Art Bus

A couple of times a year or so, special buses run between Birmingham galleries staying open late. A small version of something that happens in major cities such as Berlin on holiday weekends.
A really enjoyable evening and I used it as an opportunity to visit smaller galleries, starting with the wonderful Barber Institute, then a short hop to the ikon Gallery and colourful patterns as well as traditional costume and decorations from ...
Eastside gallery space off Digbeth High St, up to the Musueum and onwards to the RBSA in the Jewellery Quarter.

Location:Birmingham

Weekend of Brum Culture

Sitting in the MAC café before seeing an 'encore' (ie not quite live ;)) performance of Alan Bennett's "People" from the National Theatre in London.

Despite some snow and ice interruptions to normal service in the city, been able to enjoy some of what's on offer now in Birmingham, which can surprise those who still subscribe to the bad old image of the city (itself not quite fair even back then, whenever then was).
Stirchley doesn't have the caché of King's Heath or of course Moseley. It has the Coop, a small row of shops including one of several Baltis in the area, a couple of pubs and a number of DIY places and builders' merchants, but the lengthy Pershore Road slices through any sense of community, or can do: there's no hub other than the Coop which will soon be challenged by Tesco whom every local politician seems desperate to welcome for the bit of redevelopment they are offering in return for taking over the local economy.
The new Stirchley Stores, a small premises on the Pershore Road near the British Oak pub and Bournville train station, offers a welcome bit of community enterprise. Fresh- baked bread, baguette, croissants, as well as spices, coffee, Eco-friendly washing-up liquid, loo rolls, and all at 10% off if you volunteer at least four hours a month in the shop or behind the scenes.
Rest of the afternoon in Urban Coffee in town (coffee not cheap but high quality and no rush to move on, and great to support another independent), before a drink and a curry at the hidden gem that's the Old Moseley Arms in Balsall Heath (and remarkably warm thanks to a coal-effect gas fire opposite our seats), lovely old fittings and tasty food, no music except for the live nights on a Sunday or festivals. Friendly.
Great gig at the Ort Café opposite the old Moseley swimming baths. Ort is another community, not-for-profit venture offering a stage for artists, musicians and performers in a basic but welcoming environment; and a café and bar for people to drop in (cup of tea 50p) without having to be of an income to afford the city centre.
Three really excellent, talented and spirited singer-songwriters, one solo and two with band - Jess Morgan, Chris Tye and T.G. Elias: Ort Blog post has details and links to their websites.
Playing like seasoned professionals, which they probably are by now, all would be worth seeing on their own in full concerts. Look on iTunes or elsewhere for their downloads, and even better, get to one of their gigs.

Location:Birmingham !

An International weekend

Celebrating Sanctuary celebrates the contribution of refugees and asylum seekers in Britain. In this case, specifically through the musical traditions of their respective countries of origin.
Chinese traditional music group Jasmine Moon play beautifully, with their Chinese lead on keyboards, an English student of Chinese music on a variety of wooden flutes, with Shanghai born Guhzheng player (a Chinese instrument sounding something like a harp).
They were prefaced by some entrancing playing of traditional Sufi music from an Iranian virtuoso now based in Wolverhampton. There's a clip of an earlier performance on YouTube.
This was held at the Ort Café in Balsall Heath, one of those hidden treasures of Birmingham that more people are getting to know.
Ort Café page

Today we enjoyed a Meetup group, the online network which gets people to meet together in person, with Germans, Austrians, British, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, New Zealanders and Bulgarians all represented!

None of this would be possible if Birmingham wasn't home to those working, studying or seeking refuge here. For me it's so important that the anti-EU voices, the anti-refugee hate campaigns (for that's what they amount to) and all those fearful and at worst xenophobic tirades from right-wing presses and parties are opposed. Don't try to appease UKIP and the rest. Let us be a home for those fleeing persecution. Welcome the talented and hard-working people I know from Germany and elsewhere help to build up our ailing economy (and remember that it may be thanks to German ownership that companies here are still in action).
Enjoy the positive spirit and energy these people often bring, and show how Birmingham can really be a home for everyone.

Location:Birmingham

Malvern Spring

Language(s)

Never mind brushings of words
Overpainting the canvas
And one thicker coating
(Another daubed on and off
And a few random splashes around the edge):
The ground
The glaze and the varnish
Over each layer
No doubt up to the last -
Marks me:
Thoughts
Ideas
Accent, expressions,
All, ever, better, or worse,
English

People and places

Visited the small but informative Richard III exhibition in Leicester's Guild Hall on Friday. Round the corner is the car park where the bones of the poor guy or brave warrior or despot or child-killer was discovered (delete as felt applicable).
The history was intriguing, but the real pleasure was first having a chat in the obligatory queue outside the Hall, with the father of a small family who'd come from near East Midlands airport to pay a visit to the site of the notable discovery. He and his wife knew their history, and son probably too, as he followed the gruesome descriptions of battle injuries by the costumed soldiers 'guarding' the entrance.
Then of course having time to meet my sister and brother-in-law afterwards (they'd already been, as locals!) over coffee and a visit to a local café
kitchen shop for lunch, and a trip on the bus to their house for a chat again.
Saturday turned out sunny against cloud over the Malverns, North Hill and an early train back in time for a coffee and a chatty spell in the Post Office Vaults pub, where two of the merry pub goers took great interest in my wife's knitting, which seemed to trigger fond memories of their mothers darning socks on various mushroom or egg-shaped objects, though the friends they were drinking with seemed sadly not to share said interest so much. All good fun!
Likewise, prior to seeing and hearing another super Ex Cathedra concert, even better as in tandem with the CBSO, seeing a friend from a local group almost pass us in the café and able to stop for a chat over recent times and a coffee.
On the way back, a local church friend in the bus.
Time for sleep now.
Meeting people seems an incidental to the planned itinerary, but maybe it's the main event after all. Friends, family, people you get chatting to in queues.
People are what matter.

Location:Birmingham, Leicester

Media Art

Live concert broadcasts have been with us for some time.
I'm enjoying Mozart symphonies as I write this, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Simon Rattle. I was pleased when I still managed to catch part of the CBSO's Beethoven series which I could have gone to, it's local after all, but hadn't booked for.
The Proms are an annual staple on Radio 3 with some on BBC TV too.
The other week I went to the National Theatre live (or at least, I think it was live ... It may have been recorded from a live evening performance which was shown in the week). We all gathered at the local arts cinema in the MAC (Midlands Arts Centre) and spectated the play, with extra camera angles and the slightly odd feeling of being involved but at one more remove, especially when the audience at the National itself applauded and laughed (the play was a Victorian farce - they were meant to laugh): for a moment I thought the laughter was from the rest of the cinema, till I listened to the audio system.
I still enjoyed the play. Any problems were with the actual piece, not the fact of being in a cinema. This way, too, you get to have a cinema trip which includes an interval, something that's gone missing from films even when they last well over two hours, as they often do.
The Berlin Philharmonic can be heard and experienced via TV or the internet on a subscription deal.
So do we need to go anywhere? Could music and theatre be reduced to a core of properly-funded orchestras, acting troupes, all having their work sent out on live broadcasts and web streams, to TV and Radio, cinemas and websites?
Is multi-media endangering support for local performers? Or will it be a showcase that will draw us to live-in-the-flesh events?
Hard to say. All are interesting developments, and do give some a chance to experience concerts and plays they may otherwise have missed.
What technology makes possible will happen at some stage, and that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Location:Airwaves