Wolverhampton Grand Theatre launched a GIANT of a pantomime at Dudley Zoological Gardens with leading man Gareth Gates.

The pop-star and musical theatre favourite will be taking the title role in JACK AND THE BEANSTALK which also stars Lisa Riley, Doreen Tipton, Graham Cole, Ian Adams and Adam C Booth at the Grand Theatre from 9 December 2017 – 14 January 2018.

Gareth Gates rose to stardom in 2002 as runner-up in the UK’s first Pop Idol. In a phenomenal career which followed he has sold more than 3.5 million records in the UK, released three albums and had four UK number one singles.

Alongside his pop career Gareth has been seen on ITV1’s Dancing on Ice and The Big Reunion 2014 for ITV. Gareth’s theatre career has seen him play the role of Marius in the 25th anniversary tour of Les Misérables for Sir Cameron Mackintosh, in Loserville at West Yorkshire Playhouse and the UK tours of Legally Blonde and Boogie Nights the Musical. He has regularly toured in the concert Mad About the Musicals and is currently starring in the second leg of the UK tour of Footloose. Gareth appeared as part of the line-up Boys Aloud, recreating the Girls Aloud hit Biology for BBC’s Let’s Sing and Dance for Comic Relief.

Dudley Zoological Gardens are the local partner for JACK AND THE BEANSTALK. The Grand Theatre pantomime attracts thousands of families to Wolverhampton each year, similarly in Dudley; families are drawn to a collection of the world’s rarest animals who find their home in the grounds of an 11^th Century castle at Dudley Zoological Gardens.

Grand Theatre Press & PR Manager Scott Bird said; “our first panto launch for Jack And The Beanstalk was a brilliant day with our panto partners Dudley Zoo. Jack is a farm boy who goes on a quest to the Giant’s castle -  with both a farm and a castle on site at the zoo, it couldn’t have been more perfect! We’re all very excited for what promises to be a ‘giant’ new production. Gareth will have some popular songs in the show and our cast line up reunites many members of our multi-award winning team from last year.”

Gareth Gates said; “I’ve performed in eight pantomimes and played the Prince and Aladdin - I’ve never played Jack before so I can’t wait to be in the panto in Wolverhampton, it’s going to be lots of fun!”

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK opens at the Grand Theatre on Saturday 9 December 2017 and runs until Sunday 14 January 2018.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell is gearing up for National Inclusion Week (25 September – 1 October) by holding a panel event in Birmingham to discuss whether women face additional challenges in the work place.

Irwin Mitchell’s internal gender networking and support group, IM Powered, have organised the event in partnership with the Institute of Directors and Birmingham Hippodrome, where the event takes place on Thursday 21 September 2017.

The inclusive event will feature a panel discussion and Q&A with a number of high profile female guests including Vicky Brackett, CEO of Irwin Mitchell’s Business Legal Services division.

The mother-of-two became the first female member of the law firm’s Executive Board in 2016 after starting her career as a trainee at magic circle firm, Freshfields, in 1994. Vicky eventually left the City and went on to become Managing Partner at Thomas Eggar before the firm merged with Irwin Mitchell in 2015.

Vicky said: “Since starting my career I think slowly things have become easier for women. Of course there is more to be done but for example, taking maternity leave is far less of an issue now than it was in the 90s and thanks to technology, flexible and home-working make it far easier to achieve a better work/life balance.”

“It is interesting to see that many men who want to share parenting responsibilities now the law allows it in terms of shared leave and paternity are now going through similar struggles. My children are 11 and 14 years old and I think, and hope, that their generation won’t consider gender to be as much as an issue but it’s important that we make sure our generation of leaders embrace changes too. Whether you are male, female, transgender or don’t align yourself with either gender it is vital that businesses look beyond the face, the colour and the sex and see the skills, talent, warmth, energy and empathy.”

One of Vicky’s other commitments is as a trustee of a PSDS, a charity she founded following the birth of her son Sam who has Down syndrome, which provides support to children with Down syndrome and their families.

Vicky says as a mother she has always worried about the impact of her work and charity commitments on her children.

She said: “I asked my daughter once if she minded that I haven’t always been able to do the school run or the ‘traditional’ things that are expected of mothers. She said ‘You’re there for everything that matters. Some of my friends’ mums leave the school gates and go for a coffee, my mum goes and runs a law firm, so of course I don’t mind,’ and I really loved that response.

“I respect everybody’s right to make their own personal choices about career and family but I think women should be encouraged to feel less guilty about having their careers and children. Equally I think being a mother has given me a lot of skills that I use every day at work when dealing with people or difficult situations. As long as you have the right people for the job having a diverse workforce will mean you will have richer insights and perspectives to help your business make better decisions.”

