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B13 MAGAZINE
S 97 1
JUNE 2021 ISSUE 519
C O V D N A L A CE C LO IN 3
MOSELEY
GERMA ADAN:
ALL POSSIBILITIES
QUERIDA ANNA...
MOSELEY HISTORY
MOSELEY MUNCH
OXFAM'S BOOKSHOP
THE LETTERS OF THE MIAMI FIVE THE INCREDIBLE EDIBLE EGG
WINTERSLOE SCHOOL
VINYL REVIVAL
MOSELEY B13 MAGAZINE
JUNE21 EDITOR Mark Baxter (editor@moseleymagazine.co.uk) THE TEAM Ian Cook, David Isgrove, Stephanie Silk, MariaArroja Ferreira, Tipton, Debbie Aldous, Max Jalil, Martin Jeffers, Jobe Baker-Sullivan, Izzy Knowles, Yonatan Yon, Alex Jenkins, Jenny Gwynne, Mitch Schofield DESIGN Andy Wickett (andywickett@gmail.com) CONTRIBUTORS David Spilsbury, Moseley Local History Society, Jane Barry, Jan Stewart, Bryony Fisher, Allan Brookfield BUSINESS MANAGER Martin Jeffers PROOF READER Jane Barry SOCIAL MEDIA Maria Arroja Ferreira TREASURER Leanne Holloway (accounts@moseleyb13.com) ADVERTISING Yonatan Yon DISTRIBUTION Izzy Knowles,Martin Jeffers BOARD David Isgrove (Chair) Stephanie Silk (Editorial) PHOTOGRAPHER Position Vacant COVER IMAGE Courtesy of Germa Adan MAIL Moseley Publishing House Ltd. Moseley B13 Magazine, c/o: Moseley Exchange, 149-153 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8JP. ONLINE instagram.com/moseleyb13mag facebook.com/MoseleyB13Magazine twitter.com/MoseleyB13Mag PHONE 0843 289 3665 COMPANY SECRETARY Position Vacant LEGAL STUFF Moseley Publishing House Ltd is a non-profit voluntary run company based in England and Wales. Company No. 07786560. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or part, without express permission. All material is believed to be correct at the time of going to print.
WORDS FROM THE
EDITOR
There are eight million stories in the naked city…” was the closing line of the 1950s-60s police procedural Naked City, based on the film of the same name. While I can’t pretend Moseley has as many stories as New York, the naked city itself, it certainly has more than enough to fill the latest magazine...and many more (I hope)! Our cover star Germa Adan chats to the magazine about her musical journey on tour, and also from living in Haiti, the USA and England (pages 8-9). A Moseley Minute is spent with Diane Harding and her moving memoir Always in the Dark. Diane pieces together a childhood in a family “shrouded in secrets” (pages 13-15) . We also remember Ann Sargent, a Moseley resident of 50 years who sadly passed away last December. Ann’s own story is one of communication and solidarity with the Miami Five, the Cuban men unjustly imprisoned for trying to stop terrorist attacks against their own country (1820). There are many stories in Moseley. These are just a few of them. Please get in touch if you would like to tell your own tale to B13. Mark
08 OUTLETS Farmers’ Market (Village Green) plus: A and R News (320 Yardley Wood Road) Aiden McDonnell Hair (56 St Mary's Row) Drinksville (23 Woodbridge Road) Greenhill Garage (89-91 Billesley Lane) Indigo Foods (50-52 St Mary’s Row) Ladypool Cycles (404 Ladypool Road) Maison Mayci (148 Alcester Road) Moseley Post Office (149 Alcester Road) Newslink (3 Alcester Road) Nima Deli (103 Alcester Road) One Stop (117 Billesley Lane) Palmyra (13 St Mary's Row), Select & Save (174-176 Alcester Road) Spend and Save (211 Swanshurst Lane)
2021 PUBLICATION DATES
ISSUE COPY SALE Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
17 Feb 17 Mar 21 Apr 19 May 16 Jun 14 Jul 18 Aug 15 Sep 20 Oct 17 Nov
27 Feb 27 Mar 24 Apr 29 May 26 Jun 24 Jul 28 Aug 25 Sep 30 Oct 27 Nov
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10 INTHIS ISSUE 04
NEWSHOUND
08
GERMA ADAN
10
MOSELEY MUNCH!
13
MOSELEY MINUTE
15
MUSIC REVIEW
16
OXFAM'S BOOKSHOP
18
QUERIDA ANNA
21
EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME
22
COL8
25
MOSELEY MEMORIES
28
MOSELEY HISTORY
30
KNOW YOUR CREDIT SCORE
31
BILLESLEY SCOUTS
16
BY MARK BAXTER
NEWSHOUND
Tipton, the B13 Newshound Twitter: @B13Newshound / Instagram: @tiptonb13
MAC RE-OPENS WITH NEW CAFÉ/RESTAURANT, KILN, AND £1 MILLION FACELIFT Cannon Hill’s MAC was due to re-open on May 24 after spending more than £1 million on improvements including a new café/restaurant, KILN, with more comfortable tables. Other new features include a facility to book ahead online to "prioritise the safety of all staff and customers”. Customers will also be able to order online at KILN. The menu will be "68 per cent local and sustainable" with an emphasis on "…seasonal produce, prioritising environmentallyfriendly products, with food prepared on-site. The former ‘queue to order’ system will be replaced with table service. KILN has redesigned table-top heights to improve customer comfort. It is supported by Arts Council England (ACE) and players of the People’s Postcode Lottery through the Postcode Culture Trust. A MAC statement said: "The café and restaurant promise to offer visitors a relaxing dining space, focused on creativity, comfort and accessibility, after the challenges of last year. During MAC’s closure, the former café has been refurbished, placing an emphasis on safety and functionality to improve visitors’ experience. "MAC has successfully worked with Birmingham-based company 2G Design and Build, to produce an ambitious café design that will ensure greater financial sustainability for the Arts Centre going forward. "The design has allowed for increased seating covers, a higher percentage of the menu to be created on-site, the generation of new jobs with specific skill-sets, improved facilities for private hire and an evening service available from autumn 2021." Deborah Kermode, CEO and Artistic Director of MAC, said: “Seeing how challenging the last year has been for the arts and hospitality sector, this crucial investment in MAC’s facilities will help our visitors to have a more enjoyable, delicious and creative dining experience, as well as ensuring MAC as a charity becomes more financially resilient in the future. Every bite at KILN directly contributes to the art and artists that we so passionately support. "Throughout the capital project, we have consulted with staff and visitors to ensure KILN reflects our values and is inclusive and affordable with a focus on sustainability. We look forward to welcoming everyone this May.” On October 12 last year, MAC announced it had received a "vital grant” of £680,668 from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to help to protect the future of our venue and put it in a stronger position to reopen safely in spring 2021. Less than two months later, on December 7, MAC then announced it had received another £400,000 of funding. This time the money came from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) to support its ambitious renovation project, which aims to increase MAC’s educational and community provision as a national leader in creative learning programmes for people with disabilities and/or additional needs. For further pictures of the KILN café go to https://tinyurl. com/6p5pjrdh . Thanks to Tom Bird (photographer) and 2G Design and Build for the image.
