Spaghetti Gazetti

John Walker Tribute Evening at Arden Hall, Castle Bromwich

2012-01-31T17:22:00.000Z

Cynthia Maus, widow of the late great John Walker, flew from her home in Los Angeles to witness a marvellous evening of music and memories held in tribute to her husband John Walker who sadly passed away on May 7th 2011.

The band Jog the Memory opened up the show with a raft of songs which included many favourites of John’s.

“Sweet Dreams (of You)” by Don Gibson and then Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” had the audience rocking before changing the tempo to Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man” and “All or Nothing” by The Small Faces. This was followed by a variety of well known standards before wrapping up their set with a medley of songs by The Kinks.

Handing the stage over to another friend of John’s, Marmalade star Sandy Newman quickly had the audience in his hand with a beautiful collection of songs from his album “Golden Years” which included the moving “Blind Man” and “Hold Me”.

“Back on the Road”, “God Only Knows” and a collection of Beatles classics were solidly performed before finishing his set with a beautiful rendition of “Norwegian Wood”.

The Dakotas, now fronted by Ronnie Ravy, toured and performed many times with John. They opened up with Sedaka’s “Breakin’ Up Is Hard To Do”, before rocking it up with “Let the Good Times Roll”.

A medley of original Dakotas’ songs were performed with the audience joining in singing every word.

Dedicated to John was a superb rendition of “Unchain My Heart” which brought the audience to their feet and wrapped up the first half of the show.

Following the break Alan Lovell, Tony Crane and Geoff Turton all backed by the Dakotas had the audience rocking and dancing in the aisles as they belted out hit after hit. “You’re No Good”, “That’s Alright Mamma”, “Mr. Moonlight”, “Sorrow”, “Blackberry Way”, they could have performed all night and we would have stayed with them.

Their combined talent and showmanship drew applause after applause from an appreciative audience before concluding with the now famous Number 1 hit UK hit for the Walker Brothers, “Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore”.

Cynthia could not have wished for a finer tribute to John.

Was John listening? Cynthia, he was there.

Presented by BeeBee Productions and Associates a Truly Gala Night.

Barry Wiltshire.

Join Light House aboard L’Atalante for an unforgettable Valentine’s Day

2012-01-30T11:08:00.000Z

Light House is pleased to announce a special Valentine’s Day screening of Jean Vigo’s, deeply moving masterpiece, L’Atalante (1934). Unquestionably the greatest romance ever made, Light House are delighted to offer you the chance to see the film as intended by Vigo, having been brilliantly digitally remastered by the BFI. The screening will take place on Tuesday 14 February at 8.15pm. Tickets cost: £7.60 full / £6.20 conc. with a complimentary cocktail for all ticket holders. Drinks are served from 8pm. To book tickets contact Light House Box Office on 01902 716055 or visit http://www.light-house.co.uk/

When Juliette (Dita Parlo) marries and moves in with Seine barge captain Jean (Jean Dasté), their relationship soon shows signs of strain. Sharing the cramped boat with eccentric bosun Père Jules (Michel Simon), a cabin boy and a clutter of cats doesn’t help; nor do Jean’s jealous tendencies or the couple’s reluctance to compromise. To this simple story Vigo brings an extraordinary array of ideas and insights, while the lustrous lyricism of Boris Kaufman’s camerawork, injections of surrealism and the almost childlike innocence of the performances locate the film in a fertile territory between objective realism and subjective fantasy. In their scenes together (which include one of the most erotic in cinema), Dasté and Parlo reveal an achingly vulnerable intensity. No other movie matches its mix of playfulness, poetry, sensuality and tenderness; this masterpiece is truly timeless.

Based on a one-page scenario by author, Jean Guinee, Vigo was initially apprehensive to take on what he deemed to be a frivolous workaday melodrama, unsuitable for himself in light of his previously socially scabrous work. After rewriting the short story with his trusted co-writer, Albert Riera, Vigo was able to fashion a story that allowed him to juxtapose hard-hitting, inner-city realism with exquisitely sensual flights into the surreal. However, the film would subsequently be butchered by Gaumont, who had commissioned the film, and renamed Le Chaland Qui Passe (The Passing Barge) for its release in 1934. Vigo’s original version would later be discovered in Italy, in 1989, and has been brilliantly digitally restored by the BFI for the big screen.

L’Atalante is recognised as the film that bridged the 1920’s surrealist cinema of Man Ray, Germaine Dulac, Buenel and Dali with the poetic-realist cinema of Julien Duvivier and Jaques Prevert in the mid to late 1930’s. Cited as the film that would be responsible for the eventual death of Jean Vigo; due to his insistence that they filmed in often freezing Parisian conditions, L’Atalante would be the final masterpiece by a true ‘poete maudit’. Voted as the sixth greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sounds 1992 poll, Jean Vigo’s stunning L’Atalante is a must see for the more discerning romantic. Its gentle, thoughtful tone conceals a carefully made film that is guaranteed to rouse passion and leave an enduring impression, warming even the coldest of hearts this Valentine’s Day.

Light House is offering you the unique opportunity to relive this cherished romance in the inimitable surroundings of Light House cinema. Ticket holders are also invited to attend Light House’s regular ‘Open Mic Night’ after the screening, admission free.

The screening will take place on Tuesday 14 February at 8.15pm. Tickets cost: £7.60 full / £6.20 conc. with a complimentary cocktail for all ticket holders. Drinks are served from 8pm. French with English subtitles. To book tickets contact Light House Box Office on 01902 716055 or visit http://www.light-house.co.uk/.

North Arden Local History Society - January 2012 Report

2012-01-27T07:56:00.000Z

Wall in the 2nd Century (after 130AD)

DAILY LIFE IN ROMAN WALL (LETOCETUM)

At the January Meeting of the North Arden Local History Society members were most excellently entertained by Society member Joanne Wenlock who is also a member of the ‘Friends of Letocetum’ and does a lot of voluntary work on the site and its associated museum. Roman Wall was, as Joanne said was a ‘Premier Inn’ of the Roman period (a posting stop-over or Mansio) on the Imperial Road we know as Watling Street (the former A5).

After a brief introduction in which the content of the talk was explained Jo told us that the name should be pronounced as “Layto-Katum” [the ‘c’ being a ‘hard-c’ as opposed to a ‘soft-c’] this is derived from a Celtic/British place name “leito kato” meaning a grey wood – possibly from the local vegetation which is known to have been birch trees. Both historically and archaeologically there is little, if any, evidence for a pre-Roman (Celtic) presence before the Roman military period in the late AD40’s although an Iron Age Round House/Farmstead is known to the east of the Roman settlement, but this could have developed after the Roman presence and the military road.

To put the site into context it was necessary to have a short history lesson. The Claudian invasion of 43AD landed in Kent with its first objective being the capture of the tribal capital of the Trinovantes/Catuvellaunii at Colchester After this three of the four legions involved fanned out across the country - across the south west towards Exeter, north towards Lincoln and north-west towards Wales. As the legions advanced they cut roads to provide rapid communication with the base (then still at Colchester). The XIVth Gemina Valeria Victrix headed North West building what later became Watling Street during its advance. This advance ceased in 47AD when a change of Governors was due and Ostorius Scapula replaced Aulus Plautius: before he left Plautius had the Fosseway created to police a frontier zone that ran from Lincoln to Exeter leaving Letocetum outside Roman control. Under Scapula (48 to 52 AD) the advance into Wales was crucial and camps were created at Mancetter (Atherstone) and Wall/Letocetum and others until Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter near Shrewsbury) was reached: this was when the settlement at Letocetum was created – initially a fort, later civilian settlement. [Watling Street (A5) showing the route of the XIVth Legion] – (Editors Note: most Roman Road names are of Saxon origin).

Remains of the 3^rd Mansio

The geographical setting was described in detail and the wet peaty nature of it may partially explain the lack of a Pre Roman presence although excavations since the 1960’s have produced artefacts of the late Neolithic and Bronze Ages but no actual settlements sites. The Round House mentioned above can not be firmly dated being a type in common usage from the 4th century BC well into the Romano British period. The Roman fort was built in the AD50’s on the hill overlooking today’s remains and it is thought that the mansion was created for officials travelling along the military way. This fort was manned by men from the XIVth Legion but closed down when the fortress at Wroxeter was established. Several pieces of Roman pottery (potsherds) have been recovered from the native farm to the east but most likely point to the integration of Romans and local Celts; the site itself is set in the area where the lands of two local tribes met the Cornovii from Shropshire and the Coritanii -(Corieltauvi) whose capital was at Leicester. Joanne then described the Roman army’s method of creating temporary/marching camps as they advanced through an area – these were rectangular ditched and banked enclosures in which 8 man leather tents were erected. Throughout the country several temporary camps developed into stone built legionary forts (i.e. Exeter, Lincoln, Gloucester and Chester) – some evidence of these camps has been found around Wall and are thought to date from the post 47AD period when Plautius was consolidating the captured territory or during the advance into Wales. Numerous small finds have been identified as belonging to the period from about 70AD to 130AD, Jo showed photographs of some of these including excavations that belong to a private collection and are not in the public domain. The first Mansio was built coincidental to the Boudiccan Revolt of 60AD and military occupation ceased around 130 after which the Mansio remained but was passed to the civilians for its administration.

The first (60AD) building was of timber construction with uprights anchored into sleeper beams in the ground with walls of wattle and daub with, in all probability, a thatched roof. Recovered evidence shows that this was destroyed by fire around 100AD – possibly as a result of local hostile action since similar damage and dating are known at Wroxeter - the area was by no means peacefully settled or consolidated to Roman ways. The importance of the Mansio at Wall on the Watling Street is evident because work n the second building was begun immediately following the loss of the first although the timber/wattle and daub construction was still favoured by the locals. Fragments of painted plaster were identified amongst the debris of the first building whereas that recovered from this second building were far more sophisticated and brightly coloured. A well cut over 6 metres deep into the underlying sandstone was also identified in this phase. In addition to these building remains iron tools associated with wheel making and animal husbandry were also found indicating that a workshop must have been present to care for the horses and transport passing through; bones were recovered belonging to oxen, and other farm animals possibly suggest butchery for feeding the customers.

Evidence is such that this second mansion was deliberately dismantled (rather than being destroyed by fire) to make way for third, stone based, mansion whose remains are those seen by today’s visitors. Joanne then took us on a tour of the bath house, describing the function of each room and stressing that these facilities would have been available to travellers on a 24/7 basis thanks to slave labour! The floors of the heated rooms (tepidarium and caldarium – closest to the furnace/stoke area) where supported by hypocausts (pillars of tiles about 9” square) that were on show in the 1970’s have now been covered-over for their preservation. Finds from past excavations of the bath house included numerous pieces of glass from toilet flasks/phials but unusually no ‘seal/curse’ tablets that are common in many bath house excavations elsewhere – Jo explained the ‘curse tradition’ in the Roman world. Mansiones throughout the country could be dangerous places with thieves, pickpockets’ and muggers at large not to mention ladies (and men) of easy virtue – even your clothes where not safe when you were using the baths! By far the worse were the governments’ spies who were known to frequent the public areas eaves dropping on conversations on the chance of picking up seditious gossip they could turn to their advantage. In confirmation written evidence of their presence at Letocetum is known.

The Mansio and Bath house
Bath house in foreground.

The presence of the Mansio and bath house obviously attracted settlers, both native and Roman citizens to the area due to the trade opportunities and a proper settlement – prototype town became established in the second century most likely in the form of a ribbon development along the Watling Street and Ryknield Street which crossed Watling Street just to the east of Letocetum on its way to Derby/Burton. Most of the traffic would have been horse or pony drawn two wheeled carts, but mounted horsemen, military units or the more affluent travelling in four wheeled wagons and the idea of posting stations (as in the 18th Century) was that changes of horses would have been available. Joanne referred back to native settlement (Round House/Farmstead) - saying that it may have provided a breeding place for horses as well as a rest area for animals from the Mansio. It is known that as well as a well documented pottery industry (mortaria) at Mancetter (Manduesedum) it is now known that it was a centre for the manufacture of the two wheeled pony carts that were known as ‘essedum’. As well as ponies it was more likely that many of carts were pulled by oxen or mules, they had no suspension and after a 20 mile journey (the usual distance between posting stations) you would have been grateful for the bath house facilities that included masseurs.

Mansio (3^rd) taken in April 1980

Although in the border lands (above) Letocetum was under the direct control of the Cornovii of Viroconium the general opinion is that although partially ‘Romanised’ the natives had no feelings of loyalty to the invaders and may well have been responsible for the uprising that lead to the fires at both Letocetum and Viroconium around 100AD. However perhaps the ‘pax-romana’ won through because after the military pulled out around 130 the native civilians were put in charge of the running of the Mansio for the next 250 years. Joanne went on the tell us of the appearance of the Ancient Britons (Celts) using information from Julius Caesar’s personal diary when he lead expeditions to Britain (55 and 54 BC) which covered their clothing and method of fighting including the use of Woad for body painting (a blue dye extracted from the plant - Isatis tinctoria in the family Brassicaceae). It is currently thought that whilst no pre-Roman settlement evidence around Letocetum has been found – because the nature of the geology of the area was not suitable for agriculture - settlers attracted by the trade advantages of the Mansio may have moved from the Castle Ring area (an Iron Age hill fort on Cannock Chase). Joanne described in detail sites and finds from archaeological work that support this hypothesis.

The Cornoviian government at Viroconium had direct control and responsibility for the running of the Mansio and would have been responsible for the rebuilding of the third phase (stone) Mansio as well as providing finance, animals, vehicles, slaves and civilian staff. It is thought that overall charge would have been the responsibility of a retired Roman administrator. We then listened to several quotations from Roman edicts on the rules and regulations for the running of Mansiones that covered the Empire up to about 400AD. A civil servant may well have had second thoughts on accepting such a posting!

The Bath House Hypocaust in 1971

Joanne went to give us a tour of the third Mansio and told us that the stone used in its construction as well as surviving timbers had all been obtained locally (Hopwas near present day Lichfield). We saw carved stones as well as inscriptions some from the private collection mentioned above and a description of the functions of the various rooms. If you visit the site there are ‘official’ artists impressions of how daily life in the Mansio may have appeared which may make life 2000 years look a lot more desirable than it actually was! Evidence was seen of a builders ‘dodge’ when the well was filled in during the construction that later collapsed and had to be repaired; tiles were made on site because transport was so rough that any brought onto site would have broken in transit –a tile showing a dogs paw print was shown – these are not an unusual find on Roman sites. A selection of numerous finds from the site and its surrounding was very interesting (much of which can be seen in the site museum) and included Romano-Gallic Samian pottery (the ‘Wedgewood’ of the Roman world). Remains of glass vessels, toilet implements and other pottery vessels are also included. Jo completed the talk telling of daily life, food and diet from finds (animal bones and oyster shells) gambling counters, marriage, illnesses (typhoid, TB and malaria were liable to strike all classes of a community – and found by study of skeletal remains; arthritis and brittle bone disease were common in adult skeletons), and finally death. Roman practice was largely cremation and we were shown two cremation urns excavated locally; inhumation burials may also have taken place but many remains have not survived 2000 years: Any bodies found within a settlement area may well be the result of foul play since the practice was that all burials were outside the town walls.

It was a very well researched and informative talk and we offer our most sincere thanks to Joanne for sharing her knowledge with us. We heartily recommend our readers to spare a day to visit the site which is signposted off the Birmingham to Lichfield road just after the Lichfield exit on the A5 Island. If you are an internet user just type LETOCETUM into your search engine and you will find a wealth of links – happy surfing!

We are always pleased to welcome guests and visitors at our meetings, the next of which will be on 8th March when the topic will be ‘Recent Archaeological Developments’ presented by Dr Mike Hodder. The following meeting will be our Annual General Meeting on 12th April. Meetings are held in the Spencer Lounge Bar at Arden Hall, Water Orton Road at 7.45pm.

JERRY DUTTON.

NORTH ARDEN LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Reforms in offender health management: equipping

2012-01-27T07:44:00.001Z

FaithAction, Nacro, Action for Prisoners’ Families, Men’s Health Forum and Mental Health Providers Forum are joining together for a conference to examine the changing landscape for offender health: including the justice and health reform bills, payment by results, the Breaking the cycle consultation and the publication of the Ministry of Justice’s competition strategy. All these changes means that the commissioning environment and the way that your organisation gets funding will be radically reformed with voluntary sector organisations being required to compete or work in partnership with private and public sector organisations.

Birmingham: Monday 27 February 2012. Book your place on Men's Health Forum website

http://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/content/OffenderHealth

Remembering the Holocaust in Solihull

2012-01-27T07:44:00.000Z

Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Irene Chamberlain and her Escort Robert Chamberlain (centre) with Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern (left), Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner and Rabbi Yehuda Pink at this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day in Solihull.

Over 150 residents and school children attended a service of remembrance to mark National Holocaust Memorial Day on Thursday morning, 26 January, at Solihull Central Library.

This service honoured the survivors and marks the tragic loss of life in the genocides of World War II and more recently in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) falls on the anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. This year marks the 67th anniversary of that day.

The Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Irene Chamberlain, officially opened the Solihull Partnership event, alongside Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner from West Midlands Police.

Guest speaker, Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern, presented an emotional speech at the event about the horrors he experienced as a young child during the Holocaust. Following the service Dr Stern shared many other personal stories with children from local schools including the importance of standing up to hatred.

There were also poetry readings by some of the children, and prayers led by Rabbi Yehuda Pink, leader of Solihull Hebrew Congregation based in Olton. The service was concluded by a one-minute silence and the signing of a Commemoration Book.

Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Irene Chamberlain, says: “Holocaust Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember those who died or had their lives shattered by genocide, and reflect upon the lessons from the past. This year’s theme, Speak Up Speak Out, encourages us all to play our part in stamping out prejudice, hatred and fear. We must strive to make a world where understanding and respect for others replaces one of aggression and discrimination,” adds Councillor Chamberlain.

For more information on Holocaust Memorial Day visit http://www.hmd.org.uk/

A Major Mental Health and the Arts Event in Walsall on February 29th 2012

2012-01-27T07:43:00.001Z

Walsall SUE & Windows with a Difference - a new mental health arts network in the Black Country - present

Select Edit:Public Private

A Sharing day on the theme of Art and Health

With a unique performance by Artist Bobby Baker titled Mad Gyms and Kitchens

How do artists work with authentic material and lived experience, and transform these into artwork for the public arena.

Artists speaking at this event work in live art, theatre, and the visual arts.

When? Wednesday 29 February

2pm Artist Talks Bobby Baker, Mark Storor, Sean Burn

5pm Performance by Bobby Baker

Where? The New Art Gallery Walsall

Admission £5.00 both event s and coffee , £2.50 performance only

Program commences 2pm

More- Bobby Baker talks about Diary Drawings: Mental Illness and me, her book that won Mind Book of the Year in 2011.

Bobby began her diary drawings in 1997 when she became a patient at a day centre. Originally private, they gradually became a way for her to communicate complex thoughts and emotions that are difficult to articulate to her family, friends and professionals. The drawings chart the ups and downs of her recovery, family life, work as an artist, breast cancer and just how funny all this harrowing stuff can be. Observer Interview with Bobby Baker by Kate Kellaway

Mark Storor is an award winning artist working in the space between live art and theatre. His work is devised, often site specific and always collaborative. The Guardian said “he doesn't so much rehearse theatre in a traditional manner as create an alchemical process in which images, rituals and the personal experiences of patients are thrown together in the mixing bowl of the rehearsal room.” Mark Storor's For the Best: a feeling for death Guardian Lyn Gardner

Sean Burn's presentations become performance. Witness Sean’s reclamation of the language of lunacy featuring a "nutcase", marbles and several walnuts, as he describes his project in 2010 at The New Art Gallery Walsall, and meeting Mental Health groups.

The event will be chaired by Kate Broom Course Director, MA Art, Health and Well-being, Birmingham City University.

All the above artists are familiar with each others practice, so will make the afternoon entertaining, generating with ease questions about practice, which promises to be highly informative, and inclusive.

Performance Event starts 5pm

Mad Gyms & Kitchens by Bobby Baker

A Daily Life Ltd production Wend your way to wellness!

You leave feeling better than you came in, aware as you walk down the road whistling that what Baker is offering is not a show but a priceless gift wrapped in a theatrical box of tricks.

**** Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

Prepare to be surprised and delighted, moved and enlightened as Bobby Baker demonstrates how she achieves that ultimate ‘wellbeing’ factor. From working-out to chilling out, via the kitchen sink, Bobby’s wellness roadshow investigates how to get better at feeling better - cup of tea included.

Bobby has developed this brand new show out of her own experiences of illness and hard-won recovery. Designed in collaboration with sculptor Charlie Whittuck, an extraordinary set of fantastical ‘recovery’ apparatus promises surprises galore as well as state-of-the-art technical equipment, all developed with wellbeing in mind.

Follow Bobby’s expert example and join her on the road to wellness - and beyond.

Please pay on the door

Limited free spaces service users

For more information

Contact Alan McLean

check http://www.wwad.info/

email: windowswithadifference@gmail.com

Text/Mobile 07757 254852

If you request BSL interpretation please contact by March 10

Funded by Arts Council England

Thank you Walsall Council Creative Development Team, Walsall SUE and The New Art Gallery Walsall

STOMP at Birmingham Hippodrome

2012-01-27T07:43:00.000Z

• CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF STOMP

• GREAT HALF TERM TREAT

• FEEL GOOD SHOW RETURNS TO BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

• NEW ROUTINES, NEW MUSIC

After touring the globe almost continuously for 20 years, setting feet stamping, fingers drumming and adrenalin rushing for over 15 million people in 48 countries across 5 continents, STOMP returns to Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 14 – Saturday 18 February 2012.

