Brummages.. (or What Is It Like Now?)

St Augustine's Church - City of Birmingham Brass Band - 10th Dec 2011

2011-12-10T23:30:00.000Z

The City of Birmingham Brass Band performed at St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston on the evening of the 10th of December. The performance was in aid of the church lighting fund.
An appreciative audience enjoyed the music, mainly Christmas themed, as well as the wit of the conductor and director Warren Belshaw. There was an opportunity for the audience to sing along to carols and to participate actively during the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas".
During the interval, hot drinks, wines and cakes were available and a raffle was held to boost the fund.
This was a very enjoyable and intimate evening, with much fun and banter between Warren and the audience.
The band's website is at http://freespace.virgin.net/oliver.monk/home.htm
For more information on the church visit http://www.staugustines-edgbaston.org/

ARCHIVE INDEX & NAME INTERESTS

2011-10-17T02:00:00.000+01:00

NEW: Keep posted about updates to Brummages by following
Snygyst on TWITTER.
>ARCHIVE INDEX.
After great expense and much sweat on my part you can now click on the index link below and go straight to the appropriate page on this web-site.

Jun 29th 2004 Communication Row, St Saviours Church, Saltley Baptist Church
Jul 1st 2004 Ralph Road and St Saviours ChurchJul 9th 2004 Tour: Belchers Lane to Saltley Gate
Jul 20th 2004 Back-to-backs, Birmingham
Aug 4th 2004 Tour: Washwood Heath and Alum Rock
Oct 5th 2004 St Saviours graveyard (some headstones and names)
Nov 21st 2004 Canal Boat Light Parade (1st one)
Nov 27th 2004 Big Wheel, German Christmas Market
Apr 25th 2005 St George's Day
May 15th 2005 Tolkien Weekend
Jun 10th 2005 Heartlands VE/VJ ExhibitionAug 9th 2005 St Saviours graveyard (some MIs)
Sep 8th 2005 St Saviours Church and graveyard (some MIs)
Sep 10th 2005 Key Hill Open Day (some important dead people)
Sep 17th 2005 Black Country Boatfest
Oct 21st 2005 Trafalgar Day 200
Nov 20th 2005 Canal Boat Light Parade
Dec 17th 2005 Merry Christmas Everybody!
Jan 23rd 2006 Walkabout Jewelry Quarter
Jan 24th 2006 Walkabout Jewelry Quarter Again.
Feb 6th 2006 Walkabout Bordesley-Nechells-Aston.
Mar 31st 2006 Peter Turner's back-to-back photographs.
Jun 16th 2006 City Centre Walkabout (incl Tree of Life statue)
Jun 30th 2006 The Bromwich Vault
Jul 30th 2006 Sheldon Country Fair
Sep 9th 2006 Key Hill Open Day
Sep 18th 2006 Farewell and Welcome Back!
Oct 21st 2006 Trafalgar Day
Dec 10th 2006 Canal Boat Light Parade
Jan 26th 2007 St Matthews (ALL headstones & most MIs)
Apr 15th 2007 Big Birmingham Morris Caper
Apr 22nd 2007 Scouts Centenary Parade
Jul 2nd 2007 HP Sauce D-Day 1 (Also D-Days 5, 9, 19 and 23)
Jul 14th 2007 Festival of Extreme Buildings
Jul 14th 2007 Fazeley Street Walkabout
Jul 24th 2007 Lichfield Road Traipse
Aug 28th 2007 HP Sauce D-Day 58
Sep 7th 2007 Festival of Extreme Buildings Revisited Sep 9th 2007 Unidentified Church Sep 14th 2007 St James the Less Memorials (Many MIs)
Oct 22nd 2007 Trafalgar Day- belated
Oct 26th 2007 HP Sauce D-Day 117
Nov 15th 2007 German Christmas Market Nov 17th 2007 Digbeth Coach Station Farewell Party
Feb 14th 2008 RIP Ring O' Bells
Mar 25th 2008 HP Sauce D-Day 268
Apr 22nd 2008 Royal Re-Opening of Birmingham Town Hal l
Apr 26th 2008 St George's Day Celebrations
May 2nd 2008 Eastside Mini-tour & Gun-Barrel Proof House
May 20th 2008 Pub-Crawl
May 27th 2008 St Matthews Church, Duddeston

Jul 24th Yardley-Sheldon Walkabout (ongoing macro blog)Sep 13th 2008 Key Hill Open Day

Mar 31st 2009 Aston Juxta Church (some MIs, war panels, ongoing)
Apr 19th 2009 Stone Cross St George Parade
Apr 25th 2009 St George's Day Birmingham

Jul 12th 2009 Aston Juxta Church revisited (an ambitious project still being worked on) *LAST UPDATE 16 Feb 2010

