8 & 9 Aug: The corner of Bromsgrove and Pershore
Aug 8: First day of the riots, New Street
Looking to New Street from Victoria Square. The video is short and blurry due to simple fumbling while trying to capture something, anything, before leaving the area when people began running from the street, shortly after this film clip was shot. You can hear the helicopter overhead, on circular patrol, as well as see the mass of gathering rioters dressed in black hoodies.
13 Aug: Chill out and don't huddle in a corner of your house.
In 1939, the British government produced this poster intended to raise public morale as WWII began and thus threatened to reach the shores of England. The assumption that the poster was irrelevant beyond the war meant that it became a hidden gem rediscovered in 2000.
It's now a national presence that's image has spread to other parts of the world due to its eye-catching design and wise message of continuing with the comfort of routine in the face of anxiety and terror.
The other day, I saw a man wearing a black T-shirt bearing the crown and words of the poster. He was a billboard for his fellow Brummies in the tense time of the riots.
13 Aug: Saturday calm.
This morning, my coworker headed to the airport. Obligations at home meant she had to head back. I'm now sitting in the living room of our flat with the balcony door cracked open, listening to the big trucks occasionally roll by. The seagulls are also crying out overhead and the sound of a drum being periodically beaten by two hands nearby is like a song of peace. A helicopter patrolled a little bit ago but all still seems well. Cars pass, a machine sounds, people talk on the street below, the apartment windows across from me are still. There's blue sky breaking through the cloud cover and the light beyond the balcony is glowing and soft. It's nice.
I couldn't control whether the riots happened and I'm sad that they happened at all, but I appreciate the stronger awareness of calm I have here now. And the appreciation for the sense of relief in the people on the street at night.
I'm headed to the Bullring Market soon--an indoor/outdoor visual smorgasbord of everything from vegetables to underwear. And the trash bins are so cool I wanna take one home as a souvenir!
I couldn't control whether the riots happened and I'm sad that they happened at all, but I appreciate the stronger awareness of calm I have here now. And the appreciation for the sense of relief in the people on the street at night.
I'm headed to the Bullring Market soon--an indoor/outdoor visual smorgasbord of everything from vegetables to underwear. And the trash bins are so cool I wanna take one home as a souvenir!
12 Aug: A peaceful Birmingham is a loud Birmingham.
Earlier tonight, a helicopter was on circular patrols over the city for a good while. The riot vans are still cruising the streets in search of trouble and the boards on the windows unbroken are still up--like at the little convenience store in the lower level of the library.
I call it "The Place Where Nobody's Happy to Be There" because they're never remotely a cheery lot. But today, the two cashiers actually chuckled in light spirits at something I said in response to a brief conversation with one of them. A conversation. That alone is amazing at The PWNHBT. I figure they're happy to have survived the riots unscathed.
Below is a video summing up the state of Birmingham tonight: Businesses are open, people are out, there's laughter and singing and high spirits. And the bobbies are still on patrol. And the loud club on the corner still isn't open. But the big, loud trucks carrying stock for stores are again growling their way down Bromsgrove Street. And the industrious little forklift by the parking deck on the far side of Pershore is busily moving the neverending supplies. The moon is full, the only yelling is that of the happy Friday-night revelers, and life has returned to near-normal in dear ol' Brum.
I call it "The Place Where Nobody's Happy to Be There" because they're never remotely a cheery lot. But today, the two cashiers actually chuckled in light spirits at something I said in response to a brief conversation with one of them. A conversation. That alone is amazing at The PWNHBT. I figure they're happy to have survived the riots unscathed.
Below is a video summing up the state of Birmingham tonight: Businesses are open, people are out, there's laughter and singing and high spirits. And the bobbies are still on patrol. And the loud club on the corner still isn't open. But the big, loud trucks carrying stock for stores are again growling their way down Bromsgrove Street. And the industrious little forklift by the parking deck on the far side of Pershore is busily moving the neverending supplies. The moon is full, the only yelling is that of the happy Friday-night revelers, and life has returned to near-normal in dear ol' Brum.
11 Aug: The wary return to normalcy
Two petrol bombs were thrown at a shop today but the fire was put out soon, no one was injured and little stock was damaged. Other than that, things seem to have calmed.
I walked home today and saw not a single hooded figure. The police are still patrolling on foot and in riot vans but are more low-key. Most shops and restaurants are closed early--just in case. The Arcadian Centre had the gates mostly raised so customers could get in to visit the restaurants that were open. Occasional sirens, a helicopter on patrol, plywood on some storefronts below--these are the only remnants of the riots here on Bromsgrove Street tonight.
