Staff and volunteers at Galton Valley Pumping station in Smethwick will celebrate the building's 125^th anniversary with a free family and community fun day next month.

The wildlife themed event is on Saturday 8 July between 10am and 3pm and will be at the station itself and further down the canal.

Jane Hanney, Sandwell's museum services manager, said: “Staff from Dudley Zoo will be at the event with some of their smallest animals, as well as representatives of the RSPB and Birmingham and Black Country wildlife trust with information and activities to get involved with.

“There will be a heritage boat and an arty and crafty boat with loads to have a go at. Visitors can also enjoy the live music, craft activities and trails along the canal,” she added.

"There is something for all ages and a great opportunity to take a walk along the Galton Valley canal and spot the wildlife and nature."

Councillor Richard Marshall, cabinet member for leisure, said: “The Galton Valley pumping station  is a truly historic building and was built to regulate water levels between the old and new mainline canals.

“It is wonderful that after 125 years visitors can get along and learn about life on the canals and how they were built and played such a big part in the industrial development of the area.”

The building is opened once a month staffed by our brilliant volunteers who help Sandwell Museums look after this building.

Spectators will line the Canals of Birmingham this Saturday as the 18^th annual Brindleyplace Dragonboat Race sponsored by Deutsche Bank returns to the City with a record-breaking target of raising £100,000 for Birmingham based blood cancer charity, Cure Leukaemia.

Teams from across the region including Nandos, Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, GVA, West Midlands Combined Authorities, Siamais, Kind Group, Colliers International, The ICC, Jaguar Land Rover, Middleton Foods, Genting Casino, Harvey Nash and not forgetting the event sponsors Deutsche Bank, will battle it out in fancy dress to find out who will be crowned Dragonboat Champions!

The monumental target of £100,000 has been set to help fund 10% of Cure Leukaemia’s £1million Centre Appeal to fully fund the expansion of the Centre for Clinical Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. Work started on the transformational £3.2m project last month and when complete, the capacity of the globally significant Centre will be doubled meaning double the number of patients treated and hopefully more lives saved, just like that of 28-year-old Elizabeth Dean from Birmingham.

Back in 2014, Lizzie was happily enjoying life.

She had a successful job as a mechanical engineer and had recently moved in with her boyfriend Phil. Lizzie had been suffering from tonsillitis and after a visit to her GP, was prescribed antibiotics. The antibiotics cleared the tonsillitis but Lizzie continued to feel ill, tired and was suffering from a high heart rate. After phoning the NHS helpline who were alarmed by her high heart rate, Lizzie was referred to A&E.

The next morning, as Lizzie sat in the waiting area, she found herself too ill to walk and as her name was called to go through to triage, she stood up and passed out immediately.

She was taken up to the Ward, before blood tests revealed she had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and her course of treatment started that very day.

Lizzie said, “After being diagnosed, I lay on the bed with my partner sat next to me and it dawned on me that in the snap of my fingers, I had gone from being normal to being ill. Everything had changed.”

“When the Doctor told me I had blood cancer, my first question was – am I going to have a normal life?”

“She simply replied, I don’t know.”

“I accepted it pretty fast. I told myself, it is what it is and being sad and upset isn’t going to change it. I made that decision very early on. Not to be sad, not to cry and to be as happy as I can each day. That way it would be better for me and everyone visiting me.”

“Working as a mechanical engineer, I fix things. And I told myself if I did exactly what the Doctors told me, then they would fix me too.”

After the first four cycles of treatment, Lizzie was told she was in remission and went back to work.

Just a few months later, she then received the dreaded news that her cancer had returned and shortly after, she underwent a bone marrow transplant and once again went in to remission.

Despite being in remission, Lizzie continued to suffer from side effects and her vision became blurry due to a leukaemic mass behind her optic nerve. The leukaemia had returned for the second time and she lost the sight in her eye as a result.

She was told that there was nothing more they could do for her and she had just months to live.

Despite hearing this, Lizzie was placed on a world first clinical trial (VIOLA), run by the team of Doctors and Nurses at the Centre for Clinical Haematology, Birmingham.

