Colors: Red Color

I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here finalist and popular Radio 1 DJ Jordan North has teamed up with McDonald’s to show his fans how he has been spending his lockdown days since the castle.

He posted a hilarious video on his Instagram, known for his love of food hot off the press from his ‘Date Night’, North is seen preparing for his perfect night in with a face mask, slippers and is seen settling down to watch his beloved football team Burnley FC at his ‘Happy Place’ Turf Moor with the new McDonald’s Katsu Curry Chicken McNuggets.

This is the second video from Jordan showcasing how he has been filling the lonely nights during lockdown, two weeks ago he posted on his Instagram showing himself nervously preparing for a dinner date… Only to find out his date is McDonald’s new Katsu Curry Chicken McNuggets.

Taking social media by storm, both videos combined have already received close to half a million (460k) views and over 750 comments with a range of hilarious replies underneath.

ACE (Arts Council England) and the National Lottery Heritage Fund have awarded £3million each to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as major funding partners of the cultural festival. This timely and much needed investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England gives a huge boost to the Games cultural festival that will run for six months from March – September 2022.  The festival will reach 2.5million people through a range of high-profile events and participatory projects which will take place in the heart of West Midlands communities.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games cultural festival will include:

·         29 headline artistic commissions showcasing the region’s distinct creativity across arts and heritage.  Commissioned projects will range from the intimate to the spectacular, and will also explore the rich diversity of communities from across the region

·         Six themed ‘Open Calls’ seeking ideas from local artists and organisations, leading to a further 28 commissioned projects

·         Funding 200+ cultural and creative commissions and projects

·         Investment in 450 artists and creatives with 90% of commissioned work from people based in or originally from the West Midlands

Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: "This investment will help showcase the fantastic art, history and culture of the West Midlands to the world. 2022 will be a year of national celebration for the UK and the Commonwealth Games' cultural programme will allow the region’s diversity and creativity to play a key role in our recovery from the pandemic - driving tourism, investment and cultural renewal."

The Chief Executive, Arts Council England, Darren Henley,  said: “The Commonwealth Games promises to be a huge moment in the cultural calendar of 2022, and we’re delighted to offer this funding for what looks set to be a fantastic festival of arts and culture. Our £3 million investment from the National Lottery means that the Birmingham Commonwealth Culture team can continue their ambitious plans for a truly spectacular six-month programme.

“The eyes of the world will be on the West Midlands in 2022. Thanks to National Lottery players, our investment will bring to life six months of truly spectacular artistic and cultural events showcasing the creativity, innovation and flair for which Birmingham is rightly famous around the globe.”

Ros Kerslake CBE, Chief Executive, the National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “The Cultural Festival is a fantastic opportunity to showcase to the world the rich and important stories and heritage that give Birmingham and the West Midlands it’s unique character. This national celebration will explore a diverse range of cultural heritage including music, nature, migration, food, and industrial heritage through a wide range of activities including dance, music, theatre, film, oral histories and visual art. 

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the Cultural Festival brings a new dimension to the Commonwealth Games.  The celebrations will engage 2.5m people from Birmingham’s diverse communities, creating 400 volunteering opportunities and bringing people together in a shared moment of pride and celebration that is set to create a lasting cultural legacy.”

The Chief Creative Officer, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Martin Green CBE, added: “This timely investment and partnership, underlines a significant moment of genuine confidence in the West Midlands’ arts and heritage sectors. Through the cultural festival, we will support and commission some incredible creative projects that connect communities across Birmingham and the West Midlands. 

“What we love about the arts and heritage sectors is their uniquely transformative power, and there has never been a greater need for this hope and optimism than right now, as we all stare down the impact that the pandemic has had on the creative industries. This funding announcement marks a welcome milestone as it takes us just over halfway to our income target for the festival.  Whilst there is plenty more work to do, we are optimistic that we can now welcome more funders to the region, who share our ambitious aims.”

The £6million investment joins Birmingham City Council’s £2million support to move the festival closer to its baseline fundraising target. As a direct result of the awards, the culture team will begin to commission projects, launch Open Calls and support artists and heritage-makers to develop their ideas for 2022.

The Internationally acclaimed Sonia Sabri Company, a dynamic dance and music company, announce details of the first ever online version of its highly popular Lok Virsa Festival for 2021. Lok Virsa, fast becoming one of the leading Festivals of its kind in the UK, was first premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London attended by 8000 participants. The festival, now in its 7th year, celebrates some of the rarely experienced traditional and folkloric art of music, crafts and dance rooted in the lands of the Indian subcontinent.

