A Birmingham teenager has shaved off her hair to help the hospice that cared for her great-grandfather.

Fifteen-year-old Molly Harrison from Erdington has raised over £800 for John Taylor Hospice as a thank you for the care and support provided for her family.

Molly was only four years old when her great-grandfather George Harrison was cared for in the hospice’s In-Patient Unit in 2006.

“The hospice took such good care of him and I wanted to do this for them to show how much it means to me and my family,” explains Molly who is a student at Erdington Academy. “I feel really proud to have raised £808 - I didn’t think I’d make that much! I’d like to say thank you to everyone who sponsored me.”

Her bold fundraising challenge took place in front of an audience at Kingstanding Ex-Servicemen’s Club – somewhere George was a familiar face. Cheered on by family and friends Molly’s dad Mark shaved off her long brunette locks to raise vital funds for their local hospice.

Molly’s mum Sally Harrison said she clearly remembers the day that her daughter decided to do something special to raise money for the hospice. “When she was about nine her school, Firs Primary, held a cake sale in aid of John Taylor Hospice,” recalls mum-of-four Sally.

“A member of hospice staff went to collect the cheque and spoke to the children about fundraising to help their local community. Molly came out of school that day and asked me if the hospice was where we went to visit grandad. When I said yes she told me she wanted to do something to help them.”

The hospice provides specialist palliative and end of life care for people living with a terminal illness and their families and relies heavily upon public donations.

Sally added: “Hospice staff just couldn’t do enough for me and my family. We could visit at any time and were even able to stay overnight and bring grandad his favourite takeaway food!

“It felt like a home from home and we’re so thankful that they supported us to make the most of our precious time together. We’re full of pride for Molly and think it’s amazing that she has done this to help families just like ours.”

Molly will be donating her hair to children’s cancer charity Little Princess Trust who provide real hair wigs, free of charge, to children across the UK and Ireland that have lost their own hair through cancer treatment.

John Taylor’s Head of Fundraising Katie Mitchell said: “Molly is simply an amazing fundraiser! We are full of admiration for her and so grateful to everyone that backed her fundraising efforts. Our supporters go to great lengths to raise money for us and we can’t thank them enough for their kindness and generosity.”

Britain’s beloved historic buildings are at risk, due to a restoration skills crisis that threatens the future of some of our best-known national treasures, warns the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Despite over a million people tuning in to Channel 4’s latest series Great British Buildings – Restoration of the Year, and a new YouGov survey commissioned by RICS finding that 92% of the British public in the Midlands believe historic buildings are symbolic of Britain’s heritage, young people have little awareness of the specialist professions and trades essential to their preservation, suggesting that as people retire, the current skills base could be all but wiped out.

According to the survey, 9 in 10 people (92%) agreed that buildings such as Lincoln Cathedral and Ragley Hall are symbols of the country’s heritage. This sentiment is strong across all age groups, including millennials, with 89% of 18-24 year-olds appreciating the importance of historic buildings.

The vast majority of the Midland's population (93%) also believe that that these iconic treasures should be preserved for future generations and place the responsibility for maintaining them firmly at the door of the government (43%), followed by industry organisations (16%) and the general public (14%).

However, despite the public’s love for these buildings, the majority don't understand the specialist skills needed to restore and preserve them. For example, 80% are not knowledgeable about what a historic building surveyor does, and 80% do not know what a roof thatcher’s job entails. Awareness of age-old building professions is fading away amongst the younger generation, with only 1 in 10 18-24 year-olds able to describe the job of a stonemason, and only 16% know what a glass blower does.

This lack of awareness comes at a time when the industry as a whole is facing a skills shortage in the built environment, with the latest figures from the RICS Construction Market Survey showing that the skills gap reported by professionals across the construction sector increased from 2% in 2012 to 43% in 2016.

To ensure that these crucial skills are not lost and cherished historic buildings don’t fall into disrepair, a stronger pipeline of talent is needed. It’s important that craft skills are developed in addition to the continual promotion of professional skills, as the two skillsets are intrinsically linked to create any successful construction project. RICS is calling on the government and industry bodies to continue to concentrate their efforts on inspiring young people to pursue a career in the sector and educate them on the importance of mastering and maintaining the skills needed to preserve our historic buildings.

British designer and presenter, Kevin McCloud said: “Historically listed buildings form part of the fabric of our rich cultural heritage and today’s findings from RICS highlight that so many Brits are genuinely passionate about protecting the physical legacy that these buildings represent. I’m very pleased to be hosting Channel 4’s Restoration of the Year programme, which shines a spotlight on the care and craftsmanship behind preserving these national treasures.”

Matthew Howell, RICS Managing Director for UK & Ireland said: “It’s fantastic to see that so many people care about our historic buildings, especially young people. However, without a pipeline of talent developing expertise in these specialist areas, these landmarks could be left in ruin. We need the next generation to understand the role of a historic building surveyor, and the craft of a stonemason or glassblower to preserve this heritage for the future.”

Mr Howell added: “The government and industry bodies must continue to work together and raise awareness of the wide-range of opportunities available in the industry and create more routes into the sector for young people, including investing in quality apprenticeships that lead to roles such as qualified building surveyors who specialise in conservation projects”.

A great motivational and inspirational talk was delivered by Mr. Qasim Ali Shah, a renowned motivational speaker, at Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS). Mr. Qasim gave his talk on ‘Journey from Ordinary to Extraordinary: Professional Motivation’. He recommended many books for students to read and focused on developing the positive attitude towards all the happenings of life.

