Write, edit, tea, walk, rabbits, life – not in any order.
On 25th January 2020, the Stirchley Co-op sadly closed forever. The urge to see it one last time was strong. It was a strange feeling, after all it was just a shop. And yet… this was the supermarket I had grown up with in the 1970s-80s and returned to in the 2000s-10s. Now, as we entered … Continue reading "A last walk around the Stirchley Co-op – a photo essay"
Last night's solstice tour of Stirchley was momentous, not only for the various mapped oddities observed in lockdown and now pinned on a community map, and not only for the epic skyscapes that greeted us, but for the sense of returning to the world of people and celebrating together. After all, this was a planned … Continue reading "Pandemic diary 90: I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of Stirchley"
Another guest post has come in – hurrah! This is especially welcome as I have spent eight hours editing financial B2B copy and have nothing left to give. This insight on lockdown life is from a highly talented musical, digital and culinary friend – Lobelia – who I've had the pleasure of knowing for nine years this … Continue reading "Pandemic diary 51: Stirchley's Von Trapps* in lockdown (guest post)"
Diaries are for logging the craziness now so you can process it sometime in the future. Bunnies are for soothing frayed nerves. And the ending is always upbeat. I checked back in my proper diary and the first mention of coronavirus was on 3 March 2020, three weeks ago. (I keep a proper old-school written … Continue reading "Pandemic diary 3: a brief history of coronavirus in Stirchley, Birmingham"
Comments sent 30/11/19 to Birmingham planning, application number 2018/10370/PA. Deadline for comments: Sunday 1 December 2019. — To comment: go to the council planning portal at https://eplanning.birmingham.gov.uk/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/ApplicationSearch.aspx and put in the planning application number in the search box, making sure there are no extra spaces at the end, or you’ll get no results. 1. Commercial … Continue reading "Stirchley – Seven Capital’s retail park amended plans"
Comments sent 29/11/19 to Birmingham planning, application number 2018/10368/PA. Deadline for comments: Sunday 1 December 2019. — To comment: go to the council planning portal at https://eplanning.birmingham.gov.uk/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/ApplicationSearch.aspx and put in the planning application number in the search box, making sure there are no extra spaces at the end, or you'll get no results. 1. Commercial outline plans: … Continue reading "Stirchley – Seven Capital's outline plans for residential development"
Stirchley High Street Stories was a community photography project which ran from March to June 2019. Last night it launched its popup exhibition and newspaper at Artefact in Stirchley. The gallery runs to Saturday, with a print run of 100 newspapers for visitors to view or take away. The project The project was organised by Ghost … Continue reading "Stirchley High Street Stories told through different lenses"
You have until this Thursday 9 May to submit comments on the preliminary planning application by Seven Capital. Link: https://eplanning.birmingham.gov.uk/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/ApplicationSearch.aspx Search ref number: 2018/10370/PA As someone with an ongoing interest in Stirchley's development and being part of SuperStirchley's Lidl campaign, I have submitted my comments (once a-bloody-gain) on the outline plans for Stirchley retail park. Please feel … Continue reading "Stirchley retail park – deadline and suggestions for comments"
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! Every few years I take a photographic snapshot of my local Stirchley High Street, Birmingham, to see how it has changed. So here is Stirchley in 2018… There is an empty space where the thriving gym and historic bowling alley used to be, demolished after Lidl supermarket pushed ahead with a presumptuous land purchase … Continue reading "Stirchley seven years on"
Stirchley is cool right now. I would even say it’s at its peak. So what does that mean? I've been thinking about my home neighbourhood of Stirchley, B30, not necessarily coherently but I need to write about it because, well, I'm a writer and occasional local reporter and I was actually born and bred here, … Continue reading "Viva Stirchley!"
