Our Christmas Special was at the Edwardian Stirchley Baths in Birmingham which is now a community centre. We had a guided tour, learned the history of the building and also saw a film about post-war planning in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Also in the city, January opened with our architecture slam at the Custard Factory in the city’s creative quarter. It was so much fun and so interesting that we plan to do it on a regular basis. A great way to learn about topics from 20th century arts and crafts to the WWII Italian Chapel on Orkney and Tirana’s C20 architecture.

February saw us visit the remarkable catholic church of St Dunstans in Birmingham where we were fortunate to have John Poole’s daughter, Victoria, who has made a special study of his work, introduce us to his sculptures which dominate the environment. Our AGM on 29 April will begin with a trip to the Rotunda in Birmingham to see the John Poole mural relief in Zara, and learn more about it from a student at Birmingham City University who is making a study of it.

Coming up this year we have the first of two trips to Oxford on 7 April, and much more, including we hope another visit to Shrewsbury (this time to visit churches) and a return visit to Bournville.

We welcome visitors from other regions on our trips and look forward to seeing you very soon. Keep up to date by following us on Facebook @20CWestMidlands or on Twitter @C20WestMids.