Community News

The awards keep flooding in for Salcombe Distilling Co.  On Thursday evening, surrounded by the pinnacle of the county's food and drink producers, this relative newcomer was awarded 'Best Drinks Product' for its Salcombe Gin 'Start Point' at the Devon Life Food & Drink Awards.

Voted by the public, this tremendous accolade was presented at the prestigious ceremony held at Exeter's Sandy Park to Co-Founder Angus Lugsdin and wife and Marketing Manager Andrea. Commenting on the win, Angus says: “Less than a month ago we were celebrating being named the county's 'Best Producer' at the Food & Drink Devon Awards.  To now have won this hugely competitive accolade, again receiving such high recognition in our home county, is a real honour.”

Fellow Co-Founder and Director, Howard Davies continues: “We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been so supportive during our first year.  A big thank you too to everyone who has visited our gin school and distillery bar in Salcombe and has sought us out at the various festivals and events we have attended throughout the year. We are incredibly grateful to them and to our ever expanding and hardworking team.”

In addition to these impressive local awards Salcombe Distilling Co. was recently awarded 'Three Stars' at the prestigious Great Taste Awards 2017 for Salcombe Gin 'Start Point'. This innovative drinks' company also achieved international success with Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Gold at the World Drinks Awards.

Refreshing, delicious and super-smooth Salcombe Gin is hand distilled in South Devon using only the finest hand sourced ingredients. The zesty blend of grapefruits, lemons and limes is a nod to the famous Salcombe Fruiters, who imported over 80% of the citrus fruits to England during the 19th century. Harbouring distinct notes of ruby red grapefruit, along with the heady, earthy pine notes of the finest Macedonia juniper, Salcombe Gin is the perfect balance of aromas and flavours with an amazing lingering finish.

Salcombe Gin 'Start Point' 44% 70cl bottle (£37.50) is available to buy nationwide from independent retailers, farm shops, delicatessens, directly at the distillery in Salcombe and online from the Salcombe Gin website www.salcombegin.com.

The Wolves in Wolves auction at Molineux raised a massive £35,440 for charity.

More than 150 people attended the auction led by Fielding Auctioneers Ltd’s Will Farmer, who is well known for his appearances on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

There was also a swathe of online bids as 15 of the wolves from the biggest ever public art exhibition the city has ever seen went under the hammer in the Hayward Suite.

Garden (artist Claire Rollerson) was the wolf that went for the most money – a staggering £3,200, while the most expensive of the 40 mini-wolves proved to be Ralph (artist Meg Gregory) at £1,000.

The proceeds will be shared between Outside Centre and the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Cllr Elias Mattu’s chosen charities.

The Mayor, Paul Darke of Outside Centre and Wolverhampton BID Director, Cherry Shine, all made speeches and entertainment was provided by Dicky Dodd of Signal 107.

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “The wolves have really captured people’s imaginations and the whole project has been a howling success.

“The auction was a great event. People were eager to get hold of their favourite wolf and raise money for charity at the same time.

“Wolves in Wolves has showcased the city to visitors and the wolves have helped put the city on the map as a cultural centre.

“It has also been a great way for people of all ages to get active and discover the city and what it has to offer.”

The other wolves auctioned off were Wild, Colour, Love, The Sitting, Sunset, Compton, Kiyiya, Rainbow, Meditation, Endless Opportunities, Dynasty, Sacred Grandfathers, Zeus and Beowulf.

The remaining wolves will either be retained by their sponsors for use in projects, such as Hope at Headstart and Aurora at Talentmatch, both being used for activities with young people.

A handful of the wolves are set to remain on display in the city centre, such as Hunter outside the University School of Art, Old Gold in the Wolves Museum, Thomas at Marston’s House, Support Life at the University of Wolverhampton, Mander at Mander House, Beanstalk at the Grand Theatre, and roaming wolf Claude.

