With the temporary return of the Birmingham Big Wheel (hopefully without the Parisian commentary which made it all the more quirky the first time around), are we going to perhaps see a return of the Birmingham Big Screen?

For what seems like almost two years now, the Big Screen has remained resolutely dark, with nothing but a test pixel lit to show that it’s still got mains power. This is a real shame, as the screen’s a definite asset to the city centre; when I moved to the city in 2005 I enjoyed walking past it every day. I watched the news on it in the evening, I caught some short films and sometimes it even threw a few curveballs my way. As well as that, it screened the football and other major sporting events (drawing major crowds, not always without their own minor crowd control problems, but all in all well managed).

But then, one day, it went dark…

Image credit: Birmingham Mail

After the owners of Waterloo House obtained a High Court injunction against the City Council (claiming that it disturbed the workers inside), the Big Screen was switched off. As its temporary moorings in front of the then-unfinished Town Hall were removed, the screen had to move as well, and BCC (perhaps unwisely) built a more permanent plinth for the screen in Victoria Square. Costs for this lift-and-move have been reported as ca. £1million.

Attempts to gain planning permission for this new (re?)installation have garnered some opposition, and while I agree it will raise noise levels just perceptibly, I highly doubt that the sound would be that audible from the various office locations given the angle and the amount of surrounding street furniture which would help to disperse and diffract soundwaves (the screen’s PA was never that loud anyway). In short, the Birmingham Big Screen should definitely be turned back on, and About Brum fully supports its reactivation. It provides a tangible benefit to the locale, offers a focal point for people to meet and enjoy their lunchtimes and gives the city centre another venue for people to publicly enjoy sporting events and quickly catch up with breaking news. I never heard people complaining as they sat on the steps each lunchtime watching!

But what do you think? Do you work nearby or do you just love/hate the thing? Always interested to know.

How many did you get from that list? I’m somewhat reluctant to admit I didn’t even score three.

Every so often, there’s a bit of inter-city mingling, as one does when one is twinned with another city overseas, and this year Chicago’s come over to promote itself a little to the Brummagem population. They’re going stealth mode with this – and if you’re lucky, you might get a nice little treat to round off your weekend’s shopping There’s ten taxis (marked with special stickers and logos) that are pootling around the city centre for the next two weeks. The promotion’s been going on since the 15th of October, and it ends on the 15th of November – this last day is important, as on the 15th one of the ten taxis will be giving out free journeys to every passenger! The 15th is a Sunday, so if you’re lucky you might find yourself travelling home from a day of shopping at the Bullring for gratis – much nicer than the Number 11, no?

If you chance upon one of the ten marked taxis, there’s some paraphernalia inside on how to win two round trip airline tickets to Chicago. If you’re feeling lucky, you can enter a competition to stay at a four star hotel and also win a shopping trip which I would imagine works out at quite a decent value given the current £/$ conversion rate. Feeling lucky yet?

The cabs look like this, so keep your eye open for one…

And best of luck with the competition!

Of course, if it is all a bit much for you and you do you fancy a nap tomorrow, I suggest that at midday you hang around Victoria Square in the vicinity of the fountains (by the floozy in the jacuzzi). Why? …Well, why not?

The Express & Star reports that “More than 60 firefighters from stations across the Black Country and Birmingham battled through the night” after security guards first spotted the blaze catching hold inside the building at around 22:30 on the evening of the 8th. From there, it was more containment than prevention for the WMFS as the flames quickly spread to the entirety of the structure, causing massive damage and also causing its three characteristic towers to collapse into the structure.

Fortunately, the hobby of Urbexing (aka Urban Exploration; exploring buildings and the urban landscape, taking photos as you go for documentary purposes) is alive and well in the Midlands, and some good photosets have already been taken – in one case, less than a week before it was destroyed in the blaze. The photoset from adders0121 on flickr shows you what the Brewery was like inside prior to the blaze.

