Forget the seasonal John Lewis advert and Slade playing in supermarkets…the festive season will really get underway at the Tottenham Winter Festival on December 2.

The annual event on Tottenham Green will see a mouth-watering variety of stalls alongside festive, family friendly entertainment and the official Christmas tree lights switch on led by Spurs legend Ledley King.

This year’s community celebration, organised by Tottenham Green Market and Haringey Council, will also coincide with an Etsy Made Local Tottenham event that will see Tottenham Town Hall packed with craft stalls offering plenty of present-buying-opportunities.

“This day will start the Christmas season for you,” said Tom Fowkes, musical director of the New Tottenham Singers which will be performing at the event. “It’s a wonderful, positive event for people to come to where you can meet neighbours and friends, enjoy a glass of mulled wine and some food and hear some lovely singing. We’ll be singing some festive favourites and giving folk a sneak preview of what’s coming up at our annual Christmas concert.”

Other entertainment includes: a ten-piece Afrobeat band, the Haringey Young Musicians Junior Choir, a brass band called Brunk!, a funky Colombian-influenced band and a ‘panto medley’ from the Musical Theatre Academy (MTA) based a few metres away in the Bernie Grant Arts Centre.

“This year our panto is Mother Goose so people will enjoy a medley of songs from this as well as a special Christmas medley,” said MTA’s principal, Annemarie Lewis Thomas. “It’s important for us to be involved in community events such as this and you can either sit at home and be miserable or come along and see some of the stars of tomorrow provide a bit of feel-good!”

Tottenham Green Market stalls will boast a variety of international street food as well as showcasing some of Tottenham’s finest including: Prestige Patisserie (adding a Christmas Cake Shop and mulled wine to their regular treats), honey from Tottenham Marshes, beer from Brewheadz and hot drinks courtesy of Craving Coffee.

Tottenham Etsy Made Local organiser ‘Crafty North Londoner’ aka Nonia Jeroh, said: “We will have over 35 stalls and over 60% of them are Tottenham vendors. “it will be a great opportunity for people to do some Christmas shopping and buy homemade items made with love. These aren’t mass produced but objects made on someone’s kitchen table or in a studio and it promises to be a great family day out.”

There's still time to take part in the Sandwell Santa Dash through Sandwell Valley Country Park to get an early slice of festive fun in the run-up to Christmas.

About 500 people are expected to take part in a Santa costume in the third Sandwell Santa Dash on Saturday 2 December to give people the chance to get active before the Christmas break.

The deadline for registration is Today, Friday 24 November.

The event is being organised by Mytime Active in partnership with Sandwell Leisure Trust, Sandwell Council and Sandwell Valley Country Park. It's the perfect way for families to get active this Christmas.

"It's not a race, but a fun run, jog or walk around the course, allowing people to be part of a fantastic Christmas experience as one of hundreds of Santas taking part, said deputy council leader Councillor Syeda Khatun.

People who register for the run are emailed a voucher for the runner’s pack containing their own Santa suit and race number.

People who complete the course receive a souvenir medal.

The Santa Dash is open to anyone fit and able to take part.

People can sign up a maximum of six people on each registration form. Under 12s must be accompanied by an adult on the day. Under 3s won’t receive their own race pack or Santa suit, but there will be a medal for them at the finish.

The course covers mixed terrain, and although pushchairs and wheelchair users are welcomed, please be aware that due to the nature of the course people will be asked to start towards the rear of the participants to avoid bottlenecks.

“This is not a serious running race and we recommend you jog or walk the course, taking in the atmosphere of the day,” said Councillor Khatun.

More information at www.mytimeactive.co.uk/sandwell-santa-dash

The clock tower at Smethwick Council House has been given a new lease of life.

Missing and broken timberwork has been fixed, the metalwork on the clock face has been repainted and the tower itself has been returned to its original colour scheme.

The work is part of the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed building in the town’s High Street. It was built in the early 20th century.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for core council services Councillor Steve Trow said: “The tower was looking a little tired and in need of repairs. We’ve carefully restored it and even matched as best we can the original colour scheme based on the layers of paint found on the woodwork and panels.