Sandwell Council apprentice Callum Hixon, age 17 has been awarded the very first Darren Cooper Award at the annual Sandwell College Business Awards event.

Callum, a former student at ACE Academy Tipton, started with Sandwell Council a year ago working in the revenues and benefits team. He is also studying towards a Level 2 business administration qualification.

Callum has been singled out by his colleagues as being an outstanding employee. He has learned the skills to do his job very quickly and is always eager to learn more.

Callum was thrilled to win this award and saw off some stiff competition. He said: "I was very surprised to have won this award. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me along the way to help me achieve this. I am very grateful for the opportunities I have been given."

The Darren Cooper Award was set up in memory of the late leader of Sandwell Council who passed away in March 2016.

The award was set up to recognise outstanding apprentices and is judged by Sandwell Council’s apprentices team.

Callum was presented with the award at the Sandwell College Business Awards held at Sandwell College, West Bromwich by Councillor Simon Hackett. He said: “In the short time Callum has been with the council he has shown a real willingness to learn and picked things up quickly.

“I want to congratulate Callum on getting this award and wish him all the best with his qualifications and the rest of his apprenticeship.”

New research by the Spirit of Christmas Fair, the UK’s leading high-end Christmas shopping event, has found that our friends are by far, the most likely to suffer as a result of our “gift envy”. 7 in 10 people in the UK admitted that they have purchased gifts for their friends, only to decide that they would rather keep it themselves. A small percentage (6%) also admitted that they would even steal from their children.

The full list of those we experience gift envy with, who we purchase gifts for but decide to keep for ourselves:

1. Friends (70%)
2. Acquaintances (8%)
3. Parents (7%)
4. Children (6%)
5. Colleagues (5%)
6. Partner (3%)
7. Parents-in-law (1%)

Most of people also feel that they have great taste when it comes to choosing gifts with 66% stating that they always choose a gift they would like themselves, regardless of whether the recipient would choose it, because “if I like it, they will like it”.

The research has also proved that “retail therapy” is real with 71% of people in the UK admitting that shopping is their most therapeutic experience.

Thi Dinh, Retailer Expert & Show Manager at the Spirit of Christmas Fair says:

“Retailers traditionally see significant uplift in the number of people beginning their festive shopping in late October, early November. This prime shopping period is one of the most important times for both high street retailers and independent boutiques as they showcase their big-ticket items among affluent shoppers who tend to begin their festive shopping earlier than most.

However, our new consumer research found that shoppers tend to use this time to their advantage, by literally shopping for themselves. It’s extremely common for shoppers to act on something we call “gift envy” – that is when people cannot bear to part with a gift they have purchased for others, so much so that they decide to keep it for themselves. Many go so far as to keep gifts back from their parents, and even their children.

And it seems that retail therapy really does exist, with a significant majority of people (71%) stating that they find it to be a therapeutic experience. And if during the experience, they manage to pick up a gift for themselves, I’m sure that also plays a role in contributing to the pleasure of shopping.”

Sandwell libraries are running a number of free iPads for Beginners courses.

These are being run in partnership with Sandwell Adult and Family Learning Service and will take place at Central (West Bromwich), Blackheath, Oldbury, Smethwick, Tipton and Wednesbury libraries.

The library will provide the iPad to use during each two-hour lesson, and the full course lasts six weeks. The lessons are for beginners who may have an iPad and don’t know how to get the best out of it, or for anyone who is thinking of using one.

The next courses will begin later this month (November), and new courses will be started throughout this year and next year.

City Year UK volunteer Holly O’Shea, from Selly Oak, Birmingham, has been awarded one of the first Domino’s ODEs - Order of the Domino’s Empire - in recognition of her charity work.

Loughborough University student Holly, 20, will now receive free pizza from Domino’s for a year after being nominated for the award by her boyfriend Jonah.

Holly is spending her placement year volunteering full-time with City Year UK at Bristnall Hall Academy in Oldbury, where she serves as a mentor and role model to pupils as part of a team.

