Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas from everyone at The Phoenix Newspaper!

Exciting crafts and tasty treats are being served up by Bilston Craft Gallery's new café. It has launched a pop-up Craft Café offering a family-friendly environment in which people can enjoy delicious home-made treats while trying out a wide range of creative activities. Visitors young and old can have a go at clay play, painting, ceramic painting and collage, with activities starting from just £3 per person.

With Christmas fast approaching, homes up and down the country will be blooming with festive flora. However, while merry mistletoe, a twinkling pine and ruby red poinsettia will ensure that festive feeling, they’re among several seasonal plants and trees that can be poisonous to cats and dogs.

Local choirs and bands from Birmingham raised nearly £500 by singing for shoppers and passers-by in Birmingham City Centre as part of Midlands-based national charity, Heart Research UK’s annual “Sing for your Heart” campaign. Hosted by Heart Research UK in the Midlands, the Brindleyplace event was led by the Sutton Coldfield Community Choir along with performances from the City of Birmingham Brass Band and Vivat! Choir.

A cheque for almost £30,000 has been presented to Birmingham Children’s Hospital following a successful year of fundraising by the NEC Group. NEC Group Chief Executive Paul Thandi presented the cheque for £29,260.66 at the Group’s annual Awards ceremony. “Birmingham Children’s Hospital does incredible work helping thousands of children and their families from across the West Midlands and beyond every year, and the NEC Group staff really got behind it as their chosen charity of the year.

Months of planning, dedication, hard work and vision were realised on Saturday 5th December 2015 at The Phoenix Newspaper 5th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony at Bethel Convention Centre, West Bromwich. Backed by main sponsor McDonald’s, as well as Crownsway Insurance Brokers Limited, the cold day did nothing to chill the spirits of those present. The morning quiet was broken with the vibrant sounds of the Dhol Blasters heralding the arrival of HRH Nana Agyemang Nyamekye Amlak, the Aduana Head of Kwakye Dida Nsuta Ashanti in Ghana.