Will 2024 be a prosperous year for Birmingham?
The Chinese zodiac suggests it will. Plus: Bill Bailey comes to town.
Dear Patchers — welcome to your Monday briefing.
Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate! I hope the Year of the Dragon brings widespread joy and a healthy dash of good luck to all Dispatch readers. As it happens, this publication is run by two goats, which means while “peace-loving, kind, and popular” we unfortunately don’t have the same associations with good fortune and prosperity. Hopefully, that doesn’t mean subscriber numbers plummeting in 2024….
Anyway, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In today’s edition we’ve compiled the key stories to be aware of in Birmingham right now, as well as beautiful a photo and bit of history about Stourport, our top picks for things to read and listen to, and a fantastic story from Meriden in Warwickshire, where vigilante villagers are fighting back against fly-tipping.
Those who missed our weekend read (we can’t imagine what could be more important, but we’ll give the benefit of the doubt) can catch up here. The i paper’s media columnist, Ian Burrell — who began his career at the Birmingham Post and Mail in the 1980s before moving on to the nationals — returned to his roots to explore “the lost world of West Midlands media”. Thanks for all the comments, including this one:
“Very interesting piece. The media has changed, which is inevitable I suppose - though a city really needs strong regional media for its reputation and the strength of local democracy.”
Finally, welcome to all the new paying members who have joined us over the weekend — there are now 365 of you lovely people. One for every day of the year! We’ve set ourselves the ambitious target of 100 new members in February, and while we’re currently at 36 we’re going to need a real push to get there. If you’re not a member yet, please do join up now to get us closer to that target and to support the kind of work that we do here at The Dispatch.
Weather
⛅Tuesday: Expect a dry and bright morning, turning cloudy and wet by lunchtime. Max 9°C.
🌂Wednesday: Cloudy with drizzly spells. Probably best to carry your umbrella. Max 14°C.
☁️Thursday: More cloud! More rain! A bit of a breeze and mild temperatures. Max 14°C.
🌧️Friday: I’m afraid the cloud is going nowhere — neither is the drizzle. Max 12°C.
🌦️Weekend: Light rain showers, a gentle breeze, and some much needed sunshine. Max 12°C.
We get our weather from the Met Office and the BBC.
Big story: Birmingham’s Dragon Year
Top line: The Chinese New Year kicked off on Saturday with the Hippodrome’s colourful festival. There was Tai Chi, music performances and — of course — a 10ft panda. But if you’re not ready to put away your lanterns yet, celebrations officially last until the next new moon on Saturday 24 February.
Year of the Dragon: Anyone born in a Dragon year can expect a prosperous 2024. Unfortunately Dan and I (we were both born in the year of the goat) will have to make do with whatever the universe throws at us. There will be “ups and downs” for goats in 2024, according to one horoscope we found online, but the good news is “auspicious stars” will be guiding us. As if our editors needed their egos inflating…
Lunar New Year history: According to the historic, lunisolar Chinese calendar, dates are determined by the moon and the sun. A new month begins with each new moon — when the moon is not visible in the night sky. A new year begins on the new moon nearest the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox — sometime between 21 January and 20 February.
Chinese legend has it that thousands of years ago a monster named Nian (Year) attacked villagers at the start of each new year. Villagers scared the monster away with loud noises, bright lights, and the colour red, which is why lanterns, fireworks, and red decorations feature in lunar celebrations.
Birmingham backstory: Before 1945, there were just a few dozen Chinese people living in the city. Whereas Chinese sailors populated 18th and 19th Century Chinatowns in coastal cities like London, Liverpool, and Cardiff, large-scale migration to landlocked Birmingham happened post-WWII. The Chinese population has grown from about 200 in 1951, to 12,487 today.
In the 1960s, Chinese businesses, community organisations, and social clubs popped up around Hurst Street.
In the 1980s, the area was officially recognised as Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter.
Today, Lunar New Year celebrations draw in 30,000 people annually.
This article by University of Birmingham and Newman University academics goes into more detail about Chinese settlement in the city.
Photo of the week
Thanks to Anne Forster for sending in this peaceful photo of the canal basin in Stourport on Severn. As its name suggests, the town of Stourport grew around the canal network that sprung up in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Goods were transferred from boats on the River Severn to Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal for their upward journey to the Midlands' industrial cities. Today it is home to nearly 100 narrow boats and yachts.
Brum in brief
A Birmingham man has been charged with the murder of Wallis Webb, who was discovered dead at a property in Erdington on Tuesday morning. Sakander Hussain, who is 25 years old, has also been charged with fraud by false representation. Hussain appeared at the city's magistrates' court on Saturday and was remanded in custody, according to West Midlands police, while another man — aged 51 — who was arrested on suspicion of fraud, has been released on conditional bail.
