Just a random thought no.7.

Finally the refurbished Digbeth Coach Station in Birmingham is open. I didn't get to see the first coach out, as that was at 0800, but went a bit later in the day, and took some photographs to be found in my album on Flickr. There were still some things incomplete, and one or two of the automatics (one set of coach access doors, and the toilet pay-gate) were misfunctioning, but it is at least bright and airy, neither of which you could say about the old station, and it is a clear improvement on the temporary station too. Just a pity it took so long, partly down to the failure of the original main contractor. Of course, NatEx's financial position has meant that they have had to sell and lease the building back, but at least it's open.
I echo Ian Jelf http://ianjelf.blogspot.com/ in wishing that it was more central, but with the planned regeneration of the area it may become less off-centre than it feels at present. Perhaps Network West Midlands should consider reinstating the Stationlink bus.

Just a random thought no.6.

The news that the Australian PM has apologised and ours "will do so in January" for the treatment of youngsters transported to Australia for their own good in the last century begs an obvious question. Is sorry so alien a term to a British politician that it takes up to three months for it to pass his lips?

Just a random thought no.5

As I write, Berlioz's Sinfonie Fantastique is playing on the radio, the BBCNOW from Swansea. A relatively rare live relay: I must say I wish that there were more: they used to outnumber the recorded concerts in an evening by as great a ratio as recordings outnumber live concerts now. But the practice did mean that a couple of weeks ago I was able to listen again, without the new-fangled I-player, on Thursday, to the concert I had attended on Wednesday. Certainly for the new piece, Colin Matthews's Violin Concerto, the relay pointed up the soloist in a way that did not come over in Symphony Hall, where much of the time, you could only see what she was doing - her efforts being subsumed into the general wash of sound: whether that was intended by the composer, I do not know, but for this listener it made for a very unsatisfactory listening experience. Whether the highlighting by the recording engineer for the broadcast was approved of by Mr Matthews, I suppose we will never know. Whether other fiddlers will take it up, only time will tell. I suspect not!
Off to Marden in the morning to do a bit of bus restoration...

Just a random thought no. 4

More rambling in Birmingham today, with Ian Jelf and Spice on the Terra Cotta trail. But I'm not going to post pictures of it here, they can be found on my Flickr site via Facebook, or on my Picasa site. I'm very grateful to Ian, who has taught me a great deal about my great home city of Birmingham. To think that, when I was my nephew's age, thirty-odd years ago, I couldn't wait to get away, and not come back! Time, fate, providence, whatever, dictated otherwise, and now my present intention is to remain in my current house until they take me out horizontally in a box!
The image above is of the Grey Heron that I met as I walked in to town along the Birmingham Main Line Canal, as is my wont on these occasions, and the two at the top are of the queue for the "Staffordshire Hoard" - see last post, and of the Morris Ring gathering in Victoria Square.

Just a random thought no.3

I visited the exhibition of the "Staffordshire Hoard" on Saturday afternoon, 26 September, at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and found it well worth queuing for. Some of the workmanship is amazingly intricate, and surprisingly miniaturised: if you can get to Birmingham before 13 October, I recommend a visit: after that the items go for cleaning and conservation. By the way Sun 27 September (today) is the last day of the Matthew Boulton exhibition in the Gas Hall - don't blame me if you miss it.
The National Trust has opened Croome Court in Worcestershire: I'm going to visit it as soon as I can, possibly today. I'll let you know what I think.

Just a random thought no.2

What is it about me and the twenty-first century? Why do electrical and electronic things always go wrong? Have we replaced built-in obsolescence with fitness only for the recycling bin immediately something comes out of the shop? Thank goodness I use rechargeable batteries in my digital compact camera - by a well-known manufacturer, by the way - otherwise I would be spending more on batteries than I would if it were analogue, and I had to pay for film and D&P!

Just a random thought no. 1

I wonder if blogging willl become addictive? I already spend too much time at the keyboard - but thought that a blog might be a good idea to share a few random thoughts from time to time.
One of the what ifs of life is what if Birmingham had had 30ft Guy Arab Vs and Daimler CVG6LX/30s with Metro-Cammell and other H40/32RD bodies instead of the Atlanteans and Fleetlines it got in the early 60s - would they have lasted as long as the Routemasters did in London, and might they still be running now as heritage vehicles?