Moseley B13 Magazine September Issue 511

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B13 MAGAZINE

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SEPT 2020 ISSUE 511

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

M SELEY

MOSELEY MASKERADE: LOOKING GOOD, STAYING SAFE

A MOSELEY ARTIST:

MONICA PEREZ VEGA

ANNIE STEEN:

SUFFRAGETTE ARTIST

BH & MOSELEY WI: WELCOMING WOMEN

A MOSELEY MINUTE: LIVING THE DREAM

MOSELEY B13 MAGAZINE

SEPT20 EDITOR Mark Baxter (editor@moseleymagazine.co.uk) THE TEAM Ian Cook, David Isgrove, Stephanie Silk, Maria Arroja Ferreira, Tipton. Debbie Aldous, Max Jalil, PHOTOGRAPHER Position Vacant CONTRIBUTORS David Spilsbury, Moseley Local History Society, Tessa Lowe, Ruth Millington, Alexandra Merrick, Anne Cummins, Lorna Brewster, Molly Dawson-Sullivan.

PROOF READER Jane Barry ADVERTISING Position Vacant SOCIAL MEDIA Position Vacant TREASURER Leanne Holloway (accounts@moseleyb13.com) DESIGN Andy Wickett (andywickett@gmail.com) 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 info@moseleyb13.com www.moseleyb13.com 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.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Lees

WORDS FROM THE

EDITOR

Welcome to the September issue! Our cover stars Mia and baby Aurora are proof - along with the Moseley Maskerade feature on pages 12-13 - that masks are not only essential for staying safe, but also as the latest fashion accessory!

We feature Monica Perez Vega as our Moseley Artist (pages 10-11), and her beautiful work is inspired by hope and nature during lockdown. There’s a feature on the new look coworking spaces at Moseley Exchange (16-17), and we find echoes of contemporary activism in the story of jeweller, suffragette and Kings Heath resident Annie Steen (19).

Oh, and if you’re a non-believer when it comes to UFO sightings, take a look at Tommy Quang’s World of Strange (28-29). I guarantee you’ll be even more sceptical after reading Tommy’s Close Encounters of the Moseley Kind!

To be serious for a moment, life isn’t exactly easy or pleasant for so many people in the world at the moment, but we hope to continue to serve as a place for positivity and support in our community. If you’d like to feature or contribute to the magazine, please do get in touch.

Mark

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10 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) Marks & Spencer (Saint Mary’s Row) The Mix (500,Moseley Rd) Farmers’ Market (Village Green) 2020 PUBLICATION DATES

ISSUE COPY SALE Jan (no issue) Feb 15 Jan Mar 19 Feb Apr 18 Mar May 15 Apr Jun 20 May Jul 17 Jun Aug 15 Jul Sep 19 Aug Oct 16 Sep Nov 21 Oct Dec 18 Nov

25 Jan 29 Feb 28 Mar 25 Apr 30 May 27 Jun 25 Jul 29 Aug 26 Sep < 31 Oct 28 Nov

IN THIS ISSUE

24

14

NO.70

04

NEWSHOUND

10

A MOSELEY ARTIST

12

MOSELEY MASKERADE

14

BALSALL HEATH & MOSELEY WI

16

MOSELEY EXCHANGE

18

POEMS

19

ANNIE STEEN

20

WOMEN’S RUGBY CLUB

22

SORRENTO HOUSE

24

A MOSELEY MINUTE

27

MOSELEY MEMORIES

28

TOMMY QUANG

30

B13 CITIZENSHIP QUIZ

12

BY MARK BAXTER

NEWSHOUND

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

TRAFFIC FLOWS TO BE DRASTICALLY CHANGED IN SCHOOL ROAD Long-awaited proposals to change the traffic flow in School Road and surrounding roads are a step closer to reality following further plans made public by Birmingham City Council.

The plans will see the creation of two trial temporary ‘modal filters’.

This means that people will be allowed on foot, bike or mobility scooter to pass at points along School Road and Cambridge Road but the modal filters will not allow cars or other motor vehicles through.

On School Road one trial modal filter will be located to the north of the junction with Greenhill Road and Greenend Road and on Cambridge Road another trial filter will be located at the end by the roundabout and Cambridge Road Methodist Church. Modal filters may vary in design, but could be bollards or planters placed in the road to prevent through motor traffic.

The main aim of the School Road and Cambridge Road modal filters is to avoid ‘rat runs’ where motorists use a residential road (School Road and Cambridge Road) to avoid a more congested main road such as the A435 Alcester Road. When traffic is reduced the neighbourhood becomes quieter, the air is cleaner and streets feel safer. Although the scheme is said to be temporary it is unclear how long it will last. The modal filters are believed to be scheduled to be in place over the next few months, but there were no further details as we went to press.

A council website which allowed people to leave comments showed a broad level of support for the plans although there were concerns that more traffic will be funnelled down Greenhill Road, making the junction with Billesley Lane more dangerous.

One person commenting said that they were “concerned that the modal filters will just displace the traffic onto other roads and simply take the issues elsewhere.”

The commentator added: “In conjunction with the filters across the side roads from Kings Heath High Street, this could result in increased traffic congestion on the High Street itself and on Springfield Road, Billesley Lane , Valentine Road, Oxford Road, Clarence Road etc. as traffic tries to find ways through. I would prefer to see more enforcement re: speeding, one-way systems and traffic-calming measures.” In spite of these comments there did seem to be a high level of support for the plans.

Martin Straker Welds and Kerry Jenkins, Moseley’s Labour councillors, made the following comment: "It's pretty clear that trying to solve traffic congestion is a really complex problem with very real challenges and the discussions around modal filters has divided opinion amongst our residents for the past three years and we are sure will continue to do so.

“Whilst we are pleased to see that serious consideration is now taking place to identify ways in which we can make these roads safer for all, we are of course listening to concerns from residents who are worried that these measures will result in more traffic on surrounding roads.

