Birmingham

So I’d be the first to admit that Birmingham wouldn’t have been my first choice as a destination for a weekend break, it’s hardly mentioned in many travellers top 10 but then we had an ulterior motive for coming as we have a son studying at the university here. The first issue Birmingham has is …

Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens were offering free entry today and so we took advantage of their largess and made our way along. Of course the best time to visit is when there are leaves on the trees and it’s not raining but we had a good time nevertheless.

Bristol

A couple of weekends ago Helen and I went to Bristol, a city with plenty going for it. There is a lot of fascinating history, particularly around Isambard Kingdom Brunel who seems to have had a hand in so many things from the railway station at both London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads, the railway …

BT London Live

The final stop on our big Olympics tour was to Hyde Park for BT London Live. This was basically five large screens showing live olympics action with concession stands around the outside selling Olympic tat and over priced food and drink. There was also a main stage that was showing a number of different groups …

Push-up Bus

One of the things I liked about London 2012 was the stuff that was organised on the periphery, such as music concerts and public works of art. On the walk into the stadium we noticed a mobile phone mast that had been disguised as an Olympic torch, which was rather cool. Not sure if it …

Olympic Park

After months of waiting the Olympics, for us, were finally here. Of course I don’t mean as a competitor but as a spectator. Over the long months leading up the the day we had been very much conditioned by the media to believe that it would be a complete and utter disaster. The trains and tubes either …