Bomb scare in Digbeth, explosion on Twitter
Written by Nicky Getgood on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 ( Start discussion )
Tags: andymabbett, antoniogould, big city plan, birminghamitsnotshit, birminghammail, catnip, duck bath, dykepools, editorialgirl, emmajones, faunography, graphiquillan, jonbounds, julia gilbert, peteashton, pigsonthewing, shonamcquillan, simon gray, twitter, winterval
‘Digbeth police station evacuated,’ reads the Birmingham Mail, ‘after suspicious package was discovered inside…A cordon was placed around the station and a number of roads were closed off.’
However to Twitter addicts such as myself this news was, like, so last hour. We’d been discussing the road blocks, traffic jams, suspicious package and bomb squad for hours. So much so that, after viewing the search results, Pete Ashton went and wondered aloud if Digbeth could become top-rating, trending Twitter topic for the day.
It was like a red rag to a bull. If you tweeted, you simply had to mention Digbeth. Even if, like Antonio Gould, it was to say you weren’t sure what to say about Digbeth.
Pete Ashton’s blogged about the internetty aspects of today’s little exercise, so let’s get on with the important stuff:
- If you spoonerise Digbeth you get BIG DEATH says Emma Jones.
- But if you’re sticking to strict anagramming like Shona McQuillan you get THE BIG D, which is still pretty cool.
- There are Killer Badgers in Digbeth according to Emma Jones. In the Police Station, apparently. Part of the Anti-Terrorism Act, I think. They’re better at extracting intelligence than bog-standard dogs. I shall be risking life and limb David Attenborough-style to get pictures of them for the Faunography trail.
- Me and that bloke down the pub aren’t the only ones who think Digbeth is derived from DUCK BATH. Andy Mabbett says so too, so it must be true.
- Or perhaps it’s not. Jon Bounds says it means Dyke Pools after finding this great site that says so. It seems slightly better informed than my bloke down the pub, and has some fantastic photos.
- Mind you, what does Jon Bounds know? He’s not that fussed on Digbeth because it’s not near enough to Moseley or town. Shame on you Jon, it’s well worth the short ride on the 50/five minute walk from the Bullring.
- Shona McQuillan turned it all on its head and stated: Digbeth in suspicious package. Yes, that’s right. It’s called the Big City Plan.
- Daniel Davies lost his sandwiches in Digbeth. Rest assured, if I find them I will be photographing them for you all to enjoy in the new Digbeth Food Wastage category. Yummy.
- Prize for top Digbeth tweet goes to Julia Gilbert for saying, “You can read more about Digbeth at digbeth.org.” I pay her well. In shoes.
As you can see, our efforts weren’t in vain and it all left me rather distracted and excited this afternoon. Oh yeah, there was some stuff on Winterval as well, which made Simon Gray wonder if that could be a trending topic too. Go on, Tweethearts: you know what to do.
