Birmingham's Image And Status

[Brummygirl66]

As I have already said, the views of older Brummies, particularly those who remember the old Bull Ring complete with the Market Hall, as I do, will have completely different views to younger Brummies, and people from outside. I am all for progress, as long as it does not destroy the heart of the City, which in my personal opinion it as, can you imagine, for example, Liverpool demolishing the Liver Building in the name of progress ? I'll not make any further comments for I find it all so sad. Eric

You say Liverpool didn't knock down the Liver Building, but I would imagine many other buildings were knocked down during the post war years.

Yes, a lot of beautiful buildings were lost, but a lot remain. The Council House, The Town Hall, now restored and looking beautiful, the original Law Courts, the General, now Children's Hospital, and I know from working in it when it was the General that its a beautiful building both inside and outside.

I still think that Birmingham is a great city and one I am proud to live near, and I look forward to seeing the new buildings mixed with the old, hopefully with a little greenery as well!

 

[cookie273uk]

I can remember when the so called Centenary Square was lawns, flower beds, trees, benches, pathways, an oasis among the city buildings, plus the Hall of Memory, somewhere you could sit down and relax, you need places like this in a city centre, we have St Phillips and that's about it. What few trees we had seemed to have disappeared, we need more green areas to relax in. Eric

 

[A Sparks]

A great write-up about Brum in the USA Boston Globe Newspaper, September 2017

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazin...-for-travel/I3mKiZEjh9HdG2tOyA5UjM/story.html

 

[Neil How]

Not sure if this is right place to post this - moderator please advise. The 1946 council map of the planned new road system for central Birmingham. (I've just tried to upload it, original is too big; please contact me if you want a full-size copy 11Mb)

 

[mw0njm.]

Anvil man

I'm proud to be a Brummie and even today when anybody asks me where I come from I tell them Birmingham even though I now live in Solihull because as far as I'm concerned I have never left Birmingham.

I think I have related the story about the young lady I was once with who lived in London (in Deptford) when I lived there for a short while in the 60's. She had been fed terrible ideas about Birmingham being a terrible place all her life but had never been here. I tried & tried to get her to accompany me to Birmingham for ages and in the end she finally agreed to spend a weekend here with me.

When she got here she could not get over how much greenery Birmingham had and this was only the mid 60's. After I showed her around the new city centre and some of the parks and the Lickey Hills she had changed her mind completely about Birmingham and as we returned to London she enthused about Birmingham and how different it was from the ideas that she had held about the City.

I think that most people that say that Birmingham is a bit of a dump are people who have never visited the City and are going on what they are told by other people who have never visited either. Then of course you have the TV entertainers and comedians who think it is great fun to mock Birmingham, but what do they know about the city all they see is an audience from a stage and their hotel room. I don't suppose any of them go on a sight seeing tour of the city.

yes and me phil. but slowly i am sounding a hybrid. so i keep my hand in with some. am yo all rite mate.

 

[farmerdave]

Living in Birmingham seems to be in demand as house prices are rising fast. An article in the Daily Mail today read that "Birmingham, best in Britain for rising house prices." It goes on "House prices have risen fastest in the Midlands and the North of England since the Brexit vote, figures reveal. Property values in Birmingham have jumped 16 per cent since the June 2016 referendum, making it the top performing area of Britain. The steepest drop was in Aberdeen where values slumped 14 per cent, mostly because of a slide in oil prices which hit demand for property at the North Sea town. There has been just a 1 per cent rise in London." Dave.

 

[MWS]

Best in Britain for who?

 

[mikejee]

Only for estate agents, solicitors, builders and property developers

 

[guilbert53]

I recently came across a travel web site called OrangleSmile. It is based in Holland but reviews places all over the world.

Here is the "home" page

Hotel Reservation System | Reserve Your Room Secure and Cheap - OrangeSmile.com

www.orangesmile.com

There is a section on Birmingham, which does have some very amusing comments about the city, possibly written by a person who has never been to Birmingham.

Here is the Birmingham section of OrangeSmile:

Birmingham Travel Guide | Things To See In Birmingham - Sightseeings & Interesting Places

OrangeSmile.com city guide to Birmingham, Great Britain. What to see and to visit - best attractions and sightseeing, famous touristic places and landmarks in Birmingham. OrangeSmile.com provides you all the information you need to make your trip to Birmingham exciting and juicy: sights...

www.orangesmile.com

As an example of an unintentional amusing review one section says (note it says "left hand dining" not "left hand driving"):

"The national traditions have touched virtually all areas of life in the city. Motorists should be aware that there is left-hand dining in this city. This is absolutely not typical of European countries. The local residents consider tea with milk their national drink. A traditional afternoon tea has already become one of most important national peculiarities. Every day at five o'clock in the evening residents of Birmingham try to return back home or have a seat in a cozy café in order to see friends and family, talk and relax while enjoying a cup of tea."

Another section says

"The local residents follow a mass of interesting traditions and customs, many of which may seem quite original to travellers, while others can simply cause confusion. For example, opposite to all international standards the local people use their own system of weights and measures. In any pub visitors will certainly be provided with a pint of beer rather than the usual "a half of a liter". This feature is by far not the only one that distinguishes the culinary traditions of the local people. Their breakfast is also strikingly different from the typical understanding of the word “meal” among people residing in other countries. The local cafes or restaurants offer guests to order fresh rolls and coffee for breakfast. The morning menu of the local dining facilities will amaze you by its modesty. The reason for this fact is in the traditions of the locals – they usually have the second breakfast close to the noon. This meal differs by considerably greater variety of dishes."

And finally a review of the Britannia Hotel in the city centre. This gets regular bad reviews on web sites like Trip Advisor for being so awful, yet OrangeSmile says about the hotel:

"Near the railway station you will find a unique hotel - Britannia Hotel Birmingham. It is housed in a spectacular historic building and attracts customers with a special design. Guests of the hotel have the opportunity to plunge into the unique atmosphere of the mid-20th century. Behind the front door is a chic lobby with a historic atmosphere reigning inside. The hotel is designed with the use of authentic antique furniture, including luxury leather-upholstered sofas and armchairs, as well as precious works of art. Paintings by outstanding English artists and other antiques are present in all the rooms."

That is just from the Birmingham section of the web site, there are loads more "mistakes" on reviews for other places.

 

[mikejee]

And I wonder how much the indian restaurant at 266 Broad St bunged the author.