moseley b13 - june 2011 - issue 408
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Moseley B13 - June 2011 - Issue 408TRANSCRIPT
June 2011 ISSUE 408 - £1Your monthly community magazine
MOSELEY B13
Benjamin ZephaniahDiscover Moseley Bog with the wordsmith himself
What’s
On!
in Mose
ley
Inside...
Music and CultureKeep up to date with local events
Moseley Forum AGMPublic meeting brings up tensionover local issues
Kings Heath LibraryJoin the campaign to save ourlocal resource
“Dev
elop
er a
nsw
ers c
ritic
s”
What’s Inside?Contents:4-5 Bard in the Bog7
WhyMoseleymakesyoufitter?8
Developer answers back9 Culture / local news10 Moseley in Bloom11 Strad for a tad12 From bee to yew13 Success at school14 The Magnets support Teenage Cancer Trust
15 Local News and Locals abroad16-17 What’s On18-19 Library in peril20 Raise your spirits21 Spring Crunch22 Food, drink and reviews24 Meteor Ford25 Local News
26 Just So You Know27 Music Review28-29 Music and local articles30 Locavore31 Flashmob
What’s Inside?Want to see your advert here? Prices start from only £23!
Contact [email protected] for details.(or write to Birmingham 13 Magazine at the Moseley CDT.)
FLUTE TUITIONExperienced Teacher. All levels taught. Beginners welcome.
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0121 449 2135ALSO GRADE 5 THEORY TUITION
Come and see us online at www.moseleyb13.com
Editor’s Note:
So we’re off again. Birmingham 13 is being relaunched under the name of Moseley B13 with a new team and different approach. We want to expose the fascinating aspects of life in one of the more varied areas of the UK. Af-ter all it hosts the Moseley Folk festival, Most-ly Jazz, the farmers and craft markets and a wealth of other colourful, cultural activities. And we’d like to celebrate its successes.
Entertainment and culture aside, a feeling that this vibrant slice of south Birmingham also needs a forum for debate as it grapples with important issues unites those involved in the new magazine.
While the traditional media is in rapid retreat, there is a danger that the community will wander blindly into hazards, and unwelcome developments will arise without sufficient scrutiny. Anyone who walks around the area can see that the streets have been blighted by the intrusive central government cameras that achieved nothing but a legacy of mistrust, un-fairly damaged community relations with the police and a large clean-up bill.
Moseley is in the grip of a bitter debate about the reappearance of Tesco in the village with many remembering the damage the retail gi-ant did during its first, unhappy arrival in the village. However, the “no” campaigners might also be accused of failing to propose a vi-able alternative for the old Meteor Ford site, which is in danger of mothballing. Is anyone really suggesting that funding will appear for a new GPs’ surgery if Tesco is forced to pull out?
Meanwhile, Moseley continues to thrive as a nightlife centre, attracting revellers from across the city. The ongoing tensions be-tween the legitimate commercial interests of publicans and the rights of residents and shopkeepers to wake up to a clean doorstep need a repeated outlet for debate.
We feel these issues alone justify the re-launch of the community magazine.
This month’s edition includes the legendary poet Benjamin Zephaniah’s timely reminder of an earlier campaign when the area almost lost Moseley Bog, the inspiration behind JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth. We’ve also featured Kings Heath Library and looked at the threat facing local libraries; covered the recent lively Meteor Ford debate and posted news on the set up of Constituency Arts Forums here and throughout Birmingham. We’ve featured a children’s festival coming up in August and have a first-hand account of two local people who took part in a recent flashmob, alongside reviews on food and gigs.
Please get involved –by buying the magazine and helping make it viable; writing to us with local issues or concerns; providing informa-tion for the listings; suggesting articles. We need someone who has sales experience to generate enough advertising revenue to cover the print run and we’d like a variety of contributors. Together we can turn this into a community magazine that genuinely reflects life in this diverse and exciting community. Finally, we all feel strongly that the magazine should cover Kings Heath and Balsall Heath as most people find the areas blend into one another, so we are warmly welcoming anyone with a B12 or B14 postcode.
Poet Benjamin Zephaniah has returned to his old turf to remind residents that they should delve into the murky depths of Moseley Bog. He tells William Baldwin it offers a rural oasis within the city.
One of Birmingham’s lead-ing literary exports, Benjamin Zephaniah, admits he is not the obvious person to lead a campaign to boost visitors to Moseley Bog, off Yardley Wood Road. “To my shame, when I was growing up it was right here and we never really came to visit. When we wanted to go to the countryside we would use the van from the church to get to the Lickey Hills.”
The 53-year-old is working with the Wildlife Trust to get more members of south Birming-ham’s ethnic minorities to visit the Bog, which can also be ap-proached via Thirlmere Drive
able to run here. It would be great to do tai chi in.”
Zephaniah describes how he once made a television programme about Birming-ham’s many canals and why ethnic minorities seldom use them.
“With the Asian community there seemed to be an attitude that we’ve left somewhere that was wet and boggy, why would we want to hang out somewhere that was wet and boggy? Imag-ine writing home and saying you lived on a canal, it would sound like something had gone wrong. But with a lot of black people it seems to be more a lack of con-fidence. And you have to keep plugging the message that this place is for you. If you’re building a multicultural city, it’s not just about the restaurants and a few wedding ceremonies. Culture, in the broadest sense, is about
BARD IN THE BOGand Windermere Road.Although gloopy, Moseley Bog has been fitted with raised walkways that enable it to be explored without losing a boot, and work is being done to improve wheelchair access. But when Zephaniah asked his mother, who lives around 15 minutes’ walk away, if she had ever visited, he was shocked by her response. “She said, I don’t know where I’d go to ask per-mission, and I said, Mum, you can just walk in.” Now he wants to instil a shared sense of Bog ownership across the whole city.
“So many people can live in the city and not be aware of what’s in it. There are places like this, where you can come and your kids can get lost, you can bring the whole family, you can picnic and the dogs can have a run. I used to jog around the streets but I wasn’t aware of being
4 MOSELEY B13
BARD IN THE BOGusing the whole city, all the parks and woods.”
The Rastafarian poet, who spent his first few years in Handsworth, says if he was growing up as an aspiring author nowadays he would feel happy to stay in the area
but back in late 1970s he was convinced he had to move to London to make his name. He says the cultural achieve-ments of this slice of south Bir-mingham, not least the often-overlooked Asian music scene, have now created a solid platform for anyone hoping to make a name for themselves. “There are a lot of special things happening here now,” explains the poet, “If I was beginning my career again, I probably wouldn’t feel the need to move out.”
The Wildlife Trust is invest-ing Heritage Lottery fund-
ing in the Bog to improve access and encourage people to hold events in the wood while rais-ing the reserve’s profile through the trust’s website. There are viewing platforms and a per-formance area being built and improvements being made to the car park. And volunteers are always needed to help with the work. The trust is trying to boost knowledge of the re-serve’s importance to JRR Tolk-ien, who played in it as a child. The woods are thought to have inspired his tales of Mirkwood in The Hobbit.
“I don’t want to have to come back to campaign because it’s under threat again,” the poet says with a smile, referring to the campaign to stop the woods being cleared for housing in the early 1980s. “I’d rather come here now to promote it to make more people come and use it.”
Moseley historian Bob Black-ham adds that the reserve is se-riously underused by residents. “You can spend whole days down here when the weather’s good and only see a few people.”The Bog lost its status as a site of special scientific interest in 1990s because the wood’s huge royal fern was removed, pre-sumed stolen, and it is now a local nature reserve, although Birmingham Botanical Gardens is growing a replacement fern to reinstall in the woods. “But the important thing is that it’s of local interest, rather than scientific interest,” Zephaniah concludes.
To find out more about Mose-ley Bog contact Birmingham Wildlife Trust at [email protected] or 0121 454 1199 or visit its website.
MOSELEY B13 5
6 MOSELEY B13
I’m sure you’ve noticed, but Mose-ley is a bit hilly. Apart from the high street, the whole village seems to be uphill or downhill and this is great news for legs and bums! Walking or running downhill makes the thighs work extra hard, whilst walking or running uphill tones the glutes (buttocks). In fact it’s a miracle that the people of Moseley aren’t all elite athletes.
Hills help us burn extra fat and tone up wobbly bits, but we can use them even better if we learn to use our glutes properly. Most people have proportionately weak glutes. This not only makes them wob-bly(!), it also makes other muscles in the lower back and hamstrings (back of your thigh) work harder to compensate. This contributes to back problems or hamstring inju-ries if you play sport.
Like charity, glute training begins at home! When sitting on a firm chair, raise yourself up an inch or two by squeezing your bottom to contract the muscles. If you do this regularly you will quickly learn how to get your glutes working harder. Next step is to hit the hills.When you’re out and about, squeeze those glutes and keep them tight every time you come to an uphill. As you push off from each step give an extra squeeze and push from your glutes and you’ll not only walk quicker but teach the muscles to work prop-erly.
You could turn this into a formal fitness session by going some-where hilly like Highbury Park and doing ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’. Basically walk quickly or even run up the hill, using your glutes to get power, then wander slowly down before repeating. You could also get an extra boost by pushing off your toes so your calves get involved as well. Once
your glutes feel tired and are not squeezing as hard as at the start, it’s time to go home.
