Sally-Anne Youll

A Tudor manor house will be taken over by burnt-out business executives next month as they join a unique retreat to bring their leadership mojo back to life. The Leadership to Life retreat offers a combination of personal and professional coaching to help leaders and managers get back on track after a tough couple of years. It is based at Morland House, a Grade II listed former vicarage on the edge of the Lake District fells, and is being run by leadership coach Kate Brundrett. Kate said: “People in leadership roles have had a tough couple of years and many […]

A Midlands travel consultant has reported soaring numbers of bookings so far this year as people return to using agents and embark on ‘revenge travel’ after Covid. Ben Casey, who runs Out of This World Travel in Solihull, said the number of enquiries and bookings he had received in the first period of 2022 had more than doubled compared with the previous year. He is now looking to expand with plans to take on another member of staff later this year. “People are booking real ‘bucket list’ trips,” he said. “They are splashing out on once-in-a-lifetime trips to long-haul destinations.

Bosses of a West Midlands glazing firm have spoken of their pride at becoming headline sponsor of an awards scheme that honours those who protect old buildings across the UK and Ireland. Storm Bespoke Secondary Glazing has joined forces with the Society of the Protection of Ancient Buildings to become headline sponsor for their Heritage Awards 2022. The awards, which aim to showcase and reward excellence in the care of old buildings, will this year be presented by Grand Designs presenter and SPAB ambassador Kevin McCloud. There are a number of new categories, including craftsperson of the year, which will

A Staffordshire charity is inviting people to travel round the world in 18 days to raise funds for a groundbreaking cancer treatment. The Stan Bowley Trust, based in Lichfield, wants supporters to travel 27,588 miles by any human-powered means possible. Teams, clubs and individuals are invited to sign up for the Best Foot Forward event, the second organised by the trust. Organiser Stuart Bravington said: “Last year the charity set out to travel the distance Washington DC and back. Due to the huge success of the event, we are now aiming to travel the distance of around the world in

Ukraine will be high on the agenda for an event in Cannock which aims to help people find ways to tackle global humanitarian issues on a local level. Cannock Chase Cares is organising the event, which will be held at Cannock Library on Saturday, March 12. Speakers have been lined up to talk about various issues, including what can be done to help the people of Ukraine. Organiser Emily Aitchison said: “We are pushing for the UK to accept Ukrainian refugees and we will be discussing ways that we can make this happen, among other things. “We want ordinary people

A West Midlands woman has her sights set on becoming the next female motorsport star after storming through to the finals of an international competition. Despite having no prior experience as a driver, Beki Apparicio’s natural talent saw her selected as one of around 70 finalists, whittled down from 800 applicants from 28 countries, in the Formula Woman contest. Beki is a dog groomer by trade, running her own business in Solihull, but she has a passion for motorsport, inspired when she got together with her partner Joe Walsh seven years ago. Beki, 26, and 31-year-old carpenter Joe love watching

Hundreds of thousands of UK residents could face soaring energy bills due to a loophole that means they are not protected by a price cap. A national energy consultancy has now launched a campaign to close the loophole, which it says could affect up to around half a million customers. People living in apartment blocks where the owner has chosen a communal heating system are not covered by the price cap. This is because the energy supply is classified by suppliers as ‘commercial’ rather than ‘domestic’. While wholesale prices continue to climb steeply, the UK’s price cap on energy bills

An artist who donated £5,000 to food charity FareShare after publishing two acclaimed graphic diaries chronicling the Covid pandemic, has handed over an early Christmas gift of another £2,500. Inspired by Marcus Rashford, Vic Lee has pledged to give £10,000 in total to the UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste,  from sales of his books – the Corona Diaries. His latest donation was made on top of £5,000 he donated last year, raised through sales of his books, which were compared to the work of Samuel Pepys. “This is my own money, not money raised but my way