“We believe that these are exciting times for Moseley as we begin discussions to develop and shape a Low Traffic Neighbourhood and are clear that these temporary measures should be seen as a start to that process. We hope that residents will continue to share with us their experiences over the coming weeks and months and urge all to feed into the commonplace platform so that officers can collate all input. We also realise that it is likely that residents will have many more questions and possible concerns to raise and we will always be happy to listen and discuss."

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www.moseleyb13.com

GROWING NUMBERS CALL ON M&S FOR A FOODHALL CAFÉ More than 130 people have now signed a petition calling on Marks and Spencer to reopen the café attached to its Moseley foodhall in St Mary’s Row, a rise of 40 from last month.

The petition follows news that the M&S café will not be re-opening the café despite the easing of lockdown restrictions, a point emphasised by the fact that all the café equipment has been removed and replaced with shelving.

The 45-seater café originally opened as part of the foodhall in 2017 and became a favourite with disabled and older people as well as those with young children, being arguably Moseley’s most accessible café with nearby parking and toilet facilities on site.

It closed at the start of lockdown.

The M&S cafe petition was launched by Moseley resident and café user Katerina Chamberlain on July 9 on the change.org website. The petition says: “I have been told that the café at Marks & Spencer foodhall in Moseley Birmingham will not re-open after being closed during lockdown. This will be the loss of a much loved community facility.

It is really valuable for shoppers who are elderly or disabled as it gives them somewhere to sit down during their shopping trips. Please, M&S, don't do this.” As we went to press on 18 August a total of 133 people had signed. In spite of this, it seems that the battle to re-open the café will be virtually unwinnable, as the following official statement from M&S last month made clear: “We announced earlier this year that we were closing the café in our Moseley store. We appreciate this was disappointing news for some café customers, and are very grateful for their regular custom over the years. The changes to the store will allow us to increase the range of M&S food products on sale and improve the store layout, making it easier to shop”.

If you want to sign the petition visit: https://tinyurl.com/yc6armr8 MOSELEY’S PIZZA EXPRESS IS TO CLOSE, SAY MEDIA REPORTS Moseley’s Pizza Express at 93a Alcester Road is among 73 earmarked for closure across the UK, according to reports carried by the BBC and Birmingham Live.

Pizza Express, which currently has around 450 restaurants in the UK, said on August 18 that it had finalised a proposal to reduce its restaurant and rental costs.

According to a report on Birmingham Live, Pizza Express's managing director for the UK and Ireland, Zoe Bowley, said: "Unfortunately, the impact of the global pandemic has meant that we have had to make some incredibly tough decisions to safeguard Pizza Express for the long term.

Today we have confirmed that 73 of our pizzerias are proposed to close permanently."

info@moseleyb13.com

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RED AND WHITE STREET BARRIERS EASE SOCIAL DISTANCING A number of striking red and white barriers have been introduced in central Moseley to enable social distancing in the busy shopping area along Alcester Road and St Mary’s Row (pictured) .

The barriers at certain sections of the roads allow pavements to be widened, creating additional space for people to walk past each other at a safe distance. As a result road width on both roads has been reduced and there is suspension of some on-street parking.

Metal street signs at various locations throughout central Moseley are also advising people to maintain social distancing.

The current changes are being delivered on a temporary trial basis lasting for the next few months, but there is the potential for the measures to be made more permanent if local people want them to remain in place.

There has been overall support for the scheme in comments left on the council’s website but there have also been some criticisms regarding the red and white barriers between the road and the pavement. Concerns have also been raised about the potential problem of motorists parking in greater numbers in surrounding streets because of the suspension of parking spaces in both Alcester Road and St Mary’s Row.

SWIMMING BATHS RE-OPEN Moseley Road Baths (MRB) have now re-opened for swimming. MRB delayed re-opening until Saturday August 8 so that it could get everything in place to ensure the safety of swimmers and the dedicated team of staff and volunteers.

Following re-opening there are some new Covid-19 pool rules that everyone has to follow. Everyone is asked to make sure that they read these before coming for a swim.

MRB have also produced a list of answers to questions they’ve been asked frequently over the summer. These may help explain some of the new rules that will be in place but if you have any additional concerns email keepswimming@moseleyroadbaths.org. uk. There is also a reduced timetable which can be downloaded at the website https:// moseleyroadbaths.org.uk/timetable COMMUNITY

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www.moseleyb13.com

MOSTLY JAZZ, FUNK AND SOUL CROWDFUND 40K FOR 2021 RETURN Organisers of Birmingham's Mostly Jazz, Funk and Soul Festival have reached an initial target of £40,000 in Crowdfunding to ensure the event’s return in 2021, with 641 supporters raising £40,978 in just 35 days.

A spokesperson said: "Thanks to the immense generosity of many, it’s looking hopeful that the independent festival will be able to continue in 2021 and weather the Covid-19 storm which has laid ruin to this year’s entire festival season.”

The 2021 festival, set to take place in Moseley Park on July 9 to 11, is to be headlined

by Neneh Cherry. Also on the bill are The Fatback Band, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Wailers and Craig Charles.

The Crowdfunding page explains: "It has been over 10 years since Mostly Jazz, Funk and Soul started out as a small two-day event for 1,000 people in the heart of Birmingham. It has now grown into THE summer party get together for thousands of people from across the UK and beyond.

"Sadly, due to the coronavirus outbreak, there will be no Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival in 2020.This means we have lost a year's worth of revenue as well as a whole host of unrecoupable costs already spent on the 2020 event. In short, it has left a huge financial hole for the festival.

"As it stands there hasn't been much financial support for UK festivals, and though we’re very grateful for the Government-backed loans these still need to be repaid. This is a huge burden for an independent company in a very challenging sector.”

To donate to the campaign, which has a new “stretch target”, go to: https://www. crowdfunder.co.uk/help-to-keep-mostly-jazz-funk-soul-alive Picture: Thanks to Mostly Jazz, Funk and Soul.