As part of Bristnall Hall’s inaugural Lighthouse Team, Holly serves as a peer mentor to the pupils, being a part of their school day from breakfast club to homework club. As well as taking a whole school approach, each member of the team has a focus list of pupils who particularly benefit from extra support, which could be related to attendance, behaviour or curriculum results.

City Year UK is a youth social action charity which believes that through a year of full-time volunteering, 18 to 25-year-olds can make a real difference to the life chances of school pupils from the most disadvantaged communities, whilst gaining valuable leadership experience and boosting their own career prospects.

Holly said: “Winning this award was honestly such an amazing surprise! Helping people already comes with so much satisfaction and to receive this recognition on top of that is really just an incredible extra.”

As well as giving her time to volunteer with City Year, Holly was also the youngest ever athlete to compete in the Dubai Ironman Challenge to raise money for Palestinian refugees and spent a summer teaching children in Uganda how to read and write. Whilst at university at Loughborough she ran campaigns to support the LGBT community.

Each recipient was presented with the pizza-shaped ODE medal and will receive free, freshly made Domino’s pizza for a year. Only a limited number of people are being awarded the honour each year, based on nominations from the public via Domino’s UK Facebook page.

National disabled people’s charity Revitalise has a mystery on its hands…

Revitalise recently launched ‘Wish You Were Here’, a campaign to highlight the importance of holidays, fronted by the charity’s Vice President Dame Judi Dench, shortly to be embroiled in a whodunnit of her own in cinemas as Princess Dragomiroff in ‘Murder on the Orient Express’.

The Wish You Were Here campaign is inviting celebrities to send the charity a doodle or some words about a treasured holiday memory on specially designed postcards.

All the postcards received so far, from celebrities such as Sir Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Christopher Eccleston, Warwick Davis and Zoe Wanamaker CBE, have been signed – with the exception of five (actually, says the charity, one of the five has been signed, it’s just we can’t work out the signature!).

Revitalise is now calling on the celebrities in question to come forward and claim credit for their contributions.

The mystery postcards can be seen on the Revitalise’s website, www.revitalise.org.uk. Supporters are also welcome to offer up their own theories and leads as to the identity of the celebrity contributors, including translating the mystery signature. Revitalise has come up with a special hashtag, #whosedoodle, for this purpose.

The charity devised Wish You Were Here to highlight the importance of holidays, especially for disabled people and carers, who find getting away particularly difficult. The campaign celebrates the sharing of holiday memories, since the opportunity to share one’s stories with others is something we all love about a good holiday.

Revitalise is to hold a special exhibition of the postcards it receives next year. The celebrity contributions will then be auctioned to raise much-needed funds for the charity, so it is important that all the postcards be ascribed to the individuals who drew or wrote them.

Revitalise CEO Chris Simmonds commented:

“Here at Revitalise we love a mystery, and all we know about these unsigned cards is that each one was contributed by a celebrity. So who are the ‘Famous Five’?

“If we can’t put names to the postcards we won’t be able to auction them, so there’s a lot at stake!

“That’s why we’ll be posting the mystery celebrity postcards on our website and social media and urging the mystery celebrities to come forward and claim credit for their handiwork.”

The mystery celebrities are urged to claim their handiwork and send Revitalise a signed picture so that the postcards can be auctioned to raise money for the charity’s vital work. Celebrities can contact Revitalise directly or make themselves known to the charity on social media, using the hashtag #whosedoodle.

The national disability charity, Sense, in partnership with Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), is inviting people with sensory impairments and complex needs living in Birmingham to participate in a major new programme: Sensibility, aimed at making art more accessible to people with sensory impairments by changing the way art is made.

How do you experience art if you don’t know what art is?  Sense’s Sensibility project aims to answer this question by exploring how art is experienced by people with sensory impairments, and using this knowledge to build a new way of making art – which puts sensory experiences at the heart of the process.

