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3rd June 2022 - Rumours of Fleetwood Mac ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Written while listening to DjVole's show on aNONradio. Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of making use of a friend's free ticket to see a Fleetwood Mac cover band called Rumours of Fleetwood Mac. This meant a visit to the centre of Birmingham and it was with reasonably good timing. I had spotted a couple of new pubs to try. One was a reopening of a pub which sadly closed during Covid. It was formally a gin and mixology bar which had a sort of Alice in Wonderland theme. The pub itself is narrow but has a garden at the back and a cracking period wooden room on the second floor. I first went in 2006 as it was the Queen Anne and it was a touch scary. A 'locals only' affair or certainly anti-student. Then it became the Jekyll and Hyde in 2007. This was a breath of fresh air with a huge selection of spirits. I helped them while I worked in Maplin with the sound systehm and ended up getting known there for a couple of years. I ended up in there with my Dad once and they knew me by sight which surprised him. Now, it has been bought by a brewery which was founded in Hockley, an area some 2 miles away from the pub, in 1829. They have done a marvelous job in making it feel like a traditional Birmingham boozer. Tiles adourn the walls and some of the space saving changes were inspired. The garden is now with a roof to more than double the seating space in all weathers. A garden appeared on the second floor between the wooden bar and the toilets although focused for smokers. It was lovely to have a pint in there. Of course it was a Davenports beer called RIP, an IPA of sorts. Tasty and bitter. The other pub I wanted to try was one open since 2019 but it escaped my attention. It is in a corner of Colmore Row, a posh street filled with former banks converted into wine bars. Well this so happened to be a pub instead. It is again a brewery owned pub but from a non-West Midlands one. Thornbridge are an interesting brewery who seem to play with flavours a lot and trying new things. They are from the Peak District, somewhere near Bakewell. This particular pub, the Colmore, is a former bank and so filled with marble, wood and mirrors. It is a rather swish place to end up even if the bar stools are ridiculously high. I had a couple of beers here while waiting for my friend to appear. The first was a Irn Bru sour called Krankie. For those unaware of the nectar that is Irn Bru, it is a fruity delight which is more popular in Scotland than Coca Cola. It is orange and so sugary. It is a perfect hangover cure. Anyhow, the beer was an almost perfect recreation and just lacked a bit of carbonation. I also love the pun on the Krankies, a derranged Scottish commedy duo of a husband with a particularly small wife. The wife plays wee Jimmy Krankie, a mischievous school boy. Yes it is already weird. However, they were also known for weird sex orgies in the 80s and 90s. The second beer was a pale ale from Trinity Brewing in Lichfield. It was pale and pleasant enough. It just lacked oomphf after the previous beers. The gig went wonderful with the first half being the whole of Rumours followed by the 'memorial section' where they played some of the Peter Green era songs. I loved it. They were an amazing band and worth seeing. The power of the Peter Green era stuff was magnificant. The second half involved lots of songs where I thought 'huh, didn't realise that was Fleetwood Mac' to myself. I might have only heard Rumours, Tusk and the Peter Green era.... Anyhow, it was fun and the first time I was in a seat at a gig for some years. I appreciated the seat. Particularly as it was second row and just to the left of the middle of the stage. Birmingham is in full swing for hosting the Commonwealth Games at the moment and it is rather exciting. Victoria Square has returned to its glory with the Floosie in the Jacuzzi now having water, Queen Victoria back in place and the Iron Man lurking where he should be. There has been lots of effort to tidy the place up. The Town Hall, a Georgian classical revival delight, has Commonwealth Games banners in place. Signs are everywhere to make sure we remember that they are happening too. Then there are the new art works which are appearing. I stumbled across one which I love. It is a shield being pulled up by a gang of community leaders. These people are represented as metal cut outs. Union flag bunting is placed along the chains they are pulling. The shield is what makes it. On the shield there is "Nobodys here without a struggle" and "We all came here from somewhere." At the top of the shield is "Forward" in a sanskrit script and is the Birmingham city motto. At the bottom is "TOGETHER". These feel a perfect selection of phrases. I particularly love the forward together message and feel this should be the new motto. Birmingham is a city of great change in both architecture (for better and for worse), culture, industry and people. It is a young city which has a melting pot of cultures and so some fantastic food options. Brummies do not sing about the city as it is not the done thing. Save that for Mancunians about Manchester. Instead, Brummies take the piss out of their city and let the delights talk for theirselves. Birmingham is not pretty but it is interesting and I enjoy living here mostly. Some sea would be nice :P