PW_3_2019

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Full steam ahead on the walking tour

so many chose to join us, I would especially like to thank those who visited from overseas. I am also extremely grateful of the support of Birmingham based ACME Whistles, who donated three boxes of IPA engraved Metropolitan whistles with presentation boxes and certificate of authenticity. These were the first ever IPA whistles ever produced, and had ‘Birmingham IPA; written on them. Twenty of these were given out to the first twenty people who booked tickets for the weekend, and a number were put to good use in the raffle. IPA Section UK HQ are in discussions with ACME to produce a run of Section UK whistles, should you wish to purchase one yourself. Here’s to the next one.” Branch Secretary Andy Gregory said “When I retired from the police two years ago, I announced my intention to stand down as Branch Chair after ten years in the post. I was genuinely worried that we wouldn’t have anyone to take the branch forward after Martin Sewell and I retired within a few months of each other. When Tom took over as the new Branch Chair in 2018, the first thing he did was to suggest a Friendship Weekend for 2019. With the addition of Simon on the committee, it is great to have two keen IPA members who are actively promoting the branch, while still very busy as serving officers. I am delighted to say the Friendship Weekend was a massive success and the branch is in really good hands for the future.” The branch committee would like to thank all of those who assisted in planning the activities; especially Helen Preece and Christine Spriggs, and all the guests who attended the weekend. We look forward to inviting you to our next event in the near future.

at Sparkhill are gradually being moved to the lock-up, and we saw displays that told stories of prisoners and staff, including the Lock-Up Matrons, who, from 1895, became some of the very first women in policing. Inspector Steve Rice leads the project to turn the Victorian Lock-Up into a permanent museum and funding has been sought from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Steve gave us an informative presentation about the lock-up and some amusing tales, before local historian Kay Hunter delivered a more sombre talk about some of the Lock-Up inmates who were executed in times gone by. The highlight of the afternoon was a wonderful concert in the basement of the Lock-Up by the brilliant Solihull Pop Chorus . The Chorus began a few years ago with 20 members, and

police duties in the Lock-Up commented that the acoustics were brilliant, and the performance was a huge improvement on the drunken sing-songs they heard in years gone by. Most of our guests then adjourned to the Barajee Restaurant for an Indian meal and a relaxed social evening, while some opted for a meal at a nearby Italian restaurant. Canal boat trip and Sunday Lunch: On Sunday, we took to the water on a canal boat from Brindley Place for an hour-long voyage around some stunning and lesser-known parts of the canal network, where we spotted several herons and other local wildlife. The canal trip was enhanced by wonderful weather, which allowed for gentle rivalry between the keen photographers in capturing the ultimate photograph. This gave the boat crew some concern that the photographers might over-extend to get their shot and fall in. Our boat trip was followed by an excellent Sunday Lunch at the Piano and Pitcher, after which the weekend-guests and day-visitors said their fond farewells to each other. Branch Chair Tom Chisholm said “It was an honour to welcome IPA friends to Birmingham. The city centre has developed considerably in recent years and is now a really world-class location to visit. We were able to show our visitors interesting and picturesque views of the city and many of our guests said they would return soon. We hope to run another friendship weekend in the future and look forward to meeting old and new friends in the second city.” Vice-Chair Simon Hensley said “ I’m a relative newcomer to the IPA and as such this was my first ever friendship weekend, in hindsight I probably should have attended a few before trying to help organise one! However, I really enjoyed the experience and am delighted that

now has over 300 singers who meet weekly at venues across the county. Former West Midlands employee Anya Small is the brainchild behind the Pop Chorus; this was their fourth performance for our IPA branch and their second in this unique venue. Branch members who had performed

POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No.3, 2019

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