Updated 12:22pm 12 February 2012:

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Diane Parkes

Diane Parkes

Trinity Players return to rock 'n' roll era

TRINITY Players are taking us back to the fifties and sixties with a performance of Sodapops and Strawberry Milkshakes.Read

Theatre: Star is aiming to twinkle for toddlers

TODDLERS are being invited to their first taste of theatre with Star.Read

Pub Review: The Green House, Lichfield Rd, Sutton Coldfield, B74 2UD

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LOOKING for a relaxing Saturday lunch, we had requested a quiet table for two at this trendy gastropub. So we were more than a little surprised to be sat next to a table with a dozen women celebrating a birthday bash.Read

New Alexandra theatre audiences dig deep for Acorns Children's Hospice

THEATRE-goers in Birmingham dug deep into their pockets to support Acorns Children’s Hospice.Read

From Birmingham to Leeds with love

RUNNER Margaret Ehrenberg is facing the race of her life as she gets set for a 180-mile marathon to Leeds.Read

BRB director David Bintley up for award for Cinderella

BIRMINGHAM Royal Ballet director David Bintley has been nominated for a national award for his ballet Cinderella.Read

Special Report: Abortion debate brought into focus at Edgbaston protest

ANTI-abortionists who held a prayer vigil outside Birmingham’s Calthorpe Clinic claim they have changed the minds of women who were considering a termination.Read

Streetly fashion show aims to raise money for Erdington hospice

A FASHION show in Streetly is aiming to raise funds for John Taylor Hospice in Erdington and Kids in Wylde Green.Read

Birmingham musicians raise £1,500 in sponsored walk

A GROUP of Birmingham musicians showed they had sax appeal by raising more than £1,500 in a sponsored walk.Read

New role for Sutton Coldfield's Emma Willis

SUTTON Coldfield television presenter Emma Willis has a new role as brand ambassador for hair salon group Regis.Read

Theatre: Tears of philosopher clown Slava Polunin

SLAVA’S Snowshow has thrilled theatre-goers for nearly 20 years and this autumn it returns to Birmingham.Read

Theatre: Paul Nicholas heads towards scandal

THE year was 1963 and all the talk was of the Profumo Affair.Read

Adults in West Midlands are writing off young people say Barnardo's

A QUARTER of adults in the West Midlands believe that troubled children are beyond hope by the age of ten.Read

Specal Report: Midland youngsters follow in the footsteps of Strictly

IT is a Sunday evening and while many youngsters might be sitting in front of their computer games, two triplets Alicia and India Phillips-Bullock, along with their partners Laurence Morrison and Sam Cloke, are perfecting the cha cha.Read

Young people get on their bikes to stop trafficking

NEARLY 30 young people were in the saddle for a sponsored spin to raise money to stop human trafficking.Read

Birmingham Hippodrome in new stage of its history

BOSSES at Birmingham’s biggest theatre are asking people to dig deep into their pockets and support a £1 million appeal to fund a new stage.Read

Dudley dancer on Mexico's version of Strictly Come Dancing

WITH Strictly Come Dancing fever gripping the nation again, one competitor has some idea of what the contestants are going through – because Ben Jones, of Dudley, starred in the Mexican version of the show.Read

Review: Marat/Sade, by Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon

WHEN Peter Weiss’s Marat/Sade was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1964 it shocked theatre goers, causing some to leave.Read

Special report: New fashion designers on the Birmingham catwalk

Future Vivienne Westwoods and Paul Smiths will see their creations on the catwalk in an annual fashion contest tonight. Nearly 30 new talents from across the region have reached the finals of the Midlands Fashion Designer Awards, which are being staged at Birmingham’s Fazeley Studios. Women’s Editor DIANE PARKES chats to some of the young designers.Read

Dance Show at NEC bigger and better

THE Dance Show, which comes to Birmingham’s NEC in December, is aiming to be bigger and better by expanding from three to six days.Read

Author Profile

Diane Parkes has worked in journalism for 14 years and has been with the Birmingham Mail for ten. She is Women's Editor covering health, fitness, education, fashion and beauty features. As Dance and Theatre Editor she is also responsible for professional arts coverage across the region.