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B13 MAGAZINE

C O V D N A L A CE C LO IN 3

M SELEY

MAR 2021 ISSUE 516

THE VOICE OF

KEZIA SOUL FOODIE MOSELEY SPECIAL:

VEGAN, RUSSIAN & NEW GREENGROCER

TOMMY QUANG:

MOSELEY’S MISSION TO MARS

IN PRAISE OF POETRY: ST DAVID’S DAY

FIVE-PAGES OF HISTORY:

EDWARD HOLMES & MOSELEY MEMORIES

MOSELEY B13 MAGAZINE

MAR21 EDITOR Mark Baxter (editor@moseleymagazine.co.uk) THE TEAM Ian Cook, David Isgrove, Stephanie Silk, Maria Arroja Ferreira, Tipton. Debbie Aldous, Max Jalil, Martin Jeffers, Jobe Baker-Sullivan, Baldeep Gahir, Izzy Knowles, Yonatan Yon, Mitch Schofield PHOTOGRAPHER Position Vacant CONTRIBUTORS David Spilsbury, Moseley Local History Society, Tessa Lowe, Alex Jenkins, John Newson, Susan McClure PROOF READER Jane Barry BUSINESS MANAGER Martin Jeffers DISTRIBUTION Izzy Knowles,Martin Jeffers ADVERTISING Yonatan Yon SOCIAL MEDIA Maria Arroja Ferreira TREASURER Leanne Holloway (accounts@moseleyb13.com) DESIGN Andy Wickett (andywickett@gmail.com) COVER IMAGE Philip Morgan MAIL Moseley Publishing House Ltd. Moseley B13 Magazine, c/o: Moseley Exchange, 149-153 Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8JP. ONLINE YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCqC-sOw9T6mBgpj8ox9Ph0Q?view_ as=subscriber instagram.com/moseleyb13mag facebook.com/MoseleyB13Magazine twitter.com/MoseleyB13Mag PHONE 0843 289 3665 BOARD David Isgrove (Chair) Stephanie Silk (Editorial) 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

Welcome to the new magazine! I hope you aren’t as mad as a March hare at this point in lockdown, and are at least cheered by the first signs of the arrival of spring. Other reasons to be cheerful? Well, there’s our feature with cover star Kezia Soul (pages 8-9), the talented Moseley resident recently seen on ITV’s The Voice. We take a mouth watering look at B13 foodie heaven with vegan and Russian cuisine, and the story of our wonderful new greengrocer is the icing on the cake (10-14). There’s also fivepages of history starting on page 23 with a look at the origins of the placename of Moseley. And if you’ve been following the journey and arrival of NASA’s Perseverance rover with awe and wonder, you’ll certainly be openmouthed and wondering what on earth - or what on Mars to be more precise - is going on when you read World of Strange’s spoof on Moseley’s Mission to Mars (16-17) in what is quite possibly Tommy Quang’s final appearance in this magazine (or any magazine for that matter). See you next month! Mark

OUTLETS A and R News (320 Yardley Wood Rd) Drinksville (23 Woodbridge Rd) Greenhill Garage (89-91 Billesley Ln) Indigo Foods (50-52 St. Mary’s Row) Moseley Post Office (149 Alcester Rd) Nima Deli (103 Alcester Rd) One Stop (117 Billlesley Ln) Select and Save (174-176 Alcester Rd) Aiden McDonnell Hair (56, St Mary's Row), Ladypool Cycles (404, Ladypool Road) Maison Mayci (148, Alcester Road), Newslink (3, Alcester Road), Palmyra (13, St Mary's Row), Spend and Save (211, Swanshurst Lane) Farmers’ Market (Village Green)

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

NO.75

10 INTHIS ISSUE

NEWSHOUND

LITTERBUSTERS

KEZIA SOUL

VAUSAGES

FARMERS’ MARKET

GREENGROCER’S STORY

JUST TO SAY

TOMMY QUANG

RACHAEL COX

A MOSELEY MINUTE

SOMETHING ABOUT A MOUSE

EDWARD HOLMES

MOSELEY MEMORIES

FINANCIALLY FIT IN 2021

IN PRAISE OF POETRY

BY MARK BAXTER

NEWSHOUND

Tipton, the B13 Newshound Twitter: @B13Newshound / Instagram: @tiptonb13

COVID TESTS AT BAGGALEY AND CHEMYCARE Two central Moseley pharmacies, Baggaley Chemist at 131 Alcester Road and Chemycare, at 2d Wake Green Road, are offering appointments for free ‘lateral flow’ tests for the Covid-19 virus. Either chemist's staff will show you how to do the test yourself. The test and accompanying form-filling normally take around 10 minutes. Test results will be delivered to you by the NHS Test and Trace service, normally by text, landline or email. A lateral flow test involves taking a sample from the back of the throat near the tonsils and from the nose, using a swab. Lateral flow testing is a fast and simple way to test people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19, but who may still be spreading the virus. To book an appointment for a lateral flow test at either of the above pharmacies visit Birmingham City Council’s webpage at https:// tinyurl.com/ks6ebj7y. You can also book direct on the Baggaley website at https://tinyurl. com/yv2bu7qs Finally, and importantly, if you have a high temperature or a new, continuous cough, or you’ve lost your sense of smell or taste or it has changed, you should book a different test – a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) rather than a lateral flow test. To book a PCR test visit the website https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

