It has become the focal point in Birmingham (UK!!) of our Commonwealth Games … where other sports also featured …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZ_xgAryu1_alM6u37XlZrybWlhBKOncHVRmAfSEexiVwhhj2zZ8dlQQMAEdFCugrn-KO2ZMZrvGVdq9_ERG9pi-9s7OX-GDUhoCm_Bp7m3aTyqmhWeAbFJMes39xP14jQK7Ly5o3iTADtckx_pW4vjtZakZuf0sJffYNlSiDZvkr66fbi0BNK6jx7g/s320/13%20Commonwealth%20Games'%20Federation%20Seal.png) |
Commonwealth Games Seal - The Friendly Games and most inclusive Games - para sportsmen and women also compete |
Perhaps before I start this post I'd better explain where I'm coming from … I was a (hockey, tennis and eventually only squash) ball player – definitely not any other sport … especially running …
… but way back in the 'Ark' … I was fortunate enough to get a job working for the British Olympic Association as a clothing administrator (another no – no – clothes do not interest me) – but the lure of the Olympics definitely did … Munich 1972.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDUpHodwet56VAXcuS-o_1sfek8cCVwaTw6t7ijyikcOhfiXgxeUZ7nOYrh6YJHP7a1FWnFRE4cYeMuf9ZkLSnO5y7kkFdijuCuiQyzYq7VS6CUiwjVsYlXwxZ3EeuH6_m4k6KLe4iqFbLvbKMpA__fIbgSOgPbRjrYKLkE4oEjss8CiGZZBZyW6Da8A/s320/13%20Aerial%20View%20of%20the%20Munich%20Olympic%20Park%20taken%20in%202014.png) |
Munich Olympic Park - photo taken in 2014 |
I've found my bumph on that era – so once Paris 2024 comes around I'll get my act into gear and see what's in the pile … and post some info … for example our Dickensian offices … wooden stair treads worn by 200 years of toil …
It was at this point I became interested in all sports and have been ever since … the nod back to the 1972 era will become obvious in my next post …
I enjoy watching as I can get about doing other things … while people swim, somersault, cycling, run rings round friends, bash balls about … today: move like lightning – my heart is still palpitating after watching the competitors play … way better than our day and in London and Johannesburg where we had some of the best squash players in the world at the club … I'm quite glad I lived through the slower pace of life!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGtJb1tGV69g8yPr-KAKPZHYzCN7hWxPrtvQyXLVERAUh08hUoqmBRex2ppcV7XWQkCKEaIkpg51HTwxxvvOCfqg1Po2IIxLBMfV1j4Im2lZMKQHsjfYPHiJJpyhqfasO_WceVIUB_01HZZR-Xz64qNxwOqUbVEUHIBCPslskJYpM44QkiyMJLr5AwLQ/s320/13%20Soweto%20Kinch%20-%20Jazz%20musician.png) |
Soweto Kinch - who played at the Opening Ceremony; there was a festival going on in and around the Birmingham area
|
I wrote three comprehensive posts I 2014 on the Games held in Glasgow … so I won't belabour (a better word than bore!) you with much info here – the Birmingham Games came about, after Durban, South Africa pulled out and the UK accepted the Challenge – we compete as England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Island, Guernsey Jersey and the Isle of Man – not combined under the UK/British banner.