As with all exercise, check with your doctor if you have any doubts as to your fitness to exercise, or if you have any known medical con-dition. Over the coming months I aim to give you more simple fitness ideas and inspire you to live a more healthy life. Who knows we might have a Moseley team at London 2012!
Darran LawPersonal Trainer
www.athomefitness.co.uk
Why Moseleymakes you fitter?
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June 2011
The man at the centre of the vilified Tesco development fielded questions from the community at a packed public meeting in May, trying to dismiss all fears of contami-nation and a parking crisis.
Developer of the former Meteor Ford site Simon Marsh (below) responded to public anger at the Moseley Forum AGM held in St Columba’s Church.
The meeting got off to a bizarre start when Christine Hemming, the wife of Yardley Liberal Democrat MP John Hem-ming; former LibDem councillor Emily Cox; and a resident of St Mary’s Row giv-ing only the name Kerry, applied to join the Forum’s committee.
Forum chair Esther Boyd (right) raised eyebrows when she said two of the three people seeking to be co-opted were not meant to be in contact with one another and therefore the committee would need to take advice about what to do.
Mr Marsh remained calm in response to considerable aggression, dismissing all rumours of plutonium dumps, skyscrapers and plans to scrap the proposed medical centre.
Oxford Road neighbour Neil Baggett said he was “shocked and appalled” that the scheme had been approved and fearful of exposure to asbestos.
“Should we take a two-month holiday while they’re knocking this thing down?” he asked Mr Marsh, saying legal action could be taken if the public was exposed to asbestos.
The developer replied: “I cannot tell you the amount of money we have spent with consultants satisfying planning condi-tions.” He gave a guarantee that all pro-cedures would be followed when dealing with contamination left by the garage. In response to questions about what he was doing to reimburse the community for the disruption caused, he pointed to the more popular aspects of the develop-ment.
“You don’t think a medical centre is enough?… Why are we being vilified for putting sheltered housing on the site?” He added that the development had been a financial failure. If it had been complet-ed three years ago, as he had intended, Mr Marsh said it would have generated a healthy profit but the recession meant he was “barely breaking even”.
Mr Marsh revealed that he was in talks with Network Rail over access to the large car park next to St Mary’s churchyard and that he was “pretty sure” there would be no need to move the pedestrian crossing near the site. He added that the £75,000 traffic study he had funded had found ways to limit congestion.
Moseley Society secretary Fiona Adams told the meeting there was still scope to prevent Tesco gaining a licence to sell al-cohol from the store, asking if the police would back the move after their current campaign to limit street drinking in the village.
Mr Marsh said the site was due to be flat-tened in August and September and 10 months of building should begin in Febru-ary 2012. He confirmed the medical cen-tre on the site would open before Tesco.A statement from Wake Green Surgery was read out in strong support of Mr Marsh’s development, underlining the in-adequacy of the current building, describ-ing it as “bursting at the seams”.
The transfer of an increasing number of services away from hospitals and spiral-ling patient numbers meant the move was essential, the practice said.
It praised the inclusion of a minor sur-gery room, increased consultancy rooms, teaching areas and space for community meetings in the new surgery.
Marie Matthews of Wake Green Park was a lone voice in favour of the devel-opment, claiming Moseley had too few shops and the Co-Op was overpriced and inadequate.
However, Terry Adams of Wake Green Road said: “We will have wheelchairs competing with supermarket trolleys.” He was referring to competition for the 103 parking spaces between the surgery staff and patients, residents of the 14 new flats at the site and Tesco customers.
Meanwhile, Mark Eftichou (above) of Do-mestica and chair of the Moseley Business Association, warned that the shops were dying as rents and rates rose and custom-ers went elsewhere.
“If we were to rely on Moseley people we’d be out of business. Most of the busi-ness comes from outside the B13 area,” said Mr Eftichou, whose family have two further businesses in the village.
The embattled trader said the same peo-ple who were claiming that Tesco would kill off Moseley independent traders often failed to support the shops themselves. He called for feedback if businesses were not offering the right products and asked people to visit Moseley’s shops before go-ing to the large chains.
“Moseley’s shops are dying and people need to step up and give their support.”
William Baldwin
Developer answers back
Issue 408
If you have news you’d like to tell us about, email: [email protected]
Moseley-based Polly Tisdall walked away with title of Young Storyteller of the Year 2011 at the National Young Storyteller of the Year (YSOY) com-petition, which took place in March in Bir-mingham.
The contest, which has been running since 2004, gives storytellers aged 15-25 the chance to tell tales of monsters, myths and mys-teries in front of some of the most respected storytellers in the country.
Polly, 21, said: “I’m so ex-cited to have won this prize. I came across performance storytelling at Storytelling Café in Kings Heath. I re-ally enjoyed it and wanted to find out more, so the organiser Graham Lang-ley suggested that I book a place on a training course
and it clearly paid off! I’m looking forward to find-ing ways of incorporating storytelling into my theatre work and offering more storytelling opportunities to schoolchildren.”
Graham Langley, ex-dra-ma teacher and champion of storytelling for adults, is the founder and Director of Young Storyteller of the Year, which is organised by Kings Heath-based Traditional Arts Team and was supported this year by Awards for All. He said: “We’re delighted that this year’s winner is from Birmingham, especially as Polly became involved in storytelling through the Traditional Arts Team. We’re hoping that she will become a real ambassador
for storytelling this year. For Polly to have reached such a high standard so quickly is a testament to the accessibility of this ancient artform as well as to her enthusiasm. Story-telling is something that anyone can get involved in; you don’t need any special equipment, just a story, an audience and your own creativity.”
Storytelling is currently enjoying a revival thanks to a renewed interest in the folk arts which also include music, song and dance.
There are regular storytell-ing events run by Tradi-tional Arts Team, at which everyone is welcome. To find out more, visitwww.tradartsteam.co.uk.
Robert Geoghegan - www.robspaintings.com
National Young Storyteller of the Year accolade awarded to Moseley local
It’s back – The Moseley in Bloom Open Gardens Weekend is being held on Saturday 18 June and Sun-day 19 June and we are proud to an-nounce that a major lift to the event will be given by the presence of the famous Lifford Lane World Cup gnomes. Veolia have kindly agreed to lend us 12 of their heroes to take part in a children’s trail which will be part of the additional garden attrac-tions alongside the usual refresh-ments, plant sales, raffle and music.
Many of you will remember that during the World Cup in 2010 a full complement of gnomes dressed in the various team strips were on display at the Lifford Lane site and as the competition progressed the defeated gnomes were sent off until finally only the winning Span-ish gnome remained on view. (The England gnome disappeared all too soon, but this is painful and we will not dwell on the memory.) Such was the interest generated that they even became an item on News at Ten.
Otherwise the format for this year’s event remains basically the same but with more new gardens to view. Tickets can be bought for a day entrance (£5.00) or for two days (£7.50) and will be available at the gardens which are designated as ticket points and also at an infor-mation stall which we are planning to have on the Village Green during both days. Gardens will be open be-tween 1.00pm and 5.30pm and this year around two thirds will be new to the event.
You will be struck by the amazing di-versity of gardens for view this year. Big gardens, small ones, some pro-fessionally designed, some themed, some evolved organically – but all loved by their owners. There really is something for everyone.
On Saturday 18th Moseley west-side (i.e. west of the Alcester Road), will feature Park Hill, where The Grange will be open so that visitors can see the progress that residents, with as-sistance from MIB are making in re-storing their garden; Reddings Road;
Moorcroft Road; the Dovecote; and Moseley Hall Hospital. The latter will enable visitors to see something of the way in which gardening is being used as a therapeutic activity for pa-tients and of MIB’s contribution to this.
On Sunday 19th, in Moseley east-side, approximately 12 gardens will be open in Greenend Road; Greenhill Road; Thornley Close (off Cambridge Road); Southlands Road; Dyott Road; St Agnes Road; and Billesley Lane Al-lotments will be joining us with their Open Day.
Refreshments will be available on both days to quench your thirst. There will also be plant stalls.
So, put the dates in your diary and come along.
For more information visit www.moseleyinbloom.org.uk. More infor-mation will be posted shortly.
John MattickMoseley in Bloom
Moseley’s Hidden Gems (and Gnomes) Uncovered!
Photo: Lynne McPeake
Antonio Stradivari who died in 1737 is one of the best known violinmak-ers. He is famous because some of his violins sell for millions of pounds. In October 2010 a 1697 Stradivarius violin known as ‘The Molitor’ was sold for a world-record price of $3,600,000, the highest so far for any musical instrument sold at auction. So, when people discover they have a violin with a Stradivarius label they naturally get excited. However, it is 99.9999% certain that it is not genuine. Stradivarius violins are much sought after and all his instruments are well documented. He made about 750 vio-lins in total and most have certificate of authentication. Some European Violinmakers began making replicas of early violins in the mid 19th century. For example, those made by the French maker J. B. Vuillaume (pronounced Vee-yom), b.1798-d.1875, in Mirecourt, France. His copies are so close in quality to the originals and so sought after that there are even copies of Vuillaume’s copies fetching high prices.
