LEEDS WENT BIRMINGHAM CAME IN

More weather changes meant that Leeds was going to have unwanted sunshine todayso we swapped Leeds for Birmingham and complete our early year coverage in the city today. It was damp and even foggy on the way down, worst at/near home. It wasn't bad in the city centre, we had a Costa drink and bakewell tart before I got cracking. Mandy took a shirt back to Whitestaff shop which was one of two we purchased in Southampton but they'd given me a tailored fit instead of regular hence it wouldn't  go round me, annoying as we were talking about the fit with the young chap who served us and how M&S sizes had shrunk . There was a party of bus enthusiasts gathered at the stops at the rear of M&S in Birmingham, despite waving , smiling, blah blah no reaction and they never let on to the bus drivers at all, no wonder the drivers get pee'd off with such miserable admirers!  Anyway I ploughed on and got well over an hour of film, I'm just about to burn the master disc and get the cover done plus get clips on Youtube. Once again plenty of new buses I hadn't seen yet and it looks as if Coventry is getting the upgrade treatment. Most buses are in one of the current liveries , if not all.

What I had noticed in Liverpool with all the dossers and general scruffiness was repeated in Birmingham. I cannot remember a place or indeed places going downhill so fast. The cafes for instance are run/staffed by people from many countries while the derelicts in the doorways seem to be mainly British. The begging and drinking was only surpassed by the presence of football hooligans by lunch time, not knowing the ins and outs of such things, is there a brummie equivilent to Man United? Anyway they were very intimidating, drunk, swearing etc , lots of police about. All goes to show that weather apart I try to do filming on weekdays now I'm retired from the day job at least it means that we are free from these sort of problems but also underlines just how awful our country is, I also got racial abuse from a ragged black chap near the market. We are looking at the weather next week, at present Tuesday looks possible for Leeds bus coverage, Monday looks very wet. I've downloaded another few hours of archive material which will go towards future programmes. I really want to get a few hours worth done while it's mid winter but I keep getting off track. I did get all the Southampton truck and Liverpool bus pictures on our SmugMug site, see links page where you can buy prints from us from just 50p a photo. Here we go with Birmingham. The Morrismen/women seemed to be having a gala Morris festival in the city!