The world’s oldest maritime welfare charity is asking churches in Birmingham to remember the world’s seafarers in a special service.

Congregations from around the world will take part in Sea Sunday services on July 8 in aid of Sailors’ Society.

Each year, the Christian charity, which celebrated its 200^th birthday on 18 March, asks churchgoers to pray and give thanks for the world’s 1.6m seafarers.

Stuart Rivers, Sailors’ Society’s CEO, said: “Whether they know it or not, the people of Birmingham rely upon seafarers.

“More than 90 per cent of everything we own comes by sea – our clothes, phones, cars – even the bricks that make up our homes.

“All of these goods are brought into the country by seafarers who risk extreme loneliness, dangerous storms and even piracy.

“Holding a Sea Sunday service for Sailors’ Society is a fantastic way of recognising the amazing work seafarers do.”

The West Midlands region continues to see an increased number of outbreaks of stomach bugs, including norovirus – with reports showing significantly higher levels than this time last year. Public Health England (PHE) West Midlands is therefore urging people to support their local NHS and call before going to the GP or A&E if they are poorly with a stomach bug.

Dr Helen Carter, Deputy Director for PHE West Midlands, said: “At this time of year we see a lot of diarrhoea and sickness bugs, which are very infectious. So if people feeling unwell with a stomach upset decide to visit their GP, a walk-in centre, or their local A&E, they could be putting a lot of other people at risk of infection and adding significantly to the seasonal pressures already experienced in healthcare settings.

“Norovirus usually leads to mild diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal or stomach cramps. People generally recover quite quickly from these bugs and there is no specific treatment, apart from drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration and avoiding reinfection with good hand hygiene – especially before eating and after going to the toilet; along with cleaning touch points and communal areas with a bleach-based cleaner.

“Laboratory reports of norovirus are considerably higher than this time last year and higher than the 5-year seasonal average. People feeling unwell can call their GP or NHS111 for advice. Over half the outbreaks we’re seeing are in care homes – so it’s really important that staff in those settings seek advice on the phone from their GP surgery before considering transferring people to hospital. If someone is seriously unwell and in need of hospitalisation, it is still important to let NHS staff know that the person has an infectious illness, so the correct measures can be taken to avoid spreading the bug to other patients and healthcare workers.”

Dr Kiran Patel, Medical Director for NHS England in the West Midlands, said: “We are asking people not to visit hospitals and care homes to see relatives or friends whilst they have sickness and diarrhoea, or if they have recently experienced these symptoms. This is because people may still carry the virus and infect others up to three days after their symptoms have stopped.

“People concerned about visiting a relative or friend who may be in hospital or living in a care home should speak to the nurse in charge of the hospital ward or phone the care home beforehand for advice.”

Young people across Haringey will enjoy modern, high-tech facilities in a state of the art ‘Youth Zone’, after Haringey Council approved proposals for the centre to be built in the heart of Wood Green.

The £6.5million purpose-built Youth Zone, in partnership with young people’s charity OnSide, will offer daily affordable activities in sports, arts, music, employability and mentoring for young people aged eight to 19, or up to 25 for those with a disability.

Set to be built on an unused area within the grounds of Woodside High School, White Hart Lane, Haringey Youth Zone will provide over 20 different activities for more than 200 young people each evening, with a commitment to raising young people’s aspirations, enhancing prospects and improving health and wellbeing.

A new locally-led charity will be established to run the new Youth Zone, bringing on board a local team of youth and activity workers. £3m of the capital cost of creating the Youth Zone will be funded by the council, while a number of charitable funders committed to the future of Haringey and its young people will provide the remaining £3.5m.

The council will also contribute £250,000 per year towards running costs, with OnSide working to secure the first three years’ £950,000 annual revenue costs in full prior to opening through a combination of private sector support and charitable trusts and grants.

Plans for the Youth Zone were originally approved by Haringey’s Cabinet last year and Onside have worked closely with the council, community and schools to find the right site for the centre, which will operate in addition to the council-owned Bruce Grove Youth Centre.

