I have just returned from a few days in Birmingham, a city I had never visited until now, I must admit that I was very surprised just how much we enjoyed my time there. I visited, with my mate Jim, to attend an interview for a volunteers role at next year’s Commonwealth Games, spending time exploring what the city had to offer. We flew to Birmingham Airport and took a short shuttle ride to the nearby railway station to catch one of the many frequent trains into the city centre. We were booked into the Premier Inn beside New Street Station, which proved to be a great place to stay as its slap bang in the middle of town and close to all the main attractions.
My interview went well and I left feeling quite confident, however, there is no guarantee of a role, but at least I will have tried. Birmingham’s Christmas celebrations had kicked off while we were there with a massive German Christmas Market spread throughout the city centre and a giant Ferris wheel, an ice skating rink and a Walking with The Snowman trail amongst many other attractions.
As many of you know, I love to search out street art while in a new city and Birmingham certainly delivered onthat front too. I was directed to an area known as Digbeth and the Custard Factory, originally built by Alfie Bird to produce Bird’s Custard in 1906, it is now a creative hub and home to many independent shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, and galleries, there is even a dedicated graffiti supplies shop.
I discovered art by many artists new to me, some by other other well-known artists, there were also some by artists I have met in Glasgow. I took so many photographs around the area, a sample of some are shown below, the remainder can be seen in a separate page, which can be seen here:
Jim's travels 