Chamberlain Memorial, Birmingham

I haven't visited my home city of Birmingham this year.  Today was my first opportunity to see how they have finished off Chamberlain Square (named after Joseph Chamberlain) and to get a feel of the crowds.

In the main I felt quite OK walking around the city, only getting a little less comfortable as I reached the Bull Ring, where most of the crowds seemed to be congregating.  There were large queues waiting to enter the local Zara store.  It was a glorious day, quite warm in the sun, but colder in the shady areas which seem more common now that there are so many tall buildings in the city.