Choosing Hope

Birmingham is my much-loved adopted home.

When I first walked onto the University of Birmingham's campus I remember getting this buzzy feeling in my stomach and just felt like I totally belonged there.

In my second year I started working at two of the city's wonderful concert halls and loved working in the heart of it all.

After graduating, I headed back to Lincolnshire and mourned the loss of a city where so much stuff was happening; where I could get a train and a bus wherever.

Getting a job back in Birmingham last year was a complete dream, and living and working in the city centre has made me very happy. I love being in a city where people actually smile at you and are approachable and generally have pride in a place which still gets a bizarrely bad rap despite the fact that it has changed remarkably over the past 30 years.

One of the things that makes me proudest to live in Birmingham is the fact that it is a massively multicultural city. A place where people of all faiths and races live and work alongside each other.

However, sadly there are some people out there who are seemingly scared by the idea of people living harmoniously. That for whatever reason, people who do not look like them or practice the same religion as them are not worthy of a place in our country.

Pegida are a group that were originally founded two years ago in Germany, and are essentially neo-Nazis. Tommy Robinson, a co-founder of the English Defence League, has decided to bring this hate group over to the UK. On the 6th February, Pegida are planning to march through Birmingham to protest the presence of Islam, their first march on UK soil.

It would be fantastic if you could sign the Hope Not Hate pledge against them here. Groups like Pegida and their hateful messages have no place in the Birmingham that I know, or a country that I would be happy to live in.

Amy

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I Actually Left the House: A Night in Birmingham

The title is true. Last week one of my colleagues had her leaving party, which is always the worst reason to go out, but it did mean that I finally did something with my Friday night outside of cleaning my floors (advanced apologies for poor photos). We began having a bit of a casual drink at Gosta Green, which is basically Aston University's student bar and was a pretty good place to start the night-with obviously reasonable drink prices-but probably not somewhere you should hunt out if you're not a student.

Bodega
Somewhere that is definitely worth heading to is Bodega. This is a South American restaurant in the city centre specialising in street foods such as tacos and quesdillas and favourites like massive piles of nachos. All of these are complimented by some really delicious or just plain interesting cocktails. I had fish tacos, which were so fresh and delicious and grilled halloumi because halloumi. Whilst I didn't try any puddings (although I can't imagine churros ever being a bad idea), I did have a white chocolate and passionfruit mojito which was more than sweet enough. My only advice would be to either order several little plates or go with a big plate (the halloumi burger sounded lovely, and another table's nachos looked great) if you're really hungry.

The Lost & Found
The Lost & Found is one of my favourite places in Birmingham. My parents introduced me to it a few years ago; I spent my 21st birthday there and went a lot with my housemates; and I had my pre-graduation meal there. So I basically just have a lot of love for it. A really gorgeous building decorated with birdcages and faux plants, and a hidden function room behind a bookcase (!) it's a great place for a meal or just drinks. Despite being slightly disappointed that they've changed the cocktail menu, there were still plenty of delicious options including something called a Moscow Mule (vodka & ginger beer) which is definitely going to be my go to drink for future trips.

Gas Street Social
Finally, we headed to Gas Street Social, a place whose name I've heard a lot but I've never visited. Located just outside the newly refurbished Mailbox shopping centre (home of Harvey Nichols). It's got a really cool vibe, and does a pretty amazing espresso martini which is one of my favourite cocktails.

I had a really good night, and it was one of those times that you don't really feel the need to take copious photos because you're just enjoying yourself too much. Brum seems to be having something of a renaissance amongst the blogosphere so if you have any recommendations for Brum I'd love to hear them!

Amy
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