I have applied for this job because I wish to become an 'Urban Historian'....like Professor Carl Chinn, but with a beret and matelot's stripy shirt, think Che Guevara with an historical perspective.
I have applied for the post of Operation Assistant with Eastside Projects because I believe that art and the creative process enriches all of our lives and I want to give Birmingham folk and those from around the world a 'Taste of Birmingham' and its creative scene, whether it be through museums, galleries, history, heritage, writing, painting, sculpture, artistic installations, books, video, music and opera, any of the creative art forms which all have the ability to enrich our lives and the human condition
As part of the Eastside Projects team I would see myself as a Creative Ambassador for history, the 'Urban Historian' and writer on history, heritage and art in this city.
There is some fantastic artistic endeavour going on in Birmingham, from the triumph of the Birmingham Opera Company's unstageable opera by Stockhausen:'Mittvoch Aus Licht'.'Wednesday by Light' to successful maiden sailing of 'The Voyage' in Victoria Square against the fantastic backdrop of one of Birmingham's best and most iconic buildings The Town Hall, built in 1834. Both artistic creations were inspired by The Cultural Olympiad which as a 'sports nut' I was particularly inspired by and interested in earlier in 2012.
I played sport for over 30 years to a high if unpaid standard.
My game Rugby Union did not go professional until 1995, whereas its 'Northern Cousin' whose players, who were paid to play, were absolute pariahs for over 100 years up until the advent of the 'Pro' Rugby Union player in 1995,
Rugby League, which can be a far superior game to watch and play went 'pro' fully 100 years earlier than rugby union in 1895 at The Grand Hotel in Wakefield showing northern practicality and pragmatism to its full extent....nothing much changes over time does it?
Union, my sport was always played and supported by the middle class, whereas League was always and continues to be a working man's sport, the 'flat caps and whippets' Eddie 'Up and Under' Wareing being the epitome of the Northern pro as a commentator in the 1960's and 1970's before he went downmarket and became presenter of the execrable 'It's a Knockout' with the 'Laughing Placeman' Stuart Hall, who featured in all of the radio and TV news bulletins yesterday in a rather less jocular way.
I owe the life I currently lead to rugby....I met my wife through rugby. As a Cordon Bleu-trained cook my wife introduced herself to me as the cook at my club the Old Dixonians Rugby Football Club from Wassall Grove near Hagley (Posh!...... I hear you cry....not so I retort...we had rats in the clubhouse and the communal bath was filthy!)
Mary Sherwood, as was, brought a whole new ambience to the parochial rugby clubhouse with her ingenious food offerings, rather than the usual suspect, the 'pie and beans combo'....she introduced goulashes, chillies, lasagne, bologneses, stews, lentil hot pots (a vegetarian dish, unheard of in rugby club circles as most rugby players are inveterate meat eaters), casseroles, curries etc. etc. It was a culinary revelation on the road to Hagley.
I was often to be found at the front of the queue at the kitchen food hatch asking for more, like a well-fed Oliver Twist, and in the end, after 21 years of marriage and two teenage children (both of whom play rugby) and a big mortgage later, I got more than I bargained for...........
That brief interlude is an example of my writing, in a jocular, conversational style.....please have a look at my blog, which mainly features history and heritage pieces, however there are some sporting pieces on there, one about my university rugby experience in Birmingham comes to mind....I am hoping to write for a living and that is my 'active creative or critical practice': my writing....on whatever subject I am asked to write on, including art, although history and sport are my two favourite topics for my musings and meanderings.
The Old Dixonians Rugby Football Club celebrates its centenary 1913 - 2013 with a 'Grand Centenary Dinner' at The Botanical Gardens in Westbourne Road, Edgbaston.
