Gas St. Basin on Birmingham Canal Old Line

First and foremost, thank you all for your wonderful comments, stars and hearts. I’m overwhelmed by your response to my 2500th consecutive blip. That’s the highest I’ve ever been on the most popular page almost making the first page!

I’ve been up in Birmingham for the second of a string of monthly meetings about a new Virtual Learning Environment being created for learner education in prisons. It’s looking good and I hope all the fine ambitious can be fulfilled.

Before the meeting I was able to walk around many parts of the city centre from old to new, to cutting edge and bleeding edge. Construction is going on everywhere from tram extensions to HS2 at Curzon Street adjacent to the Birmingham City University campus where we were meeting. My 2501st blip is of the old city and the extra is the new meeting the old.

The city was getting ready for their Christmas Market with most of the stalls and displays in the final stages of construction. With the next meeting planned for 18th December it’ll an opportunity for Susan and me to come up to see the Market in full swing.

On my return journey I was hemmed in by a large group of people on a trip down to London for a NHS Trusts Excellence awards ceremony at the Battersea Evolution. Seems the Trust were nominated for an award in the Acute and Specialist Trust of the Year. The Prosecco was opened well before the train left New Street.

They were intent on having a good time and indeed they did. I was drawn into their group, offered drink and food but politely declined. It was their trip after all, but the company and conversation was easy and interesting and I wished them all the success tonight.

I scooted across London from Euston to Victoria in 15 minutes from door opening to getting on to an earlier Bearsted train than I was expecting to. Smooth, quick and on time I arrived home at 5.45 just 3 hours 15 minutes after leaving Birmingham. When the train work, they work well.