tracy in pages from ceefax today bbc radio 4 teletext holidays jojo is blonde pages from ceefax bbc…read moreradio 4 sailing by shipping forecast jojo had little jojo is coming Pavilions Shopping Centre is one of the landmarks of Birmingham City Centre. I like its classic look that has been untouched for decades, which juxtaposes the adjacent contemporary style of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre. It reminds me that Birmingham is full of variety.

Pavilions Shopping Centre is one of the landmarks of Birmingham City Centre. I like its classic…read morelook that has been untouched for decades, which juxtaposes the adjacent contemporary style of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre. It reminds me that Birmingham is full of variety. And "variety" is the best way to describe the spacious food court on the top floor of the Pavilions. There is ample seating, even on busy weekends. And best of all, you have so many eateries to choose from with various cuisines ranging from traditional English, to Chinese and Mexican. They even have dessert options if you're just looking for a light snack with tea. The decor is reminiscent of the 60s era with plastic and pale seating and tables. However the staff members do their best to maintain the area. The food is fairly cheap and you have a fine selection.

The Bullring was built around a Church, St Martin's in the Bullring…read more It's named after Martin Lewis who is the patron Saint of shoppers, He used to show shoppers how to make great savings on their purchases in Medieval times. Ok so that might not be true. But with recent facts about Birmingham being confused by Fox News. The bullring opened in September 2003 (I know I was working there!) It's mainly a high street fashion shopping destination but there are lots of little food units to explore round the three floors. Built into what was a sloping hill each of the floors have street level exits which can cause lots of confusion on your first visit. But fear not. There are touch screen maps around the centre to help you explore. It's huge glass roofs help natural light flow through each of the floors and you can walk from here to Birmingham New Street Station without going outside if you follow the walkways. Mornings are usually quieter than the rest of the day so if you are in a rush get there for 10am on a week day!

I see this place as more of a necessity, I don't really like going here but you have to so you can…read moreget to the majority of the shops in Birmingham city centre. Don't get me wrong, the place in comparison to other shopping centres is almost beautiful, big open skylight, actually quite clean and toilets on almost every level. But half the time the escalators are broken, the last one being a total of nearly 4 months (and having to fight through H&M if you wanted to go down to the ground level). The elevators are ridiculously slow, and usually monopolized by the owners of tiny humans in prams... which is fair enough as they would struggle with the stairs. The morale of this story is - take the stairs. Other than that gripe its generally not a bad place, just really busy. You can cut through the bullring to quickly get to any other part of town and because the whole building is sheltered its convenient for shopping in the bad weather.

Took the kids after school here. The kids loved the food. The jerk wrap was delicious.read more

Merry Hill is a big shopping centre located in Brierley Hill, it is home to over 200 shops such as…read moreM&S, Debenhams, Topman, River Island etc.. Over recent years it has become less of the giants in shopping centres of the UK. There are plenty of places to eat from Burger king to Pizza hut, however there are quite a few smaller cafes to eat from and a Millies cookies! Parking is not a problem in the weekday, however on Saturdays and around Christmas you have to be there when they open. Other shops in Merry Hill include Disney Shop, Game, HMV, WHSmith and much more. However, Over recent years it has gone down hill slightly purely at the groups that hang around the bus station and the general crowdidness of it at times. I would recommend a trip to Birmingham to the Bullring which has better shops and better ambiance anyway.

Merry Hill - the perfect place to gather the bits & bobs everybody needs! No matter what you are…read morelooking for, you will find it here...even if you don't need anything you'll most probably leave with a shopping bag in you hand! :) A wide range of clothes, cosmetics, beauty salons, food stalls etc. are waiting to welcome you. On the weekends you can take a short break of shopping while watching small presentations of dancers, singers or musicians. Kids can have a great day in the indoor play area which is child minded. Free parking spaces make your arrival and departure as easy as possible.

If you don't fancy heading to the centre of Birmingham for shopping heaven (why not?!) this…read moreshopping park has a number of flagship stores and eateries. Best of all the car parking is free, although as you can imagine finding a space at the weekends can be tricky so I would advise getting here early. Next, Boots (with a mini Waitrose inside), Topshop, Oasis and many more are here. If you are feeling hungry there is a Frankie and Benny's, Nandos, and Harvester and well as a few coffee places to try. All in all a worthwhile place to visit to stock up on the essentials.

As I'm currently the Duchess of the Fort, it would be rude not to review the place!…read more For me, this is quite local a I live just a couple of miles away. It's a typical out of town shopping centre with all of the high street familiars in one open space, so not at all an indie heaven, but useful if you need a Boots or M&S. It also has a BHS, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, and Carephone Warehouse, to name but a few. There's plenty of coffee, cake and food options including Starbucks, Costa Coffee, M&S Cafe and eateries such as Nandos, Harvester and Frankie & Bennies. There's plenty of free parking (it does get very busy around Christmas, and sometimes of a weekend) and it feels less claustrophobic than some shopping centres, being open air and built in a big loop. As far as these things go, it's decent enough, well maintained and with plenty of options.

Sometimes it's hard to find a decent pizza in a city, I know what your thinking, there's a pizza…read moreplace on every street in Birmingham! Well that might be the case but some just don't hit the spot. Too cheesy, too soft, too many hairs (I mention no names). But Frydays refuses to mess around, not only bashing out classic after classic pizza but also a great fish and chip shop? Believe the hype, this place is surrounded by massive chains such as burger king and pizza hut and there's a reason it stands strong it the corner of Birmingham's food court. Meal deals including pizza, chips and a drink for under five pound, got places for you sit inside and out, actually thinking about it they served me an amazing kebab once when I was sitting in on a very fancy plate. Felt really nice to eat it, took the time to make it look all posh. These guys make me happy every time I see them. I feel like this heart attack I'm bringing on my self by getting excited about fast food places will be worth it.

Fryday's - HA! What an outrageously fantastic name! I have seen, heard and (on rare occasion) made…read morea fair few good puns, but none to this calibre. This establishment immediately caught my eye through wit alone, and I will admit that upon reading the name I actually stopped what I was doing and SHOUTED my laughter, bent double in the street (ultimately scaring my poor girlfriend, who does not quite get the joke as well as I do) as tears streamed down my eyes. You may have seen me all throughout Birmingham, I drew quite a crowd! Absolutely excellent. I recommend Fryday's to anyone with even the slightest idea of what a joke should aspire to be. You may have noticed I have not mentioned the food. Sadly, I was not able to control myself enough to actually enter Fryday's to sample the menu, but I am confident in assuming it is absolutely delicious - of course, it would have to live up to it's name: I would hope everything is, in fact, fried! (If anyone could confirm this for me, it would be much appreciated.) I have had to detract one star, as on the day I came across 'Frydays', it was not actually a Friday - this is unfortunate as I feel that this would have really elevated my experience of Fryday's (it then becoming a pun within a pun - genius!) but never mind, I will try again next time. T.G.I.FRYDAYS!

Easily accessible, contains most popular shops as well as little boutiques that are unique to…read moreTouchwood. Some shops are over-priced but the quality of clothes, food, jewellery, healthcare products etc are generally very, very good. Never had a bad experience in Touchwood! A very nice, reputable place to shop. Includes a cinema and food court/restaurants such as pizza hut and Nando's on the top floor, the next floor has a sushi bar, book/clothes/jewellery shops as well as a door leading out to solihull library and escalators leading down to the ground floor which has a car park and toilets. There are helpful signs directing you to the toilets and other places which are easily understandable. Amazing place to shop.

Fat Jackets is situated in the food court of West Orchards with all the other fast food chains and…read moresells jacket potatoes. There is a variety of the usual toppingss that you would expect with a jacket potato, sides are also available, and it is all for a reasonable price. They are nice too! The staff are chatty and friendly but this is probably only experienced at the quite times as lunch time it gets hectic! Seating areas are available but again at the busy lunch area you'll have to be quick to get one!

Fat jackets is on the top level of west orchards shopping centre…read more Here it competes with the like of mcdonalds, cafe napoli, and some other food places like subway etc. Fat jackets does pretty much what you would expect with a name like this. Its serves jacket potatoes. You can have a number of different fillings and side with your jacket and they have very reasonable prices too. From tuna to sweetcorn and beans, the choices are quite endless! The staff are helpful too although the whole food section feels too processed. Queue, choose, pay eat, leave. I know this is how it happens even in restaurants but here it feels more like a money making venture. They have recently done up the seating area making it larger for more people to get a seat more easily. At around 12 it gets packed for obvious reasons. But Fat jackets is definately a great place to go if you want something warm that wont break your wallet!

Good location for an easy meal in the mall while shopping. Excellent coffee drink options at a…read moresuper cheap price! Always a queue. A lot of people think that during a weekend rush the queues are too long, but in fact I get through quite quickly because of the extra staff and speedy service. Food quality is always good and they never get my order wrong. Well presented staff and polite order taking. Can't fault the place!

As per normal, always a great quick food snack…read more Love seeing the Golden Gates as you drive along and feel hungry.