Mela at the Mill

Deputy Lord Mayor’s Blog 10

We recently had the pleasure of attending the annual Mela held at the recreation ground by Sarehole Mill. This is one of several, all-community events of its kind in Birmingham and there was a very pleasant atmosphere – especially in the tea tent as shown in the photo!

One distinctive feature of Hall Green Mela is that the opportunity is taken to present awards to people who have contributed a lot to the local community through voluntary service and I was delighted to present these well deserved awards in recognition. There was also an impressive talent competition for young people ranging from song and dance through to poetry and it was good to talk to the competitors.

So a very good day enjoyed by everyone – just what Melas are all about.

Queen Alexandra College

Deputy Lord Mayor’s Blog 9

Over the past year or so I’ve had the pleasure of visiting and interacting with Birmingham’s Queen Alexandra College which provides training for people with limited or no vision along with other disabilities. The College does absolutely outstanding work and I recently had the pleasure of attending the QAC family day held at the college and at which qualifications were announced and awards made.
The first photograph is of the audience at the ceremony. I cannot overstate the value of this work and the dedication of the staff and volunteers and the determination, commitment and success of the students. Yesterday I paid a follow-up visit to the ‘Sight Village’ which was held at the New Bingley Hall in Hockley.
This is an exhibition of the very latest aids, adaptations, devices, software and support for blind people and those with limited vision. I met exhibitors from the UK and Europe and from as far afield as Oregon in the United States. There has been amazing progress in recent years and research and development continues apace. This international event is organised by QAC and is a credit to the college – and indeed to Birmingham.
On a personal note I had the great pleasure of meeting again someone I had not seen for 48 years since we were both at University together. Roger Hinds now runs a very successful social enterprise making available, free of charge, software that makes it much easier to read on screen material. While attempting the impossible of catching up on almost five decades, Roger and I were also thinking of ways that we can make the software more easily accessible to people in Birmingham.
I also had a chance to have my picture taken at a photography project – again for people with very limited sight. I am shown here with Vicky from the ‘Look’ team - and optional snakes!
Good luck to all concerned and thank you to Queen Alexandra College for all that it does.

Wheelchair Basketball

Deputy Lord Mayor's Blog 8

The City of Birmingham is proud to be hosting the wheelchair basketball championships of the world for 2010. As Deputy Lord Mayor I had the privilege of delivering the official welcome at the opening ceremony at the National Indoor Arena.
There was a splendid display by dancers and skaters from in and around Birmingham and a parade of the athletes from the countries taking part. The Deputy lady Mayoress and I stayed on for the first match of the championships which featured the Great Britain women’s team against the Netherlands. Our photo shows the teams lining up at the start of the match.
This was an exciting game in what is a fast and fluid sport. Although participants usually have a disability you don’t need to be disabled to enjoy playing the game.
The opening game was very, very close with Great Britain taking an early lead and sustaining it until the second half. However, there must have been a particularly effective pep talk by the Netherlands coach as the lead was clawed back and in a nail-biting finish the Netherlands eventually came out the winners by 39 to 38. It couldn’t have been closer.
All praise to the competitors, the organisers, the volunteers and city council officers for making the opening day such a great success for the sport and for the city.

A Definite Score!

Deputy Lord Mayor’s Blog 7

We recently had the opportunity to attend a performance of SCORE! a new commission from composer Tim Steiner with words from Ian McMillan. This was a huge open-air production by nearly 5,000 children from all over the country.

The performance was both highly enjoyable and inspiring and took place at the ground of Birmingham City FC and was part of the 2010 national Festival of Music for Youth - the 40th anniversary festival.
This enormous event involves no less than 160 cities, towns and villages across the country. Around 14,000 young instrumentalists take part along with 3,000 singers!
In Birmingham alone there are other festival performances at the Town Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire, the CBSO Centre, Symphony Hall, Brindley Place and the O2 Academy.
Terrific stuff! And thank you to all who took part yesterday and to Music for Youth and Birmingham Music Service for what was a truly outstanding event.