Digbeth

A pigeon lover and a pest controller debate if the birds are to be loved or loathed

Project Pigeon’s debate on BBC 5 live radio last night:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12699424

Workshops in Pigeon Keeping

Come and find out about pigeons!

2pm-4pm Fridays and Saturdays, February – April 2011

Project Pigeon’s Loft, Milk Street, Digbeth, Birmingham (in Boxxed’s backyard opposite Birmingham Backpackers under a viaduct)

Places are free but please book in advance by emailing:

projectpigeondigbeth@gmail.com

Saturday 19th February:  Introduction to pigeon fancying

Find out about the history of pigeon fancying, meet some pigeon fanciers and find out about why they keep pigeons, meet Project Pigeon’s birds and watch some pigeons fly.

Friday 25th February:  A pigeon’s home and life

This workshop will be focused on the different seasons in a pigeons life, from racing season to breeding season.  We will also look at the different kinds of pigeon lofts there are.

Saturday 26th February:  Day to day pigeon loft management

How to keep your pigeons clean and happy – from cleaning the loft to giving the pigeons a bath.

Friday 4th March:  Making nest boxes and perches

A woodwork session where we will design and make essential items for the inside of pigeon lofts and make any loft repairs.

Saturday 5th March:  Racing pigeons, Birmingham rollers and tipplers

There are many kinds of pigeons, racing pigeons are used in racing, Birmingham rollers in sequence flying and tipplers in endurance flying.

Friday 11th March:  A pigeon’s diet

Like any athlete a pigeons diet is very important.  In this session you will find out about all the vital vitamins, minerals and foods needed to keep pigeons on top form.

Saturday 12th March:  Veterinary skills

Vets in the UK know little about racing pigeons, and if you took your pigeon to the vet every time there was something wrong it would cost a lot and wouldn’t be practical.  Learn about what kinds of injuries pigeon get and how you can help your pigeon.

Friday 18th March:  Breeding

Come and see and learn about squeekers (baby pigeons)!

Saturday 19th March:  Training and racing

How do pigeons find their way home?  How do you train a racing pigeon?  How do you win a race?!

Saturday 2nd April:  Making a magazine about pigeons

Help Project Pigeon design a magazine based on what we have learnt during the workshops.

Saturday 16th April:  Come and watch a live pigeon race!

You might have been to the horses or to the dogs but have you ever seen a pigeon race?  Now is your chance!  Please email if you intend to come to this because the time of the race will only be known on Saturday morning – the morning of the race.

Community Pigeon Loft Project

People from all around the world keep pigeons and pigeon lofts reflect the culture in which they are located. Chinese pigeon lofts are different to English pigeon lofts, these are different to Irish pigeon lofts, which are again different to Iranian pigeon lofts, which are different to Pakistani pigeon lofts…..

Project Pigeon needs your help to design and build a loft that reflects all the different cultures in Digbeth and Highgate, Birmingham.

To talk about the project and get some inspiration please drop into to one of the Community Consultation Days:

Thursday 3rd February: 7.30am-2.30pm Eastside Café, 99 Coventry Street, Digbeth

Sunday 6th February: 10am- 4pm Project Pigeon’s Loft, Milk Street, Digbeth (in Boxxed’s backyard, opposite Birmingham Backpackers)

Wednesday 9th February: 2pm-6pm Project Pigeon’s Loft

Tuesday 15^th February: 7pm-11pm The Spotted Dog pub, 104 Warwick Street, Digbeth

We will be running workshops and talking to different groups throughout January, February and March, if we haven’t already contacted you and you would like us to come and run some workshops with you/ your group please get in touch with us:

Project Pigeon: projectpigeondigbeth@gmail.com / 07967637017

If you are an individual or group who would like to submit a design please email it to: projectpigeondigbeth@gmail.com before 6th March

Designs will be exhibited at Eastside Café between 7th March and 12th March and on-line at:

www.flickr.com/photos/communitypigeonloft

The pigeon loft we all design will be built between mid March and May 2011 so look out for further information.

Please see www.project-pigeon.co.uk for more information about Project Pigeon

This project is supported by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund

Project Pigeon Prizes

It was the Aston and District Pigeon Flying club prize giving on Friday night, we collected two certificates.  One of our pigeons came 6th out of 212 pigeons on a 75 mile race from Swainswick and another came 4th out of 279 pigeons in a 114 mile race from Taunton.  We are very happy with the results.

