Salem, Massachusetts may be known globally as the home of the notorious witch trials in the 17th century; however Scotland has had its own share of stories of witchcraft.

This year marks the 420th anniversary of the Great Witch Hunt of Scotland, which took place between March and October 1597 and was instigated by James VI. According to the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, more than 3,800 people, both men and women, were accused of witchcraft in Scotland during the period 1563 to 1736, which is when the Witchcraft Act was enforced in Scotland*. It is believed that two-thirds of those accused were executed.

Records of Scotland's witch trials shed light on a dark period in Scottish history, exposing a culture of fear and panic that cast a cloud over much of Scotland and Europe.

Many of Scotland's regions have links to this time with fascinating stories and places to explore during the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017. Visitors to Scotland can pay homage to the many locations which are linked to witchcraft, as well as some tours that are taking place this year.

Young architects, city planners and engineers are showcasing their dynamic artwork as part of a schools’ art showcase at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

Students from the innovative West Midlands Construction University College (MCUTC), a new school specialising in construction and the Application of IT in the Built Environment, are exhibiting etchings, pen and ink drawings and photography at the Lichfield Street gallery.

Among images on show are two copies of pen and ink drawings of the college’s Springfield Brewery site campus created by Year 10 students. The detailed drawings were presented to the HRH Duke of Gloucester and Lord Baker at the campus’ recent opening.

Other pieces include highly detailed and photorealistic hand drawn pencil portraits and a large photography pieces on display, the work of Year 10 photography students, records the sense of place with shots of at the listed Springfield Brewery Campus.

The exhibition is part of the gallery’s Young Artists programme, which celebrates the work of students from various schools across the city.

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “The standard of work in this showcase is extremely high and well worth celebrating. Well done to all the students taking part and good luck in their future endeavours.”

The runs until May 23 in the Sense and Sculpture gallery located on the first floor of the gallery.

WMCUTC is a new school, which specialises in Construction and the Application of IT in the Built Environment providing a high quality technical education for 14-19 year olds.

Students can follow three pathways in the school comprising Design, Build and Innovate. Design strand students look to careers such as architecture, interior design, town planning and landscape design, although all students, whether aiming to become civil engineers or software developers study a core curriculum including a design element.

Dog owners are being warned to keep chocolate treats away from their pets this Easter as new figures from the British Veterinary Association (BVA) reveal two in three vets treated at least one case of chocolate poisoning last Easter.

BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey, which polled over 1,600 UK vets, shows a marked increase in the number of vets seeing at least one dog with chocolate poisoning compared to the same period in 2015, with the highest number of incidences happening in the south of England.

Chocolate can be highly poisonous to pets as it contains theobromine, a naturally occurring chemical found in cocoa beans, which, while fine for humans, is harmful to dogs and other animals. 

British Veterinary Association President Gudrun Ravetz said:

“Easter is great fun for the whole family, but unfortunately dogs like to join in too. With their keen sense of smell, they will easily win Easter egg hunts so wherever chocolate is being stored – inside or outside – make sure it is pet proof and out of reach of inquisitive noses to avoid an emergency trip to the vet. Also remind any visitors over the Easter holidays to keep their chocolate out of the dog’s reach too.

“Over the bank holiday weekend veterinary practice opening hours may vary, so make sure you know how to contact your local vet during Easter. If you suspect your pet has eaten chocolate we’d advise contacting your local vet immediately.”

BVA's survey also highlighted that many pet owners are having to make urgent yet preventable trips to the vets over the Easter holidays, with 11% of vets who saw dogs with chocolate poisoning treating five or more cases.

The effects of chocolate poisoning in dogs, which are most commonly affected amongst pets, usually appear within 12 hours and can last up to three days. First signs can include excessive thirst, vomiting, diarrhoea and restlessness. These symptoms can then develop into hyperactivity, tremors, abnormal heart rate, hyperthermia and rapid breathing. In severe cases, dogs can experience fits and heartbeat irregularities and some cases can result in coma or death. If you suspect your dog has eaten chocolate, please contact your local vet immediately.

Green Lane Masjid, a mosque and community centre in Birmingham, has donated £1.2million to Human Appeal, a leading humanitarian aid charity in the UK. The money will go to providing flour for starving people inside Syria and to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon during the winter.

Human Appeal’s flour distribution project is renowned throughout the international aid community as one of the best in the world, it feeds 200,000 Syrians a month. Intentional organisations like the UN have worked with Human Appeal on this project.

The total donated is £1,234,000, mainly by members of Birmingham’s Muslim community, this was raised through regular collections in the mosque, through fundraising dinners, organised street collections and many other methods of raising money.

Othman Moqbel, Human Appeal’s Chief Executive, says of Green Lane Masjid’s support for Human Appeal “We are very grateful for Green Lane Mosque’s support. £1.2million is the equivalent of 4,113 tonnes of flour, which could feed up to 832,000 Syrians.

“This week has seen the plight of Syrians recapture international attention, so money to alleviate their suffering is needed more than ever – especially such a staggering amount”.

