Dirty Bristow – getting to the fete – A brilliant map of Pubs of Digbeth by Jon Bounds to help people get to the Dirty Bristow Summer Fete at The Edge, Cheapside this Saturday 26th August. ‘Cos people navigate by pubs and roundabouts.’ Digbeth has far much more pubs than roundabouts!
There’s two events coming up this week at the Cafe @ the Margarett Rose Abri, 58-59 Cheapside (formerly the post office).
Thursday 5th August sees the regular open mic for poetry and the spoken word ‘Coffee Shop Poets’ – a freindly, supportive environment for writers to perform their work to other fellow writers and listeners. Admission is free, doors open 7.30pm and kicks off around 8pm.
Saturday 7th August is the third open mic for new comedy ‘Cafe Laff-a-chinno’ – an entirely new batch of comedy performers (a couple of first timers too!) will be taking to the stage and giving their all to give us a laff! Admission £3 on the door and you may bring your own wine (in moderation!!!) or enjoys the cafe’s fine coffee’s, teas and naughty cakes!! Starts at 8pm.
Sumer Is Icumen In — Dirty Bristow Issue One Launch Party | dirty bristow – Seems the best way to get your mitts on a copy of new Birmingham creative writing magazine Dirty Bristow is to go along to their Summer Fete from 6pm on Saturday 28th August at The Edge, Cheapside in Digbeth. Entry fee is £5 — which includes a copy of Dirty Bristow issue one (magazine usually £3.50) and some grand, fete fun:
So far confirmed is live music from 8-Bit Ninjas and Glatze and comedy from Tom Lennon and Harry Vale. There’ll be Punch & Judy,Splat The Rat, a Tug O’ War — artists versus writers , a Teddy Bear Bungee, Guess The Weight Of The Cake all the stuff you would expect at a traditional British summer fête. And there’ll be a beer tent.
Drawdio Workshop – Wednesday 4th August | fizzPOP – Fancy making one ‘ the pencil that lets you draw music’? Then join fizzPOP and Nottinghack for a Drawdio workshop at The Edge, Cheapside on Weds 4th August, 6pm-10pm. Entrance is £3, plus £10 for Drawdio kit and tuition. Register to attend via the fizzPOP website.
More Great Stuff from Friction | – Friction Arts have been very busy with the vital Heard And Not Seen project in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (until 22nd August), which has attracted a lot of a lot of ‘nicely controversial’ local and national media coverage:
‘…in light of all the recent hooha around Europe about various ‘burka bans’ in the offing. It’s clear that the need for the project is greater than ever – so let’s get talking!’
Next Thursday there’s action back at the Edge, Cheapside with a seminar evening with Isaura Mendes of the Bobby Mendes Peace Legacy, Boston USA. The theme for the evening is ‘A Legacy of Peace?’. Join them from 6pm next Thurs 22nd July for will no doubt be a night of lively and important discussion.
On 15th-26th July Friction Arts will be playing hosting Isaura Mendes their home of The Edge, Cheapside. The press release they’ve sent me says it all, so please excuse the copy-and-pasting:
Isaura is the founder of the Bobby Mendes Peace Legacy, a non-profit organisation, based in Boston, USA. The Peace Legacy is named in honour of Isaura’s oldest son Bobby who was murdered in 1995, which sparked a spiral of violence in her community which is still taking young lives today. It is rededicated to her youngest son Matthew who was murdered in 2006.
Isaura, a tireless campaigner against the violence which has blighted her community, first visited us here in 2006, along with her son, Matthew. We had an amazing time together, she met with young people at risk, appeared on New Style radio and at our Curio City Shop, but most importantly, got to have some great times with her son Matthew. Tragically Matthew was murdered just three weeks after their return home.
Despite this second tragedy Isaura has continued to campaign to save the lives of young people in her community. She works as a spokesperson, confidante and supporter of the bereaved, giving inspiring talks to men in prison, acting as a ‘Mama Christmas’ to young kids in her neighbourhood and takes every opportunity to try and give hope to her community through her work. Isaura works closely with Shannon Flattery of Touchable Stories, who partnered with us on last year’s ‘Echoes From the Edge’ and the arts are central to the way they work together in their community. We have more than a friendship with Isaura and are delighted that she will be returning to visit some of the people and places she visited with her son, just before his death.
In typical Isaura fashion, she doesn’t want this to be just a holiday, and has asked us to ask you if there are any opportunities for her to speak to, or meet with people who might benefit from her experience. She is particularly interested in meeting anyone involved in anti-violence initiatives, gun or gang crime issues, or young people at risk. Please get in touch with us here if you think you have a group or event which might be suitable for her to meet/address during her short visit.
We will be holding a debate here at the Edge on Thursday 22nd July at 6pm. This will begin by an address by Isaura, talking about her work with the BMPL , followed by a debate examining the question ‘How can we create a future free of violence for our children?’. This will almost certainly be followed by some of Isauras fantastic Cape Verdean cooking (she wouldn’t stay at the local hotel as they couldn’t provide her with a kitchen), and an opportunity to meet Isaura, and continue the discussion. Please RSVP if you would like to attend, as our debates are very popular, to info@frictionarts.com or telephone 0121 772 6160.
Today is Digbeth is Good’s second birthday! Please join me for celebration drinkies and a slice of the above cake, lovingly made by Mrs Rawlins. We’ll be in The Spotted Dog from 6pm this evening.
So that’s Friday and Monday with me firmly planted in my second home The Spotted Dog. I’m planning to spend a little of the time in between checking out the MOM (Meeting Of Minds) exhibition at the Sauce Gallery, Custard Factory. I’m also hoping to sample the delights of the newly opened Cleary’s on Moseley Street, the phoenix to rise from the ashes of the lovely pub that was demolished along with some back-to-backs on Cheapside to make way for a barren building site. Grrrr….
It was a very busy and bright afternoon, with lots of pretty things for sale and interesting things to look at when the money ran out, such as the rather good Emerging photography exhibition in the gallery.
And that’s what this post would have talked about – the Custard Factory pulling in lots of people to enjoy the sunshine and while a few hours mooching around the arts, crafts and clothes stalls and exhibition spaces. The nice things I purchased and spotted whilst I was there. But then, at the Urban Music Gathering in Space2 later that night, this goes and happens:
As has been well documented in the local and national news, four partygoers were shot in a fracas at the clubnight. And that’s possibly what will sum up the Custard Factory in many people’s minds for a while, which I find thoroughly depressing because I know how extremely far removed that is from the warm and welcoming vibe of the place. The most sensible reaction I’ve read about the incident so far has come from a person called Kiesnor on the DJhistory.com forum:
The Custard Factory is in Digbeth, an area I love and which is hosting some great nights, from Irish boozers to air/code nightclub, The Sanctuary (formerly the Institute), Rainbow pub and warehouse, Custard Factory and adjoining warehouses, The Irish Centre, Wagon and horses and other underground venues… but I think at one time it did have the worst rates for violence, low population and high number of drinking venues possibly to blame.
Anyway, I really hope this is not a sign of the bad old times returning, I have been feeling a bit uncomfortable walking around the city at night lately and I think there seems a bit of tension, it really is the last thing these venues need as well because the Rainbow has had problems with hosting live music a great deal, nimbys are moving in and the Conservative council seem very unenthusiastic about ground roots music in the city with the last major open air music concert cancelled after poor policing.
