Birmingham in the rain

I know, I know - I'm not giving the city a fair chance by using a photo of a rain soaked traffic jam to illustrate it. But somehow Birmingham is not a loveable city.

Not like London - full of history, not just its own, but mine too - days as a child walking with my dad in Shepherd's Bush, as an adult walking over London Bridge, one of the crowd, looking at the beauty of Tower Bridge.

Or Paris - for me a city of great food & style &, unexpectedly, the friendliness of rugby supporters of all nationalities. Or Berlin, with it's dark & terrible history represented by the Wall that is no more, source of my nightmares as a little girl.

No, Birmingham is not one of those cities I love - and sadly this photo represents what it means to me