So if you find a violin with a label inside that bears the name of Stradi-varius it is most likely to be a copy
of his work. Many were made in the late nineteenth century in Germany or Czechoslovakia “en masse”, with the help of machinery for the purpose of supplying a wider market. A great number of them were exported to Eng-land, many of them still available to-day. When in playable order their value can range from £350 upwards. Prices are dependent on how refined the work is, the sound, structure and condition also have an impact on the value of any given instrument. However, any instrument will only keep its value if it is well looked af-ter. If it is not being played it must be stored carefully, in a dry but not too warm environment. It may need to have its strings detuned in order to avoid distortion from being under ten-sion. Advice about the value of a violin and how to care for it can be sought from any reputable violin shop. This could include free verbal valuations, instru-ment “health checks” and give advice on how to store your violin and main-tain it in good condition to keeps it’s value.
Pam DixonMoseley Violins
Strad for a tad
Last Chance to Advertise here with
Moseley B13
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MOSELEY B13 11
Nature lovers at Martineau Gar-dens on Priory Road have opened a woodland nature trail through the enclosure in the hope it will boost the public’s interest as well as biodiversity. William Baldwin was there to see the ribbon made from foliage snipped.
On a sunny spring morning, Mollie Martineau, patron for Martineau Gar-dens, snipped through the charming evergreen ribbon to open the new nature trail. “This trail will help ex-plain to our visitors the conservation work that is undertaken to keep the gardens wildlife friendly.” she said. “As a community garden, it’s here for everyone. It’s a place where children can run and play freely and get close to nature.”
The numbered track through the woodland draws attention to spots of interest in the organically managed enclosure, which provides an oasis of public space in an ocean of private greenery. So while the Priory and golf clubs and Birmingham University’s
woodland have restricted access, Martineau is free and open Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm.
Badgers make up some of the gar-den’s nocturnal visitors and leave evidence of their foraging. Volun-teer Brian Perry explains that the city grew around the badger setts and many habitats have probably remained undisturbed in the backs of some of the area’s bigger gardens.
From its yews and surreal twisted hazel to the “bee hotel”, the gar-dens offer numerous opportunities for children to discover the natural world. The 2.5-acre site contains an orchard, ornamental garden, two ponds, woodland and a meadow. Parents with young children socialise over tea and the bird hide is the per-fect spot to learn more about the winged world with greenfinches, bullfinches, coal tits, wrens and dun-nocks among some of the species spotted recently. Helpful wallcharts and enthusiastic volunteers are
available to spark interest in begin-ners while the forest school is used by local nurseries to craft natural objects into souvenirs for pre-school children. The new nature trail also passes the main pond where younger visitors enjoy pond dipping among the colony of common newts, frogs and toads.
“The main reason for having this na-ture trail is so people can see how we’re managing the woodland,” says Brian. “They may walk around and like it but they wouldn’t understand how we’re managing it. Most of our recent work has involved thinning out the vegetation. Letting in more sunlight means we get more flowers, which means more insects and in turn more birds and bats.” A great spotted woodpecker drums insistently on one of the 150-year-old oaks above us as we speak.
Volunteers have planted a hawthorn hedge in a sunny spot amid the wood-land to further increase the variety
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AT HOME FITNESSPERSONAL TRAINER
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WANT TO BE FITTER & THINNER IN SIX WEEKS OR YOUR MONEY BACK?
As parents we all want our children to succeed in school. We feel very passion-ate about children achieving their full potential in educa-tion, and believe that read-ing is the key to success. You are your child’s first and most important teacher and supporting with their read-ing is incredibly enjoyable, easy and rewarding. Here are our tips on how any par-ent can support their child whatever stage they are at.
Talk to your child. Talk is the foundation for read-ing. Speaking and listening are the beginnings to your child’s ability to master the English language. Singing songs and chatting develops your child‘s ability to hear sounds which will make it much easier for them learn to read. Make up stories to tell them and give the char-
acters names of brothers, sisters, cousins aunts and un-cles. Tell them stories about things that happened to you when you were young.
Talk to your child as much as possible about things you are doing and thinking. Ask your child lots of questions and encourage them to ask questions too. Encourage your child to tell you what he or she thinks or feels about things they see or about what they are doing. Encourage them to have an interest that they enjoy such as gardening, nature, music, dance, football, pirates, su-per heroes. Sing songs, such as nursery rhymes, number rhymes, theme tunes from their favourite TV pro-grammes and encourage your child to join in. Give your child simple instruc-tions. This helps with com-
prehension and verbal memory. This can be done in a game such as ‘Simon says, touch your nose.
We have lots of other tips and ideas to sup-port parents with their children’s language development. Next month read our ideas on making reading fun and engaging.
Siobhan and NatashaLocal Teachers
How do I help my childto succeed in school?
of habitats on offer to Birmingham’s furry residents while the bee hotel is a small wooden box offering shelter to visitors who pollinate the meadow that grows up during the summer. Some pipistrelle bats also call Martineau home.
Visitors can enquire after the health of the honey-bee colony where numbers slumped in 2009, along with bee populations across Britain. It is too early to tell what 2011 will yield in terms of prized pots of Martineau honey but the colony will be closely moni-tored by the garden’s “beenius” John Gale. “We’re hoping to have a few more pots of honey available this year,” volunteer Sarah Hill-Daniel says. “Two years ago we only made 14 jars and last year we had 50… The thing that’s special about these bees is that if you do manage to get a jar of Martineau honey, and they do go like gold dust, it’s single-source hon-ey where as the stuff you get in the supermarket has probably been mixed with lots of different sorts.” To chart the progress of the Martineau hives, visit the gardens’ Facebook page.
In the 1960s the site was developed for trainee teachers at the nearby college that has since moved to Harborne. There were tennis courts and a garden and the old pavilion remains. It later became an environmental study centre run by the council but that closed in 1997 and, after a campaign, volun-teers took over the site and developed what we have today, a site of local importance for nature conserva-tion. Volunteer work parties are mainly need-ed in the winter but to get involved throughout the year visit http://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk or call in at the gardens.
MOSELEY B13 13
THE MAGNETSHear well-loved songs as you’ve never heard them before, from Joy Division to the Scissor Sisters and Bon Jovi to Lady Gaga. Re-cently featured on the bril-liant T Mobile flashmob advertisment –‘ Loads of people singing in an airport’ , viewed by over 5 million people on You Tube. This is your chance to see The Magnets per-form their extraordinarily imaginative vocal arrange-ments in a unique concert in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.
They are the singing se-cret that the stars have kept to themselves, the vocal group with a word-of-mouth reputation for spicing up the parties of supermodels, heads of state and billionaires with their blend of glorious harmonies and jaw drop-ping beatboxing. But now, after selling out London’s legendary Roundhouse, electrifying performances at the Isle of Wight and Glastonbury Festivals,
and their sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, The Magnets are emerging from the shadows as one of Britain’s hottest musi-cal acts.
Literally a ‘six-man sound machine’, The Magnets make all their music with their mouths alone, in-cluding the drums of vocal percussionist/beatboxer Andy Frost and the richly textured bass of Fraser Collins. However, this is no attempt to mimic in-struments, but rather the blending of six distinctive voices to create a unique sound that rivals any band with guitars and key-boards.
At the heart of The Mag-nets music lies a gift for extraordinarily imagina-tive arrangements that radically restyle and sub-vert songs from artists as diverse as Kraftwerk and Beyoncé. Highlights in-clude a sun soaked lounge version of Blur’s ‘Girls & Boys’, a sultry ‘Poker Face’
by Lady Gaga (recently performed for Scott Mills on Radio 1), and their trademark mega-medleys, currently a showstopping A - Z of movie themes from A-Team to Zulu.
Proud of their ability to perform anywhere from street corners to arenas, a Magnets show is an exercise in musical so-phistication, cool moves and superb theatrics, but of course absolutely no musical instruments. The 2010 Edinburgh Fringe was the launching pad for the group’s first major UK tour to coincide the release of their album ‘Gobsmacked’ in Septem-ber 2010.
Now centre-stage in the current revival in vocal harmony music, seen ev-erywhere from Glee to
The Choir, The Magnets have risen from humble beginnings as street per-formers in London’s Cov-ent Garden. They have enjoyed a colourful sub-sequent history, includ-ing an EMI record deal, support tours with Tom Jones, Geri Halliwell, Lisa Stansfield and Michael Ball. They receive fre-quent invitations to play prestigious events in the UK and Europe, includ-ing the Queen’s Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace and the BBC Proms in Hyde Park alongside continuous international touring from Singapore to the Cayman Islands. They have recently been seen and heard on ITV1’s Magic Numbers, BBC Breakfast, and BBC Radio 1 and 2, Pineapple Dance special on Sky One and this years Comic Relief.
Friday, July 8th 2011. 8pm.Tickets £18 (Conc. £15)MAC, Cannon Hill Park, B’ham, B13 9QH.All proceeds go to Birmingham TCT Units.www.themagnets.comwww.teenagecancertrust.org0121 446 3232
...support Teenage Cancer Trust.
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Are you an artist? Do you work with any art form? This could be writing, painting, spoken word, textile work, craft, sewing, design, photography, jewellery making, singing, dance or drama: anything to do with arts.
Birmingham City Council is setting up local constituency arts forums which will each work with an “arts cham-pion” and a local arts organisation to iden-tify artists and arts organisations; raise the profile of the arts; highlight possible
funding opportunities; discuss profes-sional development and training; and act as a friendly group to offer support and encouragement.
Our constituency is Hall Green (covering Moseley and Kings Heath) and the representative is Kim Charnock, from RoguePlay, a theatre company based on Yardley Wood Road.