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THE PRINCE OF WALES LAUNCHES THEATRE NIGHTS WITH SOCCER-THEMED PLAY The Prince of Wales is to launch an exciting new programme of theatre nights, to help support the local arts community following the pandemic. To kick off this new initiative, Saltire Sky Theatre company present their moving and humorous smash Edinburgh Festival production of the soccer-themed 1902 to be staged on Monday July 5th and Thursday July 8th. The dates will coincide with the last week of the 2021 Euros due to finish in a Wembley final on Sunday July 11th. Sterling Archer, General Manager at the Prince of Wales, said: “The Prince has always been known as a venue that supports the arts and has always welcomed performers and creatives. It has been part of our DNA and we want to develop this aspect of pub life and support the artistic community following the hardships that this sector has been facing. We really hope that the people of Nathan Dunn, writer and performer Birmingham will embrace the chance to check out pre-Fringe productions in an informal and familiar setting.” The sell-out play received 5 star reviews from critics during its previous run at the Edinburgh Fringe festival and is written and performed by graduates from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Fittingly, the play is set in a pub, during the 2016 Scottish Cup Final, and charts the lives of a group of friends as they grapple with love, friendship, poverty and the fortunes of their beloved Hibs (Hibernian) football club. Critics from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival wrote: “The show is an hour and fifteen minute display of raw acting and sheer brilliance. The chemistry between the actors is phenomenal. It is testament to this young company and their writer that even a play with such rambunctious spirit can balance tragedy and comedy with the same flair seen in the work of such notables as Mike Leigh and Ken Loach.” Nathan Dunn, writer and cast member, has recently graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire and says: - “I am so excited that we can now put our play on, in the city that I’ve been living in for the past three years. Performing it in a pub during the Euros will only add to the atmosphere. The play is based on my own experiences of growing up as a working-class laddie in Scotland and following a football team, dealing with whatever pleasures and hardship that brings. I think a lot of Blues and Villa supporters will identify with that!” Performances take place Out the Back of the Prince of Wales at 7:30 pm on Monday 5th and Thursday 8th July and at 2:30 pm on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th July. Tickets cost £10 and are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prince-of-walespub-theatre-moseley-tickets-153458960883. They can be purchased in advance from behind the bar at the Prince of Wales. For further information and to discuss future projects: email - princeofwalespubtheatre@gmail.com or call Becky Jones-Owen - 07989 475696.
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RIVAL PETITIONS BATTLE OVER LOCAL LOW TRAFFIC NEIGHBOURHOODS An online ‘battle of the petitions’ has begun over local low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in Moseley and Kings Heath. One petition calls for the city council to make Moseley and Kings Heath’s temporary LTNs permanent. A rival petition calls for the LTNs to be scrapped altogether. As we went to press more than three times as many people had signed the petition opposing LTNs as those signing a petition supporting them. A low traffic neighbourhood is an area where road or roads are blocked to most through motor traffic, usually by means of large wooden planters. Essential access, such as for the removal of household waste, is permitted. Emergency vehicles are also allowed through. For other non-essential journeys people are encouraged to walk or cycle instead of using cars. School Road’s LTN (pictured) was introduced last year along with similar schemes in Moseley/Kings Heath but opinion about their merits has been sharply divided since their introduction. The petition supporting LTNs says the Kings Heath and Moseley LTN “reduces noise and pollution, as well as promoting a healthier lifestyle, alternative transport and a more caring community”. The petition opposing local LTNs says they are “road blockades/ street barriers”. Other objections are that LTNs don’t actually reduce traffic but merely divert it along side roads, causing inconvenience or even road traffic accidents elsewhere. On its website Birmingham City Council explains that the LTNs were brought in last year using an “experimental traffic order” to trial road closures for a maximum of 18 months. During the first six months of operation, anyone could submit written comments either supporting or opposing them and many residents have done so. The council says it will monitor the road closures to see whether traffic is reduced and road safety improved. Before any road closure could be made permanent, a statutory process would need to be followed which includes publication of notice and formal consultation. LOCAL SCHOOLGIRL, 13, TRAGICALLY FALLS FROM DEVON CLIFF A 13-year-old Moseley schoolgirl tragically fell from a cliff in Devon while on holiday with her parents, an inquest has heard. Safia Lardner was on her Easter half-term break when she fell from the cliff at Sandy Bay, near the Devon Cliffs Holiday Park, in Exmouth, Devon, on April 16. An inquest opened on Tuesday, May 4, at Exeter County Hall. Coroner Philip Spinney confirmed that he was still awaiting the results of a post mortem examination report to establish the cause of the girl's death. Following her fatal fall, Safia was taken by ambulance to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, where her death was confirmed. A full inquest hearing will take place on January 19, 2022, to establish the full circumstances surrounding her death. Police have confirmed the death is not being treated as suspicious. Safia was a former pupil of Park Hill Primary School and Queensbridge Secondary School. Park Hill Primary School has set up an online fundraiser in her memory, stating: "She was a much-loved Park Hill pupil, of whom many of our staff have very fond memories. She was a thoughtful girl, with a quirky sense of humour and a talent for kindness towards others. We will all miss her. As she enjoyed caring for birds, we are raising money for the RSPB in her memory."