MOSELEY POST OFFICE WINS ‘WE’RE STRONGER TOGETHER’ AWARD Moseley Post Office has won the Community Engagement category at the Post Office’s We’re Stronger Together’ regional award for the Midlands. The award recognises the effort to keep the branch open and serve the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Post Office Area Manager Lisa Wright said: “Moseley won this category as they are thought to be the pillar of their community. Two brothers, Anil and Sunil Ghai ran the Post Office for over 20 years. Every Christmas they give customers mince pies and sherry to thank them for their loyalty. During the pandemic, Sunil gave all their vulnerable and elderly customers free hand sanitisers to keep them safe.” Lisa also paid tribute to Anil who sadly passed away 18 months ago, describing him as “the life and soul of the community”. info@moseleyb13.com

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£300,000 FOR GARDENS REVAMP AT HISTORIC MOSELEY MANSION The Chamberlain Highbury Trust has received permission to start renovating part of the historic grounds that surround Highbury, the Moseley mansion built for Joseph Chamberlain in 1878.

The grounds of the mansion, located on land behind Queensbridge Road and Yew Tree Road, were placed on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register in September 2019. The ‘Highbury’s Gardens’ project will reinstate the original driveway, restore the rhododendron garden, open up views between the lake and the house and improve the footpath network to the east of the house. Permission has come from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England.

The Chamberlain Highbury Trust has secured grants towards the cost of the work of £100k from both the National Lottery Heritage Fund (using money raised by National Lottery players) and Historic England, together with £80k from Birmingham City Council’s Highbury Trust and £20k from a local charitable trust. It is hoped to recruit around 50 garden volunteers to lend their skills and time to the project.

The Highbury’s Gardens project marks the first phase of a historic landscape restoration programme for the 30 acres of gardens around the house designed by Edward Milner in 1879.

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The Chamberlain family left Highbury to the City in 1918, ‘for the benefit of the citizens of Birmingham’. The Chamberlain Highbury Trust was established in 2016 to restore the house and grounds so that they could be re-opened.

The Trust’s vision is centred on developing the young leaders of the future and it has begun to pilot programmes with partners.

The Trust is also establishing a wide-ranging educational programme for all ages around themes including art, architecture, the impacts of colonialism and empire, nature and permaculture.

The gardens are part of Highbury Park and are open all the time to the public.

However, when a wedding or other event is taking place in Highbury Hall, visitors are asked not to go on the lawns.

NEW CAFÉ AND DELI OPENS IN ST MARY’S ROW

I&M, a new café and delicatessen, has opened at St Mary’s Row in place of Sapori Di Sole (Flavours of the Sun) which closed earlier this year after three years at the location. Previously the site was occupied by Indigo Wholefoods.

According to the I&M Facebook page “I&M means ‘Italian passion meets Moroccan traditions’. A representation of our blended heritage where we come together and gather the community to dine.”

Ian Cook 9

Remembering That Spot

A MOSELEY ARTIST

founded by Birminghambased art critic, writer and blogger, Ruth Millington. Before moving to Birmingham, Ruth spent five years working in galleries in London and Oxford.

She has a background in spotting emerging talent, representing artists and writing about contemporary art.

Ruth speaks highly of working in partnership with Monica and other artists of a similarly high standard. “It's such an honour to be able to

MONICA PEREZ VEGA American artist and Slade School of Fine Art graduate, Monica Perez Vega, is interested in capturing the everchanging, seasonal state of the world around us. The works from this recent series show a new emphasis on the trees and plants she discovers on daily walks through urban spaces and the British countryside.

The artist’s process of abstract painting is reflective of life experiences – she embraces accidental, COMMUNITY

incidental moments and the transformative nature of the elements.

Each of her colourfully layered paintings has a lyrical quality, celebrating natural environments that continually evolve, while evoking her homeland of California.

Monica Perez Vega has exhibited widely, with shows in London, Amsterdam, The Hague and California. Monica is represented by Supa Gallery which was

July Tree

stability, endurance and renewal.

progress and the everchanging state of all things, I look to nature Monica explains the for signs of hope; of a source of her inspiration: promise of return.”

“All things in nature must adapt to the Ruth Millington and uncontrollable elements Mark Baxter forced upon them and Supa Gallery: https:// I am seeking to capture www.supagallery. that which is on the co.uk/monica-perezverge of either renewal vega-to-the-trees / or collapse. Amid the Ruth Millington: www. relentless story of ruthmillington.com

Green and Blue Tree

represent Monica Perez Vega through Supa Gallery. This is why I set up the gallery – to show and sell art by the very best artists in Birmingham. With prices starting at £40, I also aim to start many new art collections in this city!”

To the Trees, a virtual exhibition on Monica's work, started in midAugust and will end on September 6. The work is inspired by lockdown and landscape, with Monica painting trees she discovered during daily walks through urban spaces and the countryside. With the exhibition, Monica transports us into an enchanted forest, in which 23 magicallycoloured trees symbolise

Hollowed Blue COMMUNITY

moseley maskerade

Celia Wallis

Chic, photographed a handsome couple in the Co-Op sporting Millie's Masks. Millie is 11 year old Brummie Millie Milburn who started making them in April to raise funds for the NHS. Carlene is seen wearing a marvellous mask as part of her glorious overall look. Hers was made

by Dee Cane, who also started making a range of exotic and colourful masks early on in the pandemic.

Dee sold all hers in aid of Foodshare at Moseley Wesleyan Holiness Church in Cromer Road. Dee and Carlene are both very actively involved and hope to be back at the church Millieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Masks when it opens again in Moseleyites are chic as mid-September. ever in the first month of Celia was spotted dancing mandatory face coverings with big cat grace at the for shoppers.

Busk Stop on The Green.

Alexandra Merrick, our She is wearing her own spotter-in-chief of Moseley design, hand embroidered with a passionate message.

Frank is pictured keeping his cool on the way to the shops while Mia and Aurora (this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cover stars) embrace life as beautiful new mum and babe of the Covid era.

