Birmingham Post

The Orange Revolution

New Roots in the Community ; Richard Mccomb Finds Fresh Veg Is the Preferred Engine of Social Change in One of the City's Most Deprived Areas

onsider carrots: what thoughts do they inspire? CParents tell their young children they will be able to see in the dark if they eat all their carrots. But don't eat too many or you will turn orange, like a Sunny Delight overdose victim. Then there's Bugs Bunny, chewing a cartoon carrot, saying: "What's up, Doc?" There's cake, as in carrot cake, which makes you think of vegetarians, aromatherapy oils and tie-dye.

Land of Grape Expectations ; Clive Platman Looks at the Best Champagne On the Block

Home to the world's most famous sparkling wine, Champagne's very success is founded on the simple concept of speaking with one voice. Everyone knows the name, it is democratic and anyone can join in as long as they have sufficient funds.

The Place to Try Madonna's Ale

THE PLACE The White Swan, Harborne Road, Birmingham. T: 0121 454 2359 WHY GO? Popular gastro-esque pub on the approach to Harborne, or Edgbaston, depending on which way you are going. Huge personal draw is the Timothy Taylor's Landlord beer. It's Madonna's favourite ale but don't let that put you off. You can pop in for a drink, without having to eat. Pubs where people only eat, and don't drink unless they are noshing, should be banned. They're soulless atrocities. THE PRICE: There is a big s...

Staycation Surge in Windscreen Damage Claims

Poor road surfaces and the number of motorists who took a summer 'staycation' have resulted in a surge in damage to windscreens. Repair firm Auto Windscreens has reported record numbers of calls for help in July and August this year.

Room for Two ; Edward Stephens Puts His Foot Down in the New Porsche Cayman and Enjoys the Results

o the purists the only true Porsche is a 911. TBut if you don't come into that pedantic category you will get an awful lot of satisfaction from getting behind the wheel of a Porsche Cayman.

Light Relief for Classic Owners

Electrical systems used in British cars between 1950 and 1980 have gained some notoriety, and most of it unfavourable. Now a new book from the Veloce Publishing's Essential Manual series, shines a light on the subject to help classic car owners.

Hyundai Appoint Ten New Dealers

Korean car maker Hyundai, which soared up the new car sales charts last month, has appointed ten new dealers. The increase takes the number of Hyundai franchises in the UK to 141.

Nissan Opens First Showroom for Luxury Brand

Infiniti, Nissan's luxury car brand, has opened its first dealership in Britain. The Infiniti centre at Reading will sell all the marque's current models which range in price from pounds 30,300 for the G37 saloon to pounds 53,800 for the outrageously styled FX crossover.

Autumn Glow ; Freshen Up Your Wardrobe for the New Season - Anuji Varma Looks at Some Affordable Options

Draw of the Sea ; Waves, Ships and Storms Feature in the Latest Tome About Painter John Singer Sargent. Richard Edmonds Takes a Look

Sargent and the Sea by Sarah Cash and Richard Ormond (Yale: pounds 30) FOR many years now, Yale University Press, as official publisher of the works of the American artist, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) has presented many fine books, all of which have defined the many aspects of Sargent's work. For example, we have already seen (and reviewed for this paper) Sargent's American drawings and his watercolours held in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Then there was Sargent the ...

Mendes' New Road ; New Films Reviewed by Graham Young and Roz Laws

AWAY WE GO Cert 15, 97 mins HHHH No-one can accuse Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes of sticking to the same genre - or resting on his laurels. Less than eight months after his acclaimed movie Revolutionary Road, which starred his wife Kate Winslet, the British director returns with a very different proposition.

Elp to Return? ; Reunion of a Rock Supergroup May Be On, Their Drummer Told Tony Collins

Legendary rock supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer could be about to tour after an absence of more than a decade. Drummer Carl Palmer, who currently divides his musical time between his own band and the original, reformed Asia, revealed during a visit to Birmingham this week that plans are being made to bring ELP back together.

Steve Relishes Challenge of His Intricate Art

Birmingham artist Steve Lilly certainly has a steady hand and a lot of patience. Specialising in meticulously detailed pencil drawings, it can take him up to a year to complete a picture.

Sounds Grand Afloat ; a Folk Singer and Electronic Musician Make Beautiful Sounds Onboard a Barge, Says Terry Grimley

Take two apparently ill-assorted musicians, put them on a 1930s narrowboat and send them up the Grand Union Canal from London to Birmingham, performing a specially-prepared repertoire on the way. That's the basic formula which promoters sounduk came up with for their "Canal Music" experiment.

Small Beauties ; Downsizing Is an Option for Collectors. Sally Hoban Looks at the World of Miniature Homes

With rumours of property prices rising again and the housing market making a slow but encouraging recovery, what constitutes the 'perfect' house? What appeals to our aesthetic notions of how a house should look? Well, one group of collectors is in the know about small but perfectly formed property. Doll and miniature house designers and makers are capitalising on what has remained a healthy collectors market throughout the recession. Most of us will never get to live in our dream house, but y...

Collecting Diary

TODAY n The final stages of the Autumn Stampex Philatelic Show which continues to attract thousands of visitors to the Business Design Centre in Upper Street, Islington, London, is drawing to its close. The show' is open today from 10am-6pm and tomorrow 10am-5pm when it finishes its run. SATURDAY n Antiques and collectables market in the Town Hall, Coleshill, Warwickshire, from Bargains From Yesteryear (01827 895899).

A Bumpy Ride ; Chris Upton Returns to the Nostalgic Horse Drawn Days of the Stagecoach

There's something rather appealing about the days of the old stagecoaches, particularly if you visit one of the surviving great coaching inns. (The George at Stamford in Lincolnshire is my personal favourite.) No hastily snatched sandwich on a station platform here, but a panelled dining room and a four-course meal. No gloomy waiting room, alive with the sound of ipods, but a well- appointed lounge with roaring fire, billiard table, and sophisticated conversation about the Napoleonic Wars. Th...

Searching for Families Past

In the third of our series on family history, Paul Wilkins explains the value of census records In England and Wales a census has been taken every decade since 1801. The returns for 1801 to 1831 were not much more than a count of the numbers of people who lived in each parish, but from 1841 they become more useful because names were recorded, together with information about them. The census was carried out on the following dates for England and Wales: June 6 1841; March 30 1851; April 7 1861;...

The Last Word On Gardens ; Grand Old House Combines Literature and Gardening. Jo Ind Traces the Links

Ever since the garden of Eden, our home-tilled patches of earth have inspired literature. At one level the two activities could not be more different. Gardening involves getting your hands dirty and getting your back to ache. Reading is sedentary and uses the mind. And yet somewhere in the imagination these two activities meet, That is why we have the Book of Genesis, Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, Ernest Hemingway's The Gardener, John Steinbeck's short-story The Chrysanthemums.