Asked with hindsight, what advice she would give to herself at the start of her career, Vicky said: “Be yourself, aim higher than you think you are capable of and don’t underestimate your own abilities. I’d tell myself to slow down and take time because if you work hard, the opportunities will present themselves. I’d also recommend getting a really good mentor so you have someone to talk to.”

Vicky will be joined by fellow panel members, Dr Jenni Jones – Senior Lecturer, HR & Leadership at University of Wolverhampton, Fiona Allan – Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Birmingham Hippodrome, Jane Sommerville – Managing Director at Bowers & Jones, and Tracy Westall – Former Director of Corporate Service for SCC and Non Exec Director at Innovation Birmingham, Governor at BCU, and a Board member at TechUK.

Suzie Branch-Haddow, Director of the Greater Birmingham Professional Services Academy and MetEnterprise Academy will be chairing the event which will focus on issues faced by women in their respective professions, the positive changes over the years and areas for improvement.

A new partnership from a Birmingham school and sixth form centre will enable local community groups to make use of its sports and performing arts facilities on evenings, weekends and during school holidays.

St Edmund Campion Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre has joined forces with School Lettings Solutions (SLS) to manage its facilities and provide leisure venues for various activities, such as fitness classes, dance workshops and craft groups.

SLS partners with schools, academies and colleges to fully manage their facilities at zero cost to the organisations, while linking them with local community groups in need of affordable space.

The school, which is based in the Erdington community, will play host to activities, such as training sessions and sports classes. Local groups can hire its facilities, which include a main hall, astroturf pitch, sports hall and gymnasium, for regular classes or ad hoc events.

It is hoped the partnership will open up new opportunities to the school’s students, as well as people of all ages from the local area.

Gary Smart, strategic business manager at St Edmund Campion Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre, said: “We’re really excited to be opening up the school to the wider community. We’re proud of the facilities we offer our students, such as our astroturf pitch and gymnasium, and it makes sense to us that they are available to use during evenings and weekends as well.

“We’ve already got some great partners signed up to use our facilities and we’re looking forward to getting more on board. This can only be a positive thing for our students and people in the area.”

SLS currently works with more than 140 schools nationwide, helping them to make the best use of their facilities. It provides a fully managed service, including managing bookings and staffing the facilities to ensure rooms are secure and ready for the next school day. The business is expanding across the country and is looking to sign up schools in the West Midlands, which are currently facing hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding cuts.

Paul Andrews, director of SLS, said: “It’s great to welcome St Edmund Campion Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre as our latest partner. The academy has got some brilliant facilities and we’ve already had lots of booking enquiries. We’re passionate about ensuring people have access to opportunities that boost their health and wellbeing, so we’re keen to provide local groups with marketing support to make sure their clubs thrive and are well attended.

“There is huge potential to provide more places like this for people of all ages to come together, which will be really positive for the area. At the same time, our partnerships provide a new stream of income for schools as their budgets come under more and more pressure.”

Sporting heroes met the Mayor when the Sandwell Special Olympics team dropped by the council house to show off their recent medal haul.

Sandwell’s mayor Councillor Ahmadul Haque MBE met members of the team from the charity Special Olympics Sandwell and Sandwell Sports Club – a team for people of all ages with a learning or intellectual disability.

Special Olympics Sandwell was part of the West Midlands team who represented Sandwell at the Special Olympics National Games which were held this year in Sheffield.

The mayor heard about the Sandwell sports stars, who took part in games which were held in August.

Three swimmers, eight badminton players and 17 athletes supported by eleven Sandwell volunteers took part and netted 32 medals, six gold, 18 silver and eight bronze medals plus more than 30 ribbons.

From the team ten people achieved their personal bests and were presented with a Special Olympics Ribbon.

Sandwell Mayor Councillor Ahmadul Haque MBE said: “It was marvellous to meet so many Sandwell sporting heroes and learn about their recent achievements – well done to all who took part and of course the volunteers who helped make it happen.”

City of Wolverhampton Council has unveiled its brand-new café and one of the first customers was local Olympic, World and Commonwealth medal-winning gymnast Kristian Thomas.

The eatery – called WV Café - on the ground floor of the Civic Centre provides a wide selection of refreshments for the hundreds of daily visitors to the council’s headquarters as well as employees.

One of the catering staff who work on the café – Lynn Reid - is none other than Kristian’s mother-in-law and she invited the 28-year-old, who still lives in the city, to come and see the facility.

The main feature of the café is a salad and fruit bar offering a range of healthier options which athlete Kristian was keen to sample for himself.

