*Insert Rocky Training Montage*

What a couple of weeks since we launched our petition to Save Station Street, The Electric and The Crown. 18,700+ signatures. Blown. Away.

You can listen to a BBC Radio WM interview I did or read The Guardian article on The Electric / Station Street if you feel like it.

How can I help?

The Power Rangers Power Up
We've started lining up a few celebrity endorsements but SHHHH! That is a secret. A bit like that bit where the Power Rangers all come together in one kick-butt Ranger we need your help though...

IF you are a an icon of the arts world, work in the arts, gave birth to Joe Lycett or know someone famous/semi-famous/prominent (for a good reason not a criminal one) who cares about small venues, cinema, music, comedy, TV, arts, theatre etc. and would like to offer us some support we're looking for a paragraph or two. To be sent to savestationst@gmail.com.

Birmingham linked artsy doyens: We'd like a line or two about what The Old Rep, The Electric, The Crown and Station Street or small venues in Birmingham mean to you. Helps if you're globally known like Ozzy obviously but don't be shy if you aren't a bat eating hellraiser.

Non-Birmingham artsy doyens: A pic and maybe a line or two about what small venues mean to you and how important they are.

Not-Famous? No Problem! Be our Mickey Goldmill...
You can still help massively by sharing our petition & forcing Auntie Doris to sign it. 20,000 signatures gets us a full council debate and further strengthens our hand with Historic England & Secretary for State Lucy Frazer MP.

You can still help massively by emailing your local councilors or MPs in Birmingham

What Next?
We have formed a small group of people to share some of the workload. But always welcome people with specific skills that might be helpful. You can always reach out on savestationst@gmail.com if you have any specific expertise that might be exceptionally helpful (Planning Law / Heritage Protection / Riding a Horse while shooting arrows).

If you work for Netflix / BFI / Non-megalomanic Billionaires / Arts Orgs with money (lol!) / Caring private equity investment firms with philanthropic kind hearts... (You get the idea) our email is above. Lets talk.

I will be introducing our vision for Station Street in the next few days to our Twitter.
We absolutely don't want Station Street to be either a dull as dishwater tower block or a dusty old museum. Our vision is a vibrant, thriving arts and cultural small venue offer to the city of a thousand trades (1,001 if you include just being really, really awesome).

Thanks all; no more sermons from me for a few days. Off to see Wicked tonight at Birmingham Hippodrome. Support the arts.

Darren.

p.s. Buy the new album from Grace Petrie, it is really good; and congrats to The Crown regulars Judas Priest whose new album is riding high in the charts this week. Apparently the charts are still a thing.