Sweet Home Midlands

Not to be confused with the one in Alabama (it's really more like Detroit), Birmingham is the second most populous city in the United Kingdom, with a population in the metropolitan borough itself of about one million and a further million and a bit in the surrounding area. It's jokingly referred to as one of the ugliest cities in the world - and that's by it's own inhabitants.

Located in The Midlands, about 100 miles NW of London Town, the city has produced a good number of famous British personalities, including Trevor Eve, JRR Tolkien, Jasper Carrott, and Neville Chamberlain. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Electric Light Orchestra, and Duran Duran were also formed here.

A major industrial centre and a transport hub too, the city is also a major centre for UK media.

There's a film from the 1970s of Telly Savalas extolling the virtues of Birmingham, including the new redeveloped Bull Ring shopping centre.

The local population, nicknamed "Brummies", have a distinctive accent.

In fiction

 * In The Third World War, Birmingham is pretty much destroyed by a Soviet ICBM.
 * Take Me High
 * The British soap opera Crossroads was set in a fictional area, Kings Oak, near this city.
 * The British soap opera Doctors is also set in a fictional area of Birmingham.
 * The Rotters Club