Winnipeg may not be the first place you think of for a city break but one that will not disappoint.   A small compact city where you will find arts and culture with world-class museums, live music, dance and theatre. Winnipeg is the type of city visitors need to get underneath the skin of to find hidden gems that the locals know.

For a romantic getaway you need a place to stay, and the one Winnipeg hotel tailor made for romance is Mariaggi's Theme Suite Hotel, a highly rated hotel where every room is an exotic, worldly location. TripAdvisor has li

sted Mariaggi's as one of the 10 most-romantic hotels in the world.

Start the day exploring the city on tandem bikes. With two locations in the city, including The Forks, The Forks and Assiniboine Park, these bike rentals (Bee-2-Gether) are ideally situated to see some of the best, and romantic, spots in the city.

Select The Forks route, to explore all the curves along the river and then pedal over the Esplanade Riel, Winnipeg's stylish pedestrian bridge, to St. Boniface, Winnipeg's Francophone neighbourhood which is oozing with French culture and flavour.

On a quiet street corner tucked-in behind the St. Boniface Cathedral you'll find La Belle Baguette . The bakery itself smells like heaven, while the pastries, breads and baked goods that come out of its kitchen are guaranteed to be love at first sight.

St. Boniface is teeming with delightful patios, and one of the best is found at Promenade Café and Wine, which provides stunning vistas of the downtown. Promenade itself is an excellent restaurant for French cuisine.

From here take a trip along Winnipeg's winding rivers with Splash Dash Guided River Tours. These river taxis take off and pick up passengers at multiple stops throughout the Assiniboine and Red rivers while providing stunning perspectives of Winnipeg's riverbanks and architecture.

For a leisurely stroll through gardens and past wondrous works of art head to Assiniboine Park , Winnipeg's verdant 1,110-acre masterpiece. From the abundance of flowers in the Formal English Gardens to the tree lined paths leading to the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden. This tranquil garden contains more than 300 awe-inspiring works from Mol, the renowned Ukrainian Canadian sculptor. Throughout summer free jazz performances are a regular occurrence here, adding to the ambiance.

Have a picnic amongst Assiniboine Park's expansive green spaces. Pick up lunch from The Park Café at the Qualico Family Centre then take a seat in one of Assiniboine Park's six other gardens where floral fragrances hang in the air.

For another way to relax try Thermëa by Nordik Spa-Nature , a Scandinavian spa in the Fort Garry neighbourhood, All you need is a bathing suit, a robe and some flip flops, and this place will do the rest with its hot thermal pools, steamy and dry saunas, and cold pools and waterfall, which are all meant to use in a hot-cold-hot cycle. Thermëa is ideal for couples, as you'll need someone to rub the invigorating and exfoliating lavender salts on your back between steam room sessions. Plus, they have tantalizing cuisine for lunch and dinner where dining in robes is mandatory.

The Inn at the Forks' Riverstone Spa is cited as one of the best hotel spas in Canada. Riverstone has three different couples packages — Spa for Two, the Aaaaahhh Package and Together We Will Escape — that involve massages, hand and foot therapy, an overnight stay in the beautiful hotel, and breakfast in SMITH restaurant, the ultimate 24-hour pampering treat.

As night falls, head out to one of Winnipeg's celebrated tapas restaurants because nothing entices like sharing bites. In Osborne Village you can savour Spanish flavours at Segovia — Winnipeg's most acclaimed restaurant. If you get there early be sure to get a seat on the charming little patio where you can sip some cava and enjoy delectable bites.

Durham City has another accolade to add to its collection, after being shortlisted as one of the ten most romantic UK city break destinations by TripAdvisor-owned site HolidayLettings.co.uk.

According to research generated by the online holiday lettings company, Durham received the second highest percentage of reviews mentioning 'romance', and the vote is now open for the public to choose their winner.

Michelle Gorman, managing director at Visit County Durham, said: “We are thrilled that this shortlist is shining a light on Durham as a romantic city. With our award-winning eateries, luxury accommodation, breath-taking scenery and world-class spas, Durham is a year-round destination for romance and winning this award would be an incredible way to showcase Durham as a romantic getaway destination”.

