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B13 MAGAZINE

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M SELEY

MAY 2021 ISSUE 518

MOSELEY TOGETHER:

ONE YEAR ON DEMOCRACY NOW!

PRINCE PHILIP

FESTIVALS ARE GO!

BRIGHT MINDS

MAYORAL & POLICE ELECTIONS FOLK & FUNK SUMMER

& THE TORNADO

BRIGHT NEW DAYCARE!

MOSELEY B13 MAGAZINE

MAY21

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, Jenny Gwynne PHOTOGRAPHER Position Vacant CONTRIBUTORS David Spilsbury, Moseley Local History Society, John Newson 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 Fiona Tyson 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 May! If you’ve had a pint in a beer garden, gone shopping for more than the essentials, had your lockdown mullet shorn or - and here’s the really important stuff - got to visit loved ones after many months, then I trust the new issue finds you in good spirits! This magazine will hopefully bring more cheer with a super league of stories. Izzy Knowles looks back on one year of Moseley Together (our cover stars) supporting the community during the pandemic (page 8), and John Newson remembers the time Prince Philip visited the area in the aftermath of the Birmingham Tornado (page 9). We also have a round-up of the candidates for the West Midlands Mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections (pages 10-14) and a look at the new Bright Minds daycare centre in Moseley (pages 22-25). I hope you enjoy the magazine. Mark

17 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.77

09 INTHIS ISSUE

NEWSHOUND

MOSELEY TOGETHER

PRINCE PHILIP

DEMOCRACY NOW!

STATION UPDATE

MAYORAL CANDIDATES

MUSIC REVIEW

FESTIVALS ARE GO!

WILD GARLIC

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED

BRIGHT MINDS

MOSELEY MEMORIES

STAINED GLASS ARTIST

JUST TO SAY

COUNCIL TAX - 5 TIPS

BY MARK BAXTER

NEWSHOUND

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

RESTAURANT LITTLE BLACKWOOD CLOSES AFTER THREE YEARS Alcester Road restaurant Little Blackwood, which opened in March 2018, has been forced to close for good due to the impact of lockdown. The restaurant replaced the Cheval Blanc wine bar. A statement on the restaurant’s Facebook page read: "It is with great regret and sorrow that we have taken the hard decision to close Little Blackwood after three years. "For the first two years, we loved everything about Little Blackwood, the customers, the support, and the whole restaurant experience. "However, the last 12 months have been very difficult and has not been made any easier by the fact that we were not able to furlough and had very little financial support, paying full rent with no help. "Having given our situation many hours and days consideration, we feel that this is the only outcome open to us. "We are not sure what the future holds for Little Blackwood, but in the short term, if there is any private function you are thinking of holding, e.g. BBQs, dinner parties, etc., then remember we are here to help with any kind of catering. "Once again, thank you for your support; we have loved meeting you all and look forward to seeing you again sometime in the future."

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NEARLY 800 SIGN PETITION TO RE-OPEN PARK PUBLIC TOILETS Nearly 800 people have now signed a petition calling on the City Council to re-open public toilets in Cannon Hill Park which have been closed since the start of the pandemic in May 2020. The petition, on Change.org, says: “The public toilets in Cannon Hill Park, the biggest public park in Birmingham, have been padlocked up since May. The notice on the doors says 'closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic'. The one disabled toilet (near to the entrance) has been out of use for much longer than that. The MAC toilets are unavailable due to the facility being closed, and will not re-open this year. The café toilet is closed to members of the public. “Cannon Hill Park is a busy city park. It is visited every day by walkers, cyclists, dog walkers, and especially by young families who come from miles around to enjoy the green open space, to play tennis and to enjoy the minigolf, children's train, boats and fairground rides. This Bank Holiday there were hundreds of people enjoying the park. “It is not acceptable that there are no public toilets for them to use. It is not acceptable that there is no disabled toilet facility. People are resorting to using the bushes as a public toilet – litter pickers have reported finding piles of human excrement and tissues.” There is no precedent for keeping the toilet block closed. Parks in other cities have full facilities open to the public with cleaning schedules and sanitiser.” In reply to the petition, Darren Share, Assistant Director – Street Scene for Birmingham City Council, said the Council was not currently in a position to open the park public toilets to the public in a Covid-safe manner that would protect staff and visitors. He added: “The additional hygiene and cleaning measures and staffing which would have to put in place is not affordable within the city’s budget. Parks officers meet three times each week with other officers from Birmingham City Council Divisions to review and agree the city’s approach to responding to government guidance and Covid measures across the public realm. As soon as we can start opening buildings again we will include the public toilets – but this is likely to take some time and only when Birmingham moves into a tier with fewer restrictions.” As we went to press 772 people had signed. The petition is at https://tinyurl.com/ j74mz668

UNOFFICIAL CANNON HILL PARK ‘PARTY’ ANGERS RESIDENTS

Scores of police were drafted in to Cannon Hill Park after 'thousands' of revellers attended an unofficial ‘party in the park’ recently. There were unverified reports of party-goers travelling from as far away as London to attend. Pictures and videos taken at the event showed drinks being handed out to crowds at the event, called the ‘21 Degrees festival’ and even a boxing match being held in front of hundreds of onlookers. The gathering, which had music and lighting equipment, was billed as 'Birmingham's hottest student link-up'. A flyer for the '21 Degrees' event advertised 'mocktails, cocktails, music, rounders, football and water fights' at the park – as well as the chance to meet other students from Aston, Birmingham City University and the University of Birmingham. However, the event sparked complaints from local residents furious over traffic building up and fearful that the event was likely to spread Covid. Jaw-dropping scenes were condemned by locals who likened the ‘party’ – which began at 1pm and continued well into the night – to a pop festival. West Midlands Police confirmed they attended the park but said the “crowds were ‘goodnatured'” and no fines were handed out for Covid breaches. A Police spokesperson said: “We had officers at Cannon Hill Park, following social posts suggesting that an organised gathering was planned. Officers initially found no breaches of coronavirus legislation, with people enjoying the weather in small, individual groups. “Later on in the evening, the numbers increased and music and lighting equipment had been set up. We had a number of complaints from residents about traffic building up around the area. The crowds were good-natured and engaged with officers, and the park was all clear by 11.30pm.” The following day a major clean-up operation was carried out by Moseley Litterbusters after the park was left overwhelmed with rubbish. Empty champagne bottles, cups, plastic bags and food debris could be seen covering the grass at the park. MOSELEY LITTERBUSTERS BECOME ‘GRAFFITIBUSTERS’ Unsightly graffiti has been removed by Moseley Litterbusters from the windows of the vacant Boots site at 129 Alcester Road, which closed in June 2020. The picture of the graffiti-covered Boots corner window was taken in late March this year, just nine months after Boots closed, and shows how much the graffiti on the site had become an eyesore. All that changed last month when Moseley Litterbusters set to work. If you want to help combat graffiti, Moseley Litterbusters are still looking for a volunteer who could help keep the spreadsheet of graffiti-blighted locations up to date, chase property owners (where known), and maintain a folder of before and after photos. The group uses WhatsApp and Facebook and the spreadsheet is kept on a Google shared drive. If you are interested, contact the Mosley Litterbusters Group on Facebook. Litterbusters would particularly like to see more youngsters involved in tackling graffiti. As well as being a nuisance, graffiti can be considered an act of criminal damage. Offenders can be prosecuted under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, which gives local councils the power to dish out on-the-spot fines of £50 to anyone caught daubing graffiti on public property.

