hands on handworth - 4th edition

Issue 4Spring 2011

A community magazine for Handsworth

Read the amazing story about Charlie and Black Patch

Local People Get Active in Handsworth page 12 The future of Hawthorn House

Banner Theatre Interview page 6

We talk to Nu Century Arts page 10

Sufi Music at Holyhead School

HOHIssue04Final:HOH 05/05/2011 15:53 Page 2

Editorial UpdateThe community journalism project is going from strength tostrength as we now have a core team of talented andknowledgable journalists to generate content for both themagazine and the blog.

We’ve been a bit quiet on the Hands on Handsworth blogsince taking it over from Tracey but we will be uploading alot more content over the next couple of months. TraceyThorne (ex-Handsworth Neighbourhood Manager) left herpost in March 2011 and we wish her well in her new role,although she will still be part of the steering group and playan integral role in the project.

City College in Handsworth have kindly donated atemporary office space for the journalists to use as a placeto research, carry out tasks and write and develop stories forthe magazine. We would like to thank Anthony Gribben,Carole Douglas and the rest of the staff at City College forhelping us set up the office which can now be used by thejournalists.

There are still lots of things to do and things that are neededfor the project such as new computers and equipment butwe will take it step by step and with the support of localpeople and organisations we can only improve and look forways to continue the project after August 2011.

We Need You!We are still looking for contributors, photographers,designers, and anyone who wants to take part to help findthe best and most interesting stories in Handsworth. Itdoesn’t matter if your reading and writing skills are not thatgreat, as we just need people with good ideas and theimagination to find stories and make Hands on Handswortha magazine everyone wants to get their hands on.

If you would like to be a part of the team, have ideas forstories or would like further information then please contactKarl Greenwood at [email protected]

Become aCommunityJournalist

Hands onHandsworthGet in touch with your News, Views,Comments and ideas for Stories.

Contact us at:Hands on Handsworthc/o City College (Handsworth Campus)The Council HouseSoho Road, HandsworthBirmingham, B21 9DPor email [email protected]

Copies of Hands on Handsworth areavailable at Handsworth Library and othervenues - get in touch if you can’t find acopy.


Handsworth’s heritage gives all the opportunity towalk in the footsteps of founders of the IndustrialRevolution thanks to the new HandsworthHeritage Trail. The Trail showcases the historicbuildings across Handsworth and provides anideal opportunity to promote Handsworth to localpeople and attract new visitors to the area.

The Trail leaflet includes a colourful Heritage TrailMap, a Heritage Quiz and a brief history of the sitesthat can be seen on the Trail. The route takes inhistorical sites such as Soho House, the home of thefamous industrialist Matthew Boulton, St Michael’sChurch, designed by the architect William Bourneand Handsworth Park created in the 1800s.

The Heritage Trail has been designed with the optionof three parts to the walk, which members of thepublic can take in for free at anytime once you havea copy of the leaflet. Access to some of the buildingsis only available at set times so it is advisable tocheck beforehand.

Copies are available at various BMAG outletsincluding Soho House & Museum andHandsworth Library. Or you can download a copyfrom www.handsonhandsworth.info

HistoricHandsworth

ContentsHawthorn House 2

Local Opportunities 3

Talking About My Generation 4

Face-to-Face or Phone-to-Phone? 5

Art For Change 6

Flaming Brilliant 8

Nu Century Arts 10

Let’s Get Physical 12

Green Thinking 14

Black Patch 15

Say Arts 16

St John Wall Make the News 17

1

Supported by:


2

Birmingham City Council has withdrawn Hawthorn Housefrom auction to allow for further expressions of interest fromcommunity organisations. The Grade 2 listed building, whichlies between Hamstead Hall Road and The Spinney,previously served as a library. It has been closed since thebeginning of the year. Councillor Randall Brew, CabinetMember for Finance, removed the house from auctionfollowing representation from Hawthorn House Trust, one ofthe interested groups. Hands on Handsworth understandsthe Trust wanted more time to develop its business plan.

The Trust plans to use the Georgian mansion to house a mixof community and commercial services. Councillor NarinderKooner, who has worked closely with the Trust on its plan,said, ‘We are delighted that he has given us this opportunityto develop our bid. We have a strong case.’ She added thatthe Trust had the support of all three local councillors. Lastmonth a ward committee made grants towards the costs of

developing the business plans of the Trust and anotherinterested party: a local Sikh gurdwara, which also plans toretain the building for community use. The decision to pullthe property from auction has angered property developerswho were keen to develop the site. Another local property,Milton Grange, was also removed from auction at the sametime and transferred for community use.

The council said that its decision to allow community groupsmore time to develop their business plans does not indicateany bias towards their bids. A spokesman for the councilsaid, ‘The property is being withdrawn from auction becausethe council wants to further review its potential future use,but no final decisions have been made in favour of anyproposals.’

Words: Lauren ArcherPhotos: Michael Deacon

Hawthorn House Rescue Plan


3

The WEA (Worker’s EducationalAssociation, West Midlands), inconjunction with Benson, HamsteadHall and Handsworth Clusters, havesuccessfully managed to recruit 40parents for their TRIF (Tackling RacialInequality Fund) civic communityvolunteer programme. The parentshave been recruited from James WattPrimary School and Hamstead HallCluster schools and to date, 33parents have been successfully placedin a number of local organisations andPrimary Schools.

These volunteer placements will givethose parents valuable hands onexperience in roles such as teachingassistants, dinner supervisors andoffice administration to name a few.Alongside these placements trainingworkshops were offered to introduceand raise awareness on organisationprotocols, confidentiality, managingchildren’s behaviour, practical parenthelpers, CV writing, WEA volunteeringand ICT for beginners.