I'm beginning to hear the sounds of the city I first met now rising again through the open balcony doors. With well over a thousand arrests made country-wide and police presence increased, it seems that the menace in Birmingham, at least, has hopefully ended.
I walked home today and saw not a single hooded figure. The police are still patrolling on foot and in riot vans but are more low-key. Most shops and restaurants are closed early--just in case. The Arcadian Centre had the gates mostly raised so customers could get in to visit the restaurants that were open. Occasional sirens, a helicopter on patrol, plywood on some storefronts below--these are the only remnants of the riots here on Bromsgrove Street tonight.
I'm beginning to hear the sounds of the city I first met now rising again through the open balcony doors. With well over a thousand arrests made country-wide and police presence increased, it seems that the menace in Birmingham, at least, has hopefully ended.
8 Aug: The vultures
After a previous gang of hooded men broke into the household miscellany shop on the corner of Bromsgrove and Pershore, occasional groups would continue looting. (The group seen passing on the street near the store is a reporter with a crew of two.)
9 Aug: Damage the morning after the first night of riots
The first picture on the second row is a shot of Bromsgrove Street looking towards Pershore Street as my coworker and I walked towards the parking deck (on the left) in order to enter the Arcadian Centre (where our hotel is located) -- it had been barred shut at all other entrances as it had been the previous afternoon. The plywood on the storefront on the right is due to damage the night before; the cracked window of a space for lease was left uncovered; the household miscellany store that was hit is at the end of the road.
9 Aug: Spotlight on the stage of Bromsgrove Street
As police tended to criminal activity on foot and by vehicle, the police helicopter gave them a hand with a spotlight, attempting to flush out the vandals.
Shortly after shooting this video clip, the spotlight landed on my coworker and I (and fellow hotel guests) on the balcony. It lingered for a few seconds, so I waved.
Shortly after shooting this video clip, the spotlight landed on my coworker and I (and fellow hotel guests) on the balcony. It lingered for a few seconds, so I waved.
10 Aug: All quiet on the Arcadian front
Reports seem to indicate that there are twice as many police on the streets tonight. That in combination with the rain earlier are probably the reasons why the riots didn't escalate and seem to have come to a good fizzled end or been put on pause (hopefully, probably, the former).
The anger in the community where the Pakistani men were killed is still strong and there's no guarantee of things returning relatively "back to normal" from here on out despite tonight's calmness, so everyone will likely continue to remain vigilant. But hopefully, the local businesses can begin keeping regular hours soon and return to their previous level of customers. It's been a hard blow to the city financially in particular.
But the riots have done what widespread hardship and fear always do--brought people together. Lifelong Brummies are sad to see their city in such disorder and under attack by its own, but citizens have stood alongside each other to protect their businesses and the peace of their communities. Today, a large group of young people took to the streets in one area to help businesses with whatever cleaning they needed post-attack--partly to give aid and partly to give support in the form of unity.
So, soon, the work will begin to rebuild--physically and otherwise--when the streets again become safe. But even tonight, some locals were reveling in the unexpected calm of the dark hours: A group of seven drunk, pub-song-singing Brummies filled Bromsgrove Street with a siren of hope that peace has perhaps been restored. The joyous chorus of the friends bounced between the high walls of the hotel and the apartment building until the parking deck gate was lifted below so that they could return to their rooms. Their voices filled the stairwell and emitted like smoke as they exited the doorway, streaming below me on the dark pavement, never quieting.
I doubt anyone on Bromsgrove Street really minded tonight.
The anger in the community where the Pakistani men were killed is still strong and there's no guarantee of things returning relatively "back to normal" from here on out despite tonight's calmness, so everyone will likely continue to remain vigilant. But hopefully, the local businesses can begin keeping regular hours soon and return to their previous level of customers. It's been a hard blow to the city financially in particular.
But the riots have done what widespread hardship and fear always do--brought people together. Lifelong Brummies are sad to see their city in such disorder and under attack by its own, but citizens have stood alongside each other to protect their businesses and the peace of their communities. Today, a large group of young people took to the streets in one area to help businesses with whatever cleaning they needed post-attack--partly to give aid and partly to give support in the form of unity.
