Second City

Today marks 100 years of Remembrance services in the U.K., since 1919 when the nation paid tribute to the fallen of WW1.

This year, the aim to raise £50,000 in Birmingham, to help make a real difference not only to the lives of servicemen and women and veterans, but to their families as well who can also experience difficulties dealing with the circumstances of a loved one who is serving.

Photos 📸 taken by Gerard Higgins and John Bray.

Today’s the day! Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market opens this morning, marking it’s 20th visit to Birmingham.

As always, the market offers a large range of traditional goods and gifts. Pretzels, schnitzels, bratwursts, and roasted almonds will tempt your taste buds, and can be washed down with glühwein, weissbeer, or hot chocolate.

📰 NEWS | Plans for a £25m regeneration of Birmingham’s city centre – which include bringing Victoria Square’s famous ‘Floozie in the Jacuzzi’ fountain back into use – have been revealed this week.

The improvements will include renewing 40,000 sq m of public realm, the repair and restoration of The River fountain in Victoria Square, an extension of the pedestrian area around Victoria Square, improving security measures at 19 city centre locations and the replacement of pavement, lighting columns, CCTV and street furniture.

📰 NEWS | A recent survey by Sport England has revealed West Midlanders participate in activity less than people from any other part of the country.

To tackle this, the West Midlands Combined Authority has announced an ambitious set of programmes encouraging people to be more active, designed to to improve health and life expectancy.

An atmospheric capture of the city’s ever-expanding tram network by Mark Shepster.

Did you know the West Midlands Metro transports over 7 million people every year and is set to triple over the coming years?

📰 NEWS | Thousands of people, young and old, gathered in Victoria Square before marching through nearby streets last month, all calling on the local government to do more about climate change.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council is setting up a cross-party taskforce to draw up an action plan setting out how Birmingham will tackle climate change and become carbon neutral by 2030.

🎟 EVENT | The fourth annual EcoFest returns to this Sunday, 29 September with a day of exhibitions, workshops, performances and screenings that focus on working together to make a positive impact on the environment in your own home and community.

Visitors are invited to meet local organisations including , , Community Energy Birmingham, Friends of the Earth and .

📰 NEWS | Archaeologists have reached a major milestone by completing the excavation of 6,500 sets of human remains from Park Street burial ground where HS2 Curzon Street station is being built.

The 12-month project saw over 70 archaeologists from MOLA Headland Infrastructure working on the site.

🍽 DINING | Foodies rejoice! The Solihull Food and Drink Festival returns next weekend, with over 100 food and drink traders showcasing the very best the region has to offer.

The demo kitchen will be back with free culinary masterclasses from some of the best in the business, including Michelin star chefs Glynn Purnell and Rob Palmer and many more.

Date: 27-29 September. Hosted by .

The reflective surface of Grand Central Birmingham is a treasure trove for any photographer. We’re never not impressed by captures of it, like this one by Kiely John!

🎟 EVENT | After illuminating the City of London near St. Paul’s Cathedral last Autumn, the magic of the Wand Installation is now on the move, and will stop off in Birmingham.

The installation of nine giant wands will illuminate the night sky above Birmingham to raise awareness for J.K. Rowling’s charity Lumos, to coincide with the launch of the third Fantastic Beasts movie in 2021.

🍽 DINING | American burger brand Five Guys, famed for its burgers, hot dogs, fries and milkshakes, is to open a new restaurant at Resorts World Birmingham in late Autumn 2019.

The new restaurant will be the 98th for the brand in the UK and will be situated on the ground floor of Resorts World, offering customers fully customisable burgers and the option to choose from as many of the 15 fresh toppings as they want.

🎟 EVENT
Birmingham Heritage Week returns to the city in just over two weeks, 12-22 September.

The events programme includes workshops, exhibitions and walks all exploring Birmingham’s culture and heritage across many locations, including Aston Hall, some of the city’s Museums, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and plenty more.

(Pictured: Rob Lewis, Collection Care Manager, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery)

📍 LOCAL

Did you catch a glimpse of the bull dressed in 1920s garb?

The Bullring & Grand Central Birmingham landmark was transformed to celebrate the return of cult gangster drama Peaky Blinders.