Sunday 22nd October 2023, 10.45am (day 4,441)
It is said that Birmingham has more canals than Venice, and it’s a believable stat once you start walking around the place.
King Edward’s Wharf, Birmingham
Being 42
Life, one day at a time
Tag Archives: Birmingham
Pinball wizard
Friday 20th October 2023, 2.55pm (day 4,439)
“He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine, feeling all the bumpers, always playing clean… Plays by intuition, the digit counters fall, that deaf dumb and blind kid, sure plays a mean pinball….”
OK, this guy’s probably not deaf, dumb or blind, but hey. The Tilt bar in Birmingham has 20 fine altars at which to worship. Dammit though, that’s a pub two days in a row. But I am on a long weekend.
By Bordesley station, Sunday morning
Sunday 19th January 2020, 9.05am (day 3,069)
Another very beautiful (but frosty) winter’s morning, part of which we spent walking from our hotel back to New Street station through a near-deserted Birmingham city centre. I don’t know this place well; it seems a strange mix of time periods, blocks of urban desolation suddenly becoming US-style skyscraper downtown and then a bit further on, leafy suburbia. Anyway, this shot relies on two things: the narrow slot between two small road signs and the flare effect having behaved itself well.
Rock photos, Birmingham New Street station
Wednesday 6th April 2016, 9.10am (day 1,686)
Joe and I stayed in Birmingham last night. Our journey home in the morning was at a schedule relaxed enough to permit a proper look at this photography exhibition on the concourse of Birmingham New Street station, photos by Denis O’Regan of a gamut of rock icons from (seen here) the late David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Roger Daltrey and Spandau Ballet when the latter were still cool (surely Gary Kemp was never that young), and many more not depicted here. More railway stations should do this kind of thing if you ask me.
Goal celebrations, Amex stadium
Saturday 21st February 2015, 4.10pm (day 1,276)
My fourth-ever trip to the Amex stadium, home of my beloved Brighton & Hove Albion since 2011, and this is the third time it has appeared on the blog. This was also the first time Joe has been able to visit. He’s declaring for the Albion, which is a brave move for a Yorkshire-born 11-year-old, so it was good to see an exciting game, and a win — 4-3 for Brighton over Birmingham City. This picture was taken just after Inigo Calderon put the Albion 2-1 up.
Seacole Building, Birmingham City University
Monday 19th March 2012, 9.20am (day 207)
A trip down to Birmingham today for a one-day conference. It involved me getting up at 5.10am, but that’s by the by. I’ve been to all the major cities in Britain except Bristol, and I do think that Birmingham is the blandest. There just doesn’t seem to be much reason to go there. Apologies to the Brummies out there, but this is probably why I’ve nearly spent more time in Birmingham, Alabama in my life than in Birmingham, England. (Birmingham AL isn’t that exciting either, though it does have one really cracking pub.)
Being 42 