JANUARY 2012

Few people have had quite as big an impact on the trans-formation of Birmingham as former City Council

leader Sir Albert Bore.But the councillor who has rep-

resented the Ladywood ward since 1980 is not content to sit on his lau-rels.

“The transformation of the city due to the regeneration is one of my proudest achievements,” said Sir Albert. “Birmingham has become a great place in which to live and work, but we have to look to the fu-ture and how we move this city on.”

Sir Albert, who was knighted in 2002 for services to local govern-ment, will be leading Labour into

this year’s local elections although her does so against a background of council cuts.

“The cupboard will be bare in the very near future so we will be running policies to benefit our com-munities today, for the benefit of our communities tomorrow,” he ex-plained. “This city is built on its di-versity, so we have to do much more for the young.

Creation“We have to try and preserve this

within the budget cuts which will have a massive effect on the likes of the Handsworth Carnival, St. Pat-rick’s Day, Vaisakhi, Eid Mela, plus other events that will suffer.”

Sir Albert has been a leading pro-

tagonist of devolution and localism agendas in local governance since entering politics and has published and lectured widely internationally on the subject of city building, ur-ban renewal, and local governance.

In his roles as chair of Economic Development and leader of the City Council, he was responsible for shaping the social and economic regeneration of Birmingham during the 1980s and 1990s.

He was involved in the creation of the NEC, ICC, the NIA, Symphony Hall, Brindleyplace, Mailbox and the Bullring. “This has become a great city where people who come here, just can’t leave the place,” said Sir Albert.

Now for the next step...

Bollywood is coming to terms with the death of one of its most famous and successful sons.

Dev Anand’s recent death at the age of 88 marked the end of an era for a cinematic great who was a legend both in front and behind the camera.

The actor/director/producer passed away after suffering a heart attack during a visit to London to check up on chest pains he was complaining about.

Dubbed the ‘Adonis of Indian Cinema’ for his good looks and romantic roles, he had appeared in countless films such as ‘Guide’, ‘Paying Guest’ and ‘Jewel Thief’ during his colourful 65-year career in movies.

In his career, Anand also managed to introduce some of the most now famous actresses to Bollywood, in-cluding Zeenat Aman.

One of his proudest moments was winning the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 2002, the highest honour anyone could achieve in Indian cin-ema.

BeliefAnand’s most popular film will

always be the RK Narayan adapta-tion ‘Guide’.

“Dev Anand leaves a void never perhaps to be filled again. He nev-er gave up belief, his joy of life,” tweeted Bollywood superstar Am-itabh Bachchan.

He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Bollywood mourns the death of the ‘Adonis of Indian cinema’

Bollywood icon Dev AnandSir Albert Bore has been an instrumental figure in the transformation of Birmingham

Bore ‘pride’in Brum regeneration

Inside your new-look Phoenix

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The Phoenix would like to wish all of our readers and

advertisers a very happy new year

NEWS2

Business leaders in Bir-mingham have hit out at plans to increase aviation capacity in the south-east

and urged the government to “look north” for an immediate solution.

David Cameron was facing new calls for an entirely new hub airport in the Thames Estuary - dubbed “Boris Island” after the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

But Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group (BCCG) said there was an immediate solution at Birmingham Airport to the problem of air traffic congestion in the south-east.

President Mike Ward said: “There is no logic in building a new airport in the Thames Estuary or anywhere else in the south-east.

“This hugely expensive and far-off solution to the UK’s aviation ca-

pacity issues would do little to boost the UK’s business in the decades be-fore its completion.

“The Chamber believes that the

Government should look north to boost the capacity and expansion plans of the UK’s regional airports.

“The Chamber has suggested that Birmingham Airport has the spare capacity to double its passenger numbers overnight and with the Secretary of State giving the go-ahead for HS2 Birmingham Airport will be 38 minutes from London Euston – making it much quicker to travel from vast swathes of Lon-don to Birmingham Airport than it would be to travel to the Thames Estuary.

“Spending £50 billion on an al-ready prosperous part of the country when cheaper solutions exist now that would benefit the North and the Midlands is the wrong approach and we will be stating that in our response to the Government’s con-sultation,” he said.

Airport is backed for take-off

l Birmingham Airport has the potential to grow further, according to the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

l Michael Ward

Branson signs up for MisalYoung Midlands-based Indian Entrepreneur Vishal Misal is liv-ing his business dream and hiring his hero, Sir Richard Branson, as a keynote speaker for Business 2012.

The three-day programme in-cludes seminars and workshops in business expansion, develop-ing sustainable businesses, policy making, internet marketing and funding.

It also includes talks by top business leaders and entrepre-neurs.

There is no charge to come to Business 2012 and all entre-preneurs and business owners whether a sole trader, SME or mid-market business are invited to come along.

Vishal has done what his hero Sir Richard Branson has always inspired him to do, think big and Sir Richard is to be the corner-stone of what should be a tremen-dous event.

Speaking about Business 2012, Sir Richard Branson said: “I can confirm that I will be at Business 2012, being interviewed live on stage and answering questions and tweets.

“No-one has a monopoly on good ideas and events like this can open the door to greater con-nections and business opportuni-ties.”

“I hope the audience will be full of people who run their own busi-nesses, hopefully together, we can come up with some ideas to make our businesses even stronger,” he added.l Business 2012, is on March

18-20 at the O2 in London.

Sri Lanka missionThe Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with UK Trade and Investment is planning its first official visit to Sri Lanka.

The visit is beiong conducted in conjunction with the British High Commission, whose contacts and standing confer very considerable benefits on participants via UK Trade & Investment.

This opportunity will provide an informative insight into the benefits for businesses seeking to expand their operations into Sri Lanka, and potential partnership opportunities.

The whistle which will be used at the 2012 Olympic Games will be on display at the Chamber House, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.

Until February 29, the Tor-nado 2000, manufactured by Birmingham company, Acme Whistles will be displayed with a range of other whistles made by the company, some of which have made their fame in the dramatic historical film, the Ti-tanic.

The Tornado 2000 is a penetrating official referee’s whistle used by officials in the NFL, FIFA and FIBA games.

Acme, the world’s largest and most famous producer of whistles, based in the Jewellery Quarter was established in 1860 by Joseph Hudson, who was a Birmingham trained toolmaker.

The Tornado 2000 is just one of 83 authentic and genuine Acme whistles which include many world firsts.

Simon Topman, MD says there is no whistle available today, from any source, that doesn’t owe its existence to a concept or design pioneered by Acme.

Tornado blows at Chamber

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Feeding the nationwith good news

Thankyou very much for picking up the very first edition of your new-look Phoenix newspaper.

Over the past 12 months The Phoenix has established itself as a vital vibrant read enjoyed by peo-ple from all corners of the West Midlands’ diverse multi-cultural community.

Now, we have developed our

content further to bring you more music, travel, motoring, business, sport and health stories – along with news on the issues affecting your life in the West Midlands.

If you have a story that you would like to see us feature in The Phoe-nix then please get in touch and we will be happy to talk to you.

Paul Castles, Editor

newsdesk@thephoenixnewspaper.com Tel: 0121 629 7729

Welcome to The Phoenix

NEWS 3

The UK’s fourth largest medical charity, Arthritis Research UK, is announcing the support of a new patron who lives in Birmingham – Sue Arnott, a rheumatoid arthritis patient and former Trustee of the charity.

Dr Liam O’Toole, chief execu-tive of Arthritis Research UK com-mented, “We’re delighted to have the support of Sue, who has made a huge contribution to our charity as a Trustee. We warmly welcome her contribution to our work in leading the fight against arthritis.”

In her role as patron of the charity, Sue Arnott will be working with the fundraising team, as well as policy and communications, to help raise awareness of Arthritis Research UK.

Sue became a Trustee of Arthritis Research UK in 2002, having had rheumatoid arthritis for most of her adult life. She said, “Over the years I’ve taken numerous drugs, been in

and out of hospital, and had three knee replacements, a new hip and other surgical repairs to my dam-aged joints.

“I’ve nearly died from septicae-mia twice. And people say ‘arthritis is just aches and pains!”

Sue leading fight against arthritis

l Sue Arnott

Fears over BBC plans for Brum

Jaguar Land Rover has received 10,632 applications for its gradu-ate recruitment places this year as it continues its recruitment drive to support a multi-billion pound investment plan for new product creation.

Applications are 61 per cent high-er than in 2011 and are five times higher than they were just three years ago.

For 2012, graduates will be hired for a variety of roles across the busi-ness – from Product Development Engineering, Manufacturing, Fi-nance, Human Resources, Market-ing & Sales, IT and Purchasing.

Jaguar Land Rover HR Direc-tor, Des Thurlby, said: “Seeing the

number of graduate applications increase five-fold in three years reflects the increasingly positive perception graduates have of our business.

“The recruits will be joining us at an exciting time, and once on-board, we will work hard to ensure that their careers with us will be both challenging and exciting.

“In addition to the graduate milk-round, Jaguar Land Rover continues to recruit for hundreds of positions

from shop floor to senior manage-ment, across a wide range of busi-ness functions.

“In 2011, the Company handled more than 45,000 applications from candidates wanting to join us on our exciting journey. I am delighted that we continue to receive so many applications from such high quality candidates.”

The long-term investment Jaguar Land Rover has been making in its people has also been recognised. Successful applicants will be work-ing for one of the UK’s top graduate firms after it moved up 27 places in the influential Times Top 100 Grad-uate Employers list in 2011.

Increase in graduate interest with Jaguar

By Steve Williams

Birmingham is the UKs second largest city yet the ‘Save BBC Birming-ham’ campaign remains

in full swing to fight the massive cuts made to the level of top quality productions in the city.

The BBC’s proposal to move national TV and radio programme-making teams out of the city to Cardiff, Glasgow, Northern Ireland and Manchester means programmes like the Sky at Night, RHS Gar-den Shows, Countryfile, See Hear, Hairy Bikers and Gardeners World will no longer be made here.

Members of broadcasting union, BECTU, staged 24-hour strikes with the Save BBC Birmingham urging Birmingham license fee pay-ers to make their feelings known about the effect these measures will have on the Midlands’ economy.

The Factual Unit – the only department that makes TV pro-grammes for the national networks at the BBC Mailbox – is to move to Bristol with the loss or transfer of up to 150 jobs.

The ‘Delivering Quality First’

review, published by the station’s management to highlight the future of the corporation, is seen, by BEC-TU in the West Midlands as getting rid of all the talented people who

work from their Mailbox base. “The Midlands has already seen

many cutbacks at the BBC in the last 11 years and many staff have already gone.

“It’s unfair and inequitable for a publicly-funded broadcaster to scale back its presence in the second larg-est conurbation in England,” said one local employee.

“The BBC has produced many ex-cellent programmes at both Pebble Mill and the Mailbox. Birmingham is still the second city in this coun-try, it should reflect that.”

Whilst factual programming is moving to Bristol and Cardiff, net-work television drama productions, such as ‘Doctors’ and ‘Land Girls,’ plus classic radio drama, ‘The Arch-ers,’ will continue in Birmingham alongside the BBC’s local and re-gional services.

To advertise call 0121 629 7728

l Popular BBC shows such as Countryfile and Hairy Bikers may leave the area

Hundreds of council houses are to benefit from warmer homes and cheaper fuel bills as part of a major energy initiative.

Wolverhampton City Council and Wolverhampton Homes have joined forces with energy supplier E.ON to

implement energy saving measures in around 900 homes in Bilston and Low Hill.

Councillor Peter Bilson, said: “We are delighted to enter into this part-nership scheme that will help some of the poorest people in our city.”

Cheaper fuel bills help

New fare is just the ticket on the busesNational Express West Midlands has reduced bus fares on its City Hop service to £1 fare for any single journey around Birming-ham city centre including travel to Digbeth, Broad Street and Aston University.

Peter Coates, managing director of National Express said: “The aim of the City Hop is to encour-age more people to use the buses, which travel frequently within minutes of each other around the city centre.

“With ever-rising petrol and car parking costs, we believe the £1 fare initiative is a real opportunity to increase the number of people that use the buses.

“The start of the year is a time when we look at our lifestyle, consider changes and economise,” he added.

“National Express West Midlands has invested in improving the qual-ity of its buses and we now have our new hybrid buses in service, providing environmental benefits along with a truly comfortable and enjoyable travel option.”

NEWS4

Imagine a circus like no other. A twisted circus some might say. Include a handful of peculiar perfor-mances and then add eight divine restaurants to the mix for good measure.

Cirque du Spiceal is heading to Spiceal Street, at the Bullring.

From January 23-28 visitors to Birmingham’s new dining destination, Spiceal Street, will be able to experi-ence a unique phenomenon – a twisted circus – whilst enjoying the city’s ultimate socialising hotspot.

Think gentleman chimps hosting an unusual tea party, killer clowns on the loose and spectacular fire perform-

ers, whilst a twisted ringmaster takes centre stage as Spiceal Street is transformed into the setting for Cirque du Spiceal. During the whole week diners at the eight restaurants at Spiceal Street – Browns Bar and Brasse-rie, ChaoBaby Thai Restaurant, handmade burger Co., Jamie’s Italian, Mount Fuji, Nando’s, Pizza Hut and wagamama – will be treated to an array of eccentric teaser performances before the grand finale on Saturday January 28.

The ‘Caravan of Lost Souls’ will be unleashed on St Martin’s Square between 8pm – 10pm with an array of twisted circus acts, including fire breathers, contortion-

ists and a one man band, performing tricks and illusions.

Louise Hamer-Brown, Head of Marketing at Bullring, commented: “Spiceal Street is the city’s new so-cial dining hotspot so we wanted to do something really special to wel-come in the New Year and in true Bullring tradition something that is completely unexpected.

Cirque du Spiceal will offer shop-pers and diners a completely unique experience and a programme of at-mospheric night time entertainment right in the heart of the city.”

