Updated 3:45am 1 June 2012

Powered by Google

West Midlands News (Beta)

Dirty Dancing

Theatre: Paul-Michael Jones and Emily Holt indulge in Dirty Dancing

PAUL-Michael Jones credits actor Patrick Swayze with making dancing cool. So it was no surprise that he was eager to take up the role Patrick made famous in the film Dirty Dancing.Read

People are blooming at garden centre in Aston

A GARDEN centre is helping people with mental health difficulties plant seeds of hope.Read

Vintage brides opt for something old at Birmingham-based company Luxe Bridal

TWO friends are helping brides ensure they have something old for their big day by selling vintage wedding dresses.Read

The world comes to Birmingham to dance

BIRMINGHAM’S third International Dance Festival is promising to be bigger and better than ever.Read

Bishop David Urquhart celebrates the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible

BISHOP David Urquhart tells the Birmingham Mail why the King James Bible remains important.Read

The Sixteen revive traditional carols at Town Hall

*****

WHEN we become so used to hearing O Come, All Ye Faithful and In The Bleak Midwinter every Christmas we forget there is a rich tradition of carols going back centuries.Read

It is all at sea with Hippodrome panto

BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome goes to sea next Christmas after announcing its 2012/13 panto will be Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates.Read

Bullring bully gets dressed up

BIRMINGHAM’S iconic bull is wrapped up from the cold thanks to a group of ‘guerilla knitters’.Read

Review: Ice, at Mac, Birmingham

***

THIS new production is a cross-cultural exploration for ACE Dance and Music as the Digbeth-based company blends its African and Caribbean roots with Japanese choreography by Akiko Kitamura.Read

Amnesty holds greeting cards event in Birmingham

CENTRAL Birmingham Amnesty International group is inviting people to help them send a card across the globe.Read

Beauty evening at Harvey Nichols

BIRMINGHAM’S Harvey Nichols store holds a beauty and pamper night on December 1. Tickets: £10 on 0121 616 6000 and www.harveynichols.comRead

Theatre: From Greystoke to Jungle Book

PETER Elliott was just out of drama school when he was offered a job as a chimpanzee in the film Greystoke. A re-telling of the Tarzan story, Peter was to dress in a monkey suit and attempt to be an animal.Read

Harborne breast cancer survivor turns bras into slippers

A BREAST cancer survivor no longer needed bras so she found a new role for the lacy lingerie – on her feet.Read

Chelmsley Wood murder victim Harry Broadhurst was days away from his 23rd birthday

A YOUNG man stabbed to death after trouble erupted following a boxing event at a Birmingham social club was just days away from his 23rd birthday.Read

Man dies after Chelmsley Wood stabbing

A 22-YEAR-OLD man has suffered has died after being stabbed in Chelmsley Wood. Read

Aston Expressway crash update: Elderly woman dies and seven injured in three-car smash

TWO people have suffered serious injuries, with six others needing medical treatment, after a road traffic collision involving three cars in Birmingham City Centre.Read

Streetly flood victims hit out at door-to-door insurance claims firms floocking to their homes

RESIDENTS have slammed insurance companies who were touting for business just hours after a devastating flood wrecked their homes.Read

Khyra Ishaq's mother loses final bid to overturn manslaughter conviction

A mother who starved her seven-year-old daughter to death has lost a final bid to win her freedom.Read

Moseley cafe Hungry Hobbit threatened with legal action by JRR Tolkein's estate

OH, CRUMBS! A Birmingham cafe trading under the name of the Hungry Hobbit has been threatened with legal action if it doesn’t rebrand.Read

Navigation pub supermarket battle: First picture of proposed Co-op

THIS picture is the first look at a proposed new supermarket which could lead to a popular Birmingham pub being flattened.Read

How a blood test saved Sutton Coldfield man's life

JOE Dyke has a blood test to thank for the fact he is still here today.Read

'Greedy' Edgbaston bank manager jailed for five years for fraud

A “GREEDY” Birmingham bank manager has been jailed for five years for helping to plunder £1.3 million from the accounts of wealthy elderly customers.Read

Theatre: Dark side of Sleeping Beauty

FOR actress Alex Clatworthy, the Birmingham Rep production of Sleeping Beauty really is a fairy tale come true – as she plays the title role in her first professional stage show.Read

Thatre: ACE music and arts bring ICE to mac

BIRMINGHAM-based ACE dance and music looks East with a new co-production working with a Japanese company.Read

Theatre: Christopher Timothy gets ready for Christmas

WHEN Christopher Timothy was a youngster, he loved playing with puppets.Read

Movember keeps Ballet company on their toes tutu raise a plié of money

DANCERS and staff at Birmingham Royal Ballet are sprouting moustaches to raise money to combat male cancers.Read

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

****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dance: Artist Caravaggio inspires choreographer Darshan Singh Bhuller

IT HAS taken choreographer Darshan Singh Bhuller nearly five years to bring his latest creation to fruition. But his new show Caravaggio: Exile and Death arrives in Birmingham next week.Read

Dance: Tamworth schoolgirl Emma Slater dances the world with Burn the Floor

EMMA Slater was just ten years old when she watched a show dance and first felt Latin fever – now she is touring the world performing in Burn The Floor.Read

Aston Villa fan who threw flare on to pitch at Birmingham City Carling Cup game cleared of violent disorder

A VILLA fan whose picture was beamed around the world and held up as the ugly face of football when he threw a flare on to the St Andrew’s pitch has spoken of his relief after being cleared.Read

Birmingham prison cell keys lost at newly-privatised jail

PRISONERS were locked in their cells for almost a whole day after a vital set of keys fitting every cell door went missing at Birmingham’s newly-privatised jail.Read

Planning application for JFK memorial to be moved to Digbeth is submitted

BIRMINGHAM’S historic John F Kennedy memorial could take pride of place in the city again after years in storage.Read

Weoley Castle could become no alchohol on streets area

AN ENTIRE Birmingham suburb could be set to see its streets become alcohol-free zones after police revealed a shocking number of crimes fuelled by boozed-up teenagers.Read

Special report: Road show to reveal breast and testicular cancer

AT FIRST glance the piece of rubber in my hands looks like a chicken fillet. But I then turn it over and discover it is a model of a woman’s breast.Read

Watch: Birmingham to London in 5 minutes!

A sped up cab ride from Birmingham New Street to London Euston. Filmed when the railways were more interesting this rare video is a real treat for heritage traction fans. No plastic Pendolinos or Voyagers here.Read

Your shout: Should the JFK memorial be reinstated in Birmingham?

A planning application has been submitted for the re-erecting of the John F Kennedy memorial on the corner of Digbeth High Street and Floodgate Street by next March.Read

Famous Birmingham and the Black Country faces back RSPCA appeal

FAMOUS faces from Birmingham and the Black Country are backing the RSPCA’s appeal to build the first national animal hospital and rescue centre.Read

Rubery man jailed for for dazzling a police helicopter with laser pen

A 19-YEAR-old man has been jailed for six months for dazzling a police helicopter with a laser pen.Read

Bromsgrove writer Sue Watson finds there is life after the BBC

A FORMER television producer who took redundancy from the BBC has just seen her first novel in print.Read

Explore West Midlands