Premium Birmingham blogger Andrew Dubber has shifted his personal blogging to a new combined, clean and elegant site. Just thought I’d throw him a link.
Author: Nick Booth
A Jihad on Birmingham Rubbish
Well the headline certainly caught Jon Bound’s attention (perhaps it made him wince?). A Jihad (struggle) against rubbish in Small Heath in Birmingham has been declared for September 23rd. MPACUK tells us:
Tired of rubbish-strewn streets, Muslims have decided to clean up and recycle, going from mosque to mosque, starting with Noor ul Uloom mosque, Birmingham’s oldest. The Clean Medina Campaign will be launched with a big push, a shout (Allahu Akbar!) and a (movie) shoot (cast of thousands, mujahidin all). We’re also making a film: Smallywood Heath in Brum!
It’s part of a Birmingham campaign called Clean Medina. Clean streets and language reclaimed – in one day! Good luck.
Pimps, prostitutes and Grandad’s Army – new podcast on the Grassroots Channel
This is the story of Chris Hoare: a grandfather who’s worked for years to clear prostitution from the Waterworks Estate on the borders of Edgbaston and Ladywood in inner-city Birmingham. His neighbours were so fearful of the pimps that they asked Chris to step up and take action. To find out why he did it this way please listen to the podcast.
The tower over Chris’s shoulder is Perrott’s Folly – a building with links to Tolkien. He worked with the Birmingham Conservation Trust (declaration – I’m a trustee!) to prevent the building’s collapse. Next steps are to use it as a tourist draw, turning what was once a neighbourhood riddled with vice into an international family attraction.
The residents have also transformed many of their communal areas. Chris is standing in front of Anderton Gardens, a new garden named after a police sergeant who worked with them. (created with help from Groundwork Birmingham)
The pragmatic approach of Chris and others in the Birmingham South West residents group reminds me of so many others we’ve spoken to on the Grassroots Channel, especially the people of Perry Common and Masood Yasin in Washwood Heath.
Thanks to Paul from the Chamberlain Forum for introducing me to Chris.
Young people, charity and social media – A Doonsbury cartoon!
Hat tip to the queen of online fundraising, Beth Kanter and Jonathon Coleman of The Nature Conservancy (who uses partially online audio stories to build relationships with donors). Beth’s wonders if this will make folk cringe in the future. Should even a small portion of young people use their networks like this I expect it will multiply the impact on charities.