Meeting Gilly

Who do you know that’s crazy enough to sit on a coach for 8 hours in a day just to meet me?  Why, Gilly, of course!  My lovely Lucid Gypsy friend. She of the luscious poetry and the lust for life.  Crazy, but so lovable!  Warm-hearted, impulsive, prone to hugs and tears, yet a lady of very good taste.  Didn’t she ‘follow’ me to Tavira, and like what she found there?  (Just the right mix of shabby and chique)  All this I knew, but not the lady herself.  If you’ve never ‘met’ Gilly, you’re in for a treat.

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Doesn’t that smile say it all?  Of course, there were the charms of Birmingham on offer too.  It’s not every day you’ll find charm and Birmingham in the same sentence, but I absolutely loved the city.  Even though on arrival I thought I’d come to a demolition site!

It was Gilly’s suggestion to meet in ‘Brum’ (didn’t I say she was a lady of taste?).  A ‘midway’ point between Hartlepool in north east England and Exeter in Devon.  We actually managed 8 hours together, which in the circumstances wasn’t bad.  A week might have been better.  What did we actually do, you’ll be wanting to know?  Talk!  Laugh!  Share stories.  Exchange hugs.  But not enough!  Never enough hugs.  I’ll give you a quick glimpse of our day.

It was raining gently when I got up, and this steadily increased to a deluge.  But Gilly brought the sunshine with her.  First stop, coffee, of course! No, don’t get over excited!  Gilly had an Eccles cake to keep her going till lunch.  Nothing more exotic, for now.  I had booked us on to a guided walking tour (well, you know me!) at 1.30pm.  So, after talking, and talking, we set off in the direction of the Library, for the start of the tour.

Not just any library, you understand.  Birmingham Library is a monolithic yet beautiful structure, and I suspect we could have spent most of our day there.  Built over 10 levels, with garden terraces on floors 3 and 7, with a Shakespeare Memorial Room in the Rotunda at the top.  Need I say more?

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Look- blue skies too!  We raced back down from the 9th floor just in time to join Jonathan and Dawn from Positively Birmingham Walking Tours. Jonathan, a history buff, and Dawn his apprentice.  I’ll spare you the details but it was quite useful for orientation. Our visit had coincided with graduation day for the Law students at the university, and as we headed into the ICC we were awash with gowns, mortar boards and excited faces.

For me, the best bit was Gas Street Basin and the narrowboats, and exchanging smiles and small asides with Gilly.  The tour was to last 1-2 hours, but time together was precious for me and Gilly.  And hunger pangs were setting in.  Back at the Library we tacitly agreed to drop out, made our apologies and headed back to the canals.  We sat outside the delightfully quirky Canalside Bar and let the world of water entertain us.  And talked, around eating and drinking, of course!

All too soon it was time to head towards separation.  I walked Gilly back in the direction of the Bull Ring and there we found a sunny seat outside Bill’s.  Apparently also a favourite of Gilly’s down in Exeter.  Bramble mojito was a very lovely way to round off our day.  Gilly had Peach Bellini.  Ah, bliss!  I wonder when we can do it again?

For Gilly’s version of events, have a look at A Gypsy and a Restless One.

129 comments

  1. What a lovely time you had together! I had no idea that Birmingham was such a diverse place – I think my only visit might have been passing through on the train on my way to Glasgow, although I have been to the NEC several times, but I don’t suppose that counts!

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    1. Approaching by coach from the north it looked like a disaster area, Elaine! But once I got looking around, it has some fabulous spots. Much more to follow (as usual 🙂 )

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  3. what a wonderful post, Jo! love Gilly’s smile 🙂 meeting a virtual friend in person is awesome and thank you both for sharing your Birmingham tour. such a lovely and fun time together 🙂

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  4. Hi Jo,
    Great story and wonderful pictures. Looks like you two had a wonderful day. You’ve very likely seen more of Birmingham’s inner city than me. I’ve been to Birmingham twice, on narrowboat trips, in the middle of the 1990s and in 2011. Both absolutely fantastic tours. The last time we stayed in Gas Street Basin [http://tinyurl.com/hzvostx], and from there walked some of the immediate vicinty, and, for a whole day, went to the Black Country Museum by train. That narrowbaoit trip was a fantastic experience: so much to see [http://tinyurl.com/hqz6jzb]. I could do it again and again.
    Have a wonderful day,
    Pit

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  5. You had me at blue skies. The sunshine on your faces must have brought out Mother Nature’s agreeable happiness as well. Glad you had a lovely day. I liked the Canal area most as well. So nice to meet virtual friends for real!

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  6. Wonderful to meet Gilly – very special to bring reality to a virtual relationship. Looks like you both had a great time together – love the photographs.

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    1. Playing ladies 🙂 Well, we were mostly well-behaved, Sam. Except when I popped into the police station for directions and couldn’t open the door to get out again! Oh, and a photo that I wasn’t supposed to take 🙂

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  10. Wow this is amazing..Looking at the photos it shows you two had a great time together! Lovely post! I hope to meet in person the people in my circle here too.. ( if time permits! 🙂 )

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  14. What fun to meet Gilly!! I’d love to have been at that meeting! Gilly looks fabulous; it would have been great to see a picture of you too, Jo, or the two of you together. I love that Birmingham Library and the colorful boats. I would have opted out of the tour too; talking over food and drinks is always preferable to a tour. 🙂 And what a perfect way to top off the day with a peach Bellini and bramble (?) mojito! 🙂

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  15. Gilly has a wonderful smile, and so glad that the two of you met and had an enjoyable day out and about walking around. Looks like the two of you saw a lot from the library to the rotunda and then some lovely drink at the end of it. Gilly seems like a very cheery person, just like how she is on her blog. She looked very happy to pose for your camera 🙂

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    1. She didn’t really enjoy posing (nor do I, Mabel 🙂 ) and it’s a responsibility to present a decent photo of someone you like very much, but I think that smile does it. 🙂 Thanks, darlin.

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  16. Oh, brilliant, Jo! You lucky lady, Gilly and I only had an hour or so because of unforeseen circumstances like a stuck level crossing gate! But undeterred, she was all big smiles! I shall let her know when I’m back in her neck of the woods…

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  18. What a fabulous day the two of you had. It is lovely down in the canal basin isn’t it . . . stayed there for a few days a couple of years ago and had a wonderful time exploring. And you are definitely worth spending 8hrs on a coach for, if not more 🙂

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  19. Isn’t it amazing, when you finally meet a good blogging friend, it’s like you’ve always known each other. When Elaine and I met in London in 2013 we sat and chatted for hours and if Mr ET hadn’t needed his lunch I reckon we could have been there all day. It was the same when we met Marsha and V in Hawaii. We were so lucky to spend a whole week with them and it was fantastic. It looks like you and Gilly had a wonderful day.

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