(The jumper I’m wearing is one of a range of things we have made for British Homing World Show of the Year- in Blackpool at the end of January – where we’ll be having a stall)

New additions to Supersonic Festival

DAY TICKETS RELEASED FOR
SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL 2010

FINAL ACTS ADDED TO LINE-UP

KING MIDAS SOUND / ZENI GEVA / CLOAKS (exclusive solo DJ set) /
FACTORY FLOOR / NISENNENMONDAI / MUGSTAR /  DEVILMAN / PETER BRODERICK PIERRE BASTIEN + MALE INSTRUMENTY / FUKPIG  / LASH FRENZY vs KK NULL /
KHYAM ALLAMI AND MASTER MUSICIANS OF UKKAKE PRESENT: BOSPHOREAN  / MONARCH/ DEAD FADER / STINKY WIZZLETEAT

Joining confirmed acts including:
NAPALM DEATH / GODFLESH / SWANS
HALLOGALLO – Michael Rother + Friends present the music of NEU!

PEOPLE LIKE US / DEMONS (W/SICK LLAMA) / OvO / PART WILD HORSES MANE ON BOTH SIDES / DOSH / TWEAK BIRD / DRUMCORPS / CAVE / PCM / JAILBREAK FEAT. CHRIS CORSANO + HEATHER LEIGH / MELT BANANA / JAMES BLACKSHAW / LICHENS / BONG / GNOD / VOICE OF THE SEVEN THUNDERS / NECRO DEATHMORT / GNAW / EAGLE TWIN / BLUE SABBATH BLACK FIJI

Tickets on sale now from:
www.theticketsellers.co.uk
www.seetickets.com

Friday: £20, Sat/Sun: £35, Weekend: £75

Following the news that the 2010 edition of Birmingham’s acclaimed annual Supersonic Festival will be headlined by NAPALM DEATH, SWANS, GODFLESH and HALLOGALLO, Capsule are pleased to announce that a limited number of individual day tickets are now on sale, priced £20 (Friday) and £35 (Saturday/Sunday), with weekend tickets on sale at £75.

Friday night will be headlined by Birmingham extreme metallers Napalm Death, Saturday by Godflesh, for their first UK appearance in over 10 years, and Sunday by two equally unmissable acts, Swans and Hallogallo 2010 – Michael Rother + friends play the music of NEU!

Supersonic are also excited to reveal the final round of incredible artists who will be appearing at this year’s festival. From Doom to dun step and folk, Supersonic 2010 is set to cement the festival’s reputation as one of the most original and eclectic music festivals in the UK.

Regarded as pioneers of experimental music by the likes of Sonic Youth and Merzbow, KK Null’s incredible collective Zeni Geva will be bringing their prog-hardcore to the Supersonic stage, and KK will also be appearing alongside Birmingham sound artist, Lash Frenzy, in a truly unmissable performance. Also confirmed, Kevin Martin, creator of experimental dancehall project The Bug, with his incredible, critically acclaimed new project, King Midas Sound.

Aggressive, noisy and hailed by many as the successor to Napalm Death, Fukpig will be playing their new breed of Birmingham grindcore, along with heavy, heavy dub from Devilman aka DJ Scotch Egg and Dokkebi Q. Also confirmed, Monarch, with the demonic, throat-shredding shrieks of Emilie, whose petite appearance belies one of the harshest throats in the underground Doom spectrum.
Following a knock-out 2009 performance, Nisennenmondai return, bringing their driving rhythm section and metallic guitar sound, along with Mugstar, who will be playing their unique underground mix of psychedelia and krautrock.  Also confirmed, the most exciting new band to come out of London, Factory Floor, who will also be putting in one of their legendary brutal, live performances, and there will be an unmissable Cloaks DJ set from Steve Cloaks, who will be playing strictly Cloaks material only, in an exclusive performance for Supersonic 2010. There will also be heaviness, good times and volume a-plenty from Birmingham’s very own Stinky Weezleteet and distorto-death groves from Brighton’s Dead Fader.
World music meets psychedelic rock in a unique performance from Khyam Allami and Master Musicians of Bukkake, combining the sublime Oud playing of Iraqi musician Khyam Allami with the 7-piece out rock unit, Master Musicians of Bukkake. French composer and surrealist inventor Pierre Bastien will also be bringing his musical machinery, which he has been making since the 1970s, and will share the bill with Male Instrumenty, the fantastic five-piece orchestra of toys and small instruments from Poland. Also, the “painfully young and unnervingly talented” American multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick, who will be exploring minimalism and instrumentalism with tinges of folk.

