Community News

Eight time sell-out veterans of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and one of the country's most sought after comedy club headliners, The Noise Next Door leave audiences everywhere in awe of their lightning-quick wit and totally original comedic talents. They have been performing their own distinctive brand of off-the-cuff comedy together since they met at university. Taking audience suggestions, the cheeky and charming quartet, transform them into fantastically funny scenes and songs in the blink of an eye with a perfect blend of ludicrous characters, witty one-liners, epic stories, and explosive physicality.

The Noise Next Door have appeared on BBC One, BBC Three, ITV1, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4, they were nominated for a Chortle Award in 2014, and have performed alongside the likes of Michael McIntyre, Al Murray, and Harry Hill. Having received standing ovations in front of corporate dinners, the British forces, secondary school students and even fans at 'Download' Heavy Metal music festival, they are also one of the most versatile acts in the business. Unstoppably funny and uniquely talented, The Noise Next Door are the next big thing in British comedy.

The Noise Next Door – Remix: The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - Thursday 14 February 2019

A play, writing workshop and exhibition are being held at Lightwoods House on Wednesday 7 November as part of Sandwell’s 100th anniversary commemorations of the end of the First World War.

Worrapalava Arts will present Two Mothers of Distant Sons: Words from the Great War, a radio-style play written by Wednesbury poet laureate Brendan Hawthorne and performed by The Belmont Rep.

The play starts at 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm) at Lightwoods House, Adkins Lane, Bearwood, Smethwick, B67 5DP.

Tickets are free but limited so booking is essential.

Earlier in the day, there will be a free writing workshop, War in Words, on a drop-in basis from 10.30am to 3.30pm (lunch break 12noon-1pm). If you wish, you can register your interest when you book for the play.

Completed work will be displayed during the evening event as well as First World War artefacts.

The play is a semi-biographical radio-style play based on the life of Corporal Billy Bolt, Brendan’s great uncle. The play is written in poetic form and contains original songs throughout the performance.

The cast gives voice to Billy and Tommy, two young signalmen from the South Staffs Regiment, setting off for Ypres, leaving their mothers, fathers and loved ones behind to air their feelings and tell the stories of their boys through letters and telegrams.

A question and answer session follows the performance where the actors and their characters can be interviewed by members of the audience relating to the play content, its concept and realisation.

Sandwell Council is supporting the project through a £850 town grant.

Council leader Councillor Steve Eling said: “This is one of the many ways Sandwell is commemorating the centenary of the end of the war and remembering the sacrifices made by people from the Sandwell area and all over the world.”

Councillor Ann Jaron, Smethwick town chair, said: “This play promises to be of real local interest in the lead up to our Remembrance weekend events, and the writing workshop and question and answer session will give people the chance to get really involved.”

The play is primarily aimed at adults though younger audiences over 14 years of age would be welcome if accompanied by parents or guardians.

Lightwoods House is fully accessible by wheelchair and interval refreshments will be available to buy.

Birmingham City University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire will be presenting a star-studded double bass benefit concert next month, as the institution hopes to raise funds for its growing distance learning programme with a township in South Africa.

Bass Extravaganza takes place on Tuesday 6 November and is being headlined by New York Philharmonic Principal Double Bassist, Timothy Cobb.

A native of Albany, New York, Cobb graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Roger Scott. Cobb has been designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace from his affiliation with the World Orchestra.

Timothy Cobb can be heard on all Metropolitan Opera recordings released after 1986, as well as on a recording on the Naxos label of Giovanni Bottesini’s duo bass music with International Chair in Double Bass at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Thomas Martin. Cobb and fellow American bassist Martin will be performing together once again as part of Bass Extravaganza.

Founded in 1842 and one of the ‘Big Five’ leading American orchestras, the New York Philharmonic is based in David Geffen Hall, located in New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Timothy Cobb joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Bass in May 2014, after serving as Principal Bass of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Principal Bass of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra since 1989.

Ahead of his appearance at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Timothy Cobb, said:

“There are few greater pleasures for a musician than to visit other countries and regions of the world and share in the delight of performing and studying great music. And, when the experience includes spending time with a long-time friend and top artist like Thomas Martin, as well as performing in a wonderful benefit for South African bassists, it becomes what I know will be a fantastic event and a treasured memory!

“Helping to bring music, and the unique joy of the double bass to other parts of the world is a gift and huge honour, and I am delighted to be part of this wonderful evening!

“Tom and I spent some arduous hours recording the Bottesini Double Concerto, and I am very excited to play together again!”

One of the world's best-known bassists, Thomas Martin studied in his native America with Roger Scott.

He has held front desk positions with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras and Principal positions with l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, The Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the English Chamber Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) and latterly, the London Symphony Orchestra.

Thomas Martin, International Chair in Double Bass, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, said:

“Music truly is the international language and I have had the pleasure of performing with people from all around the globe, many of whom I could not have conversed with otherwise. Therefore, it seems rather fitting that our event will help us support friends on the other side of the world through our joint love of music and desire to nurture the next generation of double bass talent.

“Happily, my double bass career has taken me all over the world and enabled me to meet one of my best friends and a musician I greatly admire, Timothy Cobb. I have a feeling that we made the first recording of the Bottesini work we are playing back in 2006! I am thrilled to play with him once again and delighted that this event has not only brought us together once more, but will help future strings colleagues.”

The duo will also be joined by Tony Alcock and Damian Rubido Gonzalez – respective Double Bass Section Leader and Sub-Principal Double Bass at CBSO – alongside students from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Strings Department.

The concert will include works by Niccolò Paganini and Sergei Rachmaninoff, and proceeds raised will be donated to the South African Youth Orchestra Foundation so that it can host its first ever course exclusively for the double bass in Cape Town in December this year. There are relatively few opportunities for young bassists in South Africa, so the Foundation is hoping this will help to develop a strong bass community within the country.

One such student hoping to benefit from this course is 17-year-old Njabulo Nxumalo from Soweto in Johannesburg. He is the first double bass student to be enrolled on the collaborative UK-South African project, Cape Gate MIAGI Centre for Music & Birmingham Conservatoire – or ARCO, which is also the name for the technique of playing a stringed instrument with a bow.

ARCO has seen 24 strings students aged between eight and 17 in South Africa selected to participate in weekly instrumental Skype lessons, given by academics, current students and alumni of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

ARCO aims to provide the benefits and life changing inspiration of music to children in the most deprived of circumstances. As well as providing transformative music education activities, Conservatoire staff and students have been acting as role models for vulnerable youngsters living in Soweto, a township deeply affected by poverty and crime.

ity of Wolverhampton Council has been using a Velocity Patcher to repair roads across the city which have been damaged by potholes.

The City Council has been trialling the approach which provides a quick and effective way to protect road surfaces to benefit drivers.

Known as velocity patching, the modern technique has been deployed across the city and involves patching roads by forcing material into the pothole under high pressure.

The hose is initially used to blast the pothole with air, to clear out dirt, debris and water.

Using a blend of bitumen and chippings that are passed through a hose at high speed, each repair can be completed in a matter of minutes.

This modern technique costs less than half of a traditional patch method, but with the same repair guarantee period.

Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Environment at City of Wolverhampton Council said: “The Velocity Patcher is a fantastic approach to tackling potholes across our city.

“Repairing potholes can be time consuming and costly. With this technique, what would normally take a couple of hours and cause traffic disruption will take a matter of minutes with vehicles ready to drive over it immediately.

“I’m really impressed with the Velocity Patcher and hope the taxpayers of Wolverhampton can see the value for money we are trying to provide to repair the roads as fast as we can with the resources we have to keep the city moving.”

View the Velocity Patcher in action: https://www.14dd5266c70789bdc806364df4586335-gdprlock/watch?v=A1yESmBjm38&feature=youtu.be

Wolverhampton Art Gallery is hosting large-scale video installation Undead Sun by Jane and Louise Wilson.

The free exhibition looks at the impact of the First World War and can be seen during gallery opening hours Monday to Saturday (10.30am to 4.30pm) and Sunday (11am to 4pm).

Jane and Louise have been working as an artist duo in collaboration for over two decades. They graduated in 1989 with a joint degree show in Dundee and Newcastle, then continued in a working collaboration through their postgraduate at Goldsmiths College, graduating 1992.

Since 1990, they have gained a national and international reputation as artists working with photography and the moving image, installation in an expanded form of cinema and lens-based media.

The duo have brought to Wolverhampton a film that considers how so many of the products of the First World War conflict continue to shape our contemporary experience. At its heart is a now familiar pattern of military action in which control of the airspace assumes as much strategic importance as the campaign on the ground.

Inspired by archive photographs and artefacts, and by diary entries and personal testimonies, the piece reflects on the visceral, elemental forces that the war unleashed. Not only effecting a change of view from the air, it provoked a change in view of the air – instilled by the terror of gas attacks, the thunder of heavy artillery or the disorientating turbulence and violence of speed.

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy said: “Throughout 2018, Wolverhampton has been marking the centenary of the end of the First World War with commemorations across the city and this exhibition is a tribute.

“Visitors to the gallery are able to delve into the film and see how the past has structured our present day.”

Jane and Louise Wilson said: “We wanted to underscore the paradoxical relationship between warfare and technological progress, emphasizing the evolving surveillance programme of World War I, as a precursor to current day drone technology.”

Undead Sun was premiered at the Imperial War Museum and commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella in partnership with Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art and Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street has met with volunteers, young people and charities to celebrate the milestone of more than 1,000 young people benefiting from the Mayor’s Mentors initiative.

In an event at St Edmund Campion School, Erdington, the Mayor announced that the initiative has surpassed it first-year target of matching more than 1,000 young people from across the West Midlands with an inspirational mentor.

The Mayor met with mentors and mentees to hear about the difference mentoring can make to the lives of young people in the region. Launched in June 2017, Mayor’s Mentors helps to give young people the life skills and advice they need to flourish.

The Mentors help young people understand how to succeed in life and be better prepared for their future careers. Mentors typically meet with a young person – either one to one or in small groups - once or twice a month to discuss the young person’s studies and career opportunities.

The event this Thursday (25^th October) was co-hosted by the West Midlands Combined Authority and The Careers & Enterprise Company, a national organisation that provided funding for eight organisations to help them deliver mentoring programmes during the first year of the initiative.

Andy Street said: “In just over a year we’ve been able to help more than 1,000 young people through mentoring, a key way we can improve their career chances and accelerate their progress.

“I know through my own career that having a mentor can be a huge advantage and I feel very strongly about giving others that opportunity.

“But it’s important to remember this is a two way thing. I have my own mentee – a young lady who runs a business called Imani Clough – and I learn huge amounts from her.”

Claudia Harris, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said:

“Mentoring can light a spark in a young person, helping them connect to someone who was once in their shoes and think about the opportunities ahead. And it goes both ways - mentors have so much to learn from their mentees.

“I could not be more proud that in just one year over 1000 young people have had the opportunity to connect with a mentor in the West Midlands. We have loved our collaboration with Mayors Mentors and look forward to the next stage.”

Students from St Edmund Campion school have benefited from mentorship. Sixth-former Lily-Mae Davis said: “It’s given us a new experience and built our confidence. Before, we couldn’t speak in front of a full room, but now it just seems natural. It’s benefitted us when applying for university and jobs, too. I’ve gained a lot from the experience and would recommend it to all other young people.”

Fellow sixth-former Chloe Connolly added: “We’ve gained experience about how to talk to adults and act in a work environment on a day to day basis. It has helped with interviews and I am now more confident in class, whereas before, I wouldn’t speak much at all.”

Their Envision mentor, Carol Herity, head of partnership at Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commission Group, said she was passionate about helping young people.

She said: “Mentoring is part of the way we are able to support young people and it gives staff the opportunity to connect with the people we serve. On a personal level, my professional background is in youth and community work and I am passionate about working with young people.

“Today has been a great opportunity to re-connect with last year’s mentees and to hear what they gained from the experience.”

Bhai Sahib Bhai Mohinder Singh Ji discussed a pioneering project in the effort to create lasting peace - The Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation.

This speech was recorded at the opening of the 2018 Parliament of World's Religions, in Toronto, Canada.

So, whilst keeping a headquarters in London, broadcaster, Channel 4, have decided to set up a new national HQ in Leeds, as opposed to one-tie favourite, Birmingham and Manchester, in an attempt to boost the way it reflects life away from the capital. In making that choice, they will move roughly 200 of its 800 staff to Yorkshire.

The channel has also announced it will open "creative hubs" in Bristol and Glasgow, with around 50 staff in each.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who led the Birmingham bid, said: “While the news that Birmingham has not been successful in the bid to house the broadcaster’s new national HQ, the work that has gone into the bid has not been wasted.

The one positive was the growing sense of collaboration and commitment across the region between local authorities, organisations and our creative industries leading to developments that are set to improve the creative landscape regardless of Channel 4’s decision, which will be announced in the coming weeks. "

Continuing, a determined and ever-forthright Street said: “Through our Local Industrial Strategy, we remain committed to ensuring we are home to a pre-eminent national creative and media cluster, and we will respond to high demand for production by investing in the TV and film production capacity of the region by establishing new studio and production facilities.

The West Midlands region came together as part of this process and now we look to the future as one, as commit to delivering initiatives and funding that will transform our creative industries."

Birmingham City Council Leader, Councillor Ian Ward, added: "With a wealth of knowledge and creativity, talent and energy combined with one of the youngest and most diverse populations in Europe, Channel 4’s decision is a massive disappointment to all of those who have worked so hard to bring the broadcaster to here.

That said, however, we will continue to be successful as city reinventing itself for the 21st century. I’m confident we will see many more successes in Birmingham in 2019.”

Channel 4 also plan to open 'creative hubs' in Bristol and Glasgow where they will focus on programme commissioning.

St Ann’s Library has celebrated its 80th anniversary, with residents attending a celebratory event with flamenco guitar playing, photography and poetry.

The event started with a welcome speech by Madam Deputy Mayor, Councillor Shelia Peacock. Visitors also heard a reading from local poet Abe Gibson, and there was face painting for younger guests.

The era the library was opened in Tottenham was evoked with a 1930s photographic exhibition, book display and a 1938 film screened.

Cllr Zena Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Civic Services, attended the event. She said:

Libraries play a vital role in the community, and it was fantastic to see residents coming together to celebrate 80 years of St Ann’s. We can all enjoy our libraries, whether it is attending craft, singing or poetry sessions, joining free computer training classes, or picking up your favourite book. Haringey has some wonderful libraries and we had a fantastic day celebrating St Ann’s.

St Ann’s was built to a high standard of design and encouraged readers and literacy in the 1930s. All these years later in the 21st century, it is still providing a wonderful public service - and shows the value of public services more than ever.

Sandwell Council is well-prepared for winter, with more than 5,000 tonnes of salt in stock and a new fleet of gritters ready to tackle snow and ice.

The council’s fleet of gritter lorries have been replaced with new vehicles ready to treat Sandwell’s roads with more than 55 tonnes of salt every time they leave the depot.

The nine new gritting trucks will also be maintained in-house rather than by an outside company. The new arrangement is slightly cheaper than leasing the vehicles over seven years.

Among the new trucks are three 4x4 gritters, which will be more effective in hilly areas.

The investment follows a survey of residents who overwhelmingly supported the council’s winter maintenance efforts and prioritised its funding above many other council services.

The National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction Survey also put Sandwell in the top five of all metropolitan borough councils for resident satisfaction with winter gritting.

And the council came at the very top of the list for effectively informing residents about gritting and winter road maintenance – thanks to its hugely popular Sandwell Facebook page and @sandwellcouncil and @sandwellroads Twitter accounts.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for highways and environment Councillor David Hosell used to drive a gritter lorry himself for West Bromwich Council in the 1970s. He said: “We know that keeping the roads moving in winter is a really high priority for our residents.

“When we talked to people about budgets a couple of years ago, our winter maintenance plan was one of people’s top priorities and something where people desperately didn’t want to see any cuts in service.

“We’ve invested in a new gritting fleet, which is slightly cheaper than hiring them out every year which is what we’ve done previously. It also means we can use our own fleet services team to maintain them, instead of contracting this work out.

“The long-range forecast is still uncertain, but we are preparing for the potential for a colder than average winter, but as with anything, it’s difficult to predict.

“The main thing is that we are well-prepared and our staff are able to do the fantastic job they always do each winter - especially in case we get another winter like the last one.”

Sandwell’s gritting crew will go on 24-hour standby from November 1 until the end of April, available to go out whenever roadside temperatures fall close to freezing.

Last winter, (2017/18) Sandwell Council’s gritting crew completed 91 gritting runs covering 23,660 miles (the distance from Sandwell to Christ Church in New Zealand and back), putting down more than 5,000 tonnes of rock salt.

Remember, remember with Treasure Trails this Bonfire night. Explore the area that famously survived Guy Fawkes' attempt at explosion with the Westminster Spy Mission Trail and discover the city that foiled an infamous plot of gunpowder and treason!

Start your mission at Westminster Underground Station and follow the clues on a circular route discovering the secrets of iconic London locations including Parliament Square, St James Park, Pall Mall and Whitehall.

Lasting around two hours the aim is to solve a set of fiendish clues on a circular route of around two miles and takes you past some of London's most memorable royal scenes including; palaces, parks and statues. It ends with a trip down Whitehall, the home of British Government and Defense, and scene of a most memorable event on 5 November, 1605.

Clues are set using historical plaques, signs, statues, monuments, images, engravings and anything else that the Trail writers can make use of.

Trail Booklets can be downloaded directly from the website and printed immediately or they can be ordered online and sent in the post. Personalised versions are also available online which can include your own photographs and text.

In London alone there are over 40 different trails to choose from with enticing titles like 'The Missing Royal Wedding Ring Trail' in St James' Park, 'The Muswell Hill Menagerie Murder' and 'Lion Hunting in Stoke Newington'.

Kellogg’s in the UK has launched a raft of measures to help make its packaging greener including a new sustainable packaging commitment, a new solution to allow people to recycle Pringles cans and the introduction of recycle-ready cereal pouches.

The cereal and snack giant will work towards 100 per cent of its packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable by the end of 2025.

This goal, which is being rolled out to all Kellogg’s global markets including the UK, builds on its current sustainable packaging commitment to continue to ensure 100 per cent of all timber-based packaging is either recycled or certified as sustainably sourced.

People in Britain will also now be able to recycle their Pringles’ cans thanks to a new deal struck in the UK between the Kellogg’s owned crisp brand and recycling company, TerraCycle.

From December 2018, empty Pringles cans can be sent into TerraCycle using freepost labels, with the sender rewarded with a charitable donation for each can which can be redeemed for the school, charity or non-profit of choice. The cans are then recycled and the resulting pellets used to create new products such as benches and fence posts.

Within the complex Local-Authority-based public recycling infrastructure in the UK, Pringles cans are not currently recyclable, so the Pringles and TerraCycle partnership provides a consistent nationwide solution for people.

In a linked moved, Kellogg’s has launched a project to change its cereal pouches to a recycle-ready material by late 2019.  This action will remove an estimated 480 tonnes of non-recyclable packaging from its British and European supply chains each year.  This development comes on the back of work the company is undertaking with suppliers to identify packaging designs that minimse waste while ensuring the quality and safety of its foods.

“As a company with a caring legacy and a foundation of strong values, we’re committed to playing our part to safeguard the future of our planet. While most of our packaging in the UK is sustainably sourced, made from recycled materials and fully recyclable, we feel it’s our responsibility to continue to develop new creative packaging formats that answer the needs of our consumers and customers,” said Oli Morton, managing director, Kellogg’s UK.

Kellogg’s has already taken steps toward making its own facilities more sustainable.  In April, the company announced the transition to compostable and paper food service products in all its factories and offices globally by end of 2018, fully removing all remaining single-use foam and plastic catering ware, plastic straws and plastic water bottles.

“Nurturing our planet is a foundational value of Kellogg,” said Steve Cahillane, Kellogg Company chairman and CEO. “It’s imperative we are part of a solution that ensures a healthy and sustainable planet for all people around the world.”

All these actions contribute towards Kellogg’s support of U.N. SDG #12- Sustainable Consumption and Production, including 12.5, to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. It also helps towards Kellogg’s commitment against SDG #12.3, to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and to reduce food losses along the production and supply chains including post-harvest losses by 2030.

Baggies legend, Brendon Batson, officially opened a new charity shop, as it starts raising vital funds for a local hospice close to his heart.

The former West Brom defender cut the ribbon to Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s latest store, which is located in the middle of Bearwood’s busy high street.

Along with staff and volunteers, Brendon welcomed shoppers from across the community to the launch event, who enjoyed fizz and cupcakes whilst browsing for bargains.

Brendon – who became a patron of Birmingham St Mary’s last year – is showing his support for the Hospice after doctors and nurses cared for his wife Cecily in 2009. He said: “I’ll never forget the care and support Birmingham St Mary’s provided to my wife and our family. We were treated with such kindness and dignity and it was a huge comfort that Cecily could be cared for at home.

“I’ve really enjoyed coming to Bearwood to officially open the Hospice’s new store and meet its wonderful shoppers. It’s heartening to know that the Hospice is continuing to increase its numbers of shops, as every penny raised goes towards supporting local people and their families during the most difficult of times.”

Birmingham St Mary’s new store in Bearwood is the Hospice’s only shop in Sandwell. All funds raised will go towards providing care and support to people living with life-limiting illness across Birmingham and Sandwell.

Tina Swani, Chief Executive at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said: “I know we have a lot of Baggies fans in Bearwood, so it was a real honour to welcome Brendon to our shop to officially cut the ribbon. Our new store will not only be a valuable source of income for the Hospice but it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to grow our profile in Sandwell and hopefully educate more people about the vital services a hospice can provide.”

On any given day, Birmingham St Mary’s is caring for 400 people living with life-limiting in their homes, in their community, or at the Hospice.

Its shop is based at 523 Bearwood Road, Smethwick, B66 4BE. It will be open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm.

New research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) will study the damage caused to the smallest vessels of the heart following a heart attack.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a state-of-the-art imaging technique, which was funded by a previous BHF grant. This particular microscopy technique allows them to look in detail at microvessels in the beating heart.

Microvessels are so small that they cannot be seen when using standard scans for heart conditions, such as an angiogram or echocardiogram.

The BHF has now awarded £153,000 of PhD studentship funding to the university to study these tiny vessels, which play a crucial role in regulating blood supply to the heart. During a heart attack, microvessels become dysfunctional and contribute to organ damage.

The new funding will also allow researchers, using the University’s novel imaging technique, to assess the impact that a protein called IL-36 has on the heart’s microvessels following a heart attack.

Previous work by researchers at Birmingham has shown that this protein could play a leading role in damaging microvessels, particularly in older hearts. This is because a receptor that this protein uses, which generates its damaging effects, is found at higher levels in older hearts than in younger ones.

Using mice, the research will characterise and compare the damage that a heart attack has on the small blood vessels within young and old hearts. The study will also test human heart tissue samples from heart patients to determine whether IL-36 and its receptor are present.

The three-year research project is set to get underway at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences later this year and will be led by Dr Neena Kalia, Senior Lecturer in Microcirculation Research and Director of Intravital Research at the University of Birmingham.

Dr Kalia said: “Problems with circulation in the smallest blood vessels of the body is a typical characteristic of many diseases. Our specialist imaging technique allows us to assess the larger problems these tiny vessels can cause, specifically in the heart.

“Importantly, this studentship will be the first to explore the impact of ageing on the heart’s microvessels in health and post-injury. Understanding these processes and the mechanisms contributing to them is essential if we are to devise and optimise treatments that will be effective in people affected by a heart attack.”

Dr Ross King, Research Advisor at the BHF, added: “This novel study will be the first to image and explore – in live, beating hearts - the role IL-36 plays in microvessels following a heart attack.

"Although further research will be needed to see how this is applicable to humans, this study could provide us with a better understanding of the changes that occur in health and disease to the heart’s microvessels as a result of the ageing process. This will be necessary to develop new strategies to protect the heart and improve outcomes for patients.

“This funding has only been made possible by the fantastic generosity of the public. We rely on their support so that we can drive forward research programmes in our mission to beat heartbreak forever and ensure that we keep hearts beating and blood flowing.”

Winter is just around the corner and, yes, that means skating, parties, hot chocolate, mulled wine and wood fired pizza at Bath on Ice! Bath on Ice will open this year on Friday 16th November with its biggest ever ice rink. This year's rink will be a whopping 1000 square metres, providing more space than ever for the visitors and residents of Bath to skate and have fun this Christmas. The increase in size (a massive 39% increase from last year) has been in the planning for a number of years and the Bath on Ice Team are delighted to announce it for 2018. The extra skating space will be made all the more enjoyable with the news that new, more comfy lace-up boots will also be available to hire.

Bath on Ice's magical Glow in the Dark Mini-golf will also be returning this Christmas, with the 18-hole course lit up in full splendour once again. With glow in the dark balls, mist and atmospheric lighting, families and friends can challenge each other to a festive game amongst beautifully lit surroundings within Victoria Park.

And finally, after a twirl on the ice and a round of festive mini-golf, skaters will be able to retreat to the warm comforting glow of the Moguls Alpine Bar. With hot mulled wine, wood fired pizzas, deluxe hot chocolates, log burners, warm rugs and a range of beers and wines, the Moguls Alpine Bar is back again! Parties, families and groups of friends will once again be able to enjoy the après-ski surroundings for which Bath on Ice has become famous. Pop open a bottle of prosecco and celebrate the festive period!

With only a few weeks to go before the big opening, the Bath on Ice Team have been busy preparing. Director Simon Smith commented, “we make improvements year on year and we're really excited about Christmas 2018. It will be our biggest rink yet and we hope everyone enjoys all that extra ice. Every year we love seeing families and friends come together to have fun and this year will be no exception. With loads of space to skate, comfy new skate boots, new skate aids, glow in the dark mini-golf and a wonderful selection of food and drink at the Moguls Alpine Bar, it will be an amazing experience. We look forward to welcoming everyone back for skating and hot chocolate!”

In 2013 the RSPCA received 367 calls regarding fireworks, which has steadily risen to a peak of 501 in 2017 - over the last five years this amounts to more than 2,000 calls.

The charities most up to date stats dating from 2013 to October 1 2018 show that people from Greater London make the most calls about fireworks (a total of 183), followed by Greater Manchester (140) and then the West Midlands (131).

The RSPCA now wants to see the private use of fireworks restricted to certain days; November 5, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Diwali as new studies show 38%* of dogs feel fear at loud noises including fireworks.

The charity would also like to see the maximum permitted noise level of fireworks for public sale reduced from 120 decibels - above the human pain threshold for noise - to 97 decibels. This is likely to further reduce the stress to animals.

In January 2018, the UK Government set up the Office for Product Safety and Standards following two Parliamentary debates, about the negative impact of fireworks, many months on, there has been little movement on this issue.

A Change.org petition, set up by Julie Doorne from the FAB Firework Abatement Campaign has already generated tens of thousands of signatures since it was set up on October 16 and the RSPCA is joining calls urging people to email the UK Government.

RSPCA campaign manager Eloise Shavelar said: “Clearly there is widespread public concern about this issue as can be shown by the previous petitions backed by the RSPCA.

“There is current legislation in place but the RSPCA believes the Fireworks Act 2003 and the Fireworks regulation 2004 doesn’t go far enough.

“We want to see the UK Government take advantage of the public’s feeling on this by strengthening the existing acts and restricting the use of fireworks to traditional days of the year like bonfire night.

“To be clear we are not calling for a restriction to public displays but it is the unexpected noise which owners cannot plan for which we want to stop.”

Sadly it is not just cats and dogs and other household pets that are affected by fireworks. Horses and farm animals  can easily be frightened by loud noises and sudden flashes of bright light, which can startle them and cause them to injure themselves on fencing, equipment or, in the case of stabled or housed animals, on fixtures and fittings within their enclosures. Wildlife can also be burnt alive after making their home in bonfires.

Julie Doorne, who started the e-petition said: “"We are disappointed that after three Government petitions, collecting over 100,000 signatures on each, and two parliamentary debates we are still waiting for the UK Government to act."