COMMUNITY
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AUGUST MUSIC FESTIVAL AT MOSELEY PARK & POOL Music festival Beyond The Tracks will be making a grand return this August in a bid "to get the Midlands live music scene back on track”. It will take place on Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28 at Moseley Park & Pool. Tickets went on sale on Friday, May 14. Guests include Hacienda Classical, The Charlatans, Sleaford Mods + Billy Nomates, Inner City Live, BC Camplight, Todd Terry and more. Beyond The Tracks last took place in Birmingham back in 2017 at Eastside City Park Digbeth. The event, which featured the likes of Ocean Colour Scene, Orbital, Editors, Maximo Park, Leftfield and The Jesus and Mary Chain, scooped a nomination for ‘Best New Festival on the Block’ at the Association of Independent Festivals. A spokesman said: "A lot has happened between then and now, but there has never been a greater need for live music, both in terms of industry support and audience morale. "That’s why we have decided to return this year - this time at Moseley Park & Pool. "The park's slope acts as the ideal natural amphitheatre for live music, whilst the idyllic surroundings make it the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday city life. "With only limited tickets available, it will be a more intimate affair, but that doesn’t mean the line-up has shrunk. Once again, Beyond the Tracks will be welcoming some huge names to Birmingham." Friday, August 27, will be headlined by Hacienda Classical, the award-winning and acclaimed orchestral clubbing series which sees Graeme Park and Manchester Camerata Orchestra deliver a continuous set of classic club records with guest vocalists and choir creating a truly unique live performance. Joining Hacienda Classical are Inner City, Todd Terry and Heritage DJs. Saturday 28th sees the much-loved West Midlands band The Charlatans fill the headline spot. This alternative rock group have had a string of number ones since they started gigging back in the late 80s, and whilst they became synonymous with the Madchester scene, their roots will always be in Birmingham and Dudley. Joining them on the Saturday bill are special guests and post-punk duo The Sleaford Mods + Billy Nomates, BC Camplight, The Clause, Cage Park, The Pagans S.O.H. + The Nu. MOSELEY IN BLOOM IS BACK – BUT THIS YEAR IN THE AUTUMN After the success of last year’s ‘virtual’ event Moseley in Bloom’s Open Gardens team is delighted to announce a real event for 2021. The Real Moseley in Bloom will take place on Sunday September 12th between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm. Visitors will be able to enjoy Moseley gardens as they move into their Autumn colours – a rare treat. In a statement the group said: “We are now looking for gardens to open and it will be a bit different this year. Every garden will have at least one volunteer assigned to manage the visitor numbers and ensure safety according to the rules in force at the time. “Consequently we also need lots of volunteers to help on the day. You will be rewarded by having a free ticket to visit the other gardens when not on your shift. So please get in touch if you would like to offer your garden for opening or to help us run the event.” Contact Kate Stocks on Kate@ MoseleyInBloom.org.uk Picture: A previous Moseley in Bloom Ian Cook 7
GERMA ADAN: ALL POSSIBILITIES of rich vocal and stringed harmonies, influenced by the overlapping identity with cultures, especially so in the Haitian, American and British folk influences that colour her sound. Her music is also a reflection of her eclectic and diverse life experiences, including her classical music training and her strongly rooted Haitian heritage.” I caught up with Germa to chat about creativity, playing live and future endeavours...
‘Captivating and honest’ are the words used by Folkroom London to describe the musical artist I’m chatting with this month. Germa Adan is a welcome staple in folk clubs, festivals and even on BBC Radio 3 (Germa recently featured on the station's programme The Essay).
What is your creative impetus? Germa: I stay open to all possibilities, which means that I am always shaping sound and redefining what I am hearing and seeing around me. My journey so far and my perspective on how I experience things is also a driving force.
A truly gorgeous voice and instrumental talent, Germa performed at the Moseley Folk & Arts Festival in 2019. Germa hails originally from Haiti but was raised in America with studies in the UK, so it was serendipitous that I actually first met her in the far off, there-be-dragons land of Kings Heath. I was performing with the gospel–jazz band Celebration of Life at a monthly food-festival-cum-musicextravaganza. It was a cold, rainy day. I noticed Germa playing violin and singing at the same time (wow, I thought!) in what sounded like French – except, it wasn’t French. What on earth was this language? Creole, so she taught me, and I spent the evening researching Haitian history on Google and trying to sing the song ‘Black Velvet Band’ whilst playing the fiddle at the same time.
It really happens organically. I don’t try to rush the process. If I have no muse then I have no muse and I try to get through it instead of fighting it. This usually has its rewards – the waiting brings something out that I would never think to do. I’ve had a few writer’s blocks in lockdown, and previous to lockdown. I always keep my voice recorder handy even just to capture excerpts of melodies, phrases or ‘thinking out louds’. The process of capturing these bits often help to paint a fuller picture later. There are times when the music writes itself: for example a conversation with someone (Kenbe Fem), when I am moved by a life event or stories (La Vie Cest) or a peaceful moment with nature
Far more than a Francophone–Caribbean, viol–cantor novelty, Germa is an outstanding creative. She “writes and performs a tapestry 8
What’s next? Germa: I’m really looking forward to live gigs again. The livestreams have their positives – a controlled environment, plus they are costand time-effective, but the live performance experience is a moment that is experienced using all the senses by performer and audience. The whole process of getting ready for the gig and being there with a community of music lovers is so special. Jobe Baker-Sullivan Germa’s first album, ‘Kenbe Fem’, is for sale, and she is also working on her second album, with a teaser available on her YouTube channel. She is performing with Celebrating Sanctuary for refugee week this year, including on 19th June at Midlands Arts Centre.
(Come Live with Me). Yes, even commissions can guide me towards a full piece of work due to working within a brief (An Nou Leve). I’ve had moments where the melody jumps out from reading a text (Lark in the Morning) or when the melody comes first and the text comes after to match where the melody is taking me (Journey Song).
Instagram: @germa_music / Website: www. adanproject.com
You gig all around the country. What's it like? Mini-holiday (or nightmare)? Germa: Haha! Thankfully I’ve had more miniholidays than nightmares. I’ve enjoyed the adventurous feeling of going anywhere new and the bonus of being able to perform at the same time. I’ve especially loved the seaside locations. Seaside trips remind me of my second home – Florida. I’ve enjoyed Sidmouth Folk Festival and Brighton Toy Museum trips in the past, all organized by some lovely people. Also I get to travel with my bandmates Jobe Baker-Sullivan and Laura Ratotonirina – we get along well on these trips so that is an absolute bonus. No roadtrip nightmares yet – knock on wood! Are there any particular genres you want to explore? Germa: Well I’m curious about a lot of things so this curiosity can take me down lots of little rabbit holes – some with dead-ends and some leading to new possibilities. I’ve been curious about beatboxing or mouth music so I’m quietly exploring this and seeing where it takes me. 9
“What was this amazingness before us?!” I later discovered it was a traditional Berber dish called Shakshuka. This meal, with the egg being the starring actor, was by far one of the most delicious things I had ever tasted. Maybe it was the emotions of the circumstances that lifted this dish up on a pedestal, but it is amazing how a glimpse of death can make you peer at life in a new way. My eyes had been opened. Up until that eureka moment I would happily take a fluffy scramble or perhaps a veggie omelette. However, a runny yolk made me wary in the wake of its raw beauty. But there was always something inside of me that wanted my freak flag to fly with an egg because we were secretly always meant to be. Yorkshire pudding is and has always been one of my favourite foods. I have worked years on perfecting my recipe and I will make a roast beef dinner just as an excuse to rip open and devour a steamy, fluffy pud. I fall hard for a meringue, Roman carbonara and French toast for the eggy flavour that they offer up.
