4am Project in the Jewellery Quarter
It's not every Sunday morning I get up at 3.30am, but that's exactly what I did this morning, in the name of the 4am Project! The brainchild of Karen Strunks, the 4am Project aims to gather a collection of photos from around the world at the magical time of 4am.
I missed the first shoot back on 4th April (4/4) so with this re-run being held on the Summer Solstice in the Jewellery Quarter, I had no excuse. So armed with a flask of coffee and some spare batteries, I wandered down to St. Paul's Square.
It was a pleasure to meet everyone, a mix of professionals, keen amateurs and point-and-clickers like me! We wandered around St. Paul's Square, Brook Street, Newhall Street and up to the top of the St. Paul's Square car park. Unfortunatley we were short of time so couldn't head into the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, or down to the canals. Another time!
After a short interview with Karen which will no doubt make its way onto YouTube first, I asked her when she first picked up a camera. I was shocked to hear it was less than two years ago. You can learn a lot in a short space of time, it would seem!
Here's a selection of my shots, for the rest check out my Flickr.
The Birmingham Beach Is Back!
Birmingham's beach (no, not the one at Spaghetti Junction!) is back for another summer. Sponsored by Monarch and BRMB, the beach will be open for sun-seekers (we can hope...) from this weekend right up until ArtsFest in September.
The Council says the beach provides "an idyllic urban oasis for city centre workers and visitors to relax". When I was there today there were distinctly below-par Spanish dancers on stage to an audience of kids running around screaming. Idyllic? Hardly!
International Food Fair
I stumbled upon the International Food Fair in Victoria Square and New Street today, offering a wide variety of food from across the world. One of the more popular stalls wasn't from some far flung corner of the globe, it was from Shropshire! Alternative Meats offer kangaroo, ostrich and crocodile, amongst others.
Also available was paella, a huge variety of sweets, cheeses, fruit and veg, pretty much anything you could want.
The Food Fair ends tomorrow but will be open from 10am until 9pm if you fancy a wander round.
License Application: 89-91 Livery Street
Last week I wrote to all residents local to 89-91 Livery Street to inform them of a license application. The license would be for late night music, dancing and alcohol sales, so effectively it's an application for a nightclub. Opening hours could potentially be until 2am during the week, with Friday and Saturday extended to 4am.
The premises are next to the recently opened Hatters Youth Hostel and very close to large residential blocks. In fact the top floor of the premises overlooks the courtyard of one block!
Despite the presence of Subway City further down the road, this is a quiet residential area and I have no doubt that a nightclub would cause extreme disturbance to local residents, not to mention those staying in the hostel. With the saga that was TRMNL only a recent memory, it's important that the right decision is made early with this application.
I already know of five residents who have written to oppose the application. You can add your views by emailing Birmingham City Council at licensing@birmingham.gov.uk quoting reference 61547. You have until 2nd July.
89-91 Livery Street
Looking up Livery Street
Local pubs listed in Guardian Good Pub Guide
Great to see two local establishments listed in the Observer's Good Summer Pub Guide today. So hats off to my local the Lord Clifden and the Wellington.
Thanks to Chris Unitt for the heads-up.
Surviving on Newhall Street
This was the state of Newhall Street today as the filming of the post-apocalyptic drama Survivors rolled into the city. My friend who took the photo said, "I've never seen such clean rubbish"...
Hockley Flyover Show – Save The Muhammed Ali Centre
What a day! I volunteered for Soweto Kinch's Hockley Flyover Show. For the unaware, the Flyover Show is intended to bring awareness of the creativity blossoming within the urban communities of Britain and in particular Hockley, where Soweto lives.
In an interview for BBC News last year, Soweto said, "Hockley was once an area where all kinds of iconic events used to happen; now the area is known for drugs, gun crime and unemployment. I live really close to the flyover and living in the same block as me is another jazz musician, poets, play writers, actors, dancers and all sorts of creative types. We really need to celebrate their work in the community. For me it’s about showing the breadth and excitement of the arts that people aren’t normally exposed to."
I'd say this aim was achieved and more. The crowd grew throughout the day and enjoyed a variety of acts from breakdance to drama, from marching bands to MCs. As the evening came, attention switched to the main stage where more established acts performed.
The focus of the day was on the campaign to Save the Muhammed Ali Centre, a run-down community centre just yards from the flyover which had been threatened with the bulldozer. A group of passionate "Street Pastors" have been campaigning to save it and I had a long chat with their leader Gerald, offering my help in fundraising amongst other things.
Lib Dem Councillor and new Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport & Culture Martin Mullaney spent a lot of time at the festival taking in the atmosphere. He took to the stage during the afternoon to assure festival-goers that the Council would not be bulldozing the centre and would work with the various community groups on a plan to resurrect this vital community space. Good job Martin, but the less said about the dancing with Soweto and Ty the better 
In my role as Backstage / Artist Liaison I also got to chat to the two gents behind Jazz Alive, a London-based youth Jazz project whose performance impressed everyone. I'm now pointed towards the Midlands Youth Jazz Orchestra by Andy Derrick - I shall check them out!
Notable mentions must go to Clare Edwards and Soweto Kinch who produced a killer combination of organisation and artistic vision. Soweto amazed me with his energy and sheer passion for what he does. By 9pm I was ready to drop, but he was still bouncing around the arena. Plus a mention for all the fantastic people I met who are too numerous to list here.
New Leisure Facility for Ladywood
Today I went with some friends to the consultation event for the proposed Birmingham Aquatics and Leisure Centre. A lot has been written and said about the pool over the last few months. You can make various assumptions from this, but the plans give another story. For example, did you know there was a sports hall, gymnasium, café, climbing wall, 11-a-side and 5-a-side pitches, community rooms and a police room all within the development?
It was useful that knowledgeable members of staff from the City Council and the Planning Consultancy were on hand to answer questions. From our group they answered questions on the organisational structure, potential fees, parking and other pools in the city.
Parking concerns from local residents seem to have been well addressed. The centre will utilise one of the NIA car parks with the design altered to incorporate better access from the car park. There will be a new coach park and a residents permit scheme for the St Marks Crescent area to ensure they are not swamped with visitors.
All in all, this is a fantastic development and a long-overdue leisure facility for the city centre and Ladywood constituency. The design and the content, in particular the leisure pool, is just right for getting kids across the city excited about sport.
I would urge everyone to give it their full support.
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