A Crime Night In

Had a very odd evening last night.  A Crime Night In at Birmingham Library, with Mark Billingham, Martin Waites and Andrew Taylor, was a lovely evening. All three read from their new books, talked about their own writing process and told anecdotes.  They took questions from the audience and there seemed to be a lot of budding authors out there as a lot of the questions were about publishing and research. At the end of the evening they sat and signed books. I bought Mark Billingham's new book and got him to sign it.

I have to admit to having read none of their books and although I'd heard of Mark Billingham I had no idea what the others were like.  Each took their turn at the podium with Mark reciting emails he'd received from fans.  It was very funny.

The night hadn't started well.  Clare and I arrived in Birmingham early. We needed to collect the tickets and decided we would do that before heading for the pub.  We made our way to Centenary Square and as we rounded the corner at the side of the Council House we were confronted by a police cordon.  The library, which was a few yards in front of us, was sealed off.  Another cordon stretched along the other side and another along the side of the Town Hall. The whole of Paradise Forum was closed. We approached an officer and asked if we would be able to get to the library.  He said no and that the cordon could be gone in 20 minutes or 8 hours.  He asked why we needed to go there and we told him we were there for a crime night.  I think he smiled.  He wouldn't tell us the nature of the incident but said that on the plus side we were not gong to be late as it wasn't taking place.  We retired to the pub to sit it out.

We sat in Bennett's and tried to find out what was going on.  Clare ordered food while I phoned my parents to see if there was anything on the news.  We tried all the local news websites. Nothing.  The only thing that mentioned anything was On Birmingham via Twitter.  Eventually my Dad called, Midlands Today had reported a man threatening to jump off a bridge in Birmingham City Centre. The police had closed the place off so he had no audience to play up to.

After about an our or so in the pub we headed back up.  The cordon was still in place but this time a small crowd had appeared.  They looked like a crime writing crowd and so we meandered over.  Across Centenary Square was Mark Billingham and the other authors.  We went over and Mark said the evening had been cancelled.  As soon as he said it a library official arrived and said that it was going ahead.  Mark looked concerned. A lot of people had either left or not arrived due to the traffic, his Mom included.

A brief consultation with the other authors and then it was announced that it would be going ahead.  The group were gathered up and marched around the back of the Library, into Paradise Forum and through a service entrance and the into the building.  We were, in effect, in the middle of the cordon. Police and security were the only people around.  Although there did seem to be people eating in restaurants in the middle of the cordoned off area? As we walked in I noticed a man lying on the floor with an oxygen mask on and a coat over his legs.  A woman sat over him.  There was no explanation and  I wondered if this was our would be suicide victim.

Having collected the tickets we were offered a glass of wine or orange juice and then took our seats in the auditorium.

The evening past quickly, and when it was over, staff announced we would be led out in groups as the cordon was still in place. We asked a member of staff if the man was OK and she said he was still there. It turns out that the man with the oxygen mask was a separate incident, the second that day!

Birmingham was still gridlocked. Luckily we had come into town by train so we walked back to the station and headed home.  It was an odd evening which I really enjoyed but I can't help thinking that whilst we were drinking wine and having a nice time there was a man a few hundred yards from us standing on a bridge, wanting to end it all.

Whilst writing this, Clare has phoned to say the man has spent the night on the bridge and is still threatening to jump.  The cordon is still in place.