Cirque du Spiceal is hosted in conjunction with Kerrang! Radio. l To find out more about Cirque

du Spiceal and how you can book a table at the restaurants during the

Bullring is to ‘Spice’ it up

Parents at a Sandwell infants school are being urged to learn more about keeping themselves and their chil-dren fit and healthy.

A new six-week course starts on Thursday January 26 at Victoria In-fant School in Tipton.

It is aimed at nursery and recep-tion parents and is being run by trained healthcare staff.

There will be a series of healthy breakfast mornings with the aim of

spreading the ‘Fit and Active Bod-ies in Sandwell’ message.

Cabinet member for children and families Councillor Bob Badham commented: “It has been proved that eating good, healthy food enambles children to stay more alert at school and stops them from get-ting unfit.

“This is a marvellous scheme and I hope it is well supported,” he added.

Healthy eating tips on menu for parents

To advertise phone 0121 629 7728

l Bullring diners will enjoy some special entertainment with their meals when the colourful Cirque du Spiceal arrives in the city this month

Circus acts heading to the city

NEWS 5

About Asian Football Awards

A number of exceptional UK Asians from the world of football will be honoured at the first ever Asian Football Awards. The event will take place at the home of English football, Wembley Stadium on January 21st 2012. The high profile event is expected to attract an exceptional list of guests to support and celebrate UK Asians in football.

The AFA is set to become a momentous event in the awareness and development of Asians in Football. The AFA is a great opportunity to bring together decision makers and the people who we expect to make an impact in football, further complimenting this ever popular sport within the UK.

The AFA will be aired in the UK and exposed worldwide via the net and press, and will play host to both professional and amateur football players, as well as sports, business and media celebrities.

The promotion and marketing activities will take place from October 2011 to January 2012. This high profile awards ceremony will ensure that it has a national feel to the marketing and promotion campaign.

The Asian Football Awards is set to become another significant event in the development and growth of Asians in Foot-ball. We believe your organisation and brand can significantly benefit from this high profile event and all the associated marketing and sponsorship benefits on offer.

Aims of Asian Football Awards

- Build an Outstanding Event- Contribute to Growth of Asians in Football- Increase Asian Participation Levels- Strengthen Community Links- Increase Awareness of Asians in Football- Build Sporting Personalities- Encourage Sporting Investment- Support AFA Foundation- Create Awareness of Sponsors- Build Short & Long Term Benefits for Sponsors

Schedule

- 4 Months Marketing Campaign- TV and Media Program- Grass Roots Campaign- Digital Campaign- Community Partnership- Celebrity Endorsement - Champagne Reception- Awards Ceremony- Dinner- Private Exhibition

Opportunities

- Title Rights- Premium Sponsorship- Award Sponsorship- AFA Partner- Product Program- Community Partnerships- Advertising Brochure- Media Partnership- VIP Reception Sponsor- Foundation Partner

for table bookings and media:team@asianfootballawards.co.uk

for sponsorship and partnerships:afa@initiatesports.com

Asian Football Awards is owned and operated by Asian Football Awards Ltd. Company No 0523425

The Asian Football Awards has been launched to recognise the outstand-ing contribution made by individu-als and groups across the UK with

South Asian heritage. The Awards (AFA) are to be held at the

home of English football, Wembley Stadi-um, on January 24 and is being supported by the FA and Kick It Out.

A number of exceptional UK Asian foot-ballers and those from the South Asian Diaspora will be honoured at the first ever high-profile event which is expected to at-tract an exceptional list of guests in support and celebration of Asians in football.

The awards will ensure that those work-ing or investing in the professional game or community sport have the opportunity to receive acclaim for their achievements in developing Asians in football.

Initial nominations include Michael Chopra (Ipswich Town), Zesh Rehman (Muang Thong Utd), Anwar Uddin (Barnet FC), Dr Zaf Iqbal (Liverpool FC), Rimla Akhtar (MWSF), Permi Jhooti (FIFA Am-bassador), Lakshmi Mittal and Tony Fer-nandes (QPR FC).

Imran Hassan, co-founder of the Asian Football Awards said: “We’ve seen positive

moves within the development of Asians in the game and feel that recognition and ac-knowledgement of individuals and organi-sations is a fundamental part of developing more individuals on a professional level.

“I’m delighted to be involved in the Asian Football Awards and look forward to cel-ebrating all aspects of the game from inves-tors, players, coaches and those involved behind the scenes,” he added.

FA Equality Manager, Funke Awoderu, said: “The FA is delighted that the inaugural

Asian Football Awards will be held at Wem-bley Stadium.

“We are committed to football for all and look forward to welcoming the Asian foot-ball community to one of the world’s most iconic stadiums for an evening that will not only celebrate success and high achieve-ment across all areas of the game but act as an inspiration to younger generations.”

Danny Lynch, Head of Communications for ‘Kick It Out,’ said: “Initiatives like the Asian Football Awards encourage greater

involvement from groups and individu-als that have sometimes been marginalised from the game in the past.

“Kick It Out are proud supporters of the Asian Football Awards.”

Baljit Rihal, co-founder (AFA) also said: “This promises to be a fantastic opportunity to network with influential personnel from

the football industry. We are proud to be hosting this event and are sure that Asian participation in UK football will benefit its inception.”l To nominate a person, group or or-

ganisation for the Asian Football Awards or book your tickets to attend the event simply visit www.asianfootballawards.co.uk

Asian footballers set for a showcase at Wembley

l Queen’s Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes

NEWS6

There was a marked change in many a man’s facial appearance in November.

Whilst for some, December 1 couldn’t come fast enough, for a se-lect few the added features proved too good to get rid of.

Certain TV and sporting person-alities made marked differences to the way we’ve come to know them, with some revisiting the way they were in times gone by.

For Mo-Bros, who included foot-ball pundits Gary Lineker and Mark Lawrenson, comedian Ricky Ger-vais and Garrick Hurter, a Senior Customer Service Representative, it was a venture into a very uncom-mon angle for them by way of that daily, morning prep in front of the mirror.

That said, for ‘Lawro’ it was a re-turn to those ‘frightening’ days of the very thick tache favoured by a number of his Liverpool teammates in the 1980s.

The four weeks of growth were of course all in the name of char-ity, helping to fight Prostate cancer which effects a lot of men but up until recently has rarely been talked about in public.

So, with thousands of usually clean-shaven guys ‘giving it large’ by way of a moustache and beard, it was worth every bristle raised.

For Birmingham-based Garrick, he saw it as a runway to help raise the awareness of men’s health is-sues.

“I think it was a great way to get involved and once I was given per-mission by my employers, Regus at Fort Dunlop, I decided that I could make the small sacrifice of looking different and maybe a lot stranger to some people but that if I could get just one person to donate and maybe 10 people to know what it was all about I had done my part.

“Women have the Race For Life and I think this is perfect for guys to try and do.”

People with big hearts will always be rewarded in big ways. For Nicholas Fos-ter however, his reward is

seeing people he helps get the due rewards for their endeavors with the blessings from God above. For over 50 years now Nicholas has been dedicating his life to set-ting people free from poverty and illness in places which otherwise would be desperately short.

Since he was in his 20s, he has been making regular visits to Ni-geria and Kenya in order to open schools and medical centres to give the very least fortunate the opportunity to educate and tend properly for themselves.

A devout Christian, he has a mis-sionary in Nigeria and has set up schools in some of the most remote parts of the country. Through send-ing fund-raised money and equip-ment, he gave them the best possi-ble chance of learning and fending for themselves and their families.

He sees this as an anointment by God to help the most deprived peo-ple in the world and give them the

kind of head start which is afforded to people in the UK.

It was as a 21-year-old that Fos-ter found he had the ability to buy and sell jewellery throughout the country at a profit:

“The Lord gave me the skill and the strength to make money that way.” he says.

Foster originally set up a busi-ness consultancy for people with

both business and financial prob-lems, problems which he saw as a being due to a lack of vision and guidance.

After a chance meeting with a Pastor Washington, he supplied him with books, equipment and money to open a computer school in Nairobi, Kenya.

This subsequently ‘drove’ him to open a clothing factory making T-

shirts, from which the workers and their communities pay for their education and also maintain their local church.

Now in his 70’s, Nicholas is nowhere near stopping his good work. In fact, he’s looking to spread his great deed for some time to come, as he says with great determination:

“With no shortage of willing workers, I want to do the same in other African countries and, at the same time, spread the Word of God throughout the continent.

“Before too long, I want to set up base there and develop things for those wonderful people. I know that with the right people behind them, they’d have the right chance to benefit from the true richness of the continent they live in.”

Nicholas himself knows that with the best will of God, his tire-less work will be rewarded with blessings from Him and those he’s ‘touched’.l Nicholas would welcome

any charitable donations. Please contact him on 0121 681 1083

Chaps living it up as real hair-raisers!

l Garrick Hurter

Students so grateful for intern kingsTen Birmingham organisa-tions have just been presented with awards and named intern champions by business stud-ies students from Birmingham Metropolitan College.

More than 50 students, who are part of the college’s Met Enterprise Academy, have benefited from six-week intern-ships with employers including Fleet Milne Residential, Bir-mingham Children’s Hospital and Glide Utilities.

Jane Smith, head of the Met Enterprise Academy said: “Without the enthusiasm and support of our Academy cham-pions, our students’ careers would not have been kick-started to such heights.”

Other Met Enterprise Acad-emy business champions were Digital Birmingham, Telereal Trillium Ltd, ALS UK Ltd, Re-wired PR Ltd, Birmingham City Council and Branch Mar-tin Spicer Marketing Ltd.

For further information about the BMET Enterprise Academy and their internship scheme for Summer 2012 con-tact Jean Pittaway on 0121 355 5671 or email jean.pittaway@bmetc.ac.uk

l Dedicated fundraiser Nicholas Foster

l Health product sales help to support the fundraising

How Africa became a life’s work for Nicholas

After touring the globe almost continuously for 20 years, set-ting feet stamping, fingers drumming and adrenalin rush-ing for over 15 million people in 48 countries across five con-tinents, STOMP is returning to Birmingham Hippodrome from February 14-18.

Stomp to it!

NEWS 7

Birmingham’s famous Frankfurt Christmas Market celebrated its 10th anniversary in style over the festive season.

The seasonal event is now seen as the cen-trepiece of the city’s annual Christmas calen-dar with the city’s own traders offering a se-lection of beautiful hand-crafted items at the Christmas Craft Fair created by local artisans as well as cultural arts and crafts imported from all over the world.

Thousands of visitors were able to enjoy the delights of some German mulled wine (Gluh-wein), grilled sausages, vegetarian options, pretzels, German beer, and for those with a sweet tooth, gingerbread, crepes and marzi-pan sweets.

Other traditional stalls offer the usual array of beautiful handmade toys, Christmas deco-rations, original jewellery and craft goods as well as a carousel to keep younger visitors entertained.

At the heart of the market was the tradi-tional bandstand, where musicians performed every lunchtime and evening. Groups of local school children and carol singers also staged special performances throughout the festive period.

The Frankfurt Christmas Market covered Victoria Square and the length of New Street, and is a truly unique, international shopping experience.

One of the most popular stalls, was the ‘Original German Frankfurt Sausage’.

“The Market here in Birmingham is fantas-tic. It’s an opportunity to meet and speak to all the different communities here,” said stall-holder Claudia.

“In 2010 we came over and had seven stalls. This year we had eight, which is all down to the great products that we provide.”

For Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby, in continuing such great achievement for the city, it’s another proud moment in his tenure.

He said: “We always expected this to be a fantastic 10th anniversary birthday party for our Frankfurt Christmas Market.

“Other cities have tried, understandably, to emulate Birmingham’s success, but none have been able to reproduce the size, scale, diver-sity and quality of our market.”

Mr Whitby added that the benefits will con-tinue to be felt around the city centre for some time to come.

A festive success story City Business leaders have wel-colmed the drop in inflation figures to 5% and say it is a step in the right direction.

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group says that in the face of faltering growth, low interest rates are also im-portant for exporters.

With poor employment fig-ures contuinuing to cast a cloud over the economy, all eyes are on the Autumn State-ment.

The Chamber is supporting businesses by urging the Chan-cellor to take immediate ac-tion to reduce red tape and to consider tax cuts, including the 50p income tax rate.

Michael Ward, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: “If intro-duced, such a package of meas-ures would provide a much needed boost for the economy.

“Investment will help create jobs if we can unlock burden-some regulations and an un-competitive tax system.”

Inflation drop wins approval at Chamber

l Birmingham’s German market was once again a sparkling success among Christmas shoppers

8

The Drum is the UK’s pre-mier Black-led arts centre dedicated to the devel-opment, celebration and

presentation of African, Asian and Caribbean arts and cultural activi-ties, for the benefit of all.

Join The Drum as we celebrate a new season and a new year this spring. 2012 is an important year for the UK, as host nation for the Olympic Games, and also for Birmingham in that our city will house two of the world’s most ac-complished track and field teams, Jamaica and Team USA.

As the city’s premier Black-led arts organisation, The Drum will be hanging our flags out early, with ad-vance activities and events building up towards our very special summer season.

However, we are putting together our artistic programme in a period of unprecedented public sector cuts and widespread austerity and wid-ening inequality.

Nevertheless, we continue to thrive and play a key strategic role in the creative sector nationally and regionally. In real terms, this value of arts to the city and the region is actualised through our program-ming.

The Drum is committed to a genu-ine, deep-rooted model of diversity, providing opportunities for artists, communities and audiences that do not exist elsewhere.

With almost 60 different events gracing our stages this spring there really is something for everyone.

Over the next few months The Drum will play host to a variety of leading musical events, national

and international theatre produc-tions, witty and stylish comedy sets, thought-provoking literature sessions and awe-inspiring films & exhibitions.

This spring we really have searched the four corners of the earth to bring you something new and vibrant.

You can also get involved in a wide range of workshops and edu-cational projects though our arts development initiatives, whilst our vibrant young people’s department, Young Gifted Brum, are planning to tour their recent stage production of Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman nationally.

We look forward to seeing you in Aston this Spring!

l TheatreOur theatre strand promises to be

thrilling. Uprising is the one man show written Alex Wheatle MBE which chronicles his life from the brutality of children’s homes to award winning author.

Mummy Mafia pokes fun at the trials and tribulations of mother-hood in a postcode war with a hilari-ous twist. From side-splitting writer and director Ricky Rowe comes Ja-maican comedy play Dutty Money featuring favourites such as Charles Tomlin, Olive Miller, Ricky Rowe and Lovena Brown.

A Moment of Mishearing is dy-namic combination of music and drama by acclaimed Indian writer Amit Chaudhuri. Chaudhuri will also be interviewed for an ‘In Con-versation’ event as part of our litera-ture season.

l MusicWhen it comes to music we have

something for everyone. In January we were captivated by the renowned Sufi singer Qari Waheed Chisti.

We also have David Rodigan and DJ Mistri as well as Sir John Holt and Freddie McGregor headlining the Valentine’s weekend dance.

They will be supported by Jamai-can super-group L.U.S.T. Nu Centu-ry Arts returns with the regular Live Box series with an extensive set of performers covering jazz, soul, gos-pel, dub poetry and hip hop.

We are excited to continue to host legend Andy Hamilton for his monthly Sunday lunchtime free family jazz sessions.

And new this season: Cobweb Collective brings us fresh jazz every month.

l ComedyTo kick off the season local girl

done good, Annette Fagon, will be presenting her first solo show in a double-bill with comedian Kwaku, who you may have seen in the sold out film screenings of the docu-mentary-film The Story of Lover’s Rock.

To celebrate International Wom-en’s Month we have an all-female show featuring host ‘big sister’ Donna Spence, award winning co-medienne Glenda Jaxson, razor sharp circuit veteran Susan Murray and making her Drum stage debut Kayleigh Lewis.

The final Upfront Comedy perfor-mance in April will be headlined by ‘the don’ Curtis Walker, along with the hilarious Brooklyn Mike (Def

Comedy Jam) and south London’s Nigerian wit Victor Daniel.

l FilmOur upcoming films deal with

hard-hitting issues. The Nine Muses is a history of mass migration to post-war Britain told in the style of an epic poem.

The Interrupters is based on a true story of three young people who work to ‘interrupt’ the spread of violence in Chicago.

One Way is a story if four young men on a journey from recklessness to the straight and narrow path.

Brother Outsider: The Life of Ba-yard Rustin is a documentary about an American Civil Rights leader. He stood next to Dr Martin Luther King Jr but his work was largely ignored due to a prejudice of another kind.

The Real Film Season is a series of topical features from India and Pakistan which cover clashes of culture, class and gender.

So don’t delay, check our bro-chure or website for more informa-tion and with tickets now on sale, early booking is recommended.

We also offer a concessionary rate on most performances to senior citi-zens, registered unemployed, reg-istered disabled and u18s. Students are entitled to a 10% discount on standard tickets for the majority of our events.l Keep updated with our events,

via our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheDrumBirming-ham and our Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/The_Drum – Looking forward to seeing you at The Drum soon...

The Drum beat is getting louder....

l Andy Hamilton

l Annette Fagon

l 70s Retro Night

l Donna Spence

l Make it a Date!

l Mummy Mafia l Kat Francois

l Susan Murray

l Cameron Pierre

l Zara McFarlane

l Glenda Jaxson

l Fursan l Sir John Holt and Freddie McGregor l Kobo Town

To book your tickets call The Drum Box Office on 0121 333 2444 or book online at www.the-drum.org.uk

9

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IX

FEATURE10

It’s not difficult to see why so many people are already creating a massive stir about Six Ways Pizza, a

typical chippy in the original sense.

Serving the freshest of chip-shop fare, owner Sheikh Shazad knew exactly what to serve and who their target market would be.

After looking at the menu, service was brisk and efficient.

Six Ways Pizza serves up a variety of styles of food to cater for so many individual tastes.

From the already mentioned traditionally fried fish and fresh potato chips menu, you can also feast on kebabs, curries, burgers, pakoras, masala fish, southern fried and tikka dishes and, of course, a variety of freshly made pizzas to order.

The choice here is a great one.

It’s an inviting spot, on the Birchfield Road just off Aston’s Six Ways Island which, for the 28-year-old Mr Shazad, was an exciting venture and as such he

made sure that everything, from kitchen to customer service, was of the highest standard.

All staff members are always smiling a genuine smile, which puts you at ease as it makes you feel you’ve known them all your life.

Having only very recently opened, Sheikh and the other guys, Yassar and Hamza Zaman, Javed Hussein plus Sunny and Hamza Yousaf, are keen for people to try out the new eatery – that’s if you can get past the already large queue which has made Six Ways Pizza one of the best places to eat in the area.l Place your order

l Six Ways Pizza owner Sheikh Shazad (right) at work with a member of staff

l Another couple of satisfied customers at Six Ways Pizza in Erdington

l Some like it hot

Sheikh rattle and roll at Six Ways...

11

Silk Screen PrintersWhether you are looking for promotional clothing, staff uniforms, corporate branding, retail or sportswear we can supply the merchandise and create the image you are look ing for.

Inprintz Silk Screen Printers4 Tame Road, Witton, Birmingham, B6 7DSTel: 0121-327 1717 Fax: 0121-327 1118

Please contact:

Simon Brade07818 070519

Fast & Efficient Services at Competitive PricesFast & Efficient Services at Competitive Prices

Advertising Feature

With vision a dab hand, Simon Brade is imprinting his name on big business. In just eight years, Simon has managed to

accumulate a customer database that would be the envy of many a multi-national busi-ness.

From his office/workshop in Birming-ham, his company, Inprintz Silk Screen Printers, has been supplying logo embla-zoned T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, hi-visibility jackets for some of the biggest companies and organisations in their re-spective fields.

PrideUsing specially advanced silk-screen ma-

chinery, he is able to produce top quality print.

With his considerable depth of knowl-edge and versatility in the printing trade, he’s able to take on a vast number of orders, whether they be big, small, or anywhere in between.

Since doing his first big order supplying T-shirts for Aston Pride – at the time one of the second rounds of New Deal for Partner-ships – Inprintz has been the first port of call for an overwhelming number of people who, on reputation alone, know full well

that there’s no better company to use.For Simon, his success to date is a cul-

mination of incredible determination and a single-minded attitude towards providing the very highest quality service time after time.

Simon is also very much part of Birming-ham’s vibrant Chamber of Commerce and as such, there alone he’s in regular, heavy demand. That, however, is just how he likes it.

“I’m getting calls from a lot of big busi-nesses and it has to be said, sometimes I

might be snowed under with existing or-ders.

“That though doesn’t mean to say that I’m too busy to take on new work, far from it! I’m always willing to listen to compa-ny’s inquiries.”

Inprintz’s customer file reads like a who’s who of business.

The likes of Virgin, Cadburys, the BBC, Midland Heart, South Birmingham Col-lege, Sandwell Visually Impaired, Path-finder, Birmingham City and Aston Villa football clubs, West Midlands Police Force, The Drum Arts Theatre, HRT Foundation, Tesco and the CBSO are all clients

CareerSimon is hugely proud of his achieve-

ment so far, but knows that there’s much more to come, such as the recent order to supply T-shirts for last year’s X Factor fi-nalists.

He’s always willing to open his doors and help young people with their designs and offer advice in showing them the best way forward for their own career.

The multi-award winning Inprintz Silk Screen Printers also does transfers, embroi-dery and design to order, so what are you waiting for?

Simon passes his screen test!

l Simon Brade at work in his studio

l Another top job by Simon

FAITH12

The Flame Pentecostal Church of Cherubim & Ser-aphim Movement on Monu-ment Road in Edgbaston

was the venue for a praise and wor-ship service.

Both myself and my sister were kindly collected from our doorstep by Apostle John Okundaye, a senior minister of the movement, together with other members for what proved to be an enjoyable experience of church – Nigerian Style!

The service was special in that ad-ditional members from London had travelled to Birmingham for the day.

A variety of songs and choruses were sung by both choir and congre-

gation initially, followed by an open invitation to members of the congre-gation to testify of God’s power at work in their lives.

Next, an in-depth intercessory prayer session took place led by vari-ous officials. This was followed by a sermon given by a senior minister from London who emphasized the importance of giving tithes.

Finally, an inordination ceremo-ny took place for the initiation of ‘prayerists’ which was concluded by final hymns and the Lord’s Prayer.

Socialising among members and visitors brought the day to an enjoy-able end.

By Butterfly

Worshipping at the Flame Pentecostal

FAITH 13

HEALTH14

THERE are many character-istics of people that makes us all unique. Many black

people that you know look younger than they actually are, which is a similar situation within people of European or Asian backgrounds.

Perhaps it’s not so much of a race issue as it is genetics, or maybe sim-ply just one of those things passed on from generation to generation.

It is probably more of a family thing than a race thing. However, these days it seems that many peo-ple are of cross-purposes.

There’s for instance Jamaican dancehall star, Vybz Kartel, and Ce-lebrity Big Brother winner, Shilpa Shetty, who, it’s been widely noted, have both bleached their originally dark skin tones for…well only they themselves know why.

On the other hand, there are peo-ple like Katie Price and Alex Reid who’ve gone to great lengths to have a dark, sultry skin tone which, invariably, have opened a few doors for them, the kind of which those of a naturally dark hue can only dream about.

Generally most people of color have oily skin which means they produce more sebum (oil) that lu-bricates the skin and prevents lines/wrinkles etc.

Also they have more melanin pro-duction than Caucasians which also serves as a really high sun block.

This is also another prevention of premature aging, lines/wrinkles and sun damage.

Lastly, their collagen growth rate is higher. This makes a black per-son’s skin more “keloidic” but it also sustains the “plumpness” (so to speak) of their skin, which in turn results in younger looking skin. Whilst a large number of British

and Asian women especially go out of there way to get that dark ap-pearance, people like singer Sophie Ellis-Bexter have flouted their natu-rally north European appearance to their own, unrivalled level of suc-cess.

Not a single sun lounger in sight for them.

So, whether it’s super-model, Alex Beck, or Hollywood-based Brit, Robert Pattinson, just love the skin you’re in.

Show pride in your skin

The public are to be asked if they think the law should be changed to allow sci-ence to move a step for-

ward so a cure could be found for potentially fatal inherited diseases.

The Human Fertilisation and Em-bryology Authority (HFEA) has been asked to lead a public discus-sion to ask if a new scientific pro-cedure, which could prevent women with mitochondrial disease from passing the illness to their children, should be introduced. This will be launched later this year.

FunctionMitochondrial disease is a genetic

condition that affects an individu-al’s mitochondria – the part of the body’s cells that produces the en-ergy they need to function.

The disease affects everyone dif-ferently, but symptoms include poor growth, loss of muscle coordina-

tion, visual and hearing problems, mental disorders, heart disease and liver disease.

The condition affects approxi-mately one in 5,000 adults. One in 6,500 babies are born with a severe form of the disease that can lead to death in early infancy. There is no cure.

It is estimated that around 12,000 people live with a mitochondrial disease in the UK and scientists estimate that the treatment could save the lives of around ten children affected by severe forms of the dis-ease a year.

A proposed procedure would use IVF to fertilise the egg of a woman affected by mitochondrial disease with her partner’s sperm.

The genetic material of the ferti-lised egg that determines the char-acteristics of the potential child would then be transferred to the

shell of an egg donated by a woman who has healthy mitochondria.

This procedure would not be al-lowed under the current law.

Public Health Minister Anne Mil-ton said: “Mitochondrial disease, such as muscular dystrophy, can have a devastating impact on the people who inherit it.

“People who have it live with de-bilitating illness, and women who are affected face passing it on to their children.

Treatment“Scientists have developed a new

procedure to do research to stop these diseases being passed on,” she said.

“But such a procedure would not be allowed in treatment under cur-rent law, so we are consulting the public as to whether we should change the law.”

Birmingham Children’s Hos-pital’s Retinoblastoma Team is hosting an event on Saturday, May 14 for patients and fami-lies who have been affected by the rare eye cancer.

It will provide a social event for patients and their families to allow them to meet other families and members of the team in a relaxed setting.

Two families will be present-ing the team with cheques from fundraising activities.

Birmingham Children’s Hos-pital is one of only two cen-tres in the country who treat patients with retinoblastoma. The team sees around 30 newly diagnosed patients every year.

Maureen McCalla, a Spe-cialist Retinoblastoma Nurse, said: “This type of eye cancer is very rare and families who have recently been diagnosed can often feel very alone.

“By giving families an oppor-tunity to meet each other they can see that they are not alone and may be able to strike up new friendships.”

To advertise call 0121 629 7728

l Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty

Family day arranged at children’s hospital

Law could change on inherited diseases

l Public Health Minister Anne Milton

HEALTH 15

Boots have launched the ‘Great Big Eye Check’ initiative to encourage people in Birmingham to look af-ter their vision and eye health.

Fifty per cent of sight loss is avoidable1, a fact that almost eight in 10 people in Bir-mingham (78%) are unaware of according to latest research.

With four in 10 people in Birmingham not having their eyes checked on a regular ba-sis2, Boots Opticians, supported by RNIB and Action for Blind People, have launched the Great Big Eye Check.

The idea is to help raise awareness of eye health and encourage more people to have their eyes checked regularly.

Supporting the initiative, Optometrist, and RNIB’s Eye Health Development Adviser, Sonal Rughani, said: “RNIB and Action for Blind People support any initiative that encourages people to get their eyes checked and highlights where to find additional ad-vice and support.

Early signs“It’s a sad fact that 100 people in the UK

start to lose their sight every day; and many people lose their sight because early signs of eye disease go undetected.

“We hope that Boots ‘Great Big Eye Check’ will help encourage everyone to get their eyes checked and benefit from better eye health.”

New research shows that three in 10 peo-ple in Birmingham said they would be more motivated to have their eyes checked regu-

larly if an eye test was called an eye check. This shift in language to eye check is also

designed to help people understand that the eye check is not just about how well you can

see; it can also pick up early signs of other conditions such as diabetes and glaucoma.

However, nearly six in 10 of adults sur-veyed in Birmingham did not know that an eye test could detect diabetes, and almost a third were unaware it could detect glauco-ma, conditions which can cause vision loss.

David Cartwright, Optometrist and Direc-tor of Professional Services at Boots Opti-cians, said: “We hope that by widening the meaning of an eye test by calling it an eye check we will help people understand that this is not just about what they can or cannot see, it is also a check-up for their overall eye health that can be sight-saving, and in some cases, even life-saving.

Customers“The consultation remains the same com-

prehensive eye examination we have always provided, which includes both checks for vi-sion changes and overall eye health.

“With 630 Boots Opticians on high streets across the UK, 92% of customers are only a 20 minute drive from one of our practices,” he said.

“We hope to help make an impact on the eye health of the nation and encourage eve-ryone of any age to help keep their eyes healthy.”l To join the Great Big Eye Check

people can go online at www.greatbigeye-check.co.uk and print a £10 eye check voucher.

Focus is on healthy eyes

l Regular eye checks can help to detect the early warning signs for conditions such as diabetes

ENTERTAINMENT16

Almost lost amongst the high-profiled deaths of 2011 was that of the ‘founder’ of Hip-Hop.

Sylvia Robinson, the first lady of rap, passed away at the end of the year without as much as a whimper, but as hip-hop continues to strive, give respect to the late Mrs. Robinson.

As the co-founder of Sugar Hill Records, her label pretty much introduced us in Britain to this musical style by bringing us The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rappers Delight”, the first crossover rap hit on these shores.

DemoRobinson, who initially found fame as an R&B

singer in the 1950s, co-wrote and produced Grand-master Flash & the Furious Five’s most successful single, “The Message”, which is credited as the rap song that brought socially conscious lyrics into hip hop, persuading the group to record the song while it was still a demo recording.

Regarded as the mother of modern hip-hop, she revo-lutionized the music industry by introducing the inven-tion of sampling, as well as introducing all-female rap/funk group The Sequence, featuring a teenage Angie Stone (recording as “Angie B”), who had a million-selling hit in early 1980 with “Funk U Up”.

Later success saw her discover Naughty by Nature, and their hugely successful “Down With O.P.P” on her Bon Ami Records label, in 1987.

GenerationWithout doubt, Sylvia Robinson opened the doors

for the likes of Jay-Z, Professor Green, Eminem, Tinie Tempah, Misha B. and the likes to make their marks on the sound of an entire generation, worldwide.

She died at the age of 75.

By Steve Williams

Carmen Wright has a wealth of experi-ence that anyone, in any of our vast communities, will do well to feed off in their own search for inspiration and

success.A highly-respected theatre technician, she has

worked on some of the biggest venues and with some of the world’s leading businesses and in-dividuals which she now uses to inspire a new generation of young people, especially women, to choose a path which perhaps has never been in their career plans.

The Birmingham-based Ms. Wright has been a leading light in the industry for many years and, up to date, is always called upon when a major event is happening either here or in many other major towns and cities throughout the world.

ExperienceShe has accumulated great experience as a

lighting designer which allowed her the knowl-edge to work with stars like Steve Windwood, Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare as well as the pioneers of afro-pop, Soul-2-Soul, her first job.

Carmen gained valuable experience whilst

working for record label mogul Chris Blackwell and his Crysalis organization.

It was whilst there that she got her big break with Jazzy-B and the guys, playing a valued part in the production of their hit: “Keep On Moving”.

It was during that most exciting period in her life in London where she studied for the Asso-ciation of British Theatre Technician, gaining a very hard earned Distinction.

Her time in London also saw the young Ms. Wright play an integral part in the ‘birth’ of the rave scene, directing and setting the whole tech-nical part of the rigging at the often secretive

Carmen is centre stage

Beverley Knight returned to her Wolverhampton home to perform at the Civic Hall recently and de-spite her excitement at appearing in front of a sell-out home-time crowd, her main focus during her visit was highlighting her unfor-gettable trip to Africa.

She travelled to Malawi in the south of the continent where she works as an ambassador for the Christian Aid charity.

In her role, she helped to both provide essential medicines to

the impoverished nation and ed-ucate the local communities on how to both avoid and manage the threat of HIV and AIDS.

During her visit, the British Queen of Soul was struck by the spirit of the Malawi people de-spite many of them severely suf-fering from the deadly disease, a spirit of which she says:

“I was taken aback by the in-credible spirit of the Malawi people.

“Everywhere I went, I was

greeted with singing and dancing by them all. It was as if they used music as a weapon against their personal sufferings. It was like a weapon of hope.”

On her return to the UK, the multi-award winning songstress packed a lot of positivity into her luggage, from her experience in Africa and will use it as material and inspiration whilst working on her latest album, as she ex-plains:

“My trip to Malawi was awe-

some, in many ways. I will defi-nitely be taking a lot of African influences and use them in my next record and that will defi-nitely from their spirit and their music.”

Miss Knight is a relentless worker in educating people in the threat of HIV and AIDS and she’s equally tireless in maintain-ing her position as Britain’s No.1 soul singer. Either way, she aims to be at the front for some time to come.

Magical Malawi proves inspirational for Beverley

First lady of rap will never be forgotten

l Sylvia Robinson

To promote your business in The Phoenix call 0121 629 7728

ENTERTAINMENT 17

The legendary Stranglers re-turn to Birmingham in March with their eagerly awaited new album, Giants.

Thirty-five years on from the release of their debut, Rat-tus Norvegicus, ‘Giants’ is the Stranglers’ seventeenth album and, just as the latter day suc-cesses of the group’s last two ti-tles, ‘Norfolk Coast’ (2004) and ‘Suite XVI’ (2006), this more

recent return to the studio has once again produced another collection of sterling Stranglers tracks.

Quirky and diverse, the music presented on ‘Giants’ avoids the formulaic and the stale: for the first time since 1980, there is an instrumental and the group, better known for their waltzes, also reveal their take on another dance form, the tango!

It’s a few years since the last album release but the Stranglers have been keeping extremely busy on the live circuit.

They have appeared at most of the the major festivals in the UK in recent years, including Glastonbury, T in the Park and V Festivals. l The Stranglers are playing

Birmingham Academy on Sat-urday, March 10.

working for record label mogul Chris Blackwell and his Crysalis organization.

It was whilst there that she got her big break with Jazzy-B and the guys, playing a valued part in the production of their hit: “Keep On Moving”.

It was during that most exciting period in her life in London where she studied for the Asso-ciation of British Theatre Technician, gaining a very hard earned Distinction.

Her time in London also saw the young Ms. Wright play an integral part in the ‘birth’ of the rave scene, directing and setting the whole tech-nical part of the rigging at the often secretive

venues. She says of that time:“It was, for me, one of the most exciting pe-

riods in my life. To be a part of the rave scene back then was fantastic and then to work with Soul-2-Soul was the best, especially working with singer, Wummi, their lead singer in Japan.”

AdditionCarmen loves light and with a Post Grad.

(MA) in Advanced Theatre Practice and work with over 92 theatre and dance companies, in-cluding Birmingham’s own The Drum Arts Theatre, already under her belt, she’s proving to be the ‘first name’ to contact whenever the big shows come to town.

In addition, she’s also successfully ventured into music management, by way of managing reggae super-star, Skibu, in addition to one of the biggest D’n’B DJs and her own son, An-thony.

“Its hard work what I do,” says the amiable Carmen, but, as she continues: “it’s very re-warding. That’s one of the things I would tell young people, especially women. I want them (young women) especially to show an interest in the technical side of things.”

Under demand, Carmen Wright is all the in-spiration you need when looking for a leading light.

Carmen is centre stage

Stranglers looking for a ‘Giant’ step forward

some, in many ways. I will defi-nitely be taking a lot of African influences and use them in my next record and that will defi-nitely from their spirit and their music.”

Miss Knight is a relentless worker in educating people in the threat of HIV and AIDS and she’s equally tireless in maintain-ing her position as Britain’s No.1 soul singer. Either way, she aims to be at the front for some time to come.

Magical Malawi proves inspirational for Beverley

l Beverley Knight, singing legend and Christian Aid ambassador

To promote your business in The Phoenix call 0121 629 7728

ENTERTAINMENT18

Hailed as ‘One of the best the UK has to of-fer’ by Kerrang!, Falling Red fire straight back into action in 2012 with several major announcements.

Since their outstanding live performance at Hard Rock Hell V just before Christmas the band has been busy planning for this year.

With their focus mainly on touring in 2012

the band is delighted to confirm they’ll play the Lancashire Rock & Bike Show at Black-pool on June 2 hosted by Satans Slaves MC.

This year will also see a new look to Falling Red. After lengthy discussions towards the end of 2011, Falling Red was extremely sad-dened to accept the fact that the band would need to continue without both Matty Penn &

Shane Kirk. Shane Kirk, a founding member, and in

many ways, the heartbeat of the band and Matty Penn both felt they now needed to con-centrate their time on their personal lives for the present.

Falling Red will be forever indebted to both of them for their contribution to creating a

band that stands for what it believes in, and not what others expect them to be.

Rozey & Dave are really pleased to an-nounce that Dann Marx (ex Slip) will take on Bass duties, while Jade Starr (ex Fallen Mafia) completes the new line up on Guitars.

Catch them for yourself at Scruffy Murphys in Birmingham on Saturday February 11.

These boys are hotRed

By Paul Castles

Biohazard are heading back to the UK to promote the release of their first album with the original line up

in 18 years. Reborn in Defiance hits the streets this month on the Nuclear Blast label.

“Absence makes even the coldest of hearts grow fonder so after real-izing we’ve been cheating on the UK with slutty Europe for so long, we’ve all pitched in and collected enough pounds for a Chunnel ride over for some Urban Chaos.

“We’re infecting the UK once again this winter with our “In Your Face tour!”

“Keep up with our facebook.com/biohazarddfl page for some updates, news, ticket giveaways, contests and some cool freebies coming your way! See you in the pit!” - Billy

Biohazard has sold over five mil-lion albums worldwide since their formation in the late eighties in Brooklyn, New York.

They achieved international suc-cess with their albums Urban Dis-cipline on Roadrunner in 1992 and 1994’s State of the World Address on Warner Bros.

Over the years, Biohazard has col-laborated with Onyx, Cypress Hill, Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Pantera and Type O Negative amongst oth-ers.

The band has continued to tour nationally and internationally, shar-ing stages with the likes of House of Pain, Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Danzig, Fear Factory, Sepultura and

Agnostic Front.The trio performed a blistering

early morning set at Download in June but you can now enjoy Bio-

hazard at their meanest, alongside Suicidal Tendencies at Birmingham Institute (Library) on Thursday, February 2.

Biohazard are set to turn up the heat

Following the release of Los Campesinos!’s fourth album, Hello Sadness, in November last year on Wichita to an accompanying heap of critical praise, the Cardiff-based band are now heading to Birming-ham.

Recorded in Girona, Spain, Hello Sadness is ten songs of love, loss and heartbreak nail-gunned to a back-drop of broken, tangled bod-ies, creeping, dead-eyed animals, suffocating, looming shadows and World Cup exits.

IndulgenceIt is an honest, bare-bones docu-

mentation of breaking up and try-ing not to break up in the process. At just ten songs and 40 minutes, Hello Sadness is perhaps the first Los Campesinos! album that sounds lean and pruned, indulgence shorn away and filler ruthlessly excised.

The youngsters that made debut You! Me! Dancing! are long gone. The band they’ve grown into, though, are something to fall for all over again.

Hold tight for news on a single in March and check them out in Birmingham at the Rainbow Warehouse in Digbeth on Saturday, March 24.

Los to lookforward to at Rainbow

l New York metal giants Biohazard play the HMV Institute

To promote your event in The Phoenix call 0121 629 7729

CONCERTS 19

2011 was one hell of a year for Twin Atlantic and 2012 shows no signs of them slowing down! Since the release of their spec-tacular debut album, “Free” - the biggest selling record by a UK rock band in 2011 - the pedal has been to the metal.

From gracing the covers of Kerrang! and Rock Sound magazine, to performing in front of thousands of people at festivals all over Europe and headlining venues such as Glasgow Acad-emy, this hard working quartet have catapulted themselves into the new year already.

Recently named as the iTunes Rewind Rock Artist of The Year and currently on the BBC Radio 1 A list with their blistering single “Free” - Twin Atlantic are head-ing out on the road this April on their biggest UK and Ireland headline tour!

Exciting“Our tour at the end of 2011

was incredible but we feel like we still have room to grow.

“It’s been a slow and steady race for us over the last few years and this tour will mark our five-year anniversary.

“The fans we have gathered over that time is something we are really proud of and we can’t wait to have you all, along with new intrigued human beings, in the same room again so we can experience the feeling that makes being in this band so damn exciting.

“Perhaps new music? Perhaps a bigger show? Perhaps exploding planets and flying cats dressed like babies?

“It’s all a work in progress to make this our best tour yet! Ridiculous tour name to follow,” he said.l Twin Atlantic play the Wul-

frun Hall in Wolverhampton on Friday, April 20.

Atlantic ride the waves at Wulfrun

BIRMINGHAM ACADEMYJanuary16 The Black Dahlia Murder, Skeletonwitch, Fleshgod Apoca-lypse 20 Never Shout Never20 Silent Filter ft. BonnylouDutch Cousin, The Session, Illu-sion 21 Novana (The UK’s only Trib-ute to Nirvana)22 Lower Than AtlantisSights and Sounds, Marines 24 Husch26 Catapult Club ft. Post Descartes, Catapult Club, Post Descartes, VeXXen, Kissing Lieu-tenant, My Haunting Revenge, 8 Bit Monster 27 All Time LowReel Big Fish27 Propaganda, The Maccabees (DJ set) 28 Emma Scott Presents...The Ki, Guns for Girls, Arcade Parade, Fantastik 4, Your Best Enemy 29 Panic! At The Disco31 Lindi Ortega + Fields Of Ypres + Kristy Gallacher.

February2 Catapult Club ft. Grey Goes DownCatapult Club, Grey Goes Down, Barefoot Runners, The Formula, The Cavalier Attitude, Oscar Denihan 3 Kaiser Chiefs4 Emma Scott Presents...Open to Fire, Escape Avenue, Weatherbird, Red Method, The Crooked Empire 6 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah7 CASH (Johnny Cash tribute) + Pan And The PoetsCASH (Johnny Cash tribute), Pan And The Poets 7 James Morrison - The Awak-ening Tour8 The Devil Wears Prada9 Catapult Club ft. She Screams Murder Splintertone, Insolito, Wrapped In Plastic, Hallway District 10 Silent Filter ft. The Great Western, John J Presley, Bowen & The Tide, Dale Hanson 11 NME Awards Show ft. Justice14 Ivyrise plus FrankoIvyrise 16 New Found Glory, Sum 41, LetLive, While She Sleeps, Ker-rang! Relentless Tour 17 Big Country18 NME Awards Tour 2012Two Door Cinema Club, Met-ronomy, Tribes, Azealia Banks 18 Silent Filter ft. Claustropho-bique, Lucid Uprising, The Vari-ables, Billie Richards 19 The Skrillex Cell - Grey Daze Tour20 Dog is Dead22 Silent Filter ft. Call AtlantisSilent Filter, Call Atlantis, Brains For Breakfast, Imogen’s Kiss, The Kerensky Offensive, The Nortons 23 Nicole Scherzinger,Angel, Mindless Behaviour 24 Simple Minds 5X5 Live25 Little Dragon25 Silent Filter ft. Naked Remedy27 Norma JeanThe Chariot, Dead & Divine, Admirals Arms 28 The Static Jacks

WOLVESCIVIC HALLJanuary17/18 Ed Sheeran 19 Henry Rollins (Wulfrun

Hall) 20 The Circus of Horrors - The Ventriloquist 20 Asking Alexandria (Wulfrun Hall) 24 Chinese State Circus 25 One Night Of Queen26 An Evening With Danny & Ben From Thunder (Wulfrun Hall)27 Thin Lizzy

February2 Colin Fry - Higher Senses Tour 3 Sarah Millican: Thoroughly Modern Millican 17 Organ Concert 17 Wolverhampton Soul Night Out (Wulfrun Hall) Parade, Wed 15th Feb - 23 Kate Rusby (rescheduled from December 15) 25 Ben - A Tribute to Michael Jackson (Wulfrun Hall) SYMPHONY HALLJanuary15-30 Katherine Jenkins in concert 20 CBSO Schools Concerts for

Key Stage 3 Students21 Anton & Erin (Strictly Come Dancing)25-26 CBSO Winter Dreams27 Rush Hour Blues: Nick Jurd Quartet28 Sax in the CityFebruary5 Martin Simpson Trio8 Transatlantic Sessions23 An Evening with David Has-selhoff26 Lee MeadMar 1 Rebecca Ferguson BIRMINGHAM TOWN HALLJanuary31 Rumours of Fleetwood Mac

February3 Jazz Legends Acker Bilk & Chris Barber4 Suggs: My Life Story in Words & Music5 Khatia Buniatishvilli18 Max Boyce + guests19 Roy G Hemmings’ Motown Philadelphia on Tour22 Julian Lloyd Webber & Or-chestra of the Swan23 Fascinating Aida25 Joe Brown in concert

BIRMINGHAM HMV INSTITUTEJanuary20 Ben Ottewell (Gomez)21 M8327 Maccabees30 Roots Manuva31 Boyz II Men

February2 Biohazard3 Edguy, Voodoo Six4 Laura Veirs6 Alesana, We Came As Romans, I Wrestled A Bear Once, Glam-our of the Kill9 Awolnation10 Mastodon20 Kylesa, Circle Takes The Square, Ken Mode22 The Mobo Tour 2012

23 Jezabels, Arcadian Kicks24 Decapitated, Aorted25 Napalm Death27 Theory of a Deadman

BIRMINGHAM ASYLUMJanuary21 Diamanthian, Sarpanitum28 La Dispute

February3Valous, Hellbound Hearts, The Perfect Crime4 Curvature, Hypothesis, Fern Palmer8 Ulcerate, Svart Crown11 Rockabilly 5414 Darksite, Chemically Abused, A Vulgar Picture18 9xDead, Warlord UK, Black Wednesday, Black Star Bullet

WOLVES SLADE ROOMS

January 20 Jaccals26 A Pale Horse Named Death27 Soley Mourning28 My RuinFebruary 2 Canterbury4 Puressence8 Robin Ince - Happiness Through Science9 The Treatment (Rescheduled Date)16 Richard Herring: What Is Love Anyway? 17 Alestorm22 Comedy Store presents Steve Hughes23 Your Days Are Numbered29 King Charles

l Rebecca Ferguson has a date at the Symphony Hall

l Nicole Scherzinger

To promote your event in The Phoenix call 0121 629 7729

l Ed Sheeran will be performing for two nights at Wolverhampton Civic Hall

FASHION20

If you want to stand out this spring then just look at some of these exciting bright colours and floral prints at George with accessories and clothes from as little as £5.

l Floral bloom blouse, £12

l Blue graphic floral blouse, £12

l Floral print tunic, £14

l Ditzy floral top knot, £12

l Green jeans, £14 l Multi-stripe pumps, £7

l Gold metallic laser cut-out pumps, £10

l Gold leaf cuff, £5

Let’s Spring into action

FASHION 21

l Green jeans £30, floral shirt £22, bralet underneath £12

l Pink top £18, shorts £30, waistcoat £25, bag £18

l Bag £20, dress £22, hat £12, waistcoat £30

l Shirt £28, jeans £30, top underneath £22

l Top £16, shorts £25, blazer £28

l Denim jacket £35, pink shirt £25, skirt £30

This brand new sassy and cool range of casual clothing from Republic is sure to get you noticed on a sunny day

TRAVEL22

A five-star Cumbrian Inn has created a quirky way to escape the post-Christ-mas blues and kick start

those New Year good intentions.The Sun Inn in the picturesque

town of Kirkby Lonsdale is offer-ing a Blues Busting Break package for guests wishing to gently shed those Christmas calories whilst indulging in some much-needed TLC.

Perfect for those left feeling less than sprightly after Christmas, but without the frightening prospect of early morning circuits and lettuce leaf lunches.

TreatsThe package combines gentle

walking routes with a relaxing two night’s luxury accommodation at the Sun Inn and plenty of thought-ful treats which will leave guests ready to emerge feeling rested and revived.

The package includes a refresh-ing 10 mile guided walk led by Sun Inn owner and experienced walker Mark Fuller, taking in the moder-ate routes over the stunning Barbon Fells or the beautiful River Lune walk to Arkholme.

After a good dose of fresh air to awaken the senses, walkers will be provided with a hearty soup and

sandwich lunch, followed by a re-warding tea and crumpet snack on their return to the inn.

A pre-run bath using gorgeous Bath House Bubbles can also be arranged.

Following a rejuvenating soak, guests can indulge in a three course meal in the Sun Inn’s cosy candle-lit restaurant, offering a delicious selection of seasonal dishes made from high quality local ingredi-ents – with no turkey leftovers or sprouts in sight!

The Blues Busting Break costs £130 per person based on two peo-ple sharing a double room, includ-ing a tasty breakfast and all of the above.

Boasting stylish interiors, indi-vidually designed rooms, outstand-ing food and exceptional service, the Sun Inn is full of thoughtful touches.

Homemade biscuits, snuggly bathrobes and fresh milk are in-cluded as standard, and guests are also able to enjoy fresh tea and coffee down in the welcoming bar throughout their stay.

Enjoy the Sun-shine

l The Sun Inn at Kirkby Lonsdale is a Cumbrian treasure

The four-star Langdale Hotel and Spa in the picturesque Langdale Valley, the Lake District, has launched its first ever family package which launches just in time for Easter.

The multi award-winning hotel, renowned for its excel-lent eco-credentials, has de-vised a convenient week-long break for families.

Langdale’s offer families flexibility with a week’s ac-commodation in one of its self catering properties, all of which have been given a five-star rating by Visit Eng-land.

FairytaleEach of the stunning on-site

properties sleeps up to 6-8 guests and comes complete with home comforts like Free-sat TV, and complimentary WiFi.

Nestled within 35 acres of mature woodland, children will love Langdale’s fairytale footpaths and streams, along with the adventure play-ground.l For further information

visit www.langdale.co.uk

The Lakes is perfect for Easter

l For more information on The Sun Inn’s Blues Butsing break visit www.sun-inn.info

TRAVEL 23

There are few things more bracing in life than a hike across the wild, windswept and wonderful North York-

shire Moors.Comprising over 1400 miles of

natural beauty, this enchanting re-gion is home to heather moorland, pine forests, rolling hills and shim-mering coastline, not to mention badgers, roe deer, red squirrels and hawks.

Look closer and you’ll discover historic abbeys, castles and priories, traditional pubs and ‘hidden’ vil-lages and hamlets.

StunningIf you prefer to let the train take

the strain then why not step back in time with Britain’s most popular heritage steam railway.

Enjoy stunning scenery along 18 miles of railway through the Na-tional Park.

And if it’s a special occasion, why

not celebrate in style aboard the magnificent Pullman dining service.

Serving hearty meals prepared by an on-board chef, passengers can sit back and relax, it’s time for a taste of indulgence in an elegant setting.

There are plenty of attractive vil-lages and towns in this area.

Malton is located on the north of the River Derwent while Helmsley is another gem with its bustling market square, dramatic castle ru-ins, charming tea rooms, and invit-ing inns.

And of course there is the historic city of York nearby, with its quaint cobbled streets, colourful Viking history and towering Minster.

With so much to see and do the only problem will be fitting it all in!

Full steam ahead to the Yorkshire moors

l The North Yorkshire Moors Railway delivers a journey back to a bygone era

l For more information on breaks in Yorkshire go to www.yorkshire.com & www.nymr.co.uk

Eurostar is offering special, limited prices of £59 and £149 return for Standard and Standard Premier travel to Paris, Brussels or Lille until March 29.

With plenty of the special £59 return Standard class fares available for midweek travel this is the perfect time to book a reviving day trip or a relax-ing long weekend.

‘Winter blues busters’ can also treat themselves to a more luxurious journey for less as Eurostar is offering Standard Premier fares from only £149 return for travel during the same period.

GalleriesWhat’s more, when pas-

sengers arrive in their chosen destination their Eurostar ticket gives them much more than travel alone with a range of enticing ‘Eurostar Plus’ of-fers such as 2-for-1 entry into exhibitions at selected top mu-seums and galleries in Paris, Brussels and Lille, simply by showing their Eurostar ticket. l For more information

visit eurostar.com or telephone 08432 186 186.

Offers at Eurostar

TRAVEL24

With over 100 small festivals held across the region annually, visitors to Dublin are

invited to join the party.Dublin’s unique spirit of fun and

entertainment is evident in the many festivals and events organised throughout the year.

Headline festivals such as the in-imitable St. Patrick’s Festival every March, attract and enthrall visitors in their thousands.

Dublin also has a wealth of small-er, quirky festivals & events that take place throughout the year with festivals celebrating everything from arts, architecture, music, film, to food, puppetry, sport and litera-ture.

This year is set to be an exciting year for culture seekers as Ireland’s capital prepares for a host of festi-vals and events.

St. Patrick’s Festival in March will celebrate Dublin, City of Sci-ence as the capital prepares to wel-come Europe’s top science confer-ence, ESOF Dublin, in July.

A month long celebration of James Joyce’s ‘The Dubliners’, April’s One City One Book initiative invites visitors to explore Dublin, a UNESCO City of Literature and a place that has inspired some of the world’s best loved literature.

Dublin’s iconic streetscape will be transformed when Bavaria City Racing brings Formula 1 to the streets of Dublin next June! More than 100,000 spectators are expected to gather for an adrenaline-fuelled afternoon with Superbikes, Super cars, Touring cars, Formula 2, WRC, Drifters,

and the star attraction; demos from internationally celebrated F1 cars and drivers.

Dublin’s River Liffey first brought the Vikings over a thousand years ago and in August 2012 will wel-come a host of majestic Tall Ships as Dublin takes its place as the final port of the 2012 Tall Ships Race.

Dublin Festival Season will bring culture to the masses with theatre, music, comedy, literature, archi-tecture, Guinness and much more throughout September

and October. www.visitdub-lin.com

Dublin’s most popular visitor at-

traction, The Guinness Storehouse unveiled a superb new food experi-ence following a €2 million invest-ment which has resulted in an entire floor dedicated to Guinness and Food.

Situated on the 5th Floor of the Home of Guinness in the heart of St. James’s Gate, the new food experi-ence is aptly named “Five. Guinness and Food Experience”.

Dublin has also just launched a Smartphone app with geo-direc-tional search functioning. It can be downloaded for free for both the Apple and Android market.

The Visit Dublin app (pictured inset) uses innovative technology to allow visitors to use directional search to move about Dublin and explore their interests.

The Visit Dublin App also pre-sents the visitor with a Daily Bulle-tin providing timely information on events and special offers.

Dublin is to step it up a gear!

l Dublin attracts bookworms from all over the world due its reputation for great writers such as James Joyce

l Formula One comes to Dublin in 2012

l For more information on Dublin go to www.visitdublin.com or call the Tourist Information Centre on 00353 1 437 0969

Despite industry predictions of a tough year ahead, Center Parcs, the UK’s lead-ing short break holiday operator is report-ing significant bookings growth for the early part of 2012.

With overall bookings 2.2% up on last year’s record year, Center Parcs is seeing particularly strong demand for the main summer holidays, with bookings for peak breaks up 19.1%.

Short breaks for Christmas 2012 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee bank holi-day are also performing very well, sug-gesting that families are still opting to

stay in the UK for main school holidays.Colin Whaley, Sales & Marketing Di-

rector, said “There has been a lot of un-certainty about how the market would behave in 2012 and what effect the Olympics and the Eurozone crisis would have on holiday bookings.

“However, here at Center Parcs we are seeing some very encouraging booking numbers for the year ahead. We are very optimistic for 2012, and expect another strong year.”l For latest offers visit: www.center-

parcs.co.uk

Center Parcs doing its best to buck the trend

l Pedal power with the family on a Center Parcs break

To advertise call 0121 629 7728

TRAVEL 25

New events, enticing exhibitions and an enduring appeal of archi-tecture, history and spa culture ensure that the beautiful UNE-

SCO World Heritage City of Bath continues to be a tempting place to visit in the new year.

Here are just a few reasons why Bath should be on anyone’s list of must-see plac-es in 2012…

1. Picnic in the Park For those looking to make the most of the

Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, join in the fes-tivities on 5 June at Royal Victoria Park in the centre of Bath where a free ‘Picnic in the Park’ event will be held. Two giant screens will show all the Jubilee celebrations.

2. Bath in FashionThe third Bath in Fashion is gearing up

for an action packed week from Sunday 25 to Saturday 31 March 2012, with plenty of events, fashion shows, talks and workshops that will appeal to fashionistas young and old. The event will also have a local flavour with designers from Bath’s independent boutiques showcasing their collections.

3. Independent BathUnlike other cities with cloned high

streets, branded hotels and chain restau-rants, Bath offers something really differ-ent, making it an exciting place to explore. Independent shops and boutiques line the

city’s shopping streets and restaurants unique to Bath serve a delicious choice of international cuisine.

4. Holburne MuseumAfter several years of major development,

the Holburne finally re-opened its doors in 2011 following an impressive restoration of

the original museum building and a glitter-ing new and modern extension. The build-ing now houses major exhibitions, more of its wonderful collection of 9,000 extraor-dinary objects and artwork founded by Sir William Holburne.

5. Art at the Edge

Art at the Edge is an exciting and brand new exhibition coming to the Victoria Art Gallery in the summer of 2012. The collec-tion will feature 30 bronze sculptural statues of different Olympic sports.

6. 2,000 years of spa cultureBlessed with the only natural hot springs

in the UK, Bath’s story has been shaped by its waters, and it has had spa culture at its heart from its very humble beginnings. With Bath being home to a number of top spa facilities, this is the city in which to in-dulge.

7. A new way to discover Bath Bath Tourism Plus are launching their

first mobile application for the city. The free app will be available on both iPhone and Android handsets and will provide an interactive and useful source of information about Bath.

8. Classic Bath One of the reasons Bath was awarded

UNESCO World Heritage Site status was thanks to its incredible architecture. The best way to see all the highlights is by join-ing an organised tour, and there are plenty of ways to explore in Bath – bus tours, boat trips, walking tours and even chauffeur-driven options are just some of the choices available.

9. Roman BathsRe-discover one of the UK’s top attrac-

tions at the Roman Baths in 2012. Even

visitors who have been before will be fasci-nated by the new interpretation and displays following a recent £5.5 million investment. Around the heart of the World Heritage Site and using Britain’s only hot springs, the Ro-mans built an impressive temple and bath-ing complex with much remaining to this day.

10 Pulteney BridgeTake a stroll over the famous Pulteney

Bridge, together with the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, one of the world’s most beautiful bridges.

Like the Ponte Vecchio it is one of a hand-ful of historic bridges in the world with shops built into it.

Built for William Pulteney by Robert Ad-ams, the bridge was an attempt to connect central Bath to land on the other bank of the River Avon and make Pulteney’s fortune.

In spite of its practical origins it is surely the most romantic bridge in the world, best viewed from Parade Gardens park by the crescent weir.

Whether it’s a romantic weekend away or a family holiday with the children there will be plenty to keep you occupied from break-fast until dinner.

Ten reasons to visit Bath

l Take a step back in history at the ancient Roman Baths

l For more information on Bath go to www.visitbath.co.uk or call the Tourist Information Centre on 0906 7112000

Leroy Reginald McLean passed away a year ago in the Q.E Hospital in January 2011 at 42 years of age.

In his early teenage years Leroy was afflicted with Ulcerative Colitis which then developed to Primary Schlerosing Cholangitis, an autoim-mune disease still under research.

Leroy was very creative and loved animals. He was well known for breeding rabbits in his youth.

He also became a master in the

martial art of Kung Fu. In his adult years he became a glasscutter and engraver for Frazer Crystal.

He did painting and decorating with carpentry. He then moved on with the times and achieved a diplo-ma in Personal Computer Repairs and was renowned in his commu-nity of Spring Hill for building and repairing computers.

He was a comedian and always kept his family and friends cheerful

despite his illness. Leroy is deeply missed by his

mom Winnifred and dad Fred, his four sisters, Joy, Rosemarie, Jackie, Elizabeth and Karen, his two broth-ers Derrick and Tony and his neph-ews and nieces.

Leroy is also still missed by close friends Clive, Quann and Michael and all his friends that he met at Brookfield Primary and Ladywood Comprehensive schools.

Public Notice

l Leroy McLean who died a year ago, aged 42

Friends and family thinking of Leroy

BUSINESS26

The former President of the Birming-ham Chamber of Commerce passed away recently leaving the group pay-ing tribute to one of the region’s ‘in-

dustrial heroes’. David Grove, who was 63, was president of

the Chamber in 2003 and died suddenly last month at his Warwickshire home.

Current BCCG president Michael Ward said: “We have lost one of our great industrial heroes. David famously led Hill & Smith to great success both in the UK and globally and his passing is a great loss to UK business.

“He has similarly led all the individual manufacturing businesses that operate under the banner of Grove Industries to leadership in their sectors.

“David’s passing leaves a massive gap. His passion for manufacturing and his conviction about the rising potential of Midlands manu-facturers was infectious. He leaves a legacy of achievement that Midlands manufacturers will benefit from for decades.”

Jerry Blackett, Chief Executive of the Bir-mingham Chamber Group, also paid tribute: “David’s passion was his belief in the po-tential for local manufacturing businesses to never stop improving their productivity while at the same time improving quality.”

As President of Birmingham Chamber in 2003, Mr Grove spoke up tirelessly for manu-facturing at a time when it was not fashionable to do so.

He had the vision to realise that the UK would again appreciate the importance of making things and he made sure that govern-ments understood this.

In his year as Chamber President, he over-saw a number of significant achievements including promoting unity among Birming-ham’s business community and leading on is-sues like transport.

David ran Hill & Smith for more than 10 years from the late 1990s during which time the company saw its share price rise from about 40p to 356p.

His reputation for turning around businesses with his associates attracted Lord Digby Jones to the company two years ago.

Mr. Grove was made an OBE for services to business in 2009 and was the current High Sheriff of the West Midlands.

When he took office at the Chamber, Mr Gove returned to his passion for manufactur-ing. He said: “You wouldn’t expect me not to

have a word to say about manufacturing as this year I am celebrating 30 years of work-ing in the manufacturing sector. Despite some reports, manufacturing is still alive and inno-vating. It contributes £150 billion to the UK’s GDP and accounts for 60 % of all exports from the UK.

“Manufacturing is striving to improve its products, processes and service to its cus-tomers, but we must continue to lobby hard alongside other business organisations against all legislation which makes UK industry less competitive and hands the benefit to our over-seas competitors.”

DestinationsHe was also dedicated to the well-being of

Birmingham and in his speech to the Cham-ber banquet in front of the then Leader of the Opposition Michael Howard in 2004, he sug-gested that the challenge for the business sec-tor, the public sector and indeed, the citizens of Birmingham is to secure Birmingham’s place as one of the top business destinations in Europe.

A former winner of the Birmingham Post’s Dealmaker of the Year award, David Grove was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and Nottingham University, where he obtained a 2nd Class Honours Degree in Economics.

In 1973 he qualified as a chartered account-ant following three years with Ernst & Young in Birmingham and launched his career in manufacturing by joining Johnson & Firth Brown PLC (now named Firth Rixson PLC), a steel-related engineering conglomerate.

Mr Grove leaves his wife Jane and two sons.

Tributes pour in for a ‘hero of industry’

The government needs to be more creative to encourage businesses to take on apprentices which will be a timely intervention to reduce the region’s unemployment, which has risen by 10,000 to 234,000 say West Midlands business leaders.

Michael Ward, president of Bir-mingham Chamber of Commerce, said the Government must look at making it easier for SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) to take on 16 to 24 year olds by introducing more tax breaks and giving golden handshakes.

WorkMr Ward said: “Businesses

also need to be convinced of the benefits of taking on apprentices who will usually work harder and stay longer.

“Unemployment could well be long-lasting and youth unemploy-ment, which represents 50% of today’s unemployment figures, needs addressing.

“Job Seekers Allowance claimant levels in the West Midlands are 1% above the national average and for every vacancy on their books, there are 7.1 applicants.

“The Coalition (Government) needs to make it easier for com-panies to employ apprentices who will play a critical role in tackling unemployment.”

Chamber wants more apprentice schemes

l David Grove was a firm supporter of manufacturing in the Midlands

l Michael Ward

Birmingham’s National Indoor Are-na and IC have teamed up to launch a fitness challenge for the region’s professionals.

Taking place on February 22, the ‘Birmingham Bolt’ will see local businesses compete in a series of sporting challenges to encourage people to get fit and help raise mon-ey for a great cause.

Businesses from across the West Midlands are invited to enter teams of 10 people and compete in a se-ries of events; including jumping, sprinting, long distance running, throwing and relays.

CompeteIt costs £250 to enter a team of 10

and the money will go towards the Birmingham Civic Society’s next generation awards, which encour-ages 11-14 year olds to consider what kind of city they would like to be living in, the issues that are im-portant to them and how life in the city might be improved.

You’ll get the chance to compete at the NIA on the professional ath-

letics track used by some of the world’s best athletes.

The day will end with a closing ceremony and drinks / network-ing session in the ‘NIA’s Olympian Suite’ where both the team with the most points after the competition

and the team who have raised the most amount of money for charity will be awarded the use of one of our swish hospitality boxes at the NIA for any event of their choice (subject to availability).

All of the £250 entry fee will go

to The Birmingham Civic Society’s Next Generation Awards.

Each team will be encouraged to collect sponsorship for their team before the big day.l For more imformation visit www.birminghambolt.com

l Midlands business people are being encouraged to get their running shoes on

Business chiefs must not get left on their starting blocks!

Staff at South Birmingham Col-lege are now equipped with the skills and equipment to provide emergency first aid and CPR if it is ever needed at the college or in the surrounding area.

Staff received training from charity Central Rescue UK, which is registered with the Brit-ish Heart Foundation to teach the ‘Heart Start’ programme.

Over 2.3 million people have been trained through the Heart Start initiative to date.

EmergencyThe vital training ensures that

there is always a staff member on hand across the college who can give emergency CPR to adults and children from the age of 6 upwards, as well as being able to deal with choking and bleeding.

Although the course was pro-vided for free, the college has donated £1000 to the charity in thanks to giving staff these im-portant skills which might one day save the life of a student or member of staff.

College staff given CPR training

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Citybase Apartments, the UK’s ser-viced apartments booking agency has been awarded ISO 9001 (Qual-ity Management Systems) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Manage-ment Standard) certification.

Managing director Davor Parker said: “Everybody likes to think they provide clients with a quality service but it’s important to have independent verification. ISO certi-fication gives us just that.

“It also helps us constantly review and improve what we do, so we’re always meeting our clients’ needs.”

ISO double for Citybase

BUSINESS 27

A Northampton-based pizza entrepre-neur has scooped two of the three awards up for grabs at this year’s Institute of Asian Businesses (IAB)

annual dinner.Nadim Iftikar Choudary was named ‘Busi-

ness Person of the Year’, and his company, Nas Manna Ltd, won ‘Business of the Year’.

Nas Manna operates 11 Pizza Hut franchis-es in the Midlands, Nottingham and Greater Manchester, and employs 450 staff. The com-pany began life when it opened its first fran-chise in 2005, in Stourbridge, when Nadim was just 18.

Nas Manna’s real growth has come in the past year, during which time it has acquired 8

sites, with turnover rising from £1.4m to £4m in the same period.

The third award winner, ‘International Trade’, was won by Walsall College, for its impressive efforts in building up the number of overseas students it has attracted since 2006.

EntriesBack then, it had 100 overseas students,

compared to 322 in 2010/11.Runners-up in the three categories were

Sukhdev Bajwa and Anita Champaneri (‘Busi-ness Person of the Year’), Electro Centre and Chana Catering (‘Business of the Year’) and Perfection Foods Ltd and Firstpress Plastic Moulders Ltd (‘International Trade’).

IAB president Nasir Awan said: “We had an overwhelming number of entries this year which we were quite surprised about.

“We were slightly disappointed that some potential winners didn’t give us sufficient data and proof to support their applications, but on the whole the quality of entrants was high,” he said.

“Nadim Iftikar Choudary was an inspiring winner in two categories – when you take on a franchise you still have to make quite an out-lay and franchisors can be quite demanding, and we were impressed by how he met those conditions.

“Walsall College made an impression on us because they have been prepared to look

outside a small area of the West Midlands to attract students and they are an inspiration to other businesses to look outside their locality and country.”

Special guest speaker at the awards func-tion was leading City financial adviser Malik Karim.

AppointedDuring his career, Mr Karim has advised

leading financial institutions and governments on more than 50 transactions worth 40 billion US dollars.

In 2004, Mr Karim was appointed as inde-pendent investment banking corporate in rela-tion to Ernst & Young’s successful defence of a £3.6 billion claim from Equitable Life.

Nasir Awan, President of the Institute of Asian Businesses, presents awardss to Manjeet Kumari Lal (Walsall College), Nadim Iftikar Choudary (Business Person of the Year) and keynote speaker, City financial advisor, Malik Karem

Double topping for pizza king Nadim!

Barcelona on menu for EnterpriseMidlands Enterprise Europe Network is or-ganising a trade visit to Alimentaria in Bar-celona.

Alimentaria is one of the most important food and drinks trade shows in the world.

This fact is recognised by the major inter-national operators in food and drink manu-

facturing, distribution and trade. From March 26-29, Alimentaria will once again become an international business centre for all profes-sionals with ties to the food and drinks indus-try.

More than 140,000 international individu-als from the food and drinks industry visit

the show every year to meet with suppliers, network and find new products to entice their customers.

Those attending will be able to participate in the EEN B2B Networking Session, find the best suppliers and distributors and learn about new products and solutions.

l To find out more about the event visit: www.alimentaria-bcn.com/en/

Contact Sunny Claire / Craig Biffen on 0121 607 1895 or email een@birmingham-chamber.com

The deadline for applications is February 15

Doors opening in IndiaRetailers in the Midlands stand to gain as India relaxes its rules on inward investment but care is still needed to ensure that local com-pliance requirements that vary from state to state are met, says Shakespeares.

In a highly significant move, the Indian Government is allow-ing single brand retailers such as M&S, Debenhams and The Body Shop, which already operate in the country, to do so without an Indian partner for the first time.

OpportunityExisting players and new en-

trants will be able to acquire, in-vest or increase their sharehold-ing up to 100 per cent - beyond the previous limit of 51 per cent on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector, which has been in place since 2006.

This presents an excellent op-portunity for UK retailers already operating in India to increase their investment and also presents an opportunity for retailers such as Next, Ikea, Tesco and John Lewis to enter the market.

Viplavi Mahendra head of the India team at Shakespeares, said: “India ‘s decision to open the door wider to retail investors is a sig-nificant opportunity.”

Tables call for charity fundraiserA charity dinner on February is set to raise funds for Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby.

Hosted by former England winger David Duckham, the event at Birmingham’s Botanical Gar-dens on the eve of the Six Nations Rugby tournament promises a packed evening of food and lively entertainment.

Local chairman Phil Pemble said: “We’ve put together a very affordable event to encourage the corporate sector in particular to come along and learn what Spoon is all about.

“Enjoyment and a feel good fac-tor will be the order of the day, tables are still available so the invitation is there for anyone to join in.”

DonatedWooden Spoon, founded almost

30 years ago, raises money both locally and nationally to invest in capital projects that benefit dis-advantaged children and young people.

Last year the West Midlands region built a sensory room for a special school and donated money for a major refurbishment in sup-port of Harborne based Focus Birmingham accommodating school leavers with sight loss. l For more information about

the Wooden Spoon dinner email phil.pemble@ppdg.co.uk

If you have a business story for The Phoenix call 0121 629 7730

Motorists in the UK will spend 58 working weeks, or more than a year, of their lives not moving in traffic on their daily commute, according to a recent study by Continental Tyres.

This adds up to over 100 million lost working days every year for the more than 18 million workers who commute by car.

Covering an average round trip of 28 miles the typical journey to work and home again takes 41 minutes, with 12 minutes lost every day in jams and delays.

Even with annual leave, bank holidays and sick days this means 5½ working days lost every year or 58 working weeks during a lifetime.

The study of 2,000 motorists for Continental Tyres established the routine and habits of commuters as well as their preferences.

Tim Bailey, head of safety at Continental Tyres said: “People are clearly concerned about congestion and rising fuel costs, but using the car remains the preferred option for most.

“With 63 per cent of workers us-ing their car on at least four of five days in the working week, planners and government need to recognise that the morning and evening rush-hour is going to be a feature of life in Britain for some time to come.

Impact“For individuals it means frustra-

tion but for the economy as a whole it means lost productivity and increased emissions, so it remains a key issue to tackle.”

The research also reveals that 14 per cent of commuters car-share.

The environmental impact of motoring is a factor when workers decide how they commute however it only ranked as the fourth most important consideration.

The biggest concern that prompt-ed people to find an alternative was the volume of traffic and the lack of available parking.

Half of all Brits say they will leave their car at home if fuel costs rise further, however 45 per cent of those using public transport now would switch to their car if petrol prices drop.

Tim Bailey of Continental added: “What is clear is that people still appreciate the freedom and flex-ibility of driving and that sets a challenge and an opportunity for manufacturers.

“Three-quarters of us want more fuel efficient cars and nearly half would consider buying a hybrid motor.

“Car makers have invested considerable time and effort into technologies for bio-diesel engines and electric powered vehicles and as a result these are becoming a more popular consideration.”

Skoda sales figures hit record heightsSkoda continued on its successful

course, achieving a new sales record last year. The brand’s sales increased by 15.3% to a new all-time high of

879,200 vehicles. Deliveries to customers rose by around 116,000 units in 2011, trans-lating into a rise of more than 1.4% in world market share (2010: close to 1.3%).

Between January and December 2011, ŠKODA sold 879,200 vehicles worldwide (2010: 762,200).

As the world market grew 5.1% (almost 62 million vehicles), ŠKODA outpaced the in-dustry, advancing by 15.3%.

The brand made significant progress in China, India and Russia. In many European markets as in the rest of the world, ŠKODA achieved a new record for the year.

In the UK the overall total of 45,061 means ŠKODA’s share of the UK new car market has grown from 2% to 2.3% in a single year.

ŠKODA also succeeded in expanding de-liveries in all sales regions worldwide. In Central and Eastern Europe, for example, de-liveries rose to 231,600 units (2010: 194,800, +18.9%), and in Asia/the Pacific to 256,100 vehicles (2010: 203,300 +26%) in FY 2011.

Growth“In 2011, ŠKODA sold more vehicles

than ever before,” said Jürgen Stackmann, ŠKODA’s Board Member for sales and mar-keting.

“We improved in every region and strength-ened our position in the markets.

“This was the year in which we first imple-mented our 2018 growth strategy, and we did so impressively,” said ŠKODA CEO Prof. Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland.

“We clearly picked up speed and set a new sales record. We also greatly improved our production, sales and international market presence and once again gained significant ground in both our European home and growth markets.”

ŠKODA’s next goal is defined clearly: by 2018, worldwide sales are to rise to at least 1.5 million per year.

“The company has laid some excellent foun-dations for this in 2011. In 2012, we will con-tinue to expand ŠKODA’s model range sig-

nificantly and further strengthen our activities both in Europe and in international markets,” said Prof. Vahland.

ŠKODA set a new record in Russia, too, in FY 2011: 74,100 cars sold (2010: 45,600) is equivalent to an increase by 62.5%.

In China, sales continued to show a clear up-ward trend, rising by 21.9% to 220,100 units in FY 2011. The Rapid, introduced in India in November, had a good start in the market and was immediately chosen the country’s family car of the year.

The Indian market, an important pillar for the brand’s growth strategy, showed a very positive development throughout FY 2011, with ŠKODA boosting sales by 49.9%, to more than 30,000 units.

At VW Group’s Russian plant in Nizhny Novgorod, VW Group Russia will manufac-ture the ŠKODA Yeti with Russian partner GAZ.

In China, both of VW Group’s joint ventures will be investing around 14 billion Euros in new plants and products by 2016. Currently

the ŠKODA Fabia, Octavia and Superb are manufactured in China, with the Yeti to be added in 2013.

These investments are to pave the way for the company’s growth in the coming years.

“We are very confident regarding our posi-tive future development. This is why we are investing further in our factories both at home and abroad as well as in the expansion of our sales organizations in all regions. And of course, we want to outdo our competitors,” said sales board member Stackmann.

After significant investment and growth in China, Aston Martin continues its bold expansion, with the recent opening of the luxury British marque’s largest flag-ship showroom, in the Pudong district of Shanghai.

With space for up to eighteen new As-ton Martins, the showroom offers a truly unique and comprehensive luxury experi-ence including a café, lounge, Aston Mar-tin merchandise display and sales area, fully equipped service centre, Jaeger-Le-Coultre time-pieces and Bang & Olufsen audio/visual displays.

Opened in conjunction with the exist-ing Aston Martin dealer group, owned and managed by Mr Zheng Ting, the new ap-pointment marks the seventh dealership for Aston Martin in China.

Dr Matthew Bennett, Asia Pacific Re-gional Director said: “We are excited with

Aston Martin’s ongoing development and performance in China. This wonderful new dealership sets the benchmark for luxury car showrooms across Asia and the experience each and every visitor should expect.

“With our existing China network of experienced Aston Martin dealerships, further future growth earmarked across the coming year and a number of exciting product developments to be announced during 2012, our China business is expect-ed to continue growing strongly.”

After entering China in 2008, Aston Mar-tin now has dealerships in Beijing, Cheng-du, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Showrooms will open shortly in Chongqing, Shenyang and Ordos. The market will continue to spearhead the com-pany’s future growth in Asia with sales in 2011 up 103 per cent on the previous year.

Aston Martin are feeling Hai and mighty

The impressive Skoda model range has enjoyed record sales around the world

Flagship: The impressive new Aston Martin showroom in Shanghai.

Drivers endure years of gridlock

MOTORING28

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MOTORING 29

Two award-winning Jaguar concepts, the groundbreaking C-X75 and C-X16, made their Indian market debuts at the New Delhi Auto Expo.

Jaguar’s current range comprises the XF, XJ and XK models - each being world-class com-petitors in their respective sectors - and the stunning C-X75 and C-X16 concepts clearly indicate the company’s continued commit-ment to innovation and investment in future technology.

Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar Global Brand Di-rector, said: “Both the C-X75 and C-X16 won best-in-show awards following their global debuts, and today we’re proud to introduce these exciting concepts to the Indian market here at the New Delhi Auto Show.

“In May of 2011, following an incredibly positive reaction to its launch, we announced that the C-X75 concept would be developed into production form, and that process is well-advanced.

“The C-X75 is destined to be one of the world’s most desirable, exclusive, efficient and advanced supercars.

Exciting“Reaction to the C-X16 coupe has been

equally positive following its debut in Frank-furt during September of last year, and as a vivid evocation in aluminium of Jaguar’s fu-ture sports car design language, it points to very exciting times ahead,” he added.

“Shown alongside the C-X75 and C-X16 in New Delhi will be XF, XJ and XK models, the latter in 550PS, 186mph XKR-S form,” he added.

The most powerful production car Jaguar has ever built, the XKR-S was recently ac-claimed ‘2011 Sports Car of the year’ by the respected German magazine Autobild Sports-cars.

To date, the XF and XJ have jointly received more than 200 global awards.

Jaguar take to the road in New Delhi

Jaguar stake a claim for the growing Indian market by taking the C-X75 and C-X16 to the New Delhi Auto Expo

Calling all expedition enthusiasts! With only weeks to go before the Land Rover ‘Go Beyond’ Bursary 2012 application draws to a close, now is your chance to apply for funding and the loan of a Land Rover Defender 110 to do a jour-ney of a lifetime.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Land Rover ‘Go Beyond’ Bur-sary, run by the Royal Geographi-cal Society (with IBG) is one of Land Rover’s six Global Humani-tarian & Conservation Partners.

The award is aimed at those who want to take a journey be-yond their limits and boundaries, offering challenges for the team and using a Land Rover Defender 110 as an integral part of the ex-pedition.

Mark Cameron, Global Brand Extension Director for Land Rover said; “It’s brilliant to see such a wide and exciting variety of expedition enthusiasts applying for the ‘Go Beyond’ Bursary 2012 this year.

“For the first time ever we have also trebled the total amount of Land Rover funding to £30,000, enabling the winning team to ad-venture further afield than ever before.”

JourneysPaul Rose, Vice President of Ex-

peditions & Fieldwork, RGS-IBG added; “The Land Rover ‘Go Beyond’ Bursary offers recipi-ents an amazing opportunity to take a journey to promote a wider understanding and enjoyment of people, places and environments.

“With the use of a Land Rover Defender 110, you can really get off the beaten track and make the most of the vehicle’s capabilities in remote terrain and in demand-ing environments, helping to turn ideas for challenging and inspir-ing geographical journeys into a reality.”

The journey may connect the team with schools, local commu-nities or projects but, whatever its aim, the team will be expected to inspire and engage others, both from the field and on return.

A bursary of £15,000 is available and in addition applicants can ap-ply for a discretionary fund of up to £15,000 to support expedition-related costs.

The application deadline is Feb-ruary 3 and interviews will take place in March 2012, in London. To apply, please visit; www.rgs.org/GoBeyond.

The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is one of six Global Humanitarian & Conservation Partners with Land Rover which forms part of an integrated ap-proach to sustainability and sits within Land Rovers’ Our Planet.

Rover trip has funding support

The Toyota Hilux has received another accolade, taking top honours in the pick-up category of the Total 4x4 awards.

Renowned for its rugged go-anywhere performance, Hilux was the first car to be driven to both the South and Magnetic North Poles and has been tested in the world’s most extreme en-vironments.

Famed for its ultra-tough qual-ity, Hilux is much more than just a workhorse. Today’s sixth generation of Toyota’s pick-up

combines traditional robustness and excellent load-carrying ca-pacity with comfort, safety and equipment features to make it a vehicle that ably bridges the di-vide between work and everyday driving needs.

Alan Kidd, Editor of Total 4x4 magazine said, “Hilux has always stood out in what is a very fiercely fought category. It’s incredibly capable in every area and comes at a very appealing price.

“The updates Toyota has

made to it are subtle, but they’re enough to nudge it back in front of the pack. In particular, its in-terior is much more modern and, without sacrificing anything in the way of refinement, the vehi-cle is tougher than ever. There’s a lot of talent in the pick-up mar-ket, but once again Hilux is the one to beat.”

The latest version of Hilux is available in three bodystyles, single, extra and double cab, with a choice of 2.5 or 3.0-litre D-4D turbodiesel engines. The award-winning Toyota Hilux 4x4

Toyota are on a Hi!