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AREA NEXT TO TOLKIEN'S MOSELEY BOG TO MAKE WAY FOR 'EXTRA CARE' FLATS A 72-apartment development is under construction in the area between author JRR Tolkien's childhood home and Moseley Bog, a site which helped to inspire his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. Almost two acres of land have already been cleared next to the Bog. The Michael Blanning Housing Trust Association is behind the mainly three-storey, U-shaped development which, thanks to the lie of the land, is set to include ‘undercroft’ parking for 72 cars. There have been plans for decades to redevelop the land with sheltered housing in mind and permission for the current scheme was granted almost three years ago. According to the Trust: “The approach to 'sheltered' and retirement housing has evolved in recent years to cater for older people as they become frailer and less active, people who would otherwise need to be relocated into registered care homes. “The Michael Blanning Trust Housing Association Ltd supports this form of housing requirement and intends to provide its first purpose-built Class C2 'Extra Care' residential scheme for people over 55 years of age to address local needs at their development. “The scheme is situated in an area steeped in the history of Tolkien, J R Tolkien lived close by. It borders the ‘Dell’ and ‘Moseley Bog’ from The Lord of the Rings and Sarehole Mill or ‘The Mill’ from The Hobbit is close by.” The development would provide specialist retirement accommodation in an established residential area presently containing predominantly family accommodation. The ‘Extra Care’ scheme is seen as an opportunity to increase the mix of housing and allow people to downsize but remain close to their previous homes and/or families. ‘Extra Care’ Housing is designed with the needs of frailer older people in mind, with varying levels of care and support available on site. Residents in Extra Care schemes have their own self-contained homes and a legal right to occupy the property. Extra Care schemes offer a distinctive lifestyle and improved way of life: Independent living in self-contained apartments with their own front doors; Freedom of lifestyle within a secure community environment; Property management for buildings, communal areas and gardens; Activity-based projects where residents can, if they choose, participate and play an active role within the community; Extensive communal facilities; Restaurant service or meals served in residents’ own apartment if necessary; Care and support in residents’ own homes, as and when they are needed. The scheme will include 72 luxury apartments, both one- and two-bedroom with a very wide range of facilities. These will include: Reception with Office; Central ‘Street’ off which radiates Residents’ Coffee Lounge/Bar; Residents’ Village Hall; Hairdressing/ Beauty Salon; Well-Being Room; Activities and Craft/Hobbies Room; Fitness Leisure Suite; Community Shop; Library and IT Room; Communal Laundry; Buggy Store; Communal Courtyard and Gardens with Greenhouse and Enclosed Winter Gardens with Internal Atrium. BIG FALL IN LOCAL BURGLARIES AND ROBBERIES DURING LOCKDOWN, SAY POLICE Figures provided by local Police show a positive picture of crime trends over the past year (April 2020 – present). During this time robbery offences have fallen by over 30% in Moseley, Kings Heath, Hall Green, Springfield and Sparkbrook. Burglary too showed reductions in all these areas. In Moseley and Kings Heath it was down by 24%, whilst Sparkbrook was down by 44%, Springfield by 22%, and Hall Green by 8%. Police say they have also seen some large reductions in knife crime across the four wards. However, Police say they are concerned at the levels of lockdown domestic abuse crimes that continue to rise across all the above areas. Domestic abuse remains a top priority for the Police who say officers are constantly looking for new ways of working with partners to tackle the problem. Finally, Covid remains another priority for local Police, who continue to be visible in areas where there may be a higher footfall and say they will respond to reports of Covid breaches, ensuring that those individuals who breach lockdown rules and risk the health of the wider community are dealt with accordingly. Thankfully the vast majority of our community is complying and the Police thank us all for this.

info@moseleyb13.com

NEW TURKISH EATERIE OPENS NEXT TO DESSERT LAB

Turk Nazz, a new restaurant and takeaway, is opening up next to Dessert Lab at 107 Alcester Road serving delicious and healthy Turkish food. At Turk Nazz deliveries and takeaways will be offered until lockdown restrictions are eased and diners can be admitted. There are already branches of the Turkish restaurant in Shirley and Sutton Coldfield, so Moseley will be the third outlet. The phone number is 449 9292.

POLICE WARNING OVER LOCAL RISE IN CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFT Moseley and Kings Heath Police have issued a warning about a recent increase in the theft of catalytic converters from cars in the local area. As we went to press two had been stolen in three days. Catalytic converters are part of the car’s exhaust system, and are left exposed beneath most cars. This means thieves can simply slide under the car to remove them. Big cars left in badly lit areas are at particular risk. Some catalytic converters are bolted onto the exhaust, with other types being welded into place. The latter can be removed by cutting through the pipework to free them. Thieves simply cut the catalytic converter from the exhaust pipe of a parked car and sell them on to scrap metal dealers. Most catalytic converters are unmarked, meaning they cannot be easily traced to an individual vehicle. Once taken, they can be sold to unlicensed scrap metal dealers. In recent years, catalytic converter theft has risen dramatically. It is believed that this is driven by the value of the metals platinum and palladium inside them. Taller vehicles (4x4s) are particularly vulnerable as the converters are more accessible. And because they tend to have larger engines, they contain more of the precious metals too. Not all cars are at high risk, with some models having the catalytic converter mounted within the engine bay. This makes it much harder to steal. To reduce the risk of yours being stolen, police advise the following: parking your car in a locked garage overnight; trying to park in a location that is well-lit and overlooked; avoid mounting your car on the kerb as it gives thieves easier access; installing CCTV to cover where your car is parked; marking your catalytic converter with a forensic marker, which can make it harder to sell on; and speaking to a car dealer about a tilt sensor that activates an alarm if a thief tries to jack up your vehicle. Security marking is a cost-effective way to reduce the risk of catalytic converter theft. This uses metal etching to leave a permanent mark on the outside of the catalytic converter, intended to make it harder for thieves to sell on. Selectamark, for example (www.selectamark.co.uk) sells a kit specially designed for marking catalytic converters. Priced at around £13.95 plus VAT, it includes warning stickers for the windows as a visual deterrent. Ian Cook

COMMUNITY

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MOSELEY

LITTERBUSTERS

LAUNCH 'ADOPT A STREET'

Moseley Litterbusters is a group of volunteers who normally meet every Sunday morning to litter pick across Moseley and Balsall Heath.

to support and share the good work done by individuals all across Moseley and sister groups in Balsall Heath and Kings Heath have launched similar schemes.

During lockdown we have had to suspend our group litter picks but many of us are now keeping our area clean as part of our daily exercise.

We can lend or sell you a heavy-duty litter grabber and bag hoop and help with advice and practical support on where to leave bags, how to tackle hotspots, remove graffiti and report issues to

We have recently launched our ‘Adopt a Street’ scheme info@moseleyb13.com

the council. If you would like to become a Moseley Litterbuster Street Champion please email moseleylitterbusters@gmail. com or contact us via our Facebook group. And if you see us out and about please say hello! Izzy Knowles

THE VOICE OF Photo credit: Lisa Dingley

KEZIA SOUL Music has the ability of inspiring and connecting us all, and this is exactly what happened when musician and Moseley resident Kezia Soul auditioned for the latest season of The Voice after getting a coveted spot on will.i.am’s team.

become the artist she is today!

First of all, congratulations on your fantastic audition on The Voice! How did it feel to perform in front of the judges on the show? Aww, thank you! I actually really enjoyed it. I love performing live and have been doing it for years now. I just had fun and tried not to worry about whether or not I would get a turn from one of the judges.