COMMUNITY

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MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN MOSELEY A 43 year-old man has been charged with murdering a father-of-one who was stabbed in Moseley. Nathan Burton, 27, was found seriously injured at a property on Woodhurst Road, Moseley, on Wednesday April 7 at about 11 pm and died in hospital the following day. A post-mortem examination found he died of a single stab wound to the chest. Chad Henderson, 43, has been charged with his murder, West Midlands Police said. Mr Henderson, of Woodhurst Road, Moseley, appeared at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Saturday April 10 and Birmingham Crown Court on Monday April 12. In a statement released by West Midlands Police, Mr Burton's family said: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our much-loved son, brother and father Nathan. "He is going to be greatly missed, but will never be forgotten and his legacy will live on through his ten-month-old daughter who he loved so very much. "We are thankful for the joy and laughter he brought to us all and for the precious time that we had, even though it has been cut so needlessly short." Anyone with any information can contact West Midlands Police live chat on the website www.west-midlands.police.uk 8am - midnight, or call 101 anytime. LONG JAIL TERM FOR BURGLAR WHO LIVED IN SANDFORD ROAD A burglar who raided homes in Moseley and Kings Heath has been jailed for five years and three months at Birmingham Crown Court after admitting several burglary offences, one count of fraud and one count of assaulting an emergency worker. Stephen Honnor, 38, broke into five homes in Moseley and Kings Heath between October 14 and November 16 last year, often getting in through unsecured windows. Bank cards, jewellery and electrical goods were taken but sometimes muddy footprints were left behind and at one scene a fingerprint was found on an envelope on a kitchen table. Forensic testing showed that it belonged to Honnor and while out on patrol a police officer spotted him and Honnor was arrested. Footage from one of the break-ins also showed the burglar wearing a distinctive checked scarf, a hooded top and a baseball cap with a logo. These were later found during a search of Honnor's home in Sandford Road, Moseley, and he admitted in police interview that they were his. Further CCTV footage also showed Honnor using a stolen bank card at a shop in Moseley. While he was in custody he became abusive and started shouting at custody officers before spitting at one through the hatch in the cell door. Honnor pleaded guilty to five burglary offences, one count of fraud and one count of assaulting an emergency worker and was jailed for five years and three months at Birmingham Crown Court. PC Mike Rodenas, from Force CID at West Midlands Police said: "Having your home broken into, your personal belongings searched through and items of value stolen, is upsetting and traumatic. But we will always work to bring these criminals to justice and hope that this jail term serves as some comfort to Honnor's victims." Stephen Honnor

Ian Cook 7

MOSELEY TOGETHER – ONE YEAR ON Delivered over 1,000 food parcels across Moseley Befriended and offered support to over 40 isolated people Made over 300 face-masks, aprons and gowns for local care homes Donated over 1,000 bags of food and baby items to local food banks and support organisations. Helped over 7,000 people get vaccinated

Fiona Tyson and Wendy Noon

In addition, over 140 local newsletter emails have been sent updating residents on everything from the coronavirus figures and how to sew masks to local events online and where to swap plants and books.

Moseley Together is a network of local support set up at the very start of the pandemic to help people who were ill or self-isolating and unable to go out due to Covid-19. It was created by a team of volunteers in less than a week. A year later, it is still managed by a small group of volunteer local residents who act as co-ordinators and are efficiently supported by Lorna Brewster and the Moseley CDT team.

As we move into 2021, our businesses are re-opening and the vaccination programme is slowly beginning to allow people to venture out once more. The community spirit in Moseley is still very much alive and kicking. Moseley Together will not go away – it is and always will be part of living in Moseley.

Over the year Moseley Together saw over 400 people sign up to volunteer and between them they have

Izzy Knowles

Supported over 300 households with shopping

www.moseleytogether.org.uk E-Mail: info@moseleytogether.org.uk

Collected and delivered over 100 prescriptions

Call or text 07796 668257

PRINCE PHILIP AND THE TORNADO whether they were getting a fair deal, and then to use whatever influence he had to get problems fixed. We cannot know whether the Prince gave some feedback to the City Council about his visit, but the City did later contribute to the Tornado Hardship Fund of the Birmingham Foundation, despite having at first said there was no hardship; this allowed for small grants which helped residents to get their homes back together. Many such stories are being shared at the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 2021, aged 99. It was November 2005, a few months after the Birmingham tornado had ripped through John Newson Kings Heath, Moseley and Balsall Heath. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had been invited to visit the area and agreed to do so. Some of the local residents had invitations to the event at the Lahore Karachi restaurant. It smelled strongly of fresh paint and flowers. The Prince congratulated Council and emergency workers for their work in this natural disaster, and he presented them with awards, as had been arranged. When he spoke with the residents, however, we noticed that the tornado was being spoken about as something over and done with, but Rohan Green said we were still living with the damage and asked if the Prince would like to see this in the next street. The Prince immediately agreed and strode off, with the residents and his security man, followed by the mayor and dignitaries, for an alternative resident-led tour down Birchwood Road and Alder Road. These were still covered with scaffolding, plastic, rubble and fallen fencing, some months after the event. The Prince asked probing questions, and remarked that a lot still needed sorting out! I got the impression of a man who, although part of the establishment, was sceptical about those ‘in charge’ and ready to learn about the experience of people on the ground and 9

ANOTHE DEMOCRACY NO

The delayed West Midlands Mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections on May 6 give us the hard-won chance to elect our local representatives, or at least register our disapproval of the powers that be. You may well be ‘off’ politics, ‘all electioned-out’ or think your vote can’t make a difference, and turnout is expected to be low, especially now we actually have better things to do, but I assure you that the race for Mayor is tight! Although two-horsed, the ‘Supplementary Vote’ system used, with a first and second preference, gives you a chance to show your support of smaller parties or independents without risking splitting the vote and letting the other guy in (if that is your thing), don’t expect this to be reflected in actual representation: there can

