IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
York Road, BIRMINGHAM, B21 9EB

This is a detail of a mural on a curved wall of the Handsworth Wellness Centre in Handsworth Park. Artwork and title derive from the 1978 album by the local reggae band Steel Pulse; see Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handsworth_Revolution . The title song is a call for solidarity, co-operation and interracial justice. Steel Pulse feature on the nearby mural of Birmingham Reggae Royalty Image

This mural is painted on walls of the Handsworth Wellness Centre in Handsworth Park and celebrates Birmingham reggae musicians. The artist is Bunny Bread of CreateNotDestroy, who also painted the Downlow murals in Lozells (see, for example, Image]). He worked with Birmingham Youth Service and Simmer Down Arts, who organise the Simmer Down reggae festival in the park. Here we see, from left to right, UB40, Ranking Roger, Macka B, Apache Indian and Rose Capri. See the Simmer Down site https://simmerdownarts.com/Reggae-Mural-Project/ .

This mural is painted on walls of the Handsworth Wellness Centre in Handsworth Park and celebrates Birmingham reggae musicians. The artist is Bunny Bread of CreateNotDestroy, who also painted the Downlow murals in Lozells (see, for example, Image]). He worked with Birmingham Youth Service and Simmer Down Arts, who organise the Simmer Down reggae festival in the park. This section shows, from left to right, Yaz Alexander, Musical Youth, Pato Banton, Steel Pulse and Annette B. Steel Pulse have their own mural elsewhere on the building, based on the sleeve art of their album Handsworth Revolution (Image]; this one is not by Bunny Bread). For good measure, we have the Empire Windrush, the ship that played a central role in Caribbean migration to Britain, called here the Windrush (as on the Windrush mural on Heathfield Road, Image], evidently no room for empire in Bunny Bread's work), also the raised fists of the struggle against racism, a constant backdrop to Birmingham and British life in the 1970s and 80s when the reggae scene was at its peak. See the Simmer Down site https://simmerdownarts.com/Reggae-Mural-Project/ .

This mural, a local reggae wall of fame, is painted on an outbuilding of the Handworth Wellness Centre in Handsworth Park. Simmer Down is the name of a music festival that takes place in the park. The mural is signed 'produced by Alex Williams, painted by @icreatenotdestroy'.

This mural is painted on walls of the Handsworth Wellness Centre in Handsworth Park and celebrates Birmingham reggae musicians. The artist is Bunny Bread of CreateNotDestroy, who also painted the Downlow murals in Lozells (see, for example, Image]). He worked with Birmingham Youth Service and Simmer Down Arts, who organise the Simmer Down reggae festival in the park. On this section we see, from left to right, Tenna Star, Peter Spence, Fatman of Black Symbol and Yaz Alexander. See the Simmer Down site https://simmerdownarts.com/Reggae-Mural-Project/ .

An OS cutmark on the side wall of the house; originally levelled, most likely in 1956, at 132.28m above Ordnance Datum Newlyn.

The police station stands at the corner of Thornhill Road and Golds Hill Road. The architecture suggests the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century. POLICE and COURT are carved on the lintel of the porch, and the brackets support a pair of blue lamps - very 'old school'. It is a large building and continues off to the right of the photo.

This galvanised steel tower was designed by the Birmingham artist Pauline Bailey. The mandalas cut into the truncated pyramid roof were designed by Bailey in co-operation with local elders, mainly Bangladeshi women from a sewing group, who expressed their life journeys through these circular patterns as part of a project called Veranda Stories. See the website of Handsworth Creative https://www.handsworthcreative.com/veranda-stories-pyramid-tower . In the distance can be seen The Sons of Rest Building, erected in the 1930s by a society of retired men.

The mandalas, circular patterns, have been laser-cut into the galvanised steel roof of the Pyramid Tower in Handsworth Park Image They were designed by Pauline Bailey together with a group of older Bangladeshi women from the locality, who were reflecting on their life journeys as part of a project called Veranda Stories. The tower dates from 2017 and "has a meditative quality to it when standing or sitting underneath and viewing the sky through the patterns in the roof of the pyramid" according to the website of the Handsworth Park Arts Trail https://www.handsworthcreative.com/park-arts-trail .

The white building across the road looks to me like a former public house, but is now the premises of a nail bar and manicurist. Further along, a general grocery store and a takeaway pizza shop operate.