For further details check out our website www.supersonicfestival.com

Here, at the Edge

This week we are holding one of our legendary discussions, with another International guest:

We met Isaura in 2006, when she visited with her son, Matthew.  Isaura set up the Bobby Mendes Peace Legacy in association with our US colleague, Shannon Flattery of Touchable Stories.  They use the arts and peace campaigning to work against violence in their home neighbourhood of Dorchester, Boston in memory of Isaura’s son Bobby, murdered in 1995.  Bobby’s murder sparked off a spiral of violence between young Cape Verdeans which has resulted in almost a thousand deaths over the last 15 years – an incredible figure in such a relatively small place. Her and her son Matthew visited with us and attended a number of workshops and discussion groups with young people in Birmingham, and with the parents of young people who had suffered violent deaths.  They had an amazing time with us, and Matthew, particularly said that the visit had allowed him to ‘find his voice’ – and returned to his community to continue the work alongside his mother, campaigning for peace.  Matthew was murdered in a drive-by shooting three weeks after their return.  Despite this second tragedy, Isaura has continued to work for peace, even publicly forgiving Bobby’s murderer at his trial.  She is back for a second visit, and we are honoured to host her.  If you’d like to hear this inspirational woman talk, please come along to the Edge, this Thursday from 6pm, we’d love to see you there. Of course, it’s free, but feel free to donate to the Peace Legacy through their website. Thanks.

A Cashpoint in Eastside – and it’s Free!

Stop press! At last a free cash point in Eastside – a Natwest cashpoint will be located by the new Nisa convenience store, just next to the Digbeth High Street entrance of Birmingham Coach Station.
To celebrate this auspicious occasion there will be an opening ceremony at 6pm tonight – read all about it on DIGBETH IS GOOD

At the Edge….

Yet more action at the Edge, this time you can banish those election night blues, while you’re waiting for inevitable disappointment by seeking Sonic Asylum.

That’s Asylum as in sanctuary.

Headlining is Canadian folk band, The Wilderness of Manitoba, all the way from Canadia.  More info about them can be found on Magpie Brown’s site here.  Able assistance will be provided by performance art group Bet4, all the way from deepest Derbyshire, who perform work intended to harness the power of synaesthaesia.  Or something, you’ll have to see for yourself or go here.  This will be followed by a Musery set by Dr Soesmix, playing tunes intended to heal and groove you, simultaneously.  All this, interactive sonic installations and sonic toys, a ‘sonically healing tardis’ to enter, hot chocolate, cupcakes, a communal rangoli we’ll all make together and loads of comfy sofas and chairs to chillax on. There’s a limited capacity so please let us know at info@edgearts.com how many tickets you’ll need (each one a limited edition artist’s print).

You’ll forget where you put your ‘X’.  See you at the Edge…

Don’t forget, we have an Open Call Out to anyone who needs a space to do anything, public or private, art or not-art, just get in touch and we’ll just make things happen, in a just way.

We Are Eastside brochure

For your viewing pleasure, a guide to Eastside. These beautifully designed brochures can be found all round the city, pick one up or glance at your leisure online here.

At the Edge… Last chance to be fooled

The residency by the Nomadic Academy of Fools is halfway through and, so far, so fantastic.  It’s so hard to describe the work, but I’ll try.  Jonathan and the Fools take you into a world with their performances, that is beautiful, truthful and realer than reality.  And generally hilarious – after Friday’s show my ribs and cheeks were aching, and I felt amazing with all those endorphins rushing around my body.  More than one audience member described it as medicine or ‘soul food’.  So, this jam-packed week, take some time to come to the Edge and get your soul fed – Wednesday at 8pm, NAF perform Shakespeare’s Richard II and on Friday at 8pm it’s ‘Feast of Fools’ including a solo performance from Jonathan Kay.