Bob Williams-Findlay:Lifting the Lid on Disabled People Against Cuts

Bob Williams-Findlay, MAC 2001
Picture by Pete Millington 

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) was formed by a small group of disabled people after the first mass protest against the austerity cuts and their impact on disabled people held on the 3rd October in Birmingham, England. The march was led by disabled people under the name of The Disabled Peoples’ Protest. DPAC isn’t a formal organisation but rather a collective of individuals seeking to campaign alongside those who believe that disabled people should have full human rights and equality. Our campaign is for everyone who refuses to stay silent about the injustices delivered by wealthy politicians on ordinary people and their lives.

At first glance our campaign name: Disabled People Against Cuts seems fairly straight forward – just like that famous label on the tin – but the co-founders of DPAC have a deep distrust of labels and believe it is dangerous to simply take things at face value. I thought it might be interesting to take the lid off DPAC and explore the possible meanings that can be attached to our name. The reason I’m engaging in this exercise isn’t because I’m bored with nothing better to do; it is because I want to challenge some of the approaches that have been adopted in recent months in relation to the impact of the cuts on disabled people.

For me disability is a political question; it isn’t simply about a collection of individuals who just happen to have significant impairments. There is no agreement within society as to what “disability” is and subsequently who it affects. There are dominant set of ideologies and practices which Mike Oliver has presented as ‘the individual model of disability’ and there is a radical alternative known as ‘the social model’ which has come through the Disabled People’s Movement. (1) It is also important to state that there are a host of hybrids which employ aspects of both models as well. (2) I work largely from within the social model of disability and it is from this perspective I’ll be exploring the current approaches on display. My starting point is the crucial question: who and what are disabled people?

Read Bob's full article on the DPAC website

Spaghetti Gazetti statistics - nearly 1000 pageviews a day

March 2011 saw 122 visits from Iran and 41 from Romania

Pageviews

Pageviews yesterday 943

Pageviews in the last month 24,462

Most popular posts viewed in the past week

And at number one ...The Saturdays!
So all the effort I put into making the site high brow has finally paid off.

The Saturdays - Wolverhampton Civic Hall    77 Pageviews

Screen Forum Digishorts to showcase the best filmmakers   50 Pageviews

Footbal Forum - Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall    28 Pageviews

The Alphaspaghettical Guide to the West Midlands - Aston Hall   21 Pageviews

Leading design studios Barnbrook  15 Pageviews

Dancing On Ice - Coming to Birmingham   14 Pageviews

Belgrade brings Awful Egyptians and Ruthless Romans   13 Pageviews

Apocalyptica - Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall 13 Pageviews

Boxing Show with Jason Lowe  12 Pageviews

Leftfoor Celebrates 10 Years of Music  11 Pageviews


Where the audience came from in the past month:

United Kingdom 2,449

United States 1,513

Germany 294

Iran 122

Russia 121

France 76

Canada 58

India 55

China 48

Romania 41 

Traffic to Spaghetti Gazetti in the past 24 hours
At 4am you might as well forget it unless you're one of the people looking for
the picture of The Saturdays!

The most common Google searches bringing visitors to Spaghetti Gazetti in the past month:

robert plant children 14

hooked spaghetti 8

4000bc inventions and discoveries 4

beaufort sports and social club 4

self harm support groups in birmingham 4

arden hall castle bromwich productions for 2011 3

freddie star comeback tour 3

ladywood furniture project kings road 3

old west bromwich 3

Treat your Mum to some time off at Cadbury World

Emperor Montezuma at Cadbury World

This weekend Cadbury World is inviting Mums to put their feet up and enjoy some pampering whilst the family enjoys a day out.

On Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd April, Mums will get the chance to have their tensions eased away through a taster session of reflexology and relaxing neck and Indian head massages. Mothers can relax safe in the knowledge that Cadbury World’s fourteen different zones have enough activities to keep the whole family entertained.

Whilst Mum enjoys her ‘me time’, the family can discover the story behind Cadbury chocolate, create their own taste sensations and even play in chocolate rain. If they’ve still got some energy left, they can finish their visit off with a trip to the world’s biggest Cadbury shop, to pick up some extra chocolately treats for Mum.

Diane Mitchell, Marketing Manager at Cadbury World, said:

“We all know how hard Mum’s work, so this Mother’s Day we’re offering them the chance to put their feet up and enjoy some quality ‘me time’. There’ll be some really fun activities for the rest of the family too so that Mum can enjoy her relaxation in total peace!”

Next weekend (9th and 10th April) Cadbury World will be turning up the heat with the return of its popular Aztec themed activities. Upon entering the Jungle zone visitors will get the chance to learn about how the ancient Aztecs used chocolate and even get the chance to taste Emperor Montezuma’s special chocolate chilli drink.

For more information about a visit to Cadbury World go to http://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/.

MS Society - event at The Public, West Bromwich on 21st May 2011

New on the BSSEC blog... The collected live posts from Voice 11

New on the BSSEC blog...

http://www.bssec.org.uk/blog/

March 30th, 2011 by Alun Severn

If you’ve missed Sarah Crawley’s live posts from Voice 11 as the day’s conference proceedings unfolded, you can catch up  on all of them here.

READ MORE/....


http://www.bssec.org.uk/blog/?p=1619

Power of the Sun

There are two opportunities coming up to see and learn more about joining the solar revolution.

Sat 2nd – Sun 3rd April ‘Old Home, Super Home’ open days at houses in Balsall Heath, Bourneville and Walsall

Showing a variety of energy saving and solar features on older houses. Get advice, inspiration and encouragement from pioneer homeowners.

You will soon be able to be paid for both solar electricity and heat.

Book at the website http://www.sustainable-energyacademy.org.uk/get-inspired/superhome-locator

Sat 9th April - Open Day at the Balsall Heath Church Centre with its innovative ‘solar roof without solar panels’, generating up to 8 kilowatts. 11am – 3pm no booking required see http://balsallheathisourplanet.wordpress.com/solar-roof/

John Newson, Balsall Heath Is our Planet

Moor Pool Residents Association

Fundraising meeting

Saturday 2nd April

Large Hall, 10 am.

Some of the commercial assets of the Moorpool estate are scheduled for disposal in May, and community facilities in July. Grainger have invited the residents of the estate to put together a case for raising finance for these assets. We can help convert the idea of a community trust for Moorpool into a reality.

Applications for Funding for the Trust have begun, Moor Pool residents have plenty of ideas for raising money and are meeting on Saturday to plan the programme.

This could be the last opportunity to secure the estate in its entirety and it is an opportunity for us to come together. Please come – your ideas are needed to help Moor Pool!

to view the up to date duck newsletter- checkout http://www.moorpool.com/moorpool.ra/duck/Latest%20Duck.pdf

New Boxing Blog

Interested in boxing or martial arts?