Dixonians most famous former player is Michael Balcon, who became Sir Michael Balcon as Head of the Ealing Studios who produced such timeless British film classics like 'Kind Hearts and Coronets', 'The Man in the White Suit' and 'The Lavender Hill Mob'
Balcon reminded us all of his school George Dixon Grammar in City Road, Edgbaston in Birmingham by naming his 'Everyman Copper' PC 'George Dixon' in the 1950's thriller: 'The Blue Lamp' where a young hoodlum played by a very young Dirk Bogarde, shoots dead PC George Dixon on a bomb-site when an armed robbery goes wrong in a bomb-damaged East End of London.
PC George Dixon was reincarnated for the 1960's black and white BBC1 TV 'Police Procedural' TV cop show: 'Dixon of Dock Green' where the avuncular PC Dixon patrolled the mean streets of Dock Green in East London. The TV series ran for many years into the 1970's, still played by the original actor and British film star Jack Warner.
I am currently working at the University of Birmingham in LIVING, Accommodation Services, helping students access decent housing, both university-owned and run and in the private sector. Some of the stories I could tell about student lettings would make your toes curl
The university has inspired me to become involved in art by becoming a 'Friend of the Barber Institute' dubbed the 'Best small gallery in Europe' and it is right here in Birmingham at the University where I work in student accommodation.
I am also involved with the University of Birmingham's 'Special Collections' in the basement of the newly-refurbished Muirhead Tower, where I used to attend lectures in 1976 - 1979 when I was a Bachelor of Commerce undergraduate, specialising in the economic and social history of the railways related to the 'Birmingham Railway Boom' from 1830 to 1870.
This saw railway lines such as the Harborne Branch Line from the city centre via Winson Green, Rotton Park, Summerfield Park and on to Chad Valley in Harborne at the end of the line.
Look at the names of the suburbs the trains travelled through: a list of 'Parks' and 'Greens' which betray the middle-class nature of the line, in stark contrast to those same suburbs today, which are amongst the most poverty-stricken and most blighted by unemployment in the UK. They are among the deepest and darkest areas of Birmingham's inner city, in the Ladywood area of the city, one of the poorest parliamentary constituencies in the whole of the UK, with one of the highest rates of unemployment, in the UK. Citizens of Ladywood rub shoulders with the professionals, business people and middle-classes in the watering-holes of Brindleyplace and Broad Street, where Ladywood residents, IF they have a job, will be lucky enough to work as waiters or bar staff pointing up Birmingham's inequality, in spite of and possibly because of its diversity as a city.
The Harborne Branch Line line was used by Victorian and Edwardian commuters from the Middle Class suburb of Harborne, ferrying professionals and artisans into the city centre and the Jewellery Quarter.
As part of my 'Creative or Critical Practice' I would love to write the definitive history of the Harborne Branch Line, which has now been reinvented as the 'Harborne Walkway' with dogs instead of trains chugging up the incline in the cutting, dragging their masters and mistresses behind them.
On Saturday I took the chance to ride another 'younger' form of public transport the 'Art Bus' or charabanc as they were known in the early 20th century, to all of our Birmingham galleries: 'The Ikon Gallery, The RBSA Gallery, The MAC, a beacon for artistic endeavour in Birmingham and the Midlands, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and smaller commercial galleries like St Paul's Gallery in the art-lovers Georgian St Paul's Square, just up the hill in Northwood Street from the RBSA Gallery and Lee Benson's 'Number 9, The Gallery' in Brindleyplace.
All play a prominent part in Birmingham's arts and cultural scene.
As an historian and writer I would love to become an 'Urban Historian' bringing history to the people through my writings and Blog on Google's 'Blogger': 'Bloggin' 'bout Bromwicham' where I post historical pieces mostly about Birmingham's history and its people, with much the same aim that the new BMAG Gallery: 'Birmingham, It's People. It's History' has to bring Birmingham's history to ordinary Birmingham folk who may have an interest in history after trying to trace their family and talking with older relatives who provided their memories and stories, but cannot put their family's role into some context within Birmingham's (hi) story.
In my researches I found out that my Grandad belonged to the Auxiliary Fire Service as a fireman at the Fire Station at Cape Hill Brewery and was involved in a fire watch during the 'Birmingham Blitz' in 1942.
