The Acme Thunderer

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One of the most intriguing visits that we have made recently was to Acme Whistles - the Birmingham firm that has been making the world’s best whistles for over a century - including the legendary Acme Thunderer.
Don’t be deceived by the cartoon-like name - the company makes a range of 83 products including whistles, bird-call imitators and devices for sports, rescue, safety, marine and police use as well as for music.
There’s a surprising amount of science involved, and this superbly managed, enterprising and socially conscious company introduces at least two new products each year and is, by a distance, the world leader in both quality and design unrivalled in any field - Whistle Wizards indeed!
Acme’s products have famous histories too. As well as the first police whistles for the metropolitan Police, Acme made the legendary Acme ‘Stentor’ megaphone and bosuns’ whistles for the Titanic.
And if you watch the James Cameron film and zoom into one of the frames where Kate Winslett whistles for help from the makeshift raft, you will see the famous Acme Thunderer - Made in England!
At the very top of the range there are superbly bejewelled hallmarked silver gift and presentation whistles and our photo shows yours truly and Acme MD Simon Topman with the world’s largest two-seater flying whistle!
You want something special by way of a whistle? Acme can make it!

The Staffordshire Hoard – Latest

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The launch of the fundraising appeal to secure the Staffordshire Hoard for the Midlands was a stimulating event. Birmingham City Council is to give an initial £100,000, Stoke on Trent City Council will also give £100,000 and the Arts Fund will put in £300,000. The appeal is fronted by prominent historian David Starkey. There is a deadline of 17th April to raise the £3.3m to secure the Hoard. A total of some £5m will be needed all told to provide for presentation and conservation.
The modern people of Mercia have shown by their enormous enthusiasm and donation of £40,000 - without being asked - that they want the hoard to return where it belongs.
Many, many questions arise. Where did it come from - North, South or was there a Mercian workshop? Who did it belong to? What does it really represent? What was going on on the spot where it was deposited? The Hoard was found just off Watling Street in the heart of the ancient Kingdom of Mercia - which has been described as the ‘spaghetti junction’ of its time. It may represent the accoutrements of Lords and Huscarls who died in battle with their Kings probably at the hands of the men of Penda, the last great pagan King of Mercia. The idea of a Mercian workshop is intriguing bearing in mind the long tradition of skilled manufacture and world-renowned craftsmanship found today in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
It now seems certain that the hoard predates AD650 judging on artistic grounds. While some wood was found with the gold and this would allow carbon dating the margin of error in carbon dating means that it is unlikely to refine the date much further. A post hole was also found and what could be a ditch (but also a natural feature) and a small team from Birmingham Archaeology continue investigations.
I’ve mentioned some large initial donations above. But I think what really matters will be the donations, however modest, that are made by the individual people of our area. This is how the sum will be built up and this is how we bring about its possession by the public and by public subscription. You can contribute on line at www.artfund.org/hoard or for phone donations by credit or debit card call: 0844 415 4004 or by post you can send a cheque, made payable to The Art Fund (Hoard appeal) to: The Art Fund, Freepost LON 17186, PO Box 2003, Kirkaldy KY2 6BR. Contributions will also be accepted when visiting Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Let’s dig deep for the Hoard!

WAITS Fundraising Ball

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Women Acting in Today’s Society (WAITS) is one of the Lord Mayor’s charities for 2009/2010. In conjunction with BNI (Business Network International) WAITS invite you to their New Year Fundraising Ball complete with a four-course meal, auction, raffle and disco. The event will be held at the Botanical Gardens, Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham on Saturday 30th January at 6.30pm.
WAITS aim to enable women from diverse areas within Birmingham and the West Midlands to develop themselves, their families and their communities. They work with over 90 women’s groups and directly support over 600 women each year. You can join the WAITS team in celebrating the New Year and their very worthwhile achievements.
Tickets are £50 per person or £450 for tables of 10. Sponsorship packages and exhibitor packages are available. To book tickets or for more information about sponsorship or exhibiting, please call 07779 094420.