Since its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival in 1991, STOMP has become a global phenomenon, showcasing a universal language of rhythm, theatre, comedy and dance that has resonated with audiences throughout the world. Eight performers use everything from Zippo lighters and plastic bags to bin lids and even the kitchen sink to hammer out an explosively feel-good rhythm.

With brand new routines, new choreography and new music STOMP is now fresher, faster and funnier than ever!

From a single drum hanging around Luke Cresswell’s neck back in 1991, STOMP has taken on a life of its own. Creators and co-directors Cresswell and Steve McNicholas developed a pulsating, witty, utterly irresistible theatrical event that has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Over the last 20 years, STOMP has garnered truly diverse recognition; from an Olivier Award and the headline-grabbing performance at the 1996 Oscars to the City of New York celebrating its 10th birthday at the Orpheum Theatre by renaming 2nd Avenue at 8th Street ‘Stomp Avenue’!

STOMP returns to Birmingham Hippodrome during Half Term providing the whole family with the perfect theatre outing during the holidays.

STOMP runs at Birmingham Hippodrome Tuesday 14 – Saturday 18 February 2012. Performance times: Tue – Sat Eves 7.30pm, Wed & Fri Mat 2pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm. Tickets: £14.50 - £30, call 0844 338 5000 or choose your seat online at http://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/ (calls cost from 5p per minute, 5% transaction fee applies).

Upcoming events from TSRC

2012-01-26T21:48:00.000Z

Beyond the Radar events

Happy New Year! TSRC has been running a series of events to examine how community groups can maximize their impact. As part of this 'Beyond the Radar' series, we will be holding three online discussions in January and February, and an event in April. Please join us in these conversations!

You can spread the word on twitter using #btr11

Online discussions:

Civil society beyond the radar

30 January 2012, 7.30 – 8.30pm

How important are below the radar groups, how can their autonomy be maintained and what is the impact of current policy/recession/deficit reduction? Join us for this online discussion with Globalnet21. Panel members include David Taylor of Community Matters and TSRC researcher Angus McCabe.

More details on Globalnet21 website

Below the Radar and the unintended consequences of voluntary sector reconfiguration

1 February 2012, 2-4pm

How are small community groups being affected by wider changes within the voluntary sector? The panel will include the Big Lottery Fund, Community Development Foundation, Trust for London, and Barrow Cadbury Trust, along with TSRC. Online discussion will take place on this website.

More details on the btr11 website

Strengthening civil society through social media

28 February 2012, 7.30 – 8.30pm

Can social networking help strengthen the influence of civil society groups?This discussion will be held by Globalnet21. The panel to include Joe Taylor, NATCAN and David Wilcox, Social Reporter.

More details on Globalnet21 website

Event

Social networking below the radar: social media or action media?

4 April 2012, 1.30pm – 5pm

Big Lottery Fund, 1 Plough Place, EC4A 1DE

This event culminates the series of Beyond the Radar events. We invite those who have been involved in the BTR11 project, as well as anyone interested in below the radar, to evaluate the lessons of social media activity. What activities work for community groups? Can social media help them have a greater impact? After events during the Arab Spring, how can social media become ‘action media’?

The event will be held in partnership with Globalnet21 and hosted by the Big Lottery Fund. A networking lunch will be included. To register interest email Naomi: n.landau@tsrc.ac.uk

ESRC Public Policy seminar series

Marrying scale and responsiveness

8 March 2011, 12 – 4.30pm

Birmingham

The next in a series of policy seminars from TSRC and the Economic and Social Research Council, this seminar will explore service delivery by third sector organisations. It will be held in association with ACEVO.

The seminar will address developments in policy and practice resulting from the Localism Bill, Commissioning Green Paper and the Public Services Reform White Paper. It will look at attempts to improve economic performance and efficiency through partnerships, improved supply chain management, spin-outs and co-production, examining the effect of these developments on third sector organisations and the services they deliver.

To register, email: knowledgeexchange@esrc.ac.uk

TSRC seminars

Southampton seminar series

Modelling volunteering types in the UK

26 January 2012, 12 noon

Frida Geyne Rajme and Peter Smith analyse statistics to explore characteristics of those most likely to volunteer.

Who cares for whom? Rural ageing, migration and networks of informal care

26 January 2012, 3pm

Alasdair Rutherford looks at how older people and their families make decisions about informal care.

Lunch will be provided for anyone attending both seminars.

Birmingham seminar series

Lost in translation? Understanding policy genesis: the example of the ‘Big Society’

1 February 2012, 12 - 1.30pm

James Rees explores how construction of the Big Society concept can be understood as a process of policy 'translation'.

Unsubordinated collaboration between governments and NGOs in South Asia

6 March 2012, 12 - 1.30pm

Richard Batley looks at collaboration between governments and NGOs in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, questioning whether this leads to loss of autonomy and policy influence.

London seminar series

Amateur arts and civil society

21 March 2012, 2 - 3.30pm

Dr Jenny Phillimore from TSRC and Robin Simpson from Voluntary Arts look at the impact of grassroots arts groups. Research highlights the importance of grassroots arts activity for the health, happiness and well-being of individuals and communities.

Conferences

VSSN Day Conference

23 May 2012, 10am - 4pm

The next VSSN day conference will be hosted by the Third Sector Research Centre at the University of Birmingham.

more information

ISIRC 2012

12-14 September 2012

University of Birmingham, hosted by the Third Sector Research Centre.

In September 2012, TSRC will be hosting the 4th International Social Research Conference at the University of Birmingham. The call for papers is now open. Papers are welcome on all aspects of the voluntary sector/civil society/social entrepreneurship. More

All our research is available here. A full list of events is here

Second window of new £20m plus grant fund to encourage social action is now open

2012-01-26T21:18:00.001Z

The Social Action Fund is a new grant Fund of over £20 million, managed by us on behalf of the Office for Civil Society. The Fund's second window opened 9 January 2012 and will close noon 3 February 2012.

The Fund aims to inspire organisations to create new social action opportunities through people giving what they have, be that their time, their money, or their assets, knowledge and skills.

The Fund will support social action applications that cover the following themes

•Encourage people to come together in their locality to support each other: Projects that include plans to scale proven models to regional or national levels, or replicate them in other localities. Some priority will be given to models that encourage those who do not traditionally get involved as volunteers

•Focus on the different life stages of volunteering

The Social Action Fund is open to applications to fund social action projects in England from civil society organisations, public sector bodies and businesses with a track record of delivering social action programmes.

Please note that you must first ensure your proposal meets the new eligibility criteria for the Fund prior to applying. If you were unsuccessful in the previous round please refer to the guidance notes.

Find out if you are eligible

Enquiry line:

0191 269 2276

Email:

info@thesocialinvestmentbusiness.org

Funding Information

2012-01-26T21:00:00.000Z

1

BIG Lottery have published a discussion paper for voluntary sector and social enterprise managers working in both frontline and infrastructure support and development organisations. It sets out their approach to ‘building capabilities within voluntary organisations’, and gives an opportunity for voluntary and other organisations to influence this approach.

Helping VCS organisations and social enterprises to become more effective will continue to be a priority for BIG over the next few years. This approach will mean that they are able to get the support they need to do their work and that people and communities most in need will see greater benefits from our funding.

Government has made £30m available for a final national investment in local infrastructure. The Big Lottery Fund has indicated that we will provide at least £20 million to complement this in distinct and additional ways. We have formulated a set of principles which give rise to further questions on which we would now welcome views ahead of finalising details in 2012.

The discussion paper can be found at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/building_capabilities.

This webpage also provides access to an online survey which is open until 15 March 2012.

2

On 24th January, Communities Minister Andrew Stunell invited community and voluntary organisations to apply for a share of £100 million that will help revitalise communities and bring the empty homes blighting their areas back into use. It is expected that up to £30 million will be given over to community groups.

Fund Manager TRIBAL have been appointed to administer the fund - they will also assess applications.

Successful applications will:

· bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing

· deliver value for money

· have support from their local authority

· expect to be complete by 31 March 2015.

Guidance and the application form are available to download from Tribal's website at

http://www.grantsadmin.co.uk/

Guidance is available on the Department's website here:
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/emptyhomeappguidance

The deadline for applications is 17 April 2012.

Macmillan and BID Cancer Support Group

2012-01-26T07:29:00.000Z

• Do you have a hearing loss and a cancer diagnosis?

• Do you have a relative or look after someone with a hearing loss and cancer?

BID and Macmillan are holding a new Cancer Support Group at the Deaf Cultural Centre. All welcome. Interpreters will be at the meeting

The first meeting will be on

Tuesday 31st January, 10am till 12

In the Ashton Room, BID Services, Deaf Cultural Centre, Ladywood Road, Birmingham, B16 8SZ

• Come along to meet other people who have similar experiences.

• You can talk, get support and advice.

• Sarah’s role is Macmillan BID Deaf Cancer Care Coordinator. She has 7 years experience of supporting deaf people. She has also been through cancer experiences with family members.

If you want to know more or to talk you can contact Sarah by phone, fax or email

Phone: 0121 246 6100 Textphone: 0121 246 6101

Fax: 0121 246 6125

Email: sarah.treadwell-baker@bid.org.uk

* If you would prefer an evening group please contact Sarah

Godiva Awakes - Pipe and Marching band drummers wanted!

2012-01-25T07:50:00.000Z

Marching Band and Pipe Drummers needed to bang the drum for London 2012 and be part of Imagineer Productions Godiva Awakes

The World’s Fastest Drummer, Carl Williams originally from Coventry, is joining Imagineer Production’s Godiva Awakes drumming group who will rehearse together and perform as part of Godiva Awakes in July 2012, summoning Godiva and heralding the Godiva Carnival 2012. Godiva Awakes is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Carl is seeking to add 10 Marching Band Drummers and Pipe Band Drummers to the already 100 strong drumming group with an open audition taking place on Sunday 29 January in Coventry. The successful auditionees will join samba, dhol, djembe and drumkit drummers as they prepare for the awakening in July 2012.

Carl Williams said: “I am really keen that people currently in Pipe Bands or Marching Bands come forward to take up this once in a lifetime opportunity. We want to ensure a real mix of drumming sounds summon Godiva when she reawakens in Coventry.”

People interested in coming along to the auditions should contact Alayne Clark on 07979 525489 for full details on the time and location of the audition.

In July 2012, Imagineer Productions' 21st Century Godiva will awake to a spectacular performance involving dancers, actors, aerialists, musicians, pyrotechnicians, carnivalists and 220 young people in a procession marking the unveiling of this Godiva for the modern age.

Powered by 100 cyclists and clothed in a coat crafted by artists from across the region, Godiva will then journey from Coventry to London to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

On 28 July 2012 Godiva will awake for the first time in 1000 years in Coventry and through a once-in-a-lifetime performance, featuring the Drummers recruited by Carl Williams, and be presented with her quest to deliver the Book of Intent to London. The Book of Intent carries the voices of young people and their global partners to the world - it is the actions they will take to make the world a fairer place.

The following day, 29 July 2012 she will be the focal point of the Godiva Carnival in Coventry; a magnificent celebration for all the family where she will board her Cyclopedia for the first time. On 30 July, she will begin her epic journey travelling along the A5 to London over seven days passing through seven towns inspiring a series of extraordinary outdoor celebrations.

Over 1000 people are already part of the Godiva Awakes project across the region, including the 100 drummers, the Communitas (220 young people), the Choir (150), the Cycle Team (100) with 58 people employed on delivering Godiva Awakes alongside eight apprenticeships for young people and a further 100 jobs planned to be created during the project.

Godiva Awakes is part of Artists taking the lead, a series of 12 public art commissions across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, funded by Arts Council England.

Godiva Awakes is also supported by Coventry City Council and is part of the Cities 2012 programme.

For further information or to sign up to receive regular up-dates visit http://www.imagineerproductions.co.uk/.

Review of audio described performance of Welsh National Opera’s Don Giovanni at the Birmingham Hippodrome from Vidar Hjardeng

2012-01-25T07:15:00.001Z

Welsh National Opera’s Don Giovanni at the Birmingham Hippodrome on the evening of Friday, 18 November 2011 – reviewed by Vidar Hjardeng.

Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni tells the story of a dissolute Spanish nobleman whose seductions of a large number of women were carefully catalogued by his servant Leperello.

This Welsh National Opera production was created by the team responsible for one of the world’s most popular musicals, Les Miserables – director, John Caird, designer, John Napier and lighting designer, David Hersey. First produced in Prague in 1787 the action takes place in an unknown location in Spain, at the end of that century. Having had the welcome opportunity to listen to, and digest, the informative pre-show notes on CD (giving a synopsis of the plot, and details of the characters, costumes and scenery), it was good to be taken on stage to get a closer look at the set during the ever helpful touch tour, some 90 minutes or so before the start of the opera.

Far from naturalistic, the set consisted of 6 walled sections that either pivoted, or slid forward and sideways, to create a series of different locations. This enabled 3 or 4 different situations to develop at the same time as the characters in the opera deceived each other, watched each other unseen, or escaped when necessary! Accompanied by WNO stage management, the describers and members of the theatre staff, we were shown the setting for the start of the opera – very high walls with the focal point being massive double doors. These doors were based on the monumental work by the French sculptor, Auguste Rodin, entitled, The Gates of Hell, and it was extraordinary to literally get a feel for the deeply carved, 100 plus figures, writhing and screaming in despair as they tumbled down into Hell’s abyss. We were also told about another frieze of figures running across the top of the doors, containing the seated figure of a naked man with bowed head, possibly representing Adam contemplating Man’s destruction brought about by his own original sin. On each side of the monumental doors were 2 walls and, in the same bronze each section of wall contained 2 more narrow recessed sets of double doors, each framed by similar friezes of contorted, tortured naked figures. We were encouraged to follow this pattern along the sidewalls which ended in rough lumps of stone, from which emerged the half carved figures of Rodin’s The Thinker on the left hand side, and on the right, The Kiss. The latter depicting the naked figures of a man and a woman, entwined in a passionate embrace - our describers said that they seemed to be almost growing out of the rock on which they were seated.

The overall mood of the setting was dark, and the costumes of the 8 main characters reflected the late 1700s in which the action took place.

It was an altogether wonderfully presented and absorbing night at the opera, and without the illuminating touch tour and ‘live’ audio-description I know I would have missed so much of it.

The next WNO audio-described opera at the Birmingham Hippodrome will be Verdi’s La Traviata, on the night of Friday 10 March 2012 and details on ticket prices, how to book headsets and places on the touch tour, can be obtained from the box office on 0844 338 5000.

CBeebies Live! Reach to the Stars

2012-01-25T07:15:00.000Z

13 April 2012

LG Arena

Tickets on sale now, priced from £15.00 for an adult ticket, from £12.50 for a child’s, and a family ticket from £50.00 (plus booking and transaction fees)

Available from The Ticket Factory: http://www.theticketfactory.com/ or 0844 338 8000

CBeebies’ favourite young knight-in-training, Mike the Knight, is donning his armour in preparation to join the channel’s biggest stars in the brand new show CBeebies Live! Reach to the Stars. The energetic and cheeky character will be appearing at the LG Arena, Birmingham on 13 April 2012.

A new addition to CBeebies, Mike the Knight has very quickly become a hit with its young audience, as it brings the excitement and enchantment of medieval times into the life of the modern pre-schooler.

Joining Mike the Knight at the show will be Justin Fletcher MBE, Mister Maker, Postman Pat with Jess the Cat and the ZingZillas, together with CBeebies presenters Andy Day, Katy Ashworth and Andrew Agnew. Combining big screen video footage and live performance, a host of CBeebies favourites including Squiglet and Robbie Rotten, Stephanie and Sportacus from LazyTown will join in the fun, interacting with the audience for an incredible live experience.

To find out more about the show and to book tickets, visit http://www.lgarena.co.uk/.

Tickets for CBeebies Live! Reach to the Stars are on sale now, priced from £15.00 for an adult ticket, from £12.50 for a child’s, and a family ticket from £50.00 (plus booking and transaction fees). They will be available from The Ticket Factory: http://www.theticketfactory.com/ or 0844 338 8000.

For Sale sign on historic Martineau Cetre

2012-01-24T09:35:00.006Z

Birmingham City Council are pushing through their plan to sell the historic Martineau Centre in Balden Road, Harborne for demolition in spite of denials by councillors over a number of years that such a decision was the only proposal being considered.

In August last year Conservative councillor Randal Brew distributed a letter to local people dismissing the suggestion that the City Council was planning to destroy the Martineau Centre, stating that he was saddened at the claim and adding he wanted to outline "the truth of what is really happening."

Brew's letter coincided with a rapidly orchestrated public consultation, arranged suspiciously close to the main public holiday period, where concerns from local residents about the loss of education, community and sporting amenities appeared to be totally disregarded and the realpolitik of selling the site as quickly as possible for demolition were over-whelmingly evident, in spite of Mr Brew's clumsy late-hour PR job.

Less than six months later the 'for sale' sign has gone up and it seems that the prospective residents of Whitby Croft and Brew Close will join their Quinborne neighbours in looking to Sandwell for their community amenities.

Celebrate Chinese New Year in Birmingham

2012-01-24T07:19:00.000Z

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Tribute – West Park, Wolverhampton: Monday 4th June

2012-01-24T07:18:00.001Z

Send her victorious!

2012 marks Her Majesty The Queen’s 60th year as our monarch and that has to be a cause for celebration.

On the evening of Monday 4th June The Queen will light the first of a network across the nation of Diamond Jubilee Beacons and, on the same night in Wolverhampton’s beautiful Victorian West Park, we will be lighting one of those 2012 beacons as the people of our fine city celebrate the Jubilee together.

It’s not just a beacon that will be burning in West Park on this monumental occasion. The Civic Halls and Banks’s have organised an enormous summertime bonfire party in Her Majesty’s honour with fireworks, rock music, children’s characters, funfair rides and food and drink aplenty. We are calling it The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Tribute.

There will be a ‘Kind of Magic’ in the air as The Wolf Radio road show hosts the first ever female fronted Queen tribute band ‘She Will Rock You’ but first, for the kids, Rastamouse and Peppa Pig will be putting in appearances early evening either side of a children’s firework display.

As the sun sets on West Park and we prepare to light the bonfire, the crowd will be treated to a moment of rock majesty when a lone guitarist will take to the skies above to play the national anthem in the style of Queen’s Bryan May.

At 10.00pm, the evening will conclude on a high around the warming glow of the bonfire with a spectacular volley of fireworks to salute our Queen and send her happy and glorious into her 60th year of sovereignty!

Councillor Elias Mattu, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities said: “This is a once in a lifetime chance for everybody to get involved in celebrating our monarchy at a great event for all of the family”

Entry to the event costs £5.00 for adults and £2.50 for children (under 16).

Gates open at 5.30pm

Celebrate Chinese Year of the Dragon at Coalport China Museum

2012-01-24T07:18:00.000Z

Half-Term Monday 13th – Friday 17th February

Go along to the Coalport China Museum, near Ironbridge during half-term between Monday 13th and Friday 17th February to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Dragon, which began on 23rd January. The museum will be taking on an oriental flavour with a series of hands-on family activities

Join drop-in ceramic workshops modelling a clay dragon or try painting an oriental ceramic flower or fridge magnet depicting an animal from the Chinese zodiac. There’s also a chance to solve Chinese puzzles, read storybooks and follow a Chinese Zodiac trail around the museum; activities will vary from day-to-day.

The half-term workshops at Coalport China Museum will be held from 11am until 1pm and 2pm until 4pm; ceramic activities carry costs in addition to entry fees with items sent home after firing.

Coalport is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. An Annual Passport ticket offers unlimited visits to all ten museums and is valid for twelve month and costs £22.50 per adult, £18.25 for the 60 plus, £14.75 for students and children and £61.50 for a family of two adults and three children aged up to 18 years in full time education; under 5s free. Individual museum entry tickets are also available.

The museums are open seven days a week from 10am until 5pm; activities and workshops vary day-to-day and some carry an extra charge in addition to the museum admission fee. For further information, contact the Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre on Tel: 01952 433 424 or visit http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/. The Gorge is easily reached via the M6 and M54 motorways exiting at Telford (M54 junction 4 or 6).

BEN Launches New Free Service to Automotive Industry

2012-01-24T07:17:00.000Z

BEN, the automotive industry charity has launched a free online recruitment advertising service, exclusively for the automotive industry.

BEN Autojobs, is a dedicated section of BEN’s main website where recruiters can register and post an unlimited number of vacancies at no charge. It is also free for prospective candidates looking for a job.

BEN’s website sees significant traffic from those who are either currently working or have worked in the automotive and associated industries so its audience is hugely relevant to recruiters.

Ray Diggins, BEN’s Head of Marketing said, “As a not-for-profit charity, BEN is pleased to make this service available as a no-cost service. BEN Autojobs is simple and easy to use and already some of the industry’s biggest names are using the site.”

BEN Autojobs can be found at: http://www.ben.org.uk/

New Ross Library and Customer Service Centre to open

2012-01-23T15:19:00.000Z

Herefordshire Council’s newly refurbished Ross Library and Customer Service Centre is now open to the public.

The newly combined service is being officially opened on National Libraries Day and to celebrate this, a wealth of celebrated writers will be attending the event.

Popular local authors Phil Rickman, Rebecca Tope, Carol Peacock, Quentin Letts; and Jon and Heather Hurley will be joining in celebrations for the official opening of the refurbished centre, which now boasts a new exhibition space, new library area as well as a suite of customer service points.

