itdoesntmatterwhatthissay Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I get quite frustrated with the night-life and find it pretty drab in comparison to places such as Manchester or Bristol. There are good places and fun bars but nothing that seems to consistently entertain. It seems places like The Jam House and Snobs steal many regulars past 1am and everywhere else is much of a muchness, or hideously pretentious. What I like, especially in Manchester and London is that they're not worried about clustering a cultural area together for social value and then hoping it creates a sustainable income in the way of nightlife or entertainment. Inevitably it does but in Birmingham we seem to be less inclined to do it unless there is a big backer. To me Digbeth has been wasted for too long; its layout would complement many of Birmingham's future development projects. The council has an opportunity to create a cluster of social income which in sustainable terms is much better than encouraging chance redevelopment, but hey ho, going out with 6 Spanish girls offsets going to Snobs....they took me to Gatecrasher two weeks ago....good god that place is horrific. I love the food in Brum, and the people! And some of the parks! Love the market too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted April 19, 2012 Moderator Share Posted April 19, 2012 in Brum... 1987, when ...Being something of a real ale snob, I found it appalling that nowhere, and I really mean nowhere, had any pump bitter... it was all Ansells fizzy stuff... drove me fecking crazy... and when I asked for pump ale they looked at me like I was nuts. Perhaps it's different now... It is, there's plenty of places now that sell proper beer/Ale. It could still be better, but there are some cracking boozers, with tiles and Ale and interiors that are genuine "pub". I quite liked (hand pulled) Ansells, I sort of grew up on it, that and BrewXI and Banks's and Spring There's pubs like the Urban Art Bars in Hockley (Red Lion, Lord Clifden, run by a Sunderland fan called Steve, a mate of my brother's), The Wellington and The Old Joint Stock in the centre of town, the Old Royal, The Old Contemptibles, The Barton's Arms in Aston, The White Horse in Harborne, The Prince of Wales near the Arena, the White Swan..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Best pub in Brum is the Tap and Spile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheltenham_villa Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 i love the canals, the bull ring (though not near christmas), the curry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 the curry. Good shout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houlston Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Like The City Centre itself including the Bullring, theres loads of different types of pubs and bars and good clothes shops The women in Selfridges The canals through Brindley, I used to live in a flat that was on the canal and the water would reflect onto the buildings at dusk and night. If the sun comes this year the outdoor balcony at the bar at the top of the Cube its going to be a brilliant place to have a few midday beers/whiskeys on a Saturday. The amount of brilliant curry houses, from the cheap to the expensive, there is just so many good ones. The amount of brilliant restaurants. That most people are friendly. Dislike The Cube itself, its hideous. Broad Street Meechu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted April 19, 2012 Administrator Share Posted April 19, 2012 The video suggests that the station platforms will still be underground; the feeling still of being in Mordor. Thats what needs to change. And yes Moor Street is miles nicer. Pity they ƒucked up big time and pulled down Snow Hill.. It's what petty, small-minded idiots do when they are given total dominion over what was once their bitter rivals. That's why we have the slow line to Wolverhampton and the old fast line is a tram track. Political bollocks in a nationalised industry and this was between units of the private sector, years after they'd been separate companies. I don't mind New Street, it just needs a lot better lighting and access, but I don't miss it now that I can go from Kiddy to London in 2h10 (quicker if The_Rev is driving). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted April 19, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted April 19, 2012 Love "The Sunflower Lounge". My kind of Bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Love "The Sunflower Lounge". My kind of Bar. The one down from nostalgia comics? The one full of trying too hard indie hipster word removed types? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Love : Aston Villa, Tolkien, Land Rover, Cadburys, spaghetti Junction, the view of Villa Park from the M6 and the claret and blue gas cyclo's, the balti, the canals, Ozzie, Bedders Chip shop, Crossroads, UB40 Hate : SHA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Makes me homesick this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milfner Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Makes me homesick this thread. Me too. Can't wait to finish my year at uni and go back for the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwpzxjor1 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Considering that Birmingham is the 2nd city, the nightlife scene is poor compared to alot of other cities in England. Depends where you go. Around the very centre, maybe (although you still have very nice areas like Brindley Place and The Mailbox).. But if you know where to look there is an excellent night life scene in some of the areas outside the centre, like Kings Heath, Harborne and Moseley. One of the reasons I choose to move to Moseley was the bars and restaurants here, and you're only ever a few quid taxi ride away from one of the other 'fashionable' areas if something more is going on over there. Balsall Heath is also apparently fantastic for Islamic entertainment. There's always some sort of underground party going on there, obviously not my scene at all but it's there.. Combine that with the odd things going in more random places then there's plenty to do in Birmingham's nightlife... it's just that people outside of Birmingham only ever go out in the city centre.