A nod to the Co-Op on behalf of anyone who is exempt from wearing a mask. They broadcast a message asking customers to remember that not all disabilities are visible and ask them not to put pressure on fellow shoppers unable to be part of the maskerade.

Strange times for us all but life is beautiful.

Carlene Smith

Millieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Masks

Millie's Masks: milliesmasks.co.uk; Minerva Works Fazeley St; Facebook and Instagram Tessa Kate Lowe and Alexandra Merrick

Frank Nelson

BALSALL HEATH AND MOSELEY WI

The WI or Women’s Institute is a national organisation which was established over 100 years ago. The aims are to provide women with educational opportunities, and to offer them the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities.

Each local WI designs its own programme of events, elects its committee and gets involved in local as well as national campaigns.

Women join for many different reasons – perhaps for friendship and to learn about the community, especially if they have recently moved to the area.

Others wish to develop new skills or be involved in local events and activities.

Balsall Heath and Moseley WI was established five COMMUNITY

years ago as Balsall Heath WI and two years after that expanded to include Moseley. Our members range in age from late 20’s to early 60’s and bring with them a wealth of interests and experience. We are non-party political and welcome all women from across south Birmingham.

Members join by paying an annual subscription which is set by the national organisation, currently £43. This covers meeting costs, i.e. hire of the hall, speakers’ fees/resources, insurance for members and a monthly magazine.

In non-pandemic times women who may like to ‘try out the WI’ can come as a visitor by paying £5.

The committee work hard to ensure that meetings and events reflect the wideranging interests of our members, and endeavour 14

to extend knowledge about local services, community groups and campaigns.

Our programme of meetings/events over the recent past have included: hula hooping, women and politics, women’s employment and skills, seed swapping, sushi making, belly dancing, natural beauty (making skincare products), local history talks, environmental community action, and preserving fruit into jams, chutneys, cordials, syrups and liqueurs, Yuletide crafts, Pretty Political - A feminist approach to craft, bike maintenance and a comedy workshop with Janice Connolly. Oh and there is always cake!

We have also contributed to local food banks, supported the campaign to keep open Moseley Road baths, and regularly have www.moseleyb13.com

stalls at local festivals and markets.

We have two sub-groups – a book group and a film group. The book group reads books written by women or which have strong female characters.

The group meets once per month, virtually at present, to discuss the book of that month. Next month’s book is H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. The film group also currently meets virtually once a month and collectively watches and discusses a film voted for by the members of the group. The most recently viewed film was Selma.

So, as you can see, it’s not all jam and Jerusalem! We usually meet at St Columba Church Hall on the corner of Chantry Road and Alcester Road on the second Sunday of the month. However, as is the case with many community groups, we have not met since the beginning of March due to the pandemic.

We have used our Facebook Group and email

to keep in touch with members and held three Zoom meetings. The first was a quiz for members and their families. Then we had a samosa making/ demonstration with Mohini Howard which had members’ kitchens a hive of activity, and our third meeting was a fascinating talk from Gill Rose on urban bee-keeping.

We finally had an inperson outdoor meeting in July, when we visited Balsall Heath City Farm for a tour and picnic. It was a small number who met in order to be socially

distanced, but we hope to run a larger outdoor event in September.

In order to be Covidcompliant our future meetings will probably have to be members only.

However, it is possible to join this September for a quarter of the 2020 annual fee, or £10.75, which would give membership to the end of March 2021. Prior to the lockdown, plans were in place for a celebratory vintage tea dance. We hope we will be able to bring this plan forward in the not too distant future.

The wonderful thing about Balsall Heath and Moseley WI is that you can meet and become friends with women whom you might never have met in your day to day life.

Anne Cummins If you would like to get in touch you can contact us in the following ways: Facebook: Balsall Heath and Moseley WI Email Balsallheathwi@ gmail.com

info@moseleyb13.com

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COMMUNITY

CO-WORKING SPACES AT MOSELEY EXCHANGE needed separation between life at work and home.

Back in March we had to swiftly close our building doors as we went into lockdown, diverting much of our resources to supporting Moseley Together. However, we also decided to take the opportunity to update our co-working space to provide a Moseley has always been a pioneering fresh new look to meet the potential suburb and a place where businesses changing needs of our co-workers.

Tom Brown decided to take the time are born (think Damascena, Java, while on furlough to undertake an Sabai Sabai) – but did you know we are also home to the first co-working online interior design course, so when space in Birmingham? There is now a he returned this seemed like the perfect opportunity to put his new proliferation of these across the City. skills to the test. He has come up with a welcoming, calm environment with Set up back in 2009, Moseley Exchange is a hidden gem right in the wellbeing at its heart – think green, wood and lots of plants! heart of Moseley. Just through the archway next to the Post Office you’ll find our welcoming community hub.

Alongside room hire and community information we have an established co-working community from writers to architects.

Co-working is the longstanding friend of all freelancers and the selfemployed who may not traditionally have had an office to work from.

However, during a pandemic where more of us are ditching the office and working from home, co-working is attracting an increasingly diverse group of people who are looking for a friendly, comfortable space from which to work, providing a much

We want all our visitors to know that they are entering a safe space that is still a friendly and welcoming community. So, no sign of hazard tape and signs here, forget plastic screen dividers between desks – think natural barriers of plants. Did you know?… not only are plants shown to help reduce stress and improve blood pressure, certain indoor plants can help improve the air quality.

Throughout the process we have tried to reduce our waste wherever possible: most of our old furniture has been put to good use through local groups and individuals including The Old Print Works, and the Mix

Café, with many office chairs being redistributed to individuals across Moseley. We’ve also revamped existing pieces of furniture like our lockers (it’s amazing what a bit of paint and cladding can do!). Emily Jewett, a member of the Moseley Exchange team, even repurposed the wooden leaves from the hoardings of the old Meteor Ford site into a new screen for the space.