Lok Virsa, which means ‘heritage of the people’, has toured the country annually and would normally take place live in a venue across one day.  However, adapting the festival online during lockdown has meant Sonia Sabri Company can transform the festival to a virtual world-class stage of workshops and performances over 7 days. Sonia Sabri Artistic Director, dancer-choreographer, said: “This year, Lok Virsa; Good Vibrations truly is an International Festival.  As well as artists from the UK, we are delighted to welcome artists from Iran, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh.  Each will come together across the week to bring colour, energy and high-class performances and events into our homes at what continues to be a challenging time for everyone.”

The free events will provide adults and children from diverse backgrounds with the opportunity to experience an array of arts and crafts workshops and participatory activities including Rangoli (using coloured rice, lentils, and flower petals to create eye-catching designs on the floor) Henna Painting, Block Printing and Weaving from award-winning artist Nilupa Yasmin.

The Festival’s dance offer features Festival Founder Sonia Sabri performing her own form of Kathak dance, Bengali folk-dance performance with Shadhona Dance Company; Indian folk dance with Kinga Malec; Folk Dance of Bangladesh workshop by Arthy Ahmed; Silk scarf dance workshop of Afghanistan led by a member of the Sonia Sabri Company and Afghani folk dance performance by Kathakaars. 

Chris Sudworth, Birmingham Hippodrome Director of Artistic Programme added: “Birmingham is the biggest dance city outside of London, and at Birmingham Hippodrome we support several Associate companies, led by some of the best choreographers in the region, to reach new audiences with new work – Sonia Sabri is definitely one of those.

“We have worked with Sonia since 2018, supporting her to create and tour her new family production ‘Same Same…But Different’ nationally, and to host a fantastic Lok Virsa Festival at the Hippodrome in 2019. We’re delighted to support Sonia to adapt the Festival for online audiences, offering workshops and performances, and to look ahead to further collaborations for the future.”

 

Further highlights of Lok Virsa: Good Vibrations include music from Bahram Jamali (Iran), Kamal Sabri (India) and Shafi Mondal (Bangladesh) plus Rafique Khan (Rajasthani folk music performance); Shyam Nepali (Folk Nepali music performance).

Lok Virsa: Good Vibrations is supported by Birmingham Hippodrome and  runs from Monday 15th – Sunday 21st February. The Festival will open with a dance workshop on the Birmingham Hippodrome Facebook page. Further artists will be announced over the coming weeks.

Events will be broadcast across Sonia Sabri Company’s social media platforms.  All workshops and performance details will be available via Facebook.  Events may be subject to change.

Arts union Equity has written to the chancellor and culture secretary to say most of its members are still "in serious need of financial help".

Government schemes so far have proved "inadequate and patchy at best", its general secretary and president said. "Creative workers need action now," they wrote, adding that many were "struggling to stay afloat".

A government spokesperson pointed to its "generous" support including the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund. In their letter, Paul W Fleming and Maureen Beattie wrote: "The reality for most of our members, including thousands of people who regularly work throughout the community in care homes or delivering theatre in education, is that there is no route back to work any time soon.

"With this crisis certain to last for months to come, our members will soon pass the year's mark since our industry's closure - a year without regular, reliable income for the vast majority of our membership."

Equity represents actors and other "creative practitioners". Four out of 10 could not access the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), Equity said. It added that freelancers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had received some additional support, but "those in England have not received any further help".

In their response, the government spokesperson said the SEISS was "one of the most generous in the world" and that it had "provided billions in support to the UK's world-class cultural sector", including the Culture Recovery Fund and the £500m film and TV insurance scheme. "At the upcoming Budget we'll outline the next stages of our Plan for Jobs to support businesses and families across the UK," they added.

In July, Equity welcomed the support from the Culture Recovery Fund Equity but its previous general secretary, Christine Payne, said it was important that the funding didn't just prop up venues. Meanwhile, Manchester City Council has decided to launch its own hardship fund for arts freelancers in the city, using £500,000 from retailer B&M and The Savannah Wisdom Foundation.

"Manchester's arts and culture sector contribute massively to city life and to its economy and have an important part to play in the city's recovery from the pandemic," councillor Luthfur Rahman said. "We're fully committed to continuing to do everything we can to support it now and in the future."

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, three-quarters of arts, entertainment and recreation businesses said their turnovers in the second half of December were lower than usual - the joint highest of any sector, along with accommodation and food services. And half of arts, entertainment and recreation staff were on furlough - more than for any other industry.

