Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Birmingham Revisited

I'm on the train back to London, once again crammed into a seat with my trusty laptop and a fair bit more luggage than I arrived with. (An awesome knee length soft leather jacket, a Nike day pack, a set of great portable speakers for my laptop, a mini kettle, a cafeteria and a packed lunch.) - Nice to see ya, to see ya nice ! (Thanks Mom !)

It was a very relaxing weekend, with an evening out in Henley-in-Arden for a curry at Arden, arguably the best curry I've ever had. Apparently it's the best Curry place in the Midlands.

Mom and I headed into Birmingham on Sunday and passed through Tysley on the train, a place where I spent a few months on various training courses back in the late 90's
I remember the place always smelling like stale damp dishrags, however, there was just a whiff of diesel and smog so my memories remained in the background.

Birmingham is a completely revitalised place. From the late 60's to the late 90's it really was the brunt of so many jokes, some rather unpleasant. Once a powerhouse of industry, sporting more canals than Venice, Birmingham hit a slump in the 60's which wasn't helped by a spree of rebuilding. Wonderful buildings were torn down and replaced by tower blocks and concrete and a road system so unfriendly to pedestrians shopping became a chore. Prior to the 60's Birmingham was a bustling city and a pleasure to visit. I think something must've been put in the city councils drinking water at the time, because the things they built could only have been designed and approved by raving loonies.

The new millenium has seen Birmingham rise from a mire of concrete and roads into a fantastic city of culture and a brilliant place to shop. In the centre, all roads have been closed to traffic and paved over, leaving tree lined boulevards and a cafe society. The canals have been opened up and renovated and you can walk for miles along their banks, stopping for a bite to eat or a pint.

The change is so dramatic and so heart lifting it has made Birmingham one of Britains major shopping destinations and once again, a proud European city.
As a Brummie, it certainly makes me glad that my city is no longer the brunt of jokes, but rather a great place to visit.

At the centre of it all, is the famous Bullring next to St. Martins church. It has been a bustling market place since the 1200's, however, the 60's obsession with concrete turned it into an ugly place. Only the people made it worth visiting, as brummies are a cheerful lot for the most part. The Bull Ring is now a shining example of how modern architecture can blend with old. The bronze statue of the Bull at the centre of the Bullring is a powerful symbol of the cities new found direction. It was recently vandalised, but such is the love of this symbol, the people of Birmingham paid to have it repaired and nobody will damage it again, such was the public outcry. Of course, this being Birmingham, people are more than welcome to let their kids clamber all over it and have photos taken.

Birmingham sports art galleries, theatres, restaurants, an aquarium and the best shopping experience in the Midlands.

The fact that it has an Apple shop really puts the shopping experience into perspective - a spare £2000 would've come in very handy, those 30" flat screens really are something to drool over.

If your based in London for a reasonable amount of time, Birmingham is a must visit. Considering it is only two and a half hours from Marylebone London on Chiltern rail, it's possible to visit for the day. It will also give new visitors to England a different perspective on British life and culture beyond what London has to offer.
Head out on the first train from Marylebone (£25 return) and you should be in Birmingham by 11am. Enough time to take in the shopping, a stroll down the canal banks and a long lunch before a very relaxing train journey back - there are only a few stops along the route.

November 7 2005 11am

Met up with Mom at the Stratford station and went for a quick coffee in the centre of town. Moms gone off shopping for an hour while I amble around. Good call, I'm not the most patient of shoppers, having a typical blokes attitude toward browsing - love the electronics goods, don't mind the clothes, run screaming from the supermarket.

This is good source matter for another Blog, outlining the various pros and cons of shopping with women. As far as I can see, the best pro is when they say "We'll meet over there in an hour"

I ambled directly to the Dirty Duck, a pub off the main drag that usually sees more locals than tourists. Go down to the roundabout down by WHSmiths, take a right and then straight for 3 minutes past the theatre and you'll find it, fantastic pub.

As I sit here, the coal fire is burning and there's locals enjoying lunch over a drink and a chat.

It would be great to share a pint with my brother right now, but I'm getting used to these solo pub sessions. So long as I have a book, newspaper or laptop handy, I'm happy.