Mr. Shah shared the goal setting strategies and action plan by sharing the practical examples from his life. He focused on the importance of sincere efforts towards making one’s contribution in this world by finding one’s potential and act accordingly. Session was attended by a large number of students, alumni, faculty and staff that took keen interest in his talks and were quite engaged. Closing remarks and a note of thanks was shared by Prof. Dr. Nasira Jabeen, Dean – Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (FEMS) and Director – Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS).

It was followed by presentation of souvenirs and flowers to Mr. Qasim Ali Shah as a token of love and appreciation in acknowledgement of his time and efforts. Mr. Qasim Ali Shah contributed 100 books of his own to the IAS Library and to session participants as a gift.

Visiting coffee shops is a ritual that many Brits routinely adhere to, as new research reveals Britain's coffee shop culture is full of beans. According to Mintel research, the UK coffee shop market has enjoyed its biggest period of growth since 2008, when the market was valued at £2.2 billion. Over the last five years, the market rose by 37%, up from £2.4 billion in 2011 to reach an impressive £3.4 billion in 2016. What is more, between 2015 and 2016 sales increased a spectacular 10.4% – the biggest year-on-year boost witnessed in the last five years.

It seems the market is brewing up for further success, as over the next five years coffee shop sales are forecast to jump a further 29%, reaching a heart-stopping £4.3 billion.

Brits' insatiable appetite for coffee is highlighted by the fact that two thirds (65%) of all Brits have visited a coffee shop in the past three months*. Coffee shop usage peaks among consumers aged 16-24 (73%). However, in a space traditionally dominated by specialist coffee retailers, it is notable that as many as 44% of Brits buy their hot drinks from non-specialists.

Overall, just one fifth (19%) of the nation do not drink tea, coffee or other hot drinks out of the home.

Trish Caddy, Foodservice Analyst at Mintel, said:

“Britain's appetite for coffee shops continues. Much of the growth we've seen in recent years is driven by habitual coffee drinkers and the continually increasing number of coffee retailers that are now ubiquitous on British high streets. A raft of non-specialist venues that feature barista-style coffee on their menus with takeaway functions are grabbing a slice of the coffee shop market. In the future, the top end of the market will continue to face intense competition from big pub chains, fast food chains and bakery shops that have now encroached on the coffee shop market, competing in terms of price, convenience and even geographical reach.”

Mintel research reveals an environmentally caring side to Britain's coffee drinkers. Almost nine in 10 (87%) coffee drinkers try to dispose of their packaging waste in recycling bins. Some six in 10 (58%) coffee drinkers would like coffee shops to offer a discount to customers using their own travel mugs. Furthermore, four in 10 (40%) coffee drinkers say they do not mind being charged extra for hot drinks served in 100% recyclable coffee cups, and 30% would prefer to pay for filtered water instead of buying bottled water.

Changes to the driving test will help save lives and improve road safety, Transport Minister Andrew Jones has said. Learner drivers will need to pass a modern test that will include new manoeuvres and a longer independent driving section to make sure drivers have the skills, knowledge and confidence to drive on their own.

The changes will also include a section where drivers use satellite navigation to find their way.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “We have some of the safest roads in the world but we are always looking to make them safer. These changes announced today will help reduce the number of people killed or injured on our roads and equip new drivers with the skills they need to use our roads safely. Ensuring the driving test is relevant in the 21st century – for example, the introduction of sat navs, will go a long way towards doing this.”

The new driving test will come into force on 4 December 2017. The four changes are:

• an increase of the ‘independent driving’ part of the test from 10 to 20 minutes
• asking candidates to follow directions on a sat nav as an alternative to following road signs
• replacing current manoeuvres such as ‘reverse around a corner’ with more real life scenarios, such as  driving into and reversing out of a parking bay
• asking one of the two vehicle safety questions while the candidate is driving, for example, asking candidates to use the rear heated screen

“DVSA’s priority is to help you through a lifetime of safe driving.

“Making sure the driving test better assesses a driver’s ability to drive safely and independently is part of our strategy to help you stay safe on Britain’s roads.”

“It’s vital that the driving test keeps up to date with new vehicle technology and the areas where new drivers face the greatest risk once they’ve passed their test.”

Around half of all car drivers now have a sat nav and to reflect the changing behaviours of drivers, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) want new drivers to be trained on how to use them safely. This was supported by 70 per cent of respondents from last year’s consultation.

Using sat navs will encourage more practice of independent driving and teach new drivers the skills they need to manage distractions.

Currently candidates spend a large amount of their test on low risk roads, such as housing estates so they can carry out the current manoeuvres. The new-style manoeuvres will allow DVSA to assess the same skill set as the changes are more representative of what a new driver will experience in their everyday driving.

Reducing the focus on slow speed manoeuvres in quiet low risk roads and increasing independent driving will allow DVSA examiners to better assess the learner’s ability to drive safely on higher-risk roads, where statistically, new drivers have the most crashes.

Visitors are being given the opportunity to travel back to Victorian times with a living history day full of bangs, crashes and military action.

The Anglo Boer War Staffords historical interpretation group will be setting up camp in the grounds of the Manor House Museum, in Hall Green Road, West Bromwich on April 30 and  May 1 between 11am-3pm.

Visitors can enjoy late Victorian historic drama, military re-enactments, displays and lots of fascinating entertainment based around the Boer War.

The group will set up tents and historical displays and undertake military drills and battles.

Jane Hanney, museum services manager, said: “There will be some loud bangs and crashes and lots of fascinating facts around this historical battle.”

Staff will also be giving guided tours of the Manor House which dates back to the 13^th century and visitors can find out about arms and armour hundreds of years before the Boer War period as well as what life was like in the house 600 years ago. The last tour is at 2pm.

Entrance to the event both days is free although there is a small charge for some activities.