The local partners that have activelysupported the parents within theirorganisations at present include:James Watt Primary, Foundry Primary,St James Primary, St Clare’s Primary,Cherry Orchard Primary, CEAL, EDAS,Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, WEAAdult Education, Brookfield Primaryand Holyhead Secondary School. Thisis an exciting initiative for thecommunity who have been given agolden opportunity to take part insome exciting volunteering roles inBirmingham. The WEA has a waitinglist for parents who would like to takepart in future volunteeringprogrammes.

ContactVeena Gogna on 0121 5510657 orSylvia Johnson-Davis on 0121 464 4736for further information.

Local Opportunities for Local People

Do you want to get involved with apossible documentary about SohoRoad?

Wild Pictures is an independentdocumentary company based inNorth London who specialise in highend access based documentariesfor all the major broadcasters.Recent productions include a seriesabout Wormwood Scrubs andHolloway on ITV1, The Zoo - a seriesabout life at London Zoo and theyare currently making ‘Life and DeathBabies’ – about the neo-natal unit inLiverpool for ITV1.

Emma Goodard, Head ofDevelopment says about their newidea: “We want to do a documentaryseries about Soho Road - exploringthe lives of people and families thatlive and work in and around thearea. We are interested in peoplefrom all walks of life, all ages andethnic backgrounds for a warm,intelligent portrait of Britain’s mostculturally diverse road.”

“We are looking for all sorts ofcharacters, and these can be

individuals or families. For exampleyou may work in a business on theSoho Road, a lively mum and family,a young entrepreneur who loves todrive their sports car, maybe youwork for your dad in his shop?Maybe you’re a bus conductor,locksmith, car dealer etc...these arejust a few examples! The main thingwe are looking for is people whowould be happy for us to film themand what is going on in their lives.”

“This is in development and we havenot been commissioned by abroadcaster as yet but we hope thatby meeting some great charactersand making a ‘taster tape’, we mightbe able to get this idea off theground!”

Interested? Then get in touch. Maybeyou know some great personalitiesor characters Wild Pictures shouldbe speaking to?

ContactPlease email Emma Goddarddirectly at [email protected] ring Karl Greenwood at Hands OnHandsworth on 0121 533 7195.

Be in a Soho Road Documentary

A busy MCB workshop at James Watt Primary School


A passion for politics isn’t for everyone and to some itmay be perceived to be boring, too complicated,irrelevant, or just simply not interesting.

For a number of years now, local schools in Handsworthhave been working hard to address this by getting youngpeople involved in their community and politics by setting upa Handsworth Young People’s Parliament (YPP). This waslaunched in 2002 to encourage young people to gain abetter understanding and interest in politics and tochallenge some of the negative perceptions of politics. Thisgives young people an opportunity to participate and have avoice in local and national issues.

In March 2011, young people in Handsworth had their sayand asked questions to a number of local MPs from acrossBirmingham. Over 25 schools took part in a ‘Meet Your MP’day to air their views, opinions and concerns about anumber of local and national issues such as funding cuts topublic services, education and crime. It also featured animpromptu, but well rehearsed and heartfelt rap from ayoung pupil about the recent earthquake in Japan.

Handsworth YPP meets six times a year, either at the CityUniversity or at the Council Chamber in Victoria Square. YPPmembers also go on field trips, visiting Westminster andtouring the Houses of Parliament as part of the initiative.Who knows, in a number of years from now these youngpeople may be spending much more time in the Houses ofParliament as politicians?

Photos by Michael Deacon

Talking About MyGeneration

4

Some of the questions frompupils to MPs on the day:“If you could change anything in Birmingham whatwould you change?”

“Does being an MP affect your life?”

“How is the government going to maintaineducation standards with fewer resources?”

“Do you feel crime in Birmingham has increased ordecreased?”

“Have Labour got the right policies and strategiesnow?”

“Do you ever ask young people and children whatthey want?”

“What do you think about MPs and theallowances?”


5

Face-to-face contact with counciladvisors and civil servants inNeighbourhood Offices acrossBirmingham is fast becoming a thingof the past.

The Council Cabinet is pushing aheadwith plans to close a number of offices,to be replaced by a telephone service. Itappears that the Handsworth office onDawson Road will not be spared thecull, although an alternative location fora Handsworth Neighbourhood Officeservice is being explored.

DiscussionsPlanning discussions at the Perry BarrConstituency Committee Meeting onMarch 17, 2011 disclosed the‘Neighbourhood Office Future OperatingModel’ with the proposed structure andlocation of 13 new Customer ServiceCentres where customers would now beable to contact staff by telephone as wellas face-to-face. Additionally, there wouldbe another 9 Satellite NeighbourhoodOffices which would operate on a part-time basis.

Likely ChangesAlthough no date has yet beenconfirmed for implementation of thenew proposed operating model,Hands on Handsworth can reveal thelikely areas that will have a CustomerService Centre, and those with aSatellite Neighbourhood Office.

Customer Service CentresSutton Coldfield, Kingstanding,Erdington, Handsworth, Newtown,Ladywood, Saltley/Small Heath,Yardley, Quinton, Sparkbrook, KingsHeath, Selly Oak, Northfield.

Satellite Neighbourhood OfficesBirchfield, Bromford, Shard End, AcocksGreen, Bartley Green, Sparkhill, DruidsHeath, Yardley Wood, Frankley.