We believe in keeping it local wherever possible and have been lucky enough to work with local craftspeople and artists to create a welcoming, calming space. Back in June our co-working space was transformed when local carpenter Nitin Varsani and his colleague Fida Hussain set up their workshop here to build some bespoke furniture for our space including desks and standing benches. Since then we’ve tried to fill the space with work from local artists and makers, including macramé planters from @macra_made_ and coasters from Folk Like These. We are building up a collection of local artworks to help promote local artists, and look forward to having rolling exhibitions on our walls over the coming months. Wherever possible we’ve tried to shop local to highlight the great skill that sits right on our doorstep.

Moseley Exchange is just one part of what we do here. The building is owned and operated by Moseley Community Development Trust as a community asset. As a

registered charity all our income is ploughed back into community activities – whether that be the work of our Neighbourhood Outreach Worker Anji Page who works with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or the community activities run by Rhiannon Simpson, our Volunteer Coordinator.

Fida Hussain and Nitin Varsani

So whether you’re looking for some quiet space to work, the chance to meet with others over a coffee, or Emily Jewett and Tom Brown

high speed reliable internet for all those video calls you’re now making, we’d love to welcome you to try out our space and become part of our community. We offer free trial passes and a range of affordable membership plans without a longterm commitment, and all safe in the knowledge that in using our space you are also supporting our wider community work.

Lorna Brewster Interested in joining co-working or exhibiting in our space? Just get in touch: 0121 449 8585 or info@ moseleyexchange.com

A Painter If I were a painter I would paint a pair of eyes Colours; what colours would I choose?

The pallet is too broad; too many choices.

Your eyes are too beautiful.

Silly me; I can't paint; I can't even read a map.

How I wish I would find somebody, somewhere who would understand me and undertake this difficult task for me.

Katerina Chamberlain

Everyone Matters God, You are the Holy Three in One. We arrive into this chequered World, a blessed threesome, man, woman and soul combined.

Different in colour, creed and custom, but all washed with Your inclusive love.

Who makes the parting of the ways?

The placing into groups.

False valuation of ability and grace.

Unequal sharing of goods.

Disabilities harshly labelled.

Sightless eyes, never seeing beyond the colour.

Quick fire of insults and jeers.

Lack of understanding and passion.

Help us to blend our skills, fulfilling the need for each other in equal cooperative measure.

The intertwining of respect and love, with a mixing of talent and ideas, and rejoicing in changing ways.

Filling the World with vibrating music of creative difference.

Being part of each other's growth in a fairer, God driven World.

Sharing His life-giving blood with everyone, so that the lamb can lie down with the wolf in hope and peace within a fruitful, caring union.

Helen McNicoll

ANNIE STEEN: SUFFRAGETTE ARTIST

The USA celebrated Women’s Equality Day on August 26 on what was the 100th anniversary of women securing the right to vote. The Suffragette campaign was fought on both sides of the Atlantic and is now recognised as necessary and heroic, with freedom fighters paying a heavy price for battling to secure the right to a voice in society. However, women in the movement were mocked at the time by newspapers and labelled as terrorists. Although destructive and disruptive tactics were used in the quest for change, suffragettes attacked only empty buildings, for example when Kings Norton Grammar School (an early C15th building) was targeted with the intention of burning it to the ground.

In fact the women left the building without incident but with a note on the blackboard saying, “Two suffragettes have entered here, but charmed

with this old-world room, have refrained from their design of destruction”.

Suffragettes were often attacked and sexually assaulted by the police and gangs of men, but the press

were quick to label the protestors as the ones with unacceptable behaviour.

The cause has parallels with contemporary activism for equality and social change by those who have been silenced, demonised or ignored, whether Extinction Rebellion or Black Lives Matter.

An influential contributor to the Birmingham Women’s Suffrage Campaign was Annie Steen, using the medium of her artistic ability. Annie, thought to have been born in 1877, lived for most of her life at Woodfield Cottage on Woodfield Road, Kings Heath, and studied at the Birmingham Municipal School of Art. She went on to win a silver medal in the National Competition for Schools of Art and to become a member of the Birmingham Art Circle.

Annie was active as a jeweller between 1901-1909.

Woman and Her Sphere

by Elizabeth Crawford mentions that she was a regular advertiser in the pages of Votes for Women, the newspaper associated with the suffrage movement.

An advertisement from October 1909 described “Handwrought jewellery in gold and silver set with stones in the colours”.

Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (co-editor of Votes for Women) designed the suffragettes' colour scheme with purple for loyalty, white for purity and green for hope. Brooches, buckles and pendants were created and ‘Christmas Presents for Suffragettes!’ were advertised. The jewellery was a discreet way for women to identify themselves with the cause, and also a backlash to newspaper cartoons that

presented suffragettes as having a masculine image.

Clothing was also sold with the colours.

The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) held a fundraising bazaar in London in 1909, and women from all over the country were encouraged to visit and take part in the proceedings. The exhibition was decorated by Sylvia Pankhurst and female jewellers from Birmingham, including Annie Steen, set up stalls of their jewellery.

Suffrage and the Arts: Visual Culture, Politics and Enterprise by Miranda Garrett and Zoe Thomas states: “On the night of the 1911 census, Annie Steen demonstrated that her interest in the Suffrage cause was more than entrepreneurial. Her census form was completed by the local registrar and records the head of the household as being ‘Fanny Steen’, a misrendering of her name from information probably gathered from a neighbour.

Moreover, Annie had clearly held a ‘census party’ at her house because the registrar noted that ‘about nine other females’ had spent the night there and, like Annie, had refused all information.”

Mark Baxter

BIRMINGHAM MOSELEY WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RUGBY CLUB

HISTORY

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Fancy getting fit, looking for something new to try or just want to get back into playing rugby? Come and join us at Birmingham Moseley Women’s Rugby!

We are currently Birmingham’s biggest women’s rugby club, based in Yardley Wood. Our 2019/20 season saw the biggest growth in our club’s history, and this season is set to be even bigger.

