Brightly coloured balloons lined the streets of Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield as families walked together in memory of loved ones and in support of John Taylor Hospice.

Nearly 150 people gathered at the Hollyfields Centre in Erdington to join the Birmingham hospice’s annual Family Walk and Fun Day. The ever-popular fundraising walk, now in its sixth year, raises money to provide care and support for people living with a terminal illness and their families.

This year, walkers had the choice of a pushchair and dog-friendly 4.5-mile walk or a more challenging 9-mile route. The event also offered entertainment for all ages with a Fun Day packed full of activities including bouncy castles, inflatable slides, raffles and stalls.

Setting the walkers off on their way was seven-year-old Louie O’Neill from Kingstanding. The young fundraiser - who has raised £1,000 for the hospice this year – was invited to cut the ribbon to signal the start of the charity walk.

Twickenham Primary School pupil Louie started raising money for John Taylor Hospice when he learned that his grandad has terminal cancer. Super supporter Louie has been busy challenging friends and family members to quizzes, holding a charity car wash, collecting money in supermarkets and organising a fundraising stall. He doesn't plan to stop there and has big plans for the future - including hopes to host his own carnival.

Louie’s mum Charlotte O'Neill said: “There are seven of us here today – along with our dog Maui – to do the walk and watch Louie cut the ribbon. He’s so excited to have been asked to open the event as he feels like a celebrity! He’s been really looking forward to it and we’re so very proud of him.”

Joining the walk for the fifth year were the Smart family from Great Barr. Christopher Smart and his wife Selina walked the 4.5-mile route, with their two sons and their niece by their side, in memory of Christopher’s father Peter Smart.

“My dad had lung cancer and was only at the hospice for a very short time – two to three days,” said Christopher. “The hospice did an outstanding job and it became like a home from home for us. We come to the walk every year to say thank you to the hospice staff for what they did for us. ”

Selina added: “Sometimes when we went to visit Peter we’d have 11 family members in the room at once and the nurses didn't mind at all. Nothing was too much trouble for them, they were incredible and did an amazing job of looking after us all.”

Stepping out together in memory of someone very special were siblings Louise, Emma and Simon Carlo. They walked the longer route - for the third year in a row - to thank the hospice for the care they provided for their mum Sheila Carlo in 2015.

“She was a wonderful woman,” said Simon. “We received incredible support from John Taylor Hospice and our mum was so well looked after, as were we. She was treated with dignity and respect and the hospice staff relieved a lot of the pressure for us.”

Louise, who raised over £1,000 by running the Birmingham half marathon for #TeamJTH last year, said: "When you’ve never had any experience of a hospice you expect it to be a depressing place but it’s not like that at all at John Taylor. We were really struggling before the hospice stepped in to help and we don’t know what we’d have done without them. We come to the walk every year to say thank you for everything the hospice has done for our family.”

Katie Mitchell, John Taylor's Head of Fundraising, said: “Thank you so much to everyone who joined us. We certainly didn't let the dreary weather dampen our spirits and we had a wonderful day.

"The Family Walk is a special day for lots of people with many local families joining us year after year to celebrate the lives of their loved ones and to support the work of our hospice. We're proud to have watched this event grow over the years and we're extremely grateful to everyone for joining us.

“Many families tell us they come to the Family Walk and Fun Day to show support for the hospice and say thank you for the care their loved ones have received. We want people to know that being there at events really does make a big difference. That incredible support help us to raise vital funds and ensures we're there for families - just like yours - when they need our care and support.”

Members of City of Wolverhampton’s wolf pack from the city’s biggest ever public art event are to be officially auctioned off for charity next month.

The proceeds will be shared between Outside Centre and the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Cllr Elias Mattu’s chosen charities.

Will Farmer, Director of Fielding Auctioneers Ltd, who is well known for his appearances on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, will lead the Wolves in Wolves auction in the Hayward Suite, at Molineux stadium, on Thursday, November 2.

The wolves to go under the hammer are Wild, Colour, Love, The Sitting, Bayliss, Sunset, Compton, Kiyiya, Rainbow, Meditation, Endless Opportunities, Dynasty, Garden, Sacred Grandfathers, Zeus and Beowulf.

