Another Evocative & Thought Provoking Trip Down Memory Lane @_The_Public with Cipher’s Past Lives Tour.

The Public, West Bromwich.

Last Friday I attended another fantastic screening of Cipher’s Past Lives Music to Archive film performance, this time taking place at The Public, in West Bromwich. It was a wonderful opportunity for members of the surrounding West Midlands communities to come and see some of the home-movie film gems that have been found by the Full Circle groups from across the East and West Midlands.

“We all really enjoyed Friday evening’s performance.  You had done an amazing job with the film, touching, amusing, evocative in turns, with some beautiful faces, and really summoning up what it was to live in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.   The music provided a terrific backdrop, really enhancing what was on the screen by creating just the right atmosphere.” Sarah Bradley, Full Circle Depositor

The Public’s Past Lives audience were treated to poetic family scenes from the 1950s to 70s, shots of Balsall Heath William Edward Street, Woodside, Dudley, The Black Country, Town Sparrows, Percy Thrower Gardens in Edgbaston, Hop Farming in Herefordshire, a trip to the East Midlands coast, kamikaze motorcycles, and much much more.

All accompanied by Cipher’s specially composed live musical score.

If you’ve not yet managed to attend a Past Lives event, then try and pop down to:

• 7 July Derby – The Quad, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby DE1 3AS (01332 290606) derbyquad.co.uk
• 8 July Cromford – Gothic Warehouse, The Arkwright Society, Cromford Mills, Mill Lane, DE4 3RQ (01629 823256) arkwrightsociety.org.uk + Workshop
• 19 July Stamford Arts Centre – 27 St. Marys Street, Stamford, PE9 2DL (01780 763 203) stamfordartscentre.com

Watch this space for a Manchester date in September too!

Cipher’s Dave Sturt and Theo Travis with Full Circle Depositor Sarah Bradley and her brother Robert, whose father Christopher Whitcombe’s family films are one of many to play a big part in the Past Lives Performance.

A scene from The Whitcombe Family Film Collection that has been digitised by MACE’s, Heritage Lottery Funded Full Circle film search project.

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Film Showing Tonight! Balsall Heath Local History Society joins hunt for Midlands Home Movies!

Downton Family - William Edward Street, Balsall Heath - Back-to-Back Houses

Balsall Heath Local History Society

Tonight there will be a MACE Full Circle Film Screening of ‘Balsall Heath on Film’ at The Balsall Heath Local History Society group AGM meeting . The screening will commence at around 7:30pm and will take place at: 

St. Paul’s Community Development Trust
Hertford Street
Balsall Heath
B12 8NJ

Tel: 0121 464 4376

Downton Family - William Edward Street, Balsall Heath - one of the many films found by the Full Circle Project that has now been digitised and put back into the Balsall Heath Community.

Chris Sutton – Development Worker for Balsall Heath Local History Society, has invited along a MACE Full Circle Curator, Lucie Kerley, to talk about the Heritage Lottery Funded Full Circle Project and explain why it is so important that the screen heritage of the Midlands is preserved for future generations. 

Watch this Central Television clip taken from Here and Now programme 239 : Minority ethnic magazine programme. This week: The Balsall Heath is Beautiful campaign; the Afro Caribbean dance group Kokuma; and an interview with the playwright Caryl Phillips.

http://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/here-and-now-programme-239/MediaEntry/907.html 

 

Balsall Heath & Highgate - Past & Present Project

The Society was founded in 1979 with the aim of promoting interest in local history.

There is usually someone in on Mondays, which is the day the Family History/ Genealogy workshops are held in the computer suite.

The Society is based in The Venture on Malvern Street. It has a part-time Development Worker (Chris Sutton) and has an on-site Archive of memorabilia and artefacts.

Over the years the Society has achieved considerable success, working with schools and community groups, organising exhibitions and events, collecting resources and producing its own publications.

The Society also has a regular monthly meeting with guest speakers. More on these can be found on the Society Website

The 30 minute Balsall Heath on Film compilation will also be reshown at The Balsall Heath Carnival on 2nd July, and also at The Balsall Heath Church Centre on the 7th July.

For more information on how you can get involved with the Full Circle Project check out:

http://www.macearchive.org/Full-Circle.html

Police Panda Cars 1967 to 1968

Following the popularity of the 1969 footage of Staffordshire Police’s MK2 Jaguar, today’s three clips all feature police panda cars from 1967 to 1968.

Click on the images to see the catalogue entry and view the clip

ATV Today: 29.06.1967: Police Panda Cars

Police panda cars in use in Birmingham with a commentary from officers about their role. Includes shots of an Austin A40 panda car driving in Birmingham (including Balsall Heath) and a police officer on the beat.

Midlands News: 04.12.1967: New fleet of police Panda cars

New fleet of police Panda cars begin operation in Warley.

Police man driving a Morris Minor panda car.

 

Midlands News: 05.02.1968: Panda cars introduced to Northamptonshire police

 

Panda cars introduced to Northamptonshire police force and reviewed by Earl Spencer.