Face on the hat factory

Just a short drive from home - a brief walk along the Coventry Canal at Atherstone. Despite living in the area for decades, it's the first time I've visited here. And, today, I committed the school boy error of not checking the battery level in my camera. Having walked some distance from the car where I had left the rest of my gear, I realised the battery was less than half charged.


Still, it was a lovely walk. Had a nice chat to a couple of waterways volunteers at the top lock. A boater and her husband/partner were from Canada. Quite unexpected. Had a chat with her while she operated one of the lock gates.
It seems that the women get the job of opening and closing all the lock gates etc. Hardly a fair share of labour.
The image is of a pair of windows of the old and now derelict hat factory. It reminded me of a face where the yellow bricks are the nose and the wall brace like a pouted mouth.
Atherstone is an unassuming little town, often by-passed by many. It was once well known for its felt hats and previously for ribbon making. The Shrove Tuesday Ball Game is well known. It has been happening for 824 years (with a few yearned missed due to Covid). The game is basically an organised and legalised street brawl. 
This spot on the Coventry Canal was part of the industrial revolution, a short distance from Watling Street, the roman road stretching from Anglesey down to London - the course of much of which was later followed by canals. The canal was soon to be followed by what is now the West Coast Main Line - part of the later stages of the industrial revolution. The M6, the first motorway in the UK is a few miles away. The place furthest from the coast anywhere in the UK is also just a handful of miles away.
The image has been played about with to dramatically enhance the varied colours in the brickwork.
My car went for a service on Tuesday - I have yet to get it back following investigation of a number of fault messages thrown up recently. That has resulted in a number of battery cell packs being replaced in the hybrid system's High Voltage battery. Thankfully, that was still under manufacturer's warranty. I had been reporting the battery system performance for more than two years. They finally listened and looked at the problem properly. Hopefully I can get the car back tomorrow after overnight charging and road test tomorrow morning. The Mini Cooper S I have as a courtesy car is fine, but small. Can barely get a couple of bags of shopping in the boot. I want may car back...