Those of you who missed the special screening of the Philip Donnellan piece on BBC1’s Inside Out on 8th March, which featured interviews with Filum fans at the Spotted Dog who’d just watched his documentary film The Irishmen, you can watch it again in the YouTube film above – sorry the sound is a little out.
Fans of Irish film might like to go along to the Spotted Dog tomorrow evening for an Irish Film Night from 6pm onwards as part of St Patrick’s Festival Birmingham. Landlord John Tighe is screening Everlasting Piece, The Informer and Dancing at Lughnasa. I can’t make this one because I’ll be chatting about Patrick McCabe at the St Patrick’s Literary Festival at The Old Crown Inn from 7pm. Go along to hear all about the darkly comic McCabe, poetical W B Yeats, avant-guarde Samuel Beckett, and modernist James Joyce.
Fans of Irish culture might also like to see the Irish storyteller Katrice Horsley weave her magic at The Irish Centre, 7pm this Weds 17th March (St Patrick’s Day), again as part of St Patrick’s Festival Birmingham. Irish film fans in particular would do well to check out the Flatpack Festival in Birmingham later this month. Highlights include:
Synth Eastwood’s Fast Forward Show on Fri 26th March, when Dublin collective Synth Eastwood will host a night of live music, animation and interactivity at The Rainbow.
The Secret of Kells at The Electric Cinema on Sun 28th March, ‘a stunning animation about how the Book of Kells was completed and survived to become one of Ireland’s national treasures.’
Eastside Studio (the workshop type space next to The Old Crown, where you often find people hammering bits of metal or rock) are holding an Open Studio this Saturday afternoon at 12pm-5pm to ‘celebrate the completion of carving the ‘Rugby Writers’ commission’. I don’t know what the Rugby Writers commission is, but it’ll be a good chance to look around an interesting, creative Digbeth space I’ve not managed to stick my nose into yet.
Just a quick reminder that Ben Waddington is giving me and my Flip an extra special Digbeth tour this Sunday. We start from The Old Cown Pub at midday Sunday 21 December – so sod the Christmas shopping and come join us instead. It should take no more than 1-2 hours.
Artist Melinda Scwakhofer visited over the weekend as planned, and it was grand.
One of the great things about having her here was the brilliantly positive way people reacted to her. When she explained she was an artist from out of town who likes old stuff, people felt compelled to share their treasure troves with her.
On Friday we went to The Spotted Dog, and before we’d finished our first drink landlord John Tighe had dug out the original old deeds to the place:
Nowhere else could you touch an old parchment like this with your bare hands, let alone on a damp pub garden table covered in drinks and ashtrays. The Old Crown keeps theirs well hidden and customers only get to see a colour copy from behind a glass frame on the wall. However John did lend me some reading material that will let me delve deeper into the old Tudor pub:
I can’t wait to learn about the traditions of The Old Crown House in Der-Yat-End.
Melinda bought the second round of drinks with Art Money, after convincing John to become the first pub in Birmingham to accept it. Art Money is original artwork that works as a global, alternative currency and is a lovely idea. Thanks to Melinda taking a shine to a broach I was wearing, I ended the night getting some of my own (I did try to give it away, I promise):
Now I just need to try not to get drunk and desperate enough to use it for drinks in The Spotted Dog.
It’s strange how an outside eye can make you aware of things that have been under your nose for years. I’d never noticed these pretty, blue-tiled art-deco toilets hiding behind a billboard on the High Street, but Melinda clocked them straight away:
These were the ladies backing onto the River Rea, whilst the mens opposite are about to be knocked down as part of the building work next to the Irish Club:
By far the best aspect of Melinda’s visit was seeing a healthier approach to approaching people. When she told people she was interested in them, their places and their things they were naturally pleased as punch and I realised how stupid it is of me to sometimes feel awkward about indulging my curiosity. It’s a lesson learnt, I’m now determined to swallow my fears and be more intrepid with strangers. If I start talking to you, please be nice!
