Birmingham v Manchester

[bickster]

6 minutes ago, sidcow said:

As if to underline this uber nauseating Manc Andy Burnham was on Breakfast this morning immediately after the story about the unveiling of Ozzy the Bull at new Street.  Asked about it is said it's nice to see the third city getting some recognition in the media.

He's not a Manc, born in Liverpool, brought up in Newton-le-Willows (posh St Helens) and supports Liverpool. He's from Merseyside

[sidcow]

17 minutes ago, bickster said:

He's not a Manc, born in Liverpool, brought up in Newton-le-Willows (posh St Helens) and supports Liverpool. He's from Merseyside

Uber nauseating converted Manc Any Burnham etc

[Chindie]

**** Manchester.

And Liverpool.

[bickster]

35 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Uber nauseating converted Manc Any Burnham etc

I had to look up who the Mayor of the West Midlands was. Imagine having a regional mayor who the rest of the country actually knew.

I'm actually not particularly a fan of Burnham, I think he's done some things wrong during his tenure but talking up his region is his job, how often is Andy Street on national news doing that?

[sidcow]

10 minutes ago, bickster said:

I had to look up who the Mayor of the West Midlands was. Imagine having a regional mayor who the rest of the country actually knew.

I'm actually not particularly a fan of Burnham, I think he's done some things wrong during his tenure but talking up his region is his job, how often is Andy Street on national news doing that?

He is on a fair bit to be honest.  I know who he is and have seen him on national news pretty often.

Burnham obviously has BBC in his city so is always first port of call for The BBC.

The way Birmingham is treated by the BBC is frankly a disgrace.  The second biggest region by licence fee contribution and one of the lowest areas full stop for BBC services.  Even the new home they are building in Digbeth is a fraction of what Pebble Mill used to have.

We're even losing our regional news and having to share it with East Midlands.   It's a disgrace really and all adds to the anti Birmingham agenda in the media because we literally have no media.

Manchester on the other hand.....

Edited July 26, 2023 by sidcow

[Wainy316]

59 minutes ago, Chindie said:

**** Manchester.

And Liverpool.

The most self obsessed places going.  Newcastle isn't far behind either.

[Wainy316]

59 minutes ago, bickster said:

I had to look up who the Mayor of the West Midlands was. Imagine having a regional mayor who the rest of the country actually knew.

I'm actually not particularly a fan of Burnham, I think he's done some things wrong during his tenure but talking up his region is his job, how often is Andy Street on national news doing that?

You had to look up the guy that's banging Michael Fabricant?

[tinker]

4 hours ago, bickster said:

I had to look up who the Mayor of the West Midlands was. Imagine having a regional mayor who the rest of the country actually knew.

I'm actually not particularly a fan of Burnham, I think he's done some things wrong during his tenure but talking up his region is his job, how often is Andy Street on national news doing that?

Andy Street started off saying the right things but he's faded into the background since the Tories started ripping the country and themselves apart. 

We do need a new mayor but the options tend to come from the two main political parties so personality and brain power is sadly lacking.

Birmingham v Manchester is a bit silly , like bald men fighting over a comb although the BBC not being represented in the Midlands is a big downfall for us. 

 

[bickster]

3 minutes ago, tinker said:

Andy Street started off saying the right things but he's faded into the background since the Tories started ripping the country and themselves apart. 

We do need a new mayor but the options tend to come from the two main political parties so personality and brain power is sadly lacking.

Birmingham v Manchester is a bit silly , like bald men fighting over a comb although the BBC not being represented in the Midlands is a big downfall for us. 

 

This totally misses the point I was making. The point is, Burnham is doing precisely what he was elected to do, the anger shouldn't be directed at Burnham for doing his job, it should be aimed at Street for not doing his

[tinker]

Just now, bickster said:

This totally misses the point I was making. The point is, Burnham is doing precisely what he was elected to do, the anger shouldn't be directed at Burnham for doing his job, it should be aimed at Street for not doing his

I didn't mention Burnham, who's obviously doing a good job, under the spotlight of the Manchester based BBC. 

[bickster]

3 minutes ago, tinker said:

I didn't mention Burnham, who's obviously doing a good job, under the spotlight of the Manchester based BBC. 

The whole topic started because of Burnham, he is literally the central figure in the discussion, whether you mentioned him or not.

