Motors

Thursday, 06 February 2025 21:58

Manor Park Classics, the North-West’s foremost fixed-venue classic vehicle auction house, has bought out Southampton-based Barons Classic Car Auctioneers in a deal that marks the start of MPC’s...

Motors

Thursday, 06 February 2025 00:21

The motorcycle community will descend upon Daytona Beach area to kick off the new riding season with the 84th annual Bike Week on Feb. 28-March 9, one of the world's largest motorcycle events.

Motors

Saturday, 01 February 2025 14:49

JAECOO announced England rugby legend Chris Robshaw as its first brand ambassador and ‘Mr J’ for the UK market.

Motors

Thursday, 30 January 2025 15:31

Marketcheck, the most significant source of data on the used UK car market, has today released an analysis outlining the stark drop in sales within the used car market over November and December,...

Gadgets & Gaming

Saturday, 25 January 2025 21:47

Ares Games will release the English edition of Balconia on February 4th: the first of a partnership with Armenian game studio Red Cat Games, Balconia is a light,...

Adoption & Fostering

Friday, 24 January 2025 23:52

The Fostering for Wolverhampton team is excited to launch their January recruitment campaign to inspire more people to become foster parents.

Motors

Tuesday, 21 January 2025 23:15

Zeekr is proud to announce that the Zeekr X compact luxury SUV has been awarded Euro NCAP’s prestigious Best in Class Award for Small SUV and Pure Electric Vehicles.

Other News

Monday, 20 January 2025 22:02

Lawyers are urgently warning that the ‘clock may run out’ before an international claim is successfully served due to severe backlogs at the UK’s Foreign Process Section (FPS).

Motors

Saturday, 18 January 2025 12:56

Modifications can limit the number of potential buyers and harm a vehicle’s resale value, according to valuation experts at HPI. 

Other News

Saturday, 18 January 2025 12:28

Commenting on the publication of the Programme for Government, Dublin Chamber CEO Mary Rose Burke stated: "This is an ambitious policy framework that aligns with many of the priorities Dublin...

Motors

Friday, 17 January 2025 10:45

Ohme, the UK’s leading dynamic home EV charging company, rewarded EV drivers with more than £100,000 during winter energy flexibility trials in 2024.

Motors

Wednesday, 15 January 2025 20:46

The isolated British Overseas Territory of St Helena, 1200 miles off the south-west coast of Africa, is the location for a trial of the most remote public electric vehicle charging point.

Motors

Monday, 13 January 2025 19:25

With electric mobility continuing to gather pace, recycling high-voltage batteries is increasingly under the spotlight.

Competitions

Sunday, 12 January 2025 17:28

Wolverhampton Symphony Orchestra has been nominated for a prestigious award – and needs your support!

Other News

Saturday, 11 January 2025 14:03

Members of Parliament for the West Midlands came together at a Parliamentary Reception to demonstrate their support of their local pre-hospital emergency service, Midlands Air Ambulance...

Gadgets & Gaming

Saturday, 11 January 2025 13:52

Get ready to lead and develop your civilization through 8000 years of history: Ares Games announces the release of the new civ-building game line Mega Empires, an epic game series for 3 to...

Colors: Blue Color

Severn Trent has launched a new volunteering programme for all its employees which aims to make a real difference to the communities in which it operates.

The Community Champions project aims to clean up to 40 kilometres of rivers in the Severn Trent region, which stretches across the Midlands and into mid-Wales.

Working alongside its partner charities, The Canals & River Trust, Waterside Care, the Severn Rivers Trust and the Trent Rivers Trust volunteers have already been out and about cutting back vegetation and helping clear debris from rivers.

Paul Evans, community communications lead, says: “Employees are given two annual volunteering days of their choice to help out in their local communities, with more than 800 people signing up in the first month, meaning we can send teams out where they’re really needed.

“Our people are clearly passionate about volunteering and supporting local communities. Not only does this programme allow our employees to do this, but it’s also key to building great relationships with key partners and delivering very real environmental and business benefits.”