Gilbert & Sullithon 2010

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Birmingham’s historic Town Hall is the venue for the ‘Gilbert & Sullithon’ that will take place in a 22 hour marathon session from Saturday 13th February until Sunday 14th February am to raise money for this year’s Lord Mayor’s Charity Appeal.
The concept of the Sullithon is to raise money through the registration and sponsorship of participants in a scratch, concert-style event, singing all 13 Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, one after another, with a ten minute break between each one.
The event is being introduced by Ed Doolan, who is a keen G & S fan, and will start at 10.00am on the Saturday morning, and finish around 8.00am on the Sunday morning. Cameo performances will be given by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress!
The beautifully refurbished Town Hall will be an exciting venue for this remarkable and unusual event.
As part of the fund raising there is a registration fee of £20.00 and this includes a comprehensive souvenir programme giving the history and details of the operettas, and a performance polo shirt (coloured co-ordinated per the pitch of your voice).
The organisers are also looking for musicians and Musical Directors to accompany some of the operettas.
If you are interested in taking part as a singer or musician, or attending all or part of this as an audience member (tickets £5.00) please contact the organisers Phil & Kathy Lovell by telephone on 0121 243 9896 or email: philandkathy@blueyonder.co.uk.
Even if you cannot get involved yourself, please tell your friends, put it on your Facebook page, Twitter and generally make it known throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Thank you - and hopefully see you there!

More on the Staffordshire Hoard

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There have recently been press reports that the Staffordshire Hoard (would that it had been named the Mercian Hoard!) has attracted the interests of the Vatican - so often the target of imaginative conspiracy theories. Birmingham museum staff have contacted the Vatican who have said that they are definitely not seeking the Hoard.
Other speculation abounds, particularly on the internet, including a claim that the 1800 piece Hoard contains the relics of St Edwin (King Edwin of Northumbria at the time) was the Christian King of Northumbria. The Mercians at the time of King Penda were pagan. It has been claimed by some that the Hoard is from the Battle of Hatfield Chase, 12th October 633. At this battle, King Edwin was killed. The Hoard is thought to contain at least one helmet (in many pieces).
It has been noted that the Christian crosses in the Hoard have been bent to fit into a box. Some fragments of wood have been found associated with the gold so that carbon dating may be possible.
It has been argued that the apparent lack of respect for a religious item shown by twisting it may indicate that the looter was pagan. The Mercians converted to Christianity after the death of Penda at the Battle of Winwaed in 655. (Penda's death is depicted in a stained glass window in Worcester Cathedral.)
It may also be possible that the Hoard is the consequence of the Battle of Maserfield, where King Penda killed St. Oswald (King Oswald of Northumbria) and dismembered his body. There is a de-consecrated church named after St. Oswald in Small Heath, Birmingham (off the Coventry Road.)
The Treasury Act restricts the sale of the items abroad. The Hoard was valued in November at £3,285,000. Under the Act, since the Hoard is of national importance, the British Museum has the first option to buy it. However, the BM has made it clear from the outset, that they want the Hoard to be bought and displayed in the Midlands.
Under the Act, the Hoard can only be purchased by an accredited museum with an appropriate collections policy. The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and Stoke-on-Trent's Potteries Museum are accredited museums and their collecting policies are suitable - BMAG acquires pre-eminent collections (amongst many other things) whilst the Potteries collects relevant archaeological finds.
Since the day the items were found in late July, regular meetings have been held between BMAG, the Potteries Museum and potential funders such as the Art Fund, National Heritage Memorial Fund and Heritage Lottery Fund.
One school of thought is that five museums will be involved in the display bringing in museums in Lichfield, Tamworth and Stafford with themed display elements - for example with Birmingham concentrating on the European dimension of Anglo-Saxon culture, Stoke having a Mercian focus, Stafford on the excavation, Tamworth on the royal aspect and Lichfield on the religious dimension
Birmingham’s broad focus will give opportunities to hold temporary displays of other Anglo-Saxon collections from around Britain and Western Europe (some of which are not on public display) plus global collections showing what was happening in the rest of the world between 600 and 700AD. There’s a lot to look forward to - and now we just need to raise the money!