Adventures in Ipexland

Last week in Birmingham was one of those weeks when most things didn't go quite as planned. First, my flight from Philly to Manchester was cancelled thanks to the volcano in Iceland. I managed to get myself and a colleague re-booked onto a flight to Munich, then London, followed by a train to Birmingham. Then the train was cancelled, but we caught a later one, finally reaching Birmingham some 12 hours later than planned. Not bad, all things considered...except that my luggage never made it to London. Nor did it catch up to me, for that matter, until I returned home a week later. (Sure do wish I could get the miles for the extra trips it made credited to my frequent flyer account!). Then my cell phone wouldn't work. And if the National Exhibition Center (where Ipex is held) ever figures out how to make WiFi work correctly, it will be a minor miracle. On the other hand, the fish and chips were pretty good, and the steak tip sandwiches outside of Hall 12 were delightful. And British beer, while not quite as good as Belgian or German brews, was welcome at the end of the day.