Moseley B13 Magazine chatted with Kezia to find out how her experience on the show went, and to discover what inspired her to 8

What first inspired you to become a singer? As a child I was lucky that my parents enjoyed taking the family to festivals, and the moment I realised that I wanted to become a singer was at Glastonbury. Twelve-year-old me stood watching Moloko performing and I was mesmerised. I actually cried at the time because I didn’t think that I would ever be like Roisin Murphy; I had dreadlocks and looked so different. My parents had to drag me away from the stage and told me that I could be anything I wanted to be if I worked for it. I’m so grateful to my parents for their support and my diverse upbringing. Do you have any advice for those wanting to have a career in the music industry? Obviously, it’s not easy – I am still on my journey. But all I can say is push hard for what you want: no one hands it to you on a plate. And don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask for things.

Did you feel nervous going into the performance? And, if so, do you have any tricks for getting over pre-performance jitters? I always get some nerves, but my Dad gives me Psalms and affirmations to read. He tells me to connect with the Creator and keep myself grounded. For me it works. Positive thinking is something I really believe in.

If you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life, what song would it be? No pressure! ‘Is This Love’ by Bob Marley. Love never gets old.

We can only imagine the fun you're having being a part of the show. How have you found the experience so far? It’s been one of the best experiences of my life to date. As well as getting to meet some really talented artists, the love and support from my hometown has blown me away. I feel like the whole of Moseley and Kings Heath is behind me.

How do you feel living in Moseley influenced the music you enjoy performing and creating Be sure to watch The Voice every Saturday from 8:30pm on ITV. today? Where do I start?! Moseley is such a creative Although her experience on the show came to an end in the recent battle stages, you can still place. It’s full of talented and inspirational follow Kezia's journey on her social channels:: people. It’s so multicultural that there is Instagram: @keziasoul / Facebook: Keziasoul so much to learn and draw from. Also, the / Twitter: @keziasoul creative spaces that welcome everybody are something else – I used to do African beat dance at the Moseley Exchange, and my firstever live performance was at the Bull’s Head at Sam Redmore’s Tropical Sound Clash Night. Maria Ricardo @_MariaRicardo

If you are passing through Moseley on a Saturday night you might catch a glimpse of some of the most epic hot dogs you have ever seen. They are large, meat-free and some of them are even slightly blue. This is Vausages, a pop-up currently taking over Lewis’s every Saturday to deliver their quality vegan cuisine. I caught up with Vausages owners Reiss Seymour and Zerline Long to chat about their journey and how they have brought their food to Moseley during lockdown...

VAUSA

FROM DREAM

break from festivals) and allowed them to fully bring their dream to life.

“It quite literally came from a dream,” they say, recounting how one morning in 2017, Zerline awoke with a vision of serving sausages from a food van. Immediately the pair decided that they could make it a reality, and so from 2018 Vausages has been touring festival stalls and events across the country. When lockdown came into effect the hot dog business had to go on hiatus, and they even considered introducing a new brand that could operate without premises, but after a summer away from the grill they found themselves more motivated than ever to find a new home for Vausages. The first step was bringing their mobile setup to a base in the centre of Moseley, where they have been supporting Moseley’s well-known café Lewis’s by renting their kitchen every Saturday. Being in this more static location has given them some stability (they’re both glad to have a

Veganism has become an increasingly popular movement, propelled by rising awareness of its ecological benefits and helped along by exciting new businesses such as Vausages. Many big-name brands have begun to offer vegan items on their menus, but nothing can beat a local independent. The menu they offer is completely vegan, but also caters to those who want to avoid soy, gluten, or other allergens, as the pair want their menu to be “as inclusive as possible”. They have even created their own sausage recipe, part of their drive to avoid processed ingredients in favour of wholefoods. These 10

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that “really takes it up a notch”. For Zerline it’s a toss-up between ‘Philly Cheezesteak’ hotdog, in which steak-like king oyster mushrooms top their signature sausage, and the Mac Loaded Fries, which finds pasta and potato living in cheezey domestic bliss. The most surprising thing in a Vausages meal is their ‘blue sauce’, a garlic and fresh herb mayo which gets its unique colour naturally from blue spirulina plant extract. This signature colour is emblematic of Vausages’ dreamlike take on vegan food, the perfect accompaniment to their spirited cuisine.

AGES:

TO DOORSTEP

Looking to the future, they hope that at some point Vausages will be able to find a

values come first throughout the business; they also use local produce as much as they can and their packaging is completely biodegradable. Despite the American diner influence, they’ve worked hard to make sure that their offerings could never be called junk food. Alongside the eponymous hot dogs they

home of its own and grow further. The team would like to expand into more foraged foods and concentrate more on special dishes based on local supply. They are grateful for all the orders and support they have received, crucial for an independent business such as themselves, and say they look forward to taking a night off and going out in Moseley once bars are open. In the meantime they will be doing collection and delivery every Saturday from Lewis’s: orders can be placed through their own online site, accessible from their Facebook page or at www.vausages. co.uk .

serve some equally epic burgers, shoestring fries loaded with a variety of toppings, luxurious thick shakes and a range of desserts and sides. It’s tough to pick a favourite, but Reiss has to choose the Texas Vacon Melt, a double patty topped with cheeze and ‘vacon’. The secret, he claims, lies with twenty-four hour slow-cooked caramelised onions which are mixed into their mayo to make a burger info@moseleyb13.com

Alex Jenkins 11

COMMUNITY

OUR FARMERS’ MARKET

city of St Petersburg due to the quality of food supplied to the palace. This ‘Royal’ food is now available to the people of Moseley!

PRODUCER OF THE MONTH

COSSACK

I hear you've won some awards. What are these and what for?

