Boldmere Pages July/August 2020

July / August 2020

www.boldmerepages.co.uk

Boldmere Pages ereod m d l o B bourho Neighum News For side In

Boldmere Bounces Back!

Find out how local businesses are adapting to the “new normal”

Local author’s debut novel

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Local updates on COVID19

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Well, hello you!

Welcome page

Editor’s Letter

I hope you have all been keeping safe and well, and as we are tentatively moving through the phases of unlocking that you keep being cautious where necessary and required.

This issue is all about celebrating Boldmere Bouncing Back! Inside you will see articles about how local businesses have adapted to the ‘new normal’, adverts from local businesses showing what they’re doing to keep us safe while we support them, and local news from the Boldmere Neighbourhood Forum.

Robin Gray Editor

boldmerepages@grayjonesmedia.com

My thanks also need to go out to the Boldmere Neighbourhood Forum and the National Lottery Community Fund for helping to make this issue of the Boldmere Pages happen and to enable us to offer discounted advertising to businesses once again.

We also have an interview with Hannah Sunderland, a local author who has released her debut novel during lockdown! The book is amazing and definitely worth a read.

I hope you’re all making the most of this amazing weather, and here’s hoping it continues throughout the summer months ahead.

Take care and stay safe,

Robin

In this issue...

Boldmere Bounces Back……. p.4-5 Hannah Sunderland interview…… p.8-9 Update from Cllr Rob Pocock…… p.11 Neighbourhood Forum News…… p.12-13

Nick Moreton Designer

nick.moreton@me.com

Links www.boldmerepages.co.uk Facebook.com/theboldmerepages Twitter.com/boldmerepages Instagram.com/boldmerepages Issuu.com/boldmerepages boldmerepages@grayjonesmedia.com

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Boldmere

Bounces Back

The Coronavirus has been challenging for everyone in so many different ways. Much of Boldmere’s dynamic business community have seen their way of life scrapped and income decimated. However, where there is a challenge, opportunities present themselves. Here’s how some of the businesses in Boldmere have found clever new ways to bounce back.

Tobizzy2bake My business is called Tobizzy2bake and I run a home bakery from my Boldmere home. Prior to lockdown I supplied over 20 coffee shops in the West Midlands area with cakes. These venues shut early on and I had to adapt to selling cakes directly to people, which I had not done previously. I now offer a reduced product list offering home delivery of cakes for friends and families.

Gavin – Tobizzy2bake

Creating Taste – The Brum Pasty In 2007, we set up our business on the edge of the Birmingham Jewellery quarter to produce a range of frozen, ‘ready to bake’ pies and pasties for the catering and wholesale trades. We have now made our range of award winning ready to bake pasties available to the public, offering free home delivery in the Sutton Coldfield area. Find out more about our range later in this issue of the Boldmere Pages!

Phil – Creating Taste

Theatre Dance We are very proud of our students and adults who despite the lockdown have been working hard at their dancing to keep exam, competition work and general fitness levels going. Teachers have also been setting challenges to keep everyone motivated. We are all set to return (with safety procedures in place) as soon as the Government allows.

Everyone is keen to get back!

Jane – Theatre Dance

The Deli in Boldmere Prior to lockdown, the Deli was the heart of the Boldmere community. When our café closed, we felt that we needed to continue to support the community by offering our products as takeaway options using strict hygiene measures and we began offering click and collect, or home delivery, of essential food items through our new website. In tough times, we all need a treat, and that’s where the Deli came in! We are also proud to host the Boldmere Foodbank.

Matt – The Deli in Boldmere 4

Secret Boutique Luckily our website was in place and had started to generate some interest with the local community, so when the shop had to shut, we were able to continue supplying our fashion to the local community. We have now been able to reopen the shop with safety measures in place and we offer free local click and collect where people can pick up their website orders at the shop in a safe and secure manner.

Tracy – Secret Boutique

Mom’s Present Mom’s Present is a family-run business based in Sutton Coldfield. Prior to the Coronavirus we offered a casting service, making 3D casts of babies’ hands and feet mounted in beautiful presentation frames, as well as free-standing casts and silver jewellery. Through the lockdown, we have been able to continue our online ordering service for personalised greeting cards and gifts. Order online at momspresent.co.uk, and we are able to do the rest. It’s perfect for people who are shielding or those who do not want to risk the shops.

Mom’s Present Of course, we must remember that not all businesses can pivot due to their industry.

