About Brum

A sight you won’t see again… Over 130 years of history was obliterated yesterday due to an horrendous fire which swept through the former  premises of Langley Maltings Brewery in Oldbury.

The Express & Star reports that “More than 60 firefighters from stations across the Black Country and Birmingham battled through the night” after security guards first spotted the blaze catching hold inside the building at around 22:30 on the evening of the 8th. From there, it was more containment than prevention for the WMFS as the flames quickly spread to the entirety of the structure, causing massive damage and also causing its three characteristic towers to collapse into the structure.

Fortunately, the hobby of Urbexing (aka Urban Exploration; exploring buildings and the urban landscape, taking photos as you go for documentary purposes) is alive and well in the Midlands, and some good photosets have already been taken – in one case, less than a week before it was destroyed in the blaze. The photoset from adders0121 on flickr shows you what the Brewery was like inside prior to the blaze.

All this provides further evidence as to why Urbexing should become an officially-endorsed practice, supported by the local Government and associations like English Heritage! As a form of documenting the region’s past and its plethora of historical landmarks and buildings, it is almost unique in that just about everyone who Urbexes shares a similar attitude – do no damage, always be careful and be very thorough. Some people’s dedication verges on the obsessive, and I’ve seen people travel for hours just to visit a derelict building!

The saddest thing is that, aside from people who actively go exploring, the region’s industrial past is all around us yet much of it is simply being left to ruin, destruction or redeveloped into boring luxury apartments or offices… and most of us never even realise until it’s all gone. You may be surprised as to just how much you can see by simply opening your eyes and studying your surroundings a little more, so give it a try next time you’re out and about around the Midlands.

Roll up, roll up – it’s the shiny new About Brum podcast, replete with delicious podcasty goodness and compatible with all half-decent media players and devices.

The inaugural episode features Nick Booth of Podnosh and Birmingham Social Media Surgery fame! Also, Birmingham- or West Midlands-based band? Get your music featured on the next instalment… Contact me for more details.

Click here to download the podcast's audio file

Links to articles mentioned in podcast:

http://www.paradisecircus.com
Nick Booth: PodNosh.com
Nick Booth: BeVocal – Acock’s Green SMS

Intro music for this episode: Advantage – Never Say Never

If you think you deserve to be featured in a future podcast, get in touch - I look forward to hearing from you!

Welcome to 2009 everyone Been quiet on this blog recently but plan to hit the ground running in 2009 so keep an eye on this place.

If you had your beady eyes open this Christmas (I didn’t!) you will have noticed that Sky used the German Market as the background for their Christmas idents across Sky1, 2 and 3. 

Check them out on YouTube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7HoTNE0q5II&feature=related&fmt=18

(Hat-tip to Simon Howes for pointing it out to me, I’d not watched Sky throughout the entirety of Christmas so missed it on TV completely!)

A short and sweet entry this time for the end of July. If you missed “Centre of our World”, the six-part insight into Birmingham’s diverse ethnic communities written and presented by Birmingham’s very own Professor Carl Chinn, Radio 4 are currently repeating the series every day this week at 3:45pm. Starting with Birmingham’s Irish community, the programes move onto the Polish, Yemeni, Chinese and Greek Cypriot communities over the course of the shows. At 15 minutes long, the programmes are just right to ‘dip into’ – so go take a listen.

If you missed the first three episodes, you can listen to them for the next few days on iPlayer.

It’s not just canals coming out of the Black Country these days, we have some superheroes all of our own too. Employing the talents of Matthew Craig, Donato’s bringing the Bostin Heroes to the world – and he’ll be on the radio on Sunday to talk about it. From the Brum Mail article about the idea; 

“It will be a Midlands-themed comic, aimed at a broad audience, but anchored in familiar landmarks, such as Dudley Castle and the Bullring.

“Over the coming weeks, teaser images and background material will appear on the website, gradually introducing the characters and their world, in advance of the launch of the ongoing strip.