So, soon, the work will begin to rebuild--physically and otherwise--when the streets again become safe. But even tonight, some locals were reveling in the unexpected calm of the dark hours: A group of seven drunk, pub-song-singing Brummies filled Bromsgrove Street with a siren of hope that peace has perhaps been restored. The joyous chorus of the friends bounced between the high walls of the hotel and the apartment building until the parking deck gate was lifted below so that they could return to their rooms. Their voices filled the stairwell and emitted like smoke as they exited the doorway, streaming below me on the dark pavement, never quieting.
I doubt anyone on Bromsgrove Street really minded tonight.
10 Aug: Damage to Paradise Forum
Under the library, there's a passageway to the other side of the building. Various shops and restaurants are located there in what is known as Paradise Forum (so named because Paradise Circus (a roundabout) passes beneath the area--and nearby is Paradise Road). Some of the businesses were hit on the night of August 9th, the second night of riots.
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| Wetherspoon's. The glass on the doors to the outside dining area were being installed when this picture was taken. Later, they were painted black to blend in with the decor. |
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| Wetherspoon's window inside Paradise Forum. |
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| This convenience food store wasn't hit by the vandals but they took precautions in the hopes that it wouldn't be if the riots continued. |
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| Money exchange window cracked. |
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| Plywood covering door leading into the forum from Centenary Square. |
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| Sandwich shop Cafe Bebo, where my coworker and I had eaten lunch less than twelve hours before the rioters struck. |
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| Cafe Bebo. Glass broken, sign broken, food scattered from the front counter. The rioters went upstairs also but I'm unsure how much damage might've been done. |
9 Aug: Streetsweepers
Riot police march down Bromsgrove Street on the second day of the riots. They walk past the household miscellany store where their protection was needed the night before but the city centre vandals kept the unprepared police busy until deep in the night.
10 Aug: 9:15 and all is well... at the Arcadian Centre, at least.
The streets and skies have been quiet for some time--at least an hour. A light rain began falling a little while ago. The asphalt below on the empty stage of Bromsgrove Street is beginning to sparkle as the darkening sky summons the streetlamps to join the traffic signals in painting this quiet scene in gemstone light.
Reading reports that most roads into the city centre have been closed off by police, apparently in anticipation of trouble there tonight. The fact that the helicopters, riot vans, patrolling police on foot and the rioters themselves have been mostly or completely absent for some time since the flurry of sounds and activities earlier suggests to me that they're all collecting elsewhere for a reason.
About ten minutes ago, I stood on the balcony with a goblet of soymilk and a big, round cookie hand-painted in frosting with a puffy sheep. I leaned on the railing, eating and drinking, watching my neighbors in the apartment building across the street come and go from their windows, likely for the same reason I was standing there eating gingerbread sprinkled by rain: curiosity as to where the action is while appreciating the rare calm of the area.
Previous to the riots, the club on the corner throbbed nightly--all night, every night--with loud music, laughing and yelling. Add the big trucks that thunder down Bromsgrove and the work done by a forklift in the wee hours at the intersection with Pershore and it makes for an extremely loud night, every night. But for the past three days, the club has been closed, the forklift has postponed work til late and the big trucks are mostly absent. Whoda thunk it'd take a riot to bring about quiet?
Reading reports that most roads into the city centre have been closed off by police, apparently in anticipation of trouble there tonight. The fact that the helicopters, riot vans, patrolling police on foot and the rioters themselves have been mostly or completely absent for some time since the flurry of sounds and activities earlier suggests to me that they're all collecting elsewhere for a reason.
About ten minutes ago, I stood on the balcony with a goblet of soymilk and a big, round cookie hand-painted in frosting with a puffy sheep. I leaned on the railing, eating and drinking, watching my neighbors in the apartment building across the street come and go from their windows, likely for the same reason I was standing there eating gingerbread sprinkled by rain: curiosity as to where the action is while appreciating the rare calm of the area.
Previous to the riots, the club on the corner throbbed nightly--all night, every night--with loud music, laughing and yelling. Add the big trucks that thunder down Bromsgrove and the work done by a forklift in the wee hours at the intersection with Pershore and it makes for an extremely loud night, every night. But for the past three days, the club has been closed, the forklift has postponed work til late and the big trucks are mostly absent. Whoda thunk it'd take a riot to bring about quiet?
9 Aug: Pictures from the day after the first riot.
The first picture shows three hooded (one masked) teenagers waiting for nightfall to join the riots. Shortly after taking this picture, a riot van stopped beside them and a half-dozen cops jumped out to search and question them, breaking them up. After the van left, they gathered again but walked away (unmasked) -- one awkward, the others trying to look cool, all of them obviously embarrassed by the incident seen by many in the apartment building, hotel, and people on the street. Soon after, a riot van stopped on Pershore near Bromsgrove and scattered a group of about twenty hooded people.
