New parents and mothers-to-be can get information and support about feeding their baby at a free event taking place to mark World Breastfeeding Week.

Pregnant women, new parents and families with young children can find out more about feeding their baby as well as other issues including reflexology, slings, hypnobirthing, baby massage and baby yoga at the event at Low Hill Strengthening Families Hub on Thursday 3 August.

Experts from the City of Wolverhampton Council's Public Health Team, the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust's Infant Feeding Team, the Healthy Lifestyles Team and Health Visitors will be on hand to offer advice and guidance, while families will be able to meet other parents, share experiences and learn new skills. Refreshments will be available, along with activities to keep babies and toddlers occupied.

Lisa Raghunanan, Strengthening Families Partnership Manager, said: "The aim of the event is to support mothers and families to get the information they need to make a fully informed choice on feeding their baby, to support and develop their parent-infant relationships, and also to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.”

Councillor Paul Sweet, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, added: "This event is part of the ongoing work of Public Health, Early Years and Wolverhampton’s Infant Feeding Team to encourage more new mums in Wolverhampton to breastfeed.

“Research shows that babies who are breastfed are less likely to develop illnesses such as gastroenteritis and respiratory and ear infections. They are also less likely to be obese or have high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels – all risk factors for heart disease.

“New mothers, mums-to-be and families with young children can find out more about feeding their baby at this free event, as well as getting information and advice about a range of other issues which will benefit themselves and their new arrival."

A sea of colourful wildflowers is springing up at open spaces and grass verges across Sandwell.

Five sites have been sown with a mix of wildflowers, creating a stunning multi-coloured display – brightening up the area and attracting bees and butterflies.

The flowers not only look beautiful and benefit local wildlife, they reduce the need for strimming, mowing and pesticides – saving time and money.

Three of the sites – Ashes Road open space in Oldbury, Sandy Lane open space in Friar Park and Balls Hill park in West Bromwich – have had new bollards recently installed following unauthorised encampments.

The flowers have been grown around the base of the bollards to add a splash of colour, encouraging bees and butterflies and reducing the need for strimming.

The verges on Brandon Way in West Bromwich have also been seeded, as has the Owen Street island in Tipton where a large conifer tree came down in high winds earlier this year.

Just last week, The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country named the A41 in West Bromwich the best for bees thanks to rare bee orchids and other plants growing there. This is down to the council changing when the mowing is done to allow the rare flowers to grow.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for highways Councillor David Hosell said: “We have had so much feedback from residents about the wildflowers – they have gone down incredibly well.

“They really are stunning to look at and they are attracting all sorts of bees, butterflies and insects.

“We’re now looking at other places we can use the wildflowers – and the beauty of them is, they will now re-seed for years to come.”

More than 20 people went over the edge in a 170ft abseil to raise money for Birmingham’s John Taylor Hospice.

Descending 17 floors from the roof of the city’s Park Regis Hotel, the abseilers have raised thousands of pounds to support local families.

It was the first abseil organised by the hospice which has cared for people with a terminal illness and their families for more than 100 years.

For many of the participants the event was the fulfilment of a lifetime ambition – but all agreed they were happy to put their feet back on solid ground.

Carl Oldacres, of Walsall, was taking part in memory of his dad Raymond who was cared for at John Taylor Hospice five years ago.

“They did such a good job at the hospice, they couldn’t have done any more for my dad and this is a way of saying thank you,” said 41-year-old Carl, who was cheered on by friends and family. “When my dad was at John Taylor Hospice they organised an 80^th birthday party for him. It was his last wish to have that 80^th birthday party and they did it all for him, they paid for it and everything. That is something you don’t forget.”

Abseiling in memory of her gran Enid Seeley was 27-year-old Kiran Seeley of Erdington. Enid was supported at home by the hospice teams after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2009.

“The abseil was brilliant,” Kiran said. “When I went over the edge I looked down and my legs just went to jelly but I just kept going and then you get over that.”

Teams from fashion store Fat Face in Birmingham’s Grand Central and electrical parts retailer eSpares also took part in the event. Both companies are long-term supporters of John Taylor.

Dan Mavr, a 24-year-old production data assistant at Small Heath based eSpares, said: “I wanted to abseil today to help John Taylor Hospice – and for the thrill of it. It was really good.”

Staff members from John Taylor Hospice also joined the team including Head of Fundraising Katie Mitchell, PR and Media Officer Louise Allen and Community Fundraising Manager Darren Dudley.

Katie said: “A huge well done to all of our abseilers and thank you to the Park Regis Hotel for being such fantastic hosts. It was a great day and it was lovely to meet so many people for whom John Taylor Hospice is a special place which has made a massive difference by caring for their loved ones.

“There are lots of other ways for people to support the hospice’s valuable work. There’s still time to join our Great Birmingham Run team, there are places at our Masquerade Ball and all our other events are on our www.johntaylorhospice.org.uk website.”