We went from barely being able to put out our league team to now being in a position to run two league teams.

So there’s plenty of room to grow and develop for beginners and experienced players alike.

Over the last week we have moved from Stage B to Stage C of the RFU’s ‘Return to Rugby’ COVID plan. This means that although we are still being strict with our

info@moseleyb13.com

safety practices, we are now starting to introduce game-like touch scenarios and the team has never been more excited.

We train and play at the Moseley Rugby ground on Billesley Common. Our current training times are 7.30-9.00 pm, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We can’t wait to see you, and to find out what new opportunities this season will bring for us.

Molly Dawson-Sullivan If you fancy getting involved with the team you can find us on our various social media: Facebook - Birmingham Moseley Women's Rugby Instagram - @moseleywomensrugby Twitter - @BMWRFC

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Moseley Society Local History Group

Sorrento: House and Garden, Wake Green Road, Moseley Sorrento, Wake Green Road, Moseley 1899

Sorrento, a large double-fronted threestorey detached house set in extensive grounds, was built in the second half of the nineteenth century on Wake Green Road. Moseley was quite built up by this time, and there were numerous houses backing onto the house and garden, though mature trees and shrubs ensured privacy.

The photographs were taken in 1899 when the occupants were William Adams, aged forty-one years, the household head and the retired director of the Refuge Assurance Company, his wife, Martha, forty-two years, and their children, Mabel, aged eighteen, Gerline sixteen, Esther fourteen and Hilda

nine. In the 1901 census the family had three servants: Mary Yates, aged twenty-two years, a housemaid; Frances Holland, aged thirty-two years, a cook; and Adela Price, aged thirty-nine years, a housekeeper.

Plan of site 1900 22

The house was set well back from the road and fronted by an expanse of lawn and a wide sweeping gravel drive in the style of a country house and typical of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;carriage classâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of wealthy urban house owner. Romanesque windows on the third floor, large bay windows, tall Tudor chimneys, pointed Gothic gable ends, an impressive projecting porched and balconied entranceway and a large highly decorated side conservatory made the house architecturally fashionable. Houses like Sorrento had their own carriages, and this required coach houses, stables with loose boxes, harness rooms and www.moseleyb13.com

and horticultural societies developed which held annual shows, such as the Moseley and Kings Heath Horticultural Show at Moseley Hall and the Annual Show at Highbury in 1883, when Joseph Chamberlain threw open his greenhouses and conservatories.

brought to gardens huge amounts of bright and previously unknown colour.

Tea is set out on the lawn just inside the trellis arch. The table is set with a The image shows crisp white linen the terrace, decorative tablecloth. The trees ironwork and and shrubs ensure the balustrades, which familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s privacy. Lawns reflect the influence were an important In the 1890s Moseley of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Italian Gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Victorian feature and had its own Botanical and later more formal made possible by the designs. These included Gardens on the corner of development of lawn Wake Green and College mowers by Edwin stone steps and vases, Roads in the grounds of Beard Budding, an sundials, urns, and Pine Dell Hydropathic fountains, made from engineer from Stroud, Establishment, which new materials such Gloucestershire, in 1830. had extensive and varied By 1900, petrol-engine as concrete and older garden areas and large artificial materials such mowers were market and small greenhouses as Coade stone. The winners. holding rare plants. tennis court was just Wide, dry gravel paths beyond the terrace, linked garden designs close to the house. and provided convenient Tennis was a popular private walkways for game for both men and the family and guests, women and lawns were especially the ladies. The very important. walkways were straight Conservatories and to meet the demands Access to the Rear Garden, of the formal garden at orangeries like this Sorrento, 1899 one were small-scale Sorrento. In 1996 the imitations of the planthouse was replaced A rustic arch led from houses and orangeries the side of the house to by Sorrento Court, a of country estates that retirement housing the rear garden. Rustic linked the house and complex, and new seats, trellises, arches garden. Enormous and bridges were part of houses were built on the numbers of colourful garden. new exotic species came the vernacular cottage Janet Berry to England from around garden and were very fashionable, harking the globe, brought back to a simpler time See more images and by plant travellers details about gardens, before the industrial and horticulturalists gardening design and revolution.

Bedding-out and were preserved, gardening and sources plants ran along the grown, propagated and on the Moseley Society garden edge.

Beddinghybridised. Gardens and website:moseleyout was a key Victorian gardening became a society/local-history.org. middle-class enthusiasm garden fashion that uk special male staff. The Adams family submitted a plan to extend the stables and add an engine room, which suggests they intended to put in electricity.

info@moseleyb13.com

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A MOSELEY MINUTE:

LIVING THE DREAM COMMUNITY

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Lockdown had just started to ease and I was in Kings Heath exploring the newly open shops that were back up and running. The restrictions were lifting, albeit with facemasks firmly on customers' faces, when I passed a shop I had never noticed before.

more than just a shop: he would like it to be a meeting place for people, almost like a small community zone. One of his plans is to have themed events, Hallowe’en this year being his first one. Frank would like to encourage people to gather and take spooky photos in his shop and you could see why this would work well. At Christmas he would like to have a Santa in the shop for a festive air. His aim is to make it a child-friendly shop, given the large number of children in the roads nearby.

Ever curious, I went in partly because the name of the shop was so inviting: ‘Living the Dream’. I was greeted by a huge smile and warm welcome from a lovely man who introduced himself as Frank. I enquired how long the shop had been open, and he explained that it had had its grand opening just two days before lockdown forced him to close.

Unfortunate timing for a new shop but Frank was enthusiastic to continue trading now regulations were lifting.

I arranged to go back and talk more, but before that happened I brought my son to have a look at the wondrous items on display because he enjoys vintage and retro furniture. We both left a short while after, my son with four amazing vintage suitcases at a bargain price for him to use as a feature piece in his living room.

