Dear readers — welcome to another Monday in paradise. Or, if you’ve been reading The Times this morning, another Monday in the UK’s “capital” of “decline”, a city which has become both “metaphor for squalid national freefall” and a “punchbag for those who hold it up as a microcosm of an England in freefall”. Welcome, welcome. Shoes by the door.
Parking the squalor and the freefall for a minute though, things are looking good. The Dispatch harpooned a dozen new members over the weekend, carrying us ever-closer to the 1,100 paying member mark — a big thanks as ever to the newcomers. Plus, we’ve got a packed Monday briefing for you all, including Malcolm X’s 1965 trip to Smethwick, murmurings of discontent among Birmingham’s Night Time Economy leaders and a treat from the archives: Ozzy Osbourne musing on his love of ice cream.
Like Ozzy, we also love ice cream, but d’you know what else we love? The support of our paying members. The Dispatch will always be accessible to all, with two weekly editions completely free to read for every last one of our 25,000 subscribers, but please remember: everything we do is funded by the near-1,100 members on our paid list. If you’d like to support us in continuing to give this great city (slash punchbag) the coverage it deserves, consider joining their ranks.
Catch up and coming up:
- Over the weekend, our favourite past-whisperer (or: historian) Jon Neale explored Birmingham’s remarkable Arts and Crafts heritage which is visible in many of our buildings.
- Also make sure you check out Kate’s investigation into what’s happening with the former-Que Club where plans to turn the iconic building into a hotel have hit the brakes.
- Have you ever been a tenant of an Aspire Housing property? Or worked for the organisation? Sam wants to hear from you at samuel@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
- Got a tip for us? Send them to editor@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
Weather
☂️ Tuesday: Expect a windy drizzle. Max 6°C.
🌧️ Wednesday: A bit of rain, a bit of a breeze. Max 5°C.
🍃 Thursday: Overcast and windy. Max 4°C.
🌤️ Friday: Here comes the sun! Max 5°C.
☔ Weekend: Umbrellas out again — the drizzle returns. Max 7°C.
We get our weather from the Met Office.
Photo of the week
Regular Dispatch writer Dan Cave took this arresting, asymmetrical snap of the landmark Rotunda building at night.
Brum in brief
🍳 Restaurateur Alex Claridge has not been working in his role as Night Time Economy (NTE) Advisor to the WMCA since May, we can reveal. The chef, who was appointed by former-mayor Andy Street, told The Dispatch that he had sought clarification from Mayor Richard Parker for many months on whether or not he wanted to retain the position. Finally, over a video call towards the end of last year, the pair agreed to Claridge’s resignation. Claridge says it was a “perfectly cordial conversation with a total absence of real clarity” and, referring to the challenges the NTE sector is facing, “it confuses me why there hasn’t been greater clarity. A problem with the vague approach is we don’t have the luxury of lots of time.” The news that the region has not had a specific NTE champion for almost a year comes at a time of mounting pressure by the sector on local politicians. Lyle Bignon, who is the NTE Ambassador for Birmingham, working on behalf of lobby organisation the Night Time Industries Association, says the sector is “urgently demanding” NTE strategy. Specifically, he says there needs to be discussion around the extension of subsidised business rates and the nurturing of talent pipelines to ensure a skilled workforce. He said: “Our NTE is a force for societal, cultural and economic good. So why aren't our political leaders engaging more with us?” Well, according to Richard Parker, they haven’t been sitting on their hands. He told us he wants to help the region’s “world class venues” to “thrive,” which is why he has issued more than £10 million in grants to expand, employ more local people, and improve energy efficiency; introduced free evening bus travel over Christmas; and appointed more Safe Travel Officers. The Dispatch understands Parker is working with a range of representatives on a Growth Taskforce with a focus on providing sustained support for businesses to encourage innovation and creativity, and making sure the benefits of growth reach all communities. Thoughts? Share them in the comments.
🎞️ Handsworth residents were blessed by the presence of shadow justice secretary (and Midlands man) Robert Jenrick last week as he filmed a video for GB News. It’s title? “‘Like a slum!’ Britons seethe as vandals DUMP hordes of ‘filth’ outside their homes and council ‘does nothing’.” The video, aping the kind of right-wing vlogger content The Dispatch has previously covered, which melds a Benefits Street-style focus on urban filth and decline with undertones of anti-immigrant sentiment, was described in The Times as “hitting on the likely future of right-wing politics in Britain”. In fact, The Times’ piece (Can Birmingham beat the constant bashing?) took things further, contending that the city has essentially become the UK capital of this type of content and a shorthand for the nation’s failings: “Rather than being a puzzle, Birmingham was the actual capital of the United Kingdom outside of London and the southeast, leading the nation in decline.” What do you make of Robert Jenrick’s assessment of Brum’s urban realm? Let us know below.
