I used to go to the 'Who Do You Think You Are Show' every year when it was held at Earls Court in London. I used to travel to London and stay with my Uncle Dave for the weekend whilst going to the show. He has now moved to Birmingham, and strangely, the 'WDYTYAS' has also moved from London to Birmingham at the NEC.

Birmingham break.

I travelled to Birmingham to spend a few days with Dave and Sue, and we are going to see the show. I travelled by train as it worked out cheaper than paying the petrol costs and it was a lot more relaxing to sit on a train. I was able to read my Kindle and relax rather than getting annoyed by the traffic jams I would almost certainly get stuck in on the way if I drove.

Day 1, Fareham to Birmingham.

I got up late, packed a few things in a case, had a banana and mint chocolate chip shake for breakfast, and then sat and read until 11:00 when my taxi arrived to take me to the train station. The taxi arrived on time, and I was soon at Fareham train station waiting for my train. It arrived on time, and finding a seat was easy. I got my Kindle out of my backpack and continued to read my book. A guard checking tickets confirmed that I didn't have to change platforms at Winchester and that the train behind was the one I needed to change to get to Birmingham.

At Winchester train station, I asked the guard which end of the platform to wait as I had a reserved seat and didn't want to get on one end of the train only to have to walk the entire length of a moving train to get my seat. Once I was seated, I got my Kindle out, opened a beer and settled down for my trip to Birmingham New Street Station. The time flew by, and I barely had time for my second bottle of beer before we came into Birmingham. I picked up my Kindle and got ready to depart the train. It had settled outside the station for a while, and we had to wait about 10 minutes before finally entering the station. As I looked out of the train window, I saw my relatives Dave and Sue waiting to meet me. After getting off the train and walking to the next platform, we discovered the platform was blocked by a broken train. Due to this, our train was delayed, and we had to wait to be told where it would be coming from. After around 10 minutes, we were told that it would be coming from the platform we had just left. We walked back to the platform we had just left, got on the train, and were soon on the short trip back to Dave and Sue's home in Northfield.

Day 2, Lickey Hills.

After a late breakfast, we set off in the car to the Lickey Hills for a short walk around the ponds. We didn't walk around the hills; we just took a short walk around some duck ponds. It was peaceful but charming there. I couldn't walk too far, but it was good to get out in the fresh air and stretch my legs a bit. I have walked more in the last two days than in the previous 6 months. I feel I am improving very slowly, and my breathing is better than it was.

After going home and having lunch, we walked around the corner to buy our train tickets for tomorrow's trip to the NEC to see the Who Do You Think You Are Show. Buying the disabled railcard was definitely worth the £20 as I have saved over £45 on the two trips, my return trip to Northfield, Birmingham and my return to the NEC tomorrow.

Day 3, Who Do You Think You Are Show.

We left at about 8:30 for the train to the show at the NEC. We arrived at the show entrance at about 9:20 and sat to wait for it to open at 9:30. My first impression was how much more room there was here than there was at Earls Court when it was held in London. Unfortunately, this ended up being due to fewer exhibitors, fewer shows, and much less interest altogether. I watched one show by a lady talking about tracing your European Ancestry. I received a few good pointers on where to get more information and how to go about tracing my Italian ancestry. She was also going to make her presentation available via her website, which meant less scribbling of notes.

I also got to see how the new version of the Ancestry website would look, as well as a brief overview of the DNA section. As soon as the Ancestry website sorts out my DNA results, mine will show up and hopefully start helping me bridge some gaps in my research.

At lunchtime, we went to a Subway restaurant. I was disgusted to see that just because it was in the NEC, the prices had gone up, the quality of the food had gone down, and the service had gone down. I was even told they could not give me my Subway points even though the printed receipt had details on how I could spend my Subway points. I think the receipt will be sent, along with a strongly worded letter of complaint, to the Subway UK CEO.

By mid-afternoon, my leg was beginning to get sore, and I decided not to wait for the last show I had a ticket for. We all headed back to Northfield on the train. After getting back, we went to a local pub, 'The Black Horse', for a meal. The food was great, the service was excellent and the Northern lasses were easy on the eye as well.

Day 4, FA Cup Semi-Final.

No, I hadn't got tickets to go and see the game, but I would be watching in either the local pub or at my Uncle Dave's house. Around lunchtime, Dave and Sue had talked themselves into a holiday in Orlando and were going to book it up. I decided to go for a walk and a pint. First of all, I walked the half-mile to their local, the 'Great Stone' and sat and had a pint. Whilst there, Dave rang and said they were on their way past and did I want a lift. I took the opportunity to take a lift to Northfield town centre and then walked to the 'Black Horse' and had a pint there. Deciding to move on, I walked a short distance to the Longbridge Social Club and drank a swift glass of cider. While I was there, Sue rang to say they were on their way home and could collect me. I walked outside and was picked up by them a short distance down the road and was in time to see the mighty Arsenal beat Reading and gain their place in the FA Cup Final. All in all, it was a good day.

Day 5, The Royal Oak.

Today, we had a lazy morning, and this afternoon, we went to see Sue's sister, Irene and her husband, Brian. After a few nibbles and sherry, we walked to the local pub, the Royal Oak in Catshill, Bromsgrove. We had a lovely meal, good company and a few drinks before returning to Irene and Brian's house for another drink before returning to Dave and Sue's. It was a nice, relaxing day before my trip back to Fareham.

Day 6, Birmingham to Fareham.

My train didn't leave till lunchtime, so I had a quiet morning before leaving Dave and Sue at about 11:30 to catch the train to Birmingham New Street. When I got to Birmingham New Street, I discovered my train had been cancelled and that the next one would be an hour-long wait. After waiting for a half-hour, I thought I would check on the status of the next train. It seemed there were problems at Oxford causing lots of problems, so I decided to get a different train that would also go through Basingstoke. This train was also delayed and was so full I was lucky to get a seat. I had to use my walking stick to fight off other passengers to get the last seat. It was standing room only all the way to Basingstoke, where I got off over 3 ^1/2 hours later. It was hard work being stuck in the corner, squashed in with my suitcase on my lap and not able to jump up when cramps set in. After changing at Basingstoke, things looked up as my connection was the next train, and I only had to wait a few minutes.

Once again from Fareham train station, I caught a taxi that charged £5 for the half-mile home. At that rate, my return to Florida next week would have cost me £70,000. Why do taxis cost so much?

After not eating all day and finding nothing in the fridge when I got home, I nipped to the Chinese for two meals, one for now and one for later when I get hungry again.

Summary.

I had a nice break in Birmingham, and it's just a shame the trip home was so long. Oh well, onwards and upwards.