These Commonwealth Games came very soon after the World Athletics Championships had been held at the new Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon … where only athletics was featured … following on in unseemly order due to the pandemic – the Commonwealth Games …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wfIKkHG-dGyNgzKhk6TjxvVZA-cQz3YQb056ofZtohr1IBCxfx2_gTKZLetNILtqtMzpXF7CJpvefS7g2t_3k8tdR9rTBWYFErZiIXA71HhMexKXVw90iO2i0HTyvA8VgP2_UJSosKI6uR1srcqy6P4GFlaC5nA7ClioWhuDRcrWFo1RuT9W6VP1CQ/s320/13%20Model%20of%20the%20Stadium.png) |
Concept of the new stadium and track Eugene, Oregon |
The new stadium falls under the remit of Oregon University … but I was interested in seeing the new design … also I'd never heard of Eugene as a centre of sporting achievement/excellence – I guess not living in the States allows for this omission of knowledge – not any more …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkGp76FaRD-DzDoUbXk9oJqaUj_g3wHKWGbYRMz08-lppd3hV7zRtxxPciij7ZPOH58RwtsZW_TW6UIe5iJOmThH3Qjg1cEp9XPdN7EEkV4mWec9ik0XcIMU34wqWGVadxksLiAeHDOtuy5_m4Mntqcy6ytPot-_pJjF8PfuD4XbpBAxh7BIdycoZV9w/s320/13%20Eugene%20concourse.png) |
Showcasing Oregon's lumber in all its glory - the Eugene concourse |
So before another week disappears into the hot ether we're in (or I am in the south of England) – I'd better get this post finished and up … as we're into another sporting event in Munich … the European Championships …
Back to the Commonwealth Games - The Brummie Bull isn't really raging … he's a Steampunk 'concoction' for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony/(The Friendly and most inclusive Games – para-competitors too) … and has captured many a person's heart.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HMIFKGU2jV7vnNiQjlctN-4MStSABqCxYZecYl4WkHer7PO-OVfGwhDEyL_GHOF02DXVocZmCgUW-q6FhF3dG3vENK51YsUAeVOzd3mudakwNxe1_Uhl4V_hEbDvWwZKjaKIGZ_nNSygBA_S_O5zB5xr3sLuTtxmDiS_3QDiumyJiJKlBn6W0Z4W5Q/s320/13%20Raging%20Bull.png) |
The not so (at this moment) Raging Bull |
The Opening Ceremony gave us a ceremonial view of Birmingham from its humble beginnings as a Saxon settlement (mid 5th century), to a market town in the 12th century, until the 1700s came around …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEa9rfAGmVM3IuSvZmsGEQeZHYkXMCxhNSkei4fFKuTSLhmnayafrJEVxI5w46owf2vS8iyaHOGgTEtkuFMH3OWoWdvnmSmMAxNH6cTOcPKu9mQs6RfNO3x89xJeCf8VhVJC_WiZX-UI4Z4DNiiujrfFHQH2US-MSuBwjMvlda3i0g3ppWnikl-arHUQ/s320/13%20View%20of%20Jewellery%20Quarter%20-%20Chamberlain%20Clock%20and%20the%20Rose%20Villa%20Tavern.png) |
The gathering place at the start of the Jewellery Quarter - as it is today |
… when the beating heart of the Industrial Revolution began in the 'Midlands' and Birmingham became the city of a thousand trades … including its Jewellery Quarter from the early 1900s …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDOPYkuhpwhHpOD7cWwR1FHnLWDgw-wIlGeoq4lRJYmSyTumNYrl5ccZVRWOM-jOQ_A5TI6uRaMBO6SRQhbxqYjWU8xWLSBv3wMhUKtG6Aq48QxvHte13T-Gec__WlZbHpqSYQqF0z0gt5aZ0F2zgv_hSqnegN21F7IuVTiiEP7tOPOdnCrdbhX9PPA/s320/9%20Imaginery%20city%20industrial%20scape%20of%20Birmingham%20.png) |
Imaginery industrial heartland |
…
nearby over half a century ago … an emerging bard made his appearance ensuring that Stratford-on-Avon would remind us of our creative arts … which now includes a ten-day literature festival.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfj0XQWpDrhFsLwijqGH2up0SWP7ZNdEgkO1BlSVlC8UERe-ia0opCJv5OPSK4ng7_f4iShnZNPTeI88DCq9UmKCY0JyVGveaYeumkehOwgxkd7MeJimmJKqh88FrkQseQTWZIL1MrkDCNkT6xcTscGEVJkYZy0SOP35njh5ZrbBq58h7frwO6KEu4UQ/s320/13%20The%20Raging%20Bull%20Birmingham%202022.png) |
