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Story and Photography by Manos Angelakis
Birmingham, is often considered the second most important city in the United Kingdom. The city's reputation was established as a powerhouse of the Industrial  Revolution, with Birmingham becoming known as "The Workshop of the World”. Although Birmingham's industrial importance has declined, it is still thought of as a national commercial center, being regarded as the third best place in the United Kingdom and the 21st best in Europe to locate a business.
As early as the 16th century, Birmingham's access to ample supplies of iron ore and coal meant that the metalworking industry became a very important part of Birmingham’s growth. From the mid-18th century onward, Birmingham grew rapidly into a major industrial and engineering center and the town prospered. In recent years, Birmingham has been transformed, with the construction of new business buildings and new squares. Old streets, dilapidated buildings, and canals have been restored, and the Bull Ring shopping center has been redeveloped. Despite the decline of manufacturing in the city, several significant industrial plants remain nearby, including Jaguar Cars in Castle Bromwich, and Cadbury Trebor Bassett in Bournville; both are Birmingham suburbs.
 I remember Birmingham in the early ‘60s as a bleak, industrial, soot-covered town, where you took your life in your hands if you ventured into some of the worst blue-collar areas. In contrast, during this visit, I saw a clean city with wide boulevards, art decorated leafy squares and public spaces, where mostly young, affluent-looking residents and visitors from around the world congregate.
There are many things to do and see during a Birmingham visit, and we found interesting some of the more obscure museums and collections. The Jewellery Museum, at the famous Jewellery Quarter for example, was on the premises of a gold jewelry manufacturing company that was established in the 19th century, flourished during the early 20th century, and was abandoned by its owners in 1991. The office and workshop were left intact, with file binders and letter folders strewn over desks, and machinery left as if it was waiting for workers to return from a long weekend. The only thing the owners took was the gold bullion used to stamp out the jewelry; everything else in the two adjoining buildings was locked and abandoned. On the ground floor, there is a fully manned Information Center and retail store with lovely samples of designer jewelry, and I could not resist purchasing a pair of sterling buttercup stud earrings for my better half.
Birmingham was considered the world-center of Penmaking in the 19th Century, and another interesting place to visit is the Pen Trade Heritage Museum, by a factory where pens were stamped and produced by the millions; until first the ballpoint, and then the roller ball, made pen and ink obsolete. The collection has quills, and thousands of nib samples and accessories that were used for many purposes, including specialty calligraphy pens and vaccination pens, nib-stamping machines, as well as a collection of beautifully made fountain pens, another victim of the ballpoint’s popularity and convenience. Amongst the exhibits I saw booklets teaching the Palmer Method of Penmanship that reminded me of my grade school days, when the Palmer Method was taught whether we wanted to learn it or not. And… no, I never mastered this cursive (and much cursed) handwriting skill.
We stopped for lunch at Café Ikon in the Ikon Gallery (1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HS), where very authentic and delicious tapas are served. The Ikon Gallery (www.ikon-gallery.co.uk), was exhibiting “Impressions from the Interior” by Swiss artists Andres Lutz and Anders Guggisberg on the first and second floor galleries.
The Café is a small space on the ground floor, but the food that comes out of the kitchen is absolutely authentic Spanish tapas. James Marsden, the chef/owner, creates tapas, raciones and bocadillos that one can find at any good Madrileño or Barcelonetta bar, only this is Birmingham, UK! I threw caution to the winds and had boquerones (white pickled sardines), patatas bravas and patatas allioli, tortilla espanola, gambas al ajillo (charcoal grilled prawns with garlic), pinchos morunos, pollo con pimientos, and numerous other little tidbits washed down first with an excellent amontillado, and later with a nicely dry fino. I also found out that they make very credible paellas, but I was too full to try. A great place to stop for lunch or drinks in the evening, especially if you are into what we used to call in the ‘70s “grazing”.
 Another interesting place we visited was the St. Pauls Gallery (www.stpaulsgallery.com) that boasts the world’s largest collection of hand-signed album cover Fine Art prints. Frankly, I have not kept up with current musical trends, and the few covers I recognized were the Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper cover, the Eric Clapton 24 Nights – both by the artist Sir Peter Blake, a couple of Jimi Hendrix's covers including Electric Ladyland, and Pink Floyd’s the Dark Side Of The Moon. I understand they have a huge collection of cover art for numerous well known musicians, including B. B. King, Donovan, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and many others.
 Our home-away-from-home in Birmingham was Hotel du Vin & Bistro, an ornate, early Victorian red brick building in the old city center near the Jewellery Quarter, that used to be the Birmingham Eye Hospital. The conversion to a luxury hotel made 66 rooms and suites available to the discerning traveler. Each bedroom is named after a celebrated wine producer, and the walls feature prints, lithographs, photos, and other wine memorabilia. Original refurbished features include a sweeping cast iron staircase and granite pillars and an inner courtyard  fountain garden, with a state-of-the-art retractable roof. The hotel offers on the ground floor The Bubble Bar, with an exquisite champagne list, and the Bistro restaurant with a Parisian fin-de-siècle design. On the lower ground floor, there is the Cellar Bar with an outstanding tequila and rum menu, a Cigar Humidor and a temperature and humidity controlled Wine Room with a very large collection of high quality wines. At the cellar level, there is also the “Health du Vin” spa and gym. Further public areas in the hotel include five private rooms for smaller functions and special events and a dramatic billiards room.
We only spent a good part of a day in Birmingham, but it was well worth revisiting this reborn city.
© July 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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