It also provides drinks including Costa coffee, sandwiches, confectionary and a varied selection of hot and cold food.

Kristian said: “It’s a real honour to be invited to City of Wolverhampton Council’s new café. I was pleased to help when my mother-in-law Lynn suggested it.

“She and her team are looking forward to working at the new venue. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch and would recommend visitors to the civic centre or the wider city to call in and try it out.

“There’s something for everyone and I’m particularly impressed with the salad bar.”

His mother-in-law Lynn Reid said: “This is a really exciting time for the catering team here at the City of Wolverhampton Council. The new café has so much more to offer customers, it’s a great place to work.

“I’m so proud that my son-in-law Kristian has helped us promote it. He’s a true Wulfrunian and he’s achieved so much – it’s so fitting that he came to help us tell the people of Wolverhampton about this fantastic new facility.”

As well as the café, the council has also unveiled its completed customer service centre.  The first phase was revealed back in March, but hoardings have now come down revealing a selection of computers and telephones which are free for the public to use.

There are also self-service kiosks for customers who wish to complete their transactions quickly and easily.

Councillor Andrew Johnson, City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for resources, said: “We are very proud to be opening our completed customer service centre and brand new café to the public.

“These are first class facilities ensuring that the hundreds of people who visit the Civic Centre each day are greeted in professional surroundings and their enquiry is dealt with quickly and efficiently.

“We are making significant improvements to the Civic Centre to extend the life of the building, provide a better service to the public and save taxpayers £500,000 a year by enabling us to close aging, expensive to maintain satellite offices.”

Both the café and the customer service centre are part of the ongoing programme of improvements and essential repairs and maintenance being carried out to the Civic Centre.

The underground car park has been refurbished and the facility won a national award. Extensive mechanical and electrical repairs on all floors of the Civic Centre are taking place.

Outdated systems including electrics, heating and fire alarms which were at serious risk of breaking down are being replaced and asbestos is being removed. Office space is also being modernised to enable staff in outlying offices to move into the building.

The overall scheme will save taxpayers more than £500,000 a year by enabling the closure of outlying offices which are expensive to run and maintain. The programme is due to be completed by Spring 2018.

The inaugural Sainsbury’s Living Well Index, based on a nationally representative study into how Britons feel about their quality of life, reveals the factors associated with living well – and uncovers significant gaps. Sleep quality has the strongest association with Britons’ quality of life – for the typical Brit, improving their sleep to the level of those who are living best would be equivalent to them having more than four times as much disposable income. In the West Midlands, one-in-three (34 per cent) say they feel well-rested just some of the time. Only one-in-four (25 per cent) in the West Midlands say they regularly feel well-rested.

The Index, created by Sainsbury’s in partnership with leading researchers Oxford Economics and the National Centre for Social research, aims to define, measure and track what it really means to live well in the UK today. It has been commissioned to help the retailer understand and engage on the aspects of everyday life that are holding people back.

In the first study of its kind, researchers asked a nationally representative panel of 8,250 people questions covering 60 different aspects of their behaviour, how they live and how they feel. The Index covers everything from their support networks and relationships with friends, families and communities, to how people feel about their jobs, their quality of sleep and the strength of their finances. The same panel will be questioned every six months, enabling Sainsbury’s and researchers to track the effects of how we live on how we feel, individually and as a nation, as well as providing unique insights into the lives of Britons today.

The average Briton has a Living Well score of 62.2 out of a maximum of 100. Those in the West Midlands had a score of 62.1 the study found – below the typical national score.

Those living best are defined as the 20 per cent of the population with the highest scores – falling between 72 and 92. By comparing the lifestyles and behaviours of those living best in Britain with the typical Briton, the Sainsbury’s Living Well Index has revealed the critical factors behind living well.

Income has surprisingly little impact on how we feel. For the typical Brit, a 50 per cent rise in disposable income contributes to just a 0.5 point increase in their Living Well score.

In contrast, controlling for age, income, or personal health, a good night’s sleep has the strongest association with how well we feel we are living. Over time, the research aims to understand the big gaps dividing the nation, and whether associations are causal.

Ian Mulheirn, Director of Consulting at Oxford Economics, said: “Wellbeing is rising up the agenda at a time of rapid change in how we live our lives, and we’ve created a critical new tool that can help us to unpick what’s driving our sense of living well, drawing on a unique, rolling survey of unprecedented breadth and granularity. The analysis within the Sainsbury’s Living Well Index reveals that, in a world that’s never been more connected, the richness of our relationships and support networks remains among the biggest determinants of how well we live – and represents an area of our lives in which we can act.”