A European study has found that the continent's cultural and creative sector has been hit harder by the coronavirus crisis than every other industry except aviation. The sector's revenues dropped by 31.2% last year compared with 2019, just behind aviation on 31.4%, the paper said, citing a report by the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC).

Birmingham based Friction Arts has been shortlisted for the first Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch)’s Award for Civic Arts Organisations for its community outreach work in response to the pandemic.

One of only 10 civic arts organisations across the UK to make the shortlist chosen from 260 applications, the Award, in partnership with King’s College London, ‘highlights and celebrates civic arts organisations and their response to the pandemic’ and ‘shines a spotlight on the vital role that arts organisations play in sustaining a thrilling, creative, and connected society, particularly during challenging times.’

To reach the shortlist acknowledges and recognises the vital work Friction Arts has carried out within local communities in the city during the pandemic. Helping to bring people together, improve mental health and wellbeing and provide much needed support to artists, performers, and members of local communities during an extraordinary time for the performing arts industry and residents of Birmingham.

Over 5 projects reaching out to over 300 people aged from 8 to 80 have already taken place including:

·         Supported 18 freelance artists to successfully apply for Arts Council England funding

·         Collaborated with 20 artists to create an offline festival ‘Quiet Carnival’ to test new work which gained new audiences

·         Provided safe space for vulnerable members of communities, performers, musicians, elders to utilise outdoor space(s) and stream music, rehearse and meet (once permitted)

·         Piloted a ‘directory of creative enquiries’ at food banks to offer bespoke advice and materials to children and families

·         Supported community member Sarah Kaur, (home-educator) to help grow ‘Culture Club’ an online programme aimed at children not in school using creative approaches for exploration of cultural identity.

An Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisation, Friction Arts has been making art projects, exhibitions, and performances in Birmingham and Internationally for over 25 years. From allotment gardeners in Handsworth to street children in Johannesburg, they help people tell untold stories, make the unseen visible and give the unheard a voice in the world.

Co-Directors and Lead Artists of Friction Arts, Sandra Hall and Lee Griffiths commented: “It's a great privilege to be included in the shortlist for this award. It’s a real testament to the creativity, responsiveness and hard work of our teams of artists, and to the commitment of our participants to our work, in the face of extremely challenging circumstances.”

The Award is part of a suite of initiatives being supported by the Foundation in response to the pandemic. Focusing on strengthening the arts and cultural sector to respond to urgent community needs, prioritise relevance, and become more inclusive and impactful.

Tyrone Huggins actor, director, writer and Chair of Friction Arts added: “We’re extremely delighted to be the only organisation in Birmingham to make the shortlist for the very first Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Award for Civic Arts Organisations.  If successful we intend to invest in a major city-wide project to help people across the city grieve for the people, opportunities and physical contact we have lost during the pandemic.”

Frictions Arts await the presentation ceremony on Thursday 11th March 2021 to see if it will win one of the three prizes on offer: £100,000 for the winner, or 1 of 2 runner-up prizes each worth £25,000. It will also have its work catalogued in a digital pamphlet that will be released to coincide with the award ceremony in the spring.

New headline acts have been added to next month’s Wolverhampton Literature Festival line-up. The festival returns for its fifth year from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 February, with an online offer celebrating the creative communities of the Black Country and beyond. The new acts join an array of outstanding performers, speakers, authors and poets already announced for the digital festival.

Heavy Metal fans can celebrate the fire and power of Metal God Rob Halford, frontman of the iconic band Judas Priest, as he returns to his Black Country roots to discuss his candid and revealing memoir ‘Confess’. Rob will be charting his journey from a council estate to international musical fame and audiences will be able to hear the tales of unlikely encounters with everybody from Superman, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jack Nicholson and the Queen.

Author Will Self will be returning to the festival alongside author and Professor in English Literature from the University of Wolverhampton, Sebastian Groes, and Dr Tom Mercer, Lecturer in Psychology, looking at the intricacies of remembering fiction we read in the past and how our perspective changes when we re-read stories. In this event audience members will be invited to take part in an interactive memory experiment. This event is co-organised by BBC Arts and the Groes’ Art and Humanities Research Council-funded research project Novel Perceptions. 

The popular comedian and co-host of Radio 4's award winning 'Infinite Monkey Cage' (with Professor Brian Cox)", Robin Ince, will also be joining the line-up along with Wolverhampton’s funny lady Susan Murray to discuss his book ‘I’m A Joke and So Are You’ with the two highlighting the hilarious and often moving examination of the human condition with fun, laughter and some insight into the audience’s psyche.

