Community News
If you are part of a local group and would like to tell us about your activities, or if you have participated in a local event that may be of interest to members, please send us a brief report and we will post it here. Reports accompanied by images would be great! Please use the Contact Form with ‘Community News’ in the subject area to send us details.
[12.05.25] Edgbaston Croquet Club : Edgbaston Croquet Club has been aptly described as “Edgbaston’s hidden gem” on the Calthorpe Estate. It has been on its current site since 1915, but its location behind the high hedge in Richmond Hill Road just along from The White Swan pub renders it all but invisible to even those who pass by regularly.
Croquet is an amateur sport and as such participation is much cheaper than in others – no huge physical strength is required and improvement is as much from tactical ability than shot making – it’s often described as a cross between chess and snooker on grass!
Croquet is a sport which can be taken up at any time in life – our members range in age from 13 to 94! Newcomers are always made most welcome, and can take advantage of the free sessions on offer before committing to membership. Special subscriptions are available for first-year members, and those still in full-time employment.
The club’s website provides information on all of the above, plus the club’s history and links to the sport’s governing body Croquet England, where the national and international croquet scene are described.
[19.07.23] From time to time, CRS Committee members meet with senior staff of Birmingham Universities. A meeting was held with Professor Adam Tickell (Vice-Chancellor) and colleagues from the University of Birmingham on 3rd January 2023. The agreed minutes are here.
[08.03.23] The University of the Third Age (u3a) is holding its Spring Fair at Harborne Baptist Church B17 0DH, 2pm-4pm on Wednesday 5th April 2023. Free refreshments will be provided. Their website is here.
Community of Communities
[12.09.22] At the May 2022 AGM, we mentioned that as part of the Society’s work to increase the sense of community across the entire Calthorpe Estate, we wish to bring together the leaders of the many and varied “Resident’s Associations” that exist on the Estate, to create a “Community of Communities”.
We believe that there will be considerable areas of overlapping interest and expertise in such a Community and that such a grouping may strengthen individual associations and relationships across the Estate.
We have received some initial responses, but we are keen to involve as much of the Estate as possible, so if you are a leader of a Calthorpe Estate RA and would be interested in joining us for an initial meeting in a few weeks time to discuss and explore this proposal, then please contact us using the contact form or email us using the subject ‘Community of Communities‘
We look forward to meeting you in the near future.
[30.11.21] Calthorpe Residents Society is promoting the following worthwhile charitable community initiative by the Edgbaston cricket stadium – Toys4Birmingham
We are delighted to announce that the Edgbaston cricket stadium will be used for a toy drive again this festive season. Edgbaston Foundation are partnering with Thrive Together Birmingham and Birmingham PlayCare Network to help collect gifts to keep Christmas special for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Birmingham this year. Last year we collected 16.5k+ items that were distributed across the city through 50 community organisations.
Further information will be shared with you shortly, but in the meantime we ask you to consider how your neighbours and colleagues could work together to safely collect and deliver unwrapped gifts to Edgbaston Cricket Stadium on Friday 3 December 11am-3pm or Saturday 4 December 11am-3pm.
[10.11.21] The Women & Theatre group have a new project to develop and present an outdoor production at Edgbaston Reservoir in 2022.
You don’t need to be a cricket fan or have any theatre experience!
Come a long to their session at Selwyn Road playing fields (79 Selwyn Road B16 0SL) on 22nd November 2021, 1.30 – 3.00 or 5.30 – 7.00.
You need to book first, so please email:
rosiegunn@womenandtheatre.co.uk
tel 07849 214 79
[12.02.21] The Women & Theatre group are now working towards sharing snapshot monologues created from the research conversations that they have had / are having with various women and girls about their ‘Women/girls & Cricket’ project.
They hope these monologues will stimulate discussions with a wider audience, and further inform their project plans.
Their Zoom meeting is on Tuesday 23rd February 2021 from 7-8.30pm. For information and the Zoom joining link, please email jesspearson@womenandtheatre.co.uk
[30.01.21] On January 19th, I attended the Birmingham City Council Webinar on the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which comes into force on 1st June (1).
The rationale behind this initiative, its roll out and operation, including all the exemptions that will apply, were clearly described. However, I was left with some questions and further thoughts about how this will affect me and how I should respond.
Clearly, we need to get people out of their cars and using public transport or walking/cycling, especially given the high proportion of car journeys that are less than a mile. School runs are an issue here! But there are some easy things drivers can do to reduce tail pipe and brake/tyre dust pollution.
Studies have shown (2 3) that gentle driving – no harsh acceleration or braking – and modifying traffic flows at rush hour can markedly reduce vehicle pollution. So just being more relaxed and considerate and maybe changing working hours to reduce congestion could achieve substantial improvement in air quality. The thing that most annoys me is people sitting in stationary cars with their engines running!
Should I change my car? I drive a non-compliant 20 year old 1.9 TDi Skoda which has returned 55mpg over 125,000 miles and still drives like new. It always passes the MOT emission tests with flying colours! My annual mileage is normally quite low – about 3,000m/year, but is almost non-existent at present because of the pandemic. I have no problem with paying the £8 to go into the CAZ on the very few occasions that this might be required, so it is not economic for that reason. I also know that the way I drive probably produces a lot less pollution than someone driving a brand new CAZ-compliant car badly. But there is another issue which worries me!
The total amount of CO2 produced by the manufacture of a new car works is about 720 Kg per £1,000 retail price (4). So if I go out and buy a £25,000 CAZ-compliant petrol car, the manufacture of that will have generated 18,000 Kg (17.7 tons) of CO2 globally. If I keep my old car and continue with 3000 miles per year, it will take me 27 years before the CO2 produced by the diesel I will use will exceed that amount! I strongly believe that this consideration should be taken into account when encouraging people to change their cars, which they do far too frequently anyway! Reducing pollution locally may increase it globally!
You might ask, what about the particulates produced by diesel cars, (although many newer ones have DPFs)? But consider this, domestic wood burning has been shown to be the UK’s largest single source of PM2.5 emissions, 2.4 times greater than all PM2.5 emissions from traffic (5 6). So if you have a wood burning stove (I don’t), you might think about this!
Food for thought! [JM]
[21.01.21] Women & Theatre (W&T) wishes to engage with women and girls living in Edgbaston, to develop a new community project about women and girls and cricket, linked to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, when Women’s Cricket will feature for the first time.
W&T is a Birmingham-based company with over 36 years’ experience of making exciting, stimulating theatre. This project will follow their 2018 production ‘Into the Water’ at Moseley Road Baths and their ‘Track & Field’ outdoor show at Perry Barr later this year. They are keen to connect with Calthorpe residents living near Warwickshire Cricket Ground, who may have stories of cricket and what living close to the cricket ground means to them.
W&T are happy to attend existing meetings or invite individuals or groups to Zoom interviews. They are hoping to start research interviews on 28th January and are holding a Group Research Session via Zoom on Tuesday 2nd February, 7 – 8pm for anyone interested. Research conversations will involve W&T’s Artistic Director Janice Connolly BEM, working with freelance associate Rupinder Kaur. An A5 flyer (pdf) is here.
For more information, please email jesspearson@womenandtheatre.co.uk, or call 07906 158 939.
