Love what you’re doing for Birmingham, but…

The new chief executive of Advantage West Midlands says it is high time that Birmingham and the region as a whole learned how to market itself properly.
And despite apparently rating Marketing Birmingham, the agency created to do that job, Mick Laverty has revealed he is setting up a regional marketing board to tackle the problem.
It would be [...]

Clarity over Birmingham’s library is long overdue

Birmingham deserves the sort of central library the city can be justifiably proud of and which provides national and international attention that seems so important these days.
There is as close to a common consensus as you are ever likely to get in Birmingham over this.
And yet the attempts to create a new central library for Birmingham has lurched [...]

Time for tele-hubbies to beat Birmingham’s congestion problems

It is interesting to read of plans by Advantage West Midlands to create “tele-hubs” around the region to encourage major employers to allow workers to give up their commute into Birmingham in favour of an office closer to home.
The agency highlights numerous benefits - from tackling climate change by reducing unnecessary commuting, to allowing employees [...]

Too much information

Next week sees a big debate in Birmingham about the digital age and what it all means.
Taking place at the ICC, The Big Debate - Digital Revolution: More Power or More Powerless? - is arranged as part of the city’s New Generation Arts Festival.
The Birmingham Post is using its blogs to help generate some pre-debate [...]

Scraping the sky in Birmingham

There are a few interesting articles, thoughts and comments floating around at present regarding Birmingham’s skyline.
As the fabulous Rotunda is reinvented for the 21st century thanks to the work of Urban Splash, a new film has been released celebrating one of Birmingham’s most recognisable buildings.
I’ve always loved looking at the Rotunda. My first proper view [...]

A decade of broken promises

This weekend is the 10th anniversary of the human chain around Birmingham when the city staged the 1998 G8 summit.

To mark the day debt campaigners have released a new study showing that for every $1 developing countries receive in aid, they need to pay $5 in repayments.
The Jubilee Debt Campaign report, Unfinished Business, claims that despite the commitments [...]

Elections, webcasts, Heroes and subtitles

An entertaining night with Heroes followed by lesser mortals, namely the politicians scrabbling around for votes in the local, Welsh Assembly and London mayoral elections.
I enjoyed the first series of Heroes and so far I’m relieved it hasn’t gone the way of other promising shows in stumbling after returning, albeit that series two has been somewhat [...]

Twitter uncovered

An interesting and informative article by Paul Bradshaw on Twitter for journalists.
I’m starting to see the light.
So there is more to it than telling people what you’re having for dinner.
Its happening. They’re dragging us kicking, screaming and grumbling into the brave new world.

The flooding of Birmingham

Birmingham could be hit by regular floods thanks to a devestating combination of factors, according to environmental experts.
A naturally high water table, climate change and the demise of traditional heavy industries are all conspiring to threaten large areas of the city.
The likes of Aston, the Jewellery Quarter and places close to Birmingham’s extensive canal network are most [...]

G8, Birmingham, debt, hunger strikes and human chains

Next month sees the 10th anniversary of the G8 summit staged in Birmingham.
The event stirs memories for all sorts of reasons - from the image of then US President Bill Clinton sinking a canalside pint, to the fact that Russia joined the gathering of the great and good in 1998.
But one of the most induring [...]