Work from Herefordshire’s Young Poet Laureates will be on display and Bookstart bear will be at a special storytime for under 5s at 2pm. The celebrations kick off from 11.30am with the official opening at noon and all friends and supporters are welcome.

For the whole of February, Herefordshire Council’s library service is offering a voucher for a free rental of an audio book, a DVD or a game if you introduce a new member of your family or a friend to the library, and what’s more they will get a voucher too.

There will also be special National Libraries Day postcards asking people to say what they love about their library.

Customers are encouraged to visit the centre to see the wide range of surgeries designed to support the needs of the local community. Surgeries are held weekly and will be showcased across the launch week on the following days:

• Councillor surgery – Saturday 4 February 10am to 11am

• Housing advice surgery – Wednesday 8 February from 9.30am

• Planning applications surgery - Thursday 9 February 2pm to 4pm

Councillor Roger Phillips, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for enterprise and culture, said: “In Herefordshire, we are fully committed to keeping all of our libraries open and sustainable into the future which is why we have combined our library service customer services team.

“This reduces our running costs and means we can keep all of our permanent libraries open, unlike many other authorities who have been forced to close these vital community services.

“We have also been able to use the old shelving at Ross library, which had to be removed because it would not fit the reconfigured space, to improve the facilities at both Bromyard library and the children’s library at Hereford.

“I am delighted we have such a wealth of popular writers coming along to the official opening and I hope as many residents as possible will come along to meet them as well,” he added.

Councillor Philip Price, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for corporate services and education, said: “As part of our strategy to provide better services for customers, this new centre will provide a one-stop shop for residents who want to take out library books or use the council’s other services such as advice on housing and making planning applications.

“By combining the library and customer services centre, we have reduced our running costs while still ensuring residents enjoy the same level of service,” he added.

To find out more about Herefordshire Council’s library service log onto www.herefordshire.gov.uk/libraries

Rick Davies’ Black Country Stories

2012-01-23T14:46:00.000Z

A free exhibition of Rick Davies’ Black Country Stories will take place at The Public in West Bromwich from 27 January 2012 to 20 May 2012 (Wednesday to Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm; Sunday - 11 am to 3 pm).

West Bromwich’s Multistory, one of the UK’s leading community arts agencies has commissioned photographer Rick Davies to document the Black Country. Rick makes panoramic images that invite us to step into, and explore, the detail of the landscape in ways we might not have looked before.

Rick has used a cherry picker several times to go as high as possible to get his incredible shots to show us a different view of everyday locations and objects; a view we would never see in our everyday lives.

Rick photographs the contemporary landscape to illustrate how geographical, historical, political and economic factors impact on individuals and society; he describes his work as being ‘A Visual Geography of the Post-industrial Landscape’.

Rick Davies:

“The reason that I document the urban landscape is because it has such a major effect not only on the material conditions of life but also on the way we think and feel. Taking these panoramic shots of the Black Country, has given me the opportunity to show the changes that have taken place.”

Emma Chetcuti, Director of Multistory:

“Rick Davies has created a series of wonderful, sweeping images of the Black Country that we hope will give you a new way of looking at local landscapes and landmarks. Most photography is as limited as the human eye. Not so with panoramic photography that captures an entire field of view.”

Linda Saunders, Managing Director of The Public:

“Rick Davies’ exhibition is not only a fascinating portrayal of life in the Black Country but also plays a significant educational role, teaching the audience about the makeup of such a diverse region.”

Black Country Stories is a multi-commission programme, produced by Multistory, that invites outstanding artists to document and record life in the Black Country. Black Country Stories commissions internationally renowned documentary photographers, film makers, and authors to tell amazing stories that celebrate everyday life in the Black Country.

Rick Davies’ Black Country Stories forms part of The Art of Architecture, a series of exhibitions that looks at how artists engage with the built environment and influence the world around us. The Art of Architecture also includes a fascinating 3D structure designed by award winning architect, Will Alsop, video work from acclaimed film makers John Wood and Paul Harrison, suspended sculptural forms from Heather and Ivan Morison and photography from Andy Day.

For more information about exhibitions at The Public visit http://www.thepublic.com/ or call 0121 533 7161.

Ladywood Furniture Project is looking for new volunteers and for volunteer mentors/trainers/teachers

2012-01-20T16:15:00.001Z

LFP refurbishes and sells furniture to families in need. Our aims are:

To help individuals and families on benefits or low income find good, clean affordable furniture;

To help local people develop employment skills through volunteering in their community.

For 2012 we want to try and fill two gaps that we have identified — and this is where you may be able to help.

First, we are looking for fresh volunteers who will help with all aspects of business at LFP, including furniture refurbishment.

Second, we are looking for ex-teachers, trainers, mentors and others with useful, transferable skills who can help train and up-skill the volunteers we currently use.

We believe that there are lots of very useful skills “locked up” in people who don’t currently volunteer. We want to find a way to pass these skills on to the people who do volunteer — and you could do this in just a few hours.

Ideally we are looking for people with great practical skills rather than formal qualifications — skills of the kind that will help us improve the expertise and confidence of our existing volunteers. Skills such as:

Woodwork

Painting/stripping

Furniture maintenance/refurbishment

Upholstery/reupholstery

If you think you might be able to help — whether as a volunteer or as a trainer/supporter of our volunteers — please email me or ring the number below and ask for me personally. I’d love to hear from you. Many thanks for reading.

Conor Barry

General Manager

conorbarry@btconnect.com

Tel. 0121 455 7133

Ladywood Furniture Project Ltd

Welsh National Opera - coming soon to Birmingham Hippodrome

2012-01-20T00:04:00.000Z

Our new season focuses on matters of the heart, seen from a women’s perspective. Rebecca Evans, Sara Fulgoni and Joyce El-Khoury, a rising star from the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Programme, take centre stage….

Elijah Moshinsky’s Beatrice and Benedict features Sara Fulgoni, Robin Tritschler, Anna Burford and Donald Maxwell and will be conducted by Michael Hofstetter.

· David McVicar’s La traviata features Joyce El-Khoury, Jason Howard and Carlos Osuna and will be conducted by Julia Jones.

· Lluis Pasqual’s The Marriage of Figaro features Rebecca Evans, Elizabeth Watts, David Soar and Dario Solari and will be conducted by Anthony Negus

Women in Love:

Welsh National Opera’s 2012 spring season focuses on matters of the heart, seen from a women’s perspective. Rebecca Evans, Sara Fulgoni and Joyce El-Khoury, a rising star from the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Programme, take centre stage.

See WNO at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 6th to Saturday 10th March 2012.

Love hurts: David McVicar’s highly acclaimed production of Verdi’s La traviata, set in 19th century Paris, returns to open the new season at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, on Saturday 11 February. Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury makes her European debut in the role of Violetta; Mexican tenor Carlos Osuna sings the role of Alfredo Germont in his debut for the company. Conductor Julia Jones is also making her WNO debut. McVicar’s detailed production evokes a world where the aspirations of a young courtesan Violetta Valèry are cruelly defeated by social convention, leaving her to make the ultimate sacrifice for love.

In the mood for love?: Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is the inspiration for Berlioz’s opera, here transformed to a Mediterranean setting rich in colour and atmosphere. Beatrice and Benedict are possibly the most famous quarrelsome couples in Western art. Will they make it to the altar on time, or will their feuding repartee destroy their tempestuous love affair? Elijah Moshinsky’s production is performed for the first time in a decade with Sara Fulgoni returning to sing the role of Beatrice, with Robin Tritschler as her sparring partner Benedict.

Donald Maxwell also returns in the role of Somarone and Laura Mitchell takes on the role of Hero. The conductor is Michael Hofstetter.

I’m getting married in the morning: Rebecca Evans sang the role of Countess Almaviva for the first time in 2009 in Luis Pasqual’s stylish production of The Marriage of Figaro for WNO, set in the early 1930s. She makes a welcome return to the role in this revival, bringing poignancy and insight to the plight of the Countess who is slighted by her husband’s attempts to seduce the household maid Susanna, Elizabeth Watts on her wedding day. The cast also includes David Soar as Figaro, Dario Solari as Count Almaviva and Jurgita Adamonyté as Cherubino. The conductor is Anthony Negus.

Holocaust Memorial Week in Solihull

2012-01-19T21:56:00.000Z

A service of remembrance to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will take place on Thursday 26 January, from 11am-12pm, at the studio theatre in Solihull Central Library.

This service honours both the survivors and tragic loss of life in the genocides of World War II and more recently in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) marks the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland.

The Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Irene Chamberlain, will open the service. Guest speaker will be Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern, who will be sharing his experiences and talking to borough school pupils about the importance of standing up to hatred.

There will be poetry readings by children, and prayers led by local Rabbi Yehuda Pink, leader of Solihull Hebrew Congregation based in Olton. The signing of a commemoration book in the library and a one-minute silence to remember those victims of the Holocaust will also take place.

Other activities during the week include an artwork display by young people in Central Library and Hobs Moat Library, and an event called Remembering the Holocaust being held at the Kingshurst Academy from 6pm on Wednesday 25 January.

Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Irene Chamberlain, says: “Holocaust Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember those who died or had their lives shattered by genocide, and reflect upon the lessons from the past. This year’s theme, Speak Up Speak Out, encourages us all to play our part in stamping out prejudice, hatred and fear. We must strive to make a world where understanding and respect for others replaces one of aggression and discrimination,” adds Cllr Chamberlain.

For more information on Holocaust Memorial Day visit http://www.hmd.org.uk/

Artworks celebrate Stirchley’s history and point to the making of new prosperity

2012-01-19T20:56:00.000Z

Prosperity
Located at International Supermarket, 1240 Pershore Road and Stirchley Prospects, 1427 Pershore Road.

Since June 2011 Place Prospectors, a non-profit community interest company, has been working creatively with Stirchley residents, organisations and businesses in their Stirchley Prospects project, to stake claims, find hidden gems and create prospects for its future. The Stirchley Prospects project is interested in what is of value to people, what is unique about the area and what will be beneficial in the long term for regeneration that is badly needed.

Two of three planned temporary art works called ‘Prosperity’ have been installed in Stirchley.

The pieces feature imagery symbolising the area’s former industries and prosperity. Place Prospectors wish to add something beautiful to the environment, an area that was once home to many successful manufacturing businesses and a prosperous High Street.

The first piece, located above the International Supermarket (previously Westprint and Glen’s Café) references the local willow beds on which locals earned a living, bees to represent the resident’s industrious nature and the beautiful Stirchley clock which hangs in Stirchley Library. The piece also shows pigs, an abiding memory, kept by locals for the Co-operative Supermarket who has had a presence in Stirchley for many years, and a crucial ingredient in Jewells award-winning pork pies, popular in the 1940s.

Located in the window of Stirchley Prospects, Place Prospectors headquarters on Pershore Road, another piece references Cox Wilcox – local lamp makers and Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds, famous manufacturers of nuts, bolts, and screws. The piece also features cocoa plants in reference to the Cadbury’s factory nearby as well as horseshoes, a symbol of good luck for the future of the area.

Another piece, yet to be installed shows the older factors in Stirchley’s prosperity, the millstones of nearby Hazelwell Mill and the bridging of the River Rea.

The pieces will be located along the Pershore Road until April 2012.

A series of events organised by Place Prospectors celebrating Stirchley will take place over the next months: Stirchley Street Railway Station will be reclaimed from what is now known as Bournville Station, a memorial walk will take place to commemorate Hazelwell Lane, soon to be lost due to the impending Tesco development on the site, and a series of workshops will discuss the future of Stirchley Park located at the back of the Co-operative Supermarket.

For more information go to http://www.prospectors.org.uk/

Musical youth storm The Cavern

2012-01-19T19:56:00.000Z

Solihull Music Service studentsChris Jay, Tom Owen, Arianna Reddi playing the guitars, and Zoe McGowan singer, with Lord Mayor of Liverpool Councillor Frank Pendergast and Mayor of Solihull Cllr Irene Chamberlain

Over 200 musical young people from Solihull have taken to the stage and wowed a packed audience in one of the most famous clubs in the world.

Young people from Solihull Music Service were invited to perform at the Cavern Club, Liverpool, as part of its 55th birthday celebrations.

The special invite came as part of the ongoing relationship the Music Service has with the Cavern Club - pupils have been visiting there for the past four years.

The concert took place on Monday, 16 January. Throughout the day, pupils from 11 schools across the borough performed 20 minute sets, followed by evening performances in the famous Live Lounge, including a 40 strong ukelele band, a jazz band, small piece rock and pop groups, finishing off with Soul Matters.

The performances were watched by Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Irene Chamberlain, and the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Frank Pendergast. They, along with the 200 pupils, presented the Cavern Club owners with a giant 55th birthday card, filled with personal messages.

In return, each performer was made an honourary member of the Cavern Club.

Cavern Club owner Dave Jones said: "We have an ongoing relationship with Solihull Music Service after they started bringing pupils to visit us almost four years ago. We were extremely impressed with the musical ability we saw and since then we have honoured our commitment to fostering new music talent by inviting them back for our birthday. The Cavern Club isn't just about Liverpool's great music legacy but about the music of today and the musicians of the future."

Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Irene Chamberlain, said: “I’m thrilled that some of Solihull's brightest musical prospects had the honour of helping a club as famous as the Cavern Club celebrate its birthday. I really enjoyed watching the performances – it made me very proud to think these talented young people are from Solihull. Well done to Solihull Music Service and happy birthday to the Cavern Club!”

For more information on Solihull Music Service go to www.solihull.gov.uk/musicservice or call 0121 743 2483

Green start to 2012 with tree recycling success in Worcester

2012-01-19T19:48:00.002Z

Worcester residents got their New Year off to a green start by recycling approximately 3000 trees at designated City Council sites.

Over 5.466 tonnes of trees were collected from Homebase on the Hylton Road and Blooms Garden Centre on the Droitwich Road, and additional trees were left at the Council’s Household Recycling Centres on the Hallow and Bilford roads.

Sian Stokes, Recycling Officer at Worcester City Council, said: “It’s great to see such a large number of Worcester residents getting their New Year off to a green start, and working hard to reduce the amount of waste we as a city send to landfill.”

Worcester City Council was the first authority in the UK to offer tree recycling facilities, introducing the service in 1991.

All trees collected were taken to a composting facility operated by Severn Waste. They were converted in to a soil conditioner which improves soil fertility and structure.

Worcester residents can buy back the soil conditioner from either of the Household Recycling Centres in Worcester for just £2 a bag at:

- Bilford Road, Worcester WR3 8PU Tel: 01905 453610

- Hallow Road (off Horseford Road), Worcester, WR2 6BZ

Tel: 01905 421116

Ironbridge Gorge Museum Applies for Family Friendly Museum Award 2012

2012-01-19T19:48:00.001Z

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire has put itself forward for the prestigious Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Award 2012. The Museum is joined by more than a hundred other family friendly attractions from across the country in one of the biggest museum awards in Britain and the only one judged by families.

The competition is organised by Kids in Museums, an independent charity dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all families, in particular those who haven’t visited before.

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum is renowned for its award winning work with young people and took part in ‘Takeover Day’ in 2011 whereby young people from two local schools were given the opportunity to have their say about the Museum’s Science Sport Life exhibitions and then develop their own ideas about how the exhibitions could be taken forward in 2012. They had to consider a range of issues faced by the Museum including the development of exhibitions, potential retail opportunities and ways to market exhibitions to both families and schools.

Rebecca Lawrence, Marketing Assistant at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “The Museum greatly values the views and ideas of young people. The participant’s young minds came up with some innovative and imaginative solutions. It was fascinating to see the groups work together to create some genuinely interesting ideas that will make the museums even more welcoming to young children.”

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is an educational charity and welcomes around 70,000 educational visits each year. Young people take part in all kinds of workshops and activities, not only on educational visits but also during school holidays when visiting with their families. Activities range from creative drop-ins at Coalport China Museum and Jackfield Tile Museum to Design and Technology workshops at Enginuity and trying traditional trades at Blists Hill Victorian Town. To appeal to teenagers the Museum recently put on a Warhammer event at Enginuity.

Steve Miller Chief Executive, Ironbridge Gorge Museums explains: “Being Family Friendly is more than just putting on children’s activities; it is about ensuring that every generation of a family is made to feel welcome and valued. There are many simple and affordable areas that any museum can achieve regardless of their budget, such as having special children’s menus in the restaurants, pocket money ranges in the shops, baby changing areas and most importantly staff that encourage young people to play and learn in museums.”

To encourage even more families to visit the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in 2012, they are launching a new Annual Family Passport Ticket, allowing up to 2 adults and all of their children unlimited daytime admission to each of the ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Terms and conditions apply.

For more information about the Ironbridge Gorge Museums visit http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/. For more information about Kids in Museums see http://www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk/

THE ORACLE OF THE TAP ROOMS

2012-01-18T09:43:00.000Z

WRITTEN BY VANESSA OAKES

We present most humbly FOR YOUR UTMOST PLEASURE AND DELECTATION

THE ORACLE OF THE TAPROOMS which is presented as a free pop up performance on the streets on Nuneaton.

Director Mark Evans of Coventry University: There is inherent theatre in the man who berates you on the street corner. This intriguing and fascinating performance piece blends together our curiosity with the famous and the poor, the talented and the ne’er-do-well. It is a wonderful piece of writing – funny, engaging and at the same time asking difficult questions about fame, celebrity, ownership and place.

The public are invited to come along RAIN OR SHINE and MEET THE INFAMOUS WELL EDUCATED LOCAL LAYABOUT MR. JOSEPH HENRY LIGGINS as he tells us his extraordinary story.

After being asked to leave Cambridge, Joseph Liggins (1801–1872) struggled for years to make a living before being wrongly identified as the author of ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’ and ‘Adam Bede’.

In 2010 while Nuneaton born playwright Vanessa Oakes was working with local teenagers who were photographing the George Eliot statue, a homeless gentleman who was bedding down for the night in Debenhams’ doorway called over with a warning, don’t you go taking the p*** out of my George Eliot or she’ll come back and haunt you!, which inspired her to write this short play.

15 MINUTE PERFORMANCES THROUGHOUT FRI 20th & SAT 21st JANUARY 2012

11am Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery

12noon George Eliot Memorial Gardens (obelisk)

1pm George Eliot Hotel (archway)

2pm St. Nicholas Community Centre

3pm Griff House, Coventry Road CV10 7PJ

Shaylor completes £2.2million Life After Stroke Centre

2012-01-18T09:42:00.001Z

left to right, Parvinder Singh (Contracts Manager at Shaylor Group),Lynda Jones (Stroke patient), Lyn Dunkley (head of facilities at The Stroke Association), and Gary Owen (site manager, Shaylor Group).

Leading West Midlands based contracting group Shaylor has completed work on the new Life After Stroke Centre in Bromsgrove – a unique facility designed to help people throughout the Midlands regain their independence after a stroke. It also provides a permanent base for some of The Stroke Association’s key national and regional functions.

This facility is the first of its kind in the UK and Shaylor Special Projects – which specialises in short-term new build and refurbishment construction-based contracts – has refurbished the building to ensure it is fully accessible for people with disabilities.

“The Centre will make a huge and positive impact on the journey of recovery and beyond for stroke survivors, providing a space where they can relearn old skills and develop new ones. We’ll bring together professionals, volunteers, care workers, stroke survivors and their families to share best practice, experience and knowledge,” says Lyn Dunkley, head of facilities at The Stroke Association.

Almost 10,000 stroke survivors are expected to benefit from the Life After Stroke Centre. In the first year of operation the charity hopes to train an additional 600 professionals and an extra 450 volunteers to work directly with stroke survivors.

The £2.2million Stroke facility provides a Resource Centre with reference and educational materials plus open access PCs, training and therapy rooms and an IT training suite. Gallery space to display stroke survivors’ art projects is located on the mezzanine floor overlooking the main reception area and there is on-site parking for more than 30 cars.

In addition to delivering key services for stroke survivors across the Midlands, the Life After Stroke Centre provides training facilities so that professionals, volunteers and care workers throughout the UK can join with stroke survivors and their families to share the latest thinking, experience and best practice.

The Stroke Association has provided community-based support services for people affected by stroke for 20 years and this new regional hub will house the charity’s regional fundraising arm, the Stroke Information Service (incorporating the national Stroke Helpline) and the UK Stroke Forum.

More information about the Life After Stroke Centre can be found at www.stroke.org.uk/newcentre.

MP VISITS BIRMINGHAM RESIDENT HELPED BY NPOWER’S HEALTH THROUGH WARMTH SCHEME

2012-01-18T09:42:00.000Z

Gisela Stuart, MP for Edgbaston, has shown her support for local warmth scheme, npower Health Through Warmth, by visiting a resident who has received help.

Gisela Stuart MP was joined by Volker Beckers, Group CEO for RWE npower; Jane Britton, county manager for the Royal British Legion and Elaine Midwinter, Health Through Warmth scheme manager. The visit was hosted by resident Veronica Low, who was helped by the scheme when her boiler broke down.

Veronica, 74, has diabetes and angina, which can make her sensitive to the cold and cause her symptoms to get worse. Last year, she was left without heating during the winter months.

Veronica contacted The Royal British Legion for assistance, who quickly referred her to the Health Through Warmth scheme. The local Health Through Warmth co-ordinator, based at Black Country Housing Group, then arranged for quotes and installation of a new central heating system.

The measures were funded by contributions from the unique npower Health Through Warmth Crisis Fund, and The Royal British Legion.

