Fazeley Studios is best described as a work space for those creative types and I mean REALLY…read morecreative. Digital & creative businesses in Birmingham occupy forty-five studio office spaces, delivering a digital and creative way of working through young media companies. As soon as you walk through the very large, church style, light-blue wooden doors you're transferred into another world, a world where thinking outside of the box is the only way people around here think. I spent two days with one of the resident businesses, Media-Dog. A small television production company run by Mark and his business partner Rob. We were editing a three-minute promotional video for a bid to bring local television to Birmingham. The space gave me an excellent environment in which to think creatively, being surrounded by creative brains working on their latest internet sensation or television production process seemed to rub off. The offices which are flooded with natural daylight, boast comprehensive facilities and the latest technology with high-speed internet as you'd expect from a business studio. Fazeley Studios is based a stones throw from the city centre and has become the hub of the burgeoning creative quarter known as Digbeth. Public funding has helped to keep rents low which allow the revolution in entrepreneurial digital and creative enterprise to flourish. Media-Dog is one such company which, from a fledgling, has grown a sturdy pair of legs to become one of Birmingham's finest television production houses.

When I first walked in to Fazeley Studios for the first time I was completely taken back by the…read moregorgeous characteristics inside the building. From the outside, the building looks a bit shabby and is situated in the not very appealing back streets of down town Digbeth. Surrounded by warehouses and a number of derelict buildings, I didn't really expect much beforehand. However, as soon as you walk in you enter a huge room with ridiculously high ceilings. This is the reception area and hosts a number of comfy sofas for you to enjoy whilst you wait. I went to view a PR company who are based there (there are lots of creative industry companies living in this development). Their office was a good size on the top floor which also had a high ceiling and attick style pointed room with a skyline window. Each person who I saw on my walk to and from the office made the effort to smile and say hello. If I was looking for a new office I would definitely check this place out as it seems like a great place to work, only minutes from the city centre.

In town for work and had some free time over the weekend so booked a single seat for "the Indians…read moreare coming". The four comedians were great. Definitely a nice night out. Met two really nice ladies who were there for a girls night out. We were a little concerned sitting in the front t row. But we were spared the comedians focus. The show was great. I highly recommend!!!. While the focus was Indian culture, it transcended to others in terms of generation gender etc. Well done !! As for the venue, they have so much variety. I am looking forward to other shows at this venue. Clean and well serviced with a bar and snacks. Very professional. Easy to book. Looking forward to coming back in 2023. Keep up the great work !!!

I'm a big fan of the Belgrade Theatre! I've been coming here since I can remember, the first time…read morewas for a school pantomime at aged 8 I would guess! Wow, well over 2 decades ago now... I went to watch a pantomime here recently of Beauty and the Beast... no, I didn't have any kids with me... I took the WIFE! She didn't seem too impressed actually, especially at my shouts of "he's behind you! BEHIND YOU!" I think she was rather embarrassed actually... At last I know for next time that it's a kids thing, but I'm a big kid so that's ok... The place has changed a lot since I was a kid, it's a lot more modern now, well everything except for the theatre seats, which are still pretty ancient (not sure why?) But other than that, everything is very modern and nice looking. They even have a multi storey car park which is ideal (again, except that the spaces are really small and not designed for a car like mine) so that makes parking easier too. There are now also some great restaurants that you can visit straight after your show such as Belle Italia, Pizza Express, Cafe Rouge, Cosmo, all nice restaurants and within 2 minute walking distance! We've also been to see some other screen plays, none of which I can recall the names of now but they were ok, I go more for the wife... it makes her happy and as they say 'Happy Wife, Happy Life' :)

The phoenix is an amazing place to listin to live music or just chilaxing there is a café witch…read moresells a range of food prlducts such as cans and sweets its has many events such as bring on the nose and phoenix fest its an amazing place but dont just take my word for it pop down and see for your self

Omega Sektor is basically a giant gaming centre equiped with hitech gear for the ultimate gaming…read moreexperience. It is based in the old Virgin megastore building in Birmingham city centre at the top nearly of Corporation Street. I was lucky enough to visit the day before opening of this place along with the press, and got to try out pretty much everything there, consequently I have returned a couple of times and its fantastic. There are different themed rooms, all with state of the art systems loaded with all the latest games. There is also a familly room downstairs, a VIP area, a beanbag and movie area and a bar. Also as an added bonus the chairs are so comfy. Its free to join, and its £5 each time you go but you can stay as long as you want and theres loads of things from Wiis, Xbox to PS3 and of course the computers. Its definatly a gamers heaven, although not for me.

I'm not a gamer myself, and hearing about Omega Sektor I had to check it out. I can honestly say…read morethat I've never seen anything the size/scale of this when it comes to gaming, it really is a cyber paradise, the gamer's dream come true. The budget must have been astonomical, and i cannot understand how they have spent so much money on this place. It opened in teh summer of 2007, and it provides a 21st Century arcade style gaming, providing a casual yet high-tech social experience for all ages and abilities. You pay £5 membership which is a one-off fee, and then can roam the club, and play consoles, buying time on a particlar station at your leisure. There are many chill out areas and cafes to relax in between games. I heard of a week night 18+ gaming night that they were doing, where you can have a few drinks and play a few shoot-em up games with mates, sounds great to me, with the academy just round the corner for after...well worth checking out i think! I can see something like this taking off, as there's nothing on the same scale in Brum, and with its prime location just 2 mins away from teh Bull Ring, i wish them the best of luck, and encourage you guys to check it out!