Visit the brand new boxing blog I have started with Jason Lowe, the boxing correspondent of The Harp newspaper.

For all your boxing news local, regional, national, international.

Visit the site now  

Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Birmingham Hippodrome

Wednesday 30th March to Saturday 2nd April 2011

Reviewed by Pete Millington 

I knew from the publicity posters that it was going to be a case of 'and now for something completely different' but hadn't quite expected the magnificent entertainment that is Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, affectionately known as the Trocks.

For starters the Trocks are an all male ballet company, originally founded in New York in 1974 and now having a worldwide reputation, who perform classical ballet in parody form. But this isn't just a case of 17 camp blokes in tutus sending up Tchaikovsky, because every member of the company is clearly an accomplished, agile, artistic and highly trained up professional dancer. Yes, the entire performance is filled with comedy and slap stick from start to finish, but the farce is subtle within some seriously impressive ballet.

A dancer misses their cue, another skips into the pillar at the side of the stage, a 6 foot 8 female dancer is paired with a 5ft 2 male partner, dancers trip over each other or are asked to assist their partner to stretch that uncomfortable final few inches and there are plentiful glances and assorted facial expressions ranging from vanity to disdain which could have been straight from a David Walliams character. Even before the curtain has risen the audience are chuckling away at the introductory announcements made in a Russian accent.

In coversation during the interval someone made the interesting comparison with Les Dawson when he used to play the piano badly - you know that in reality he must have been able to play piano well in the first place in order to play it badly so successfully and humourously. But even so, my guess is that Les Dawson was no piano virtuosa, whereas the Trocks have clearly spent large parts of their lives at the barre perfecting their pointe-work and the overall skill and stamina of the dancers is as awesome and spellbinding as one might see at any other night at the ballet.

Tonight's show included Les Lac Des Cygnes, better known as Swan Lake, Act Two. With Benno danced by Pepe Dufka (Raffaele Morra), Von Rothbart by Yuri Smirnov (Robert Carter) , Prince Siegfried by Ashley Romanoff-Titwillo (Joshua Grant) and Odette by Maya Thickenthiya (Emanuel Abruzzo). Just to hear Tchaikovsky's magical masterpiece, the world's best known ballet at full volume in the environment for which it was intended is a thrill in itself, the Troks' interpretation was both mysterious and moving, but with generous portions of hilarity.

After the first interval, Flames Of Paris Pas De Deux featured dancers Yakatarina Verbosovich (Chase Johnsey) and Andrie Verikose (Boysie Dikobe), followed by Go For Barocco with leading ballerinas Katerina Bychkova (Joshua Grant) and Lariksa Dumbchenko (Raffaele Morra).

For me the highlight of the evening was the Dying Swan, a solo dance performed by Ida Nevasaneva (Paul Ghiselin) whose interpretation of an aged water fowl on it's last legs was pure genius. I'll say no more ...you have to go and see it.

The final performance of the evening was Raymonda's Wedding by Alexander Glasunov (a traditionally confusing divertissement in two scenes) featuring pretty much the whole cast.

With a standing ovation at the end of the night the curtain went up one more time for a very convincing and rousing performance of Riverdance.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is a great concept. The dancers are polished and professional and their renditions are amazingly faithful to the original works, the comedy being largely in "exaggerating the foibles, accidents and underlying incongruities of serious dance". Much mirth emmanates from watching the heavy bodies of male dancers playing the more delicate parts of swans, princesses and other roles traditionally danced by women.

A highly pleasurable and thoroughly amusing night of entertainment with classical music and beautiful scenery. If like me, you have never sat through a night of ballet before, try this as your introduction and I predict you will be left wanting more.
   

NEW MAPPA MUNDI EXHIBITION AT HEREFORD CATHEDRAL

Canon Chris Pullin with members of staff and contractors
who have worked on the new exhibition.

After three years of planning a new Mappa Mundi exhibition will open at Hereford Cathedral on Monday 4 April. Working in co-operation with cathedral staff a team from Hayley Sharpe Design of Leicester has spent the last three weeks removing the old exhibition and installing the new one.

Paying tribute to members of the cathedral staff for their hard work Canon Chris Pullin, the cathedral’s chancellor, said ‘They are a great team. They’ve thrown themselves into this heart and soul. We’ve been very lucky to be working with world-class designers Hayley Sharpe, who brought years of experience and flair to the project.’

The Mappa Mundi exhibition first opened in 1996 following the completion of the New Library Building. In recent times the original exhibition had become in need of an update. ‘Putting the Mappa Mundi in a better lit case and letting people get closer was a real priority,’ said Canon Pullin, ‘and including more interactive elements for people to use.’

The new exhibition includes a ‘turning the pages’ interactive screen for people to explore some of the cathedral’s ancient books. Also new is a brass rubbing station and an audio visual presentation about the Mappa Mundi.

Funding came from the Mappa Mundi Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, The Pilgrim Trust and Lord Gavron (whose Folio Society recently marketed a facsimile of the Mappa Mundi) in partnership with Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust. Mappa Mundi Trust chairman Simon Arbuthnott said ‘The Mappa is a national treasure which we are hugely proud to have in Hereford, and people come from all over the world to see it. Our new exhibition will give our many visitors a much fuller, more enjoyable and more meaningful experience’

Dean of the cathedral, the Very Revd Michael Tavinor, said: ‘The Hereford Mappa Mundi has a vital place in the life and ministry of the cathedral and this new interpretation will unlock more of its secrets to our many visitors and pilgrims. I especially hope that local people will take this opportunity of seeing the new exhibition. Sometimes we don’t realise the treasures we have on our very doorstep!’

The exhibition is open daily Monday – Saturday 10 am to 4 pm.

New show at the Belgrade marks 30th anniversary of Goodnight Mister Tom

Goodnight Mister Tom - Jack Butcher (William) and
Oliver Ford Davies (Tom Oakley) - Photo by Catherine Ashmore

A brand new production of Goodnight Mister Tom is set to play on the Belgrade Theatre’s Main Stage from the 12 to 16 April, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Michelle Magorian’s much loved story.

This brand new production has been adapted by children’s writer, David Wood, the UK’s “National Children’s Dramatist” (The Times), who brought his successful adaptation of George’s Marvellous Medicine to the Belgrade last year.

“This adaptation of Michelle Magorian’s most successful book for children works like a charm.” Daily Telegraph

Set during the dark and dangerous build up to the Second World War, Goodnight Mister Tom follows the journey of William Beech, who is evacuated to the English countryside and builds a remarkable friendship with the elderly recluse Tom Oakley. All seems perfect until William is summoned back to London by his mother.