The remaining wolves will either be retained by their sponsors for use in projects, such as Hope at Headstart and Aurora at Talentmatch, both being used for activities with young people.

A handful of the wolves are set to remain on display in the city centre, such as Hunter outside the University School of Art, Old Gold in the Wolves Museum, Thomas at Marston’s House, Support Life at the University of Wolverhampton, Mander at Mander House, Beanstalk at the Grand Theatre, and roaming wolf Claude.

Almost 40 mini-wolves from the Wolverhampton Art Gallery exhibition will also be auctioned off on the night.

Will said: “I am thrilled to be the auction partner for this fantastic and very successful project.

“It will be wonderful to find some new homes for the wolves and to raise a huge amount of money for charity.”

The majority of the 30 wolves are currently resting in a warehouse waiting to be cleaned ahead of the auction.

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “The wolves have really captured people’s imaginations and the whole project has been a howling success.

“The auction now gives people the chance to bid for their favourite wolf and raise money for charity at the same time.

“Wolves in Wolves has showcased the city to visitors and the 30 wolves have helped put the city on the map as a cultural centre.

“It has also been a great way for people of all ages to get active and discover the city and what it has to offer.”

On the day of the auction, doors will open at 4pm for viewing, with the auction starting at 7pm

Children and families from across the Midlands are set to benefit thanks to a donation of £131,000 from KFC to Acorns Children’s Hospice.

The donation comes thanks to KFC’s Add Hope Foundation and the activities of staff at KFC branches across the region who encouraged customers to purchase fundraising scratch cards.

Proceeds from the scratch cards will go towards the nearly £10 million Acorns has to raise each year to continue it’s vital care for life limited and life threatened children and young people and support for their families.

Shane Fields, Area Coach at KFC Shirley, said: “The amount raised has been amazing, we are so proud to support Acorns and the brilliant work they do that is so important for families in the area. The KFC Add Hope Foundation gives staff the chance to really get involved in their community.”

Amanda Smallman, Senior Manager, Corporate and Community Fundraising at Acorns, said: “We are so happy to receive this significant donation.  At Acorns, we rely on fundraising and donations from organisations like KFC’s Add Hope for the majority of the income needed to provide our services.

“The donation will make a huge difference to people’s lives by helping us provide nursing care for children and young people and vital support for their families.”

Acorns offers a network of specialist care for children and support for their families across the West Midlands. In the past year the charity has cared for more than 870 children and more than 1,090 families, including those who are bereaved

To find out more about the work of Acorns Children’s Hospice and how you can help raise vital funds, please visit www.acorns.org.uk

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) announced the 2017 Award of Excellence was presented to the PATA Micronesia Chapter for their outstanding work promoting the region. PATA Micronesia was recognized for their unique approach to marketing the diverse and expansive region, which encompasses 2,100 islands spread over 2.9 million square miles of Pacific Ocean, “the blue continent.”

The Micronesia Chapter was recognized for its unique creation of interactive experiences at major global travel trade shows in core markets, developing face-to-face personal interaction with potential visitors and travel planners. The chapter also capitalized on focused use of digital and social media campaigns to share Micronesia’s diverse culture, hospitable people, and incredible natural beauty.

PATA Micronesia is the only chapter in the internationally acclaimed organization to represent more than one destination, which includes the islands groups of the Northern Marianas, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshalls, and Guam. “The PATA Micronesia Chapter, led by Guam, USA, is amongst the most community engaged chapters within the organization,” said Dr. Mario Hardy, PATA CEO.

“In the true spirit of PATA, they regularly reach out to their various constituents, providing assistance and guidance in their endeavor to promote the responsible and sustainable development of the travel and tourism industry. Furthermore, they also regularly engage with PATA members globally and other chapters in their efforts to further the agenda of the entire organization,” said Hardy.

The Chapter was recognized for its creativity in representing the region globally, winning booth display awards and capturing mass audience appeal with cultural presentations and training opportunities for travel industry professionals. PATA Micronesia also expanded into new markets in 2016, like the LGBTQ travel community, building on Guam and the CNMI’s recognition of same-sex marriage.