My first real encounter with a soft runny egg was after a near-death experience. Kara and I were camping at the Cascades D’Ouzoud among the Atlas Mountains in Morocco at a little Berber campsite at the bottom of the waterfalls. The sky suddenly looked ominous, and the weather rapidly started to descend upon us. As we sat in our camp beds, I peeked outside our tent to see that the cascades had gone from a nosebleed flow to a full-on psycho gush of a murder scene. The trees were doing ninety-degree yogic side bends and the piercing thundering sounds had me squeezing my friend in a way I had never hugged a friend ever before. Even though our campground had been completely flattened by a micro-hurricane, the family who owned the site still insisted on making us a hot dinner that evening. Under dim candlelight in a damp tent, they presented us with a glowing frying pan of tomatoes, roasted peppers and fried, runny eggs. We ate with fervour and laughed. 10
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8 eggs 1 can of refried beans Coriander leaves to garnish Crumbled feta to garnish Hot sauce to garnish (such as Cholula, or omit) Lime wedges For the pickled onion: 1 small red onion, finely sliced ¾ tsp flaky sea salt 1½ tbsp vinegar (cider or red wine) In a small bowl add the onion and salt.
One of my favourite ways to eat an egg is in the form of a taco. Not only do stars align for an egg and salsa combo, but true love happens when you fold it all into a warm tortilla and top it with lots of garnishes. In the US, great Mexican food and access to intricate ingredients is standard. But in the UK, one needs to plan to source speciality items in order to create an authentic dish. With a Mexican-inspired breakfast, you can obtain genuine flavours whilst using standard kitchen ingredients.
Scrunch the onions all over with your fingers mixing vigorously so that the salt really coats the onion. Add the vinegar and scrunch, mixing more with your hands. Set aside. For the salsa fresca: 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
½ small red onion, peeled and halved There are a million ways to prepare and eat eggs and there always seems to be a new trending dish on the horizon. It probably has to do with osmosis and the fact that more people are turning to a meat-free diet. But there is also such cyclical symbolism in the basic egg. It literally gives life, it can be the star in breakfast, lunch or dinner and it also enables so many foods to be what they are, to be better, to be incredible. In celebration of the incredible edible egg, here is my recipe for breakfast tacos. Breakfast Tacos with Salsa Fresca, Quicky Pickled Onions and Easy Fresh Tortilla Makes 8 small tacos: For the filling:
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With a rolling pin and some extra flour for dusting, roll them out into small 13cm diameter round tortillas. Cook in a hot non-stick pan for about 30 seconds per side until they brown and puff up. Set aside. Reheat in the pan when you are ready to eat. * You can use duck fat, goose fat, lard or bacon fat, or oil if you are vegetarian. Personally, I love duck fat. For the tacos: Fry or scramble the eggs. Add a scant spoon of refried beans to the warm tortilla, spreading it over the middle. ½ small garlic clove Juice of ½ lime
Add your egg, salsa fresca, pickled onion, coriander, feta crumbles and hot sauce and serve with lime wedges.
1 small handful of coriander (leaves and tender stems)
Tuck in and have lots of paper napkins within reach.
½ jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, and halved (optional)
Jenny Gwynne
Salt to taste
Jenny is “The Salty Chilli”, an obsessive cook and food writer who lives in Moseley.
Finely chop or food process all the ingredients.
To read more check out her Instagram @ thesaltychilli, or her blog www.thesaltychilli. com .
Taste and adjust seasoning. Using a sieve with a bowl underneath add the salsa fresca and leave for a minute or two so the liquid drains and the pulp is remaining. Set pulp aside in a bowl. For the tortillas 155g flour 6 tbsp hot water 2 tbsp fat or oil* ¼ tsp salt Mix the ingredients in a bowl and knead by hand until smooth (5 minutes). Divide the balls into 20g (or 8) portions and roll into small balls. Let rest for 10 minutes. 12
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A MOSELEY MINUTE... WITH DIANE HARDING It was on a wet, dreary afternoon in May that I interviewed a lovely lady called Diane Harding. It was similar weather conditions to when she first arrived in Moseley, aged 14. Diane and her parents had relocated from beautiful Cape Town in South Africa, and moved to Moseley due to her father working at Cadbury's. Life was very different in the suburb: Diane was used to living close to the beach and had left a scorching summer with sunny weather every day. The family had also left behind an array of servants to take care of their needs. Moseley seemed rather bleak in comparison and a cultural shock to her system. I chatted with Diane about Always in the Dark, the fascinating book she has written telling her life story. When did your story begin? The story started when I was three years old, when my mother was homesick, so we went on a holiday to England for a few months. When we arrived home, a visitor came to stay with us and this visitor remained attached to my family for 22 years, in both South Africa and England. I knew I had an unconventional life but at the age of three you accept it as normal because you are aware of nothing different. It was only when I was in my fifties, after my mother had died, that I realised how 13
different my life was. I was rummaging through my mother’s private boxes and I discovered that I had been brought up in a ménage à trois. I had no idea throughout my life and it was an incredible shock. There were no clues at all to the reality of the situation back then. What was life like as a child? Life was very much normal, apart from the fact that she came everywhere with us.
On holidays, shopping, to a restaurant; I just viewed her as an aunt. I was clueless about the truth of the situation. In fact, to my mum’s dying day, she never said a thing about what was really going on and who my ‘aunt’ was. It was only when I found the box with all the details and solicitors’ correspondence that I became aware of the truth. My mother just did what many people did back then, and stuck it out for my benefit.
Blanche (Diane’s mother) and Diane, aged three on a trip to England
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This person, my ‘aunt’, even moved with us to Moseley, when I was fourteen and still unaware of what was going on. But it was in Moseley where I first heard the term ‘divorce’ being discussed, a very scary term for a young person to hear, especially www.moseleyb13.com
What happened after the divorce?