Leading the cast in the role of Tom Oakley is Oliver Ford Davies, who will be most known to film audiences as Sio Bibble in the three Star Wars prequels: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and to television audiences as Peter Foxcott QC in Kavanagh QC.

“Enchanting. At the end, there isn’t a dry eye in the house.” The Independent

First published in 1981, Goodnight Mister Tom has become an enduring classic for both children and adults, winning The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and selling more than 1.2 million copies in the UK alone, and in 2005 it was voted amongst the top 100 books in the BBC’s Big Read.

The BAFTA award-winning TV film of the book starring John Thaw attracted 14 million viewers making it one of the best loved stories of its generation.

Tickets for Goodnight Mister Tom are available now from the box office on 024 7655 3055 or via http://www.belgrade.co.uk/  priced from £9.25 to £13.25, with concessions available.

Ideal for All Community Newsletter on Disability Issues

The Ideal for All Community Newsletter on Disability Issues for March is now available online at http://www.webwell.org.uk/View-category/Ideal-For-All-Newsletter/

This edition includes a report back from the Executive Director on Ideal for All's Citizens Day event, and puts the spotlight on the new Sandwell Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Support Group.

DAY AND NIGHT BIBLE READ THROUGH AT HEREFORD CATHEDRAL

The Bible will be read through, day and night, in the Hereford Cathedral in May. Starting at 1.00 pm on Wednesday May 11th, and finishing at a Service of Thanksgiving on the afternoon of Sunday May 15th, the whole Bible will be read aloud.

Canon Chris Pullin, who is organising the read through, said ‘We want this to be a whole community event, with lots of people taking part. The Bible belongs to all of us, and we hope that many people will drop by to see and hear what is going on. All the parishes in Hereford diocese have been contacted, and all the churches in Hereford, and schools too. It will be a marathon, but really worthwhile.’ The read through will begin and end with the King James translation, but in-between will use the New Revised Standard Version. Canon Pullin said, ‘It will take over 90 hours using a modern translation. I’ve been warned by people who’ve done it that using the King James version will take much longer than that because most people aren’t used to coping with 17th century English, so read more slowly!’

2011 sees a double anniversary celebration at Hereford Cathedral. 1611 was the year when the cathedral’s world famous chained library was set up. It was also the year when the King James Bible, ‘the book that changed the world’, was published. Miles Smith, a native Herefordian and one of the canons at the cathedral, was one of the chief translators. The read through and the Service of Thanksgiving will celebrate all of that.

People who are interested in reading or supporting the event in other ways are asked to contact ‘Bible Read Through’, 5 College Cloisters, Hereford HR1 2NG, or chancellor@herefordcathedral.org

Heating up for Shropshire Team Challenge Blists Hill 28th May

Ironbridge Gorge Museums and Shropshire Countryside Access will give audiences a taste of what’s to come at the Shropshire Olympian Festival in June when they meet for a heat at Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge on Saturday, 28th May at 2pm.

Both teams will be dressed in Victorian costume and compete against one another in a range of rustic sports including Tossing the Bale, Catching the Pig, Putting the Shot, the Eight- legged Race and Jingling. No animal will be stressed or hurt in Catch the Pig, but there will be hilarity and an ingenious slippery ‘pig’. The Eight-legged Race is best explained by contemplating the difficulties of four runners strapped to a plank of wood, while Jingling is rather like Blind Man’s Buff in reverse – a blind folded team tries to catch ‘the Jingler’, who is covered from head-to-foot in bells!

Cllr Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s portfolio holder for Culture and Leisure said, “The heat offers two determined and devious teams the opportunity to try out the rustic sports of our great-great-great grandparents - and the chance to get one over on each other. If you want to see how it was done in 1864 come to Blists Hill on 28th May and you’ll see how our forebears got to grips with a greasy pig and enjoy a couple of hours of first class family entertainment.”

The event forms part of the build-up towards the Shropshire Team Challenge, which takes place on Saturday, 18th June in Shrewsbury’s Quarry as part of the three day Shropshire Olympian Festival (17th, 18th and 19th June), a celebration of the eponymous event in 1864, which grew out of the pioneering Olympian Games, started by William Penny Brookes in nearby Much Wenlock.

Twelve teams of twelve people representing towns and villages across Shropshire will take part in the grand finale of the Shropshire Team Challenge. Tanners Wines are sponsoring a magnificent engraved trophy for the overall winners; the Tanners Challenge Cup will be presented by the Lord Lieutenant at the Shropshire Olympian Festival’s Closing Ceremony on Sunday, 19th June.

The Shropshire Olympian Festival has won an Olympic 2012 Inspire Mark in recognition of its importance as a major factor in the Cultural Olympiad and it is also supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England. For full details and to register your interest please visit http://www.shropshire1864.org.uk/.

Blists Hill is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums, a Passport to all ten valid for twelve months and multiple return visits, costs £22.50 per adult, £18.25 for the 60 plus, £14.75 for students and children and £61.50 for a family of two adults and three children aged up to 18 years in full time education; under 5s free. Individual museum entry tickets are also available.

The museums are open seven days a week from 10am until 5pm; activities and workshops vary day-to-day and some carry an extra charge in addition to the museum admission fee. For further information, contact the Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre on Tel: 01952 433 424 or visit http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/.  The Gorge is easily reached via the M6 and M54 motorways exiting at Telford (M54 junction 4 or 6).

BULLRING AND WE ARE BIRMINGHAM TEAM UP FOR A VERY EXCITING ART PROJECT

Bullring and local organisation, We Are Birmingham, have teamed up to deliver an art project, which will see four local artists’ work exhibited at the UK’s most visited shopping centre.

The St Martin’s Square area at Bullring is currently undergoing a transformation as building begins on the Spiceal Street development, which will welcome three new restaurants to the centre. Bullring has requested the help of We Are Birmingham to find four local artists to create artwork that will appear on the hoardings around the site during the build.

The four artists have been selected following proposals they submitted to We Are Birmingham. Locally exhibited artist Tom Tebby and We Are Birmingham’s Matt Murtagh will have their creations showcased on the hoardings, which will remain in place for much of the build. Joining them is James Thomson who has adopted an original technique, which allows Bullring’s shoppers to become a part of the art, and Carl Booth, who will be creating his artwork live on-site.

Louise Hamer-Brown, Head of Marketing at Bullring, commented: “We have been supporters of We Are Birmingham for a long time and helped the organisation take the step into retail with its first shop trading at Bullring during 2010. We wanted to take this partnership forward and enlisted their help to find four artists to create artwork to appear on the hoardings during the building of Spiceal Street whilst involving the local community and our shoppers.”

