1Day – gang culture in Birmingham- Part 1

For once tabloid shock horror over a film might be justified, but not for quite the reasons you may think. Danny Smith attempts to get the the truth of Birmingham's gang culture, and it aint a cosy picture. [link]


Friday Photo by Karen Strunks

Bodies Revealed Exhibition Custard Factory Birmingham by Karen Strunks 20

Reaching out from beyond the grave…… Sorry, that’s a rubbish intro!

But have you heard what has come to town?! It’s the controversial Bodies Revealed exhibition and it’s being held at the Custard Factory in Digbeth.

From the website:

Using real human specimens, painstakingly prepared and respectfully displayed

The Bodies Revealed exhibition lets visitors of all ages explore deep within the human body in a way that informs but doesn’t overwhelm.

It opens today and is running until January, maybe longer if the demand is there.

I got a sneak preview of the exhibition at the press day on Wednesday, and it really is a unique way to view and learn more about the human body. I found it fascinating and a bit surreal. If you would like to see more photos, pop over to my blog. It’s was very interesting subject to photograph, if not a little unnerving when I found myself getting a little too close to one of the bodies…..!

Have a fab Halloween weekend! See you next week :)


Library Building

Birmingham timelapse from 7inch cinema on Vimeo.

“a selection of images taken by amateur photographer Derek Fairbrother from the same spot in Birmingham’s Chamberlain square between 1963 and 1986. We’ve [7 inch cinema] just compiled them for a new exhibition called Birmingham Seen which opens at BM&AG this weekend; other sequences include the Post Office tower and the Rotunda.”


More UB40 on music culture

Here’s Duncan and then Robin Campbell with their take on music in Brum. What’s yours?


The state of swimming pools in Birmingham

Andrew Brightwell plans to visit every pool in Brum to asses their state — have a swim — and find out whether the council is meeting its commitments.

Also includes a link to Saturday's Moseley Road Baths, Memories and Memorabilia event — which should be good. [link]


Are you an 11A or an 11C?

Which way do you like to go round? Don’t forget we want a circuit off you on the 11th November.

111111badges

Either way you’ll want one of these badges, or both, or a number of both. 50p each (plus p+p, should be no more than 50p for small numbers) is what they’ll cost ‘ya. Email us with your order & we’ll send you an secure paypal payment link


Did Mike Whitby really mean 8,000 when he said 800 jobs to go at city council? – Birmingham Post – News Blog

Paul Dale with a gloomy outlook on the Council's "Business Transformation". [link]


UB40 – Music as Culture

UB40 are playing a gig at the tiny (for them) Rainbow in Digbeth on the third of November. The idea is to raise awareness, and some dosh for a sound-deadening roof, of the noise problems the pub have been having.

It’s part of a wider debate about how music is something more than just a business, I’ll let the guys from BCU explain, they’ve been thinking about this for a long time:

“Music is a business. But it’s not only a business. It’s part of who we are and how we express ourselves. It’s not just about money. It’s about people. A vibrant and active musical environment is part of what makes life rich, exciting, interesting and meaningful.”

Here’s Brian Travers on why music plays an important part of the city, and why UB40 are getting involved:

You can get Tickets and make donations here, but if you’re not a ‘B40 fan there’s still something you can do.

BiNS would like you to tell us about how music has shaped your city — email us, comment here, anything. Why is YOUR music important to Brum?


BIrmingham Consultation Planner and Finder

If you're an anal sort and want to know every time anyone "consults" on anything in Birmingham (we're talking official bodies here, not just asking "do you fancy a pint?") then you could do worse than try this site. Not the easiest to navigate or search (no results for "Big City Plan" for example), I'd subscribe to the RSS feed and sit back and see if anything interesting pops up. [link]


KateGoes Sock Crazy

KateGoes have released their first single “All We Wanna Do Is OH’ which is a sharp slice of bouncy pop. All very well, but what’s especially nice is that they’d like you to make sock puppet monkeys to “star” in the video.

Remember to write your name and email address on a bit of card, in with the monkey.

The deadline for submitting your monkeys is  JANUARY 31st 2010, and here’s the address:

FILM FICCIONES
31 MAYFIELD ROAD
MOSELEY
BIRMINGHAM
B13 9HJ
UNITED KINGDOM


  1. Birmingham: It's Not Shit loves Birmingham, its people, arts, animals, buildings, parks, grass verges, factories and bus stops. We've even got a soft spot for the Black Country.

    B:iNS runs The Brummie of the Year Award, Talk Like a Brummie Day and organises odd stuff like spending all day on the eleven bus.

    BiNS is mostly by Jon Bounds, a Birmingham based social web consultant, producer and writer. You can hire him to work on your stuff, or follow him on twitter. There's also stuff from Danny Smith and Karen Strunks.

    Feel free to send us anything you're interested in - or think we might be.
    If you've got gigs to promote, best to chuck them on the talk board.
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