With schools back in full swing after the October half-term holiday, there's never a better time to think about booking the next family holiday.

Specialising in guided and self-guided bike tours for all cycling levels, Freedom Treks offers 50 trips that are ideal for families, including those that are brand-new this year. The routes follow dedicated cycle paths or very quiet roads, the daily distances are shorter and manageable for little legs, a range of children's bikes, trailers or seats are available and the accommodation comprises a selection of family-friendly hotels, or even boats.

Children aren't concerned about ticking off a country's 'must-see' sights and a cycling holiday is an ideal way to explore the great outdoors. The world's exciting natural environments make for perfect adventure playgrounds, plus, families can practice their navigational skills and improve their geography and history knowledge on route.

And with multigenerational, or '3G' holidays, still rising in popularity, grandparents need not worry about keeping up – Freedom Treks offers electric bikes on most of its tours, so people of all fitness levels can enjoy cycling in areas and for distances they may not have previously considered.

We all have that favourite jacket or perfectly fitting pair of jeans we'd love to keep in our wardrobes for the rest of our lives. But it seems over half (54%) of those from Birmingham are confused about how long they can get away with wearing some of their beloved garments, new research from Bullring shopping centre has revealed.

The results follow the launch of the Style Seeker app from Bullring shopping centre, which uses artificial intelligence technology to help shoppers find clothes they have spotted on the high street, social media or in a magazine.  To launch the app 'living mannequins' took over the centre today to surprise and delight shoppers, coming to life when people paused to look at them and telling shoppers about the app.

From a national survey of 2,000 shoppers commissioned by Bullring owners Hammerson, 44% of those living in the West Midlands admitted they weren't sure when they should think twice before stepping out in a certain garment. Meanwhile, 70% of national respondents said someone can be fashionable at any age and 90% said they would wear whatever they want regardless of what others think.

App users are able to take photos of fashion items, or upload saved images from their phones, to locate similar clothing products available in retail stores in Bullring including River Island, Topshop and H&M. The app searches by colour shape and patterns, once the user has selected the desired product, the app then provides a map that guides the user to the store if they are physically in centre.

Emma Roberts, PR Manager at Bullring said: "Style Seeker is the perfect accessory for people who get struck down by style inspiration in the street – and truly love the art of shopping.

"As well as being easy to use, it caters to every budget. Clothing from fashion weeks and couture shows is filtering down into high street shops quicker than ever before – and this functionality makes sure you never miss a trend."

The development comes after latest mobile trends* show that nearly four in 10 people search only on their smartphones, proving that more searches happen on mobile than on computers or tablets and that people require answers at their fingertips.

Four West Midlands charities and groups supporting the community’s most vulnerable individuals have received a total of £11,649 so far this year, from The Midcounties Co-operative’s fundraising across the region.

Monthly Alzheimer’s Support Evenings (M.A.S.E) received a total of £2,602 to help them in offering social support and information to those with, or caring for those with, Alzheimer’s across the West Midlands.

Another charity in the region, Beacon Centre for the Blind, has received £3,014 from the Midcounties. The funds will support the organisation in running assessments and courses, as well as providing necessary equipment to those suffering from sight loss.

Street Teams and Recovery Near You have received £3,879 and £2,152 respectively, to help them in providing support sessions to those at risk of sexual exploitation and those affected by substance misuse.

Some of the fundraising initiatives across the West Midlands in support of the charity partners include, taking part in a Boat Race, fancy dress events and donating carrier bag monies.

The charity partnerships form part of The Midcounties Co-operative’s Regional Communities strategy, which sees members and colleagues come together to provide impactful and sustainable support for local community groups through volunteering and fundraising initiatives.

Emma Pile, a Leadership Team Ambassador in the West Midlands, at The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “It’s been a busy six months for our colleagues across the West Midlands, who have taken on many great fundraising initiatives for our charity partners in the region. We’re delighted to have raised so much just half a year in to the partnerships”.

“The Midcounties Co-operative is committed to supporting local good causes and we look forward to donating even more over the coming months.”

A major new exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery will showcase over 80 modern and contemporary artworks by internationally renowned artists, who explore themes of sexuality, gender and identity in art.

Running from Saturday 2^nd October 2017 to Sunday 15^th April 2018,Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender & Identity, marks 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of male homosexual acts was passed in England and Wales (1967 Sexual Offences Act).

Bringing artworks of international significance to Birmingham, the majority of which have been borrowed from the Arts Council Collection, the exhibition includes iconic pieces by Andy Warhol, Grayson Perry, Sarah Lucas and Gillian Wearing. Artworks span the 1950s to the present day, reflecting artist’s different experiences pre and post the passing of the 1967 Act.

Coming Out was conceived by National Museums Liverpool and the exhibition runs at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery until 5^th November. The exhibition will be re-presented with key additional works to offer differing perspectives on the exhibition’s central themes.

Significant new loans have been added to the Birmingham show, including prints by Margaret Harrison and photography by renowned Birmingham-based artist Vanley Burke. These join paintings by Derek Jarman, photography by Sunil Gupta and Zanale Muholi and films by Steve McQueen and Isaac Julien.

Iconic artworks by Francis Bacon, Keith Vaughan, John Stezaker and Grayson Perry from Birmingham’s own collection, also add further dialogue to the consideration of sexuality, gender and identity today.

