There was a royal visit, to London, as former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and The Ooni of Ife, was at the Excel Arena to unite nationals from the Diaspora from both home and abroad.

Addressing a combined crusade of the Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide and Celestial Church of Christ he marked his presence by preaching the undying love of God which brings communities together and how people must show love to each other.

Quoting the passage 1st Corinthians 13: 13, he read: “And now these three remain; Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is love.”

Listing a number of attributes that he claimed God does not share with human beings, including: Omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience and eternity, he said: “These are great attributes of God which he keeps to himself.”

Chief Obasanjo added that there were attributes of God that he shared with human beings. These, according to him, include righteousness, kindness, compassion, love and “the greatest of these attributes is love,” which brought enormous cheers from the crowded ICC Hall. “Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message,” he said. “If you have no faith, you can’t believe in God, if you have no faith, you can’t even believe in yourself. To believe is to have faith.

Hope is the attitude and focus. Love is the action from one to another. God himself is love, as we have in 1st John, Chapter 4 Verse 8. Love is the attribute of God that he shares with us. Love is the only attribute that can change human beings, community, society; love can change the world. No matter what is happening to you, or happening within our nation, our continent, our world, the only way to bring about change is through love.”

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And in closing, he concluded: “This joint revival has been brought about by love. If we must make progress in our life, we must love. Hatred kills.”

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi also spoke at the event tagged ‘Comfort the Comforter Crusade stating, “What you are doing today is very good. Both Cherubim & Seraphim church and the Celestial Church that are having a joint revival were established in Africa by black men. I don’t believe in the saying that nothing good comes out of Africa. If we don’t acknowledge our own, who will do it for us?

“The cloth that we wear was first worn by Oduduwa Ateworo. Oduduwa was the first to wear cloth in the entire world. We blacks were the first to produce iron; that is why they call us blacksmith. Today, they use iron for every good thing – cars, aeroplane, houses, even this mighty hall, where we are, cannot stand without iron.”

Wye Valley Brewery has received a visit from Professor Julian Lloyd Webber to discuss brewing a bespoke bottled beer for the Birmingham Conservatoire’s brand new facility.

Principal of Birmingham Conservatoire and a long-time fan of Wye Valley Brewery’s ales, including Butty Bach and Hereford Pale Ale, Professor Lloyd Webber plans to serve the bespoke bottled beer, as well as a cask ale, in the bar of the new building.

The internationally renowned cellist and conductor will be returning to brew the bottled beer alongside Head Brewer, Gareth Bateman, this August.

Commenting during his visit last week, Professor Julian Lloyd Webber said:

“I am very excited to be brewing a bespoke Wye Valley Brewery beer. It will be a real treat for students and visitors at the Conservatoire to have this popular local brewery create something special for them.”

Part of Birmingham City University, the new £57 million home for Birmingham Conservatoire will open in September 2017 as part of the institution’s £280 million investment in its facilities.

Brits look in the fridge or food cupboard 23 times per day, according to new research.

A survey of homeowners carried out by leading household appliances retailer, AppliancesDirect.co.uk, revealed Brits look in the fridge 14 times and the cupboards 9 times per day on average, despite eating or drinking something from them just 6 times.

The research, which looked in to the eating habits on the nation, found that women looked in the fridge or cupboard 25 times per day compared to men who looked just 21 times.

When quizzed on their behaviors in the kitchen, just 22% of respondents say they look because they are hungry while 35% say they do it because it’s habit and they don’t have any intention of actually eating anything.

The data also revealed the go to snacks for fridge raiders in the UK. Cheese came in first place, as 35% of those surveyed say they will regularly snack on this, followed by cold meats (33%).

Chocolate came in third place for 29% of fridge raiding Brits, while healthier options such as fruit (27%), and vegetables (22%) came in fourth and fifth place.

Mark Kelly, marketing manager at AppliancesDirect.co.uk comments: “The data revealed some interesting findings about the nation’s snacking practices, especially the number of times people look in the fridge and cupboards just out of habit.

“Everyone has that one family member or friend who looks in the fridge or cupboard for a snack whenever they visit, and we’re all guilty of doing it at other people’s homes, but it’s not that often we actually take something out and eat it.

“That said, it’s interesting to see that when we do snack, it seems to be the savory options that are the nations firm fridge raiding favorites.”

Games such as ‘i-spy’, traditionally used to help pass the time on long car journeys with children, could soon be a thing of the past as more and more children turn to phones and tablets for entertainment on the road, according to new research among parents planning to drive on holiday this year from Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Less than a third of children (31%) now play i-spy in the car. Instead, 45% play games on phones or tablets, while 36% watch TV shows on their technological devices.

When asked what keeps the children amused for the longest time in the car, over half (51%) of parents now say phones and tablets are the runaway winner, and just one in ten (10%) think i-spy or ‘other car games’ (9%) are effective.

This shows a marked increase in the use of technology among children in just the last two years – in 2015 Enterprise conducted similar research which showed over a third of parents (36%) still found car games to be an effective way to keep children entertained.

Four in five parents (79%) say that their children play on phones or tablets for ‘hours on end’, and a third of parents (32%) say they ‘never limit’ how long their children use them. Almost a third of parents (29%) also say their children can use their ‘phones and tablets how they want to’ and they don’t control what content the children have access to.

This includes use of social media; 76% of all parents, including 71% of parents with children aged 10 and under, allow them to access social media – despite age restrictions which are supposed to prevent children under 13 from using most social media platforms. Among the under 10s, YouTube is the favourite social media platform (44%), followed by Facebook (32%), Instagram (22%), and Snapchat.

