Do people still collect souvenir teaspoons, T-shirts and snowglobes when they travel?

I just got back from 4 days in Brummie, two at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC sandwiched between some exploring of Digbeth, one of the oldest sections of Birmingham and in line to be ‘renovated and regenerated’ aka ‘corporatised and sterilised’.  I’ve heard tell that when the Digbeth Coach Station is re-opened, it will contain a Starbucks.  Deep sigh . . . .

I’ll tell all very soon, but for now am going to unpack, get a good nights’ sleep and back into my usual non-routine routine.  For now here’s a teaser – my souvenir from Birmingham: a gas mask from the abbatoir/basement of the former John Morgan sausage factory, now an Indian restaurant at the top of Digbeth High Street.

DISCLAMER: If you are after the top night spots and shopping areas of Birmingham, best to go elsewhere.  I’ll be taking us to an abandoned galvanising factory, a building site, along the graffiti scrawled Union Canal and to the former Bird’s Custard factory, now an art studio and gallery complex.

Stay tuned . . . . . . . .