Alexandra Taylor: Writer

You may not realise it, but the magazine you are holding in your hands is very different to the edition you read two months ago. Chief amongst the changes that have taken place is the brave decision taken by editor Amy Watson to play UN Ambassador for our two rival areas, uniting ‘My Moseley’ and ‘My Kings Heath’ into one magazine. “People are rightly very proud of their local identities,” explains Amy, “but there is a great deal of crossover. People from Moseley shop in Kings Heath, Kings Heath residents go out in Moseley. I found I was sharing so much content between the two magazines, it no longer made sense to treat them separately.” And before the good people of Kings Heath ask why their neighbourhood has been relegated to second place in the title, it’s purely to do with the length of the words, so that they fit better on the cover. “It’s definitely only a typography decision,” insists Amy, “there’s no favouritism! I live equidistant from both high streets and spe...

Moseley village, Saturday afternoon. It’s a sunny day, and the pavements are busy with shoppers popping in and out of doorways, clutching bags, window shopping and meeting friends. But one figure isn’t going anywhere. She stands in the same place every weekend, whatever the weather. Some people ignore her, some say hello, some stop and chat, but eventually they all move on, leaving her where they found her, ready to talk to the next passer by. Romanian-born Daniela Pueka has been selling the Big Issue outside the Co-op in Moseley for over five years now, and has become one of the village’s most familiar faces. But how many people actually stop to get to know her? As it turns out, quite a lot. When I arrive she is talking to someone and our subsequent conversation is constantly punctuated by people calling out ‘Hi Daniela!’ and ‘Morning!’ as they come and go.  Daniela’s English is quite basic, and my Romanian is non-existent, so our ability to communicate was fairly limited....

Moseley band Big Tent and the Gypsy Lantern launch their debut album ‘Richest Man Today’ We’re at the Ort cafe on the Moseley Road and preparations are in full swing for tonight’s event. It’s just two and a half hours before the launch of Big Tent and the Gypsy Lantern’s debut album. Tensions should be rising, tempers fraying, cracks appearing, but they’re not. The atmosphere is one of good natured, polite professionalism, interspersed with ‘What do you think?’, ‘Is that OK?’ and lots of thank yous. In fact, they even have time to sit down and eat some of Ort’s tasty butternut squash curry together. In between moving furniture, plugging in amps and tweaking lighting controls, they fill me in on how tonight’s event has come about. Big Tent and the Gypsy Lantern are Paul (guitar), George (percussion), Danny (trumpet) and Tom (‘everything else’), and were recently shortlisted for this year’s Glastonbury Festival ‘Emerging Talent’ competition. Although originally hailing from...