Sunday Feature - Metal City

[JasonPalmer]

Just heard an advert for this on radio 3, sounds really good.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hph9

Metalworking has been central to the rise and success of Birmingham over hundreds of years. But how has this industry affected the culture of the city? Did the experience of working with metal and hearing the continuous clang of metal-on-metal seep into the personality and creativity of Birmingham’s inhabitants?

Gregory Leadbetter’s poem traces this story from the discovery of ore in the Staffordshire hills, through the Staffordshire Hoard, the Birmingham Pieces from the Knights Templar, the establishment and development of Birmingham as a great metalworking centre becoming the Toyshop of the World, the development of steam power by Matthew Boulton, being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and the City of a Thousand Trades, all the way to the birth of Heavy Metal Music.

[Serial_Apologist]

Just heard an advert for this on radio 3, sounds really good.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hph9

Metalworking has been central to the rise and success of Birmingham over hundreds of years. But how has this industry affected the culture of the city? Did the experience of working with metal and hearing the continuous clang of metal-on-metal seep into the personality and creativity of Birmingham’s inhabitants?

Gregory Leadbetter’s poem traces this story from the discovery of ore in the Staffordshire hills, through the Staffordshire Hoard, the Birmingham Pieces from the Knights Templar, the establishment and development of Birmingham as a great metalworking centre becoming the Toyshop of the World, the development of steam power by Matthew Boulton, being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and the City of a Thousand Trades, all the way to the birth of Heavy Metal Music.

What I do know personally of Birmingham (admittedly not a lot, never having resided there) is of a place generally confident in its identity, prepared to take on the nose the often disparaging comments made about the Brummie accent. This could well go back to the late 19th century, when Birmingham became one of the prime UK centres of manufacturing, and generated skills that placed its labour force high in the national earnings league. When one speaks of an "aristocracy of labour" Birmingham is one place that looms large for many. The privileging of the city centre "proper" and local outsourcing of the heaviest industries to the west and north (the Black Country) saw the development of The Bullring and its swirling surrounding system of tunnels, flyovers and underpasses as a plus rather than destructive of "heritage" or, more recently, amenity. Birmingham is (I would say) a largely working class town to this day with a culture that looks to its own, one which has provided the mainstay of the Labour Right, both in the party and trade union bureaucracy, but it is to its credit that it has managed probably better than any other part of the country to integrate the successive generations of immigrant labour that have helped maintain its status.

These are all personal impressions, mind, and subject to amendment!

The best thing on Birmingham I have seen was Jonathan Meades' Heart By Pass, from 1998.

http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Jonathan+Meades+Hart+By+Pass+on+youtube#fpstate-ive&vld=cid:bb5cc289,vid:71GhyS7P-sq

(The top one)

[JasonPalmer]

I visited last year and found all the bus routes and tramways confusing, mainly because I know central London well so it was probably just being unfamiliar with the place.

Takes time to discover the best of a place and ways around it, learnt a lot about London and oxford by wandering around.

[Joseph K]

What I do know personally of Birmingham (admittedly not a lot, never having resided there) is of a place generally confident in its identity, prepared to take on the nose the often disparaging comments made about the Brummie accent. This could well go back to the late 19th century, when Birmingham became one of the prime UK centres of manufacturing, and generated skills that placed its labour force high in the national earnings league. When one speaks of an "aristocracy of labour" Birmingham is one place that looms large for many. The privileging of the city centre "proper" and local outsourcing of the heaviest industries to the west and north (the Black Country) saw the development of The Bullring and its swirling surrounding system of tunnels, flyovers and underpasses as a plus rather than destructive of "heritage" or, more recently, amenity. Birmingham is (I would say) a largely working class town to this day with a culture that looks to its own, one which has provided the mainstay of the Labour Right, both in the party and trade union bureaucracy, but it is to its credit that it has managed probably better than any other part of the country to integrate the successive generations of immigrant labour that have helped maintain its status.

These are all personal impressions, mind, and subject to amendment!

The best thing on Birmingham I have seen was Jonathan Meades' Heart By Pass, from 1998.

http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Jonathan+Meades+Hart+By+Pass+on+youtube#fpstate-ive&vld=cid:bb5cc289,vid:71GhyS7P-sq

(The top one)

[JasonPalmer]

Missed the live broadcast, scheduled tomorrow listen online with wife tonight, she interested as lived in Birmingham for a few years.

[JasonPalmer]

Finally got around to listening, great poem with injections of people discussing the history. Excellent production.