There were two features in central Birmingham which I failed to mention when my American friend and I visited the Art Gallery last Friday. We went into Birmingham by train from Bromsgrove and, upon arriving at New Street station (remodelled to look similar to Grand Central Station in New York), we strolled past ‘Ozzie the Bull’ Ozzy the mechanical bull, created for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games – has been unveiled in his new home. The sculpture was met with loud applause and cheers from the public at New Street. He had been named after Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne following a public vote. Visitors including Sharon Osbourne saw the bull’s first performance recently which involved him moving his head and swishing his tail. ‘For Ozzy to be born and bred here and having spent so much time in this station, because of course he did not have a car, so he was everywhere from New Street,’ she explained. Network Rail said they had been testing the bull’s movements and sound ahead of him meeting the public, to mark the games’ first anniversary two days later. It was originally intended that this whole mechanical beast be only a temporary structure and had been scheduled for dismantling. But it proved to be such a hit with the general public that the bull was saved and now has a permanent home in New Street Station. In his prime, Ozzie the Bull would rotate his head and his lips, his eyes would glow red, his tail would swish as well and he would roar but I think he is completely static now in his retirement. So that was on sight but another was the art installation of a huge water work. In 1993, Victoria Square was pedestrianised and remodelled. This included the installation of a massive water feature and it showed a naked female figure recumbent as the fountain water played about her. Despite the official name, the locals soon dubbed this as ‘The Floozie in the Jacuzzi’ and by this name the artwork has been known ever since. A local wag added some detergent to the fountain to complete the illusion of a Jacuzzi but this nearly wrecked the installation, not designed to cope with soap suds and it was put out of commission for months. But this is another feature of life in central Birmingham as is the performance of well-known operatic arias given in the station in the late afternoon which, unfortunately as we were dashing for our train we did not stop to fully savour. So central Birmingham has its attractions which had been lost on me as it had been some years since I had actually been in Birmingham City Centre. Meg and I used to attend the opera fairly frequently but this, of course, was in the evening. The day before yesterday, I had to wait until there was a break in the weather and then de-moss the patio and sweep leaves off our back access path before the steam cleaning job scheduled for the next day. I had woken up at 5.30 in the morning but knowing that I had to make an early start did not dare to go back to sleep so listened to the strains of ClassicFM in bed until it was time to get my ‘bag of bones’ out of bed. I must say that me American friend was not averse to stopping people in the street to ask for directions and she has evolved a technique which is quite effective. Having a vaguely American accent (although she is a good mimic) she will stop people in the street, indicate that she is a Canadian (not American!) visitor and doesn’t know her way around and then ask for directions. This happened several times on our recent visit found the people in central Birmingham to be so friendly and helpful that it restores your faith in human nature. We both have doctors appointments today so are going to compare notes in a conversation we will no doubt have later on in the evening.
This morning developed as one in which appointments were missed, arranged and re-arranged. I was just prepared to go outside and give the paths and patio a final sweeping when I got a phone call postponing the patio cleaning until Saturday as the firm was suffering from people not turning up for work, probably as a result of a virulent local virus. I did not mind overmuch as it hs given me the opportunity to prepare the path a little for more for its ultimate cleaning. I made an appointment to get the car serviced and was offered the choice of a full, extra detailed service or a regular service. I chose the latter as the car mileage is low and I am not sure that a detailed service is called for. The receptionist ad I agreed a date such that if I were to get the car into the garage promptly at 8.30, she could guarantee that it would be done at the end of the morning. With this I agreed as I walk down to the local supermarket and treat myself to an all-day breakfast and a lengthy read of the newspaper before I scour the shelves not sold in my regular supermarket. Now we come to the third appointment as my dentist had texted me to ask if I could re-arrange the appointment arranged for mid August. It appeared that my regular dentist was going to be away (possibly on maternity leave) but then it transpired that they had just received a cancellation so I could make an appointment in the afternoon the next day? To this, I agreed as you never turn down or miss a dental appointment these days. After this, I had a couple of appointments myself, one to discuss the results of a routine diabetic monitoring and another with a doctor to discuss the results of some hospital investigations. One can only grateful that one is routinely monitored these days but after this I returned home and just escaped a thunderous shower that broke out overhead. I had a very light ‘fish-on-bread’ type lunch as I have a U3A ‘Curry Club’ event in a local Indian restaurant this evening so the last thing I want to do is to overeat. The event starts at 6.00 and, fortunately, the restaurant is within striking distance of the local Waitrose car park so this makes life easy all round.