Beautiful Birmingham

Yup, that wasn’t a typo. I have just had the most amazing day. Parked the car in Wellington, took a train to Birmingham. Went to see the Grayson Perry tapestries in the Art Gallery, and the Saddam is Here exhibition at the Ikon (which is small, so I could look in on two other exhibitions while I was at it). Then i went to a lunchtime lecture at the Library of Birmingham, before looking in on their Library of Cultures exhibition, which shows some of the treasures they store all the time – relics of Victorian agitation, Audubon’s fabulous bird pictures, early black activists in parliament and trade unions….all sorts, and it was a bright, crisp day, ideal for taking photos. All of which cost me – £6.55 (rail fare – with Senior Railcard). Well, it costs me more than that, because they ask for donations, and they’re totally right to do so, and I can afford it, especially if it helps them to keep offering this amazing stuff to everyone. All the people I met in galleries, cafes, the library were helpful, cheerful, apparently glad to be doing this, which is great. Don’t tell George Osborne, but in some very important ways we are all in this together.