Wednesday, 2 January 2013
London
A mad rush of people crushing on the tubes, and queuing in the rain for an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, but it's still worth visiting the capital.
Saw: Viennese concert at St Martin's in the Fields, one of the best smaller venues, excellent acoustics and an appreciative audience.
Museum of London Docklands for a feel of how people lived and worked, not just political leaders.
Royal Academy's reliable exhibition of English landscapes.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Nat Hist, not so busy as the rest of the museum with so many families on a wet holiday day!
The British Library, now near King's Cross and Euston, manages to feel like a secluded corner and nicely removed from the hustle and bustle just outside. An exhibition of illustrations and books from Mughal India this time.
St Paul's Cathedral's stunning roof decoration, even though the sound got lost in the expanse of some poor acoustics. God in the midst of mammon in the city, or where God and mammon meet to pray?
Saw: Viennese concert at St Martin's in the Fields, one of the best smaller venues, excellent acoustics and an appreciative audience.
Museum of London Docklands for a feel of how people lived and worked, not just political leaders.
Royal Academy's reliable exhibition of English landscapes.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Nat Hist, not so busy as the rest of the museum with so many families on a wet holiday day!
The British Library, now near King's Cross and Euston, manages to feel like a secluded corner and nicely removed from the hustle and bustle just outside. An exhibition of illustrations and books from Mughal India this time.
St Paul's Cathedral's stunning roof decoration, even though the sound got lost in the expanse of some poor acoustics. God in the midst of mammon in the city, or where God and mammon meet to pray?
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Music in Birmingham
Some great new and not so new venues for different kinds of music to suit various tastes. Admittedly, I'm not into ecstasy-fuelled raves, so nothing about those here.
However: great to see that the Red Lion Folk Club is still going strong - see their website for programme details.
It always seems to bring out the best in performers, and you have a chance to see up and coming acts as well as seasoned pros.
The Ort Café is in an unlikely looking building in the sadly rather run down part of Balsall Heath along the Moseley Road.
There's a great atmosphere inside though, set up as a café in the day and music and informal language class venue in the evenings!
Quite apart from the delicious homemade mince pies and the range of quality bottled beers (Ubu, Veltins - becoming standard in cafés and pubs in Brum) the studio room style venue is great for small bands. Yesterday was a jazz gig by a group of ex-students from Birmingham Conservatoire, and hey, they were good! Claimed not to have played together in that lineup before, but it didn't sound like it! Tremendous energy and skilful playing.
Tobie Carpenter Sextet
Café details at their website.
Last but not least, the new Bramall Music building at Birmingham University offers more opportunities for high quality performances, for classical musicians, some from the University and other guests such as Ex Cathedra.
Beautifully fitted out and a great addition to the music landscape of Brum.
Saw male and female voice choirs from the University there the other week, just before the official opening. Simon Halsey conducting as has a position at the School of Music.
However: great to see that the Red Lion Folk Club is still going strong - see their website for programme details.
It always seems to bring out the best in performers, and you have a chance to see up and coming acts as well as seasoned pros.
The Ort Café is in an unlikely looking building in the sadly rather run down part of Balsall Heath along the Moseley Road.
There's a great atmosphere inside though, set up as a café in the day and music and informal language class venue in the evenings!
Quite apart from the delicious homemade mince pies and the range of quality bottled beers (Ubu, Veltins - becoming standard in cafés and pubs in Brum) the studio room style venue is great for small bands. Yesterday was a jazz gig by a group of ex-students from Birmingham Conservatoire, and hey, they were good! Claimed not to have played together in that lineup before, but it didn't sound like it! Tremendous energy and skilful playing.
Tobie Carpenter Sextet
Café details at their website.
Last but not least, the new Bramall Music building at Birmingham University offers more opportunities for high quality performances, for classical musicians, some from the University and other guests such as Ex Cathedra.
Beautifully fitted out and a great addition to the music landscape of Brum.
Saw male and female voice choirs from the University there the other week, just before the official opening. Simon Halsey conducting as has a position at the School of Music.
Location:Brum
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Beardy blog post
There's a great blog post here on historic Brummie beards!
Thanks to Marcus Belben:
Birmingham lives blog
Thanks to Marcus Belben:
Birmingham lives blog
Location:Brum (where else!)
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Birmingham's History
An enjoyable visit to the newly opened Birmingham History Galleries in the Museum and Art Gallery in town
The Romans were here and set up Metchley fort, the site now on Birmingham University grounds, but this permanent exhibition really kicks off with Peter de Birmingham and the granting of a market charter in 1166, 80 years after the tiny village which is now the second city was mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Metal manufacturing around the industrial revolution, buttons, medals, Murdoch, Boulton and Watt, the contribution of settlers from around the country and the world - including Germans such as Conrad Köchler who made medallions at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, and C. Brandauer who founded a metals company about 150 years ago (pen making at first) which still exists, as well as Oscar Deutsch who founded the Odeon Cinema chain but who actually came from Hungary.