Aaron Andrews, Managing Director at We Are Birmingham, added: “We Are Birmingham is very pleased to be able to continue the strong links we have with Bullring and feel that the Spiceal Street hoardings project is the natural progression for this partnership. This is exactly in line with how we want to develop We Are Birmingham, our relationship with the city of Birmingham and its local community”

For more information about the Spiceal Street development please visit http://www.spicealstreet.co.uk/. 

New on the BSSEC blog....Wei says social investment and payment-by-results contracts will easily exceed cuts in local authority funds to the sector

March 29th, 2011 by Alun Severn


The government’s big society advisor has said that new social investment methods and payment-by-results contracts will easily exceed the current loss of third sector funding fuelled by public spending cuts.

READ MORE/...


http://www.bssec.org.uk/blog/?p=1559

Mark Thomas: Extreme Rambling (Walking The Wall) - Wolverhampton Little Civic: Wednesday 24th August 2011

Multi award winning comedian and activist Mark Thomas has so much under his already politically expanded belt that there could not possibly be anything left in this world untouched by his investigations. His last UK tours, ‘The Manifesto’ and ‘Stupid Economy’, both sold out nationwide and inspired audiences across the UK to voice their own ideals. The results from ‘Manifesto’ were published in a pamphlet entitled The People’s Manifesto (Ebury Publishing) and the show has also been recorded as a Radio 4 series, due to be broadcast in January next year. So what next?

Mark has become one of Britain’s most acclaimed comics as well as one of Britain’s most recognised and influential activists. After 25 years of performing, six series of the Mark Thomas Product and Mark Thomas Comedy Product with Channel 4, numerous documentaries, two books published by Ebury Press, radio programmes, changing the law on tax, secretly filming torturers, stinging arms dealers with school children, exposing abuses of civil liberties and corporate skulduggery, writing for the New Statesman and the Guardian, Mark has finally conceded that he might have a career yet.

Mark’s new book, Extreme Rambling-Walking the Wall will be released via Ebury Publishing next April

***** “Moving and inspiring…as gripping as any live performance you will see” - THE GUARDIAN

“A brilliant investigative journalist disguised as a comedian…very funny indeed’ - DAILY TELEGRAPH

"Intelligent, impassioned, informed anger is a comedy tool and Thomas uses it like a master craftsman” - THE SCOTSMAN

Official Website: http://www.markthomasinfo.com/

Tickets priced £15.00 + £10.00 (concessions) are available from Midland Box Office : 0870 320 7000 or online at http://www.wolvescivic.co.uk/

An Introduction to SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT

A half-day seminar for voluntary and community groups & social enterprises

To be held on 21 April 2011 (9.30am – 1pm)

At Birmingham & Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS

The Social Audit Network in the West Midlands is holding a half day Social Impact Measurement Workshop on 21st April 2011 at the Birmingham & Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS

This half day event is aimed at third sector organisations who wish to understand the social impact they are having on the people they work with. The event will cover:

What we mean by social impact measurement

The different forms of social impact measurement including Social Return on Investment and Social Accounting & Audit

How to measure social impact

What are the benefits (and snags) of measuring

For a booking form and further information about the event prior to booking please don’t hesitate to contact me at the details below.

Best wishes

Iftikar Karim

Research Manager – ASAN Consultancy

"ASAN is a community managed enterprise investing in All Saints."

All Saints Action Network Ltd
The Community Centre
All Saints Road
All Saints
Wolverhampton
WV2 1EL

Phone: 01902 877530
Fax: 01902 556682
Mobile: 07769 647 647
Email: iftikar.k@asan.org.uk & mikarim@sky.com
Website: http://www.asan.org.uk/

London's biggest protest since Iraq war in 2003

LONDON (AP) — More than 250,000 people took to London's streets to protest the toughest spending cuts since World War II — one of the largest demonstrations since the Iraq war — as riot police clashed with a small groups. More than 200 people were arrested.

Although most of Saturday's demonstration was peaceful, clashes continued into the night as dozens of protesters pelted officers with bottles and amonia-filled lightbulbs. Groups set several fires and smashed shop windows near tourist landmarks such as Trafalgar Square.

Teachers, nurses, firefighters, public sector workers, students, pensioners and campaign groups all took part in Saturday's mass demonstration.

"They shouldn't be taking money from public services. What have we done to deserve this?" said Alison Foster, a 53-year-old school teacher. "Yes, they are making vicious cuts. That's why I'm marching, to let them know this is wrong."

Britain is facing 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) of public spending cuts from Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government as it struggles to slash the country's deficit. The government has already raised sales tax, but Britons are bracing for big cuts to public spending that are expected next month.

Read more in the Associated Press

Birmingham Metropolitan College - Promoting Shakespeare: Spanish-style

Acting and Dance students create a stage setting in Birmingham's Chamerlain Square

Lunchtime visitors and pedestrians walking through central Birmingham’s Chamberlain Square were treated to a burst of Shakepearean dialogue, salsa dancing and romany gypsy music courtesy of acting and dance students from Birmingham Metropolitan College.

The ‘spontaneous’ performance was part of a guerrilla marketing initiative to promote the students’ forthcoming theatre production of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors which is set among the romany gypsy community.

Around 20 BTEC National Diploma Acting and Dance students took over the steps at Chamberlain Square with a unique one-off performance based on what they have been rehearsing over the past six weeks.

“By putting on this impromptu performance, we aimed to show how imaginatively Shakespeare can be interpreted for contemporary audiences,” explained Lecturer, Boota Singh. “We also wanted people to stop and take notice of the wealth of talent and enthusiasm of our students so that they were encouraged to come and see the entire play.”

The Comedy of Errors will be performed at the College’s Sutton Coldfield Campus, Lichfield Road next Tuesday (5 April) at 7.00pm. To book tickets contact boota.singh@bmetc.ac.uk

Accessibility For All - need advice on accessibility?

Accessibility 4 All is a new consultancy service run by of Birmingham Disability Resource Centre.

Managed by disabled people for over 20 years, Birmingham Disability Resource Centre is one of the leading disability organisations in the West Midlands with a wealth of expertise around disability issues.

We employ disabled people as consultants and trainers, including:

• Access auditing of buildings and services
• Advice on how to improve your services and help you comply with the Equality Act 2010
• Equality and Human Rights Training
• A pilot training book & course for schools around hate crime and bullying
• Transcription of documents into accessible formats
• Oral history skills
• Group and network development
• Arts and craft groups

Our recent customers include:

• Birmingham City Council
• Birmingham Volntary Service Council
• Aston Pride

If you need expert advice on access or disability equality issues, contact us for a quotation on:

0121 789 7365 or email me Pete Millington at pmillington@disability.co.uk 

We also provide a professional counselling service which has a one-off referal fee for PCTs and GPs.