We spoke to customers who didn’tknow anything about the proposedoperating model. Here is what theyhad to say:

The briefing notes from theconstituency meeting that informed theConstituency Committee state: “….the

new model is actually about providingmore choice to customers over howthey access certain services, wherepreviously the only way to do somethings was to visit the NeighbourhoodOffice. Ultimately, actual customerdemand will determine how theservice is reshaped and the evidenceso far is of increasing and highdemand from customers to do more byphone.”

Words & photos by Kevin Thompson

Face-to-Face orPhone-to-Phone?

Ahmed

Naa

Meet Ahmed He believes people want a face-to-face service. His mum can’t speakEnglish and he thinks it’s going to bereally difficult for her to converse withsomeone over the phone. Usuallywhen she goes to the Neighbour hoodOffice, there is someone there whospeaks her language and they canunderstand what is actuallyhappening. He believes that peoplewill definitely miss face-to-face contact– especially when they come in tohave their papers and forms scanned.

Meet Naa She believes that people need theNeighbourhood Office inHandsworth, because some peoplecan’t speak English and they go thereto get their housing applications andother things sorted out. Naa likes totalk to the person face-to-face ratherthan speak on the telephone. She isaware that a number of offices havealready closed, but a lot of peopledepend on this office. Naa said: “Theyshould keep this one here, inHandsworth.”


Banner Theatre is a professionalpolitical, documentary and communitytheatre company but unlike mosttheatre groups, their work is based oninterviews, getting people’s stories andusing them as part of their work.

Video and SongsTheir current production, Fighting theCuts, is based on video interviews withpeople who will be affected by the cuts,intertwined with songs, music, dramaand computer manipulated images.Banner calls these productions ‘videoballads’, a new form created by Bannerto carry its community stories. The termis a throwback to the very beginnings ofBanner Theatre. Charles Parker, one ofthe founder members, was a BBCproducer who created some classicradio programmes in the 60s called theRadio Ballads (available at the CentralLibrary), which combined interviewmaterial with music and songs.

Artistic Co-ordinator Dave Rogersexplains: “This is a return to our roots

because we’re going back to that styleof creation, but using video instead ofaudio, and integrating this into a livetheatre production.”

Issues and SocietyBanner’s shows are always about issuesin society. Their first show was about themining industry and recently they havedone a lot of work interviewing refugeesand asylum seekers, challenging theracism they face.

Dave talks about the new showFighting the Cuts: “We highlight that thegovernment’s cuts are completelyunnecessary. The effects on our healthand other public services are going tobe devastating, pushing us back to the30s. We are trying to increase publicawareness as I think the media do notcover the alternative story. They say thecuts are inevitable and there’s nochoice, so we’re trying to say that thereis an alternative – tax the bankers whocaused the crisis and clamp down onthe super rich who dodge taxes to

avoid paying their full dues.”

Banner is working with different unionsto develop the show; for the firstsection, which they are already touring,they worked on the economic crisiswith the National Union of Journalists.They interviewed various people likePaul Mason (Newsnight’s EconomicsEditor) to show how the actual crisishappened and why the media nevertold that story. The second part is withthe help of the PCS (the Union whoorganise Inland Revenue staff). “PCStold us that there is £120 billion a yearin uncollected and evaded tax and ifyou collected that, there wouldn’t be acrisis’. They are now working withUNISON, looking at the effects the cutsare going to have on our welfare stateand its workers. ‘It’s a rolling show,because as things are moving all thetime it is being updated.”

The company doesn’t really attract atypical theatre audience. They presenttheir shows to a community audiencein a wide range of venues such astrade union branches, shop stewardscommittees, community centres,campaigns, schools and colleges,youth clubs, arts centres, conferencesand town centres.

Political Theatre Tradition”We’re part of a long tradition of politicaltheatre in this country and globally,which seeks to say ‘Not art for art’s sakebut art for change’. We’re part of thestruggle for a better life and a betterworld. In the 30s there was a workers’theatre movement in this country thatwas very powerful. Every city had itsown group, doing political theatre.”

Art For ChangeHandsworth-based campaigning multimedia theatrecompany, Banner Theatre, is looking to make a difference

6

Vince Pryce, Laura Owen Wright, Fred Wisdom, Dave Rogers


7

Funding is a real problem for BannerTheatre because the groups they go totend not to have a lot of money. It isclear that if their motivation was to makea profit they wouldn’t be doing the workthey do. “It’s not easy to market politicaltheatre, especially when that theatrecan be critical of the people who controlthe funding purse strings”.

Building the BaseBecause of the cuts implemented bythe Arts Council, the usual sources for large grants have dried up. “Thecuts have affected a lot of artsorganisations because they are seenas largely irrelevant. And we’re at thebottom of the list anyway because

we’re doing political stuff. You just dothe best you can, because the peoplewho book us value our work. There’sno shortage of people who want tobook us, but there’s a shortage ofpeople who can pay us a proper fee”.

Dave added: “Our audiences arebigger now than they’ve been for along time. Since the 90s we’ve beenbuilding our base year on year. We’removing into a period of intensestruggle. When people begin to realisethe level of destruction that is going onin the public sector, there will be a lot ofanger and a growing need for the kindof stuff that we do, theatre thatsupports the struggle for a fairer betterworld.”

ContactBanner Theatre : 0845 458 1909www.bannertheatre.co.uk -

Interview: Gaelle FinleyPhotos: Banner Theatre

Fred Wisdom, Laura Owen Wright, Vince Pryce, Dave Rogers


8

From Soho House inHandsworth, the formerBirmingham Poet Laureate,Adrian Johnson, explainswhy he’s all fired up aboutthe great gas light pioneerand former Handsworthresident, William Murdoch.

