I’m writing this after a fun filled post-meeting couple of hours in Birmingham. One of the few perks of living in Birmingham is getting to have a lie in on the day of National meetings. Much as I felt some sympathy for my colleagues based a long way from Birmingham, I appreciated the extra sleep.

Getting to the meeting on Broad Street was quite difficult. Large areas of the centre of Birmingham are a giant building site. Broad Street was one of the busiest roads in Birmingham; it’s currently closed to traffic due to the expansion of the tram network. I’m looking forward to seeing how the area around Paradise Circus looks once the road and building works are complete.

The meeting was useful as I got to talk to a lot of hydrologists I hadn’t met before. My organisation likes to call it networking; I just call it talking and sharing ideas. Lunch was slightly ‘unusual’ and by the time the meeting finished I was feeling quite peckish.

I had already arranged to head out for a couple of pints with one of my ex-Wallingford colleague, so we left the meeting and headed to BrewDog in Birmingham. I decided to walk from Broad Street and past the Library of Birmingham. I hope my colleague enjoyed my guided tour of Birmingham. The walk was slightly ruined by the actions of a charity collector we walked past. His attitude was so bad – we didn’t appreciate being called selfish c**ts – I decided to contact the charity via social media.

Now although I’m from Birmingham, I don’t actually travel into the centre of Birmingham much. I had a vague idea of the location of BewDog but wasn’t 100% certain. Luckily for my reputation as a Brummie we found it and also found somewhere to sit.

After a couple of pints we both sensibly decided to head somewhere to eat. We both felt like a burger and chips so I suggested Five Guys in Birmingham New Street. This would allow us to grab something to eat while keeping an eye on the trains. I had heard rumours that Five Guys is a bit of a rip-off; I didn’t expect a portion of chips to cost £5.25 and a hamburger £6.95. The food tasted great and actually filled me up, but I think I’ll stick to McD’s if I ever need a post-drink takeaway.

The rest of Day 13 involved a slightly emotional ‘goodbye’ on Platform 10, a delayed train due to trespassers and an early night. Once again, it didn’t involve any running, however, during the day I did walk more than six miles.

Random photos from Day 13

I think that these free water fountains at Birmingham New Street are such a great idea.

I also love BrewBog 🙂

Best thing spotted on the internet on Day 13

Now that I’m living back I’m Birmingham I’m making more of an effort to get to know my home city. At the moment, I don’t really know many people so I hope that by

Can anyone based in Digbeth let me know if the lido is open yet? #speedoshttps://t.co/PLU1MCBSb9

— I Choose Birmingham (@ichoosemag) June 13, 2019

Cumulative Juneathon Distance: 11.3 km

How well do you know your ‘home’ city? I hope I’m not the only person who doesn’t know their home city that well. It’s hard to keep up with the constant changes in Birmingham.

Have you ever encountered a rude charity collector? I get that the job isn’t going to be a lot of fun, but at the end of the day this person was representing a charity.