Two works by Turner-prize winning artist Grayson Perry will be presented together for the first time -  Claire’s Coming Out Dress (2000), and his ceramic pot Who Am I?(1996). Both artworks provide an important insight into Grayson’s exploration of his own identity. From the coded symbols and personal dialogue in his ceramic pot of 1996, to the declaration his transvestite public persona, Claire, in the intricately designed party dress from 2000, which he wore to mark his emergence as a transvestite to the art world.

Coming Out continues with a strong representation of female artists, including iconic works from Sarah Lucas. Lucas’ works explore her identity as a woman and sharply critique gendered stereotypes and two of her satirical and striking sculptures, for which she is best known, will feature alongside her iconic Self-Portrait Series (1990-98).

Works by Birmingham-based photographer Vanley Burke will be on display for the first time. The three photographic prints illustrate a Pride Demonstration in Wolverhampton in 1988 where protesters were challenging the Government’s now repealed Section 28 Act, which stated that a local authority should not intentionally promote homosexuality in publishing or teaching.

A gallery trail will accompany the exhibition and take visitors on an insightful journey of 25 artworks presented in nine of Birmingham’s fine art collection galleries. The trail will bring the show’s themes to life in new settings and raise awareness of the visibility of LGBT+ stories in museum collections.

Lisa Beauchamp, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “Coming Out marks a major moment for Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery as we highlight the importance of LGBT+ history on contemporary art in this significant anniversary year.

“In devising Birmingham’s exhibition we have been fortunate enough to secure exciting new loans, which will make this a must-see exhibition for those who have already enjoyed Liverpool’s show and for those who will be completely new to it.”

Jill Constantine, Head of Arts Council Collection: "I'm delighted that this important show will travel to Birmingham and the new additions will further enrich the exhibition and allow us to see and celebrate the huge contribution to the visual arts made by the LGBTQ+ communities."

Accompanying the exhibition will be an innovative learning and engagement programme, facilitated by Arts Council Collection National Partnership, in a dedicated space called FORUM. The events and activities have been developed by working in partnership with local artists and community groups.

Events include ‘An Intimate Tour with Breasts’, an outdoor walking tour exploring the multicultural mythologies surrounding breasts, Life Drawing with a Drag Queen, a Polari language class with artist Jez Dolan and a Drag King Makeover session.

The exhibition will launch on Saturday 2^nd December with a free public event. Partnering with SHOUT Festival of Queer Arts and Culture and Birmingham LGBT Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery will host a series of specially commissioned performances and activities to celebrate the opening of the exhibition.

Multi-award winning children’s author Jeremy Strong officially opened a new £100,000 library containing 8,000 books as part of a two-day reading celebration at a City of Wolverhampton school.

Pupils at East Park Academy met the famous author of books including Romans on the Rampage, My Brother’s Famous Bottom, and Hundred Mile-An-Hour Dog.

And many of them dressed up as some of the popular characters from some of his 107 books during special assemblies where they got to quiz Jeremy about his stories.

The school, in Hollington Road, also invited author Chris Wormell and poet Valerie Bloom into classrooms as part of the week-long reading festival to mark the library opening.

And children were also taken to see Michael Rosen when he appeared at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre.

Head teacher Haley Guest said: “We have invested £100,000 in the new school library and it has become a much-loved place for our children to go and discover books and the joy of reading. Just like us, the children are very proud of it.

“Getting inspirational authors in like Jeremy into meet our children is really important. They were so excited to meet one of their favourite authors who has inspired them to write more of their own fantastic stories.”

Jeremy Strong added: “It has been great visiting this brilliant and bubbly school. It is especially marvellous to officially open the new library and to see a school investing in such an important resource.”

Severn Trent is warning its customers to be extra vigilant after receiving reports of bogus phone callers claiming to be from the company and threatening to cut off water supplies.

Customers have received calls from somebody claiming to work for Severn Trent Water. The person claimed the water was going to be cut off the following morning for not paying their water bill.

Elaine Taylor, security and resilience lead at Severn Trent, said: “We often hear about people trying to access homes by saying they’re from “the water board”, but this kind of phone call is unusual and obviously worrying for our customers.  We can’t stress how important it is for customers to check the identity of the person calling to make sure it is a genuine call. Our agents are more than happy to give their names on calls and which department they are from.

“And just to reassure our customers - we would never cut anyone’s water supply off out of the blue - we’re always trying to help our customers who are struggling with their bills.

“We’re very aware that people can struggle to pay their bills for a whole range of different reasons, which is why we’re proud to provide support to people who need it the most. We’re absolutely committed to reaching out to those who need our help, and our dedicated team will always be on hand for advice and assistance.  We’d encourage anyone who thinks they may benefit from our range of support schemes to get in touch with us and we’ll see if we can help.

“Customers should also be wary of people who turn up at their door, claiming to be from Severn Trent.  We offer a doorstep password scheme where you can apply for a password in advance that any legitimate visitors from Severn Trent will have when they come to your home.  Our phone lines are manned 24-hours a day, seven days a week, and our employees fully expect customers to check their identity, either with a card or a call.  They’ll be happy to wait while you carry out the necessary checks. You can sign up online at stwater.co.uk or call us on 08457 500 500.”

“If anyone has had a suspicious call – either on the phone or at the door, please do let the police know, and tell us too – that way we can warn others.”