writing the book for many years, and it was in the first lockdown that I really moved My mother eventually went on with getting it finished. on to have 25 happy years when she remarried, which Lockdown has also meant really pleases me as she had that I haven’t been able to suffered a lot throughout the have a book launch but I have ménage à trois. When I was been promoting with radio eight years old, back in South interviews, press releases and Africa, the strain of everything talking to people. led her to having a full mental Any final words? breakdown. What made you write the book? I always knew I would write a book. When I was young, in troubled times, I used to say to my mum, I am going to write a book. But back then I didn’t know that I only knew half of the story. I had no idea of the reason why these things were happening. I wanted to put the record straight: that my mother had not been in agreement with this ghastly set-up. Writing the book brought up lots of emotions – anger, hate and many more. I have been
I am on a mission to educate people about coercive control and domestic abuse because of my father and the way he was. It’s an extremely topical subject at the moment. Debbie Aldous Here is the link to the publisher’s page where you can buy Diane’s extraordinary book: https://www. blkdogpublishing.com/post/ alwaysinthedark
when it related to your own parents. My mother was beginning to have enough of the situation she had been forced to live in. This was a story that you just couldn’t make up. Blanche and Victor (Diane’s parents) and Connie (the “aunt” who was her father’s mistress) attending a black tie event in Cape Town
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OXFAM’S VIN
One day in 2009, Mark Cannan realised he had a lot of vinyl. A fan of music since his teens, Mark had always bought records by the artists he loved, simply to play and enjoy them, rather than to build a collection. But come 2009 he realised that his turntable was getting further and further away from his records. The vinyl was in the loft, the deck was in the garage, whilst new purchases were by this point all on CD. He had ended up with what he never intended: a collection, and it was time to pass them on to someone who would play them again. Fortunately, Moseley’s Oxfam Bookshop had just opened and their specialisation in music
and books made them the obvious choice to receive his donation. Nevertheless, there was still some anxiety for Mark in letting his thousands of much loved records go, so he decided that he should be the one to wave goodbye to them. He donated his music and also volunteered to assist Oxfam in the sorting, pricing and selling of it. At the time, he tells me, he wasn’t thinking about the charitable side of his actions or about what he was providing for Oxfam. He really just wanted to oversee the rejuvenation of the records he loved. Now, over eleven years later, Mark is still volunteering at Oxfam Moseley, where he is the main authority over music donations. This involves a lot of careful research and, thankfully, plenty of listening to music. Vinyl and other physical mediums continue to enjoy a resurgence among music fans who increasingly see owning records as complementary to music streaming. Alongside local crate-diggers in the shop itself, Oxfam branches also all feed into the Oxfam Online store, where many of 16
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NYL REVIVAL
several Oxfams, including the Moseley branch. At the moment Mark estimates that 80s releases are the most popular in the shop and confirms to me that Moseley customers can seemingly never resist purchasing Hawkwind records.
the more specialised and valuable releases end up. The website has become a strong source of record sales, particularly over lockdown, and for Mark this has meant broadening his knowledge of what is valuable to buyers. During the last year he has been learning more about the marketplace for classical vinyl, culminating in finding a donation of a rare Beethoven recording which sold online for £880. Although Oxfam’s website has been a great success, the reopening of retail is bringing buyers back to the store too. Customers of Oxfam Moseley can appreciate the hard work of the volunteers staffing the shop during this difficult time, and if you do visit the store you will often hear a favourite from recent donations playing on the sound system, selected by whoever is manning the counter. Mark and I agree that the quality of the local music scene around this area of Birmingham has always complemented the quality of donations the shop receives. Indie rock stars Editors, for instance, originated in Moseley (playing many of their first gigs at the muchmissed Jug of Ale) and in 2015 they slipped a limited edition white label release of their new single ‘Marching Orders’ onto the shelves of
The joy of finding a forgotten gem or a fun picture-disc is something customers can enjoy as much as Mark does. There are plenty of strange B-sides and interesting liner-notes that streaming services will never be able to replicate, which helps contribute to keeping physical mediums alive. Buying this pre-loved music is also ideal environmentally and Mark is keen to get his hands on more stacks of music that might be languishing in local attics and cupboards. Donations at the shop are always welcome and staff will happily travel to pick up large collections where this might be helpful. The shop can be contacted on 0121 449 3222 or via their new Facebook page ‘Oxfam Moseley Books and Music’. The team look forward to hearing from you, and Mark looks forward to hearing all the music which passes through, on to someone new. Alex Jenkins 17
QUERIDA ANNA… THE LETTERS OF THE MIAMI FIVE
Ann Sargent
Ann Sargent, who lived in Moseley for 50 years, was a longstanding committee member of the Birmingham Cuba Solidarity Campaign. She died of vascular dementia in December 2020. Her legacy is a treasure trove of 29 letters written to her by the Miami Five.
unfair trial took place in 2001 at which they were given long prison sentences. The story of the Miami Five (also known as the Cuban Five) is a small part of an ongoing hostile policy against Cuba since the triumph of the revolution in 1959.
Who were the Miami Five? In September 1998, five Cubans were arrested in Miami. They had infiltrated the gangs of Cuban Americans financed by the US government to attack Cuba, kill its citizens and destroy its economy. The information about their plans was transmitted to the Cuban government who were forearmed about the next attacks. The US government were also informed about the terrorism being planned against their country. After 17 months incarceration, an
The letters from the Five were handwritten but even the typed ones sent to all supporters begin with a handwritten greeting - “Querida Anna/Dear Anna” - and are personally signed, the majority by Antonio Guerrero, and contain handwritten comments round the edge. These were indeed highly personalised communications, worlds away from the impersonal digital messaging prevalent now. Her daughter Sam remembers her as an 18
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psychological problems start to appear. We now find ourselves in the sixteenth year of incarceration and are fortunate that we have no symptoms of disorientation or depression. On the contrary, each day in prison we are more positive and creative; we are more serene and supremely optimistic.”
avid letter writer. “She loved writing long long letters with a Parker pen nib and blue ink. I know she would have spent a long time planning and writing her letters...all in Spanish.” The letters were given to me to look after in 2017 when Ann was already very concerned about her memory loss and lack of confidence. Soon after, she went to live in sheltered housing near her daughter in London.
In 2010, Antonio was transferred to a medium security site. Here he comments on the difference. “The impression of my arrival was unforgettable. I don’t know how to explain what it is to like to see the mountains in this part of the country through a fence instead of being behind a wall. Beyond the fence you can contemplate the plains and see the greenery rising to the summits which before had seemed so distant and now appeared close. The other main impression is the absence of tension. The men are calmer and as a result there is less noise… Obviously it is still a prison but the inmates take more care in complying with the discipline. I have already begun my artwork and by chance today I have finished my first pastel with a piece of paper I found in my belongings."
There is a very personal quality to many of the letters. There are references to health issues, Ann’s local activities for the campaign such as street stalls at the Moseley Festival, as well as her presence at the vigil outside the US Embassy for the Miami Five. There were also long discussions on The Island That Dared by Dervla Murphy which Ann had mentioned and they subsequently read. The tone of the letters suggests a tight bond of friendship and solidarity. Many of the letters were written in December and in them there are attempts by the Five to sum up the progress they had made and the hard struggle ahead. “We have a balance of achievements and failures, joys and sadness. We know that time is relative – the moments, the standards, the new goals and the long-term and short-term dreams,” wrote Antonio in 2007. In June 2013, he followed up with “We are close to finishing 15 years of our unjust incarceration but I can tell you that prison hasn’t destroyed the simple freedom that inhabits...our hearts.” Six months after that, Ann received a lengthy analysis of the effects of imprisonment on many of the other inhabitants of Florence Penitentiary. “I arrived carrying a life sentence on my shoulders and soon learnt that many of the inmates called the prison ‘a cemetery of living men’... Violence was a daily part of the routine inside the walls of Florence and it was really hard just to find somebody there who was a quiet, peaceful person… To make matters worse, many of the prisoners were suffering from some type of mental illness. I still remember some of my conversations with the longest-serving prisoners in the penitentiary who told me that when you reach 15 years of time you cross a line when a ‘prison is a prison’. They explained that this is when physical and
How did they survive all those years of imprisonment without any evident possibility of release? The letters would often stress the importance of the avalanche of correspondence from all those around the world who cared, as expressed in the following extract: "Never has a prisoner received so many letters as the Cuban Five. It has been an endless flow of letters full of friendship and love. This made all the difference and we know that this stream of support and love will not stop until our many friends know that we have arrived safely back home. The hard life in prison demonstrates to me that an innocent
The Miami Five
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man with pure principles loved by many people will never lose his mind. He will never let his morale and integrity be broken. As José Martí said: A just principle from the bottom of a cave is stronger than an army."