Jamie Masraff, Project Director at OnSide Youth Zones said:

“Youth Zones are safe, inspiring and affordable places for young people to spend their leisure time and we are delighted that Haringey Council has partnered with us to bring one of our facilities to the area.

“We will be working closely with the local community to ensure that the Youth Zone will support all young people from across the borough, including harder-to-reach young people, particularly those from deprived backgrounds. We have every confidence that this offer for young people will provide a transformational experience, supporting and enhancing the current youth provision in the community.”

Haringey Council Leader, Cllr Claire Kober, said:

“This is a fantastic facility that will give young people from across Haringey the opportunity they deserve to access cutting-edge facilities that the council would simply be unable to provide without such an innovative partnership. I’m proud that we’ve been able to commit to making this investment in the borough’s young people in addition to funding we already provide for other youth services in the borough.”

Elma McElligott, Co-Headteacher of Woodside High School, said:

“Woodside High School is a firm supporter of the plans to develop a Youth Zone for Haringey, which will provide an incredible range of positive leisure-time activities for thousands of local young people who need access to a safe and inspiring environment outside of school hours. As well as benefiting the community, use of the Youth Zone’s facilities during the day time will help Woodside High School meet its priorities.”

Ashling Float, Volunteer Manager at local community organisation, Haringey Shed Company is excited to work in collaboration with the new OnSide Youth Zone to offer more opportunities to young people. She said:

“Here at Haringey Shed we work with a range of young people and families who all live locally, who flourish in engaging in our services and who want more. Despite our reach there are many families and young people who are not engaging in their community or in any extracurricular activities.

“We love the idea of more opportunities and safe places becoming available for the families and young people we work with, through a new Youth Zone. We look forward to continuing conversations and supporting exciting plans for Haringey’s young people.”

Launched in 2008 and based on a successful, tried and tested model, OnSide currently has a network of 10 Youth Zones in; Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Blackburn, Wigan, Carlisle, Warrington, Wolverhampton, Wirral and Chorley. Three more Youth Zones in Barking and Dagenham, Barnet and Croydon are set open in 2019 and a number of other projects are at various stages of planning.

Birmingham Heritage Week, a city-wide festival that celebrates Birmingham’s rich and diverse heritage, is set to return for a fourth year after securing vital sponsorship funding.

Sponsors who will be supporting this year’s festival include The University of Birmingham, Historic England and Colmore BID as Gold Sponsors and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce as a Silver Sponsor. It is thanks to these organisations that Birmingham Heritage Week will return to the city for 2018.

Birmingham Heritage Week is a celebration of Birmingham’s history and culture. Each year, around 70 partner organisations come together to organise over 100 events, which year on year delight in the region of 20,000 people.

These events range from exhibitions and tours, to open days and concerts. Attracting new tourists to the city, and allowing locals a deeper insight into what makes Birmingham one of the most exciting cities in the UK. The 2018 festival is set to be a cultural highlight in the calendar once more.

Running from 6^th – 16^th September, there will be 10 days of fun-filled events for everyone to enjoy. Past event highlights have included talks with celebrated local historian, Carl Chinn, and events at historic sites such as Birmingham Oratory, Aston Hall, Coffin Works and Two Towers Brewery.

Alex Nicholson-Evans, Commercial Director at Birmingham Museums, said: “We are delighted that organisations across the city have come together to ensure the continuation of Birmingham Heritage Week. It’s thanks to these generous sponsors that we are able to run this popular festival for its fourth year.”

There are still opportunities for additional sponsors to support the event.

A University of Wolverhampton law graduate is celebrating after clinching a top leadership award.

Sandra Wallace graduated in 1991 with a LLB Law degree from what was then Wolverhampton Polytechnic.

She is now Managing Partner of DLA Piper UK and recently won the Leadership Award at the Birmingham Law Society Awards. The award was sponsored by the University of Wolverhampton Law School.

