Heaven and hell

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Sunday, 8 February 2009, 07:02

The High Street in West Bromwich is my idea of heaven and the BNP’s hell. In a small stretch you have Afro-Caribbean shops nestling in between Asian sweet shops, Polish delis and a traditional English barber’s. Off a little side street is a Sikh Gurdwara, an Afro-Caribbean centre and a Unite regional office. It is a kaleidoscope of cultures, tastes and colours. People of all colours, religions and languages appear to co-exist quite happily with one another in a way that would make the BNP activist shake with fear.

If that wasn’t good enough then there is also the Sportsman, a Sikh-owned pub which looks a run down house from the outside. Inside, however, the communities of the High Street mingle and socialise, washing down their troubles with a pint of Cobra or Guinness, a plate of cheap but fantastic curry and cricket on the TV. As the evening wears on the bangla music begins to play and it is not uncommon for Sikh men to begin dancing.

The Sportsman is a truly wonderful place and is always on my itinerary when I go to the Black Country. And here I found myself on Friday night, with Liz and Lindsay, two trade unionists from the US who we are currently taking on a tour of the UK (more of them later). We were joined by a few friends and colleagues, including local MP Tom Watson, straight in from a five hour surgery.

Heaven and hell, two views of the same scene. But for me it’s Heaven every time.