and let us come together to make a better world, pregnant with light like the spring." (21/01/2009)
"Thank you very much for your letter and especially your support. We never forget our The letters do not restrict themselves to the friends. Each day of struggle you are in our immediate concerns of the Five, such as the hearts." (4/4/2011) hope of securing justice, but also comment "If there is something that has given us on wider ideological issues. They not only strength, if there is something that has made quote Che and Fidel but pay tribute to them us feel optimistic all the time, it is each and in poems and art work. "Che was born 80 every letter that we have received from our years ago today – the eternal fighter. His friends from all over the world." (2/2/2012) example is more important than ever when we find ourselves in a world in which each day The Miami Five were released in 2014 there is a struggle against so much inequality, and finally arrived in the UK in July 2017. so much poverty, so much exploitation, so Ann's daughter describes the very moving much egoism and so much aggression and encounter between Ann, Gerardo and René. threat from the Empire. Your example today "We met Gerardo first and Ann introduced is absolutely essential in order to construct herself. Gerardo stood up and called over to a world better then we know is possible." René and announced: "IT'S ANNA." He was so (8/6/2008) pleased to see her that he gave her a big hug. The following are further extracts about the She explained that she had kept all the letters that had been returned to her (this was due meaning of the communication of solidarity to inmates moving around to different prisons from all around the world, as well as the and it taking a while for Ann to find out their struggle to create a better future. whereabouts). When Ann told me this story "Your lines full of brotherhood have more than a year later, she was still so excited. arrived in my hands and they give me The heartfelt embrace sent in writing at the great encouragement to continue firm and end of many of the letters had come to pass. optimistic in the battle for justice." (8/7/2008) "Invitation to peace. To all men, women and children throughout the whole world, I send an invitation, a heartfelt call. Let us share the wealth equally so that billions of our fellows need no longer live in poverty. Let us think, when we eat, of those who suffer starvation in darkness, in frightening houses like holes,
Allan Brookfield Ann Sargent’s Miami Five letters have now been donated to the National Office of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign for safe keeping and archiving. 20
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EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME We celebrated Europe Day on May 9, and you may have seen the banner and bunting on Moseley Village Green. Moseley is the home of hundreds of EU/EEA & Swiss citizens who enrich our community, and help make Birmingham the diverse and vibrant place we know and love. But there is a deadline looming which I need your help to publicise. 30th June 2021 is the cut off period for applying to the EU settlement scheme. Many thousands of EU citizens across Birmingham have successfully obtained Settled Status, but there are still people out there who are yet to apply. They could be
elderly and have lived here for many years, married to a UK citizen and not aware the scheme applies to them. They could be students who arrived before the end of the transition period or children who, even though they were born here, are not automatically eligible for UK citizenship. It is imperative that EU citizens (other than Irish) and non EU/UK family members who came to live in the UK before January 1 2021 apply to the Settlement Scheme to secure the right to remain here after July 1. I volunteer with the charity ‘Settled’ ( https://settled. org.uk/en/ ) to help EU/ EEA & Swiss citizens obtain settled status. We are asking everyone to promote EUask5 21
and ask 5 EU/EEA or Swiss citizens if they have applied to the settlement scheme. Please ask them and all your friends and neighbours to do the same. If you need help to apply or more information on Settled Status or EU citizens rights post Brexit you can contact me at izzy@moseleylibdems. com or call 07784 155208. Izzy Knowles
Col8 and Minor Formula Team
If
Col8 Store
you go into Moseley car park you might have noticed a funky new shop has appeared backing onto St Mary’s Row. It is the one with the basketball hoop outside it. The new store is shared between two companies, Col8 Store & Minor Formula and their founders Johnny O’Kane, Tyrell Kelly, and brothers D’Quan and Maxim Marshall.
Johnny and D’Quan’s aim is to provide an eclectic mixture of all types of clothing from vintage to new age streetwear. With several years experience behind the team they took the bold decision that 2020 was the best year to bring a physical representation of their companies to life in the form of a brick & mortar store in the heart of Moseley Village 22
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Col8 Store is a small independent vintage clothing store run by Johnny O’Kane since 2018. Johnny says: “The store in Moseley is an attempt to offer the local area the opportunity to indulge in shopping sustainably & economically as well as having a clean seamless shopping experience. Our store is, and always has been, an attempt to provide a fashion based insight into the past, to offer clothes that are typically unavailable to the general public and to ensure 100% quality control in a vintage world where ‘excellent condition’ is hard to find. We take pride in collecting & collating garments from all over the world and enjoy putting a focus on specific brands & their history. We have a big focus on Late 90’s/ Early 2000’s vintage however we also aim to provide a store in which current season second hand alternatives can be purchased as well’. Why does Johnny sell vintage? “We love selling a mixture of pre-loved, vintage & archive fashion as it provides a great retaliation against the horrendous environmental crisis that we find ourselves in in 2021, However, we also love clothes that have a history.
Col8 shop interior
Minor Formula Established in 2017, D’Quan says: “Minor Formula grew from meeting so many talented but wasted youth who have been held back due to the lack of hope and light provided to our generation. We wanted to be a brand that could encourage others to work hard on their dreams and grow, despite the harshness of life. We wanted to inspire collaboration within our community, especially within Moseley and the surrounding areas, and show that we all need to help each other despite our differences.
“Whether it be a specific journey of which the garment has been on, or the history behind the brands that we sell. We enjoy finding out as much as we can about the clothes that we stock so that our customers can have a story to tell every time they put a garment on. We also offer a place for people to buy, sell & trade pre-loved clothing and encourage everyone to get the most out of their wardrobe.”