One example is the pet sitting and kennelling businesses…

PetStay We have been dreadfully affected by the current pandemic as you can imagine with the lockdown and travel limitations obviously people are unable to go on holiday and although we had had record bookings for 2020 during Jan And February our business is now zero like a lot of other establishments.

Sue – PetStay.net As we ease cautiously out of lockdown, local businesses deserve all our support and we encourage everyone to think local when they’re considering their shopping and service needs.

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OUR TAXIS ARE SANITISED BETWEEN EVERY TRIP

Local Author Hannah Sunderland Releases Debut Novel

By Chris Day

Very Nearly Normal invites you to step into the shoes of Matilda ‘Effie’ Heaton, a woman who likes a little too much wine and is far from perfect. Effie’s story is one of love, self-discovery and her journey to becoming a fully-fledged adult.

Hannah Sunderland has written a story that speaks true to many of us, tackling issues of alcoholism, overprotective parents and struggling to accept our flaws and mistakes while working towards being a better person. The mixture of perfectly timed humour combined with the emotional struggles of Effie, provide a window into the lives of all the characters, including a sassy cat!

Very Nearly Normal is an amazing story which will bring you that little slice of a nearly normal life that we are all missing at the moment.

I had a chance to talk to Hannah about her debut novel.

Chris: What was the main inspiration for this book?

Hannah: When I began writing the book, about three years ago now, I found myself in a very similar place to Effie. I had no idea where my life was going and frustrations about finances and living in the family home into adult life. I think a lot of young people face these problems and I felt like writing about them would be beneficial to me and to others who maybe felt the same.

Chris: It feels like a very personal story, would you describe it as semiautobiographical?

Hannah: Yes, sort of. I think it’s hard to write an honest, to-the-point book without putting a lot of yourself into it. Effie is based very much on how I was during this time. I feel like Effie is maybe a character based on my more negative traits and Theo, the main male character, is based on my more positive ones.

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Chris: How does it feel to have had such a positive response to your debut novel?

Hannah: It feels amazing! A lot of people have said that Effie will stay with them for a long time and that the book has meant a lot to them. I think that that is by far the best response you can have to something you’ve put your heart and soul into. Obviously, the lockdown has had a negative effect on most sales across the book industry, with book shops being closed, but with the shops opening up, we are hoping to get back to normal or…very nearly normal.

Pun intended!

Chris: Are you planning a sequel, can you tease us with what’s next for Effie?

Hannah: I do have further plans for her. Whether these will be seen or not, I don’t know. But, let’s just say, there are bumpy roads and curveballs heading her way to disrupt the happy ending she thought she’d found.

Very Nearly Normal is available now in hard copy, Kindle edition and audio book narrated by Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones)

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Boldmere Neighbourhood Forum News Councillor Rob Pocock’s Update I was asked to step in last month when Sutton Park got raided by illegal parties, leaving behind huge piles of litter, bottles, cans and drug debris. Local volunteers joined Police and Parks staff to do a great local clean-up. Security has now been stepped up and police action has recently caught drug dealers and thieves.

The intensified Police patrols are still in place but the episode has highlighted a growing national problem in public parks and open spaces up and down the county. A series of these ‘public rave gatherings’ is being organised by a small but sophisticated network of unofficial festival and event promoters. The Police are starting to find some of these online to gain intelligence of the expected locations so they can be there in advance. The event organisers have cottoned on this, and are now advertising a range of locations, then with maybe 90 minutes notice an actual ‘Google pin’ location is circulated on private Snapchat and Instagram accounts. So the police nationally and locally are engaged in a cat-and-mouse battle with these people, trying to prevent and disperse these gatherings.

From what we can gather, gig and rave organisers are now planning a major summer upsurge of these ‘quarantine raves’ and park parties, as their normal summer business venues are closed.

So unfortunately it is highly likely we will see more of this until this part of the entertainment economy formally starts again.

I have also been asked about what best to do about street homelessness. We are seeing more of this here in places like Boldmere, Wylde Green and Princess Alice New Oscott, as city centres are not as busy nowadays. Most people want to help, but the message from virtually every support agency and homelessness charity is - please do not give cash direct to people begging on the streets. Instead, you can get practical help for the person by contacting StreetLink, see www.streetlink.org.uk, or phone 0300 500 0914. This is a new multi-agency service, funded by the City Council, Charities and Government, dedicated to offering intensive support to the individuals who need it. If you want to give money to help support the street homeless, some excellent charities are St Mungos, St Basils, Big Issue and Sifa Fireside.

