HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Train travel-love train travel
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Can’t think of a single thing
WORD OF THE DAY: Mar-lee-bone aka Marylebone Station
DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 180km
I was off to Birmingham today to see Helen who I had met on a section of my South America trip. It was nice to be able to see her and see a little bit more of outer London from my train window. So no sleep in for me again and I am starting to feel the pinch and getting a little tired. I didn’t have to leave home till 11am, so I plotted the best way to get to Marylebone as I say Mary-la-bone but is actually said Marly-bone….Paps got a great crack in taking the piss out of me for my pronunciation. Whatever Trevor!!!! I am lucky that Em is currently on school holidays and Paps works from home, so it was really perfect timing for me to have them with me during the day. So we watched some serious morning TV an equivalent of Jerry Springer till 11am and with a hug and kiss to Paps and Em I was on the road.
I walked the 10 minutes to the overland train station and I had to purchase a one way ticket to Marylebone and I was shocked that it was 6.50 quid!!! A day ticket is only 7.10GBP for the day. Oh well it has to be paid and this is where I have spent most of my money each day, on the London transport, but I am okay with it as it is quite efficient and gets me from A to B with little fuss. So I changed to the underground at Elephant and Castle and then I was on the Bakerloo line all the way to Marylebone Station where my train for Birmingham departs. I gave myself a little lead time as I had to pick up my ticket for travel and I had used a credit card that was in Australia, this normally wouldn’t be an issue but apparently I have to insert the card into the machine for the ticket to be printed. Well I don’t have the card so when I got to Marylebone I waited in line to speak to some-one and hope that they could fix the problem for me. I was either going to tell them the truth or make up a white lie and tell them that I left the card at my accommodation. I decided to run with the truth and when I got to the window and explained it to the ticket man, he said that I had to have the card and if I didn’t then I would have to purchase new tickets. So I was very nice about it all and I said that I would just have to do that them and asked for a return ticket to Birmingham. I am not sure what changed and he said you know what, go to the information booth behind me and get my reservation printed out and then come back to him. Well this was very promising so I went to the booth and explained my situation to another man and he told me to come inside the booth to use the computer. So while I waited for the printout to print a lady came up to the window to ask me for some train information, so I told her she would have to wait for the man to finish helping someone else and when she left I told him that I could do his job for him and we had a little laugh about the whole situation. He then took my printout and wrote on the front that my card wouldn’t swipe in the machine, hence no proper ticket, signed it and then stamped it all for me. How nice was that! So thanked him and with a wave was on my way back to the ticket window. I showed my ticket guy what the information guy had done and he just smiled and said that it was now all fixed and that was now my ticket. It was so nice to get some genuine help that worked in my favor and I thank the 2 men at Chiltern Railways for making my day and saving me at least 20GBP. I had a bounce in my step after that and a smile on my dial.
I now had an hour to kill, but I have always been ‘have the extra time’ type of gal. Marylebone is a smaller train station and quite nice and massive big screens with the arrival and departures of the trains. The station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It stands midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1.6 km from each. Opened in 1899, it is the youngest of London's mainline terminal stations, and also one of the smallest, having opened with half the number of platforms originally planned. It is also the only terminal station in London to host only diesel trains, having no electrified lines. From 1967 for many years it was served only by diesel multiple-unit trains (DMUs). Occasionally special trains hauled by diesel or steam locomotives also visit Marylebone. Two new platforms have been added recently to cope with an increase in services and a growing number of passengers. The mainline station has six platforms; two originally built in 1899, two inserted into the former carriage road, and two built in September 2006. It is the only non-electrified terminal in London. Marylebone is operated by Chiltern Railways, making it the only London terminal station not to be managed by Network Rail. Around 11.6 million passengers passed through Marylebone between 2006/2007, an increase of 4.8 million since 2005/2006, a 70% rise in just a year. This makes it London's fastest-growing passenger rail terminal by percentage growth rate. So I had lunch and then just sat and people watched till it was time for me to board the train.