Because the forums are in the process of being set up, members will have a say in what they want the function of their forum to be, so now is an excellent time to get involved. Please contact Kim at www.rogueplay.co.uk and fill in your de-tails on their form, stating what area of the arts you are involved in. She will include you in her growing database of artists and
contact you about a meeting that is being set up in early June.
A Hall Green Arts Forum Face-book site will be set up in the near future. Other sites already up include the North-field Arts Forum (run by Laura Biding) and Edgbaston Arts Forum (Tom Jones), both of which welcome new members. They post any events of interest across Birming-ham and are great places for discussions.
The date and venue for the first Hall Green Arts Forum should have been announced by the time you read this, so please check online www.moseleyb13.com where it will be posted or contact Kim Charnock.
Laura Biding and Juliet Clare Bell
Thought for the month.
Last month I visited Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum) and Beth-lehem. Two things hit me: first, the way we can be deceived by evil – one wom-an said of the Nazis ‘they tightened the noose round our necks so gradually we didn’t realise until it was too late to get away’. The Horror of such evil, and total disregard for human life was
overwhelming – I caught a glimpse of what people are experiencing in some parts of the world today. The other was written on the huge wall that’s been built around Bethlehem: ‘FEAR BUILDS WALLS BUT HOPE BUILDS BRIDGES’. Fear of the future, fear of your ‘neighbour’ fear of what might happen paralyses: we put up walls in our own lives as well as be-tween cultures and peoples we don’t understand.
Two things are needed: hope – to be a bringer of hope to people to help them walk away from their fears and to enable communities to under-stand each other. The other is summed up by Martin Luther King:
“I die the day I remain silent about the things that matter”
David Isgrove
ARTSFORUM
£15,000 awarded to Kings Heath Park playgroundKings Heath mother, Wendy Turner, has gained £15,000 of funding to improve Kings Heath Park’s playground. The funding came from Robinson’s Fruit Shoots who shortlisted 20 applications for the award from more than 1,000 entries from around the UK. Wendy made an excellent case for Kings Heath Park (whose playground is pretty bare) and the public was given the chance to vote on the shortlisted parks.
The five parks with the most votes each won £15,000 and Kings Heath came second. Wendy said: “I wish to extend a huge thank you to everyone who voted, and to all the schools and businesses who helped publicise the event in their newslet-ters and shop windows. The weeks of pave-ment pounding and pestering people have paid off, and it will be wonderful for all of the many children who use the playground to have some new equipment to play on.”
Juliet Clare Bell
June 2011What’s On... this month in Moseley.
Date Event Where Time Contact
02 (Thu) Traditional Song Session (KH) Kitchen Garden Cafe 20.00 www.tradartsteam.co.uk
03 (Fri) Friday Folk - Stephen Woodcock calling.Expect a fun evening.
St. Anne’s Church Hall 20.00-23.00 0121 770 6098www.activityexchange.com/FridayFolk
04 (Sat) Mindspace - Meditation Workshop Moseley Exchange 10.00-13.00 0121 449 8585
08 (Wed) Parent Voices (by Highbury Children’s Centre) Moseley Exchange 11.00-13.00 0121 449 8585
09 (Thu) The Over 50s Club - Planta Pot with Mrs. E Veal St. Agnes Church Hall 14.00-15.30 0121 443 3413
12 (Sat) Cannon Hill Poets Moseley Exchange 13.00-17.00 0121 426 6413 - Martin Underwood
Highbury Summer Garden Open Day(Tours (£3.50), bbq, refreshments entertainment.)
Highbury Hall 10.30-15.30 0121 303 [email protected]
14 (Tue) Birmingham Humanists Public Meeting Moseley Exchange 19.30-21.30 0121 449 8585
15 (Wed) Storytelling Café“Tempting Tales for a Summer Evening” - £7
(KH) Kitchen Garden Cafe 19.30(18.30 food)
0121 443 4725www.tradartsteam.co.uk
16 (Thu) Business Advice - Marion Taggart Moseley Exchange 10.00-13.30 0121 449 8585
17 (Fri) Friday Folk. - John Shakespeare calling.Expect English ceilidh type dances.
St. Anne’s Church Hall 20.00-23.00 0121 770 6098www.activityexchange.com/FridayFolk
18 (Sat) Moseley in Bloom Open Gardens Weekend. West of Alcester Road 13.00-17.00 www.moseleyinbloom.org.uk
19 (Sun) Moseley in Bloom Open Gardens Weekend. East of Alcester Road 13.00-17.00 www.moseleyinbloom.org.uk
19 (Sun) Submission deadline for July issue of Moseley B13 Magazine.
21 (Tues) - 25 (Sat) Queensbridge Musical Theatre Society“Thoroughly Modern Millie” - £12 - £14 (£10 cons)
Solihull Arts Complex 19.30(14.30 Sat Only)
22 (Wed) Local History Evening Group“The Birmingham Pen Trade” with Jim Andrew
Moseley Exchange 19.30-21.30 0121 449 0727 - Janet [email protected]
Tales and Ales - Storytelling Session. The Lamp Tavern,Barford St. B5
20.00 0121 247 3856www.tradartsteam.co.uk
23 (Sun) The Over 50s Group - With Mrs. J Houghton.The work of “Send A Cow” in Western Kenya.
St. Agnes Church Hall 14.00-15.30 0121 443 3413
25 (Sat) Farmers’ Market & Arts Market Village Green 09.00-15.00 0121 449 3156
Arts Market Victoria Parade 09.00-15.00 0121 449 3156
26 (Sun) Car Park Clean Up Session Village Car Park 10.00 -
24 (Fri) Friday Folk - Liz Green calling with Patchwork. Expect mainly English dances.
St. Anne’s Church Hall 20.00-23.00 0121 770 6098www.activityexchange.com/FridayFolk
26 (Sun) The Big Launch - To celebrate the improvements to Moseley Bog and Joy’s Wood with guided tours, specialist talks, music, food and activities.
Moseley Bog 10.30-16.30 0121 454 1199 (ext 214)[email protected]
‘WHAT’S ON’Moseley B13 Magazinewww.moseleyb13.com
Contact Jan Miller at [email protected]
Mynette & Co.Incorporated Financial Accountants
Established 1976
personal tax - business tax/accounting - payroll admin.A local, personalised service.
0121 449 7322 - [email protected] MOSELEY B13
The Regulars...Date Event Where Time Contact
Mondays Mother & Baby Yoga (4 mths - Crawl)Mother & Baby Yoga (Under 4 mths)Pregnancy Yoga
Moseley ExchangeMoseley ExchangeMoseley Exchange
10.00-11.2511.35-13.0018.00-21.00
}0121 532 6067 - Cat [email protected]
Ashtanga Yoga (Basic drop-in class) £6 per class St. Columba’s Church Hall 18.30-20.00 01384 394702 or 07967 211748James Critchlow
Find Your VoiceCommunity singing group for singers of all abilities.
St. Columba’s Church 19.30-21.30 07828 [email protected]
Tree of Life Inspiration Network - Uplifting talks (£5) B’ham Buddhist Centre, Park Road
19.00 0121 449 4086www.mindbodyandspirit.eu
Local Councillors’ Surgeries Moseley Exchange 19.15-19.45 0121 689 4372martin.mullaney @birmingham.gov.uk
Active Birth Yoga for Pregnancy - Booking essential. 12 Wake Green Road 19.30-21.00 0121 449 9803 - Paula [email protected]
(1st Mon) Moseley Forum Open Committee MeetingLocal people welcome.
Moseley Exchange 19.30-21.30 07974 913905 www.moseleyforum.org.uk
Tuesdays Music ShakersMusic classes for infants, toddlers and carers.
St. Mary’s Church 09.30 & 11.00 0121 449 5120www.musicshakers.com
Active Birth Yoga for Pregnancy - Booking essential. 12 Wake Green Road 10.00-11.0019.30-21.00
0121 449 9803 - Paula [email protected]
Bellringing St. Anne’s Church 19.00-20.00 077731 [email protected]
Drama 13 - New Members Welcome.(reading & casting for performance on 13th&14th May)
(KH) New Life Baptist Church(April 23 at St. Mary’s Church)
19.30 0121 244 2709 - Pat
Self Defence Class Moseley Exchange 19.30-20.30 07912 032 558 - Steve NealWednesdays Music Shakers
Music classes for infants, toddlers and carers.St. Mary’s Church 09.30-11.00 0121 449 5120
www.musicshakers.comFree Silent Meditation - (please contact if attending) Moseley Holistic Centre
99 Blenheim Road12.30-13.00 0121 449 4086
[email protected] Drop-in - Suggested donation £4 (£2 cons) Birmingham Buddhist Centre,
Park Road13.00-14.00 0121 449 5279
[email protected] Yoga for adults (Graham) Moseley Exchange 18.30-20.00 0121 472 8299
(1st Wed) Neighbourhood Police Tasking MeetingRaise local issues of concern & reports of Police action.