As well as people in genuine need, there is another growing problem, which is people being ‘trafficked’, often from overseas, by gangmasters who then send them out on street begging, for prostitution or selling drugs. The Police are urgently trying to crack these gangs. Often the victims are imprisoned secretly in appalling conditions in sheds or warehouses overnight, then dropped off to work a patch during the day. There is some evidence this may be occurring in our area, and if you spot any of this, especially people being dropped off, please pass that detailed evidence to the Police. It is a scandal that this is happening, and these villainous gangmasters need to be rooted out, and their victims rescued, as a matter of absolute urgency.

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Boldmere Neighbourhood Forum News Dear Residents, This edition of Boldmere Neighbourhood Forum News is all about celebrating the resilience of our local community. Funding for this has come from “The National Lottery Community Fund” for which we are very grateful. Local groups and individuals are welcome to contribute to future issues, contact the editor at boldmere.forum@talktalk.net

The Boldmere Food Bank When Natalie Justice read on Facebook that the Food Banks were overwhelmed with demand and Sutton Town Hall was becoming a collection point, she wanted to encourage her local community to start collecting together. This started with a box at the end of her drive for people to add to, which she would then take to the Town Hall.

Initially, Natalie promoted the collection through a Boldmere Infant School parents’ WhatsApp group. The box started to fill up and also her son was able to wave at friends as they added to the box at the top of the drive! Despite managing to take a few full boxes to the Town Hall, the box was unfortunately stolen twice. Natalie felt that this showed the food must have been needed, but she couldn’t keep providing the plastic boxes for this to keep happening.

Natalie asked Pippa & Matt at the Deli in Boldmere if they could host the collection box and they said yes. The response has been amazing and over the past few weeks Natalie continued to take boxes of food, toiletries and other essentials to the Town Hall. Natalie’s hope is that as things change and restrictions are lifted, our community is able to continue to help those in need.

Praise for Local Heroes “I would like to thank all involved with The Deli in Boldmere. Pippa Matt & Sim have grafted, adapted & remained a community hub. They’ve delivered food to those who can’t leave their homes for whatever reason. They support local charities in whatever way they can. They help to glue our little community together through tough times, which they have always done but now more than ever” – Michelle Evans 12

Boldmere Neighbourhood Forum News “A thank you to all those in the NHS, Carers & those keeping our country running. But a special thank you goes to Jen from Walmley, a care worker doing 12 hour shifts every day and still carries on. This lady is a true hero putting others first before herself something she would do in a heartbeat. I have the upmost admiration for her and immensely proud to call her my friend. Thank You Jen you are amazing.” – Adeeba Dempster

Summer Reading Challenge The Summer Reading Challenge encourages children aged 4-11 to read during the long summer holiday with research showing that children’s reading can ‘dip’ severely during the summer if they do not have regular access to books. With school life disrupted and many children missing the company of their friends, this year’s Summer Reading Challenge will be all the more vital as a way of helping parents and carers find fun, family-friendly activities, maintain literacy levels and create a safe space for children to connect with their peers.

This year’s theme will also offer families a chance to have fun and just “GET SILLY!”, with children being encouraged to read anything that makes them happy - whether it be a comic, joke book, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, in digital or print format, from e-book lending through the public library service or from what they already have at home, with the Summer Reading Challenge official book collection as a guide (https://readingagency.org.uk/children/news/ silly-squad-book-collection.html) Boldmere Library started hosting virtual events from 5th June and will continue via their Facebook page to support this challenge. In the past Boldmere has had one of the largest up takes of the challenge in Birmingham. This year it is all online so let’s see if we can still get lots of children involved!

The Boldmere Neighbourhood Forum column is made possible by a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund 13

DIREC

T TO YO

UR DOOR - HANDMADE

LT D TA ST E G N I T

BY CREA

2020. We are living in strange times, but even in strange times good things can happen!

Our award winning range of frozen, ready to bake Pasties are now available for free home delivery in Boldmere (and local surrounding areas).

The BRUM Pasties are handmade in Birmingham, and delivered frozen and ready to oven bake straight from the freezer. They include meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan choices. Boxes of 6 BRUM pasties are just £20.00 (or 8 for £25.00), but you can order as many boxes as you would like.

Our great tasting BRUM pasties each have their own unique design, are generously filled (300g approx.) and folded in delicious savoury pastry. Ready to bake straight from the freezer, they offer you delicious ‘street food’ style pasties that are easy to store and cook.

