| Morning everyone, and welcome to the start of another working week.
It promises to be a busy and exciting one here at Continuum.
On Thursday, advisers from across our member firms head to Birmingham for our annual conference.
This year’s speakers are exceptional. Alex Hunter, the former Global Head of Digital for the Virgin Group, is an expert in consumer engagement.
Oli France leads teams through some of the world’s toughest environments, mastering resilience, leadership, and purpose in the face of extreme challenges.
Matt Goodwin is an academic and bestselling writer known for his work on political risk and volatility.
Michael Lawrence brings extensive expertise in financial regulation, including 16 years at the Financial Conduct Authority, where he most recently served as a Technical Specialist in Consumer Investments Supervision.
And Shanti Kelemen is the Chief Investment Officer for M&G Wealth, responsible for the development and ongoing management of discretionary investment solutions, including model portfolio services, offered by M&G Wealth.
There couldn’t be a better city to host our conference than Birmingham. Its central position means 90pc of the UK can be reached from Birmingham by car in under four hours.
But it’s not just geography that makes the city unique. Here are a few more things about Birmingham you might not know.
Thanks for listening.
Martin Brown, managing partner at Continuum, was talking to Gary Parkinson, former financial journalist at The Times and BBC.
- Birmingham has more canals than Venice with 100 miles of canal navigations.
- Iconic brands Birds Custard, Cadbury Chocolate, Bournville Drinking Chocolate, HP Sauce and Typhoo Tea all started in Birmingham.
- Birmingham was the birthplace of heavy metal with the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin, originating from the city.
- Other famous Brummie musicians and bands include: The Streets, UB40, The Moody Blues, Jamelia, Slade, Ocean Colour Scene, Toyah Willcox, Wizzard, Laura Mvula, Dexys Midnight Runners and Duran Duran.
- The FA cup was made in Birmingham, and the first football league in the world started there.
- Tennis was invented in Edgbaston in 1859 on the lawn of a Spanish merchant.
- Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe, with nearly 40pc of the population under 25.
- In 1875, three quarters of all the pens in the world had nibs made in Birmingham.
- There’s a crater on the moon called Birmingham.
- Birmingham is the birthplace of the Balti – in a restaurant in Stoney Lane in the Sparkbrook district in 1977 – and is now home to over 100 Balti houses.
- Perry Barr was home to the world’s first ever ODEON cinema in 1930, standing for Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation.
- The postage stamp was invented in Birmingham in 1839, by a schoolteacher named Rowland Hill. He went on to establish the first modern postal system in Britain.
- The city’s landscape and surrounding countryside provided inspiration for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. J. R. R. Tolkien grew up in Moseley from the age of four, and the books are based on places and people in the area.
- Birmingham chemist Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774.
- The anchor of the Titanic was made in the Black Country, not far from Birmingham city centre.
- Britain’s most famous plane, the Spitfire, was built in Birmingham. So, too, was the original Mini Cooper for 41 years, not to mention Rover and Land Rover.
- Birmingham inventor Alexander Parkes invented plastic.
- The murder mystery board game Cluedo was invented in Birmingham in 1943, by Anthony E. Pratt. There’s a plaque on the wall of a house on Brighton Road, where Pratt used to live and made the game.The plaster cast for broken bones was invented in Birmingham in 1854 by chemist Thomas Allcock.
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