City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor Stephen Simkins, said: “It is fantastic that the line-up of the festival is being added to and that the festival is attracting talent from around the world from all creative industries. There is so much to get involved in and with these new events added I urge everyone to take a look at these exclusive and intimate virtual events.”

The new events sit alongside other festival headliners, which include some of the region’s most nationally-renowned, home-grown talent such as author Sathnam Sanghera, Line of Duty and Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio and activist Patrick Vernon OBE.

There are also craft-masters from further afield such as journalist and New York resident Jon Ronson and Shobna Gulati, making this year's festival the most ambitious to date.

Legendary British motorsport outfit Carlin has become the first organisation to announce its participation as a team in the eSkootr Championship (eSC). It will field three riders when the eSC series, which was launched last July, hosts its first competitive events later in 2021.

The British race operation, founded in 1996, has achieved success at almost every level of the sport – including an unsurpassed title-winning run in the British Formula 3 series and championships in Formula 2, Formula Renault 3.5 and F4. More recently, it has successfully expanded into North America, where it currently contests the IndyCar series, the USA’s premier single-seater championship.

Carlin’s list of successful graduates reads like a veritable Who’s Who of motorsport talent. Luminaries include current Formula 1 drivers Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris, as well as Indy 500 winners Takuma Sato and Will Power, and Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne. The team will announce its full eSkootr rider line-up ahead of a pre-season test programme, which takes place in early summer.

Khalil Beschir, eSkootr Championship COO said: “We’re delighted that an organisation of the prestige and success of Carlin has chosen to partner with us in the eSkootr Championship. It shows how seriously we’re already being taken, and it’s a real validation of what we’re doing.

“We began talking with Trevor last year, and it quickly became apparent that he really understood and embraced the concept; he could see how his operation could become a part of it.

“As well as working with Carlin to supply them with eSkootrs and equipment, we’re undertaking final chassis prototype trials and talking to a number of other international teams. We’ll have some exciting further announcements very soon.”

Carlin Team Principal, Trevor Carlin, added: “When we first heard about eSC we were really intrigued to learn more. As a race team and a business, we’re always interested in exploring the possibilities of new series, particularly those which look to break the mould and pioneer new technologies.

“We began to evaluate eSC’s potential – and we very quickly understood what opportunities it offered. What really appeals to us about eSC is its affordability and accessibility. It really takes a new approach in terms of racing, technology and the overlap into real-life mobility.

“We take delivery of our three eSkootrs in the next few months, and we’re already looking at candidates for the seats. We’re really excited to start putting together our 2021 programme.”

Glastonbury Festival 2021 has been cancelled for a second year running due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The news was announced on the Worthy Farm event's Twitter page.

Festival organisers Michael and Emily Eavis said: "With great regret, we must announce that this year's Glastonbury Festival will not take place. And this will be another enforced fallow year for us.” They went on to say: “Tickets for this year will roll over to next year."

It came in the same week that the future of UK music was up for debate at a DCMS inquiry into streaming, and in Parliament regarding post-Brexit music touring visas. The full statement on the festival website read: "In spite of our efforts to move heaven and earth, it has become clear that we simply will not be able to make the Festival happen this year. We are so sorry to let you all down."

It confirmed that as with last year, anyone with a ticket will now be offered the opportunity to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, when the festival will hopefully resume. It had been due to take place in June 2021.

"We are very appreciative of the faith and trust placed in us by those of you with deposits, and we are very confident we can deliver something really special for us all in 2022!"

On January 5 the government responded to a report by UK Music called Let the Music Play: Save Our Summer 2021, which outlined a range of measures that could help the industry get back up and running. They (the government) said: "We know these are challenging times for the live events sector and are working flat out to support it.

"Our £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund has already seen more than £1bn offered to arts, heritage and performance organisations to support them through the impact of the pandemic, protecting tens of thousands of creative jobs across the UK, including festivals such as Deer Shed Festival, End of the Road and Nozstock."

Following the overwhelming response to 2019’s ‘The 1980 Tour’, Midge Ure & Band Electronica are returning to the road in 2022 with the ‘Voice & Visions’ tour, celebrating 40 years since the release of Ultravox’s Rage In Eden and Quartet albums.

At the start of 1981, Ultravox were laying their claim to be one of the defining acts of the 80s following the global success of hit ‘Vienna’. Heading back into the studio the same year invigorated, they recorded their second album with Ure as frontman, Rage in Eden, which hit the Top 5 in the UK album charts. 