Ragley Hall has been, since 1680, a beautiful example of Palladian architecture…read more(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladian_architecture) . It has gorgeous state rooms and halls, beautiful gardens, and even a playground for the kids. There are some other features of particular interest, like the Ragley working farm, sawmill, butchery, and stables building with a collection of carriages. Worth a look is the Jerwood Foundation Sculpture Trail, in which you can stumble across Fernando Casasempere's 'Under the Forest', Harry Everington's 'Crusader', Antony Gormley's 'Insider', Sokari Douglas Camp's 'Man on Man' and Elisabeth Frink's 'Walking Man'. There's a café by the lake, if you fancy a bite.

Ragley Hall is well worth a visit. There are acres of playground, perfect for a picnic and a family…read moreday out. For the children there is a kids zone, adventure playground with a 3d maze, trampoline and climbing frames which leaves you time to admire the Hall and the beautiful gardens. There is a peaceful picnic area by the lake where you may even have the chance to see a few peacocks roaming around.

I do seriously love this place, and even though some of the exhibits are looking a bit tired,…read morethere's still a lot there, and new things coming in. There is a lot crammed in here, which, although it means the information on each subject is a bit watered down and lower quality than a specific museum, it's great for sparking the interest of kids and finding out what they love and keeping attention with varying material, the human body, forensics, machinery, industry, recycling, building, space, robots, computers, medicine, even a lighthouse bulb, it's got a lot going for it. The science garden is great, but filled with pushy children and parents who've given up caring after a full couple of hours inside, the planetarium was excellent. Our favourite bits were the planetarium and the beating heart that beats to your pulse, and the vehicles. Obscurely a lot of it seems to high up for kids, but there are loads of activities for them to get stuck into.

ThinkTank is a slightly sprawling science museum spread over 3 (and a half) floors. It can be…read morepricey for a family visit, but there's a lot to do and there are often good offers available. I'd recommend turning up early as on arrival you are given a timetable of talks, events and planetarium showings. You get a wristband on entry so you can go in and out as you please. (I recommend coffee from 6/8 Kafe, next door, or a well priced pub lunch at the Woodman, opposite Millennium Point.) The ground floor showcases huge bits of machinery, including car-manufacturing robots, traction engines, a lovely tram and.. A Spitfire, a Hurricane and the 1939 City of Birmingham Locomotive. A huuuge steam engine, one of the most powerful ever used. The main theme being Birmingham made, so it's a great Brummy experience. Just a shame you can go on any of them to explore. (Especially the Spitfire ;)) Other floors have sections on the human body (with videos of the digestive system.. Best not viewed near lunch), forensic crime scene investigations, how recycling works etc. There's a good little area called Kids City which has a doctor/dentist surgery, a cafe, a garden shed, and a big water play area (with aprons). It's really good for little ones. Upstairs is the space section, with a great 360 degrees planetarium which has a range of shows for different age ranges. The science garden wasn't open when we went, but in spring and summer it's another sciencey play area for kids. And grown ups.

We are Mud has a fairly unique selling point, to go with its unusual name. Based on Bearwood high…read morestreet (next door to the Co-Op) it looks like a fairly ordinary cafe selling cakes, bagels and coffee. However, if you move towards the back you'll see that it also caters for children's parties and specialises in pottery painting. Customers (I presume it's open to adults too) can choose from a variety of differing pottery shapes - plant pots, animals, cups etc and go wild on them with a surprisingly varied palette of colours. If like me, you decide to use the loo at the very back of the shop you might want to take a sneaky peek at some of the items waiting for collection - Grayson Perry eat your heart out! The cafe itself is popular and the chap who owns it seemed a real sweetie. Portions are generous.

A group of us visited Mud today and we had a lovely time. The place has a relaxed atmosphere, we…read morespent 4 hours painting, eating and drinking coffees. We didn't feel any pressure to rush. Emma was great and explained the pottery painting to us and was very helpful. The cafe also has pretty good snacks and cakes available, with eclectic clientele. The latte I had was delicious! We were suprised by our experience and will definitely be returning. It's a great place to have a children's party. In my opinion, the only improvement which could be made is the addition of baby changing facilities.

The Civic Hall in Bedworth offers a range of shows from Amateur theatre shows to well known…read moreartists, pantomimes to rock concerts. Ticket prices are very respectable. Staff are great. The bistro and coffee shop both serve nice lunchtime meals and you can pick up a snack or just a cup of tea from the coffee bar. The building is entirely non-smoking and family friendly. There is disabled access and toilets located near to each room. There is a main theatre and there are function rooms which can be hired out.

The Civic Hall in Bedworth town centre gets some surprisingly good acts come into town! Last year…read morethey had some of the Strictly Come Dancing cast on their UK tour and they were fantastic. It has been refurbished to a very high standard recently and offers a really great value for money night out. In the day time there is a restaurant and a café offering meals at very good prices. There are not many places to eat in Bedworth town centre and as a result the Civic is always packed, and the atmosphere is lovely. The staff in the café, especially Babs are absolutely fantastic, and it's a pretty decent breakfast too!