How to get your BRUM pasties: Choose from the list of BRUM Pasties on page 2.

• Email us with your order, name, address (including postcode), telephone number and preferred payment method, give us a call, or send a text.

• We can take payment by cash, cheque or online transfer to our bank account.

• We will confirm an order number and give you our bank details (if paying online).

Cash or cheques can be collected on delivery – as long as we maintain our safe distance!

• If online payment is made, please use your order number as the reference.

• We’ll confirm delivery day and deliver as planned.

• We will keep you up to date with product changes and special offers.

Privacy policy – Details will be held on file by Creating Taste Ltd to ensure effective communication with our customers only. We will not provide them to any third party.

CREATING TASTE LIMITED - HOCKLEY - BIRMINGHAM - B18 7RJ 0121 551 6827 - 07812 503043 - brumpasty@gmail.com

0121 551 6827 07812 503043 brumpasty@gmail.com www.creatingtaste.com

LAMB and leek Pasty – Gold British Pie Awards 2019.

Freshly minced leg of lamb with leek, potato, onion and mint.

Allergens – Wheat, Egg. Minced BEEF pasty – Silver British Pie Awards 2020.

Minced beef with potato, carrot, swede, onion and a little English mustard, moistened with beef gravy and sprinkled parsley. with parsl Allergens – Wheat, Barley, Egg, Mustard, Soybean (in beef stock).

CAERFFILI Cheese and Leek Pasty – suitable for a vegetarian diet. Leek, onion, swede and potato in a lovely ‘Welsh rarebit’ style cheese sauce with Caerffili cheese.

Allergens – Wheat, Mustard, Egg, Milk.

CHICKEN Balti pasty – Silver British Pie awards 2020. chicken breast with potato, peas, peppers and onion in our own Balti style curry Diced chic seasoning, with a little chilli heat.

Allergens – Wheat, Egg, Celery. Spices may contain traces of nuts, soybean and mustard.

Eastern spiced CHICKEN pasty – Bronze British Pie Awards 2019.

Chicken breast seasoned with a mild Eastern style spice, mixed with potato, leek, peppers and onion.

Allergens – Wheat, Barley, Egg, Soybean (in chicken stock).

FISH PIE Pasty

A selection of sea fish mixed with potato, cheese, peas, leeks and spinach, wrapped in shortcrust pastry and sprinkled with grated cheese and dill.

Allergens – Wheat, Fish, Egg, Milk.

CHICKPEA, basil and vegetable pasty – suitable for a vegan diet.

A delicious selection of vegetables, chickpeas, mushrooms and potato with a fresh basil dressing.

Allergens – Wheat.

Storage – keep in your freezer until required (or see best before date).

Cooking – Pre-heat your oven to about 180oC and bake for about 40 minutes.

These are for electric fan assisted – but ovens do vary. Pastry should be crisp and golden.

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SALE NOW ON MASSIVE REDUCTIONS IN ALL DEPARTMENTS

UP TO 70% OFF Please call the shop for revised opening times.

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Adult Classes

Sutton Stage School

Want to improve strength and flexibility whilst learning a variety of dance styles?

Classes at Bishop Walsh School on Saturday mornings, Tap, Modern Jazz, Theatre Craft, Gymnastic Dance.

Shows, exams and festivals.

Ballet Barre Conditioning plus Contemporary & Jazz Dance

Class on Thursdays Thu at Wylde Green United Reformed Church 6.40 until 7.20.

Ballet Classes

Beat the blues every Monday morning, 10am at Wylde Green United Reformed Church

Boldmere Ballet School Catering for children of all ages plus gymnastic dance on Fridays for the younger student.

Tap Classes

Toe-tapping fun on Saturday afternoons, 1pm at Bishop Walsh School.

Call now to reserve your space!

Confetti Choreography Wedding dances with a difference Need a great g first dance but don’t want to commit to a programme of ballroom lessons?

Confetti Choreography is a wedding dance service creating special first dances tailor made for you and your partner.

Contact: Jane Cooke: 07932 065 949 | jane@theatredance.co.uk janecooke_sssbbs@hotmail.com | www.theatredance.co.uk

CREATIVE, FUN, WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY info@lisacarpenterphotos.com www.lisacarpenterphotos.com 07599 818133

Thank you to the NHS and all key workers from the people of Sutton Coldfield, The Community Games and Š Richard T Harris Photography