The programme is co-directed by Graeae Theatre and Stephanie Singer (BitterSuite). Four artists, Justin Wiggan, Saranjit Birdi, Lyn Cox and Becca Thomas (InterAction), have been commissioned to develop art with people with sensory impairments, and both the process and results of these pioneering collaborations will be shared with the wider arts sector at the inaugural Sensibility Festival in May 2018.

The festival, which will be hosted at Touchbase Pears & MAC Birmingham, will invite audiences and art makers into an experiential world dedicated to exploring, listening to and savouring the details of the bodily experience. It promises to be a combination of commissioned work, guest speakers, artists and a sensory installation co-created by the Sensibility participants.

Stephanie Tyrrell, National Art Manger at Sense, said: “The programme will challenge conventions of established art making methods and provide progressive, socially engaged, experimental art opportunities that nurture and inspire the creative potential of people with sensory impairments and complex needs and the wider artistic community.

We hope that it will enhance creative opportunities for people with complex needs, which will in turn enrich current contemporary art.”

Funded by Arts Council England, the programme has already received attention for two summer events: ‘Descriptive Realities’, a digital installation for the Birmingham Weekender, which invited customers at John Lewis to experience how people with sensory impairments experience the world; and ‘Kinesthesia’, which brought together professional dance artists and participants  to explore dynamic practice for Inclusive Dance 2017.

Sense would like to hear from people with sensory impairments and complex needs who are interested in participating in the project, through exhibitions, workshops and performances.

Nearly one in five adults are unlikely to wear a poppy to mark Remembrance Day this year including nearly one in three under-25s, a nationwide study from independent researchers Consumer Intelligence shows.

Its research found 11% of adults will not wear poppies, while another nine per cent are unsure about supporting the annual Poppy Appeal, which raises around £43 million a year for Service personnel and veterans. Among the under-25s, around 21% will not wear poppies and 11% are unsure.

Their main objection is that they feel bullied into supporting the appeal, but around a fifth of those who object to poppies say they believe the Remembrance symbol glorifies war. One in six oppose current military action by UK armed forces.

The study also highlights ongoing support for the Appeal, which last year aimed to ‘Rethink Remembrance’ in recognition of the sacrifices of a generation of veterans and service personnel. Around 32% of donors plan to give more for the Poppy Appeal this year.

It also underlined acceptance of different views on the Poppy Appeal –  just 29% of adults believe poppies should be compulsory in the run-up to Remembrance Day, which falls on Sunday November 12^th this year.

The Poppy Appeal has been the subject of controversy in recent years with a debate raging around wearing white poppies to symbolise pacifism, and criticism of politicians for not wearing poppies.

Consumer Intelligence’s research found one in 12 people (8%) have suffered hostility from others for wearing poppies, or experienced arguments. Around one in 20 parents say they would not encourage children to wear poppies in case they are targeted.

Ian Hughes, Chief Executive of Consumer Intelligence said: “The Poppy Appeal commands widespread support and raises huge sums but not everyone agrees with it or backs it.

“It is interesting however that tolerance of those who oppose poppies is so high with most people accepting it is a matter of personal choice.”

Around three out of four adults say that their workplace or college marks the two-minute silence and even 72% of those who are not at say they expect to mark the two-minute silence.

Malta, an archipelago located in the sunny Mediterranean, has been one of the best kept secrets for a Jewish Heritage Experience. Exploring a Jewish presence that dates back to the Roman Period, over 200 guests attended the American Sephardi Federation and New York Jewish Travel Guide’s special Jewish Heritage Malta program created in partnership with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), Exclusively Malta, and the Corinthia Palace Hotel, held recently at the Center for Jewish History in New York City.

The Jewish Heritage Malta evening was opened by Jason Guberman, Executive Director, American Sephardi Federation, who praised Malta’s cultural diversity, including centuries-old Jewish connections still visible at several heritage sites, and noted how some Maltese are discovering Jewish ancestry.

