Louise Bennett OBE has been appointed as Vice Lord-Lieutenant to the West Midlands’ Lord-Lieutenant, Sir John Crabtree OBE. The role of Vice Lord-Lieutenant for the West Midlands is for a three-year term and involves assisting the Lord-Lieutenant in the performance of his duties.

Louise - a former Chief Executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce - succeeds Professor Helen Higson OBE, Professor of Higher Education Learning and Management at Aston University, whose three-year term included Coventry’s Capital of Culture in in 2021 and the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and in particular, saw her champion opportunities for disadvantaged young people.

A keen interest in history, especially Caribbean, African, and Black British history, has been at the core of Dr Talburt’s life since the mid 70’s, and it has lead him to the position where he now wants to chronicle this history through tangible documents from those who lived it.
Dr Tony Talburt was born, but not raised, in West Bromwich in the West Midlands, before due to his fathers work, the family moved to live in Bristol at the age of 6 or 7, meaning most of his childhood memories in the UK were of Bristol.

International stars of stage, screen and the sporting field were amongst the many who the late Sir Michael Parkinson faced in a career which, whilst others of a more recent vintage are said to want to challenge their egos, he took control of with his incredibly unique aplomb.

In a career that covered seven decades, the journalist was known for his legendary interviews with stars including David Bowie, John Lennon, Dame Helen Mirren, George Michael and Brian Clough, as well as US star like Bette Davis, Meg Ryan, Bing Crosby and Orson Welles. His several interviews with the icon that is Muhammad Ali and those with comedian Billy Connolly were beacons of Saturday night television viewing during their respective times.

After being selected by The King in a ‘pricking ceremony’ – reported to date back as far as Queen Elizabeth the 1st; Wade Cleone Lyn CBE CD DL, was inaugurated as the West Midlands High Sheriff on Tuesday the 28th of March.
Over 100 family, friends and dignitaries attended the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts in Birmingham to witness the inauguration of the new High Sheriff of The West Midlands.

A PC and a youth worker from London, who founded a sports group to engage young people, have received Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s daily Points of Light award.

Michael Wallace is a Police Officer who works in community and youth engagement, and teamed up with Ashley Levien, a youth worker, to build better relationships between young people from diverse communities and police through the power of football. Together, they delivered their first-ever football tournament in Croydon Borough in 2016 in support of the ‘African Caribbean Trust Charity’, before going on to create ‘KickOff@3’.

Paul O'Grady's death has prompted a flood of tributes from celebrities across the entertainment industry and even the Royal Family. And the legacy of his witty blonde alter ego Lily Savage has been described by the drag community as trailblazing and life-changing.

The character, inspired by tough but colourful women in his family, had fans spanning generations - with many saying her rise to fame led the way for thousands of future drag artists.