4am Project in Digbeth

4am Project in Digbeth – I inevitably did Karen Strunks’ amazingly successful 4am Project in Digbeth and found it a strange experience. First I went past St Anne’s Church and down Cheapside, which was very quiet and quite peaceful.

But when I hit the High Street things started to get a bit lairy and hairy. It was full of drunken raised voices, people staggering about or squaring up to each other and taxis practically kerb crawling me to get in them. The scariest part was when I went into the Devonshire House site at the back of the Custard Factory to find some horrible little man was watching me from the entrance, blocking my path and waiting for me to come out.  I psyched myself up for God-knows-what only to be asked, “D’ya know the way to Sparkbrook?”  No.  Go Away.

And then there’s the photo of the guy holding his hand up to hide his face – although he was reluctant his rather angry girlfriend insisted I snap him and I was far too terrified of her to refuse.  Underneath the blue arches of the Allison Street car park felt like a tranquil haven after the madness along the main road.

Here’s a slideshow of my efforts.  The girl climbing over the High Street railings in her quest for a taxi and the poor Salt ‘n’ Pepper’s staff clearing up after a busy night of kebab serving are my favourites.

Thanks to Karen’s concerted efforts, the 4am Project did really well and became a global affair, resulting in a brilliantly varied Flickr photo collection.  You can also watch a YouTube film of Karen talking about it on Rhubarb Radio.