Veronica comments: “Not having sufficient heating in the winter was awful, but I could not afford to replace my heating system. I’m so grateful that Health Through Warmth and the Royal British Legion were able to help me.”

npower’s Health Through Warmth scheme aims to help residents whose health is made worse by cold living conditions as a result of inadequate heating and insulation in their homes.

Gisela Stuart MP adds: “npower Health Through Warmth is a valuable scheme which has helped many vulnerable residents in the West Midlands and beyond since it launched. It’s great to see first-hand the difference the scheme makes to local residents like Veronica, and I’d like to thank all those involved for their hard work.”

Volker Beckers, Group CEO of RWE npower, concludes: “We would like to thank Gisela Stuart MP for showing her support for Health Through Warmth by visiting Veronica. Working together with other organisations enables us to reach more residents like Veronica who have cold related illnesses and need help with the installation of heating and insulation measures. You don’t have to be an npower customer to benefit from Health Through Warmth, any vulnerable resident with a cold related illness may be eligible for assistance.”

Health Through Warmth was set up in 2000 by npower, in partnership with National Energy Action (NEA), the national fuel poverty charity, and the NHS.

Since 2000, more than 72,571 vulnerable residents have been referred to the scheme for help with heating and insulation. £58.2 million has been levered to secure funding for the measures required, which includes more than £1.2 million from charitable organisations. In addition, £7.2 million has been contributed from the unique npower Health Through Warmth Crisis Fund.

Each Health Through Warmth case is assessed on an individual basis and funding can be accessed from a variety of sources, including the unique npower Health Through Warmth Crisis Fund, government grants and charitable funds.

For more information visit http://www.healththroughwarmth.com/.

Martin Parr’s Black Country Stories

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000Z

A free exhibition of Martin Parr's Black Country Stories from Walsall will take place at The New Art Gallery Walsall from 20 January 2012 to 7 April 2012 (Tuesday to Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm). A special evening viewing will take place on Thursday 19 January between 6 pm and 8 pm; everyone welcome.

West Bromwich’s Multistory, one of the UK’s leading community arts agencies, has commissioned one of the country’s most important and influential Magnum photographers, Martin Parr, to document everyday life in the Black Country.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Black Country Stories brings Martin Parr, on a photographic journey across the Black Country visiting markets, temples, factories, social clubs, tea dances, dog training classes, summer fetes and a whole mixture of other places in Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Dudley.

This special display showcases some of the photographs Martin has taken in Walsall throughout 2011.

Over the last 12 months, Martin has visited local leather and metal factories and met the people that keep these industries alive as well as various places of worship that reflect the cultural diversity of the borough; he's also experienced Walsall's vibrant social scene; sampled traditional Black Country foods and joined the local Royal Wedding celebrations!

You can also listen to a selection of stories from Walsall residents talking about their lives, work, families, and experiences of the Black Country and share your own experiences in the ‘memory wall’. A final exhibition will take place at the gallery in 2014, followed by exhibitions in Wolverhampton and Dudley.

Martin Parr:

“We decided to focus on the revitalisation that the many immigrant groups have brought to the area and, at the same time, look for examples of traditional Black Country life that are in good health. As the lid was slowly eased open, we realised the power of the material that we were unearthing.“

Emma Chetcuti, Director of Multistory:

“When we thought about developing this project, Martin Parr was the obvious choice. It has been a fantastic experience working with Martin and the project has developed and expanded in some really exciting and surprising ways as Martin has uncovered more stories for us to celebrate and document.”

Multistory and The New Art Gallery Walsall are grateful to Launer London, Kirkpatrick Tradtional Ironwork, J&E Sedgewick & Co, and Pat Gorman Pies for donating some of their products for the display.

Black Country Stories is a multi-commission programme, produced by Multistory, that invites outstanding artists to document and record life in the Black Country. Black Country Stories commissions internationally renowned documentary photographers, film makers, and authors to tell amazing stories that celebrate everyday life in the Black Country.

Demand for high quality regional writing courses is evident as Tindal Street Press launch new creative writing masterclass

2012-01-17T08:59:00.002Z

Tindal Street’s new creative writing masterclasses meet demand from Birmingham’s budding writing talent.

Tindal Street Press – Birmingham’s celebrated independent fiction publisher – has seen a healthy demand for its new writing masterclasses, which start this week in Birmingham.

The new courses – catering for both novice and more experienced writers – offer the unique opportunity to learn from a prestigious creative writing teacher, guest speaker events and expert tuition by some of the country’s leading writers, with the additional advantage of insider publishing knowledge. Tindal Street has a reputation for finding and nurturing new writers who go on to prize success, which has included three Man Booker prize listings, two Orange Prize and Commonwealth Writers’ Prize P nominations and two Costa First Novel wins.

Tindal Street’s Publishing Director, Alan Mahar, explains, “We are really pleased with the uptake for the new courses and it proves the demand for high quality writing advice and tuition in the region. We have discovered time and again that there is so much raw talent outside of London and we wanted to give writers outside London the opportunity to develop their craft and learn a professional approach to fiction writing.”

“This new initiative will see regional writers benefiting from the care and expertise that has launched the careers of our highly successful star authors. Catherine O’Flynn, Clare Morrall, Gaynor Arnold and Raphael Selbourne have all come from the Tindal Street stable and all these authors will make guest appearances on the course, alongside other well-known writers from the Midlands such as Jim Crace, Helen Cross and Mike Gayle.”

Tindal Street Press has appointed award-winning author and experienced creative writing tutor Josie Barnard to run the ten-week courses. Josie has worked for Faber’s acclaimed writing academy and has recently published her Book of Friendship with Virago. Tindal Street Press staff, including Publishing Director Alan Mahar and Senior Editor Luke Brown, will also make appearances on the course.

Courses take place over two evenings each week in the stylish Fazeley Studios on Fazeley Street, Digbeth, in Birmingham’s creative Eastside, starting Monday 9 January .

For further information and a prospectus please visit www.tindalstreet.co.uk/masterclasses.

Please contact Zeena Lemon 01299 832116/07504234044 or Alan Mahar on 0121 773 8157 for more information and interview opportunities with authors.

Great value days out for visitors to the Ironbridge Gorge Museums in 2012

2012-01-17T08:59:00.001Z

People looking for a great value day out in 2012 need look no further than the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. 2012 promises to be an exciting year for the Museum and its visitors with a variety of free exhibitions and events and a great value Annual Passport Ticket to all ten of the museums.

There are four fantastic exhibitions available to everyone to visit free of charge during the course of 2012. Our Sporting Life: Sporting Heroes which celebrates Shropshire’s rich, sporting heritage will be open until 9th September as part of the Science Sport Life programme of events, part of the national ‘Stories of the World’ project, which is at the heart of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. CORE is an outstanding digital art exhibition designed by renowned international artist Kurt Hentschläger, which will premiere at the Engine Shop, Enginuity on Friday 23rd March forming a key part of the London 2012 Festival in the West Midlands.

The stunning International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition will open at the Footprint Gallery, Fusion, adjacent to the Jackfield Tile Museum on Saturday 14th July showcasing the fantastic skill of the winning and finalist photographers from the fourth competition in an exhibition of gardens, plants, flowers and botany. Following on from the Our Sporting Life: Sporting Heroes exhibition, the Coalbrookdale Gallery will host an exhibition of the remarkable paintings and drawings of Welsh artist Falcon Hildred, whose lifetime’s work focuses upon the industrial landscapes of England and Wales. This exhibition will open in October 2012.

Also new for 2012 is a great value Annual Passport Ticket to the ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums offering families of up to two adults and all of their children an unlimited number of fascinating days out and repeat visits over 12 months for just £64 available from 24th March (terms and conditions apply). Annual Passport Tickets for adults, the 60 plus, students and children are also available to buy online at http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/ or at any museum site; entry for under 5s is free.

For information on the Ironbridge Gorge Museums visit: http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/.

WARWICKSHIRE LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

2012-01-17T08:59:00.000Z

On Saturday the 3rd of December 2011 the society ended the year’s activities by visiting Nailcote Hall. Dr. Nat Alcock gave a lecture on Vernacular Houses in and around Berkswell, all this was followed by a super Christmas tea.

On Tuesday the 21st of February 2011 Dr. Sylvia Pinches will be lecturing on Compton Verney, the former home of the Willoughby de Broke family, when she will be discussing the development of the house in relationship to those who lived there, weaving family history with architectural history. This will include details on how the household was run and the lives and experiences of the servants working there.

The meeting will begin 8.00pm, preceded by coffee at 7.30pm. at the Quaker Meeting House, High Street, Warwick, CV34 4AX and is open to all, though there is a charge of £2.00 for guests - refundable on the night if they join the Society.

Details of this and other Society events are available from Neville Usher, 6, The Fold, Payton Street, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 6NJ Telephone 01789 205 043, E mail info@warwickshirehistory.org.uk , or on the Society’s website:

http://www.warwickshirehistory.org.uk/

SCHOOLCHILDREN TAKE PART IN WORLD’S BIGGEST WILDLIFE SURVEY

2012-01-17T08:58:00.000Z

The biggest survey of wildlife in UK schools starts today. Thousands of children will step up for nature by watching excitedly, waiting to see which creatures share their playgrounds.

Classrooms will be turned into bird hides, binoculars will be fixed to eyes and noses will be pressed eagerly against windows all in the name of science!

The RSPB’s annual Big Schools Birdwatch runs from the 16 January -30 January 2012. The survey encourages children and teachers to look for and count the birds that share their school environment.

Last year saw a record breaking number of participants with nearly 3,000 classes taking part, involving 88,500 children and teachers.

Wildlife is an unbeatable teaching resource. Colourful, attractive and abundant it can enthuse and inspire children - connecting them with the nature that lives alongside them everyday.

Simple to set up, fun for children to do and offering a host of curriculum linked learning opportunities across all age ranges – Big Schools’ Birdwatch is something every school should participate in.

Some schools make the activity the centrepiece of a whole week devoted to learning about wild birds. Other schools hold birdwatch breakfasts and after school wildlife clubs.

Faye Mackender, RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch project manager, said: “This activity provides an opportunity for thousands of children to join in and discover the wildlife within their local environment. However teachers want to do it, and wherever the school is located, it’s easy to encourage some life and colour to winter classroom windows with the Big Schools’ Birdwatch.”

Experiencing nature first hand is a vital part of a child’s education, and offers many varied benefits to them, not least developing a sense of wonder and curiosity for the world around them.

Faye added: “All you need to do is watch and count the birds in your school grounds for one hour, then submit your results to the RSPB, detailing what you see. Whether you see several exotic species or just a few of the commonest birds, it doesn’t matter – all sightings are useful to us!

We put together the data from the schools about the birds that they see. We then create an overview of which birds are making the most of school grounds across the UK.”

The survey helps to paint a picture of how our birds are faring. Since its launch in 2002, more than 70 different species have been recorded in school grounds, ranging from house sparrows to kestrels and even pheasants.

No birdwatching expertise is necessary for teachers, helpers or children and the RSPB has produced a free schools pack containing everything a teacher will need. The emphasis is on having fun and joining in. The pack includes guidance notes, a full colour bird identification poster, counting charts and survey form.

For further information about Big Schools’ Birdwatch, and to register for a free teachers pack, visit the RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch or ring 0300 456 8340 (calls charged at standard rate). The hotline number will be operational until 30 January 2012.

Chill your bones with a double-bill of science fiction horror on the big screen at special Cult House event

2012-01-16T15:31:00.000Z

Light House is pleased to announce, as part of the Cult House season, a double-bill screening of the recently released ‘The Thing’ (2011), followed by John Carpenter’s original chilling cult classic, ‘The Thing’ (1982). The screenings will take place on Thursday 23 February 2012 at 6.30pm. Double-bill tickets are available, costing £12 and entitle the ticket holder to a horror themed complimentary cocktail during the 20 minute interval. Due to the nature of the screening, this is an over 18s event. To book tickets contact Light House Box Office on 01902 716055 or visit http://www.light-house.co.uk/

A gut-wrenching, double dose of suspense and paranoia begins with ‘The Thing’ (2011), directed by Matthjis van Heijningen Junior, produced by Marc Abraham and Eric Newman (Dawn of the Dead), starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Die Hard 4.0) & Joel Edgerton (Warrior). At an Antarctic research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson. The Thing is a prequel not to be missed.

Double-bill ticket holders are offered the opportunity to recompose themselves in preparation for an equally nerve-jangling second screening with a complimentary, themed cocktail during the 20 minute interval.

The second screening of the night will see Cult House revisit MacReady and the rest of the team at U.S Outpost Station #31, for guaranteed subzero thrills. Members of an American scientific research outpost in Antarctica find themselves battling a parasitic alien organism capable of perfectly imitating its victims. They soon discover that this task will be harder than they could possibly imagine. As they find themselves unsure of which members of the team have already been assimilated, their paranoia threatens to tear them apart.

Directed by John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape From L.A), starring Kurt Russell (Death Proof, Tombstone), scored by the brilliant Ennio Morricone and with unforgettable special effects by the pioneering Rob Bottin; this cult gem is certain to send a frisson or two down the spines of even the most imperturbable.

Kimberly Forlini-Softley, Administrator & Film Studies Lecturer, says; “Premiering the same night as ‘E.T: The Extra Terrestrial’ and released the same day as ‘Blade Runner’, one might argue that Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ was critically and commercially overlooked. However, following the film’s home release, its popularity has snowballed; spawning the release of a computer game, comic books and a prequel. The Thing is a must see for all horror movie aficionados and those who are simply after a guaranteed fright!”

Cult House is offering you the unique opportunity to relive this cherished, sci-fi horror in the inimitable surroundings of Light House cinema.

The screenings will take place at Light House on Thursday 23 February 2012 at 6.30pm. Tickets Cost: £12 for the double-bill with a complementary cocktail. To book tickets contact Light House Box office on 01902 716055 or visit http://www.light-house.co.uk/

URGENT - DoH grant from Warm Homes Healthy People Fund 2012

2012-01-16T08:55:00.000Z

Warm Homes, Healthy People Fund

‘Stay Warm, Stay Well in Birmingham

Dear voluntary and community sector partner

The Department of Health recently confirmed Birmingham City Council is to receive funds from its Warm Homes, Healthy People initiative.

Birmingham’s allocation of £600,000 will, in summary, deliver actions to help prevent seasonal deaths and casualties amongst the most vulnerable living in cold housing.

Actions will be led by the City Housing and Health & Wellbeing Partnerships, and we are very keen to hear from voluntary and community partners if you are able to make referrals of vulnerable residents.

The delivery time for this project is extremely short with actions needing to take place by the 31st of March 2012.

Please see an outline of the DoH endorsed programme, and our target households.

If you feel your organisation can identify beneficiaries we ask you make contact with us as a matter of urgency.

Thanking you in anticipation of your cooperation in this matter.

Vanessa Cusack on behalf of the City Housing Partnership.

partnershipsteam@birmingham.gov.uk

Tel: 0121 303 4559

‘Stay Warm, Stay Well’ in Birmingham

We will bring together agencies to deliver a multi-agency pathway which will reduce fuel poverty, avoidable death, and admission to hospital / residential care in vulnerable populations. This project will address the housing, health, isolation and financial risks of cold homes.

We will do this by targeting up to 18,000 people at heightened risk, and by assessing and delivering interventions from a multiple range of agencies.

Context

Some Birmingham neighbourhoods have 40%+ homes in fuel poverty and 6 constituencies are in the top 20 most fuel poor in the UK. Hospital records show significant numbers of elderly people at risk.

Delivering

The Birmingham project will deliver positive outcomes through:

• Identifying vulnerable people from agency lists, and the creation of lists of vulnerable people for targeting.

• Rapid referral, assessment and intervention.

• Energy saving advice in homes and community venues.

• Physical measures such as equipment, access to Telecare etc.

• Cold Weather Alert systems.

• Money advice, particularly benefit checks and utility ‘switching’ options.

• Community conversations highlighting the need to support vulnerable family members / neighbours.

• Using Birmingham’s ‘Looking Local’ digital channel.

Core Outcomes

• Reduce mortality and morbidity.

• Increase the uptake of available services.

• Prepare the vulnerable for the dangers of cold weather / future winters.

• Help people access the best utility deals.

• Help people access unclaimed benefits.

• Help people find assistance in extreme circumstances.

Target Households

• Over 75 year olds

• The frail

• Those with pre-existing cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses and other chronic medical conditions

• Those with severe mental illness

• Those with dementia

• Those with learning difficulties

• Those with arthritis, limited mobility or otherwise at risk of falls

• Families with young children

• Those living in deprived circumstances

• Those living in homes with mould

• Fuel poor households (needing to spend 10% or more of household income on heating home)

• Elderly people living on their own / in isolation

• Other marginalised groups (please identify): those accessing home

• aids & adaptations to live independently

• Vulnerable residents with digital TV access

Operating Model

During the short life of the project progress will be coordinated from within Birmingham City Council’s Strategy & Partnership Team, who will work alongside the approved prime contractors Warm Zones CIC and Localise WM.

Local delivery agents will be: Birmingham City Council’s Adult Social Care teams; Age UK; West Midlands Fire Service; local NHS teams; Telecare; Bournbrook Community Safety Project; Family HA; Groundwork WM; Moseley CDT; Northfield Ecocentre; Saltley and Washwood Heath Practical Care; Freshwinds; SPARK Community Alliance Energywise; Birmingham Settlement; Birmingham CAB; Citysave and Birmingham City Council’s Revenue & Benefits team.

Our actions will link to the national Surviving Winter campaign, to further assist people though the Birmingham and Black Country Community Foundation.

We trust this provides an overview of the aims and objectives of the ‘Stay Warm, Stay Well’ campaign and we hope to hear from as many VCS partners as possible, in order to maximise the benefits of this fund to vulnerable households citywide.

Please contact us by Friday the 27th of January 2012

Vanessa Cusack on behalf of the City Housing Partnership.

partnershipsteam@birmingham.gov.uk

Tel: 0121 303 4559

STOMP RETURNS TO BIRMINGHAM

2012-01-16T08:54:00.001Z

Sign up now for Community Games and bring London 2012 to your neighbourhood

2012-01-16T08:54:00.000Z

With just over six months to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, now is the time to sign up for Community Games and create a special moment to celebrate London 2012 in your own neighbourhood.

Community Games provide a great opportunity for individuals or organisations to bring their community together by organising a day of sporting and cultural activities inspired by, and in celebration of, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A community can organise its Games in a way that works for them: they could take place in a park or inside a community centre, at any time of year, and with whichever activities they choose. Whatever the focus, Community Games provides everyone with the chance to get involved with London 2012.

Since the programme launched in 2010, 222 Community Games have taken place in our region involving over 165,000 people. It is expected that 500 games will have taken place by the end of 2012.

Community Games is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Community Games programme forms part of the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands.

Plenty of inspiring Community Games have already taken place around the region:

In Worcestershire, volunteer Sue Jenkinson organised a Community Games as part of the British Asparagus Festival held in the Vale of Evesham in May 2011. Entitled Asparalympics, games included aspara-spear throwing – with green javelins - and asparabaton relay races, using green batons.

In the Birmingham suburb of Erdington a Community Games event included a Land's End to John O'Groats Cycle Challenge (711 miles covered by a cycle relay team around the clock for almost three days). A Community Games in Halesowen in the Black Country inspired one local man to source secondhand bikes to do up and pass on to children in the community

In Staffordshire, the Oakmoor and South Moorlands Games included football, tag rugby, tug of war as well as displays of dance and art.

In Shropshire, Community Games organiser Bill Longmore, 73, recently won the title BBC Midlands Sports Unsung Hero 2011. He has worked to develop sporting facilities in Hanwood during 12 years in the village.

In Coventry, 530 children at Stivichall Primary devised and performed their own opening and closing ceremonies and took part in over 26 different sporting activities from sprinting and long jump to javelin and football.

David Moorcroft, Chair of the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games and former 5000m World Record holder said: “With only six months to go until London 2012, now is the time to think about how you are going to get involved. Organising your own Community Games is a great and meaningful way to be part of the London 2012 celebrations.”

Moira Swinbank OBE, Chief Executive of Legacy Trust UK said: “Community Games has grown from strength to strength and we are delighted that so many local people have already taken part. This fantastic project is set to engage many more people in 2012 and will leave a lasting legacy for organisers, participants and communities right across the West Midlands.”

For more information on how to stage your own Community Games visit http://www.communitygames.org.uk/

Over 905,000 people have already participated in a range of culture activities as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands, generating £21.8 million worth of economic activity within the region. Businesses across the West Midlands are also making the most out of London 2012 having won over £520 million, half a billion, worth of tenders supplying the 2012 Games and related projects. To find out about events and opportunities and how you can get involved visit http://www.wmfor2012.com/

People who are already involved in London 2012 inspired activities in the West Midlands can share their stories, pictures and list forthcoming events on www.facebook.com/thegamesandme

Wheatsheaf Players present - Once Upon a Time

2012-01-16T08:53:00.001Z

Wicked Witch Evelyn - Heather Evans, Princess Lottie - Christine Rye, Prince marvellous - Joanne Crawley, Captain Hook - Ethan Flynn

A family pantomime

Yes, it’s that time of year again - Oh no it isn’t! Oh yes it most certainly is!

The Wheatsheaf pantomime is back and its bigger, better and funnier than ever!

Once upon a time in pantomime land, all your pantomime favourites come together to tell an enchanting story of a princess her prince charming and an evil witch.

So bring your boos and hisses, to watch Cinderella, Snow White, Alice from Wonderland, two Prince charmings and Captain Hook as they try and save panto land and its princess from the clutches of the wicked witch Evylin.

There are some great songs, lots of comedy and slapstick, and of course the all-important audience participation - something for everyone!