Birmingham Buddhist Centre Announcements

INTRODUCTORY CLASSES

Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation Courses

Introduction to Meditation – Starts Tuesday 22nd March

3-week course, 7.15-9.45pm (Baked potatoes from 6.30pm)

You can still join this course tomorrow, on Tuesday 29th March

Introduction to Meditation and Buddhism – Starts Tuesday 26th April

6 weekly sessions from 7.15 - 9.45pm (Baked potatoes from 6.30pm)

Introduction to Meditation and Buddhism – Starts Thursday 28th April

6 weekly sessions from 7.15 - 9.45pm

Suggested donation per evening of £7 (£3.50 concession)


Drop-in Meditation Classes

Wednesdays 1-2pm

Suggested Donation £4 (£2 concession)

Thursdays 7.15-9.45pm

Suggested Donation £7 (£3.50 concession)

SEWM moves to Trident Housing Association

SEWM announcements

SEWM moves to Trident Housing Association

Following the launch of SEWM CIC earlier this month, the business network for social enterprise in the West Midlands has relocated to Trident Housing Association in central Birmingham. Kevin Maton, Network Director said: “We’re proud to announce Trident not only as our new home but also our newest Founder Member. This exciting partnership demonstrates Trident’s commitment to supporting the social enterprise sector grow and develop. It’s a great start for SEWM CIC and our members.”

http://bit.ly/dGPX6U

We’ll be at Voice11 at the O2 arena next week!

If you’re booked to attend Voice - the national social enterprise conference on 29-30 March, please come and visit SEWM and buySe.co.uk at stands 29 and 30 – Zone A. Join us for a drink while we demonstrate the new buySe.co.uk website. Limited edition merchandise for every new member registration.

Membership offer ends next Thursday!

14 months membership for price of 12 offer ends on 31 March. To ensure you don’t miss out on this special SEWM CIC launch offer, we will be contacting all our existing members personally next week. The promotional offer is for 2 months free membership on any of our new membership packages purchased before the end of this month:

Get informed with our Basic package (£49) – includes the Weekly Round-up

Get connected with our Plus package (£149)

Get noticed with our Premier package (£299)

Great new benefits and offers introduced. Apply today at:

www.socialenterprisewm.org.uk/join

Se magazine - New advertising rates and Members News section

We’ll soon be working on the next issue of Se which will see the introduction of a new Members News section – a great opportunity for SEWM members to share their stories and highlight successes. Advertising in Se is also more cost effective than ever. Take a look at our new rates and benefit from additional discounts if you’re a Plus or Premier member. The next issue will be published in July, so make sure you feature in the only West Midlands magazine dedicated to showcasing the work of social enterprises - contact us with your news and advertising enquiries by 15 April. More info:

http://bit.ly/eoSLSu


Register your social enterprise on buySe.co.uk

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Create a personal wedding gift at Jackfield Tile Museum

Create a Wedding Gift at Jackfield Tile Decorating Workshops in the Ironbridge Gorge

With marriage and romance very much in the air, take part in a creative tile decorating workshop at the Jackfield Tile Museum, near Ironbridge, Shropshire and design a personalised token wedding gift for friends or family.

You will be able to select a pattern from a range of wedding themed designs and decorate the 6 x 6 inch tile in your own choice of colours using the ‘tube lining’ or ‘slip-trailing’ technique.

The workshops will be held daily between 11 – 15 and 18 – 21 April, and then on selected dates throughout the year. The price is £7.50 per tile (p&p extra to have your tile sent home after firing) plus the museum admission fee. Workshops start from 10am, but allowing up to 1½ hours to decorate your tile, last admission is at 3.15pm.

Jackfield Tile Museum is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums, a Passport can be purchased for entry into all ten museums valid for twelve months and multiple return visits priced at £22.50 per adult, £18.25 for the 60 plus, £14.75 for students and children and £61.50 for a family of two adults and three children aged up to 18 years in full time education; under 5s free. For those on a shorter time scale, individual admission is available into any of the sites.

The museums are open seven days a week from 10am until 5pm; activities and workshops vary day-to-day and some carry an extra charge in addition to the museum admission fee, for further information, contact the Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre on Tel: 01952 433 424 or visit http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/.  The Gorge is easily reached via the M6 and M54 motorways exiting at Telford (M54 junction 4 or 6).

DLA Briefings Vol.42 March 2011

5. pp.3-10

‘New routes towards more comprehensive remedies for discrimination’ Robin Allen QC recommends lawyers take a fresh look at ways to change discriminatory behaviour and achieve equal treatment in the future. He suggests use of underused legal provisions to seek non-financial remedies. Also he recommends, a better awareness among lawyers of the tools to secure equality at the disposal of the EHRC.

6. pp.11-16

‘The Equality Act 2010 : a source of rights in a climate of cuts?’ the authors put in context the courts’ approach to the public sector equality duties under the old legislation and examine how this may change as cases are brought under s149 of the Equality Act. They conclude that s149 provides an important opportunity for advocates to ensure that public authorities listen with an open mind to the whole range of views from the communities they serve.

Disability & Society Vol.26 (2) March 2011

4. pp.179-192

‘Something to declare? The disclosure of common mental health problems at work’ This article presents research findings that suggest there is a further dimension to be added to existing understandings of workplace disclosure of common mental health problems.

Experiences of participants in two recent studies on mental health and employment illustrated that, firstly, while people may talk to their employer about emotional distress in general terms, they do not necessarily discuss the effects on their mental health in medicalised language.

Secondly, people may not mention anything at all because they do not perceive what they are experiencing as a 'mental health' issue that might warrant the involvement of their employer.

These findings raise questions about conceptualisations of mental health.

Full house guaranteed as new look theatre opens doors

Stafford’s Gatehouse Theatre will once again be taking centre stage when in opens its doors after a major refurbishment.

New seating has been installed as part of the improvement work at the town’s favourite arts venue and will be unveiled for the first time on Friday (April 1) for the visit of comedian, Alan Carr.

The prospect of top entertainment, along with new seating and improved acoustics in the main auditorium, saw all tickets booked up for Carr only days after going on sale. And it is not only Carr who has proved a huge draw, the theatre has also announced sell out shows for fellow comics, Lee Evans, Greg Davis and Al Murray, along with musical tributes – ‘The Magic of Mowtown’ and ‘That’ll be the Day’ – which is expected to be fully booked before the show takes place this weekend.

