UK Diary Part 7: The Midlands
Day 42
Today was the last day of the Maidstone housesit. I tidied and did the cat care stuff in the morning then left. I was early for my 11.30am train to London, so had a Wetherspoons breakfast and people-watched.
There is nothing like Wetherspoons in Singapore. In theory it should be completely depressing: a mega-chain of pubs, all of which have the same (really cheap) menu and same interior design, with only their names and small bits of decor localised to each pub. Yet it is far from sad. It's a staff canteen for builders, a senior-friendly cafe for OAPs, an extension of the pantry for office workers, a train station waiting room, a multi-generational family restaurant, and (in Maidstone) an after-church gathering point for aunties and uncles of all colours.
The food and drinks here are undoubtedly cheap, but it's more than that. It's also a judgement-free zone where anyone can buy a £1.50 coffee or tea with unlimited refills and sit there all day. Can you imagine - a warm cosy place, with proper cushioned seats and sticky wooden tables and BBC News playing silently with subtitles in the background, to people-watch and write all day long?
I never want to leave Wetherspoons, but alas, my train was due. (Train departures shown on huge screen at the front of the pub.)
11.30am train from Maidstone East to London Victoria
12.45pm arrive London. Tube to Euston
1.15pm London Euston to Birmingham
The London NorthWestern to B'ham was pretty damn bad, although not on the same level as the abysmal Lumo. There was no luggage section despite it serving 2 major cities - only overhead shelves which were too small for anything larger than cabin size. Seats were 5 across (2, aisle, then 3). Barely any tables. No trolley service. Didn't even bother with a train ticket inspector.
Finally,
4pm Redditch to Longbridge
We were supposed to go to Redditch but the tracks were closed for repairs, so our hosts very kindly picked us up from the station. We then got wined and dined and introduced to the adorable fluffy many-toed Benson. Ben is a timid boy and hopefully we will see more of him in the days to come.
Day 43
Days speeding by now. Our housesit hosts kindly took us to Tesco where we had an hour to buy all the stuff we needed for the week. Gosh. Super stressful. We got way too many RTE meals :O
Then they took us on a drive around the country and we stopped at Stratford-Upon-Avon. We only had time for lunch, which was sad - I wasn't expecting to get this excited about Shakespeare's hometown. Found out there's a bus service from Redditch to Stratford so will defo make an excursion here again.
Day 44
Today our hosts left on their trip. We kept things simple and went to check out Redditch town centre. There is the Polish supermarket, Polish bakery, John Bonham memorial... and that was it.
We felt totally depressed until we had some lunch at Wetherspoons. The fish & chips and half pint of Leffe Blonde cheered me up, as did the Madchester playlist at the otherwise hellish Kingfisher shopping mall.
Dinner was sad Tesco RTEs and petting this thing. I took this photo of Benson the cat to show that he has an unusual number of toes.
Day 45
Well we finally went for that curry in Brummie.
Birmingham is a 40 minute train ride from Redditch. Once we reached Brum we made straight for Dishoom, a fancy colonial style Indian restaurant in the same building as PWC.
They were still serving breakfast when we arrived, so we got chai, filter coffee, and a very good Parsi omelette to start with.
Then at noon we ordered some things to share. The house special chaat, pav bhaji, some poppadom-type thing, dal makhani and roti.
The best dish was the omelette, which was stuffed with onion, coriander, and cheese - and for once not underseasoned! The accompanying toast had an amazing charred flavour. I also enjoyed the pav bhaji and the chaat (altho found it too sweet).
Didn't like the poppadum thing. It wasn't flavourful, and was served with an apple chutney which was too sweet and flat tasting, like jam, compared to a regular mango chutney.
Didn't like the dal. I don't like dal makhani in the first place but it was just labelled "black dal" on the menu. It was too creamy, stodgy, flat. Too British, I think. I would have liked a spicier, more complex dal, maybe with chopped herbs on top. The roti was very pretty but didn't taste as nice as the toast.
We also had a "bhang lassi" made with CBD oil instead of real cannabis... well it didn't do anything for us but the taste of CBD oil is quite pleasant.
Then we took a walk along Brum's canals and helped a boating couple with some locks. Or maybe hindered?
