The Chamberlain Memorial

When I started this challenge I foolishly thought I could mostly get through it with birthday/anniversary based subjects and to this end I started a diary and began harvesting dates from wherever I could. Although I've had quite a few birthday posts, the diary is pretty sparsely populated but this week there is one and it's that of Joseph Chamberlain of Chamberlain Square fame. So, with all that in mind, the last thing you'd expect from me today is a fluke. But that's exactly what this is.

I set off with the best of intentions and took several photos of the entire structure but none of them seemed right. The square is quite cluttered architecturally speaking and it's hard to make it the obvious subject without either lots of other stuff in the frame or similar shots to previous days. So this was a quick, up in the air, let's see what fits in at 50mm shot before I headed back to work. It wasn't until I got home that I realised that this shot had a nice cameo of the man himself right at the bottom of the frame, baby blue sky and some nice detail of the top of the monument. Apparently the cameo was created by one Thomas Wollner (go Google).

For those not familiar with it, this image represents about 10% of the whole monument.

As for the man himself, I'll let the monument inscription speak for itself and in the process achieve the longest POTD caption to date.

"This memorial is erected in gratitude for public service given to this town by Joseph Chamberlain, who was elected town councillor in November 1869, Mayor in November 1873, and resigned that office in June 1876 on being returned as one of the representatives of the Borough of Birmingham in Parliament, and during whose Mayoralty many great public works were notably advanced, and mainly by whose ability & devotion The Gas & Water Undertakings were acquired for the town to the great and lasting benefit of the inhabitants."

Geek notes : Straight from the camera. Distortion on the right is me not holding the camera straight - not the lens.