The first thing that strikes you on entering Living the Dream is all the unique items that are for sale, from candles to incense, to retro chairs to film memorabilia; there even may be a kitchen sink if you look hard enough – not that I found one when I visited but I wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been one in stock.

Frank’s aim is to make retro, vintage and quirky items affordable for everyone, and he has items from just one pound up to five hundred pounds. The shop is at the top end of Kings Heath, almost opposite The Station pub. Frank chose this area because he grew up locally, in Moseley Village, and the young Frank could be seen on his bike in Highbury Park, cycling through to Cannon Hill Park. So, when choosing a base for his vintage shop this was a perfect location for him to bring the vintage vibe to Kings Heath.

Frank has been well received by his neighbours in Kings Heath and he must have given a good first impression. When he had to shut down due to the pandemic situation two days after opening, local people left cards of support, chocolates and even flowers to sympathise with his plight.

Frank has been on his own journey to

Frank plans to make Living the Dream info@moseleyb13.com

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COMMUNITY

enable him to live his dream. He had originally been working as a primary school teacher in a local school for ten years when his contract suddenly ended.

Although he felt disheartened at first after investing so many years in the school he soon rose to the challenge and took a new job in Germany teaching dancing.

It is in that country that his life began to change. Frank has always loved vintage and unique retro items and he found a plentiful and very reasonably-priced bounty in Munich’s antique fairs and markets. Naturally, Frank began to avidly collect items.

This too is where he first began to delve into trading, albeit on a small scale. Frank started to trade from his flat by selling retro and vintage items and also sold online. He had begun to do the thing he loved and therefore to be able to live his own dream.

too good to be turned down, so Frank took the gamble and bought the property.

Unfortunately he then became ill and was forced to spend a couple of years recuperating, but this led him to view the world with fresh eyes, and he stopped rushing around and began to appreciate his own life more.

It was not long before he was contacted by an acquaintance in Birmingham who was keen for Frank to buy his property in Kings Heath for a bargain price. This was

Franks told me about his first purchase as a child. It was a yo-yo which he bought from a Sunday market, where his father was a market trader (you could say trading is in Frank’s blood). When I asked him what vintage he loves most he quickly replied that his favourite era is ’60s and ’70s furniture. But he also has a very soft spot for film memorabilia.

Franks stresses that he wants his shop to be a place where people can come, have a chat and forget the stresses of their lives.

So Moseley B13 readers, when you are in Kings Heath High Street, pop into Living the Dream and say “Hello” to Frank. You will receive a very warm welcome and you will probably leave with a bargain too.

Debbie Aldous 26

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and bass clefs, and the qualities and uses of the whole range of orchestral instruments, individually, in various combinations, and en masse. These and some appreciation of the different types of classical music all interested me and contributed to my overall cultural development.

But it was class singing that brought true enjoyment. The songbook was a collection of traditional and composed songs, covering several centuries. It may have had something to do with Cecil Sharp, but I had never heard of him at that time. However, there were several Welsh songs with an English translation and the original Welsh underneath.

Ah, what an opportunity! While the choristers in the first three rows sang their hearts out in English, we rejects learned how to pronounce the Welsh versions. The only one I can still remember (because of an obvious attraction) was ‘David of the White Rock’, otherwise known as ‘Dafydd y Garreg Wen’. Dafydd is pronounced ‘Davith’ with a flat ‘a’ and a hard ‘th’.

Poor old Stan: he was concentrating so much on his potential choristers that he never noticed the drone of missung Welsh coming from the back row.

Nevertheless, he was so dedicated to music that the school produced choristers and instrumentalists of real achievement.

An important reason for that was the provision of specialist tutors in any instrument a particular student wanted to learn.

I really only appreciated his true value when I trained as a teacher in the late ’60s and heard that the best music education in the country was provided in the Inner London Education Authority and Birmingham Education Authority. By then Stanley Adams was the much-respected Music Director for Birmingham.

My experience of his teaching was only for that first year, but it got the subject home. At its end, we had choices to make, but more of that next month.

David Spilsbuy

Moseley Memories Music While You Work Stanley Adams conducting the BSSO circa 19681970. Photo courtesy of Matt Chambers

We had some exceptional teachers at Moseley Grammar School (MGS). Many were veterans of the First World War who had joined former Major Ernest Robinson in founding what was then known as Moseley Secondary School in 1923. They established a culture of ambition and excellence which prevailed certainly until my time there.

Into this atmosphere had come younger teachers, some between the wars and some with experience of World War II. One of the post-war ones was the Music Master, Stanley Adams. He went on to become Music Advisor for the City of Birmingham, establishing several orchestras and choirs, both at MGS and across the City. His undoubted genius and devotion to music did not always translate into classroom diligence, however.

When Class 1A entered his room for the first time, we were made to sit in alphabetical order and after an enthusiastic introduction to the value and importance of music-making, he sat at the piano and asked each of us to stand up in turn and sing a scale, as he played it. I stood and produced my best version of “Doh, ray, me…” and was abruptly told, “No, sit down.”

Stan was looking for potential recruits for the Junior Choir, with possible talent to become instrumentalists in the School Orchestra. We conscious rejects understood our place. At the second lesson, we were sat at the back, while the choral cream went to the front.

He taught us musical theory very effectively, however, and I learned about minims and crotchets and quavers, sharps and flats and all their multiples, treble info@moseleyb13.com

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TOMMY QUANG’S

WORLD OF STRANGE

Close Encounters of the Moseley Kind

UFO with a tractor beam which is a bit like the one that (allegedly) abducted Darren Claypole

Dusty and deserted American back roads probably spring to mind when we think of alien encounters: the unidentified flying object hovering over a pick-up truck before blinding bright lights consume the area, and the passengers are left with missing memories of the next few hours.

However, Moseley also has its own close encounters with alleged visitors from another world. Local man Darren T. Claypole claims to have been abducted in 2018 and is able to recall memories of what took place on the alien craft.

