A new survey, commissioned to promote Diabetes UK’s ‘Food you Love’ campaign during Diabetes Week, has found that broccoli is the West Midlands favourite vegetable, receiving 19 per cent of the total vote. The banana saw off stiff competition from the pineapple and strawberry to take the West Midlands fruit crown with 18 per cent of the vote.

Apples also fared particularly well in the survey following just behind pineapple and strawberry following banana at the top of the table. However orange, apricot, blackberry and pomegranate received no votes.

Broccoli was joined by sweetcorn and carrot at the top of the veg table, both receiving 16 per cent and ten per cent respectively of the vote, while cabbage, kale and asparagus  were the region’s least favourite vegetables each receiving only one per cent).

In order to get people eating more healthily, Diabetes UK has embarked on a new ‘Food you love’ advertising campaign all about healthy eating to inspire everyone with recipes featuring the food they love, but healthier.  The charity hopes the easy recipes and tips will inspire more people to make small changes that can make a big difference to how they manage their diabetes.

Peter Shorrick, Diabetes UK Midlands regional head said:

“It is fascinating to see the variation in the West Midlands fruit and veg taste. Who knew that we were so keen on bananas, or that nearly one in five people think broccoli is the best veg?

“Eating fruit and veg is a great way of getting vital vitamins and fibre and a much healthier snack option than reaching for crisps, cereal bars or even smoothies. They are also low in calories and super filling.”

The ‘Food you love’ campaign is being fronted by five ‘everyday’ people living with diabetes cooking their favourite recipes and has received celebrity support from chefs including: Jamie Oliver, Prue Leith, ‘Deliciously’ Ella and Angela Hartnett.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity is excited to announce its bear-illiant new event this summer in association with The Big Sleuth – Fun Family 5.

Taking place on Saturday 29 July at Boldmere Gate, Sutton Park, Fun Family 5 is the charity’s first-ever 5k sponsored walk, being held from 9.30am to 4pm.

Featuring loads of grrr-eat activities, from bear-themed face painting, to circus skills workshops, bouncy castles and much more, attendees are encouraged to get sponsored to stroll through Sutton’s beautiful parkland, before enjoying the event’s dedicated Activity Zone.

An exclusive Big Sleuth bear, whose identity is currently being kept under wraps, will also be unveiled on the day in celebration of The Big Sleuth public art trail – which will see 100 giant bear sculptures on display around the city from Monday 10 July.

The colourful character, which is unlike any other bear on the trail, will then join its furry friends on the 10-week trail across Birmingham, with satellite trails also taking place in Solihull, Sandwell, Resorts World and the home of Fun Family 5 – Sutton Coldfield.

Annie Eytle, Acting Events and Regional Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing the magic of The Big Sleuth to life with our brand-new event and hope families will join us to see our top-secret bear for the very first time, whilst enjoying a fun-filled day of fundraising!”

She added: “Every year, our hospital treats over 90,000 children and young people from across the country. We’d love as many people as possible to sign up to Fun Family 5 and encourage their friends, family and colleagues to sponsor them too in support of our sick kids, ensuring we can continue to be the world-class hospital that everyone knows and loves.”

One of the Black Country's oldest fairground families make a welcome return to the City of Wolverhampton in July for their second fiesta.

The Harry Jones Company is holding the two-day Wolverhampton Fiesta in West Park on Saturday, July 15 and Sunday 16.

It promises a range of entertainment, including giant monster trucks, an international stunt team, T-Rex Dinosaur and Chinese Lion Dancers, the best traditional fairground rides, and food and trade stalls.

Tribute act Beyonce will entertain audiences on a music stage, along with Jason Jones from the Voice, in both afternoon and evening shows.

The Harry Jones Company, based in Thompson Avenue, Parkfields, has been providing fairground entertainment in the Black Country for more than a century.

Twenty-five-year-old Harry Jones, whose great grandfather started the business with a simple coconut shy in 1893, said: "We had a really successful year in 2016 and we are glad to be back again to provide entertainment for the people of Wolverhampton.

"Over two days we are providing not just our well-loved fairground rides but also live entertainment, fire breathers, Chinese dancers, and breathtaking displays by motorcross stunt show teams, to name but a few acts.

"We want to give families looking for a day out some great entertainment on their doorstep."

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: "The Jones family have been providing fairground entertainment for generations.

"It's great that they are hosting the fiesta again in West Park and I hope plenty of families will come along to enjoy the funfair and all the other attractions."

The Wolverhampton Fiesta takes place at West Park from 12pm to 8pm on both days. Entrance will cost £3 for adults and £2 for children. Additional charges apply.

Parents and carers of young children with autism are being encouraged to find out more about a national programme designed to improve their understanding of the condition.

Tettenhall Wood School's Outreach Service for the Autism Spectrum is holding information events about EarlyBird Plus, a National Autistic Society support programme for parents and carers of children with an autism spectrum condition aged between four and eight.

The course focuses on understanding autism, offers advice and guidance on strategies, supports in building confidence to encourage interaction and communication and provides ideas on analysing and managing behaviour.

