over in Australia, the grunt and thrust of The Ashes cricket is underway as old rivals slug it out over a small but symbolic urn. Nothing quite so dramatic can be detected on the West Midlands Exploration photostream however, even though various galleries have been peacably updated...

Howzat!! First out to bat for this monthly update is - somewhat unusually - WME Shropshire, which more often than not counts itself right among the tail-enders but has been inexplicably promoted to open the innings. Why should this be the case I hear you speculate? Bridgnorth is almost entirely responsible for this turn of events, supplying a dozen new arrivals including the Northgate Museum, the New Inn and the instantly recognisable Ridleys Seeds lettering. The town's Severn Valley Railway Station ambles up to the crease too, yielding footbridge safety directives and a vintage advertisement for Morris Lubricants.

Also willing to weigh in with some serious strokeplay is WME Dudley, boosted by bits and pieces from Brierley Hill and Blowers Green. The Jones Brothers clock has been a favoured timepiece on Brierley Hill High Street for many a year so it's nice to give that the recognition it deserves, albeit you'll have to decide whether Adelaide Street and Link 51 are as worthy of attention. Black Delph Bridge and the Moor Centre swell the run-rate a little, then you get the customary dash of street signage thanks to Fox Foot Drive or Blowers Green Road.

The middle order engine room is populated by the redoutable pair of WME Birmingham and WME Wolverhampton. Brum takes on some Commonwealth Games deliveries courtesy of Perry the bull mascot, aided by Brasshouse pub lettering and the gilded bronze of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch's statue. Oakham Brewery beermats in Boldmere plus the sad Hodge Hill remnants of the demolished Comet pub also punctuate the scorecard, whereas the power hitting from Wolverhampton is mostly reserved for Bradmore's selection of street signs.

Fancying a role as a demon spinner, WME Worcestershire tantalisingly twirls its way to a trio of Bromsgrove additions (namely St Godwalds Road and some railway station orientation materials). It is joined in the slow bowling stakes by the irrepressible WME Walsall with Bloxwich offbreaks related to the Old Hall Trading Estate and a High Street cafe. The pace unit meanwhile numbers WME Telford (with Blists Hill coal lumps), WME Sandwell (Cyder and Cobb making a second Blackheath appearance) and WME Coventry (the lowest-scoring player of the lot, earning just its third picture of the year in the form of empty beer casks at the Broomfield Tavern). That completes our batting card - until next month, enjoy the pictures!