Boo! Whereâs the sunshine gone? Things may be getting stormy, but when has that stopped any of us from making the best of things? This week, weâve been focusing on outdoor activities as we have friends coming to visit for the first time since lockdown. There is so much to do here in the Midlands that weâre sure that rain will not stop play! Cadbury World, The Great Central Railway, Sea Life Centre, National Space Centre, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, King Richard III centre, the National Trustâs Stoneywell and Back to Backs are high on our agenda and, of course, thereâs nowhere as atmospheric on a rainy day than Calke Abbey!
Should the sun make an appearance, weâre spoilt rotten with green open spaces in the Midlands and of course thereâs everyoneâs favourite pastime: shopping! Be rude not to have a spot of lunch too, wouldnât you say?
So, this weekend, please remember to love where you live as, after all, it takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow.
Until next week.
Take care,
Jon, Kevin and the #FUFighters
Image:Â Bradgate Park courtesy of nationalforest.org
OBLIGATORY BAD JOKE
13 WAYS THAT WORKING LIFE MAY NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN
With Uber, Google, Apple and Amazon joining a long list of companies reevaluating their policies on employees working from home what does this really mean for them in the longer term; have we fully explored the impact on working life?
Toni Robinson, MD of human resources specialists, NucleusHR looks at what we can we expect to change as a result of many businesses not having the confines of an office and asks how will working from home on a larger scale than ever before change the world? Read her thoughts here.Â
BUSINESS SUPPORT IS JUST A FEW CLICKS AWAY
Now more than ever itâs imperative to stay on top of your game as business owners. With an ever-changing environment and information coming at us from every angle itâs easy to get bogged down and lose focus. If you want to stay on the right track remember thereâs a free service available right at your finger tips FIND OUT HOW TO ACCESS IT HERE.
MORE VENUES REOPENING IN LEICESTER
With lockdown behind Leicester itâs great to see more venues opening in the city with The Lanesâ Veeno winebar now added to the list. Theyâve been working on a new booking app to ease their reopening this Friday and are offering a complimentary welcome back drink to those who download it in Leicester. DOWNLOAD IT HERE
Meanwhile, Leicesterâs newest bar and restaurant, Ortonâs Brasserie, in the heart of Leicesterâs Cultural Quarter is serving their full food menu from now! We nipped down there yesterday and have to say it was truly excellent – review to follow! Canât wait to try it? BOOK YOUR TABLE HERE
COVENTRY ARTS GET FUNDING BOOST
With the UK arts sector still waiting for details of the Governmentâs ÂŁ1.57bn funding package, Heart of England Community Foundation and Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 have joined forces to award more than ÂŁ56,000 to 95 organisations and individuals in the region. READ MORE
BIRMINGHAM GETS ITS OWN RAINBOW WALK
Visitors to Birminghamâs bustling gay quarter can now âsissy that walkâ on the cityâs very own Rainbow Crossing and itâs a total selfie hotspot!
Originally planned to coincide with Birmingham Pride, the #crosswithpride project was completed by local drag performers James âGavinaâ Cowper and Matthew âBlancheâ Stephens.
AN INDIAN SUMMER FESTIVAL ONLINE NOW UNTIL 23 AUGUST
The festival celebrating South Asian culture, An Indian Summer, is now open online until the 23rd August offering a huge range of things to do with incredible events and acts including comedian Nish Kumar, basketball star Jamell Anderson, influencer and writer Poorna Bell, BBC Music Introducing artist Amrit Kaur, a brand new track from Bandish Projekt, a digital art exhibition, film series and more.
Visit www.indiansummer.org.uk  to get involved!
LOOKING FOR A NEW BUSINESS VENTURE? ITâS NOT JUST PUBS WITH EVERARDSÂ
Did you know that Everards also supports other independent business owners to run their own businesses? Â Nor us. Â Run in Everards buildings, most of these are pubs but did you know that they work with other types of businesses, too? If you are looking to start or expand your own business, drink this article up. Â READ MORE
HOSPICE CALLS FOR NEW TRUSTEES TO HELP THEM GO FOR GOLD
Up to five trustees are being sought by KEMP Hospice which is striving to achieve âgold standardâ status by 2024. Up for the challenge? Find out what it takes here.
MADE FESTIVAL CONFIRMS ITS RETURN WITH HEADLINER THE STREETS
The West Midlandsâ biggest electronic music festival and celebration of street culture, Made, has confirmed it will return for summer 2021 at its impressive new home: Sandwell Valley Country Park. Birminghamâs favourite son, The Streets, will headline in front of what should be his biggest ever home turf crowd. Festival fans can secure a ticket now for just a ÂŁ5 deposit then pay nothing until 2021.
Check out their tongue in cheek feature length film â365 Days Laterâ inspired by classic Zombie movies announcement:Â HERE
Find out more and get your tickets at  WWW.MADE-FESTIVAL.CO.UK
MAP RELEASED OF POP UP CYCLE ROUTES
A new map has been produced showing Leicesterâs pop-up cycle track network in the style of the classic London Underground map. The map uses different coloured routes to set out the main cycle paths connecting key residential and employment areas of the city to the city centre, and contains both new and pop-up cycle tracks. Copies of the new map are available to download, or you can pick one up from the Town Hall Bike Park.
MIDLANDS ACCENTS UNPOPULAR WITH ALEXA
If Alexa and Siriâs misunderstandings are leaving you with a right cob on, a new survey says it could be because your Midlands accent is too strong and nothing to do with their lugs! According to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, smart devices struggle to understand over 23% of UK accents with Birmingham being the fourth and Leicesterâs being the seventh hardest for smart devices to understand leaving users ready to lamp it one…
MOSTLY JAZZ FESTIVAL CROWDFUND TO LET THE MUSIC PLAY
The wonderful Mostly Jazz, Funk and Soul Festival – one of the jewels of the Midlands festival scene â has been asking for help to keep the festival alive and is close to reaching its Crowdfunding target of ÂŁ40k (they are currently on ÂŁ35k).
FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP HERE
FREE CINEMA TICKETS FOR KEY WORKERS AT ODEON BROADWAY PLAZA
ODEON is offering thousands of FREE cinema tickets to Blue Light Card members until the 24th August, to show gratitude to these public sector heroes across the country. FIND OUT HOW TO GET YOURS HERE
ENJOY SUMMER SAFELY AND SHOP LOCAL
BID Leicester is backing the government initiative of asking shoppers to support their local shopkeepers by shopping and sharing their experience online using photos or videos using the hashtag #shoplocal to encourage and reassure those that are yet to venture out of doors that shopping is safe.
ENTRIES NOW OPEN FOR FOODIE AWARDS
The best of Coventry and Warwickshireâs food and drink scene will be celebrated of a new awards program designed to support businesses as they re-emerge from lockdown with the first Foodie Awards, in partnership with Visit Coventry and supported by Coventry BID.  FIND OUT HOW TO ENTER HERE
CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO KEEP KIDS SAFE THIS SUMMER
A hard-hitting NHS campaign aimed at keeping children safe over the summer is acting as a plea to parents and children to be aware of the dangers that they face and to take steps to avoid preventable incidents.
Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) created the campaign which will focus on a different theme every week such as water safety, playing in abandoned and derelict buildings and by railway lines.
READ OUR TIPS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE THIS SUMMER
GRANTS RELEASED FOR LEICESTER CREATIVE BUSINESSES
The Government has announced a new support package to help creative businesses in Leicester and Leicestershire, administered by the LLEP Business Gateway Growth Hub. Grants would typically be in the range of ÂŁ1,000 to ÂŁ3,000 and could be used to address businesses immediate needs in response to the impact of COVID-19 e.g. HR, accountants, legal, financial, Health & Safety, IT/digital or sector specialists.
To help assess demand, the Growth Hub would appreciate your time in completing a short and simple Grant interest questionnaire asap by clicking HERE:
CELEBRATE AFTERNOON TEA WEEK WITH THE PERFECT HOMEMADE SCONE
We all love Afternoon Tea and with many of us working from home, there has never been a better time to pop a treat in to bake in between Zoom meetings! To celebrate Afternoon Tea Week and in anticipation of The Great British Bake Off, which is filming now, here are two recipes for the perfect scones: sweet and savoury for the star baker!
ÂŁ50 FIX YOUR BIKE SCHEME AT NEW CITY CENTREÂ CYCLE SHOPÂ
Looking for bikes for sale? Evans Cycles, has opened a new city centre store at the Haymarket Shopping Centre replacing the old branch on Upperton Road. Following the launch of the Fix Your Bike Scheme, the new Leicester store will be taking part in the Governmentâs Fix Your Bike Scheme with customers able to use their free ÂŁ50 voucher to get their bicycle repaired and back on the road.
TWO NEW DIGITAL SUMMER SCHOOLS FROM THE REPÂ
With today being International Youth Day, Birmingham Repertory Theatre have launched two new online Summer Schools: Theatre Making for those aged 13-18 and Spy School for ages 7-12.  FIND OUT HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS INVOLVED HERE
BIRMINGHAM SNAPSHOTS ILLUMINATE LIFE UNDER LOCKDOWN
The incredible ways Birmingham has adapted to life under lockdown are revealed in a new collection of photographs. See the photographs here and vote for your favourite.
GET PAID TO LAZE AROUND WITH YOUR DOG
Looking for a new job? With the summer holidays in full swing, why not use that time to get paid testing bean bags with your pooch? That’s right, if you love lazing around with your four-legged friend, you could now do it for cash!
CALL FOR LEICESTER LOCKDOWN ARTWORKS
Art inspired during peopleâs experience of lockdown in Leicester will be taking centre stage in a new exhibition planned for New Walk Museum and Art Gallery.
FIND OUT HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK HERE
ONE MONTH LEFT TO SUBMIT YOUR EVENT FORÂ LBF2020
The Leicester Business Festival takes place from 2 to 13 November and thereâs just one more month to submit your applications before the website portal closes on Friday 4 September. LBF2020 is the go-to event for entrepreneurs, those looking to start a new business, expand their business, business finance and for those looking to sell/exit their business, too.
FIND OUT HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR EVENT HERE
GET GLAMPING AT WARWICK CASTLE THIS SUMMER
Fancy a night in a four-poster bed? Warwick Castleâs legendary Glamping returns this August and September for a family adventure youâre sure to remember! Find out how you can stay for just over ÂŁ50p/p here.
WEST MIDLANDS WEEKENDERS ANNOUNCED TO KEEP THINGS CULTURAL
A major programme of free arts events has been launched to showcase and support the regionâs arts and creative community. Find out more about the WM Weekenders here.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR DOG HEALTHY AND HAPPY IN THE HEAT
As dog owners, we will do whatever we can to ensure our dogs are fit, healthy and safe. However, when the weather changes, there is an extra element owners must consider when looking after their dogâs health, extreme heat. CLICK HERE to read the main things you can do to help your dog regulate their body temperature and keep them cool when temperatures soar.
This Week’s Ultra Motivational QuoteâŠ
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
– Dolly Parton
