It’s Jude Bellingham’s world. We are all just living in it
It’s Jude Bellingham’s world. We are all just living in it
Plus: Yardley general election candidate in controversial WhatsApp leak
Dear Patchers — here’s your Monday briefing.
Welcome one and all to what is now a Jude Bellingham fan zine. Ok, that might be a stretch, but even the most football-phobic among us surely can’t fail to be even a little celebratory after yesterday’s win. After scoring the only and winning goal of the game, the Stourbridge-born player’s star continues its stratospheric rise — that’s the focus of today’s Big Story.
Looking back: Dan Cave headed to Dudley and Halesowen for his general election-themed weekend read. It’s fair to say the political mood was mixed — there was fury in some circles and a downright lack of engagement in others. Read on here for all the details:
Looking ahead: Catch the second part of Dan’s Black Country coverage this Wednesday, and on Thursday, we take a look at the ups and downs occurring in Birmingham’s Gay Village businesses. At the weekend, freelance writer Rachel Segal Hamilton will explore an outstanding but weirdly under-appreciated collection of photographs that belongs to the city.
The rest of today’s issue features your regular bites of all things Brum: a round-up of the biggest news stories, a birds-eye-view photo of the week, a Georgian townhouse for home of the week that has bags of character, and the best events of the next few days to put in your diary.
Weather
🌥️Tuesday: Sunnier spells at daybreak and in the evening. Consistent cloud cover. Warmer. Max 19°C.
☁️Wednesday: Cloudy all day but a balmy temperature. Max 20°C.
🌥️Thursday: Sun battles cloud all day; feeling warmer. Max 21°C.
🌦️Friday: Changeable and warm. Sun, showers, cloud cover. Max 21°C.
🌥️Weekend: Dry weekend. Sunny spells and tempearture consistently in the twenties. 22°C.
We get our weather from the Met Office.
Big story: It’s Jude Bellingham’s world. We are all just living in it
Top line: The lad from Stourbridge scored England's winning goal against Serbia in yesterday’s opening match of the Euros. Bellingham — already considered the footballer of his generation — is being hailed as ‘better than Beckham’.
Hey Jude: At just 20 years old, Jude Bellingham has already reached heady heights of fame as a star midfielder for Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and now for the England team. Raised in Stourbridge by his retired police sergeant father (a non-league striker) and HR officer mother, Bellingham was six when he was scouted by Blues. He is the first European player to appear in three major international tournaments before turning 21.
Keeping it local: Bellingham is still often seen back in Birmingham — even getting his haircut for the Euros at New Era Barbers in Kings Norton.
Action replay: While many England fans were not entirely convinced by last night’s win against Serbia in Euro 2024, Bellingham’s goal — the only one of the match — secured the victory for the Three Lions. The ex-Blues attacker timed a 13th minute run to perfection to put away a Bukayo Saka cross, putting England on the scoresheet and prompting manager Gareth Southgate to proclaim to the BBC: “He writes his own scripts, doesn’t he?”
Man of the match: Southgate wasn’t the only one impressed. Harry Kane called him an “unbelievable player” who “deserves all the praise he is getting at the moment”. Serbia player Aleksandar Mitrović was gracious in defeat, saying Bellingham is “one of the best, if not the best, players in the world at the moment”.
Boredom reigns: But reaction to England’s overall performance was less glowing. While Paul Merson thought the first 15 minutes were “outstanding” he told Sky Sports that he soon “got bored”. Journo Adam Bate also said Bellingham “was playing a different sport to everyone else on the pitch”.
Better than Beckham? With all eyes on Bellingham, two national papers published features on the young player at the weekend, both of which compared him to David Beckham. The Times considers Bellingham a true Gen Z star. Whereas Beckham’s era was one of excess, with footballers spilling out of nightclubs with WAGs on their arms, the Britain of today looks different. “He appears to be a fairly well-behaved and respectful individual. And particularly for mass markets that plays out well,” sport professor Simon Chadwick is quoted as saying. In a direct comparison with Mr Posh Spice, in The Telegraph’s deep dive, football intermediary — that’s the modern term for an agent — Kenneth Asquez, says:
“Beckham was a great player but technically he is not as good as Bellingham. Beckham also arrived in a Madrid side on the crest of a big wave. Bellingham is in a team being rebuilt.”
In his own words: And what did the man himself have to say after his goal? In a typically modest fashion, he acknowledged his team and the staff who support them. “I’m just so fortunate and the football’s the easiest part,” he said.