Quartet, their third album with Ure, came in quick succession in 1982 with production from legendary Beatles producer George Martin. Continuing the band’s impressive chart run, it became their third Top 10 album, featuring four Top 20 singles including the anthem ‘Hymn’. 

The ‘Voice & Visions’ tour will begin at York’s historic Grand Opera House on 22nd February, visiting an astounding 26 cities across the UK before culminating at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on April 2. Transporting fans back to the decade of electronics, experimentation, synthesizers and great songwriting, the albums highlights will be showcased alongside landmark hits from Ure’s incredible back catalogue. 
 
Midge Ure said of the tour: “I can’t begin to tell you how great it feels to be back out touring after the uncertainty of the past two years and it is especially exciting to delve back in time and revitalise two standout albums from my career, Rage in Eden and Quartet. This is the logical and emotional follow up to the 1980 tour.”

Following the release of his acclaimed new album Songs For The Drunk And Broken Hearted, which was sitting comfortably at number 2 in the UK Official Charts,  Passenger (Mike Rosenberg) now shares ‘Sword from the Stone (Gingerbread Mix),’ a special single version of the album’s opening track produced by Ed Sheeran and Joe Rubel and mixed by Spike Stent. Written during lockdown, ‘Sword from the Stone’ is instantly relatable as Rosenberg struggles with feelings of loneliness during these isolating times and reflects on a past love. The song juxtaposes simple conversation in the verses with an outpour of raw emotion in the chorus. 
 
‘Songs For The Drunk and Broken Hearted’ will be Rosenberg’s 6th Top 10 album in the UK - it’s an album populated by drunk and broken-hearted characters and comprised of tracks mostly written when Rosenberg was newly single. The album was originally slated for a May 2020 release, but when the global pandemic turned the world upside-down, Rosenberg decided it wasn’t quite done after all. A few songs no longer seemed to fit and came off. More importantly, three new songs were added, including album opener ‘Sword from the Stone.’
 
“I’m so excited about this one,” says Rosenberg. “It’s that cliché that you make your most poignant work when you’re having a bit of a hard time. I have played it to friends and family, to people in the industry, to other musicians, and it seems to resonate across the board. I genuinely think it’s had the best reaction of any song I’ve ever written.” One of the friends/musicians he shared the track with was his good mate Ed Sheeran. The pair had long discussed collaborating in some way, and ‘Sword from the Stone’ offered the perfect opportunity. 
 
Rosenberg explains: “Ed was really excited about the song when I played it to him and suggested that he produce a version that could potentially work as a radio single. It’s not every day you have that kind of offer from a pop genius, and I’m so delighted with what he and Joe have come up with. It’s been such a fun one to work on.”
 
Hailing from Brighton, England, Passenger is a multi-award winning, platinum-selling singer-songwriter. Although still known for his busking, he long ago made the journey from street corners to stadiums, thanks in part to supporting his good mate Ed Sheeran, and most notably with “Let Her Go,” which reached number 1 in 19 countries, is approaching three billion plays on YouTube and is the #3 most Shazamed song of all time. Yet ‘Let Her Go’ is just one song from a remarkable and prolific back catalogue, including 2016’s Young as the Morning, Old as the Sea, which topped the charts in the UK and beyond. Rosenberg has over 2 billion combined streams on Spotify alone.  
 
With an authentic and engaging live show that has won over scores of fans and critics around the globe and allowed him to headline some of the world’s most famous stages, Passenger looks forward to returning to the road as soon as it’s safe for everyone.   Now kicking off at Ulster Hall, Belfast on 26th August 2021, Passenger’s rescheduled tour dates for 2021 includes a headline show at London O2 Brixton Academy on 8th September 2021*


As with all global touring events at present, we are assessing on a daily basis the various issues in each country. As changes or updates are made, all ticket buyers will notify with as much notice as possible. 

Sameer's life is going well. The 26-year-old Cambridge graduate is a rising star at his London law firm, he lives in a swanky penthouse flat in Clerkenwell in central London, and plays as hard as he works - and he works very hard. It's enough to go to a young man's head, but his feet are kept on the ground by two old mates - Jeremiah and Rahool - from his home town of Leicester, who, like him, are making their way in the capital.

The three amigos hang out, listen to the rapper Dave's Psychodrama album and drink vodka. They're celebrating Sameer's career-advancing offer of a move to Singapore, Jeremiah's new job at a recording studio, and Rahool's decision to… go back to Leicester? And so begins We Are All Birds of Uganda, the debut novel by Hafsa Zayyan, joint-winner of Stormzy's #Merky Books New Writers' Prize. On the evidence of this book, which is set in England and Uganda, she is an exciting new literary talent.