Last year I banged the drum and rhymed for victory inBirmingham’s bid to become the first ever UK City of Culturefor 2013. It went elsewhere in the end and as for me, I wenton to become obsessed by one of Handsworths’ andBirmingham’s greatest pioneering sons who, I discoveredas I set out to write about the city at its best was surely,William Murdoch. He was an exceptionally talented andmost inventive Scots, migrant worker who, over twohundred years ago, walked three hundred miles fromScotland to Soho to talk himself into a job with Boulton andWatt, the cities greatest and most successful industrialists ofthat era.

Made in BirminghamWhat I like most about William Murdoch, then and now, isthat he was very much made in the heat and welcomingspace of Soho and Handsworth. William Murdoch, was thegreat pioneer of affordable gas light and early steamlocomotion and I believe, as a result of my research andshort residency at Soho House Museum, he could not haveeasily made it in London because of all their restrictive guildsand very long and expensive apprenticeships whichBirmingham tended to avoid in favour of a ‘can do spirit’ andrespect for obvious skill over family lineage and wealth.

Hybrid of Scots and Brummie skillMurdoch’s father was a wheelright and miller up in Scotlandand this experience clearly came in handy as he fused anearly Scots education with Brummie know how andexpertise. After years of successful fitting and fixing ofBoulton and Watt’s world famous steam pump engines inthe tin mines across Cornwall, while based in Redruth, he

returned to Soho’s famous manufactory and pursued hisburning obsession: how to extract gas from coal. Eventuallyhe cracked it at work for Boulton and Watt in Redruth andlater in Soho. He then set out to show it off to the entirecitizenry of Birmingham in 1802, with an unprecedenteddisplay and show of 2,600 gas fired lights and lanterns. Hedid this by creating a hybrid of brummie gun barrel makingskill which he welded together, then pierced with smallpunctures to emit and safely burn his coal gas which hepumped through with a bag pipe kind of bellows system.

Brilliant Brummie Bling!Of course, anyone that pays a visit to Saint Mary’s Church inHandsworth can see William Murdoch’s gravestone and acommemorative bust, but a more obvious and publicreminder of Handsworth and Soho’s great gas light pioneercan be found opposite the Birmingham Rep and Newlibrary, in the form of the huge, public sculpture of the ‘threegolden boys’ - Murdoch, Watt and Boulton on Broad Street.However, no one much seems to realise that the figure witha large map and scroll on the left hand side of view is not, infact, unfurling a carpet for sale but is actually William

Flaming Brilliant


Murdoch - demonstrating designs and patterns for yet moreincredible innovations, improvements and inventions. In thecourse of his life time between 1754 and 1839 Murdochinvented an early pioneering wooden bicycle, the sun andplanet gear system, coal tar for waterproofing boats andwoodwork (long before Ronseal!) an early steam locomotive(fifty years before Stephenson’s Rocket), a cheap way to clearand refine beer and, of course, coal gas lighting whichenabled colleges, workplaces and schools to thrive andprosper – longer!

Lit up the World and Banished DarknessWilliam Murdoch literally lit up the world around us with gaslanterns and gas works which went on to be developedafter Murdoch’s inventive work in Redruth and in Soho at themanufactory, part of which still exists where heexperimented with coal-gas lighting - on the site of AveryWeigh-Tronix on Foundry Lane in Smethwick.

Many of the innovations William Murdoch came up withwere never patented by him, the cost was well beyond hisown annual earnings and Matthew Boulton and Wattunderstandably, but regrettably, remained keen to morethoroughly exploit sales of their patented steam pumpsrather than steam locomotive and gas lighting.

Lamp Light Tribute to a Handsworth GeniusPerhaps, in the end, most Brummies will have to take simplepride in the fact that one man’s work and genius from asmall factory cottage in the Soho Manaufactory went on to

enable whole cities to be lit up and freed from theuncertainty of candlelight and paraffin. Indeed, every gaslight, cooker and subsequent electric lanterns are smallbeacons and tributes to a fabulous, successful migrantworker who was made to shine out from Handsworth,Birmingham.

Words and Images by Adrian Johnson

More of Adrian’s work, research and new writing can beseen at the Young Readers Festival on Wednesday 25 Mayin his show about William Murdoch called ‘The Man whoPlayed with Fire.’ at the Library Theatre, Birmingham.www.kindandgenerous.weebly [email protected]

“What I like most aboutWilliam Murdoch, then andnow, is that he was verymuch made in the heat andwelcoming space of Sohoand Handsworth.“


10

Father and Son Local Artists

Nu Century Arts is a not-for-profitLimited Company started in 2000, byBarbados-born playwright Don Kinchand his musician son Soweto. It wasestablished to create an umbrellaorganisation for artists with little or noopportunity to perform their work intheatre, music and dance. Don andSoweto felt the system was failing localartists, particularly those from theAfrican-Caribbean community so theysought to create a sustainable structurewhich would open opportunities toother artists, specifically, but notexclusively from this community.

Don and Soweto saw the need for astructure in which they could both workwithin, ‘If it’s not here, let’s put it here,for us and other people’. Don decidedto come and live here with his familybecause of the high visibility of the

African-Caribbean community, in termsof music, food, style and attitude. It wasimportant to him that his childrenexperienced being part of thiscommunity. Historically, Handsworth isa place of immigrants. Don said: ‘Whenwe moved in 1989, the immigrantswere mostly of African-Caribbeanorigin whereas now there is an influxfrom other countries which I findinteresting as a writer’.

