Birmingham Its Not Shit
Ulysses on the Buses: Stockland Green
CONFESSIONS OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN (1974) Cert X, Dir. Alan Smithee Stockland Green Plaza from 16th June, 1974. Showtimes vary. Based on the acclaimed novel by cult science-fiction satirist Jimmy Joyce, this new British sex comedy stars the ever-popular Robin Askwith as Steve Dedalus, a chirpy young aspiring novelist who yearns to [...]
Ulysses on the Buses: Villa Park
Next week’s auction of rare manuscripts by the great Irish author James Joyce looks set to ignite a bitter dispute between private collectors, leading academics and fans of a West Midlands football team. The documents – made up of original, handwritten drafts of what many believe to be his earliest published work – consist of [...]
11-11-11: Winson Green
“The road you can talk about is not the road you can walk on.” Lao-Tse – Tao Te Ching At about 2.10pm the bus is driving through Winson Green. For the uninitiated, Clare and I are indulging in a spot of guerrilla ethnomethodology aboard Birmingham’s legendary number 11 bus. Some youths board the bus and [...]
11-11-11: From Bearwood to Edgbaston
By 2pm we’ve left Harborne. It happens to us all eventually. After crossing Hagley Road (home to my old sixth form, St Philip’s College), the number 11 saunters wistfully along the Bearwood High Street as another song comes to mind. This time, it’s the sublime This is What She’s Like from Dexys Midnight Runners’ wilfully [...]
11-11-11: Lost Souls and Plimsoles
Well we know where we’re goin’But we dont know where we’ve beenAnd we know what were knowin’But we can’t say what weve seen Talking Heads – Road to Nowhere It’s about 1.50pm, Clare and I are still in Harborne and we’re still sitting on the front seat of the top deck of Birmingham’s legendary number [...]
11-11-11: From Selly Oak to Harborne
At 1.43pm we cross the Bristol Road and head down Harborne Lane. From the front seat on the top deck of the number 11 bus you get a great view of the still-under-construction new Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The futuristic, super sleek tri tower structure already looks so impressive you could be forgiven for thinking that [...]
11-11-11: From Cotteridge to Bournville
Two days later and so far I’ve only covered the first two miles. Typical. We pass a fancy dress store in Cotteridge, where a plastic mannequin catches Clare’s eye. A potential Christmas present? ‘No,’ says Clare, emphatically. We hook a right onto Watford Road and pass a shop called Vis a Vis. “So that’s what [...]
11-11-11: from Kings Heath to Cotteridge
1.25pm: Kick off. 1.26pm: Boost bars are unwrapped. We make our way down Vicarage Road onto Fordhouse Lane – from Kings Heath to Stirchley – as Clare writes: “I don’t like Stirchley, or the innermost layer of a Boost.” By contrast, I’m inordinately fond of Stirchley. Having lived there during the mid-90s, I’ve always loved [...]
11-11-11: Kings Heath departure lounge
Be warned: the following contains personal minutiae that might be deemed offensive or, possibly, inconsequential. At about 12.45pm (-ish) Clare and I grab a bite to eat at the Wetherspoon’s pub in Kings Heath. We swap Brum pub war stories, including my elaborate and unproven theory that the decline in the standard of the clientele [...]
11-11-11: The Introduction
I said I’d do it and today I did. I took part in Jon Bounds’ mad-but-inspired plan to spend eleven hours of the eleventh day of the eleventh month on Birmingham’s number eleven bus. Much to my surprise, my significantly better half Clare decided to tag along, too. She enriched the day significantly by keeping [...]
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