🫴 A terminal cancer patient who was saving up for his own funeral has had his wheelchair and walker stolen. 35-year-old Adam Raszka has launched a fundraiser to replace the aids which were donated to him by Birmingham Hospice. He has spent the last four years in treatment for stage 4 of an extremely rare and aggressive type of sarcoma cancer but considers every day he is alive “a win for me”. He says it has been “a difficult journey, but a journey I had help with”, from his wife, friends, the NHS, charities and even complete strangers. Now he needs to raise enough to replace the items, get a new lock to prevent them from being stolen again and hopefully help towards the funeral, the costs of which he doesn’t want his wife to be burdened with. Adam reached out to The Dispatch for our help so, readers, if you can afford to please consider giving at this link so Adam can focus on spending time with his loved ones.
🪧 This Wednesday will mark the 60th anniversary of Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick, to see with his own eyes the racial prejudice and colour bars at local pubs at the time. Just nine days later, he was assassinated at the Aubadon Ballroom in New York. A mural by artist Bunny Bread of Create Not Destroy, commissioned by Legacy West Midlands will be unveiled at Smethwick's Ivy Bush Bar & Grill on Wednesday. Moreover, last Saturday, the Black Country Living Museum held a screening of Stephen Page's 2005 film, Malcolm X: A Day in Smethwick, including a local BBC journalist’s interview with the minister and activist, never broadcast at the time. Jagwant Johal of Birmingham Race Impact Group, whose father was among a collective of campaigners who invited Malcolm X to Smethwick, is looking for a Birmingham venue for a convention to mark the end of the anniversary season in late March or early April.
🍻 And finally, it appears there will be new life for Digbeth’s much-loved The Kerryman pub, which closed in 2022. It’s new iteration, Spoilers, “a late night licenced cult movie themed rick bar”, is very much on trend for the area. The Dispatch recently covered Digbeth’s newfound glut of themed bars, ranging from Bake Off tents to crazy golf venues, so Spoilers is in good company. The question is whether we should simply be pleased at a new use for a boarded up building, or whether we might wonder when the humble pub will be making its return…Give us your thoughts below.
Quick Hits
💰 The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has approved its new budget for next year which includes an increase in the amount councils pay towards transport services.
🔥 Birmingham City Council has admitted to burning recyclable materials during the ongoing bin workers’ strikes.
🏢 Artists and campaigners have criticised “irresponsible” plans to demolish the post-war, University of Wolverhampton School of Art building.
Media picks
🎞️ As the city prepares for Black Sabbath’s Villa Park send off in July, we dug into the archives and rooted out this brilliantly restored interview with the band from 1973. Ozzy and co are asked if they practice black magic and whether or not cannabis should be legalised. Asked why they are called Black Sabbath, the band explains they just like the name. “What else do you like?” asks the reporter. Cheerfully, Ozzy responds: “Ice cream.”
📰 The Guardian’s Grace Dent visits Tropea in Harborne, finding a Calabrian oasis nestled in south-west Brum: “Suddenly, I was out of all the coldness and gloom, in a roomful of diners defiantly enjoying themselves with gossip, venison ragu tagliatelle and blackberry daiquiris,” she writes. Our only complaint is Dent’s assertion that “people might say Birmingham lacks a little by way of la dolce vita” — who is saying this? Show yourselves, cowards!
Our to do list
🖍️ Grab your sketchbook and attend the free ‘Show and Tell’ event for illustrators at Pan-Pan on Tuesday at 7pm — but make sure you book ahead to ensure a place. For more on this unique Digbeth venue, read this story by Ophira.
📖 Writer and DJ Elijah will launch his debut book at Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath on Wednesday. Close The App, Make The Ting is a compilation of his notes on the creative process. Tickets from £8.97 and doors open at 7pm.
🎻 Also on Wednesday, enjoy an orchestral tribute to The Beatles at Herbert’s Yard. Chomp delicious street food accompanied by the Sekine Quartet as they play the fab four’s greatest hits. Tickets £12, doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 8pm.
🖼️ This month’s Birmingham Arts Society lecture is about Victorian painter Frederic Leighton’s life and works, including the story behind his most famous painting, ‘Flaming June’. Head there on Wednesday for an 11am start (tea and biscuits provided from 9.45am).
🩰 This week is your last chance to see Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at the Hippodrome. There are two showings on Thursday: a matinee at 2pm and an evening performance at 7.30pm. Tickets available from £26.
🗣️ One for the diary: Head to Temper and Brown in the Jewellery Quarter on Tuesday 25 February for a discussion with Kate and podcast producer Roifield Brown all about the importance of local journalism and how it’s changing. Dispatch readers will get a deal on their first drink: 241 on the house wine and a full pint of Crush Hour pale ale when you order a half — just show your event ticket at the bar. Book your free spot here and see you there from 6.30pm.
An earlier version of this issue misspelt Jagwant Johal’s name. This has been corrected. Malcolm X was assassinated nine days after his visit to Smethwick in 1965. This has also been corrected.
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