“The clock itself is historically important and one of the last of its type still in existence – so we’re pleased that the tower now does it justice.”

The clock is known as a rare “three-train Smith of Derby flat-bed with gravity escapement”. It’s regarded as an important piece of horological history.

Clock enthusiasts have visited it to admire its workings – as most of its kind were converted with electricity many years ago.

Registered charity, Birmingham Repertory Theatre has announced a joint fundraising partnership with Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. The city centre theatre will be raising funds during the run of their production of The Hundred and One Dalmatians which bursts to life on stage from Thursday 30 November – Saturday 13 January.

There are various fundraising activities planned during the run of the show, which will help to jointly fundraise towards Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s million pound campaign REP First and the work of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

REP First is a three year campaign which aims to raise vital funds in order to ensure that the theatre can continue to nurture the region's talented young artists, commission exciting new works, welcome new audiences and reach out to the communities of Birmingham and beyond.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, now in their 35^th year, trains dogs to alert deaf people to sounds they would otherwise miss – simple sounds that many people take for granted like the doorbell, alarm clock and even danger signals like the fire alarm. A hearing dog can also give a deaf person a newfound sense of independence and confidence helping to overcome the feeling of isolation and loneliness experienced by so many suffering from hearing loss.

Twenty pence of every pound raised will go towards the work of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, with the remainder going towards REP First initiatives, such as providing interpreters for the REP’s youth theatre in order for Deaf children and young people to take part, as well as allowing the theatre to stage more accessible productions for people with a variety of additional support needs.

Steve Heyes, Marketing Manager of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People said; “It’s wonderful that Hearing Dogs has been chosen as the official partner charity for The Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s production of ‘101 Dalmatians’, especially in this, our 35th year. We’re working closely with The REP on a number of fun and exciting plans to engage families and visitors coming to see the show, to help raise awareness of the amazing work our hearing dogs do, completely transforming the lives of thousands of Deaf people in the UK. We’ll hopefully raise some important funds for the two charities during the show’s run.”

As part of The REP’s commitment to making theatre accessible to everyone, the entire run of The Hundred and One Dalmatians will be Audio Described and Captioned, meaning that audiences with visual or hearing impairments can enjoy these services on any performance. Dalmatians Pongo and Missis enjoy an idyllic life with their humans, Mr and Mrs Dearly. Then one day, the house is filled with the patter of tiny paws when Missis gives birth to a litter of adorable puppies. But just as the Dearlys get used to their new housemates, the puppies mysteriously vanish.

With the help of the canine community and an Old English Sheepdog, Pongo and Missis set out on an adventure to find the missing puppies. Their quest leads them to the vicious Cruella de Vil. She hates dogs but loves fur coats and has set her sights on a certain black and white spotty pattern. Will the animals be able to get home safely in time for Christmas?

Children and adults alike will be gripped by this magical tale as it comes to life live on stage, complete with beautiful staging and mesmerising puppetry from Director Tessa Walker and Designer Jamie Vartan who collaborated for the record-breaking 2015 production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Dodie Smith’s delightful and much-loved tale, adapted for the stage by the Writer and Director of the hugely popular Nativity! films, Debbie Isitt, is sure to get tails wagging this Christmas.

The RSPCA is on the hunt for 20 dedicated animal-lovers from across England to join the charity’s cohort of rescuers working on the frontline of animal welfare.

The charity - the oldest and largest in the UK - has just over 100 animal collection officers (or ACOs) working across England and Wales rescuing injured animals, helping abused or abandoned pets, and responding to welfare concerns from the public.

The officers support the charity’s inspectors and help rescue tens of thousands of animals every year.

