Author: Karen Cheney

Birmingham Rep Production on Tour – Stories to Tell in the Middle of the Night at Stirchley Baths on Sunday March 5, 6.30pm

Written and Performed by the critically acclaimed Francesca Millican-Slater, this amusing and gripping collection of short quirky tales is reminiscent of Roald Dahl’s stories for adults.

Dreamlike and darkly humorous, this live, late night radio show is inspired by the legendary radio shows of Ronnie Wood and Iggy Pop and includes tales of everything from love and obsession to technology and disconnection. Not to mention Pork Pies !!

Age recommended 16+ (Contains some mild swearing and sexual references)

Stirchley Baths – Fun Palace !

FUN PALACE

Who wants to be a Fun Palace Maker?

Stirchley Baths would like to offer itself as a venue to host a Fun Palace event at some point over 1-2 October weekend, but we need community Fun Palace Makers to get involved!

What is a Fun Palace I hear you ask?! “Fun Palaces is an annual, free, nationwide celebration of arts and culture, driven by localism, innovation and engagement, with a core passion to encourage communities to create by and for themselves. Fun Palaces shouts, sings, shimmies, stomps from the rooftops: arts and sciences, all culture, is a crucial part of human life, and they are truly glorious!”

 

Can you run a science experiment or an art or craft activity? Are you in a band or someone who can get people up dancing? Do you have a PlayStation and could supervise a Minecraft corner? Can you organise a few games, run a jewellery making session, lead a walk or a bike ride, or talk to people about local history? Can you teach people how to garden? What could YOU offer to engage people in YOUR community in FUN stuff?

Visit http://funpalaces.co.uk/

 

“Fun Palaces is not just about the weekend, it is about coming together to create, celebrating local people, local places and community in the everyday.”

Fun Palaces are RADICAL!! What do the Fun Palaces organisers mean by that? They think…

  • Radical Engagement means ANYONE should be able to make a Fun Palace
  • Radical Participation means ANYONE can go to a Fun Palace and – hopefully – find something there that they’d like to do. And if they can’t find anything there they’d like to do, that they are allowed to create something they’d like to do while they are there
  • Radically Local means that, whatever you want to do in your Fun Palace, there is probably someone in your community, someone locally, who knows how to do it. (Or who knows someone who knows how to do it!)
  • Radically Community means that YOU, your own community, are best-placed to be your own leaders, your own Makers. We think that we’ve had enough of flying in experts to tell communities what to do. We think you know.
  • It’s radical to say Everyone an Artist, Everyone a Scientist – we believe it too. And we believe that changing the world, from the grassroots up, locally, in and with community, can happen while having radical FUN.

If you have read to the bottom of this, we think you might be someone who can get involved in helping to organise or contribute to a STIRCHLEY Fun Palace event at some point during 1-2 October.

 

If so, please get in contact with us hello@stirchleybaths.org or pop in and speak to a member of staff or else come along to a Kick Off Meeting on 17/8/16 6.30pm at Stirchley Baths

 

We are more than happy to take on the initial coordinating role through the Stirchley Baths Heritage Programme (as we have a small pot of funding and some people resource), but as essentially a grass roots movement, Fun Palaces are community-led!

 

Looking forward to hearing from you if you can spare a few hours to help organise or do an activity on the day – it should be FUN !

 

Update on Baths Development Progress

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Following the arrival of the crane, poking out of the top of the site, refurbishment work has progressed following some delay because of asbestos and its removal. New scaffolding is up, walls are being removed and rebuilt, the old boiler and filtration tanks have been removed and the white hoarding boards are now around the frontage. Attached are some of the recent photographs from the site – kindly sent through by Steve and Jon from Balfour Beatty and a few of my own arty shots !!

Progress 7-7-14 010Progress 7-7-14 008IMG_1996

Roof views 004 (2)

 

A very successful open day for invited community stakeholders was held in July which allowed everyone to see some of the work – one of the most interesting bits being the basement, almost set out like an old roman  baths!

On 6th September Mark ( scheme architect) and I enjoyed ourselves at the excellent Stirchley Bash event in Stirchley Park with  the up to date proposals for the site including the proposed much improved 2 way entry/ exit system to the car park – attached below. What do you think?

 72920_03-REV_I_Proposed_Site_Plan