It's a Brum ting
It's a Commonwealth Games extravaganza
Readers, hello! How has your week been? We had a week off last week and it was mega.
First up was a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford, which was my 9yo’s birthday present and she LOVED. I’ll tell you all about it properly soon.
Next we had a day trip to London incl the Tower of London, Tate Modern and M&M World. The girls genuninely see M&M World as the best and perhaps only reason to visit London. We saw some gift shops with various t-shirts and mugs of the different sights and attractions in the capital - ‘mummy, why isn’t M&M World on there?’ was my 5yo’s genuine question.
And on the way home we called in for the first of our two visits to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. It was just awesome. Read on to find out more about our trip…
This week’s adventure… The Commonwealth Games
Sitting in a Harry Potter-themed Airbnb apartment in Watford (it’s a thing), where we were staying for two nights on our recent trip, my husband and I peered round the candelabra and over the quills and parchment stacked on the table to watch the Commonwealth Games on the TV.
‘You know we have to drive past Birmingham on the way home,"‘ he said to me. Ten minutes later we had four beach volleyball tickets for the day after, at the cost of £40.
Now, I love sports festivals like the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Twenty years ago I was a volunteer marshal at the opening ceremony when the Commonwealths visited Manchester. Ten years ago we went to watch beach volleyball on The Strand as part of the London Olympics, and had a brilliant night out.
So when, after finding a park and ride just off the M6, we arrived into Birmingham New Street station and found it buzzing with Games activity, I was well in.
The girls haven’t been to an event like this before and they were thrilled and enthralled by the whole thing. There were professional face-painters in the train station who whipped up a gorgeous ombre design on my 9yo and a freehand sparkly unicorn on my 5yo’s cheek in minutes. Seriously impressive.
The city centre was buzzing. Friendly, smiling volunteers giving out high-fives with huge foam hands, and we posed for a selfie with the giant mechanical bull, star of the opening ceremony. Plus we picked up a mascot teddy and a daft hat in the merchandise megastore.
Then onto the volleyball itself, which was about a 10min walk from the station. The weather was glorious, which helped, and the match between Cyprus and Tuvalu was in full swing when we sat down.
It was more like going to a party than a sporting event. A DJ blasted out pop songs between every point and the Brum Beach crew - half a dozen dancers dressed in bright, tie-dye clothes - performed routines on the sand at the change of ends.
A roving camera picked out excitable kids in the crowd, including a pack of Brownies, and we nipped out for ice creams when we were ready for a change of scene.
It was a fabulous atmosphere, topped off by a tour around the fan park afterwards, including a turn for the girls on the Games-themed bouncy castle and picking up two lovely activity packs full of coloouring, puzzles and space for collecting stamps from various Games venues.
Which luckily we also managed to do three days later, when we returned to Birmingham, this time with tickets for the athletics at the Alexander Stadium.
Rather than a last-minute impulse buy, we got these tickets in the ballot almost a year ago. They were for an evening session and once again the atmosphere was fabulous. Buzzy, excited, happy and relaxed as people decked out in England flags and facepaint filled the stands.
We were right opposite the pole vault which was fascinating, and our seats were just eight rows back from the track, meaning we had an excellent view as the runners sprinters and hurdled past us.
There was so much to see and so many events to watch that the time flew by, and once the men’s 200m had finished at 9.30pm we decided to make an exit, my 5yo acting like a celebrity on my husband’s shoulders, high-fiving every volunteer she could see.
Our Commonwealth Games experiences were one of the highlights of the summer, and in fact this year so far. I’ve never really visited Birmingham before, but the vibe and atmosphere was exceptional.
I was also a little concerned about how the girls would manage in the heat, with the crowds and if there would be enough to keep them occupied, but in the end none of those concerns were warranted and they had a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
‘Mummy, when the Olympics are in Paris in 2024 can we go?’ was my 9yo’s question as we walked away from the volleyball. Mais oui, ma cherie.
Thanks to everyone who got this far, you’re my fave readers.
One more newsletter next week, then I’m off for two weeks for the summer hols.
See you in your inbox then,
Jenna