Bearwood Hub Newsletter
Smethwick Urban Room goes on tour! Find out what's on and how to get involved!
Smethwick Urban Room goes on tour!
After 6-months at Smethwick Library, the Smethwick Urban Room is out and about on tour around the neighbourhood, gathering your thoughts, dreams, complaints, and ideas about the local environment. Join Naz and Rachel over the next two weeks:
Friday 16th May - Thimblemill Library 2-5pm
Tues 20th May - Thimblemill Library 2-5pm
Wed 21st May - Wednesday Warm Welcome 11:30am - 5pm Bearwood Baptist Church Hall
Fri 23rd May - Thimblemill Library 2-5pm
Wed 28th May - Bear Bookshop 2-5pm
Thurs 29th May - Bear Bookshop 2-5pm
Family-friendly litter pick - Thurs 22nd May
Join us for a Litter Pick along the High Street. Suitable for all ages. Meet Lizzie outside Bearwood School at 3.15pm on Thursday 22nd May. Then the beautifying starts with a walk up Bearwood Road from 3.30pm. Equipment provided. See you there!
Bearwood Gardeners’ Forum & Swap! - Friday 23rd May
7:30 - 9pm at Thimblemill Library’s Community Room
Bring along your: seeds, gardening tips, plant pots, cuttings & swap them with your neighbours!
Have you ever wondered:
“When should I plant those seeds?”
“How do I grow my own tomatoes?”
“How can I encourage more bees in my front garden?”
“Where/how do I get started?”
Then join Bearwood Gardener’s Group for a fun evening of beginner friendly advice & garden sprucing crafts.
Suitable for all ages and abilities - Novices encouraged!
What’s it like being a young person in Smethwick? - Wed 28th May
Drop in to Bear Bookshop anytime between 12pm-4pm on Wednesday 28th May and get creative with us, as we build a photo gallery of the local neighbourhood.
Come and explore your local high street using polaroid cameras, or contribute your own pictures using your phone. Whether you want to spend the day making art with us, contribute a photo or a quote, or just share a thought about living in Smethwick, this workshop is all about capturing young people’s daily life on the high street and beyond. Join us either outside on the high street, or inside Bear Bookshop to piece together the experiences of young people in the area through photography.
(Ages 13 and over)
Junk modelling a child-friendly neighbourhood - Thursday 29th May
10 - 11:30am at Bear Bookshop with the Parakeet Studio CIC!
Come and help us imagine a new child friendly neighbourhood—built from cardboard, tubes, tape, and big ideas! This playful, hands-on family session invites children and their grown-ups to explore themes of place, home, and community through junk modelling.
We’ll use recycled materials to create streets, homes, parks, and whatever else your dream neighbourhood needs. A treehouse café? A cat hotel? A rocket-powered library? Let’s build it together!
All ages welcome | Free drop-in session!
Multi-sensory music & movement for SEND families with Fantastic Journeys - Thurs 29th May
10:30 - 11:30am - Suitable for those with Additional Needs and their siblings
12:30 - 1:30pm - Suitable for those with Complex Needs
The Peacocks Feather
Exploring the wonder of the most beautiful bird in the world, join Peter and Raghad from Fantastic Journeys on a feather-based adventure. During this multi-sensory music and movement session participants will explore different textures and use a range of props. There will also be opportunities to take part through singing, vocalising and instrument playing. These sessions are designed to deliver a life affirming, empowering and creative experience.
Families will be invited to share their thoughts on their local environment at the end of the session:
What do you love about where you live?
What could be better?
What challenges do you face?
What does your dream town look like?
Toy Swap - Thurs 29th May
Are your shelves overflowing with toys that your children have outgrown? Time to clear some space and find new treasures!
Drop off your toys from 1pm in exchange for tokens to spend at the Swap which starts from 2pm-3.30pm
Bring your gently-used toys, games, and books to swap with others in the community! It’s a fun and eco-friendly way to refresh playtime without breaking the bank.
Share the joy of giving and receiving. All left over toys will be donated to the Bearwood Community Hub free shop.
East In West Archive - Fri 30th May
In 1970, Mohammed Ayub (‘Mr Ayub’) founded Oriental Star Agencies (OSA) in Balsall Heath. OSA went onto become a leading influence on the Asian music scene, importing, promoting and producing music from the Indian subcontinent as well as nurturing talent among the young Asian diaspora. It remained at its Balsall Heath site until 2017.
Join East in West Vinyl Archive and Bearwood Community Hub at Thimblemill Library for an interactive listening session and collage workshop.
Share stories and histories over tea & samosas, and connect through music from the archive.
Need to escape the house this half term? Try Bearwood CoWork!
Need to escape the house this half-term to get a few bits done whilst the kids are off school? Take advantage of our child-free workspace and find the focus you need at Bearwood Co-Work!
Perks:
High speed WiFi capable of handling plenty of devices and multiple meetings
Phone / video calls are welcome - just make sure you bring a pair of headphones
ALL your teas & coffees are included with your booking
Half or full-day options so you only need to pay for what you use!
Evening & weekend access by arrangement
Friendly company and cosy space (our heating is on so yours doesn’t have to be!)
PLUS you’re only a few steps away from the beautifully refurbished Bearwood Yoga / DH Training Club studio:
Why not try a lunchtime training session with Dean or relax afterwork with an evening yoga class with Matty! (Please book directly with Bearwood Yoga or DH Training Club).
On top of ALL of that, when you use Bearwood CoWork you are also supporting Bearwood Community Hub to fund other projects like our Community Wellbeing Service & Wednesday Warm Welcome, so you can feel good about it too!
In and Around Bearwood
Plant Sale at Warley Woods Car Park on Lightwoods Hill
Sat 17th May, 9 - 11:30am
Donated plants and plants grown especially in our bottle greenhouse will be on sale. Advice for growing on your plants will be available too.
This will be held outside on the car park at Lightwoods Hill and all funds raised are to help with the upkeep of Warley Woods.
If you would like to make a donation for plants you can do that here. Leave a message with the donation, just so we can let the volunteers who organised the event know the donation has come through their efforts.
Blooming Bearwood!
The Bearwood Summer Front Garden Trail is upon us! It would be a fabulous thing to show your garden to folks, giving ideas and sharing planting inspiration, from pots to major plant schemes! Come on and join in!
Email: bearwoodfrontgardens@gmail.com to be added to the Blooming Bearwood Map
Alternatively: Pop your name & address at Thimblemill Library or the shop at Warley Woods