Birmingham Post

Property: Georgian Classic Set in 14 Acres

'If I were asked to say what is at once the most important production of Art and the thing most longed for, I should answer a beautiful house.' The quote by 19th century designer William Morris makes a fitting frontispiece to the sales brochure for Fen End House in Warwickshire - a beautiful house by any standards.

Property: Live Life On the Green Fringe

A new instruction for the John Shepherd agency may be the answer for a buyer after the real 'rus in urbe' location, where rural and urban merge happily on the green fringe. The Firs at Four Ashes Road, Dorridge is two miles from Solihull town centre with its good shopping, schools and leisure, next door to a riding centre and set in its own five private acres.

Cbso Play the Proms ; Two-for-One Ticket Offer

The baton is raised as we've conducted a super deal with our friends at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, to offer you an exclusive two tickets for the price of one when the CBSO play a Proms preview on Friday, July 23 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. For one night only, audiences in the Midlands can enjoy a preview of the BBC Prom programme, which the CBSO is performing at the Royal Albert Hall the following night. Birmingham Post readers are invited to take advantage of an exclusive t...

Anniversaries

Archive

25 years ago The Government should be urged to alleviate traffic congestion, Ald Edward Allen, of Coseley said , who presided at yesterday's Shrewsbury conference of the Staffordshire and Shropshire Federation of Road Safety Committee. The Government was 'letting the public down' because it was not keeping step with the increasing number of vehicles on the roads to carry the 5,000,000 vehicles using them.

Culture: English Elegance in New York ; Birmingham Royal Ballet Metropolitan Opera House, New York

To say that New York is hot is only part of the story. In July the city sizzles, but fortunately nothing fazed Birmingham Royal Ballet who joined a triple bill at the Met in honour of Sir Frederick Ashton, one of the founding artists of modern ballet, whose works have an English elegance that clearly delighted New Yorkers who packed the house earlier this week. The three-part evening featured BRB, the Joffrey Ballet and K- Ballet all presenting different forms of Ashton's genius to greater or...

Culture: Coogan's Passport to Disaster ; Mike Davies Reviews the Week's New Cinema Release

Around the World in 80 Days Cert PG, 119 mins Despite having restored those missing martial arts episodes that Jules Verne edited out of his original manuscript on the grounds that they were completely anachronistic to an adventure set in the late 19th century, I have to tell you that this latest adaptation of his novel proves somewhat of a lead version of the balloon in which its protagonists briefly travel in Phileas Fogg's attempt to circle the globe and thereby confound the snobbish, arro...

Culture: Moore Turns the Heat Up On a Beleaguered President Bush

Fahrenheit 9/11 Cert 15, 112 mins George Bush cheated his way to the Presidency and invaded Iraq under false pretexts. His family has close links with the Bin Ladens and the Saudi oil interests. This isn't revelatory news. None of this may have grabbed headlines in the US media, but the facts are there if anyone cares to look. That Bush and his cabinet ignored terrorist threat warnings about El Qaida operating inside America and subsequently blocked independent investigation into the events o...

Motoring: Blast From Past Proves How Far Skoda has Come

An indication of the dramatic improvement in the quality of the Skoda brand was presented at the launch of the forthcoming new Octavia model. Lined up alongside the latest incarnation of the modern hatchback was one from 40 years ago, when Skoda was about to embark upon the kamikaze self-destruction of what had been a fine reputation.

Motoring: Supermoto Is Real Single Cylinder Supremo

None of the big Japanese manufacturers have come up with a road based Supermoto which, in this day and age of niche markets, is strange. The only explanation I can come up with is that they are perhaps afraid of the thought of a high-revving, single cylinder, engine being thrashed down the local by-pass and the subsequent warranty claims.

Motoring: Party Time for Ibiza

Seat has introduced a cheaper entry model to its Ibiza range, with the pounds 8,000 price representing a reduction of pounds 300. It takes the name of Ibiza Reference and comes with electric front windows, CD player, rev counter, digital clock, twin front airbags with passenger airbag deactivation, ABS with EBA, remote central locking and immobiliser.

Motoring: Citroen Makes Pluriel Exclusive

Citroen is introducing a new flagship version of its lowest- powered C3 Pluriel, with leather upholstery, air conditioning and unusual aluminium exterior trim, with a price tag of pounds 11,995. That is the same as the original 1.4i cost at its launch.

Motoring: Bmw a Little More Affordable

A more affordable version of the stylish BMW 6 Series is on its way, in both convertible and coupe forms. Added to the current 4.5-litre line up will be a three-litre option, using the world's lightest six-cylinder engine.

Motoring: Day I Got the Treatment in the Mudbath at Eastnor

It's the Mecca of mud plugging. Eastnor Castle in deepest Hereford is the home of the Land Rover Instructors Driving Academy, the place that separates the men and women from the boys and girls of four by four driving. When one of Land Rover's top instructors tells you 'We don't get many journalists doing this bit in a Freelander', you know you have to come out of it with the shiniest green wellies of all.

Motoring: Safety First for Saab

Saab's acclaimed 9-3 Convertible model has cleaned up as far as awards for safety and security are concerned. The stylish newcomer became the first rag-top ever to achieve a five-star rating in the latest EuroNCAP crash tests.