The charity has the following vacancies to fill across the country:

South Yorkshire (two officers)

South Shields, Tyne & Wear (one)

Gateshead or Chester Le Street, Tyne & Wear (one)

Wythenshawe / South Manchester (one)

Wigan, Greater Manchester (one)

Liverpool, Merseyside (one)

Coventry, West Midlands (one)Banbury, Oxford (one)Stretton, Rutland (one)Harrow / Barnet, London (one)Uxbridge / Hayes. London (one)

NE London (inside M25) (one)

Kingston upon Thames / Slough, London (one)

Burgess Hill / Brighton, East Sussex (one)

Reigate / Dorking, Surrey (one)

Kingston upon Thames/Slough (one)

Bristol (one)

Gosport / Portsmouth, Hampshire (one)

Gloucester (one)

Worcester (one)

Dermot Murphy, RSPCA assistant director of inspectorate, said: “Our ACOs are absolutely vital to the RSPCA’s overall work and our efforts to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome or release animals in need.

“We have an extremely dedicated workforce made up of ACOs, animal welfare officers and inspectors who rescue around 130,000 animals every year.

“But the RSPCA can only fulfill this important role thanks to the commitment and passion of our staff and we’re now on the look-out for 20 more animal-lovers to join the team and help us, help them.”

The charity is expecting thousands of applications for the coveted posts but warns that the job is extremely physically and emotionally demanding.

“When we advertised for 24 new inspectors to join our training programme earlier this year we had over 4,000 applications so we’re expecting a huge number for these roles too,” Mr Murphy - who worked as an RSPCA ambulance driver, inspector and chief inspector in London for 16 years - added.

“Anyone considering this job needs to apply with their eyes wide open. It is not easy and you need to be strong mentally and physically to cope with the role. But for the right person, this could be the chance of a lifetime to get their dream job working on the frontline to improve animal welfare.”

ACOs are responsible for collecting, rescuing and transporting animals, giving first aid as required; assisting inspectors; working with pet owners and the public to improve welfare for animals.

Applicants must have a full, valid UK driving license; a good level of physical fitness, confidence handling animals, experience working with the public and as part of a team, emotional resilience, and flexibility to work unsociable hours.

If successful, candidates will undertake a five-week training course before hitting the road.

A new road safety campaign has launched today which proposes the radical adoption of a ‘fag-packet approach’ to UK speed limit signs. The suggested new tactic has already been backed by over half the nation, in the wake of research showing that millions of motorists ignore or don’t even notice speed limit signs in their current format.

That’s according to a new study from MORE TH>N which found that a whopping 62% of those surveyed admit they regularly ignore speed limit signs at present, with 25% also contesting that the threat of going to speed awareness isn’t a big enough deterrent from causing them to speed on a regular basis.

With this in mind, to mark this year’s Road Safety Week, MORE TH>N is launching a new road safety initiative which centres on calls to test the use of images of cars that have been in accidents as a visual accompaniment to existing numerical speed signs as a new means of deterring people from speeding on roads. The move has otherwise been labelled as applying the ‘fag-packet approach’ to the speeding epidemic, with a view to making people more instantly aware of the risks associated with their actions.

The new initiative also takes inspiration from previous, hard-hitting TV advertising campaigns that adopted a graphic approach to illustrate the dangers of speeding. The proposed new road sign initiative however would see this shock-factor concept placed in situ when people are actually behind the wheel, in what would be a UK first.

The new concepts of visual deterrent speed signs were tested with 2,000 motorists in a poll conducted by MORE TH>N, where they were backed by over half (58%) of those surveyed as potentially having a real impact on their driving, illustrating their possible value at helping make Britain’s roads safer.

So why were the signs effective in causing people to reduce their speed? Topping the list of reasons was the way in which they made people more tangibly aware of the dangers of speeding (67%), followed closely by the fact that they were so shocking (56%) and due to being more scared about crashing their car as a result (38%).

In the wake of the success of the initial research, MORE TH>N is now exploring possible follow-up activity with a view to securing an actual pilot of the signs on UK roads to test how effective they potentially are in causing people to reduce their speed, including approaching local police forces and pressure groups to garner further support for the campaign.

In addition to canvassing support for visual deterrents on speed signs, MORE TH>N also carried out research to provide a fuller picture of how people’s speeding habits vary across the UK. Specifically, the study found that 63% of Britons admit to regularly exceeding the speed limit each day, with one in 10 (10%) of those confessing to have picked up points in the past, as a result of being caught speeding behind the wheel.