Aston Manor Road Transport Museum

Some of you will know of the Aston Manor Road Transport Museum, a collection of vintage public transport vehicles, moistly from the West Midlands, which has existed for many years inside the old Witton Tram Depot in Birmingham.

Well, after a long period of uncertainty, issues surrounding the future of the building and the funding of the Museum have come to a head and the collection needs to find a new home.   This is a long, involved story and rather sad story which I won't recount here, although you can read more about it here.

Well, through the good offices of Walsall council, a new home has been found in Aldridge (hooray!) but (there's always a "but", isn't there?) the Museum now have the not insignificant logistical problem of actually moving a lot of the exhibits.   To make matters worse, the City Council want possession of the site by 28 December 2011;  not a good time of year to arrange this, is it?   Given the fact that these are in many cases full-sized vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment this really is a major issue and the good folks there have appealed for help.   Specifically, they need things like a fork lift capable of lifting up to a ton, a suitable vehicle onto which to lift them and similar help at the Aldridge end.

If anyone reading this knows of someone able to provide help in this manner, could they contact Richard from the Museum on 0121-449 4606 as a matter of some urgency.

And even if you can't passing this message on via the likes of Facebook and Twitter would be appreciated.   I can't help personally but am happy to use my online presence to spread the word that help is needed.

If, as they say, you know a man who can, do get in touch with Richard.

Thanks.

Vegetarian Cuisine

Mother-in-law is a vegetarian* so obviously needs a separate meal when she joins us for Christmas.

This often involves a bit of experimentation on Louise’s part, so tonight our meal was the “try out” for m-i-l’s Christmas Day lunch.

It was an unusual recipe:  courgettes stuffed with ricotta and spinach and topped with pine nuts and roast breadcrumbs.   It was very nice but it needed a little "something extra" to bring out the full flavour.

Louise though a bit more cranberry juice.   I thought a lamb chop.

*  Eats fish.   Don't get me started.

Glass Houses, Stones, etc.

I was having a rant during my Birmingham Walk today (no, really?!) about the fact that it's now possible to buy stupidly basic things in supermarkets, such a mashed potato, grated cheese and - saints preserve us - ice cubes.

How embarrassed I am, therefore, to have come back to find that Louise is including in tonight's meal.......supermarket bought mashed potato with swede.

(Mind you I do love all root vegetables, the rest of what she's working on sounds delicious: chicken with feta.)

Tropicana: Decision Day

While out today, I learned of the decision of North Somerset Council to press ahead with the demolition of the Weston-super-Mare’s old Open Air Swimming Pool, latterly the Tropicana.

This is a subject I’ve been writing and blogging about quite intensely recently, in the apparently vain hope that the structure would have a last-minute reprieve. Well, that hasn’t happened and now it looks as though the place will be demolished.

This is very sad, although today’s events in Liege have rather put subjects like built heritage into perspective. It’s sad and regrettable. It’s not a tragedy.

Even now – eternal optimist that I am – I hope that it won’t happen and that sense will prevail. This is undoubtedly not likely but I won’t give up hope until the demolition gangs move in and the concrete ball swings.

Liege

Those of you that knew me back then might remember that I spent a lot of the early nineties tour managing, ie taking British groups on tours around Britain and the Continent.

For complex reasons I won’t go into here, I spent a lot (and I mean a lot) of that time staying with coach groups in the very pleasant Belgian city of Liege. So for that reason, I was especially horrified to hear today’s news story about the shootings and explosions there. I know the Place Saint Lambert, where they took place, very well indeed. In fact I often went there to visit the Christmas Market which is on at the moment.

Of course, hearing about this sort of thing is always upsetting but when you know the place well, when you can imagine exactly where the reporters and witnesses are describing, it has a particularly disturbing resonance.

For most people, tourism in Belgium follows a well trodden and highly touristy path around the Flemish cities of Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. So working in Wallonia, the French-speaking Southern part of the country, was refreshingly different and I can to some extent thank the citizens of Liege for helping me to learn and to speak French, albeit with limitations!

Thus I’ve always had a fondness for the place, despite not having been there now for the best part of a decade I should think.

Chers Liegeois, je pense a vous.