Brum gets in the festive spirit in the countdown to Christmas
The nights are getting darker, Victoria Square smells like glühwein and bratwurst and the volume of networking events has gone through the roof, writes Henrietta Brealey. It can only mean one thing - we’re on the countdown to Christmas.
And when it comes to Christmas, nowhere does it quite like Birmingham. Whatever your flavour of festive fun, Brum’s got it. It’s got arts: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker or Jack and the Beanstalk at the Hippodrome, the Rep’s vibrant The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Candlelit Carols at Symphony Hall and much more besides.
It’s got shopping: from year-round staples like Selfridges to the brilliant Christmas in Cathedral Square by Colmore BID. The latter is always a personal favourite of mine, showcasing the region’s independent businesses and a brilliant place to pick up presents for those tricky to please relatives.
It’s got all sorts of quirky activities from Birmingham Botanical Garden’s Winter Lights Trail to creativity for all the family at MAC. In fact, the more the nights draw in, the more Birmingham comes alive.
This love affair with Christmas isn’t a new thing either. Charles Dickens held his first ever public reading of A Christmas Carol at Birmingham Town Hall in 1853. He was apparently so taken by the Birmingham public’s response he said to a friend “The good people of Birmingham seemed to understand everything, respond to everything, and misinterpreted nothing. I felt as if we were all bodily going up into the clouds together”.
As well as being caught up the warm glow of Christmassy nostalgia, this is also a time of year where we pause and reflect at the Chamber. It’s AGM time on the 17 November and once again – it’s been quite the year.
This time last year we were reflecting on an utterly incredible Commonwealth Games and a country fully back to (new) business as usual following the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year there have been a few dark clouds sent to rain on our parade – the Prime Minister’s decision to can the northern leg of HS2 and the concerns surrounding the impact of Birmingham City Council’s section 114 notice for starters.
Despite it all, Birmingham remains bold and utterly brilliant. To me, the momentum surrounding this place now extends far beyond individual projects or institutions.
After recent events, I think we all deserve a nice, boring, normal year next year. Unfortunately, that’s probably not going to happen with a general election on the horizon domestically and an ever more uncertain geopolitical environment. But if there’s one thing we’ve got exceptionally good at, it’s adapting. And if we’re honest…has there ever really been a normal, boring year?
What I do love about this time of year is thinking about those who make navigating all of the twists and turns not just bearable but a whole lot of fun. Top of that list is our utterly brilliant, soon to be past-president (and Dame Judy Dench lookalike) Deb Leary.
Our presidents at the Chamber are volunteers. Leaders in the business community who are so passionate about this place that they give up their time and energy to join us in our mission to connect, support and grow local businesses.
Deb has made a phenomenal impact during her term as president, from spearheading new strategic relationships between the Chamber and the Mexican Embassy to representing local businesses in discussions with the Chancellor and Leader of the Opposition.
Throughout, she’s been an inspiration, to me personally as well as many others. A leader who’s innovative and impactful as well as down to earth, collaborative, funny and fabulous. Proof that you don’t have fit the old serious stereotypes of a business leader to be at the top of your game.
I’m delighted that we won’t be entirely saying goodbye to Deb just yet – she will continue to be a non-executive director of the Chamber as immediate past-president and a committee member of our Greater Birmingham Global Chamber of Commerce division, keeping up her work to champion building international trading relationships.
This of course means that we will be welcoming a new president; Nasir Awan, director of Awan Marketing International. Nasir is a stalwart of the Birmingham business scene, having successfully led his family business from strength to strength and through some pretty challenging times too.
I recently interviewed Nasir for CEO Stories, the podcast from the Chamber where I explore the journeys of the region’s leading and up and coming CEOs (cheeky plug: available wherever you get your podcasts). Nasir’s commitment to philanthropy and community as well as international trade and business success are phenomenal.
So as the nights draw in, I hope that you likewise are feeling the warm glow of reflecting on the year that’s been or Christmas plans to come. Chug a hot chocolate, load up on lebkuchen and get ready – 2024 will be here before we know it.
Henrietta Brealey is chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
This column first appeared in the Birmingham Post
