West Midlands businesses looking to grow their export programmes could benefit from a project that is offering financial support to get them trading overseas.

The West Midlands ERDF SME International Growth Project (SME IGP), funded via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), has already approved more than 150 grants – worth more than £340,000 – to more than 80 companies in the region, enabling them to access specialist support.

However, the call has gone out to eligible companies in the West Midlands region, which covers Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands, that further funding is available.

Allen Matty, managing director of West Midlands Chamber of Commerce (WMCC), said businesses that need a helping hand with exporting can apply for match-funded grants of between £1,000 and £3,000.

“This scheme aims to stimulate export growth within the region by addressing business needs and providing financial support,” he said. “Internationalising a business is a significant step and by accessing specialist support, companies can minimise the risks and gain the knowledge and confidence they need to move into new overseas markets.”

One of the companies that has benefitted from the ERDF grant is Redditch-based Scribble Down, which produces fun and educational transfer packs for children.

Sales director Peter Hendrickx, who runs the business with his wife Sarah, said the £3,000 grant it received gave the company the boost it required to promote the brand after disappointing sales last year. It meant they were able to attend Spielwarenmesse, the world’s biggest toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany, in February.

“It made a massive difference for us,” he said. “We’d wanted to go for years but the outlay was just too much for a same family business as ours, last year it was as though someone had simply turned the tap off to our overseas sales, therefore we knew we had to go. This funding meant we had half of the exhibition, flight and accomodation costs paid for.

“While we were there, we met people we used to do business with and new customers and came away with more than £25,000 of solid orders, as well as many great leads that we are now actively following up. There’s no doubt that ERDF funding has given our company the much needed life line and in turn has invigorated us to grow the business in 2018.”

The available support includes grants and access to sector expert events, such as Meet the Buyer, and opportunities such as invitations to market visits to investigate potential business openings, trade shows where they can arrange to meet identified business contacts, and take part in joint Local Enterprise Partnership and Growth Hub events, including workshops, export tasters or local marketing campaigns to encourage sustainable exporters to grow.

• Tour Operator of the Year-Simon ‘Mandoo’ Seales-over 30 years in the business
• Bartender of the Year-Leslieann Williams-Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel
• Chef of the Year-Janice Edwards- Mt. Cinnamon Grenada Resort
• Tourism Employee of the Year-Johanna Kostka- Sunsation Tours-35 years in
• operating a tour guide business
• Hotel Employee of the Year-Shanell Joseph-Mt. Cinnamon Grenada Resort
• Hotel Supervisor of the Year-Shirlyn Williams- Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel-20
• years service in the industry
• Long Service and Loyalty Award (presented by Tourism Minister)-Leroy Donald-Head
• Gardener at Coyaba Beach Resort-over 30 years of service

Long-lost footage of Adam West’s Batman teaching road safety to children will be screened for the first time in over 50 years to kick off a nationwide hunt for 100 missing telly gems.

The clip from May 1967 will be shown to an audience of TV professionals and enthusiasts at Birmingham City University (UK) on Saturday (April 14), as Birmingham based Kaleidoscope launches its list of the UK’s top 100 missing TV shows.

Kaleidoscope, which specialises in finding missing television footage, recently discovered the clip which shows the Caped Crusader teaching the Green Cross Code to youngsters on London’s streets and was never screened outside of the UK.

The find comes as Kaleidoscope launches a search for the top TV shows thought to have thought to have been consigned to history, which industry professionals most want to see recovered.

Episodes of iconic British TV programmes Doctor Who, Top of the Pops and The Avengers topped the list, after 1,000 industry professionals, journalists, academics and telly addicts revealed which shows they most wanted to see found.

The list will be unveiled at Birmingham City University’s Parkside Building alongside screenings of found clips and episodes from show such as Out of the Unknown, Sexton Blake and The Goodies.

Bosses have called on home viewers to come forwards with any recordings and video tapes which may have spent decades hidden away in lofts but could contain precious ‘lost’ material.