Pete Durnell

his campaigners and base by his attacks on the party leader and his association with Tom Watson, unpopular in some circles. This time, Andy faces a more credible and perhaps better-funded Labour candidate in local MP Liam Byrne who “enjoys the 8occasional pint in the Fighting Cocks, loves the farmers' market, and always looks forward to the Moseley Festival”, and whose victory in this contest would incidentally trigger a byelection in Hodge Hill. It would be interesting to see who Labour chooses to stand for MP in this hypothetical scenario, given their recent selection controversies. It also remains to be seen whether Andy’s promise of stations Andy Street

be only one mayor after all and since leaving the EU there are no longer any proportional elections here. Incumbent Mayor Andy Street’s narrow 2017 victory came as a surprise, not least to Siôn Simon (Labour) who was expected to be a shoo-in for the role until he alienated

Liam Byrne 10

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ER ONE? OW! ELECTIONS After highlighting the chance to vote for independents, I am disappointed that environmentalist Pete Weller, with his pledge of free public transport, has pulled out of the race along with enigmatic Ashvir Sangh, grandson of Punjabi farmers and former President of the Oxford Student Union, who tweets support for the Kill the Bill protests yet endorses Andy Street. The result of the first Metro Mayor in London shows that lack of party affiliation is not a barrier. I asked all the candidates for a profile and asked some questions on local issues but most just sent the campaign promises available on their websites and through your doors. Rather than regurgitate them here, therefore, I urge you to check out all the candidate manifestos at whocanivotefor. co.uk, or perhaps in the recycling by now. Interestingly I did find out that on the subject

Jenny Wilkinson

in Moseley and Kings Heath will bring mass appeal, or if it will be Liam’s ’People’s Plan for Birmingham’ (also promising stations), or even whether we will still even want to commute to the post-pandemic city centre when they finally open (more policies are available). Also standing for Mayor are school governor, charity trustee and friend of the Park (not ours) Jenny Wilkinson for the Liberal Democrats; Solihull Councillor and IT project manager Steve Caudwell for the Greens; and retired IT manager and libertarian Pete Durnell for Reform UK (the upcycled UKIP/ Brexit Party, now pushing a Covid-sceptic rather than Eurosceptic anti-lockdown agenda).

Steve Caudwell 11

stepping down. I say controversial because Andy Street wants to absorb the role of the PCC into the mayoralty and had enthusiastic support for his “public consultation” on this, not least from Solihull Councillor Bob Grinsell, who tweeted that he already filled in the consultation "three times under three different names and email addresses". Ironically we had already said we didn’t want a Mayor, in the referendum of 2012 – the same one as Nick Clegg’s flawed attempt to change to proportional representation (sort of) – a missed opportunity if ever there was one. However, times were different then and we were not as engaged. We perhaps thought that first past the post would at least

Simon Foster

of cannabis, Jenny Wilkinson (Lib Dem) and Steve Caudwell (Green) have both declared their support for full legalisation, while Liam Byrne (Labour) wants to see a tougher approach. Andy Street (Conservative) was non-committal on the subject.

Jon Hunt

keep the extremists out of power (if only), but given that we have a Metro mayor now anyway, respecting referendum results seems flexible. Conservative PCC candidate, army reservist, TV producer and advertising exec Jay Singh-Sohal has nothing to say on this subject. However, he has pledged to ‘freeze and review’ Labour’s plan to close dozens of police stations across the region and has said that he will ensure each of the region’s seven boroughs will get at least 50 new police officers out of the hundreds currently being recruited.

Also up for grabs and offering greater choice of candidates is the controversial £100k a year position of Police and Crime Commissioner, first elected in 2012 on a turnout of just 12% and currently quietly held by David Jamieson for Labour who is

The role of the PCC, according to Lib Dem candidate Jon Hunt, is to hold the Chief Constable to account but the Lib Dems would like to see this post become a directly elected Deputy Mayor in the region. “The amount of policing money diverted to support this post is scandalous and failures in a number of areas, such as road safety and the use of buildings, highlight the need for the oversight of the police to be much more closely aligned

Jay Singh-Sohal 12

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to local authorities,” says Jon, who has committed to taking a reduced salary.

age”, is standing for the “We Matter Party” and “aims to reconnect the community with the role of governance, through participation Moseley resident and legal aid solicitor and consultation, working with the people Simon Foster is standing for Labour and to reduce disenfranchisement and have their pledges to “Strengthen community policing by voice heard.” Mark Hoath is standing for putting 450 extra community police officers Reform UK. on our streets, combat violence against women, listen to victims, deliver a tough police response, ensure the safety of victims is a top priority, and protect the victims of crime, promote their rights and ensure access to appropriate and suitable victim support services.” Standing as an independent is veteran campaigner Julie Hambleton who has spent many years dealing with police to get justice for her sister Maxine, killed in the 1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings. She says “the role of WMPCC is not about policy, it’s about character, integrity and accountability. I would work tirelessly to support our police force and hold them to account as regards the values that we all share. My background shows that I am always honest, determined, and fearless in the face of authority. If elected, I would use my experience and strength to fight for you. I am an ordinary Brummie and would never aspire to be anything else. On these terms, as Commissioner, I would always be in your corner, fighting to make sure that we have a justice system that works fairly and effectively for all.”

Julie Hambleton

While Moseleyites and Kings Heathens will have to wait until next year to elect their councillors, there are also by-elections in our neighbouring wards of Billesley and Hall Green North, with a plethora of candidates vying for your votes with independents standing on platforms such as Covid-sceptic anti-lockdown, anti-vax from the ‘Freedom Party’ and smaller parties like Reform UK (the repurposed Brexit party) offering similar, and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition offering a sort of Labour under old management approach as well as the usual established parties. The deadline for postal voting has passed, and the opportunity to apply to vote by proxy (closing date April 27) will be coming to an end by the time this magazine hits the newsstands. Polling stations will be Covidcompliant, with facemasks, social distancing and hand sanitiser. You are asked to bring your own pen.

