James Tucker in Cov

So, living about as far from the sea as is possible in England, it's always amused me that there's a Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, and a big one at that. It's almost as if the powers that be decided that no-one in the country should live more than 100 miles from live haddock or something. Anyhow, there were rays and small sharks, as well as various odd things like glowing fish and rare seahorses. The real attractions, though, were the otters and the sea turtles. Otters need little in the way of presentation- just set them up and they'll amuse you for hours. And so it was. One of them took about an hour to eat a single shoot, because of his seeming insistence on drowning it first, while another lay on his back and threw a nut into the air and then caught it again for a good twenty minutes, often dropping it despite having webbed 'hands' (nature's catcher's mitts). More time was spent designing the turtle tank, which was also full of hundreds of other fish and a shark or two. There were numerous windows into the tank and a glass tunnel which ran through the middle of it (a smaller version of New Zealand's Kelly Tarleton exhibit, which I visited many years ago). The turtle seemed to recognise its dramatic setting, and swooped onto the tunnel from various angles, usually causing a stir-- it was about five or six feet long, and apparently weighs upwards of 400 pounds. In keeping with the maritime theme of the day, we got a bit soggy on leaving the place, because it's been raining here for about 8 of the last 10 days.

Here's another thing that I'll be adding to over the months- comedy door knockers. The one on the left is from the North door of Durham cathedral. It was a sanctuary knocker-- any criminal who got ahold of it could stay in the church for 40 days setting his affairs in order before being turned over to the police. The original is in the crypt of the cathedral now. The other one is from the old Fish Street in Worcester, and is on the door of a Tudor house near the River Severn.

So here it is, where I go to school. It was founded in 1900, around the central courtyard that still defines it. Birmingham was the first of a series of Universities formed around this time, which have been known as the "Redbrick" Universities ever since. The major force behind the founding of the school was Joseph Chamberlain, the former mayor and Cabinet Minister who's responsible for a great many of this city's great projects. The land was donated by a major land-owning family, and the trademark buildings I've posted pictures of here were the first ones built. They form a 'D" shape, with the 100 metre-highclock tower ('Old Joe') at the centre. Forming a second quad outside the flat side of the D are the Arts Building, Library, and Staff House, the three buildings I probably spend the most time in. They aren't very special to look at, though only Staff House is truly ugly. Also on the campus is the Art Deco Barber Institute, our art gallery and music venue.
The 'D' shaped building, the Aston-Webb building, is the administrative heart of the school as well as holding several departments, such as geography and (I think) some natural history-type classes. Each of the domes you can see is in fact the front of a large building, so that from above, Aston-Webb looks like a spoked half-wheel. This can sort of be seen from the back. The main entrance contains the largest of the domes, and leads onto the Great Hall, which is as impressive inside (though it be under construction) as out.
Apparently Aston-Webb is based on Byzantine architecture, specifically St. Mark's Cathederal in Venice, and the belltower on the Town Hall Tower in Siena, Italy. As some of the pictures show, we don't quite get the weather to match.
[Update: I have since changed in some pictures taken when the sun came out]

It's getting to be the essay crunch time, and I'm pretty unlikely to be travelling anywhere at all for the next two weeks, unless it's the library (ironically, I'm not sure I have many photos of campus I could post. Later, I guess), so it's all Brum, all the time here. Like this skyline. As the second-biggest city in the U.K., Birmingham actually has a lot of interesting stuff in its downtown. However, most of it was built after the war, when architects had a wee bit of a concrete fetish. But there is some interesting modernist and brutalist stuff kicking around (see the circular tower there) as well as some very recent renovation, such as the new Bullring mall, with its Selfridges department store (the silver blob).

Here are two of my favourite signs of late- from the churchyard in King's Norton, and from a side-street in Worcester. Apparently 'Fruiterer' is a real word; I still find it funny.

I really didn't know what to expect in Worcester- I've never heard much about it. As it turns out, it's a very pretty town (and I had a sunny day), with the River Severn winding through it and populated by swans (this was actually the first time I've seen swans flying- they tend to have their wings clipped). Down by the river are its large cathedral (above, with swans) and close, in the centre of town is the largely Georgian and Victorian High Street, and a bit farther out from the river are a series of medieval streets, courtyards and alleys, with a lot of the original buildings.
King John (one of the less popular monarchs) is buried in the cathedral, as is Prince Arthur (the older brother to Henry VIII), but they are probably not the city's strongest royal link- Charles II fought a battle here to try and take the country back from Cromwell & co., but lost, and was forced to flee. The house in which he hid is now a pub (and it has its own jail), and his statue adorns the Guildhall in the centre of town (right). The Commandary on the edge of town was a headquarters for this battle, but I forget which side's (I suspect Royal).
I quite liked the cathedral, because it was built and rebuilt so many times from 1100-1500 that virtually every style from that period can be seen. The windows get less and less pointed the farther east (and thus later) along the building you go, and the basement is a forest of old Norman pillars. Plus the inside has been spruced up pretty well--Arthur's tomb (the structure to the left) is a masterpiece of Tudor stonework, as one might expect, but there are also some great medieval carvings of demons roasting people, and knights fighting lions, and unicorns with wings and such.
The town has also built a number of newer shopping developments in the old alleys and courtyards of the medieval town, and I thought they worked well, moving from promenade to courtyard, and branching off in unpredictable ways like the old markets would have. The architectural style is also sufficiently diverse to keep the ancient feel, without trying to look "Olde Worlde". I really liked Worcester, in a quiet way- and it has Birties of Worcester, which should really be worth something. Below are (left) the High Street near the Guildhall, and (right) Friar's Street, the heart of the old town (and about 3 blocks from High St.)