On the other side of the store is Birmingham “Our clothing attempts to give people based streetwear brand Minor Formula something to wear that represents them, their culture, their beliefs and what they stand for 23
in surrounding areas like Maypole, Kings Heath and Hall Green, we have all had the opportunity to watch Moseley develop over recent decades and see the inspiration that a place like this provides, especially to young and upcoming business owners. “In our combined opinion Moseley is like no other village within Birmingham. The sense of community is stronger than any other. This alongside the undying support for local businesses made it a ‘no brainer’ when it came to deciding where to house our clothing store. “We have now been open for five weeks and do not regret moving here at all. We have only met a fraction of the people that live in and around the area so far and the support and friendliness from everyone has been incredibly overwhelming! We hope that we can make everyone within the village aware of our existence and are welcoming every single person to come and see our store whenever they get the chance.”
Minor Formula shop interior
and we wanted the clothing to come from a collective that supports and believes in them. As such, through our clothing we intend to instil inspiration and provide a high quality sustainable alternative to fast fashion.
In the heart of Moseley the store is run by a total of five People. Col8 Store: Johnny & Tim. Minor Formula: D’Quan, Maxim & Tyrrell
“Minor Formula is our simple answer to the question ‘why are we here’. Life is extremely complicated but we are all already flowers waiting to bloom. We need to try to be like the lotus flower and make an effort to grow through the darkness. As such our logo the lotus flower symbolises and encapsulates an important message for everyone to ‘grow out of the mud and keep their colour’ as the lotus flower grows slowly under and out of the mud, eventually blossoming into something strikingly beautiful despite the harsh environment in which it grew.
They are situated at 42b St Mary’s Row, behind Pottery & Pieces, fronting on to the main Moseley Village Car Park.
“With our brand we wanted to encapsulate our positivity into high quality clothing that would resonate with peoples journeys and enable us build the infrastructure that would allow us to bring people together.”
Monday Saturday
12-9pm
Why Moseley?
Sunday
12-5pm
Johnny explains: “With all of us here at Col8 & Minor Formula having grown up
Store phone number: 07716 809878 / Instagram/Facebook: Col8Store Minorformula
How to find them
Check them out! You will be pleasantly amazed. Izzy Knowles Store Opening hours: 12-5pm
Tuesday-
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MOSELEY MEMORIES
THE ENCYCLOPÆDIAS
At home ‘books’ meant illustrated magazines like Everybody’s, John Bull, or Picture Post. Then, for Christmas 1948, my Aunt Kathy gave me a matched pair of books: Alice in Wonderland and Treasure Island. They were slightly worn and probably came from a clearout at the Conservative Club in Ethel Street, where Kathy worked as a charwoman, cook and general dogsbody. Not perfect, but My Own books! I pored over them and still treasure memories from that reading. From Alice, there were the Tenniel drawings of the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the Cheshire Cat, the fierce Red Queen, the final mayhem of the trial, and Lewis Carroll’s wonderful philosophically intriguing language, borne of the mathematical logician, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who was the real Lewis Carroll. Stevenson’s pictorial language made up for the few rather cheap coloured prints in Treasure Island. The old pirate Billy Bones, with his X-marked treasure map at the Admiral Benbow, Blind Pew delivering the Black Spot to warn Jim Hawkins off having anything to do with Long John Silver, Jim’s hiding in the apple barrel and overhearing the plot to seize the Hispaniola, and, of course, the marooned Ben Gunn and his “have ye got such a thing as a little bit o’ cheese?” Rich stimuli for a young imagination, indeed. Nowadays, I would probably have some concerns about
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for breakfast, Mom gave me the form they had filled in, committing them to a hire purchase contract to pay what I knew was a substantial part of our household income every month. She had a quiet pride in her eyes. As each payment was made, a volume arrived for me to gloat over. When the case arrived, “The Encyclopedias” (no truck with Greek spellings in our house) took pride of place in the rarely-used front room. After that, Mom would put on a one-bar electric fire to allow me to read them cover-tocover. a headteacher bringing in a salesman and encouraging his charges to buy the product on sale, except for my one experience. It was early 1949, a year before we would be taking the dreaded 11-Plus test to divide us into potential grammar, technical, or secondary modern material. I sat wide-eyed as the salesman showed us the large maroon volumes of Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclopædia and their black Bakelite case. As he introduced us to the way the contents were organised in themes, to make understanding easier, and showed us some of the pictures, I was captivated.
The thematic structure was enormously valuable. There were some XX sections rotating through each volume several times. Once I lighted on a subject that interested me, I could skip some pages to reach the next development of it. The sections were:
My one worry arose from knowing how poor we were. Nevertheless, I took a set of forms home to show Mom and Dad. Instead of the feared immediate rejection, I was surprised at the way they listened to me attentively, then said they would think about it and ushered me up to bed. When I came down
When I started teaching in Wolverhampton in 1967, I learnt about remedial education, which had never been mentioned at teacher training college, and realised that was really why I had wanted to teach in the first place. Dealing with the system’s ‘failures’ mattered. I became Head of Remedial
DADADA
at Bushbury Hill Secondary Modern and found reality was slightly different. About half of these students were working-class, from the Low Hill estate. The rest were immigrants with little or no English, most of them bright and quick-learning. They graduated from my classes to ‘normal’ classes within less than six months, to the chagrin of the white kids. I found a lidless junior-sized single desk which was just the right size to hold the Children’s Encyclopædia. It proved very popular, especially for the paintings of bare-breasted ladies, but it also opened a few minds. My room was the only one which was open to the kids from when I arrived at the start of the school day until I went home. One morning I was at my desk, engaged in some necessary paperwork, when a gangling Low Hill lad came to my side. “Su-su-sir, could I say something?”
DADADA Etc. It made reading an art of exploration, which may be why I later wanted to be an experimental scientist, but with an interest in the whole panoply of arts.
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“Of course, Turkey.” Tony Turkington had failed all his nine years in education and lacked confidence about facing the real world. “Su-su-sir, I read a book last night.” I looked at him in grateful amazement: “That’s wonderful, Turkey.” I always trusted any boy who wanted to take a book home for the night, and he had taken one of our basic readers and READ it. I felt humbly proud, if that’s not a contradiction. When, for www.moseleyb13.com
personal reasons, I moved to Abingdon, in Berkshire, I left Arthur Mee’s inspiring volumes for my successor hopefully to appreciate. A few years later, I was at Handsworth Wood Boys’ School and agreed to do one of the morning year assemblies. Few schools in Birmingham stuck to the 1944 Education Act stipulation that the day should begin with an act of Christian worship, and I chose my love of books as a topic. As soon as I mentioned Arthur Mee’s Encyclopædia, the head of Remedial, Stewart Trainor, piped up that he had them as well. Although I showed the boys a beautifully made folio book, with wood laminated covers, and relished it as an
object, I emphasised that it was the intellectual content that mattered and what I had learnt from that very book about the travels of Marco Polo. Afterwards, Stewart and I had a long reminisce about what the Encyclopædia meant to our own learning from our poor backgrounds. Getting on to our personal lives and shared political views, I remembered cradling his baby daughter at their home in Kings Heath. Since then she has become famous as Jess Phillips, the current MP for Yardley, but she had an excellent grounding in her parents’ social commitment. Sadly, her mother Jean has since died.
