A second city and a tale of two libraries

Birmingham, England. European Capital of Culture. Or so I thought for a moment, after too short a piece of research. Actually it's been an applicant for the position, but never quite made it. In fact, of the four Bs, the European cities all beginning with B that I visited this trip (Bruges, Brussels, Berlin, and Birmingham), it turns out Birmingham's the ONLY one that hasn't 
achieved this high honour!

What about education? I checked the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Birmingham University rates at No.153. Which isn't bad, but it's behind an awful lot of other UK institutions, including Exeter, Warwick, Leeds, Lancaster, Sussex, Southampton, St Andrews, Glasgow, Sheffield, York, Durham, and Bristol Universities, and about half of the London University colleges.

What happened to the 'second city' thing Birmingham always bangs on about? Seems even that's contested. It might just still have a claim in respect of a second highest population methodology, but apparently lots of people have long regarded Manchester as the UK's true second city, using concepts of influence, culture, relevance, and even apparently, geographical area. Second city or second rate?

What about Birmingham's claim to being an industrial powerhouse, city of a thousand trades and a million proud artisans? As opposed to, say, Liverpool, which traditionally served mainly as the setting of TV sitcoms, dramas and documentaries about dole bludgers, cheats, conmen, and generally disfunctional layabouts. Well the big news while I was there recently was the Channel 4 documentary 'Benefits Street', filmed, horror of horrors, in the BIRMINGHAM suburb of Winson Green, all about the allegedly hopeless, almost universally welfare dependent residents of a local street. It was clear the show was actually a dreadful piece of gutter journalism, and exploited horribly the co-operation of the residents it portrayed, but it was interesting to see the fine old city relegated to this role.

There, I've said it. Birmingham's a legend in its own lunchbox only. Now I won't be able to visit the place again for a long time. I'm a marked man. Them's the breaks!

So what's that amazing blingy building in the picture at top? With sightseeing visitors all over its glass elevators, viewing platforms, enormous atriums, and rather starnge exterior cladding. It even has a few books inside. That's Birmingham's new central library. It cost almost £200 million, and was opened in a blaze of international publicity by Malala Yousafzai, the brave Pakistani schoolgirl who survived a Taliban assassination attempt, and said "Let us not forget that even one book, one pen, one teacher can change the world".

I'm glad Birmingham built that library. It's not a waste of money. Birmingham does need to find a bit of spare change though, to adequately fund its bread and butter services out in its suburbs. Look at the state of West Heath library, as it was two months ago! Actually, West Heath library has since been put out of its misery - closed down suddenly for 'health and safety' reasons. What's to go in its place? Well, what indeed?