So there’s this article in today’s Guardian about how the new Bull Ring shopping centre has pushed Birmingham up 10 places to number three in the “best places to shop in Britain” charts, which is nice in a non-consequential page-filler kind of way. What caught my eye was the sidebar vox-pop which includes an “on the scene” report…
Despite the development, there is still a proliferation of ugly buildings. Just past Debenhams’ elegant glass control tower-like building, is a knot of 1960s and 1970s drab concrete. Here, you can “eat like a king for £1.50″ at Mr Egg’s restaurant. Around the corner, Buffalo Bill’s takeaway is burnt-out and boarded up.
That’ll be Smallbrook Queensway and Hurst Street they’re talking about. While the ribbon of concrete along the Queensway isn’t very nice at all, that area is pretty vibrant in it’s own way housing China Town, the Hippodrome Theatre, Nostalgia & Comics (Brum’s only real comic shop), numerous pubs and bars (including The Fabulous Sunflower Lounge which is quite fabulous, actually) and the start of the gay quarter. And of course there’s Mr Egg.
When I was in London I wound up working with an Australian lass, as you tend to do, and somehow Mr Egg came up in the conversation. She was stunned. It exists? Really? Apparently the Brummie “comedian” Jasper Carrot is quite popular down under and has a sketch about Mr Egg in his show. Can you really eat for a king for a pound, she asked? Well, it’s £1.50 these days, but yes you can. And they have a big cloth egg nailed to the ceiling. It’s a top kind of place.
In fact I’d say that most of the interesting places in Birmingham are away from the Bull Ring which, while a very nice building and very well designed (I particularly like the way you can now walk directly from New Street to Digbeth) contains pretty much the same shops and eateries as every other bloody shopping centre in the UK. The danger is that with the Bull Ring being a roaring success the town elders (like the wonderfully named council leader Sir Albert Bore) will be hell bent on renovating every other area of the relatively small city centre demolishing all the interesting bits that actually make the city what it is.
This week I discovered that the Electric cinema had closed, which deserves an entry in itself as it was the only independent cinema in the centre of town as well as serving coffee and home made cake, along with Plastic Factory, a long established indy record shop in the High Fidelity mode. There are good things emerging such as the aforementioned Sunflower Lounge and the new Academy gig venue, but I do worry that the city fathers won’t be happy until the entire centre is converted into a bland strip mall of chain-storedom. The problem is that the centre is so small for such a large city meaning it would be very easy to crush anything interesting. Interesting stuff needs low rents and low rents come in slightly grotty, slightly run-down areas. So in order for Birmingham to survive culturally we need to learn to love that “proliferation of ugly buildings”.
Re development happens, a new generation of ‘cool’ comes along and moves in to a new area of town with low rents. I remember my shock at what has happened to Carnaby Street. I think that city centres will become increasingly bland and corporate, the ‘cool’ areas will move out to the edges and probably in to old industrial brown field sites.
My point is there isn’t actually that much space in the centre of Birmingham for the next generation to move to, at least not around New St station, which is pretty much the only way to get into Brum. Digbeth might be getting interesting with the Custard Factory et all but it’s a bit of a trek.
Do you ever get to clean up in the fruit and veg market, just round the corner from where you’re describing? I had to tip 20 tons of apples there a while back, in the middle of the night. Near dawn, the porters arrive and start pushing antique carts around. It’s like being back in the Victorian age, and the language is pretty robust, too.
One of Birmingham’s best features is the small size of the city centre. It is a city you can walk around in easily, at least until you come to one of the 1960s’ ways/circuses. Digbeth is apparently the next area to be developed with lower cost warehouse conversions going in but without destroying the Irish character of the area. I doubt if people will be drinking their lattes on the banks of the River Rea but you never know. Thirty years ago the canals near Broad Street were derelict, now they’re an attraction.
The efforts at keeping the Victorian buildings intact and looking good have worked. The grot falls into two categories – pre-war buildings that have seen better days and post war concrete etc. that probably should be pulled down. New Street Station’s signal box has a preservation order on it so we will always have one example of the 1960s to remember – do we need more?
My thought would be to rebuild New Street Station and thereby re-do the Pallisades – why? It’s too crowded! More pedestrian or bus only roads would not hurt. I don’t think there’s much else that needs to be done. Certainly the skyline usually looks a mess but Birmingham represents growth in a rather uncertain, capitalistic way. I doubt it will ever be bore-ing!
And reading Peter’s comment about the fruit and veg market (they have an excellent web site BTW) I am reminded of the old Market Hall on the original Bull Ring. Its roof was blown away in WWII and thereafter it was an open air fish market. I saw my first live eels there in about 1952. The old Smithfield Market was in Digbeth, south of St. Martins Church. In those days (1950s) the Bull Ring had more character than it does today, or at least my memory tells me so!
Sorry, I have to correct myself. My point wasn’t about regeneration as such, more that the media and other soundbite junkies kinda miss the point when they report stuff like this. My worry is that the council will see this as justification for strip-malling everything.
I don’t clean anywhere in the city centre at the moment – I’m out in the suburbs in the Erdington / Spag Junction area.
I was actually walking around Digbeth this afternoon with Bookshop-Andy who told me of these redevelopment plans. Apparently the central library is being moved down there which is interesting but it does put it on the other end of town from the offices by the cathedral. We spent some time in the Custard Factory and if that’s an example of how the area will be developed it’s a good one.
The council will never be able to strip mall all of Brum – imagine Sparkhill ever being redeveloped! I do understand your point though in that very close to the Bull Ring there is a complete contrast in architectural style and the BR mentality will start to envelope its environs.
To illustrate my point, here is a photo I took of Moor Street Station – as fine a piece of resotoration as you will see anywhere – from Selfridges. The skyline is typical Brum!
http://www.focalplane.com/Archives/InTheNews1103.html
I noticed a disturbing trend when looking around for a music-pub type venue. As the centre redevelops, the music type pubs have got pushed out. A fine example is the Fiddle & Bone which was having trouble with its music licence as a result of new trendy canalside apts, and shut down a year ago. I don’t see why it needs to be either glitz & stripmalls or interesting, but that’s the way it seems to be going.
Mr Egg represents Birmingham. Seen! You know it will outlive the trendy sushi bars and lolipops with scorpions inside them. keep it local, keep it real and keep going Mr Egg. God bless Mr Egg and all who sail in her.
I love Mr Egg! He’s crackin’!
Eggnother Mr Egg here.I,v never been to the take eggway but hopegg to be in Birmingham’n'eggs in a month or too.Will defy be egglong.
x egg peace x
Mr Eggs rocks pure art for the egg infested sad people who like anything eggy and yolkie
go try and see
The suck
Mr Egg is class!!!
Honestly – I have worked in Brum for years and only frequented the place for the first time early March this year.
You don’t have to have eggs either – though sausage egg and chips and a cup of (weak) coffee for under £3.00 is amazing in Birmingham
you can barely get a nice caramel macchiata from the ‘bucks for that!!!!
and it fills you up!
my mates nicked half me dinner and there was still plenty left.
The other good value/low budget places are Big Wok (around the corner), the Cathay and Pizza hut (£3.99 for all you eat – can’t be bad!)
I hope they get bored of redevelop soon, there’s only so many glass fronted lobbies a person can take!
Can’t beat the Brum for a nice easy dinner break.
Anyone else had Yum Yum’s from St. Martin’s (Bull Ring) market???
3 for fiftay pay!!!!!!!! they holler
at least when they have them (Chilly willy’s)