Your Hatters Hostel

…………Plenty of events going on in Birmingham this weekend!

Fancy some Football? Then don’t miss one of the football events of the year – part one of this season’s Second City Derby between Birmingham City and Aston Villa on Sunday! If you can’t get a ticket it is still worth watching it in Brum: there are many city centre pubs that will show the game and where you can soak up that special atmosphere. Ask us and we’ll point you in the right direction!

… Culture? Explore some history during the English Heritage Open Days weekend in the Jewellery Quarter. Plenty to discover in all the historic buildings and sites around the Hatters!

… Music? Our O2 Academy is celebrating the opening of their brand new venue with gigs of some of Birminghams best known acts, starting tonight (Thursday) with The Editors. Klick here for more information.

… Beer? Whether you’re into Real Ale or just want to experience a typical English beer festival and sample a great selection of ales, don’t miss the Birmingham Beer Festival at Aston Student Guild. A free vintage bus service to the festival leaves every 30 minutes from Colmore Row, a 5 minutes walk from the Hatters.

………………….… and the ArtsFest 2009

The biggest event of the weekend and one that certainly includes something for everyone is undoubtetly the ArtsFest, the UK’s biggest free arts festival!

Get ready for a weekend full of music, dance, theatre, street art and much more in places all around the city. A lot of the action is going on around Centenary Square, where you can see various musicians performing all weekend. One of the highlights there is Sunday’s KerrangFest with many local acts and headlined by Athlete and Reverend and the Makers.

There are plenty more bands playing indoors and outdoors all around Birmingham throughout the weekend. It is not all about music though and the is so much more to discover over the next few days! Pick up a program for the best overview of what’s going on or have a look at the website.

The West Midlands are a great place for football, with the four biggest teams in and around Birmingham being Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

While fans of Aston Villa, West Brom and other Premier League teams have another three weeks of games to look forward to, the Championship season – the second division in English football – finished at the weekend.

We are proud that both ‘our’ second divison teams were the two most succesful clubs in their league:

Congratulations Wolves for winning the Championship!

Birmingham City finished as runners-up, which means that both clubs secured their return to the country’s top flight next season.

Welcome back to the Premier League, Wolves and Blues!

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Things look rather bleak for West Brom, who  are very likely to get relegated. However, with at least Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City all in the first divison now, there are a few very exciting games ahead of us next season!

We look forward to all the local derbies around here at Villa Park, St. Andrew’s and Molineux! And of course we look forward to meeting all you football fans at the Hatters, no matter whether you support Villa, Blues, Wolves, Baggies or one of the national or international visiting teams – everyone’s welcome!

It’s only a few weeks until the football season comes to an end and we have to wait three long months to watch Premier League action again… Aston Villa have a few vital games left as they try to hold on to their 5th place. The last four games of the season are:

4 May 20:00 – vs. Hull City (Home) 9 May 15:00 – vs. Fulham (Away) 16 May 15:00 – vs. Middlesbrough (Away) 24 May 16:00 – vs. Newcastle Utd. (Home)

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For their game next Monday against Hull City Villa have a fantastic deal for all students:

You can buy 2 tickets for £20 – that’s only a tenner per ticket (for some of the most expensive seats at Villa Park)! This special offer is only available on specific dates from the following locations:

27th April: Sutton College / 28th April: Bham City Uni / 29th April: Aston Uni / 30th April: Solihull College / 1st May: Bham Uni.

You’re from further away and can’t make it there? – don’t worry! Let us know that you’re interested in this offer before next Friday (1st May) and we will organise the tickets for you!

And to make your day even better:

We’ll give you a bed at the Hatters for just another £10 per person!

No need to worry about not getting home after the game or  leave Villa Park early to catch your last train back – Stay in Birmingham and spend the night with us! Just hop on one of the many match day busses back into the centre and they will drop you off close to the hostel!

Sounds good?  Then don’t wait until it’s too late, convince a mate to come along and have an exciting evening out at Villa Park, maybe one or two pints in one of the pubs around afterwards and a warm bed waiting for you at the Hatters.

… Match day ticket and a bed, all for just £20 per person!

Contact birmingham@hattersgroup.com or call 0121 236 4031 before Friday, 1st May with the names of you and your friend(s).

This offer is only valid for a booking of two or more people. Please note that we require full payment in advance to guarantee your reservation.

My first football game in England was Aston Villa vs. Wigan at Villa Park. Aston Villa supporters were roaring out their chants in the hope of a Villa goal to make a fight for the title against the top teams. The first half didn’t produce many chances for Villa, but the crowd continued to chant and Villa controlled the majority of possession. Half time involved curry sauce chips (Which were a great winter warmer). Villa were shooting towards our end in the second half. They saw many chances go begging as the referee missed a hand ball just in front of the Villa goals, triggering the supporters to roar louder – only to see no goals scored at the end of the 90 minutes. I made the journey back to Hatters Hostel wondering how great it would have been to see an Aston Villa goal and witness a full stadium jumping for glory!