St. Mary’s Church 18.00 [email protected]
(3rd Wed) Tree of Life Social Evening. Free. (KH) 48 Poplar Road. 19.00 0121 449 4086www.treeoflifemagazine.co.uk
Thursdays Philosophy Discussion Group Mosele Exchange 10.30-12.30 0121 449 2616Prayers for Peace in Palestine/Israel St. Mary’s Church 12.00 0121 449 2243Knit & Natter Dowells Close 14.00-16.00 0121 443 5549Magenta Female Close-Harmony Chior Moseley Exchange 19.30-21.30 0121 249 0813 - Liz GarnettMoseley Morris - New Dancers Welcome St. Columba’s Church Hall 20.00-21.30 0121 442 6132 - Lorraine
0121 689 1802 - PaulMeditation Drop-in - Suggested donation £7 (£3.50 cons) Birmingham Buddhist Centre 19.15-21.45 0121 449 5279
[email protected] Jamm Class.Learning basic Bhangra dance movements.
The Dance Workshop132 Alcester Road
19.45-20.45 0121 442 2286 - Sohan Kaileywww.ozonepr.com
(1st Thurs) Highbury Park Friends Moseley Exchange 19.00-20.30 0121 449 8585(fortnightly) Tindal St. Fiction Group Moseley Exchange 20.30-21.45 0121 451 3551 - Alan Beard(2nd Thurs) Labour Party Moseley Exchange 19.30-21.30 0121 246 0513 - Martin Straker-Welds(2nd & 4th Th) Moseley Village Band Rehearsal St. Columba’s Church Hall 19.30 www.tradartsteam.co.ukFridays Ashtanga Yoga (self-practice drop-in class) £7 per class. St. Columba’s Church Hall 18.45-20.30 01384 394 702 / 07967 211 748
James CritchlowRiverside Church Youth Event Riverside House
21 Alcester Rd19.00 (11-14)20.30 (15-18)
0121 442 4484 - Andy [email protected]
Saturdays Coffee & Company St. Mary’s Chirch 10.30-12.00 0121 449 2243
To get your free listing call 0121 449 8585 or email Jan Miller on
The future of Kings Heath Library remains uncertain despite reopen-ing in March after a 10-week closure because heavy snow had made the fragile roof unsafe. Around £75,000 was found for stronger scaffolding to support the failing roof and skylights but a permanent repair will cost £300,000. The Friends of Kings Heath Library want to ensure the library stays open.
Library users gathered at the reopen-ing and welcomed the staff back with flowers, cards and songs. Sonia Lawrence, from a stay and play group, said: “The librarians came every month to read to the children. While the library was closed, children did not even have the Monday story time. The library is a vital part of chil-dren’s lives and allows an introduction to books.”
And Jane McKears said: “I missed watching the joy of my six-year-old grandson as he learns to love books. Every month I borrow a greater value in books than I pay in Council tax. It's why I pay my tax gladly.”
But is the library safe, even if it finds the money for replacement of the skylights? Around 90 people turned up to hear Councillor Martin Mullaney address the Friends in March, and in April he returned with Ifor Jones, Bir-mingham’s director of Constituency Services. He explained that between 2011 and 2013, £2.6m would be cut from the libraries budget, split be-tween the 10 constituencies. The plan was for one ‘hub’ library per constitu-ency to open six days a week and oth-ers for only four days.
No library closures are planned. Ac-cording to Councillor Mullaney, the cuts could be made through staff re-duction by using automated issuing machines. Services like coffee morn-ings, outreach work, activities for chil-dren and the budget for buying books may continue to be cut.
How can we support Kings Heath Library?Campaigners stress the need to regu-larly visit Kings Heath Library, get a
library card for each family member and take books out.
The public can make the most of free activities like pre-school story time, Mondays 2-2.45pm; term-time home-work club, Mondays 3.45pm-4.45pm and Saturdays 11am-12pm; free use of computers and free courses for adults.
The number of visitors, clocked when you enter, the cards in use and the books issued measures a library’s popularity.
Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday: 9-5pm; Thursday 12-7pm. Closed on Wednesday and Sunday.
You can join Friends of Kings Heath Li-brary through Moseley B13 magazine, at the library or on Facebook. The na-tional Campaign for the Book can be joined at www.alangibbons.net.
Juliet Clare Bell
Library in peril
18 MOSELEY B13
MOSELEY B13 19
Raise your spirits!Much is written on food and wine pairing. We have so many wonderful eateries in Moseley to research on this subject that I’ll leave that to you. Instead, I thought I’d take a look at another of many Moseleyites’ inter-ests, that of books. Not wine books but enjoying wine with books, or should that be the other way round? Either way, books can raise or deflate your spirits; they can be easy, fun and make you laugh and they can be com-plex, intriguing and make you think. And wine can do just the same.
So what wine should accompany us when reading? Surely it depends on the book? A page-turning, steamy Jilly Cooper might need a racy, re-freshing Grüner Veltliner. Domaine Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner 2009 Niederösterreich, £9 from Waitrose, would do the job, the vinous equiva-lent of a cold shower. I can’t really comment as I’ve never read one of her books. But how about a classic burgundy with Jane Austen? Aged and timeless, complex and well-structured yet offering sheer plea-sure and a light freshness with every mouthfull.
A Dan Brown, John Grisham or Ste-phen King would definitely suit a more upfront, big explosive wine with hidden depths and a smoking finish. I’m thinking Portuguese red, such as Pedra Basta 2007 from The Wine Society at £12.50. Perfect too for the Stig Larsson trilogy though you may need more than one bottle to see you through all three tomes. A collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets might warrant opening a German Spätlese; sweet, romantic but with a good fruity, fresh edge. Now I realise that most of us prob-ably do our recreational reading with a cup of tea or even Horlicks, but it can be fun to play wine associations. You might want to make the obvious connections between wine and books such as Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding with Chardonnay or The Si-lence of The Lambs by Thomas Harris with Chianti or associations of place, such as a Daphne du Maurier with Cornish winery Camel Valley (actu-ally their award-winning Sparkling Pinot Noir Rosé would be perfect with Frenchman’s Creek.) but I think it is more interesting to think about the sense and feel of the wine and compare that to how you react when reading your favourite books.
My top five wine and book matches:
Wuthering Heights, Emily BrontëAn aged Rioja Gran Reserva
Of Mice and Men, John SteinbeckA New World Chardonnay
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. SalingerA young claret
The Women’s Room, Marilyn FrenchA Cabernet Franc from the Loire
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Moh-sin Hamid. It should, strictly speak-ing, be water I suppose, but a nervy, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc would be my choice
And finally, War and Peace could be ‘enjoyed’ with almost anything so long as it is in Nebuchadnezzar (20 bottles) format! And if you’ve got any wine left afterwards, you can try it with music.
Laura Claywww.birminghamimbibers.co.uk
20 MOSELEY B13
Sprin
gCru
nch Eating locally grown fruit and
vegetables in season has a number of benefits, not least because local produce hasn’t travelled so far and so is fresh-er. And it’s easy to enjoy a great variety of locally grown pro-duce in line with our changing seasons.
Spring brings a welcome change from the heavier root crops that dominate the darker, colder months. We can start to enjoy a wide choice of lighter vegetables, particularly focus-ing on tender, leafy varieties that represent the new growth of this time of year and with the change in the season we see a shift of colours; we tend to associate green with the freshness of spring, and this is reflected in the palate of veg-etables that are in season.
This is the time to feature veg-etables such as broccoli and spring greens on our menus. These members of the Bras-sica family are known for their health benefits; high in dietary fibre and providing a range of essential vitamins and miner-als, they have been shown to offer protection against heart disease and particular forms of cancer.
This is also the season for leaves such as spinach and wa-tercress; with their own distinc-tive (slightly peppery) flavour, they can be enjoyed fresh to liven up a salad or they can be lightly cooked, either to serve as a side vegetable or as a key ingredient in a range of dishes. These leaves are wonderfully tasty and super-healthy, being rich in a range of essential nu-trients.
As their name suggests it’s a good time for using spring onions. Again these are usable either cooked or eaten raw, a low-calorie, nutrient-rich way of adding flavour to a vari-ety of dishes, and for a splash of colour and some added crunch (along with their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits), this is also the start of radish season.
Pauline FinlayBarrowBoy.net Fresh Fruit & Veg
07905 371 516
MOSELEY B13 21
MO
ROCCAN
NIGH
TS
The décor at this welcoming restaurant is particularly attractive - tawny desert shades, embellished with beautiful pierced walls and hanging lanterns. Furnishings are colourful and traditional, the whole effect relaxing.
La Fibule is almost always packed, with the buzz of a deservedly popular locals’ venue – cheerful staff are friendly and laid-back, but despite the constant bustle the system works – you won’t feel neglected and the pause between courses is just the right length.
If you sit in the upper section of the room you can watch what’s going on in the open kitchen – the chefs work hard and efficiently, but are relaxed enough to enjoy repartee with the cus-tomers. The extensive main menu includes un-usual starters like bachka’s zalouk (aubergine dip) and spicy merguez sausage with egg, Then there are more familiar ones – humous, mussels, king prawns. Pitta bread to share goes with ev-erything.
Among the main courses are various lamb, chicken, fish and vegetarian tagines, some spicy or fruity - and there are regularly changing spe-cials, often with fresh fish. Portions are gener-ous, and good accompaniments are couscous, potatoes and various salads. If you can manage any more, there is a selection of desserts – I feel a bit unqualified to review them though, as we always return to our favourite selection of Mo-roccan pastries – definitely to be recommended.
