While certain areas of the city centre - notably the Mailbox - were badly hit by rioters last night, Colmore Row and surrounding businesses made it out relatively unscathed.

Photography store Jessops seemed worst off, with frontages smashed and the store ransacked. Staff were in-store surveying the damage this morning.

Thefts elsewhere seemed minimal, with most of the damage being mindless vandalism rather than smash and grab raids. Branches of Coffee Republic, LA Fitness and McDonalds nearby had windows damaged. Austin Reed appeared to have stock taken, though staff were not available to comment at time of writing.

Mills newsagent on Colmore Row had its front of store destroyed but staff confirmed no-one was harmed and only some magazines were taken.

In a comment on last night's entry on the disturbances, Peter Chapman on behalf of St. Philip's Cathedral posted:

"St Philip’s Cathedral is fine and the Cathedral staff, along with other City Centre clergy, are out and about supporting those businesses caught up in the vandalism."

If nothing else, House of Frasier's window merchandising offers an ironic sense of humour to the situation.

If you were affected by the riots or have additional news, please email stories to post@grounds.posterous.com

As an offshoot of the London riots of recent days in Tottenham and Enfield, violence erupted in Birmingham City Centre this evening. Crowds consisting mostly of youths attacked the Bullring shopping centre before spreading further into the city.

Several businesses along Colmore Row were attacked, and small groups of offenders were seen running away from police along Church Street and Edmund Street. Reports of St. Philip's Cathedral being firebombed are unsubstantiated at time of writing.

Currently, police presence along Colmore Row and side roads extending into the Colmore Business District is heavy, with dog units in operation.

UPDATE, 10pm: Police presence on Colmore Row is now largely diminished, though some minor disturbances persist near Victoria Square.

The composer commissioned to create this ambitious new work is Alexander
Campkin, a rising star in the world of choral music.

Engaging young people is an important element of the project and Campkin
will be conducting a workshop for local church and school choirs in
Birmingham Cathedral on Saturday 19th of November. The objective is to
engage the participants in this new choral work, and to open their ears to
the beauty of such great words and music in harmony. The workshop will
culminate in a performance of part of the work in front of an audience of
parents and friends in the Cathedral.

Watch an introductory video at http://buto.tv/DVl6J

Peter Chapman

On behalf of Birmingham Cathedral (www.birminghamcathedral.com)
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Peter Chapman

www.birmingham2london.com

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Click here to download:

Cathedral app press release 201210.doc (322 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Cathedral app press release 201210.doc (322 KB)

Birmingham Cathedral will be launching its iPhone App at today's Civic Carol
Service.

The direct download link is

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/birmingham-cathedral/id408269871?mt=8

Our thanks to developer Scott James Remnant, and to the Urban Coffee Company
for the continuing (caffeine based) inspiration!

Peter Chapman

Bookings Manager

Cathedral Heights

0121 343 6753

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Happened upon Steve today near Colmore Row. He had a banner that made clear his intentions. He wants a job. I took a pic and recorded a short audio piece with him. I can only wish him luck. He's only just joined twitter yesterday (@SLbannerman) and would welcome a bit of support.

His info:

SLbannerman@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/SLbannerman

BSc (Hons) Business Information. Experienced in office and industrial work. All offers considered, available for immediate start.

Jelly is an event intended for solo workers to come together and chat, work and even make new contacts. It costs nothing and takes minimum effort; on a given day at a given location, simply bring your laptop, grab a coffee, sit down and work. You can pop in and out whenever you like during the course of the day.

Birmingham Jelly is launching on Tuesday October 5^th at Urban Coffee Co from 9am. It’s perfect for freelancers, people who work from home and those who are based in the field but really, everyone is welcome.

I attended a few Jellies when I was in NYC a couple of years ago. They were often held in people’s apartments, including one that acted as a shoe showroom overlooking Central Park! Whatever the location, you can expect a lovely, friendly atmosphere with like-minded people.

Location: Urban Coffee Co on Church Street opposite Hotel Du Vin. Nearest parking and train station is Snow Hill but it’s easily walkable from New St too. Jelly will be upstairs so feel free to come and put your laptop down then grab a drink. You can even come in earlier for breakfast and browse the newspapers.

They have sandwiches, soups and other delicious snacks and cakes to sustain you through the day.

Do feel free to drop in any time on Jelly day but it will be great to have an idea of numbers so we don’t overflow!

Please RSVP using one of the links below and I very much look forward to seeing you at Jelly.

Rickie Josen

E: write@rickiejosen.co.uk

T: @RickieWrites

W: www.rickiejosen.co.uk

Peter Chapman

Peter runs two web sites on journeys between Birmingham and London supported
by a blog and twitter feed. See www.birmingham2london.com for full details.

A seminar featuring presentations from three internationally recognized authorities on jazz is taking place at BCU's Margaret Street building next month. The event is a partnership between Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research,Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham Jazz.

Date: 15th October 2010
Time: 10:30am to 3:30pm
Location: School of Art, Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BX.

For tickets and further information, please visit: http://jazzandthemedia.eventbrite.com