Don stresses that although theorganisation was set up with theAfrican-Caribbean community in mind,it is open to any promising artist whohas talent and enthusiasm. They aim tobe accessible and fulfill a need for thecommunity. Don is keen to point outthat the activities are not solely aimedat just young people and singles outjazz, reggae and gospel shows todemonstrate this.

To some, community arts can be seenas a lower art form but Don disagrees,‘We do excellent work within ourcommunity. This is as valuable as thework produced by the Rep, or opera orballet. It is high art from and for thecommunity, high art in low places’.

Hockley Flyover ShowThree years ago, Soweto KinchProductions in collaboration with NuCentury Arts launched the HockleyFlyover show, an event whichembodies the philosophy and the workdone over the past ten years in termsof ‘does high art have a place in thelocal community?’ The flyover is not apleasant place, it is misused andabandoned. ‘We started out with artistswho had been ignored andmarginalised, who couldn’t find aplace to perform their work’.

It was hard to persuade the authoritiesto support it, because at the time therewere tensions with postcode rivalryinvolving gang wars, stabbings andshootings. However, with support fromthe community and working with ClareEdwards from Gigbeth, they managedto persuade them to support it and itbecame a big success.

Live MusicNu Century Arts encourages live musicand brings people together to enjoyand take part in live shows and events.They run a successful weekly livemusic show called Livebox. Thispromotes local artists but also bringsin national and international artists toplay in the local community andprovide opportunities for artists tocollaborate in music workshops.

They also held an event last summerwith approximately 3,000 peopleattending. The event showcasedwomen artists who didn’t compromise

Nu High For Local Art

Kaleigh Jones, Don Kinch


in terms of their careers and as a resultthey helped change the way womenwere perceived in the music industry.‘They weren’t trading on their sexuality,or exposing parts of their body, theywanted their art form to be the centralfocus. In that sense they were quiterevolutionary. All the women who wereon the platform were women who atsome point made the decision not tocompromise and we thought thatneeded celebrating’.

Funding In the current climate there are a lot ofarts organisations affected by fundingcuts and Don expressed his concernsabout this: ‘We are a small part of abigger chain. Our infrastructure won’tbe affected because we’re fundedproject by project, but the work will beaffected because the work dependson collaboration with other people andcommunity organisations whosefunding has been cut’.

Nu Century Arts does a lot of work withorganisations who have a socialagenda, who use art to support theirprogramme or the people who use theirprogramme : ‘If they’re being cut, theycan’t do the work, and we can’t either’.Nu Century’s work is supported becausethey are seen to do good work withinthe community. ‘Our work is relevant, thefunding that we receive is important,and if we didn’t get that money wewouldn’t be able to do the work’.

Exciting FutureThe future is exciting for Nu CenturyArts. Don is currently involved in anintergenerational project (CrossingBridges), which embraces therelationship between the African-Caribbean and Asian communities, ina historical and contemporary context.‘A lot of good in our political and socialheritage gets ignored.’

Both Black and Asian people werecampaigning together and it isimportant to show that history ofcollaboration, of mutual support andrespect, of people working together.

It is in direct contrast to what is beingpromoted now. I want to show anotherside of that mutually shared influenceacross our cultural heritage,particularly to young people’.

Jamaican Olympic LinksAnother project is planned for 2012 aspart of a calendar of events developingaround Birmingham who will behosting the Jamaican athletes duringthe Olympics, as well as celebratingJamaica’s 50th independenceanniversary.

These events aim at engaging theathletes and linking them with the widercommunity. The play, In Search of MyFather, will see a collaboration between

Don and Jamaican choreographer,L’Antoinette Stines who runs a dancecompany in Kingston. ‘She is anamazing woman, both in terms of whoshe is and what she has done. The playwill be about the recovery of the majestyof the black woman’.

ContactNu Century ArtsHenderson House160 Hamstead RoadHandsworthB20 2QRwww.nucenturyarts.co.uk

Interview: Gaelle Finley Photos: Tanisha Shirley

11

Don Kinch


The council-funded Be Active schemewhich allows Birmingham residentsto take advantage of free leisurefacilities, is now heading into its thirdyear.

Although originally launched in otherareas of the city, many people areunaware that Handsworth paved theway in producing a blueprint fordelivery of this highly regardedinitiative. Kevin Thompson talks toNadeem Iqbal, Assistant LeisureManager, to find out more.

How did this scheme get off theground originally?

The scheme was launched in 2008and was originally known as the PCT(Heart of Birmingham Teaching PrimaryCare Trust) scheme in the Ladywoodarea along with Newtown, Small Heathand Nechells, where they witnessed alarge upturn of customers using theirfacilities and swimming pools.

Towards the close of that year it movedinto Handsworth, but what no one wasable to foresee was the massive impactthat it would have in Handsworth

Leisure Centre. We were that busy, itwas unbelievable! There were freegym sessions from 7am until 10pm,Monday until Friday, five days a week.Within the first three months, ourmemberships were four-fold that ofLadywood and the other districts. Ourmembership uptakes were prolific.

Why do you think it was such assuccess?

A number of reasons really – the staffwere very influential in helping tocommunicate the scheme and in 2009we had our own launch with a guestappearance from Frank Bruno, alongwith general advertising.

Was it difficult to handle the influx ofcustomers and the logistics of theprogramme?

