MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR

(St Giles Church, Sheldon, my next project.)

HIGHBURY HALL by CANDLELIGHT - 5th Dec 2010

This was my first visit to Highbury Hall since I was a child. With Christmas approaching the interior of the building was lit by candles, bedecked with seasonal decorations, and mince pies, Christmas fruit cake and mulled wine were on sale. The 2 guided tours originally scheduled became 3 or more as the house received more visitors than the organisers expected.

I am not providing much in the way of historical notes, it is better to visit the building yourself and experience the homely atmosphere there.

The photograph above, of course, shows Highbury Hall by floodlight.

This is the Breakfast Room, once called the Morning Room, and is really the only photograph by candle-light taken. I used flash on the rest of them.

Another view of the breakfast room.

After passing through the Morning Room, once the boudoir, (and not shown because the candlelit photograph was totally out of focus), we arrive in the Drawing Room.

The Drawing Room again. The painting behind the Christmas tree is of the Elan Valley.

One more view of the Drawing Room with splendid arches at the far end.

Below the stairs at the end of the hall, a welcoming festive feature.

Heading up the stairs.

Viewing the ground floor of the hall from the balcony.

An enormous lighting structure hangs from the arched and ribbed ceiling.

Three of the  sides of the Galleried Landing serve as a picture gallery.

Leading from the gallery is an unnamed bedroom (possibly the East bedroom?)

From the next corner of the balcony is the West Bedroom.

View from the West Bedroom window along the side of the building and onto the grounds below.

Next to the West Bedroom is Mr Joseph's Room.

Back to the door to the right on the south side of the balcony, there is Miss Hilda's Room.

Going through another door in Miss Hilda's Room takes us into another room furnished as a bedroom.

Back on the ground floor, undoubtedly my favourite room, Joseph Chamberlain's Library, now known as the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Museum.

As I leave Highbury Hall, I notice an explanatory plaque on the wall.

BIRMINGHAM BLITZ - 70th anniversary 19 Nov 2010

On the 19th of November 1940 during World War II, a bombing raid on the BSA factory in Birmingham killed 53 people, and 70 years to the day the tragedy was commemorated by the laying of a wreath on the Small Heath site by Cllr Salma Yaqoob.

In the city centre, the 70th anniversary of the Birmingham Blitz was remembered by an exhibition organized by the Birmingham Air Raids Remembrance Association (BARRA) in the Council House. But first...

The Tree of Life Statue, unveiled on the 8th October 2005, to honour the 2,241 citizens of Birmingham who lost their lives in the Blitz.

 The statue with St Martin's Church in the background.

 The first plaque on the statue bearing the names Abbot to Edwards...

 ...and below, an explanatory plaque.

 The second plaque bears the names Edwards to Langford...

...and below that another plaque bearing additional names. 

 The third plaque bearing the names Langley to Rusell...

 The fourth plaque bears the names Russell to Yorke...

...and below another plaque of additional names. 

Just inside the entrance to the Council House, two BSA machines in immaculate condition 

Visitors viewing the exhibits in the Banqueting Suite. 

 Old photographs and documents of the Auxiliary Fire Service and the National Fire Service on a stall provided by the West Midlands Fire Service.

 At the West Midlands Fire service stall, I am shown the brass nozzle of one of the fire-hoses. This weighed in at about 10lb. Add to this the weight of the hose (I believe about another 10lb per yard length) and the weight of the water passing through, plus the recoil as the water was ejected.. and you can see why it took 2 people to use, one to point the hose and the other to steady the first.

 A variety of WWII memorabilia provided by a member of the Ambulance Service. Behind the 2 bed-pans on the right, you can see what appears to be an urn with a spout. This was filled with steaming water and Friar's Balsam and was an early inhaler.

 A BSA stall showing books and photographs, as well as a rather heavy piece of hardware.

This Besa gun was designed to be fired from an armoured vehicle. On the right above is a photograph of the old BSA factory. In the top right hand corner you can just see BSA-made bicycles. 

 Part of the BARRA display.

A model of an Anderson Shelter with an explanatory article. The inside of the shelter was perfectly scaled and illuminated to show a typical layout. 

 A close-up of some of the medals on display, the Italy Star, the Africa Star and the Pacific Star.

As I walked out through the doors of the Council House, I smiled at the irony of having the German Christmas market just outside.