the cosplayers

in the secret garden

A secret garden awaits at the top of the library.

Birmingham boasts many 'hide-aways' and this is one of my favourites - an oasis in the hustle and bustle of city life. It is a place of peace amidst the busyness.

As I walk round the paths threaded through the garden an overwhelming scent of a huge clump of curry plants wafts in my direction. It's a fitting reminder of the great strength of this multi-cultural city.  And then, looking out across the vista I see huge plumes of smoke rising up into the air.  A fire in Smethwick, and a poignant reminder of Birmingham's industrial heritage.

I'm not alone in the garden. There are hidden glimpses of humanity everywhere - a grandfather and his grandson parked on a bench, a young girl and her grandmother looking out across the city, someone taking an early lunch, a man taking a phone-call.

Other wild-life has a place here, too - a bird-box peeps up above the greenery.  If you do visit the Library make sure you don't miss out the secret garden. You won't be disappointed.

views of the library

in the footsteps of phyllis ...

Phyllis Nicklin is Birmingham's very own, Vivian Maier - a photographer whose work only entered the public arena after her death.  She was a teacher and university lecturer who documented the changing landscape of her home city in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Birmingham Library is currently hosting a superb exhibition called, 'In the Footsteps of Phyllis' which places a number of her stunning pictures next to contemporary recreations by a group of local photographers.  

Having seen all the changes going on in Birmingham at the moment one wonders what a similar exhibition might look like in fifty years time!