As well as the fixed seating, the £200,000 project has included new house lighting and improved acoustics and local artists will be adding the finishing touches around the Stafford Borough Council-run theatre. The old seating had been in place for nearly 30 years and in that time had been used by around three million people at more than 6000 shows.

The Mayor of Stafford Borough, Councillor Malcolm Millichap, will be cutting the ribbon to officially open the venue (Friday 1 April) which has been closed since work got underway in January.

Along with the big name acts and shows the new-look theatre will also be staging local amateur dramatics groups – with Stafford Operatic Society putting on the Pirates of Penzance in May – and the Mayor’s charity Gala night.

While the main auditorium has been refurbished the theatre’s MET Studio has played host to a packed programme of events from the popular comedy nights to the classical Manchester Camerata.

Derrick Gask, the theatres programme manager, said it was a very exciting time and he was sure the new look venue would go down well with everyone.

The look and feel of the theatre is now fantastic. For the first time we have seats that will serve our audiences and they will certainly feel the difference with both comfort and the improved acoustics.

“We are grateful to all the groups and our customers who were really understanding while this important work was carried out but I am sure this is something we can be really proud of,” he added.

For a full programme of shows, times and dates and to book your tickets go to http://www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk/  or contact the theatre Box Office on 01785 254653.

Crocodile carving arrives at Old School Lane play area in Hereford

Visitors brave enough to go to the Old School Lane play area in Hereford last week were able to see the unveiling of the fantastic new crocodile carving.

The carving was unveiled by Councillor Brian Wilcox and local children were able to get their first glimpse of their new playmate.

The crocodile, which was created by local chainsaw sculptor Steve Elsby at Queenswood Country Park last October using a large piece of Redwood, replaces the previous very popular crocodile at the play area, which had naturally degraded and had to be removed from site for safety reasons.

Fran White, Herefordshire Council’s parks development manager, said: “This exciting project has been funded by Hereford City Council and will hopefully inspire lots of imaginative play at the site. The crocodile is large enough for children to climb on and have lots of fun, it is a stunning sculpture, and rest assured he does have rather a friendly smile!”

The large piece of Redwood was donated to the project by Herefordshire Council’s parks, countryside and leisure development service and is from a tree that was removed from Cantilupe Gardens, Hereford about two years ago. So it is appropriate that it will once again be able to be appreciated in a city park in its new form.

The crocodile was installed on site by workmen from Amey Herefordshire who manage all of the county’s play areas and parks on behalf of Herefordshire Council.

FORESTRY ADVISORY PANEL MEMBERSHIP ANNOUNCED

Members of an independent panel of experts that will make recommendations on forestry policy for England have been announced today by Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman.

The panel, to be chaired by the Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, brings together a wide range of interests and expertise covering the environmental, social and economic aspects of forestry. They will advise government on a new approach to forestry policy in England, including looking at how woodland cover can be increased and at options for enhancing public benefits from all woodlands and forests.

Announcing the panel members, Caroline Spelman said:

“Our forests are a great part of our heritage and essential for our way of life, providing clean air and water, homes for wildlife and a natural way of countering the effects of climate change. But they also offer economic benefits through tourism, recreation and providing timber for fuel and buildings. This independent panel of experts will advise us on what we need to do to give forests the right protection so they continue to be a place that people can enjoy for hundreds of years to come.

“I would like to thank Bishop James for agreeing to lead this important piece of work and all the panel members for giving their time and expertise to advise us on the future direction of forestry policy in England. I look forward to seeing their recommendations.”

The panel chair and its members will be looking at the complete picture of forestry in England and will have the freedom to decide how best to gather evidence to make its recommendations. Although the panel members are not representing their organisations in an official capacity, they bring with them a wealth of experience and expertise in a range of areas that are important to consider in the future direction of forestry policy.

The Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, said:

“I am honoured to accept the Secretary of State’s invitation to chair the panel and I am confident that the independent panel will be able to provide her with sound advice about the future direction of forestry policy. It’s clear that the public care passionately about our forests and woodlands, and one of the panel’s very first tasks will be to meet with the grassroots campaigners who recently showed how much they valued their local woodlands.

“The panel will approach its task with professionalism and thoroughness, and the public can have confidence that we will be robustly independent. We have a wide range of expertise on the panel and we will also look to bring in experts from other areas to help achieve the maximum benefits from our forests including public access, wildlife, conservation and sustainability.”

The panel will make its recommendations to the Secretary of State in the Autumn.

WARWICKSHIRE LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

On Tuesday 15 March the Warwickshire Local History members were treated to a lecture by Philip Spinks entitled “From Beginning to the End, Raising a Horse Artillery Battery in Warwickshire’, covering the period from the creation of the Battery in 1908, its transfer to France at the start of WWI, and the part it played in the carnage which followed. Amongst the issues addressed were the terrible cost in lives of both men and horses and the logistics of supplying sufficient fodder for the latter.

On Tuesday 19th of April, Dr. Ruth Barbour, author of a recent book, Catholic Warwick: the Last 500 years, will discuss the history of Catholicism in and around Warwick, from 1500, looking particularly at the evidence of the survival of Catholicism after the Reformation both in rural communities as well as gentry mansions, how such activity received support from Ireland and France and the persecution of the ‘Warwick Martyrs’ (Blessed John Sugar and Robert Grissold) in 1604.

The meeting will begin 8.00pm, preceded by coffee at 7.30pm. at the Quaker Meeting House, High Street, Warwick, CV34 4AX and is open to all, though there is a charge of £2.00 for non-members - refundable on the night if they join the Society.

Details of this and other Society events are available from Neville Usher, 6, The Fold, Payton Street, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 6NJ Telephone 01789 205 043, E mail Neville.Usher@ic24.net , or on the Society’s website, http://www.warwickshirehistory.org.uk/

Networking Event - 5th May 2011

Coffee Morning at Ideal For All

Want to know how you can keep more money in your pocket? Want to know more about changes to Welfare and Benefits?

Have Your Say on Welfare and Benefits with special guests:

Baljinder Bajwa – Welfare Rights

Oliver Wright – Revenues and Benefits

At: Independent Living Centre, 100 Oldbury Road, Smethwick B66 1JE

Date: Tuesday 12th April

Time: 10.30am to 12 midday

(speakers at 11am)

Tea, coffee, cold drinks and biscuits available.

Contact Ideal for All on 0121 558 5555 for more information.

Hereford Buttermarket design competition – winner announced

Cllr Adrian Blackshaw, left, with Len Tawn, chairman of the Buttermarket Independent Traders Association,
with an image from the winning entry outside the Buttermarket.



