Written by Nicky Getgood on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 ( 4 responses )
Tags: River Rea, Silent UK
When I mentioned to Pete that for a while I’ve been wanting to don some waders and explore the River Rea, he told me that Silent UK have already gone and done it. Their verdict: is not so grate achully. So maybe I won’t go risking Viles disease just yet.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 ( Start discussion )
Tags: About Brum, Carl Chinn, centre of our world, Chinese Community Centre, Custard Factory, Fort Dunlop, Irish Club, Jason Hemming, John Fitzgerald, Minstrel Music, Polish Centre, Radio 4, The Irish Quarter, Urban Splash
Thanks to Christopher on About Brum for flagging this up. Professor Carl Chinn’s series about immigrant communities in Birmingham is being repeated on Radio 4 this week, with the option to listen through iPlayer available over the following few days. He interviews old and newcomers to Birmingham from local cultural community centres.
Interviewees in the Chinese Community Centre on Bradford St remember finding Brummie accents ‘scary’ (can’t say I blame them) and the report from the Polish Centre on Bordesley Street stiffened my resolve to eat dinner there at some point.
By far the most interesting was his piece about Birmingham Irish Club on Digbeth High St. ‘Old school’ Minstrel Music manager John Fitzgerald recalls the days when The Custard Factory made custard and worked in Fort Dunlop. He is nostalgic for the centre’s history as a haven the Irish community, whereas the young ‘new blood’ general manager Jason Hemming is keen to capitilise on other communities’ use of the centre. John and others have ‘reserved views’ about Jason’s management. Can the centre, soon to be rebuilt as part of the Irish Quarter’s regeneration, stay true to its roots whilst diversifying and keep the old customers happy whilst catering to new ones?
Written by Nicky Getgood on Monday, July 28th, 2008 ( One response )
Tags: Adam Crossley, Digtbeth Olympics
Hooray! The Digbeth Olympics site is now live so I’m assuming mastermind Adam Crossley’s embargo is over. This looks brilliant. On the cards for 21 September is a pico prix, home-made soap-box race, custard in The Custard Factory, an alcoholic golf course and a lot more that can’t be mentioned because it’s a bit naughty. I know Adam is open to suggestions for other sporting events. Go on, comment your crazy ideas and I’ll see to it he gets them.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Monday, July 28th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
Tags: Arts Awards, Birmingham City Council, Pat Dawson, wild building
This morning I bumped into Pat Dawson, an old colleague from Birmingham City Council’s Arts Team. She was following arrowed signs to Gallery 37, which is running a music Creative Apprenticeship programme from Floodgate St for the next 4 weeks. NEET young people interested in the arts will work as apprentices with professional lead artists towards completing a Bronze Arts Award and hopefully progress onto training and employment opportunities. The resulting work will be presented in Centenary Square. This is Gallery 37′s 10th anniversary programme.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 ( One response )
Tags: Birmingham Back to Backs, Birmingham Post, Friction Arts, Lombard St, National Trust, Power 50, Sandra Hall
Last night I got chatting to Friction Arts’ Sandra Hall (recently no. 43 in the Birmingham Post’s Power 50). She is mightilly upset that this pre-1950′s back-to-back on Lombard St is soon to be flattened. I had a sneaky look this morning but got caught mid-trespass by some builders preparing it for demolition, so didn’t get much further than the courtyard:
The builders weren’t sure what will be replacing it. “Probably a hotel.” Whatever it is, I doubt it’ll be as beautiful as this building. It’s a crying shame it couldn’t be preserved. The National Trust Birmingham Back to Backs on Hurst St show how lovely these houses can be.
Sandra and others from Friction Arts took some much better photos, which I’m trying to get my paws on.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
Tags: David L Woper, Friction Arts, Outer Sight, The Edge, The Hellstrom Chronicle
Last night I went to the first Outer Sight film night at The Edge. It started with a weird and wonderful mish-mash of short film and animation pieces, with 2 small screens with headphones in the corner (Good Trip and Bad Trip) for when the big screen got a bit too much, which for me it kind of did.
The main feature was David L Woper’s The Hellstrom Chronicle. Some say Dr Nils Hellstrom is obsessive. Some say he is delusional. He says he is a scientist (except he’s not, he’s an actor). I say he’s bonkers crazy and it’s very funny.
Man’s greatest threat isn’t nuclear meltdown, it’s insects and Dr Hellstrom spends the film melodramatically explaining why. The close-up shots of creepy crawlies in action through birth, life and death were amazing and after a while I even found myself getting caught up in Dr Hellstrom’s hilarious over-the-top narration.
Outer Sight is set to become a regular monthly fixture at The Edge. To keep yourself in the loop email outersight@live.com.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
Tags: food wastage, foodwastage
Defying Gordon Brown’s calls for frugality and wantonly wasting whole meals to congeal in the following day’s sun. Bleurgghh.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 ( One response )
Tags: Bombard St, Dogpoo Lane, Dogpool Lane, Lombard St
Okay, so it’s not quite Dogpoo Lane, but it made me giggle.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
Tags: ACE dance and music, Skin, Solihull Arts Complex, The Arch, The Bond, The Drum
I knew there’d be some perks to working for ACE dance and music. I spent most of today in their studio next door to The Arch on Floodgate Street observing auditions for male dancers. You can catch the successful candidates during the autumn tour of Skin. It’ll be visiting The Drum and Solihull Arts Complex.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Friday, July 25th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
Tags: Adam Crossley, Barnard Hobbit, Digbeth Olympics, John Tighe, Spotted Dog
A sunny Friday afternoon meant drinks at The Spotted Dog with John Tighe playing 78′s on his growing collection of vintage record players. Here he is dressed to match his current favourite. If the sun holds out for tomorrow afternoon, make your way there for a charity All You Can Eat For £5 barbeque.
Whilst I was ordering my Pimm’s a band walked in to be told they’d got the wrong Spotted Dog and were playing at the one in Bordesley Street. Yes, that’s right, the one I wrote was closing on 6 July following Barnard’s announcement. A barmaid told me they had held a ‘last party’, only to open their doors for a gig the following week. Are independent pubs catching on to the current rallying to their cause and holding their equivalent of Moseley Moneywise’s decade-long Closing Down Sale? Everydrink Must Go!
I also had the joy of meeting Adam Crossley, the Abacus tenant behind the spoof Stella ad made for The Spotted Dog’s noise abatement order struggle. He has something very special planned for Digbeth on 21 September which he begged me not to blog about until next week, so even though I’m busting to write more I’ll just say there’s some seriously silly sports in store. Put it in your diaries, it’ll be good.
We Are Eastside – arts and culture Birmingham Post: Digbeth articles