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted April 20, 2012 Moderator Share Posted April 20, 2012 I haven't been into Birmingham since my 30th, three years ago. A few weeks ago I was driving back from my parents in Kidderminster and the M5 was part closed so I took a detour through the city centre. It made me so homesick. The sun was shining and Birmingham was glorious. I miss the beautiful architecture, and the not so beautiful too. It's part of what we are. I miss the people. People like you lot. People like me. Real people with a sense of humility and humour unrivalled anywhere in the country. I miss the accent. I love that we've got a Jewellery Quarter that's so much more beautiful than London's Hatton Garden. I love that we've got a Gun Quarter that means something totally different in Manchester - Moss Side! I miss the art gallery and museum. I miss my low paid temp job at the council when I was a student. I miss Sutton Park. I miss Villa Park, and Aston Hall. I love our canals. I love Chinatown. I love that our city centre is big enough to be impressive but small enough to get around. I love our history of industry and science. Just read our Wikipedia page. I love telling people, wherever I travel in the world, that I'm a Brummie. I'm proud of it. I dislike? That our council don't do more to promote us and showcase all the amazing things we've got to offer. Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow are all inferior cities but have convinced the world they're not. I dislike that my industry doesn't really exist in the Midlands so since I left home at 18 ive not had the opportunity to go back for good. Home is where the heart is. I heart Birmingham. Oh yeah. And those curries.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 20, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted April 20, 2012 Considering that Birmingham is the 2nd city, the nightlife scene is poor compared to alot of other cities in England. Depends where you go. Around the very centre, maybe (although you still have very nice areas like Brindley Place and The Mailbox).. But if you know where to look there is an excellent night life scene in some of the areas outside the centre, like Kings Heath, Harborne and Moseley. One of the reasons I choose to move to Moseley was the bars and restaurants here, and you're only ever a few quid taxi ride away from one of the other 'fashionable' areas if something more is going on over there. Balsall Heath is also apparently fantastic for Islamic entertainment. There's always some sort of underground party going on there, obviously not my scene at all but it's there.. Combine that with the odd things going in more random places then there's plenty to do in Birmingham's nightlife... it's just that people outside of Birmingham only ever go out in the city centre.. This is what I was getting at. There are some crap places to go out in the city centre, but there are some good ones. But there are loads of suburbs where you can have a top night out. Mosely is one of my favourite nights out. Loads of pubs, loads of bars with a range of punters, chavvy right up to downright posh. Then there's other places like Harborne, Selly Oak etc that have decent night life. Then City centre is round the corner. Mailbox, Arcadian, Brindley Place, Jewellery Quarter, Hurst Street (if that's your thing) and Summerrow are all good nights out without having to go to the atrocity that is Broad Street Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I haven't been into Birmingham since my 30th, three years ago. A few weeks ago I was driving back from my parents in Kidderminster and the M5 was part closed so I took a detour through the city centre. It made me so homesick. The sun was shining and Birmingham was glorious. I miss the beautiful architecture, and the not so beautiful too. It's part of what we are. I miss the people. People like you lot. People like me. Real people with a sense of humility and humour unrivalled anywhere in the country. I miss the accent. I love that we've got a Jewellery Quarter that's so much more beautiful than London's Hatton Garden. I love that we've got a Gun Quarter that means something totally different in Manchester - Moss Side! I miss the art gallery and museum. I miss my low paid temp job at the council when I was a student. I miss Sutton Park. I miss Villa Park, and Aston Hall. I love our canals. I love Chinatown. I love that our city centre is big enough to be impressive but small enough to get around. I love our history of industry and science. Just read our Wikipedia page. I love telling people, wherever I travel in the world, that I'm a Brummie. I'm proud of it. I dislike? That our council don't do more to promote us and showcase all the amazing things we've got to offer. Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow are all inferior cities but have convinced the world they're not. I dislike that my industry doesn't really exist in the Midlands so since I left home at 18 ive not had the opportunity to go back for good. Home is where the heart is. I heart Birmingham. Oh yeah. And those curries.... *wipes tear from eye* That's it! I'm moving back to Birmingham at the weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islingtonclaret Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 The Tap and Spile is totally, totally shit now. After the takeover they got rid of all the real ale pumps and put of crap lager - unless they've changed it again. Things have changed a lot my friend when it comes to real ale. Highgate brewery have been running Davenports at the City Tavern off Broad Street for a while now, and as our first sponsor it's warms my heart to see. Plus it's actually a really good beer. White Horse in Harborne (check out the interactive beer menu), Wellington (check out the interactive beer menu) and Old Joint Stock by St Phillips, aforementioned Lamp Tavern, Bartons Arms, Lord Clifton in Jewellry Quarter are just a few of the great, great boozers I've been known to frequent.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 20, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted April 20, 2012 Lord Clifton is great. Any pub that has a ping pong table in it's beer garden gets the thumbs up from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J.Rimmer Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Just to broaden this topic a little, it has often occured to me that Birmingham has a marked lack of legendary heroes. Has anyone one ever wondered if the rise of Liverpool FC had anything to do with the rise of Mersey Beat and the Beatles? Or that the Munich air crash and George Best produced the phenonemon that's become Manchester United, wth 100 million fans in China? I'm quite sure that down the years any number of prospective Villa players were put off the moment they saw the Bull Ring. Fact remains that, together with the northeast, we are the best of a very poor group of west midland clubs.... and we can hardly attribute this to just the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b6bloke Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I thought about this and all I can think of is how much I miss from before and a love a lot less than I used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts