As a partner in the MiFriendly Cities project, ‘MigrationWork’ has invited West Midlands residents born outside the UK to come up with ideas for projects that will benefit the community and local residents – migrants and non-migrants alike.  Successful pitches will receive up to £5,000 funding and consultancy support from MigrationWork specialists to get their ideas off the ground.

An inspiring range of pitches for grassroots community projects will be made to a panel of ‘friendly dragons’ at a special Pitch Day event tomorrow (Saturday March 30), at The Studio in Cannon Street, Birmingham between 12.30pm and 4.30pm.

The panel will hear pitches from 17 community groups and individuals, shortlisted from nearly 40 fantastic ideas and the audience will also be able to vote for the projects they feel are most needed within their communities.

The ‘friendly dragons’ on Pitch Day include:

• Cllr John Cotton– Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Community Safety and          Equalities, Birmingham City Council
• Dipali Chandra – Secretary, West Midlands Funders Network
• Arten Llazari– Chief Executive, Refugee and Migrant Centre
• Piotr Wolkowinski– Project Expert, Urban Innovative Actions

National Express is celebrating winning an impressive number of gongs at the Travel Marketing Awards earlier this month.

The Birmingham-based public transport company walked away with seven awards for marketing campaigns for their UK Coach and Bus divisions, including the prestigious ‘Brand of the Year’.

Four accolades were awarded to the ‘Look Beyond’ campaign that ran across print, radio and outdoor channels, encouraging travellers to 'look beyond’ their comfort zones and explore the country by coach.

Marketing Director at National Express, Sean Bailey, said: “We are extremely proud of our work here at National Express. We have a team of highly creative individuals, both in house and externally, who work very hard to capture imaginations and get people to choose us as their travel option. This recognition is a real testament to their dedication and hard work.”

The organisation's creative agency, One Black Bear, also walked away with second place in the Advertising agency of the Year category.

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge is planning a visit to New Zealand on behalf of the Queen to honour the victims of the Christchurch mosques terrorist attack.

The visit in late April will be made at the request of the Jacinda Ardern the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

William will meet with those affected by the attack and pay tribute to the extraordinary compassion and solidarity that the people of New Zealand have displayed in recent weeks, Kensington Palace said.

On behalf of Australia, swimwear brand Budgy Smuggler is calling on the UK Parliament to consider a new proposal as it votes on a range of Brexit options on Wednesday.

The proposal asks the UK to “forget the EU” and “join the AU”, thereby forming a new super union between two great nations.

The #JoinTheAU campaign launched today outside the UK Parliament from a branded campaign bus, reminiscent of the infamous Vote Leave Brexit bus.

Chief Smuggler, and head of the #JoinTheAU campaign, Adam Linforth, said, “As a brand with offices in Australia and the UK - which is our UK/Europe base – we’ve been watching intently as Brexit has unfolded, and to be honest it looks like a complete shit fight, so we thought we'd extend an olive / eucalyptus branch from sunny Australia.

“When we heard that Parliament had seized control of Brexit and were holding an extraordinary session, we realized that we hadn’t seen any extraordinary solutions. So, we took some initiative and have provided an option that hopefully British MP’s can support – head down under and #JoinTheAU”.

The bus traveled the streets of London before pulling up near Australia House in Aldwych to announce the cheeky campaign hosted by a group of #JoinTheAU advocates dressed in nothing but their limited-edition AU branded Budgy Smugglers.

In celebration of the campaign, Budgy Smuggler has created a bespoke range of #JoinTheAU branded swimwear, which will be handed out across central London throughout the day to help kickstart the movement and will be available to purchase online at www.budgysmuggleruk.com.

The campaign has also celebrated its arrival through a film detailing all the reasons the UK should #JoinTheAU.

In the late 1960s and early 70s, Mothers Club of Birmingham was widely recognised as one of the best rock venues in the world. In its short life it played host to some of the greatest names in rock, from The Who to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath to Free, Deep Purple and Fleetwood Mac to Canned Heat and Tyrannosaurus Rex. Pink Floyd recorded part of their live album ‘Ummagummaat’ the club in 1969. Resident DJ John Peel, who attended most of the gigs there called it “the best club in Britain”.

This May, some of the bands that played there in its heyday, plus emerging bands from the current vibrant Birmingham psychedelic and progressive scene are to play in a unique 50^thanniversary charity gig.

The concert, on Friday 10 May 2019 in the iconic ballroom of Sutton Coldfield Town Hall will be headlined by Soft Machine, with performances from The Groundhogs, Edgar Broughton, Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, Steve Gibbons and NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) pioneers, Quartz, plus a second stage of new bands.

Birmingham music scene enthusiast Dave Gordon dreamed up the event, working with sponsors Psychotron Records, a local record shop which specialises in music of the era. Any profits are being donated to Worldwide Cancer Research charity. The event will also feature a wall of memorabilia and photos, including unique posters, which will be sold to raise money for the charity.

The Mothers Club, set above a furniture shop in the city’s suburb of Erdington, attracted the best bands of the era. The club, run by John ‘Spud’ Taylor and promoter Phil Myatt was twice voted the world’s best venue by America’s Billboard magazine. It opened its doors on 9 August 1968, closing less than three years later on 3 January 1971. It represented an incredibly important time in British musical history and has been widely celebrated in media over the years.

Worldwide Cancer Research is a charity that funds research into any type of cancer anywhere in the world. They fund projects in the world’s best research institutions and support diverse and unexpected projects.

Hundreds of toddlers are expected to dress up and take part in a colourful procession around Dudley Zoo this summer.

The annual Barnardo’s Big Toddle is the charity’s largest sponsored walk in the UK and is due to take place on Tuesday June 11.

This year’s theme is ‘animals’, with under-5s encouraged to wear their favourite costumes and paint their faces.

The event raises money to support the charity’s work with some of the country’s most vulnerable children and young people.

Barnardo’s regional director Emma Bowman said: “We’re delighted that Dudley Zoo has kindly agreed to host this year’s Big Toddle again.

“It’s the UK’s biggest and best fundraising event for under-5s and is all about children helping children by taking part in short sponsored walks.

“Nurseries, playgroups, childminders and parents are welcome to organise their own events, especially during Big Toddle Week from June 24-30, but the one at Dudley Zoo is the biggest in the country.

“It’s a fantastic venue and we’re looking forward to seeing hundreds of happy faces, raising thousands of pounds to continue our life-changing work.”

Admission is free to under-5s, with discounted prices of just £7.50 for adults and older children.

Gates open at 10am, with children welcomed by entertainers before a fun warm-up at 10.45am and the start of the walk around the grounds at 11am. 

Medals and free refreshments will be available for registered children as they cross the finishing line.

Dudley Zoo manager Matt Lewis said: “We’re delighted once again to team up with Barnardo’s and support the incredible work they do in giving children the best start in life.

“The Big Toddle is always hugely popular. So make sure you sign up soon and have a really wild time helping to raise funds for a very worthy cause.” 

Registrants will receive a free fundraising pack with a fundraising guide, sponsorship forms, colouring sheet, safari map and animal mask activity.

Parents, carers, playgroups and nurseries can also hold their own Barnardo’s Big Toddles.

Last year, across the UK, they helped to raise more than £230,000 for the charity.