Arriving in Birmingham this time, I was struck by the desolate state of the streets and the inhabitants, just off the shiny, brash and busy central shopping area. As always, the Brummie warmth shone through the cold, bland backcloth, where the dilapidated or derilect 19th century architecture still testifies to an era when the city was truly 'the workshop of the world' with 1000 trades. Today, the service sector has largely taken over where manufacturing became redundant, shopping and consumerism of all kinds now form the beating heart to a city where the machinery grinded to a halt, falling silent and inert. In this strange metamorphosis - this march towards an uncertain future - countless individuals have been sloughed off, discarded in the process, left by the wayside, unable to follow the social sea change wrought by mass de-industrialisation.
Entering the old Bull Ring indoor market through a side entrance, I was overwhelmed by the acrid smell of urine and the sight of people down-and-out, huddled together in the shelter afforded by the outdated building which is itself set for demolition in 2027.
As I left the shell of this relic from my childhood, bracing myself against the chill, I was just able to make out the haunting notes of some beautiful music coming from street performers by St Martin's church. The incredible difference between the loveliness of this timeless hymn and the harshness of modern reality paid out before me made me catch my breath whilst the beauty of the music actually made me cry. However, when I thought of the words of this poem written by Christina Rossetti in 1872, it all seemed somewhat appropriate...
In the bleak mid-winter,
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
To bolster myself up against ugly modernity, I decided to look at the church of St Martin, and gaze at its magnificent door with its intricate pomegranate brass fittings. To my dismay, I noticed that the central door knob had been stolen!