The food is reliably good, as you can tell by the constantly returning punters and the empty tag-ines going back to the kitchen. We have been eating at La Fibule for years now, most recently on December 29th, and have never been disap-pointed. The merry atmosphere is equally reli-able, and here I must mention the wonderful “JJ” - she embodies the phrase “service with a smile!” Actually, it’s more of a gale of laugh-ter, particularly when she’s telling you a hilari-ous story about herself or the restaurant and its customers.
I can absolutely recommend La Fibule – if you haven’t tried it, you have a treat in store. Prices are very reasonable (approx £40 for 2, eating three courses each) - the premises aren’t li-censed, so don’t forget to bring your own booze, if required. For Friday and Saturday nights there are two sittings, and advance booking is es-sential. La Fibule, 29A-31 Woodbridge Road, Moseley, B13 8EH. 0121 449 3289.
‘beanobrum’
A regular guide to the heritage of The Midlands (with lunch), as seen through the eyes of archae-ologist and interpreter of the past, Richard Kemp. We start with the Iron-age and head for the hills!
Castle Ring, Cannock Chase.
Background - Before the Romans invaded Britain (AD43) the country was divided into many small territories, each controlled by warring tribes – here the Cornovii.
The Romans knew these tribes – they even traded with them. One of the most distinctive features of Iron-Age Britain are the hillforts. These giant hilltop earthworks are usually located where different types of landscapes meet (for example where upland meets lowland, two different geological areas or forest meets pasture). The forts were probably places of refuge. The large interior could hold hundreds of cattle, and excava-tions have shown they also contain large pits for storing corn. Its doubtful people lived in hillforts, al-though distinctive round houses have been found.
Getting There - Our most impressive local hill-fort is at Castle Ring, 250m up on Cannock Chase. National Grid Ref SK045128. Drive to Cannock and then Hendesford and follow the Brown heri-tage signs, or put postcode WS154RN in the sat nav. Use the free car park and head for the trees!
Explore - This hillfort is so huge (9 acres) that its dif-ficult to take in at first. But as you approach, the path rises steeply from a damp ditch and sud-denly you realise you are high on the inner rampart.If you have an ‘IPhone’ look at your maps ‘app’ and put it on ‘satellite’ mode.The full monument is visible from the air and you can see its not a very regular circle. Turn right and start to walk the crest of the in-ner rampart. Look right as you walk and there are a series of at least two other ditches and ramparts – ahead they curve away to the left.
As you continue round, a dip in the path marks what seems to be the only gateway. Look right – the other banks and ditches are no longer apparent.
Continue on the ramparts, here the ground slopes away steeply. The views across The Chase (and Staf-fordshire/Derbyshire/Cheshire) are spectacular.
The ramparts too are impressive, often over twen-ty feet high. Imagine the work involved with only antler picks and iron-tipped wooden shovels.
Want more? - Continue round the fort back to the car park. If you want a longer walk, try the out-side of the fort but the other way round (clockwise).
The Chase itself is inviting with a network of paths stretching for miles, but remember Castle Ring is at the highest point (for obvious reasons) and whilst going downhill is easy – you have to get back up!
Lunch - When you have finished walking, cross the road to the welcoming Park Gate Inn for your lunch. Great beer and fantastic chips (roasts often available). Visit www.theparkgateinn.com or call them to book - 01543 682223
Richard KempFormer York Based Excavater & Shugborough Estate
Manager.Co-owner of Kemp & Kemp Catering.
Riches, Ruins,Relics (and roasts)
22 MOSELEY B13
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As many Moseley residents will be all too aware, redevelopment of the Meteor Ford site has been a contro-versial matter for many years, with the latest application being lodged in 2009. This application includes a Tesco store (the size of Co-op and Sainsbury’s combined), a very large medical centre and 14 sheltered flats.
Following the packed public meeting in December of last year, a group of residents came together to try and stop the development with the campaign Save Moseley Village. Al-though we welcomed the new doc-tors’ surgery, we were dismayed by the number of fundamental parking and traffic issues that were not being addressed by the council, as well as the failure to undertake an indepen-dent retail impact study to assess how the proposed new large edge of village supermarket with its own parking, would impact the existing
Moseley village, which, of course, struggles because of its lack of park-ing.
Our petition urg-ing the council to think again was signed by 2400+ individuals in just two and a half
weeks. I have no doubt that many more signatures would have been added, if we had had more time. In addition, 41 Moseley traders signed a letter asking the council to reject the plans because of the damage the development would cause to Moseley village as a whole.
Most readers will now know that we lost our battle to have the applica-tion refused early in March. The pro-cess was fraught with controversy; in February the planning committee had voted to refuse the develop-ment (for the reasons listed above) but rather than approve the decision to refuse immediately the chair of the committee chose to call a second vote to “defer the decision, minded to refuse”, seemingly so that formal reasons for refusal could be drawn up. When the committee met again several weeks later, the stage was very different; the developer had
undertaken additional work claiming to have answered some of the criti-cisms raised and was now threaten-ing the council and councillors with legal action should they still dare to refuse the application.
Birmingham council planning de-partment, for its part, issued anoth-er pre-meeting report, which rather than offer legal reasons for refusal on all the grounds requested by the planning committee, sought to put further pressure on the committee to vote for the development, even taking legal advice itself to say that a subsequent appeal would be lost (it only considered traffic grounds) should the committee still insist on voting against the plans. In the end, with an additional pro-development councillor present at the second meeting, the vote was tied and the chair of committee was able to cast a second decisive vote, approving the application 8 votes to 7.
We were so close and yet so far.
Many questions remain unanswered, particularly concerning the planning department’s dogged determination to get this planning application ap-proved and its refusal to really exam-ine how the retail development could impact a community such as Mose-ley. In my mind, it has also posed a
fundamental question: has planning policy evolved to support our communities or big business? I’ll leave you to make up your own minds.
Many hope that the pro-posed localisation agenda will help to redress the balance and that eventu-ally planners will be forced to listen to public opinion when considering applica-tions that could dramati-cally impact an area. The reality, however, is likely not to be so rosy. So, sadly, developments like this one will probably continue to be approved, with residents left powerless, simply hop-ing that they don’t turn out as bad as feared.
Jo Jones
M e t e o r Ford Plans A p p r o v e d
Providing safe, gentle & effectivechiropractic care for 30 years.
Kevin Grant DC FCC FMCA
Barbara Husband DC FCC FMCA
Brian Ford BSc (Chiro) MMCA
John Duncombe DC MMCA
Fully Qualified & Registered Chiropractors
The Birmingham Acupuncture& Chiropractic Centre
26 Wake Green Road, Moseley. - www.baccentre.co.uk0121 449 9515
June 2011 Comment
Many of us have cause to be enormously grateful for the wonderful service offered by Birmingham St Mary's Hospice with their 25 bed In-Patient Unit, Day Hospice and Community Palliative Care Team.
The Day Hospice opened in 1987 providing patients with an escape from isolation, a chance to meet with others,
to eat together and join in creative activities. The Day Hospice premises are, however, no longer fit for purpose. The 2011 Refurbishment Project will create a modern, flexible area conducive to patient well-being.
Christine Timms owner of encore Moseley is a long-time supporter of St
Mary's Hospice and she is kindly opening her Exclusive Designer Dress Agency on 16th June for an evening of 'Fashion, Friends & Fizz' in support of the Hospice Day Centre Refurbishment Appeal. Clare Sillery and Ian Buchanan of Tyndallwoods are pleased to be co-hosting the event. Donations and 10% of all sales made on the evening will be given to the Hospice
Appeal.
To find out more about the wonderful work of the Hospice or to give your support please visit their website www.bsmh.org.uk or telephone 0121 472 1191.
Issue 408
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A WORD FROM THE ROUND TABLE
Dear Friends and supporters,
Over the years Moseley Round Table has generously donated thier time and tens of thousands of pounds to assist a number of charities.
Well, we're still at it...but we’re seeking your support as we look to raise funds for Anthony Nolan. Next month we are entering a team to compete in the Dragon Boat Rac-ing tournament in Cardiff.
We appreciate that these are difficult times and we hope that you can support our fund-raising efforts with a small donation to help us reach our target.
Please donate via www.justgiving.com/moseleyroundtable
Secret MoseleyFlourishing wildlife and koi ponds, an oriental-themed meditation garden, Chinese porcelain seats, Indian run-ner ducks, chickens, tea and cakes and plants for sale – all these and more can be seen at our National Gardens Scheme Charity Open Afternoon on Sunday June 26th, 2 – 6pm.
We are Moseley Gardens South. In 2010 our seven gardens raised over £1000 for charities including Mac-millan Cancer Care and Prostate Cancer Charity.
Moseley looks its best at this time of year, thanks to the efforts of Moseley in Bloom, and every garden in our group has something
different to offer. We are amateur gardeners, some with full-time jobs – our visitors come to gain inspi-ration from other peoples’ ideas, and to see what plants will grow well in the local area. Gardens may be wildlife- or child-friendly, designed for easy mainte-nance, to display artworks, or simply as a peaceful ha-ven from busy lives.
Please come and see us in 2011 – watch out for our distinctive yellow posters or find us in the new Yellow Book. Moseley Gardens South are in School Road, Prospect Road, Valentine Road, Woodfield Road and Ashfield Road.
We look forward to wel-coming you!
encore supports Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice
JustSoYouKnow
Last August I enjoyed a truly magi-cal weekend. This lovely event took place in a field not far from Leek, Staffordshire way I believe, although my trusty Sat Nav (named Sean on account of his Irish accent) doesn’t always share such informa-tion with me.