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SPORT30

By Steve Williams

The death of cricketing legend, Basil D’Oliveira in November proved a huge milestone not only within the game itself, but in race relations on

international, sporting and political grounds.The former Worcestershire and England star

was the catalyst who brought a segregated South Africa to its knees by way of sporting and economical boycotts put upon them by other countries.

Dolly, as he was affectionately known, be-came a famous figure in 1968, when he was banned from touring the place of his birth be-cause of the despised apartheid regime which meant that blacks, indians and ‘coloureds’ were forced to live and play separately from the ruling, white minority population.

Because of the draconian measures, the tour was called off and for over 20 years, the coun-try was isolated in the sporting wilderness and, along with the great Nelson Mandela, he became the figurehead and hero for the op-pressed majority.

Basil was a star cricketer for Worcestershire after joining them in 1965 which, in the early years, proved to be a total shock to the sys-tem for him after what he went through back home.

To be a regular in the first 11 was a shock enough, but to play alongside another person of colour was overwhelming for him.

To be playing in the same team as West In-dian opener, Ron Headley, in English county cricket was almost unnerving for him.

Together, they formed a great relation-ship between each other during their time at New Road and that, above almost anything achieved on the field of play, is probably the greatest memory for Ron in sports in particu-lar and life in general.

“I have nothing but immense admiration for Dolly,” he says. “His determination to play top class cricket was a sheer joy to witness.” he continued. “What he did for us was truly fantastic. By his very presence, he lifted the profile of Worcestershire to levels never seen there before and his grace and perfection of strokes with the bat was something to behold.”

His skills and consistency were such that an England call-up was beckoning and once he got into the team, he looked destined to be a

regular for years to come. Playing the game with controlled aggression, he was lovingly known as the ‘Bradman of non-white cricket’.

Scoring 158 in his maiden Ashes series, it was inevitable that he would be a ‘given’ for the tour to South Africa. But, with racism in South Africa accepted by many white-run countries, to include D’Oliveira in the Tour party was a ‘sticky wicket’ for the M.C.C.

The tour was cancelled and thereafter, Dolly would be at the forefront for positive change in his country.

He was at the gates of Robin Island prison when Mandela was finally released from his 27 years of forced exile and has been an advo-cate for equal rights and justice on and off the ‘square’ throughout his life.

He was 80 when he died.

McGuigan support is a knockout for PatrickThe Jaguar Academy of Sport has announced that its Special Recognition Award Winner Patrick McCann will receive one-to-one mentoring from box-ing legend Barry McGuigan.

At the 2011 Jaguar Academy of Sport Annual Awards, Patrick was provided with a Special Recognition Award.

In winning this award Patrick will receive a year’s one-to-one mentoring from boxing legend and and Jaguar Academy of Sport Ambassador Barry McGuigan.

This one-to-one help and support from Barry will be invaluable for a young athlete and something that will allow Patrick to develop further and achieve his sporting goals.

Patrick, a 15 year-old boxer from Market Harborough, start-ed boxing at the age of 10.

DemandingHe is a very dedicated athlete

who trains six times a week in order to fulfill his aspirations and ambitions to make it and stay at the top in one of the most physically demanding of sports.

Patrick has been a model Ris-ing Star this year and has taken full advantage of the Mentoring and Education Programme by attending all the workshops.

The Jaguar Academy of Sport has also organised for Patrick to attend Loughborough University to receive a four-week strength and conditioning programme in order to give him the best possi-ble chance to make his dream of competing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio come true.

Patrick has had various achievements including winner of the 2011 National Schoolboy Championships (66kg). He also captained England and was gold medalist at the 2011 Great Britain Junior Championships (66kg), and was later awarded the 2011 Schools Boxer of the Year Award by Amateur Boxing Association of England.

Patrick said: “I am delighted my mentor is Barry McGuigan, he is a legend in my sport and to be given the opportunity to have one-to-one mentoring from him is just fantastic.”

D’Oliveira’s impact will not be forgotten

Visitors to this year’s National Golf Show will be able to experi-ence the complete world of golf, all at Birmingham’s NEC from 20-22 April 2012.

This year’s show will give a comprehensive insight into both the technical and lifestyle sides of the sport, with a wide range of exhibitors displaying everything from equipment to clothing to travel destinations.

There will be tuition packages, PGA coaches and even designat-ed chipping and putting practice areas. As well as this, help and advice will be given by experts on the health and nutrition as-pects of the sport, custom fittings

and club testing, and the latest golf gadgets.

If it is entertainment that you are looking for there will be a number of trick show displays, competitions and prizes, the lat-est fashions, exclusive offers and plenty of fun for golfers of all levels.

Supported by some of the big-gest and best household names in golf, you’ll also be able to test and buy the newest equipment on the show’s 16 driving bays, in-cluding Callaway, Taylor Made,

Cleveland, Yonex, Wilson Nike and Mizuno.

Finally, visitors will also be given the opportunity to watch and interact with a number of expert speakers, PGA pros and some special, celebrity guests.l Tickets are now on sale

priced at £12 per adult, £18 for two. One Junior (Under 14’s) will also be admitted free when accompanied by an adult ticket holder.

Tickets are available at www.theticketfactory.com or 0844 338 8000. For a group of 6, the cost is £48 available on 0800 358 0058 (subject to booking fees).

Golf show gets ready to tee off at the NEC

l Golfers will be driving to the NEC in April

l The legendary cricketer Basil D’Oliveira was a hero to many both on and off the field of play

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l Barry McGuigan with Patrick McCann

SPORT 31

London 2012 will soon be with us and schools across the West Midlands are joining in the fun by attaching their colours to one of the competing na-

tions.Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Or-

ganising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), launched the initiative at Perry-fields Primary School in Oldbury to help cel-ebrate how sport can bring different nations together.

The ‘Support a Team’ programme will give children the chance to learn about other coun-tries whilst they cheer on Team GB and Para-lympic GB.

LOCOG is encouraging every school in Britain to become a supporter of at least one Olympic and Paralympic team from else-where in the world.

Perryfields chose the powerful Ethiopian Olympic squad along with the Zambian Para-lympic Team.

LaunchIn offering the opportunity for schools and

colleges across the UK to join in its network, ‘Get Set’, the official London 2012 education programme, they will be able to gain lots of rewards and recognition.

Perryfields headteacher, Terry Jones, said: “We were incredibly honoured for the school to be chosen to launch the ‘Support a Team’ intiative, with special activity already taking place.

“We already have links with a school in Zambia and we’re looking forward to cele-brating our exsisting links, with Zambia, over the coming months and developing sporting opportunities for the school wherever possi-ble.”

Coe said: “We’ve always said that we want every Olympic and Paralympic team to feel welcome on their arrival in the UK, while cel-

ebrating the multi-culturalism and diversity of the UK.

“This is a fantastic example of how we plan to do that.

“The ‘Get Set’ programme inspires and en-gages young people across the UK and I am delighted to think that through ‘Support a Team’ we gain a knowledgeable, interested and excited group of young supporters to wel-come our athletes in 2012.”

Legendary Ethiopian Olympic gold medal-list Haile Gebrselassie, commented: “I‘m

delighted to hear that young people will be learning about and supporting my fellow Ethi-opian athletes in the lead-up to the London 2012 Games.

“Knowing that there are young people fol-lowing your preparations and cheering you on is hugely motivational for an athlete.

Wonderful“Thank you to the young people at Perry-

fields Primary School, and to all of the other young people planning to follow Ethiopia, for your support.”

Councillor Bob Badham, Sandwell Coun-cil’s cabinet member for children & families, said: “It’s wonderful to see Sandwell not only on the Olympic Torch route but also our schools taking such an active role. The Olym-pics is all about nations coming together.”l ‘Get Set’ is a comprehensive learn-

ing resource that offers a range of oppor-tunities to schools in the United Kingdom.

Oldbury, West Bromwich and Smeth-wick in Sandwell will all be on the Olympic Torch Relay route on June 30.

Pupils tie colours to the Olympic mast

l Ethiopian track legend Haile Gebrselassie, and right, Seb Coe at Perryfields Primary School in Oldbury

If you have a sports story for The Phoenix telephone 0121 629 7729

Talking Sport with Steve Williams

Race has reared its ugly head both at home and abroad in recent weeks which begs the question:

Just how far have we really gone in eradicating racism on and off the football field?

You see, whilst the relevant peo-ple in the English game are making the right noises in their disgust at Sepp Blatter’s ‘frightening’ views on racism in the game, it’s interest-ing to see how reticent they are in their opinions on matters of race, here in our own country.

Blatter, the controversial presi-dent of FIFA, the world’s govern-ing body of football, is rightfully vilified for his comments saying that racism isn’t a problem in foot-ball and if it was an issue in the game, the person receiving the abuse should just shake the hands of the racist protagonist as though it’s all part of the game.

In trying to clarify his position on the matter, Blatter just dug the big-gest hole for himself.

To make matters worse, FIFA fined the Bulgarian FA a derisory £38,000 for their fans’ racist be-haviour directed towards the black members of the England team who played against them in the recent Euro 2012 qualifying match.

Here of course the FA showed their disgust with their wide con-demnation of the beleaguered FIFA boss and went further in tackling the race issue by charg-ing Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez, with racially abusing Manchester United’s Frenchman, Patrice Evra.

Questions are still being raised about the level of racism still in existence in the game, especially after the Liverpool players sported T-shirts in support of Suarez, who was subsequently found guilty of racial abuse by an Independent

Regulatory Commission and given an eight-match suspension.

The Anfield club seemingly showed little remorse for their man’s actions and was rightly vilified by people in and out of the game for their actions.

Suarez did finally issue a public apology for racially abusing Pa-trice Evra but stopped short of say-ing sorry to the Manchester United defender.

Former Aston Villa favourite, Paul McGrath, a victim of racism himself when he was a player, made his feelings known, saying: “I would have been much happier if the Liverpool players had worn anti-racism T-shirts.”

The Kick It Out campaign has done some fantastic work in rid-ding our terraces of racist abuse but just exactly how far have we gone in ‘kicking it out’ on the pitch as well? l FIFA chief Sepp Blatter dug himself into a hole over the racism debate

Muhammed Ali marked his 70th birthday with a knockout bash in his home town of Louisville, Ken-tucky.

The former World Heavyweight Champion boxer was at his bril-liant best as family and friends made sure they were part of the celebrations.

Ali lifted the heavyweight crown on three occasions, drawing the biggest crowds and famous ad-mirers wherever he was, in or out of the ring, during the 1960’s and 70’s.

Ali first won the title as Cassius Clay in 1964 defeating Sonny Lis-ton.

He was stripped of the belt af-ter refusing to sign up for the US Army’s war against Vietnam.

Among Ali’s defining career highlights were defeating his great adversary Joe Frazier – who died last year – in the ‘Thrilla in Manilla in 1970 and his epic win over the fearsome George Fore-man in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Zaire in 1974.

For more than two decades he has lived with Parkinson’s dis-ease.

Ali still the king at 70

Muhammed Ali

About Asian Football Awards

A number of exceptional UK Asians from the world of football will be honoured at the first ever Asian Football Awards. The event will take place at the home of English football, Wembley Stadium on January 21st 2012. The high profile event is expected to attract an exceptional list of guests to support and celebrate UK Asians in football.

The AFA is set to become a momentous event in the awareness and development of Asians in Football. The AFA is a great opportunity to bring together decision makers and the people who we expect to make an impact in football, further complimenting this ever popular sport within the UK.

The AFA will be aired in the UK and exposed worldwide via the net and press, and will play host to both professional and amateur football players, as well as sports, business and media celebrities.

The promotion and marketing activities will take place from October 2011 to January 2012. This high profile awards ceremony will ensure that it has a national feel to the marketing and promotion campaign.

The Asian Football Awards is set to become another significant event in the development and growth of Asians in Foot-ball. We believe your organisation and brand can significantly benefit from this high profile event and all the associated marketing and sponsorship benefits on offer.

Aims of Asian Football Awards

- Build an Outstanding Event- Contribute to Growth of Asians in Football- Increase Asian Participation Levels- Strengthen Community Links- Increase Awareness of Asians in Football- Build Sporting Personalities- Encourage Sporting Investment- Support AFA Foundation- Create Awareness of Sponsors- Build Short & Long Term Benefits for Sponsors

Schedule

- 4 Months Marketing Campaign- TV and Media Program- Grass Roots Campaign- Digital Campaign- Community Partnership- Celebrity Endorsement - Champagne Reception- Awards Ceremony- Dinner- Private Exhibition

Opportunities

- Title Rights- Premium Sponsorship- Award Sponsorship- AFA Partner- Product Program- Community Partnerships- Advertising Brochure- Media Partnership- VIP Reception Sponsor- Foundation Partner

for table bookings and media:team@asianfootballawards.co.uk

for sponsorship and partnerships:afa@initiatesports.com

Asian Football Awards is owned and operated by Asian Football Awards Ltd. Company No 0523425

INSIDETribute toa sporting legend

Birmingham Airport is to host a Lon-don 2012 ‘welcome spectacular’ to give athletes – including Usain Bolt (pictured) – and

fans flying in a special Midlands wel-come.

On approach to the airport, pas-sengers will see the five giant Olympic Rings on the airport’s new air traffic control tower. The airport will also feature the London 2012 pictograms along the taxiway.

Games supremo Seb Coe, said: ‘The Olympic Rings are an iconic symbol, inspiring athletes and uniting people around the world.

“To athletes they represent the culmination

of thousands of hours of training and reaching the highest level in sport. To visitors travelling

from around the world and arriving in Birmingham they will excite and in-

spire them about the Olympic Games taking place in the UK.”

Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s CEO said: “With both the American and Jamaican track and field teams training in Birmingham prior to the games, plus the City of Coventry Stadium hosting a number of foot-ball games, the region will play a

major part in this amazing occasion.”Birmingham airport will also feature

further bespoke items to dress the site and give a high-impact welcome for the Games.

Airport rings the changesOlympic symbol to welcome Bolt

l An artist’s impression of how the Olympic Rings will look at Birmingham Airport