As urban designers, architects, landscape architects and planners, our interest and focus is about understanding places – how they work, how people move through them, what makes them distinctive, interesting, (or otherwise), and how importantly people experience them. While this understanding can come from drawings, plans, and studies, there is no substitute for experiencing a place as a user: walking its streets, exploring its public spaces, discovering its character and seeing how people use, gather and socialise in these places.
With this in mind, our Thirsty Thursdays are not just an opportunity to get together outside of work. They also give us a chance to explore and experience the wider places in which we live and work, often discovering areas that we might not otherwise visit or even know about. From established neighbourhoods, to emerging destinations, historic industrial areas with repurposed buildings – each evening offers a different perspective on the character, identity and evolution of our local places.
What is Define’s Thirsty Thursday?
The traditional ‘five days working in the office’ has changed, with the introduction of working from home and hybrid working. The five day working week also has a psychological bottleneck – by Wednesday evening, potential energy dips, but the relief of the weekend can still feel too far away.
Enter ‘Thirsty Thursday’ (or TT for short) – a relaxed, informal and social evening out, once the working day is complete.
Here, at Define, on the first Thursday of the month we have Thirsty Thursdays, an excuse for:
– a social experience with work colleagues
– promoting informal team building and friendships across the office
– supporting people working in the office on Thursdays
– a mid-week reset, actively enjoying the week
– exploring what the local area has to offer – being a ‘local tourist’
– having some fun.
All without sacrificing precious Friday evening and well earned weekend down-time.
This year we have enjoyed some great Thirsty Thursday nights out, visiting both areas we know and others which may be less familiar with. With over 35 team members at Define, living across a wide area, it is also great to act as a guide to the local area, allowing others to experience and enjoy places not previously frequented, or perhaps lesser known.
We started the TT new year by staying local and further exploring the Jewellery Quarter; however the weather took a turn for the worse, with a snow blizzard and ice underfoot, – we only narrowly avoided being locked in the Queens Arms pub, with only crisps and beer to survive on.
February’s weather was kinder to us; catching the Cross City train to Stirchley, focusing on local brewer Attic Brew, supported by pizza and then heading down Pershore Road to a number of independent bars and venues.
In March we explored Harborne, particularly enjoying The Courtyard, with its exposed brick walls, un-matching furniture and live jazz music, a chilled and enjoyable evening.
April took us back to the Jewellery Quarter, but this time to explore the independent ‘hidden breweries’ of the JQ – this included Rock & Roll Brewhouse, with live music; Burning Soul Brewery in a re-purposed industrial unit; and the Indian Brewery in the lofty brick built (Bauhaus-esque) former Taylor & Challen Ltd building.
In May, we went the furthest distance we have been to date – to explore the wonders of Stourbridge. Being met off the train by our ‘local guide’ Kate, with the local delicacy of ‘orange chips’ (thick cut chips, coated on a bright orange seasoned batter and deep fried). We caught the ‘little train’, on the shortest railway line in Europe, into Stourbridge Town. Our itinerary took us to a ‘proper’ pub, followed by a bar in converted bank building, as we sat in the former vault – fortunately with the vault door firmly fixed open.
Junes’ TT was a real highlight, as we were on our Study Trip to Utrecht. After a lovely meal, we explored the bars and clubs of Utrecht, particularly along the canals, until the early hours.
The title of July’s TT was ‘Tram to Edgbaston’ – catching the tram from JQ to the other side of ‘town’ – “where the leaves begin” – in Edgbaston. Basking in the sunshine pub gardens and terraces, we visited The Highfield and The Physician pubs, ending up on Greenfield Crescent at independent pizza restaurant Smoke + Ash – the best pizzas in town (T&C’s apply).
Our most recent TT was catching the newly introduced train service from central Birmingham to Kings Heath. The Station pub was our first venue, again in glorious sunshine we sat in the beer garden. We then headed to the wonderful York Road and the Hare & Hounds. Again the sun shone on us, as we sat on tables and benches on this real hub of independent bars and restaurants.
As you can see, Thirsty Thursdays are wide and varied, always friendly, sociable and fun. Hopefully you can join us on our next TT! – All our welcome.
It’s all about People
So perhaps there is a little more to these TT evenings than simply having a good time (although of course that helps). By travelling around Birmingham and beyond, using trains, trams and our feet, we experience neighbourhoods at first hand and see how different places function and operate, and how people bring these places to life. Ultimately, good place-making is about creating environments that people want to use and spend time in. What better way to understand that than by getting out there and experiencing them ourselves?
So, while Thirsty Thursday may have started as an excuse to break up the working week, it has become a great way for us to explore, understand and enjoy the places around us – together.
