Community News

The new Mayor of Wolverhampton will be going back to the future in his year in office. Councillor Barry Findlay, who was elected the 158th Mayor of Wolverhampton, says he wants to champion the history of the city – and look towards exciting times head. He said: "It is customary for the Mayor to choose a theme for their year in office, and I wish to continue that tradition by choosing the theme of Preserving the Past, Building the Future.

Anyone wishing to vote in the EU Referendum must be on the electoral register  – and the deadline for registration is 7 June 2016. After this date, people who have not registered will not be able to vote in the EU Referendum. Anyone who has not yet registered to vote can do so online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote – it only takes a few minutes.

A Beekeeping course tomorrow at Martineau Gardens is aiming to encourage people to find out more about bees and take up the craft of beekeeping. The British Bee Keepers Association (BBKA) claims that ‘one in three mouthfuls of the food we eat is dependent on pollination’. By encouraging people to find out more about bees through this course, Martineau Gardens hopes to raise awareness of bees needs.

Spring has definitely sprung in the UK, and while we might love the longer days and spells of sunshine - the season comes with a list of cautions for looking after our pets. Vets Now, the leading provider of pet emergency care for small animals in the UK, notes a significant increase in the amount of cases brought to its out-of-hours clinics during spring time.

Almost half of parents in the West Midlands see a noticeable improvement in their children’s happiness after they walk to school, new research has found. National charity Living Streets conducted research with parents of primary school children and found that half of those living in the West Midlands see an improvement in their child’s mood and behaviour  after they’ve done physical activity.

An historic Victorian fountain in the centre of Wolverhampton is flowing again following repair work. The Horsman Fountain in St Peter's Gardens was erected in 1894 in memory of local contractor Philip Horsman, who built and funded the adjacent art gallery which had opened 10 years previously. Repairs to the fountain have been carried out over the last fortnight by the City of Wolverhampton Council, with engineers skimming and sealing the bowl to prevent leaks, and refurbishing the electrics and pumping system.

If you have a pampered pet named Bruno then you’d better beware – it’s just been crowned the unluckiest pet name in the UK! Hapless hounds and unfortunate felines named Bruno are nearly SIX times more likely to be the subject of pet insurance claims than pets named Luna – which is the nation’s luckiest name, according to research carried out by PDSA Petsurance.

Britain Has Spirit, a new initiative searching for Britain’s best volunteers has today announced Central England’s shortlist for both individual and group nominations now ready for the public vote. This crucial next stage in the campaign will rely on the public to choose their most deserving volunteer heroes and cast their vote across 10 British regions.

There is nothing quite like getting out and swimming in a pool. However, whether it’s with friends or family, in a pool at home or abroad or enjoying a picnic by a river or swimming in a lake, it’s always important to keep safe. Under the National Curriculum, all children by the age of 11 years should be able to swim 25 metres unaided, ensuring they have some knowledge of safety in the water.

A long-serving Wolverhampton councillor collected her OBE from Prince Charles during a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Councillor Sandra Samuels, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, was recognised for political service and services to local government in the Queen's New Year's Honours List. And she said: “The Investiture at Buckingham Palace was an incredible experience; I was humbled, honoured and extremely privileged.

The real cost of running the average-sized UK home has been revealed by leading home insurers MORE TH>N.  Owning a three bedroom home in the UK comes with average annual running costs of almost £20,000 (£1,634 per month), with rented three bedroom homes only slightly less expensive at just shy of £19,000 per year (£1,576 per month). For a household with two working adults each earning the average yearly salary that means between 43% (rented) and 45% (owned) of post-tax earnings are being spent purely on household bills and the rent or mortgage.

An incredible 17 lots are up for grabs in the Mayor of Wolverhampton's biggest ever charity auction, which is underway and continues until 4pm on Friday 13th May. Goodies ranging from an iPad to theatre tickets, cases of wines and spirits and family tickets to some of the region’s most popular tourist attractions will be up for grabs to the highest bidders – with all proceeds going to local good causes.

Nearly 70% of gardens in the Midlands are stuck in the past with almost 64% of the region’s homeowners admitting their outdoor space has been influenced by previous decades, according to research conducted by paving manufacturer, Bradstone. A nationwide survey of homeowners with gardens revealed that in the Midlands, 68% of gardens’ main features pre-date the 1990s, with 80s wooden slatted fences (42%), 60s manicured lawns (41%) and 50s concrete paths (24%) featuring most prominently as design hangovers from the past.

The winners of Wolverhampton’s unique walking, cycling and running challenge, Beat the Street, raced to Molineux Stadium to collect their prizes at a special awards ceremony. Thousands of residents young and old took part in the seven-week game, clocking up a fantastic total of 196,395 miles – that's the equivalent of 393 million steps, or burning around 20 million calories.

Fans of the iconic Blue Oval are being asked to nominate their favourite Ford model of all time in advance of the Classic Ford Show, which takes place at Santa Pod, Bedfordshire, on Sunday June 5^th. Be it a Cortina or a Cosworth, Model T or Mexico, the show organisers are looking to establish which classic Ford is the nation’s all-time number one, with the winner being announced in advance of the event.

A one-day programme to explore how to be a more effective and inclusive role model and ally to LGBT people is to be hosted at the University of Birmingham by Stonewall, the leading charity for lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality. Allies are individuals who do not identify as LGBT and believe that lesbian, gay, bi and trans people should be free to be themselves.