[blandy]

4 hours ago, bickster said:

He's not a Manc, born in Liverpool, brought up in Newton-le-Willows (posh St Helens) and supports Liverpool. He's from Merseyside

He's a Toffee.

[bickster]

4 minutes ago, blandy said:

He's a Toffee.

Oh yeah, its Rotherham thats the red but anyway..

[tinker]

45 minutes ago, bickster said:

The whole topic started because of Burnham, he is literally the central figure in the discussion, whether you mentioned him or not.

Ok

[Xela]

6 hours ago, Wainy316 said:

You had to look up the guy that's banging Michael Fabricant?

[JoshVilla]

I went to Uni in Chester (lovely city) and subsequently stayed for another 2 years afterwards. I spent a lot of time going to and from Liverpool and Manchester for various things (I worked in Liverpool for 2 years).

I actually don't mind Liverpool. There's some pretty nice parts, especially by the docks, and there's loads to do there. Made some good friends working up there (who were always quite complimentary about the Villa too, and this was around the time we got relegated...).

Manchester, though, I just really didn't enjoy going there at all. I never felt safe walking around there, especially getting back to the train station after gigs. Not a fan at all.

By comparison, Birmingham really does get a bad rep when it's absolutely no worse than any other of the big cities. I'd much rather walk through Birmingham at night than Manchester. I think that most of the preconceptions about Brum come from the fact that we're rather self-deprecating by nature, thus you don't often hear Brummies talking about the good things about the city.

I'd take Birmingham over Manchester any day of the week.

[Seal]

On 27/06/2023 at 06:11, Icarium said:

Hi All,

Through my work I may get an opportunity to study in the UK for 12 months. There are 2 similar courses I am interested in, one is through University of Birmingham and the other through the University of Manchester.

While Birmingham obviously grabbed my attention as a Villa fan, I wanted to get a feel for the reputation of both universities from people in country and anything else worth knowing,  as far as living in each city, to help the decision making process.

Thanks in advance

I ain't a brummie but I went to the University of Birmingham. It was actually my second choice behind manchester. This was the early 2000's. The University is effing A. It's on pretty scenic campus walkable drunk or sober from the city centre. Yet it doesn't feel like you are in a city. You have a golf course / botanical gardens, a a reservoir as the surroundings. It is definitely one of the more idyllic campuses in the UK. I visited Manchester a few times to visit friends and visit the uni. Whilst a good uni, it didn't have the same homely vibes. 

As a post grad Harbourne is lovely. But you also got loads of nice places about like Moseley ain't too far. You have Edgbaston nearby. I can't speak for Manchester on this front. But I hear good things too.

Manchester is legit a bit more rainy than most places. 

But I cannot recommend the birmingham campus enough. I was a fresher. I guess as a mature student this is less of an issue. Here is a tour video. 

Let me know if you have any specific questions about the uni.

Peace

[Xela]

On 28/06/2023 at 07:57, sidcow said:

Time for me to rehash my Gun Barrels story for the umpteenth time. 

One New Years eve I was in a massive queue for the bar at The Gun Barrels.  A guy behind me taps me on the shoulder and says "excuse me mate, do you go down The Villa?" 

I said "Yeah, how do you know?" 

He said "I stand behind you and recognise the back of your head" and he was right, I'd never really talk to him but I did then recognise him. 

Must have been weird to spend years staring at the back of someone's head then to see the back of the same head in a queue in front of you

I went to the Gun Barrels on NYE once. 

You may have been staring at the back of my head, while someone was staring at the back of yours. Like a beer drinking, Villa supporting human centipede. 

[sidcow]

2 minutes ago, Xela said:

I went to the Gun Barrels on NYE once. 

You may have been staring at the back of my head, while someone was staring at the back of yours. Like a beer drinking, Villa supporting human centipede. 

 

[mrchnry]

I've lived in both and Manchester is a much much better city for culture. Loads of gigs going on all the time, places for independent cinema, events, great comedy nights etc. 

I think Birmingham wins when it comes to restaurants and eating out. 

Driving in Manchester is an absolute nightmare though, traffic everywhere all the time. 

Also the reputation of it raining all the time is absolutely bang on. One of the main reasons I left Manchester and came back to the Midlands was I couldn't handle the rain anymore.