Brum!

New job, new city...and more new experiences!

Fabulous.

Current city: Birmingham aka Brum
Current job: mad busy, learning lots & loving it. (of course a pay rise makes it doubly great:D )

A small blimp aside...when first moved up, uh down...from Derby to Birmingham - feeling all lost and confused and wondering why oh why do I insist on putting myself off kilter...things are just great.

First and probably the most important - Brum is a city - with lots to do! And fairly close to many places...so plenty to keep the newborn traveller in me happy.

Have great accommodation with a fantastic view city. Summer...although not what I'm used to - has arrived! And I'm ecstatic to say I've managed to wander around in shorts and slops. I even experienced the thunder storm I've been longing for:)

Birmingham is a city - but very different from London. I'm not quite sure how to describe the differences - maybe a little less frantic. A little less cramped. And with tons and tons and tons of shops - many of which I've purposefully avoided trying to hang onto my hard earned money!

Locals describe Brum as having more canals than Venice... and I have a view of some of them. Walking along the canals is great...and seeing houseboats was a reminder of Chocolat... seems a little cramped...but holidaying in one will certainly be a novelty.

One place - of many - that's recommened is Cadbury's World...chocoholic that I am..of course I made my way there. Nice enough. Interesting learning the history behind chocolate, its introduction into the Western World and of course the start of Cadbury's.

The factory is situated in Bournville - village - now more like suburb - which was built around the factory.

The town is so quaint.

The Cadbury's were Quakers and built the village on Quaker principles...there's no off licences, chip shops, mickeyD's or anything of the sort to be found in Bournville. George Cadbury - and his brother - built a junior and senior school as well as finishing college and of course a Quaker House.

Anyway, in the clock tower of the senior school is a carillon - 48 bells. The day I went I was fortunate to hear the carillon being played. It gets played every saturday, 12pm and 3pm. It was the most gorgeous summer day - sitting on the village green, listening to the carillon player playing the music of Sir Edward Elgar.

Awesome.
As well as a little surreal - almost like going back in time.

I was far more impressed by the village of Bournville than by Cadbury World (although of course i spent a good few quid on chocolate :p )

Nerdish traveller...uh...guilty as charged.
:p


The Bull Ring - massive mall.

Brum at night.



Canals in Brum.



Bournville Carillon



High Street of Bournville, across from the village green.