Brace for rail strikes

Plus: The Camberwell carrot gets its stage debut

Dear Patchers – Welcome to your mid-week briefing.

With Richard Parker barely having had a moment to enjoy his weekend victory, his mayoral to-do list is already stacking up. We share why multiple organisations are lobbying him over active travel.

Elsewhere, there’s an update on the latest rail strikes to impact Brummies, new pub investment from a Dutch brewing giant, and a chance to get involved with some public art-making. We also have a note on a world premiere stage adaptation of a boozy film beloved by Brits.

Take care — and stay safe in this mini heatwave of sorts. Dan.

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Brum in Brief

🚲Bike agenda for Mayor: Whilst new WMCA mayor Richard Parker has happily posed for photos on the first day of his new job his in-tray is already piling up. Among those pressing issues the Labour incumbent will have to deal with is road safety and active travel. Better Streets for Birmingham is one of many organisations – alongside The Birmingham Cycling Campaign, Extinction Rebellion Birmingham and British Cycling West Mids – which are lobbying the mayor to retain the Cycling and Walking Commissioner role. They say the position will help funding be better spent and allocated and ensure that a single individual can be held to account regards road safety. Their letter to the mayor is here.

🚄Rail cancellations: For the rest of the day there will be no train services from West Midlands Trains, CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways and Avanti West Coast as train drivers union Aslef has called a strike. For the rest of the week, lines will also be impacted with a ban on overtime for unionised drivers. The disruption is part of a long-running dispute over pay with the parties still attempting to find a deal that works. Rail passengers with advance or season tickets will be able to get refunds for services that are cancelled, delayed or rescheduled due to strikes. All the info.

🍺Booze giant invests in Brum: Heineken, the Dutch brewing multinational, is set to plough £2.4m into the West Midlands with plans to reopen some of its Star Pubs in the region. It’s expected this will create almost 90 jobs. Sites in Bromsgrove, Hereford, and Stafford are on the hit list of potential reopened venues. Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs’ managing director, said: “Creating fantastic locals that can accommodate a range of occasions meets this need and helps pubs fulfil their role as vital third spaces.” Full story.

🤖Coventry tribute to Dr Who pioneer: Coventry University has paid tribute to the electronic music pioneer who helped create the iconic Dr Who theme tune by naming their new Arts and Society building after her. Delia Derbyshire helped craft the well-recognised work at the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop and will now be remembered in her home city with her name adorning the new centre. Broadcaster Stuart Maconie said it’s great her work is now being celebrated. “There's a lot of work still to be done but she'd be delighted and proud as a proud Coventry-ite [or] Cov kid to be honoured in this way in her hometown," he added.

⛪Cathedral crafts: Between 21st and 24th May, those lucky enough to be passing by Birmingham Cathedral will get the chance to create new works with Craftspace artists. It’s a project to help develop an understanding of care and members of the public are invited to either watch or take part in the project which will be led by a variety of artists who work in a different formats to tackle topics such as sustainability, fast fashion and remembering. More information here.

🍷Withnail and I on stage: Considered one of the best films to come out of the UK, Olivier-winning Sean Foley, The Rep’s artistic director has re-imagined Withnail and I for the Birmingham Rep. The stage adaptation will be a world-first and is described as hilarious, tragic and wise. We hope it features the Camberwell carrot. Tickets also look like they’re a very fair price, starting at £15.50. Booking info here.

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