....Our friend Karen recently visited us from Scotland and we arranged to have a trip down to Birmingham for a change of scenery.
I have always thought of Brum as being a bit of a concrete carbunkle as Charles would say. But I was pleasantly surprised on emerging out of the railway station which has the feel of a post-war bunker to be greeted by tree-lined streets with nice older buildings intermixed with upmarket hotels and an ambundance of high street shops and department stores.
The weather was pleasant and as a bonus there was a massive international food market which stretched the whole length of the main street offering a wonderful selection of foods.
We were marched past the tempting smells and foods on offer with the promise of better things to come by Kate who knew the area and lead us to a little oasis of bistros and bars.
We were tempted by a lovely little place offering 'House mash and gravy' with a huge choice of sausages and pies . We had a delightful lunch washed down with a bottle of rose wine and a good old natter and a lots of laughter and loads of ideas for blog titles which I wrote down and cant find! However Suitably refuelled and refreshed we set off for the shops which proved to be very tempting offering a wider selection than in Manchester at reasonable prices and we both went a bit mad snapping up the bargains although as usual Kate still bought more than me (4 pairs of leggings and several tops to match!)
Karen had changed her hair style and colour which suited her but she was looking for a lighter colour for day-time so we had a look in Selfridges which was alot friendlier than the Manchester store at the HotHair concession but they didnt have the one she wanted in stock but the lovely girl there kindly advised her to try House of Frazer - However I spotted a fab curly 'hairpiece' which I just had to have much to the other girls surprise..... but more about that later.
On our way to House of Frazer we stopped for photos outside the famous bobbly building that I think looks like an aliens handbag. A young lad came running over to Kate and said Is it you? We all looked bemused until he said "were you on Britains Got Talent the other night"? We hadn't watched it but I knew there had been a TS girl on so we had to dissappoint him and say no!
Arriving at House of Frazer stopping en-route at many, many shops We arrived laden with bags but Karen was able to find the wig she wanted - the staff again were very helpful. We realised that time had ticked by very quickly and I was in need of the ladies. I asked for directions and was informed there was a powder room on the same floor at a charge of £1 or a free ladies was on the 6th floor - unable to face such a trek I decided to splash out so to speak and headed off for the said 'Powder Room' which was more like a spa with cubicles nearly as big as your average hotel room with marble tiles and mirrors everywhere and perfumes to sample on the vanity units. The best bit was that no-one was on duty as it was so late so I didnt have to pay although I would have been happy to as it worth it!! If only the restaurants,bars and clubs we frequent in Manchester had the same standards!!
All too soon it was time to head home on the crowded train with the worlds worst loos! Still the journey soon passed and we headed to Taurus for a bit of supper before saying goodbye to Karen and heading home for beauty sleep and to rest our worn out feet and purses!.....So no sex in the city just sausages and mash!!