This lovely field was playing host to a festival. I love going to festivals and this one was particularly well supplied with a range of high quality artists, fa-cilitators, caterers and showers... just about everything you could need for a weekend spent in a tent, in a field, in the (occasional) sunshine.
Oh, and this festival was entirely for very young children.
Every single event, act and experi-ence at the Just So Festival 2010 was aimed at the under sevens and their families. The setting was delight-fully safe and extremely kitsch – with bunting through the trees, fairy lights along the paths, creative adventures to be found at every turn and children in varying states of fancy dress merrily exploring their new found environ-ment.
Just So describes itself as “a boutique, weekend-long festival of creativ-ity aimed at children, young people and their families [...] The festival provides a magical experience where art, music and literature are embed-ded and entwined in a beautiful and wonderous landscape. We provide a broad range of musical, theatrical, visual and aural performances, work-shops and installations within a safe, natural and magical setting. Every
clearing and glade holds a new way to unleash creativity. Families discover and delight in the spectacular within the woodland environment during this spectacular weekend event”. I have to say that their description is spot on.
I was lucky enough to attend Just So as a creative practitioner, leading theatre and exploration workshops for the miniature festival goers. My days were spent inviting children into a world of make believe, theatre and play. Some workshops encouraged them to become pirates in the woods, brandishing invisible swords to fight imaginary baddies before digging up fantasy treasure chests and exploring their contents. Other sessions invited babies and their grown ups to come into a world of paper and experiment with scrunching, ripping, throwing and floating. (If you have young chil-dren at home I can thoroughly recom-mend the benefits of Paper Play – a changeable, versatile resource which makes a lovely mess which is miracu-lously dry and easy to sweep away. You won’t get a stained sofa or messy footprints on the cream rug from pa-per!)
The line up this year is looking to be better than ever. I am returning and will be, amongst other things, fa-cilitating workshops such as ‘Outlaw Bootcamp’ (a Robin Hood themed journey of the imagination) and ‘Ma-chine Bodies’ (Physical Theatre for lit-tle ones). I am already counting down the days. It must be twice as exciting to go if you are not even working on the festival.
Other exciting events scheduled for this year include:
Kids with Cameras – photography workshops for the very young. ArtYarn – knitting, sewing and crochet for little ones.
Punch and Judy – no explanation needed.
Wild Rumpus – a Wacky Woods session using natural and found resources to create lots of lovely noise.
John Row – renowned storyteller.
Take a look at www.justso.org.uk and explore the rest. The list of magic, creative adventures just goes on and on. I am crossing my fingers that I will have enough time to go to some of the other events when I’m on ‘down time’ from my own.
My words of advice to you?1. Open your diary to the weekend of 19th-21st August and write in big bold letters: ‘Just So Festival’.
2. Go online and book your tickets (they are selling fast).
3. Starting counting down the sleeps!
4. If you don’t have your own small child(ren) then beg, borrow or steal one to avoid ‘adult alone at a chil-dren’s festival’ status.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Lindsay Jane Brownwww.lindsayjanebrown.co.uk
The Lunar Society presents...Those who follow Birmingham’s music scene need no introduction, either to the venue or the promoters have a reputation for consistent-ly programming good music. Lunar Society’s Moseley Folk Festival has garnered popular-ity since its inception over six years back, and throughout the year they do much to champion their collaborating artists.
The cosy, candlelit Venue 2 is packed out, and amid hushed, expectant chatter about Rachel McShane’s solo debut, young Sam Walter bounc-es on stage. He is the highlight of the evening, without a doubt! Sam’s stage presence is just as-tounding, natural and totally at ease.
In interview he beams, “If people accept that you’re a bit eccentric, that’s good, if they don’t, then they can go and clean their tooth-brushes with marshmal lows, that’s what I say!” It’s clear that he does not give a sailor’s whiskers about how his music is received – often a trait of the truly gifted musician.
Wide-eyed and wild-haired, a bumbag full of scrappy notes around his waist, armed with nothing but a shruti box, Sam channels narra-tives from 18th century battles, in a lung ripping, mad faced and gorgeous roar – a dishevelled heraldic lion on a confessional rampage. Turn-ing from love lorn deck hand to defiant sol-dier, he bellows laments and carousing pick me ups with the same ambiguous sentiment that must torment our frontline forces today. Torn between gung ho camaraderie and the profound desire to return home in one piece, Sam’s characters bring a lump to the throat, proving there’s nothing more relevant or human than true folk music.
Next up, it’s Birmingham Conservatoire trained Bonfire Radicals. Freshfaced and buzzing with
excitement, they are a little timid with the audience – no surprise at their first ever public performance – but their musi-cal complicity and obvious enjoyment of each other’s company suggests there’s something raucous smoulder-ing away beneath that wholesome façade, so bring on the next bonfire.
McShane, already known as cel-list in folk big band Bellowhead, seeks to subvert generic expec-tations, with her solo album No Man’s Fool. Jazz riffs, funk and blues tones vie with traditional folk arrangements, and tales of
trickster femmes fatales wrong footing their male counterparts re-place customary virgins in dis-tress.
A laudable endeav-o u r ,
No Man’s Fool makes for pleasant lis-tening, but come across a little too la-boured to really break new ground.
Even though M c S h a n e ’s performance is a little awkward, you can’t fault the voice, or the band. Bounc-ing between the cello and the mic needs a little
smoothing out.
No doubt experience in her new solo skin will give this tal-ented musician the confidence to loosen her strings a little and give these lovely songs the re-bellious, impassioned treatment that is waiting in the wings. MOSELEY B13 27
Have you ever wondered why your aches and pains resurface, or why you get fed-up or stressed at particular times of the year?
It has long been recognised in Chinese medicine that the seasons play an im-portant part in how we feel and func-tion. When we lose sight of the subtle changes in nature around us, it can lead to imbalance. We charge at full speed through the winter months, and then wonder why we fall ill, when this is naturally a time for ‘hibernating’ and using our reserves sparingly.
The changes in seasons place additional demands on our bodies. We can have difficulty adapting to change and can tire or deplete easily, leaving ourselves more vulnerable to disease. Traditional Chinese medicine recognises this and uses acupuncture to smooth the transi-tion.
Spring is a time for our bodies to grow and rejuvenate after the winter. It’s a great time to become more active, learn a new skill and make the most of life. However, the transition from the short days and cold temperatures of winter to the lighter evenings and warmth of spring can leave many people feeling out of sorts.
Acupuncture aims to improve overall wellbeing by identifying and treating the root cause of any problem, rather than specific symptoms, and is suitable for all ages. Manjeet Ark explains that “By addressing imbalances in the body, acupuncture can help improve the well-being of the mind and body and prevent further illness”.
Treatment is tailored to the individual and is based on a comprehensive di-agnostic picture based on traditional Chinese medical principles, medical history and lifestyle. By inserting very fine needles into the channels of qi en-ergy, or using a smouldering herb called moxa, your acupuncturist aims to clear any blockages that are impeding the flow of energy, stimulate your body’s own healing response and help restore its natural equilibrium.
Anna and ManjeetB’ham Acupuncture & Chiropractic Centre.
26 Wake Green Road.
acupuncture MOT
As we roll midway through our na-tion’s most esoteric of concepts, the of-ficial British Summer Time, there’s a few things you can count on. Rain. 20% off at Millets, and extortionate festivals. But if you don’t want to remortgage a kidney for good tunes this June, here’s some of our city’s more accessible ear candy.
The big venue battle continues in town, with the O2 Academy hosting Adam Ant-and-his-ridiculously-long-named-band-album-and-tour on June 1st, and the HMV Institute promoting Jamie Woon’s Birmingham debut on June 4th. The only other, vaguely, slightly, kind of, interest-ing Academy offers are well enunciated pop punk protégés, Futures, on June 5th and the man who busted Busted, Charlie Simpson, on July 1st. But it’s a decisive win, again, for the HMV Institute, with the Wu-Tang Clan on June 13th, Gomez on June 20th and Fat Freddie’s Drop on June 21st.
The LG Arena boasts a dinosaur line up this month, with Journey, Foreigner and Styx all on the same June 5th bill. The 80’s pop pension support package, or ‘Here & Now Tour’ as it’s promoters call it, is on June 24th, with Boy George, Ja-son Donovan, Belinda Carlise and other artists you’d find on a Now That’s What I Call Music cassette compilation all shar-ing the stage. But the big room highlight is not one, but two nights of Neil Dia-mond on June 28th and 30th. No jokes about this gig. Diamond’s fans may be easily startled, but they’ll be back… and in greater numbers.
Over at the NIA Paul Simon plays a fe-rociously expensive gig on June 30th, but the real point of interest is Roger Waters’ new version of ‘The Wall Live’ on June 28th. It’s the first time in 20 years ‘The Wall’ has been toured, and celebrates the 30th anniversary of the seminal Pink Floyd album. And with the average NIA ticket this month costing £55-65, maybe
it’ll even make some money this time around?
Back in more familiar postcodes the Hare & Hounds has some of the best people to ever pick up an acoustic guitar on stage this month, with Carina Round and Vijay Kishore both performing on June 8th. If you do nothing else this month, go to this gig. It’s really that simple.