While some parents are relaxed about their children using phones and tablets for extended periods of time – 22% say ‘they aren’t bothered at all’ and 16% say they ‘don’t care as long as it keeps them quiet’ – others have concerns. When questioned, 20% of parents said they would rather their children engaged with other people in the car, nearly a quarter (22%) say they wish they would play traditional games instead, and almost one in five (18%) are worried this level of tech usage could be bad for their general health.

Tech in the car can also cause friction. Four in ten (40%) parents say phones and tablets cause arguments in the car, with 16% saying arguments are due to their children being glued to it, while 13% say they argue over who gets to use the phone or tablet.

However, no amount of technology is sufficient to stop children saying the dreaded words ‘are we there yet’ and ‘I need the loo’. On average, children now ask ‘are we there yet’ only 37 minutes into the journey and say they ‘need the loo’ after only 44 minutes – making the 37 to 44-minute period of a car journey the ‘seven minutes of doom’ when parents need to rush to find a suitable place for a break.

The research – which was conducted across several European countries – showed British children to be the most impatient in Europe. German children ask, ‘are we there yet’ on average after 45 minutes; French children after 44 minutes, Spanish children after 41 minutes and Irish children after 38 minutes.

On most occasions (64%) parents will wait until the next service station to allow their children to answer the call of nature, although 15% say they pull into the hard shoulder, and a strict 8% make their children wait until they reach the final destination.

It is hardly surprising then that many parents admit to the odd ‘fib’ ahead of a lengthy car journey – half of parents (50%) say they have told their children that a long car journey would be shorter than they expected it to be.

Ben Lawson, Vice President of Rental for Europe, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, says: “I have fond memories of playing games like i-spy in the car when I was a child. And like other parents, I still make the effort to play these games with my own children now, even though I also let them use tablets and phones once we’ve exhausted the amusement potential of car games.

“Our research shows that nine out of 10 people find it stressful to drive abroad on holiday – so keeping the children amused on longer trips means the parents can concentrate on the road – and of course, on finding that vital location for a loo break within 45 minutes!”

Alzheimer’s Society’s National Dementia Friendly Awards are on the lookout for people in Birmingham and Solihull who are improving the lives of those affected by dementia.

Now in their fourth year, the awards celebrate people who are raising awareness,changing attitudes and challenging misunderstandings around dementia.

Dementia devastates lives and by 2021, 1 million people will be living with the condition. The awards team wants to hear from people who are leading the dementia movement, inspiring others and are determined to transform the dementia landscape forever.

This year there are 13 awards up for grabs across 10 categories, including:

• Dementia Friendly Organisation
• Community Partnership
• Dementia Friends Champion
• Innovation
• Young person’s contribution
• Journalist
• Inspiring Individual

Last year’s winners included a junior school performing novel work with a care home, the East of England Co-op for widespread staff training on dementia and an NHS dementia-friendly dentistry programme in the North West.

Maria Parkes, Services Manager for Alzheimer's Society in Birmingham and Solihull said:

“I’m keen to see a variety of entrants from Birmingham and Solihull as there’s some terrific dementia-friendly work taking place here throughout the year.

“Every day we hear examples of people in the community who’ve made a real difference to the lives of people with dementia. This year’s awards will give them the recognition they truly deserve.”

Anyone who has made a difference to the lives of people affected by dementia is encouraged to enter. Industry experts will unite with people affected by dementia to choose the winners.

Nominations close at Midnight on Monday 21 August.  Enter by searching ‘Dementia Friendly Awards’ at alzheimers.org.uk. Entrants can nominate themselves or others.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 29 November by Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador, Angela Rippon CBE.

A year after it opened to the public on August 4, 2016, British Airways i360 will mark its first anniversary by thanking its customers and the city for their support.

As part of the celebrations:

• All customers taking a flight on the British Airways i360 pod on August 4, 2017, will be offered a birthday cupcake. A live band will perform on site in the afternoon and there will be free face-painting for children.
• Customers on the 2pm flight on August 4, which marks the moment the attraction opened to the public last year, will also be welcomed with free drinks from the Nyetimber Sky Bar.
• Any customers born on August 4 will be given a free flight on their birthday, subject to availability*.
• The attraction's 26,000 Resident Members will have their membership extended free of charge, meaning they can continue to enjoy half-price tickets for another 12 months**. Time restrictions on usage have also been lifted so that Resident Member discounts apply at any time of day, year-round.
• In addition to the 39,000 free tickets given to the city's school children in the last year, British Airways i360 will send free tickets to children starting reception classes in Brighton & Hove state schools in autumn 2017.
• The Belle Vue restaurant at British Airways i360 closes today (July 24) for a refit, and will re-open under a new name – the West Beach Bar & Kitchen, in time for the first-year anniversary. Celebrated local neon artist Andy Doig is creating a bespoke piece for the bar area and artwork by other Brighton artists will be displayed for sale year-round. Please see supplementary press release w/c July 31 for full information about the West Beach Bar & Kitchen.

“As we mark our first birthday next week, everyone at British Airways i360 will be celebrating the enormous achievements of the past year and the benefits the project has brought to Brighton & Hove. Most importantly, we will be thanking the city and our customers for their fantastic support.”

British Airways i360 was conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects, and was part-funded by a capital loan from the Public Works Loan Board via Brighton & Hove City Council. The council earns around £1m a year from interest on the loan, plus additional income from business rates and 1% of BA i360 ticket sales in perpetuity.

British Airways i360 Chairman David Marks said: “Over the last year, British Airways i360 has paid £2.6m to Brighton & Hove City Council in loan repayments, money the council is now using to regenerate the seafront. British Airways i360 has created 150 new local jobs, given away 39,000 tickets to the city's school children and won eight prestigious awards for design and innovation.”