The West Midlands PHP User Group (PHPWM) is having a social event for anyone who uses, or is interested in learning more about, PHP. It’ll be hosted at the Little Lark pub, down in Studley. As usual, there is also a Facebook Event! See you there (if I make it myself… work deadlines are a biatch :().

PS Sorry for the late notice. I’ve been on holiday for the past couple of weeks and I’m still in that post-holiday depression.

Nick Booth is organising a Birmingham Bloggers meetup TOMORROW (that’s Thursday, January 10, 2008. Sorry for the short notice!). It will be held down at the Kitchen Garden Cafe (see map below) from 5:30pm onwards. A few people can’t make it that early, but the event should last for a good few hours at least. Unfortunately Thursdays are bad for me, so I won’t be able to attend this one, but hopefully the next one as I’d like to be able to put faces to some of the names I keep reading on the Birmingham blogsphere.

PS There’s also an official facebook event so you can RSVP!

View Larger Map

Sitting at the Green Room (Opposite the Hippodrome) you will see a range of people going past, doing different things. International tourists, exploring the city, national tourists, looking for a place to enjoy the sun. It’s a perfect place to go to for inspiration, and each person going past tells a story. The place itself is laid back and relaxed, probably something to do with the mellow yellow walls.

If you’re meeting someone who’s not from around here, it’s a perfect base to start. In front of the green room you have culture, to the left you have the village (the pub on the corner is a great place to go no matter what your sexuality, it’s laid back too), to the right you have the Maharajah, voted the best indian restaurant – by Indians! Behind you have the Arcadian, which needs no introduction, and behind that you have the Bull Ring! It’s a very underestimated place.

Now the two restaurants have quite different colour themes, so I’m thinking that they’re not run by the same people. Also, the GBK has several locations in the south of the country, whereas AFAIK the HBC only has the one location in Birmingham. Perhaps the owner of the HBC has visited the GBK and decided to copy the idea, but further north? Or am I just coming up with crackpot conspiracy theories to fill the void around here? What do you think?

The first thing I noticed when we got in was the big Innocent drinks marquee, which had free samples…

… and the fake-grass covered ice cream van pictured at the top of the entry. The marquee also had lots of beanbags and deckchairs too, very comfy!

I didn’t actually take any more pictures… it was so so busy, and it was a bit difficult to hold my camera, goodie bags, and free drinks, so the camera was sacrificed! I didn’t expect it to be so busy, I thought being the last day it would start winding down, but obviously I was wrong.

The event didn’t have a drinks licence, so the vendors were forced to give out free samples! Full bottles of drink were able to be bought, but they couldn’t sell single drinks. I tried some toffee flavoured vodka (neat! It was pretty strong, but the toffee flavour was very nice), some sweet sherry (yuck!), Faustino V rose wine (okay) and some Kumala rose wine (better than the Faustino).

The ‘currency’ for the event were ‘crowns’, two crowns were equal to £1. Some stalls accepted actual real money, but for the meals, you had to pay with crowns. I had some poncey smoked salmon and cream cheese roll thing, which was a bit disappointing, but I didn’t really know what I was asking for as it had a fancy name, so it’s my own fault for being hungry and impatient. My fiancé got a chicken tikka kebab wrap, which was more substantial and filling, and apparently very very nice. With our leftover crowns we bought a Belgian waffle with squirty cream and chocolate sauce, and a bottle of water.

Standard entry was £12, and VIP entry was £40, but with the VIP entry you received 30 crowns (worth £15). Our tickets were free, so we didn’t mind paying to get some crowns, but if I had paid £12 to get in, I think I would be annoyed I had to pay further to try food. Maybe I’m just a cheapskate who gets paid minimum wage… haha.

The weather was very strange, as we left the house it was quite cold and overcast, yet by the time we got to Cannon Hill (a five minute bus ride on a 47), it was really warm and I felt a bit over-dressed! Whilst we were there it alternated between really quite windy and being hot again… very peculiar. At least it didn’t rain, we have to be thankful for that at least!

All in all we had a good time, we timed it quite well because as we were leaving, there was a huge queue to get in!

A few weeks ago, me and my boyfriend went to Cannon Hill Park for a picnic. It was when it was realllllly hot, so I smelled very strongly of coconut (yuk!), a necessary evil when the factor 30 has to be brought out. It was really quite busy, partly because it was a lovely day, but also because there was a fun fair taking place at one end (the opposite end to the cricket ground; it was near the entrance by the Nature Centre). I meant to take pictures of the fair, but by the time we left I needed the loo, so the priority was to Get Home Quick.

Anyway, more food and drink related CHP goodness. Is anyone going to A Taste of Birmingham? We got free tickets through my boyfriend’s work, haven’t decided what day we are going yet, but I am always up for a free day out. I’ll definitely remember to take photos, I am hoping they have portaloos.

Overall verdict: A bit pricey, but worth a visit if you like a good burger.

The restaurant provides tables outside right next to the canal, perfect for taking advantage of the glorious weather we’ve been having lately! The menu choice is limited (surprisingly enough) to mostly just burgers, although the choices do include a vegetarian option, however there is a decent variety in their offerings (and 25 varieties of sauce!). In the end I opted for a chicken burger with chili sauce and a side of hand-cut chips, while my girlfriend went for a lamb-and-mint burger. The burgers arrived with very little fanfare and modest presentation, but what they lacked in style they made up for in taste (flame grilled to perfection). The chips were cut a little too thick for my liking (some of which were about an inch wide at the thicker end), and the sauce-to-burger ratio was a little to much on the saucy side causing me to make quite a mess as I demolished my way through the meal. My only other comment would be regarding the price. £8 for a burger is a bit pricey, although I guess it’s about average for the Brindleyplace area, and the burger’s at Gourmet Burger Co. seem a step up from those served by the surrounding venues.

Price per head: Approx. £15 (Burger, chips, and a drink)
Service: 7 out of 10
Food Quality: 7 out of 10
Value for money: 6 out of 10