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WE'VE FOUND
THE SUN
After a decade producing concept paintings, Birmingham-based artist Mark Hickman, decided on what's known in the artistic world as a 'radical' change and turned his brush-wielding attention to producing a series of paintings exploring atmosphere and light. Now favouring landscapes in oil, Mark's exhibiting six pieces which cover Paris, London, Venice and fair 'ol Brum as part of Purple Gallery's Christmas exhibition. Sunset view Towards BT Tower is an original oil on canvas, and it looks a lot like Mark will have had to break in to one of Snow Hill's towers in order to capture the scape from this angle. No need to call anyone though, right? Make the JQ's skyline your wall's skyline for £595.
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MOVIE OF THE WEEK: A UNITED KINGDOM
A love story is only as good as the obstacles faced by the central couple, so how’s about the powerful racism of post-war Britain? Studying in England after the war, the crown prince of what’s now Botswana meets and falls in love with an ordinary English woman, throwing all manner of prejudiced cats among the pigeons as the crumbling imperial establishment try and stop their union. David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, both actors of the moment, are superb as the leads. It seems odd that a film that's making a point against prejudice doesn’t seem that interested in events in Africa, but it does provide a stirring and timely reminder of just how deep bigotry can run in society. Times
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DIGBETH'S ANSWER TO CHRISTMAS
For one merrily maniacal Digbeth day, Digmas is taking over the greater Custard Factory area. The Paperdolls Handmade Market is entirely indoors and brings with it enough creativity to solve December 2016. Get your mitsies on everything from contemporary origami which doubles up as Chrimbo decs (pictured bottom right), to hand-lettered stationery, to burnished linocut arty happenings. Turning to sustenance, Holy Moly Macaroni is debuting its pasta-based wares as part of the street food festivities. Also in town will be Jabberwocky's German arm. Think schnitzel, think sausage and think strudel. Feels good, doesn't it? This Saturday (Nov 26) from 11am until 6pm, entry is free.
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DOODLE WITH VINCENT
If tinsel and baubles aren't going to cut the cranberry relish this year, how about a print from Vincent Van Doodle? The creation of a husband and wife team, Gremlins (pictured) started with a conversation about their top xmas flicks, and involves layers of images from the movie. You can get it in A4 for £10, or upgrade to A3 for £15 — the ethos at Vincent Van Doodle is that everyone should have access to art (and not be forced into that little known Scandi brand starting with an 'I'). Unavailable online due to the huge demand generated by the team's LinkStreet store (Bullring), there's something for all you filthy animals.
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RULE BRITANNIA
Beautiful and British, for four days (including today) the Mailbox is putting on a showcase of leading high-end, born and bred brands, covering everything from fashion and lifestyle to drink. There'll be urban homeware from Stolen Form, a mean leather game from Leather Satchel Company and properly proper lip care from Albus & Flora. We're also predicting a swift trade from The Sweet Potato Spirit Company. A Worcestershire-based operation, the team exclusively creates spirits using sweet potato as its base. How d'ya like them tatas? Independent the nuts out of Black Friday (and until Nov 27). More
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Venue: The Physician, 36 Harbone Road, Edgbaston, B15 3DH; website
Choice: Sticky toffee pudding (£5.95) Chooser: Waitress, Vicky
But where is it? The Physician opens today on the corner of Harborne and Highfield Roads, on the former site of the Birmingham Medical Institute. It's got a roaring log fire or two to see you through to Easter, at which point the multi-aspect beer garden's got your back. A bit like someone really rich's house, the large space is split into plenty of connected dining rooms (we dined in The Orangery), with more pictures on the wall than a real person could accumulate in twenty-three lifetimes. The food is less accomplished than the interior and the service, the latter of which was uniformly lovely. In terms of what to order, we tried nine dishes with lotteryesque results. The Sicilian fish stew (£15.95) took the crown on mains, with both the shoulder of lamb (£17.25) and crab-stuffed plaice (£16.95) lacking in seasoning and texture. The classic sticky toffee pudding was the most jollifying dish, which leads us to suggest, keep your food order simple for the best results. Menu
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