All this provides further evidence as to why Urbexing should become an officially-endorsed practice, supported by the local Government and associations like English Heritage! As a form of documenting the region’s past and its plethora of historical landmarks and buildings, it is almost unique in that just about everyone who Urbexes shares a similar attitude – do no damage, always be careful and be very thorough. Some people’s dedication verges on the obsessive, and I’ve seen people travel for hours just to visit a derelict building!

The saddest thing is that, aside from people who actively go exploring, the region’s industrial past is all around us yet much of it is simply being left to ruin, destruction or redeveloped into boring luxury apartments or offices… and most of us never even realise until it’s all gone. You may be surprised as to just how much you can see by simply opening your eyes and studying your surroundings a little more, so give it a try next time you’re out and about around the Midlands.

Along with other events surrounding the date, the Town Hall’s actual 175th birthday – the 4th of October – is marked with what the Stirrer describes as “a free, fun packed day of music and dance for all the family and a truly carnival atmosphere.” And if it’s free, where’s the harm in popping along? I’ll most certainly be going to the Handel concert regardless – I love the Messiah. I was also lucky enough to be able to sing Handel’s Messiah in a choir (at the Royal Albert Hall no less!) a few years ago, and it was truly exhilarating. It’s almost as fun to just sit and watch! The concert’s scheduled to begin at 7pm, and tickets are available (either online or via 0121 780 3333) from the Town Hall Box Office priced between £5 and £40. But act fast, they’re almost completely sold out!

This year’s candidates are:

• Acorn Hospice
• Kidney Kids Appeal
• Birmingham YMCA
• The Conservation Trust
• SIFA Fireside Day Centre in Digbeth
• St Mary’s Hospice in Selly Oak

There’s more info on each of these charities on the Brum Twestival site.

Having had a good friend who died from advanced stage lung cancer spend his last weeks at the BSMH, I’m especially grateful to them for the wonderful care, attention and compassion they give to their residents and their families on a daily basis. They’re entirely funded by donations and the odd benefactor; to lose St. Mary’s Hospice - or indeed, any other Hospice – would be a tragic thing to happen and would drastically decrease the availability of quality palliative care in the West Midlands. Besides that, it would put an even greater strain on the NHS to provide the same level of extraordinary care.

So, please support your local Hospice – and indeed, support all of your local charities. If you can’t afford to donate to all of them at once, set up a rota system or donate to a number in turn, changing every couple of months. What’s £10 or £20 a month? It’s not much to you, but to them it means the world. Thank you

See you at the Twestival in September!

For some background info, including more on the culprits who set up the inaugural TLABD, head on over to TalkLikeABrummieDay.co.uk. There’s a section on the accent and even a quick ‘n dirty dictionary to help you get started. If you’re struggling to get started, whoohoo’s had an English <-> Brummie translation service up on the web for a good few years now. There are other translators and dictionaries up on the web too, but if I gave you all the links that’d take half the fun out of finding them now, wouldn’t it?

If you fancy giving it a go, don’t forget to RSVP to the Facebook group too so we can see the trend spreading!

The inaugural episode features Nick Booth of Podnosh and Birmingham Social Media Surgery fame! Also, Birmingham- or West Midlands-based band? Get your music featured on the next instalment… Contact me for more details.

Links to articles mentioned in podcast:

http://www.paradisecircus.com
Nick Booth: PodNosh.com
Nick Booth: BeVocal – Acock’s Green SMS

Intro music for this episode: Advantage – Never Say Never

If you think you deserve to be featured in a future podcast, get in touch - I look forward to hearing from you!

Marketing and promotion aside, they do raise some very valid points. In all my driving around the city, I’ve noticed that there is some truly hideous driving going on (from myself included) – lots of leaden right feet and late braking abounds in the City centre. Hopefully I’ll learn something useful from this to take away and help improve my driving skills.

I wonder how we can make all road users in Brum adopt slightly more sensible driving styles? It might help a bit with the awful congestion too…

This is the final day the BP guys are in Brum, moving on to reading at the end of this month. AutoCar’s already blogged about what they’re doing, and hopefully I’ll see some familiar faces when I head down to meet them.