CUISINE

Our awards include eight Great Taste Awards and we have even achieved their extremely hard-to-win 3-star level. Think Gold medal at the Olympic games! We have now accumulated over 40 British Pie awards including Class Champion twice. We were voted Best Food Product by the BBC's Good Food Show, Best Chilled Product at a National Trade Show, plus many other awards of a similar stature. Our wins cover our entire range of food, including our Potato Cakes filled with beef, and our Russian Honey Cake as well as our Russian pie range. Can you tell us what makes up these awardwinning dishes? The vast majority of our awards have been for our ‘piroshki’ – which means small pie. This is a slightly sweet, soft-baked yeast dough wrapped around an exquisitely seasoned savoury pie filling. It is hand-decorated and beautifully baked, equally enjoyable cold or hot, and can be eaten in the hand or as part of a main course. The varieties that have won most of the medals include Chicken and Chorizo, Salmon and Cream Cheese, Lamb, Apricot and Chestnuts – and last year our non-meat/fish Piroshki won Gold (Creamy Mushroom) and Silver (Vegan Spinach and Mushroom) at the British Pie Awards – while the Triple Cheese earned a Great Taste Award too.

Why are you called Cossack Cuisine? It’s Cossack Cuisine because we make a diversity of foods from so many regions of the former Soviet Union, of which Russia was just one country. Just like the Cossacks who developed a unique cuisine drawing from the countries that they operated in – such as Ukraine, Siberia and and Uzbekistan, as well as Russia itself – we use recipes from these places and offer a wide diversity of piroshki (pies), savouries, salads and desserts. How is your Russian Cuisine different? It's down to our heritage. Our best seller – the piroshki – goes back 400 years, originating as the food of choice of the Russian miner. It has been baked by my family's bakery business over the last 200 years in St Petersburg. Though we have updated the fillings for the modern palate, the brioche-like dough on the outside is still the same recipe that the Tsar of Russia enjoyed. I am proud of one of my baking ancestors who was awarded the honour of freeman of the 12

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First, the customers are amazing – there would be no market without them. They are so curious and more willing than any to try new things. That is why we always introduce our latest Russian food creations here. And whatever the weather they will still turn up in their droves! They are so loyal. Next, we love the diversity of food and drink on offer, greater than anywhere else we attend. This is because we are not just a market-stall holder, we are also customers of the other traders. We spend more money at Moseley on buying for ourselves – and for our business. The produce of fellow traders ends up as ingredients in the Cossack food we make and sell to the local people. Finally, we love the people involved in making it happen – the unsung heroes of Moseley Farmers’ Market are the group of volunteers who are unfailingly cheerful, helpful, efficient and resilient. It is those qualities that attract the best market stallholders.

What's your favourite? Our favourite is the piroshki that won Best Festive Pie of the Year from the No.1 trade magazine British Baker, the Chicken, Cranberry and Walnut. The reason we love it so much was summed up by the judges, who described our winner in these words: "It truly is the taste of the once-a-year foodstuffs of a Victorian Christmas – chicken, cranberries and walnuts". However, this pie is not just for Christmas – it is so popular we now offer it all the year round!

Why? It is because our own efforts rely totally on the operational aspects of the market running like clockwork. And they do! Right from their early start at 5am to getting everything packed up by around 3.30pm. Never forget that the market opening hours of 9am to 2pm are only part of the great attention they give to making sure visitors, the local community and the traders are well supported.

How long have you been coming to Moseley Farmers' Market and where are you based? We have been so lucky to have been invited to support this award-winning market and have been attending monthly for around five years now. Our food-making base is Sheffield – a city that has been called the capital of the People's Republic of South Yorkshire!

David Isgrove

What do you think of our Moseley Farmers' Market and what do you like about it? Over the years we have stood at the top 20 busiest farmers’ markets in England – and Moseley still remains our favourite farmers’ market by a long way. There are three reasons – the customers, the fellow traders and the organisers.

info@moseleyb13.com

OUR GREENGROCER’S STORY

After many years, we now have a greengrocer again in Moseley. Have you spotted him? He’s opposite the Post Office by the car park entrance on the land where the toilets used to be. Mohammed Sijjad, Moseley's new greengrocer, chats to Izzy Knowles about his new stall… First of all, I would like to show my love and appreciation for the amount of support I’ve been getting on my little fruit and vegetable stall. I have been overwhelmed with the support. It hasn’t gone unnoticed! Thank you to the people of Moseley and the vicinity beyond who are supporting me. My name is Mohammed Sijjad: I’ve set up a fruit and vegetable stall ‘5 Daily LTD’ in Moseley Village. The trade has always been dear to me as my father and uncle used to run a grocery and fruit and veg shop in Balsall Heath for

many years. It was part of my life growing up. Previously I worked in the automotive industry for seven years but due to these challenging Covid times, I lost my job. It was difficult as I had absolutely enjoyed working in the industry.

best quality produce. I do enjoy being at the stall myself and meeting my customers from different walks of life and just being able to interact with the people that give me so much support. I want to deeply thank my family and friends for helping me and showing me moral support. I also want to thank the local businesses around my stall and my suppliers at the Birmingham Wholesale Market. And a big thanks to Izzy for helping me: she’s an absolute gem for the Moseley area. I hope to see you soon. PS In the near future I will be starting a local delivery service to assist those that can't make it to the stall for whatever reason. We have also set up a 5 Daily LTD Facebook page, so don't forget to follow us for updates.

In 2020 I thought to myself ‘what’s next?’. There were so many options and so many My trading times are things I could have begun, but Monday to Saturday 9am until it was just something about 6 pm. I hope to see you there. the greengrocery trade that I had grown up with, seeing my father and uncle run it so successfully, that finally won the day. I had to get back into the trade myself and so I came up with the idea of ‘5 Daily LTD’ as an independent trader in Moseley. I haven’t looked back from there. It is definitely not an easy trade: there’s a lot of hard work that goes into it. One of the hardest things is waking up early and getting to the markets first so I can get the 14

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Just to Say The tiger who came to tea Without a saucer or the tea He came one day Out of the blue All on its own without a clue On a Sunday When the coffee shops are shut The square is shut The people aren’t there Rushing around To go back to their houses My tiger is There

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Purring Noticing People Who aren’t there Reminding me Life is there That’s my Tiger Katerina Chamberlain Katerina’s poem is inspired by a visiting cat to her garden in Moseley.

which resembles a slip road. He thinks it will be a wonderful location for the first outer-space farmers’ market! Of course they won't be selling cheese from the MoonasallMars'squalitymarket wares would need to be locally produced in line with the awardwinning Farmers’ Market” (last Saturday of every month). How David Isgrove could look as the first person on Mars