Desmond Jaddoo

Campaigner Desmond Jaddoo, “a great believer in fairness in society irrespective of race, gender, sexuality, religion, wealth or

Max Jalil (Opinions in this article are my own) 13

SUMMARY OF THE MAYORAL CANDIDATES’ MANIFESTOS LIB Dem – Jenny Wilkinson Empowering people and communities - by listening to people’s lived experiences and taking account of knowledge, skills and expertise to make decisions. Tackling poverty and inequality – through a programme to build genuinely affordable homes, trial Universal Basic Income payments and support people in developing the skills needed to secure work. Building a green heart of England - to protect the natural environment and reverse biodiversity loss, at the same time as combating climate change. Subsidised public transport and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. We need a major house-building programme of affordable, environmentally sustainable homes Green – Steve Caudwell I'm the Leader of the Opposition on Solihull Council and a ward councillor for Castle Bromwich. in north Solihull. I decided to stand for Mayor because we need a West Midlands that works for everyone. We need an end to the poverty scandal that blights the seven boroughs; we need a genuinely Green industrial revolution. We need a transport system we can actually use. If we get these right, we can defeat the climate crisis that threatens to ruin our way of life and our children’s futures. Labour – Liam Byrne Bring back industry to the West Midlands - use new green markets such as electric cars and medical equipment to fund our public services, universities, parks, art galleries, grassroots sport, markets and festivals. We need to double the number of truly affordable warm homes we build to put a roof over everyone's head. We need to help our children and grandchildren succeed, and keep them safe from knife crime, starting with putting youth workers and police back in every neighbourhood. It’s time to set a new course for a new future for the West Midlands. Conservative – Andy Street Create 100,000 new jobs and training opportunities in the next two years to drive the post-pandemic recovery, including building a new electric battery Gigafactory at Coventry airport. Secure £10 billion of new investment from Government and private investors into the region. Double transport spending in the region to half a billion pounds per year, without raising council tax on local people through using a Mayoral precept. Open new tram stations and 5 rail stations including Moseley within 3 years. Use £400 million of Government funding to continue Andy's successful “brownfield first” policy on house building. 14

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A DV E RT I S I N G F E AT U R E

Are you running the risk of outliving your savings? In a world of low interest rates, an unpredictable economy and increasing life expectancy, useful guidance on retirement planning is a necessity

hether you have just started out on life’s journey, or counting the days to retirement, pension planning should be high on your wealth management agenda. However, you will have very different needs and objectives depending on which part of the journey you are on. The earlier you start planning, the easier it will potentially be to create the retirement lifestyle you want. The stark reality is that the majority of us need to save more.

could be considered as an integral part of business or household budgeting, just like the heating and lighting bills. Remember that making annual or single contributions has the possibility of buying into the market at the ‘wrong’ time. Monthly contributions help to smooth out the effect of fluctuations in unit prices. Those relying solely on the State Pension to see them through their later years will have to accept that their standard of living is going to drop significantly.

We all must accumulate more, when we are earning, to meet the extra costs of living longer. The decisions we make today will dictate the standard of living we will enjoy in retirement. The golden rule is to determine exactly how much you are going to need in retirement – and to start planning for it now. Delays costs money but making worthwhile contributions need not be that difficult. Making pension contributions could be seen as a necessary expense: they should not be an afterthought. Budgeting for a regular monthly amount towards any pension savings

With people generally living longer, retirement now represents a far greater proportion of our lives than previously expected The State Pension provides a limited income (£179.60 for a single person, per week, based on a full NI record in the 2021/2022 tax year), which falls drastically short of what is really needed to fund a comfortable lifestyle. So how do we avoid poverty in retirement? First, decide how large a fund you will need. One method is to

multiply your target retirement income by 25. For example, if you think you’ll need £30,000 a year, aim for a fund of £750,000. Next, select the most appropriate investment vehicles to help achieve your goal. Property, investment bonds and ISAs have all proved popular over recent years but don’t offer the same degree of tax breaks as a pension. To help avoid running out of money, selecting a balanced and welldiversified investment portfolio is critical, but knowing how much money to take from a drawdown policy is arguably of greater importance. There’s no better time like the present for you to consider how to enhance or protect your wealth whilst thinking about your retirement. The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested. The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time and are generally dependent on individual circumstances.

Martin Jeffers Principal

MARTIN JEFFERS WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Partner Practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management Salisbury Road, Moseley

Tel: 07507 634432 | Email: martin.jeffers@sjpp.co.uk

The Partner Practice is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives. H2SJP1341 04/21

MUSIC REVIEW

In ‘Space We Share’, you don’t quite know what to concentrate on, but in a good way – an “I gotta watch that film again now that I know the ending” kind of way.

'Space We Share' by Metz Jnr Band

For example, on first listen you would find yourself dancing. Unnerved by the track’s minor key, you think, “this guy’s trying to tell me something here”. Second time, you would have appreciated layers of studio effects, and the Eminem-esque scansion of Metz’s bars. The track is almost cinematic in quality, and the musical sermon builds to a powerful reprise of “We need to come together even when we disagree”. A mantra I can only hope won’t fall on deaf ears.

“Cancelled, Cancelled, Cancelled” – I saw on my social media feeds how the band I’m reviewing this month, Metz Jnr Band, has been a victim of a new, musical, cancel-culture. Metz, the band’s frontman, has been trying his utmost to weave in and out of the UK government’s bipolar plan of lockdowns and U-turns. Hotel, pub, venue, festival – cancelled, cancelled, cancelled. From outward appearances, he seems to bounce back and redirect your attention to another creative project – a podcast, an Irish band, a new single. He does them all with love, with passion, and he invites his friends along for the ride. Today we get to celebrate the Metz Jnr Band’s new single 'Space We Share'. Full of energy, the band have taken to the studio, the best outlet right now for musicians and creatives to express themselves in anticipation of what will surely be a very busy live music season ahead of us. This reggae-influenced track blasts off with a tasteful mix of live sax and keyboard brass. Metz leaps deep into conscious lyricism, rhythmic acrobatics, coming up for air only to allow Stephen Sherriff to take a sumptuous tenor sax solo. Bubbling away in the background is the tight rhythm section. To give you the full line-up, we have Ilias Lintzos on percussion, Tommy Gaskin on bass, Rob Wolverson playing guitar, Toby Wilson on drum kit, with the aforementioned Stephen cloning himself on keyboards as well. 16

Metz is a collector of good musicians, and his vibe makes people want to accompany him. You want to travel on his journey with him, and he’s willing to welcome people along the way. It’s beguiling when such a sunny character writes a call to arms such as ‘Space We Share’. “Oh No, Oh No, Oh No” go the final words of the track. Metz gives his listeners a love-ultimatum in the midst of the evils of corruption. The track was recorded at Park Studios JQ with Producer and Studio Engineer Alastair Jamieson and Co-Producers Metz Jnr, Thom Davies and Robbie Melody, mastered by Close to the Edge. You can listen to ‘Space We Share’ on www. metzjnr.com – and keep an eye out for their new album ‘The Sun’ set to release this summer. Ensure you catch this awesome band live at the Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival, happening 9-11 July in Moseley Park. Jobe Baker-Sullivan

