A GREAT DAY OUT IN BIRMINGHAM EXCEPT...

Actually there is no except for Birmingham, I went down after the morning rush on this very hot sunny day and parked up at Wednesdbury Parkway only it was full and actually hard to locate but managed to park free nearby as did many other people. There are no ticket machines as the area is that bad they are immediately vandalised but there are conductors with proper leather satchels selling tickets on board, we seem to have come full circle on tickets then. They only accept travel passes for their own area unlike Sheffield and Nottingham. There was zero hassle filming around and on board and everyone was super friendly and lots of locals say hello as you pass them.  There is still only the stretch near Wolverhampton which is true road running the rest until Birmingham is old railway lines, the tram does about 40mph, tidy and comfortable and quite smooth driving.  In the city the last stop is where Ian Allan old bookshop was, a bit of a dark hole for the end but often these locations are even worse and found underground. The other traffic is supposed to be excluded but plenty of other vehicles seen on the lines around the terminus, usual suspects taxis and security vans, pedestrians wandering aimlessly amongst the trams oblivious to them. 

I had hassle on the way down the M6 with a bully lorry driver, I was only in my little Toyota IQ which is a very short car although normal width and goes a fair speed when asked. He actually hit me as I went past, I didn't really want to pass it as it was wandering about the lanes, I got him to pull over to look at the damage but when he stopped he leapt down on the hard shoulder and knocked me flying nearly into the motorway, then a van stopped and joined him in the attack. Obviously I reported it but being really scared and upset I didn't get any details like reg or company, there was nothing obvious on the lorry or van yes just white but truck had a fork lift on the back.  It seems he didn't think i had a right to be in front of him, weird but that's life in Britain, weird and he was white British lest anyone think he was a foreigner. Really puts you off your stride and ruins much of a day out.  I must learn to be a better observer of things but its hard in the midst of it.

The ink for the new printer arrived from Amazon, wouldn't work in the printer at all, thats nearly £40 to chase back from Amazon, quick enough to take it but slow to refund when it goes wrong, I've eventually found an Epson supplier who will send the genuine thing, most of the Amazon ink not original despuite coming up in Epson searches. Tonights photos needless to say are from the nice visit to sunny Birmingham