The former slave Equiano spoke here in 1790 to promote his "Interesting Narrative" (and there's a separate small exhibition about him in the Museum).
Peter Stanford was the first black minister in 1887, moving here from America to run Hope Street Baptist Church.
Mendelssohn (Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy for German speakers!) conducted the first performance of Elijah in the Town Hall in 1846, and any Brummie can be proud to see a concert programme from that concert in the Mendelssohn house museum on Leipzig!
Chris Upton's fascinating "A history of Birmingham" must be the standard work on the subject, available at all good bookshops as they say, including the Museum shop, appropriately enough.
The Romans were here and set up Metchley fort, the site now on Birmingham University grounds, but this permanent exhibition really kicks off with Peter de Birmingham and the granting of a market charter in 1166, 80 years after the tiny village which is now the second city was mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Metal manufacturing around the industrial revolution, buttons, medals, Murdoch, Boulton and Watt, the contribution of settlers from around the country and the world - including Germans such as Conrad Köchler who made medallions at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, and C. Brandauer who founded a metals company about 150 years ago (pen making at first) which still exists, as well as Oscar Deutsch who founded the Odeon Cinema chain but who actually came from Hungary.
The former slave Equiano spoke here in 1790 to promote his "Interesting Narrative" (and there's a separate small exhibition about him in the Museum).
Peter Stanford was the first black minister in 1887, moving here from America to run Hope Street Baptist Church.
Mendelssohn (Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy for German speakers!) conducted the first performance of Elijah in the Town Hall in 1846, and any Brummie can be proud to see a concert programme from that concert in the Mendelssohn house museum on Leipzig!
Chris Upton's fascinating "A history of Birmingham" must be the standard work on the subject, available at all good bookshops as they say, including the Museum shop, appropriately enough.
Location:Birmingham
Sunday, 7 October 2012
A day at home (town)
Didn't go further than my home town today. Hoovered and such first, then walked along the River Rea for the third time in two days (:-) ) with birds flitting in and out of the undergrowth and the sunshine lifting the leaves and the Autumn colours.
Plenty of visitors (human) at the MAC - www.macarts.co.uk if you don't know already - which is very family-friendly, certainly during daytime. Great for families, more alarming if you don't have children!
The cycle route does for pedestrians too and continues through part of Balsall Heath and Highgate towards the centre of town, via the Gay Village and Chinese Quarter round the Arcadian Centre.
Real contrast of the residential en route, especially after the park, and - quite apart from the charms of the Rea (where I've twice seen Kingfishers) - the scenery is surprisingly green through Balsall Heath, though it does get more urban towards the Pershore Road and once into Essex Street and onwards.
Pleasure of knowing enough people, at some level, for chance meetings and conversations. J- in the Urban Coffee - even sat down at the same table with his sandwiches :) - and H- in the Old Joint Stock.
Enjoyable half of Flensburger beer at the Canalside Café.
Evening meditation at the Journey community church, relaxed and thoughtful, but a sobering awareness of homelessness and mental illness, worsened by government cuts to the public services which can provide vital support. Seeing a very smug-looking smart young couple with their Tory conference brochure walk past earlier was hard to take, I wondered if they walked past the homeless men with the same we-rule-the-world look.
Can I be any better, walking past those men as I did? I could afford to sit in the cafés and pubs and buy drinks and food, and enjoy them.
Still, a rewarding day without having to go far.
Nice to come home too, and to have a home.
Plenty of visitors (human) at the MAC - www.macarts.co.uk if you don't know already - which is very family-friendly, certainly during daytime. Great for families, more alarming if you don't have children!
The cycle route does for pedestrians too and continues through part of Balsall Heath and Highgate towards the centre of town, via the Gay Village and Chinese Quarter round the Arcadian Centre.
Real contrast of the residential en route, especially after the park, and - quite apart from the charms of the Rea (where I've twice seen Kingfishers) - the scenery is surprisingly green through Balsall Heath, though it does get more urban towards the Pershore Road and once into Essex Street and onwards.
Pleasure of knowing enough people, at some level, for chance meetings and conversations. J- in the Urban Coffee - even sat down at the same table with his sandwiches :) - and H- in the Old Joint Stock.
Enjoyable half of Flensburger beer at the Canalside Café.
Evening meditation at the Journey community church, relaxed and thoughtful, but a sobering awareness of homelessness and mental illness, worsened by government cuts to the public services which can provide vital support. Seeing a very smug-looking smart young couple with their Tory conference brochure walk past earlier was hard to take, I wondered if they walked past the homeless men with the same we-rule-the-world look.
Can I be any better, walking past those men as I did? I could afford to sit in the cafés and pubs and buy drinks and food, and enjoy them.
Still, a rewarding day without having to go far.
Nice to come home too, and to have a home.
Location:Brum
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