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| Early on the second and worst night of the riots, smoke rises from a vehicle set aflame several blocks away from my hotel. |
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| Police patrolling New Street the morning after the first night of riots. |
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| The Tesco Express (small grocery store near the hotel) on the corner of Bromsgrove and Hurst Streets the day after the first night of riots. It was attacked again the second night but police broke up the group before they could do much damage. |
8 Aug: Destruction on Bromsgrove Street
Rioters break the glass doors of a store of household miscellany then pull out items to steal as well as to smash on the street. At the same time, other rioters were busting the glass front of a shop several doors down.
10 Aug: "Panic on the streets of London; panic on the streets of Birmingham."
The day before the London riots began, the song "Panic" by The Smiths came to mind. I now sing or hum it to myself (including today while walking home from work)--an attempt to distract myself from the buzz of anxiety.
Last night, in a section of Birmingham, three Pakistani men trying to protect their community from the relentless rioters were murdered by a black man who drove into them with a car. Tonight, there's talk of members of the two ethnic groups doing battle on the battered streets of Brum. Most shops and restaurants in the city have closed--some boarding up their windows in anticipation of further glass breakage and looting.
It's now fifteen minutes past 7pm and the city is often loud with the sound of circling helicopters, frequent sirens and passing vehicles. More vehicles than usual. There are the loud cars of the rioters or rioter-sympathizers who will later scream their engines through the city streets, but mostly they are cars, taxis and buses carrying home the people who work or did their shopping early.
With most every business closing in the late afternoon, the looting, and fewer citizens going out to eat even at lunch, the city's shops and restaurants are losing large amounts of money every day the riots continue, which means that some may end up closing and people may lose their jobs--a fact that will worsen the local economy in a time when it's already worrisome for so many in the world.
Last night, in a section of Birmingham, three Pakistani men trying to protect their community from the relentless rioters were murdered by a black man who drove into them with a car. Tonight, there's talk of members of the two ethnic groups doing battle on the battered streets of Brum. Most shops and restaurants in the city have closed--some boarding up their windows in anticipation of further glass breakage and looting.
It's now fifteen minutes past 7pm and the city is often loud with the sound of circling helicopters, frequent sirens and passing vehicles. More vehicles than usual. There are the loud cars of the rioters or rioter-sympathizers who will later scream their engines through the city streets, but mostly they are cars, taxis and buses carrying home the people who work or did their shopping early.
With most every business closing in the late afternoon, the looting, and fewer citizens going out to eat even at lunch, the city's shops and restaurants are losing large amounts of money every day the riots continue, which means that some may end up closing and people may lose their jobs--a fact that will worsen the local economy in a time when it's already worrisome for so many in the world.
9 Aug: First light on the first night
A few shots of the damage to some of the City Centre stores, etc. on New Street the morning after the first night of the Birmingham riots (including an attacked ATM machine with its protective wall removed).
8 Aug: Pirating is hungry business
A large group of the marauding vandals headed to and attacking the Tesco Express (a small grocery store) on the corner of Bromsgrove and Hurst Streets. (The white van was related to the rioters but nothing truly interesting developed beyond erratic, unnecessarily dangerous driving after I stopped filming.)
9 Aug: Modified email update from this evening
The library closed early due to riot activity starting around New Street again, so my coworker and I left sooner than we'd even planned to. More black hoods were wandering on our way home, waiting in their silent joy for the "fun" to start. We passed a kid laughing with his equally hooded friend about the post office closing early.
The Arcadian Centre was locked up again and most restaurants, stores, etc. have already closed for the day. There have been 130 Birmingham arrests so far.
The sun hasn't set but there's lots of activity below and plenty of sirens sounding around the city in the distance and nearby. Vanloads of cops are stopping gathered groups of hoodlums, sending them scattering or jumping out to question them and scare them off. Cops and helicopters have been patrolling and keeping watch over public spaces all day.
This afternoon, my coworker and I watched a group of young thugs, dressed in black, as they strutted through Chamberlain Square, past the cops, the ringleader rapping loud, high on a sense of power perhaps fueled by the knowledge that the cops couldn't do a thing to them though it seemed rather clear that they were flaunting their involvement in the riots.
We watched the rioters getting ready, some with masks and gloves already in place, roving as they anticipated the planned vandalism of the evening. A fire broke out a block or two away. We later discovered it was a torched vehicle.