This month saw Severn Trent, which is currently carrying out a £60 million waste and water improvement scheme in Newark, team up with BNMAlliance to clear a stretch of the River Trent in the town.

Wayne Ball, volunteer development coordinator for the Canal and River Trust, said: “The volunteers did a fantastic job and we’re really grateful for all their hard work. As a charity, the support they’ve given us is invaluable and really helps in our efforts to make the river a more attractive, welcoming place for the local community.”

In addition to the general maintenance work, the Community Champions will be helping with tasks such as water quality testing, invertebrate surveys, and vegetation management and erosion control.

As well as the new programme, Severn Trent also supports WaterAid and Comic Relief. This year, volunteers from the company took donation calls for Red Nose Day helping raise record breaking amounts for the charity.

Less than twenty-four hours after celebrating its inaugural Birmingham-Vienna service, German low-cost carrier Eurowings, has announced it will launch another new route from Birmingham to Salzburg in December.

Already operating Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Vienna, the new Salzburg flight will operate twice weekly from the 9th December, catering for the ski community and city breakers.

All services are planned with an A320 aircraft configured to 174 seats.William Pearson, Aviation Director for Birmingham Airport, said, “It’s fantastic to see Eurowings expanding its list of routes from Birmingham Airport so rapidly.

“Salzburg is a great ski destination but also a great city break city which we are sure will make this route very popular indeed with our passengers all year round.”

Eurowings is headquartered in Cologne and serves a network of domestic and European destinations as well as some long-haul routes.

Ivan Orec, Manager Network Development & Airport Relations for Eurowings said: “We are pleased to add a new Salzburg route to our Birmingham schedule, which will operate twice weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday, starting from the beginning of December.

“We are also looking forward to bringing more ski passengers to Salzburg and offer them free of charge transport of their ski equipment.”

The Austrian city of Salzburg is most famous for being the home of Mozart and The Sound of Music. The Old Town is burrowed below steep hills and stands beside the Salzach River. The formidable cliff top fortress is surrounded below by buildings with graceful domes and spires and the mountains beyond give a stunning city backdrop. Visitors will find a growing arts scene, fantastic food, beautifully manicured parks, quiet side streets and strong classical music traditions.

Ready, steady ...grow! Gardeners and would-be gardeners are being invited to kick-start their gardening year with fun green-fingered gardening activities at the Big Dig Food Growing Event (on national Big Dig Day), at Martineau Gardens on Saturday 22 April, from 2pm – 4pm. The Community Garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham  is hosting the free event to encourage people to grow their own food, no matter how big or small their grow space is or how much or how little experience they have.

The event will include drop-in food growing workshops to inspire even the most reluctant gardeners to don their gardening gloves. Activities include hands-on vegetable growing techniques and seed bombing. There will be plant and compost sales plus tea and homemade cake will be on offer.   

Caroline Hutton, Director of Martineau Gardens, explains why the charity is hosting the event: “We want to inspire people to make a move towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Growing your own food is a step in the right direction. It’s great fun, low cost and you get to eat delicious food.”

Martineau Gardens, just two miles from Birmingham city centre, is a green oasis teeming with wildlife and is looked after by volunteers, many of whom have mental health issues and learning disabilities. Hundreds of school children visit the Gardens to learn about science and environmental issues. Every year Birmingham people visit the gardens to explore its woodland, glass houses, formal garden, orchard, demonstration food growing areas, wildflower meadow, pond and wildlife area with SLINC status.

To celebrate the return of the Natural History Museum’s 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition Wolverhampton Art Gallery has launched a competition to find the city’s best wildlife shots.

Talented photographers and filmmakers can now enter their work - and the winners will see their images and footage on the Lichfield Street gallery walls as part of a series of events to celebrate the exhibition.

Last year Wolverhampton Art Gallery hosted the touring show, which attracted thousands of visitors keen to see some of the most incredible images of the natural world’s most astonishing sights.

The critically acclaimed 52nd exhibition, featuring awe-inspiring images of fascinating animal behaviour and breathtaking landscapes, runs from July 15 to October 8 in the City of Wolverhampton.

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “The exhibition attracted a great response last year and we are really looking forward to seeing the Natural History Museum’s 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

“To celebrate it we are on the hunt for talented, homegrown City of Wolverhampton photographers of all ages to submit their best wildlife images or short films taken in and around the city. So, get snapping and send us your images and footage.”

Photographers or film-makers entering the competition must have a WV postcode and are encouraged to capture wildlife photos in and around the City of Wolverhampton.

Winners will be announced at the official launch of the exhibition on Saturday, July 22, and prizes include afternoon tea at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and free entrance to the Natural History Museum’s 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

The competition is open to anyone living, working or studying in a WV postcode.

Photography entrants must be aged five and above and will be split into three categories 5 to 11, 12 to 18, and over 18s. A winner will be picked from each category.

Film entrants must be aged five and above – and there will be one winner selected.

All images and film must be the work of the person submitting them, must not have been published anywhere else, and be available until the close of the exhibition.

Blenheim Palace has been voted Attraction of the Year by the leading UK travel trade association.

The Oxfordshire stately home, which celebrates its 30th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site this year, was awarded the title by UKinbound, which represents 370 of the country's tourism businesses.

The awards ceremony took place during the association's 40th anniversary Annual Convention at the Plymouth Guildhall.

The winners were chosen by an independent panel of industry experts consisting of David Cianfarani, former chairman of UKinbound, Michael Hirst, chairman of the Business Visits and Events Partnership, and Terri Scriven, head of travel at Google.

“It's a great honour to have been presented with this award by an association which represents the UK's leading tourism businesses,” said Blenheim Palace's Chief Executive Dominic Hare.

“The overseas tourism sector is a rapidly growing and developing market and we recognise its importance, not just to us but more importantly to the economy of both our local area and of the UK as a whole.

“We believe there are still many untapped markets beyond our shores and we will be working with other tourism groups and the government to try and ensure we are able to welcome them,” he added.

UKinbound is one of the leading trade associations and the only one which focuses solely on the interests of the UK's inbound tourism sector.

Deirdre Wells OBE, CEO UKinbound, commented: “Our awards recognise the ongoing commitment and contribution of our members to the UK inbound tourism sector.

“In spite of the challenges faced in 2016, our members continue to excel in every field of the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, and we are delighted to acknowledge a number of their outstanding performances.”

Built in the early 18th century to celebrate Britain's victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession, Blenheim Palace is the ancestral home of the Dukes of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

Sandwell museums open their doors to visitors again, with a great programme of events, exhibitions, family activities and school holiday fun throughout the year.

After a winter of deep cleaning, decorating, working on displays, organising and planning, Sandwell museums staff are all set for the new season.

Regular groups and pre-booked visits and activities have continued at museums during the winter months, but April is the month things really get going again.

As well as the varied programme, there are regular activities and groups for all ages to get involved with.

Entrance is FREE but there may be a small charge for some of the activities on offer.

Following the winter work, one of the rooms at Oak House, West Bromwich, is now a parlour again, as inventories show it was in the 1680s complete with a bed for guests.

There’s a new exhibition of clothes from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s at Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery, along with some lovely photos of Sandwell high streets down the years.

Meanwhile at Haden Hill House, Cradley Heath, the library has had a makeover.

Opening times are as follows:

  • Oak House, West Bromwich: house, grounds and visitor centre and playground – Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, 2pm-5pm
  • Haden Hill House, Cradley Heath – Thursdays and Fridays, 10am-5pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 2pm-6pm (Open from Thursday 6 April)
  • Wednesbury Museum & Art Gallery – Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11am-4pm, Saturdays, 2pm-5pm
  • Manor House, West Bromwich – open for special events and activities, also open for free guided tours on Sundays from 30 July until 10 September
  • Galton Valley Pumping Station, Smethwick – monthly Saturday open days