Radius Magazine

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Culture in Birmingham completely surrounds us all, by embracing

it and allowing ourselves to be a part of it, we can take insights into

different traditions and ways of life that are practiced worldwide.

Culture should never be used as a form of stereotyping or in a

bad way because it is only the background as to who we are,

where we come from and why our lifestyles and morals in society

may differ.

In these few pages you’ll see four people from different nations

giving their resons for why they moved to Birmingham. Also you’ll

get to know more of the Irish culture in Birmingham.

8

IRELA

ND... Though Liverpool

may have won the

crown of Britain’s city

of culture, Birmingham

is

fast becoming the cultural

hotspot of the country. It’s

home to the countries largest

Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist

comm

unities though it’s a little

known fact that it’s also home to one

of the largest irish comm

unity outside of

Ireland.

Growing u

p can b

e a curio

us and d

aunting exp

erience

at the b

est of t

imes,

but sta

rting lif

e anew in a fo

reign

and unfam

iliar p

lace, th

ough excitin

g, is n

ot with

out it’s

hardsh

ips. It’s

incre

dibly unfo

rtunate

that s

till in

2012, there

is a sm

all minorit

y of li

ttle m

inded people th

at can’t s

eem

to acc

ept new and exc

iting cu

lture

s that a

re p

roud to

call

Birmingham

their h

ome. T

hankfully

, there

is a w

onderful,

colourfu

l and fr

iendly gro

up of c

itizens t

hat have

blended

into th

e woodwork

of Birm

ingham lif

e, beco

ming an ic

onic

part of t

he city

despite

their r

ocky b

eginnings, and th

ey are

the iri

sh. T

his budding co

mm

unity b

egan durin

g Birm

ingham

industrial re

birth in

the 60’s,

where m

any of t

he “paddy’s

”

found w

ork as m

anual laboure

rs, co

nstructi

ng the m

any

modern

roads a

nd build

ings seen in

the ci

ty to

day. The iri

sh

cultu

re is

now so

vast,

its h

ard to

imagine h

ow they m

anaged

to th

rive u

nder those

unwelco

ming co

nditions,

such

as being

force

d to liv

e in th

e poore

r parts

of B

rum

, such

as Digbeth

and Erdingto

n, but s

omehow th

ey pulle

d thro

ugh to b

ecom

e

one of t

he larg

est and b

est love

d socie

ties i

n the ci

ty.

Birm

ingham is

even h

ome to

the 2nd b

iggest St

Patrick

’s

Day para

de in th

e world

, behind N

ew York, and eve

n

above

Ireland its

elf.

Though Liverpool

may have won the

crown of Britain’s city

of culture, Birmingham

is

fast becoming the cultural

hotspot of the country. It’s

home to the countries largest

Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist

comm

unities though it’s a little

known fact that it’s also home to one

of the largest irish comm

unity outside of

Ireland.

incredibly colourful life. Modeling himself on his icon, Manchester United’s George Best, John went on to become a semi-professional footballer for local team, Aston Villa and he was even an avid pool player, finding time to play a little known snooker player called “Alex Higgins”. Following in the families trade, John found time to become a very skilled carpenter, helping to construct Birmingham’s New Library aswell as many of the buildings you see in Broad Street today. Later in life, he loves to spend most of his free time tending to his allotments, and though age might be finally starting to take it’s toll, it’s done nothing to diminish his fabulous sense of pride, and his fierce loyalty to his family.

Adrain Jon Sweeney moved to Birmingham at the delicate young age of 13 with his family, to make use of the Irish labouring industry. Though “John” as he is known by friends and family, initially found life difficult in this new city. Bullied and ridiculed for his ethnicity, John managed to soldier on with the help of his older siblings, and John eventually grew into a strong young man and went on to live a

11

Birmingham is home to many people from across the world, whether they

themselves have moved here or their relatives originate from other countries,

Birmingham has become a city oozing with culture. When people all over the

world began to settle here they also brought along with them their customs

and traditions. This included their fashion, music and the food that they

ate.

Before the war, food was very traditional British and especially when

food was rationed, people were even more limited to what they could eat

although, they did experiment with food to make the most of what they had.

Immigrants began to move here after the war to help rebuild the country and

for them, to explore the opportunities that coming to England would bring

them. Birmingham was one of the cities in Britain that became residency to the

people that now live here.

Around modern day Birmingham you will notice that there are many

restaurants, take-away places and shops that specialise in producing

food that comes from different parts of the world such as Indian, Chinese,

Japanese, Korean, Caribbean, Italian, Spanish, American, etc. Let’s celebrate

Birmingham’s multicultural community by sharing and tasting some of the

dishes you may find around city and others which you may not have come

across. We should embrace the new flavours and the variety of food that we

have due to the wide range of people that live here.

