A window into the soul of Britain's second city.

One of the most common complaints from long standing members is "Party Conference is too expensive now it's moved away from the seaside towns".

I have blogged previously about the delights of the plastic-sheeted bug-infested beds of Ron's Holiday Flatlets in Blackpool, £12.50 per night and worth every penny.

For Birmingham, however, one of my CFers proudly boasts a modern, City Centre hotel for £26.50 per night. I suspect this is probably just as cheap as Blackpool's £12.50 per night allowing for inflation since 1988!

There is however one small drawback. The room is 2 meters wide by 3 meters long. The en suite is a three minute walk away and there's no window. There is, however, a wall mounted CCTV screen linked to a camera relaying "a live Birmingham street scene" allowing guests the excitment of "a windown into the soul of Britain's second city."

Let's just hope for my CF member, who often tells me how he is a clean living Catholic boy, the camera isn't pointing in the wrong direction!