Sep 6th 2009 Moseley Folk Festival

Sep 12th 2009 Key Hill Open Day

Oct 25th 2009 Trafalgar Day

Apr 24th 2010 St George's Day Birmingham - fringe

May 15/16th 2010 Middle-Earth Weekend

Sep 11th/12th 2010 Key Hill Heritage Weekend

Sep 15th 2010 Battle of Britain 70th Remembrance

Nov 17th 2010 Birmingham Blitz 70th Anniversary

Dec 5th 2010 Highbury Hall by Candlelight

I thought I would declare some of my genealogical surname interests in case anybody has similar :-FISHER ... Birmingham & Black Country
HANDS... Cherington, Stourton & surrounds, Warks
CONGREAVE... Notts, Leics (also alternate spellings)
BUCK... Notts & Cambs
TAYLES... Notts & ???
HOOLEY... Notts
PEDLEY... Notts
WHAP... Notts
THOMPSON... Norfolk
SADLER... Norfolk
ROCK... Solihull, Warks
KING... Great Alne, Warks
COOK... Suffolk
JARVIS... Suffolk
PUGH... Tipton, Staffs
FLEET... Tipton, Staffs
GREEN... Tipton, Staffs
JOHNSON... Northwich, Cheshire
GATENBY... Stockton, Durham

Trafalgar Commemoration - Birmingham - 16th Oct 2011

2011-10-16T16:00:00.000+01:00

The sun blessed us again for the 2011 Birmingham Nelson Commemoration service and parade. This year, Anna Tribe OBE JP, the 3rd great granddaughter of Nelson was present to lay a wreath on behalf of the Nelson Society. The pictures tell the story.

The statue of Nelson in the Bull Ring, the first statue to Nelson erected in the world.

A close-up of the statue.

Anna Tribe OBE arrives at the ceremony.

The Triumph Pipe Band from Coventry.

The Lord Mayor greets Anna Tribe.

HMS Forward.

One of the veterans exchanges words with Anna Tribe.

The Little Drummer Boy.

The Lord Mayor Cllr Anita Ward is escorted by event organiser Stephen Hartland in a review of the particpants.

Stephen Hartland introduces the proceedings.

The singing of the National Anthem is led by Hedd Owen Griffiths.

The Lord Mayor makes a speech regarding Nelson' strong connection with Birmingham.

Commander David Stidson RNR talks of the Royal Navy's role in modern conflict.

The Reverend Ray Price leads the prayers.

The Lord Mayor Anita Ward lays a wreath on behalf of the people of Birmingham.

A salute to Nelson from the Commander David Stidson after laying a wreath.

The Sea Cadets represented by Luke Fields of SCTC Caledonia and Kirsty Simpson of TS Vanguard.

A representative of the Birmingham Nautical Club.

Anna Tribe OBE honours her great-great-great-grandfather by laying a wreath on behalf of The Nelson Society, accompanied by Dr Nick Slope.

David Clarke of The Birmingham Civic Society.

Stewart Bissell of The Birmingham St George's Day Association.

Representatives of the Guide and Scouting Associations with their wreath.

The wreaths at the base of the statue.

The statue with wreaths.

Awaiting the arrival of the parade to take the salute.

The Triumph Pipe Band lead the parade into Victoria Square.

The Sea Cadets march past the Civic Party.

The Lord Mayor with the model of HMS Victory and one of the cannon barrels which accompanied the statue between 1809 and 1960, in front of the Council House.

Aston Manor Transport Museum - 10 Sep 2011

2011-09-10T16:56:00.000+01:00

I made a special visit to the Aston Manor Transport Museum to take some photographs before it's in impending closure at the end of October 2011. A financial wrangle with the City Council means that this unique insight into the history of transport in the Midlands will probably be lost.

There is an on-line petition to save the museum at http://goo.gl/qQd66

A model of a tramway.

A general view of the interior.

The "number 11 buz", the service I used to get to and from school in the 60s. In those days from the Yew Tree, Yardley to Cartland Road, Kings Heath cost 3 1/2d ("threppence 'apenny childs please!").

An assortment of memorabilia.

Lots of mechanical 'bits'.

Old bus-stop signs.

You know what it's like. You wait ages for a bus and then...

A model of the museum.

A small model tram.

DON'T FORGET THE PETITION at http://goo.gl/qQd66

Warstone Lane Open Day - 10th Sept 2011

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This year, the Friends of key Hill & Warstone Lane Cemeteries staged their heritage day in Warstone Lane. Stalls present included those from the "Friends", BMSGH, C-Op Funeral Services, Mac Joseph and others.

A general view by the Vyse Street entrance.

There some striking monuments here.