A pint of Flowers Bitter is the order of the day, it's been over a year since I last tasted this most excellent brew. They serve bitter here at the proper temperature. In other words, not chilled. In London they tend to chill the bitter too much which spoils the flavour in my opinion.

Stratford-upon-avon hasn't changed at all, it's a bit like coming home. When I was younger, I used to sneer at the American tourists taking photos of mcdonalds. I didn't see any today unfortunately. It would've been good to take a photo of an American taking a photo of mcdonalds in Stratford. A sneer or two in passing would of course be neccessary, or even a good English kick in the goolies. "Take a photo of that, uncultured clot."

"Gee look honey, they have a macdonalds right here in stratforde, I just have to gedda shot a this for the guys back home."

Damn heathens !

As anyone with taste and culture knows, it's the Dirty Duck you want to spend an hour at, not the bloody macdonalds.

Although there is a lot to see in Stratford, you really need a car to visit all the surrounding areas too. These areas are steeped in history and ... historical pubs !

Just think, as you sup on an ale in a thousand year old pub, you can let your mind wander back over the centuries thinking about all the other people who have sat at the same spot supping on an ale and, er, well I don't really know where I'm going with this, so I'll stop now.

I'm a local today and have a sense of "my people"
Sounds like total bollox, I know, but there you go.
Most likely I'll step out the door and some young local scalliwag will gob on my boot and say "fook you yer bloody saff fafrican."
This is unlikely in Stratford, but not impossible.

If you expected a potted history of Stratford from this Blog, my apologies. Of course, should I manage to consume 3 pints of flowers in an hour, I'll be potted.

As it is, I'm half way through my first one with 20 minutes to go before meeting Mom and heading off to Henly-in-Arden.

We're going out for Indian tonight, think I'll do the completely obvious British thing and have a Chicken Tikkia Masala - sorted !

Following these Blogs of mine, you will possibly have noticed a common theme here. In my defence, pub culture is about the most important aspect of life in Britain. Even if you don't drink, to really get a feel for the country you most definately need to spend a great deal of time in pubs, if only to get out of the rain !

5th November, 12.55pm




Trains and laptops

Modern British trains seem to have been designed to prevent easy laptop use.
I'm typing this with the laptop jutting into my stomach and the screen hard up against the seat in front, not the most comfortable. I should've got one of the "seats facing seats" spots instead.

The world outside the train windows is sucked along backwards to strains from X&Y. Grey skies, green land, distant cows and sheep dotted hills. Hedgerows and Pylons, Forests and highways, villages and towns. This is England.

I'm on the 8.54 from Marylebone to Stratford-upon-avon to meet Mom.
It's been a while since I saw her - a few weeks back briefly at Heathrow when she was on her way to Portugal. Before that it had been almost a year.

My journey plan outlined in the last blog worked flawlessley, although not without some luck.

I left the B&B at 7.30, grabbed a bus to Wimbledon Station and got the 7.45 to Waterloo. The journey only took 15 minutes. It took 3 minutes at a steady pace to get down to the Jubilee line via a series of escalators and this is where fortune smiled.

An announcement that the Jubilee line was experiencing severe delays just as a train was about to pull away from the platform. I hopped onboard with seconds to spare and got to Baker Street at 8:13, hopped off and walked literally 100m to a waiting Bakerloo train which got me to Marylebone at 8.20 with 34 minutes to spare.

I'm still amazed at the public transport in this country a month after arriving. I am certain that at some point I will curse it as I'm left stranded somewhere in the cold at an ungodly hour.

I'm looking forward to seeing Stratford-upon-avon again, it's been a while since I was last there. I'm very familiar with the place, having lived in the area for a year back in the late 80's

Hopefully the rain won't start pouring till later - we're in for a wet weekend and the temperature has normalised from it's previous record breaking temperatures. The sun is still shining through the clouds and the scenery from the train is soft and pleasant.

Time to relax for a few days and forget about the world of jobs and accommodation in London...

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5th November, 10.07am somewhere between London and Stratford-upon-avon.
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... The journey back 7th November ...

Uneventful until Waterloo, with train delays. About the only highlight were The Smiths lyrics :-

"I'd like to drop my trousers to the Queen, every sensible child will know what this means"
That made me laugh a bit loud on the tube, although I've heard it so many times before. Classic.