12. Birmingham, England
Photo: www.intelligentcommunity.org
The Journey
The trip from Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham New Street was excellent value at €11 for the one hour 45 min trip. It was booked on the Omio app and was with Avanti West Rail. The journey was pleasant, the train was not overcrowded and I found a seat easily.
King's Heath High Street. Photo: www.birminghamlive.co.uk
I stayed with my friends Graeme and Vicki who live in the suburb of King's Heath, south of the city centre, just off the High Street. I was delighted to catch up with them as it has been a year since they visited us in Ireland.
Graeme waited for my arrival under the Birmingham Bull at New Street Station, which reminded me, when I saw it of the Nantes Elephant. It is so big that I didn't actually spot it at first - literally a bull, as opposed to an elephant in the room!
Then Graeme put on his official 'Visit Birmingham' cap and dutifully pointed out some of the important sights on our way to the bus stop and on the journey back to the house. There were still plenty of red-brick buildings, old factory premises and warehouses to be seen, hinting at the city's important industrial backstory. While many appeared vacant, others had been refurbished into what look like smart apartment blocks and offices.
Graeme and Vicki live in a very attractive Victorian semi. Vicki and their two adult children Polly and Max were there to welcome me.
Straight away a very colourful display of classic and 7in singles caught my eye, high up in their TV lounge. This was no surprise given Graeme's love of music, which I first experienced when we shared an apartment together, while working as English language assistants in Le Havre, France.
On Tuesday night, we dined in one of their favourite local Indian restaurants, King's Indian Dining. It being Birmingham, the home of British curries, their curries and side dishes were of course top notch.
One of the restaurant's brilliant innovations was the possibility of having most main courses served as a starter size or main course size. So I chose two starter size portions. one of the aubergine-based curry and one of the chick pea one. However I got to taste the whole range of dishes spread out on the table, including masala chips - a new one for me. For the remainder of Monday evening, Vinny (or George) the cat just owned me on his favourite chair! I can't ever show this photo to our own cat Ollie when I get home!
I did share the photo with Tricia, who duly informed me that depression has come over Ollie already, as he pines my absence, and he has retreated into the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet!
The next day we didn't go on our planned trip to the Malvern Hills. Instead we stayed local and I got to see the delights of the South Birmingham suburbs, including the Cadbury and Bournville districts, where the houses built to house the workers in the chocolate factories are now highly desirable, despite the long-held stipulation that no pubs are allowed in these areas! I wondered if this is where the description "chocolate box view" comes from and meant to look it up later on.
These streets were just picture-postcard perfect, and a complete contrast to the modern high rise blocks of the city centre.
And right next to this area is the massive Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Its futuristic design actually featured in a Doctor Who episode.
As hospitals go, it really is an impressive building.
Dinner on Wednesday night was truly a family effort celebrating the British pie tradition, with Graeme's Nigel Slater-inspired mackerel pie, Polly's vegetarian shepherd's pie and Vicki's red berry crumble served with Greek yoghurt. Amazing food and brilliant company.
For my departure breakfast on Thursday, I decided (with an equal mix of trepidation and anticipation) to try Marmite for the first time. For those not in the know, Marmite is a British institution, apparently you either love it or hate it - there is no middle ground! I was advised by both Graeme and Vicki to just put on a light skim on top of the melted butter on the toast. I also learned that you have to always use a separate knife! But guess what, to everyone's surprise (including my own) I LOVED IT!!
First Impressions
My whistlestop visit and tours through the southern suburbs do not enable me to give a full appreciation of the city - that will have to wait for my next visit. I did love the very urban feel of the Bullring district as I walked through it with Graeme on my first evening. OK, it is not a beauty queen by any means, but for a city bombed extensively during the war, the city centre shopping and business district now seemed very much alive. I kinda love this type of architecture, where concrete is the main medium, and Birmingham is an example that I feel works very well in its setting - Graeme does not agree with me however!
Local bus transport in Birmingham is impressive, it is fast and efficient with easy smartphone payment available. Uber is also available and cheap. I got one to New Street Station on my last morning and it brought me there in double quick time, using the bus lane and avoiding the rush hour traffic.
As this stopover visit was fleeting, I departed with the feeling that there was still lots and lots to see and do in the UK's second city, and maybe next time I'll get to experience the Malvern Hills that my hosts had wanted to bring me to!
The fleeting trip through England continues in the next post, where I get to experience the Eurostar for the first time.
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