“I am hoping that it will capture the public’s imagination as there is a hero inside all of us.”

The strip will be written by Matthew Craig, aged 32, from Perry Barr, and illustrated by Jack Davies, 20, from Sutton Coldfield. Matthew, a former molecular biologist, and Jack, who has been drawing since the age of four, have both been tipped as Britain’s next big comic book creators.

…and From Mister Bostin himself:

You’ll be pleased to hear that i will be on BBC WM this Sunday 27th at 2pm ish on Carl Chinn’s show to talk in more detail about the comic and some of the stories that will be unfolding.

If you are not in the UK you can listen to all BBC WM shows live or on play again at hCarl Chinn’s BBC Birmingham feature page along with details how to message Carl at this page too.

If you want to see the comic and meet the team behind it, they’ll both be at the Birmingham International Comics Show this October.

Image credits: Birmingham Mail and Bostin Group

The Creative Republic bods are about again… More often they can be found drumming up interesting new ideas for the West Mids, but this time it’s all about the City Centre:

We are delighted to be hosting the second in a series of new events designed to inform and update you about key projects and issues affecting the city and region.

This time our focus is the Big City Plan, the new masterplan for Birmingham city centre. The Plan was launched in February 2008 and the City Council is keen to engage with a large cross section of people to help shape the future of Birmingham. This event is being held with the support of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and features leading speakers:

• Mark Ball, Head of Events and Exhibitions at the Royal Shakespeare Company
• Cllr Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council
• Jerry Blackett, Chief Executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

While the Big City Plan clearly embraces the vitality and energy that a thriving creative and cultural sector can bring to the city, this is your chance to find out how the plan will affect YOU and your business. What do you need or want in the next 20 years to make Birmingham the city in which you can thrive, not just survive? The Big City Plan has great ambition: but it will only succeed with the drive and determination of all its citizens. Creative Republic gives you the opportunity to make your voice heard where it matters – with the instigator of this exciting process.

The full info, schedule and other event details can be found on the Creative Republic site, and you can find more about Birmingham City Council’s Big City Plan project at BigCityPlan.org.uk.

…And if anybody from BCC is reading this, I’d still quite like to know exactly how Eastside Park is going to turn out!

Birmingham has been plagued by a spate of rumoured (and actual) venue closures in the past few years, and also been unlucky with others (memorably, the burning down of Eddie’s, near New Street Station, a great blow for fans of alternative music and a decent night out). However, Roy and Jaci Davis have just opened the doors to The Asylum, a brand new live music venue next door to The Madhouse (which they also run). Sporting a £60,000 soundsystem, a 400 capacity and the treasured smoking area, this venue – still unfinished! – is already looking like a shit hot, potentially permanent fixture for many bands’ UK tours. If you’re wondering what prompted me to write this… Well, I’m currently at the launch gig (“Clive Aid”) and the bands are rocking out! if you can hear a disturbance in the force, that’s the system in this place

I had a quick chance to speak to Roy and he tells me there are loads of gigs lined up, including one every other night in July! – so if you’re a fan of rock, metal and anything inbetween, keep your eye on this place as it bodes well for the future. I’ll try and get some time with Roy to put together a full article, but I’m so stoked that live music in Birmingham has a really good new venue, particularly as it’s being run by two people who have put so much of their time, energy and money into this venue – and they actually like the music and are dedicated to the cause!

Stay tuned for the full article…

(Also, apologies for my dodgy spelling before I revised this post, I typed it up on my phone’s tiny keyboard in the venue!)

Not got anything planned for Saturday the 31st of May? Well, give The Flyover Show a go. It’s on from 1pm to 9pm (but I’m sure it may well overrun) and… well, when was the last time you got to enjoy a dollop of wholesome fun in such a glamourous location as underneath the Hockley Flyover?

No, you can’t think of a time, can you.