 Austin-Smith:Lord (ASL) Architects (Cardiff) are today announced as the winners of the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) open ideas competition which will inform the redevelopment of Hereford’s Buttermarket.

Commissioned by Hereford Futures Ltd, the competition invited architects to come up with innovative suggestions for how the market could be used in a more flexible and multi-functional way that would enhance the retail environment, and provide a long-term sustainable future. Also on the competition shortlist were local practice RRA Architects, Ryder Architects from Liverpool, and Troy Kidsley Architecture, Bromsgrove.

Chaired by former CABE and English Heritage Commissioner Les Sparks OBE, the Jury Panel included two RIBA architectural advisors including Hook Mason from Hereford, the Chairman of the Buttermarket Independent Traders Association Len Tawn, and representatives from Herefordshire Council and Hereford Futures.

Cllr Adrian Blackshaw, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for economic development and community services, said: “The Buttermarket has enormous potential and we’re delighted with the quality of vision and the range of ideas which have come forward”.

“The winning entry has brought together many ideas, which some of the others suggested individually, and produced a wonderfully creative vision with innovative and thrilling use of the space available.

“This is an exciting time for the city centre and we hope the Buttermarket will be central to this. It has a key role to play in drawing in visitors and shoppers and will, I’m sure, provide the space to become a showcase for locally produced goods.”

Cllr Blackshaw added that a process to establish a preferred developer is progressing and that an announcement on this is due later this Spring.

It will be the developer’s responsibility to see the Buttermarket transformed to benefit existing market retailers, local producers and businesses, and also become a “must see” tourist and shopper location in the city centre.

Len Tawn, chairman of the Hereford Buttermarket Independent Traders Association, said he was pleased that the competition had been successful and that progress towards refurbishing the Buttermarket was continuing.

“The Buttermarket has a special place in Hereford city centre so I’m delighted that this phase is now complete and we look forward to hearing who the developer is so the real work can get underway to create a market hall the city can truly be proud of.”

ASL’s scheme impressed the judges on many levels – externally through its expression of the roof form and easily identifiable entrances, and internally through the creation of a light and airy welcoming market hall, a new multi functional events space to host a range of anchor events and opportunities for trade and exposition, and the introduction of creative arts opportunities for culturally based industries.

ASL’s team included DCA Consultants, Lee Wakemans and WSP. Martin Roe, Partner at Austin-Smith:Lord commented “Austin-Smith:Lord has a long history of working with existing and historic buildings and of finding ways to breathe new life into them through innovative re-use and adaptation so we were very excited by the challenges set by the Buttermarket brief. Regeneration projects like this represent the future lifeblood of our UK towns and cities and are of crucial importance as we seek to preserve our environmental and economic assets. The client has already demonstrated an enlightened approach to design and regeneration and we now look forward to working with them towards the realisation of this key project”.

North Arden Local History Society - Report March 2O11

THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE


In a welcome return visit by John Jarman members of the North Arden Local History Society learned how the countryside of the England we all know evolved at their meeting on 10th March. Mr Jarman had visited us twelve months ago when he spoke to us about Baddesley Clinton House but, as he explained, his National Trust interests and Baddesley Clinton in particular were not his sole leisure interest. For many years he and his wife had spent their leisure time walking (rambling/hiking) in the Cotswolds around Gloucestershire and Worcestershire in particular; his intimate knowledge of the area became apparent in his talk which was well illustrated by his colour slides taken over the years. Mr Jarman explained that the talk we were about to hear originally had three titles – ‘The World we have lost’; ‘Memory Lane’ or the one we have chosen (above): The talk would cover history from the centuries BC to the relatively recent times and to introduce this we were shown a primitive statue of the Earth Mother that has been the basis of all religions, worldwide, in a wide variety of forms for many millennia. The Earth Mother also has strong links to the ‘Green Man’ images that are often to be found in Parish Churches of all ages – Tewksbury Abbey is a home to 30 examples.

The Rolling English Countryside of the 21^st Century

The talk proper began at Winchcombe in the heart of the Cotswolds from where we followed a marked footpath to ‘Belas Knap’ which is a Neolithic Burial Mound (or Passage Grave) that when first excavated contained the remains of 31 individuals. The British Isles as a whole have a large number of stone memorials of the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period as chamber tombs, passage graves, standing stones and ‘causewayed camps’. Camps, dating from both the Neolithic Period and Bronze Ages are set on hilltops hence a large number are to be found in the Cotswolds and Mr Jarman next took us to Bredon Hill in Worcs’ a site that abounds in remains of all periods where he gave us details of the Iron Age Hill Fort (Kemerton Camp) with its two entrance/exits that fall on an old Ridgeway (route) between Tewksbury and Evesham. The camp was abandoned after a major battle in the Roman Period and has subsequently been utilised in one way or another ever since as we later heard. From the summit at Parsons Folly there are excellent views over all the surrounding counties with the Malvern Hills featuring in the west where the ‘British Camp’ is one of the best known examples of a hill fort.

As far as our English Landscape is concerned the Roman’s are not very evident since their road system has very often been incorporated (and tarmaced over) into modern roads such as the Fosseway, Icknield Street, and the A5 (Watling Street) their towns have survived but the remains were built over by medieval and later citizens with the exception of protected sites such as Viroconium (Wroxeter) near Shrewsbury and their worked stone was robbed out in antiquity and reused. The Anglo Saxons – be they Saxon, Angle or Jute – did not like Roman remains generally so they deteriorated: the main way the Saxons survive to the present is in some churches (i.e. Kilpeck and Wooten Wawen) but chiefly in the original forms of many place names (a specialised subject in its own right). SAXON Charters for Worcestershire have survived for over 1000 years and we saw a modern map with the Saxon Boundaries for the Manor of Overbury at the foot of Bredon Hill indicated.

After the Norman conquest of 1066 and the introduction of the Feudal/Manorial system we can very often see the evidence in many of today’s towns and villages. Mr Jarman took us to Hawling near Overbury (Worcs’) where the key ingredients of a typical English Village, founded in the medieval period have survived to the present even if, as so often happens, their original function has changed over the years. The Manor House, Parish Church, Rectory and Tithe Barn were situated fairly close together at the nucleus of the village sometimes, but not always, surrounding the Village Green: many village greens have been built over. Hedgerows with trees dividing fields were not a feature of traditional medieval farming and belong to the enclosures of the 17th Century onwards. In medieval times each village was surrounded by 3 large ‘Open Fields’, common meadow and pasture. Each Open field was divided into furlongs (the length of a single furrow that a team of oxen could plough without a break), each furlong was divided into strips held by each villein (villager/peasant) who would have several strips (not always together) in each of the fields. Every year one field was left fallow whilst one of the others would have winter-sown crops and the other spring sown. Every year a ‘management committee’ would control the running of the fields, adjudicate on disputes on strip boundaries (by stone, stake or a pit. At Laxton in Nottinghamshire this system has prevailed to the present day.



