Alexandra Taylor: Writer

October 31st. Halloween. You’re walking home. It’s dark. You hear a noise behind you and spin round, heart thumping. There’s nothing but the empty street, a crisp packet blowing along the gutter. You pick it up and stuff it in a nearby bin, laughing at your own jumpiness. Halloween is just an excuse for a party, a cultural tradition born out of Pagan superstition and modified by Christian mythology. It’s not real. It’s just another night. But then you catch a movement out of the corner of your eye. Something dark and shadowy which disappears down a side road before you get a proper look. Your first instinct is to run, to seek the warmth and security of home. But, no! You refuse to give in to irrational fear. Humming your favourite tune under your breath for comfort you decide to follow. You find yourself at the entrance to Martineau Gardens, a large sign announcing their Halloween Story Night. Did the creature head in here? Paying the £5 adult entry fee you slip inside, lookin...

For two months this summer Birmingham was invaded by dozens of owls, spreading their wings as far afield as Sutton Coldfield, Winson Green and Bournville. ‘The Big Hoot’ involved 89 fibreglass sculptures, each one decorated by a different artist, and placed all over the city for everyone to discover and enjoy. Three of the owls flew all the way to Kings Heath. One landed in Kings Heath Park, one in the Village Square and one outside the library. The latter was painted by local artist Karoline Rerrie, who lives just down the road in Selly Park. She was delighted that her owl ended up so close to home. “It took me two weeks to paint him,” she says, over tea and cake at Maison Mayci. “I did feel quite attached to him by the time I’d finished. I don’t know how they decided which owls went where, but I didn’t find out where he was until the map went up online.” Originally from Northamptonshire, Karoline settled in Birmingham after completing a degree in Graphic Design at what w...

If you’re a fan of fireworks, then November is the month for you. The pops, bangs and lights in the sky usually start well before Bonfire Night, often featuring at Halloween events from the end of October. But it’s another festival that will keep them going long after Guy Fawkes has been reduced to ashes - Diwali, the festival of lights. Diwali is a five-day religious celebration enjoyed by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, of whom there are over 50 thousand in Birmingham. It coincides with the Hindu new year, and celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil. The date is linked to the Hindu lunar calendar, so changes from year to year. This year it starts on 11th November. The festival is one of the most significant in Indian culture and is celebrated for slightly different reasons by each religion. One of the most popular stories told is the legendary return of King Rama and his wife Sita from exile and imprisonment in the 15th century. On their arrival in their kingd...

It’s inspired a film, a television series, a musical, a game show and a play, as well as numerous books and computer games. But did you know that internationally renowned board game ‘Cluedo’ was invented right here in our little corner of Birmingham? Anthony Ernest Pratt was born on Brighton Road in Balsall Heath in 1903. He worked as a professional musician, travelling all over the world giving piano recitals on cruise ships and in country hotels. He would often have been present at popular ‘murder mystery’ evenings, which were all the rage amongst the landed elite. Dinner guests at sprawling country houses would be entertained by finding a ‘body’ in one of the rooms, and would spend the evening solving clues to discover which one of them was the ‘murderer’. During the Second World War Anthony was living in Kings Heath, and worked in a factory making parts for tanks. "I was leaning on the fence of our King's Heath home and it dawned on me that this wretched war was k...

It’s many a child’s dream to tiptoe downstairs on Christmas morning to find that Santa’s wheeled a shiny new bicycle into the front room. But if, unlike Santa, you have no idea what to look for when choosing a bike for your little angel, fear not! My Moseley and Kings Heath is here to help. Firstly, the frame. Kids are attracted to bright colours, but Sean from Moseley Mechanix on Moseley High Street warns against being dazzled by a funky paint job. “Look at quality not shininess,” he advises. “Some poorer quality, cheaper bikes are made to look attractive, and parents think they’re getting a good deal, but they spend more than they’ve saved having to replace parts over and over again. Kids don’t look after bikes, they chuck them around, so quality and durability are important.” Better quality models will also maintain their resale value, helping you save money as Junior grows. Secondly, safety. “Kids should never use hand-me-down helmets,” says Arif from Bike Pro on Kings Hea...

If you’ve ever had to explain Bonfire Night to someone from another country, then you’ll be familiar with the bewildered expression that can accompany the description of how children are encouraged to make and burn effigies of a Catholic man who failed to blow up parliament over 400 years ago. Mention other related rituals, such as asking for ‘a penny for the guy’, eating toffee apples and setting off fireworks, and it gets even more bemusing.  Like many traditions, our modern day customs are the result of decades of evolution and bear little connection to the events of 1605 that sparked them. The vast majority of people waving sparklers and tucking into baked potatoes are more concerned about whether it’s going to rain than about the religious tensions of 17th century Britain that prompted Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators to plan an attack on James I’s government.  So, to celebrate this uniquely British festival and indulge in everything a modern Bonfire Night has ...

Armistice Day on 11th November will mark 96 years since the end of the First World War. Red poppies will abound in the run up to Remembrance Sunday, but how many of us know how the tradition began and that other colours are available? In 1915, John McCrae, a doctor serving with the Canadian armed forces, was so deeply moved by what he saw on the front line that he wrote the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’. It begins: “In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row,” Three years later, Moina Michael, an American academic, wrote a poem in reply, ‘We Shall Keep the Faith’, in which she promised to always wear a poppy as a symbol of remembrance. She went on to promote the idea of selling silk poppies to raise funds to assist disabled veterans, a practice taken up by the American Legion Auxiliary in 1921. Red poppies sold in the UK today raise money for the Royal British Legion, which offers support to current and former military personnel and their families. ...