Sandra, who qualified as a lawyer in 1994, said: “Winning anything always makes you reflect on what you have achieved and in my case how far I have come. I was so worried about going to University and if I would be able to make a legal career. Then I look back and think not only did I achieve that but I have been given so many opportunities at DLA Piper besides.

“I am not keen on the limelight and I recognise that little happens without support around you. Nevertheless this award is special because it was colleagues at DLA Piper pushing me to go for it and they submitted the commentary in support of the nomination.  So it feels like people appreciate what I do, even if I think it's no big deal!”

She added: “The University of Wolverhampton (Polytechnic when I was there) was quite a revelation for me.  It was the first time I enjoyed my education. At college I was the odd one out being from the wrong part of town and generally it was not very diverse.  I didn’t attend the universities that I actually got accepted for because I felt I would be like a fish out of water.  Looking back that was probably because nowhere I visited had such a diverse population of students as Wolverhampton.

“The course was challenging but the teaching was good and fostered independent learning. It was not stuffy but it was no easy ride either. I am one of six children and sitting at number 5 I was the first person to go to University in my family. As you can see with my career I am glad I did.”

Head of the University of Wolverhampton Law School, Sukhninder Panesar, said: “It was great to see Sandra win the Leadership Award and it was fitting that the Award was presented by the University of Wolverhampton.  Every year we see professionals who have graduated from the University of Wolverhampton win awards at the Birmingham Law Society Awards Ceremony and this is testament to the strengths of the Law School in producing highly qualified lawyers.”

The Birmingham Law Society Legal Awards have been showcasing the best of the region’s legal talent since the inaugural event in 2002.

Now in their 17th year, the Awards celebrate the success and achievement of both individuals and firms over the last 12 months.

Homeowners blighted by destructive Japanese knotweed may be hoping that the plant has died when it fails to emerge from its winter hibernation as normal around mid to late-March. But in fact the recent cold weather, with more low temperatures forecast, is delaying the start of the plant’s growing season by 2 to 4 weeks, as it will not awaken until the ground temperature reaches around 4°C.

The ‘Beast from the East’ brought the coldest February week in five years last month, with a new cold snap last weekend and lower-than normal temperatures forecast for the rest of March. This is causing Japanese knotweed, described by the Environment Agency as  “indisputably the UK’s most aggressive, destructive and invasive plant”, to prolong its underground hibernation, before beginning its annual assault on property foundations, patios, driveways, cavity walls and drains. 

Homeowners should remain vigilant once the warmer weather arrives, looking out for signs of red or purple asparagus-like shoots which emerge from the ground and quickly turn into green bamboo-like stems. They grow at a rapid rate, up to 10cm per day, to reach up to 3 metres in height by June. The plant has flat, heart-shaped green leaves and blooms in late summer, when its stems become covered in tiny creamy-white flowers.

Environmentalist Nic Seal, Founder and MD of Environet, said, “Normally we would see Japanese knotweed shoots springing up in warmer parts of the country and in sheltered urban areas during the middle of March, but the cold weather has set the start of the growing season back by at least a fortnight, possibly as much as a month.

“Homeowners may be hopeful that their knotweed problem has disappeared, particularly if they attempted to treat it themselves, but it’s extremely unlikely that any DIY treatments will be successful and the plant is simply hibernating for longer than usual due to the unseasonably cold weather.

“Japanese knotweed has spread so rapidly across the UK in the last decade that it’s really no longer a case of winning the battle. Those who discover knotweed on their land should take immediate action and put a professional treatment plan in place to protect their property and protect themselves against litigation from their neighbours.”

While it isn’t illegal to have Japanese knotweed growing on your land, homeowners can be sued if they allow it to spread onto a neighbouring property. They must also declare the presence of knotweed on the TA6 conveyancing form when they sell their home, even if it has been successfully treated. Mortgage lenders will require an insurance-backed guarantee for the works before lending on the property.