College of the Smethwicks : 2 visits in Feb 2013

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Mars Lander

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Didnt want last month to end on a sour note after the Bamber Bridge mill weekend, earlier in the month after our adventures with Perjury Saint darn sarfs, on way back home Ssshhh... and I thought we'd have a look at the Smethwick College and arranged to meet up with Luckypants near by it, we had good times but ran out of light so we planned another visit Andre Govia (big contributor of beauty in decay book 1) got wind and arranged to come along to with Odins Raven so of we trotted again it was another good day of 5 go ducking , diving , looling and secca dodging day :)

We acted like photo tourists initilally as a guy was directly opposite our favoured point of entry and he was presently joined by a more world weary , beleagured looking gentleman, after a drawn out cig break, off they tootled but did walk past us and as they dissapeared, a quick turn round look back us. See ya.

++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACCESS ++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++

Once in the shelter of the college out of the body numbing cold we look to see the secca's crapavan abode complete with noisy generator keeping him warm , whilst the rush of being on a splore keeps us warm....ish :)



Its a pretty good mooch , theres plenty to see and enough variety to make it a worthwhiler.



its only a few moments in when we see the 2 chappies again Andre gives a friendly clap on the back to the younger guy and we walk past, I feel I must add here, if you plan on visiting here and I do reccomend , i'd say numbers maybe important the younger guys older comrade looked decidely desperate to say the least and there was a certain air in the air of which we would learn later...

Out of the comprehensive school type bit which also houses the labs and that, we want to get to the nice domey skylight bit so on we go... to the nice tiley adjourned parts



Just before the dome the projector room and the noise of the generator doesn't get much louder from here... ;) no need to say anything more about that you get the picture



a rather nice set of stairs at the main event



I'll leave the epic gound floor full on dome shot for Luckypants to post later on.

From the upper floor of it



Making a cube out of it all



I suggest we make an album and with that we head for the studio...( I meant photo album)

Look at all them knobs....hey steady ...we not upto that bit yet



When you think that this is left to rot or be pissed on makes you think



in the one of the soundproofed rooms



My offer to render Beethovens opening trills to the 5th symphony is largely met with disinterest, if only my new fellow splorers knew, i can...not the rest tho. :)



This waste of the baby grand was enough and then this... I leaned it back against the wall from its face down position , what with the massive desk, the studio specced piano then this a half inch tape , 16 track multitracker Fostex G16, this is insane probably every album you heard upto the late 90's nineties would of been mastered on this goliath or a lesser version, why didnt the council donate it to some youth group or a charity or sell it to help fund the next ill fated council whim, this on the floor with the back which someone had tried to peel off , mental!! Sure its analogue and not digital but this baby could fly up against most trackkers today and now.....soaked inside with what appears to be piss. An outrage and silly.



After some crew shots Andre and Odin leave apparently they have to photo hands elsewhere we bid them farewell and carry on into the decline of educations



Copius amounts of trampery abound here and there



There are few gyms in here i counted 54 of them I mean 2 , one good and wholesome like this and one, well hmmm.



STANDBY URBEX CHAIR SHOT!!!




Lets go in search of labs and stuffage, down this lovely muted light , tiled, buidling snake connection



one of the highlights of being here is the secca man, you can dial in your comfort level from keeping away from him or practically walking over his head and being in full view of the opposite police station
..jinks of high



Whilst searching for the labs we came right out of the building and as i was about to get back in , the younger 'resident' smiles and opens 'something' making our previous access look ridiculous he's got this place sewn up and customised to his liking and ease.

We exchange nods and smiles to go into 'this' other part , whilst I am taking this shot , Sssshhh is taking a shot in room behind me a kind of changing room and Luckypants is in the another gym.

Sometimes I can spend 20 mins getting a shot of a staircase, pondering over how i can capture it best and toy with angles and stuff then as I walk off I'll look up and spot the most immense skylight , i say this to illiustrate I get too preoccupied with shots sometimes to notice other things...



...it takes Ssshhh and Luckypant to literally point at them all, all over the bleedin place, masses of spent johnnies and brown stained bogroll , from the nature of this 'debris' we are in the epicentre of a place that is no longer used to attain physical fitness but that of one that is now used for all manner of repeated acts of an alltogether unseemly and seedy nature, Ssshhhh.. counts them but i dont want to know exact numbers and a quick look at the bottom of our footwear reveals that we were lucky at negotiating this impromtu, biological , rubber minefield.

Not sure if it was cos of all the above and the fact of finding some rather large oversized lightbulbs but together it prompted Luckypants and I to have a Bulb Off and with that , we left this part, I wouldnt want to see any time lapse photography output in here , i can tell you :(

Look no hands i win.. yay :p



We leave this unclean arena and to the labs...



Multiple instances of flaskery



we continue ever upward



until finally



We pass signs of redundant periodic tables and finish our day through a thoughtfully, left open roof door to see a wonderful sunset on virgin snow , all thoughts of ongoing furtive heinious acts carried out a hundred feet below have gone far from our minds.



Until that is as we walk a good quarter mile away on way back to the car a certain smiling cheeky chappie, gives us a wave as we pass on by.

Thanks for looking and lookout for Luckypants' piktooors and maybe Ssshhh...'s too if she can catch up with her pikkies :)
 
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I predict a thread full of win here.

Top photos from what looks like a top two days out... nicely rounded off with that sunset :)

Looking forward to the others to show.
 
That last pic is stunning. Great photos and report as always. Cheers
 
Brilliant pics and fantastic report, sounds like you had a blast! ;)
 
As always SUPER pictures and report Alt and great to meet odin`s raven and Andre Govia .


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Super days out with great company Sshhhh... AltDayOut odin`s raven and Andre Govia .

Thanks for taking the time to look :)
 
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Looking at this makes me so gutted that sweet_pea and I failed here back in December.
Would have absolutely loved to have seen some of the things in this report, certainly some things here that I've not seen in previous reports.
As OMJ said, that last shot is amazing Alt, and yours too Lucky.
 

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