At the third stroke ...

The noise from the Flapper at Cambrian Wharf didn't keep us awake last night. It's funny, there can be quite a racket going on outside the boat but the bedroom seems to be well acoustically isolated (like today's drummer, see below).

We stayed put, boatwise, today. The first thing after breakfast was to walk the short distance to the Birmingham Christian Centre for the 9.00 service. The church building is large and modern, seating perhaps 500 people in what feels a little like a plush rock concert venue. There was a nine piece band comprising a drummer in a glass-walled acoustic box, guitar, bass guitar, two keyboards, lead vocalist (worship leader) and three backing vocalists. The talk - I didn't catch the name of the man who gave it - was excellent and was on the theme of the mind.

How many church services have you been to which start EXACTLY on time? This one had a giant countdown on the screen. At 0900 precisely the worship leader welcomed us and the service began.

After this we returned to the boat for a relaxing read of the paper followed by a sandwich lunch. Then we walked to the library but were disappointed to find that it was closed. The city council have decided that it should remain closed on Sundays to save money, starting today.

Oh well. We walked to the Museum and Art Gallery instead, and wandered round lots of works of art and, in the contemporary section, some works of "art". We saw some of the Staffordshire Hoard, a collection of fragments of gold from Saxon times found in a field by the A5 by a metal detectorist a few years ago.

After another visit to the boat for a cup of tea we walked to the Jewellery Quarter just for a mooch around. This place must have the highest concentration of jewellers anywhere; it was one after another after another.

This is where we are moored in Cambrian Wharf, the first time we have tied up here. The library is in the centre.

Perhaps we'll visit it in the morning, before we explore the Titford Canal.