The program included welcome remarks from H.E. Carmelo Inguanez, Malta’s Permanent Representative to the UN, and Joel Levy, Past President and CEO of the Center for Jewish History, who shared his Malta experience from when he lived there as a former Foreign Service Officer at the US Embassy in Malta, at which time he helped the community relocate the synagogue to an historic building.

The featured speaker, Dr. John Baldacchino, Director, University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arts Institute and Professor of Arts Education, a scholar of Mediterranean aesthetics, discussed the history of the Jews in Malta. Jewish roots in Malta date back to the 4th and 5th Century during the Roman period as evidenced by several Jewish Catacombs with drawings depicting the Jewish Menorah (candelabra) that can be found at the St. Paul’s Catacomb site near Rabat. The long Jewish history includes periods of enrichment as well as slavery, depending on who was ruling Malta at the time.

Michelle Buttigieg, MTA Representative North America, then told the audience that the Jewish Heritage Malta program was launched in May, 2016, in recognition of the importance of the Jewish Heritage niche travel market in North America. “MTA invited, with the support of Exclusively Malta and Corinthia Palace Hotel, an American Jewish journalist, Harry Wall, and world-renowned photographer Richard Nowitz, to visit Malta and create a video and story about the Maltese Jewish Experience”, said Ms. Buttigieg, who then shared the video with the audience.

Jason Allan, Managing Director, Exclusively Malta, then presented the Jewish Heritage Experience in Malta program that his company designed. He spoke about today’s Jewish Community in Malta, which although small in numbers (less than 200), is still very vibrant. The majority of the contemporary Maltese Jewish Community originate from Gibraltar, England, North Africa, Portugal, and Turkey during the French and British rule from 1798. During the early 20th century, since the islands did not have a rabbi of their own, rabbis would often be flown in from Sicily to perform religious ceremonies. During World War II, Malta was the only European country that did not require visas for Jews fleeing Nazism and numerous Maltese Jews fought Germany in the British Army during the war.

Exclusively Malta can make arrangements for visitors to meet the local Jewish community and to attend Sabbath and holiday prayers at the Synagogue. Allan noted that two years ago Chabad set-up the first Kosher restaurant in Malta, which is centrally located in St. Julian’s.

Points of special Jewish Heritage interest on Malta include old landmarks and street signs. In the walled city of Mdina, where the Jews made up almost one third of the population, there is a “Jewish Silk Market”; and in Valletta, Malta’s Capital and European Capital of Culture 2018, one can see the old “Jews Sally Port”.

Even the Island of Comino, almost uninhabited today but famous for the Blue Lagoon, has Jewish roots. Comino is where the well-known Sephardi-Jewish mystic and self-proclaimed messiah, Avraham Abulafia, lived from 1285 until his death in the 1290s. During this period, he compiled his Sefer ha Ot (“Book of the Sign”) as well as his last, and perhaps his most intelligible work, the meditation manual Imrei Shefer (“Words of Beauty”).

There are three Jewish cemeteries in Malta which although kept locked, can be visited through prior arrangements with Exclusively Malta. The stories gleaned from the tombstone inscriptions, are a rich narrative which includes Jewish soldiers who fought in WWI and were buried in Malta.

Ms. Buttigieg, commenting on the enthusiastic response to the New York event, said, “The Malta Tourism Authority, together with its partners for the Jewish Heritage Malta Program, Exclusively Malta and Corinthia Palace Hotel, look forward to increasing the number of Jewish tourists by hosting similar events to introduce the Jewish Heritage Malta experience, not just in the US and Canada, but in Israel and other countries as well.”

Residents, businesses and organisations across the City of Wolverhampton are being encouraged to "Go Orange" and support an international campaign to end gender-based violence.

The annual United Nations’ Orange the World campaign takes place over 16 days between 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, and 10 December, UN Human Rights Day.