She said, “I wouldn’t be alive now without the Centre for Clinical Haematology and the fact that I was referred to Birmingham for my bone marrow transplant after the first relapse.”

“The Centre is always crowded and the new expansion is so important. By doubling the capacity, they can treat more patients and hopefully keep more people alive, just like they’ve done for me. If the nurses at the Centre weren’t funded by Cure Leukaemia, they wouldn’t be able to carry out these life-saving trials and treat the patients.”

Lizzie kindly agreed to feature in Cure Leukaemia’s £1m Centre Appeal brochure to share her story.

“I feel like I’m helping a little bit” she said.

“People are doing incredible things for Cure Leukaemia - cycling, running, triathlons and all those taking part in the Dragonboat Race this Saturday. I can’t do any of that as I’m not strong enough but if I can help in this little way (by sharing my story), then it’s a fantastic way to raise funds for the Doctors and Nurses who helped me since my diagnosis three years ago.”

The first race begins at 11am with the final taking place at 16.15pm. There will be a host of family activities taking part in Brindleyplace including a children’s fancy dress competition, arts and crafts market, face painting, Punch and Judy show and so much more. Spectators are being invited to wear red to turn Birmingham a sea of red and all races will be broadcast LIVE on a giant screen in the square thanks to Elonex Outdoor Media.

Hundreds of pupils from across Wolverhampton took part in a spectacular musical performance in Queen Square.

Around 500 children from 16 primary and special schools in the City joined the free concert, performing songs in a wide range of styles and traditions led by Paul Wilcox from Wolverhampton Music Education Hub.

The performance marked the culmination of a six-month project organised and delivered by Wolverhampton Music Service. Teachers from schools around Wolverhampton took part in regular workshops, learning songs which they could subsequently teach in their own schools in preparation for the performance.

Sarah Tulley, Wolverhampton Music Service Assistant Headteacher, said: “The concert was an enormous success. There was an amazing atmosphere as the children sang and there was even some audience participation.

“The weather was kind this year, so the children only wore waterproof ponchos for their performance of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, unlike last year when there were downpours.

“The children really enjoyed themselves and were a huge credit to their schools. Wolverhampton is very proud of them.”

She added that Wolverhampton Music Service plans to repeat the event again next year.

Claire Darke, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “This performance demonstrated once again just how talented our children and young people are, and I would like to say a huge well done to everyone involved.”

Wolverhampton Music Service provides tuition and musical opportunities for youngsters from schools across the city, including the chance to perform with its flagship groups, Wolverhampton Youth Orchestra and Wolverhampton Youth Wind Orchestra.

A Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice volunteer has won a prestigious accolade in recognition of his outstanding efforts to the community.

Richard Green, who volunteers in the income generation team at the Hospice, won ‘Community Volunteer of the Year’ at the Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) volunteering awards.

The retired engineer from Sutton Coldfield picked up the award at Soho House in June, at a ceremony that celebrates the achievements of Birmingham’s top volunteers.

Having dedicated five years to the charity - which provides vital care and support to families living with terminal illness across Birmingham and Sandwell – Richard took home the acclaimed gong due to his fundraising and event-planning efforts.

The award-winner was particularly praised for his role in the organisation’s ‘Treecycling’ campaign – a seasonal initiative that recycles unwanted Christmas trees whilst raising funds for the Hospice. By writing proposals, securing top sponsorship deals and mapping out collection routes, Richard’s support helped raise an incredible £33,000 earlier this year, which was a 32 per cent increase from 2016.

Richard Green, volunteer at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said: “Winning this award is not only rewarding from a personal point of view but it is a fantastic way of raising the profile of the Hospice and our brilliant Treecycling campaign. Seeing our community grow year-on-year is gratifying and I’m proud to be a part of it.

“I am incredibly grateful to the fundraising team at the Hospice for their help, support and friendship, and for giving me the opportunity to work on some amazing projects and events – it has been both a privilege and a pleasure.”

