The Bullring Mall

[Birmingham] has a long history as a leading centre of trade and market innovation. Its earliest transformation, in the 1200’s, from an agriculturally insignificant village into one of the greatest industrial cities in the world, earned it a reputation as ‘The city of a thousand trades’. Birmingham’s importance has been forged and fashioned by its own people. It is not a site of strategic defensive importance, and has no castle, port, or river. The city emerged solely as a result of its ability to craft, manufacture, and trade goods.

The site of Bullring, beneath the St Martin’s Church, has always been the city’s historic market centre, and began life in 1166 when Birmingham was awarded a charter giving it the right to have its own market.

Built at a cost of over £500 million, Bullring has brought over 26 football pitches worth of shops, boutiques and restaurants into the centre of the city. It has reintroduced some of Birmingham’s traditional streets in a stimulating, glass covered environment where you can shop, eat or just be.

Bullring isn’t just a shopping centre. It’s a new beginning for the city. It has introduced 3,200 more car parking spaces, improved public transport links and a refurbished Moor Street Station. And with a stunning mix of contemporary architecture and historic buildings, Bullring has completely changed the face of Birmingham.

A couple of Bullring facts relating to the photos in this blog:

The Bronze Bull situated in the square at the base of Rotunda is two and a half life sized and weighs 5T.

3 light wands are situated in the square at the base of the rotunda. These act as beacons and are 20, 25 & 30 meters in height.

This is the bronze bull in front of the mall.

There is a same-size replica in the food court area downstairs made from jelly beans. And yes, they are both anatomically correct. (^_^)

The three light wands.

The mall is symmetrically built and this picture shows the entrance to the left side as you approach from the light wands.

This is the right entrance where the bull is located.

The webcam from inside the Bullring has been rated as one of Earthcam’s top 25 most interesting.

Additional info: the first 2 days of opening, the Bullring had over 2 million visitors from all over the world.

The Bullring is less than 20 minutes from my home.

PS: Some of you may notice I have posted photos of the outside of the mall. Photos are forbidden inside the mall, unless one writes to the owners in advance and seek permission. This does not contravene UK laws which state that taking photographs in public is permitted, as the mall is private property.

The Birmingham Court

The above pictures are of the Birmingham Court. It is well over 100 years old, and as you can see, has a lot of detailed artwork in its construction.

 

These tiles are found inside the court, and again are well over a century old. The lack of mechanised manufacture of the tiles is apparent, as there are subtle yet obvious differences from tile to tile. It is clear that they are all handmade, and that the workmanship, while excellent and talented, still cannot match the exact duplication that modern mechanised production can. Each has its own unique difference and yet has similarities.

I’ve been told that these tiles may well be very expensive.

The Beggar Maid

This painting by Edward Burne-Jones is inspired by Tennyson’s poem, The Beggar Maid (written 1833, published 1842).

    Her arms across her breast she laid;
      She was more fair than words can say:
    Bare-footed came the beggar maid
      Before the king Cophetua.
    In robe and crown the king stept down,
      To meet and greet her on her way;
    'It is no wonder,' said the lords,
      'She is more beautiful than day.'
    As shines the moon in clouded skies,
      She in her poor attire was seen:
    One praised her ancles, one her eyes,
      One her dark hair and lovesome mien.
    So sweet a face, such angel grace,
      In all that land had never been:
    Cophetua sware a royal oath:
      'This beggar maid shall be my queen!'

I was inspired to re-publish this due to some poems being shared on this blog. This was another that was popular learning in school.

Regret

Yet another email… Imao.

Some more Birmingham photos

Punks on the way to school this morning.

Ice on the pavement.

Mailing a letter to her friend…

The snow lying on the ‘commons’.

Zoomed picture of the canal. It appears frozen. I will walk by later and check it out.

I wonder why there is a huge plastic polar bear in front of the council house?

St Philip’s Cathedral.

Some Birmingham photos

 

These were taken with a Canon PowerShot today. No flash used in any photos, except the last. The first 2 were taken from a moving car, and I am impressed with the lack of blur.

Clico Investments

Got this in my email.

When all was right with the world

It’s another cold day today; snowfall last night in my area was mild compared to other areas of England. At the moment there is a warm air current that is melting the snow off the trees and roofs and I can hear the dripping sounds of water running off my roof. It’s a peaceful sound, reminding me of long ago days when I spent nights at the home of my great-grandmother, listening to rain falling off her galvanised roof on a cold morning – waking up to the pleasant aroma of home-grown, home-roasted coffee.

I spent many an idle hour at her home as a child (a lot under 10 years old) watching water droplets fall into her drains, seeing them splash and bounce and fall again into the drain.

I remember my great-grandfather chopping firewood with his axe, splitting first logs then the smaller pieces till they were thin enough and short enough to fit into the chulha. Stoves weren’t as common as they are now. He also planted a small kitchen garden were he grew corn, and peas, bodi, and other things. I remember the fun of walking through the corn rows, feeling out the ears of corn and looking for the ears that were mature enough to boil or roast.

I also remember the countless chickens running around in the yard, until it was time to feed them and seeing them running coming for the rice grains or cracked corn thrown out for them. Usually used as a ploy to get them to come also when the  demise of one was imminent. (^_^)

My great-grandparents also had one of the biggest pomerac trees you ever saw, with some of the biggest, reddest (so red they were almost black) fruit you ever saw, and the red flowers formed a thick carpet under the tree just before the fruits began to bud. I learnt to climb trees on that one, hauling myself up the smooth truck where there were no branches, then climbing up to the top where the wind was in your face and swaying the branches.