The author shares some of her protagonist's biographical details. She too went to Cambridge University (and Oxford), became a lawyer, lives in London, and was offered a posting to Singapore. And, like Sameer, she is from an immigrant family: her parents are Nigerian and Pakistani, his are East African Indians. But this is not her story, it is his. She went to Singapore, he has yet to decide to accept his offer. In the history of dramatic plot-lines it is not the most arresting, but it does serve the purpose of providing a gateway into the main themes of the novel.

The issues and subjects it takes on are big: British, South Asian and African racism, religion, the past, acceptance and belonging, identity, immigration, capitalism, multiculturalism, family values, generational differences, the notion of success. All are explored with great intelligence and sensitivity - But at a cost. The novel reads as if it is topic-led rather than story led, the facts more important than the fiction.

The characters feel small and thinly drawn - doing their duty to maintain structure and illustrate a thematic point, rather than being the point. They don't appear to have been allowed to take on a life of their own, to surprise us; to surprise the author. Sameer is a nice bloke with some serious life decisions to make, but is, as protagonists go, a tad dull. There is no shade to his light. The same applies to Jeremiah and Rahool, who are little more than cameos. Family and relations follow well-worn paths, dividing along generational and cultural lines. There is no devil in the detail. All of which makes the first two-thirds of We Are All Birds of Uganda quite slow, but stick with it and the rewards come as Zayyan's writing finds the lightness and fluency of a much more experienced novelist.

Having been curiously incurious about his past, Sameer finally discovers his sense of identity and purpose when he engages with his own personal history, a history that is drip-fed to the reader in a series of short, interlaced chapters, which take the form of letters written by his grandfather to his deceased first wife. They are poetic history lessons contextualising the circumstances that led to Sameer being brought up in Leicester rather than Kampala, where his father was born.

The letters cover the period between the end of World War Two to the decade after Idi Amin's expulsion of South Asians from Uganda in 1972. It is an epic novel in terms of historical, geographic, and cultural scope and has much to recommend it: the tone, the structure, the ambition, and the clarity that enables the story to cover so much ground without ever becoming confused or lost during its 360-pages.

Music legend   Dr Dre returned home after he was discharged from hospital following treated for a brain aneurysm. A lawyer for the hip-hop star, 55, said on Saturday that he was now back at home, without giving further details. A day earlier, actor and rapper Ice-T said he had spoken to Dr Dre, describing him as "safe and looking good".

Dr Dre had been taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, California after which his team issued a statement saying the rapper - whose real name is Andre Romelle Young - was in a stable condition.

A post on his Instagram read; ‘Thanks to my family, friends and fans for their interest and well wishes. I'm doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team. I will be out of the hospital and back home soon. Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!’

Friends and fellow stars wished the American rapper and producer well after the reports of his ill health emerged.

Ice Cube, his former bandmate in trailblazing 1980s hip-hop group NWA, tweeted: ‘Send your love and prayers to the homie Dr Dre.’

Snoop Dogg, who was discovered by Dr Dre in the early 1990s, wrote on Instagram: ‘GET WELL DR DRE WE NEED U CUZ.’

Missy Elliott wrote: ‘Prayers up for Dr Dre and his family for healing & Strength over his mind & body.’ And singer Ciara tweeted: "Praying for you Dr Dre. Praying for a full recovery."

With NWA and then as a solo artist, leading producer and record label mogul, Dr Dre shaped West Coast rap and was instrumental in the careers of other stars like Eminem, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar.

An aneurysm is the enlargement of an artery caused by weakness in a blood vessel wall. Most brain aneurysms only cause noticeable symptoms if they burst, leading to bleeding on the brain, which can cause a very serious condition and can be fatal.

A new video containing a live interview with Black Sabbath star Tony Iommi has been made to commemorate the reinstallation of the band’s ‘heavy metal’ bench on Broad Street in Birmingham. The mini documentary is presented by Christian Martin, the former Argentinian rugby player who is himself a huge Black Sabbath fan, and features rare footage of the band performing in its early days.

The video was commissioned and released by Westside BID to commemorate the rededication of the bench which first appeared in 2018 but had been temporarily removed during the Midland Metro tram extension works. Martin, who was in Birmingham last week covering the Covid lockdown for A24, the Argentinian-based cable news channel, agreed to front the video as a ‘labour of love’ because of his enthusiasm for Black Sabbath. During the 20-minute video, Martin sits on the bench – which features steel cut-outs of all four original members of the band – and uses a live Zoom link to interview Iommi from his home in the Cotswolds.

