Roll on up, get your Tamworth Timehikes T-shirts

Continuing with exploring the souvenirs side to Tamworth Timehikes. This is the latest addition to Tamworth timehikes story.The blog started with those key ingredients listed in the about page with a desire to demonstrate that even a forgotten corner can turn up all sorts of history and be as interesting in it´s own way as any place.

Went on to create some facial haired eye impaired characters called abe and ernst to accompany the explorations as I´m not actually in Tamworth!! and veered off again to create  souvenirs from the narrative of Tamworth Time hikes.

Above are Abe and Ernst at the Tamworth Timehikes stall, things aren´t going too well, so Abe or is it Ernst, (can never make up my mind who is which)have decided to put themselves up for sale.

T-shirts are an ever popular souvenir item so I´ve decided to do some T-shirt mock ups. Actually one as the other one is taken from the Tribute to the  Lichfield Transmitter entry.

Ok here goes, cue drum roll music….deder!!!

The Tamworth Timehikes t-shirts.

click to enlarge

As I mentioned before the T-shirt on the left was featured before. I love the graph putting the transmitter shoulder to shoulder with Paris, New York!! It´s got the added advantage that the Lichfield transmitter tower can be seen for miles around so it could be a souvenir t-shirt for Lichfield, Walsall, the list goes on…

The one on the right is a profile of Tamworth´s  skyline in a pulse graph style. This one is yearning for a title, something like Wake up Tamworth! but can´t decide. Any title contributions will be greatly appreciated and all profits will be shared; )

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TRIBUTE TO LICHFIELD TRANSMITTER MAST

Lichfield transmitter mast at its 305.2  metres standing on one of the highest points in the West midlands is an omnipresent landmark for miles around. Apparently it can be seen from Wolverhampton and from personal experience, it’s the landmark that announces your arrival in the vicinity  especially at night with its unflinching 6 red lights, so if you are passing through the area look out for it. I wonder where’ s the furthest point it can be seen from? It would be great to hear about any stories(with photos) of seeing it from the Welsh border at night, Staffordshire moor, or who knows where.

According to wikipedia it was built in 1961 to replace the original mast, there’s more links on the wikipedia page. It’s a TV transmitter mast and is part of the Lichfield Transmitter station, the mast is  a great functional structure of towering height. Taking a look around the internet  its got a good couple of links. One is a video of engineers working relatively close to the top of the mast  with the nearby quarry dizzingly far below. Aptly there’s a recent post on BrownhillsBob’s Brownhills Blog praising people who work at  heights, take a look.

The other link  is  a graph comparing the tower to world landmarks such as the Eiffel tower. I love the audacity of the graph and I thought it would be a great t-shirt so I´ve done a mock-up for the benefit of Tamworth or Lichfield souvenir shops.

Below is a photo of the looming ominous structure  from one of its  stay lines  accompanied by suitably threatening weather. Close up its got  something of   the tripods, the 80’s bbc series about it,albeit a little more anorexic. Also as you might see from the photo it´s  very difficult to grasp its size. I get this feeling of a lack of sense of scale with the mast from close or far away. Its location on a rural hillside means it has no immediate comparison( hence the t-shirt!) It’s the visibility of the mast from so far away which does it the real justice(apart from the t-shirt).

Its present in the background means that it’s a common victim for daydreaming. This captures a brief daydream about the tower being used by mexican voladores to jump down from. Would be a great sight but they would probably get tangled up in the staylines, anyway…..

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