BBC Motion Gallery

Next time you are viewing YouTube, take a look at the BBC Motion Gallery, a new channel aimed particularly at students. The channel includes Travel World - a collection of quality clips featuring places of interest, from modern cities to ancient sites and civilisations.

The channel covers other topics too, including Extreme World with videos on extreme sport; try this one on urban freestyler football.

Birmingham is 55th for quality of life!

The Mercer Quality Of Living ranking assesses 221 cities to help governments and firms place staff on assignments. The worldwide rankings are produced annually from the most recent Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, conducted by Mercer. The study was based on factors including crime, political stability, hospitals, transport, food and drink, leisure, climate and personal freedom. Vienna was ranked at the top of the list for the second year running. Other UK cities included London, which was 39th with Aberdeen at 53rd position, Glasgow at 57 and Belfast at number 63 more...

This ebook gives a detailed history of Birmingham...

Tourism Insights

VisitBritain regret to inform users that they have decided to discontinue Tourism Insights - April's update will be the last one. Existing articles and the Destination Manager's Toolkit will be available until September 2010 and can be viewed in non-Athens as usual.

In the meantime, if you wish to print any articles you may do so. The Destination Manager's Toolkit will also be available in print shortly.

Market Research World

For anyone studying, or working in, market research this portal is definitely worth a look; Market Research World are a UK based, non-profit agency offering users a multitude of online resources, covering a myriad of industries. Amongst the selection are high quality articles, related news, jobs, glossary, definitions and FAQs. To view and post in the Question and Answer forum, (free) registration is required.

Natural England is an independent public body whose purpose is to protect and improve England’s natural environment and encourage people to enjoy and get involved in their surroundings.

The work of Natural England covers landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and the marine environment. Their website includes a page of statements made on key areas such as Access, Climate Change, Energy and Health and Wellbeing. Through extensive research, they have produced a number of documents such as 'Stepping Forward - The Stakeholder Working Group on Unrecorded Public Rights of Way'. As well as a section for Researchers, the Students and Teachers section gives ideas on places to visit and resources for lessons; of particular interest is MAGIC, their interactive map site. Related events taking place around the UK can be searched by region.

City Celebrates Re-Opening of Forest Hill Lake

Celebration to Feature First Annual Regatta on Restored LakeMay 18, 2010City Celebrates the Re-Opening of Forest Hill LakeRichmond, VA - The city of Richmond and the Forest Hill Neighborhood Association will hold a ribbon-cutting and a regatta on Saturday, May 22, to celebrate the re-opening of the restored lake in Forest Hill Park. The event will kick off at the lake’s gazebo at 2:30 p.m. with

You’re all invited to give the Birmingham City of Culture Bid a colourful send off!

Showcasing the diverse talent that’s at the heart of Birmingham’s bid, street dancers and musicians will be performing outside the Bullring shopping centre from midday tomorrow (Thursday 20th May). Come along and join in the celebrations and add your signature in support of Birmingham’s final application. The city's final bid will be submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Friday.

The festivities start at midday at the High Street and New Street junction near the bull at the Bullring Shopping Centre.

Back the Bid on Facebook!

With the deadline for the final application to be submitted to DCMS on 21st May, the people behind the bid for Birmingham, want to demonstrate to the judges the extent of support from members of the public across the region. The target is to have several thousand supporters - and you can show your support by becoming a friend of the bid on Facebook, just add your Facebook details - simple as that! If you don’t have a Facebook account registering is easy and will take just a few minutes of your time.

Register before 21st May and you will be entered into a free prize draw and also get the chance to win a pair of tickets to see a performance at the Hippodrome Theatre, Repertory Theatre or by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Help Send A Richmond Child to Summer Camp

May 13, 2010Help Send a Richmond Child to Summer CampYou can give a city of Richmond child the opportunity to enjoy summer camp by contributing to the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ Send-a-Kid-to-Camp Campaign. The department, in partnership with Radio One, Miss Community Clovia, and the Enrichmond Foundation, will hold a radiothon May 20 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Latest news from Travelmole....

Tui Travel have now stated that the disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud crisis amounted to £90m. The company have been adding up the costs of 175,000 holiday cancellations and bringing 180,000 holidaymakers back home, over a 12 day period last month.

Similarly, EasyJet are facing losses of up to £75m with the carrier cancelling 6,512 flights and repatriating approximately 200,000 stranded passengers within five days.

In the meantime, Aer Lingus are urging the EU to 'urgently revise' procedures used to predict volcanic ash concentrations.

To read more on these news stories, register with Travel Mole

Please Follow City's River Regulations

May 10, 2010 Reminder: Please follow River RegulationsThe city of Richmond reminds visitors to the James River Park to obey Richmond’s river regulations. “The regulations were put in place by the city of Richmond to increase public safety at the river. We want the public to enjoy the park, but we want them to be safe and to obey the regulations. They could save your life,” said J.R. Pope,

Wildlife Tourism in Britain

This conference is taking place at 12.30 on Wednesday 12th May at Bournemouth University. Major themes will include Market Trends, Wildlife tourism 'products' in Britain and key stakeholders and their roles. More details here...

Interested in volunteering?

The Festival League was formed in 1951 and consists of five Divisions of 12 clubs each, with the majority from Birmingham. The League are currently looking for two volunteer administrators.

If you're interested, please email mohammed.juned@birminghamfa.com or call him on 0121-3574278 or 07970781533.

Travel and disability

If you're researching information for this topic, you may find Accessible Air Travel useful; this is a new report by the Civil Aviation Authority. The OpenBritain website is a directory for accessible accommodation and travel. The guide, 'Open Britain 2010', published by Tourism for All, is now available in the library at 911.66 TFA.

The Government provides a number of useful pages for disabled travellers including the Tourism and Disability Discrimination Act. The National Accessible Scheme aims to help service providers within the tourism industry make their services more accessible, allowing more disabled people to use them. Holidays in the UK for disabled people is information relating to holidays and breaks in the UK for disabled people, families and carers.

For disabled travellers, there are many valuable sites to be found on the web; Able Travel is a one-stop shop providing helpful resources such as lists of country guide books and links to further organisations.

The Stone Platoon

How else to look at this fountain
with adjacent memorial statues?
Drizzle’s left droplets finding paths
through embossed verdigris,
such-and-such a name who fell.
I’m not close enough to make more
of others’ particular loss
in whichever battle or campaign.
The stone platoon endures
inclement weather, helmeted,
bayonets fixed at the clear air.

Remembrance Sunday every year
we'd stand with such indifference.
Dragooned Boy Scouts in the breeze
which furled around a cenotaph.
We’d put up with it, out of respect –
although, eventually, out of respect,
we’d be prone to goose bumps,
unkind laughter and knocked knees.

Here now though are historians:
three men at the foot of a lion.
What it might have meant at one time
flashes out into the sun-split sky.
Corporate call-centre managers
clinch photographs of those
who, in memoriam there, did
the best they could have done.

City Children Donate Funds for Solar Cookers

April 28, 2010 Children enrolled in the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities After School Program raised $2,004.27 that they donated at City Hall April 28 for the purchase of solar cookers for women in South Africa.Each year, children in the program raise money in a variety of ways to help other children and families who are not as fortunate as they are. This year