John Taylor Hospice is looking for craftspeople, DIY experts and artists to run workshops for patients, families and local people. The workshops and groups will all take place in the hospice’s newly launched Moments Shed, which is housed in the grounds of the hospice in Erdington. The inspiration for Moments Shed came from John Taylor’s Well-Being and Heart of the Hospice Teams to encourage patients and families to find emotional support through coming together and enjoying practical tasks.

Patients from Birmingham Children’s Hospital were amongst the first to enter House of Fraser’s magical Christmas grotto last night, when it opened its doors for the festive season. The youngsters, which included seven-year-old Matilda Hatton from Walsall and nine-year-old Skye Gardner from Wolverhampton, were invited to officially open the grotto in celebration that £1.20 from every ticket purchased will support the fantastic work of Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

One in three vets who treat pets have seen puppies they believe to have been illegally imported from overseas in the last year, according to figures released by the UK's leading body for vets the British Veterinary Association (BVA). BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession, which surveyed over 1,000 vets from across the UK, revealed that vets’ suspicions had been raised for several reasons including foreign microchips and the puppy’s age not matching the age given in its passports, with some vets also citing the puppy’s health as a problem after seeing cases of parvovirus and kennel cough.

Children across the West Midlands will enjoy a happier Christmas thanks to the amazing generosity of strangers. Kleeneze agents invited their customers to add a children’s toy to their catalogue orders, to be presented to families supported by Barnardo’s. Hundreds of customers responded to the appeal and donated around a thousand gifts worth a total of more than £3,000.

Birmingham St Mary's Hospice is bringing families from across Birmingham and Sandwell together to remember a lost loved one this Christmas.The Hospice’s ‘Light up a Life’ event gives people the opportunity to celebrate and remember the lives of those no longer with us. Each year, hundreds of people take part in the celebration, whether or not they have been directly supported by Birmingham St Mary's Hospice. Two ceremonies will be taking place on Thursday 15^th December at 4.30pm and 7.30pm, lasting for approximately an hour and a half each.

With temperatures predicted to drop to as low as -10C in some areas, older people’s charity, Independent Age, is urging older people, their families and carers to take extra care during this week’s cold snap. It’s also revised its free advice leaflet on how to stay well in winter, called Being Winter Wise, for 2016. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week found that an estimated 24,300 excess winter deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2015/16.