Among the most prized missing material are early episodes of Doctor Who featuring Mark Eden as Marco Polo, Hancock’s Half Hour episode Lady Chatterly’s Revenge from 1957 and Dad’s Army episode - The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker, first screened in 1969.

The top 10 missing shows were named as:

1.    Doctor Who

2.    Top of the Pops

3.    The Avengers

4.    Out of the Unknown

5.    Callan

6.    Ace of Wands

7.    Doomwatch

8.    Public Eye

9.    Not Only But Also

10.  Dad’s Army

Birmingham City University alumnus and Kaleidoscope CEO Chris Perry, said:

“We spend a lot of time searching through old canisters or looking through people’s lofts to try and find these shows or clips which are thought to have been completely erased from history.

“What we wanted to do this time was to ask TV fans which shows they wanted us to find and it’s really interesting to see that its real British institutions like Doctor Who and Top of the Pops that came out on top.

“These lost episodes really can end up in the most unusual of places and people might not even know they have them.

“Scenes from Sexton Blake or Callan were only kept because Australian censors cut them out for being too violent for 60s TV. We’ve had universities find clips accidentally stored at the end of video tapes and I myself have literally clawed tapes from the rafters of Bob Monkhouse’s roof, to get my hands on some Celebrity Squares and The Golden Shot episodes.”

The list’s publication comes as one of Kaleidoscope’s greatest finds, The Avengers – Tunnel of Fear episode, was released on home DVD earlier this week (April 9) after being missing for over 55 years.

TV gameshows are thought to have some of the biggest gaps in records, but are often kept by members of the public who may have appeared on the shows or have had friends or family who did.

Among hidden gems recently found by Kaleidoscope are episodes of Celebrity Squares and children’s TV show Pipkins.

Other episodes are retained for unusual reasons, such as the Doctor Who stories The Smugglers and Fury from the Deep, which only remain as a few scary clips after Australian censors removed scenes from their original broadcast for being too risqué for TV

The top 100 list also includes classic shows such as The Likely Lads, Steptoe and Son, Fraggle Rock and The Liver Birds.

Wednesday 21st March saw the official launch of the RBS Sikh Network with celebratory events in London and Birmingham attended by over 300 guests.

The RBS Sikh Network is the bank’s newest employee led network, but with over 600 members already, it is set to become one of the most popular. Open to employees from all kinds of backgrounds, it has formally set out its remit as a support network designed to help colleagues achieve their true potential, through promoting diversity and inclusion within the Bank. The network’s objectives have been set around the three basic principles of Sikhism:

1. Honest Living (Kirat Karo) - Organising business networking events, profiling role models and mentoring activities.
2. Meditate on The Divine (Naam Japo) - Supporting colleagues with spirituality and wellbeing.
3. Share with Others (Vand ke Shako) - Participating in a number of community projects.

James Holian, the Executive Sponsor for the network said: “RBS is proud of the proactivity of all its Employee Led Networks and believes that by harnessing diversity and celebrating cultural differences we can understand and serve our customers even better”.

With regard to the event, James added: “The tone throughout was open, challenging and welcoming - exactly the culture we want to have everyday”.

Chair of the RBS Sikh Network, Amrit Singh Bahia, also added “Both events had inspirational panel guests who shared their experiences, challenges and gave everyone so much to think about. Feedback has been phenomenal and of course the challenge now is to deliver on our objectives and continue to be totally inclusive in everything we do”.

Keynote speaker, Andy Street CBE, highlighted the fact that the “fight against inequality was at the top of the agenda; with 1/3 of Birmingham’s population coming from a Black and/or Ethnic background is a huge strength,” he said, “but we are not taking full advantage of that huge strength.”

He was speaking at the NatWest/RBS ‘Serving Birmingham – A Diverse Community’ special breakfast meeting where the procurement of driving the city’s economical will be all inclusive, regardless of sexual orientation, race, or religion.

Speaking at the Hotel Du Vin, in the city’s ever-developing and thriving Colmore Business District, West Midlands Metro Mayor, Street, continued; “We are the ‘soul of the Commonwealth’ and with Channel 4, for one, heading this way, it shows our strength as a business powerhouse.