The old chaitaigne tree (not chestnuts) with the laglee dripping from the bark, a source of sticky bait for the young boys in the village to catch wild birds…

The trees are gone as is my great-grandparents home and indeed as they are. The memories are there though, and for some reason, the water dripping off my roof this morning took me back to those days when all was right in the world.

Peace of mind

It’s a slow morning, and I don’t have to go to work. There is no fresh snowfall, and what is on the ground is rapidly melting, though more is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

I deliberately bypassed the Trinidad newspapers today, not wanting to have to deal with so much crap. Lately, I've become pensive, and more depressed. Not only about the never-ending stream of bad news from down there, but also because lately I’ve realised that several important aspects of my life are now necessary for me to let go of.

Letting go is never easy, and some of these decisions have been weighing very heavily on my mind, more so since my brush with dengue and the ill health that followed.

Support is almost non-existent for me in the UK, since I have no family here except for Punks, who at age 10 is certainly not the appropriate person to unburden my thoughts. Friends are more likely to be centred around their own lives and their own families, as is common in the UK. People here are less involved in other peoples’ troubles.

My mood is not related to the weather, I hope. As time passes, I find myself hopeful for something, and yet I cannot define what it is that I am seeking. Peace of mind certainly. Perhaps that will come in time, one can hope and work towards that, as I have been doing.

In the meantime, I am going to do my daily workout and have a good breakfast. All things else can wait.

Getting the cure

Just love this Guardian editorial cartoon.

Too high an expectation?

PERHAPS it was too much to expect our politicians to rise to the level of wisdom and restraint for which this newspaper called yesterday. The debate on the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill and the Insurance Act (Amendment) Bill in the House of Representatives has surfaced the worst fears of this newspaper on the motives and the agenda which the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is pursuing with the bailout of CLICO and Clico Investment Bank.

What the people of this country got in the House yesterday was nothing short of a national disgrace. For this, the Prime Minister must shoulder the responsibility of failing to lead the country through a time of great uncertainty and fear.

At a time when public trust in Government process is most demanded of its leaders, the nation heard the PM signal his intention to embark on what can only be described as a witch hunt. We were chagrined to hear him speak glibly about now being "in a position to get the details of a certain transaction", suggesting an intention to access records and information presumed to reside within CL Financial in respect of alleged transactions of certain persons.

To be fair to him, he also declared that "there are certain issues of national concern, which ought not to be the subject of the political cut and thrust. We believe that this one is.'' We couldn't agree more.

This is not the time for settling political scores. Nor is it the time for panicking an already jittery public, which must surely be worried about the possibility of the CL Financial imbroglio becoming a political football, thereby fuelling further damage to the national economy.

The terms of the bailout of CL Financial allows the Government and the Central Bank unprecedented access to the assets and books of CL Financial, a private company. While there is no question that the depositors and policyholders must be protected, intervention by the Government and the Central Bank should not provide occasion for the Government to gain access to the private affairs of citizens or to use the assets that fall under its control to prosecute agendas against political enemies, real or perceived.

We warned yesterday that the Government should see itself as the "trustee'' of the CL Financial assets which fall under its control. One of our concerns is, of course, for our own parent company, One Caribbean Media, where a minority of the shares are owned by CLICO, but where, some fear, there may be an agenda afoot to use this shareholding to "manners'' the Express and TV6, media organisations which have been founded on the principle of freedom of the press and which pride their independence which, we should add, will be defended with all the resources at our command.

Our concern, however, extends equally to companies like Republic Bank, the country's largest bank with depositors and shareholders drawn from every corner of the country. That Republic Bank could conceivably become a State-owned and controlled bank, giving the Government a dominant stake in the banking industry in this country, is a matter of significant concern. It is not clear what public purpose is served by State ownership of Republic Bank, when it might be argued that even FCB and the Unit Trust Corporation should long ago have been candidates for divestment.

We applaud the suggestion by the MP for Diego Martin West that the shares of these companies be placed in a specially-created holding company and left there until disposed of in a way which maximises the value to taxpayers who are footing the bill for this historic bailout. We also find validity in many of the questions raised by the Opposition, especially regarding the size of the bailout that taxpayers will be expected to bear. We also share the reservations about the general lack of information.

Once again, therefore, we urge restraint.

Express Editorial

As the shoe hurls

Ever since a shoe was pelted at the head of George ‘Dubya’ Bush, it seems to me that it ought to be a trend worth taking up.

So I am not too disappointed to report that it has happened again. Not to Bush, but to the Chinese PM.

Now I just have to gather my old, stinky ones for Papa-tricks next media conference…

Snowfall

Snowfall in England today is heavy – by English standards of course. Snowfall is predicted to be the worst in 18 years. At the moment, outside my house is possibly about 8 or 9 inches, and more is falling steadily.

Looking at the BBC one would see how this amount is crippling the country, shutting down schools and businesses, and even the airports. Not to mention the accidents on the roadway, and deaths. Yes, 2 persons have been found frozen to death.

My thought ran to how the Canadians must be laughing at us. Canadian snowfall is considerably heavier, and in a place where temperatures drop to about -30°C, a pitiful -1°C is not even worth yawning over.

So how would England deal with a Canadian snowfall? It’s anyone’s guess. My guess? Not good.

These photos were taken with my Skype phone this morning at 9 AM.

The apostrophe – period!

Birmingham City Council is set to remove the apostrophe from all street signs, as exampled above.

Announcing its decision, councillor Len Gregory stated: "I don't see the point of them."

It appears that the Council is as thick as two planks, as the saying goes in England. No wonder, it’s usually the dumbest asses who run for political office. Then again, there I go, insulting the poor ass again…