Iommi, Black Sabbath’s lead guitarist who was born in Aston, talks about his Broad Street links and how apt it is for the bench to be there. He said: “I used to be on Broad Street all the time as a youngster at the Rum Runner nightclub, so this brings back a lot of memories to me.” He recalls the band’s early days: “We had a tough road as no-one had heard our kind of music and we could only play in small Blues clubs across the city. But we loved and believed in what we did.” He spent a short time with the Jethro Tull band and said this is where he learned the discipline it took to be successful.

Tony said: “It was so organised, and when I went back to the band I realised we had to rehearse and take it seriously. I was the only one who could drive so I used to pick everyone up at 9am, the same schedule every day, and we worked hard at it. It was never a chore, but it was tough in the early days when we had no money and on tour used to sleep together in one room. Then as the money started coming in, we could stop in hotels when going around the world and it was amazing – I wouldn’t change anything.”

Iommi, who said he still speaks to lead singer Ozzy Osbourne by text most days, said he was “really proud” of the ‘heavy metal’ bench. He added: “We’ve helped put Birmingham on the map. We’re – if you like – the Birmingham Beatles, and it’s good for Birmingham to have these attractions.” The video also features an interview with Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for Transport and Environment, who originally allowed the bench to be placed on Broad Street.

At the end Mike Olley, the general manager of Westside BID, cuts a huge black ribbon to rededicate the bench, using left-handed scissors specially made for the event by William Whiteley & Sons of Sheffield. The scissors – engraved with Tony Iommi’s name as he is well-known as a left-hander – were then presented to Martin to thank him for presenting the video. 

Olley said: “The original unveiling of Black Sabbath’s ‘heavy metal’ bench was a huge event back in 2018 and we wanted to celebrate its return now the Metro works have moved along. We’re grateful to Christian Martin for helping us make this video and we hope Sabbath fans in Birmingham and across the world enjoy it.”

The video was produced by Jim Simpson, the original manager of Black Sabbath, and all archive film and pictures used in it are his copyright which he has waived. The video was filmed by Greg Gdowski and Margaret Maslanka of 57 Studio, directed by Mike Olley and technical facilities were provided by Al Dawkins of Cannock Sound.

The UK’s oldest remaining teddy bear manufacturer is celebrating the 100 birthday of Edward Bear - the teddy bear who inspired AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories - by unveiling a giant version of the famous character. As tall as the average three-year-old child, Merrythought’s brand-new ‘Giant Edward’ is an oversized version of the original bear, who was Christopher Robin’s cherished childhood toy, given to him by his mother Daphne as a first birthday present in August 1921.

Daphne’s husband and Christopher’s father, AA Milne, was so enamoured by the partnership he witnessed between a boy and his bear, that he began to write stories about their journey through life together - and Winnie the Pooh was born. Hand-crafted in Shropshire, the premium teddy bear, which costs £1,095, is 39 inches tall and weighs 6.5kg will be launched on Monday 18th January,

Fourth-generation managing director Sarah Holmes said: “This special bear has been handmade in our factory in Ironbridge using the same traditional skills and natural materials as Christopher Robin’s original Edward Bear all those years ago. Now more than ever parents are recognising the value of traditional play, and encouraging children to use their imagination. The teddy bear is the perfect antidote for the digital world and a true companion for life’s journey.”

Featuring a rich, golden mohair coat and sandy-beige pure woollen felt paws, Giant Edward’s deep-set eyes, and hand-embroidered nose and friendly smile, give him real quintessential English charm. Originally created by Farnell in 1921, Edward Bear was brought to life again for the 2017 Goodbye Christopher Robin film after Merrythought, which now owns the Farnell brand, was asked to recreate the bear that featured throughout the award-winning film.

Merrythought’s original 18in Edward Bear is available to buy throughout 2021 and is sold with a complimentary gold-plated keyring that has been specially created to mark the character’s 100th birthday. 

A new survey into the nation’s TV viewing habits reveals that, on average, those polled in Birmingham currently spend 30 hours of every week glued to their tellies, clocking up to 120 hours a month. Commissioned by Samsung UK, the research shows that as many as 90 percent of those in the area surveyed said having good things to watch this January and February would help them get through the bleaker winter months.

