Past Theme

Provision I invite you to stand in my shoes In the space between dark and light To imagine a room laid bare Where you sleep in the bath In the clothes you wear every day Because you don’t have a bed or Even a mattress on the floor To rest your tired frame. You are in crisis Slipped through the cracks It doesn’t matter how or why Just that you are here Needing help Needing compassion Practical support To get back on your feet To feel cared for Provided for Prayers answered. I sit here listening to Blur On the CD player I have just bought from Provision House A beacon-topped Aladdin’s cave of treasures That occupies a space right opposite It’s higher calling Old Co-op Old shoe shop New lease of life For this art-deco giant Three floors of stepping back in time Down history rich stairs Through formica inlaid doors Its belly stuffed with Furniture and bedding Tables and lamps Wardrobes and kitchenware The things that we take for granted Destined for those that have nothing Absolutely nothing A lifeline. In the shop I can still buy a pair of shoes Anything an old department store may well have stocked Ironic I feel. They save the sleeping bags To hand to homeless folk Health-packs and new socks Whatever helps. The Food Club caters for those That need to feed themselves Their families On budgets stretched to breaking They mind the gap that governments should fill By remembering that everybody counts Black Country rules. Kim chats to a woman Buying sticker-books for her granddaughter Laughter slips through this conversation Two books for a pound and you know The girl will have a fun filled afternoon. I ask about the future Plans for expansion Rooms to hire Office space Training programmes on their way Perhaps a life for the room upstairs and I see progress New from old Right from wrong. So, step through this door and lend a hand To those that need it more than You and I will ever understand.

Bake 'n' Butty.docx

The whole High Street would be dug out to make way for this new kind of “street”. The idea, as stated, is to alter the way that people use this street, so that they can learn about the legacy of Dudley. This would mean that there would be a canopy that sits on top of the cut, that would also act as a means to shelter everything underneath, but would also be made in Dudley to promote local craftsmans. This canopy can then hold something like Theatre Curtains with the history of Dudley presented on them. As you walk through the cut, you go through all the different parts of Dudley’s Legacy - Saxon, Middle Ages, Industrial Revolution, Modern, and you would end the walk on the “Future”. You would start at one end, up by the top church, and as you walk through towards the market place, you would walk through the eras in chronological order. Then, once you exit the tunnel, you would leave the Modern era, and come out into the reclaimed green space, which would represent the future of Dudley’s Legacy. This would be a Miyawaki Forest that would be expanded out through the streets, taking over the spots where cars used to drive, to now benefit Dudley, it’s people, and the world as a whole. Dudley’s High Street is about 240 metres long, about 9 metres wide, and rises about 8 metres. This would provided a very prominent feature for the High Street if it was dug out and recommissioned. An added aspect to the dug out street would be that of the canopy that would reside above it. While thinking of the design, two ideas stood out - one that would stand raised, at about the same level as the end of the street, which would create this arcade styled archway that would reside high above the street. The second was having the canopy be flush with the pavement all the way up, except at the end that would then provide a small increase around the steps. Both ideas serve the same purpose, but provide drastically different means of doing so.

Caribbean One Stop.docx

Caribbean One Stop The sign above the door Shows a tropical island But in Dudley Town There’s a chill in the air As Earl runs nine miles Before jam and toast and A cup of tea with nine sugars To recharge batteries. He’s not getting any younger but Age is just a mindset. When you’ve worked forty years On the wholesale markets Grafting and providing Your perspective shifts To what is really important. We talk family Community Among plantain and yams We talk heritage Education Among chopped hake and Jamaican pears. Gloria can’t find any mangos Because Earl has stashed them Behind the counter Too soft and sweet for handling. When he gets a ripe breadfruit Earl thinks of Gloria “Know your customers” He tells me “Know a little bit about everything”. I ask Gloria about Triple Blue Cross She tells me about white shirts Bed linen Drying under a Jamaican sun This shop is an education If you just ask the right questions. Earl’s father came in 1954 Bloodlines stretched Across continents Across boundaries Nigeria Scotland Jamaica Germany A mix Earl’s grown into Via Handsworth Birmingham England. He knows a Bristol accent When he hears one They talk about Montpelier Meat markets in Newport Veg markets in St Pauls She comes from Tipton each month To get the things she needs It’s personal She likes personal. The freezer is full of Chicken feet Ox tail Turkey neck Cow foot Flavour is the thing Even water gets spiced For mash Earl tells me As he trims Ghanian yam With a very sharp knife To just the right size. There is barely anything I recognise in this shop But I’m drawn to the colours The stories The journey The difference Halfway around the world or Baked up the road For customers who bang on the window and wave Who stand in the doorway Giving back the banter Who leave with the Caribbean In a blue plastic bag. I leave with a bag of Zoomers Earl tells me “That once I taste Jamaica I’ll be back” I stand in the High Street Cheesy snacks in hand Reminding myself To buy two packets next time.

View story