Midlands meet up

Love the sound of the Museum.

It's in such a lovely setting as well; I feel quite emotional about going back to a place where I spent so many happy hours as a child [even though I did have nightmares about being locked in the mummy room].

I remember filling the Chamberlain fountain with foam during rag week somewhere round there!

Greetings from Vancouver!

Just popped on as had a PM about this. Only scanned as so many pages but seems like 6 Oct is the day and I'm fine for that.

A few comments:

Clarendon Suite is on Hagley Road a bus ride out of town with not much around it of interest. (great fro me as I could walk from DS3's but not for the rest of you)

New St Station is a building site at the moment so be prepared.

Cafe Rouge often has money off vouchers if you sign up to their website and is in Brindley Place which is nice and by the canals.

Museum has the Staffordshire Hoard which is worth a visit

Bull Ring should be avoided at all costs at the weekends!

About 5 minutes walk from New St and Moor St stations is the Birmingham Hippodrome and opposite is a restaurant which has just changed its name from The Green Room but I could find out. It is reasonably priced and does take bookings. Opposite the stage door is another called Stageside which does take bookings.

I know Brum quite well and go there all the time so will be happy to answer any questions if you PM me.

I will be home on 14th and would be happy to do any legwork required alongside anyone else. DH is a brummie and DS3 lives in Edgbaston and works in city so between us should have answers you might need.

Looking forward to meeting you all. How many of us are there now?

Don't know when I will get on GN again but will see my emails so PM me if you wish.

Regards to all.

Alison

I've booked my train tickets so if everyone else cancels I will just have to wander, dejectedly, in the rain etc. I would like it if we went somewhere quite near the station, museum/gallery sounds good as does place by canal, but I will go wherever our forward party decides.

Gosh you get the prize for being organised. I'm sure it won't come to dejected wandering !

If anyone can do cut'n'paste sort of stuff [not me I'm afraid] we should do a map of the station, meeting place etc and a list of places of interest to visit to kill time if anyone arrives really early. And possible meeting places at certain times? [Alison could help with that, knowing what's happening in the city centre at the moment].

I have put the 6th October in my diary but really dont want to go to a Museum restaurant/cafe

susiecb I am trying to be helpful here. If the final decision is to meet at the museum, how would you feel about eating in the Edwardian restaurant but not actually going around the museum? There may be public meeting areas that are not used for exhibitions.

I am just thinking that we cannot rely on the weather and it seems a good idea to have an indoor venue where people can meet up when we will all be arriving at different times due to trains e.t.c.

It is a long time since I was in Birmingham so I do not know of other suitable venues. I am open to any suggestions, of course, but I would prefer somewhere in reasonable walking distance of New Street station.

It's more of an Art Gallery than a museum [from memory, that is]. What we need to do, when we decide on a venue is to ask if it's ok for everyone to pay their deposit [if they require one] direct to the venue. We all think that we can make that day but anything can crop up at the last minute and I'd want to get my deposit paid straight away so that, if anything unforseen happened I'd still have paid up. If you google that tearoom it's a most beautiful place, but, as I said before it does close at 4 which might be too early for us.

As it is a lunch meeting I guess we would aim at meeting around 12:30 to 13:00.
Would that give us time? I have googled it and it does have good reviews.
Is the art gallery/museum open later than 4 so that people who want to linger can do?

Still waiting to hear from Edwardian Tearooms restaurant manager, but I have been out all day (you'd be impresssed, jeni - got DH back to shop again to order new suit as they no longer do the fabric of his last suit to get new pair of trousers) also out to lunch for our wedding anniversary. However, I am confident I can get a response before next week so will then present options so far and ask you to choose. I take your point about shutting at 4 , crimson, (we could always move on elsewhere for tea....... and more talking!)
I don't think Strada will want a deposit and I won't offer (!) because I know how easily the best laid plans of mice and grans gang aft agley.

That is excellent gracesmum . Thank you for what you have done so far.

I don't think the gallery closes at 4, just the tea rooms.

Boo hoo...I can't do the Midlands meet up - the available flights don't work for me. I do so regret it - it just sounds like you're all going to have a lovely day in good old Brum. Wish I could be there..I can almost hear the chatter already! If it becomes a habit, I'm sure I'll make it one day because I have to come over to Staffordshire fairly often.
Flowerfriend and I are going to have a get together in our newly formed Gransnet South West France Chapter, so looking forward to that. Just a suggestion but perhaps one day we could gather all our SW France members together?

Oh!
We have chapters now!
Like Hells Angels!

Hells Grannys!

Love it!

When we have our Brum meet up perhaps we'll arrange a trip to the South of France for the next one . Can't see us all going there on choppers a la Easy rider though.....[goes away humming that song by Steppenwolf..Head out on the highway tedum dedum]....

The Edwardian Tea room is open till 5 on a Saturday. I asked when i was there today.

Sorry meant the Museum and Art Gallery is open till 5pm on Saturdays.

You should hire a fleet of white convertibles, swathe your locks in diaphonous silk scarves, don huge sunglasses and cruise down the autoroute in a glorious convoy.

'Looking for adventure - and whatever comes my way' Will we have special tattoo and secret handshake?

Helmar is it a scary place - susiecb says she finds museums depressing which I kind of understand although within the midlands chapter she should be ok.

Purple, green and white apparel?

Purple please.
When I grow old I will wear purple, one of my favourite poems.

Grrranny. No i dont think it is scary at all. The tea room is not far from the Entrance and in the Art Gallery area through a long room of stained glass windows and vases. You dont need to go to the museum part at all if you dont want to. The main entrance is up a marble staircase or if you cant manage stairs there is a lift around at the side of the building.