This is something that I have found out for myself after looking through a family photograph album and through my writings I would hope to inspire other Birmingham folk to do the same and discover their family histories, through photographs, family stories and tales told by older family members. I am a trained 'Oral Historian' in the art of listening to and recording those who 'tell the tales' of family life using electronic equipment to record 'living history' before it is lost.
Professor Michael Parkinson of Liverpool John Moores University told Birmingham's planners 10 years ago that Birmingham needs to make more of its fantastic history and heritage, from 'The Lunatiks' of Boulton and Watt's 'Lunar Society' and the role they played in the 'Enlightenment' and Industrial Revolution to the motor industry last century, producing the iconic Mini motor car, a great piece of art and a triumph of design through to Birmingham's Alexander Parkes inventing the first viable plastic: 'Parkesine' named in its inventor's honour and the X-Ray, all of which were invented in the innovative city of Birmingham.
I have often thought that Birmingham's bye-line should be: 'Birmingham - City of Enlightenment' rather than the trite 'Global City, Local Heart' which I used when I worked in Inward Investment for Birmingham City Council's former investment promotion agency 'Locate in Birmingham' where I conducted international marketing campaigns such as 'Next Stop...Birmingham' to attract Government Agencies and Departments to Birmingham. Our campaign was successful with The Gambling Commission, The Museums and Libraries Association, The Heritage Lottery Fund and The Office for the Public Guardian, an Executive Agency of The Ministry of Justice, all of which relocated to Birmingham following my campaign 'Next Stop....Birmingham'
If I were to be appointed as a 'Distribution Assistant' by Eastside Projects I would try to make the history of our railways, especially in Digbeth and Eastside more accessible to local people and more prominent in our local Birmingham story. With High Speed Rail 2 set to hurtle through Eastside with the building of Birmingham's very own 'Grand Central Station' behind the oldest railway building in the city Curzon Street Station built in 1838 as the original terminal of the London to Birmingham railway, railways will play an increasingly important role in Birmingham's artistic story. I would try to find a definitive use for Curzon Street Station, a task that has eluded planners and the 'great and the good' of the city for many years. I recall seeing a photographic exhibition at Curzon Street Station some years ago...why could that not be replicated on a more permanent basis?
I have experience of putting on events having worked with fellow Birmingham University Alumnus Chris Tarrant on a university alumni event at The Globe Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames in 2005. Chris talked to the Birmingham students, all of whom lived and worked in London about what a great place Birmingham is to live and work in without the stresses and strains of London Life, the horrendous commute, the traffic, the transport problems, pollution, the expense of housing. Chris tried to convince these London-based Birmingham University graduates to return there to work. Lo and behold, this very week we are told by Marketing Birmingham that Birmingham is one of the best places to live in the UK.....well actually I must say that I agree with them!
I have extensive experience of the organisation and management of events when I worked for Birmingham City Council. One of the major events which I organised and obtained sponsorship for from one of my clients: State Bank of India. I helped State Bank of India set up their then new Birmingham branch in Soho Road, Handsworth for India's largest bank.
The event was a celebration of the 60th Anniversary of India's Independence 1949 - 2009 and I secured the Council House Banqueting Suite as a Birmingham City Council employee at the time.
The event was very successful and State Bank of India were very pleased with it as it enhanced their reputation and status in Birmingham. SBI were also very pleased with my organisation of the event and my contribution.
I managed a team of Customer Relationship Managers when I worked at Birmingham City Council who were temporary workers from Pertemps Recruitment Agency for a number of years. This experience would be invaluable should I be appointed in managing a team of Eastside Projects Gallery Volunteers and looking after and mentoring the Operation student intern.