Jewish students at the University of Birmingham have alleged that chants of “death to Zionists” were heard at pro-Palestine protests on campus last week. The Union of Jewish Students and the University of Birmingham’s Jewish Society issued a statement saying that “anti-Semitic hatred has been allowed to fester” on campus after a “day of action” rally organised by the Stop the War coalition and Palestine Solidarity campaign. Birmingham University is now undertaking a review of the events and taking external advice.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators have taken to the city-centre streets again this evening to protest Israel’s bombardment of Rafah last night. Dan attended and will have an update for you in tomorrow morning’s Brum in Brief.
And finally, there was a bizarre case of rural vigilantism near Meriden in Warwickshire over the weekend, as villagers successfully blockaded two vans in the midst of a massive fly-tipping operation. The fly-tippers were entrapped by the angry village folk on a country lane until police arrived and — somewhat comically — made them pick it all up. “Two men found at the scene were supervised as they picked up pipes, building waste, and black bin bags and reloaded the vans,” reported the Birmingham Mail. As they did so, a farmer’s wife served the police homemade cake and tea, naturally.
Home of the week
The beautiful tiles, wooden beams, and curved bannisters give this five-bedroom home in Tipton plenty of charm. Plus, it has a large storage room and a huge garden. It's available for £299,950.
Media picks
🎧 “National sweetheart and very silly boy” Joe Lycett appeared on Radio 4’s Saturday Live at the weekend talking about his first brush with fame. The young Lycett was once employed as a “court wiper”, helping out his dad who coached the Birmingham Bullets basketball team. At a match final at Wembley, Lycett was beamed into television sets across the country wiping up the sweat of any fallen players. He must have known then he was destined for stardom…
📰The Telegraph published an interesting review of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery’s Victorian Radicals exhibition — that we wrote about here. With a subject as well-trodden as the Pre-Raphelites, it can be hard to find new angles, Francesca Peacock writes, welcoming the focus on Simeon Solomon who was convicted of homosexuality, and women like Emma Sandys and Kate Elizabeth Bunce, who were painters in their own right. But Peacock also questions whether the inclusion of artists from the next generation undermines the “radical” theme. Will you be heading along to see the exhibition? Let us know below.
🎧 The editors of The Dispatch’s parent company, Mill Media, appeared on the podcast of two Fleet Street legends last week: Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber’s Media Confidential. The old-hands gave my editors, Joshi and Sophie, a friendly grilling about how The Dispatch and our sister papers are trying to shake up local journalism in the digital age.
Things to do
Tuesday:
🎶Queer pop sensation Kim Petras’ world tour hits Birmingham’s O2 arena and tickets are still available from £28.75. She takes to the stage at 7pm.
🎤National treasure Bill Bailey is in Birmingham for two nights in a row from Tuesday with his mind-expanding show Thoughtifier. Resorts World Arena’s doors open at 6pm and tickets are available from £31.
Wednesday:
🕺Enjoy a very smooth Valentine’s Day, whether coupled or not, at the Night Owl’s Soul Sessions showcase from 7.30pm.
🎤1990s comedy legend of Smack the Pony fame, Fiona Allen, will perform her first-ever solo show at the Glee Club from 7pm. Tickets are £16 plus a £2 booking fee.
Thursday:
🎶There are still a few £19 tickets left for Birmingham Cathedral’s Candlelight Valentine’s: Timeless Lovesongs live performance of genre-crossing romantic tunes. The show starts at 6.30pm.
🎤Grime veteran Dizzee Rascal is celebrating the release of his latest album, Don’t Take it Personal, with a performance at HMV Coventry at 7pm. Entry is £15.50 or for higher prices you get a CD or vinyl included.
When I worked for Locate in Birmingham the City's former Inward Investment and Investment promotion agency we worked with Chinese businessman Wing Yip who came to Birmingham in the mid 1950's from the Pearl River Delta in Fujian Province in China and built up a very successful Chinese grocery and supermarket business in Nechells near Birmingham City Centre with not only the supermarket but also other Chinese businesses like dentists, accountants, lawyers, travel agents and Chinese medical professionals. Wing Yip was so grateful to Birmingham and its people that he financed the building of a Chinese pagoda from the Fujian Province at the gateway to Birmingham Chinatown on the Holloway Head traffic island and the entertainment quarter. Wing Yip's son is a Birmingham City Councillor Coun Alex Yip who represents the Conservatives.
A dragon 🐲 signing in here 👋 good to know untold riches await this year for me , I'll keep you posted.
I'm visiting Victorian Radicals in early March . I'm looking forward to showing my two school friends from Manchester who are accompanying me the revamped Chamberlain Square area as well . A sore point as Picadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre is up for a revamp , it' s been a controversial place for decades , they've never been able to get it right.