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Birmingham is shedding its industrial past and is today one of the most forward-thinking and creative cities in the country. With free museums, historic footpaths and lots of green spaces, the second city in the UK is ideal for those on a limited budget. Here are ten free activities to do while visiting, whether you’re there for a fleeting business trip or a family break:

Walk the Tolkien Trail on Moseley Bog

Author of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien received initial inspiration from the Birmingham area for his books and the areas are now incredibly popular sites to visit. As a child, Tolkien would play at Moseley Bog and Sarehole Mill. At Moseley Bog, you can follow the Tolkien Trail and visit Sarehole Mill which officially holds the Middle-earth weekend in May.

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Although donations are welcomed, admission to the popular museum in the city centre is absolutely free. There are exhibitions that change periodically, an activity room for children, and a Victorian tearoom. Take a look at the globally famous Staffordshire Hoard and the biggest public collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the world, all housed in a stunning Level II listed building, dating from 1885. Visit Birmingham from Irish Airports with https://irelandwestairport.com/

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Digbeth Street Art

Known as the city’s creative quarter, Digbeth boasts some great street art. On the main street, you will pass The Old Crown (the oldest lodging in Birmingham that was built in 1368), the famous Irish Centre and the JFK memorial. Go a little off the track to see impressive industrial buildings juxtaposed with modern street art for which this quarter is known.

BBC Birmingham in the Mailbox

BBC Birmingham broadcasts from popular shopping centre and restaurant, the Mailbox and they open their doors to their visitor centre for free. Here you can see authentic clothing from the Peaky Blinders TV series, pose with Doctor Who’s Tardis and watch the news bulletin directly from the viewing area upstairs. Full studio tours do incur an entrance fee, but if children have the Blue Peter badge, they can enter free of charge with full-paying adults.

Lose yourself in a book in the Birmingham Library

The £ 188 million Birmingham library was opened in September 2013 and holds more than 300,000 books. Here you’ll find the beautiful Shakespeare Memorial Room. In summer, take books to the stunning 7th floor secret terrace garden to admire the spectacular views of the city around you.

Walk along the canal

Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice, so take a walk along one of the many canal paths in the city. The heart of the Birmingham canal network is in the midst of restaurants and shopping outlets and the winding footpath welcomes hundreds of ships and barges every day. Some of the best hidden stops in town are found by stretching your legs around the Gas Street Basin, including the charming Canalside Cafe and 19th-century pubs such as Tap & Spile. Feel tired? Catch the Waterbus to travel back!

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Look at the view from Lickey Hills

Often referred to as the best view in the city, Lickey Hills Country Park is one of Birmingham’s most valuable parks and pedestrian paths. Located at the southernmost tip of the city, the 524-hectare forest area has one of the best views overlooking Birmingham.

An exciting opportunity was opened for architects to design the Museum of London’s new home opened in February 2016.  The project, set to complete in 2021 was created inside Horace Jones’ West Smithfield market and will encompass the vacant General Market and Fish Market, in addition to the poultry market, the Red House, Iron Mountain and the Engine House.

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Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) organised the contest in two stages. The selection process was taken forward by a panel in February and following the shortlisting in the spring, the winning architect will be announced in the summer.

World class architects

The best architects from across the world showcase their creativity as they compete for the opportunity to create history in this exciting project. Firms familiar with using creative solutions such as stretched ceilings will be competing for this prestigious award.

There will be materials being used like plastic, rubber, material and metal to make all kinds of design.  The artists may need to prove these structures are safe and steady so a little metal bonding adhesive may need to be used to hold them together which can be sourced from https://www.ct1ltd.com/product-applications/metal-to-metal-adhesive/.
As construction technology continues to evolve, with examples including tensile fabrics used by firms the opportunities for innovative and visually appealing solutions to external architectural challenges abound. There is little doubt that many of the entries in the Museum of London competition will be both creative and aesthetically engaging.

Delivering a modern solution whilst ensuring sensitivity

The underlying vision for the project is to showcase the Capital for Londoners and for visitors alike. It will see the affected buildings brought to life in order to tell viewers about London’s history, whilst including finds from the largest archaeological archive in the world.

The contest is being funded by the Mayor of London and the leasehold was reportedly bought by City of London Corporation from Henderson Global Investors for £34.6 million. Boris Johnson, Prime minister of London believes that finding the right architect is extremely important, allowing the Museum to identify and to engage with the very best architectural talent from across the globe in creating a landmark destination and a new cultural attraction for the Capital.

The brief is expected to be a challenging opportunity for the chosen architects and the museum director Sharon Ament is excited about the plans, now that City of London Corporation has acquired the leasehold. He believes that the key to a successful bid will be the sensitive combination of modern vision and technology with West Smithfield’s “sensitive heritage.”

More and more collectors, museums and gallery owners seem to think so. Collectors pay for contemporary furniture made by hand as an investment in the future. Museums often only exhibit antique furniture, but more and more are assigning their own contemporary works to display.

Art furniture originated in the 19th century Arts and Crafts movement in Europe. This became a far more popular movement in the US in the following century and was based on a rejection of modern mass-produced furniture. It also rejected modern materials, with a preference for working with wood. There was an increase in handmade furniture during the 1950s that combined modern aesthetics and traditional workmanship.

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Is there a relationship between art and furniture? Furniture generally provides functional use, but this does not exclude the fact that it can also be an expression of individual creativity and a marriage of art and utility. Should a cabinet look like a statue or become a statue that usefully turns itself into a cabinet?

