Community News

Millions of people across the West Midlands are being reminded they will receive a test message from the Government’s new emergency alert system this Sunday (April 23). A loud, siren-like sound and vibration accompanied by a text message will be sent to compatible mobile devices at 3pm as part of a nationwide test of the system which has been introduced to alert the public to life-threatening situations.

A unique emblem created to commemorate the upcoming coronation of King Charles III features on an exclusive range of newly released gold sovereigns - the first range in history created in honour of a British monarch's coronation. As the first British monarch to be crowned in the 21st century, The King Charles III Coronation Gold Sovereign Range released by gold sovereign specialists Hattons of London, will be the first in history to carry the ‘Coronation Emblem’ - a completely new design created specially to celebrate this significant moment in British history.

The RSPCA - the country’s oldest and largest animal welfare charity - is recruiting for 11 new animal rescue officers (ARO’s). The charity’s animal rescue officers are frontline workers who respond to reports of cruelty, neglect and injury, deal with complaints and collect and rescue sick, injured and trapped animals.

ARO’s carry out some of the vital work of the RSPCA and play their part alongside the charity’s inspectors in making a real difference to the lives of animals. It is an extremely rewarding, but challenging role as animal rescue officers have to deal with difficult situations where they need to stay calm and professional and show great resilience.

Outbound flight bookings from the GCC states for the three weeks running up to Eid Al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, were 38% behind. According to travel industry analysts, Ramadan travel this year is still far behind the heights it reached before the pandemic in 2019.

However, a major factor in assessing the recovery of Ramadan travel are the dates when the festival falls due. In 2019 Eid al-Fitr was in June, a much better time of the year to travel, as the end of Ramadan was close to the start of the long summer school holidays in Saudi Arabia.

PayPal is a giant in online payment processing, making it an appealing target for fraudsters looking for an easy payday. B learning how fraudsters usually operate on PayPal, you can be better protected if they ever target you. For this reason, cybersecurity expert Theodor Porutiu from VPNOverview.com has outlined the most common PayPal scams of 2023 and how to avoid them. 

Love was well and truly in the air at a Tettenhall care home when two residents celebrated a very special milestone. Gordon Farquhar, aged 92, and his wife Kathleen, aged 96, toasted their 70th wedding anniversary at Care UK’s Foxland Grange in the West Midlands town, on the 4th April. 

The pair met at their local church one Sunday afternoon. Although both admitted it wasn’t love at first sight, the couple grew fond of one another on their weekly visits, where they would often sit next to each other. 

One of the UK’s longest serving engineers celebrated 76 years working in industry this week and insisted he wants to carry on until he is 100. Vic Sutton, a Calibration Engineer at harness and wiring looms specialist Teepee Electrical in Bloxwich, in the West Midlands, turned 90 on Tuesday and spent his big birthday playing a role in daily production and enjoying a surprise party with colleagues he openly calls ‘family’.

Fashion legend Dame Mary Quant - who was credited with popularising the miniskirts that helped define the Swinging '60s - passed away at home in Surrey, her family announced.

Model Twiggy Lawson, who became a style icon during the era, said has led the tributes to the designer saying Dame Mary had an influence on young girls in the late 50s early 60s. "She revolutionised fashion and was a brilliant female entrepreneur," she wrote in a social media post. "The 1960s would have never been the same without her."

A Birmingham dad who switched careers from the army to social care will be taking on the London Marathon for the disability charity Sense, who he credits with giving him the skills to care for his disabled daughter. 

Syed Kazmi, 39, had been an army officer in Pakistan. However after his daughter Syeda, 7, was born with cerebral palsy the family decided to relocate to the United Kingdom, settling in Sutton Coldfield.

This past “Semana Santa” or “Holy Week”, millions across the world celebrated and continued to celebrate important events of their faith.

The objects of adoration are all different, of course, and there is a need to reaffirm our beliefs and how they might differ from other families of thought and belief. Focusing on people’s differences contributes to building and maintaining vibrant and healthy communities provided it does not encourage bigotry or exclusion.

The RSPCA is recruiting hundreds of volunteers to take part in the Big Help Out on May 8 to mark King Charles III’s Coronation celebrations - with one dedicated RSPCA volunteer already very familiar with the new Monarch.

The drive is part of a major volunteering initiative and the RSPCA is asking people to sign up as ‘Wildlife Friends’, a brand new volunteering role and join thousands of others making a difference.

In celebrating the birth of the Khalsa, the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi - one of the most significant holidays in the Sikh calendar – community spirit and forward-thinking will be high on the agenda as spiritual and physical integration remains at the fore, as it always has.

Also known as Baisakhi, due to its close connection with the foundations of Sikhi, Vaisakhi, which is one of 9 festivals India is celebrating this month, forms a significant role in the Sikh yearly calendar.

A Herefordshire father and son team has overcome personal adversity to develop a software platform that can change the way the world’s designers and engineers make products.

Ryland and Michael Johnson leveraged each other’s unique talents in manufacturing and software engineering to create CloudMilling, industry’s first and only cloud-native Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) solution.

Severn Trent is urging customers to ’Bin The Wipe’ as part of a national campaign.

Water UK’s ‘Bin The Wipe’ campaign is calling on people to stop flushing wet wipes to help protect the environment and prevent homes and businesses from being flooded. The campaign launched as Water UK research reveals that over a fifth (22%) of people in the UK admit to flushing wet wipes down the toilet.

The Lorenzo Natali Media Prize, the EU's flagship journalism award, is open for applications. Journalists can apply by submitting eligible stories until midnight of 28 April. The Prize recognises and honours the work of journalists from around the world which shed a light on the most pressing global challenges.

The European Commission calls on journalists reporting on issues relating to inequality, poverty eradication, sustainable development, environment, biodiversity, climate action, digital, jobs and employment, education and skills development, migration, healthcare, peace, democracy and human rights to apply online.

Joseph Coelho, Waterstones Children’s Laureate for 2022-2024, will visit Central Library in Wolverhampton next week as part of his nationwide ‘Library Marathon’, championing local libraries inspiring a love of reading in young people. The award-winning performance poet, playwright, and children’s author visit is visiting a library in every local authority in the UK – more than 200 libraries in total – with the aim of encouraging people, young and old, to join their local library.