I have two children of my own and have attended Workshops and Children's Study Days at the Barber Institute in the past with my kids. I particularly enjoyed the Childrens' Study Day as part of the 'Court on Canvas': Tennis in Art' Exhibition curated by Professor Ann Sumner, then Director of the Barber Institute and now the newly-installed Director of the Birmingham Museums Trust. As an historian I was particularly pleased and fascinated to find out that Lawn Tennis was invented in Birmingham in 1867 at 8 Ampton Road in Edgbaston, by Major Harry Gem and his friend and Spanish Merchant Augurio Perera. Hence we have 'Sir Harry's Road' in Edgbaston where the Edgbaston Priory Tennis club is based close to the 'oldest operating Lawn Tennis club in the world' in the Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society (E.A.L.T.S.) in the shadow of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Westbourne Road, Edgbaston.
As an ex-history teaching trainee whilst doing a Postgraduate Certificate of Education in Secondary History at The University of Birmingham from 1987-88 working at Handsworth Grammar School and Solihull School. I left my PGCE for more lucrative employment with Lambert Smith Hampton Surveyors in Birmingham as a Rating Surveyor which gave me an interest in the creative processes involved in buildings, premises, property and architecture, especially that of Birmingham.
One of my two favourite Birmingham-themed books are Andy Foster's Pevsner Guide to Birmingham's Architecture, the other being Jenny Uglow's definitive history of The Lunar Society and their role in the 'Enlightenment' and the Industrial Revolution: 'The Lunar Men'.
I am very active in the local Birmingham and West Midland's historical and heritage communities.
I am a member of the Smethwick Local History Society run by its chair Mary Bodfish and her 'collaborator' Dorothy H. Williams.
I am also a member of the Smethwick Heritage Centre Trust, based at The Lodge in Victoria Park on Smethwick High Street, opposite The Red Cow pub.
I belong to FOBAH, the 'Friends of Birmingham Archives and Heritage' based at the Birmingham Central Library on the 6th Floor, which will soon move to the new 'Library of Birmingham' in Centenary Square
I am looking forward immensely to using the new 'Library of Birmingham' in my writings and researches.
I know Carl Chinn ( I hope to emulate Carl, with a somewhat more 'artistic bent as the 'Urban Historian': 'Carl Chinn with a Beret'
I am hoping to help save Carl's own personal archive and that of his friends, followers and collaborators: 'Birmingham Lives' for the city of Birmingham.
Hopefully Carl is donating his archive to the new 'Library of Birmingham' so that it can be displayed and nurtured to become a very valuable resource for Birmingham's history and heritage community.
I am also a member of the West Midlands History Forum which is publishing a new West Midlands History magazine in March 2013, so you can see I am very active as the 'Urban Historian' in the local history and history and heritage writing community.
Indeed I attended a talk by prominent local historian Dr Sue Tungate at the University of Birmingham's Special Collections this week on the Soho Mint: Matthew Boulton's coinage manufacturing facility situated behind his home Soho House in Handsworth.
I am very active in Social Media and would bring that skill with me should I be appointed. I use Facebook, Linked IN, Twitter, Google+ and of course my blog.
I am very good with people having spent 16 years working for Birmingham City Council's former Investment Promotion Agency; 'Locate in Birmingham' building relationships with business people to try to persuade them to invest in my home city of Birmingham - 'The City of Enlightenment' for me, so conducting gallery visits would be very enjoyable as I conducted tours of the city for foreign delegations mostly from China and India and also the USA but from all around Europe and the world...from Israel, Italy, Poland, The Czech Republic, Australia and others from every corner of the globe.
I also trained as a history teacher so presenting and talking to large numbers of people is something that I am used to
I would like to make a living as a writer and author and as part of that I have set up my blog and I have also been commissioned to write some articles for The Gem Magazine a general interest magazine for Bearwood, Harborne, Selly Oak, Moseley, Kings Heath and Bournville. My articles will have local historical interest as their theme, one being TV-related, the other on a sporting theme.
I also would like to write an autobiography for which I already have the title: 'A Bearwood Lad' about growing up in Bearwood on the 'cusp of Smethwick'.
I would hope that if I were appointed i would be able to write on local history around the themes I have outlined above.
I hope this explains my interest in working for Eastside Projects, the reasons why I want to work at Eastside Projects, my relevant experience and skills and how working at Eastside Projects would enable me to achieve my goal of becoming a writer.