Roni Tillman, from the Wheatsheaf Players, says: “It is a fantastic pantomime and has everything you would expect - a classic tale of good beating evil, plenty of fun and jokes with the opportunity for audience participation.”

So why not come along and be part of the fun!

This fabulous event for all the family will be performed at the Co operative Theatre, Watersmeet Road, Wyken Coventry, CV2 3HX from Saturday 28th January 2012 to Saturday 4th February 2012

Saturday 28th January: 2pm & 7pm

Sunday 29th January: 2pm

Monday NO PERFORMANCE

Tuesday 31st January: 7pm

Wednesday 1st February: 7pm

Thursday 2nd February: 7pm

Friday 3rd February: 7pm

Saturday 4th February: 2pm & 7pm

Doors open at 1:30pm for all Matinees with the performance starting at 2:00pm and 6:30pm for all evening performances with the show starting at 7:00pm.

Admission costs £8.50 for adults and £5.00 for children. Tickets can be booked in advance by calling the box office on 024 7645 6179 or you can buy tickets online at http://www.wheatsheafplayers.com/.

Thousands turn to ChildLine over holiday season

2012-01-16T08:53:00.000Z

ChildLine received almost 50,000 cries for help from children and young people in the twelve days from Christmas Eve to 4 January, a 19 per cent increase on last year’s figures.

Contacts by telephone, email or online chat to ChildLine totalled 48,751 over the festive period and figures show a staggering 50 per cent increase in the number of counselling interactions on Christmas Day compared with last year.

At the West Midlands base in Birmingham , ChildLine counsellors took part in 1,252 in-depth counselling sessions during the 12 day holiday period. Family relationship issues remained the primary concern of children and young people who contacted the base, accounting for 15 per cent of the total counselling interactions. Other reasons children called the base were depression (10 per cent), self harm (six per cent) and suicide (five per cent).

Nationally there was a dramatic increase in depression and mental health related counselling, which has increased by 103 per cent compared with Christmas 2010. Counselling regarding self-harm and suicide also increased by 62 per cent and 57 per cent respectively. This comes as more and more children are now contacting ChildLine online where many feel more able to talk about the most difficult issues. Visits to the ChildLine website increased by 57 per cent last year.

Nationally, in 71 cases over the festive season the situation was so serious that they had to be referred to other agencies such as the police and children’s services, a 109 per cent increase on last year. Around 59 per cent of these referrals were regarding suicide.

Esther Rantzen, President of ChildLine, said: "These figures clearly demonstrate how many distressed children depend on ChildLine, especially at times such as Christmas which is often particularly difficult for vulnerable young people.

"ChildLine is a vital life line for thousands of young people who desperately need support and advice on suicidal thoughts, self-harm, sexual abuse and mental illness. Our trained volunteer counsellors work tirelessly around the clock to ensure that the most vulnerable young people can get safe, trusted support on incredibly sensitive issues.

"It makes me especially proud that in our 25th anniversary year we can say, for the first time in ChildLine’s history, we can now answer almost every call the first time a child rings. But to continue this we need the support of the public and our volunteers. Money is always tight and every penny helps towards keeping this vital lifeline going."

One teenager who contacted the West Midlands ChildLine base said: “I talked to a guy yesterday online and he was very nice at first. Then we started talking on webcam and what he did was just disgusting. I haven't told anyone about it as it’s just too embarrassing - because I saw it. He asked me to send pictures of myself without my bra on. I don't want to report him because I just don't want him to get into any trouble - I would not be able to live with myself knowing that because of me somebody has been arrested or anything like that.”

ChildLine on 0800 1111 is the UK ’s free, 24-hour helpline for children in danger or distress. Trained volunteer counsellors provide comfort, advice and support. ChildLine is a service within the NSPCC. Calls to ChildLine are confidential, but if a child is in immediate danger the counsellor will let the caller know if they have to break confidentially and contact the emergency services to save the child’s life.

Childline 0800 1111

Marathon time running out

2012-01-16T08:52:00.000Z

Time is ticking away if you want to run in this year’s half marathon in Stafford.

The event attracts runners from across Staffordshire and beyond and takes place on Sunday 25 March.

Now runners are being urged to get their entries in fast as registration closes on Friday (20 January.) Although organisers say they will stop taking entries before that date if the 2,500 runner capacity has been reached.

The race will start in the town centre and head off into the surrounding countryside – with two steady climbs - before returning to the Market Square via the award-winning Victoria Park.

You can register online via www.staffordbc.gov.uk/halfmarathon , in person at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre in Eastgate Street or by telephoning 01785 254 653.

The race is now in its 28th year and crowds turn out to line the route and cheer on the diverse field of athletes. Residents, local community groups and school children are all encouraged to get involved and offer support to the runners along the course.

The 2012 Half Marathon will see the return of a medal for each participant who will also receive a technical running t-shirt.

Former half marathon competitor and cabinet member for leisure, Councillor Mike Smith said: “This race has become so popular and rightly heralded as a major event in our county. And there is an extra buzz this year with the London Olympics just around the corner.

“I would hate anyone to miss out because they had forgotten to register or left it too late so I’d urge all runners to get on the web, visit the Gatehouse or give us a ring.”

As part of the Half Marathon event day programme the School and Family Fun Run will fill the town centre with fun and fancy dress and people will be able to register next month – keep up to date at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/funrun.

For more information visit www.staffordbc.gov.uk/halfmarathon , email sports-events@staffordbc.gov.uk or call 01785 619 300.

New Year, New look for Gosta Green pub

2012-01-15T22:12:00.000Z

If you live, work or study in Gosta Green then you are in for a treat as the New Year brings with it a new look pub to the area. The Gosta Green on Holt Street is set to ‘Scream’ back into life on Thursday 19 January with a re-launch which is certain to banish the January winter blues.

The pub, formerly the site of the Holt Brewery is part of the Scream student brand and will be unrecognisable to local residents and students after its 2-week £250,000 refurbishment. The multi-coloured décor and illuminated sign will be banished in favour of a new contemporary black and white colour scheme and traditional pictorial pub sign featuring Holt Brewery’s old logo, a squirrel nibbling his acorn. Two striking mural paintings will take centre stage in the pub, a homage to Birmingham’s architecture and landmarks. Photographs and images of famous people from Birmingham will don the walls to add a splash of colour to the contemporary, bright look. New furniture and eclectic lighting including feature pendants and retro fittings will be introduced throughout.

Keen to show off the new look of the pub, manager Gemma French will re-open the doors on Thursday 19th January with complimentary drinks and tasters of the pub’s new stonebaked pizzas from 5-7pm. “No pub hosts a party better than a Scream pub and that exactly what the The Gosta Green will deliver, says Gemma. “Central to the pub will be great food at affordable prices, the best drinks deals around and daily entertainment to keep our customers coming back for more.”

The pub will re-open with a stellar line-up of value for money deals and nightly entertainment. Customers can get two main meals for just £6.50 all day every day whilst drinks can be discounted with Scream’s Yellow Card (available at www.screampubs.co.uk or via app). Sport remains a big focus for the pub and with superb offers such as Mondays’ Quids and Wednesdays 2 for the price of one on pizzas there’s even more reason to visit. The pub’s monthly local band night will be on Thursdays whilst Friday and Saturdays will be DJ-hosted party nights.

Whether you’re looking for a big night out or an after work drink, a quick lunchtime bite or a meal with friends, an afternoon playing pool or watching the match, the new look Gosta Green can cater for all occasions.

All existing staff will retain jobs.

brap workshop: interculturalism

2012-01-15T21:54:00.000Z

Going beyond multiculturalism and community cohesion...

Date: 30 January 2012

Venue: 5th Floor Edgbaston House, 3 Duchess Place, Hagley Road, Birmingham, B16 8NH

Places are free but must be booked in advance.

For those who campaign for and believe in creating a fairer society, the word integration isn’t new. In fact, we appear to have gone full circle, harking back to an approach that was used in the 1960s.

This workshop aims to introduce a ‘new’ approach to creating a more harmonious and progressive society: interculturalism.

brap are running a free workshop to help people to understand what interculturalism means in practice and how it could be used to deliver equality.

The workshop is free to voluntary and community organisations, frontline public sector workers, activists, and campaigners who are interested in exploring this approach in more detail.

As it’s a brap event, you’ll know it will be fun, it will stretch your thinking and it will help you to explore how you might use interculturalism in your work.

Aims of the workshop:

•understand the problems with previous approaches to community relations, such as multiculturalism and community cohesion

•understand the principles of intercultural practice

•develop the skills and knowledge to deliver intercultural projects

•understand the key success factors of intercultural activities

Date: 30 January 2012

Venue: 5th Floor Edgbaston House, 3 Duchess Place, Hagley Road, Birmingham, B16 8NH

How to book: Places are free but must be booked in advance. Email allank@brap.org.uk to confirm a place.

Delivered by brap; supported by the Baring Foundation

(http://www.baringfoundation.org.uk/)

What is happening to Cameron’s ‘big society’ agenda?

2012-01-14T20:37:00.003Z

January 13th, 2012 by Alun Severn

Today’s Third Sector Online reports that the ministerial committee set up by Hurd to over see big society policy implementation and cross-departmental involvement hasn’t met for ten months….

READ MORE/...

http://www.bssec.org.uk/blog/?p=3000

Parkour photography exhibition

2012-01-14T18:38:00.000Z

By Andy Day

A series of fascinating photographs exploring the non-competitive sport of Parkour, launches at The Public on 27 January.

The first solo exhibition by British photographer Andy Day, curated by Birmingham based curator Caitlin Griffiths, forms part of the Art of Architecture, a series of exhibitions that looks at how artists engage with the built environment and influence the world around us.

Parkour is a high energy sport that involves moving through landscapes by running, climbing and jumping. Since 2002 Day has documented the rise of the phenomenon through its communities in London, France, Nicaragua and India, capturing participants navigating obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies.

The flâneur and the traceur (a Parkour practitioner) both have their origins in Paris. In the nineteenth century the flâneur walked the city in order to experience it and over 150 years later traceurs in the Parisian suburbs found new ways of moving through the very same spaces.

Day’s photographic work focuses on the built environment and social interaction, and through Parkour he documents new ways of seeing and moving through the city. The exhibition aims to challenge our understanding of how spaces are used and appropriated, and offer alternative ways of looking at urban design that might otherwise be ignored or forgotten.

Linda Saunders, Managing Director of The Public said,

“Parkour is a fascinating sport which requires a great deal of skill and determination. Andy Day’s brilliant photographs capture the energy of the practice and provide a fascinating insight into how we interact with the environment around us in an artistic manner.”

The Parkour Photography exhibition is a Hereford Photography Festival touring exhibition. The exhibition runs from 27 January to 20 May 2012, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Sunday, 11am – 3pm, and is free to visit.

The Art of Architecture also includes a fascinating 3D structure designed by award winning architect Will Alsop, video work from acclaimed film makers John Wood and Paul Harrison, suspended sculptural forms from Heather and Ivan Morison and photography from Rick Davies. For more information about exhibitions at The Public visit http://www.thepublic.com/ or call 0121 533 7161.

International Women's Day - 3rd March 2012

2012-01-14T08:14:00.000Z

Developing an Internship training

2012-01-13T19:47:00.000Z

Hello,

Please find below a flyer for an i-SE training course, Developing an Internship which may be of interest to you. At Roots HR we have our first intern this year and it’s been a great success for us all to date. I am speaking at the training course below on how best to recruit and set up a successful internship and how to manage the contractual terms of this. I know firsthand that there is great value to be had for both civil society organizations and those interns that undertake placements and that this is of even more benefit to both parties at a time when both the economy and the labour market are tight.

If your organization is thinking about offering internships, or indeed offer them but are interested in comparing what you do to best practice then this is the course for you.

Have a great weekend,

Jan Golding - Roots HR

Hole in the Universe

2012-01-13T18:48:00.001Z

The new Destroyers album is nearly ready. This is a chance for YOU to help us launch it!

Dear fans and concerned individuals. The Fate of The Destroyers new album has been bravely put in the hands of their beloved fans and supporters!

Frankly, we need your help. Without any wealthy philanthropists in sight, no lottery wins, treasure maps to follow or magic beanstalks to climb; we need to fund the final stages of our 2nd album ‘Hole in the Universe.’

So, we’ve decided to come to PledgeMusic to offer pre-orders of the new album & exclusive pre-release digital downloads along with many unique one-off offers. Please peruse our selection of goods on the right, as well as package deals on T-shirts & albums etc. You can also get VIP guest tickets to gigs, signed handwritten copies of lyric sheets, music lessons, even the tall man Louis’ lengthy beard & mustache combo!!

Why do we need your money? Where has the money gone?

With our debut CD – Out of Babel – released in 2009, the time had come to start working on a follow-up. We spent countless days over the last year writing and rehearsing new songs out of a shared desire to follow up Babel with a real monster of an album. Eventually we booked 3 weeklong sessions with Gavin Monaghan at Magic Garden Studios and recorded 13 tracks. Gavin, Gazz & Joe have worked long days with us on this album & done great work, but after so much time in the studio recording & mixing we still have some final mixing to do, mastering, artwork, manufacture & promotion to pay for before we can release the album and give it the big send off we think it deserves.

We have also thought long and hard about supporting a charity as part of our campaign. ‘Awards for Young Musicians’ a great charity that helps talented young musicians in challenging circumstances with the cost of music tuition and instruments will receive a donation if we achieve our targets.

Please spread the word, share this link via your social networks and with your friends because nothing beats word of mouth and we’re sure some people who don’t know us yet would be happy to discover some new original music!

Many thanks to you all. We hope to see you at one of our shows this autumn & keep an eye on our live page for exciting new gigs in the Spring and beyond. Happy winter UK folks and ahoy to the rest of the world.

Peace & Love,

The Destroyers

Pledge here to purchase the new album from 15 piece Brum gypsy misfit folk mentalist rockers: The Destroyers

Matt Hampson Foundation.

2012-01-13T07:25:00.000Z

One date that definitely needs to be on your 2012 calendar is February 15th because that’s when the Matt Hampson Foundation will be holding its annual Six Nations Dinner. And if you don’t have your new calendar yet then the Matt Hampson Foundation has the perfect solution with its 2012 calendar (available at http://www.matthampsonfoundation.org), featuring England players in action on the pitch. Apologies to all you ladies that were expecting the usual naked calendar, but we didn’t want the other half of the population to feel left out this year!

The Six Nations Dinner will take place at Battersea Evolution, London, and is set to be a fantastic evening. Guests will be welcomed on arrival at 6.30pm with a drinks reception and a three course dinner including drinks will follow until carriages at 2am. It’s the best rugby dinner of the year with many of the England squad past and present attending and all the fun is for an extremely worthy cause.

The Matt Hampson Foundation was formed in 2011 by former English rugby union prop Matt Hampson, who became quadriplegic following an accident when training for England under 21s in 2005. Matt decided to turn his passion and determination into something positive that could help others in a similar situation. The Foundation aims to provide advice, support, relief and/or treatment for anyone suffering serious injury or disability which has arisen from any cause, but in particular from participation in or training for any sporting activity.

“Starting the Matt Hampson Foundation would mean nothing if it wasn’t for the support and enthusiasm of everyone that has been involved over the past year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have contributed to the success of the Foundation, which is already making a real difference to the lives of so many young people. I look forward to toasting you all at the Six Nations Dinner and hope to see lots of supporters there enjoying themselves!” commented Matt.

For more information on the Matt Hampson Foundation, to make a donation or to book your table at the Six Nations Dinner visit http://www.matthampsonfoundation.org/

Technical support for visually impaired people

2012-01-12T09:17:00.001Z

Ideal for All in Sandwell is launching a series of sessions starting on Friday 20 January to help people with a visual impairment make sense of the wide range of technology that is constantly upgrading and changing. If you have a visual impairment you can attend the sessions to learn more about how to make the best use of various gadgets, phones and software.

There are a lot of equipment and computer programs available to people who have a visual impairment. NVDA, JAWS, Azerbat, Facebook, Zoomtext, Thunder, iPhone, Blackberry are all popular and are used by visually impaired people. However, instruction manuals are often difficult to follow, and may confuse, rather than help. In addition there may be free alternative software that people may not be aware of.

By attending the sessions you can learn more about making best use of various hardware and software as well as share your experiences with other people who may have experienced the same frustrations with technology.

Carol Goff, Chair of Ideal for All said: “We have organised these sessions for visually impaired people to learn more and make the best use of new technologies. There is a huge variety of software and gadgets available. Our aim is to help people use new technology by providing advice and support.”

The first session will start at 1pm – 3pm on Friday 20 January at the Independent Living Centre, 100 Oldbury Road, Smethwick, B66 1JE.

For more information please contact Louise or Navinder on 0121 558 5555.

DisabledGo to survey venues in Birmingham

2012-01-12T09:17:00.000Z

The national organisation DisabledGo are working with Birmingham City Council to carry out an access survey of up to 1000 public venues across the city.

DisabledGo are being funded by Marks and Spencer to carry out the initial survey in 2012 and post the findings on their national website in the form of guides. 800 of these guides will be Key Access Reviews and 200 will be Detailed Access Guides.They will then receive funding support from Birmingham City council to update the entries on the website for a further 5 years.

The access guides will be selected from within the area's boundary. The surveying works to a prescribed way of selecting which venues are selected as KARs and DAGs. The venues will include things like retail outlets, hotels, librarys, tourism venues and leisure centres.

DisabledGo are inviting local disabled people with access auditing experience and skills to apply to become DisabledGo Surveyors on the Birmingham project. The closing date for applications is 20th January 2012.

They are also inviting local people to contribute suggestions for venues to be surveyed.

For more information or an application form to become a surveyor please contact Tom Felton or Rita Cooper at DisabledGo

Telephone 01438 842710

Email Tom Felton on tom.felton@disabledgo.com

SYMPHONY HALL CELEBRATES 21 YEARS OF BRINGING GREAT MUSIC TO BIRMINGHAM WITH MAJOR FESTIVAL

2012-01-11T19:02:00.000Z

JANUARY - JULY 2012

· ‘Wagnerfest’ – four great Wagner operas with The Royal Opera (opening night), Mariinsky Orchestra & Chorus, CBSO and Opera North

· Curious Sounds in Curious Spaces – a journey around Symphony Hall for adventurous ears of all ages (free family open day) in partnership with Fierce Festival

· Scott of the Antarctic Centenary Concert with expedition photos and world premiere by Cecilia McDowall

· Performances by Kailash Kher, Elvis Costello, Billy Connolly, Sarah Millican, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and more to be announced

· Film screenings of Dracula with original music composed and performed by Philip Glass, and The Wizard of Oz with live soundtrack from the BBC Symphony Orchestra

· Lord of the Dance – six nights of the Irish dance spectacular· Sing a Song for 21 – 1000 children from 21 local schools fill Symphony Hall and International Convention Centre Mall with music · John Malkovich stars in The Infernal Comedy

· Festival culminates in 21st anniversary week in June – concerts from CBSO with Andris Nelsons and Vienna Philharmonic with Sir Simon Rattle

www.thsh.co.uk/sh21

www.facebook.com/townhallsymphonyhall

www.twitter.com/thshbirmingham#sh21

Symphony Hall’s 21st anniversary festival begins today, on Wednesday 11 January, with a visit from The Royal Opera and heralding seven months of festivities.

Elvis Costello

Celebrating 21 years of bringing great music to Birmingham, the vibrant and exciting festival includes music, comedy, dance, film, family events and more. Elvis Costello, John Malkovich, The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Dance, Billy Connolly, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle all appear during the festival with more to be announced. Special events include world premieres, innovative projects, film screenings with live accompaniment, workshops and behind the scenes access. Curious Sounds in Curious Spaces, an imaginative and adventurous family open day in partnership with Fierce Festival, will explore Symphony Hall, and 1000 children from 21 Birmingham schools will come together to Sing A Song For 21, in association with Ex Cathedra, filling Symphony Hall and the International Convention Centre (also celebrating its 21st anniversary) with music.

Antonio Pannano

Wagnerfest

The festival opens on Wednesday 11 January with a rare and much-anticipated return visit from The Royal Opera and Antonio Pappano to perform Die Meistersinger. This marks the first of four great Wagner operas to be heard during the Festival - a landmark mini-series for Birmingham. ‘Wagnerfest’ then continues with Tristan und Isolde played by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Andris Nelsons. Parsifal is conducted by Valery Gergiev with the Chorus & Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre which, in August 1991 and then known as the Kirov, was the first opera company ever to appear in Symphony Hall. Finally, Opera North, under the baton of Richard Farnes, performs Die Walküre, the second instalment in the company’s first Ring cycle

John Malkovich

Special projects

A series of four special anniversary projects includes a Centenary tribute to Captain Scott which combines Herbert Ponting’s evocative photographs of the ill-fated 1910 Antarctic expedition with Vaughan Williams’s Sinfonia Antartica and the world premiere of Seventy Degrees Below Zero by Cecilia McDowall, setting words from his final letter ‘To my widow’. There are screenings of popular 1939 film The Wizard of Oz with live orchestral score played live by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and John Wilson. Original music by Philip Glass accompanies a screening of the 1931 film Dracula featuring Bela Lugosi in the title role. The score, for keyboards and strings, will be played by Glass himself with the renowned Kronos Quartet. Acclaimed actor John Malkovich stars in The Infernal Comedy a stage play for baroque orchestra, singers and actor based on the chilling, true story of serial killer-turned-author, Jack Unterweger.