Who will win the space race to Mars? China? Russia? The USA? Or could it even be Elon Musk’s SpaceX programme? How about Dominic Cummings on another ‘necessary’ journey to check his eyesight? A local man has a surprising theory about who will be the first to land on the Red Planet, and it’s very close to home. Norbert Snappingbrace (see our previous World of Strange features on the Cannon Hill Lake Ness Monster and King Arthur in Moseley, both ‘discoveries’ of Mr Snappingbrace) has proposed that a ‘space squad’ from Moseley could be the first to land on Mars. “We have everything needed to make the journey, with the cream-of-thecrop of scientific minds and some fantastic facilities that rival NASA.” Norbert has teamed up with the Billesley-based inventor Reg Cylinder to get the show on the road, and is hoping to rope more people in. “I’m in talks with David Isgrove (Founder of Moseley Farmers’ Market and Chair of Moseley Forum and Moseley B13 Magazine) to be the first person to set foot on Mars", Mr Snappingbrace informed me. "I know David is quite keen on the idea as he has examined some maps of the Tharsis region of the planet and noticed a crater HUMOUR

Mr Snappingbrace revealed details of the trip to Mars, including a suitable B13 space playlist for the shuttle stereo, including Duran Duran’s Planet Earth and (slightly tenuous) UB40's Moonlight Lover.

Unfortunately, there is one area where Moseley is unsuitable for the project as detailed by Norbert. “For the astronauts preparing for the trip to Mars, they will need to train in a location without atmosphere. This is a major problem as everyone k n o w s Moseley has a great atmosphere, with its firstclass range of pubs and restaurants. My own favo u r i te s in the village centre are (Extensive editing was needed for this section Editor) and their tiramisu, currently on special offer, is simply divine.”

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As fascinating as this was, I was keen to find out more details of howMASA(MoseleyAeronautics and Space Administration, sponsored by Pauline’s Pop-up Pasta, Pastries and Pies) will make the big blast-

off from the suburb. “We’ll have the control room in the toilets in Moseley Park and Pool. The spacecraft itself will be attached to the side of the tower of the Fighting Cocks pub which will be the perfect launch pad to the stars.” I asked how the pub would survive the massive firepower of the rocket being propelled into space. “We’ll chuck a few sandbags around it,” replied Mr Snappingbrace. I pointed out that this is unlikely to make much difference to a 118-year old building subjected to a spaceship blasting off from its walls. At this point Norbert shouted something about “fake news!” and “ Tr u m p won that election!”, before running off and jumping on the No.1 bus.

tons of hairdressers and pubs”. I asked him what life on Mars would be like and Mr Cylinder took a moment to ponder my question, before following up with an inspired answer. “I think daily life on Mars will be a mix of work, rest and play. Actually, if that puts you in the mood for a bit of chocolate, don't miss out on the value-for-money special offer at (That’s it, Tommy. Enough is enough. You’re fired - Editor)..." Tommy Quang UPDATE: Just before going to press, the World of Strange office heard that Reg Cylinder has left MASA to join the Mars space race team of the trendier, cheaper and up-and-coming STASA (Stirchley Aeronautics and Space Administration). Follow Tommy Quang on Twitter: @WorldofStrange

I managed to get a short interview with Reg Cylinder, the ‘science guy’ behind MASA, and he chatted about the plan to colonise Mars, making it into “Moseley 2, which will create more space for

MASA launch pad info@moseleyb13.com

Rachael Cox has published her first book, Dreamscape, with the confidence of an author who wants to change the world, supporting a more diverse society, through a medium that has often proved powerful: fiction.

is a conscious effort of the author throughout the story.

The book is accessible to adolescent readers with the intriguing prospect of exploring the world in a not-too distant future. Refreshingly, it is a future Rachael is from Birming- with no mention of Instaham, UK, and is familiar gram or TikTok. Instead, to many in the city for dreamscape has its own her work with Celebrating brand of internet, ‘broadSanctuary, which has a net’ – one can already handful of events occurring hear the nostalgic modem in Moseley. She worked moaning on boot-up. Cox’s in a feminist bookshop in new world offers the idea her 20s and developed an of ‘lunar mining’ and just a interest in writing. sprinkling of alien interference. The author writes how “The book was inspired The protagonist Carly by the ‘different’ people. gives us a scenic narrative The people with talents device: that of her ‘dreamwho society often shuns or scape’, inspired heavily by undermines, the anomaNative American culture. lies against us. It was also Some Native American inspired by a love of space tribes believed they could and universal possibilities.” locate game through dreams – being in touch Lie down, relax, and with one’s dreams was a vienter into the world of tal part of the soul. These Dreamscape. magical flashbacks act as one form of investigation Dreamscape follows the for Carly to find out about story of Carly Welsh, deher past. scribed as having “Brown skin, blue eyes, broad nose, In discovering her past, full lips”. We start with her her twin, and therefore and her fellow orphans, finding herself, she helps and the journey of the the reader learn of her book takes us with them as parents, her grandparents we discover their personand the figures surroundalities and identities. The ing them. There are book draws attention to quaint scenes of flirtation people’s physical features – between characters in showing people’s diversity Dreamscape, but also and different backgrounds the dark actions of ‘The 18

Dreamscape artwork by Nazia An

Corporation’, though Elon Musk didn’t make it to the final cut. The story and characters of Dreamscape seem quite comfortable in their Orwellian world. The Corporation has a passing resemblance www.moseleyb13.com

ngel Bottley of Angel Arts.

tra-terrestria. Humans had been so close to destroying their own planet, but The Corporation is credited with ‘saving’ that planet, though many characters are cynical about their capitalist overlords. The plot feels no need to explain any of this with excessive backstory, philosophy or zeitgeist, or anything reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow. The dystopia is not such a dystopia after all, but enter into the uncanny valley. Perhaps most readers have already accepted the impending doom of the planet? Or perhaps for younger readers, the book is intended as a didactic warning. Strong females propel the book forward, characters like Aleesha, Marta and of course Carly herself, representing peace and friendship. Carly’s exploration of her past may be the familiar plot-device of the orphan, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of her development as a young woman.

