#Brum

The snow has melted leaving behind huge potholes on many of Birmingham’s roads. So what can we do about it?

The council has set up two numbers to help. You can report a pothole on 0121 303 6644 (daytime) or 0121 303 4149 (evening / weekends). We also recommend that you contact FixMyStreet who will pester the council on your behalf. This way you have a record of the complaint and can see its progress.

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Popularity: 27% [?]

This month Capsule celebrate 10 years of bringing the most awe inspiring, ear drum pounding and heart string plucking music to Birmingham and the West Midlands.

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Popularity: 34% [?]

More than 150 people have joined a Facebook group to express their disgust at the organisation of Birmingham’s Christmas lights party. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 52% [?]

I know Friday 13th isn’t usually associated with good luck but today was a big win for Juliet Spare. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 41% [?]

Art of latte
Today we were lucky enough to meet Youri Vlaq of Absolute Coffee. It’s Youri’s job to teach the baristas at Urban Coffee Company how to pour the perfect latte – and, importantly, the skills of ‘latte art’. We managed to get him to show us how it’s done… by creating a teddy bear in a coffee cup!

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Popularity: 59% [?]

A brand new, £12.5m swimming pool is to replace Harborne’s ageing baths.
Birmingham City Council announced that a two-storey leisure centre would be built on the site of the old pool, which was opened in 1923.
The council says it will start building the new facility in February or March next year and aims to complete it by ‘late 2011′. It will include:

Harborne Pool, opened in 1923.

• a 25m pool;
• a learner pool;
• an adult fitness suite;
• a junior gym;
• a dance aerobics studio.

The council believes Harborne’s 23m pool is ‘in danger of closure’ and there is a clear need for a new facility in the west of the city.

Councillor Martin Mullaney, cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, said: “I recognise our swimming pool strategy is extremely ambitious and we don’t just want to talk about a strategy, we want to deliver for the people of this city. This is a significant stage in delivery of the strategy.”

Hashbrum reporter, Andrew Brightwell, has written a report on Harborne Pool.

This map shows all of the local authority swimming pools in Birmingham. While the pool is closed, residents in Harborne, or those living to the west of the city centre, will face long journeys for a swim.
View Swimming pools in Birmingham in a larger map

Do you have any memories of Harborne pool or opinions about the council’s plan? Please tell us what you think.

Popularity: 47% [?]

In an emotional demonstration in Birmingham’s Chamberlain Square candles were lit and black flags flown to remember the thousands of Sikhs killed across India 25 years ago.
Members of Birmingham’s Sikh community held the candlelit vigil for the victims of the killings, who were slaughtered in retaliation for the assassination of Indian president, Indira Ghandi in 1984. The ceremony, which featured music, films and a display of black coffins, attracted a large crowd, despite the cold and wet weather.
Volunteer, Aman Singh, explained that protests would continue until those responsible for the atrocities had been brought to justice. Campaigners claim that figures within India’s government in 1984 were either directly responsible for the deaths or stood by while the massacre took place.
The killings followed the assassination of India’s then president, Indira Ghandi, who was shot by two of her Sikh bodyguards while she walked through the garden of her official residence in Delhi.
Earlier in the year, Mrs Ghandi had ordered troops to storm the Golden Temple at Amritsar to flush out Sikh separatists. Operation Blue Star, as it was called, led to the deaths of hundreds of people.

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Popularity: 18% [?]