Modern furniture can become art in a number of clever and unusual ways. Pieces have been designed for small town apartment life that can be used and then folded to hang on the wall like works of art.

This seems to be the perfect combination of foldable functional furniture and contemporary wall art. Maybe the whole room can be hung on the wall and when needed, just lowered and opened. Reclamation materials can also be used to make specially ordered furniture that has artistic and functional qualities. Environmentally, it makes sense to use locally harvested wood, brass and industrial steel and scrap glass. Combining modern lines and existing organic material creates a unique work that has its own story to tell. Therefore, it is possible to design beautiful and functional works of art. Perhaps you’re seeking a statement furniture piece for your next office refit? For Interior Fit Out Companies London, visit Mobius

Antique furniture is often seen as art and its maintenance can indeed be called an art form. Decorative items from periods such as Georgian England will require restoration and there are specialist restorations that will work on antique chairs, tables, wardrobes, desks, drawers, and beds. This is a highly skilled job that can include wood carving, gold plating, coating, cabinet making, polishing and coating. These are the same skilled workers who restore frames for paintings and mirrors, highly regarded works of art. Oil paintings and watercolours can also be restored by cleaning, refinishing and touching up missing or peeling parts. In this case, antique furniture falls quite strongly in the art sector.

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Furniture Art galleries can be found in the US and in 2005 tables such as spinel by post-war designer Carlo Mollino were sold at Christie’s for $ 3.8 million. This triggers a signal that a new type of market is developing and there is increasing demand for art furniture.

It’s incredibly common for students switch schools after they enter college, so if you are one such student, fear not. Maybe you took the risk to move far from home and discovered it just wasn’t right for you. Maybe you planned to save money by attending a community college first and then moving to a four-year institution. Whatever the reason, transferring colleges is common, but anoften complicated process. Here are a few easy ways to make it easier on yourself right out of the gate. Read More

As people age they could face any number of related health issues, from common problems with eyesight and reflexes to more serious ailments like disease, injury, and infirmity. Whether you have an elderly relative living in your home, seniors frequently visit, or you’re elderly yourself, you might modify a bathroom to compensate for the challenges that are part and parcel of aging. Read More

On March 13, the World Kidney Day is commemorated. March 13 is celebrated worldwide on Kidney Day, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of kidney disease and promote care of this important organ of our body. Read More

Before you start migraine can see spots of light or have other vision disturbances. During migraine also you may suffer nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and sometimes feels a throbbing pain on one side of the head. Read More

Are you tired of watching your kids waste their time watching TV and YouTube videos? Are you starting to worry about their physical health? What are you going to do about it? As a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure kids are healthy and well, so here are just a few tips to get them off the couch and into a fitness routine. Read More

Combat negative thoughts causes turn our attention towards them, increasing their importance. And if the origin and persistence of our problems and illnesses were linked to this? We propose a solution: the bus metaphor. Read More

As a result of the countless possibilities and flexibility, dresses provide the best clothing to fill your summer season closet. You’ll find numerous unique dress designs to select from depending on the celebration or time of day the dress is intended to be worn.  Dresses are good for getting glammed up in, or down, irrespective of whether you want comfy, laid-back or seriously glamorous, dresses really are a ladies best friend. Listed below are an example of the dress styles that ought to be showing up in your wardrobe come July 1st.

Florals

Precisely what more desirable opportunity could there be to don a flowery design and style? Beautifully attractive, a flowing floral little number will give you sensations of femininity and freshness when summer temperatures increase. Floral designs are one more design that may be matched  with flat shoes or sandals  for that summers day look,  and then may very well be transformed into evening attire with the simple application of high heels and some jewellery. Select a higher dress hemline for a hotter look or choose ankle-length to get a look of style with a flowery maxi dress.

Midi

The midi dress is most effective to those people who are tall. A trendy way to dress yourself in a midi right now is with a bright solid colour partnered with low heeled roman sandals or slip-ons and also a contemporary ladies handbag.

Party Dresses

You most likely wouldn’t want to get dressed in one of these for a day by the sea, however the evening time is a different kettle of fish when this dress style and design functions at its best. The ideal solution to warm nights; the party dress is easily the ultimate choice for creating an impact and you can take a look at those available from axparis.com/collections/party-dresses to make a selection. Go for floor-length or a mini design, but most definitely incorporate one inside of your summer closet selection. Quick to add some accessories, slide on your best heels or flat shoes, and a handbag and a bit of trendy jewellery and you’re all set to go for an outstanding night out.

Lace

A lace dress requires little when it comes to extra decoration as it makes a statement simply by itself. You won’t really need very much to ‘dress’ it up as lace is an attractive and elegant fabric that adds a feeling of elegance to any event; full length or shorter, it is all a matter of your choice. Target a little lace garment for a way more informal day celebration, while choosing for length together with sophistication for an evening affair. A micro lace dress is the most appropriate option for a considerably more relaxed look , whilst a floor length lace dress selection provides a level of sophistication for that classy after-dark event.

The Mini Dress

If you’ve been working on that sun-kissed look, you will want to dress yourself in a mini to present to the world those legs, this is exactly what the mini dress is terrific for. You can pick a mini dress for those events in which you want to have fun with your friends,  or for classy functions like a gathering in a up town wine bar. A short dress can be the ideal dress for shorter girls to elongate the visual appeal of their legs. Taller ladies really do not need to keep clear of the mini, as it supplies a fabulous opportunity to reveal those attractive long legs. Short ladies have the possibility to pair the smaller dress with any heels for a little added height or flats for the the tallest of woman.