Photos 2013

Stirchley Park: 8 February 2013

This small park is hidden away behind houses, shops and other buildings, but has been opened up more
in recent years and is being cared for and improved by a community group. There's more about the park here...
and here are some photos I took in the snow in 2010

The photos are on a separate page.

Love Stirchley: Opening night 14 February 2013

I was part of a group that sang "What's Love Got To Do With It"
in the street at the start of this Stirchley celebration.
There's a video of our final rehearsal on Youtube

The photos are on a separate page.

Stirchley Baths project

A project to restore this historic building and put it to community use took a big step forward
when members of the public were invited to "put their hands up" in support of a funding application.
There's more about the project at stirchleybaths.org

The photos are on a separate page.

Stirchley Baths project: Sink or Swim

Another event to demonstrate public support for the Stirchley Baths restoration project was held in June.
"Sink or Swim" was devised and organised by Emma and Jayne of Place Prospectors
who have already done a huge amount for Stirchley

The photos are on a separate page.

South America

In July and August we spent 2 weeks in Argentina followed by another 3 weeks in Bolivia.

We started off in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, where we visited
Miriam's cousins. We then took an overnight bus to Iguazú to see
the mighty waterfalls and went on to spend a few days in Buenos Aires.

From Argentina we flew over the Andes and had an all too
brief tour of Santiago, Chile where we made an overnight stop.

In Bolivia we joined up with a larger team from our home church.
The full remarkable story of the visit is told here.

And here are some more photos: our first week was spent in La Paz,
then we moved on to Tarija and finished in Santa Cruz.

Stirchley Christmas lights switch-on: SO Vocal performance

Miriam's former choir was in outdoor action early in December

The photos are on a separate page.

Phoenix Singers Christmas concert

Miriam left SO Vocal when she could no longer make the practice nights,
and joined another large choir, Phoenix Singers. She sang in their Christmas concert.

The photos are on a separate page.

Rea Valley in the snow

After a heavy snowfall on 18 January I went for a walk beside the River Rea in Selly Park

Snow-covered branches form an arch over the path

A walker in the snow on the Rea Valley path

I'm not the only one out for a walk

A touch of colour in the snow

The big freeze continues: Selly Park at night

Pink lights from a shop on snow-covered Pershore Road

Shocking pink: Lights from the shop compete with the orange street lights

Kitchener Road

Snow-covered Selly Park Baptist Church entrance at night

Selly Park Baptist Church: Who needs Instagram with the street lights turning everything orange?

Snow-covered bollards in St Stephen's Road

Snow-covered bollards outside the Dogpool Hotel in St Stephen's Road

"Hinterland" in Winterland

When much of the ArtSOAK festival was buried under a snowfall in March,
Tom Cahill-Jones' installation "Hinterland" was the only outdoor survivor

A multicoloured shed construction in a snowy landscape

Artist in residence: Tom is not, as one visitor speculated, homeless and this was only a temporary construction

View from near the bridge over the River Rea

The installation was set up on the edge of Hazelwell Park in Hunts Road, Stirchley.
A post-war map inside shows that there was once a row of prefabs along the road

Snow was still falling, as it had done since the previous day

Women and Theatre: Something Out of the Ordinary

The car park of the Stirchley Co-op was the unlikely venue for this short play.
It was intended to be performed during the ArtSOAK festival but had to be postponed due to heavy snow.
Women and Theatre website

The performers

Something Out of the Ordinary: members of the audience

Concentration from the audience: All the seats were taken

Something Out of the Ordinary: part of the set

Part of the set: The car park markings are visible on the "stage"

Something Out of the Ordinary: the marquee

The play was staged in a marquee in the car park of Stirchley Co-op

AEC Big Day Out at Warwick Castle

My employer generously provided a day of fairground entertainment in the grounds of
Warwick Castle, with a barbecue and free entry to the Castle. As our boys are grown up
the more child-oriented events weren't really aimed at Miriam and me, but we were
brave enough to go on the Ferris wheel and there was a great atmosphere.