“It is an honor to be recognized by PATA for the work we do in Micronesia,” said PATA Micronesia Chapter Chairwoman Pilar Laguaña. “PATA Micronesia is more than the only Chapter representing multiple destinations, we’re spread over millions of miles of ocean. It’s a challenge to effectively capture and share with the world what makes each island destination so special in a single, unified message. This award is an affirmation to our Chapter that our efforts are recognized for their effectiveness in representing our vast, diverse region.”

This is the third Award of Excellence bestowed on the PATA Micronesia Chapter. The Chapter was first recognized in 2004, for its commitment to communication strategies within Micronesia, and again in 2010, for its use of social media and impressive branding strategies.

If you’ve recently moved into a new home, you’ll probably be asking your friends and family around for a housewarming party. But as we enter autumn, you may have noticed an increase in the number of eight-legged visitors who most certainly haven’t been invited.

Despite the old adage, ‘they are more scared of you’, this is cold comfort for those who are terrified of arachnids.

For home owners who have noticed an increase in spiders emerging from their house’s nooks and crannies, NHBC, the UK's leading new home warranty and insurance provider, have compiled some advice to help dissuade spiders from moving in.

• Fill a spray bottle with a mixture of roughly half water and half white vinegar. Avoiding varnished surfaces, spray the mixture in corners and cracks. Alternatively, as strong smells are believed to deter spiders, try mixing natural oils like peppermint, lavender, rose oil, tea-tree and cinnamon into spray bottles and follow the same method.
• Seal off your home by filling cracks and crevices around doors and windows which spiders could crawl through.
• Do you still have cardboard boxes around from your move? If so, spiders like these, so where possible, empty and dispose of them. Try to use plastic boxes as an alternative storing solution.
• Plant mint, lavender or both underneath or near windows as the strong smells will deter spiders.
• Spiders also dislike citrus, so rub peel from lemons or limes along skirting boards and window sills. You can also try lemon-scented cleaners and furniture polish.
• It has been said that spiders hate garlic, so place crushed cloves into a spray bottle filled with water and spritz in corners, floors  and skirting boards.
• Dust and vacuum regularly to get rid of webs and de-clutter your house as much as possible to reduce the number of places a spider can hide.

Every summer, centres and branches end up bursting with cats and kittens as a result of unplanned litters born at this time of year and unwanted older animals.

This can lead to cats and kittens being abandoned in their droves, ending up in rescue centres.

Across England and Wales from May 1 to September 24, there were 11,313 cat abandonment complaints reported to the RSPCA.

The RSPCA is urging responsible pet owners to get their cat neutered from four months old to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Alice Potter, RSPCA cat welfare expert, said: “They may look cute but having a litter of kittens to look after is hard work and costs money. Sometimes the reality of looking after them does not live up to the expectation and it is times like this when we see so many kittens abandoned.

“From being tied up in plastic bags, dumped in boxes, left on a bus, or thrown out with the rubbish, the RSPCA has sadly seen too many kittens abandoned this summer.

“There is a cat overpopulation crisis facing the UK and our centres struggle with the demand especially during the summer months. There are an estimated 10.3 million pet cats in the UK and although it is estimated that around 90% of owners have their cats neutered about 13% of owners of female cats say that their cat has had at least one litter. Of these owners, 70% said their cats pregnancy was unplanned which inevitably results in a lot of kittens*.

“Some people may think cats need to have a first litter to be healthy but this is an old wives tale. Neutering your cat allows them to go outside and do all the things they enjoy, such as climbing and playing.”

From May to September the RSPCA has neutered more than 4,000 cats.

The numbers of cats in RSPCA centres and branches in May reached a whopping 3,652 and June saw even more with 3,848. In July there were 2,492 and August there were 1,950 cats and kittens needing care.

Alice Potter added: “However, not all cats and kittens abandoned by their owners will have been lucky enough to make it into RSPCA care. Unfortunately there are kittens who have been dumped and will not make it, there is likely to be others who weren’t found in time, or never found at all.

“If your cat has had an unwanted litter please do not throw them out like rubbish. There are options and animal welfare charities like the RSPCA who can help.

“If your cat has reached about four months old or more there are voucher schemes which can help with the cost of neutering such as the Cat Smart scheme in Sheffield and the Cat Care and Control Consortium in London. Check with your local RSPCA branch to see what services are available.”