One thing that we can be sure of is when the city council and its leader Mike Whitby have something to boast about we hear about it in no uncertain terms. So, when all is quiet on the Paradise Circus front, it’s fair to assume that things are not going too well there.

The promised publication of Argent’s public consultation exercise is now overdue and there is no mention of it on Argent’s own Paradise Circus website.

The council’s appointment of a new Director of Regeneration, the low-profile Waheed Nazir, passed by with hardly a mention in the press, despite the clamour last year from Birmingham’s property industry for an operator of the calibre of Clive Dutton.

But given the state of the property market in Birmingham and the impending local government cutbacks, Mike Whitby could be forgiven for deciding that a larger-than-life charismatic public figure talking up the city’s prospects is not what he needs just now.

And unless Argent’s Gary Taylor has something special up his sleeve or Councillor Whitby is so desperate to show that Birmingham is unaffected by the recession that he will move heaven and earth to make it happen ahead of the rest, the Paradise Circus redevelopment is unlikely to outpace other major development schemes already in the pipeline.

Prime amongst these is the Arena Central development on the former ATV studios behind the former Municipal Bank. The Birmingham Post reported in 2007 that the developers signed a 250-year lease from the council including a down payment of £10million. They agreed to publish an updated masterplan and develop the site ‘within an agreed timescale’.

Two years later the Post reported the developers saying that there was ‘not the remotest chance of [Arena Central] being built in the foreseeable future’. The developers asked for and were given a 10-year extension of the period in which they must start work on site, admitting that it could be another 20 years before the project was complete.

Meanwhile Argent hope to produce a plan of sorts for Paradise Circus before its two-year Exclusivity Agreement with the city council expires in February 2011. However, there is still no news about the intended re-location of the Conservatoire, a vital piece of the redevelopment jigsaw.

It is inconceivable that the Conservatoire would be forced out of its existing premises in 2013 (when the council plans to demolish the Library) before it has a new permanent home to go to. It is bad enough for the REP to have to go on the road for two years because of the new library, but to inflict such pain on the Conservatoire is surely going too far.

A major concern of the music community is the loss of the 520-seat Adrian Boult Hall and the smaller but equally useful 150-seat Recital Room. The proposed 300-seat Studio Theatre in the new Library will not adequately replace this capacity.

With so little public information to go on, we could just sit back and wait for events to unfold, but, as Mike Whitby no doubt intended by starting to build the new library and promising to open it in 2013, he has forced the issue. And yet the die is still not cast, contrary to what Whitby would have us believe. The only part of the new library that is designed specifically for library functions are floors 5 and 6. These will contain the historic archives in controlled environmental conditions.

The rest of the library floorspace is relatively ‘indeterminate’ and can be used for other purposes such as offices.

Faced with the option of demolishing the Central Library in 2013 and leaving a hole in the ground next to the Conservatoire for many years, or allowing the Central Library to remaining standing for the same number of years, the latter is clearly the least politically embarrassing, provided that the building can be kept in a reasonable state and not left empty and vandalised.

The best way to do that is to continue to occupy the building, preferably as a Library and move the the archives to Centenary Square. Questions about lack of progress at Paradise Circus can only be answered by Argent and the city council.

They above all know how damaging uncertainty is in the world of property so they must surely be anxious to answer them as soon as possible.

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Alan Price is the probably the biggest name appearing at Lichfield’s Real Ale and Jazz Festival this year. Confess I’m more into the drinking than the listening side, but if it matches two of your interests your in for a fine weekend.

Here’s some info from Brian Pretty:

Starting the festival off on Thursday June 24th will be ‘The Blues Band’ celebrating 30 years together with Paul Jones and Dave Kelly producing authentic blues music.

The next evening Friday June 25th the ‘Bare Bones Boogie Band’ hit the stage with their good time, stripped down no nonsense rock ‘n’ roll blues with superlative blues vocalist ‘Helen Turner:

Saturday June 26th will see American ‘Chicago Red’ bring his wonderful guitar playing fine voice and great sense of humour to suck in the audience. Later that day the eight piece ‘Kingsize Five’ bring their refreshing jumping jiving blues to have everyone up and dancing.

Sunday June 27th will see Zoe Gilby bring her bluesy jazzy voice to enthral you, before no less a performer Alan Price finishes off the festival with your favourite songs.

Tto book tickets ring 01543-262223 or book online www.lichfieldarts.org.uk

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I set out my stall from the start; without seeking to excuse or justify the slaughter of ten members of the aid convoy taking supplies to Gaza, I asked – has the outside world done enough to understand Israel’s paranoia?

This is a country which was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, and is surrounded by enemies. In the 72 years since the Jewish state was founded it has been the subject of frequent attacks by its neighbours.

In this context, can’t we at least understand why they might be a bit trigger happy – especially if the the “charity workers” are wielding staves?

One caller reckoned the brouhaha caused by the incident was down to anti semitism pure and simple; another argued that by sending commandos onto the boat, Israel was guilty of piracy, and had effectively declared war on Turkey.

It’s interesting to note that it’s Israeli atrocities which seem to provoke Britain’s Muslims to demonstrate; I was moved to ask, where were they when North Korea torpedoed a South Korean ship? Or when Iran strung up teenage homosexuals?

There is a dynamic to this story, and others about Israel, that go beyond simply allegations of human rights abuses.

American comedian Bill Hicks is celebrated on film. Here’s my review.

Hicks was the Sex Pistols of U.S. stand-up – a blast of vicious vulgarity pointing up the absurdities of political and suburban life. 

Ironically, he found more favour in this country than he ever did back home, selling out not just comedy clubs but large theatres in the late 80′s and early 90′s.

Directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas do a great job of assembling key footage of the man, dating back to his earliest gigs in Houston, Texas – and they cleverly overcome the lack of off stage archive with smart photo animation that elevates this above standard doco fare.

Key friends and family members share their reminiscences, and the only gap appears to be any “significant other” in Hick’s life before his premature death from cancer in 1994.

Maybe he never had one -but if that’s the case why is it never addressed?

That apart, this is a fine chroicle of a comedy legend’s career, detailing his battle with booze and drugs; and later the authorities who tried to down tone his vicious attacks on the U.S.A. – the United States of Advertising.

A fine tribute to one of the greats.