Birmingham Post

Childs' Play Makes 'Shooky' Debut at Rep

Local MPs and other dignitaries attended the debut of a play commissioned by children from eight Birmingham schools. Arts Minister and Yardley MP Estelle Morris MP was in the audience, along with Clare Short (MP for Ladywood) and Sion Simon (MP for Erdington), at the Birmingham Rep for The Shooky. A reception was held to celebrate the collaboration between the schools, Creative Partnerships Birmingham and The Repertory Theatre.

New Roads 'Are Not Solution to Jams'

Chief Reporter paul_dale@mrn.co.uk - Political and business leaders in the West Midlands have been urged to move away from the 'knee-jerk reaction' of instinctively demanding new roads to solve traffic jams. Bransby Thomas, chairman of the regional assembly, said transportation problems would only be alleviated by making better use of existing facilities and changing public attitudes and travel behaviour.

90pc of Uce Students Fail Final Exam

A Birmingham university has suspended an honours degree course after 90 per cent of students failed their final exams. No new entrants will be taken on the BA (Honours) Architecture course at the Birmingham School of Architecture, part of the University of Central England, from September after just four of the 60 third-year students passed their finals.

Labour and Tories Lick Their Wounds

Labour was licking its wounds last night after a by-election battle which saw the party maintain its hold over Birmingham Hodge Hill by a whisker but lose out to the Liberal Democrats in Leicester South. Prime Minister Tony Blair was at Chequers digesting the results of the contests which demonstrated a Tory failure to cash in on the Government's unpopularity over Iraq.

Firemen and Actors to Turn Out for City Ball

Firefighters and actors from Footballers' Wives will be strutting their stuff at a Fireman's Ball due to take place in Birmingham later this month. The event, which raises money for good causes, is the first of its kind to be held outside London.

Mps Will Fight 'M6 Regiment'

Two senior Midland MPs have vowed to oppose any Government proposals to scrap two local Army units and amalgamate them into a combined 'M6 regiment'. Speculation mounted yesterday that the Army plans its most radical shake-up since the 1870s, with all 19 of the single battalion infantry regiments merging into larger regional formations.

Foresters Steeped in Military History

The regiment in its present form was founded in 1970 by the amalgamation of the Worcestershire Regiment and the Sherwood Foresters, but it can trace its origins back 300 years. It is a descendant of the 29th, 36th, 45th and 95th regiments of Foot, the earliest of which was raised in 1694.

From Waterloo to Kosovo and Iraq

Formed in 1959 from the the amalgamation of the North and South Staffords, the Staffordshire regiment can trace its origins to 1705, when Colonel Luke Lillingston raised a regiment of foot at the Kings Head Hotel in Lichfield. The 80th Regiment of Foot was raised in 1793, in response to the threat from France during the French Revolutionary Wars, by Sir Henry Paget who later achieved fame as the First Marquess of Anglesey.

Uce Defends Scrap Decision

The University of Central England yesterday defended its dramatic decision to suspend one of its courses after 54 of the 60 final year students failed their exams. UCE vice chancellor Dr Peter Knight said the architecture course would re-start in September 2005 despite its troubled background.

Plaque for Murdered 16-Year-Old Unveiled

A plaque in memory of a teenage murder victim has been unveiled by her parents at a Birmingham hospital. Rosie Ross, aged 16, was stabbed while sunbathing in Birmingham's Centenary Square in May 2001.

Course Is First Step On Road to Being Architect

The suspended BA in Architecture is the first stage of education in the training of an architect. It is intended to give students their first understanding of architecture, its role in society, its cultural, artistic, technical and practical aspects, and their relationship to design and creativity Students who pass are exempt from taking Part 1 of the RIBA examinations because the degree counts as an equivalent qualification

Mayor Hails the Uk's First Irish Quarter

Birmingham's first Irish Lord Mayor yesterday hailed the start of construction on the country's first Irish Quarter as the realisation of a long-held dream. Coun Mike Nangle was speaking at the launch of the pounds 400 million regeneration of three derelict parts of Digbeth.

Man Fined for Causing Fume Death

A businessman has been fined pounds 2,500 after petrol-run generators he installed in a flood damaged house in Birmingham caused the death of a retired maths teacher. Kevin Millward was cleared of the manslaughter of 62-yearold John Lane but was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court of a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Mystery Surrounds Woman's Thai Death

Mystery still surrounds the death of a Birmingham woman who fell from her hotel balcony in Thailand. Financial adviser Linda Burgoyne, aged 41, plunged 12 storeys after a drunken tiff with her husband John, an inquest heard yesterday.

Murder Charges

A Birmingham husband and wife appeared at Stafford Crown Court yesterday charged with the murder of a shopkeeper. Frank Bailey, of Hartshill Road, Stoke-on-Trent, died in August last year.

Police Seize Pounds 6,000 Drugs Haul in Raids

Heroin with an estimated street value of pounds 6,000 has been seized by police during a raid on a trio of properties in Birmingham. Three houses in the Aston area of the city were raided as part of Operation Trap.

Fireworks Fantasia

New Superbug May Have Killed Already

A outbreak of a new hospital superbug which can neutralise antibiotics and cause fatal blood poisoning may have already killed up to 28 people in Shropshire, it has been claimed.

Mother Struggles to Understand Pair's Death

The mother of a five-year-old girl who plunged 80ft to her death with her father from a multi-storey car park yesterday said she could not understand why he would take both their lives. Claire Beardsmore said her partner, 40-year-old Noel White, had doted on Shanice and the pair were 'totally inseparable'.

Carter Penalised in 'Petty' Trouser Row

A Midland crown green bowling team has been left cursing the wrong trousers - after a pair of blue waterproofs fell foul of match officials and cost them a crucial semi-final match. Not unnaturally, Staffordshire Veterans member Keith Carter, aged 60, had pulled on the offending article because of torrential rain that had plagued the Veterans' County Championship in Warrington.