Birmingham Post

Retail Therapy: Celebrate: Chinese New Year

JOHN LEWIS If the festive season has left you yearning for more celebration, why not welcome the Chinese New Year of the Rooster next Wednesday (February 9) with a hint of east meets west. John Lewis has a host of ideas to mark the major occasion, from decorating to creating a mouthwatering feast.

Fashion Forever ... ; Fashion Isn't Just About Supermodels, Designers and Top-Name Snappers, As Photographer Iain Mckell's Book Shows. Post Style Editor Caroline Foulkes Takes a Closer Look.

Fashion isn't about the runway, it's about the highway. The Queen's highway, to be precise. Your high street, or rather, the broad avenues and narrow alleyways that lead off it, to other places, far removed, you'd think, from the realms of cutting edge couture. You couldn't be more wrong. For this is where, in truth, cutting edge couture is born.

Colin & Justin: Rock the Casbah ; the Key to Modern Day Moroccan Styling Is to Ensure You Don't Become Too 'Themed' and That You Selectively Cherry Pick Inspiration From Colours and Materials Used in Moroccan Homes Rather Than Going Completely Overboard Moroccan Style, Say Justin and Colin, Is Just the Thing to Spice Up a Cold British Winter...

So you've had enough winter drudgery, huh? And now you want some warmth and a little exotic inspiration? Well Britain, in February, is probably not rocking your decorating boat. But panic not, dear readers, because help is at hand. We're thinking Moroccan. And no, you suspicious lot, before you go down that path we're not talking about dubious smelling substances being smoked through suspicious looking bong pipes. We're talking about the country, its history... and more importantly its style....

Back to the Fuschia ; Queen of Punk Zandra Rhodes Was the Toast of Seventies Fashion. But Her Star Waned in the Eighties and Nineties. Now a Major Retrospective has Put Her Back On Centre Stage. Post Style Editor Caroline Foulkes Takes a Look at a Design Icon.

Zandra Rhodes may be a pensioner, she may have had a hip replacement, but there's nothing remotely old or grey about her. There never has been. It's not surprising really - she had a good teacher.

A Woman You to Don't Want to Mess with ; Never Mind the Desperate Housewives and Their Predecessors, the Sex and the City Girls, It's Shameless Lass Fiona Gallagher We Should Be Looking to As a Role Model, Says Post Style Editor Caroline Foulkes

She's no style icon. . If you saw her on the street, you'd probably never notice her. And if you did, you'd probably dismiss her as a chav. But there's something about Fiona Gallagher, the substitute mother for Paul Abbott's horrendous yet hilarious Gallagher family in tv series Shameless that we should admire.

Dining Style: Five of the Best in Birmingham

JESSICA'S 1 MONTAGUE ROAD, EDGBASTON - 0121 455 0999

Dining Style: L' Assiette Chocolate

INGREDIENTS Ganache

Dining Style: Andrew Peace - an Australian Wine Success

Australia, without doubt, is the most dynamic wine-producing nation in the world. In little more than six years, between 1996 and 2002, the land under vine increased from 80,000 hectares to around 150,000. In a similar period, exports, too, have doubled and it now outranks France as the UK's No. 1 best-seller. With a distinctly Mediterranean climate, the major problem, drought, is overcome by the use of irrigation, particularly from the 'mighty' Murray River. This umbilical cord links the maj...

Dining Style: A Winning Formula ; Alison Davison Heads Off to the Mailbox to Revisit a Popular Choice

A seasonal lull in new restaurant openings (although Zagora, Birmingham's newest and only Moroccan eaterie, is reviewed here next week) meant a little catch-up time for some of the old stagers. And old stager is what Bar Epernay would now seem to be. One of the earliest arrivals in the Mailbox and still apparently one of its most successful eateries, it regularly pulls in the masses.

Post Offers: Win Great Spaces Garden Prizes Worth Pounds 1,000

John Weir, presenter of BBC1's Too Close for Comfort, and the rest of the team at Great Spaces have teamed up with Post Style to offer readers the chance to win fantastic garden prizes worth pounds 1,000. Great Spaces is a garden design and installation company with a difference. It believe's a garden should be an extra room in the home, every bit as important as the kitchen or living room.

Pop + Exhibition

'Pop +' explores some key aspects of Pop Art and its impact on the art scene of the 70s. The show includes works by all the greats: Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Peter Blake and Joe Tilson alongside some stunning prints by Tim Mara and powerful works by Conrad Atkinson and John Salt. It also features the work of one of Birmingham's top 60s fashion photographers, Willoughby Gullachsen, whose images define the spirit of the period. Other displays reveal the exciting new plans for the fort...

Martineau Johnson Win Inter-Firm Trophy

Trainee solicitors from Birmingham and London law firm Martineau Johnson have proved that they have the brawn as well as the brains after winning the Inter-Firm Trophy. The annual event, held by Birmingham Trainee Solicitors Society (BTSS) tests both the physical skills and teamwork of many of Birmingham's top trainee solicitors.

Hawthorns House Refurb

Fairbridge Quiz

Number 8 Pershore Opening

People for Action 10th Birthday

South Birmingham College

Learning and Skills Council chief executive Mark Haysom was the guest of honour at the official opening of South Birmingham College's Digbeth Centre. Mr Haysom joined principal Alan Birks, to officially unveil a plaque to mark the opening, before meeting staff and students. Students from the College's specialist media and performing arts courses performed in the building's new and highly acclaimed auditorium.

Calendar Boys and Girls

A dozen Birmingham children and teenagers became 'calendar boys and girls' after winning an art challenge to inspire people to quit smoking. Schoolchildren and students up to the age of 18 were challenged by Birmingham Public Health Network to design posters under the slogan 'Please give up for me'.

Memorial Hall Opening

Warwickshire College Granted Beacon Status

Warwickshire College has been hailed as a key weapon in the battle to address skill shortages faced by companies across the region. It comes after the college was granted Beacon status - only the seventh general further education establishment in the country to be given the prestigious honour. The award recognises the college - which provides more than 130 full-time courses within 22 different academic and vocational subjects - as being one of the best in the country.