Family open day

For families, there is a stimulating and imaginative free open day in partnership with Fierce Festival. Curious Sounds in Curious Spaces is a journey around Symphony Hall for adventurous ears of all ages exploring sound and music-based performances, installations and interactive activities and workshops. The day will see not just the hall and foyers, but staircases, backstage areas, reverberation chambers and other unusual spaces used for installations and performance. Local artists include Juneau Projects, 8bit Lounge and Soundkitchen. High-profile artists include Phil Minton and his ‘Feral Choir’ and one of the launch performances of Mobile Sinfonia – a piece for an ‘orchestra’ of mobile phones, performed by the public and conceived by Jem Finer (formerly of The Pogues).

Great names

Other highlights announced to date include two nights with the ‘Big Yin’ Billy Connolly and a return visit from hugely popular comedian Sarah Millican. There’s a rare appearance by revered singer, lyricist and composer, the Kashmiri-Indian pop-rock singer Kailash Kher. For six nights in March, the feet and fiddles of the Irish spectacular Lord of the Dance will take over Symphony Hall’s stage, and there’s a visit from Elvis Costello, whose latest tour sees fortune in charge of the programme as the audience is invited to ‘spin the wheel’ to determine the next song. In July, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra close the Festival and celebrate the presence in Birmingham of the US Olympic track and field team.

Sing A Song For 21

In partnership with Ex Cathedra, Sing a Song for 21 will see 1000 children from 21 schools in Ladywood (the constituency in which Symphony Hall is based) and elsewhere in Birmingham participate in a major project designed to inspire and promote the joys of singing and create a legacy of singing in schools. Following a series of in-school workshops, the project’s finale will be a promenade-style performance filling Symphony Hall and the Mall of the International Convention Centre (also celebrating its 21st anniversary) with music based on playground singing games.

Symphony Hall’s 21st Anniversary - anniversary concerts

The culmination of Symphony Hall’s 21st Anniversary Festival comes in June with a pair concerts by the CBSO and Chorus conducted by Andris Nelsons and Simon Halsey marking the official royal opening of the hall by HM The Queen on 12 June 1991. The concerts (on 12 & 13 June) include a centenary performance of Elgar’s The Music Makers - premiered in Birmingham’s Town Hall - and Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé suite, performed at the very first Symphony Hall concert. Bryn Terfel joins the orchestra for a selection of operatic arias.

Twenty one years after conducting the opening concerts of Symphony Hall, Sir Simon Rattle returns, this time with the Vienna Philharmonic, and City Organist Thomas Trotter gives a concert on the Symphony Organ, installed for the Hall’s 10th birthday in 2001 following a £1.5m fundraising appeal.

Commenting on Symphony Hall’s 21st Anniversary Festival, Andrew Jowett, Director of Town Hall & Symphony Hall said, “2012 is a very special year for Symphony Hall as we celebrate our 21st anniversary with an extraordinary line-up of world class artists, innovative projects and large scale and participative events. Since 1991, over 10 million people have come here to enjoy, participate in and learn more about music. We’ve welcomed hundreds of the greatest artistes on the musical stage - from Placido Domingo to Alison Krauss, Cecilia Bartoli to Tony Bennett and Bruce Springsteen to Ravi Shankar. The Birmingham International Concert Season has become one of the UK’s most important seasons of visiting musicians, and of course we’re also the home of the celebrated City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, currently enjoying massive international acclaim under their brilliant young conductor Andris Nelsons. It is also a very special year for me, looking back on all the years I have been Director of this extraordinary concert hall and, more recently, the wonderfully refurbished Town Hall. I remain immensely proud that 21 years on, Symphony Hall is still at the top of the list of the world’s greatest concert halls and is still cherished by the people of Birmingham. We look forward to connecting many more people to music through this ambitious and exciting festival.”

Full listings and further information is available from www.thsh.co.uk/sh21

Fairytale adoption ending for Redwings' Rumpel

2012-01-11T18:44:00.000Z

Redwings Horse Sanctuary has added a very special new resident to its Oxhill visitor centre in Warwickshire.

Rumpel – a handsome skewbald cob - has joined the charity’s adoption club four years after being rescued from one of the worst recorded cases of equine abuse in the UK.

Rumpel was originally one of 63 equines taken in by Redwings following the horror of Spindle Farm, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, in 2008.

He was discovered in appalling conditions – fighting for life among the carcasses of 30 dead horses, ponies and donkeys.

Four years later, after extensive rehabilitation at Redwings’ Norfolk HQ, Rumpel has been selected to join the charity’s adoption club, and he is now available to visit at its free-to-enter visitor centre in Warwickshire.

Redwings’ rehabilitation manager Sarah Hallsworth describes just what a remarkable turnaround Rumpel has made since the early days following his rescue.

She said: “He could be caught, but only in a very small area and was repulsed by human touch - he would flinch terribly every time you touched him. He saw no pleasure in being in our company and was certain that each touch was going to hurt.

“We had to teach him that touch could be pleasurable and that being in our company could be fun. We had to do lots of desensitisation all over his body and finally he realised that having a nice groom and a good scratch was actually as good with us as it was with his friends (the only problem was he wanted to reciprocate and our skin isn’t quite up to that!).”

Rumpel spent some time at the Sanctuary’s re-homing centre, but it soon became clear that, unlike his three closest friends Stiltskin, Aladdin and Ali Baba, Rumpel was not cut out to enjoy life as a ridden pony so he has been selected to live at a Redwings visitor centre instead.

Sarah added: “To see him finally enjoying the company of people is terrific and it’s great that the public and our supporters will now get to see just what a special pony he is.”

Rumpel joins four other Redwings adoption stars already at Oxhill, including retired police horse Will and elegant donkey Felicity who, like all Redwings residents, rely purely on public donations for their wellbeing and upkeep.

An adoption of Rumpel costs just £12.50 a year, with every penny going towards the food, bedding and necessary healthcare needed for him and his friends.

As well as getting a friend for life, the money also buys a Redwings ‘Nosebag’ - with information and photos of your chosen adoption horse, pony or donkey.

You can also adopt online, providing a year’s worth of access to your chosen horse’s website, which features their exclusive diary plus loads of photos, videos and wallpaper for you to download. Go online at http://www.redwings.org.uk/products/Adopt_DelBoy for more details.

Redwings Press Officer Stuart Hillis said: “We are sure that Rumpel is going to be a popular addition to the Redwings Adoption Club.

“He’ll have great company, along with a safe and happy future in Warwickshire. His cheeky personality, handsome looks and heartbreaking story are bound to capture the hearts of our visitors and supporters.”

Redwings is the largest horse sanctuary in the UK, with over 1200 horses, ponies, donkeys and mules in its direct care and a further 500 on loan to Guardian homes. For further information on Redwings’ work, or to adopt one of their residents, please call 01508 481000 or visit http://www.redwings.co.uk/.

Meet the Buyer Open Day

2012-01-11T09:40:00.001Z

Second tranche of the Social Action Fund due this week

2012-01-11T08:00:00.001Z

The second tranche of the Social Action Fund, run by the Social Investment Business on behalf of the Cabinet Office, is expected to have about £10m to give away, out of an original budget of £20m and is expected to reopen for applications this week.

http://www.thesocialinvestmentbusiness.org/our-funds/social-action-fund/

It is open to any organisation with an annual turnover of at least £100,000 and the minimum grant organisations can apply for is £100,000. Applications will close in early February.

The fund will give priority to programmes that encourage people to volunteer in their communities, particularly those who do not normally volunteer. It will also focus on schemes that increase the level of volunteering by schoolchildren, university graduates and professionals on the point of retirement, and which inspire people who have attended the National Citizen Service to continue contributing to their communities.

The first wave of funding was opened to applications in October last year.

"We aim to fund well-established national or regional organisations, usually under large branded schemes," a spokeswoman for the Social Investment Business said. "A strong preference is given to schemes that have agreed match funding. It also favours models that are capable of replication and sustaining the engagement of those doing the giving."

A Celebration in Honour of Dr Martin Luther King Junior

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000Z

Birmingham ‘beats space’ as tourist destination

2012-01-10T21:56:00.004Z

This week it was announced that Birmingham seemingly trumped Paris and Rome in a definitive travel list. Media reports said that the city has apparently come in at number 19 on the New York Times '45 Places to Go in 2012' compilation - London came fourth and would you believe it 'space' was one place behind Birmingham at number 20 on the list.

Listen to Jon Bounds, founder of the well known local blog Birmingham It's Not Shit and a great advocate for the city, who was interviewed on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 yesterday along with Nick Bailey, professor of urban regeneration at the University of Westminster about the appearance of both Birmingham and Glasgow on the New York Times list:

Follow this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9674000/9674019.stm

Thank you to Barnard from the Re-Stirred website who has commented:

"I do wish that people would stop saying that Birmingham was 19th in the New York Times '45 Places to Go in 2012'

Birmingham was in a list that was not in any particular order or ranking.

The number assigned to each entry was for purposes of coherence only.

Birmingham was just one of the 45 best places to visit in 2012 if you was mega-rich and had the time on your hands. In a years time there will be another random list, Manchester was there last year but not this.

If you put the 45 in say a more meaningful alphabetical order.

Birmingham is second after Antarctica."

Spaghetti Editor:

I take Barnard's point, I am sure he is absolutely correct about the intention of the list. Although I think Jon's response on Radio 4 was with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, especially in regard to Birmingham appearing to beat space. His comments reflect the ironic and humorous angle of his website's editorial generally, though I think he also did a good job of promoting the city seriously having been put on the spot by the BBC.

We must keep things in perspective whilst maintaining the ability to snigger at ourselves (and more pertinently at how others see us) which also characterises the people of our oft maligned city and region. But thank you to Barnard for bringing a bit of sense to this slightly odd story which will no doubt have become fish and chip wrapping by this weekend.

I wouldn't want to see Brian Cox and Carl Chinn falling out over this as both are on my list of 45 top professors.

New reading group at Knowle Library

2012-01-10T21:43:00.000Z

Avid readers are being asked to join a new reading group being set up at Knowle Library.

The group will be self run, and meet monthly at the library at a day and time to be agreed.

Anyone wanting to join the group should give their details to a member of staff at the library, email jcrean@solihull.gov.uk or call the library on 01564 775840

Grassroots arts activity makes ‘significant contribution’ to civil society, says research

2012-01-10T09:03:00.000Z

A report, released today by the Third Sector Research Centre, states that grassroots arts activity makes a ‘very significant and positive contribution’ to the development of Civil Society.

Researchers from TSRC, in partnership with Universities of Exeter and Glamorgan as well as Voluntary Arts, reviewed a large amount of information on grassroots arts activity. They drew the ‘overwhelming conclusion’ that these activities help improve the well being of both individuals and communities.

There are currently more than 49,000 amateur arts groups in England. It is estimated that around 9.4 million people participate in these activities. This participation enables people to gain new skills, improve their learning, and increase feelings of self confidence and self-worth. Research studies show a strong association between cultural participation and increased literacy, maths and behaviour.

Participation in voluntary arts groups also helps create social networks, promote social cohesion and empower people and communities.

For groups such as ethnic minorities, participation in activities relating to their own culture can lead to greater pride in their identity and an empowered sense of community. For disabled people, participation can reduce isolation, increase social networks and enhance quality of life. Older people gain significant health benefits by being more socially connected.

The research also identifies economic impacts by amateur arts organisations, for example in sustaining community buildings and providing young people with a route into employment.

The report also highlights the need for more consistent empirical research to fully understand and quantify the impact of these activities.

Angus McCabe from the Third Sector Research Centre said ‘We found such a huge range of positive benefits associated amateur and community arts activity. Most research had been carried out on a single project basis, rather than looking at the effect of ongoing activities in communities. A large-scale project could help make information available at local authority level, and provide statistical data to help develop and implement policy.’

The research partners intend to further this research by developing a practical toolkit for assessing the outcomes of amateur arts activities in communities.

Top West Midlands cop writes book about Teddy Boys and the Birmingham smogs of the 50s and 60s

2012-01-09T22:58:00.000Z

A FORMER top Midland cop has taken a trip down memory lane and penned a book featuring his memories of Teddy boys and the great smogs of Birmingham 50 and 60 years ago.

Ex-head of West Midlands CID John Plimmer, who previously wrote a column for the Sunday Mercury, hopes to release his work Street Urchins in the autumn.

It takes a look at the days of terraced homes, Teddy boys, children in rags and the great smogs that once engulfed Birmingham.

But his memories are not tainted by the mists of time.

As John, aged 64, explains, times were not always good back then.

He said: “I was brought up in Nechells when it was all back-to-back houses. I was a bookie’s runner at the age of seven. They bought you a new pair of pumps every Easter so you could show the police a clean pair of heels.

“It’s those kind of memories I’ve tried to rekindle. The book didn’t take much research – the material was all in my head.”

Read the full article by Mike Lockley in Birmingham Mail online

Tony Iommi to undergo treatment for lymphoma

2012-01-09T22:37:00.000Z

From BBC Midlands news

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is to undergo treatment for cancer after being diagnosed with lymphoma.

Iommi, a founder member of the Birmingham heavy metal band, has been diagnosed with the early stages of the disease.

In a statement on the 63-year-old's website, his fellow band members urged fans to send "positive vibes".

The band said they would move from Los Angeles to London to work with Iommi while he undergoes treatment.

"The Iron Man of Rock and Roll remains upbeat and determined to make a full recovery," Black Sabbath said.

The band had been working with producer Rick Rubin in LA on their first new album in 33 years, due for release in the autumn.

In November, Black Sabbath also announced the original line-up, including Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, would reunite for a world tour.

Osbourne was axed from the four-piece in 1979 and replaced by Ronnie James Dio, who died of cancer in 2010.

The band, one of the most successful heavy rock acts of all time, have sold about 70m records worldwide.

Battle of the sexes comes to the Belgrade Theatre with Nora

2012-01-09T22:22:00.000Z

Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre starts its Spring 2012 season in style with its production of Nora, which will run in the B2 auditorium from Sat 28 Jan to Sat 18 Feb.

Nora is the celebrated director and writer Ingmar Bergman’s acclaimed adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House – one of the best-loved dramas in literature. A Doll’s House caused huge controversy when it was first performed in 1879, and the story remains an astonishingly significant comment on the role of women in society.

The story focuses on Nora Helmer, a seemingly content and carefree housewife with beautiful children, an elegant house and a loving husband who has just won a big promotion at work. But Nora is hiding a secret, and when that secret is out the whole thing will come crashing down.

Director Patricia Benecke, said, “Nora takes you on a dramatic emotional journey full of twists and turns, but it is also an uplifting story about a woman who makes a life changing decision to break out of her world to explore who she really is. And although Nora’s story is over 130 years old, it’s a timeless tale that deals with a number of issues that are still hugely relevant today, including the role of women in society, and how easy it is to fall into roles and into restrictive power balances within relationships.”

Patricia added, “Ingmar Bergman's version of Ibsen's classic is beautifully pared down and helps us focus primarily on the dynamics of the relationships between the adult characters, the ways they communicate with each other and Nora’s personal struggle for identity. Naomi Dawson’s elegant set design will create a psychological, dream like space enhancing the elemental nature of the play.”

The role of Nora will be played by Penny Layden who returns to the Belgrade after appearing in the theatre’s production of The Dice House in 2001. The cast also includes Stuart Laing who many will recognise from his time in EastEnders where he was involved in one of the BBC soaps most controversial storylines, which saw his character Rob Minter kidnap Dawn Swann, played by Kara Tointon in a bid to steal her baby.

The cast also includes David Michaels as Nora’s husband Torvald, Sanchia McCormack as Christine Linde and Peter Lindford as Dr Rank.

The battle of the sexes and the role of women in the family are further explored in the Belgrade’s production of August Strindberg’s The Father, which was written as a response to A Doll’s House.

Starting with an explosive power struggle between a married couple, both plays move towards equally devastating but radically different outcomes. The Father will run on the Belgrade’s Main Stage from 31 Mar to 14 Apr.

Tickets for Nora are available now from the Belgrade Theatre’s box office on 024 7655 3055 or via http://www.belgrade.co.uk/ priced from £8.25 to £19.25. Cheaper tickets are available online.

Trevor Burton Band Live

2012-01-09T21:40:00.001Z

Brummie rock and blues legend Trevor Burton, ex Move and Steve Gibbons Band plus many many more, is still givin' it some in the tavernas of the West Midlands and wider afield. Let Trevor and his band rock your socks off at:

JAN 11TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - THE ACTRESS AND BISHOP

JAN 12TH THE SARAH WARREN BAND - WARWICK CAVERN

JAN 13TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - LAMP TAVERN, DUDLEY

Also for those closer to Staffordshire look out for:

JAN 13TH THE COHEN BROTHERS, WATERFRONT, BARTON U NEEDWOOD

And there's more:

JAN 15TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - THE BROWN LION, BIRMINGHAM

JAN 18TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - THE ACTRESS AND BISHOP

JAN 19TH THE JOHNNY CASWELL BAND - THE WARWICK CAVERN

JAN 19TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - THE JUNCTION, MOSELEY

JAN 20TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - THE QUEENS HEAD, WOLVERLEY

JAN 20TH C-JAM- THE WATERFRONT , BARTON UNDER NEEDWOOD

JAN 21ST THE TREVOR BURTON BAND- STAGBOROUGH ARMS, S/PORT

JAN 26TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - ACTRESS AND BISHOP

JAN 26TH THE PETE ZIMMER BAND - WARWICK CAVERN

JAN 26TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - HOP POLE, BROMSGROVE

JAN 27TH QUILL - WATERFRONT, BARTON UNDER NEEDWOOD

JAN 28TH THE TREVOR BURTON BAND - BRASENOSE ARMS, CROPREDY

JAN 29TH THE MOVE - BUTLINS MINEHEAD

The Circus of Horrors - 'The Ventriloquist' - Wolverhampton Civic Hall: Friday 20th January 2012

2012-01-09T21:28:00.000Z

The new sensation will take you on a whirlwind journey through 1921 Berlin, 3 years after the first World war.

This was the roaring twenties, a decedent decade and the birth of the Cabaret'.

One particular Venue was struggling to make ends meet, new blood was needed and it was found when Dr Haze rolled into town with his Vampire Vaudeville show, featuring hair hanging beauties, twisted contortionists, flying aerialists, demon dwarfs, gyrating jugglers, voodoo warriors, pickled people, sword swallowers and its latest and greatest new found star The Ventriloquist.

Inspired by the Evil Ventriloquist movies 'Devil Doll' & 'The Dead of Night' the story twists and turns, sending a shiver down your spine as the demonic dummy seems to take on a life of its own.

With a brilliant & awe inspiring supporting cast The Circus of Horrors features some of the greatest, most bizarre & beautiful Circus acts on earth.

Where else can you see a dare devil sword swallower swallowing a lit neon tube!

Where else can you see a beautiful creature hung upside-down while a dare devil trapeze artist performs a exquisite ariel act hung solely from her partners hair!

Where else can you see a contortionist contort her body while firing a arrow from a long bow with her feet!

All this and a whole lot more.

Without a doubt a musical masterpiece with the pulsating Devil driven Rock n Roll of Dr Haze & The Interceptors From Hell.

Without a doubt the most sinister and sensational Circus of Horrors show to date.

Without a doubt the chilling tale of THE VENTRILOQUIST.

Official Website: http://www.circusofhorrors.co.uk/

Tickets priced £26.00, £21.00, £18.00 + £13.00 are available from Midland Box Office : 0870 320 7000 or online at http://www.wolvescivic.co.uk/

One of the world’s most popular choreographers to be guest of honour at first Leading Ladies event of 2012!

2012-01-09T21:08:00.001Z

Matthew Bourne, one of the world’s most successful choreographers will be guest of honour at the next Leading Ladies event on Tuesday 7th February at Birmingham Hippodrome.

Matthew, currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of his award winning dance production Nutcracker!, which runs at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 7–Saturday 11 February, is widely hailed as the UK’s most popular and successful Choreographer/Director. He is the creator of the world’s longest running ballet production, a five-time Olivier Award winner, and the only British director to have won the Tony Award for both Best Choreographer and Best Director of a Musical.

His dance productions include Swan Lake, The Car Man and Edward Scissorhands. Matthew has also choreographed the West End musical hits My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins.

Leading Ladies is a unique networking group for professional women created by Birmingham Hippodrome, combining business with show business. Leading Ladies meets every quarter at Birmingham Hippodrome and aims to raise £5,000 towards the cost of the theatre’s Stage Appeal. Launched in August 2010 Leading Ladies has over 50 participating companies from across the Midlands and offers not only a unique theatre experience but the chance to develop business connections.

Judith Greenburgh, Birmingham Hippodrome Corporate Development Manager “We are absolutely thrilled to announce Matthew Bourne as our guest at the next Leading Ladies event - what a fantastic start to 2012! This is such a coup for us and one that will I am sure will be one of our most popular events to date.”

As an independent, not-for-profit registered charity (No. 510842), without any public subsidy, Birmingham Hippodrome needs to raise an estimated at £1,137,000 towards a full stage replacement in August of this year following the run of Dirty Dancing. Since the last refurbishment of the Hippodrome stage floor in the early 1980s, more than 650 different productions have been presented with regular heavy usage of the stage, six days a week, over 50 weeks a year.

The event to be held on 7th February 2012 includes a pre-show reception, Q&A with Matthew Bourne and ticket to the performance of his award-winning production, Nutcracker!

