One million Brummies can't be wrong
[Continued from day one: Alton Towers]
On Saturday we took the train into Birmingham. As we approached the city, Dr B jumped out of his seat when he saw that Aston University's Chemistry Department had been pulled down. That's where he worked towards the Ph.D. that put the 'Dr' into 'Dr B.'. It turned out to be just a trick of the perspective from the tracks, and the building was still there in all its glory. Phew. I feared I was going to face a whole day with a very upset doctor.
The first stop of my guided visit to the city where he studied was indeed to be a pilgrimage underneath the very window of the room where most of his research had taken place. Surprisingly enough, the building had not exploded due to some carelessly mixed chemicals – but I am told this is just my idea of a chemistry doctorate.
We left the campus and walked towards the canals, via the Sacks of Potatoes, where I understand Dr. B used to down pint after pint of lager and blackcurrant. A purple hangover eventually put an end to his favourite tipple. The Sacks of Potatoes stands next to what used to be the Gosta Green cinema, the first in the UK to feature Dolby Stereo. This is only one of the many firsts/inventions/world records held by Birmingham, among which:
- lawn Tennis, invented in Birmingham and played in Edgbaston from 1865. Birmingham's National Indoor Arena now plays host to the annual Davis Cup;
- Birmingham was the first to be awarded 'European City of Sport';
- Birmingham is known as the capital of the Balti, a spicy dish served in a wok-like metal dish (balti means 'bucket') introduced to the city by its large Kashmiri population. There are over 150 Balti restaurants in Birmingham, most of which are located within the Balti triangle;
- Birmingham has more canals than Venice (by mileage, 35 miles versus 26);
- F.W Lanchester built the first four-wheeled petrol driven car in Birmingham;
- the first (and so far only) Eurovision Song Contest won by a male-to-female transgender took place at the National Indoor Arena in – you guessed it – Birmingham.
(Birmingham trivia mostly from Fascinating Facts about Birmingham.)
On the other hand, Birmingham's accent regularly comes last in British surveys of favourite regional accents.
I was shown the spot where Dr B. swam across the canal in a dinner jacket after a ball because he was too pissed to walk to the near-by bridge – very James Bond. The walk along the canals took us from dilapidated warehouses to regenerated des res. The area area where the canal flows underneath the BT building is stunning, with concrete meeting moss in an extraordinary effect of reflections that give you the impression to be at the edge of a precipice.
From the canal to the city centre and the Wheel of Birmingham. Sadly, the temporary Ferris wheel that had been shipped over from Paris has now been replaced by a brand new bespoke one, and the French audio commentary pointing at nowhere-to-be-seen Parisian monuments is no more.
Back to the city centre, and more regenerated areas. A lot of money has obviously been thrown into doing Birmingham up, and the results are striking. Coloured transparent blocks with water flowing around them (I suppose you may call them fountains, they are opposite St Martin's church and look stunning at night when lit up). The new Selfridges store at the Bullring, where we quickly slipped into retail mode: Dr B. wanking over technology, me ogling keyboards – and walking into a set of drums. The Mailbox, an exquisite container of dull shop after dull shop.
We rushed through Birmingham gay village. Gay area. Alright, gay street. Hopefully slightly more lively in the evenings. There is bound to be more Brummie gayness elsewhere. And then we took the train back.
That night, I made my first encounter with what had been heralded as The Best Chinese Take-away In The World. Being on my best behaviour and trying to impress the in-laws, I yum-yummed through an obscene quantity of grub. Sadly, to me everything still only tasted of COOH(CH2)2CH(NH2)COONa (monosodium glutamate, for the uninitiated to the joys of advanced chemistry.
Saturday 13 August 2005 at 12:25 pm
Phew, you had me going there for a second… Though my Alma Mater had gone for good.
Brum certainly has changed a lot over the 10 years since I graduated from Chem.Eng. Sorry to say, I really think that is the scene these days! The renaissance that occurred 5 years ago had dwindled again, so back to Hurst Street it is :-)
I love the Brummy accent (I have to, the b.f. comes with one pre-installed), it's so liltling and quite musical. Ahhh it takes me back….