As it was my birthday last Friday and a hotel chain was doing a “too good to miss” offer for the weekend we decided to be tourists in Birmingham even though it is only 10 miles away. The hotel couldn’t have been better placed, right in the city centre and we had a list of things to see with top of the list being the new Library of Birmingham, just a 10 minute walk away. On the way to visit the Sea Life Centre we watched a barge breaking the ice and which coincidently was named “Aquarius” my star sign. Then to the new library followed by a visit to the Willard Wigan amazing miniatures exhibition on the 3rd floor and we were lucky enough to meet him and shake his hand. I didn’t realise he comes from a couple of miles away from where we live. At the library I was really impressed to see that they had kept the Shakespeare Memorial Room from 1882 and rebuilt it in the rotunda on the 9th floor. We finished the day seeing the new exhibition at the museum displaying “The Staffordshire Hoard” where we stayed so long we actually got locked in! Finally had a brush with the law as met up with our daughter, a police officer, who was on duty in the city centre that evening. She looks too small to be driving a large police car but it was a brief meet as a call came in, the blue lights came on ……. and off she went.

The only real second hand book shop in the city centre “Readers World“ (video shows shop eventually) was closed when we got there as we’d left it a bit late but as I’d been there recently I wasn’t too bothered. Back to books proper next week.