This section of the magazine is the messy bit where we can have some fun

and get your hands busy with a bit of cooking! Not only will you expand your

cooking skills, you’ll have something tasty to tuck into at the end of it! The

next few pages show some simple recipes for you to try out that are fairly

quick and easy and require fresh ingredients. So why not give it a go!

snac

kMAKES 24 TOASTS

PREP TIME 15 MINS

COOKING TIME 15 MINS

snac

k

17

star

t-e

r

SERVES 6

PREP TIME 10 MINS

COOKING TIME 40 MINS

star

t-e

r

8

19

M a

i n

SERVES 8

PREP TIME 20 MINS

COOKING TIME 10 MINS

21

des-

sert

MAKES 26 COOKIES

PREP TIME 30 MINS

COOKING TIME 9-11 MINS

des-

sert

23

Fashion is a part of nearly everyone’s life. Some love it, and

some hate it, but we can’t hide from it. You just have to walk out

your door and guaranteed you’ll immdetiately see something

fashionable.

Lady Gaga is a good example for taking fashion to it’s limits

and beyond. In this section of the magazine you’ll see a dress

designed by a Birmingham City University student, worn by Lady

Gaga.

Have your own wardrobe built with the highest fashion trends

from Birmingham’s very own Custard Factory outlet. Finally,

get to know the origins of clothing we wear and see in everyday life.

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Birmingham City University student designs a dress for final major project which was worn by the one and only Lady Gaga, in her interview in Singapore.

30

FASHIONt

Anyone can tell you what’s in style right now, Chino’s are quite fashionable, Skinny jeans are gradually re-emerging in modern culture, but what they can’t tell you is how the world’s rich cultural history has influenced our everyday wear, from the hats we wear to the shoes on our feet, so what we’re gonna tell you is how to dip into the cultural pot of fashion and get you on trend, whilst still retaining

Now so more than ever, young people are becoming more corcerned with how they look and how they present themselves. Whilst no-one should be judged by how they dress, they’re is nothing wrong with someone wanting to express themselves through fashion and thankfully, we live in a time where that’s an easy task

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Ever imagined what life would be like without a scarf ? Scarfs have been immensely popular over the last 50’s and

quite surprisingly, the scarf was inventing in Roman times, not to keep warm, but it was actually used by soldiers to keep

clean, worn round their necks as “sweat cloths” and they have remained popular ever since.

Hooded jackets, or “ttvhoodies” for short are one of the most popular pieces of casual wear in the market today, and they

originated in Medieval Europe, where Monks used to wear them as formal dress, though the modern form of the hoodies become

popular in New York, where they were marketed to the immigrant workers who had to endure freezing temperates whilst working in the

city.Chino’s are steadily becoming the main trouser’s seen in modern fashion,

as teenagers and young students are more likely to own a pair of Chino’s than jeans. The word “Chino” is actually spanish for “toasted”, due to the crisp

look of the fabric which was actually developed ppduring the 19th Century for British Military uniforms. The trousers then gained popularity during the later part

of the century, after the Spanish-American war when the veteran’s returned to the country wearing these military trousers.

Another popular form of trouser that is gaining popularity are skinny jeans, which actually descended from France, as they were political statements to the loose working

trousers worn by the French during the revolution. Though they were originally just considered fashionable among the upper class, they were made popular during the

cultural swing of the 60’s by iconic British bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones

Music is a big part of Birmingham. It has many big venues, welcomes

some of the biggest musicians in the world.

When I think of music venues in Birmingham I immediately think of

the major one’s such as the NEC and O2 Academy. I guess nearly

everyone in Birmingham would. What about smaller and intimate

venues? I recently found a small venue called ‘The Yardbird’, which

houses live music.

I’ll be giving my veridict on The Yardbird and give you a brief

history / music lesson.

The city of Birmingham is the second largest city in England. It showcases many entertainment venues, and one of the biggest,’ music’. Venues such as the NEC, NIA, LG Arena, Symphony Hall and O2 Academy welcome the biggest artists in the world. The fact that big musicians come to play in Birmingham, in a way makes it a very attractive city. Though are these the only venues Birmingham has to offer? It’s easy to think of the big venues mentioned above. I was recently introduced to a building right next to Paradise Place called, ‘The Yardbird’. Comparing it to Paradise Place scale wise, it’s tiny, which makes it easy to be overlooked. The people who do overlook it, especially music lovers, are definitely missing out. As you walk in you instantly see the stage, and on the right the bar. The lighting, furniture, and decorations, are very warm and inviting which makes easy to settle into. It has a very American style feel to it in terms of the interior of the building. It’s almost like the bars you see in American sitcoms.Once you stop focusing on what the venue looks like, you see the whole point of the place, which is the ‘live music’. It’s known for its jazz music but also ‘rock and pop’ is played. The music genres played at The Yardbird are cultural in a sense. Jazz music was born in the 20th century in New Orleans. The African Americans we’re responsible for creating jazz music and as the style extended around the country, other styles were incorporated, especially ‘blues’. Rock and Pop is another American born music genre, but Britain also played a part in the evolution of rock and pop, and created big artists such as The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Yardbird is an interesting venue that’s open seven days a week. Tuesday’s it has an acoustic session which includes ‘Open Mic’. Thursday’s is always jazz night, and on Friday’s there’s a DJ session. So the Yardbird overall has the older music styles mashed up with a more modern / contemporary style, and that aids in a wide range of audiences to be attracted to the venue. The music genres played have a rich cultural history and that has influenced the venue. As you walk out the building you immediately reflect on the experience you just had, and it will be a good one.

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SPECIAL THANKS TO:

• ARTHUR, ADRIANNA, HOSSEIN, RUSSELL

• MODELS

• THE YARDBIRD