In fact, her dreamscape is a fun way to explore anothto the Ministries of Nineer element of the book’s teen Eighty-Four, in that it universe – superpowers. exists as a hallmark trope of a dystopian future. What Whilst there are some X-men-esque trappings, is refreshing, or perhaps unnerving, about Dreams- with scientists in lab-coats, cape is that it accepts this in white-walled facilities, eventuality – the inevitabil- monitoring children who ity of humans exploring ex- show special psychic info@moseleyb13.com

abilities, this is not done to excess. For example, one character’s perceived autism is his ability to see people’s ‘auras’ and therefore know whether they are telling the truth. In general, Dreamscape favours the phenomenon of this mysticism over any fetishization of technology, and Cox’s brave new world welcomes the existence of a light, new-age psychic ability in her future. Ultimately, this is a nice book, with nice sentiments, and nice main characters. Carly, in true post-Greta Thunberg style, bravely announces to her adult peers that “Every living being yearns for existence, just to live, that’s all. To live, grow and evolve”. Jobe Baker-Sullivan Published on 18th December 2020, Dreamscape is fresh off the Kindle bookshelf and also available in hardcopy from Amazon.

I first met Dr Jonathan Lee at my spoken word event in Moseley. Yes, he is a poet, but also a dentist and the author of eight books on all things fitnessrelated, including the astounding The Essential Guide to Sports Nutrition and Bodybuilding which I view as an encyclopaedia of health. I decided to interview Dr Lee for this month's Moseley B13 Magazine because the weather is rapidly improving and people’s attention is beginning to turn towards shedding a few pounds for the summer months... Where did your career in writing fitness books begin? My background is in dentistry. I have always had a keen interest in the human body and medicine, and went to university at the very young age of 17, to study dentistry at Guy’s Hospital. I left because I never got on with the other students, mostly because I was rather immature, and I became lonely. So, I transferred to King’s College

London to study Sports Nutrition and Medical Sciences, and that’s when I developed a lifelong interest in the subject. When I finished my three years of studying, I was older and wiser and went back to finalise my training to become a dentist and then take up the profession, which I am still in. As a side note, I had become obese during this time. I was training a lot, but was also eating like a horse and managed to acquire 30% body fat by the time I was 22 years old. I was not happy with this look and that is the reason I started to study nutrition. How have you acquired your current body shape? By the time I was 24 I was a personal trainer. As a result of my research into nutrition and my own personal fitness plans, I had managed to transform my body into the one I had always wanted. So, I replicated this with my clients and helped them to do likewise, much to their delight. I earned money at the same time, which was much needed due to my limited student income.

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A MOSELEY MINUTE DR JONATHAN LEE:

HOW TO GET

THE PERFECT

BODY IN TIME FOR SPRING

Continued next page info@moseleyb13.com

How did this inspire you to write books? I lost my father to cancer. He never smoked or drank so we used to call him superman, because he never got ill until this final illness. From the first diagnosis to his passing away was just six months. This gave me the inspiration to research into what makes a healthy person succumb to cancer, and I found it can be heavily linked to nutrition. The eureka moment came for me when I was reading The Lancet and came across an article called ‘You are what you eat’. This started another spell of research into the subject of sports nutrition?? which lasted for another four years. After much research I wrote my book The Essential Guide to Sports Nutrition and Bodybuilding. The book took me three and a half years to write, and came to a hefty 800 A4 pages. How do you promote your books? I organise events around Moseley and the surrounding area to show people how to live a healthy life. A few years ago I ran an event at the Ort Gallery on Moseley Road in Balsall Heath on how to live a healthy lifestyle while being a vegan and it was a very popular event, with speakers, musicians and vegan food. I plan to run this type of event again in this area as soon as the restrictions are loosened. Tell us more about your personal journey... I was working out every day from when I was 16 years old, and could not understand why I was still obese. I tried every fad diet there was at the time, but no matter what, the weight kept coming back. So, I applied my studies on fat loss and muscle growth to myself, and within 10-20 weeks I had lost 15% of my body fat. What book of yours do you recommend to achieve the same results? How to Get the Perfect Body. It’s simple and condensed and has everything you need to know in a step-by-step formula. The book I am most proud of though is The Essential Guide to Sports Nutrition and Bodybuilding. The latest book to be released is a recipe book, Lean Meals for Everyone, and is the missing link that makes my book collection complete. Debbie Aldous 22

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SOMETHING ABOUT A MOUSE

We have been told that the name of Moseley first occurs in the Domesday Book of 1086, as 'Museleie' and that this meant “a woodland clearing infested by mice”. The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names derives it from mus = mouse.

which springs of water burst to soak the ground, especially in winter, as in Moseley Park and Highbury Park. The brooks drained down to the Lady Pool, or to the pool in Moseley Park. A source of water allowed for an inn, The Bulls Head, where people and beasts could refresh themselves on the road.

However, there must have been a lot of small mammals in Old England, such as the field mouse, and any surplus would surely have been mopped up by predators. There were mice everywhere, whereas this is not a common place name in England, only a Moseley near Worcester, and another near Wolverhampton. Even worse, in Old English the plural of mus was mys, and there is no place called Myseley. Can a place be infested by a single mouse?

Imagine the road coming from Alcester, churned by cattle going to Birmingham market, here crossing waterlogged ground, a moss. In fact, there is a record of those straightening the turnpike road through the village in 1801 complaining that they had to drain “a slough”. One can see the shelf where the slope of St Mary’s Row flattens, before continuing down Salisbury Road. This is a more or less a permanent feature of the place, the inconveniently wet ground - a moss.

Alternatively, we should consider 'mos', the Old English for a moss, a boggy place, like Moss Side and Mossley in Manchester. Muswell Hill in London shows that mus could be a variant of mos, being also recorded as Mosewella, a well or spring at a moss.

We are not talking of Moseley Bog, which is a recent creation, having been a mill pool which was allowed to largely drain away. However, it gives some idea of the original wet landscape around here.

In our Moseley, we have layers of sand, gravel and clay which are good for grass ‘ley’, but they create perched water tables from info@moseleyb13.com

John Newson and Susan McClure

MOSELEY SOCIETY

EDWARD

MOSE GENTL

In 1894 Edward Holmes was described as "a striking personality, both in appearance and character, and I doubt if there is a man in Moseley better known and more highly respected". He was born in 1832 in School Road at Laurel Cottage (now part of Cambridge Road Church car park) and christened at St Mary’s Church, Moseley, in the same year.

