Birmingham

Birmingham is a large city in central England, with about one million inhabitants of the city itself and about 3 million in the metropolitan area. It is the second largest city in the United Kingdom after London. Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice, and more trees per head of population that any other city in Europe. It was the birthplace of the industrial revolution and the home of the Lunar Society. The city has a distinctive local dialect known as 'Brummie' which is thought by linguists to be similar to how William Shakespeare spoke, as Stratford-on-Avon is very close to Birmingham. The people of Birmingham are called 'Brummies'. It also has its own local cuisine, a curry dish known as a 'balti'. Many other cities and towns around the world have been proud to name themselves after Birmingham (not to mention a crater on the moon). The largest of these namesakes is situated in Alabama, USA.

Neighbouring towns to Birmingham, which all form part of its conurbation, include Solihull, Wolverhampton, Dudley, West Bromwich, and Sandwell.

Famous Brummies

• Francis Galton (founder of eugenics)
• Ozzy Osbourne (rock musician)
• Neville Chamberlain (prime minister)
• J.R.R. Tolkien (writer)
• Bill Oddie (naturalist)
• Nigel Mansell (Former Formula 1 driver)