With Be Active, there were no termsand conditions set up and there wereno codes of conduct. Our staff had towork hard in order to facilitate theprogramme. We initially had problemswith service users, coming in on a dailybasis, abusing us and sometimes eachother, because it was such a new

initiative and no guidance was in placefrom anybody on best practice andhow to implement it. As a result, wequickly came up with the plan tointroduce time slots in to help createsome order, so everyone knew whatthe expectations were in addition toother administrative methods. It wasHandsworth Leisure Centre who put astructure in place.

So what you’re saying basically isthat Handsworth Leisure Centre setthe blueprint for the running of thescheme?

That’s absolutely correct. With thegreatest of respect to our colleagues inLadywood, although they were sixmonths ahead of us, it wasHandsworth Leisure Centre that set thepace. Admittedly, it was hard tomanage – but remarkably, we wereone of the busiest gyms in Europe atone stage, with six-and-a-halfthousand people using our gym perweek.

Even today, if you look at our figures,we still take more than the area inwhich the scheme was launched. Ourteam should be commended for theirhard work.

Let’s Get Physical!

12


So how did the figures affect yourstaffing levels?

Well, for a short time morale was low.The staffing levels were there becauseof the funding; it wasn’t easy, but ourstaff are tough minded and they justget on with it. We were under someserious pressure at the time. I lost myhair! Having said that, we have comealong in leaps and bounds.

Do you think part of the success ofthe scheme, in Handsworth anyway,is due to its central location? Forexample, I have overheard oneservice user say that he travelsregularly from Harborne to use thegym.

I think we are unique in a way. A lot ofthe service users are from the localarea, but we do attract people fromplaces like Harborne and Moseleysimply because of the atmosphere andthe feel good factor here.Unfortunately, Handsworth is alwaysstigmatised in a bad way. We have abeautiful park now, and we have agood building in a great area. I’vebeen here for 18 years, and I still havethe same passion as when I firststarted. This site has been transformedin the last 6 to 7 years, and peoplewant to use the building – it’s also atestament to the staff and the servicewe provide.

What’s your final word?

This scheme has changed people’slives, and that’s no exaggeration. I seethe smiles on their faces and the lookin their eyes. People are queuing up at6.30am in order to get into the gym for7am. In years to come, it will berewarding to see the benefits from theeffort taken now. In areas such asHandsworth where residents aren’treally affluent (and unemploymentfigures are high), this scheme is like agolden ticket to them. I just wishmainstream media could shine a lighton Handsworth every now and again

to see the good work that we’re doing,rather than just flying in to get asnapshot of diversity or commenting onsome of the negative aspects.

If you’re still not convinced, then hereare some comments from leisurecentre staff and service users.

Phyllis (Receptionist)“I think the scheme has been excellent.I have seen customers who have comehere who can hardly walk, because ofweight problems. Customers have lostso much weight. One customer haslost 4 stone. There’s another young ladwho has actually lost 5 stones. It’sgreat to see the progress that peoplehave made.”

Kelly (Pool attendant)“I work on the pool and the amount ofpeople who have said their health isbetter or have lost weight due to theexercise they can do because of BeActive is great!”

Mr Sealy, aged 73 (Service User)“It’s very good and I hope it continues.”

Preet (Service User)“Yes, I’ve found it beneficial – I use it 4or 5 days a week.”

Luke (Service User)“Well, for a start, it’s free and it’s local.

It’s convenient for me when I oftencome to work in the morning and it’saccessible until 4pm or 5pm in theevening. I do benefit from it a lot andthe swimming is also available, so Ican go training and use the pool andshower facilities afterwards. So yes, Ienjoy it.”

Marcia (Service User)“Yes, it’s good. I have time to comeevery day and do a bit. I have backproblems and I’m supposed to losesome of the weight. I’m also on incomesupport so it would be too expensivefor me to pay. I was much bigger, butI’ve lost some of the weight now, andmy back problems have calmed down.So it does help, because a lot of us arenot working, and the money that wereceive is not really that much. If peoplecan come two or three times a week, itcan help you resolve some of thehealth problems that you’ve got.”

ContactYou can still use the pool andgymnasium for free, but from April 1,the times for free use have changed.Please contact Handsworth LeisureCentre on 0121 464 6336 for details.

Words & photos by Kevin Thompson

13


Green Thinking Freegle Swap not chuck!

Freegle started asFreecycle in theUS, and BrummieJames Robertsonlaunched theBirminghamgroup in 2004. A

few years later, the Americans tried toimpose a lot of rules and restrictions onhow it operated, so Freegle was born.James explains: ‘Right now inBirmingham we have 25,185 members,which I always find amazing andincredibly heart-warming. That'sthousands of Brummies whose firstinstinct is to NOT chuck something awaythat someone else might find useful, butto offer it to someone else instead.”

“It has always galled me that anythingis thrown into landfill. Think of theamount of energy and carbon neededto produce a wardrobe or bed: the rawmaterials, the transport, themanufacture and then you use it for afew years and then take it out to apatch of ground and bury it - where itwill rot and produce methane forthousands of years - utter madness!”Freegle is run by a team of volunteerswho make sure that people complywith the rules (e.g. no selling), andkeep out spammers and scammers.

So go to the website to give stuff awaythat you don't need, and to find out ifsomeone has something on offer thatyou might want. Use Freegle and youcan improve your environmentalcredentials overnight! *

Contacthttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/BirminghamFreegle orwww.freegle.in/birmingham

BrumLetsMoneyless trading

LETS (LocalExchange TradingScheme) enablespeople to tradeservices withoutexchanging

money. People join a non-profit makingclub using their own local ‘currency’ andaccounting system. A directory of goodsand skills is made available to allmembers and services offered canrange from darning to computer skills,babysitting to counselling.

