Birmingham Dispatch

1 week ago | birminghamdispatch.co.uk | Samuel McIlhagga

Plus: who are the movers and shakers shaping Brum — and Britain — in years to come? Welcome to The Dispatch. We're Birmingham's new quality newspaper, delivered via email. Join our free mailing list to get two full editions a week: a Monday briefing, full of things to do and bitesize news, straight from Brum's streets, and a weekend feature, taking you deep inside your city and the West Midlands. To get total access to all four of our weekly editions, you can join up as a paying member.

1 week ago | birminghamdispatch.co.uk | Kate Knowles

Kate's in the driver's seat today, with her editor's edition. What I did over the bank holiday: On Saturday, a disappointing weather forecast put to bed my plans to host a barbecue in my garden. Instead, I had Sam and a few other pals round for a good old-fashioned dinner party. As usual, work was so busy last week that it took me until Saturday morning to plan the menu, buy the ingredients and throw together the recipes — not the ideal scenario.

2 weeks ago | birminghamdispatch.co.uk | Kate Knowles

During the uncommonly cold May of 1903, a crowd of important people gathered in a room at London’s School of Economic and Political Science. They were there to hear from the aging, slightly stooped man at the front of the room. As he began to speak, the bright white and bushy mutton chops that made up for the distinct lack of hair on his head, quivered.

2 weeks ago | birminghamdispatch.co.uk | Matty Edwards

Your Brum in brief🚒 Another Digbeth warehouse went up in flames this week, just one month after a similar fire on Bradford Street. This time, the blaze was at 12 Rea Street South, and led to a number of evacuations from neighbouring businesses including Islamic Relief and Muther’s Studio. Over 50 firefighters were in attendance and smoke could be seen from miles away.

3 weeks ago | birminghamdispatch.co.uk | Samuel McIlhagga

The tip dropped into my inbox on a cold February evening. “If you give me an address to drop the package of details I am often in Brum. I trust in your discretion though, I have relatives at the farm. Yours, TerryP.” This nugget of information had been prompted by a feature I wrote for The Dispatch, exploring the work of filmmaker Jonathan Meades. The piece touches on the set of DIY cabins known as plotlands, clustered in the Severn Valley, near the picturesque Worcestershire town of Bewdley.