This memorial is for the first people to be interred in Warstone Lane Cemetery. Interestingly, for me, was that some Fishers had been interred in the grave, albeit at a later date.

On the memorial above is a dedication to William Edward Hipkins, a former managing director of Avery Weigh-Tronix, a Smethwick company, who perished on the Titanic on the 15th April 1912, aged 55.
Other members of his family are buried here as well.

The "Tree-Trunk" memorial.

The cemetery lodge.

The memorial to the local service-men who were killed in World War 1.

A series of panels engraved with the names of the war-dead. MIs to follow.

The Co-Op Funeral Services stall.

"We can wait!"

Looking into the catacombs basin.

Catacombs 2.

Catacombs 3.

Socialising in the sun-shine.

Some of the exhibitors stalls.

Key Hill & Warstone Lane Open Day

2011-09-02T09:42:00.000+01:00

This years heritage day will take place on Saturday 10th September, 10am - 4pm. It will be held on the grass area just inside the Pitsford St entrance of Warstone Lane Cemetery, very visible to the Vyse St frontage.

The usual stalls should be there, The Friends, BMSDGH, Mac Joseph, Ted Rudge, Keith Clenton, BARRA, CO-OP Funeral Services.

The friends web-site is at http://www.fkwc.org/

5th Birmingham Lives History Fair - Sunday 12th June 2011

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11.00am until 4.00pm

Venue:-

Birmingham Girl Guides
Trefoil House
Brownsea Drive
Blucher Street
Holloway Head
Birmingham B1 1QL

FREE ADMISSION
Up to 25 stalls , All on one level
With photographs and memorabilia of Birmingham and the Midlands.
Books, Postcards, Souvenirs, History Societies, Genealogy Groups,
Exhibition of photos from the Carl Chinn Archives.
BARRA - Birmingham Air Raid Remembrance Association,
Friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter ( Hockley )
Mac Joseph -Old Ladywood,
Ted Rudge - Winson Green to Brookfields,
Friends of the Pen Museum.
plus other stalls

The Co-op may have a memorabilia stall.

View Trefoli House in a larger map

St George's Day - Birmingham - 23rd Apr 2011

2011-04-23T20:00:00.004+01:00

This year we celebrated St George's Day on St George's Day (the 23rd). My first stop was to St Philips Cathedral where several events were scheduled to take place, but nothing was there. Outside the flag of St George flew, or rather flagged, there was no wind - but plenty of sunshine for the whole day.

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Inside the cathedral was a poster explaining the origins of St George. Apart from several other countries, St George is the patron saint of scouting, soldiers, cavalry, chivalry, farmers, riders, saddlers, people living with leprosy, plague and skin disease! That's what it says!

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Over to Victoria Square, and that's where it's all happening. Here, the Sovereign Brass Band entertain the crowds with some stirring patriotic music.

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Although quiet at this time of the morning, the Purity Ale tent was later extremely busy quenching the thirsts of discerning drinkers in the unseasonally hot weather. More information about Purity Ales can be found HERE. ( Oi - Not yet, later when you've finished this blog!)

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Contemporary folk band Suntrap entertained us and kept our feet tapping with many versatile arrangements of folk songs and music. Info, videos and pics HERE.

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Trips on the open-top "Big Brum Buz" proved extremely popular today. I went on the inauguration trip last year which was even better (it was free!).

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BBC Radio WM's presenters Jenny Wilkes and Bev Bevan compere the events of the day.

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Crowds enjoying the show and the sunshine.

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Back to more traditional entertainment, this time provided by Heage Windmillers Morris.

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The Heage Windmillers again: A display of the traditional knot after a rapper sword dance.

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Drummer Bev Bevan was an original member of The Move, and later he played with the ELO and Black Sabbath. At a ceremony a few days later, his star will be placed in the Broad Street Walk of Stars.

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The Fab Beatles. An incredible tribute band which kept us singing along in a wave of pure nostalgia.

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A troupe of Mummers present a play with St George and the Dragon, as well as other fearsome adversaries.

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A photo-call by the Mummers.

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This is Absolute Bowie, a David Bowie tribute band. Even more pure nostalgia!!!!

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Absolute Bowie egging the audience on to join in...... like we needed any encouragement!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR

(St Giles Church, Sheldon, my next project.)

HIGHBURY HALL by CANDLELIGHT - 5th Dec 2010

2010-12-05T23:00:00.005Z

This was my first visit to Highbury Hall since I was a child. With Christmas approaching the interior of the building was lit by candles, bedecked with seasonal decorations, and mince pies, Christmas fruit cake and mulled wine were on sale. The 2 guided tours originally scheduled became 3 or more as the house received more visitors than the organisers expected.

I am not providing much in the way of historical notes, it is better to visit the building yourself and experience the homely atmosphere there.