Tina Swani, CEO at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said: “Richard is an exceptional volunteer and we couldn’t be prouder of his award win. His specialist skills, and his drive, passion and positive thinking, have had a huge impact on the fundraising team and the campaigns he regularly supports.

“Without Richard’s help – or the assistance of our other 400 volunteers – we wouldn’t be able to provide such a wide range of services to support local families living with terminal illness. The BVSC awards are a brilliant way of recognising the commitment of these individuals and we’re thrilled that Richard was amongst the winners on the night.”

City of Wolverhampton Council was crowned Council of the Year at the ‘Oscars of local government’ and also scooped three other awards at a ceremony in London.

The council was the star of the show at the Municipal Journal (MJ) Awards held at London’s Hilton Park Lane Hotel and hosted by television star Joanna Lumley.

The MJ Awards are open to all councils across the country and are judged by a panel of leading experts.

This year City of Wolverhampton Council was a finalist in seven out of the 14 categories – which was more than any other council.

As well as winning the top accolade of Council of the Year, City of Wolverhampton Council also took home Most Improved Council, Senior Leadership Team of the Year and Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny.

It was also highly commended in the Impact and Learning in Children’s Services category.

Winning four awards is believed to be a record.

Heather Jameson, Editor of the MJ, said: “Judges praised City of Wolverhampton Council for delivering consistently excellent services across all key areas and the council was described as an outstanding example of modern local government where the resident is at the heart of sound commercial decision-making.

“It was a truly fabulous night and congratulations to all our winners and particularly City of Wolverhampton.”

City of Wolverhampton Council leader Cllr Roger Lawrence said that the outstanding success was independent recognition of the transformation of the authority over recent years.

He added: “Receiving these four fantastic accolades is a testament to the hard work we’ve invested into putting our residents at the heart of all we do, improving services and making our city a rising star within the local government world.

“I am delighted that we took home the top prize of the night, ‘Local Authority of the Year’ after being runner up last year.

“It shows the huge strides we have made on our transformation journey to become a confident, capable council. – and I would like to thank all those involved for helping make this possible.”

Managing director Keith Ireland said: “To be finalist in seven of the 14 categories and win four of those awards is absolutely fantastic. This is a real achievement for the city council, its residents. employees, councillors and partners.”

City of Wolverhampton Council was crowned Council of the Year at the ‘Oscars of local government’ and also scooped three other awards at a ceremony in London.

The council was the star of the show at the Municipal Journal (MJ) Awards held at London’s Hilton Park Lane Hotel and hosted by television star Joanna Lumley.

The MJ Awards are open to all councils across the country and are judged by a panel of leading experts.

This year City of Wolverhampton Council was a finalist in seven out of the 14 categories – which was more than any other council.

As well as winning the top accolade of Council of the Year, City of Wolverhampton Council also took home Most Improved Council, Senior Leadership Team of the Year and Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny.

It was also highly commended in the Impact and Learning in Children’s Services category.

Winning four awards is believed to be a record.

Heather Jameson, Editor of the MJ, said: “Judges praised City of Wolverhampton Council for delivering consistently excellent services across all key areas and the council was described as an outstanding example of modern local government where the resident is at the heart of sound commercial decision-making.

“It was a truly fabulous night and congratulations to all our winners and particularly City of Wolverhampton.”

City of Wolverhampton Council leader Cllr Roger Lawrence said that the outstanding success was independent recognition of the transformation of the authority over recent years.

He added: “Receiving these four fantastic accolades is a testament to the hard work we’ve invested into putting our residents at the heart of all we do, improving services and making our city a rising star within the local government world.

“I am delighted that we took home the top prize of the night, ‘Local Authority of the Year’ after being runner up last year.

“It shows the huge strides we have made on our transformation journey to become a confident, capable council. – and I would like to thank all those involved for helping make this possible.”

Managing director Keith Ireland said: “To be finalist in seven of the 14 categories and win four of those awards is absolutely fantastic. This is a real achievement for the city council, its residents. employees, councillors and partners.”