In Birmingham, the currency units arecalled Hearts. Members trade with eachother whenever they wish, and recordtheir transactions on the BrumLETSwebsite. Members who don't haveready access to the Internet can usepaper cheques and send them to theTreasurer to be entered on the system.

LETS encourages people to place equalvalue on all services, from accounting tocleaning. There is no penalty for havinga 'minus balance' on your LETS account.

Last year, BrumLETS introduced a newweb-based system to allow much fasterand more regular communication. Theyare keen to recruit new members andexpand BrumLETS. Bearing in mind thelocal aspect of LETS, they would like toget a number of new people from thesame areas (such as Handsworth), asmany services are much easier andmore environmentally-friendly toprovide locally, and there's moreopportunity for social interaction.

Contactwww.brumlets.org.uk, email: [email protected] tel: 0121 685 1155

StreetbankSwapping skills & more

Streetbank.com is a website whichallows you to see what your neighboursare giving away or lending. It is a giantattic, garden shed, toolkit, fancy dresschest, library and DVD collection, andskills bank for you and anyone livingwithin 1000 yards of your home.

For example, Jack needs a long ladderto fix his guttering. He joins Streetbankby putting in his postcode and findsthat Sally down the road has one whichshe hardly ever uses. Jack borrows theladder and now, when he meets Sallyin the road they smile and say hello.

6,000 people have joined Streetbanksince April 2010. They post 250 newitems every week, in a practical andmoney-saving project that's ultimatelyabout connecting people and creatingcommunity.

Run by five part-time volunteers, it hasbeen described as an 'inspired idea'.One user, Marie, said, “to be honest ithad never occurred to me that any ofmy neighbours would have a desire tobe friendly, let alone helpful: it seemedintrinsically 2011 not to want to getinvolved with others living on thedoorstep. Just for one lucky minute Ished cynicism and signed up, and I'mreally glad I did. I was really movedthat so many people were quite soincredibly kind.”

Contactwww.streetbank.com

Interviews: Gaelle Finley

Exchange your unwanted stuff and swap your skills with other people

14


Was Charlie here?

Originally an open space betweenHandsworth and Winson Green, theBlack Patch was an area where slag[cinders] from local furnaces weredumped. For much of the 19th centuryit was the winter camping site ofRomany Gypsies.

This community still feels a strongattachment to the Patch and every JulyRomany families gather at Soho FoundryTavern. A memorial plaque has beenplaced at the bridge where BoundaryBrook and Hockley Brook converge inBlack Patch Park. The park was createdby Birmingham City Council in 1911, thesame year in which Handsworth wasincorporated into the City. Next to thepark stands Soho Foundry which wasbuilt by Matthew Boulton in 1796 andknown to many as the birthplace of theIndustrial Revolution.

The Friends of Black Patch Park wasformed in 2003, when there was athreat of Sandwell Council allowingdevelopment on the land. There wereeven plans at one time to put a newrelief road through the park.

'My mother and grandmother playedin this park as they grew up and I didnot want it to be rubbed out in this

way. As well as such personalconnections, there are greater reasonsto acknowledge and celebrate thevalue of this space, not only to the localbut also to a worldwide community'said Ron Collins, Chairman of theFriends of Black Patch Park group. Forthe last year or so the group havebeen planning a special event tocelebrate the centenary of it beingmade a park which will also highlightanother recent but very excitinghistorical find.

A new discovery has been madeabout the park and a journalist calledMatthew Sweet wrote an article in TheGuardian on 18th February 2011. Itrevealed that a Romany womannamed Hannah Hill lived on the BlackPatch. She was the mother of CharlieChaplin, the most famous comedian inthe world. According to a Romanyrelative, Charlie was born there in aGypsy caravan. This story waspublished in several morenewspapers over the next couple ofdays and broadcast on BBC Radio 4on 21st February.

Charlie's son Michael confirmed theexistence in the Chaplin Archives of a

letter from a Jack Hill claiming thatCharlie was born on the Black Patch.However Michael has not confirmedwhether the story is true or not.

Friends of Black Patch Park is noworganising a day of celebration onSaturday 18th June where everyone isinvited to come and join in the fun andactivities. They plan to show CharlieChaplin films on the day and there willbe a football tournament for all agesrunning through the day, as well asother games and sports. At the eventthere will be a variety of stalls and foodvendors, a programme of musical actsand arts and crafts activities, includingan open mic session and poetry. Theyare also hoping to include historicaltours of Soho Foundry and visits to AveryWeigh-Tronix, a museum of weighingartefacts from around the world.

Please come along to celebrate thehistory and the value of this uniqueplace in our community at Black PatchPark (off Foundry Lane) on 18th June,2011.

Interview: Gaelle FinleyPictures: Digital Handsworthwww.digitalhandsworth.org.uk

Black Patch Park

15


16

Young people at Holyhead school inHandsworth had their firstexperience of the style of Sufi musicknown as Qawwali as part of a pilotschool programme to be rolled outacross the UK.

This exciting and unique project wasmade possible through funding fromAwards for All Big Lottery Funding andsupport of theBirmingham chamberof Commerce.

At Holyhead Schoolbetween 11th and 27thJanuary 2011, SAYarts,a Handsworth-basedCommunity InterestCompany, hosted the first in a series ofschool assemblies, music workshopsand a final performance involvingprofessional musicians and youngpeople themselves. Qawwali musicfeatures in the Key Stage 3 Musiccurriculum.

