Advent 5

I am a Brummie and not even vaguely ashamed of it. This great and much derided city gave me my education to age eighteen and then (in a very different atmosphere from that prevailing today) paid for my first university experience.

Form and function perfectly married

A great civic building should be functional and, ideally, ceremonially good to look at. Today's place answers that description - the Birmingham Symphony Hall lifts your heart and expectations as you enter. Some things are all the better for aiming beyond the merely functional. I believe the 2022 Commonwealth Games weightlifting is to be held at the Hall. Brilliant.