With 80 percent of the British nation having enjoyed watching more TV during 2020, the research reveals that, in Birmingham, the average household is set to enjoy 22 box set episodes, seven sit-coms, eight soap opera episodes and four football matches per month. A fifth of those polled said that in 2021 they could not live without their TVs. In an average month this year, viewers in Birmingham will also enjoy 11 reruns of their favourite shows, nine films, seven game shows and six reality shows - as well as a staggering 71 YouTube videos.

The research also uncovers that over the period of a month, people in Birmingham will fall asleep in front of the TV three times, have five family feuds over what to watch, snuggle up with a furry friend four times and spill something on the carpet at least four times. The True Crime genre TV capital of the UK is revealed to be London, with Brits in the city set to enjoy eight episodes each month.

Moreover, the research into TV habits reveals that the soap opera capital of the UK is officially Bristol, where residents will indulge in nine episodes of their favourite soap each month. Meanwhile it was revealed that hardcore football fans are most likely to be found in Newcastle upon Tyne, watching up to six matches a month.

The research also found that Birmingham is shifting from watching traditional, terrestrial TV to using more modern streaming platforms. Overall, 46 percent of the nation favours Netflix and this rings true for those in the Birmingham area, as 47 percent prefer to use this platform over anything else to get their entertainment fix. Other popular streaming platforms across Birmingham include Amazon Prime (12 percent), Disney+ (eight percent) and BBC iPlayer (six percent).

The old saying “Laughter is the best medicine” certainly rings true across the nation, as almost two thirds of Brummies surveyed (59 percent) will be watching comedy shows to help keep spirits up throughout the beginning of the year. In fact, viewers in the UK will laugh until they cry at least five times a month, with 47 percent of those based in Birmingham admitting comedy is their favourite type of programme to watch. This was closely followed by drama (43 percent), documentaries (37 percent) true crime (30 percent) and light entertainment (27 percent).

Deep Halder, Head of TV/AV Retail & Content Services, Samsung Electronics UK Limited said: “As the nation is set to spend even more time at home this year, many of us will be turning to our TVs to provide some comfort and light relief during these times.

“At Samsung, we’re always listening to what our customers desire from their viewing experiences and with almost half turning to comedy shows, we’re proud to have recently launched Samsung’s own Comedy channel via Samsung TV Plus – our exclusive service which offers Smart TV owners instant access to over 80 live and on-demand TV channels for free, guaranteeing endless entertainment options.”

The survey also showed that selecting what to view on TV isn’t always plain sailing, with the average Brummie household spending 12 minutes per day bickering over what to watch, and 16 minutes flicking through the channels. One of the biggest frustrations, however, is often finding the remote in the first place, with the research revealing that we spend 13 minutes every day searching for the elusive item.

Former ballerina and Strictly Come Dancing judge, Dame Darcey Bussell, will join guests of luxury, all-inclusive cruise line Scenic on a special dance-themed river cruise. Travelling from Budapest to Nuremberg along the iconic Danube River Scenic’s limited edition, eight-day ‘Dancing down the Danube with Dame Darcey Bussell’ itinerary departs 20 October 2021. Prices start from just £2,320 per person, including a £200 per person discount.

Dame Darcey will join guests onboard in Budapest as the itinerary sets sail to the ‘City of Music’, Vienna. Guests will be enthralled with an enchanting private concert at the opulent Palais Liechtenstein, featuring classical Ballet and Blue Danube Waltz performances compered by Darcey herself. Whilst onboard, Darcey will reflect on her life and career, answer guest questions in a live Q+A session and host a drinks reception.

Following on from Vienna, the itinerary will take guests to Dürnstein, Melk and Regensburg, with the chance to visit the medieval Czech city of Cesky Krumlov or continue the musical theme with a visit to Salzburg – the birthplace of Mozart. Other highlights include a guided bike ride along the river from Dürnstein to Melk and the chance to meet the current owners of Artstetten Castle. Taste regional delicacies in the Wachau Valley or sample beer from one of the oldest monastic breweries in the world in Regensburg.

Scenic’s truly all-inclusive philosophy ensures everything guests need for a five-star travel experience is included in the up-front cost, including return UK flights, transfers, all meals across a choice of onboard venues, premium branded beverages, daily excursions with expert guides, a personal onboard butler, in-suite mini bar and much more.

To provide guests with maximum flexibility, all bookings are covered within Scenic’s flexible Booking Policy meaning guests can change their booking up to 60 days prior to departure without any fees. Scenic’s dedicated Health & Safety Steering Committee oversees all health and safety policies, going above and beyond to ensure all guests’ wellbeing and safety is taken care of to the highest standard.