Further to that, Birmingham City University - one of the regions many leading further education institutes – is a leading example of the diversity and aspiration of our communities.

Birmingham has got its ‘mojo’ back. Economic growth in the West Midlands is far outpacing UK figures and I am determined to maintain that – for everybody’s benefit – from every community. But that’s not enough!”

Mayor Street’s speech came after RBS Group chief executive Ross McEwan said: “We at RBS aim to be at the forefront of innovation and change, with trust and advocacy at the top of the agenda.

"Inclusion helps us connect with diverse communities with flattest figures showing that 47% of our management are women, with 14% of our workforce here in the UK coming from a BME background – and that figure is rising.

"But, however, only 4% of our leadership, here in the UK, are BAME. We are looking for that figure to rise to 20% by 2025.

"We have set-up programmes to bring back mothers into our workforce and also people from the LGBT community."

In the Q+A which followed, TPN Media’s own Chair, Dr. Neslyn Watson Druie, was one of a chosen few who were able to question the breakfast meeting panel, asking; “What can be done differently for people from a BAME background be part of the NatWest/RBS workforce?”

“Unless we get diversity how do we make change?” McKewan responded. “We have to bring people from all of the UKs diverse communities and nurture and develop the skills they have.”

Building on the programme of relaxed performances that the RSC has been running in Stratford-upon-Avon since 2013, the RSC is proud to have been amongst the first to adopt and promote the concept. The National Autistic Society and Mousetrap Theatre Projects will again work closely with the RSC, offering full access to the theatre for people with autism and learning disabilities and their families.

The performance provides a relaxed environment, with elements of the production adapted to reduce anxiety or stress, with lighting and sound levels adjusted to soften their impact. Not only are elements of the performance adjusted, but audience etiquette throughout the whole theatre is relaxed as well. Theatre staff, crew and the Matilda The Musical company are trained in advance to anticipate that there will be a range of different audience needs.

Relaxed performances are created to be for everyone and all audience members have the freedom to make noise and/or move about the space, they are free to come and go from the auditorium as much as they wish. Designated ‘chill-out’ areas are provided outside the auditorium with soft seating and activities for people to use if they want to take a break.

In London, the Royal Shakespeare Company is offering tickets at a reduced rate which can be booked through the RSC Ticket Hotline or in person at the Cambridge Theatre box office. Specially trained staff will be able to help bookers by speaking to them directly and ensuring that all their specific needs and requirements are taken into consideration when assigning their seat allocation.

In London, the Royal Shakespeare Company is offering tickets at a reduced rate which can be booked through the RSC Ticket Hotline or in person at the Cambridge Theatre box office. Tickets for the Birmingham Hippodrome relaxed performance can be made through the box office ticket sales line. Specially trained staff will be able to help bookers by speaking to them directly and ensuring that all their specific needs and requirements are taken into consideration when assigning their seat allocation.

All bookers will be sent a visual story to help them familiarise themselves with the plot, characters and the setting before they arrive at the theatre. Detailed event and transport information will also be available from www.matildathemusical.com.

Matilda The Musical is written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and direction by Matthew Warchus. The production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and the special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.

Matilda The Musical has now been seen by more than 7.7 million people worldwide, having played in over 60 cities with more than 5500 performances in the West End, on Broadway, across North America and in Australia and New Zealand.

Matilda The Musical swept the board at the 2012 Olivier Awards, with a record-breaking seven awards, and won four Tony Awards and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theater for the four girls sharing the title role on Broadway. The North America production toured to 52 cities.

The Australian and New Zealand production won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Musical in 2015, and played sold-out seasons in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland. The show broke further records in July 2016 by winning all 13 Helpmann Awards for which it was nominated. Matilda The Musical will have its first non-English language production at the LG Arts Centre in Seoul, South Korea from September 2018 until February 2019.

Matilda The Musical is produced in the West End by the Royal Shakespeare Company with André Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as Executive Producers. The production was developed with the support of Company Dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department.