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Happenstance is a funny thing. Had Dad not won the substantial sum of £305 on the football pools in 1953, we would not have had a totally memorable week’s holiday at Blackpool that summer. And who knows? if three impoverished working-class kids had not had access to the Encyclopaedia would we have had such a good start in life at the grammar school? How we used that start was of course down to our different experiences of those schools and what we made of life more generally. David Spilsbury
Moseley Society History Group WINTERSLOE SCHOOL Wintersloe, 17 Wake Green Road (next door to Sorrento Court), became a private day and boarding school in 1896. The head teacher, Sampson Howard Fisher, known as Howard Fisher, adopted his family motto for the school – ‘Virtutem Extendere Factis’ meaning ‘To spread abroad manly strength by deeds’ (VEF), which the boys termed ‘Vinegar Every Friday’. Howard Fisher was born in 1869 at Bockleton, near Leominster, but at the 1871 Census, aged two years, was
St Mary’s Church Lych Gate
living at 11 St Mary’s Street, Ladywood, with his engineer father, Thomas, aged fortyfour years, his mother, Sarah, aged thirty-eight years, and four older brothers. Ten years later in 1881 the family were living at 29 Noel Road, Edgbaston. Howard was educated at King Edward’s, Birmingham, and then, in 1890, took a BA at London University, coming thirteenth in the list of candidates who obtained honours in Classics. By 1891, aged twenty-
Wintersloe in the early Twentieth Century 28
two, Howard was a private teacher of languages and mathematics and living with his widowed mother at 87 Summerfield Crescent, Edgbaston. By 1901 he was living at 19 Clarence Road, Moseley, with his wife Amy Kate, aged twenty-seven years, and three daughters, Kathleen Amy, Bronwen Joan and Sybil Gertrude, aged four years, two years and eleven months respectively. He was described as a schoolmaster in a private school. Howard’s mother, Sarah, was living at Wintersloe with two young nephews, a schoolmaster, a visitor, and two schoolboy boarders. In 1911 Howard Fisher was living at 17 Wake Green Road (Wintersloe) with his family, which now included two sons, Cedric Howard, seven, and Idwal Thomas, seven months. The visitor, Eva Mary Edwards, was still living at Wintersloe along with two young boarders and an Assistant Schoolmaster. Wintersloe was small, varying between fifty and sixty-three pupils. All wore a uniform. It provided a ‘liberal education’ plus Latin and Greek, up to eighteen or nineteen years of age and prepared middle-class boys for public schools, university and the older professions. Sport was valued highly, including cricket, rugby football, athletics, crosscountry and gymnastics. Theatrical activities were also important: the school put on a Shakespeare play at Christmas and each summer a Savoy-type opera, one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s minor
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pieces or a similar creation with words by Fisher himself and music by a visiting music master. Parties attended theatrical performances at Stratford-on-Avon and the Prince’s Theatre, Birmingham, and enjoyed annual school outings to places of interest, such as Tong and Boscobel in November 1914. Hobbies were encouraged, including photography and chess, and the ‘Walking Section’ tramped many miles over the hills accessible from Moseley by public transport. In 1911, for example, they visited Packwood Park, Kenilworth, Umberslade and Clent. Regular magazines were published detailing the staff and pupils joining and leaving the school, reports on academic, sporting and theatrical achievements, events and after-school activities, as well as advice on how the school and parents could develop the best for pupils. World War I cast its shadow over the school. Fifty-two Old Boys had enlisted by March 1915 and eighteen died. The Annual Athletics Sports was cancelled, as was the Annual Bonfire, and ‘Route marches’ were substituted for the cricket and rugby football previously played at Reddings, which was no longer available. The school took up digging on allotments created on land offered by Mr Heath of ‘Leasowes’, Wake Green Road. The council offered more land in Grove Avenue. Three tons of potatoes were produced by autumn 1917 and four tons in 1918. Otherwise the curriculum and school activities continued
Wintersloe School, 1920
much as usual. Howard Fisher remained the principal of Wintersloe School until his death in 1931 of pneumonia, and the school closed soon afterwards. He
‘inculcate the principles of truth, honour, obedience, and industry’ and to further the ‘development of character’. Jan Berry, Jan Stewart and Bryony Fisher
he Walking Group: Broom on a tour of the seven Shakespeare villages, 1913
was a popular Principal. The Lych Gate of St Mary’s Church is a memorial to him, erected by ex-pupils and friends and dedicated in 1933 by the Archdeacon of Birmingham. Wintersloe School strove to
For more details of the school, please see our website (Moseleysociety.org. uk/local-history).
The Pirates of Penzance’, 1921 29
KNOW THE (CREDIT) SCORE!
Lenders will use at least one of these companies before you are accepted for a loan. The different companies use different criteria so it can be difficult to compare one score against another.
other information such as any previous dealings you’ve had with them. Why has my score gone down?
Sometimes your score can drop temporarily. For example, cancelling a credit card can cause your score to temporarily drop. A change A good credit score can in address can also lead to impact the rates at which you a drop as different utility repay loans and mortgages so suppliers run checks on it’s a good idea to know what you. However, within a few your credit score is. months your score should return to normal. Remember, Despite the Bank of lenders that you already deal England’s present historically with will take your history low interest rates the cost with them into account as You are legally entitled to do of borrowing is on the rise. well so a temporary drop in However, having a good credit this, and it’s very easy to do your score r panic. online. score can ensure that you get access to the best possible Improve your credit score You can use a third-party rates. service such as MSE Credit You can improve your credit Club, which allows you to There are a lot of score with a couple of simple check your credit score for misunderstandings about steps: credit scores but hopefully we free. The MSE Credit Club also offers handy tips on can clear a few things up. • Make sure that the credit increasing your chances of agencies have the correct being accepted for a loan. 3 Credit agencies in the UK address for you. Missed payments from an address Your credit score is a you are no longer living at snapshot of a moment in could impact your credit time score. It’s your legal right to be able to see your credit report
• Make sure you are on the electoral register. This is seen as a sign of stability which lenders like.
These are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Experian is the largest of the three and the one you have most likely to have heard of. These organisations look into your credit history and calculate how likely you are to be able to repay a loan in the future.
• Pay your credit card and utility bills on time every month. Bear in mind that your credit Martin Jeffers, Moseley score is only a snapshot guide that is produced for you. Banks and other lenders will actually look at your credit report to make an assessment on whether to lend you money and at what rate, and they will combine this with 30
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C alling all give it a go-ers and nevergiver-up-ers Here’s what we do. billesleyscouts.org.uk/join #SkillsForLife
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