It's fairly loud surrounding the hotel with cars speeding and squealing, blasting music from cars, sounds of things being beaten sporadically, sirens, a helicopter above, yelling, and the easy, prideful cackle of the lawless brood scattered about in the streets around us. It's escalating already and the sky is still quite lit.
The Arcadian Centre was locked up again and most restaurants, stores, etc. have already closed for the day. There have been 130 Birmingham arrests so far.
The sun hasn't set but there's lots of activity below and plenty of sirens sounding around the city in the distance and nearby. Vanloads of cops are stopping gathered groups of hoodlums, sending them scattering or jumping out to question them and scare them off. Cops and helicopters have been patrolling and keeping watch over public spaces all day.
This afternoon, my coworker and I watched a group of young thugs, dressed in black, as they strutted through Chamberlain Square, past the cops, the ringleader rapping loud, high on a sense of power perhaps fueled by the knowledge that the cops couldn't do a thing to them though it seemed rather clear that they were flaunting their involvement in the riots.
We watched the rioters getting ready, some with masks and gloves already in place, roving as they anticipated the planned vandalism of the evening. A fire broke out a block or two away. We later discovered it was a torched vehicle.
It's fairly loud surrounding the hotel with cars speeding and squealing, blasting music from cars, sounds of things being beaten sporadically, sirens, a helicopter above, yelling, and the easy, prideful cackle of the lawless brood scattered about in the streets around us. It's escalating already and the sky is still quite lit.
8 Aug: Locked out in the wide, wide prison
Below is a video showing the vantage point of my coworker and I as we looked through a barred entrance to the Arcadian Centre (where our hotel is located) while an alarm in the complex sounded. We circled the Arcadian in an attempt to get inside as people fled from a street and we were warned to hurry home. We finally got in through the parking deck entrance, which was guarded by security officers.
9 Aug: Eating supper while watching the war
Tonight, several of us in the hotel applauded the riot police marching down the street below. This is the second night of the riots and we're all tired of living in this segment of the nightly news.
Our balconies are theater seats to a broad stage named Bromsgrove Street where the show's villians wear mostly black, sometimes masks, and wreak havoc with other people's property. The White Hats are the bobbies--the cops--tonight, piling out of vans to break up gathered groups of hoods and to stop the crime that begins before sundown and can last deep into the night.
Yesterday, the war was mostly lost as the marauding bands left their mark in waves that reached further outward from the city centre. Tonight, the streets are quiet in this vicinity much earlier as the dark figures have been scattered and driven away. Perhaps the flame of their ire will flicker out in the ensuing days. Or might the mass gain strength by drawing more hoods from outer regions like metal to a magnet? Stay tuned to Dinner Theatre News.
Our balconies are theater seats to a broad stage named Bromsgrove Street where the show's villians wear mostly black, sometimes masks, and wreak havoc with other people's property. The White Hats are the bobbies--the cops--tonight, piling out of vans to break up gathered groups of hoods and to stop the crime that begins before sundown and can last deep into the night.
Yesterday, the war was mostly lost as the marauding bands left their mark in waves that reached further outward from the city centre. Tonight, the streets are quiet in this vicinity much earlier as the dark figures have been scattered and driven away. Perhaps the flame of their ire will flicker out in the ensuing days. Or might the mass gain strength by drawing more hoods from outer regions like metal to a magnet? Stay tuned to Dinner Theatre News.
8 Aug: Night sea of hooded pirates
Pictures taken from my hotel balcony on 8 Aug.
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| Rioters moving down Bromsgrove Street towards the Tesco Express (a small grocery store) on the corner of Hurst Street, which they attacked and looted. |
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| Rioters looting a shop of household miscellany on Bromsgrove Street, on the corner of Pershore Street, which had previously been broken into by a different band of rioters. |
8 Aug 2011: Walking home with the bandits
Pictures taken on the way to the hotel from the library on August 8th, the first night of the Birmingham riots.
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| 8pm, New Street from Victoria Square. Riots occurring further down. Most rioters wear black and hoods. |
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| New Street from Victoria Square. People watching for evidence of a riot further down the street. People began running from the location shortly after this picture was taken. |
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| Police riot vans near the New Street train station as seen from Hurst Street, looking down Navigation Street. |
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| One of five street entrances to the Arcadian Centre--all entryways were barred. My hotel is in the Arcadian but my coworker and I eventually got in through the parking deck entrance. |
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