The Bell Inn, New Forest, has been shortlisted for one of the categories in the CLA and New Forest National Park Authority Awards 2017.

The awards seek to recognise those who live and work within the New Forest boundary who make an outstanding contribution to conserving the unique landscape and traditions of the New Forest. Consequently, The Bell Inn has been shortlisted for Best Supporter of Local Produce.

Owner, Robert Crosthwaite Eyre said, “We're delighted to have been shortlisted as it's a fantastic recognition of all the hard work the team do here at the Inn to support the locals. We're passionate about them! With the Inn having been part of our family for over 200 years, we're naturally, very committed to using local produce from the Forest, not only within our seasonal menus, but also in other ways, including offering New Forest Spring Water and New Forest Chocolates for staying guests. Our recent May Fair and Christmas shopping events attended by exhibiting New Forest Marque producers also proved to be hugely popular. Irrespective of the outcome of the awards, we will continue to find new and innovate ways to demonstrate our obvious commitment to and demonstrating passion for supporting the locals.”

The winners of the 2017 awards will be announced at the New Forest Show on Wednesday 26 July 2017.

Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme (RTYDS) have announced an Introduction to Directing course for West Midlands based new and emerging D/deaf and disabled directors in autumn 2017. The course will offer an amazing opportunity for anyone that has considered a career in directing or already has some experience but has faced barriers from pursuing it further.

The course, which is free to attend, will include weekly workshops with professional theatre directors and practitioners from both The REP and beyond focussing on the skills and resources individuals need to take work from the page to the stage and to continue to develop their craft.

The first workshop will begin on the evening of Wednesday 13 September 2017 and will run every week for 10 weeks culminating in a sharing of participants work to an invited audience.

Tessa Walker, Associate Director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre said:

“I am delighted that The REP and RTYDS are able to offer this unique opportunity to D/deaf and disabled directors from the region. To be able to welcome new directors into The REP and nurture and support them in the early stages of their directing life is a privilege and further strengthens our commitment to representing the diversity of our region in our theatre, in our stories and on our stages”.

Sue Emmas, Artistic Director, Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme said:

“Theatre needs to change.  We need to create an artistic democracy where the society around us is represented both on and off stage.  Directors can have the biggest impact.  They choose the stories to tell and the collaborators they work with to tell those stories. This is the first time the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme has run an Introduction to Directing for D/deaf and disabled new directors.  Be one of the artists who changes UK theatre.”

Priya Dosanjh, a previous participant on an RTYDS Introduction to Directing scheme at The REP also said:

“The Introduction to Directing course was a fantastic springboard for a career in theatre. Beyond the provision of a practical foundation in directing, it led to the ongoing support and mentorship of industry professionals. Within a year after concluding the course, I was assisting on a main house production - an opportunity that I was afforded as a direct consequence of my participation on the course. It’s an invaluable program for anybody in the foundling stages of their career.”

The Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme (RTYDS) is a professional artist development programme for new and emerging theatre directors in the UK. The scheme seeks out and nurtures the most talented theatre directors at the early stage of their careers; developing their skills and experience by placing them in the UK’s leading regional theatres and providing unique training and professional development opportunities.

On Thursday, 13^th July the Birmingham Commonwealth Association met at Birmingham's Council House. The group which is formed up of over thirty companies from various parts of the Commonwealth meets to discuss issues of importance to the companies and the Commonwealth in Birmingham as a whole, and how they can do more to ensure that the Commonwealth is promoted within the city.

Thursday’s meeting was held to discuss the upcoming arrival of the Jamaican Athletic Team on 28^th July and Jamaica In The Square, which is being held to celebrate the 55^th anniversary of Jamaican independence from 4^th to 6^th August, as well as to discuss what can be done to help Birmingham’s bid for the 2022 Commonwealth games.

The first item of discussion was the arrival of the Jamaican Athletic team to Birmingham on 28^th July. Their arrival promises to be just as big if not bigger than the team’s arrival in 2012 before the Olympics. Consequently, the discussion mainly focused on preparing for their arrival, where they would stay and the dinner that would be held in the evening for them, and ensuring that they were properly protected throughout the event. A gala dinner is to be held to celebrate their arrival and their achievements, with tickets currently on sale, so if you want to sit next to a world class athlete be sure to book your tickets as soon as possible!

Next came discussions about the Jamaica In the Square event being held from 4^th to 6^th August in Victoria Square to celebrate Jamaican independence. The discussion centred around how many people were expected, and what sort of things could be expected. If you’re attending this year, expect a lot of high quality music and food, and company.

Finally, on the matter of backing Birmingham’s bid to become the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, all those in attendance agreed that they would do what they could to encourage their communities and friends and families to support the bid and speak positively of Birmingham to make the bid as successful as possible.

All in all it was an interesting meeting and one that shows that there is a lot of promise and potential in Birmingham and the wider Commonwealth, just waiting to be tapped into.