Watching Germany’s triumphant path to World Cup glory the past month led me to reminiscing about my 1995 inter -railing trip to Berlin and beyond ( do people still do inter-railing anymore? Even writing the words Inter- railing feels as modern as frey bentos meat pies and shopping for music at Our Price…). Completely by chance I arrived at the time the Reichstag was wrapped, top to tail in fabric by the artist Christo. If you’ve never seen his work, his schtick is to wrap buildings, tropical islands and cover strips of desert in fabric. It is as odd as it sounds, but in the flesh the scale of the building and fabric is a stunning combination.

So, it was either a sheer coincidence or I was mentally prepared to look at things, that I drove past the old Works building on Icknield St. and saw it draped in shimmering aqua netting, ready for refurbishment.

Birmingham has rightly championed the exploring of some of its hidden spaces to the public, however; here’s one that’s neither hidden nor an art installation, but just as beautiful. Maybe it could be done for other buildings, such as the old Central Library before that sadly goes…? 

Till next time...

Matt Peers