Along the way we met a volunteer with the Canal Trust and got into a political discussion. I asked him why there are so many of these "Trusts" seeking donations and that got him started on inequality in England. Wealth is concentrated in London; London doesn't care to spend it on public goods; and historic canals like these (not to mention things like the NHS) are left to languish with insufficient funding or none.
Day 46
Took the X19 from Redditch bus station to Stratford-upon-Avon today - quite a nice way to get there and only £2!
We hit up Shakespeare's Birthplace right away, splashing out on the £25 all-venue pass which gives us access to Shakespeare's New Place and Anne Hathaway's Cottage for a year. (Otherwise entry to just Birthplace is £20 for the day.)
After that we both got blood sugar crashes, felt horrible, and only felt better after getting some food in us.
Stopped by the Chaucer Head Bookshop which was a black hole of used books - went crazy at the Folio Society collection.
By the time we emerged there wasn't much time left to enjoy Shakespeare's New House, which was actually sort of nicer because it was full of sculptures inspired by his plays - so more about the Bard's work than his life.
Day 47
Needed some rest so we had a short day out just exploring what was around us in Redditch.
First we tried to go uphill to visit Redditch bunker. We could see the building but couldn"t get close as it was fenced in. There was a playground there but it was rubbish. I blame the property developer....
Then we walked to Smokey Joe's diner and had elevenses.
The Forge Mill Needle Museum was supposedly down the road. This path was not made for humans though; we had to cross a major roundabout which was mildly terrifying.
Once the global hub for needle-making, Redditch only has one factory left today. This museum preserves a lot of artefacts and the exhibits show us how needles were made - first by hand, then water power (water mill), then steam.
Risking life and limb at the roundabout once more, we went to B&M home store and Sainsbury's and got ingredients for a dinnertime feast. Real rice on the stovetop, rotisserie chicken, and stir-fried veg with reduced to clear prawns. Almost everything in the supermarket is either pre-cooked or washed, trimmed, and ready to cook. Some even come with a pat of herbed butter or packet of sauce. I haven't used a chopping board or colander in almost 2 months.
Spent the rest of the evening reading and watching TV and cuddling Ben.
Day 48
We took the X19 to Stratford again, this time stopping at Shottery for Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Apart from a few saucy details about Anne and William's relationship, the cottage had several rooms recreating different historical periods of the Hathaway family.
There is a sculpture park next to the cottage garden. What with the weather being so fine, we had fun walking around and posing with sculptures.
Afterwards we walked to Stratford to check out the market and eat lunch. Then we spent the rest of the afternoom at the MAD Museum.
My favourite piece was this picture frame with sand and water in it. You rotate the frame and watch the sand slowly trickle down and form a dunescape. Remember those?
Then we caught the 4.45pm bus back, went on a Bird escooter ride around the hood, and had dinner:
Then we caught the 4.45pm bus back, went on a Bird escooter ride around the hood, and had dinner:
Day 49
We finally made it to the Balti Triangle.
And that, my friends, is a balti! "Balti" just refers to the mini wok your curry is served in - available to take home for £21 a pop - and it was a Birmingham innovation to make curry more appealing to white people.
It's not easy to find one of these as most of the balti restaurants have closed down. We ate at Shababs, one of the few remaining. The glass-topped menus are, I understand, a classic feature of a balti eatery.
Jon had lamb biryani and I had an okra balti with small naan. The curry was rather more oily than I'm used to, but still really good after almost 2 months of underseasoned British food.
After a walk around Ladypool Road we went to the Pen Museum in the Jewellery Quarter.
Then we stopped by the Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar (no photos allowed, but it was an alternative/kink market in a gay nightclub) before going home to Redditch to tidy up and spend our last night with Benson.
A little about Redditch. It's 40 minutes away from Birmingham city but really located in Worcestershire in the West Midlands. Redditch is not an impressive place to live - it feels like a half-formed new town, filled with people sold on the empty promises of property developers. The town centre is a carcass, dominated by a dead shopping mall and littered with empty shops that have shut down. At the time we stayed, the owners were trying to sell their house and move away - 'nuff said!
We had rather high hopes for Birmingham, fancying it a diverse and colourful place. What we found was a city that looked polished yet underfunded, a lot of office buildings and modern malls, and very few curry shops (completely contrary to expectations).
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