Month: January 2022

A new exhibition at Walsall’s New Art Gallery is inspired by the events that shaped 2020-2021.

A Family under Lockdown

In what was a tough period for everyone, submissions for the exhibition were received from West Midland’s based artists and 32 pieces of art were chosen.

The artwork, which includes painting, drawing, photography and collage, is now available to view and includes pieces by Adele Mary reed, Cristina Celestini and Paul Newman.

The Twenty Twenty collection is housed in the Community Gallery over the next eight months.

Councillor Garry Perry, Deputy Leader and Resilient Communities for Walsall Council said: “The New Art Gallery Walsall has taken an innovative approach to capturing the significant events of 2020-21 in order to commemorate a period of time which has impacted on everyone’s lives.

“Already renowned for its nationally significant Collections, exhibitions, valuable work with artists, and the efforts it makes to connect with audiences, I very much look forward to seeing the work of talented regional artists and their interpretation of the past 18 months, a demanding time on many levels, which have been acquired as part of our civic collection.”

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Bloxwich Active Living Centre has added a brand-new state-of-the-art cycle studio to its existing facilities.

Featuring a large screen, a sound system and immersive lighting, the studio will play host to a variety of cycle classes, including Spin, RPM and Trip.

As well as live classes, some will be virtual and hosted on the large screen courtesy of Les Mills digital technology.

Classes cost £5.70 to attend or are available within the Walsall Leisure All-Inclusive monthly membership, which costs £32 a month to use all the centres facilities.

Councillor Garry Perry, Deputy Leader Resilient Communities said, “I am pleased that we are able to offer this amazing new provision at Bloxwich Active Living Centre for anybody looking to get fitter in 2022!”

“If you haven’t tried it before this is a fantastic opportunity to have a go using the latest digital technology and training techniques and with the guidance of our fully trained instructors – it’s a great way to get fit and healthy.”

“Getting physically fit not only maintains our physical wellbeing but has also been proven to help with our mental health and wellbeing.”

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Children aged 10-18 are invited to Kicsters, a free virtual youth club that takes place over Zoom every Monday.

Starting on 17 January each week from 5pm-7pm, children can expect digital activities, workshops, games and competitions.

• Sign-up for the Zoom youth club

The group is run by Kids In Communication (KIC) who have over 20 years experience working with young people.  According to the Kicsters’ website, the idea of the digital youth club is to “empower them to learn new skills, gain knowledge, play an active role in their community through social action projects, achieve and improve emotional and social capabilities.”

In addition to the digital pop-up youth club, Kicsters also takes place at the Rough Hay Community Centre in Wednesbury and the Brownhills Community Centre every Tuesday.

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Andy Slater from Smethwick has designed flags for 23 towns in the Black Country.

Taking inspiration from traditional coats of arms, he worked over the Christmas period preparing his designs of places such as Bilston, Brownhills and Walsall.

Black Country Flags

Speaking to Radio WM, he explained that he spends a lot of time involved in graphic design and designing maps. With time off over Christmas, he wondered what it would be like to design a flag for Smethwick. “It then snowballed”, he said.

“A lot of the areas in the Black Country are historical parishes and each of these parishes at one point had an urban district council and those councils had crests,” explains Andy. “These crests tended to be based on something historical, related to each place.”

During the interview, he then explains that he then went on a mission to create Black Country flags based on other towns in the area, tying them in with local history and these historical crest designs. For example, the Aldridge flag shown in the picture above is based on the coat of arms of the former Aldridge-Brownhills urban district council, which showed a beacon in its centre.

To see the Black Country flags individually, check out Andy’s personal website.

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The Saddlers Quay site in Walsall, which includes three derelict factories, is getting a makeover following approval for demolition by Walsall Council.

The site is situated around Marsh Street and Navigation Street near the Walsall Canal Basin and Art Gallery and was recently the subject of a closure order due to reports of the premises being used for anti-social behaviour, including drug taking.

Three derelict factories, which include William House, Greatex House and the Argyle Works, are being replaced with 222 one and two-bedroom apartments, as well as 90 parking spaces. Greatex House was also in the news in 2019 when a suspected arson attack on the property caused a huge fire.

Speaking about the development. Cllr Adrian Andrew, Deputy Leader of Walsall Council said:

“I’ve been working on this project for a number of years and it’s great to see some real concrete progress. This is another piece of the jigsaw of regenerating our borough and another positive example of putting derelict sites into use.”

A 36-year-old woman has died today after rescue teams pulled her out from the Walsall Arboretum lake.

On Wednesday morning at approximately 8.30am, emergency services were called to the popular town centre spot after a woman was reported to be in the water.

A West Midlands Fire Service spokesman said: “Working with West Midlands police and ambulance services, and with the aid of an ambulance service drone, two of our rescue swimmers retrieved her from the water.”

Paramedics and a Hazardous Area Response Team from the West Midlands Ambulance service also arrived to aid the rescue and the woman was treated at the scene.

She was then taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for further treatment, but was pronounced dead shortly after and her family were informed.

The death is said not be suspicious.

A Walsall Police spokesperson said: “Thank you to those who tried to save her. Remember that the Samaritans are there if you need someone to listen to you.”

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Though no official announcements have been made, it’s looking very much like three major brands are coming to the Crown Wharf in Walsall.

Following on from the recent announcement that a ten-pin bowling alley and entertainment centre is due to open at the retail park later this year, comes news of some new tenants.

According to Completely Retail, new tenants are listed as Aldi, Ninja Warrior UK and Burger King.

The website states that a new Aldi is opening in 2022 in Unit 5/6, which is next to Smyths Toy Shop, then in units 7/8 on the same side where TK Maxx was located is Ninja Warrior UK.

Ninja Warrior UK is a fitness centre inspired by the U.K. TV Show for children and adults aged 4+. There are multiple Ninja Warrior UK centres located across the country, including Stoke, which consist of supervised activities and obstacle courses for the whole family to enjoy. This has now been confirmed to be opening in May 2022. For further details, check out opening times and more in the article “Everything you need to know about Ninja Warrior UK Walsall“.

Additionally, Completely Retail also lists Burger King, due to open in 2022, as being in Unit 16 – the old Frankie & Benny’s restaurant.

Pioneer Magazines are currently seeking writers to join their online editorial team.

This is a casual position that would be ideal for a budding or established writer seeking online journalism experience, or someone who enjoys writing and has a keen interest in local affairs.

This is an unpaid/voluntary position, so we are seeking people who can help us write up news stories in their own time throughout the week or weekends.

What’s In It For You?

• All posts will be published in your name.
• Authors will gain experience by dealing with our editors and gaining feedback.
• Authors can reference us on their CV.
• Opportunity to be involved with the local community by informing them of the stories that are important to them.

What’s Required?

• The ability to use your own initiative to find and research local stories and then write up short news pieces for publication on pioneermagazines.co.uk.
• Copy is written directly into WordPress, so experience using this platform is desired but not necessary as full training will be given.
• The ability to write to a high standard. All articles will be checked by an editor before publication.

Pioneer Magazines was established in 2005 and distributes free magazines to 48,000 residents in the Walsall and Great Barr areas. The website also produces daily news stories and articles to keep the community up-to-date on local affairs.

If you’re interested in joining our team, or have any further questions, please reach out to us at @community@pioneermagazines.co.uk.