{"version":"https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1","title":"Web Stories","home_page_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/","feed_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/json","items":[{"id":"o117-776-62270b88690f4","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/iwd-check-out-some-amazing-photographs-by-female-photographers\/","title":"IWD: Check out some amazing photographs by female photographers","date_published":"2022-03-08T07:53:00+00:00","summary":"To celebrate International Women\u2019s Day,\u00a0photos by female photographers have been released from the CEWE Photo Award, the world\u2019s largest photo competition.","content_html":"<p><b>To celebrate International Women&rsquo;s Day,&nbsp;photos by female photographers have been released from the CEWE Photo Award, the world&rsquo;s largest photo competition.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/622718c36e64a.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>The 10 snaps were submitted in last year&rsquo;s competition, which aimed to celebrate the best in photography across the globe. The competition was open to everyone &ndash; from keen amateur photographers to established professionals.<\/p>\n\n<p>Entrants were asked to submit photos that celebrated the competition&rsquo;s &lsquo;Our World is Beautiful&rsquo; theme. There were 10 categories for budding photographers to enter &ndash; from aerial shots and animals to landscapes, travel and culture. A photo has been shared by a female photographer from each category.<\/p>\n\n<p>In spring this year, the CEWE Photo Award will be returning for a 5<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;year, where photographers across the globe will once again be able to submit entries across 10 categories highlighting the true beauty of the world around us.&nbsp;A photo expert at CEWE UK, said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re so pleased to be releasing a set of stunning images captured by talented female photographers across the globe to celebrate International Women&rsquo;s Day.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;The photos showcase a range of perspectives and truly capture the theme of the competition &ndash; celebrating that the world we live in is absolutely beautiful.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve really enjoyed seeing people&rsquo;s entries to the CEWE Photo Award and feel particularly passionate about sharing wonderful photography from women around the world, not just today, but always.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;We are looking forward to seeing more amazing entries when the competition opens for this year.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>Below, CEWE shares some of its favourite submissions by female photographers from the most recent competition.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gm-photos cf small\"\n     data-controller=\"album\"\n     data-album-id-value=\"12623\"\n     data-album-images-value='[{\"name\":\"Animals: Corinna Kobliska\",\"descr\":\"A curious pup takes a closer look at a purple flower on its daily walk through the park in Austria.\",\"slug\":\"fd352f89-d25b-4135-8050-d4509dad7174\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=fd352f89-d25b-4135-8050-d4509dad7174\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d1add8c.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d1add8c.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Nature: Viktoria Smid\",\"descr\":\"Early morning dew graces a plant as the light of day shines through.\",\"slug\":\"dfb9dc0f-3cc1-4fac-8770-d123209cc139\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=dfb9dc0f-3cc1-4fac-8770-d123209cc139\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d22501c.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d22501c.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Travel & Culture: Laura Menesini\",\"descr\":\"Three young children walk along a uniquely structured building in Myanmar.\",\"slug\":\"69370bdf-70d0-4487-9bff-fb37a452277d\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=69370bdf-70d0-4487-9bff-fb37a452277d\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d2d5e68.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d2d5e68.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Hobby & Leisure: Laura Domataga\",\"descr\":\"In Krakow, a young girl dances with a pony in this magical fairytale-esque shot.\",\"slug\":\"d12b6127-84d5-43ef-b5c1-29e2df51a8da\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=d12b6127-84d5-43ef-b5c1-29e2df51a8da\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d4127c9.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d4127c9.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Landscapes: Dominika Koszowska\",\"descr\":\"Perfectly formed trees stand in a row in the bright yellow fields in Poland.\",\"slug\":\"7ffd0418-97ab-4d59-9bde-b2d0c0529df0\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=7ffd0418-97ab-4d59-9bde-b2d0c0529df0\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d562f3a.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d562f3a.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"People: Mia Feres\",\"descr\":\"A woman in traditional celebration festival attire admires her reflection in a mirror as the sun sets in Venice\",\"slug\":\"9e2a4935-bed9-4143-a7bf-1606f93d03a7\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=9e2a4935-bed9-4143-a7bf-1606f93d03a7\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d357db3.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d357db3.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Architecture: Eva Janku\",\"descr\":\"Dusk falls on the breathtaking Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.\",\"slug\":\"75dc7054-179e-4579-ac2e-b4183c723880\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=75dc7054-179e-4579-ac2e-b4183c723880\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d4c495a.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d4c495a.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Aerial: Ivana Vukoja\",\"descr\":\"A group of girls show they\\u2019re perfectly in sync whilst on vacation in Supetar, Croatia.\",\"slug\":\"ccada575-4edc-49f7-bde0-cf199f1f6ccb\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=ccada575-4edc-49f7-bde0-cf199f1f6ccb\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d870368.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d870368.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Sport: Alice Das Neves\",\"descr\":\"A cyclist makes their way round a bend in the mountains in Chur, Switzerland.\",\"slug\":\"d0085dcb-f44e-4d96-b8bb-12212c5fc18a\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=d0085dcb-f44e-4d96-b8bb-12212c5fc18a\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d67853f.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d67853f.jpeg\"},{\"name\":\"Food & Cooking: Laura Amos\",\"descr\":\"A selection of jam shortbread biscuits are ready to make the perfect afternoon snack.\",\"slug\":\"45ccb526-6331-425c-990a-2e7a1d3aba74\",\"page_path\":\"\\\/blogs\\\/web-stories\\\/json?i=45ccb526-6331-425c-990a-2e7a1d3aba74\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/117\\\/622715d7e0c74.jpeg\",\"thumb_url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/cdn-cgi\\\/image\\\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\\\/117\\\/622715d7e0c74.jpeg\"}]'\n     data-album-showing-index-value=\"0\"\n     data-action=\"resize@window->album#updateLayout popstate@window->album#popState\"\n>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"photo-viewer\"\n         data-album-target=\"photoViewer\"\n    >\n        <div class=\"photo-pagination\">\n            <a href=\"#\"\n               class=\"prev disabled\"\n               data-album-target=\"prev\"\n               data-action=\"click->album#prev:prevent\"\n            >Previous <span class=\"access\">image<\/span><\/a>\n            <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=dfb9dc0f-3cc1-4fac-8770-d123209cc139\"\n               class=\"next \"\n               data-album-target=\"next\"\n               data-action=\"click->album#next:prevent\"\n            >Next <span class=\"access\">image<\/span><\/a>\n            <p data-album-target=\"pagination\">\n                <span data-album-target=\"pageNumber\">1<\/span>\n                of 10\n            <\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"photo-cont\">\n            <img src=\"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/622715d1add8c.jpeg\"\n                 alt=\"\"\n                 class=\"main-image\"\n                 data-album-target=\"image\"\n                 data-action=\"load->album#updateOverlayNavSize\"\n            \/>\n            <a href=\"#\"\n               class=\"overlay-nav prev disabled\"\n               data-album-target=\"prev overlayNav\"\n               data-action=\"click->album#prev:prevent\"\n            ><span>Previous image<\/span><\/a>\n            <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=dfb9dc0f-3cc1-4fac-8770-d123209cc139\"\n               class=\"overlay-nav next \"\n               data-album-target=\"next overlayNav\"\n               data-action=\"click->album#next:prevent\"\n            ><span>Next image<\/span><\/a>\n\n                            <div class=\"more-albums\"\n                     data-album-target=\"moreSlide\"\n                >\n                    <p>More Galleries<\/p>\n                    <div class=\"preview-cont\">\n\n                        \n                            <div class=\"album-preview preview-item-1\">\n                                <a href=\"\/local\/photos\/midge-ure-town-hall-birmingham-21-february-2020\/\">\n                                    <img src=\"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/5e53e23a24b65.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                                    <span>Midge Ure @ Town Hall, Birmingham - 21 February 2020<\/span>\n                                <\/a>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                        \n                            <div class=\"album-preview preview-item-2\">\n                                <a href=\"\/local\/photos\/cool-britannia-2019\/\">\n                                    <img src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5d6fbec3ab350.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                                    <span>Cool Britannia 2019<\/span>\n                                <\/a>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                        \n                            <div class=\"album-preview preview-item-3\">\n                                <a href=\"\/local\/photos\/bluedot-2019\/\">\n                                    <img src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5d3b16dcc18ee.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                                    <span>bluedot 2019<\/span>\n                                <\/a>\n                            <\/div>\n\n                        \n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"photo-meta\"\n         data-album-target=\"photoMeta\"\n    >\n        <div class=\"photo-name\"\n             data-album-target=\"photoName\"\n        >Animals: Corinna Kobliska<\/div>\n        <div class=\"photo-descr\"\n             data-album-target=\"photoDescr\"\n        >A curious pup takes a closer look at a purple flower on its daily walk through the park in Austria.<\/div>\n        <div class=\"photo-share cf\"\n             data-album-target=\"shareBtns\"\n        >\n<div class=\"aiir-share\">\n    <h2 class=\"aiir-share__header\">Share<\/h2>\n    <ul class=\"aiir-share__list\">\n        <li class=\"aiir-share__item\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackcountryradio.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fweb-stories%2Fjson\" \n               class=\"aiir-share__link aiir-share__link--facebook\" \n               data-controller=\"popup\"\n               data-action=\"click->popup#open\"\n               data-popup-size-param=\"550x500\"\n               target=\"_blank\">\n                <span 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2.76 1.063 3.964L0 16l4.223-1.102c1.164.63 2.474.964 3.807.965h.004c4.39 0 7.964-3.557 7.966-7.93 0-2.117-.827-4.11-2.33-5.608\"><\/path><\/svg>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n\n                <div class=\"photo-carousel below\"\n         data-album-target=\"carousel\"\n    >\n        <a href=\"#\"\n           class=\"caro-arrow arrow-left disabled\"\n           data-action=\"click->album#pageCarousel:prevent\"\n           data-album-direction-param=\"left\"\n           data-album-target=\"carouselArrowLeft\"\n        ><\/a>\n        <a href=\"#\"\n           class=\"caro-arrow arrow-right disabled\"\n           data-action=\"click->album#pageCarousel:prevent\"\n           data-album-direction-param=\"right\"\n           data-album-target=\"carouselArrowRight\"\n        ><\/a>\n        <div class=\"photo-carousel-inner\"\n             data-album-target=\"carouselInner\"\n             data-action=\"scroll->album#toggleCarouselArrows\"\n        >\n            <ul class=\"cf\"\n                data-album-target=\"carouselList\"\n            >\n                                    <li class=\"on\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=fd352f89-d25b-4135-8050-d4509dad7174\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d1add8c.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Animals: Corinna Kobliska<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=dfb9dc0f-3cc1-4fac-8770-d123209cc139\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d22501c.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Nature: Viktoria Smid<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=69370bdf-70d0-4487-9bff-fb37a452277d\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d2d5e68.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Travel &amp; Culture: Laura Menesini<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=d12b6127-84d5-43ef-b5c1-29e2df51a8da\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d4127c9.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Hobby &amp; Leisure: Laura Domataga<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=7ffd0418-97ab-4d59-9bde-b2d0c0529df0\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d562f3a.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Landscapes: Dominika Koszowska<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=9e2a4935-bed9-4143-a7bf-1606f93d03a7\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d357db3.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >People: Mia Feres<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=75dc7054-179e-4579-ac2e-b4183c723880\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d4c495a.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Architecture: Eva Janku<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=ccada575-4edc-49f7-bde0-cf199f1f6ccb\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d870368.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Aerial: Ivana Vukoja<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=d0085dcb-f44e-4d96-b8bb-12212c5fc18a\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d67853f.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Sport: Alice Das Neves<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                                    <li class=\"\"\n                        data-album-target=\"carouselItem\"\n                    >\n                        <a href=\"\/blogs\/web-stories\/json?i=45ccb526-6331-425c-990a-2e7a1d3aba74\"\n                           style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=140,height=140,fit=cover\/117\/622715d7e0c74.jpeg);\"\n                           data-action=\"click->album#selectThumbnail:prevent mouseenter->album#showTip mouseleave->album#hideTip\"\n                        >Food &amp; Cooking: Laura Amos<\/a>\n                    <\/li>\n                            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n<\/div>\n","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/6227180ed0f95.jpeg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/60223"},{"id":"217-980125-5fe865b584798","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/do-you-know-your-consumer-rights\/","title":"Do you know your consumer rights?","date_published":"2020-12-27T10:45:00+00:00","summary":"As many of us take stock of our Christmas gifts, if you\u2019ve got a present (or two!) to take back, do you know your rights when it comes to refunds and exchanges?","content_html":"<p><b>As many of us take stock of our Christmas gifts, if you&rsquo;ve got a present (or two!) to take back, do you know your rights when it comes to refunds and exchanges?<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/5fe928a186ce7.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>When an item is sold&nbsp;- in person&nbsp;or online - the customer&nbsp;making the purchase enters into a &lsquo;contract&rsquo; with the person (or company) making the sale. The retailer agrees that what they&rsquo;re selling is;<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>as described<\/li>\n  <li>of satisfactory quality<\/li>\n  <li>and fit for purpose<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<section>\n<p>If any of these conditions are broken then the customer has a right, in law, to return those goods.<\/p>\n\n<p>However, the contract made at the time of the purchase is&nbsp;between the retailer and the person who bought the item. If that item was then gifted, the contract does not transfer unless a gift receipt is given too.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nThe first point to note is the difference between your&nbsp;<b>statutory rights <\/b>and<b>&nbsp;<\/b>a&nbsp;<b>store returns policy.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p>The former&nbsp;are&nbsp;rules set out in law for the return of items to a retailer. A store returns&nbsp;policy may give additional comeback but does not affect&nbsp;your statutory rights.<\/p>\n\n<p>However, if the retailer gives you additional benefit then they&nbsp;must stick to what is said.<\/p>\n\n<h2><br \/>\n<b>Unwanted Items<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<p>Returning unwanted items you purchased in store&nbsp;isn&#39;t an automatic right - if the item is fit for purpose, as described and not faulty then&nbsp;you&#39;ll have to check the returns policy of the store.<\/p>\n\n<p>If your item was bought online, over the phone or by mail order, as a customer you have consumer returns rights under the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/consumer-rights\/regulation\/consumer-contracts-regulations\" title=\"\">Consumer Contracts Regulations<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>The Consumer Contracts Regulations gives you a cancellation period that starts the moment you place your order and ends 14 days from the day you receive your goods.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>You then have a further 14 days from the date you notify the retailer that you&#39;d like to cancel your order to return the goods to them.<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><b>Faulty or Wrongly Described Items<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<p>If an item does not match the&nbsp;three criteria listed above&nbsp;then you could be entitled to a repair, replacement or a refund.<\/p>\n\n<p>Your consumer rights for returning goods fall&nbsp;under the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/consumer-rights\/regulation\/consumer-rights-act\" title=\"\">Consumer Rights Act<\/a>&nbsp;(which replaced the Sale of Goods Act&nbsp;in October 2015).<\/p>\n\n<p>The Consumer Rights Act gives you the statutory right to return something and get your money back if it&#39;s faulty:<\/p>\n\n<h3>Within 30 days<\/h3>\n\n<p>You have the legal right to a refund if you return your faulty good within 30 days of receiving it, regardless of what the store&#39;s return policy says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h3>Between 30 days and six months<\/h3>\n\n<p>If you don&#39;t reject the goods within the first 30 days, and find a fault within the first six months of possessing your faulty goods, you&#39;ll need to give the retailer a chance to make a repair or replacement.&nbsp;If that&#39;s unsuccessful, you can then ask for a refund.<\/p>\n\n<h3>After six months<\/h3>\n\n<p>After the first six months, the burden of proof switches to you to prove the fault you&#39;ve found was present at the time you purchased the goods in store or first took ownership of it if you bought it online.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>The law does not detail how consumers can prove a fault was present at purchase, which can make it problematic when you&rsquo;re asked to do so.<\/p>\n\n<h2><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/5fe928a1aec53.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<b>Store returns or exchange policy<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<p>The good news is that most retailers choose to provide a &#39;goodwill&#39; returns policy offering an exchange, refund or credit note for most returns.<\/p>\n\n<p>It&#39;s worth noting that shops aren&#39;t required by law to have a returns policy, but if they do have one they must stick to it.<\/p>\n\n<p>Returns policies are usually displayed on receipts, on signs in store and online. You can also ring the shop&#39;s customer services line to find out its returns policy.<\/p>\n\n<blockquote>Remember that if you&#39;re trying to return an unwanted item purchased online, you have additional statutory rights&nbsp;under the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/consumer-rights\/regulation\/consumer-contracts-regulations\" title=\"\">Consumer Contracts Regulations<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Most retailers impose time limits for returning non-faulty products&nbsp;but many extend that (around Christmas for example)&nbsp;so you might have more time than you think to return an unwanted product.<\/p>\n\n<p>If you paid by credit card, you also have extra protection under&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/consumer-rights\/regulation\/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act\" title=\"\">Section 75<\/a>&nbsp;of the Consumer Credit Act which holds the credit card company jointly liable for items bought using it.<\/p>\n\n<h2><b>Items that can&#39;t be returned<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<p>Many&nbsp;retailers have policies which stipulate that they will accept non-faulty returns, as long as items are unused and in perfect condition with their undamaged original packaging.<\/p>\n\n<p>But there are some returns exceptions worth knowing about.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>DVDs, music and computer software<\/strong>&nbsp;- many retailers refuse returns if the seal or packaging has been broken.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Perishable items<\/strong>&nbsp;- you won&#39;t usually be able to return an item if it&#39;s perishable. This includes food and flowers.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Made to order<\/strong>&nbsp;- if an item has been made to order or personalised, it&#39;s very unlikely that you&#39;ll be able to return it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/5fe928a21f8c6.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><b>What do you need for returns<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<p>Depending on a retailer&rsquo;s returns policy some will only exchange or give you a credit note, while others will give you a refund. But all shops usually require a few key things.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>A receipt<\/strong>&nbsp;- always keep your receipt and take it with you. If you&rsquo;re buying a gift for someone else, ask for a gift receipt so that they can change it themselves.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>The card you paid with<\/strong>&nbsp;- if you paid for an item on a debit or credit card, take it with you when you return the item. This is especially important if you want a refund as its often credited to the card you paid with.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>The original packaging - <\/strong>don&rsquo;t underestimate the importance of taking the item&rsquo;s original packaging with you. Even down to the pesky cable ties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2><b>Can you exchange or get a refund without a receipt?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<p>Whilst a receipt can often end up in the bin nearest the door of the shop - it&rsquo;s a vital document when it comes to refund requests.<\/p>\n\n<p>Your receipt shows vital information including the date of purchase, which can prove you fall within the duration of any returns policy. It also shows who served you and how much you paid.<\/p>\n\n<p>If you simply change your mind, the retailer has no legal obligation to give you your money back if&nbsp;you return an item, with or&nbsp;without a receipt. Anything the shop does for you is over and above their legal obligation and without that proof of purchase they may not offer to do anything.<\/p>\n\n<p>If your goods are faulty and you don&#39;t have the receipt, you still have the right to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/consumer-rights\/advice\/what-do-i-do-if-i-have-a-faulty-product\" title=\"\">a repair, refund or replacement as under the Consumer Rights Act<\/a>.&nbsp;You just need to show proof of payment, such as a bank statement with the transaction on it.<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><b>Do I have to accept a credit note for a return?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n<p>That depends in the circumstances. The retailer&#39;s returns policy may state that customers will only receive a credit note or vouchers, but this should only apply where the item is unwanted. The seller&rsquo;s returns policy can&#39;t require customers to take vouchers where an item has been returned because it is faulty.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.which.co.uk\/consumer-rights\/regulation\/consumer-rights-act\" title=\"\">Consumer Rights Act<\/a>&nbsp;specifies the rights that consumers have if products develop a fault and the seller can&rsquo;t remove or reduce these.<\/p>\n<\/section>","image":"https:\/\/mmo.aiircdn.com\/117\/5fe928a21f8c6.jpeg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45549"},{"id":"217-980125-5e0d2838e73a9","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/major-brands-launch-vegan-menus-today\/","title":"Major brands launch vegan menus TODAY!","date_published":"2020-01-01T23:16:00+00:00","summary":"From Greggs, to Pizza Hut, as hoards of people go plant-based for Veganuary, large numbers of high street food chains are launching vegan additions to their menus from today.\r\n","content_html":"<p><strong>From Greggs, to Pizza Hut, as hoards of people go plant-based for Veganuary, large numbers of high street food chains are launching vegan additions to their menus from today.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Whether it&#39;s McDonald&#39;s start selling its first ever fully vegan meal or&nbsp;Pizza Hut launching its non-meat pepperoni pizza, we&#39;ve rounded up the top vegan offerings below from all the major outlets:<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>Greggs Vegan Steak Bake<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nFrom &pound;1.55<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5e0d98aaefa28.jpeg\" style=\"width: 75%;\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>The vegan steak bake has been created to mirror some of the original snack&rsquo;s features, including 96 thin layers of puff pastry but without the egg glaze. The filling is made with pieces of Quorn instead of beef, mixed with diced onions and meat-free gravy.<\/p>\n\n<p>It will go on sale in 1,300 shops from today&nbsp;before being rolled out to the remaining 700 outlets on 16th&nbsp;January.<\/p>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>Costa&#39;s Vegan Ham and CheeZe Toastie<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n&pound;2.95<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5e0d26e2cbc87.jpg\" style=\"width: 75%;\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>Featuring Quorn Smoky Ham and tasty melted vegan cheese (dubbed CheeZe), the bread used is also certified vegan.<\/p>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>Pizza Hut PepperPHONI Pizza<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nfrom &pound;11.69<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5e0d26e05d97e.jpg\" style=\"width: 75%;\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>The classic pepperoni is instead replaced with meat-free &lsquo;Pepperphoni&rsquo;, made from pea protein, before being topped with Violife vegan cheese.<\/p>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>KFC Vegan Burger<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n&pound;3.99<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5e0d26e271f12.jpg\" style=\"width: 75%;\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>A bespoke Quorn fillet replaces the standard chicken one, but it&#39;s all still coated in the Colonel&rsquo;s Original Recipe of 11 secret herbs and spices, plus lettuce and vegan mayo, all housed in a soft glazed bun.<\/p>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>McDonald&#39;s Veggie Dippers<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nFrom &pound;2.99<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5e0d26e05929d.jpg\" style=\"width: 75%;\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>Made with red pepper, rice, sundried tomato pesto and split peas, they&#39;re then coated with light and crispy breadcrumbs, and have been certified as vegan compliant as well as gluten free. THey&#39;re available on their own or as part of either a Happy Meal or Extra Value Meal.<\/p>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:18px;\"><strong>M&amp;S Vegan Chicken Kiev<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n&pound;3.50<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5e0d2783bc592.jpg\" style=\"width: 75%;\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>Celebrating 40 years since they first brought the regular chicken kiev to British homes, M&amp;S are selling a&nbsp;soya based kiev paired with a vegan-friendly garlic sauce and then coated in golden breadcrumbs.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5e0d98aaefa28.jpeg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45548"},{"id":"217-980125-5cf994b62656c","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/ed-sheeran-teams-up-with-heinz-for-ultimate-condiment-mash-up\/","title":"Ed Sheeran teams up with Heinz for ultimate condiment mash-up!","date_published":"2019-06-06T22:33:35+00:00","summary":"Ed Sheeran has long been a vocal fan of Heinz - and even has the brand's logo tattooed on his arm - so he must be overjoyed with the condiment brand's latest project.","content_html":"<p><strong>Ed Sheeran has long been a vocal fan of Heinz - and even has the brand&#39;s logo tattooed on his arm - so he must be overjoyed with the condiment brand&#39;s latest project.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5cf99462e14ec.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Heinz has paired up with the famous singer (and life-long Tomato Ketchup super fan) to create a special edition bottle.<\/p>\n\n<p>Paying tribute back to Ed, Heinz has changed its name,&nbsp;as well as featuring a special Ed inspired tomato icon on every bottle. The new Heinz tomato condiments range will be called &lsquo;Edchup&rsquo;.<\/p>\n\n<p>Set to launch in supermarkets all over the UK later on this month, including Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, the new design is all due to the brand&#39;s 150th anniversary. Heinz chose to pair with Ed Sheeran following multiple social media posts from the singer extolling his love for the beloved British sauce.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5cf99462a1a24.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5cf99462a1a24.jpg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45547"},{"id":"217-980125-5b3cd5ca1b175","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/70-years-of-change-but-one-shared-belief-the-nhs-would-be-sorely-missed\/","title":"70 years of change, but one shared belief - the NHS would be sorely missed.","date_published":"2018-07-04T14:12:23+00:00","summary":"From painting your own ambulances and the most basic of first aid equipment to a state-of-the-art fleet and a world of technology, it is fair to say the ambulance service has changed dramatically since the introduction of the National Health Service 70 years ago today.","content_html":"<p><strong>From painting your own ambulances and the most basic of first aid equipment to a state-of-the-art fleet and a world of technology, it is fair to say the ambulance service has changed dramatically since the introduction of the National Health Service 70 years ago today.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5b3cd3ca42b70.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>Retired Ambulance Driver, Eric Carnall. Credit: WMAS.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n<p>To tell the story, WMAS has spoken to Ambulance Driver, Eric Carnall, who worked for the NHS from the beginning, and Student Paramedic, Sid Amin, who is just eight-weeks into her training and journey to help save lives out on the road.<\/p>\n\n<p>For 91-year-old Eric, from Worcester, his journey into the ambulance service began after leaving the army in 1947. He started working for Ronkswood Hospital as an Ambulance Driver who was responsible for transporting injured military personnel around.<\/p>\n\n<p>But with the forming of the NHS on July 5th 1948, he was immediately transferred to Worcester City Ambulance Service and it was then he began responding to 999 calls.&nbsp;Eric, who also went on to work for the fire and police services, said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;There were six ambulances and six drivers, it was seen as a very important job. We had nobody out with us, we always responded on our own and our working hours were 8am to 6pm six days a week. Outside of that volunteers were responsible for responding.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;The vehicles and equipment we had to use were very poor quality really. We had nothing but a first aid kit to start with. Eventually the service did buy an oxygen kit, but we only had one to share between the six ambulances.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5b3cd3ca5a5af.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>Student Paramedic, Sid Amin. Credit: WMAS.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n<p>It is a very different world today of course and one that Sid is just venturing out into, after spending two years working in one of the Trust&rsquo;s call centres in Brierley Hill. During that time she took more than 16,500 calls but is now looking forward to when she becomes operational in October to work out of Hollymoor Hub in Birmingham.&nbsp;She said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;I have wanted to be a paramedic for years and have always been interested in healthcare. I used to be a carer and thought to myself I could do more. I like being out and about and helping people is something I know I will enjoy.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;I imagine it must have been really hard all of those years ago without all of the equipment we have today. The ambulance service has evolved so much in 70-years, it is much more technical.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;That said, I believe a big part of the job is about talking to the patient and understanding their needs, once we know that, the equipment is there to help us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>Whereas 1948 saw six ambulances in operation in Worcester, WMAS now has a fleet of 465 ambulances and 5,000 staff, a far cry from Eric&rsquo;s day.&nbsp;He added:<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t just the number of vehicles or staff, it was the jobs we had to do as well. We had to paint our own ambulances with a two-inch paint brush, wash our own soiled blankets and also complete any maintenance required on any of the vehicles. You just cannot imagine that happening today.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;One of the paid ambulance drivers would also have to be on shift overnight in case all of the volunteers were busy, and that was unpaid. We were on &pound;7 a week at the time which was very good money back then to be fair.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>Sid has seen a very different side and a much busier side to the service during her time in control, but says the service always copes well.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;It is getting busier every day but we cope really well. I was on shift the day we took more than 5,000 calls. It was complete and utter madness but we were all ok and everything carried on as normal.<\/p>\n\n<figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5b3cd4a29294f.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>Worcester City Ambulance Service in 1948. Credit: WMAS.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n<p>&ldquo;The majority of calls we get are for emergencies but unfortunately some are inappropriate. I think that is down to a lack of education sometimes, and in some cases the alcohol certainly takes over. It is the same with the abuse of our staff. You cannot tar everyone with the same brush, some people are brought up differently. I think you have to realise that people who abuse emergency services probably abuse other people as well, I don&rsquo;t think they target us particularly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>Whilst not at the levels we see today, inappropriate calls and attacks on staff are not a new thing, as Eric explained: &ldquo;I remember taking one call where the patient was blatantly asking for a lift home from the pub because they had drunk too much. After a short conversation, we managed to convince him that a taxi was the better option.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;I also remember attending a job where a man had been knocked down by a car. I was knelt down trying to find out was wrong with him when a guy put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me on to my back, saying &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll deal with this I&rsquo;m a first aider&rsquo;. I didn&rsquo;t really have chance to say anything to him because he was very quickly arrested by the police.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>Despite their difference in generations, there is one thing Eric and Sid both have a belief of, the importance of the future of the NHS.&nbsp;Eric said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;I was one of the NHS&rsquo; earliest employees and still believe today that it is needed desperately. It&rsquo;s hard because it always need more money. If we lost the ambulance service as a free thing through the NHS it will be very sadly missed.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;I honestly hope we don&rsquo;t ever not have an NHS. It has done so much for people and we&rsquo;re really privileged to have it.&nbsp;One of the reasons I wanted to do this job was because it involves you being in so many different people&rsquo;s lives.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;If the NHS disappeared, we would lose so many people that do such amazing work and would also leave lots of people without access to anything when they need help. I cannot image what it would be like to not have the NHS.&rdquo;<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5b3cd3ca42b70.jpg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45546"},{"id":"217-980125-5a8e12bab2ccb","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/brit-awards-2018-who-took-home-what\/","title":"BRIT Awards 2018 - who took home what?","date_published":"2018-02-22T00:45:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><b>The BRIT Awards 2018 took place last night, with Stormzy and Dua Lipa taking home big awards&nbsp;&ndash; scroll down to see the full winners list.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a8e6f6a6a741.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Jack Whitehall hosted the affair for the first time. Foo Fighters picked up Best International Group, their fifth BRIT Award to date, and&nbsp;Rag&rsquo;n&rsquo;Bone Man won Best British Single for &lsquo;Human&rsquo;.<\/p>\n\n<p>See the full nominations and winners list beneath:<\/p>\n\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>British Male Solo Artist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Ed Sheeran<br \/>\nLiam Gallagher<br \/>\nLoyle Carner<br \/>\nRag&rsquo;n&rsquo;Bone Man<br \/>\n<strong>Stormzy (WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>British Female Solo Artist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Paloma Faith<br \/>\nKate Tempest<br \/>\nJessie Ware<br \/>\nLaura Marling<br \/>\n<strong>Dua Lipa (WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a8e6f6a57cfe.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>British Single<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Calvin Harris feat. Pharrell, Katy Perry and Big Sean &ndash; &lsquo;Feels&rsquo;<br \/>\nClean Bandit feat. Zara Larsson &ndash; &lsquo;Symphony&rsquo;<br \/>\nDua Lipa &ndash; &lsquo;New Rules&rsquo;<br \/>\nEd Sheeran &ndash; &lsquo;Shape Of You&rsquo;<br \/>\nJ Hus &ndash; &lsquo;Did You See&rsquo;<br \/>\nJax Jones feat. Raye &ndash; &lsquo;You Don&rsquo;t Know Me&rsquo;<br \/>\nJonas Blue feat. William Singe &ndash; &lsquo;Mama&rsquo;<br \/>\nLiam Payne feat. Quavo &ndash; &lsquo;Strip That Down&rsquo;<br \/>\nLittle Mix &ndash; &lsquo;Touch&rsquo;<br \/>\n<strong>Rag&rsquo;n&rsquo;Bone Man &ndash; &lsquo;Human&rsquo; (WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>British Group<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>Gorillaz (WINNER)<\/strong><br \/>\nRoyal Blood<br \/>\nWolf Alice<br \/>\nLondon Grammar<br \/>\nThe xx<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a8e6f6c44ee6.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>British Breakthrough Act<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Dave<br \/>\n<strong>Dua Lipa (WINNER)<\/strong><br \/>\nJ Hus<br \/>\nLoyle Carner<br \/>\nSampha<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>British Video<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Anne-Marie &ndash; &lsquo;Ciao Adios&rsquo;<br \/>\nCalvin Harris feat. Pharrell, Katy Perry and Big Sean &ndash; &lsquo;Feels&rsquo;<br \/>\nClean Bandit feat. Zara Larsson &ndash; &lsquo;Symphony&rsquo;<br \/>\nDua Lipa &ndash; &lsquo;New Rules&rsquo;<br \/>\nEd Sheeran &ndash; &lsquo;Shape Of You&rsquo;<br \/>\n<strong>Harry Styles &ndash; &lsquo;Sign Of The Times&rsquo; (WINNER)<\/strong><br \/>\nJonas Blue feat. William Singe &ndash; &lsquo;Mama&rsquo;<br \/>\nLiam Payne feat. Quavo &ndash; &lsquo;Strip That Down&rsquo;<br \/>\nLittle Mix &ndash; &lsquo;Touch&rsquo;<br \/>\nZayn and Taylor Swift &ndash; &lsquo;I Don&rsquo;t Wanna Live Forever&rsquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>International Female Solo Artist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Taylor Swift<br \/>\n<strong>Lorde (WINNER)<\/strong><br \/>\nBj&ouml;rk<br \/>\nPink<br \/>\nAlicia Keys<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a8e6f6c8cf96.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>International Male Solo Artist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>Kendrick Lamar (WINNER)<\/strong><br \/>\nChildish Gambino<br \/>\nDrake<br \/>\nBeck<br \/>\nDJ Khaled<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>International Group<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>Foo Fighters (WINNER)<\/strong><br \/>\nArcade Fire<br \/>\nLCD Soundsystem<br \/>\nHaim<br \/>\nThe Killers<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h3><strong>Mastercard British Album Of The Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>Stormzy &ndash; &lsquo;Gang Signs And Prayer&rsquo; (WINNER)<\/strong><br \/>\nRag&rsquo;n&rsquo;Bone Man &ndash; &lsquo;Human&rsquo;<br \/>\nDua Lipa &ndash; &lsquo;Dua Lipa&rsquo;<br \/>\nJ Hus &ndash; &lsquo;Common Sense&rsquo;<br \/>\nEd Sheeran &ndash; &lsquo;&divide;&rsquo;<\/p>","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45545"},{"id":"217-980125-5a7d58992bb65","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/celeb-bake-off-is-back-with-actual-celebs\/","title":"Celeb Bake Off is back...with actual celebs!","date_published":"2018-02-09T08:15:00+00:00","content_html":"<p>Great British Bake Off fans can regain their composure - the show is back with a&nbsp; special celeb version in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.<\/p>\n\n<p>The special is called &#39;The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off&#39; and 20 stars from the owrlds of television, comedy, music, theatre and politics will rise to the occasion! Check the full line up below:<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>STACEY SOLOMON<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f272951.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>RICKY WILSON<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f30508d.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>ALAN CARR<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f265bba.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>GRIFF RHYS-JONES<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53fa9ade1.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>LEE MACK<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f711f98.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>BILL TURNBULL<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53fb3de70.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>MARTIN KEMP<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f622b3f.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>KADEENA COX<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f752634.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>HARRY HILL<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f8ecd33.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>PERRI KIELY<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f4eaef5.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>TERRI HATCHER<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f30eb6b.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>AISLING BEA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53fbbd0b0.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>ROISIN CONATY<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f686f3f.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>MELANIE SYKES<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f578588.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>RUTH DAVIDSON MP<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f450725.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>JOE LYCETT<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f796c9e.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>ELLA EYRE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f897d6f.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>NICK HEWER<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f585d02.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>TIM MINCHIN<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d53f38b828.jpeg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will be back to judge the celebrities&#39; baked goods, while hosts Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig will be providing the usual help and sympathy along the way.<\/p>\n\n<p><em data-redactor-tag=\"em\" data-verified=\"redactor\">The <\/em><em data-redactor-tag=\"em\" data-verified=\"redactor\">Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off<\/em> will air on Channel 4 later this year.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a7d585747b86.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45544"},{"id":"217-980125-5a46e55c502eb","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/new-years-honours-revealed\/","title":"New Years Honours revealed","date_published":"2017-12-30T01:01:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><b>Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has been awarded a knighthood for services to music and charity work as the Queen&#39;s New Year Honours are announced.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a46e28674a66.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>It comes 20 years after his bandmate Paul McCartney was knighted, and 17 years after George Harrison turned down an OBE.<\/p>\n\n<p>In a short message, signed off with his trademark phrase, 77-year-old Mr Starr said: &quot;It&#39;s great! It&#39;s an honour and a pleasure to be considered and acknowledged for my music and my charity work, both of which I love. Peace and love. Ringo.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>There are also knighthoods for Bee Gees co-founder Barry Gibb,former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and War Horse author Michael Murpurgo.<\/p>\n\n<p>Strictly Come Dancing judge and former top ballerina Darcey Bussell is made a dame.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a46e3492c5a9.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Ms Bussell said: &quot;I am truly humbled to receive this honour. I gratefully accept it on behalf of all the dance organisations that I am so fortunate to be part of. Dance is such a beautiful art form, it is inspiring and provides joy, social cohesion and wellbeing.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>Among the politicians on the list is Jo Swinson, who reclaimed her East Dunbartonshire seat for the Liberal Democrats in the last election, and became the party&#39;s deputy leader.<\/p>\n\n<p>After learning of her CBE, Ms Swinson said: &quot;I&#39;m delighted that my work has been recognised in this way. It wouldn&#39;t be possible without the support of my constituents, whom I&#39;d like to thank for giving me the opportunity to serve as their MP once more.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;It is an honour to be listed among so many remarkable people from all walks of life, making amazing contributions right across our country.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>The knighthood for Ms Swinson&#39;s fellow Liberal Democrat Mr Clegg has led to anger that Brexit rival Nigel Farage failed to make the cut again.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a46e3a8e7157.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Mr Farage said getting an honour was not an &quot;aspiration&quot; for him but did criticise the awards given to backbench MPs on both sides, saying they were given for &quot;services to the establishment&quot;.<\/p>\n\n<p>Tory MPs who have been awarded knighthoods include Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, 64, and Christopher Chope, 70, while Cheryl Gillan becomes a dame.<\/p>\n\n<p>On the other side of the house, Labour&#39;s Mark Hendrick, 59, and Commons deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle, 60, are knighted.<\/p>\n\n<p>Professor John Curtice, who led the exit polls showing shock wins for Labour in June&#39;s election, and accurately predicted three elections before that, also receives a knighthood.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;Just six months ago the exit poll I led surprised everyone with a shock prediction that went on to be uncannily accurate,&quot; he said.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;Now it is my turn to be surprised - and humbled - by the gracious decision to grant me a knighthood. It is not something I ever expected to happen.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>The rise of Grime music gets a nod, as Wiley, real name Richard Cowie, gets an MBE, as does Skepta&#39;s manager Grace Ladoja.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a46e42665d5a.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>But Skepta is rumoured to have turned down an honour last year, making reference in Hypocrisy, where he sings: &quot;The MBE got rejected \/ I&#39;m not trying to be accepted.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>Godfather of Grime Wiley, 38, said: &quot;I&#39;m honoured to be receiving an MBE. &quot;It feels like the school grade I wanted and didn&#39;t get but now I&#39;m finally there.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>Heather Knight, who captained the World Cup-winning England cricket team, is awarded an OBE, along with a head coach Mark Robinson. Clare Connor, director of England Women&#39;s cricket, has her CBE upgraded.<\/p>\n\n<p>Former Sky News presenter Eamonn Holmes receives an OBE for services to broadcasting, and said it felt like getting a &quot;gold star on your homework&quot;.<\/p>\n\n<p>There are no mentions for those who helped in the Grenfell Tower fire, but a cabinet office spokesman explained these are likely to come at a later date, as consideration is given.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a46e4def3410.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>The oldest people on the list are Lieutenant Colonel Mordaunt Cohen, who receives an MBE for services to Second World War education and Helena Jones, who will be given an BEM for services to young people and the community in Brecon, Powys. Both are 101-years-old.<\/p>\n\n<p>The youngest is Lucia Mee, aged 18, who receives a BEM for her work raising awareness of organ donation.<\/p>\n\n<p>The 2018 list is 6% smaller than the 2017 list, and the smallest since 2013. Women make up just under half of the honours list, as 551 collect an award. Black, Asian and minority ethnic background recipients account for 9.2%.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a46e28674a66.jpeg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45543"},{"id":"217-980125-5a08ab97459c4","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/the-battle-of-the-christmas-adverts\/","title":"It's begun...the battle of the Christmas Adverts takes off!","date_published":"2017-11-13T10:50:00+00:00","content_html":"<p>It doesn&#39;t seem like five minutes since the run up to Christmas was more about what toys were in the Argos catalogue and whether you bought the mince pies with or without the brandy in (with, obviously).<\/p>\n\n<p>However nowadays, it seems the public consciousness is peaked by the release of the Christmas TV advert. For the sake of this article, we&#39;re going to say it&#39;s all thanks to John Lewis...but we&nbsp;<em>know<\/em>&nbsp;it&#39;s really Geoffrey the Giraffe who kicked off proceedings. Scoot forward to 2017 and now every company is trying to get in on the action!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>We&#39;ve compiled below a list of the Christmas ad&#39;s that are making waves; let us know which is YOUR favourite.<\/p>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>John Lewis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Jw1Y-zhQURU?rel=0&amp;controls=0&amp;start=5\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>M&amp;S<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KfaSxIkLslE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>Waitrose<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DJZbo5ohVGs?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>Boots<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9cAhAqgLiIA?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>Tesco<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2 class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;\"><strong><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qSUkAURUU1I?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n<h2><strong>Aldi<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2 class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;\"><strong><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iJGpOYKXcSE?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n<h2><strong>ASDA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rd9wKCy1pAE?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n<h2><strong>Debenhams<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2 class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;\"><strong><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fyNhzFYP3ts?rel=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n<h2><strong>Argos<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2 class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;\"><strong><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WNqm-sgz86Y?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n<h2><strong>Morrisons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h2 class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tgORQLTshDI?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/h2>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>or should it just be left to the originals...?<\/p>\n\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n<h2><strong>Toys&#39;R&#39;Us<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5qpEVl-Q-Ks?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n<h2><strong>Coca Cola<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed-wrapper\" style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;padding-top:30px;height:0;overflow:hidden\"><iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E3Wvb0dapZA?rel=0&amp;controls=0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/div>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/5a08ade303ead.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45542"},{"id":"217-980125-59ffae6645914","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/kfc-release-a-bath-bomb-that-smells-of-fried-chicken\/","title":"KFC release a bath bomb...that smells of fried chicken!","date_published":"2017-11-06T13:35:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>There aren&rsquo;t many things more relaxing in this life than lying back in the tub with a sweet smelling bath bomb.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ffadbd83c52.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>The scents of lavender, rose or general fruity flowery-ness carry you away from the cares of the day on a magic carpet of bubbliness.&nbsp;However, how do you feel about chilling out in a bath smelling of a family bucket of KFC?<\/p>\n\n<p>The chicken restaurant&nbsp;and novelty retailers,<em>&nbsp;Village Vanguard<\/em>&nbsp;have joined forces to create a cluck-urious KFC bath bomb.&nbsp;The savoury bath product is officially known as &lsquo;Chicken Smell Bathing Powder&rsquo; and is jam packed with the Colonel&rsquo;s top secret potion of 11 herbs and spices.<\/p>\n\n<p>To add an extra dose of realism, the deep-fried frother is shaped like a drumstick &ndash; just don&rsquo;t be tempted to take a bite as this will no doubt ruin your chicken-zen.&nbsp;Close your eyes, apply a generous helping of grease and gravy to your hands and you&rsquo;ll feel as though you&rsquo;re truly lying on the floor of your local KFC branch, soaking up those good vibes.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ffadbb82520.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Sadly,&nbsp;only a handful of crispy skin fanatics will be able to enjoy this unique experience.&nbsp;First of all, you must be living in Japan. Secondly, just&nbsp;100 people will be chosen between 1st November and&nbsp;15th November, which &ndash; let&rsquo;s face it &ndash; really makes this aromatic product more finger biting than finger lickin&rsquo;.<\/p>\n\n<p>There are no current plans to launch the product in the UK, so Brits will just have to bathe in their own KFC scented tears. For now.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ffadbd83c52.jpg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45541"},{"id":"217-980125-59e6f2f257240","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/aldi-is-launching-gin-soaked-mince-pies-in-time-for-christmas\/","title":"Aldi is launching GIN-SOAKED mince pies in time for Christmas","date_published":"2017-10-18T06:21:32+00:00","content_html":"<p><b>Gin lovers rejoice &ndash; Aldi has launched a new range of festive mince pies that are soaked in the stuff.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59e6f29bdb1b8.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>The discount supermarket, which has branches in Chester on Bumpers Lane and Tarvin Road, is releasing the range in its &#39;Specially Selected&#39; range, so they&#39;ll set you back &pound;2.29 for a pack of six.<\/p>\n\n<p>The festive treats, which Aldi is calling &#39;tarts&#39;, are covered in flaked almonds with a good amount of sloe gin added to a standard mincemeat filling.<\/p>\n\n<p>The boozy pastries will be launched on November 14 and Aldi has described them as &#39;a very sophisticated alternative to traditional mince pies&#39;.<\/p>\n\n<p>It appears that retailers are going all out on gin this year &ndash; there are a couple of gin advent calendars on the market, and even gin baubles. Mother&#39;s Ruin has never been more Christmassy.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59e6f29bdb1a9.jpeg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45540"},{"id":"217-980125-59dff88e69f96","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/london-distillery-release-new-turkey-gin-in-time-for-christmas\/","title":"London distillery release new turkey gin in time for Christmas","date_published":"2017-10-12T23:19:37+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>One of the UK&#39;s favourite London gins is launching a third Director&rsquo;s Cut - and this one is distilled with turkey breast&hellip; yep, you heard right!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59dff7bf12fc5.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Created by master distiller and director Jake Burger, Director&rsquo;s Cut No3 is thought to be the world&rsquo;s first pechuga gin. The gin is created by a&nbsp;process used by Mexico&rsquo;s mezcal producers whereby a chicken or turkey breast is suspended over the still, cooking in the vapours and adding subtle flavour to the spirit.<\/p>\n\n<p>Redistilling Portobello Road Gin&rsquo;s original 171 blend in a 400l copper&nbsp;alembic still, the new blend includes organic raw turkey breast and a combination of 13 botanicals &ndash; apples, pears, plums, currants, raisins, sultanas, apricots, brown rice, passion fruit, cinnamon, cassia bark, nutmeg and mace. If that isn&rsquo;t enough, it was all harvested personally by Burger on Grenada&rsquo;s Spice Island. He said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;My love for gin is matched equally by my passion for tequila and mezcal; and so for the third installment in our Director&rsquo;s Cut series it was a natural choice for me to look across the Atlantic and take inspiration from our Mexican spirit producing brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;As the alcohol vapours pass through the turkey breast during distillation they add something almost indefinable to the gin, you wouldn&rsquo;t really say it was turkey flavoured gin, the flavour is very subtle, and whilst it adds it also takes away, absorbing some of the more intense fruit flavours and stopping them from overwhelming the taste of the gin.&rsquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>However, it hasn&rsquo;t happened just yet, with distillation date set for 25 October at&nbsp;Portobello Road Gin&rsquo;s The Distillery. Burger will be joined by industry heavyweights for the occasion, with the gin available to purchase from 1 November.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59dff84c29329.jpeg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45539"},{"id":"217-980125-59dd4fd17ab13","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/morrisons-announce-the-release-of-the-hottest-supermarket-curry-of-all-time\/","title":"Morrisons announce the release of the 'hottest supermarket curry of all time'","date_published":"2017-10-10T22:55:11+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Big news! Morrisons has a huge announcement in the world of hot food.&nbsp;It&#39;s only gone and made the hottest curry under the sun!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59dd4fba96f7c.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>In anticipation of Britain&#39;s National Curry Week, the supermarket is releasing what it calls the &#39;hottest supermarket curry ever made in the UK&#39;.<\/p>\n\n<p>The new &#39;Volcanic Vindaloo&#39; is so hot because it contains Naga chillies, which are two hundred times hotter than a Jalape&ntilde;o, and probably a lot nicer than just eating two hundred of them, which would leave you with hallucinations and the world&#39;s most embarrassing sick note from work\/school!<\/p>\n\n<p>Naga chillies have been used in the past to develop tear gas grenades - that&#39;s how hot they are. They come from North East India and Bangladesh, where locals sometimes eat them as a raw side dish. They&#39;re similar to Ghost Pepper and measure between 1,000,000 and 1,598,227 SHU on the Scoville scale, which is a system of measurement used to determine the hot, hot, hotness of chillies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59dd4f7c2ea4e.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Morrisons&#39; new curry is aimed at the heartier curry fan, who looks at a Chicken Tikka and considers it an insult to the word curry and an affront to spicy food, someone looking for a culinary challenge when it comes to tea time.<\/p>\n\n<p>The store hopes the new Volcano Vindaloo will match the heat of a restaurant Chicken Vindaloo, and worked with a team of curry chefs to create a dish that is blow-your-socks off hot while still actually tasting of something. It&#39;s topped off with whole green chillies just in case you hadn&#39;t punished your senses enough already. Morrisons Ready Meals Expert, Sean Gill, said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;Curry fans have been telling us that they just don&#39;t get the fiery heat they want from ordinary ready meal curries. So we decided to take up their challenge and create the hottest ready meal in the country - something with the extreme heat you get when you order a Vindaloo in your favourite restaurant. We&#39;re looking forward to hearing what they think.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The &#39;Volcanic Vindaloo&#39; is available from all Morrisons stores, for a limited period, priced at &pound;1.50.<\/strong><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59dd4f56353af.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45538"},{"id":"217-980125-59d6b064d43fa","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/somebody-has-made-vodka-infused-ice-cream-which-can-actually-get-you-drunk\/","title":"Somebody has made vodka infused ice cream which can actually get you drunk","date_published":"2017-10-05T22:21:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Luckily, though, we live in a time where important research goes into a lot things to improve our lives, which is why technology has come on in leaps and bounds, transport is better than ever and you can do your shopping without actually leaving your sofa.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Oh, there&#39;s also vodka infused ice cream which gets you drunk, too.<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:47.592592592592595% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC\/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5\/P8\/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo\/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI\/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf\/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BVuit15gOLl\/\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_blank\">Make it a double at Christos Discount Liquors! Head on over for #free #vodkaicecream today (June 24) from 4-7. 7175 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd in #Ferndale. #chillouteatvodka #21over #freetasting #instagood #summerfun #thingstodoinferndale<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A post shared by ArcticBuzz Vodka Ice-Cream (@arcticbuzzvodka) on <time datetime=\"2017-06-24T15:23:57+00:00\" style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\">Jun 24, 2017 at 8:23am PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>Finding out about it now is fairly useless, given that summer has drawn to a close and you&#39;re presumably already fighting off a cold -&nbsp;but if you turn the heating right up at home, then maybe you can have a sesh on the ice cream. And, if you&#39;re American then this has come at the right time for you.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>Arctic Buzz<\/em>, based in Baltimore, are the brand behind the innovative desert offering flavours such as Key Lime Pie, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate, Raspberry, Vanilla and Coconut.<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC\/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5\/P8\/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo\/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI\/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf\/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BOsKwOThpes\/\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_blank\">Take New Years Eve toast to the next level with an #ArcticBuzz RAZZLE DAZZLE champagne float. Combine your favorite champagne with two tablespoons of ArcticBuzz raspberry ice cream. #bmore #21andover #cheers #nyetoast2017 #champagne #champagnerecipes #maryland #specialtydrinks #celebrate<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A post shared by ArcticBuzz Vodka Ice-Cream (@arcticbuzzvodka) on <time datetime=\"2016-12-31T17:36:19+00:00\" style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\">Dec 31, 2016 at 9:36am PST<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>The standard 100ml tubs contain between 8.6 and 8.9 percent alcohol, which is enough to get you a bit buzzed, but if you can really put away your ice cream, then a few tubs will get you on your way.<\/p>\n\n<p>Sadly it&#39;s not a global thing (it never is) and is currently only available in liquor-stores in the Baltimore area.&nbsp;If you do happen to live there, or are visiting, then you can find out where to pick it up&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/arcticbuzzicecream.com\/vendors-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC\/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5\/P8\/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo\/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI\/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf\/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BN-AUAehmpr\/\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_blank\">If you haven&#39;t tried our new #vanilla #vodka #icecream, you need to make it happen! It&#39;s #delicious #thingstodoinbaltimore #21andover #instagood #baltimore #maryland #flavors #bmore #yummy #cheers #happyhour<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A post shared by ArcticBuzz Vodka Ice-Cream (@arcticbuzzvodka) on <time datetime=\"2016-12-13T19:20:01+00:00\" style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\">Dec 13, 2016 at 11:20am PST<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>For those that aren&#39;t, Arctic Buzz says: &quot;We work closely with a local distillery to create artisan flavors that are formulated solely for our product! We currently feature six flavors of our hand crafted vodka that provides outstanding taste for each and every palate.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>Brain freeze during pre-drinks, as I believe, isn&#39;t all that common, but it&#39;s a bit different, isn&#39;t it? These could also be one hell of a hangover cure.<\/p>\n\n<p>PS - <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drinkaware.co.uk\/\">drink responsibly!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59d76e079faaa.jpeg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45537"},{"id":"217-980125-59d1ff59886e2","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/roger-waters-announces-spectacular-european-arena-tour-in-2018\/","title":"Roger Waters announces spectacular European arena tour in 2018","date_published":"2017-10-02T08:56:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Pink Floyd icon, Roger Waters, has announced this morning that his pioneering &lsquo;Us + Them&rsquo; tour will visit arenas around the UK next year. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>CLICK PLAY FOR A PREVIEW:<\/p>\n\n<p>\n<video controls=\"controls\" preload=\"metadata\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59d20001630dd.mp4\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;\">&nbsp;<\/video>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>The show is set to play venues in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, as well as the &#39;<em>Barclaycard presents British Summertime&#39;<\/em>&nbsp;gig at Hyde Park in London, when this critically-acclaimed show comes to Europe in summer 2018.<\/p>\n\n<p><em>&#39;Us + Them&#39;<\/em>, which is currently touring North America, has garnered rave reviews with the setlist called &#39;spectacular&#39;&nbsp;and the production referred to as eye-popping&#39;. It&nbsp;features songs from <em>Pink Floyd&rsquo;s<\/em> greatest albums; The Dark Side of The Moon, The Wall, Animals and Wish You Were Here, alongside&nbsp;some new songs from his best-selling album &ldquo;Is This the Life We Really Want?,&rdquo;.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59d1fecfa48c6.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>An initial list of dates looks like this:<\/p>\n\n<p>29.06.18 - The SSE Hydro, Glasgow<\/p>\n\n<p>02.07.18 -&nbsp;Echo Arena, Liverpool<\/p>\n\n<p>03.07.18 - Manchester&nbsp;Arena, Manchester<\/p>\n\n<p>06.07.18 -&nbsp;Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time, Hyde Park<\/p>\n\n<p>07.07.18 - Arena Birmingham, Birmingham<\/p>\n\n<p>Tickets for the UK go on sale on Friday 6th October, at 9am. For more information about purchasing tickets, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerwaters.com\">rogerwaters.com<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59d1fee799a89.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>The shows title is derived from the 1974 track &ldquo;Us And Them,&rdquo; from the multi-million selling Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon. His legendary live performances are renowned as immersive sensory experiences featuring high class, state-of-the-art audio visual production and breathtaking quad sound.&nbsp;This new tour promises to be no exception, following months of meticulous planning and visionary craft, it will inspire crowds with its powerful delivery to take the audience on a musical journey.<\/p>\n\n<p>The tour also marks Waters&rsquo; first return to Europe since The Wall Live (2010-2013), his sold-out world tour which was seen by more than 4 million fans globally at 219 shows and remains the highest grossing tour by any solo artist in history. Head to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerwaters.com\">rogerwaters.com<\/a> for more information.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59d1feede6a56.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45536"},{"id":"217-980125-59ca85ade570d","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/bad-news-for-jaffa-cake-fans\/","title":"Bad news for Jaffa Cake fans!","date_published":"2017-09-27T10:55:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Jaffa Cake fans will be shocked to learn that a big change is here. It seems that the popular cake is subject to what has been dubbed &#39;shrinkflation&#39;.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ca857c98dbf.jpg\" style=\"\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>In an announcement today it&#39;s been revealed that Jaffa Cakes will now come in a smaller box...meaning fans will only be able to get their hands on 10 instead of the usual 12. In a similar way, twin packs will now have 20, rather than 24 cakes.&nbsp;With the packs getting smaller the price per pack <em>should<\/em> also reduce!<br \/>\n<br \/>\nMcVities point out that &quot;these changes represent the same price per cake, however, pricing ultimately remains at the sole discretion of retailers.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;There is no change in the size, shape or weight of individual cakes in the McVitie&#39;s Jaffa Cake range.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>Despite this reassurance, the news has hit&nbsp;many fans hard, and they took&nbsp;to Twitter with their thoughts:<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">McVites reducing the size of Jaffa cake box from 12 to 10. I am shook.Never mind Brexit or impending nuclear war this is worst news of 2017.<\/p>\n&mdash; Franny (@FrancesW96) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FrancesW96\/status\/912666879952609280\">September 26, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>Whilst another fan was wondering how he was going to share the new boxes with his family, when they normally share them equally. Time to halve the cakes!<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McVities\">@McVities<\/a> there&rsquo;s 4 in our family and we like to share a box of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/jaffacake?src=hash\">#jaffacake<\/a>. Now what we gonna do?<\/p>\n&mdash; phil_1965 (@phil_1965) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phil_1965\/status\/912684985840226306\">September 26, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>However, others have seen the plus side of having smaller boxes, with Amie saying on Twitter:<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I&rsquo;m actually glad they&rsquo;re making Jaffa Cake boxes smaller because now I can feel less guilty when I inevitably binge eat an entire box<\/p>\n&mdash; Amie (@Amie_ee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Amie_ee\/status\/912635862999019520\">September 26, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>Although they haven&#39;t changed that actual size of the Jaffa Cakes many of our favourites <em>have<\/em> reduced in size recently.<\/p>\n\n<p>Earlier this year McVitie&#39;s reduced their dark chocolate digestive biscuits by 10%, from 332g to 300g and last year fans of&nbsp;Toblerone, were left disappointed when the number of triangles in the chocolate bar were reduced.<\/p>\n\n<p>Of course we understand that they need to keep the cost low, but we love Jaffa Cakes so much, of course we&#39;re sad that there&#39;ll be less in the box.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Although...what a great excuse to buy even more!<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ca85483779e.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45535"},{"id":"217-980125-59c3f2e3a5173","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/ariana-grande-just-outed-herself-as-a-huge-harry-potter-geek\/","title":"Ariana Grande just outed herself as a HUGE Harry Potter geek!","date_published":"2017-09-21T17:11:56+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>She&#39;s one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but it seems Ariana Grande is also a MAJOR fan of&nbsp;Harry Potter!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>The US pop-sensation&nbsp;outed herself as Potter superfan when she saved&nbsp;J.K. Rowling from a <em>seriously<\/em> massive spider.&nbsp;Rowling took to her Twitter account to show her 12.6 million followers the beast she&#39;d caught in her house. Alongside the scary snap she wrote, &#39;I am a strong, independent woman. Also, thanks very much to my husband for dealing with this so I could go through the door it was blocking.&#39;<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I am a strong, independent woman. Also, thanks very much to my husband for dealing with this so I could go through the door it was blocking. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nytaftNcIw\">pic.twitter.com\/nytaftNcIw<\/a><\/p>\n&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jk_rowling\/status\/909671414499827712\">September 18, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>Showing her followers she&#39;s a true fan, Ariana couldn&#39;t resist reminding the author of a useful spell she can use to vanish the spider.&nbsp;Replying to J.K. Rowling&#39;s tweet, Ariana wrote, &#39;arania exumai&#39; [sic].<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"eu\">arania exumai \u2728 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/K9oUwuDsC7\">https:\/\/t.co\/K9oUwuDsC7<\/a><\/p>\n&mdash; Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArianaGrande\/status\/909695481235767296\">September 18, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>According to a&nbsp;<strong>Harry Potter<\/strong>&nbsp;fan site, &#39;Arania Exumai&#39; is the incantation of a spell used to blast back acromantulas or other large spiders. If the spell misses and strikes stone, it will produce a large black scorch mark, and thus it is not recommended for use on humans, though casting through or along a human produces no ill effect so long as a spider is struck.<\/p>\n\n<p>But of course as a HUGE Harry Potter fan...you&nbsp;already know that! \u26a1\u26a1\u26a1<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59c3f2ba691d0.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45534"},{"id":"217-980125-59c3f08b7d150","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/french-and-saunders-are-heading-back-to-our-tv-screens\/","title":"French and Saunders are heading back to our TV screens!","date_published":"2017-09-21T17:01:56+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>The word &#39;legendary&#39; is often overused - but here it&#39;s absolutely justified! French and Saunders are icons of British comedy and the pair&nbsp;will be returning to your TV with new episodes of their much loved sketch show, &#39;French and Saunders&#39;, for the first time in 10 years!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>The comedy sketch show will return for a festive special, which is expected to air on Christmas Day this year and the pair have revealed work on the special project has begun. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Dawn said: &quot;There&#39;s some &#39;Handmaid&#39;s Tale&#39; in there - we had fun with some of the costumes!&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>The 59-year-old star also revealed she and Jennifer, 59, will poke fun at reality TV stars who get drunk and have sex on TV at holiday resorts.<\/p>\n\n<p>She added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: &quot;I am shocked by how they behave. You reckon they&#39;d want to meet someone who would love, cherish and respect them.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"French and Saunders Christmas Special 2\" src=\"http:\/\/assets.heart.co.uk\/2017\/38\/french-and-saunders-christmas-special-2-1505891894.png\" style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>&#39;French and Saunders&#39; ran on and off for 20 years from March 1987 to December 2007.&nbsp;The show aired for seven series, the last being &#39;A Bucket O&#39; French and Saunders&#39;, which parodied shows such as &#39;The Apprentice&#39;, The X Factor&#39;, &#39;Big Brother&#39; and &#39;America&#39;s Next Top Model&#39;.<\/p>\n\n<p>It also featured some older material from the past 20 years of the series, including a sketch featuring Dawn&#39;s ex-husband Lenny Henry, and Jennifer&#39;s significant other, Adrian Edmondson, as well as&nbsp;a skit of the &#39;Vicar of Dibley&#39; star modelling alongside Kate Moss.<\/p>\n\n<p>Jennifer went on to create hit sitcom &#39;Absolutely Fabulous&#39;, which is based on a sketch the pair wrote on &#39;French and Saunders&#39; -&nbsp;and Dawn recently joked she was &quot;so jealous&quot; of the star&#39;s success.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59c3eeff88d37.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>She quipped: &quot;She had no discernible talent whatsoever until that moment, and then she came through on the inside lane and apparently she was talented all the time. I didn&#39;t know that, I thought I was the funny one.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;When I saw that happening it was a huge amount of envy. Right in your belly in a place you don&#39;t want it, and its bile-y and it tastes bad and it&#39;s all consuming.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;But the good thing is I think you&#39;re allowed to own up to it, and that&#39;s what I did, I called her lots of words and just said, &#39;I cannot believe you&#39;re this talented, I cannot believe it&#39;s this successful, I can&#39;t believe I&#39;m not in it ... I&#39;m furious with you and I&#39;m so jealous.&#39; And she loved that that was the case.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;And so in a way that made it alright. And what&#39;s more important than the jealousy is that I love the girl.&quot;<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59c3f02d6d634.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45533"},{"id":"217-980125-59bef1d2226fb","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/aldi-is-releasing-a-range-of-gins-that-wont-break-the-bank-just-in-time-for-christmas\/","title":"Aldi is releasing a range of gins that won\u2019t break the bank, just in time for Christmas!","date_published":"2017-09-17T22:06:08+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Gin has been rocketing up the leader board of the most popular spirits, with British gin exports reaching a&nbsp;record&nbsp;&pound;500 million last year. Additional figures say 2016 saw a 16 percent rise in the juniper-based alcohol sales, leading the drink industry declaring last year the &#39;Year of Gin&#39;.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>So, low-cost supermarket Aldi appears to be taking advantage of the situation by introducing a range of new products, just in time for Christmas.<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"Gin bottle\" data-orig-height=\"472\" data-orig-width=\"630\" src=\"http:\/\/20.theladbiblegroup.com\/s3\/content\/b3d3c70559bc264a48fa280f643e0680.jpg\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>The first off the conveyor belt will be available in stores at the start of next month and is called Oliver Cromwell 1599 Sloe Gin. According to the&nbsp;<em>Huffington<\/em> <em>Post<\/em>, this will be an absolute bargain at just &pound;9.99. According to its website, this product is &quot;an intensely aromatic plum and cherry flavour [which] resonates throughout the mouth, closely followed by a hint of almond from the stone of the sloe fruit, giving a full and complex taste.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>We&#39;re literally salivating already.<\/p>\n\n<p>If you want to add a slightly pink hue to your G&amp;T, then Gin Lane 1751 Victoria Pink Gin could be more up your alley. Boasting of eight botanicals (juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root, Sicilian lemon, Seville orange, cassia bark and star anise), it gets its rose colour from Angostura bitters and is the perfect&nbsp;balance&nbsp;&#39;between sweet and dry&#39;.<\/p>\n\n<p>It will set you back just &pound;19.99&nbsp;and will be on the shelves by the middle of November.<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"Gin bottle\" data-orig-height=\"472\" data-orig-width=\"630\" src=\"http:\/\/20.theladbiblegroup.com\/s3\/content\/cff3cb2959bc264a48fae7f8651a6eec.jpg\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>Eight botanicals is fairly decent, until you consider&nbsp;La Fleuriste French Gin, which contains not nine, not 10, but 17 carefully selected botanicals and spices. Costing as much as the Gin Lane 1751 and available at the same time, it is &quot;complex and elegant, with delicate notes of blossom closely followed by a citrus and juniper finish.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"Gin bottle\" data-orig-height=\"472\" data-orig-width=\"630\" src=\"http:\/\/20.theladbiblegroup.com\/s3\/content\/f98cca8559bc264a48fa8e827b8a3451.jpg\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>The Topaz Blue Premium Gin is subtly described as &#39;elegance in a bottle&#39; - don&#39;t mind if I do. But in all seriousness, it&#39;s, &quot;a balanced mix of wild botanicals and fruits with a touch of citrus and juniper. Mix with frozen berries for a perfect festive tipple to crack open for seasonal celebrations.&quot; It&#39;ll be ready for sale in just 16 days and will cost just &pound;13.99 ($18.99).<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"Gin bottle\" data-orig-height=\"472\" data-orig-width=\"630\" src=\"http:\/\/20.theladbiblegroup.com\/s3\/content\/1710890659bc571348faa24da3cce0e5.jpg\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>But if you&#39;ve been searching this list for a gin that is both &#39;unique and distinctive&#39;, then look no further. Needle Blackforest Gin is just a pound more than the Topaz and offers a mix of 11 botanicals &#39;ranging from lavender to hand-picked spruce needles&#39;.<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"Gin bottle\" data-orig-height=\"472\" data-orig-width=\"630\" src=\"http:\/\/20.theladbiblegroup.com\/s3\/content\/43975c9859bc571348fa3bf04fca3624.jpg\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>Now let&#39;s get to the special ones. Boyle&#39;s Premium Irish Small Batch Craft Gin is the same price as the Gin Lane 1751, but this one is the holder of the Overall Best Gin award, at the Irish Whiskey Awards. No need to speculate on why they were judging gin at a whiskey contest, all you need to know is that it won. It will also be available on 14 November.<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"Gin bottle\" data-orig-height=\"472\" data-orig-width=\"630\" src=\"http:\/\/20.theladbiblegroup.com\/s3\/content\/5a25618759bc571348fa26287c547946.jpg\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p>But if you want to go for the top of the range, then you won&#39;t need to wait at all. That&#39;s because Aldi is already selling the Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin, which received a gold medal at the 2017 IWSC Awards. While that might not mean anything to some people, just bear in mind that it beat some competitors that were double, triple and quraduple the price. You can pick up a 70cl bottle for just &pound;9.99.<\/p>\n\n<center><img alt=\"Gin bottle\" data-orig-height=\"472\" data-orig-width=\"630\" src=\"http:\/\/20.theladbiblegroup.com\/s3\/content\/6e2b28f659bc571348fad857cd22d98a.jpg\" \/><\/center>\n\n<p><strong>So, if you&#39;re wondering what to serve up to the in-laws, friends and family for Christmas, at least you won&#39;t have to look far for gin.<\/strong><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/57e83b94a77fb.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45532"},{"id":"217-980125-59bb92b6a8843","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/stereo\/","title":"Stereophonics announce 2018 UK arena tour","date_published":"2017-09-15T10:43:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><b>Welsh rockers,&nbsp;Stereophonics, have announced a brand new UK arena&nbsp;tour&nbsp;and you&#39;ll be able to buy tickets very soon.<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59bb8ea86179a.jpg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>The Welsh quartet&nbsp;will be performing 12 dates across the country in February and March 2018, including dates in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and London.<\/p>\n\n<p><b>The full list is as follows:<\/b><\/p>\n\n<p>Friday 23rd February - Aberdeen AECC Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Saturday 24th February - Glasgow SSE The Hydro<\/p>\n\n<p>Monday 26th February - Nottingham Motorpoint Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Tuesday 27th February - Brighton Centre<\/p>\n\n<p>Thursday 1st March - Birmingham Genting Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Friday 2nd March - London Wembley Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Monday 5th March - Bournemouth BIC<\/p>\n\n<p>Tuesday 6th March - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Wednesday 7th March - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Friday 9th March - Manchester Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Saturday 10th March - Leeds First Direct Arena<\/p>\n\n<p>Monday 12th March - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59bb96dd734b0.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Stereophonics are due to release their forthcoming album &#39;Scream Above The Sounds&#39; at the end of October. This will be their 10th studio album following in the footsteps of countless number one albums over the two decades they have been in the music business.<\/p>\n\n<p>Earlier this week Stereophonics announced they were bringing the release date of their album forward by a week to the 27th October, due to &#39;international commitments&#39;. &#39;Scream Above The Sounds&#39; is available to pre-order directly from the Stereophonics official website.<\/p>\n\n<p>Tickets for their new tour will be available from&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aloud.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Aloud.com<\/a>&nbsp;at 9am on Friday 22nd September.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59bb97f631b29.jpeg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45531"},{"id":"217-980125-59b07b2946baa","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/the-wait-is-finally-over-you-can-now-get-a-yorkshire-pudding-based-pizza\/","title":"The wait is finally over! You can now get a Yorkshire pudding-based pizza!","date_published":"2017-09-06T22:48:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>You can finally enjoy a pizza on 25th December without insulting your mum&rsquo;s Christmas dinner &ndash; because you can now get your favourite cheesy dish served in a Yorkshire pudding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Rebels Smokehouse, a BBQ restaurant in&nbsp;East Yorkshire&nbsp;created the combo, that mixes Italian cuisine with the traditional northern side, to create a pizza-pie style dish.<\/p>\n\n<p>The pizza-filled Yorkshire pudding will take 1500 calories from your daily intake and features a sausage base, topped with tomato and lashings of cheese, and comes in Yorkshire&rsquo;s favourite export.<\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"text-align: center;\">The Yorkshire pudding is pre-cooked and then the topping goes into the oven upside-down so the Yorkshire pud remains crisp and tasty.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>At &pound;15.95, it&rsquo;s not that cheap &ndash; in fact it&rsquo;s even more expensive than most pizza places on the high street &ndash; but as it&rsquo;s big enough for two we can&rsquo;t really complain.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"You can now get a Yorkshire pudding-based pizza and it looks incredible\" data-loaded=\"true\" data-max-width=\"620\" data-orig-h=\"768\" data-orig-id=\"6907120\" data-orig-w=\"1024\" data-rewritten=\"true\" data-rsz=\"shrink\" data-src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/pri_51680833.jpg?w=620&amp;h=465&amp;crop=1\" src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/pri_51680833.jpg?w=620&amp;h=465&amp;crop=1\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Owner of the restaurant Sean Singer said he was inspired to create the combo after looking at nostalgic foods for his menu. He&rsquo;d been looking at the Chicago pizza when he had a brainwave.<\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"text-align: center;\">He said: &lsquo;I was working with co-owners Jason Rowe and Lucas Billingham to create a nostalgic menu when we came up with this.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>&lsquo;We were thinking of the Chicago town pizza &ndash; because we all ate these as a kid, more often than not in frozen form, when we decided to pair it with the Yorkshire pud.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"You can now get a Yorkshire pudding-based pizza and it looks incredible\" data-loaded=\"true\" data-max-width=\"620\" data-orig-h=\"768\" data-orig-id=\"6907117\" data-orig-w=\"1024\" data-rewritten=\"true\" data-rsz=\"shrink\" data-src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/pri_51680993.jpg?w=620&amp;h=465&amp;crop=1\" src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/pri_51680993.jpg?w=620&amp;h=465&amp;crop=1\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>&lsquo;Of course, it was the natural progression as we&rsquo;re all from Yorkshire.&rsquo;<\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"text-align: center;\">According to Sean, the new dish is &lsquo;so far going down a storm&rsquo;, and we&rsquo;re not surprised &ndash; it&rsquo;s a pizza, served in a Yorkshire pudding &ndash; why wouldn&rsquo;t it be?<\/span><\/p>\n\n<aside>\n<p>It tastes great. It is so right, but so wrong. It plays tricks on your mind,&rsquo; said Sean.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\n<p>We&rsquo;re more than willing to let this dish play tricks on our minds &ndash; anything to try our two favourite comfort foods combined together.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59bd1f8134888.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45530"},{"id":"217-980125-59af2fb14e03a","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/get-your-glass-slippers-on-disneyland-is-looking-for-princes-and-princesses-in-the-uk\/","title":"Get your glass slippers on! Disneyland is looking for princes and princesses in the UK!","date_published":"2017-09-06T06:10:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>If you&rsquo;re tired of your 9-5 and just want to add a bit of magic to your miserable days, then listen up! Disneyland Paris is coming to the UK in search of staff who fancy earning money dressed as Disney princes and princesses.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"Get your glass slippers on: Disneyland is looking for UK-based princes and princesses\" data-loaded=\"true\" data-max-width=\"620\" data-orig-h=\"515\" data-orig-id=\"6904284\" data-orig-w=\"692\" data-rewritten=\"true\" data-rsz=\"shrink\" data-src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/giphy-3.gif?w=620&amp;h=461&amp;crop=1\" src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/giphy-3.gif?w=620&amp;h=461&amp;crop=1\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Basically, if you fancy yourself as Cinderella, Rapunzel or Prince Eric -&nbsp;then this is the job for you!&nbsp;According to the Disneyland Paris website, the search for new staff comes in celebration of their 25th anniversary.<\/p>\n\n<p>Hoping to expand their character and parade department, they&rsquo;re looking for &lsquo;enthusiastic and energetic people to animate the famous Disney characters&rsquo;.<\/p>\n\n<p>Of course, not everyone has it in them to be a Disney legend. If you can&rsquo;t sing or dance &ndash; and you&rsquo;re not into wearing fancy clothes, then this role probably isn&rsquo;t for you.&nbsp;However, according to the advert, if you have a good level of dance skills, you&rsquo;ll be the perfect addition to the Disney parade.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"Get your glass slippers on: Disneyland is looking for UK-based princes and princesses\" data-loaded=\"true\" data-max-width=\"620\" data-orig-h=\"683\" data-orig-id=\"6904507\" data-orig-w=\"1024\" data-rewritten=\"true\" data-rsz=\"shrink\" data-src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/pri_51666461.jpg?w=620&amp;h=413&amp;crop=1\" src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/pri_51666461.jpg?w=620&amp;h=413&amp;crop=1\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"text-align: center;\">Alongside dancers, the resort is looking for people who are happy to meet their visitors on a daily basis dressed up as beloved Disney princes and princesses.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p>You&rsquo;ll need to be between 137cm and 193cm tall to apply, regardless of your talent. You&rsquo;ll also need to be able to speak French or English (or both) and will need to bring along a copy of your ID and a CV if you land an audition.<\/p>\n\n<p>Oh, and they ask that you also bring along jogging bottoms, sports shoes and that you don&rsquo;t wear any makeup (but at least that&rsquo;ll give you an extra ten minutes in bed, right?).<\/p>\n\n<p>The role starts in October 2017, with a minimum contract of four months &ndash; though hopefully, if you prove you&rsquo;re destined to be Disney royalty, this could be a long-term thing.&nbsp;If you&rsquo;d like to apply or find out more, you can visit the auditions page&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/careers.disneylandparis.com\/fr\/auditions\/audition-personnages-en-angleterre-7\">here<\/a>.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/09\/pri_51666441.jpg?w=620&h=413&crop=1","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45528"},{"id":"217-980125-59af31a19665a","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/madonna-is-having-a-hard-time-convincing-fedex-that-she-actually-is-madonna\/","title":"Madonna is having a hard time convincing FedEx that she actually IS Madonna!","date_published":"2017-09-05T23:22:05+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Being Madonna apparently isn&#39;t as easy as it seems.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>The international superstar shared on Twitter Tuesday that she was struggling to get a FedEx package delivered because, well, they didn&#39;t believe that she actually <em>was<\/em> who she claimed to be.<\/p>\n\n<p>On Instagram, she clarified that she was battling it out specifically with customs in her&nbsp;new home&nbsp;of Lisbon, Portugal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">When you&#39;ve been arguing with fed-ex all week that you really are Madonna and they still won&#39;t release your package. \ud83d\ude44!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/bitchplease?src=hash\">#bitchplease<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UQdms69w49\">pic.twitter.com\/UQdms69w49<\/a><\/p>\n&mdash; Madonna (@Madonna) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Madonna\/status\/905066956071546880\">September 5, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>Apparently, if you tweet about it, help will come. The FedEx Help account reached out to the singer to get the situation sorted. No word on whether or not her package has finally arrived&mdash;or what it was&mdash;but hopefully Julie is on it.<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Hi, this is Julie. I would like to help. Please DM your delivery address, tracking &amp; phone numbers. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7vnSkvqx3r\">https:\/\/t.co\/7vnSkvqx3r<\/a><\/p>\n&mdash; FedEx Help (@FedExHelp) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FedExHelp\/status\/905073647269883904\">September 5, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>Having to convince people that you are, indeed, the one and only Madonna is a very weird predicament. Though admittedly she&#39;s probably made it harder by constantly&nbsp;reinventing herself&nbsp;over the course of her lifetime.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Let&#39;s just hope this struggle leads to good things, like maybe a new hit song called &quot;Like a Package.&quot;&nbsp;<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59af315e1153f.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45529"},{"id":"217-980125-59ad2ac9e171c","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/is-adele-about-to-take-a-huge-new-career-direction\/","title":"Is Adele about to take a HUGE new career direction?","date_published":"2017-09-04T10:28:23+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Just when you thought Adele couldn&rsquo;t get any better, it&rsquo;s been reported that she&rsquo;s in talks to take on the world of acting and star in an upcoming film.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ad2993cbf39.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>She&rsquo;s said to have been approached to star as Nancy in a new Musial film of Oliver, and we think she&rsquo;d be fab - a&nbsp;source told&nbsp;<em>The Sun<\/em>: &ldquo;It would be a major part for her and she&rsquo;s seriously considering it.<\/p>\n\n<p>&ldquo;She&rsquo;s talked about Angelo being her number one priority and she sees this as a role that he could appreciate too. It would be a new challenge for her but one she would definitely be up for.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"adele3\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ad2a4b5c814.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>This comes after she told fans back in June that she was done with touring, saying in a letter:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;So this is it. After 15 months on the road and 18 months of &#39;25&#39;, we are at the end. We have taken this tour across the UK and Ireland, throughout Europe, all over America and I finally got to go to Australia and New Zealand too. Touring is a peculiar thing, it doesn&#39;t suit me particularly well!&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Maybe it&#39;s all about the movie life then, Adele!<\/strong><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ad2956287c9.jpg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45527"},{"id":"217-980125-59ad28b8673e3","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/primarks-launched-a-harry-potter-gym-collection-and-we-want-it-all\/","title":"Primark\u2019s launched a Harry Potter gym collection...and we want it all!","date_published":"2017-09-04T10:19:34+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Now summer is beginning to seem like a distant memory, we don&rsquo;t know about you, but we&rsquo;re kind of losing motivation to go to the gym. It&rsquo;s almost the season of baggy jumpers and Christmas food, and frankly getting in shape is the last thing on our minds.&nbsp;But one thing which is kind of tempting us to go and work out is Primark&rsquo;s new range of gym gear, which is&nbsp;Harry Potter&nbsp;themed!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ad27f2473e0.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Yes, Potterheads, you heard that right. Ranging from &pound;6-&pound;12, you can now deck yourself head to toe in&nbsp;wizard&nbsp;themed clothing, and your gym session is sure to be magical.<\/p>\n\n<p>This new Primark range lets you pick which house you belong in yourself, so you can rock your Gryffindor trackies, your Hufflepuff hoodie, your Slytherin sweats, or&hellip; you know, your Ravenclaw garms.&nbsp;And if you&rsquo;re looking for an outfit you can actually break a sweat in, the collection also includes Quidditch or Marauder&rsquo;s Map leggings.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ad281682852.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Hoodies come in at &pound;12 each, joggers cost &pound;10 and you can grab yourself a top and leggings for &pound;6 per item.<\/p>\n\n<p>Die hard&nbsp;<em>Harry Potter<\/em>&nbsp;fans can also get their hands on a&nbsp;<em>Harry Potter<\/em><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>themed gym bag for &pound;12, and even high top trainers for a tenner, if they&rsquo;re really pushing the boat out.&nbsp;While we&rsquo;re tempted to buy the whole collection, we&rsquo;re also scared people in the gym might think we&rsquo;re going a tiny bit overboard!<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59ad288c47c2a.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45526"},{"id":"217-980125-59a94b5d7d928","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/sam-smith-announces-new-material-and-we-dont-have-to-wait-long\/","title":"Sam Smith announces new material...and we don't have to wait long!","date_published":"2017-09-01T13:35:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>He&#39;s been away from the spotlight for what seems like forever - but&nbsp;Sam Smith looks set to return with new music next week!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><a data-scribe=\"element:photo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/samsmithworld\/status\/903531146214080512\/photo\/1\"><img alt=\"View image on Twitter\" data-srcset=\"https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FDIn8yClXUAAp8yV.jpg%3Alarge 1600w,https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FDIn8yClXUAAp8yV.jpg 1200w,https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FDIn8yClXUAAp8yV.jpg%3Asmall 680w\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/DIn8yClXUAAp8yV.jpg:small\" style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"View image on Twitter\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n\n<p>A banner advert of the singer and the date September 8 has appeared in London&#39;s Shoreditch today - and the image was quickly shared on social media with fans whipping themselves into a frenzy!<\/p>\n\n<article data-scribe=\"component:card\" dir=\"ltr\">&nbsp;<\/article>\n\n<p>Smith is expected to release his new single, which will serve as the lead track from his forthcoming second album. His last release was <em>&#39;Writing&#39;s On The Wall&#39;<\/em>&nbsp;back in 2015 - the theme song to the James Bond film <em>Spectre<\/em> that went on to become the first ever Number 1 Bond theme on the Official Singles Chart.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<center>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC\/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5\/P8\/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo\/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI\/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf\/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BYdmBA7gRl-\/\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Sam Smith (@samsmithworld)<\/a> on <time datetime=\"2017-08-31T14:59:52+00:00\" style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\">Aug 31, 2017 at 7:59am PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/center>\n\n<p>The singer&#39;s debut album In The Lonely Hour was released in 2014 and was a huge success around the world, logging eight weeks at Number 1 in the UK and even reaching the summit in America. That year it was the&nbsp;only album to sell one million&nbsp;on both sides of the Atlantic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Sam has been teasing details of his second album over the past few weeks, sharing pictures from a recording studio&nbsp;including a shot with Timbaland, and rumours are rife of duets with artists including <em>Clean Bandit<\/em>, <em>Adam<\/em> <em>Lambert<\/em> and even another track with&nbsp;<em>Naughty<\/em> <em>Boy.<\/em><\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59a94b0d0bef8.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45525"},{"id":"217-980125-59a58215f2fe8","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/a-bar-is-searching-for-someone-who-can-shove-a-lot-of-sausages-in-their-mouth\/","title":"A bar is searching for someone who can shove a LOT of sausages in their mouth!","date_published":"2017-08-29T15:02:44+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>You know when you see a job advert and think: &lsquo;that&rsquo;s what I was always supposed to do&rsquo;?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.6;\">Well...it&rsquo;s not a <em>proper<\/em> job where you&rsquo;ll get paid, but it is important, worthy work.&nbsp;<\/span>Manchester&rsquo;s Oktoberfest needs someone who can take a lot of sausages in their mouth.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59a581cc6c4a3.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Why? So they can break the world record for speedy wiener swallowing (which, apparently, is an actual thing!)<\/p>\n\n<p>Albert&rsquo;s Schloss will be taking over Albert Hall for a three-day sausage-fest, and it&rsquo;s that bar that&rsquo;s on the hunt for a sausage-chomping champion.<\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.6; text-align: center;\">On 15 September the festivities will begin, with Bavarian bier tents, bands, and plenty of sausage stalls.&nbsp;<\/span>As the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/whats-on\/food-drink-news\/alberts-schloss-needs-you-help-13511210\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manchester Evening News<\/a>&nbsp;reports, Albert&rsquo;s Schloss is keen to find someone who&rsquo;ll set a new record in sausage eating, as part of their Wurst Olympics.<\/p>\n\n<p>The current record for the most sausages consumed in one minute belongs to Stefan Paladin, from New Zealand, who managed to eat eight 10cm sausages in 60 seconds.<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"A bar is searching for someone who can ram a lot of sausages in their mouth\" data-loaded=\"true\" data-max-width=\"620\" data-rewritten=\"true\" data-rsz=\"shrink\" data-src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/500097745.jpg?w=620&amp;h=412&amp;crop=1\" src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/500097745.jpg?w=620&amp;h=412&amp;crop=1\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>If you reckon you can beat him, you&rsquo;ll take part in one of the three timed trials on Friday, before taking part in the proper challenge on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n<p>To compete&nbsp;you&rsquo;ll just need to buy a &pound;5 ticket for the festival, so don&rsquo;t stress about gathering credentials or getting your mum to print off a certificate for that time you ate four hot dogs at once - it&#39;s just not needed!<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59a581f5c1aa9.jpg","author":{"name":"Dan Richards"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45524"},{"id":"217-980125-59a4a9f7d1f10","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/could-beyonce-be-the-artists-behind-the-new-bond-theme\/","title":"Could Beyonce be the artists behind the new Bond theme?","date_published":"2017-08-28T23:40:39+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Could Beyonce be singing the theme song for the new James Bond film? Somebody say it&rsquo;s true!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"Beyonce is 'in talks' to record James Bond theme song and we are shook AF\" data-loaded=\"true\" data-max-width=\"620\" data-orig-h=\"642\" data-orig-id=\"6747018\" data-orig-w=\"1024\" data-rewritten=\"true\" data-rsz=\"shrink\" data-src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/06\/647647548.jpg?w=620&amp;h=388&amp;crop=1\" src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/06\/647647548.jpg?w=620&amp;h=388&amp;crop=1\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Imagine Queen Bey&rsquo;s sultry vocals welcoming you into the 25th film in the iconic series? The thought alone has us in shivers.<\/p>\n\n<p>It&rsquo;s been good news after good news for the blockbuster spy-thriller as actor Daniel Craig has confirmed he will return as everyone&rsquo;s favourite MI5 agent for the fifth consecutive time &ndash; and to follow that announcement there have been reports flying around the <em>Drunk In Love <\/em>hitmaker is in talks to sing the theme song.<\/p>\n\n<p>The producers of the franchise reportedly want something brand new for the upcoming movie and we&nbsp;certainly think the 35-year-old singer is the way to go if you want something fresh and out there.<\/p>\n\n<p>You can&rsquo;t get any better than Mrs Carter. Who else can match Adele&rsquo;s efforts?<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"Beyonce is 'in talks' to record James Bond theme song and we are shook AF\" data-loaded=\"true\" data-max-width=\"620\" data-orig-h=\"250\" data-orig-id=\"6879625\" data-orig-w=\"500\" data-rewritten=\"true\" data-rsz=\"no\" data-src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/beyonce.gif\" src=\"https:\/\/metrouk2.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/08\/beyonce.gif\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>A source told the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailystar.co.uk\/showbiz\/640338\/Beyonc-James-Bond-007-theme-song\">Daily Star<\/a>&nbsp;that the mother of new twins Rumi and Sir is intrigued by the idea and that it was Adele who piqued her interest.&nbsp;The source said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;This is the only project she is remotely interested in right now. The two spoke before Bey&rsquo;s first meeting with film bosses and Adele told her how co-writing and performing a Bond theme gave her an amazing career hike.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>The film makers reportedly have their eyes set on attracting millions of Beyonce&rsquo;s fans by getting her involved. A senior exec&nbsp;for MGM said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;Not many of the themes have been successful &ndash; but there are tens of millions of Beyonce fans out there.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;To tie-up a deal with Beyonce for a theme song for Daniel&rsquo;s fifth appearance as 007 would really be the icing on the cake.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>If it&#39;s true, fans will have to wait&nbsp;until 2019 to hear the song.<\/p>\n\n<p>The two production companies behind the franchise, Eon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, confirmed in July that the 25th installment of the franchise would be hitting screens on November 8, 2019.<\/p>\n\n<p>So not too long to wait then.<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/59a4a9edcf8e4.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45523"},{"id":"217-980125-599ff31806e05","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/the-league-of-gentlemen-isnt-the-only-comedy-returning-to-the-bbc\/","title":"The League Of Gentlemen isn't the only comedy returning to the BBC...!","date_published":"2017-08-25T09:51:11+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>After the joyous news earlier this week, that cult-comedy <em>The League Of Gentlemen&nbsp;<\/em>is heading back to BBC two, the broadcaster has helped us back to our happy place by announcing brand new Alan Partridge! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/599ff2e87bd34.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Steve Coogan thinks the time is right to reprise his most famous comic character and has confirmed he will play the inept&nbsp;broadcaster&nbsp;once more on the channel, which ran&nbsp;<em>I&rsquo;m Alan Partridge<\/em>&nbsp;from 1997-2002.&nbsp;Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Steve said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;Alan will be back on the BBC early next year. In fact,&nbsp;there will be a lot of Alan on TV next year.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>Far be it from us to correct a comedy genius, but actually, BBC Two will broadcast a 25th anniversary special before the end of<em>&nbsp;this<\/em>&nbsp;year, before a new BBC One series in 2018.<\/p>\n\n<p>The 51-year-old actor admitted he is inspired by current programmes like&nbsp;<em>The One Show,<\/em>&nbsp;and thinks Alan could have been the perfect host.&nbsp;He said:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;He&#39;ll just be back on a show, it might be a bit like this. I&#39;m here to do research. Alan feels he could have invented&nbsp;<em>The One Show<\/em>&nbsp;and been its main anchor over the years.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;He is in some ways like a real person because when you write him, you feel.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>We wonder what current hosts of&nbsp;<em>The One Show,&nbsp;<\/em>Alex Jones and Matt Baker, think of their fictional competitor?<\/p>\n\n<p>But the Radio Norwich graveyard shift DJ isn&rsquo;t the only cult comedy legend who&rsquo;s resurfacing. It looks like fans of eccentric British comedy have a <em>lot<\/em> to look forward to next year.<\/p>\n\n<p>What a treat!<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/599ff2e784417.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45522"},{"id":"217-980125-599eb72a46156","url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/blogs\/web-stories\/post\/its-official-pop-music-is-slowing-down\/","title":"It's official - pop music is slowing down!","date_published":"2017-08-24T11:23:00+00:00","content_html":"<p><strong>Research released today has confirmed what we all thought!&nbsp;Pop music fans are turning to more mellow music like Adele and Ed Sheeran, for two specific&nbsp;reasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/599eb6bbaa4a2.jpg\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>Have you been opting for easy listening recently? Picking slow ballads over high pace&nbsp;dance tracks? Don&#39;t worry, you&#39;re not &#39;getting old&#39;, nor are you the only one!<\/p>\n\n<p>The average tempo of pop songs has decreased by over 20 per cent in the last five years and researchers think it&#39;s down to the rising popularity of laid-back hip-hop and people&#39;s need for more soothing and comforting music in times of unease.&nbsp;Bonnie McKee, a songwriter who has co-written eight No. 1 US hits, told&nbsp;<em>Rolling Stone<\/em>&nbsp;Magazine:<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;People were burnt out on uptempo, super-poppy stuff. When you think about the financial crisis of 2008, there was a lot more up-tempo stuff. In a crisis like that, people want to forget about their problems.<\/p>\n\n<p>&quot;In a crisis like the one we&#39;re in right now, where people&#39;s rights are being taken away and being are being shot in the street, that&#39;s a different kind of crisis, a moral and social one. People don&#39;t really feel right about jumping up and down and bopping right this second.&quot;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/599eb754943d7.png\" style=\"width: 100%;\" \/><\/p>\n\n<p>However, it&#39;s not the case that people are choosing to listen to different artists - it&#39;s the singers and bands themselves who are making slower tunes. In 2011,&nbsp;One Direction<em>&nbsp;<\/em>released &#39;<em>What Makes You Beautiful<\/em>&#39; which plays at 125 beats per minute. This year,&nbsp;&nbsp;Liam Payne&#39;s solo career has seen him release &#39;<em>Strip That Down<\/em>&#39; at just 106 bpm.<\/p>\n\n<p>Yakov Vorobyev, who developed an app called Mixed In Key for DJs, discovered the trend when he compared Spotify&#39;s 25 most-streamed tracks in 2012 to the top 25 tracks from 2017 so far.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Vorobyev found that the most popular songs from this year have an average tempo of 90.5 beats per minute (bpm), while in 2012 the most popular tracks had an average of 113.5bpm. He also discovered that 12.5 per cent of songs now have tempos above 120bpm, compared with 56 per cent in 2012.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Seems we all like to slow things down nowadays!<\/p>","image":"https:\/\/mm.aiircdn.com\/217\/599eb7141aafc.jpg","author":{"name":"Black Country Radio"},"_mobile_inapp_url":"https:\/\/www.blackcountryradio.co.uk\/_app_pages\/stations\/106\/blogs\/posts\/45521"}]}