Holmes was educated at Birmingham Free Grammar School, New Street, and walked to school every day. Writing in 1894, he remembered the "Good old days … when Moseley was noted more for its green pastures than its villas", and that School Road was a "narrow bye road, and bounded by holly hedge; it was innocently rustic, and the houses were then few and far between on Alcester and Moseley Road". He served two apprenticeships in architects’ offices in Birmingham, and in 1852 set up an architectural practice in at4 Waterloo Street, and moved to 25 Temple Row in 1858. He also practised from his home at 2 Wellington Terrace, Balsall Heath. He designed St Mary’s Church, in Selly Oak, the former Midland Bank at the corner of New Street and Stephenson Place, the Masonic 24

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Y HISTORY GROUP

the subscription list, including that of Edward Holmes. In 1852 Mr Holmes was chairman of the committee. In April 1883 he attended a St Mary’s Church Vestry committee meeting at the home of one Mr Cattell, Carlton Lodge in School Road. This committee was appointed to consider the claims of Edward Holmes’s plans for altering the church. The 1885 and 1886 plans for the sale of plots on the Grove Estate show that Holmes owned a great deal of the land. Hall and Curzon Hall, as well as He also bought plots on the churches, chapels and every kind Anderton Park Estate when it of public and private building. came onto the market in 1877 following the death of Rebecca Edward Holmes was a member Anderton. of the Kings Norton Board of Surveyors and chairman for Edward Holmes was an a period, when "he filled the enthusiastic sportsman. He was important capacity of chairman a keen cricketer and a member with an impartiality and success of Old Victoria Cricket Club for which is truly enviable". He was forty years (the team played instrumental in the widening of at a ground which is now part Woodbridge Road and some "very of Highgate Park). He was viceneedful improvements at Moseley president of Moseley Football Station". He took great interest Club in 1894, appearing at the in labour disputes, especially Reddings in "his characteristic those connected with the white top hat", and became a building trades, and acted as a leading referee in international very successful arbitrator many games and a writer on rugby times. He was a subscriber to union football. He was a member Moseley, Kings Heath and Balsall of the old Solihull Bowling Club Heath Horticultural Society. in 1894 and also played billiards, enjoyed hunting, shooting A public meeting in 1827 set and fishing, and ran with the up a General Subscription Worcestershire Hounds. Holmes for donations and annual helped form the Birmingham subscriptions for the Moseley National School. Within a month Rifle Volunteer Corps and had a there were about fifty names on favourite muzzle-loader which he preferred to all the more modern firearms.

HOLMES:

ELEY LEMAN

(1861-1938). In 1861 they were living on the Moseley Road with a daughter and son, both under four years of age. Mary Ann Holmes died on 5 November 1861, ten days after giving birth to Gertrude. Edward Holmes married Mary Lavinia Hemming in 1863 and with her had a further eleven children. In 1871 they were living in Showell Lane with three children under three years, and in 1881 at Saxonhurst, Greenhill Road, with six daughters and four sons aged between one and twentytwo years. In 1891 they were at 16 Mayfield Road with four daughters and three sons aged between six and twenty-four years, and in 1901 at Wyndcliffe, School Road, Moseley, with four daughters and two sons aged between sixteen and thirty-five years. They had servants at every stage. Edward Holmes died of pneumonia at Wyndcliffe on 30 December 1909, and his funeral was held in Moseley parish church on 3 January 1910. He was buried in the family tomb at St Mary’s churchyard. Mary Lavinia died in 1921. Janet Berry See more about Edward Holmes on the Moseley Society website. moseley-society/local-history. org.uk

Edward Holmes was a family man. He married Mary Ann Briggs on 7 October 1856 at St Mary's Church, Moseley, and they had three children, Elizabeth Henriette Holmes (1857-1944), Edward Briggs Holmes (18581920) and Gertrude Fanny Holmes A Mourning Card: Mary Ann Holmes info@moseleyb13.com

Former Midland Bank, New Street 25

Bristol Road tram. Image credit: tramwayinfo.com

MOSELEY MEMORIES THE FIELDWORKERS

When I was a kid, most working-class families were barely 100 years from being the peasants drawn to the new opportunities apparently presented by the Industrial Revolution.

Nobody organised such trips at Junior school, we just went on our own. Moseley Grammar School, though, had a Field Club, a very exclusive club from which I was excluded. Its expeditions were much talked about by envious outsiders like me, though.

Given the chance of a garden, we cultivated it, often for kitchen vegetables and fruit. Many a back garden had a pig guzzling on swill made with kitchen waste from neighbouring families, who anticipated some bacon cuts, chops, or even a whole head. As for chickens, they were ubiquitous, crowing proudly at dawn, or laying fresh eggs during rationing. No turkeys at Christmas, but chuckies.

One incident became notorious. A Sunday trek had been held in some unfamiliar rough ground, possibly in the Staffordshire Moorlands. They came to a ditch with a warning sign, “Beware – Deep Water.” Some athletic boys leapt across it easily, others scrambled at the steep opposite bank, pulled up by companions. A well-liked Maths teacher, ‘Cammie’ Cameron, was leading We got out of Birmingham’s grime whenever one group, but lost his footing and fell in. He possible. A 36 bus took us to the Maypole, clambered back angrily and wrote on the fields, hedgerow flowers, bemused livestock, sign “BLOODY Deep Water.” At the time, that and the excitement of the Bell’s Lane smithy. was really bad language and for a respected Better still, a Bristol Road tram, with its glazed teacher to swear in public was unheard of. front balcony, went to the circular terminal The story went all round the school the next at Rednal, a short walk from The Lickeys; or day, of course, and ‘Cammie’s’ popularity tracing the clear-water stream up Rose Hill to soared. look out over the Severn Valley. Our own bit of local wilderness was spoiled 26

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My only experience of enjoying countryside activities at MGS was through frequent exercises with the Army Cadet Corps. We learnt much about weaponry and purposeful map-reading, and loved scrambling through undergrowth with our Lee-Enfield rifles and Bren guns. There was also the discipline, and misbehaviour on exercises and, especially, at Annual Camps, where we mixed with regular squaddies.

by being part of our regular cross-country runs. We crossed Wake Green Road and went round the Pickwick playing field, being careful not to be spotted cutting corners, and thus getting sent back to start again. Then, we plunged into The Dell. Now known as Moseley Bog, it had a barely visible track through ancient woodland now enclosed by Birmingham’s growth, and our 4-5 “back markers” helped each other across the vigorous stream which ran down to the River Cole at Sarehole Mill. Now much promoted as the inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s Old Mill at Hobbiton, like his aunt’s farm at Bag End, a few miles away, The Dell became The Shire in his books, and the Cole flowed into “Shakespeare’s Avon” and thus into “Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon”. Forgive my cynicism.

