h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Birmingham is not 'the heart of the Black Country'. Ask anyone from Dudley and they will tell you in words of not more than one syllable. There is a distinct divide between Brummies and Black Country lads and wenches in speech if nothing else.

As for Brum itself, well it has changed dramatically since I first moved down to live in Edgbaston in 1982. Though it does have it's grotty bits I was privileged to live in a very leafy bit in the (then) polytechnic's halls of residence. There were a number of VERY posh private schools nearby including the Church of England College for Girls which expelled Toyah Wilcox at some point. Most of the land in Edgbaston is owned by the Calthorpe Estate and is rather expensive. There is also the Bournville Village which was built for the worker's at Cadbury's way back when to high standards. This land is also owned by a Trust who take a dim view of things if you want to put stone cladding on your bijou reidence.

Broad Street in the centre has transformed out of all recognition as well. It boasts a Ronnie Scott's jazz club (the only one outside London)and has a host of canalside bars, bistros etc.. It also has the International Convention Centre and a bizarre statue outside that looks decidedly unfinished and rather 30's in style. There is also the perversely named Paradise Circus, just a big, confusing roundabout really. And how could I forget that Birmingham's environs (ooh, big words) include Hollywood and California?

Anyway, that's enough blathering by now as you are probably semi-comatose from reading my scintillating prose. To finish off, here is a Black Country joke:

What do you call a Chinaman lost between Halesowen and Stourbridge?
Yome in Lye.

And The centre of Brum is still changing.
Out is going most of the inner ring with its road tunnels, roundabouts and subways and also the Bull Ring centre. In it's place will be the late 90's early 00's vision of what city centre life should look like (as opposed to the 50's and 60's vision which was Brimingham previously).

One good thing about Birmingham which hasn't been mentioned is that it's very easy to get to and from. The Uk's moterway network was designed to meet up around Birmingham. The rail network serves Birmingham with services from Aberdeen to Penzance going through Birmingham New St.

When the Central Library was built in Birmingham in the 1970's kit was the largest Library in Europe.

It's easy to get in and out of Birmingham yes. And it is easy to get in and out of the city centre from the 'burbs as it were. But nigh on impossible to *across* Birmingham.
Sorry. I use the buses and it annoys me

It depends how you mean "across".
I used to go from Edgbaston to work on the coventry side and this was quite straight forward (bus to new street, local train ) but I do remember those students who were in handsworth found bussing in to the centre to be a chore...

As you say it is rather a radial city and the public transport works well in getting too and from the centre but it's harder though not impossible to go around or across the city.

The public transport system does seem a little eccentric, particularly if you consider the fact that there is a direct train route from Stourbridge to Solihull. In the 3 years that I used it there only ever seemed to be about 3 other people who travelled the whole route as everyone seemed to get off at Snow Hill.

Apart from that, for a number of years I was a close friend of the number 11 bus, otherwise known as the outer circle. This followed the outer ring-road and offered possibly the least efficient way of getting from City Road in Edgbaston to King's Heath. Mind you, it gave me plenty of opportunity to be a pain in the bum and complain to people who insisted on smoking on the top deck (perhaps I should have been a traffic warden)

Indeed it is somewhat strange.

I've not done the 11, but I am more used to frequenting the 51 from Great Barr into the centre.

Don't forget the Inner Circle (no.8) which passes through Baltiland!

It needs an underground like lOndon really.

It does have the metro between Birmingham and Wolverhampton which has trams doing some street level running. It does need to be extended though.