“My Daz went missing at teatime one Saturday – I was worried sick,” said his partner Sharon Meaker. "Thankfully, Daz arrived back at the house at 6.30 the

following morning. He was in a terrible state and babbling about spotting a UFO on St Mary’s Row hovering over what was Slicks fashion store at the time. He said he went to have a look but was sucked up into the ship by some kind of a force field.”

Darren also remembered a chat with a member of the crew who was humanoid in appearance. “He seemed to be the pilot and took the time to explain the route of the UFO, mentioning how they had already carried out a scientific study on Mercury, and had gone on Darren went on to to pass through the orbit reveal his memories of of Mars and spend time the conversations with on the dark side of the the aliens. “The crew Moon. He said they were said they had selected on the way to Saturn, Moseley as a microcosm after which he would fly of the Earth in an attempt the ship back to Earth, to understand our history, taking a shortcut through culture and motives. a meteor storm with pit They desperately wanted stops on Neptune and to understand our need Venus, via the moons for love and war, and of Jupiter.” Darren our ever-increasing mentioned that the restlessness. However, pilot resembled Dominic around 90% of the Cummings. conversation ended up obsessed with incidents Sharon revealed of inconsiderate car that Darren doesn’t parking in the B13 area.” like to talk about his 28

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experience. “He told me to keep it quiet but I think people should know what’s going on with these alien abductions.

The worst thing about all of this is that the abduction really spoiled our planned evening. You see, we had tickets to see Gary Barlow in concert on the night that Daz was taken by the UFO.” Sharon choked back the tears as she recalled the selfless actions of her wonderful boyfriend.

“It really meant a lot to me when Daz agreed to come with me to see my beautiful Barlow in concert. You see, I’m a massive fan of Gary’s but Daz isn’t that keen. In fact, when I first started going out with him he would often say that he would do 'almost anything to avoid having to sit through a bloody Gary Barlow concert'.”

The alien abduction wasn’t the first time that a plan to see her idol had been hampered. “In 2016 we had tickets to see Gary but Daz also went missing a few hours before the show. On that occasion it turned out he’d managed to get himself locked in at work after his shift had finished. In the panic, he had accidentally smashed his mobile phone to pieces so he wasn’t able to call anyone to help let him out. I turned up at his workplace to see if he was there and shouted through the letter box, but he couldn’t hear info@moseleyb13.com

me.” In the end Sharon walked away from the Portakabin (where Darren works as a security guard), worried sick about what had happened to him. “He turned up at midnight and I was so happy and relieved.

Unfortunately, it was too late to see Gary in concert. We were both mortified.”

The couple admitted to feeling cursed as similar things had happened on attempting to see Sharon's second favourite singer, James Blunt. “On that occasion Daz was trampled by a full-grown elephant and two baby elephants at Gornal Zoo on the day of the gig.”

Darren said he must have taken a wrong turning to end up in the elephant enclosure, but witnesses reported seeing him “scale two electric fences with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts sticking out of his jumper.”

STORY UPDATE: Sadly, before going to press, Sharon Meaker got in touch to say the household’s internet had been sabotaged just half an hour before the start of the Gary Barlow concert on Zoom. “Who would do a thing like that?”, said Sharon, her voice breaking with emotion. “Daz was as upset as me, but said we should completely give up on the idea of trying to see Gary, and James Blunt, as there seems to be some kind of conspiracy against us.”

Sharon hasn’t given up on seeing her hero from Take That. “The good thing about this lockdown situation is that Gary is playing a Zoom concert so we plan to stay in on the day so absolutely nothing can go wrong with UFO abductions...or anything else!”

After all of your ‘Patience’, Sharon, it looks as if you will finally have your ‘Greatest Day’, with your loyal ‘Babe’, Darren, at your side!

Tommy Quang 29

Gary Barlow

Citizen Quiz Time Answers

SO...HOW GREAT A BRITISH SUBJECT DID YOU PROVE TO BE? In case the friend you phoned didn't know the answers either and you 5: (D) Following the Norman Britain experienced forgot to look them up on Google, Conquest here are the final answers to last almost constant warfare. month's Citizenship Quiz.

6: (A) The Scottish repelled an 1: (B) The Bronze Age in Britain English invasion at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. began roughly 4,000 years ago.

2: (A) The first farmers in Britain 7: (B) The English had pretty much were probably descended from the abandoned their claims to land in France by the 1450s. people of Southeast Europe.

3: (A) Britain became permanently 8: (D) Wales was annexed to the separated from the Continent of English Crown in 1284.

Europe geographically 10,000 years 9: (B) At the time of Magna Carta it ago. began to be established that judges 4: (A) In The Middle Ages the English should be independent. controlled an area of Ireland around 10: (A) Magna Carta was signed in 1215.

Dublin called The Pale.

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11: (B) In the Middle Ages the to remember in answer to this Scottish Parliament had 3 Houses. month's single British Citizenship Test question: 12: (D) Under the Bill of Rights a new Parliament had to be elected 1. In what year was the test scrapped at least every 3 years. as being judged historically biased, racist and inaccurate, absurd and 13: (A) From 1695 newspapers simply not fit-for-purpose? were allowed to operate without a government licence.

A: 2020 B: 2021 14: (D) A constituency controlled by C: 2025 a single wealthy family was called D: Not before 2050. a Pocket Borough.

You will probably be able to get 15: (A) The Jew of Malta was not odds on this one at any local Bookie! written by Shakespeare.

(The opinion tacitly expressed 16: (C) 'Was this the face that in the wording of this month's launched a thousand ships?' is not a question is strictly that of the quote from Shakespeare. compiler of the quiz, who, for obvious cowardly reasons, wishes 17: (A) In Elizabethan times settlers to remain anonymous.) began colonization of the East coast of North America.

18: (D) In the 1930s Sir Frank Whittle invented the jet engine.

Hopefully somebody passed this test by achieving over 75%!

It seems all this may soon become a thing of the past and there will be a new historical date for quizzers 31

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