Monthly Archives: April 2009

Artfest 2009, pay to (erm) play

John Gargan, who exhibited at ArtsFest last year is shocked that artists are being asked to pay upfront to show their work this year: "During the weekend the buildings take on a new atmosphere inviting citizens in to chambers and hallowed rooms that very few would normally see and then its all over by 5pm on Sunday afternoon. Large crowds of people descend on the city and generally there’s that late summer sunshine outside to set the scene off just right. Additionally its great to network with other artists and compare notes. So why am I not going this September? Last night I began my application to apply for a space and I found that this year there is a payable fee for the stand of either £130 or £200 depending on the size of the space, in the past there has been a payable commission on sales, although I don’t think any of the artist achieved great sales. The council has decided that if they can get the commission fee up front this will guarantee the income."

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“Birmingham New Street – my lowest point” (one he missed)

Rail Minister(?) Andrew Adonis, takes a trip to Birmingham New Street. He hates it as it’s: “too small for the heaving throng whose only desire is to get in and out of the station as fast as possible.” That’s. The. Point. Of. Train. Stations. If one more person suggests lumping art galleries or shops into New St, exasberbating its capacity problem, I shall if not scream, be mildly annoyed.

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Friday Photo by Karen Strunks

Friday Photo by Karen Strunks

Perrott’s Folly by Karen Strunks I’ve lived in Birmingham for over 20 years and yet there is still so much of it that I haven’t seen. One of the things on my ‘must see’ list for many a year was Perrott’s Folly in Waterworks Road,  Edgbaston, which is one of Birmingham’s oldest surviving buildings.  I finally made a trip to see it a few months ago.  For such a grand piece of architecture it occupies such a small place of land. This wasn’t always the case, but it is now surrounded by residential houses. From Wikipedia: Perrott’s Folly was built in 1758 by John Perrott, lord of the manor of Rotton Park, then a deer park and hunting ground. From 1884 onwards it was used as a weather observatory. This and the Waterworks tower are said to have inspired The Two Towers by the author JRR Tolkien who lived in Edgbaston as a teenager. There are many stories to explain why the tower was built. One is that John Perrott wanted to be able to survey his land and perhaps entertain guests. Or the tower might have been used to spot animals for hunting. Or that he built the...

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The Belly of Spaghetti

Spaghetti Junction wins photo of the month on SABRE —" the most comprehensive site on the internet devoted to British roads". Ta to Kev of the esoteric noise wonder that is Phantom Circuit for spotting it.

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The Big Paws 11/04/09

The Big Paws 11/04/09

In which we play some top music and ramble about, among other things, short records, our favourite road names and fess up that we totally forgot to go to a gig last Sunday…

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The Walsall hippo

And other black country oddities, as described by Mark Steel.

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Cramps? Best Brum gig evah?

Birmingham Music Archive is teaming up with BiNS to find out What has been the best gig ever to take place in the city and what was/is the best venue. Jez from the BMA is kicking things off, argue the toss here and in the forum. My favourite gig was The Cramps at the Birmingham Odeon. My memory is not what it was but the gig was either April 25th 1984 or April 30th 1986, I’m tending to go for the 86 one due to me age, but anyway.. For those of you who don’t remember the Odeon before it became a 400 screen cinema, selling 2 tonne bags of sugar to kids who need no encouragement whilst showing Rambo 55, it was a fabulous art deco music and cinema hall. For the gigs, there was a huge orchestra pit which doubled as the mosh pit (well not if you were watching Ultravox or The Thompson Twins), then those lovely plush velvet seats and above, a balcony were assorted punters would cover the crowd below in piss and beer – luckily they were often indistinguishable from one another! So there I am, fancying myself as a bit of a...

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Father of League’s legacy is honoured – Perthshire Advertiser

William McGregor, founder of the villa is remembered in this article from his local paper. via Life in Lozells.

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Friday Photo By Karen Strunks

Friday Photo By Karen Strunks

  As part of the 4am Project, which was a global photographic project whose aim was to gather a collection photos from around the world at 4am on 4th April, I had organised a 4am photo walk in Birmingham city centre.   I received permission to photograph Birmingham New Street Station and the Wholesale Markets, so a big thank you to them!   About 35 hardy photographers turned up for this unique view of the city centre. Obviously New Street Station is filled with hustle and bustle, but not at 4am. The photographers could get out their tripods without worrying that a traveller would trip over.   Ironically I took the least amout of photos that morning, but here is one of the few shots I took.   The 4am Project is on-going, so please check out the website and join in the next 4am photo experience! :)     

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