This photograph, of course, shows Highbury Hall by floodlight.

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This is the Breakfast Room, once the Morning Room, and is really the only photograph by candle-light taken. I used flash on the rest of them.

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Another view of the breakfast room.

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After passing through the Morning Room, once the boudoir, (and not shown because the candlelit photograph was totally out of focus), we arrive in the Drawing Room.

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The Drawing Room again. The painting behind the Christmas tree is of the Elan Valley.

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One more view of the Drawing Room with splendid arches at the far end.

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Below the stairs at the end of the hall, a welcoming festive feature.

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Heading up the stairs.

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Viewing the ground floor of the hall from the balcony.

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An enormous lighting structure hangs from the arched and ribbed ceiling.

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The three sides of the Galleried Landing serve as a picture gallery.

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Leading from the gallery is an unnamed bedroom (the East bedroom?)

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...

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From the next corner of the balcony is the West Bedroom.

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View from the West Bedroom window along the side of the building.

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Next to the West Bedroom is Mr Joseph's Room.

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Back to the door to the right on the south side of the balcony, there is Miss Hilda's Room.

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Going through another door in Miss Hilda's Room takes us into another room furnished as a bedroom.

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Back on the ground floor, undoubtedly my favourite room, Joseph Chamberlain's Library, now known as the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Museum.

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As I leave Highbury Hall, an explanatory plaque on the wall.

BIRMINGHAM BLITZ - 70th anniversary 19 Nov 2010

2010-11-19T23:55:00.005Z

On the 19th of November 1940 during World War II, a bombing raid on the BSA factory in Birmingham killed 53 people, and 70 years to the day the tragedy was commemorated by the laying of a wreath on the Small Heath site by Cllr Salma Yaqoob.

In the city centre, the 70th anniversary of the Birmingham Blitz was remembered by an exhibition organized by the Birmingham Air Raids Remembrance Association (BARRA) in the Council House. But first...

The Tree of Life Statue, unveiled on the 8th October 2005, to honour the 2,241 citizens of Birmingham who lost their lives in the Blitz.

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The statue with St Martin's Church in the background.

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The first plaque on the statue bearing the names Abbot to Edwards...

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...and below, an explanatory plaque.

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The second plaque bears the names Edwards to Langford...

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...and below that another plaque bearing additional names.

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The third plaque bearing the names Langley to Rusell...

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The fourth plaque bears the names Russell to Yorke...

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...and below another plaque of additional names.

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Just inside the entrance to the Council House, two BSA machines in immaculate condition.

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Visitors viewing the exhibits in the Banqueting Suite.

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Old photographs and documents of the Auxiliary Fire Service and the National Fire Service on a stall provided by the West Midlands Fire Service.

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At the West Midlands Fire service stall, I am shown the brass nozzle of one of the fire-hoses. This weighed in at about 10lb. Add to this the weight of the hose (I believe about another 10lb per yard length) and the weight of the water passing through, plus the recoil as the water was ejected.. and you can see why it took 2 people to use, one to point the hose and the other to steady the first.

2010-11-19T22:50:00.002Z

A variety of WWII memorabilia provided by a member of the Ambulance Service. Behind the 2 bed-pans on the right, you can see what appears to be an urn with a spout. This was filled with steaming water and Friar's Balsam and was an early inhaler.

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A BSA stall showing books and photographs, as well as a rather heavy piece of hardware.

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This Besa gun was designed to be fired from an armoured vehicle. On the right above is a photograph of the old BSA factory. In the top right hand corner you can just see BSA-made bicycles.

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Part of the BARRA display.

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A model of an Anderson Shelter with an explanatory article. The inside of the shelter was perfectly scaled and illuminated to show a typical layout.

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A close-up of some of the medals on display, the Italy Star, the Africa Star and the Pacific Star.

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As I walked out through the doors of the Council House, I smiled at the irony of having the German Christmas market just outside.

70th ANNIVERSARY of the BATTLE OF BRITAIN 15th September 2010

2010-09-15T16:40:00.005+01:00

Today marked the 70th anniversary of the culmination of the Battle of Britain on the 15th of September 1940... the day of that decisive air battle after which the plans for the invasion of Great Britain were postponed indefinitely.

Outside the Hall of Memory in Birmingham's Centenary Square a short commemorative service was held to remember and celebrate those that lost their lives defending our country. The Lord and Lady Mayoress, along with members of the Royal British Legion and cadets of the Air Training Corps were present. There were prayers, including the Prayer for the Royal Air Force, read by the Legion's chaplain the Rev John Herve, a 2 minute silence and a laying of wreaths before the Mayor chatted to the line of veterans and cadets. The company then entered the Hall of Memory where the Mayor signed the visitors book, before returning to the Council House for tea.

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