Creative image for the Raging Bull |
Back to the red-eyed, steam-threatening bull as he made his entrance onto the Commonwealth Stage – a creative masterpiece …
… made from re-cycled aluminium tubing, foam and plastic – painted over to resemble metal and armour …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCR_0IczHR2B6uyWed6mSoHdJxaVTYjm_AjIIlryyIAePMDVq5Ef-f1FQ0OMd7IY0ju3ZPLPVotrSYyeAqZL5evzf9GzOOx9VRP4ivab03EC1mpewVbQSzd0rQJeYM1_kvYiWGv4eMz2M7874lnMIrtxBgOD9ufDOIRn2jJNIoifr9rPnt9rN4HtMAw/s320/13%20Mike%20Kelt%20%20-%20chair%20of%20the%20Special%20Effects%20company%20Artem.png) |
Mike Kelt - Chairman of the Special Effects team at Artem Design Company |
It took sixty workers over five months to create and was pulled into the Alexander Stadium by a gang of female chain-makers representing the Industrial Revolution … the chains were made from very high density foam machined on a computer controlled cutting machine.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8TxvUOUgQ495h7jpJNAWrgk6CGlmd6T-vEa4Dj9H55WPEYYr44uSdLL7zlEGc5vUg3rf4erkgSVYjzj6lTIBQkAULvw8vQI1y9__NHwqAFsbpxvucIXiMhCkkhLVnipFWip5P-99Hra7M8qi2jb2J_rqiy2aFvAOxuUUJBgGsbBPRkvgID74pJ2PJQ/s320/13%20Raging%20Bull%20arriving%20at%20the%20Opening%20Ceremony.png) |
Raging Bull arriving for the Opening Ceremony |
What next for the Raging Bull – well he'd wilt when it rained again … so for now he can be outside … then as a home has been found – he can remain in Birmingham as a cultural icon – somewhere …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMVt99MLOIPnfQHnsrYaZ8UpFVkROOZs-KNZ8p1SjWTG0Xs2Zs8txSxN3frVaPSaTV8VY8ZMNYdvXpDW3vBLkTYSmRcnk_7-XP9q8DRdvBqFU0m-KbuvuDa9tCAGQt8K_Djx-4TMWkXjk94MFtspj9K4kKaGLRsoB_ligi8GcVxbzqFMPCJaWsjsHiQ/w200-h181/13%20Copy%20cat-dog%202.png) |
The copy-cat dog ... empathising with the Raging Bull! |
This is long … but there is more – via the links (should you wish to visit) … and I'll elaborate (I hope more succinctly) in my next but one post – as WEP has caught up due next week.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLiwYXEzQQ7scvYhKR_4gehOG1XvTxN7qV3Sa9YDVxko7FK1fwgOKfyagZtJdYfIB5ia5SR44beziAezaL-IxuMiBHBhWvpK7ASOa-TpOXD2xmnUz0MRnMnkH2IJrIBnl2eIqBx0SctlanXEn0gKiV1V6IL7osfTWWCUNUcsb5fAag2nkSsU_9qQMsw/s320/13%20William%20Blake%20painting%20-%20%22mind%20forced%20manacles'%20'Skofeld'.png) |
William Blake - dark Satanic world |
Life ticks on … I am so glad I live at the coast! Many of my verbs should be in the past tense … days have gone by! I've been somewhat overwhelmed with over commitment this year … so these idle days are helping … everything starts up again towards the end of the month …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcq_kCaI3X6qFczhePw11C3-Eg0P0wXZfKu5AWRZO_NlQVIK-2RL51JEwtK9nJRyD7rN4OP-6_CLzC6n0bBYRCY4SPPOEg8_nomRDeYsoGxEygCLmyfByiLxm-KTUpuLktG22JZKPzcIkRRBqgxNtIf-R2QzaQfllCpPhBc8u3DzfdlmS0efAU517CjA/s320/13%20The%20Plays%20of%20William%20Shakespeare%20by%20Sir%20John%20Gilbert%201849.png) |
The plays of William Shakespeare by Sir John Gilbert 1849 |
My posts … Commonwealth Games three posts from August 2014 - the first is here ... they follow on ...
Artem Special Effects and Innovative Solutions ...
Mike Kelt - c/o BBC talking about the innovative bull ...
History and Culture of Birmingham ... an interesting overview of Birmingham and its surrounds ...
Forbes - the new Hayward Field ...
PS - Apologies for length ...
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories