Still taking my exercise locally, albeit not every day, and I'm still discovering things that have changed in the past seven years that I hadn't noticed from the comfort of my car (nor in the dark staggering from pub to bar to restaurant!)
This is the welcome you get to Stirchley as you come from Birmingham City Centre, although there is another, older Stirchley sign a few hundred yards closer to town!
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| 'Welcome to Stirchley Village' - 31st March 2020 |
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| 'Welcome to Stirchley Village' - 13th January 2013 |
Not a lot has really changed with this view; the 'Welcome' sign has faded, there's a new bus shelter and the buses are in a new livery, but in The Time of Coronavirus there's no-one at the bus stop and it drives on by.
Moving further into the village we come to a row of shops, Stirchley's very own mini-park and what has to be the world's most ridiculously short 20mph zone!
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| Stirchley Mini Park - 27th March 2020 |
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| Stirchley Mini Park - 13th January 2013 |
In the intervening years, both Printigo and Venture Bikes have moved out, but Santi Pizza & Grill House has moved into the formerly vacant premises inbetween. Also along this row is the Rainbow Garden Cantonese Takeaway which is my go-to for Chicken & Mushroom Curry! Strangely, during the 'lockdown' the pizza place is open, but the Chinese is closed.
That row of shops is 70 yards long (well, 70 of my paces) with a right angle bend at the far end where it joins the Pershore Road. The powers that be deemed it necessary to instal 20mph signs at the start of this stretch of road! I'm not sure if any vehicle could attain more that 20mph and safely negotiate either right angle bend!
To the right of these shops is the Perfection Snooker Lounge.
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| Perfection Snooker - 27th March 2020 |
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| Perfection Snooker - 14th January 2013 |
Sadly it is closed for the duration of the current crisis, but will hopefully reopen once restrictions have lifted. It looks like the signage hasn't been changed in the past 7 years. However, the front area underwent considerable work when local flood defences were enhanced a few years ago. That whole area was dug up producing a massive hole as part of the project to reduce flooding in that area. The final appearance is more appealing than previously, but there's no room for cars.
A little further along the Pershore Road and we encounter the vastly differing fortunes of two rival Balti Restaurants.
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| Balti Bazaar - 27th March 2020 |
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| Balti Bazaar - 13th January 2013 |
Before I'd taken these pictures, if you'd asked me, I'd have said that Balti Bazaar was completely unchanged in the past 7 years...and then I noticed the lack of chimneys and the new roof!
I don't remember exactly when Balti Bazaar opened in Stirchley, but I'd guess at the early 1990's. In all that time I've eaten there once (in the very early days), but as it wasn't quite as good as Yasser's across the road I never returned.
Yasser's opened in 1987 and for well over 20 years was my go-to Balti restaurant...anywhere! Towards the end, the quality drifted as the old guard left and the next generation took over. Then, over the last five years (or so) it has been renamed and relaunched so often that I can't remember most of the new names. It's current guise is Tiffin Lounge.
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| Tiffin Lounge - 31st March 2020 |
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| Yasser Tandoori - 13th January 2013 |
I've never been into Tiffin Lounge and probably never will. Possibly the final, but certainly the most ignominious, chapter in this tale occurred only a few days ago with a serious fire in the cannabis farm that the premises had, allegedly, become! What the future holds for the site is unknown, but I suspect that the current owners are in deep do-do!
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