Wolverhampton is once again backing the campaign, with residents, businesses and organisations across the City asked to respond to the challenge, ‘what will you do to Orange Wolverhampton’?’

Everyone is being invited to support the campaign by taking part in ‘Wear Orange’ day on Monday 27 November, or by turning anything they normally do orange – whether it be a social gathering, a sport or performance event or a leisure activity – during the 16-day campaign. They can also change their social media channels and websites orange, wear orange ribbons, and back the campaign by sharing photos, key messages from the campaign and details of what they are doing via social media using the hashtag #orangewolves.

So whether you are part of a motorcycle or cycling club or a running club which could hold an orange ride or run, a business with orange branding or a sports team that could play an all-orange match, please sign up your organisation and share your plans by visiting www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/orangewolverhampton2017.

By helping Orange Wolverhampton, people will not only raise awareness of gender-based violence – violence primarily committed against women and girls, including domestic abuse, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, so-called ‘honour-based’ violence and sexual violence – but also the help and support that is available to victims.

Councillor Paul Sweet, the City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “Gender-based violence in any of its forms is illegal and totally abhorrent, and we are committed to working with our partners to identify and support anyone who is the victim of it.

“We are delighted to once again be supporting the United Nations ‘Orange the World’ campaign and turning the City of Wolverhampton ‘orange’ is an important part of our work to raise awareness of the issues and to make sure people know how to get the help and support they need.

"It is important to stress that the title of violence against women and girls recognises the gendered nature of these issues, in that the majority of victims are female. However, the campaign seeks to end all interpersonal violence affecting women, men, girls and boys.

"The Go Orange campaign is a great way for everyone to show we are committed to ending violence against women, men, girls and boys and highlighting where people can turn to if they are affected by the issue in any way.”

People backing the campaign are encouraged to show their support on social media using the hashtag #orangewolves and by tagging @wvsafeguarding in the conversation. Alternatively, please share photos with the Safeguarding Boards via Facebook at www.2343ec78a04c6ea9d80806345d31fd78-gdprlock/wolverhampton-safeguarding.

Anyone worried about or suffering from any form of domestic violence, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, honour-based violence, or sexual violence should call the relevant helpline:

• The Haven Wolverhampton 24-hour Helpline for women and men on 08000 194400
• National Domestic Violence helpline for women on 0808 2000 247
• National Domestic Violence helpline for men on 0808 8010327
• Wolverhampton Adults Social Care team on 01902 551199
• Wolverhampton Children's Social Care on 01902 555392
• NSPCC FGM Helpline on 0800 028 3550
• Karma Nirvana helpline for victims of so-called honour-based violence and forced marriage 0800 5999 247.

In an emergency, always call police on 999.

With schools back in full swing after the October half-term holiday, there's never a better time to think about booking the next family holiday.

Specialising in guided and self-guided bike tours for all cycling levels, Freedom Treks offers 50 trips that are ideal for families, including those that are brand-new this year. The routes follow dedicated cycle paths or very quiet roads, the daily distances are shorter and manageable for little legs, a range of children's bikes, trailers or seats are available and the accommodation comprises a selection of family-friendly hotels, or even boats.

Children aren't concerned about ticking off a country's 'must-see' sights and a cycling holiday is an ideal way to explore the great outdoors. The world's exciting natural environments make for perfect adventure playgrounds, plus, families can practice their navigational skills and improve their geography and history knowledge on route.

And with multigenerational, or '3G' holidays, still rising in popularity, grandparents need not worry about keeping up – Freedom Treks offers electric bikes on most of its tours, so people of all fitness levels can enjoy cycling in areas and for distances they may not have previously considered.

Four West Midlands charities and groups supporting the community’s most vulnerable individuals have received a total of £11,649 so far this year, from The Midcounties Co-operative’s fundraising across the region.

Monthly Alzheimer’s Support Evenings (M.A.S.E) received a total of £2,602 to help them in offering social support and information to those with, or caring for those with, Alzheimer’s across the West Midlands.