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& Sports so we are receiving regular updates.” The promoters have obtained a licence to hold the festivals in Highbury Park but John assures me that, “The plan is for both festivals to The Wonder Stuff take place in Moseley Park. Highbury is a backup should As the days lengthen and we emerge from our enforced we need to comply with any potential social distancing hibernation blinking into the requirements or if we feel light there is certainly a buzz the comfort of the audience about the village. Thoughts would be better catered for turn to summer and the two there.” weekends of Moseley music madness and mayhem – the The line-ups on the websites return of the Moseley Folk are all confirmed, including and Mostly Jazz Funk and my teen favourites The Soul festivals. The question Waterboys and The Wonder on everyone’s mind after Stuff at the Folk and my last year’s disappointment teen crush Neneh Cherry is surely – will they be back this year? I admit to having a at the Jazz, Funk and Soul, vested interest, having bought alongside legends such as Martha Reeves, The Wailers, tickets with fingers firmly Nightmares on Wax and crossed at the height of the second wave, but it looks like others, too many to mention, with even more being my faith may be rewarded. announced over the next John from Mostly Jazz says: few weeks. Tickets are still available for the Folk and for “It has been a difficult Friday and Sunday at the Jazz 12 months for sure. If the roadmap stays on track, come with the option of a refund, 21 June we should be allowed or entry next year should the events be cancelled. to host the events without any restrictions. Whilst this If you are tempted to buy sounds great we’re not relying then do go through the on that and have planned correct channels as there are for all eventualities…. There a lot of scammers out there, are some test events in May and never pay for a guest list and I don’t think we’ll get place even if you have known the results until early June. the people for years and We are linked in with the Department of Culture, Media they say they work with the 17

Neneh Cherry

festival. In the spirit of staying safe Covid measures will be implemented, such as NO REENTRY, the usual masks and hand sanitisers, and socially distanced queuing if required, but on the plus side the event is outdoors, and not too big, so that hopefully dancing will be allowed. So the answer is not 100%, but I’m feeling optimistic. Surely wave three will wait if it happens at all? We will all just have to be good and COMPLY, anyway – bring on the Summer! Max Jalil

Martha Reeves

can recall hearing about “wild garlic season” through a friend who was an outdoor foraging enthusiast, when I first moved to England. I had this distinct fantasy picture in my mind of it being an occasion on the lines of a hunt. Men dawned in some sort of posh hybrid mix of flat caps, tweed and Barbour jackets out in the woods…their Jack Russells descending upon wild-looking garlic bulbs, plucking them out of the ground like truffle-hunting pigs. Being American, where wild garlic does not grow, I obviously had no clue as to what it actually was or looked like. But as a cook it sounded enticingly delicious and extremely special. A couple of years later I was walking in the back area of Moseley Park and this woman with wild-looking hair seemed to just appear before me from the woods. She walked up to me and whispered out of the side of her mouth as if this was a planned informational exchange out of a Jonathan Grisham novel….. “Just so you know, there is a TON of wild garlic down that path”. She then pointed over to a bunch of weed-like greens and disappeared like some sort of fading apparition. There was so much of it! If the wild garlic woman was going to give me such sacred intel I was going to “carpe diem” and add these plants straight into my life. I immediately looked around to see if I was being watched, then started plucking, smelling and stuffing as much of it as I could into whatever bag I had on me. Now I must say that I am a total and utter allium fiend. I am a true-blue lover of a pungent bulb. In my opinion, a burger or hot dog should not ever exist without an onion…. and even when a pasta sauce doesn’t traditionally call for garlic, when I am cooking it a clove

The Ways to

“Wild G

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or two will ‘accidentally’ find its way in there. But this leafy plant in all its beautiful subtlety is not just for the lovers, it is very much for everyone. So, what is it and how do I find it? It is a flowering plant of the genus allium that grows in the woodlands of Europe and Asia and it is the true sign of warmer weather as it shoots up from the ground right when the first Spring buds start to expose themselves to the world. Foodies (not posh hunters) creep out of the wintry darkness and into the light like struggling vampires to forage it. For those of you who have not found it, just take a walk and a whiff. You will detect a pungent smelling plant when you happen upon wild garlic. Then it will just click: "It's, garlicky, it's wild…it's wild garlic!".

s in Which o

Now that I have lived in the UK for many years, I have come to realise that stumbling upon it is not all that difficult, having come across it on many a country walk. But nevertheless, I have literally thought about that wild garlic woman in Moseley Park at each and every season ever since. She passed on a knowledge for something that I look forward to every year and that I continue to pass onto others. Wild garlic may not be so rare in reality – on the web you will see recipe posts from pesto to chimichurri, pickling and pasta…but it sure is special. And given what we’ve been restricted to the past year, where there aren’t too many places to turn, we are turning to the earth, to the gems, to a walk and a whiff of spring in the woods. So to celebrate it, here is one of my ways in which to embrace wild garlic with a gorgeous, creamy woodland risotto:

Garlic”

Serves 4 Ingredients: For the risotto: 330 grams (1 1/2 cups) arborio rice 19

rice nearly absorbs it, and then repeat. Every so often stir in a splash of the remaining white wine until it’s gone. Do this continuously until the rice absorbs all the liquid and test a grain for doneness, about 15-20 min. You don't want the risotto to be stiff so add more stock if need be. In a separate pan, heat the oil until very hot and quickly fry the mushrooms, tossing until nice and brown. Set aside. Turn the heat off, add the cubes of butter and the grated parmesan and quickly beat these into the rice. Immediately mix in the wild garlic so that it par-cooks into the hot rice but maintains its beautiful green colour. Salt to taste. Plate the rice, sprinkle with some more wild garlic, add the crispy mushrooms, more parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Pork and Ginger Wontons

1 litre (5 cups) hot chicken stock230 ml (1 cup) dry white wine 60 ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil plus more for garnish 56g cold butter cut into cubes1 shallot finely chopped 1 small white onion finely chopped 90 grams wild garlic finely chopped; 80 grams for the rice, 10 for garnish 90 grams (1/2 cup) finely grated parmesan plus more for garnish For the mushrooms: 100 grams mushrooms (such as shiitake, chestnut or oyster) halved lengthwise 1 tablespoon vegetable/rapeseed oil

Jenny Gwynne Jenny is “The Salty Chilli” an obsessive cook and food writer who lives in Moseley. To read more, check out her Instagram @thesaltychilli, or Jenny's blog www.thesaltychilli.com .