Tickets for the next Leading Ladies event are available from Sally Pennington on 0121 689 3068 or email at sallypennington@birminghamhippodrome.com

Tickets for Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! which runs at Birmingham Hippodrome from 7 - 11 February, are available on 0800 338 5000 or online at http://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/ (5% booking fee applies, calls cost from 5p per min)

Birmingham “People’s Cinema” screening to mark United Nations International Year of Co-operation

2012-01-09T16:45:00.000Z

A still from 'New Pioneers'

‘Just Film’, Birmingham’s innovative co-operative film society, is to mark the launch of the UN’s International Year of Co-operatives with a special double-bill film screening on Thursday 12 January 2012. The double bill covers the history of co-operation and workers movements and comes after an exciting year for co-operatives in Birmingham and around the UK.

The film show, starting at 7pm, will include two films. The first, called 'New Pioneers', is a new animation following the history of co-operation from Rochdale in 1844 to a global movement of more than 1 billion people. The second film is a feature-length documentary ‘The Take’ written by Naomi Klein (Author of international bestseller anti-globalisation book ‘No Logo’). It follows workers in a factory in Argentina who stage an occupation of the factory, and establish a workers co-operative, to force its re-opening after the factory owners went bankrupt.

A still from The Take

John Cooper, Chair of the film society said: “As a community co-operative, we’re very proud that ‘Just Film’ is Birmingham’s original ‘People’s Cinema’, owned by the members who join it, screening films open to all. January’s double bill will launch the year of co-operation with a challenge to the audience. People-centred economics could revolutionise the way the world works...will we be willing to give it a try?”

This screening comes after a year in which co-operatives around Birmingham have been founded and grown. Richard Bickle, Secretary of the Film Co-operative, views this year as a chance to continue this growth for ‘people centred’ economics.

Richard Bickle said “From 24 Carrots in the Jewellery Quarter to the Bicycle Foundry in Stirchley, local co-operatives are offering a practical way forward for local people in challenging economic times. The strength of the co-operative model, as will be shown in the animation, is that it is people-centred and so ensures growth and prosperity is based on whats good for people, not just the bottom line”

Masters House project wins Heritage Lottery support

2012-01-09T14:44:00.000Z

Herefordshire Council has received initial support* from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Master’s House project in Ledbury. A development grant of £39,300 has been awarded to help Herefordshire Council progress their plans to apply for a full grant of £995,700 next year.

The project aims to carry out a full conservation repair of the grade II star listed building and preserve its heritage for future generations. Once completed, the medieval core of the building should be visible to the public for the first time in hundreds of years as well as serving as a hub for statutory and voluntary sector organisations to serve the local community.

This hub will be accessible to all and include a public library service, registrar’s service and ceremony space, a localities office and customer services as well as offices for Ledbury Voluntary Action.

The full HLF grant will focus on the second phase of the restoration programme, specifically the medieval section of the building including the roof, timber frame repairs and external elevations.

There are also plans for a dedicated storage and display area for the John Masefield Archive, making these documents accessible to the public for the first time. Funding will also be requested for a range of learning and community participation events that will encourage the community to learn more about the heritage of the Masters House and the history of Ledbury.

Contractors Speller Metcalfe are already working on phase one of the project which concerns the renovation of the Victorian wing of the building. This is expected to be completed in April 2012 and then services in the medieval part of the building will move to this area during phase two.

Updates on progress can be found at http://ledburymastershouse.blogspot.com/ where latest photographs and news will be posted and interested parties can also have their say.

The development funding will be used to work with stakeholders and the community to ensure the history of the Masters House is interpreted in an accessible and appropriate way as well as consulting over how to attract as many visitors to the building as possible.

Ledbury Localities Working Group will also, in conjunction with Friends of the Masters House, other heritage providers, the community and school, develop a plan for the second stage of the HLF application process as well as ensure the public are kept informed about the project.

Roger Phillips, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for enterprise and culture, said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support. This project offers us the opportunity to preserve the Masters House for people to visit and also ensure it is sustainable into the future by becoming a hub for statutory and voluntary services.

“We will continue to keep people involved as the process progresses and plan to be in a strong position to bid for the rest of the HLF grant money in six to nine months’ time,” he added.

Explaining the importance of the award, Anne Jenkins, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the West Midlands, said: “We are pleased to give our initial support to this project which aims to restore and interpret this rare surviving medieval timber framed building in Ledbury. While there is much work to be done, we look forward to receiving a full application from Herefordshire Council for the Master’s House in the future.”

Government must act on metal theft

2012-01-09T14:41:00.000Z

“The government must act soon to force scrap yards to abandon the use of cash in an effort to crack down on the growing problem of metal theft,” said Cllr Richard Chattaway who represents Bede Ward in Bedworth today.

“Metal theft is now at epidemic proportions, with thefts in Bedworth from garage roofs and porches. For example, in recent months in Rectory Drive and Edward Tyler Road a number of garages and buildings were done by thieves. The price of scrap metal is rising, so it will increase as a problem if it’s not nipped in the bud.

“The police have a big problem with metal theft. Frankly there is only so much they can do. Thieves nick the lead and sell it in scrap yards for cash and it is melted down quickly. It is difficult to trace. So the police have to look at the handlers of stolen metal who are some scrap yard owners who take things without asking questions.

“For months the government have been dithering about doing something. They need to prevent thieves thinking it is easy to get rid of metal. The government have said it is looking at creating a system enabling transactions to be traced, with registration of dealers together with identification checks being carried out on sellers. Most of the better scrap yards are generally supporting the proposal. The government are dithering because it will mean more regulation of business and they have a policy of not doing that. But many of the better scrap businesses support some regulation to take out the dodgy dealers.

“A step further would be to ban cash transactions. It would mean that all transactions would be by cheque or card so that money could be traced from one account to another. If a seller is later found out to be a thief, the police could trace his account to find out which scrap yard had paid him money. It would also be possible if a scrapyard dealer is found to be handling stolen goods, to trace all the people he has bought things from by using his bank account. There is greater controversy around this because some dealers claim it will drive dealing underground. Actually, dealing is on the hidden black market anyway and I think the government has got to crackdown. I support a move to a cashless system.”

Cllr Richard Chattaway

Bede Ward, Bedworth – Labour
Tel 07932750853

Michael Schenker´s Temple of Rock - Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall: Wednesday 9th May 2012

2012-01-09T14:32:00.000Z

After touring the world in 2009/10 with his MSG 30th Anniversary Show featuring MSG´s original singer Gary Barden and classic rock legends like Carmine Appice, Simon Phillips, Chris Slade, Chris Glen etc. he now places another piece in the big rock temple: A brand new lineup featuring the Ex-Scorpions stars Herman Rarebell on drums and Francis Buchholz on bass and Doogie White on vocals presents a new program containing classics from UFO ("Rock Bottom", "Doctor Doctor"), MSG ("Armed and Ready", "Into The Arena") and the Scorpions ("e.g. "Another Piece of Meat", "Rock You like a Hurricane") plus new songs from the just released CD "Temple of Rock" (Inakustik), such as "Before the Devil Knows You´re Dead", "Miss Claustrophobia" and "Hangin on". In 2010 Michael Schenker received the Marshall '11' Award of the Classic Rock Magazine, in 2011 he rocked the High Voltage Festival; now he´s back in 2012 with the " Temple of Rock " world tour.

Michael Schenker will be touring “ Temple Of Rock ” with different line ups all around the world. He will feature each of the three singers from the brand new “ Temple Of Rock ” album: Michael Voss, Robin McAuley and Doogie White. The “ Temple Of Rock World Tour ” will start in the United States in February/March 2012 featuring Robin McAuley - Vocals, Elliott “Dean” Rubinson - Bass, Wayne Findlay - Keyboards & Guitar, and Pete Holmes - Drums. At the end of March, Michael will be in Japan with Michael Voss - Vocals, Herman Rarebell - Drums, Elliott “Dean” Rubinson - Bass, and Wayne Findlay - Keyboards & Guitar. In April/May the “ Temple Of Rock ” line up will tour Europe featuring Doogie White - Vocals, Herman Rarebell - Drums, Francis Buchholz - Bass and Wayne Findlay - Keyboards & Guitar. Michael is planning to eventually take each line up to all continents. Don’t miss the new album “ Temple Of Rock .”

Official Website: http://www.michaelschenkerhimself.com/

Tickets priced £22.50 will be available from Friday 13th January at Midland Box Office : 0870 320 7000 or online at http://www.wolvescivic.co.uk/

START YOUR OWN BUSINESS WORKSHOP

2012-01-09T07:27:00.000Z

You are invited to attend:

Just Do It - Start Ur Own Business Workshop

Thursday, January 19, 2012 from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

THE TIME IS NOW.....JUST DO IT.... START YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Starting your own business is one of the most challenging yet rewarding things you could ever choose to do. Many people dream of the freedom, pride and sense of accomplishment that being your own boss affords however, not many people take the leap and do it for themselves.

Whether you are stuck in a dead end job, or have chosen a career which you are no longer passionate about, Aspire4u CIC can help you JUST DO IT.

We want to help YOU make a difference in your life and become the master of your own destiny so you don't start the next New Year regretting everything you did not do.

Our "Start Your Own Business" workshop is perfect for individuals considering starting their own business but are not sure how to go about it. Part of a series of "Future Focus" workshops, it is also ideal for individuals who have made a firm decision to become self employed but need a kick start. Alternatively if you would simply like more information for an unknown time in the future, then this workshop will also be great for you.

The workshop will include standard start up information including legal structures, feasibility studies, ideas to market, protecting your intellectual property, accessing finance & support, choosing the right business model and more.

In addition, the session will include an insight into the day to day issues which you may face setting up and running your own business and how you can try to combat them.

The final segment of the session will include goal setting and an opportunity for you to share your ideas, concerns and experiences with the group.

This session will include practical activities for you to undertake independently and will be led by by the CEO of Aspire4u, Daniella Genas.

Daniella set up Aspire4u in 2007 and has made a significant mark in the Social Enterprise community. She is currently being featured on BBC Radio 4's 'Women in Business' series and is a visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University.

Daniella will be able to offer you a practical insight into the challenges of setting up her own business and how she has kept it afloat in such difficult financial times.

Attend a business session from someone who has actually started and run their own business.

Look out for upcoming Future Focus Sessions in conjunction with Playwright Media:

- How To Write Winning Funding Applications (30th January)

- Managing a Successful Event (Feb Date TBC)

- Project Management Made Easy (Feb Date TBC)

- How To Secure Corporate Sponsorship (March Date TBC)

- Marketing (TBC)

- Public Relations (TBC)

How to get the most from Linked-in — The world’s largest professional network

2012-01-09T07:26:00.001Z

A Special Free Breakfast Event at the Signing Tree Conference Centre

Our special guest speaker Michael Barrows will cover the basics of developing a profile, building a network and generating traffic.

Date: Friday, 3rd February 2012

Time: 7:30am - 9:00am

Where: Signing Tree Conference Centre, Ladywood Road, Birmingham, B16 8SZ

If you are new to Linked-in and you are a business professional wanting to make new contacts, this a great marketing tool for you! This brief overview will help you to get started and promote yourself and the products/services you offer.

Programme:

7:30am - 8:00am Coffee and networking

8:00am - 8:30am Guest Speaker Michael Barrows of Matrix Marketing & Management

8:30am - 9:30am Breakfast & networking

To book your place on this event, please contact Sam or Kate on telephone 0121 450 5121 or email bookings@signingtree.org.uk

If you would like to take a tour of our inspirational conference centre whilst you are here, please talk to Sam and Kate in our Sales Team.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Signing Tree!

The Signing Tree Conference Centre

The Deaf Cultural Centre
Ladywood Road
Birmingham
B16 8SZ

The Signing Tree Conference Centre is part of BID Services, a Birmingham based charity, Number 1053184, Company No. 3124204

Previously known as the Deaf Cultural Centre, the newly named Signing Tree Conference Centre is contemporary, bright and spacious and has been thoughtfully designed to create an ideal environment that is perfect to host your next meeting, conference or event. The Centre is operated as a social enterprise and all profits are used to support the communities we serve.

All of our rooms are finished to a high standard with designer furniture, natural daylight and all the IT/AV you would expect from a high quality conference venue. Depending upon your needs, we can accommodate from between 2 to 150 delegates theatre style and up to 300 for parties, exhibitions and festivals. If you would like to book an event please contact our sales team on 0121 450 5121 for more information.

Let’s talk about trekking the Sahara

2012-01-09T07:26:00.000Z

Would-be Sahara trekkers are invited to a special information evening at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice later this month.

The free event starting at 6.30pm on Monday, January 16, offers people the chance to find out more about the exciting charity challenge, in which participants will get to trek across the legendary desert and do some rewarding volunteering at a Moroccan Hospice, later this year.

The eight-day trip takes place between October 27 and November 3, beginning with a two-day experience at a hospice in Marrakech. Trekkers will roll up their sleeves for a spot of decorating and gardening before heading out across the sand, where they will sample the lifestyle and cuisine of the nomadic Berber people.

Funds raised through the trip will pay for care for people with life-limiting illnesses across Birmingham and Sandwell.

Organiser Alice Higgins said: “Anyone thinking of taking on a new challenge this year should seriously consider joining this trip. It will be a massively enjoyable experience and will make a real difference to people coping with a terminal illness at home and abroad.

“People who come along on January 16 to find out more will not be under pressure to sign-up, it’s just an opportunity to have a look and see what you think.”

People interested in attending the information evening, which is at the Hospice in Raddlebarn Road, Selly Park, Birmingham, should contact Alice Higgins on 0121 472 1191 or at alice.higgins@bsmh.org.uk.

From the archive - People Like Us

2012-01-08T09:41:00.001Z

People Like Us - The Irish Community in Birmingham was a booklet of interviews by George Makin with photographs by Phil Lea published in 1997 by the Libraries and Learning Division of Birmingham City Council.

The booklet and the exhibition of photographs that it accompanied were the result of a commission which arose from a desire to produce a visual and written record of life in the Irish community in Birmingham at the time.

The photographs and interviews are still housed in the Local Studies department of Birmingham Central Library where they form part of a permanent record of contemporary Birmingham.

The interviews in the booklet included the following local people:

Paul Murphy - poet, novelist, singer / songwriter, educationalist and video maker

Brenda Fleming - outreach worker at the Irish Welfare and Information Centre

Rory Flemming - health promotion worker

Maggie Roche - Sales manager and Rose of Tralee 1995

Dennis Hennessy - painter and computer artist

Deirdre Dunne - headteacher of St Anne's Primary School

Des Bromley - Trade unionist, employment rights adviser and tribunal advocate

Caroline Kerlin - M.A. student

Gearoid Mac An Mhaoir & Denise Ni Loinsigh - teachers of the Irish language

Tony Gorman - philosophy lecturer

This was a great snapshot of the Irish community in 1997 which recorded the optimism and self reflection going on within the community at that time. The interviews were well written by George Makin who widened the exploration beyond the traditional stereotype that the lives and activities of Irish immigrants in Britain were restricted to road building, attending Mass, then heading for the nearest pub.

The interviews explored many contemporary issues such as education, identity, politics, language, disadvantage, art, sexuality, mental health and even philosophy.

ISBN 0-7093 0221-5

Cinderella is in town - but please leave by midnight

2012-01-07T15:03:00.007Z

Reviewed by Pete and Alice Millington

Billed as the greatest pantomime of them all, Cinderella is performing at Birmingham Hippodrome until Sunday 29th January 2012.

The annual pantomime at the Hippodrome has taken place every year since 1957 and this year's festive extravaganza maintains the theatre's national reputation in providing another splendid feast of costume, music, romance and humour.

At the top of the cast bill this year is popular star of British theatre, West End musical and television, funny man Brian Conley playing a brilliantly comic Buttons, perfectly complemented by the equally engaging actress and Oxo mum Lynda Bellingham as the Fairy Godmother. Whilst Conley and Bellingham may not be international stars of the magnitude of last year's cast headliner Joan Collins, they are to their credit utterly comfortable and confident with the unique genre of theatre that is live Christmas pantomime in front of a packed and expectant audience of Brummies, assorted West Midlanders and those up from Gloucestershire.

Back in the days when the mosh pits of Birmingham theatres were crammed with disreputable Victorian hoodlums known by such strange names as Peaky Blinders, concealing under their jackets assorted rotten vegetables taken from Bull Ring market trolleys, Ms Collins might have been on the receiving end of an irreverent passed-its-sell-by-date cabbage or two for the performance I witnessed at last year's Hurst Street panto, though the excuse given was that the great lady was affected by a dose of Brummagem flu rather than it being a case of a prima donna ego experiencing the culture shock of Xmas panto. But in any case, production company Qdos Entertainment appear to have taken no such risks with the cast again this season in their choice of consumate, and safe, panto pros Conley and Bellingham.

...and not forgetting Basil Brush in the role of Baron Basil, showing that another unique thing about panto is that it even allows hand puppets to come out of their comfort zones. Whilst I think of it, there was a great spontaneous moment when Brian Conley moves away from Basil in mid conversation and the puppet continues to talk to him in the direction that he had just been standing. Allowing Basil to continue speaking at thin air for a moment whilst sharing a bemused smirk with the audience, Conley eventually says "I'm over here Basil" to which the puppet turns his head with an expression of surprise (if such a thing is possible from a stitched object) and replies "Yes I knew that" then gazing down at the puppeteer hidden beneath the desk he adds "...and so does he now".

It is this great atmosphere of spontaneous comedy, slap-stick along with the even more unpredictable moments of audience participation that makes truly successful pantomime, just as much as the big sets, the lavish costumes, the high tech effects and all of the well-polished singing and dancing.

Just like Joe Pasquale in panto 2010, Brian Conley makes his entrance and grabs the audience in the palm of his hand from the start, exuding the ironically smarmy self confidence and natural comic agility which he is best known for and keeping us transfixed and chortling then on in for the next couple of hours. Of course there is always a thin line between keeping the kiddies entertained and firing out sufficient quips, double entendres and innuendos to have the adults sniggering if not gaffawing in their seats. My fellow panto critic and nine year old daughter Alice judged Conley to fall more on the side of the adults - somewhere between Pasquale whose helium-baloon-funny voice gives him the advantage as far as the kidlets are concerned anyway, regardless of the content of his jokes and last year's funny man, Julian Clary, who just doesn't do gags aimed at anyone either under the age of consent or generally having moral values to the right of Enid Blyton.

Cinderella is played by Catherine Rooney, an aptly beautiful and convincingly innocent young slip of a girl and her suitor Prince Charming is Matthew Goodgame with Dan Burton as Dandini. The Ugly Sisters are David Robbins and Martin Ramsdin, men in tights and wigs would you believe? And oh yes they certainly are. David and Martin are a well seasoned partnership who have played panto dames seperately for some 20 years and as a duo specifically playing the Ugly Sisters around the nation since 2003.

A couple of unexpected stars of the show turned out to be a horse, yes a real life one, and a pony both supplied by horse trainer Tommy Roberts. The horse in particular was on stage for a good five to ten minutes, not only blissfully unphased by the audience but performing it's own party pieces in good old Ed the talking horse fashion.

This year's Hippodrome panto is big on storyline, characters, costume and humour and less big on the technology (e.g. no Dalek, Transformer and Power Ranger types who have a tendency of turning up in startling high-tech cameo parts in past pantos), so perhaps could be described as a slight nod back in the direction of traditional panto format, though there were some impressive incidents of flying things both over the stage and audience, including Buttons on a motorcycle, which give the added "wow" factor we have come to expect at Hippodrome pantomimes.

No daleks then, nor rotten cabbages from the mosh pit for struggling egos this year, just lashings of classy, funny, bright escapism and magic.

You can not beat a Hippodrome festive pantomime as far as I'm concerned. Bring on Robinson Crusoe next year as I can't wait for some good old swashbuckling frolics!

And as for Basil Brush? Altogether boys and girls - "he's a puppet!!!"

Free Legal Advice Clinics

2012-01-06T23:08:00.000Z

DO YOU NEED ADVICE ON FAMILY LAW OR

IMMIGRATION ISSUES

STARTING JANUARY 2012 DBS LAW WILL BE PROVIDING FREE

LEGAL ADVICE CLINCS

AT WAITS OFFICES IN EDGBASTON

TO BOOK YOUR FREE ADVCIE CLINIC

CONTACT Farhat 0121 374 2260 Family law, SEJAL on 0121 374 2302 Immigration

The Making of Stirchley Park - a series of workshops to discuss its future

2012-01-06T22:50:00.000Z

Three workshops will be taking place in Stirchley Park over next month for local people interested in discussing the park's future.

At the moment the small park (called the Stirchley Recreation Ground by the Council) is not being used to it's full potential, and the three entrances are not apparent to the public.

The workshops aim to discuss how the park can be made friendlier, more welcoming and more well known. It is the intention to also collect memories of the park from residents.

The workshops will take place on Sundays 15 January, 29 January, 12 February 11am-1pm.

Come rain or shine. Meet at the old pavillion. Bring something to sit on. Shelter will be provided. Everybody welcome. Come and support your local community!

Organised by Place Prospectors as part of their Stirchley Prospects project.

http://www.prospectors.org.uk/

Dirty Little Lies - The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton : Friday 30th March 2012

2012-01-06T22:45:00.000Z

The lads spew rock n roll swagger to their audiences and back it up with uncompromising, rollicking beats, melodic guitars and funky bass lines, complimented perfectly by savage, yet harmonic "tell it as it is" vocals. Their music will blow you away, on the record and on stage, causing fans to literally bounce around the room. Not to be missed!

Official Website: www.myspace.com/dirtylittleliesuk

Tickets priced £5.00 are available from Midland Box Office : 0870 320 7000 or online at http://www.wolvescivic.co.uk/

HELPING WOMEN TO ENJOY LIFE AT A BIRMINGHAM WORKSHOP

2012-01-06T21:15:00.001Z

WOMEN who feel they are stuck in a rut are being urged to attend a life-changing workshop in Birmingham by one of the UK ’s leading life coaches.

