Am I alone in Birmingham?
I would have thought there would have been some posts in the Local Community section from Birmingham.
Anyone out there?
It would be interesting to discuss what's happening in our town, history, events, ....anything!
Would be particularly interesting to be in contact with anyone who shares an interest in creative writing. What are your views on Birmingham life? The redevelopment in the city and suburbs.
Steve.
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Polly
No, you are not alone in Birmingham but I am too, surprised there aren't more comments here given what a large city we are. I am interested in creative writing although I don't have the clarity of mind a lot of the time to do it. In the past, any writing I have done (work related) has tended to be too wordy and I have had to work to condense what I want to say (mainly on social media nowadays) - I am a slave to my ability to touch type, I think. I have often thought about getting thoughts down on paper (or computer screen as it is, in reality)but my mind wanders and I lose interest quickly, more as a result of my chronic illness than anything else. Well, I hope lockdown has treated you kindly and you have managed to do some creative writing yourself.
With regard to Birmingham life, I would love to move away from Birmingham, it isn't the city I grew up in and I no longer feel safe to go out after dark. Whilst welcoming redevelopment as there is a shortage of homes, for instance, developers pay little heed into developing communities, they just build homes for profit. Social landlords pay a little bit of attention to it but it's lacklustre and not effective as it requires adequate funding and dedicated staff. People need a sense of community wherever they live, whether that be from neighbours or family but today's housing market doesn't allow for that. People have been forced into transient lives in pursuit of employment and this has resulted in the breakdown of family and friend local support networks so work needs to happen to develop communities more to replace that. There is too much curtain twitching and not getting involved in today's society and it's contributing to the breakdown of society. It's rare to find neighbours who will go out of their way to help new neighbours, especially when it comes to older and younger people, with older people afraid to and younger people resisting help, viewing it as interfering.. yes, I know that's a narrow view, but I am no expert. People just don't talk to each other as much as they used to. The saying 'it takes a village to raise a child' is no longer true and it's sad. When I was growing up, my mother knew what I was getting up to as people in the area told her and kept an eye out for me, especially as I walked to school (practically unheard of nowadays as children are dropped off from their parents cars). I find it unbelievable now that at age 5 I was walking to school by myself, crossing 2 roads and at age 8 I was walking my 5 year old sister to school with me!
My dream is to retro fit a bus or coach into a home and travel but that's a pipe dream both in terms of my physical ability and financial ability. There's also the British climate to take into account too. I am an avid follower of tiny homes and skoolies on youtube and wish I had discovered this when I was much younger and more financially able. One can dream though - one would also have to move to the US to do it too to get the weather.
Anyhoo... Just wanted you to know you are not alone in Birmingham.
Anne.