Spokesperson for Holiday Lettings Laurel Greatrix added: “Durham's vibrant history, stunning architecture, and proximity to the Durham Dales, makes for a perfect romantic getaway travellers will enjoy”.

Voting is open until Tuesday February 13, with the winner being revealed on Valentine's Day.

Children are being given a love of books from an early age thanks to trailblazing library scheme in Sandwell.

The Booktastic scheme gives reception age children at every Sandwell primary school a special library card and encourages them to visit their local library to borrow books.

Four and five-year-olds borrowed almost 12,000 books over the last school year and there are now a record number of young children who are library members - standing at nearly 13,000 members through the Booktastic scheme.

This week, children from Mesty Croft Academy visited Wednesbury Library for a session called Buzz Buzz Bumble Bee and to be presented with their library cards.

Each reception child across Sandwell is given a special Booktastic membership pack, including a membership card, folder and information about the library service.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for children’s services Councillor Simon Hackett said: “It’s so important that children learn to love books and reading from a young age.

“I set up the Booktastic scheme and it’s now in its fourth year - it’s really popular with children and families. It raises awareness of how great our libraries are and how valuable it is for children and their education to enjoy reading.

“Children who read for pleasure have higher literacy levels and achieve better results at school, so our libraries are great places for children to come along, choose some great books and really learn to love reading.”

A Surrey woman will be busking in 15 cities across the UK, in three days, in a bid to raise vital funds for Alzheimer’s Society.

Kitty Pandya hopes to raise more than £500 for the charity, during the first weekend of March this year. She will start her journey from Winchester, to Southampton, through the West Midlands and finishing in London.

The 23-year-old said: “I decided to take part in this challenge for Alzheimer’s Society because of both my personal experience and the challenges dementia causes to society and people living with dementia.  My nana was diagnosed with dementia around three and a half years ago, and it was only then that I began to understand exactly what the disease entails.

“I’m one person out of millions affected by Alzheimer’s disease – directly or indirectly – and my hope with this challenge is that I can do a little to help fund both the vital research conducted and support offered by Alzheimer’s Society.

“It’s great to think that I will be raising funds to help support people to live well with dementia and to fund research to one day find a cure for dementia.”

Alzheimer's Society community fundraiser for Coventry, Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent, Lisa Courtney welcomed Kitty’s decision to boost the charity.  She said: “It’s great that Kitty is giving her time to support Alzheimer’s Society. Dementia can happen to anyone and there is currently no cure. But with the right support, people can live well with dementia.​

“As a charity, we rely on the generosity of individuals like Kitty to help us continue our vital work so that Alzheimer's Society can continue leading the fight against dementia.”

An academic from Birmingham City University has been working with PhD students at the University of Rwanda (UR) to help them advance academic research in the East African country and the wider region.

Senior Lecturer Dr Peter Samuels previously volunteered at UR in 2016 and 2017 before returning in December last year to teach a group of doctoral researchers on a trip made possible with an International Credit Mobility from Erasmus+.

Dr Samuels is based in Birmingham City University’s Centre for Academic Success, which equips students with the skills they need to make the best of every opportunity during their studies.

The Centre offers advice on study skills, helps students improve their academic writing and bolsters competencies in maths and statistics in both one-to-one tutorials or group workshops. It was using this model that Dr Samuels was able to assist these African PhD students towards their own academic goals.

In 2016, the World Bank Board approved the award of 24, competitively-selected, African Centres of Excellence (ACEs) for eight countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, with four being based at the University of Rwanda.

During his recent visit, Dr Samuels spent time teaching 26 students at one such Centre – the African Center of Excellence for Data Science (ACE-DS) – based in the College of Business and Economics in the country’s capital Kigali and in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

The Center is aiming to produce 40 academically qualified PhD students from across Eastern and Southern Africa within the next five years. Dr Samuels supported the first cohort with contextualised teaching that is assisting them in formulating project proposals and writing in an academic style, using an objective, evidence-based and formal voice.

