The Weekend

Saturday and despite the EDL, anti -Capitalist, and anti -Fascist rallies all taking place in Birmingham, along with West Brom and Birmingham both playing at home it was off for a spot of shopping and a bite to eat before leaving Clare and my Mom to go to the theatre. The amount of police upon our arrival at Moor Street Station was quite something! Only once have I seen a larger amount on a train station and that was at London Bridge when Blues played Millwall a few seasons back.

Having taken my mom around the Bullring we headed to the markets (talk about a contrast). Whilst browsing I ended up buying a couple of reggae sound system CDs and when I arrived back home I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to them. A great way to spend the day!

Food at the Coffee Room Bar and Bistro (formerly the Green Rooms) was OK but slightly overdone. Actually, my pizza was burnt around the edges, which was a shame as the middle bit was quite nice. The staff were friendly and the menu reasonably priced.


Sunday and it was back into Birmingham to do a bit of Christmas shopping with lunch at the café in Debenhams. I’d not been there before and although the food is pretty basic the views of the south side of Birmingham make up for it.

I tried in vain to buy a new coat and whilst looking in one department store bumped into one of the women I sat by at the ballet a couple of nights before!

Weather wise it has still been quite mild and although there has been the odd shower it is still lovely for the time of year. I think it will come as a shock when we have our first really cold snap of the winter.

Riots

I can't believe it's a week since my last post.  A lot can happen in that time.  As I write the country is bracing itself for another night of rioting.  This will be the fourth night.  What started in Tottenham on Saturday (following the shooting of a local man by police) has spread throughout the country. 

As trouble flared around the capital on Monday, youths in my home town of Birmingham looted the shops in the City Centre. Despite the police presence last night more shops were looted.  Wolverhampton, West Bromwich, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds and Gloucester have also had their share of trouble.  Last night it was the turn of Manchester.

It seems that the main motivation for the disorder is greed.  It seems that the kids have organised themselves with the intention of robbing on a grand scale. So far I think 4 people have died. Last night saw vigilantes on the streets. MPs have been recalled from their summer break and police have been given the go ahead to use water cannons and plastic bullets if they choose.

People are scared and angry.  England's football match against Holland has been cancelled over safety fears, the weekend fixtures are still uncertain. Shops and retail parks have been closing early.

The word "criminality" seems to be everywhere. MPs, police and reporters all talk of criminality.

I think that come the weekend it will have died down.  I was expecting a summer of trouble with all the government cuts but to be honest I didn't think it would be like this. People don't care about politics.  They just want the latest phone, trainers and designer clothes.

Here Comes The Pope!

The Catholic Church has, in 2010, a lot of issues to deal with.  Child abuse, the role of women in the Church and apathy towards religion as a whole. The person charged with leading them through these tough times was in Birmingham today and I was there to see him.

Organised religion is not for me.  I do not belong to any church or group and am happy the way I am.  The reason I decided to go and stand on the Hagley Road, along with thousands of others, was to witness a piece of history.

Pope Benedict XVI is, to some, a controversial figure. Outspoken, he has been criticised for his views and the way he has dealt with some of the issues facing the Catholic Church. He has been on a 4 day state visit to the UK. This in itself has proved controversial as it is the taxpayer who has had to pick up the bill.

He was in Birmingham  today to beatify Cardinal Newman a 19th century clergyman who converted to Catholicism. Following a public mass in Cofton Park he headed to Birmingham Oratory (founded by Cardinal Newman) and I managed to get a spot a couple of hundred yards down the road.

A wait of about 2 hours followed by a bit of jostling from latecomers and then the Pope Mobile came into view. It came to a halt just up the road and the Pope got out and headed for the crowd before going into The Oratory. Fifteen minutes later and he was out. The Pope Mobile had been replaced by a BMW and he drove past us on his way the Catholic Seminary of Oscott.

Once he had passed we headed back towards the city centre and then home.  The atmosphere of the day had been quiet and subdued. It was only when the Pope arrived that the crowd become animated. 

I'm glad I got to see him albeit from a distance. Whatever your view of The Pope and the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI will go down in history and when he visited Birmingham I can say I was there.