The statues of Birmingham innovators James Watt and Joseph Priestley look down disapprovingly from their perches in Chamberlain Square.
Am I mistaken or do the two chaps, fairly austere in appearance at the best of times, look particularly grumpy?
And if I am right, what could possibly be the cause of the great men’s consternation?
Swing round to look in the general direction Messrs Watt and Priestley must face every day and the object of their derision becomes apparent. You can’t miss it. His face is 10ft tall. It’s the BBC’s Nick Owen.
In fairness to Nick, who’s looking buff following his midlife make-over (tired Pringle traded for power-dressing shirts), there are other offenders.
Suzanne Virdee for starters. Yes, dear, sweet Suzanne Virdee.
“Suzanne Virdee?” I hear you cry. “Has he gone mental? Suzanne is adorable. Even if the news is crap and all the correspondents look miserable, Suzy always looks fab.”
Sorry, I don’t care. Suzanne has got to go. So has evergreen Nick. And they can take the rest of the Midlands Today news crew with them. That includes Shefali and the big lad who presents the weather when she’s getting her hair done.
Good riddance to the lot of them.
The reason for this outburst will be clear to anyone who has walked through Chamberlain Square in the past few weeks. I am referring to what can only be described as that bloody awful giant television screen.
While the tired looking Town Hall resembled a building site it hardly seemed to matter that its back elevation was dominated by a grotesque TV that wouldn’t look out of place chez Mr and Mrs Hoodie.
But now the wraps have come off the fantastic £35 million restoration of the hall the presence of the BBC Big Screen jars. The brash metallic structure has the design credentials of a McDonald’s burger bar and is as visually palatable as a chicken nugget.
I am not lovin’ it and how could anyone who shares a passing interest in the aesthetic appeal of Birmingham?
Electronics firm Philips and the Royal Bank of Scotland are behind the venture and it is difficult to knock private enterprises if they want to waste their cash.
Quite why publicly accountable Birmingham City Council has been paying £75,000 a year towards the eyesore is another matter. Just think: the authority could employ a lamppost light-bulb changer for a similar annual outlay and still have loose change to boost his Birmingham Taxpayer Supernova pension scheme.
By their nature, televisions are about sound as well as vision. So not being content with ruining the classical symmetry of Joseph Aloysius Hansom’s magnificent town hall colonnades, the whopping TV emits a terrible drone of unintelligible voices and the thump-thump-thump of bass heavy music. Even if you should be bored enough to want to watch the big TV, it is impossible to make out what anyone is saying.
This is noise for noise’s sake and represents another unwanted intrusion into our everyday lives by the unedifying forces of arrogant modernity.
I believe the original plan was to keep the TV in Chamberlain Square for the duration of the Town Hall works. Well, they’ve finished. So can you take it down, please?
If people want to watch Nick and Suzanne, let them do so from the comfort of their own homes. Don’t inflict it on the rest of us.
Comments (5)
I agree that a huge TV screen in Chamberlain Square is most inappropriate- however, if it has to stay for a while, I'd FAR rather watch Midlands Today than have an endless loop-tape of pop videos (like you get in your average hairdressers these days) or revolting American adverts by corrupt multinationals urging our youngsters to eat junk food or waste their money on violent computer games.
At least Midlands Today is home grown, informative, interesting and varied, with narry a McDonalds ad nor hardman computer game in sight. And if you're a commuter hurrying home from work, you don't have to worry about missing the local news- you can catch up on it whilst waiting for the bus! Just wait until we're closer to Christmas, and the screen starts showing Santa Claus advertising Coca-Cola; you'll be begging Nick & Suzanne to return!
Posted by Owen Morgan | October 5, 2007 10:43 AM
Posted on October 5, 2007 10:43
My comment appears to have been lost in moderation, but in essence:
Here here!
(or is it Hear hear!)
Get rid of it!
etc.
Posted by Pete Ashton | April 13, 2007 2:29 AM
Posted on April 13, 2007 02:29
The screen is an embarrassment to the city and gives Chamberlain Square a woefully provincial feel, especially when the square is quiet; the booming sound emphasises the absence of people and makes the place feel like a deserted '60s shopping mall.
Utterly depressing.
Posted by Al | April 12, 2007 7:54 PM
Posted on April 12, 2007 19:54
a rather confused post. do you hate the idea of a screen? the implementation? the cost (let's be honest that's not much for such a huge council - what do they waste on some of their really poor advertising campaigns for example?)? or the fact that Midlands Today is on as you walk past it on your way home from work?
Posted by bounder | April 11, 2007 8:40 AM
Posted on April 11, 2007 08:40
Sounds about right. One eensy weensy suggestion though: move it right on down to the next big renovation project. Maybe the crowds will follow. (Crowds? What crowds?)
Location of the next big renovation? That might be open for discussion. Curzon Street, perhaps? Auchinleck Square, maybe? The back of beyond?
Wherever. It should be on its way.
Posted by dp | April 10, 2007 7:03 PM
Posted on April 10, 2007 19:03