Qawwali music was popularisedthrough Peter Gabriel who introducedNusrat Fateh Ali Khan to the westwhere he became a great influence onartists as diverse as Madonna, MichaelJackson, Luciano Pavarotti and JeffBuckley. Nusrat also attracted fans likePrincess Diana, Elton John, PaulMcCartney, Celine Dion and manyothers. Nusrat made his mark inBirmingham and died in 1997, leavinga gap in the Qawwali music scene foralmost 14 years, a gap which SAYartsare now privileged and excited to fill.

SAYarts has been working closely withPerry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood topromote Sufi music, by setting up aseries of workshops in inner-cityBirmingham schools teaching students

about this genre, which isinspired by poets whopracticed Sufism, amystical tradition within

Islam. In November 2010, EducationSecretary Michael Gove acknowledgedthe work being done in Birminghamschools in promoting Sufi music andpoetry, and the project has cross-partypolitical support.

According to Headteacher. MartinBayliss: “We are thrilled to have thisfantastic opportunity to work closelywith such a dynamic company asSAYarts and we’re really lookingforward to the assemblies, workshopsand performances.”

Abid Iqbal Director of SAYarts said, “Weare equally enthusiastic about thismarvellous project. Nusrat is a realhero of ours and we are sure he wouldbe so proud of our humble efforts toutilise his beloved Qawwali as ameans to spread peace and harmony.”

The Qawwali Showcase was attendedby Jerry Blackett, CEO of BirminghamChamber of Commerce, who not onlypresented certificates to youngperformers, but also handed out a

special life time achievement award forservices to music to Mr MohammedAyyub of Oriental Star Agencies (the firstSouth Asian record label inBirmingham). Jerry commented: “I verymuch enjoyed the evening. The musicwas very accessible and hypnotic. Welldone for organising it.”

About Qawwali MusicSpanning across almost everycontinent and over a millennium, theSufi movement has influenced variouscultures and ways of life. Besideshaving a strong philosophical andspiritual guide for its followers, thediscipline has also gone on to influencearts through dance, poetry andperhaps most notably music. Sufimusic has had many talentedexponents who have gone on tospread the beauty of this artformacross the world through popularculture. The most popular form of Sufimusic is the Qawwali which originatedin Persia in the eighth century. Thisform of singing is linked to the spiritualand artistic aspects of life.

Contactwww.sayarts.com

Sufi Music Nightat Holyhead School


Handsworth school children havehad the once in a lifetimeopportunity to meet and interviewsome of the most famous sportsmenin the world including DavidBeckham, Ryan Giggs, LinfordChristie, Sven-Goran Eriksson, LeeWestwood, Peter Shilton, JoeCalzaghe and Phil Taylor.

Pupils from Saint John Wall CatholicSchool in Handsworth were invited tothe BBC Sports Personality of the Yearaward ceremony at the LG Arena inBirmingham in December 2010 as partof the BBC News School Report project.

School ReporterSukhpreet a school reporter said, “I wasfeeling excited, I just didn’t know Iwould get the chance to meet andinterview David Beckham and the othersports stars. I still can’t believe it!”

BBC News School Report gives 11-14year-old pupils in the UK the chance tomake their own news reports. Withsupport from BBC staff andschoolteachers, Year 8 and 9 pupilsnationwide worked hard to train anddevelop their journalistic skills bycarrying out interviews and producingreports over a number of months.

On Thursday 24th March, 19 pupilsfrom Saint John Wall Catholic Schooljoined up with around 800 otherschools across the UK to broadcastand report on the newssimultaneously. The pupils created,video, audio and text-based newsreports and published them on theschool website with links to the BBCwebsite.

Saint John Wall pupils covered the

stories of the day as well as theirSpecial Report, which was an exclusiveinterview with footballer, Giles Barnes,of West Bromwich Albion Football Club.

BBC News presenter, Huw Edwards, islending his support to the project. Hesaid: “I’m involved because I want togive young people the chance to makethe news themselves, and I want toshare the principles of goodjournalism.”

As well as covering their own stories,Saint John Wall Catholic School wereselected as a hub school, one of only 7in the country. They gathered newsfrom other schools in the Midlands andEast Anglia and reported on theirstories as they happened.

Wonderful OpportunityMr Hyatt, Headteacher at Saint JohnWall, said, “What a wonderfulopportunity this is for our pupils to beinvolved in a major project run by theBBC - a project which gives pupils theopportunity to gain skills away from theclassroom. The commitment andenthusiasm shown by our pupils is apleasure to see.”

You can see the updates from the dayand the school report film by visiting http://bbcnews.sjw.bham.sch.uk/

The pupils said: “We all really enjoyedourselves. We would like to give aspecial thanks to Mr Steve Marshallwho has helped us with our BBCschool report.”

St John Wall SchoolMake the News

Diary by Gurdeep and Shannon at Saint John Wall24th March 2011

9.15 am - Today Sukhpreet, the floor manager, held a meeting tomake sure everyone knew what they were doing.

9.40 am – Manisha, Hawa and Raman speak to other schools and askthem questions about their BBC news school report.

11.00 am – Tanya and Rojina feel very nervous and all panicky now,but still cannot wait for their precious moment.

11.30am – 12.15pm – Practice run.

12.30pm – Live run.

1.15pm - Mr Mull started editing the video of Tanya and Rojina’spresenting getting it ready to go on the school website. Meanwhile theHUB team are still contacting schools. All schools are all going live at2pm.

17


R

Lo

B


hands on handworth - 4th edition

Documents

handsworth page

handsworth areavailable

handsworth library

handsworth blogsince

new handsworthheritage

trail leaflet

new role

stories forthe magazine