...I live close to Birmingham, in the super exciting
Solihull (West Midlands).
Solihull (residents called Silhillians, and the motto being 'Urbs in rure': 'Town in the country') was founded as a market town in medieval times, later becoming an important coaching stop. It was originally at the junction of significant medieval roads, being situated as it was at the top of a certain hill that gave it its name (so given by passers-by to this 'soily hill'...'soly hill'). It's twinned with Cholet (France) and Main-Taunus Kreis (Germany). And Samuel Johnson even once had his headmaster application for a Solihull grammar school rejected.
Extremely built up where I live (and I'm just down the road from a retail park), so it's not exactly the most scenic/exciting place to reside. And there's soon to be a much locally protested against residential home to be built just beyond our back garden (best not get me started on that one!
). Also not so great a location for some of the theatre, etc, I'd like to get out to see. However....
There are a lot of great attractions in the West Mids. For instance: Black Country Living Museum, Cadbury World, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Barber Institute, Twycross Zoo, Drayton Manor Park, Severn Valley Railway, Hagley Hall, Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Coughton Court, Baddesley Clinton, Shakespeare Country, Samuel Johnson Museum, Millenium Point, NEC/NIA, National Sea Life Centre, Sarehole Mill, West Midlands Safari Park, Alton Towers, Hagley Hall, Aston Hall, Donington Park, RAF museum, Lickey Hills, Cannock Chase, Botanical Gardens, etc, etc, the list goes on......
Famous Silhillians include: Richard Hammond (born here), Michael Buerk (BBC newsreader), Dave Hill (Slade's guitarist), ex-Corrie's Rupert Hill (born and grew up here), Martin Johnson (former England Rugby Union player/captain), Don Maclean, Malcolm Stent, Karen Brady (managing director of Birmingham FC), etc.
Some famous Brummies include: George Cadbury (think you can sort of guess what that relates to!), Neville Chamberlain, Tony Hancock, J R Tolkien (born in South Africa to Brummie parents...and he returned to Brum when he was 3), Matthew Boulton, Bill Oddie........
Bands formed in Birmingham include:
Duran Duran,
Dexy's Midnight Runners,
Ocean Colour Scene,
Judas Priest,
The Charlatans,
UB40....
Duran Duran's name came about through one of their favourite Birmingham clubs:
Barbarella. Inspired by the name, they took their band's name from the evil Dr. Durand-Durand, who was a character in the science-fiction cult film
Barbarella.
PS: It would definitely fall to Cop to be poster 800 if the rest of us avoided being it instead.
Just think it'd be kind of fitting. *Cop for 800, Cop for 800, Cop for 8...* Or what about Mike posting some BS footage in post 800?!
