Sri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, Tividale (Wikimedia Commons) I submitted my thesis on Wolverhampton and its diasporic Irish space at the beginning of December, and my brain is slowly starting to unclog so that I can think about things outside the four walls of my home office again. With a bit of luck I might have … Continue reading Farm to Vaccination Centre: geographies of industry, politics and religion in Tividale
Tag: west midlands
Carnival marching bands in the Black Country
Recently, Stuart Cowley got in touch (coming via Brownhills Bob's excellent blog) to talk about something I knew almost nothing about. He's very kindly agreed to write a guest post documenting the history of children's marching jazz bands in the Black Country (and wider region), and it's fascinating. Without further ado, over to him: Burntwood … Continue reading Carnival marching bands in the Black Country
Slavery and the Black Country: collars and chains
Last week I looked at money: finance that filtered from Africa to Jamaica to Britain through the holdings of wealthy landlords such as the Earls of Dudley. This week I want to look at things: the industrial links that the Black Country had with enslavement and unfree labour. These are not easy to trace, just as … Continue reading Slavery and the Black Country: collars and chains
Great Dodford
In 2009 I cleverly broke my hip while cycling home from work. My recuperation was aided by a boxset of the first series of The Wire, a gift from work; we quickly purchased all the following series, essentially because it's amazing. I was soon seeing evidence of its accuracy everywhere: watch your managers at work … Continue reading Great Dodford
More miles of canal than Venice
When talking about their home town, West Midlanders are some of the most self-deprecating folk you'll meet; try putting a Brummie up against a Scouser in a bragging contest and you'll see what I mean. But there's one thing guaranteed to make the most miserablist swell their chests - the cuts. Every local knows that … Continue reading More miles of canal than Venice
Block Capital
I'm very cheerful to be involved with the new Block Capital project that the Distinctly Black Country network are running. It's great to be getting back into doing some actual social research, and this ties in with my academic interest in Wolverhampton and the Black Country, and my personal interest in the rise and fall … Continue reading Block Capital