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I just wanted to share a little bit of image dyslexia I suffered from with the old Bull Ring. When I saw the sign on the over-road bit, I didn’t think ‘bull’.
I always thought it was a diplopocus, a big dinosaur. The bull’s tail was the huge herbivore’s head, I just didn’t make the connection between the “Bull Ring” and a pic/statue of a bull. I eventually realised, but like when I originally read “ROFL” as “ROLF” it’s not really possible to change it in my mind.
Now the sign has gone of course, I can’t readjust my head.
Not so long ago I read about the death of ‘Nightingales’ scriptwriter Paul Makin, who I would find out was from the Black Country. It reminded me that I’d been meaning to get hold of the programme on DVD, I have and it’s still brilliant.
It stars Robert Lindsay (pre ‘My Family’, when he was good), David Threlfall and James Ellis (’Z Cars’, but I remember him better for ‘One by One‘ the everyday detective drama of a vet in a zoo) as night security guards in a nondescript office building. It’s better than it sounds, and much more surreal — the first episode has them dealing with a werewolf.
What the building was used for in the day isn’t ever established, theirs is a very nocturnal existence. Nor is where it is based. There are a few external shots, but more in the ‘Friends’ style of establishing that they’re in the big city — can you see where I’m going with this?
Yes, it turns out that the Nightingales were guarding the offices above Snobs — you can see the Town Hall in the background and the light on in the kebab shop. “Can I have chilli sauce?”
Somehow it makes me understand the show a lot better now I know it was set in Brum. It makes be feel good to know that when I was snorting vodka at 50p a shot and lusting after the cute DJ in the back room of a Friday night, that Wolfie Smith was fictionally looking after my welfare. In a comedy way.
Best of all the closing titles are over film of the city at night, you can not only spot Snobs, the Rotunda in the background, but also the fantastic red cage metal car park and the sadly missed swirly bridge thing. And it has been pissing down with rain, so should be just how you remember it. Top flight early nineties nostalgia:
Light Night, is being held as part of this year’s ArtsFest (which is fast approaching —12th to the 14th of September). While I struggle to see anything particularity arty about “architectural lighting of iconic city centre buildings and iconic landmarks”, it promises to be an interesting evening - especially if they project the painting from the art gallery of penguins onto the Town Hall as they seem to be suggesting: (that’s this one).
International art facilitator Donald Savage is a genius, if you didn’t already know a quick Google will soon fill you in. The US art producer and curator is bringing his hand-picked group of individual international invisible artists to Birmingham from the 9th to the 21st of August in Chamberlain Square.
Highlights include:
The gourmet Victorian garden – George Macdonald (UK) — “MacDonald’s street art is rather curious as he often paints small discrete symbols in the middle of the night.”
Affordable luxury – Atsuko Haru (JAPAN)— “I am pleased to have managed to invite him to perform Affordable Luxury here in Birmingham. He has a habit of using rather subtle, yet distinctive hand luggage as part of his disguise.”
To top it all he’s social media savvy too - Donald is blogging the inspiration and perspiration behind the creation. He’ll explain how he does what he does, not that we can hope to compete:
“I have self invested my own knowledgeable energies, to ensure that this exhibition effects the city of Birmingham – as a portal into psychic significance. That is all I am prepared to say at this time.”
"Gaynor Arnold, who works for Birmingham’s Adoption and Fostering Service, has seen her debut novel, Girl in a Blue Dress, on the prestigious list which also includes Sir Salman Rushdie and Irish author Joseph O’Neill." link
A few weeks ago I bought a T-shirt with the Rotunda on it, and unusually it wasn’t one I’d designed. It was from this ’shop’ on Spreadshirt.net, quite expensive but pretty unique. Unique for how much longer, I don’t know – at least three people have stopped me while wearing mine and asked me where I got it. I can never remember, so if I put a link up here at least I can point them to BiNS. The shop does a fine range of Spaghetti Junction shirts too:
Tom’s putting together a map of Birmingham’s pubs and bars on Google Maps. “Mainly for my own amusement and to give me a handy place to decide where to go drinking.” Anyone else can put up their local, their favourites, or their not-so-faves. link
One of the first things I did when starting BiNS was to look for a free forum hosting site. The one I found was a bit rubbish, but it was free and I was on the dole. It worked though, and there has been all manner of wit and not-so-wit on the forums over the last 6-or-so years. But as more of the site started to revolve around the blog, the forums got a bit sidetracked. So much so that I would only remember to pop in every couple of weeks.
The original forums became the online equivalent of the Mercat pub — open all hours and nice, but intimidating.
So, we’ve got some new ones that have RSS feeds, tags and the like — it’s the acceptable face of regeneration. These new ones are like the Mercat, after a lick of paint, some windows put in and adding some sodding futuristic beer availability notification system.
The old forums and posts aren’t gone, they’re still online as an archive, but I’ve stopped all posting there.
You have to register to post on the new BiNS Talk — but that happens automagically, you don’t have to wait to be approved. When we sort the technical gubbins out then you’ll be registered and cookified so you can post just as easily on the blog too (I’ll also find a way to stop it calling me ‘Key Master” like some Ghostbusters reject).
We’re grown-up, you can swear, curse and talk as much bollocks as you like, but keep it legal — any racist or libellous posts will be deleted and the offenders banned. That’s just the way it has to be.
So get posting on the all-new BiNS Talk. Post your flyers, events news, fave Brummies, anecdotes, bus ticket reminiscences, whatever.
I’m quite open on the features the new Talk system has (although I’d like to keep it simple and fast loading) and how the different forums are separated out, so if you’ve got any ideas feel free to comment here (or on the forum, because I’ll be able to find it now).
"there will be various things happening in and around digbeth on the twenty first day of september, year two thousand and eigh these will be highly competitive events involving speed, style, skill and quite possibly custard" link
MyNeighbourhood.info is a site that maps crime. It’s not updated quickly enough for local vigilantes to slip into their tights and rush to the scene of the bicycle theft, but will let you see if more stuff gets nicked from the sheds in the next few roads than from your shed. And it shows where bus stops are.
, I have and it’s still brilliant.
