Passionate Blog

Free fashion makeover at hotel’s charity clothes swap

If you’re looking to give your wardrobe a late summer makeover then the charity clothes swap at the Park Inn by Radisson at York is the place to go this weekend.

The hotel is joining the swishing trend sweeping the country with the clothes swap on Saturday September 10 at 2pm. Hotel marketing manager Carol Ward is pictured left.

Swappers could get a whole new outfit for nothing by bringing along up to ten items of valued but no longer used clothes, shoes or accessories to exchange with other swishers.

Any clothes left over on the day will be donated to the British Heart Foundation charity shop in the city. Swishing is great and green.

It helps to save the environment by reducing the amount of clothes that are thrown away each year and is a great way of getting new clothes for free at a time when spare cash is scare.

The Park Inn by Radisson at York in North Street will be one of more than 30 hotels in Radisson group across the UK holding the clothes swap, part of hotel group’s responsible business month in September.

Gazza's dinner for Compton Hospice is near sell out

Football legend Paul Gascoigne is proving he can still pull in the crowds as a dinner in his honour, to support Compton Hospice, is a near sell out.

There are just 30 tickets left for the evening at the Copthorne Hotel at Merry Hill on Thursday September 22, with a capacity crowd of 375 expected for the night.

Gazza, who has also overcome various well-documented struggles in his personal life, is set to give the after dinner speech and answer questions from the audience at the fundraising event for the Wolverhampton hospice.

The evening will also include an auction of sporting memorabilia including a range of items signed by West Brom and Wolves legends, items signed by George Best and an Aston Villa shirt signed by the1982 European Cup winning team.

Steve Saul, of Wolverhampton events and sporting memorabilia firm Route 39 who is organising the evening, said: “An evening with Paul Gascoigne is always very entertaining. He’s still the showman he was on the pitch and he’s got a lot of football as well as a lot of life to draw upon.”

Plant sale aims to help grow donations for hospice

If you are hoping to get your garden looking its best throughout the winter months, a Shropshire plant nursery could help, as it is gearing up for a huge end-of-season sale.

Boningale Nurseries on Holyhead Road, Albrighton,  normally caters only to trade customers, but once a year, stages a massive end-of-season sale, when it sells off a huge range of shrubs, perennials and trees to members of the public.

Half of the profits from the sale on Saturday, September 10, are to be donated to the Mary Stevens Hospice in Stourbridge – which staff at the nursery chose to support.

China offers great-looking deal to Midlands beauty business

A Shropshire beauty expert has secured a £100 million contract to supply products and treatments to be sold in China, creating up to 3,500 jobs.

Deborah Mitchell of Heaven has signed a 10-year distribution deal to supply 2,500 Chinese stores and salons, and included in the deal is the employment of at least one Heaven-trained therapist from the UK in each store.

To help facilitate this, Ms Mitchell began work on a £120,000 refurbishment of her Shifnal salon this week, which will include a full upgrade, and a new training facility, where the 3,500 qualified therapists will spend three months learning all about Heaven treatments and products before heading to the Far East.

Stafford business mums celebrate second successful year

A group set up to help working mums in Stafford is preparing to celebrate it’s second birthday with an open day proving that you can mix business with pleasure.

Busy Mums was established in 2009 as a chance for mums running their own businesses to get together with like-minded parents, and share advice, support and business contacts whilst their youngsters got on with the important business of playing.

The Busy Mums open day will include stands run by all members, and offering a range of products from jewellery, to baby goods and gifts, as well as a range of professional services.

The event is aimed at mums already running their own business, or thinking of setting up on their own, as a way to encourage them, and show them that it is possible to thrive, even with very young children. It will also be helping to raise funds for Cherish, a charity helping children in Uganda which is strongly supported by Rising Brook Baptist Church, whose meeting rooms are used by the group.

Walsall hotel throws beach party to get into shape for summer

Staff at the Village Hotel Walsall warming up on the barbeque for the beach party weekend

A Walsall hotel is throwing a beach party, complete with surfing, Hawaiian shirts and a Zumba workout for the whole family, in a bid to help people get in shape for the summer.

The Village Hotel, just off junction 10 of the M6, is hosting the leisure weekend on June 25 and 26, to persuade people to get more active.

“The whole weekend is to encourage people to get exercising, but to have fun with it, which is why we have chosen the beach theme. People associate the beach with enjoying themselves, but they also want to look good, so we are offering them a helping hand,” explained Damian Goom, general manager of The Village.

Slade legend Dave Hill to be head judge for Compton Hospice Battle of the Bands

Legendary Slade lead guitarist Dave Hill is set to be head judge for the Compton Hospice Battle of the Bands contest at West Park on Sunday June 26.

Wolverhampton’s own iconic glam rocker will head a panel of entertainment experts as the bands perform in a sing-off, in front of a 4,000-strong crowd at the Compton in the Park fun day.

Eight groups from across the Midlands have lined up to fight it out in the Battle of the Bands contest.

The six most popular bands will perform live at West Park with the best band winning a professional recording session at Wolverhampton’s Bullet Studios and a day-long photoshoot with Dark Lens Photography.

The first round of the battle has started after phone lines opened on Monday June 13 for supporters to vote by text for their favourite group.                                   

                                                                                                        Photo from Flickr by Migamunck 

We're helping Compton Hospice to Raise the Roof

Passionate Media has been working with and supporting Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton for the last six years and this year, we're really getting stuck in, helping to boost their Raise the Roof capital appeal.

This month our new media director Neil Aitchison is heading up a golf team at Compton's charity golf day at Whorfield near Bridgnorth. There are 20 teams entering so it should be a busy day and no doubt slightly competitive!  So good luck Neil and the rest of the Passionate Media golf team.

Neil has also been roped in to join the Wulfrun BNI team for the It's a Knockout competition at the Compton in the Park Fun Day on June 26 at West Park in Wolverhampton.  If last year is anything to go by, it looks like it will be great fun.  

However, it's the Passionate Media ladies who are really going out on a limb this year.  Our director Carol Garrington and marketing co-ordinator Kim Nash have just signed up to do a skydive in September.  What were they thinking?


Of course we'll be cheering them on from the ground.  In the meantime, we need to help them raise at least £800.  There's talk of a curry night at Suki's Restaurant and a quiz night to help them raise the money.  We'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, they've set up a Just Giving page and all donations and support will be very much appreciated.

 

Compton Hospice look for X Factor in Battle of the Bands competition

Wolverhampton’s Compton Hospice hopes to find the next chart toppers in an X-Factor style  Battle of the Bands competition.

A prize of a professional studio recording session is up for grabs in the contest which will see finalists battle it out in a sing-off.

The six finalists in the music competition will perform in front of an estimated 4,000-strong crowd at the Compton in the Park Fun Day at Wolverhampton’s West Park on Sunday June 26.

The winner will get the chance to produce their own track with a free recording session, worth £200, at Wolverhampton’s Bullet Studios.

Bands from across the region can enter by submitting an online video, DVD or demo CD with supporters voting for their favourite bands by text.  Each vote will help raise money for the hospice’s Raise the Roof capital appeal.

Giant budgie call for Compton Hospice It’s a Knockout challenge

Organisers of the Compton Hospice It’s a Knockout Competition are hoping competitors will flock to this year’s contest with the chance to dress up as a seven-foot tall giant budgie.

The It’s a Knockout competition is set to be the highlight of charity’s Compton on the Park fun day at Wolverhampton’s West Park on Sunday June 26.

The enormous feathery fancy dress is just one of the costumes from the original BBC TV series that contestants will try out as they take on a series of fun-packed, water- filled challenges on the day.