But that’s for another day. David Spilsbury

By contrast to me, always coming last in these runs-cum-walks, my brother Alan excelled at them and was part of the team which won the inter-grammar schools Athletics Championship outright in 1957. Every family has its ups and downs and I was always the athletic downer. Moseley Bog info@moseleyb13.com

With the end of lockdown hopefully somewhere in sight as the vaccination programme is rolled out, now is the time to get as financially fit as possible. With many of us spending so much time at home, there is an opportunity to spend a few hours taking a detailed look at finances. This could make a huge difference not only to our financial health but also to our mental health and wellbeing. Here are seven practical steps you can take to achieve financial fitness in the year ahead.

2: Have a detailed look at all your monthly bills

3: Build an emergency fund

1: Debt Management

Reducing expensive debt will be a positive first step. Expensive debts like credit cards should be given priority, With the recent news even if it's just reducing the about energy price increases, amount outstanding. now is the perfect time to see if you can save money by switching supplier or moving to a cheaper tariff. If you are worried about your debt level, seek help The same applies to your immediately. Free and other outgoings like insurance impartial advice is available and mobile phone bills. Is it from organisations such as possible to get a better deal Citizens Advice, National when your existing contracts Debtline and StepChange. come to an end? 28

None of us knows what is around the corner. If you have spare cash each month, building an emergency fund is a prudent thing to do. Financial advisers would generally recommend having an emergency fund of a minimum of 3 months income. If affordable, consider having insurance in place to protect you and your family from unforeseen events like serious illness or an accident. www.moseleyb13.com

6: Review your journey to retirement

The vast majority of us will one day stop working, or at least move to working fewer hours. Have you thought about how your retirement will look? Do you know how much money you will need each month to support the type of life you want? 4: Have a plan

5: Optimise your workplace pension

What have you got now to fund your retirement? What do you need to have when you do retire? How will you get from where you are currently to where you want to be? Do you need to increase the amount you contribute each month to your pension to ensure you meet your goals? 7: Seek advice

Many employers offer workplace pensions, yet some people don’t take advantage of them. If this is the case, you are missing While life can always throw out on tax relief and on the contributions of your up the unexpected, make employer and will effectively sure you have a financial plan. Your financial goals and be giving up free money. If you can, at least contribute plans might change but it is important that you have them the maximum amount that will be matched by your in the first place. Have you a plan to handle any difficulties employer. with mortgage deposits, or Pensions in general are when your children go to very tax-efficient and there university? Every financial is a wide range of options goal you have should have a available. plan to achieve it. info@moseleyb13.com

Sometimes we are not quite sure how to start and carry out financial plans, but this can be made much easier. Advice from a professional Financial Adviser can help you get on the right path and give you greater peace of mind, increasing your general wellbeing. Martin Jeffers Martin Jeffers Wealth Management

IN PRAISE OF POETRY

Thank God for poetry, I say, and thank God for the people I know who love poetry. Without them lockdown would be more like locked in or locked out. Though the poems themselves would have brought the whole world in all on their own, though I could share my locked down, locked in, locked out world with all the poets in their worlds, that is not the same as sharing with other kindred spirit poetry-loving friends.

we have another friend waiting expectantly for their turn to say hello and hear words they have never heard before.

Happily I know that come Thursdays, come Fridays, the phone will ring and the day’s poems will be read and listened to one person at a time. Without those regular poetry ring-rounds who knows but that I might have sunk into lockdown apathy and not even bothered to open the pages of the worlds that sit in the books, side by ranging side on my shelves.

Every day is a Sunday, or could be if you weren’t careful. Worse still, a Monday or Wednesday or any one of those unremarkable days. Every day could be all one day punctuated by an eat, a sleep, a permitted walk to the essential shop along the urban tarmac and back to an eat, a sleep; every day the same one day.

With the weeks winding one into another, days passing unremarked, the social calendar empty as more and more people abide by the rules, the law, their social consciences or their fears, there is a sense of endlessness.

Just knowing that every week there is a Thursday still, and a Friday; that there are poems to be read and voices to be heard and the hearing them keenly anticipated has been and is, a sanity saver for me.

I am a sharer by nature. Poetry-reading and writing are good for my soul and for my sanity. This I know. Solitude is good too, time on my own, but I own that the yen to share is a yearning.

It’s Saint David’s Day on 1st March. Welsh poets to look forward to. The Three Thomases are amongst my personal favourites: RS, Edward and Dylan; those and the former National Poet Gillian Clarke.

I love the poems. Love to read them but also to speak them and hear them spoken: to hear what other friends have chosen and get to know the poems better through their choices. We don’t analyse the poems very much, or even comment apart from appreciating the gifts we have just been offered.

What more lovely gift can I choose to share with you than her sublime Miracle on St David's Day.

It only takes about fifteen minutes or so, twice a week regularly. We don’t chat for long. We know 30

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Miracle on St. David’s Day They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude

- The Daffodils, William Wordsworth

An afternoon yellow and open-mouthed

He is suddenly standing, silently,

with daffodils. The sun treads the path

huge and mild, but I feel afraid. Like slow

among cedars and enormous oaks.

movement of spring water or the first bird

It might be a country house, guests strolling,

of the year in the breaking darkness,

the rumps of gardeners between nursery shrubs.

the labourer's voice recites 'The Daffodils'.

I am reading poetry to the insane.

The nurses are frozen, alert; the patients

An old woman, interrupting, offers

seem to listen. He is hoarse but word-perfect.

as many buckets of coals as I need.

Outside the daffodils are still as wax,

A beautiful chestnut-haired boy listens

a thousand, ten thousand, their syllables

entirely absorbed. A schizophrenic

unspoken, their creams and yellows still.

on a good day, they tell me later.

Forty years ago, in a Valleys school,

In a cage of first March sun a woman

the class recited poetry by rote.

sits not listening, not seeing, not feeling.

Since the dumbness of misery fell

In her neat clothes the woman is absent.

he has remembered there was a music

A big mild man is tenderly led

of speech and that once he had something to say.

to his chair. He has never spoken.

When he's done, before the applause, we observe

His labourer's hands on his knees, he rocks.

the flowers' silence. A thrush sings

gently to the rhythms of the poems.

and the daffodils are aflame.

I read to their presences, absences, Tessa Kate Lowe

to the big, dumb labouring man as he rocks.

If you would like to join one of our ring-rounds please email lowe.tessa@gmail.com info@moseleyb13.com

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