Up on the roof…

I was sitting on our roof this lunchtime, having a quiet moment to myself.  It’s a little sanctuary up there, you can’t see a lot of activity, it’s just you, the boids, the city and the sky, a great place for contemplation, all we need now is a nice, comfy toilet up there

Anyway, I was looking out at the city and reflecting on how the skyline has changed in the, almost, three years we’ve been resident here.  There’s a load of new buildings, like Masshouse, Matthew Boulton, the Shower Curtain (Radisson),  and now the Cube (or the ‘cardboard box with bits of plastic bag stuck to it’, as we are calling it until we come up with a better name).   There’s also a lot of gaps, the tower blocks in Highgate currently under demolition being a case in point.  I did notice that there are far fewer cranes on the horizon, than in times past (I only counted two).

There’s an old joke that goes something like ‘what do you think of Birmingham’ answer ‘it’ll be nice when it’s finished’.  Not particularly hilarious, but it always gets a smile of recognition from Brummies.  So I thought, what would we do, if the city was finished?  Perhaps we could get on with releasing its potential in some way?  In my heart, Birmingham is a wonderful utopia, where rainbow nations mix freely, whilst frolicking under the palm trees to the sound of beautiful birdsong.  The reality is somewhat different, of course, and we have invested the last twenty years of our lives to add to the cultural life of a whole range of the city’s communities, in order to bring us closer to the place where we want to live, as opposed to the place in which we find ourselves.  I’m beginning to think that perhaps we have invested unwisely – what do you think?

Anyway – penguins!

that’s better!