Dr Peter Samuels, Senior Lecturer, Birmingham City University, said: “By encouraging scholars in ACE-DS to think differently, it allows them to be more engaging and understand how their research can not only change their lives, but have a positive impact on their country, continent and the wider world. In more established education systems, this is perhaps something that is taken for granted, but in Rwanda a lot of what I was teaching the students had never been shared with them before and it was humbling to see a methodology used back in the UK making an immediate impression on the way they took ownership of their ideas and studies going forward.

“As well as helping them prepare for postgraduate study, we also spent time exploring how one goes about writing for publication and how to maintain a good relationship with their supervisor, which are all important milestones in the development of an outward, globally-conscious academic.”

In the growing and interdisciplinary area of data science, ACE-DS will combine expertise from statistics, economics, business, computer science and engineering to use big data and data analytics to solve some of the 21st century’s biggest challenges across the continent.

It aims to serve an important role of helping the region to satisfy the aims of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA) 2024 by collecting, sharing and analysing data. It will also provide expertise to measure and monitor the United Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goals and the African aspirations for 2063.

Reflecting on Dr Samuels’ course, one student commented: “Before attending the course, I knew little about academic writing, especially for journal papers. Throughout the course I learnt a lot in terms of critical thinking and analysis, paragraph writing through structured arguments and how to use different argument styles. In addition, I learnt how to use evidence properly in academic writing.

“Furthermore, I practiced a lot all the tips and guidance from the course to improve my PhD research proposal and I have seen a big improvement and difference in my academic writing before and after the course. You could say that I am a completely different person in terms of academic writing.”

Dr Samuels’ third trip to the University of Rwanda took place in December 2017. He also visited the African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science (ACEITLMS) at the institution’s Rukara Campus in the east of the country, and plans to work more with this Centre on future visits.

Incidentally, the Vice-Chancellor of UR is Birmingham-born Professor Phil Cotton, a former GP and Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners. As well as his role at UR, Professor Cotton is a Methodist Preacher, founding chair of a Scottish fair trade organisation and Board member of several development charities working in Africa.

Last year, Professor Cotton was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to education in Rwanda.

Work has this week started on landscaping the open areas of Bilston Urban Village. The City of Wolverhampton Council project ties in with the Garden City concept commissioned by the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Up to 450 homes will be built by private developers on the former brownfield land, which will be connected by around 14 hectares of land designated for public open space and a nature conservation.

idverde, who boast award-winning landscaping works such as Media City in Salford, and award-winning maintenance of prominent sites such as Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in their portfolio, are carrying out the open space landscaping works, which are expected to be completed this summer.

The aim is to improve biodiversity and recreation, with works to include developing a network of paths for walking and cycling, clearing overgrown trees and shrubs, and providing fencing to properly define and protect areas.

Work will also be undertaken to significantly improve the nature conservation value of the sites. This will involve a range of activity such as woodland management, development of ground flora, meadow creation, tree planting, hedge planting, development of the attenuation pond, possible creation of a community orchard, provision of bird and bat boxes, and actions to increase biodiversity along the edges of the canal.

All this will lead to a significant enhancement of the open spaces within Bilston Urban Village, and it is proposed, on completion of the works, to declare the open space sites a Local Nature Reserve (LNR).

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “This is a major milestone for Bilston Urban Village.

“People are already moving into the first of up to 450 new homes being developed.

“The open space strategy will see idverde deliver a green environment for the community to enjoy and thrive in as it becomes established.”

Phil Topping, Operation Director for idverde, added: “We are delighted to have been awarded the landscape improvement contract located within the Bilston Urban Village development area.

“We look forward to working closely with the wider project team in ensuring the successful delivery of this important recreational area, and improving access arrangements with the provision of new footpaths, planting, fencing, creation of meadow areas and lighting.

“Very importantly, we are privileged in being able to assist with the development and improvement of the nature conservation elements of the scheme.”

The council has secured a £681,000 boost from the European Regional Development Fund for the Bilston Urban Village Open Space Development Strategy.

The remainder of the £1.5 million needed for the landscaping scheme will be funded from £156,000 Section 106 private sector money already secured from developers, and council investment.

A Steering Group for the Bilston Urban Village Open Space Development Strategy is in place, consisting of City of Wolverhampton Council, Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, Canal & River Trust, University of Wolverhampton, local residents, the Land Trust, and Ormiston South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy.