"Going, going, gone..."

Wow, things really are bad in High St. 'big retail'. The former M&S store in Stafford, on a prime site in a prime shopping town, just sold at auction for below the guide price. And auctioneers almost always set their 'guide prices' low, to encourage starting bids.

2018 Penkhull Festival of Music and Art

The Penkhull Festival of Music and Art has released the 2018 programme. It happens in late September 2018.

Suck it up

Chromatography Today fires up the lab and asks: "How Does Polluted Soil Affect Vegetables?"...

"several studies have shown that although vegetables take up contaminants from the soil, they do so at a low level that is unlikely to cause harm."

Bags of trees

The Tree Council has a Community Tree Fund 2018 open to both formal and ad hoc community groups. Up to £700, to plant native trees during National Tree Week in late 2018. Apply by 31st March 2018!

Trentham Park oak, by Quimby.

It's wet and wild in Stoke

Welcome news of a forthcoming "major programme of works to link, buffer, restore and recreate wildlife habitats across the project area of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme". Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is currently recruiting for it, including a full-time Rivers Team Manager.

The Trent at Stoke, flowing toward its meeting with the Fowlea Brook at the Minster.

It's Cold in the West Midlands

Starting to be reported today...

"New research by National Accident Helpline (NAH) has found that 1 in 5 British consumers continue to suffer from daily nuisance calls. It found that in the West Midlands, 50% of people aged over 65 were cold called every day."

If the Which? magazine's "Ten tips to stop cold calls" fail to work for you, the UK's 7th-20th March 2018 Webuser magazine has a useful guide on how to ditch your land line completely, but stay connected to the Internet and use Skype.

Jolly Potters in winter - review

A good new midwinter review of Jolly Potters, Hartshill, from the Two Pint Perspective blog which is touring all the local pubs doing reviews.

Also has older reviews of Red Lion, Hartshill and The Holy Inadequate, Etruria.