Instructions: Keep the stock warm.In a large sauté pan heat the oil on medium and cook the shallot and onion for about 5 minutes until translucent but not browned.Add the rice and cook until it starts to lightly toast, about 2 minutes.Add half the wine and quickly stir and scrape, letting the alcohol burn off.Now methodically ladle in stock, one to two ladles at a time whilst stirring at a slow pace until the 20

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Bright Minds, Bright New Daycare!

This month I chatted with the Director of Bright Minds Daycare, Talon Golding, about the opening of their latest daycare centre in Moseley...

easy to understand why the area is being targeted by young professional families.

What we found, however, was that despite the growth in the population of such families there were not sufficient childcare options to meet the increasing demand. So, creating Bright Minds Daycare Moseley was an easy and proud decision!

Congratulations on the opening of your most recent Bright Minds Daycare here in the heart of Moseley! What most appealed to you about opening your new centre here? Moseley and Kings Heath has been a priority location for us since we launched Bright Minds Daycare. We actually purchased the property on Wake Green Road some time ago but encountered a few delays as a result of the pandemic. However, we are pleased to announce the opening of this wonderful new nursery, which we hope will be a welcomed and well-regarded addition to the local community.

What would you say is the ethos behind Bright Minds, and how is this reflected in the type of services provided? Taj and I created Bright Minds because we wanted to build something with legacy, right here in the city we love. After bringing on board a childcare expert we asked the question: “If you had a blank canvas and could paint your perfect nursery, how would it look?” Which is where the journey began. From the start, we wanted Bright Minds to provide children with a magical place in which to learn, develop, imagine, create and play whilst still providing a nurturing ‘home-fromhome’ environment.

I myself lived in Kings Heath for years, so I am slightly biased as I adore the place! The area is simply fantastic: one that is full of diversity and vibrancy, coupled with an emerging social scene. In addition, there is an abundance of green space, beautiful period properties and superb schools – it’s

At the heart of our ethos and culture lies our 22

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family focus – all staff, children and parents are part of the ‘Bright Minds family’ and we are immensely proud of the fantastic sense of community and togetherness we hold, not just within each nursery but in how they interact (it’s such a shame we’ve missed all our usual family events this past year, which are always great fun!).

Montessori, Reggio Emilia, the Curiosity Approach and Forest School learning whilst keeping the framework of the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Scheme) at our core. The idea here is that as every child is different, how they learn and develop is unique – we don’t believe that the ‘one size fits all’ approach is best for children and therefore we need skilled practitioners who can adapt to each individual child along with an environment that can cater for this.

Through this ethos, we believe that building strong parent partnerships is critical, to ensure that parents are not simply dropping off and picking up, but are brought into the daily experiences and learning journeys of their child. Alongside the amazing efforts of our team, we support the partnership through our parent app, Famly, which is updated throughout the day by our practitioners.

To aid this, we developed the Bright Minds’ Star Framework as a means of combining the key areas of focus for our practitioners to support a tailored development path for every single child in our care. As Bright Minds has developed, we have seen the incredible impact outdoor learning has. In view of this, we are working towards incorporating more of the Scandinavian approach into our settings through an enhanced focus on nature, which our Moseley setting will benefit from, with its exceptional outdoor space.

Every daycare will have its own educational methods. Could you share which learning framework is used here, and what this means for the types of activities and opportunities available for the children attending? At Bright Minds, we have taken a hybrid approach to our learning framework and curriculum, blending key elements of 23

We’ve all been living through a tumultuous period over the last year. How do you feel this has changed your industry?

What are some of the most exciting facilities available at Bright Minds? Each of our nurseries follows some basic design and layout principles that support our staff to deliver premier service, which includes light, spacious rooms to give children freedom whilst sparking their creativity and imagination; separating each age group to ensure learning and development needs are supported effectively, creating a ‘home-fromhome’ ambience to reduce anxiety and make children comfortable. Some of the specific facilities at our Moseley setting include:

Our staff have just been incredible – we are rightly in awe of our wonderful NHS workers and grateful for everything they have done, but nursery practitioners, like primary and secondary school teachers, have also done such an amazing job throughout this pandemic. Witnessing their resilience and steadfast dedication to supporting each child in their care and recognising that we don’t appreciate the work they do nearly enough is hopefully a lasting change, one which our industry will benefit from.

Outdoor Forest Garden – we were fortunate to find a property in central Moseley In terms of routine, we had assumed that with such an extensive garden, which we with more parents opting to work from home have converted into a magical learning on a more permanent basis, weekly patterns environment focused on nature. There might change and perhaps require fewer days; is a mud kitchen and nature exploration however, so far this does not seem to be the area, a fire pit with log seating (I’ll let our case. That said, we are currently working on practitioners explain more when showing a solution that can make our services more parents around!), a huge yurt for story time, flexible and supportive for parents adjusting a full construction area, a segregated allto either permanent homeworking or reduced weather babies’ garden (direct access from office days. the Baby Room) and much, much more.

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Performance Room – always a favourite amongst children, parents and staff, this space is designed to ‘transport’ you into a fantasy world, and indulges the senses with a sweeping sky ceiling. Here children are encouraged to express themselves, be it their inner thespian, musical prowess or just a maverick nature! As with all our Performance Rooms, we never regard this as a dedicated childcare room, as this is an additional space to be used by all children in the nursery throughout the day – moving children between different environments also varies and stimulates learning. Once the regulations change, parents will be able to see their children perform in festive or seasonal productions.

And, finally, what is the best part of opening a new space? It has to be seeing all the new children and parents light up when they start with us. Knowing that families feel they have made the right decision and are comfortable in the setting means the world to us. As for me (much to the frustration of staff!) I’m a bit obsessed with design, so seeing a Bright Minds nursery grow from the initial plans and develop into the finished article is just incredible and seems to get more exciting each time. Maria Ricardo

Parent Room – through our other nurseries, we have realised how important this space is and our Moseley breakout space is our best yet! With our ethos focused on family and community, the space gives parents a relaxing area to have a coffee and talk with other parents or even do some work – there’s great Wi-Fi and a Nespresso machine so they can save the walk to the coffee shop! And it has a car park.

To find out more about Bright Minds Day Care visit them online: Facebook: @BrightMindsDC Instagram: @brightmindsdc Twitter: @brightmindsdc LinkedIn: Bright Minds Daycare 25

MOSELEY MEMORIES

Order-r-rARMS, Slo-o-opeARMS,

By the Left, QUI-i-ickMarch!

