Recharged and 100 Miles an Hour
Last week carried a bit more weight than expected, the kind that stretches you and forces you to dig a little deeper just to keep things moving. By Friday, the reset wasn't just welcome
it was needed. The weekend delivered. It started with a wine-tasting dinner at Hotel Du Vin, great food, great wine and the kind of company that reminds you why slowing down matters. Saturday began early with a walk through Cannon Hill Park, one of Birmingham's many green spaces that quietly reset your head without asking for anything in return, before heading into the market for fresh meat, fish, fruit and veg from traders who've kept this city fed for generations and gave me an education in life.
From there it was over to the Alexander Stadium for a breakfast with StreetGames UK and Access Sport, wrapped around their Community Athletics Festival linked to the European Athletics Championships 2026. A powerful reminder of what opportunity looks like when it's opened up to young people who don't always get it. The same spirit runs through BYSA (Birmingham Youth Sports Academy) and the Birmingham City FC Foundation real impact, real pathways, real change happening across the city every day. It's the same ambition Knighthead Capital Management, LLC is bringing into Birmingham at scale. It’s the same drive running through the One Thousand Trades Group as we widen opportunity and build momentum across every part of the organisation looking to build commercial opportunities and give back wherever possible.
Saturday night slowed right down with a bit of gardening and a bit of quiet. Then Sunday came early with a drive to Bedford for Worcester Warriors vs Bedford Blues. Bedford had beaten Worcester home and away this season, so this wasn't a free hit. But Worcester delivered a convincing performance built on belief, cohesion and character. When you remember that Christopher John Holland and Stephen Vaughan started this season with no employees, no players, no infrastructure just a vision and the determination to rebuild it becomes a masterclass in leadership and resilience.
Somewhere in all of that, the shift happened. The heavy week loosened its grip. The weekend put things back in order. The head cleared. The focus sharpened. with everything happening across BYSA, the Blues Foundation, Knighthead's investment and the One Thousand Trades Group, the opportunities ahead feel bigger, clearer and closer than ever.
A new week starts now charged, focused and ready to deliver.
I don't know about you, but I'm 100 miles an hour ready for this week.
Arron Wincott, Arabella Archer FInstAM, Thomas Dixon, lan Halstead, Mark Lawrie OBE, Helen Rowbotham, Mike Chamberlain, Anwar Khattak BEM QAVS BCAc, Tony Elvin, Harpal Mattu, Antony Isherwood,