Reddit thinks Birmingham’s food scene is over; they’re wrong

Dear readers — welcome to your Monday Briefing. While Kate and Olivia spent quiet weekends catching up on Love Island and walking the city’s canals, the news that Birmingham’s son Jude Bellingham graced not one, but two sporting matches in the city in recent days, has buoyed us up for the week ahead. There’s nothing like a bit of local pride to gee you up for ‘silly season’.

Today, there’s a bit of Jude, of course, but we are also asking: where are Brum’s best new restaurants, plus pondering the packed programme for this year’s Birmingham Literature Festival. Meanwhile, two very different construction projects have reached milestones, but only one of them has been the victim of an attack by a bunch of unruly women demanding the right to vote. More on that in your Brum in Brief below.

Catch up and coming up:

At the weekend, culture writer Daniel Dylan Wray profiled the hot-shot photographer Richard Davis. Known for his energetic shots of ‘Madchester’, Davis actually hailed from Northfield, first picked up a camera in Sparkbrook, and lived in a Moseley squat. He left Birmingham in defiance of what was expected of him: “The school I went to was designed for kids to work at the Rover car factory at nearby Longbridge,” he recalled. “I wasn’t having that.” Catch up here.
Last week, Olivia turned her hunt for a place to live into a thoughtful story about the rise of build-to-rent developments in the city. Can this modern model alleviate the housing crisis or is it more misery at the hands of big business? Read that article here.
Calling all interesting people of Birmingham and beyond: Olivia is on the lookout for new contacts in politics, business, the arts and more. Reach out to her to arrange a coffee at olivia@birminghamdispatch.co.uk

Photo of the week

A cyclist riding through the graffiti-painted canals in Digbeth, captured by David Furmage. Check out more of David’s work on Instagram.

Brum in Brief

No appetite for disaster: A visitor to the r/Brum Reddit page recently had a moan about the city’s food scene. “It used to be quality but it feels like it’s losing its magic,” wrote the doom-poster DI-whyy, citing closures like Harborne Kitchen and OG fine-dining restaurant Simpsons as signs of the sector's demise and garnering lots of dour comments in the process. Well, The Dispatch is here to dispel the misery! Sure, times are tough for hospitality, but has this diner actually eaten out at any of the city’s exciting new eateries of late? As well as city centre big hitters like Vieni and Trillium — which have graced the broadsheet’s food columns — fun little spots are lighting up the suburbs. Perhaps a trip to Perro in Kings Heath, for crispy chilaquiles washed down with mezcal and mango sorbet is on the cards. (Reddit).

Hey Jude: Jude Bellingham was back in Brum over the weekend, taking to the stands of St Andrew’s on Friday to see Birmingham City claim victory over Barcelona in a nailbiting, 3-2 penalty shoot out. Arriving to ‘Hey Jude’ blasting from the ground’s speakers, the Real Madrid midfielder watched alongside his parents Denise and Mark. At halftime, he changed into a Blues shirt as chants of “Jude Bellingham, he’s one of our own” echoed around the stadium. On Saturday, the local legend was spotted in the crowd at Edgbaston, watching Birmingham Phoenix play Welsh Fire in the Hundred franchise he bought a 1.2% stake in earlier this year. Again, the team won, which either proves our sporting prowess is on point, or that Bellingham is some kind of lucky talisman. Perhaps a bit of both. (Telegraph).

Supersize me: Behold, construction of the city’s tallest building has been completed. One Eastside is a looming, 51-storey block of flats on Jennens Road near Aston University, with 360 degree views of the city. The build-to-rent development offers 667 homes alongside “high-quality” amenities — including, somewhat alarmingly, podcast studios — designed to meet the needs of today’s modern renters. For more on the model (and its potential up and downsides) be sure to read Olivia’s latest article on the topic. (Insider Media).

Changing rooms: In other construction news, Cannon Hill Park’s 16th century pub, the Golden Lion is visible for the first time in three decades now that restorers have taken down the scaffolding that hid it for so long. The historic building — which was moved, timber by timber, from Deritend High Street after a suspected attack by royalists during the Civil War, and was badly damaged in an arson attack by Suffragettes in 1912 — has been painstakingly repaired. The next step is fitting out the interior. A shag carpet and an avocado bath, perhaps?

Quick Hits

📖 Local writer Luke Kennard’s second novel, the comedy Black Bag, has been nominated for the Booker. It is one of 13 books selected for the prestigious prize’s longlist, the judges for which were described by the Telegraph as needing “to grow up”. As for Kennard, he said he was “flabbergasted” while posting the news on Instagram. (Telegraph).

🍕The much loved Digbeth pizza joint, Baked in Brick, has sadly closed its doors after eight years. Owner Lee Desanges said the restaurant became too expensive to run and has called on the government to offer tax cuts for the industry. (BBC).

🚒Eight fire crews tackled a ferocious blaze at Barr Beacon yesterday, as residents were urged to avoid the nature reserve. (BBC).

Media picks

📺Director and actor Kay S. Ubhi takes viewers on a whirlwind journey through Birmingham's underworld in this gripping crime drama. (Youtube £, or Apple TV £).

🏊 In this interview with the Guardian, Attilio Fiumarella discusses how she came to photograph 118 swimmers in an empty pool at Mosely Road Baths in 2014. Temporary stairs and a slither of sunshine allowed for the perfect shot of the pool, which, thanks to a new round of funding, is expected to reopen to the public in 2028. (Guardian).

Our to do list

Dr Kate Lister. Photo: Birmingham Literature Festival.

Books

📖 The programme for this year’s Birmingham Literature Festival has been revealed! Among the many events on offer — Margaret Busby, Zakia Sewell, and (Dispatch contributor) John Grindrod are all making an appearance — do check out the Saturday 10 October event with Dr Kate Lister. Our Kate will be interviewing her about her latest book: Flick: the Story of Female Pleasure.

🖼️ Exhibitions

Canals, an exhibition of photographs featuring our snapper of the week David Furmag, is opening this Friday at Centrala, with a launch event at 5.30pm. The show also features moving images, recorded interviews and poetry.

🎭Theatre

The youth theatre is taking over the Hippodrome with a performance of the iconic modern musical classic, West Side Story, this Thursday to Saturday.

🎺 Music

Wind down to swing and chamber jazz at Symphony Hall this Friday as rising star clarinettist and vocalist Giulia Marro, with her accompanying quartet, take over the free fortnightly jazz night.

🇯🇲 Comedy

The Glee club will celebrate Jamaican Independence Day with some top comedic talent on Sunday.