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Really good piece on an important (if under appreciated) part of Britain's urban history and our country's deindustrialisation processes. This is something I wrote about in my DPhil, so I would like to (shamelessly) add some bits to the discussion...

A crucial but less discussed element of the immigration story is exactly when and precisely why legal visas exploded in number. The below table (from the OBR) tells all. It was just after Brexit, and because Boris Johnson’s government brought in a new points based system (1/3)

I was really looking forward to taking my two daughters to Cross The Tracks next weekend to see stuff they love like Ezra Collective - although I wasn’t as excited as they were. I do hope the “highlight of the summer” as one said isn’t cancelled

I remember London in the nineties. Tube falling apart, overground lines a joke, places like Hackney genuinely terrifying (“murder mile”), far more late night fighting than now, absolutely choked with traffic everywhere.

The last picture in here shows Easy row to the left - the last “true” Georgian houses in central Birmingham (although there are extant regency examples). Also featured the Woodman pub. All now beneath the ring road. The tall building was the britannic assurance (now Alpha Tower)

This might also help with the bearings

I couldn’t resist doing the same for another midlands city. It’s a bit ladybird but hey.

Rapid growth in electricity use is driving continued investment in coal, mainly in China & India In 2024, China started construction of nearly 100 GW of new coal-fired power plants, & global approvals for these plants hit their highest level since 2015: iea.li/43FIxCN

This piece about post-war slum clearance in Brum was actually quite difficult to write, as it could easily have been two or three times as long.

Reading my feed recently

I can understand liking oasis, particularly the first album. But I really can’t understand people who are massive fans, partly because - even when I had time for the music- the Gallaghers were so clearly utter knobs.

In alternative universe 2353, the only reunion or farewell gig the nation cared about over the weekend featured the greatest and most successful indie pop bands of the late 80s and 90/ - - the Felt/Denim and Lilac Time double header at St Andrews.