Shameless cribbing from the event’s Facebook page now:

For one day only the entire arena under the Hockley Flyover will be alive with inspiring sights and sounds of ground breaking art and music. Jazz veterans, reggae legends, visual artists, hip hop and grime geniuses from across Birmingham and beyond will be there.This day long festival is a unique celebration of the very best from the city’s urban communities. National and international names, backed by a live band will light up the stage with exclusive performances. The city and the site is the focus of a specially created piece designed by young artists. Cherrelle Skeete, Francis Mott, Nehemiah Smith and Tan, will debut original pieces of music, dance and theatre. Graffiti artists and b-boys will paint pictures across the creative canvass of B19.

Don’t miss this chance to see world-class creativity brought outdoors for the first time to a forgotten corner of Birmingham. Be there to reclaim these derelict spaces and restore the artistic soul of the city!!

So, go and have some fun – why not? The weather will be lovely, the music (and beer, hopefully) will be flowing, and you can get a chance to listen to some quality musical talent and support local musicians and artists while you’re at it. Plus I’d put money on it that there’ll be loads of spots to park.

Firstly – did we miss Spring? Summer’s decided to queuejump once again this year, as my (exceedingly grown up and consummately mature) housemate said to me yesterday, “strappy top season’s upon us once again. Giggidy!” But anyway, I digress.

The Big Picture project’s been running for a while now, and it’s culminating in the grand competition today. For those who aren’t in the know;

It’s a project to create the biggest photo album in the West Midlands. Everyone can add their favourite pictures – family, friends, local landmarks, even your pets, we’ve made it easy to share your photos and tell the stories behind them.”

If you’ve got a good shot of somewhere in the West Midlands, go add it to The Big Picture project today for a chance to get it on a billboard… How cool is that?

Big Picture Day is Thursday 8 May – every photo added on that day will be in with a chance of appearing on giant billboards around the region.

Add your photo of the West Midlands to the Big Picture on Big Picture Day and it’ll automatically be entered in a competition — eight winners will be selected to get the full billboard treatment. There’s sure to be one in a town near you!

Upload to the web or text from your mobile — it’s up to you. To add a photo by MMS send it with BIGPIC first in the text of your message to 60300*.

Every photograph taken will form part of our world record attempt to make the biggest photo mosaic in the world and eight lucky winners will have their image displayed on their own billboard for everyone to see.

For more info, see The Big Picture’s web site. Also, Donato ‘Bostin’ Esposito is about to embark on his fundraising trek around Peru in support of the British Heart Foundation – go sponsor him at http://www.bhf.org.uk/sponsor/bostin, and buy the BHF charity t-shirt from the Bostin shop.

Right, excuse me, I’m off to dust down the barbeque in preparation for this weekend.

Donato Esposito’s the man with the plan – the guy behind Bostin and the supporter of everything good about the Midlands. The word ‘bostin’ is in itself a wholly positive gesture; “that’s bostin mate!” is roughly equivalent to “that’s really good / brilliant / really nice / smashing” and it’s been around for absolutely ages.

He recently commissioned a special England flag Bostin shirt in time for St. George’s Day, and I was lucky enough to catch a sneaky preview of it before they went on sale (and was pretty impressed). Donato’s also got a mean marketer’s mindset too, because he always seems to get some really good press out of his ventures – most recently, Bostin was featured in the Bromsgrove Advertiser (his brother’s pictured in the article modelling the England flag design) and he’s had tons of coverage and plugs from everyone ranging from regional press to Adrian Chiles (the BBC ‘One Show’ presenter and thoroughbred Brummie), who can oft be seen sporting one of Donato’s designs.

They are really quite cool T-shirts and really make a (wonderfully positive, for once!) statement when you wear them out and about. Go buy one from the Bostin shop, and start some conversations when you’re out in public.

(and yes, I buy my Bostin shirts just like everybody else, in case you were wondering whether this was a sponsored plug.