The train was great. You aren’t assigned seat numbers, it is a free for all and I was able to get a table seat, facing the right direction and a window. Woo hoo I had it all. There is also free Wi-Fi on the Chiltern trains and they also have power outlets for you to charge your electronics if needed. No wonder I love train travel. So once we got going I pulled out my laptop and pumped out a blog while the British countryside passed me by. The weather had turned and it was raining outside as the train hooted along. I would have loved to know how fast we were going, as we were honing along at one stage. The journey was 1.5 hours and was a direct service till just outside Birmingham where we had 4 stops and then I arrived in at 3.20pm. It was now pelting down with rain and there Helen was looking like a drowned rat with open arms. We drove 15 minutes to get to her cute little apartment where we opened a bottle of white wine and sat and chatted for a few hours till it was time to get ready for dinner.
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 (2010 estimate). A medium-sized market town during the medieval period, Birmingham grew to international prominence in the 18th century at the heart of the Midlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw the town at the forefront of worldwide developments in science, technology and economic organization, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society. By 1791 it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practicing a wide variety of specialized and highly-skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation and provided a diverse and resilient economic base for industrial prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. The Big City Plan is a large redevelopment plan currently underway in the city center with the aim of making Birmingham one of the top 20 most livable cities in the world within 20 years.
People from Birmingham are called 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of 'Brum'. This originates from the city's dialect name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'. There is a distinctive Brummie accent and dialect. Birmingham's development into a significant urban and commercial center began in 1166, when the Lord of the Manor Peter de Birmingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle and followed this with the deliberate creation of a planned market town within his demesne or manorial estate, around the site that became the Bull Ring.
As early as the 16th century, Birmingham's access to supplies of iron ore and coal meant that metalworking industries became established. By the time of the English Civil War in the 17th century, Birmingham had become an important manufacturing town with a reputation for producing small arms. Arms manufacture in Birmingham became a staple trade and was concentrated in the area known as the Gun Quarter. During the 18th century, Birmingham was home to the Lunar Society, an important gathering of local thinkers and industrialists.
By the 1820s, an extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources to fuel to industries. Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837 with the arrival of the Grand Junction Railway and, a year later, the London and Birmingham Railway. During the Victorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population center in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria. Joseph Chamberlain, who was once mayor of Birmingham and later became an MP and his son Neville Chamberlain, who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of the most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established its own university in 1900.
Birmingham suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II's "Birmingham Blitz" and the city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale. The Bull Ring was reconstructed and New Street station was redeveloped. In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from the Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents. Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s, with household incomes exceeding even those of London and the South East, but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II. In recent years, Birmingham has been transformed, with the redevelopment of the Bullring Shopping Centre and regeneration of old industrial areas such as Brindleyplace, The Mailbox and the International Convention Centre. Old streets, buildings and canals have been restored, the pedestrian subways have been removed and the Inner Ring Road has been rationalized.
Birmingham's has a characteristic Victorian red brick and terracotta and is chiefly a product of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries; its growth began during the Industrial Revolution. Consequently, relatively few buildings survive from its earlier history and those that do are protected. There are 1,946 listed buildings in Birmingham and thirteen scheduled ancient monuments. Traces of medieval Birmingham can be seen in the oldest churches, notably the original parish church, St Martin in the Bull Ring.
The Bullring is a point of contention with the locals. It is now a modern shopping center that looks like a giant massive pin-board with the exterior having thousands of silver looking dots the size of a large dinner plate. I like it as it is something that I haven’t seen before, Helen was still not sure. This was my point of reference tomorrow though when I was to catch my train back tomorrow and I the good thing is that everyone knows where the bullring is. The name is a little misleading as it is named after the cattle market that used to be on the site and has nothing to do with the Spanish Bull Fighting as one would think. I met one of Helen’s friends, Lisa and she was going to be joining us for dinner and then a few drinks before we were going to catch the last train home at 11.25pm. I was lucky, we were catching the train into town for dinner and this was the same way I would be going in the morning, so it was in sorts a trial run for me which is always peace of mind when you have done something more than once a comforting as well. 4 stops got us into town and the short walk to and through the Bull Ring that still had a few shops open to Jamie Oliver’s Pasta restaurant simply called Jamie’s Italian.