“We can’t emphasis enough on the importance of distributing flour to the bakeries of Syria. 9.8 million Syrians are classed as food insecure, with 6.8 million severely food insecure. Food production in Syria has also hit a record low with the 2015/2016 cropping season at the lowest ever. The wheat harvest estimate is approximately 1.5 million tonnes which, 55% lower than the pre-conflict average.

“Bread constitutes a major part of the Syrian diet, however, poor harvest, price hikes in agricultural inputs and loss of agricultural infrastructure has increased the price of bread by 87% in public bakeries. Shares of household expenditure on food has increased tremendously with families spending more than half of their incomes on food.

“Human Appeal began delivering flour to hard-to-reach and besieged areas of Syrian from 2011, today we have reached 3.7million people with our flour and the feedback we get is always positive and they are grateful to receive the food because most of them don’t have the 300 Syrian Pounds needed to buy a bag of bread. Human Appeal currently provides the bread for about 208,000 beneficiaries every month. For an average of 17 bakeries each month, we provide the flour to keep them in operation, giving their staff a regular income and liberating them from being dependant on humanitarian aid.”

It marks the beginning of the end of 52 years of hurt, as The Stag Company has announced plans to host the first Bubble Football World Cup in London in May 2018, with the final set to take place on Wembley's hallowed turf.

The hunt is now on to find the first English national team, with applications open for the qualification tournament which will be held in London on 25 June.

The sport, which sees footballers don inflated zorb-style body suits, originated in 2011 on Norwegian television show Golden Goal. In 2013 ex-professional footballer Dan Chillingworth saw its potential for the UK market and set-up Xtreme Events to bring Bubble Football to the nation.

Rob Hill, The Stag Company CEO & Founder of the Bubble Football World Cup said: “In the last few years, Bubble football has captured the imaginations of thousands of people. It's seriously fun to play, a great test of skill and hilarious to watch.

“With the English national team being rolled out of major tournaments on a regular basis, the Bubble Football World Cup could be the thing to end all those years of hurt next May. Every five-a-side team or bunch of mates should think about entering for the chance to represent their country.”

With 12 international teams already signed up, including Brazil, South Africa, Finland, Germany, Scotland and Republic of Ireland, organisers hope to attract even more international talent to take on the new England team come May 2018.

Neville Nania, Head of Business Development from event partners Xtreme Events, the UK's leading Bubble Football hosts, added: “Over 55,000 people are expected to play Bubble Football up and down the UK this year. Our team have hosted and refereed thousands of matches and can testify that there is some genuine sporting talent out there just waiting to be unearthed.”

The USA currently ranks as the biggest proponents of Bubble Football with the National Association of Bubble Soccer boasting 39 leagues, each with 8-12 teams competing.

The Bubble Football World Cup tournament is set to take place throughout the weekend of 19 May 2018, where the final will be hosted at Wembley on Sunday 20 May.

Meet four of the runners proudly representing their home nations as part of this year’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K featuring the Commonwealth Run.

Organisers of the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k have created a distinctly Commonwealth theme at the event to raise the profile of the city’s bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

And runners representing Canada, Jamaica, England and Wales, gathered at Birmingham’s Council House in Victoria Square to meet each other for the first time.

Taking place on Sunday, 30th April, the popular city centre run is now less than a month away and will feature elite teams from as many Commonwealth nations as possible, with 20 countries now signed up.

Meeting for the first time were runners Alison Fox (Canada), from Nottingham, Thomas Glave (Jamaica), from Birmingham, Graham Williams (Wales), from Smethwick and Adam Guy (England), from Birmingham.

They were joined by Birmingham-born Ian Stewart, one of the world’s leading distance runners between the late 1960s and mid-1970s, who flew the flag for Scotland.

Admin worker Alison, who hails from Ontario but now lives in Nottingham, has lost a remarkable 11 stone in weight since she started running following a family bereavement.

Alison’s grandfather was born in Scotland and after completing a study-abroad year in Leeds in 2011 she applied for a UK ancestry visa to allow her to live and work in the UK.

“I only started running two years ago when I was trying to lose weight,” said the 29-year-old. “I discovered I really enjoyed it. Before, I couldn’t run five-feet, let alone 10K!

“I’ve now lost just under 11 stone and I recently completed my first marathon.

“I’m really excited to be representing Canada at the Great Birmingham 10K,” she added.

“One of my running heroes is the Canadian marathon record holder Lanni Marchant and I asked her for some advice before my first full marathon and she even congratulated me after I finished it.”

Liz McColgan, one of Britain's most distinguished athletes, will be jetting into Birmingham from her Qatar base to take part in the Commonwealth Run as she captains the Scotland team.

A two-time gold medallist over 10,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986 and Auckland in 1990, as well as winning the 1991 World Championships and silver at the 1988 Olympic Games, she achieved further gold medal glory at the 1992 World Half Marathon Championships, 1991 New York City Marathon, 1992 Tokyo Marathon and 1996 London Marathon.

Liz will be among the 7,000 people running, jogging or walking this year’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K on Sunday, April 30.

“With a population of over a million people in the city and an array of Commonwealth nationalities, we’re looking forward to a spectacular day in Birmingham,” said Great Run Communications Director, David Hart.