Another charity in the region, Beacon Centre for the Blind, has received £3,014 from the Midcounties. The funds will support the organisation in running assessments and courses, as well as providing necessary equipment to those suffering from sight loss.

Street Teams and Recovery Near You have received £3,879 and £2,152 respectively, to help them in providing support sessions to those at risk of sexual exploitation and those affected by substance misuse.

Some of the fundraising initiatives across the West Midlands in support of the charity partners include, taking part in a Boat Race, fancy dress events and donating carrier bag monies.

The charity partnerships form part of The Midcounties Co-operative’s Regional Communities strategy, which sees members and colleagues come together to provide impactful and sustainable support for local community groups through volunteering and fundraising initiatives.

Emma Pile, a Leadership Team Ambassador in the West Midlands, at The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “It’s been a busy six months for our colleagues across the West Midlands, who have taken on many great fundraising initiatives for our charity partners in the region. We’re delighted to have raised so much just half a year in to the partnerships”.

“The Midcounties Co-operative is committed to supporting local good causes and we look forward to donating even more over the coming months.”

Multi-award winning children’s author Jeremy Strong officially opened a new £100,000 library containing 8,000 books as part of a two-day reading celebration at a City of Wolverhampton school.

Pupils at East Park Academy met the famous author of books including Romans on the Rampage, My Brother’s Famous Bottom, and Hundred Mile-An-Hour Dog.

And many of them dressed up as some of the popular characters from some of his 107 books during special assemblies where they got to quiz Jeremy about his stories.

The school, in Hollington Road, also invited author Chris Wormell and poet Valerie Bloom into classrooms as part of the week-long reading festival to mark the library opening.

And children were also taken to see Michael Rosen when he appeared at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre.

Head teacher Haley Guest said: “We have invested £100,000 in the new school library and it has become a much-loved place for our children to go and discover books and the joy of reading. Just like us, the children are very proud of it.

“Getting inspirational authors in like Jeremy into meet our children is really important. They were so excited to meet one of their favourite authors who has inspired them to write more of their own fantastic stories.”

Jeremy Strong added: “It has been great visiting this brilliant and bubbly school. It is especially marvellous to officially open the new library and to see a school investing in such an important resource.”

We all have that favourite jacket or perfectly fitting pair of jeans we'd love to keep in our wardrobes for the rest of our lives. But it seems over half (54%) of those from Birmingham are confused about how long they can get away with wearing some of their beloved garments, new research from Bullring shopping centre has revealed.

The results follow the launch of the Style Seeker app from Bullring shopping centre, which uses artificial intelligence technology to help shoppers find clothes they have spotted on the high street, social media or in a magazine.  To launch the app 'living mannequins' took over the centre today to surprise and delight shoppers, coming to life when people paused to look at them and telling shoppers about the app.

From a national survey of 2,000 shoppers commissioned by Bullring owners Hammerson, 44% of those living in the West Midlands admitted they weren't sure when they should think twice before stepping out in a certain garment. Meanwhile, 70% of national respondents said someone can be fashionable at any age and 90% said they would wear whatever they want regardless of what others think.

App users are able to take photos of fashion items, or upload saved images from their phones, to locate similar clothing products available in retail stores in Bullring including River Island, Topshop and H&M. The app searches by colour shape and patterns, once the user has selected the desired product, the app then provides a map that guides the user to the store if they are physically in centre.

Emma Roberts, PR Manager at Bullring said: "Style Seeker is the perfect accessory for people who get struck down by style inspiration in the street – and truly love the art of shopping.

"As well as being easy to use, it caters to every budget. Clothing from fashion weeks and couture shows is filtering down into high street shops quicker than ever before – and this functionality makes sure you never miss a trend."

The development comes after latest mobile trends* show that nearly four in 10 people search only on their smartphones, proving that more searches happen on mobile than on computers or tablets and that people require answers at their fingertips.