Claire Chidley, a world-renowned author, teacher and trainer, is visiting the Midlands Arts Centre, on Saturday, March 10, in a bid to help women make the changes they need to become happier and less weighed down by the stresses and strains of everyday life.

“Sometimes women lose sight of themselves and what makes them content and fulfilled simply because life takes over,” said Claire, who has worked extensively with the UK ’s public, private and charitable sectors and toured as far afield as the US , Europe and the Far East .“They get bogged down in jobs they don’t really like but can’t afford to leave, or they give up work to bring up their families and then find themselves floundering when the children leave home.

“Life doesn’t have to be grey and joyless – and my workshops will set them back on track and help them rediscover what matters most to them.”

During the workshop - one of four to be held as part of a nationwide tour - she will help women look at how they manage their feelings and how they communicate with others.

There will also be group games and exercises to help them identify what makes them happy and show them how they can re-structure their lives to make them more fulfilling.

Claire, whose tour is based on her acclaimed self-help book 360° Wisdom: A Guide to Discovering You, said: “The workshops aren’t about encouraging women to make drastic, Shirley Valentine-style changes necessarily.

“They are about helping them make small changes to the way they see things and the way they communicate with others. It’s all about restoring balance so rather than being swept along by life they actually start to enjoy it and get the very most out of it.”

Tickets for the workshop, which starts at 10am and finishes at 4pm, cost £50 or £40 for concessions and can be purchased via the 360° Wisdom website at www.360wisdom.co.uk

Tickets worth over £200 up for grabs!

2012-01-05T07:45:00.000Z

To launch their exciting new entertainments programme for 2012, The Public in West Bromwich are giving one lucky person an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to twelve events of their choice.

The winner of the special ‘golden ticket’, valued at over £200, will be able to enjoy an abundance of rip-roaring comedy, intimate film nights, gripping theatre and high energy music performances at the Black Country arts centre throughout the course of the year.

In 2011 The Public received over 230,000 visitors with many enjoying their diverse programme of events. 2012 promises to be equally as exciting with highlights including a comedy showcase of some of the regions finest comic talent on 3 February, a double headline show on 2 March featuring two stars of Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Mike Gunn and Sean Collins, and a special performance from Peep Show’s Isy Suttie in April.

Lite, a moving play about skin lightening and conforming to media pressures, takes place on 6 February, on 2 March Bobby Baker presents an uplifting and enlightening theatre production about well being with, Mad Gyms and Kitchens, and during February half-term the arts centre welcomes magical children’s theatre production, ‘There was an old lady who swallowed a fly’.

Throughout 2012 The Public also welcomes the return of UB40 tribute act, Johnny 2 Bad and Kings ov Leon, and will see a special performance by The Father Teds, a contemporary Irish covers band.

Linda Saunders, Managing Director of The Public said,

“We’re delighted to be offering the opportunity for one lucky person to win tickets to 12 of our events. Throughout the next few months our diverse programme offers something for everyone from comedy and music to theatre and film.”

To be in with a chance of winning the pair of twelve event tickets, visit www.thepublic.com/competitions and answer the simple question. Terms and conditions apply.

For a full list of events at The Public visit http://www.thepublic.com/ or call 0121 533 7161.

Shaylor rolls out the carpet at Kidderminster museum

2012-01-05T07:39:00.000Z

L to R: Richard Hammond - Shaylor Special Projects, John Egerton- Shaylor Special Projects, Charles Talbot - Carpet Museum Trustee, Robin Hill - Carpet Museum Trustee, Linda Collis - Director of Community and Partnership Services at Wyre Forest District Council (WFDC are a Carpet Museum Trustee), Peter Read - Project Manager, Viscount Cobham - Patron, Richard Pugh-Cook - Carpet Museum Trustee Chairman

Leading West Midlands contracting group Shaylor is well underway with Kidderminster’s innovative Carpet Museum and welcomed members of the Carpet Museum Trust to the site on the occasion of The Carpet Museum Trust’s thirtieth anniversary.

Patron Viscount Cobham was amongst the guests that attended the visit for an update on how the works are progressing.

Shaylor Special Projects, one of four business streams within the Shaylor Group, is turning the Grade II listed 19th-century Stour Vale Mill in Green Street, Kidderminster into an interactive museum that will celebrate Kidderminster’s rich carpet making history.

The museum will incorporate a carpet archives centre, library and meeting rooms plus offices and storage space over two floors (14,000 sq ft) of the mill. Visitors will be able to see displays of machinery, the collection of artefacts and a gallery of photographs, along with two fully working power looms.

Shaylor Group has extensive experience of heritage projects, supporting schools and universities, churches, local authorities and the railway sector and, thanks to its network of specialist craftsmen, is able to offer clients a complete ‘one stop’ service.

Other recent heritage projects include the refurbishment of a Grade II listed property in Edgbaston for Calthorpe Estates; repairs and refurbishment works at Derby railway station, which lies in a conservation area; conversion works at Cathedral School in Cardiff and external façade repairs at Fountain Court and stonework repairs to Broadway Plaza, both in Birmingham.

Trustee and honorary secretary of the Carpet Museum Trust, Charles Talbot was delighted that the Trust’s volunteers – whose successful bid for a vital Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £2million enabled the project to go ahead – were able to see their vision taking shape.

Spaghetti Gazetti New Year Exclusive Interview with Howard Jones

2012-01-04T07:48:00.011Z

Photo by Fredrik Svensson

Photo by Simon Fowler

Back in 1983 Howard Jones emerged into the contemporary music charts and rapidly became an international star with his pioneering fusion of synthesiser pop and thoughtful lyric writing. Trained as a classical pianist, Jones quickly built up a massive fan base through his high energy gigs and a string of huge selling hits around the globe.

Between 1984 and 1986 his first two albums, Human’s Lib and Dream into Action became major pop classics and from these albums he produced a succession of well known hits including New Song, What is Love?, Pearl in the Shell, Hide and Seek,(which he performed at Live Aid in 1985), Like to Get to Know You Well, Look Mama, Things Can only Get Better, Everlasting Love and the quintessential No One is To Blame, which reached No.1 in the US.

Anyone who saw Howard Jones live will recall getting great value for money as he moved around the stage between Rolands, Jupiters and Moogs, drum machines and sequencers, almost single handedly filling his gig venues with pumping, piercing and generally high energy electronic sound, rhythm, visual and lighting effects. But Howard was much more than a synth-pop icon, his songs reflected an enthusiastic commitment to human values and a sense of humility and integrity which has endeared him to a loyal core following of fans ever since.

These days Howard Jones still operates on the cutting edge of today’s technology and continues to tour extensively, having played multiple dates and festivals in 2011 with even more to come as we enter 2012 with Robbie Bronnimann on live sequencing/sampling and effects using Ableton Live and various controllers, and Jonathan Atkinson on electronic drums. He will be performing the Human’s Lib and Dream into Action albums in their entirety across UK venues in April 2012.

Photo by Simon Fowler

With Howard Jones set to play the O2 Academy Birmingham on April 14 2012, he agreed to give this exclusive interview to our UK West Midlands community and arts based blogg Spaghetti Gazetti.

Interview by Pete Millington and Carl Freeman

Spaghetti:

Howard, thank you for agreeing to take part in our interview for the West Midlands based community and culture blogg Spaghetti Gazetti (http://www.spaghettigazetti.com/).

You have led a most interesting and varied musical career Howard, what were your early influences?

Howard:

I had piano lessons, so a lot of classical influences. Then the 60's bands that my Mum used to listen to on the radio. Then Beach boys, Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Keith Emerson.

Spaghetti:

Were you ever a punk? Did that new wave / new romantic era at the end of late 70s and start of the 80s influence your direction and sound?

Howard:

I was a punk for 5 minutes, with short red hair and a punk attitude to my singing. The early electronic shows were quite punky. Categories are strange things. I loved Japan, Ultravox, Fashion, The League, OMD, Numan at the time.

Spaghetti:

Can you tell us a couple of what you consider to be the big highlights or outstanding memories of your work over the past three decades?

Howard:

The first Top of the Pops was a bit of a moment, Humans Lib coming in at No.1, headlining Madison Square Garden, playing at the Grammy's with Herbie Hancock Tom Dolby and Stevie Wonder.

Spaghetti:

Many young singers and musicians today look to X-Factor as their chance of a big break into the business. You went about things very differently in the early-80s and put your own money and energy into marketing yourself. What main advice would you give to talented young artists on the bottom rung?

Howard:

I think it is very important to acknowledge the time and circumstances we find ourselves in. The web, social media and the ability to connect with people from your home changes the rules. It is possible to run a career by yourself, if you are prepared to put in the work. The connection with fans of your work has become the prime point. Nurturing that relationship has become possible and is available to everyone. Live performances will always be important even if they are webcast. X-Factor is really a different form of entertainment which has very little to do with artists expressing their thoughts and feelings for the benefit of society.

Spaghetti:

Do you think ideals and values still have any place in modern pop music?

Howard:

Yes I do. Pop music for me is about young artists communicating with their peers, expressing what it is like to grow up in this time. Ideas and values will inevitably be expressed, and questions raised.

Spaghetti:

Can music change the world for the better?

Howard:

A positive message of encouragement expressed through music can lift the human spirit and bring people together. Perhaps like no other art form music has the power to define moments in history and stir people to go forward in their lives.

Spaghetti:

Retrospectively, did Live Aid bring about positive change. Are you glad you took part in it?

Howard:

Live Aid certainly saved lives in Africa and brought the world together for a day. Enduring change will only happen when the hearts of individuals decide to change.

Spaghetti:

Not including your own material, what would be your top 3 desert island discs?

Howard:

“Good Vibrations” - Beach Boy

“Ode to Joy” - Beethoven

“Countermoon” - Donald Fagen

Photo by Simon Fowler

Spaghetti:

Can anybody love anyone so much that they will never fear, never worry, never be sad?

Howard:

No they can't and that is the point of the song. So I guess we are left with kicking out the co-dependency scenario and realising, for a relationship to work, both people must gain their strength from inside themselves not from the other person.

Spaghetti:

Best film, best book?

Howard:

“The Lives of Others”

"The Lotus Sutra”

Spaghetti:

Do you think that cultural boycotts are an effective way of protesting non-violently against abhorrent political systems?

Howard:

I believe that inner change in the hearts of individuals is what provides the impetus for external change. This I believe has the most permanent effect.

Spaghetti:

There have been several posthumous duets where living artists are mixed with recordings of those no longer with us. If you were given the opportunity to sing or play with a now deceased musical great, who would you pick and what song?

Howard:

“Something” – George Harrison

Spaghetti:

What have you got in store for fans and music lovers when you tour in 2012

Howard:

The first two albums were very important to my future and express a distinct time in my life. To play the songs live is like reading my diary out loud because it tells the story of those early 80s years. I guess this will be the last time I will do this in the UK, so in that sense it is quite an important tour for me. It has been very important to me to recreate the sound of the 1st 2 albums meticulously and with TLC.....something that could not be achieved at the time because of the limitations of technology.

...................................................................................................

Photo by Simon Fowler

Always one to take chances, Jones continues to write great songs inspired by his Buddhist beliefs as was evident on his most recent studio album ‘Ordinary Heroes’ which featured a string quartet on every track and one of the best Welsh male voice choirs in the world The Morriston on the song ‘Soon You’ll Go’.

But 2012 will mark the return of one of the true eighties icons and godfathers of modern electronic dance music in full electric mode. If you were too young the first time around it’ll be a chance to find out where all those beats and sounds came from, and if you were around it’ll bring all those memories flooding back.

Howard Jones performs the entirety of his albums “Human’s Lib and “Dream Into Action” in the UK during April 2012.

Ticket Hotline: 0844 477 2000, http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/.

Dates include:

O2 Academy Bristol (April 11)
O2 Academy Sheffield (April 12)
O2 Academy Liverpool (April 13)
O2 Academy Birmingham (April 14)
O2 Academy Newcastle (April 17)
O2 ABC Glasgow (April 18)
O2 Academy Bournemouth (April 20)
O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire (April 21).

More info: http://www.howardjones.com/.

Probation officers: Public enemies?

2012-01-03T10:44:00.000Z

During the first week of January 2012, BBC One will be broadcasting Public Enemies, a three-part drama by writer Tony Marchant (Garrow’s Law, Holding On).

The BBC says:

“Public Enemies explores the relationship between Eddie, recently released on life licence from prison after serving 10 years, and his probation officer, Paula, returning from suspension following a shocking crime committed by an offender under her supervision.”

Anna Friel plays Paula the probation officer – a job which is hardly ever portrayed onscreen, despite crime series being all over the TV schedules. So what does the probation service actually do?

Jane Connelly, Head of Solihull Probation at Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust, explains what makes probation officers want to spend their every working day with people who are shunned by the rest of society:

"Exactly 23 years ago, I joined the probation service because I wanted to make a difference. It’s all about social justice. When I was young, I got back to my house, on my own, and saw a burglar in there, going through our stuff. Luckily, he didn’t see me, so I ran to a neighbour, they called the police and he was arrested

“I really wanted to know why he’d done this, so I started studying law and sociology, got my social work qualification and became a probation officer.

“Now I’m a senior manager and I’m still passionate about this service. Probation officers are so dedicated to helping people to change - getting them to take responsibility for their actions and making communities safer. In all those 23 years, I’ve never had one day that I don’t believe in what we do.”

Probation officers work in courts writing pre-sentence reports for magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts. These reports help magistrates and judges decide on the most suitable sentence. They examine factors that led to the crime, such as drug or alcohol misuse, and advise on a sentence which will punish the crime and also deal with the issues behind the offence so as to try and prevent it happening again.

Last year, Staffordshire and West Midlands (SWM) Probation Trust wrote 17,431 court reports for magistrates and judges sitting in our courts. Over 99% of them were completed within the timeframe requested by the sentencers.

SWM Probation also runs the popular Community Payback scheme, where offenders are sentenced to do a certain number of hours’ work on projects ranging from litter removal to clearing dense undergrowth through repairing and redecorating community centres or removing graffiti.

Across Staffordshire and the West Midlands, over 680,000 hours of Community Payback were completed last year by over 5,000 offenders given a community sentence. This equates to over four million pounds’ worth of free labour provided to local communities as offenders pay back for the crimes they have committed.

To cut reoffending by tackling the problems that lead to crime, SWM Probation sent 1,210 offenders on accredited programmes. These are nationally approved courses designed to tackle the root causes of offending, such as drug/alcohol misuse, sex offending and violence. Attendance is a condition of a sentence, so the offender has to do the work and finish the course, or face being taken back to court to receive a more serious sentence.

SWM Probation works closely with local partners to get offenders into work or training. Last year, unemployment or lack of qualifications was a factor in the crimes of 30% of the offenders on our books, and we referred 2257 to education provision.

SWM Probation works closely with West Midlands Police, Staffordshire Police, HM Prison Service and other public agencies via Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) to manage dangerous offenders in the community when they can no longer legally be held in prison.

Our Victim Liaison Units work with victims of sexual or violent crime, and their families, about offenders given custodial sentences of 12 months or more. They keep victims informed about the offender’s sentence, progress in prison, how decisions are made about release, safeguards available after the offender is released, as well as putting them in touch with organisations such as Victim Support. Concerns about an offender can be passed on to prison authorities and taken into account when release is being considered. When an offender is released from prison, their licence can include conditions to keep away from the victims. Failure to comply with licence conditions can lead to the offender being sent back to prison. In this year’s survey, over 97% of victims were satisfied with the service they received from SWM Probation’s Victim Liaison Units.

All this work carried out by our dedicated and skilled officers makes Staffordshire and West Midlands one of the best Probation Trusts in the country at cutting reoffending. According to the latest Ministry of Justice figures, reoffending in Staffordshire and the West Midlands is statistically significantly lower (at 13.02% less) than the government would predict for this area.

Coleshill Town Band – Christmas Season Blog

2012-01-02T16:21:00.000Z

Coleshill Town Band were recently at their busiest ever with concerts on every weekend of the Christmas period beginning on Saturday 28th November…….

Saturday 28th November saw the band performing for the 10th time at Walsall Golf Club. Although early for the festivities the audience were treated to seasonal music whilst they ate their traditional meal. As well as the usual Christmas numbers the Golf club requested that we play a selection of proms music, so we played Fanfare on British Sea Songs, Jerusalem & Land of Hope& Glory to accompany their merry-making.

The Youth Brass were busy as ever and performed at the switch on of Coleshill Lights & Christmas Market on Saturday 3rd December which showcased their talents as a young band as was much-appreciated by the people of Coleshill.

The evening of Saturday 3rd December saw Coleshill Town Band perform in the beautiful surroundings of St Mary’s Church in Warwick at the Warwickshire Magistrates Charity Concert (in aid of Mary Ann Evans Hospice & Myton Hospice). It was incredible to play in such a beautiful acoustic and to such an appreciative audience.

Sunday 4th December saw the first of 3 carolling engagements at the Fort Shopping Park on 4th, 11th and 18th December. Thank you to anyone who supported us by contributing to our collections. We managed to raise £1200 over the three days which will be put to good use within the band.

Also on Sunday 4th December the small group from the band played carols for some members of the Meridian Lodge in Warwick. ….Phew what a weekend!

On Thursday 8th December the band (in a split formation) managed to perform at two places simultaneously (Phil Collins eat your heart out!) as some members played carols at Whitacre Garden Centre’s late night opening and some play on the top deck of an open-top bus (a first for many I’m sure) at Coleshill’s own late night shopping event. http://www.lovecoleshill.co.uk/

The weekend of 10th December saw our biggest concert of the season – the traditional Christmas Brass concert at Coleshill Parish Church. The audience were treated to a full three hour programme of music which saw performances from Coleshill Beginner Brass, Coleshill Youth Brass and Coleshill Town Band as well as a mince pie and glass of warming mulled wine – which was much-needed as the heating in Coleshill Church (which had just been fixed) decided to have the night off!! Brrrr

The Church also provided the backdrop to Coleshill Primary School’s nativity on Thursday 15th December where Coleshill Youth Brass accompanied the carols and provided incidental music. Thankfully the heating was also fixed by then!

The final concert of the season was in Coleshill Social Club on Sunday 18th December which was a packed-house for the first time ever, and saw the audience in fine spirits dancing to White Christmas and Schneewalzer.

The band finished off a very busy and successful year with three lots of carolling on their home turf in Coleshill on Monday 19th, Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st December. The band found a streetlight amidst a group of houses and played a few carols to spread some Christmas cheer in the town which was very well received indeed. It was made all the more worthwhile when an elderly house-bound lady was pushed outside in a wheelchair to hear the music commented that it had made her Christmas as she was no longer able to get out and see the band and this was something that she used to love to do. The band also played some carols to the residents of St Joseph’s home.

The band would like to thank everyone who has supported them over this very busy Christmas period and wishes every a Happy & Harmonious 2012!

A bright New Year from Spaghetti Gazetti

2011-12-28T12:21:00.001Z

Since we started this blog in October 2007 the site has received 694,721 hits. The peak month during this time was November 2011 when Spaghetti Gazetti recieved an amazing 34,207 hits which was over 1000 hits per day.

Not bad for a completely free, independent blog about community, heritage, arts and social enterprise events and organisations in the West Midlands region of the UK.

As we steadily approach one million hits, we welcome your news and views from around the region. We also welcome adverts and sponsorship, please email spaghetti.editorial@yahoo.co.uk for more details.

Get active in 2012 with three NSPCC fitness challenges

2011-12-28T10:44:00.000Z

Looking for a fitness challenge to burn off those mince pies and start the New Year with a spring in your step? Well look no further!

The NSPCC has lined up three fun physical challenges for this spring, summer and autumn - perfect motivation for helping you to keep those all important New Year resolutions.

First up is Climb for ChildLine in Birmingham on Sunday 4 March - climb of 396 steps up and down the region’s iconic Fort Dunlop building to raise funds for the Midlands ChildLine 25th Anniversary Tribute Fund. If your resolution is to ‘take the stairs, not the lift’, this is the challenge event for you. Every penny you raise will help ChildLine to continue to respond to children’s cries for help.

If you’re looking for an summer adventure, how about a 52km, five day trek through stunning Icelandic glaciers, steaming lava fields and boiling mud pools? The Icelandic Lava Trek, taking place from 18 to 22 July might be just the ticket. And whilst you’re taking in the amazing scenery, you’ll be raising vital funds to enable the NSPCC to prevent child abuse.

The challenges culminate with the NSPCC’s annual HACK (Hike Against Cruelty to Kids) on 22 September in the beautiful Shropshire hills. Be prepared for fun, breathtaking views and a challenging walk over either a 10 mile or 20 mile route. All to raise funds for some of the UK ’s most vulnerable children.

Sarah Williams, NSPCC Community Fundraising Manager said: “Training for an event like Climb for ChildLine, the Icelandic Lava Trek or the HACK is a fantastic and fun way to start a keep fit campaign, with an incredibly worthwhile cause to help keep you motivated.

“The challenges range in length and intensity, which means there’s an event to suit everyone. Of course, if you’re looking for a hat trick of challenges, there is nothing to stop you from entering all three events throughout the year! Every penny raised will help the NSPCC to protect vulnerable children in the West Midlands .”

For further details about the events, please contact the Midlands NSPCC Fundraising team on 0844 892 0217 or email midlandsappeals@nspcc.org.uk . You can also visit http://www.nspcc.org.uk/ for more information.