Birmingham Post

Post People: Investment Property Forum Dinner

Mike Loftus, Paul Macnamara, guest speaker Brian Moore and Andrew Yates Joseph Gill, Gary Fletcher, Joanna Lawson-King and Bob Hill Stephen Bantoft, Mike Tracey, Julian Meridith and Jon Austin Ian Marcus, Vivienne Wootten, Amanda King and Andy Martin Robert Thompson, Kultar Khangura, Paul Bullock and Tim Blairs Gary Rouse, Tim Beresford, Paul Lister and David Daly Pictures, JOHN HIPKISS More than 600 commercial property professionals attended a gala dinner held at Birmingham's ICC.

Post People: Sports Aid

Richard Doubleday (Perkins Slade), boxer Thomas Costello and netballer Kirsty Delves. along with guest speaker Geoff Miller Roy Pett (Davis Langdon), Andrew Warner (Focus) and Graham Bettam (Focus). Nathan Winnall (Crosher & James), Robert Kay (Davis Langdon), Paul Bourke, and Mark Ross (Bowmer & Kirkland)

Dreaming of a Green Christmas ; Georgina Rodgers Unwraps Some Shocking Facts About Our Festive Habits

Festive eating, drinking and goodwill are all key ingredients for a brilliant Christmas celebration - but unfortunately they also equate to approximately three million tonnes of waste across the UK every year. In fact, it is thought that one billion Christmas cards, 750 million bottles and glass containers, 500 million drinks cans and seven and a half million Christmas trees are used over the holiday period.

Get Your Frocks Off ; the Christmas Party Season Is Almost Upon Us. But Rather Than Digging Out Your Usual Little Black Dress, Take a Look at a Few Alternatives That Could Turn You From Just Another Girl in a Fancy Dress to a Funky Belle of the Ball, Says Post Style Editor Caroline Foulkes

BLIMEY. HOTPANTS. NOW I APPRECIATE THERE ARE FEW OF US BRAVE (SOME MIGHT SAY FOOLHARDY) ENOUGH TO CONSIDER WEARING SHORTS AT ANY TIME OF YEAR, LET ALONE IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, BUT FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH A BUM TO RIVAL KYLIE' S THIS DINKY LITTLE OUTFIT IS TOO GOOD TO PASS UP. FOR THOSE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR CELLULITE (OR SHIVERING AT THE BUS STOP), SIMPLY ADD A PAIR OF FUNKY TIGHTS. BLACK SATIN WAISTCOAT, pounds 29.99, SATIN SHORTS, pounds 24.99, CHANDELIER EARRINGS, pounds 9.99, SILVER SKINNY...

Perspective: Brum, Booze & No Bother ; This Month Saw the Introduction of the Controversial Licensing Act 2003. But with Just Eight Establishments in the West Midlands Taking Up a 24 Hour Licence, Solicitor Jonathan Walker Explains Why It's Unlikely to Be the End of the World As We Know It

The new Act had a difficult birth. When changes in licensing laws were first discussed at Government level back in 2000, a review of the present situation was seen as crucial. Changes were motivated by the need to overhaul what was widely acknowledged as a costly and complex system administered by the magistrates court. A shake-up was also deemed necessary to make archaic laws, dating back to World War One, relevant to modern lifestyles and contemporary society.

Perspective: Rise and Fall of the Eccentric Old Book Merchant

The rise of internet shopping has impacted upon the book trade more than any. When my students see the booklists I proffer them, their initial instinct is to reach for eBay and Amazon, and see what they can save. As someone who has never visited eBay, and never shopped with Amazon, I can only marvel at their ingenuity. Personally I want to hold the object in my hand before I commit myself to buying it. Those who continually spam me with special offers on designer watches, cheap drugs and Nige...

All the Trimmings ; Whether You Like Your Tree Trimmings Traditional or Trendy There's Something to Suit Everyone This Christmas, Says Post Style Editor Caroline Foulkes

GIVE IN TO YOUR INNER GIRLINESS WITH THIS RANGE OF PINK BAUBLES FROM B&Q. PINK FEATHER WREATH, pounds 9.98, PINK POM POM BAUBLES, pounds 1.48 EACH, PINK AND LILAC FEATHER BAUBLES, pounds 1.98 EACH GO FOR A TRADITIONAL HOMESPUN CHRISTMAS WITH THIS RED AND WHITE RANGE OF BAUBLES FROM TESCO - THE GINGERBREAD BOY LOOKS ALMOST GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT. GINGERBREAD BOY, 96P, TWIG BAUBLE, 96P, TWIG HEART, pounds 1.47, RED HEART BAUBLE, pounds 1.97, RED AND WHITE STRIPY BAUBLE, pounds 1.47, RED AND WHITE S...

Doom! The Rock Shakes the Room ; Mike Davies Finds the Rock On a Roll

Some stars you never really look forward to interviewing, you know they're going to be difficult, uncommunicative, full of bullshit or just plain dull. Others you want to spend the day with because they're natural, friendly, have no front and are just great company. The Rock falls firmly among the latter. Born Dwayne Douglas Johnson in California, May 2 1972, when a shoulder injury put paid to a football career he followed his father and grandfather into the world of wrestling. First calling ...

Peter Bacon's Jazz Diary: Expect the Unexpected

This is the week of big names being honoured or in unusual situations. We have insights into rehearsals, honorary degrees being awarded, but first, a jazz player who has been at the heart of Birmingham's music for the last 50 years. Back in the 1960s, drummer Tony Levin brought a sit-up-and- listen urgency to the music of the legendary saxophonist Tubby Hayes.

Cd Reviews

Jazz CD of the week Robert Glasper - Canvas (Blue Note 77131) pounds 11.99 HHHH A melodic strength, complex, yet funky left-hand riffs, a sure touch and a clear vision - the young Houston-born pianist is up against some heavyweight piano trios here and emerges just a touch ahead.

Doctor in Pursuit of the Divine ; Wil Marlow Finds the Bbc's Favourite Man of Science Is Also a Man of God

The health service's loss is television's gain, for earlier this year Professor Robert Winston retired from the NHS and his position as Director of NHS Research and Development for Hammersmith Hospital. It had been a long and illustrious career in which the doctor, who is now, of course, well-known as a presenter, had made leaps and bounds in the often difficult and emotional science of fertility, helping thousands of childless couples to achieve their dream of starting a family.

Theatre Reviews: Island Story Is One to Treasure ; Kensuke's Kingdom Old Rep Theatre, Station Street

Michael Morpurgo may be the Children's Laureate but he has written a grown-up story in his bestselling novel about a shipwrecked boy befriending a Japanese sailor from the Second World War who is still living on a remote island. Swept overboard together with faithful dog Stella during his family's round-the-world voyage of a lifetime, Michael seems at first to be condemned to a separate existence, as Kensuke has his own reasons for shunning human contact, dedicated as he is to saving the isla...

Theatre Reviews: Ritchie Is a Revelation As Ebenezer ; Scrooge Alexandra Theatre

The story you surely know. It's as Christmas as Away In A Manger or chestnuts roasting on an open fire. The story of Scrooge's transformation from the most unpleasant man on the planet to the very personification of Christmas cheer is a perennial seasonal tonic, made flesh in black and white by Alistair Sim.

Theatre Reviews: A Lesson in Laughter at Coleshill As Sherlock Becomes She-Lock ; John Slim Takes His Weekly Look at the World of Amateur Theatre

THERE was a reference to people falling out of a window in last week's excellent Coleshill Drama Group production of Sherlock Holmes - The Ultimate Misstery. That's not a spelling mistake. It refers to the fact that W A Johnson's play reveals from the outset that the great detective is a woman - a circumstance of which only Watson remains unaware until the end.

Savvy Christmas Shopping ; This Year Avoid the Seasonal Mad Rush Lisa Haynes Looks at How You Can Stay One Step Ahead of the Crowds 'Being Organised Is Key. It's Essential That You Have a Working List and Start Early. We All Tend to Spend More When We're Rushed, Stressed and Panic Buying

I t's the time of year when shopaphobics face their worst nightmare and shopaholics relish in bags of guilt-free spending - the Christmas shopping spree. The festive hunt for presents is big business. More than 19 million people expect to spend a record 56 hours or more shopping in the buildup to Christmas, according to a Royal Mail survey.

Archive

25 years ago The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday spoke out against unilateral nuclear disarmament for Britain. In his first public statement on nuclear weapons, Dr Robert Runcle said he feared unilateral disarmament would weaken the alliance between America and Europe, which kept the peace for 35 years

Anniversaries

Theme

When you wake up in the morning, you are completely free to choose whatever attitude you wish to have. And the attitude you choose can have an enormous impact on the way your day unfolds. Each time you encounter another person, you are completely free to choose your attitude toward that person. And the attitude you choose will most certainly determine how well the encounter goes.

They Said

Television and Radio: Pick of the Day