Designed in 1937 by a Czech company at Brno in conjunction with Lee-Enfield, it was possibly the most widely used light machine gun in WWII. Capable of firing over 500 rounds per minute on auto, it was generally only fired in short bursts or single shots, and was deemed lethally accurate at half a mile, but still effective up to a mile. Designed around the standard Lee-Enfield .303 cartridge, it was built in millions in many countries. Over 6 million alone were made at the Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) factory in Armoury Road, Small Heath. Stripping a Bren onto a large sheet was complicated. Yes, we learnt the names of its many parts, but the real joke was that the smallest part had the longest name. It was a steel ball about 5mm diameter, called something like ‘Automatic loading mechanism locking nut retainer spring ball’. After 67 years, I may have got that slightly wrong, but it truly followed Henry Reed’s line. However, knowing how the automatic loading mechanism worked was a challenge to enterprising young soldiers like us. As a

As in Henry Reed’s Naming of Parts, mentioned last month, we army cadets had to learn all about the weapons we generally handled and gain more academic knowledge of those in general service at the time. Drill with a rifle would never get us onto guard duty at Buckingham Palace (although my secondary modern school-educated neighbour, Brian Bradley, actually did, with the Coldstream Guards). It looked very impressive in the Junior Quad and, on one occasion, outside St Mary’s Church. Taking apart a Lee-Enfield rifle involved very little, but cleaning the barrel was a matter of great importance. A piece of oiled ‘4-by-2’ lintless cloth was attached to a weighted ‘pull through’ cord and dropped down from the open breech. Several firm pulls later, the drill sergeant peered down the muzzle to see the reflection of your thumbnail in the breech. If the spiral rifling was not perfectly clean, the whole procedure was repeated. Since the rifles were rarely fired, this was usually an exercise for the sake of it. The Bren gun was a different matter. 26

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liberating the concentration camp at BergenBelsen, a trauma for the troops involved. I knew two men who went into Belsen: only Maurice Ludmer, as an intelligence officer, had advance knowledge of what was awaiting them. After the War, Bernard Montgomery, a former RWR officer, was proud to step down as joint Allied Commander with Eisenhower to take command of his old regiment until he retired. The regiment saw action in Korea, Malaya, India/Pakistan, Palestine, Cyprus, Aden and other shameful colonial resistance wars. 1955 Summer Camp was altogether different. Aberporth peninsula was a military base backing onto a top secret rocket research establishment. Our hut backed onto the heavily fortified barbed wire protecting a large concrete blockhouse covered in directional aerials and radar dishes. When a loud hooter sounded for several minutes, the regulars all charged out of the huts to hide behind solid concrete walls or in bunkers. Not for us, though: we piled out of the two side windows near the fence and clambered onto the roof. Cameras and binoculars had been confiscated on arrival, but we had sharp, youthful eyes. We soon became familiar with several unidentifiable missiles being fired out into Cardigan Bay, sometimes at long silvered banners towed by Gloster Meteor jets. What I later knew as the Bristol Bloodhound was altogether different, a giant body powered by 2 massive ram jets, boosted by 4 rockets to reach 400 mph or so, to start the ram jets going and then reaching twice the speed of sound in a few seconds. When the booster rockets were not needed, they splayed out like petals and fell flaming into the sea. Once, we saw one shoot down a pilotless Meteor target. A few years later, I saw all the missiles we had seen at Aberporth in the static park at the Farnborough Air Show, declassified and for sale to suitable client states. By then, I was an automobile engineer and any hopes of designing aircraft were abandoned. The fellow apprentice with me, Graham Whitehead, went on to work on aircraft design and lecture at Cranfield Air Academy, and he was recruited to design the control systems for the Apollo spacecraft at a centre in Canada, where he still lives. Luck is made by a kind of determination I lacked. David Spilsbury

‘round’ went along the barrel, a bleed was taken from the heavy back pressure behind it and fed to the loading mechanism. On exercises, we were issued with 5 or 10 ‘blank’ cartridges each, the ends closed with cardboard. Clearly, if we could get some back pressure from them, the gun should go auto. We shared out our stock to load the curved magazine. A short piece of pencil proved to be just right. We could get something like a fiveshot ‘rat-a-tat-tat’ before the pencil broke up and disappeared into the undergrowth. We managed at least two very satisfying bursts before the officer in charge came crashing through the bushes. From the look on his face, we could see he was impressed by our initiative, but he had to stop us. After all, if the bit of pencil had hit someone just in front of us, it would have been as good as a lead bullet. We went on several exercises in areas of countryside near Birmingham, but it was the Annual Camps which proved best. Budbrooke Barracks was the regimental base, just west of Warwick itself. We were put up in tents which held 6 or 8 of us on barely sprung steel beds. The countryside around Budbrooke was open fields in 1954, before developers took over. It was ideal for practising map-reading skills and open land infantry advance. Any pair whose mapping was within 10 feet of our true location, got a star. Crawling belly-to-ground was demanding and many a cadet got a sore bottom from an officer’s baton if it stuck up too far. Regular squaddies all thought we were privileged ‘grammar grubs’ and treated us with disdain, which quickly turned into showing off superior experience. Many of them had seen service in various theatres during WWII and subsequent actions. RWR (Royal Warwickshire Regiment) battalions had been in India, Burma, and other parts of the Far East, and many trained at various parts of the UK in preparation for D-Day. One was in the first assault on the Normandy beaches and others followed on and fought into Germany itself. A battalion of RWR parachutists landed the day before D-Day to secure the beachhead and went on in September to land east of the Rhine, near Wesel, to hold bridges for armoured divisions to cross. An RWR battalion was involved in 27

rchibald John Davies was born in Islington, London, on 27 June 1877, the third of eight children. In 1884, the family moved to Trafalgar Road, Moseley. Four children, including Archibald, one brother (a bank clerk) and two sisters, were still living with their parents at home in Trafalgar Road in 1901, along with Eliza, eighty-four, the maternal grandmother, and a servant. His father at the time was a commercial traveller in Spices.

