They knocked down the HP Building! Can you believe it? Once again people are moaning about how the culture of Birmingham is being lost to advancement.

But isn’t this what Brummies voted for all those years ago?

While they’re all wondering where to hang up the HP Sign, I just can’t help but wonder where all that culture is gone. I was wandering in WHSmith, and ended up in the vintage section. There was a book with loads of pictures of Birmingham before the second world war. It was actually quite beautiful. It still is. It was only then that the next time I walked along the tree lined New Street, instead of looking ahead at what was worse than Gucci for sale at a flea market, I looked up at the buildings. It’s all still there. Actually it all still reminds me of New Orleans.

The next time you’re in the city centre, look up at the buildings. Sure enough a lot of the old buildings were knocked down, but the old (and very subtle) layers of the city are still there, so take time out to remember the efforts that created our home.