Then on June 8th, dolphin tear jerker Martyn Joseph will be touring his new album, ‘Under Lemonade Skies’. Joseph is the reason I fell for UK folk, after see-ing him support Mary Black at the Town Hall in the early 90’s. So to all of my teen-age romances, its his fault, now’s your chance.
Elsewhere within a stones throw, The Cross start a series of summer parties on June 10th with DJ Shaun Williams, the man basically responsible for the Rum Runner legacy. The Kitchen Garden Café goes middle class music mad with the Birmingham Chinese Chamber Trio on June 1st, whilst MAC hosts the phenom-enal Rich Batsford on June 11th.
But by far the most exciting thing on Brum’s immediate music calendar is the Mostly Jazz Festival, happening in our very own Moseley Park from 1st – 3rd July. Booker T, Alice Russell, Andy Hamilton & The Blue Notes, Gilles Pe-terson, Matthew Herbert Big Band, Dele Sosimi, Manouche… the list goes on. Although it’ll be watching Milestones perform Davis’ classic ‘Kind Of Blue’ on Sat June 2nd or the Cinematic Orchestra on Fri June 1st that’ll make me sob like a child. And all for considerably less money than a discounted 4-man tent. In a word, magic.
Ed KingMusic editor for Birmingham Observer.www.ehobserver.com - twitter.com/edking2210
Ed’sHighlights
28 MOSELEY B13
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Tuesday, June 21st 6pm, ‘Scrawl crawl’ in Moseley. As part of a Europe-wide Summer Solstice SCBWI event, local mem-bers of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators are
holding a scrawl crawl, where any-one interested in sketching or writ-ing can come and be inspired by the surroundings and other people, and sketch/write in one location for a while before moving on to the next,
and so on, until the light fades. We’ll then retire to a nearby pub. If the weather’s good, we’ll meet near Moseley Bog. Please contact Donna or Clare on [email protected] if you’re interested.
If, like me, you think that one of the only reasons to embrace winter is that you can eat deep, rich, im-mensely satisfying braises (think bourgignon and creamy mash and you get the picture) the emergence of spring, whilst joyous for many rea-sons, signals the sad end to comfort food for another season.
Today though I have just been cook-ing a delicious and quick little dish
which it occured to me was a halfway house..Still gooey, still quite rich, probably still needing a spoonful of mash or a fluffy baked potato..but just a little more..well, spring like!
I have Nigel Slater to thank for this reci-pe so not entirely original, but tweeked a little.
Melt the butter with a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy bottomed frying
pan.Slice your chicken breasts into ‘chub-by fingers’ and gently fry them until browned. Remove from the pan and keep warm whilst you soften and brown your sliced leeks. If you can’t be bothered to do this, which I often can’t, just move the chicken to one side of the pan.
Put everything back in, season with salt and lots of black pepper. Chop
the tarragon and add to the dish along with your white wine and cream (a small pot is plenty) then let the whole thing bub-ble away until the chick-en is cooked through (about 20 mins very gently). I usually end up adding more black pepper and tarragon but just have a taste and see what you think.
Add potatoes of your choice or maybe rice, some crisp green beans or brocolli and you have a comforting, tasty, sub-stantial supper.
Karen Kemp“Catering Genius”Co-owner of Kemp & Kemp Catering
CHICKEN, LEEK & TARRAGON
STROGANOFFIngredients:
Boneless and skinless chick-en breast, a couple of leeks, butter..a slice, olive oil, fresh tar-ragon, white wine..a small glass, single cream, black pepper & salt to taste.
Scrawl crawl(Tues, June 21st 6pm.)
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When I moved to this country from the US, I quickly re-alised that in addition to travel-ling 4,000 miles, I had also gone 20 years back in time. I mean, fireplaces that weren’t just deco-rative (and good thing, too, given the inexplicable lack of central heating), cars that didn’t auto-matically come with a radio, and such a fear of electricity that ap-pliances didn’t even come with a plug. Nowhere was this ‘old-fashionedness’ more evident than in shopping for food. Arriving in January 1979, to a part of the UK that could reasonably be called far-flung, I certainly set my new country a challenge when it came to finding fresh produce. With no California or Florida to provide interesting fruits and vegetables, I hunted in vain for a pepper of any colour or heat, a fresh green bean or pea, or a lettuce that didn’t look an-orexic.
Instead, there were root vegetables, which, apart from carrots, I had never really considered eating before. And now, 30 years on, the locavore movement has come to town, and how I welcomed those root vegetables, locallyproduced and organically grown. We’ve got a big allotment and try to buy local meat from happy animals (thanks, Moseley Farmers’ Market). But be-ing a locavore has its challenges. How do you handle a craving for strawberries in February? What do you do with the hundred-weight of courgettes that your one plant seems capable of producing? This column, if it has a point at all, will try to share some ideas on interesting things to plant, things to do with stuff you’ve already planted (or can buy in season at the supermar-kets), and ways of preserving things while they’re in season so that you can satisfy out-of-season longings without running up the food miles.
I’m not an expert, so I hope we’ll be able to share ideas as we go. Before we get started, though, you’ll need access to two things: a freezer and a group of friends/neighbours on whom you can off-load stuff if necessary. Now for this month’s tip. This is the time to sow those root vegetables, but why not try something a little differ-ent? Salsify and its close cousin scorzonera grow well, are rarely available in the shops and are delicious to eat, if a little labour-intensive to prepare. You can harvest them from late autumn through the winter, and they can be preserved for months by gently sautéing in goose fat and storing them in the fridge in the same fat. Just fish them out of the fat and sauté for a few minutes for a really inter-esting accompaniment to roast meat or game on a dreary win-ter’s day.
¬ Jean Gilkison
Confessions of a Locavore
‘Flashmob’ – where people who seem to be part of a normal busy crowd suddenly start dancing, singing or acting, much to the surprise of those around them. They finish the song or dance and become part of the crowd again as if nothing’s hap-pened.
Watch the flashmob on http://www.you-tube.com/watch?v=WM2Agu_DktM
Eye-catching red and black leaflets were left around the city and we came across some in Thyme Out in Kings Heath. There was going to be a Thriller flashmob, some-where in Birmingham, some time in the next few months and would we like to be part of it? I reckoned that bringing along my seven-year-old would give me enough of an excuse to try one out for myself. The flashmob took place on Saturday, 16 April, and below are two first-hand accounts of the day, and the run up to it.
Annika Scourse, seven, Moseley.“My mummy had a leaflet. I wondered what it was about. We checked on the computer and read about doing a surprise dance in the centre of Birmingham. At first it didn’t tell us the date but when we checked again the next week, it did. But we had to keep the date quiet so it would be a surprise to people. Soon we were practising Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance. The moves were on YouTube and you had to learn it in little bits. It was very hard but we got used to it. Mum didn’t know one of the dance moves, even though we’d done it loads of times but I did so I went into the other room and watched television whilst she practised the move again and again.
On the day of the flashmob, we went to the Hippodrome to do a rehearsal. When
we saw the man at the Hippodrome who showed us the dance moves. While we were there, I met a boy Mitchel with his grandma and mum. They had come from Hereford. Once we had finished the rehearsal, they told us where we had to go and then went into Victoria Square. Two people were arguing really loudly.
They were Thriller in the City dancers and it was a pretend argument so we knew it was nearly time for us to join in. Lots of people looked at them and then suddenly they started to dance [to a Michael Jack-son medley] with the other professional dancers, then lots of people joined in and we started to dance away. I knew it was time to join in because there was horrible witchy laughter in the song [Vincent Price at the beginning of Thriller].
It was hard remembering everything in the right order and it was quite embar-rassing, because there were loads of people watching us. But I really liked the flashmob. It was quite surprising for peo-ple that didn’t know anything about it that were just out shopping, when we turned into zombies and walked out, and then when we walked out into the crowd again at the end. I’d love to go to another one.”
Ria Povey, 25, Yardley Wood.“Well I’ve always wanted to take part in one and I only found out about it two days before it was due to happen so it was fun to try and learn the moves so quickly as I’m not a dancer and it was my first time dancing in public.
Standing around trying to act normal as if I knew nothing was a great experience ... taking in everyone else around, looking at faces thinking you really don’t know what’s
coming but I do. When the music came on and the crowd appeared I joined them just standing around watching like every-one else although I was waiting for my cue. The cue came and I “zombied” in all bent over and crooked. I had to look to see people’s faces and most were confused or laughing.I enjoyed everything about it. Meeting at the Hippodrome for rehearsals got the adrenaline going but I think the best part was being with all those people on a lovely sunny day, surprising all the passers-by. It was an amazing buzz. I even asked if we could all just go and do it in another part of town.”
I’m no dancer and if you watch closely on the video clip, I’m the one doing half the moves the opposite way round from ev-eryone else. But it was a great experience with a real sense of camaraderie even though we had to disperse and pretend like we hadn’t done anything unusual at the end. There will be more flashmobs in Birmingham and they’re great to do with children, too. Next time I’ll practice for a couple of weeks before I let my children know about it and we’ll be on a more even playing field. If you’re interested in joining in the next one, check out:
http://dancingforthegames.co.uk/2011
Thriller in the City was presented by Bir-mingham Hippodrome and supported by Dancing for the Games, a project inspired by London 2012 and part of the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands, and Danc-eXchange.
Juliet Clare Bell www.julietclarebell.com
Our first flashmob: Thriller in the City!
If you’ve taken part in something recently and would like to tell us about it, please contact [email protected]
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