Two information sessions are being held at the Regis Road school open to parents and carers as well as professionals working with children with autism who are interested in taking part in EarlyBird Plus. They are being held on Wednesday 28 June from 10am-11am and Thursday 29 June from 4pm-5pm. To book places, please call 01902 556519 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Tettenhall Wood School is Wolverhampton's designated special school for children with autism, and staff have developed specialist knowledge and skills in order to meet a complex range of needs.

Its Outreach Service offers support to mainstream and specialist schools across Wolverhampton which work with pupils that have a diagnosis of autism, helping them to overcoming barriers to learning and in doing so, build capacity for future success.

The Outreach Service also helps parents of children with an autism diagnosis by holding monthly support groups and regular parent workshops on a range of relevant topics.

Severn Trent’s Apprentice team enjoyed a night of success at the 2017 School Leavers Awards.

The ceremony, organised by AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk, celebrates the Top 100 employers on offer to young people, with the event seeing Severn Trent’s apprentice team take home three prestigious awards.

Mark Smith, Severn Trent apprentice recruitment advisor, says: “We’ve managed to leap from 89^th place to 13^th in the top 100 employers for young people in just one year. We’re really proud to be recognised for all the hard work we’ve done this year engaging with young people about their careers and futures.

“We share our Severn Trent Careers story through presentations, workshops and interactive skills sessions, and have delivered these through more than 100 school visits this academic year and plan to grow even further.”

The team from Severn Trent won awards for: Best Recruitment Campaign, Best Schools Engagement in a Recruitment Campaign, and Best Higher Apprenticeship.

Severn Trent apprentice, Hannah Black, also picked up the runner-up award for School Leaver of the Year.

Mark said: “It’s fantastic to see Hannah being recognised at a national level for the tremendous efforts she’s put into her apprenticeship. Her ambition, innovation and talent mean she’s getting the most out of her apprenticeship, and has made a huge impact on Severn Trent.”

The company is taking on a further 62 apprentices this year, who will have eight schemes to choose from, all with different routes to take which will help to form their career at Severn Trent

“Winning these awards reinforces that we’re doing something right, and engaging with young people in the right way,” adds Mark. “We’re excited to be taking on more apprentices and bringing in new talent to Severn Trent to help us hopefully reach that number one spot!”

Jack Denton, director and co-founder of AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk, said: “With the new Apprenticeship Levy introduced this April, there are more programmes than ever for young people to choose from. By including apprentice level  specific categories – like the Best Higher Apprenticeship category won by Severn Trent – we’re helping young people identify the best employers at the levels they are most interested in.

"As more businesses plan to take on apprentices following the Levy, it's also important for employers to see how best to engage with and recruit school leavers. Severn Trent's awards in this field not only celebrate their great work but will help other organisations – who might be more accustomed to recruiting university graduates – wanting to learn how to tap into this growing market."

Politics, elections, Donald Trump, and Pokémon GO are just some of the events, people, and subjects that influence British children’s creativity and use of language, says a report published today by Oxford University Press (OUP).

Following OUP's analysis of the 131,798 fabulously inventive, funny and politically astute short stories for the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Chris Evans’ Breakfast Show’s 500 Words competition, a wealth of fascinating insights into the lives of British children and their imaginative use of English have emerged.

The Children’s Word of the Year is Trump, picked because of its significant increase in use (a total rise of 839 per cent on 2016) by entrants writing in this year’s competition and the sophisticated way in which children used it to convey humour and satire, and evoke powerful descriptive imagery.  Every year children show a keen interest in contemporary affairs and world events from sinkholes and the London Olympics to the Ebola crisis, refugees and Tim Peake’s spacewalk. This year, Donald Trump took office as President of the United States in the same week that 500 Words launched.

Trump is mentioned in a wide variety of contexts, from the US elections and politics, to tales of space, aliens, and superheroes, giving expression to children’s creativity, playfulness, and humour. Children also use the noun to invent new character names including Boggle Trump and Snozzle Trump.

Children have been playing with blends, suffixes and prefixes to create new words improvised around Trump. In fact there are more than 100 instances of words such as Trumplestilskin, Trumpyness, Trumpido, Trumpeon and Trumpwinningtastic. Girl 10 in the Sticky Journey writes: “OH NO! I have spoken too soon… the train's track has broken because a mean Trumpdiddlydumper blew a bit out of the track… Our Marshmallow Goblin-Trolls get to work immediately.” We even have stories featuring characters such as Donald Trout, Hillary Kitten, and Obama Llama.

Vocabulary associated with the US presidency was far more prevalent in 2017 than in 2016, including president, America, wall, Hillary Clinton, White House, Trump Towers, Obama, Mexico and Putin. Displaying an ear for Trump’s particular use of words and catch phrases, one entry stood out for its ability to brilliantly capture the rhythm of his speech. In Donald J Trump Goes to the Moon, a 12-year old girl wrote: “10... 9...8 ‘my hair is so amazing’...7. ‘And real’. 6... 5 ‘I am going to make the moon great again!’. 3... 2...1 blast off!!”