You live in Birmingham? Oh well never mind Part 2

So last time we tackled the appearance of Birmingham, but since then I found an interesting Youtube video called Birmingham Reputation versus Reality and discovered a couple of interesting things.  Firstly when asking visitors to the city what their expectations were those people who said negative things were entirely from the South of England and generally from the London area, those people who said they hadn't really got any preconceived ideas of what the city was like were entirely from the North.

Secondly the negative comments were, as previously mentioned, grey, dirty, comments about the accent and amazingly smokey.  What????  hang on a minute there did I just say smokey?  Yup, so when I have previously said someone from London came to Birmingham in the 1970s said it was a tip don't bother going there and no one has been back since I was wrong, clearly that should be the 1870s.  I mean seriously do Londoners really think we have coal fires and coal powered factories here, it is literally so ridiculous I can't even begin say how silly that it.  I also assume these people think in Yorkshire everyone has flat caps and whippets, in Lancashire everyone beats each other with Black puddings and in Scotland people say Ock eye the noo.   :-/

I sometimes wonder if I am banging my head against a brick wall on this whole thing, but hey I'll plough on.

Moving on from appearance how about the nothing of historical or cultural significant has ever some out of Birmingham?  Well today I attended a Birmingham Museum/Birmingham Cathedral sponsored talk on the history of the Lunar Society in Birmingham.  Never heard of the Lunar Society???  Oh dear, oh dear. One of the most important intellectual gatherings in the UK it was a dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813. The name arose because the society would meet during the full moon, as the extra light made the journey home easier and safer in the absence of street lighting. Venues included Erasmus Darwin's home in Lichfield, Matthew Boulton's home, Soho House, Bowbridge House in Derbyshire, and Great Barr Hall.

The main members of the society were

• Matthew Boulton, a true Brummie by birth he was a manufacturer and partner of James Watt, together with Watts Steam Engine they revolutionised manufacturing the world over.
• Erasmus Darwin, physician, natural philosopher, physiologist, slave-trade abolitionist, inventor and poet. Oh and Charles' grandfather.
• Thomas Day, author and abolitionist
• Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish, politician, writer and inventor
• Samuel Galton, Jr., a Brummie Quaker and strangely arms manufacturer
• James Keir, Scottish chemist, geologist, industrialist, and inventor
• Joseph Priestley, theologian,dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and Liberal political theorist who published over 150 works and as a chemist he discovered Oxygen.
• William Small, Scottish doctor and philosopher, great friend of Benjamin Franklin who later moved to America. 
• Jonathan Stokes, physician and botanist, and one of the earliest adopters of the heart drug digitalis.
• James Watt, Scottish inventor, engineer and chemist who created Watts Steam engine.
• Josiah Wedgwood, potter and abolitionist,
• John Whitehurst clockmaker and scientists and 
• William Withering botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis.

But other sometime and visiting members were John Baskerville the father of modern printing, James Brindley the engineer, Thomas Percival who wrote the first ever code of medical ethics and Benjamin Franklin, (yes that one).  His father was from Northampton so he had lots of extended family in and around Birmingham and spent  a lot of time here while he was in England which he was frequently over a 20 year period starting in 1750.  A fascinating charatcter and not just from being an American President his Wikipedia entry starts with "A renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat."

Some people may say most of the people mentioned were not actually from Birmingham, well a lot were but yes there is an element of truth but the significant point is that Birmingham was the hub of the industrial revolutions and at the forefront of worldwide advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society.  So of course it attracted all the intellectuals of the time to come and see the advancements that were being worked on, to meet other intellectuals and take part in discussion.  Which is we come full circle is why the Lunar Society came about in the first place.
Next time I will talk about the cultural life of Birmingham.

February Update

Sorry I haven't been around for a little while but not had a great start to the year, my grandmother died at the end of January and now one of my cats (the actual bonglecat) is very seriously ill, so as you can imagine not much time for blogging.

I'll try and catch up now. Okay things that have been happening out and about in Brum, firstly National Theatre live broadcast of Les Liaisons Dangereuses was on 28th January, technically not just Birmingham but I was there at the Odeon at Broadway Plaza, watching Dominic West seducing Elaine Cassidy's brilliant Madame de Tourvel (remember her as Moray's jilted love interest in The Paradise?). It was also being shown at Electric Cinema which I love but since I work close to Five Ways the Odeon is easier to get to.

Old frontage

The Electric Cinema is another of Birmingham's hidden jewels, it is a cinema and sound recording facility on Station Street, it opened in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year, and is now the oldest working cinema in the country. At one point is ended up showing porn films, but 80s and 90s it was more art house films and it was most noticeable for the contemporary art work which dominated the front. It was apparently called Thatchers Children and consisted of mannequins in the upper floor windows in bizarre costumes and attitudes.  

Refurbished 1930s style

It closed in 2003 and was refurbished back to it's 1930s Art Deco frontage and reopened in 2004, as a Luxury independent cinema, both screens seat around 100 people complete with luxury sofas and waiter service.  They have regular special events including themed meals in conjunction with various local restaurants, For example Valentines Day see's a special showing of Gone With the Wind including an introduction by Helen Laville lecturer in American Studies at Birmingham University.

So that's enough cinema what else has been happening, on Friday the 29th January was the re-opening of the Digbeth Dining Club (they have a little break over the Christmas period) to celebrate the re-opening the club spilled out from it's usual location and shut down the street for a full on Street Food Party.  They are located at Lower Trinity Street in the urban fashionable Digbeth area.  So following the reopening they can be found every Friday night from 5:30pm until late.  Check out their facebook page and instagram.

This week of course no one could fail to notice it is Chinese New Year, so Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!  As usual there was a massive celebration today down at the Arcadian centre in the Middle of Birmingham's China Town.  This included various displays of song, dancing and martial arts from the various Chinese and Korean communities in Birmingham and of course various stalls selling amazing food.  Always a highlight for us Brummies. Celebrations continue tomorrow at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston.

Coming up:

Check out the new Bowie mural in Dudley Street Southside.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at the Crescent Theatre Sat 13th February

Spring Fair at the NEC on until Thursday

Noel Coward's Private Lives starts a run at the New Alexandra Theatre tomorrow.

Matthew Bourne's vampire inspired Sleeping Beauty is on at the Hippodrome from Tuesday until Saturday, no sure if their will be any tickets on that one.