Photo of the week
Thanks to Stephen from ItsYourBuild (the smart lad who maintains an interactive development map of Birmingham) for this skyline snap. It captures both an unusually non-damp moment in the city and the rising Octagon building, which, when finished, will be the tallest octagonal-shaped residential skyscraper in the entire world (presumably causing enormous amounts of distress to the residents of Dubai, Shanghai and New York).
Brum in brief
🏗️ Smithfield development plan is a go: The drawn-out planning saga of the near £2bn Smithfield development has ended with the Council saying okay to the 4,000 home scheme. The thumbs up was given after developers increased the size of one of two parks and detailed how it would interlink with other public spaces. The development had hit a series of hurdles at previous planning stages, with Historic England saying building work would disturb medieval remains and the planning committee worried about the green space on offer. More here.
⏫ Yakoob riding high: Controversial mayoral candidate turned wannabe-Ladywood MP Akhmed Yakoob is in second place for the hotly contested Ladywood seat, according to an estimate from Electoral Calculus. The data firm’s latest workings put Labour on 37% and the independent Yakoob on 31%. The constituency’s most recent MP was Shabana Mahmood who is fighting to retain her seat (indeed, it is believed Labour are redirecting resources to aid Mahmood’s fight for survival). Yakoob recently found himself at the centre of a controversy after sharing an apparently doctored video of a teacher implying she had used racist language; something he has since removed from his social media. Here are all the figures. We’re going to be delving deeper into the Ladywood race over the next few weeks and would love to hear the thoughts of any residents among our readership — do reach out at editor@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
📱Meanwhile Jody McIntyre, a candidate for George Galloway’s Workers Party who is running in Birmingham Yardley against Jess Phillips, has been criticised for labelling transgender people “a danger to society” in a WhatsApp group. McIntyre is seen as a genuine threat to Phillips, with Labour’s campaigning tool on its website instructing activists to stay and campaign for her. McIntyre’s full message reads as follows: "So you believe that if a person 'identifies' as a certain sex they literally become that sex?? Or should I say he believes. I honestly think the trans community are a danger to society." The Workers Party declined to comment when approached by LBC. Read the full story here.
💰 £5.5bn investment plan greenlit: Ambitious plans to create 30,000 new jobs and attract more than £5.5bn in investment have been signed off by the West Midlands Combined Authority. Mayor Richard Parker said the scheme was “a fantastic opportunity for our region". The plans, called the West Midlands Investment Zone, cover the whole region with key sites in Coventry, the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, and the Wolverhampton Green Innovation corridors. More details.
Home of the week
This Grade II listed Georgian townhouse in Edgbaston features original pantry shelves and a bathtub befitting a Downton Abbey set. It has five bedrooms and is on the market for £500,000.
Media picks
📰 Kenn Taylor takes a close look at the TV series This Town to consider the changing ways working class cultures are portrayed on screen in this article for The Double Negative. “The estates and the wider urban scenery of the Midlands are shown as epic, intense, a landscape that influences and shapes the lives of those within it in complex ways,” he writes.
🎧 The Financial Times recently dedicated an entire issue of its magazine to the West Midlands’ most famous resident, and in this podcast episode the editors discuss William Shakespeare’s enduring allure. ‘The questions in his stories are live questions. They are great, profoundly important, profoundly human questions,’ says Matt Vella.
Things to do
Tuesday
🎤 For pop fans and ageing millennials, Girls Aloud are at Resorts World on both Tuesday and Wednesday. A sound from another era giving you the Sound of The Underground. Details.
🦇Or if your idea of noughties music is more indie than pop, head to the Town Hall for Bat For Lashes. The show starts at 7.30 and tickets are on sale from £28.50.
Wednesday
🎭 While political machinations dominate the country’s headlines, over in Coventry The Belgrade Theatre is taking us back to 44BC when Julius Caesar was facing up to mutinous senators. All the info.
🌎 On all week, Birmingham’s annual Refugee Week shows work from migrant artists, refugee and community groups with activities all over the city. The entire programme at a click.
Thursday
🎾 Tennis fans can see some of the biggest stars in women’s tennis at this week’s Rothesay Classic in Edgbaston, with Katie Boulter (British Number One) also taking part. Tickets here.
🧑🎤 If you want a free helping of music, alongside street food stalls and markets, then Solihull Music Festival kicks off at Mell Square on Thursday, continuing all weekend. More here.
Various ghouls seem to be standing for election. With Central Birmingham needing a park the council come up with the idea of building over the piece of land that could accommodate it and leaving us with a tiny square. The annoying thing is there is so much land around Smithfield market that is crying out to be developed. Think small scale central park. But no we have to develop Smithfield. The money grasping bankrupt council leading us nowhere fast.