I was in Birmingham for a meeting last week, a city which I think has few charms. It seems to suffer from "Glasgow Disease" - it has a City Centre without having a centre to the city.
What do I mean by that? If you dropped a tourist outside New Street Station, they would have little to see or do other than shop. Similarly with Glasgow Central Station. But if you drop them outside Waverley Station in Edinburgh, they're immediately confronted by a bloody great castle and the feeling that they're at the heart of something they can go and explore and keep coming back to.
But I'm digressing. What has this to do with being green?
On my infrequent sojourns to Birmingham I rarely stay in the same hotel twice, so I've usually got my wanderings planned like a military operation - printouts of routes via Google Maps, depending on which exit from New St Station I take.
This time, though, I decided to save the paper. I have Google Maps on my phone - indeed, I have free SatNav on my phone courtesy of Google. Surely, then, there is no need to cut down a tree just so that I can find a hotel?
Things started to go wrong when I took the wrong exit from New Street Station. No matter, the SatNav can direct me back to where I want to be. Just load it up, type in the hotel name and voila, I'm being told to turn left in 100 yards!
Except, a mile or so later, the SatNav seems to be directing me onto a dual carriageway. Yup, it doesn't do walking. Why did I think it would?
So it's back to Google Maps to see where the hell I am in relation to the hotel, and it turns out I'm a mile in the opposite direction. Instead of back-street shortcuts and quiet alleyways, I've managed to wander around the main roads. The fastest way for a car, maybe.
I hesitate to confess, but it took me an hour to find the hotel - which is less than a mile from the station! Next time, sod being green - I'm printing a map and ditching the SatNav.
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