Road following the reversed ‘S’ curve of medieval

ploughing probably from a ‘headland to

the right of the picture

 After discussing medieval farming Mr Jarman went on to show us examples of what can be seen in the landscapes that are likely to be met when walking through the countryside, the most obvious of which is that of ‘Ridge and Furrow’ patterning usually highlighted when the sun is low and its rays pick up the tops of the ridges leaving the furrows in shadow. This is usually indicative of land abandoned in the 14th century or later and changed to pasture by landlords opting for sheep to cash in on the then lucrative wool trade. Much medieval arable land was abandoned as a result of the ‘Black Death’ plagues of the 14th Century and later enclosures of the 15th and 16th Centuries. Good examples of Ridge and Furrow can be seen around Stanton near Broadway and exhibit the characteristics of a ‘Reversed ‘S’ format that was caused when leading the team of oxen (up to 8 beasts in pairs) to turn on the ‘headland at each end of the strip. Many country lanes are notorious for their ‘S’ bends - this is because of tarmaced roads following medieval access paths into the open fields and their furlongs. Towns founded in the medieval period often exhibit the medieval layout that was formed by the ‘burgage’ plots of the houses a narrow frontage with a long ‘back-garden’ that often incorporated working places/sheds and subsistence gardening.

Ridge & Furrow extending up a hill to

form Strip Lynchettes – being grazed by sheep

Back in the fields you are likely to encounter the (flooded) remains of ‘Marl Pits’ where peasants dug out the Marl (lime enriched clay) to help fertilise their fields. Water Meadows – very lush grass thanks to the seasonal flooding of the local rivers or streams. If you are lucky you may come across a ‘Ha-Ha’ which is man made ditch about 8ft deep with a vertical exit face and a slopped entrance slope that were built to keep deer and other wild animals out of a lords emparked land – I believe some can still be seen in Sutton Park. And, of course numerous types of road/lane/path; we mentioned Roman Roads earlier and where these have not been adapted to meet modern transport requirements they still survive as in the countryside as field paths, or bridle paths muddy and impassable in wet weather. There are also Ridgeway’s, Drove Roads and Green Roads some can be traced to former Roman Roads because they formed a convenient (short) rout between places. Ridgeway’s’ usually follow hill tops that were easier to travel than fighting ones way through an afforested landscape on the lower ground and were used for trading as far back as the Bronze Ages – one, known as the Jurassic Way was adapted by the Romans in 47AD and is known to us as the Fosseway (Lincoln to Exeter via Morton in Marsh and Stow on the Wold – the heart of the Cotswolds).

Drove Roads were a later creation when it was the practice to drive heards of cattle or sheep across country; Welsh cattle often travelled from Welshpool to London to become salted beef for Nelson’s navy. These roads are readily identifiable by having wide verges: the ‘Welsh Road’ from Kenilworth to Southam and beyond is an example. Green Roads are as the name suggests are routes that have gone out of use, never been surfaced and used only by walkers and animals: road names such as ‘Green Lane’ may reflect a former condition adapted for 19th/20th Century housing estates. (Books have been written on Drove Roads and Green Roads of Britain – just ‘Google’ Drove Roads……). Salt was an essential commodity in antiquity and many ancient tracks were adapted by the Romans and Saxons and used to transport salt from locations such as Droitwich to towns around the country –usually referred to a Salt ways/roads.

Toll Roads are very much a feature of the 18th Century and came into being because of the appalling state the Kings Highways had become through lack of maintenance and upkeep by the Parishes through which they passed. A group of wealthy citizens (usually local land owners) would obtain an Act of Parliament and pay to have the road improved and surfaced and then charge the users for the privilege of using it. Toll Keeper Houses/Cottages and associated toll gates became a feature of the countryside (an example can be seen at the Avoncroft Museum, Bromsgrove). The same applies to the Canal and Railway Ages with Bridges, Lock Keepers Cottages, Railway Stations and other buildings surviving even if converted to domestic accommodation in a rapidly changing world perhaps changing much more quickly in the last 100 years than the previous 1000!

The Dissolution of the Monasteries and the Reformation in the 16th Century has given us many Romantic Ruins and Stately Homes to visit around the country all formerly owned by ‘the Church’ and many under the care of English Heritage and the National Trust. Not far from Bredon Hill the village of Bredon has one of the best examples of a Great (former monastic) Tithe Barn. Nearer to home the village of Temple Balsall is yet another link with our religious and medieval past while the effects of the Reformation can be seen in the hiding places of Baddesley Clinton House. Near Redditch are the remains of Bordesley Abbey a former Cistercian Monastery whose features are only visible to us these days because of an archaeological programme over many recent decades that make for an interesting walk on a summer afternoon.

Man has always been territorial and ‘property’ markers still exist in the landscape that may have originated in the Bronze Ages. Very often in the form of standing stones deliberately erected or utilised as found on the ground. Mr Jarman showed us the ‘Gilbertstone’ a boulder that marks the division between Yardley and Olton Parishes while (again back) on Bredon Hill we saw the Banbury Stone (known also as the Elephant Stone because viewed from some directions it has the appearance of an Elephant): in the same setting are the King & Queen Stones that many believe have healing powers that will cure your ills (rheumatism) if you can squeeze your body through the gap between them!

Another well documented topic that was mentioned was Folklore and customs many of which survive in our English Villages and countryside. Holy Wells, Morris Dancing and Maypoles (Welford on Avon) Beating the Parish Bounds on Rogation Day for which the Abbots Bromley Horn Dancers are well known; their Horns are said to be Reindeer Antlers and are stored in the local church as they are said to have been for centuries.

Everywhere you go for a walk in the British Isles you are going to come across a feature, place or object that relates to our history or bygone traditions and we are very grateful to Mr Jarman for coming along and sharing just a small part of his extensive knowledge with us; thank you so much John Jarman.

Readers interested in the development of our countryside from the earliest to the latest should read Michael Woods ‘A Story of England’ written to accompany his TV Series shown early in 2011 (a DVD is also available). Although this dealt with Kibworth in Leicestershire the majority of the historic events apply to every village in England.

We are always pleased to welcome guests and visitors at our meetings, the next of which will be on 12th May when the topic will be ‘Birmingham Churches’ presented by Bill Dargue. The following meeting will be 9th June. Meetings are held in the Spencer Lounge Bar at Arden Hall, Water Orton Road at 7.45pm.

JERRY DUTTON.


NORTH ARDEN LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY