Business News


What a racket: high jumper Robbie Grabarz and gymnast Claudia Fragapane try their hand at badminton


Month of sport at Arena Birmingham


Arena Birmingham – formerly the Barclaycard Arena – is preparing to host three major sporting events in the same month. The city centre venue is playing


host to the IAAF World Indoor Championships this week (1 to 4 March), the All England Badminton Open Championships from 14 to 18 March and the Gymnastics World Cup on between 21 and 22 March. The IAAF World Indoor


Championships is returning to Arena Birmingham following a triumphant staging of the event 15 years ago. With around 600 athletes from 150 countries taking part, it is the biggest global athletics event to be held in 2018. The opening session on 1 March


will see the men’s and women’s high jump being held simultaneously for the first time ever. British number one Robbie


Grabarz said: “I love competing at Arena Birmingham. “The atmosphere is always


fantastic as the spectators are so close to the action.” It is hoped the trio of events will


enhance Birmingham’s status as a major sports city ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Cllr Ian Ward, leader of


Birmingham City Council, said: “Birmingham loves sport and it’s something which this city is extremely passionate about. “Hosting major sports events


puts Birmingham in the spotlight, brings thousands of visitors to the city and helps to inspire young people from across the city and beyond. March is going to be a special


month for Birmingham with three major events in three Commonwealth sports and it will give local people a taste of what’s to come in four years’ time.”


14 CHAMBERLINK March 2018


Emma Baines, who works at AE Harris, inspects her work


Birmingham Balti bowl returns to the Midlands


By Jessica Brookes


An engineering firm in the Jewellery Quarter have brought the production of the world- famous Birmingham Balti bowl back to its original home in the Midlands. After a 25 year hiatus, A E Harris


& Co have worked with Andy Munro, a local Balti historian and author of Going For A Balti, to engineer and manufacture the bowl. The Birmingham Balti is a


specific style of cooking with the curry served in the same pressed steel, flat-bottomed wok that it is cooked in. The bowl was originally made in


Smethwick in the 1970s. However manufacturing moved out of the region in the 1980s, and soon was being made and imported from overseas.


However, Andy Munro


approached A E Harris & Co in an effort to bring the manufacturing of the bowls back to the region. He said: “I want people to come


to Birmingham and have the authentic Birmingham Balti experience. The bowl is part of that experience and so it was important that the manufacturer we approached was innovative and passionate enough to see our vision. “A E Harris & Co has a sterling


reputation in the Jewellery Quarter, and after approaching them with the idea we started to work on the bowl that deserves to house this iconic dish.” Director Jerry Smith was


instrumental in the production of the bowl from concept to delivery. He said: “When Andy


approached us with his idea, we were happy that the product was not only commercially viable, but


also feasible from an engineering and manufacturing perspective. “It’s important that we take on


local projects like this, as it not only allows us to be innovative and creative but also allows us to expand our repertoire and expertise.” The process of making the bowl


presented A E Harris & Co with specific engineering requirements for the 139-year-old manufacturers. Mr Smith said: “We were able to


provide the technical and engineering knowledge in order to make their idea become reality. “We had to take on this project,


as it was a project specifically unique to the region. We are seeing more enquiries from customers who like the fact that our products are made in Birmingham, and we want to continue to take on specialist, local projects when we can.”


Recorder maker in tune with food


“If music be the food of love, play on.” The words of Shakespeare


were taken quite literally on Valentine’s Day as lovers in Birmingham were encouraged to woo a partner with a performance on a recorder – made from a carrot. Tim Carnmore from Malvern, in


Worcestershire, has been making recorders from wood since 1980, and he has now shown budding musicians at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire how to make their own from the humble root vegetable.


Lettuce play: Tim Carnmore (left)


ground. However, one is orange and the other isn’t, although this distinction is a minor one when it comes to design. “By following the principles of


recorder construction with a carrot, it is inevitable that a working instrument will be born.” Tim’s ‘home grown’


Tim said: “The similarities


between a boxwood tree – used traditionally to make a woodwind instrument – and a carrot are glaringly obvious if you think about it. They are both organic, cylindrical and grow in the


demonstration joined several professional concerts, workshops and participatory events that took place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire as part of the second Birmingham International Recorder and Early Music Festival. .


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