I have very fond memories of this shop and the chap (Mr Guraya I presume) who runs it - my Nan used…read moreto live up the road so we sometimes used to pop over to pay her paper bill and have a chat. He was always really lovely and twinkly with my Nan but these days the shop is run by a younger crowd - who are equally sweet if a little heavy handed on the remote control (when Coronation Street is on, it can get LOUD in there). Popular with students and people from the nearby flats Guraya's is a corner shop and off license whose frontage is pretty much entirely covered by signs - they offer special deals on booze and you get a free bottle of wine if you spend over 20 pounds in store -no fags. They also do a pretty mean samosa here and I sometimes stop off on my way to work to pick up a coffee - half the time they make it out the back for me because the coffee machine is broken. Anyway I really like it here and if you are a student in need of a late night snack or bottle of wine for under a few quid then I suspect you could do worse.

I'm in the shop every day, every single day 7 days a week to buy foods and a few cans of beer. It…read moreis immaculate and the proprietors, Laki and Guraya are extremely helpful and kind, so the person who wrote this..."this is a very small run down and usty off-licence. keeps a small selection of essentials only." Is just flat out lying. I would hardly buy my food there if it wasn't spotless. This is a top little shop!

Atwal news is a really nice newsagents. They are a really nice friendly bunch of people. The owner…read moretalks to you as if you are his best friend. They sell essentials such as milk, bread, eggs washing up things. They sell alot of things. They have offers each week. Not very big store or well know but deserve recognition. On a school day they only allow six children in at a time because of theft. But they also consider customers waiting time at lunch time and if its full of children its put me off going in. They have daily newspaper and magazines. They have an asian section of chapatti flour and mixtures and spices. They sell asian magazines. The owner recommended a recipe and it was yummy. Recommended

Arden News is a nice little newsagent located next to Somerfield on Weoley Castle Square. From the…read moreoutside it looks quite old fashioned and dingy - actually it looks the same inside but I like it in here because there is a good selection of products and the special offers and promotions are great! There are lots of magazines and newspapers to choose from as you would expect, they will order in various Irish publications at cost as there is quite a large Irish community in Weoley Castle. The newspapers and mags are laid out in such a way that I can see at a glance where my favourite is, the magazines are all displayed in groups so you can expect to find the celeb magazines (Closer, Heat etc) together, the womens interest magazines (Bella, Best etc) together and so on. Arden News also sells a good range of greetings cards which are very nicely priced, much cheaper than the cards in nearby Somerfield and very good quality. They also stock a good range of boxed and bagged chocolates which are ideal for a last minute birthday gift, the prices on these are brilliant and they regularly have special offers on the sweets and chocolates which makes this my first port of call in Weoley Castle when I am looking for chocolates for any occasion. You can buy a cold drink in Arden News from one of the tall Coca Cola fridges, again the prices are slightly cheaper than the supermarket next door so it makes sense to buy your small bottle of pop from here to wander around the Square with! I tend to buy my cigarettes from here, for the main reason that I am usually wanting to buy a magazine and some chocolate at the same time and I like the fact that I can buy all my bits and pieces from here and then sit on the bench outside and enjoy a fag and nosey at what Kerry Katona is doing lately! The ladies who work in Arden News are all nice, they serve quickly and don't tend to stand around chatting while people are waiting. This shop gets busy very quickly and there is often a long queue down the centre of the shop, but it quickly goes down once the women get serving.

I started my journalistic career at Redbrick! It was 2002 and I was a cocky and precocious young…read morewriter, working alongside plenty more cocky and precocious young writers. It was like Press Gang only with less double denim and more Home Counties accents. I didn't appreciate quite how good a student newspaper it was until I encountered lesser student publications. The editorial standards were, and still are, high. The free paper is distributed around the campus and contains a range of news and features, some specific to the uni and others of a more general interest. The crossword makes an ideal way to pass time between lectures.

As a previous student of the University of Birmingham I often found myself picking up a copy of…read moreRedbrick, the student newspaper. It is run entirely by students, which I think is really impressive. It is also free and is dropped around the campus every few weeks, which is a bonus as obviously students are supposed to be skint! They cover a range of areas and issues in the paper, including news features, arts, music, culture, sports and travel. It seems there is something for everyone and they do have regular features, one of which is a 'what's in and what's out' type of column which I think is highly entertaining. I think it is really useful especially for those who are new to Birmingham as it informs you of what is going on in Birmingham and of course around the campus. It is particularly aimed at students but I have also seen academics reading it too. It is definitely worth a read if you are a student at UOB!