For a recent
SCM staff day out we decided to explore the area around our office.
With zedding philosophy ingrained, we set out with no particular route in mind, and meandered around the streets of Birmingham's famous Jewellery Quarter. There's a map of our walk here:
http://tinyurl.com/jewelleryquarter
First stop was St Paul's Square. Between the Big Peg and St Paul's Square there were lots of interesting doors and windows on buildings which I failed to take any photos of - but it would make a nice photography project. The church which gives its name to this beautiful Georgian square was sadly locked when we passed by, but the
website says it opens for visitors from noon til 2pm during the week. There are also lunchtime organ recitals on the first Thursday of each month. The square is surrounded by posh bars, cafes and a nice Jazz club. It doesn't really feel like Birmingham.
From St Paul's Square to Ludgate Hill. This is more like it. The BT Tower - the icon of Birmingham. Slight sidetrack... the support act for a gig I went to a wee while ago was a local guy called "The Voluntary Butler Scheme". He sings a lovely song called "The Eiffel Tower and the BT Tower". He's a one man band. And he's cooler than that sounds. Go listen..
MySpaceI love how majestic the BT Tower looks. I have no idea how it works, or whether any other city has one, but it screams 'Birmingham' at you when you travel into the city on the train.
Ok, so we wandered along Ludgate Hill towards Queensway, looked at a canal and saw an interesting boarded up building with a tree trying to escape out of its window. Matt has his eye on this building for a future SCM HQ, it would be much grander than Unit 308F. Much of this part of town is being 'regenerated'. Lots of executive flats and not much else.
On to Newhall Street. There are some hidden treasures around this area, if you look up in the air and down at your feet. Above our heads we spotted one of the three sculptures (see photo below left) that mark a gateway to the Jewellery Quarter. Down on the pavement there are lots of exciting things. The Findings Trail is one of two creative trails in and around the Jewellery Quarter, and starts near on Newhall Street. We didn't follow it during this walk, but it's well worth exploring. As Birmingham's City Council
website explains:
"
The Findings Trail was designed by Laura Potter, a practising maker and graduate from the School of Jewellery and the Royal College of Art. In designing the Trail, Laura’s aim was to reflect both the historic and contemporary parts of the area with an element of humour. There are 30 pavement slabs, with a stainless steel information plaque based on the form of a “finding” – a hallmarked tag usually found on jewellery. There is also a glass cat’s eye set into each information plaque which reflects light both night and day on the principle of a gemstone set in jewellery. Slabs contain various elements of either stainless steel or cast bronze. Side 1 of the Trail begins at the junction of Lionel Street and Newhall Street and runs along the same side of the street until the junction with Frederick Street. Side 2 begins at the junction of Graham Street and Frederick Street on the opposite side and runs back along towards the City Centre, finishing outside British Telecom House."
Walking back up Newhall Street we saw this sign (left) and wondered what message this gives to women who work in the construction industry.
After getting a bit lost, we found what we were looking for - the Newman Brothers Coffin Fitters on Fleet Street. This is not just any Coffin Fitters, this is the M&S of Coffin Fitters. Up until its closure in 1998, the firm made some of the world's finest coffin furniture (no, I'm not quite sure 
what 'coffin furniture' is, I'm imagining little tables and chairs, but anyway...) including the fittings for the funerals of Churchill, Chamberlain and Princess Diana. The very last sets of cast brass gothic handles from this factory were used on the coffins of Cardinal Basil Hume and of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Now that is a proper a-to-zedding find.
What makes it even better, is that although it's now sadly closed, it was bought by Advantage West Midlands and there are plans to turn it into a museum. We couldn't sneak a look inside, so we'll have to be patient.
Taking a short cut to our coffee break at a bar on Summer Row, we came across these beautiful green things. They were a bit of a mystery.
Walking up Newhall Hill and on to Frederick Street, we stopped for a while at the Pen Room - a little museum run by the Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association. Until the 1950s and the arrival of the biro, Birmingham made the majority of all pen nibs in the world. This place is amazing, free and well worth visiting. It really is a room, a small one at that, full of pens and pen-related artifacts.
If you are a group of school children or if you know the secret handshake you get taken into the learning centre round the back which is much more exciting. In the second room you can try writing with different types of pens, dress up in period costume and watch a film.
After the excitement of the Pen Room we spent a few minutes outside the Salem Baptist Church, imagining what it would be like to be a Strict and Particular Baptist.
Then we headed back to Vyse Street and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, just catching their last public tour of the day. If you go to just one museum in Birmingham, go here. The factory stopped trading in 1981, and everything was left in place. Nothing had really changed since the early 1900s. When it was transformed into a museum, everything was taken out, catalogued and painstakingly replaced. The guided tour includes lots of funny anecdotes, demonstrations of the old machines and jewellery making techniques. Workers weren't allowed to wear gel in their hair, in case they touched their hands to their heads, transferred gold dust and washed it out at home, saving it up for a rainy day. Or so we were told, perhaps I was being gullible.
The Jewellery Quarter is a very good place for an a-to-zed. It kept us entertained for the best part of a day, and made me very proud to live in Birmingham. Having said that, there's a lot of excellent zedding going on in Manchester at the moment.
This was the perfect little trip for a sunny January afternoon. Introducing a couple of friends to the A-to-Zedding mentality we set out to The Peacock, a country pub on p160 of the Birmingham A-to-Z, via p159 and some very muddy fields. We were almost derailed at the beginning on discovery that C had a GPS phone (certainly not usual zedding equipment) but he graciously turned it off and trusted the A-to-Z to guide our footsteps.
The walk We found a footpath which runs along the side of the playing fields in West Heath and then takes you across some fields. We crossed, unknowingly, over Wasthill tunnel (the longest on the Worcester and Birmingham canal) - strange to think that narrowboats could be passing beneath our feet in the dark.
The destination mmm... log fire, good wine, friends and amazing food. Cannot recommend the Peacock highly enough. Ok, it's a little bit pretentious but 3 courses for £12 is good value! I had goats cheese and beetroot fondue, followed by tagliatelle,followed by bread and butter pudding made from toasted teacakes. I would have walked across many more muddy fields just for that pudding.
All in all, a happy A-to-Zedding afternoon. It's pretty much the closest bit of green countryside to our bit of Birmingham. There's an interesting view of Hawkesley's tower blocks, the new QE hospital, suburban lights and the BT tower, as you drop down into the city again via Primrose Hill.