Venerable Bede, Church of God in Christ, Moseley, 1932

Moseley Society

History Group

AJ Davies: Moseley Stained Glass Artist 28

AJ Davies went to King Edward VI Camp Hill Grammar School for Boys in July 1887, aged ten years. He enrolled at the Birmingham Municipal Central School of Art in 1893, aged sixteen, and was a very successful student there until 1906. He qualified as an art teacher and in 1899 was appointed as an Assistant Teacher at Grace Road Branch School, whilst continuing as a pupil at the Central School. In 1904 he moved to Conway Road Branch School. In the same year he established his own studio, probably at the family home in Trafalgar Road, but his painted glass was most likely fired at this time by such as Crew and Commander, Bishop Street, Birmingham, as kilns were costly items. In February 1907 he resigned because of his ‘increasing business as a stained glass worker’. In 1906 at the age of twenty-nine years Davies moved to Bromsgrove and www.moseleyb13.com

set up his own studio in the premises of the Bromsgrove Guild, living at 2 High Street. On 28 July 1909 he married Winifred Alice Bate of Bromsgrove, the daughter of a blacksmith, and on 27 July 1911 they had a daughter, Barbara. The 1911 census describes him as an artist making stained glass windows and ‘all applied decoration’ and locates him, his wife Winifred, aged thirty-one, and a servant at Victoria Road, Bromsgrove. In 1926 they bought land in Marlborough Avenue, Long Acre, Bromsgrove, and had a house built. The Davies studio operated very successfully for forty-seven years. At Bromsgrove he produced over 240 stained glass windows for locations in Britain and another 100 were sent abroad. Davies’s windows were generally designed as single memorials for an existing building which already had windows by Victorian makers. Scenes from the life of Christ were Davies’s largest group of subjects. Two AJ Davies stained glass windows dating from 1932 can be seen in Moseley at the Calvary Church of God in Christ, Oxford Road. They include three lights in the Nave on the south wall, which illustrate the Venerable Bede and commemorate the Revd Hugh Morton, and were donated by his sister Agnes. The three lights and tracery, also in the Nave, on the south wall, illustrate Acts of Mercy. These commemorate Althans Blackwell, a Baptist and

Moseley resident, and were donated by his family. Other AJ Davies stained glass can be seen locally at Hall Green Baptist Church (1938 and 1946), Birmingham Children’s Hospital Chapel (1952) and the Birmingham WWII Memorial (1944). Davies made the small glass panels on the casket produced by the Bromsgrove Guild in 1925 to house the Toc H lamp presented by Edward, Prince of Wales. The 152 small painted panels 2” high by 1” wide show heraldic arms and names of places where Toc H branches were founded between 1919 and 1929, including Birmingham. AJ Davies also undertook restoration work, contributed to exhibitions, produced oil paintings, painted wooden church panels and made

smaller items, for example, churchwardens’ staves. He was a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass painters. He died on 18 June 1953 just before his seventysixth birthday and the studio closed. He left £3,780.12s 6d to his wife. Janet Berry See our website for more information on AJ Davies and other stained glass artists with stained glass in Moseley, including Sidney Meteyard who lived in Moseley (Moseleysociety.org.uk/localhistory). Much of this article was taken from Roy Albutt’s The Stained Glass Windows of A. J. Davies of the Bromsgrove Guild, Worcestershire, and Stained Glass Window Makers of Birmingham School of Art.

Toc H Lamp Casket, Tower Hill, London, All Hallows by the Tower, 1925

Just to Say First up this month is a letter from our former spoof supernatural and conspiracy theories columnist Tommy Quang. Readers will probably remember Tommy’s World of Strange feature was given the boot in March after a long list of cock-ups. Dear Editor, I am writing to complain about my sacking from Moseley B13 Magazine. Yes, there were one or two mistakes in my investigations (Editor’s Note: Interviewing a Moseley man who claimed to have been abducted by aliens but was clearly just trying to avoid attending a Gary Barlow concert; mistaking the rubbish shots of a novice table tennis club on Billesley Common as supernatural orbs; publishing a picture of the “Cannon Hill Lake Ness Monster” which looked as if it had been made by a five year old; I can go on…) but did the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle not put his misguided faith in the Cottingley Fairies (which were just bits of cardboard)? Did The Sunday Times not make a major blunder in publishing the forged Hitler Diaries? I am but human after all. That’s not to say I don’t have any regrets. I said in my last piece (Moseley’s Mission to Mars) that the Tharsis region of Mars would be a great place for a farmers’ market. This was a ridiculous suggestion, as everyone knows Tharsis is a volcanic region so it would be a diabolical place to hold a farmers’ market. Tommy Quang Er...thanks, Tommy. What do you think readers? Should Tommy make a return? We’ll end with a poem from Katerina Chamberlain. See you next month!

Looking at the bullied in the eyes Shadows from childhood Different person, different placed Bittersweet flavour and taste Rise above, move along Wear that Scottish skirt You long for 30

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5 TIPS TO OFFSET YOUR COUNCIL TAX INCREASE Many of us will soon be faced with council tax increases, with many councils set to increase this tax by more than the rate of inflation. Here are 7 top tips that could help counter these tax hikes.

2 – Get the best deals possible When was the last time you compared your monthly bills against the competition? Could you get a better deal by switching supplier? It is usually easy to see if you can get a better deal, by using sites such as moneysupermarket.com and comparethemarket.com. If you have not reviewed this in a while, it could well lead to some savings.

1 – Take a close look at all your outgoings It’s time to break out a spreadsheet and carefully record all your outgoings. If you have not done this in a while, you could be very surprised with the amount you are spending in certain areas. You might find some ‘easy’ wins and be able to cut back. One less takeaway per month for example. Also, spend some time going through all your direct debits. Are you still using everything you are signed up to? People often find they have no idea what that £10 per month leaving their account is for. Investigate and take action. Anything you are no longer using – cancel immediately.

4 – Practise the ‘Wait a month’ technique Sometimes we feel we really want something. Sometimes we buy and are very happy and sometimes we are left pondering ‘Did I really need that?’ A great habit to get into is to wait a month before going ahead with the purchase of anything pricey. If you still want it the same time next month, then go for it (as long as you can afford it, of course). It might surprise you how often you decide that it was not that important to you after all.

3 – Get cash back when you shop When you shop on a cashback website like Quidco or TopCashBack you can get a percentage back on the amount you spend. It might be small amounts, but it can all add up over time. You can also get money back by using a credit card that pays out rewards. For example, supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer do this. Keep an eye out for annual fees and make sure you pay off your bill in full every month to avoid any high interest charges.

5 – Check if you can reduce the other taxes you pay If you pay higher-rate income tax, pay into a pension scheme, own stocks and shares that aren’t held in an ISA, or think you might be liable for Capital Gains Tax, it’s often worth consulting an expert for advice on tax planning. It is important to make sure you are making the most of your annual tax allowances and not paying too much. Martin Jeffers, Moseley

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