When Jamie's Italian was first conceived, the starting point was to re-create what Italians are most proud of - fantastic, rustic dishes, using recipes that have been tried, tested and loved! Jamie talks about "feeling Italian. So of course we wanted to serve exceptional food. But our aim was also to create an environment with a "neighborhood" feel, inspired by the "Italian table" where people relax, share, and enjoy each other's company. Jamie's Italian was designed to be accessible and affordable, a place where anyone is welcome and everyone will feel comfortable, no matter how much you spend or how long you stay. Well the meal was amazing with me ordering fried shrimp for an entrée and then I had a sausage, tomato pasta mix meal and it was delicious. Wash that down with a carafe of white wine that Helen and I shared with exceptional company, what a great way to catch up with friends new and old and the best thing about it all was it only cost me 23GBP and this included the tip.
We used the toilets on our way out and I had to laugh when Lisa pointed out that all the toilet bowls and cisterns were made by a company called Crapper!!! Even after a few wines it felt bad that I was taking photos of a toilet bowl but it seemed funny at the time. I wonder if this is where the term ‘crapper’ originated from. Thomas Crapper (baptized 28 September 1836; died 27 January 1910) was a plumber who founded Thomas Crapper & Co in London. Contrary to widespread misconceptions, Crapper did not invent the flush toilet. He did, however, do much to increase the popularity of the toilet, and developed some important related inventions, such as the ballcock. He was noted for the quality of his products and received several royal warrants. Manhole covers with Crapper's company's name on them in Westminster Abbey are now one of London's minor tourist attractions. Thomas Crapper & Co owned the world's first bath, toilet and sink showroom, in King's Road until 1966. The firm's lavatorial equipment was manufactured at premises in nearby Marlborough Road. See you learn something new every day!!!
I was given a quick 15 minute tour of town showing me Town Hall, City Hall, the Floozy’s in the Jacuzzi (local terminology for some statues in a pond), some of the amazing prewar buildings before we settled on a really cool bar called Bacchus. It was like entering a 17th century Roman House with lots of nooks and crannies with chairs and tables and statues and cupids and busts of people all around the place. There were surprisingly quite a few people here on a Wednesday and apparently on weekends the place is packed wall to wall. Since I was in the UK it was time for me to have a drink of the local favorite, Pimms. I have never tasted it, but had heard of it, so there was no time like the present and I had a Pimms no.1 (I think) which has Pimms, a piece of cucumber, a strawberry and the alcohol mixed with lemonade and I have to say I really enjoyed my first tasting. I wonder how much alcohol content there is in a glass though as I did have 2 of them and they didn’t seem to be having much effect. Maybe it is a drink to enjoy and not get blotto on? I will need to look that up.
We made the last train home but had to wait 15 minutes as it was a little late in arriving. Lisa had bought a bag of Revels (oversized looking smarties without the coloured shell) and they come in 4 different flavors but you never know which one you are going to get as they all look the same. Peanut, coffee, orange and malteser were the options and we killed time by trying to guess the flavor before we popped into our mouths with the coffee flavor the most disgusting taste and guess who got 90% of the coffee Revels…yes yours truly…… We found it so funny and I am sure people were wondering what we were laughing at…… A great way to end a great night. Lisa and Helen both live a 5 minute walk from the station so with a hug from Lisa we were home by 11.30pm where Helen and I also said goodbye as she was leaving for work at 6.30am and I have a feeling that I wouldn’t be up at that time.
I think the most satisfying thing is catching up with people from my tours and meeting some of their friend circles. So a BIG thank-you to Helen and Lisa for showing me a snap of your city but more importantly taking time out to catch up. I never take these things for granted and enjoyed my day/night trip to Birmingham.
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