Your Local Community Newspaper: The best source for local news & community information We want to sell your home Call now for your free valuation 0121 679 5187 Covering: Coleshill North, Coleshill South, Coleshill Industrial, Water Orton, Curdworth, Maxstoke, Shustoke, Lea Marston, Marston & The Whitacres February 2021 Issue 84 postgroupmidlands.com DURINGGET INCOVID-19 TOUCH EVANS High quality & cost-effective legal services DERRY Call us on 0121 770 1721 or visit www.evansderry.com EDS SOLICITORS Write to us at 5 Church Hill, Coleshill B46 3AD or 30 Station Rd, Marston Green B37 7AU OUR SERVICESDESIGN INCLUDE FAMILY LAW TO / PERSONAL BE INJURY UPDATED / WILLS AND PROBATE / PROPERTY COVID 19 SAFETY HS2 reveals designs for MEASURES IN PLACE. 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Editorial: [email protected] their doorstep. Our main aim is to provide hyperlocal news and Sales: [email protected] information to the community Looking for personal or business self storage? where it would otherwise not We can help. be accessible. We also offer THE COMPLETE DESIGN & INSTALLATION SERVICE LY FROM ON We offer a full installation service with a 3 year warranty Visit our large kitchen & bathroom showroom £250121 747 7202 established since 1989 the most effective platform for A WEEK TEL: 0121 604 6464 07814 566657 or 07792 50881932 East Meadway, Kitts Green, Birmingham, B33 0AP Www.kavsbathrooms.co.uk local businesses to promote ■ 24/7 CCTV with automated access t nimum contrac Www.facebook.com/kavsbathrooms ■ Secure site with no mi Www.instagram.com/kavsbathrooms ■ Upsize or downsize easily facilities themselves to their target ■ space / virtual ■ E-commerce packages Need a quote? Call services audience. This benefits ■ Forklifting 01675 470900 Email [email protected] B46 1HT COL ESHILL, BIRMINGHAM. the entire community and UNIT 14 S TATION ROAD, improves social-cohesion. 11/08/2015 12:25 Coleshill North Platinum_ID_ad_93x70(outlinedLea Marston type).indd 1 Castle Bromwich Hall Green Lane East Coleshill South Marston Park Hall Chester Road West Coleshill Industrial The Whitacres Parkfields Chester Road East Water Orton Also dropped in Green Lane West Bradford Road Curdworth Minworth Maxstoke Also dropped in Shustoke Shard End and Marston Green Any views, articles and columns expressed in this B46 publication are those of the contributors and not necessarily B36 those of the Publisher, nor indeed All our papers also get put in local Libraries, there responsibility. Pubs, Clubs and Garden Centres. CIRCULATION Taylor Smith and Emily Crichton 3 OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK OUR WORLD column 0121 789 6549 Taylor With the increase of coronavirus cases a greater strain is put upon FAST, RELIABLE, PROFESSIONAL our national health service, but it is the staff who are feeling the full effects of this. Both of my parents are key workers, working for SERVICE WITH NO HIDDEN EXTRAS the NHS and have done so for many years. During the pandemic 2000+ TYRES IN STOCK they have had no choice but to work longer hours or even work extra shifts with heavier workloads to meet the demand for care BRAKES SUPPLY + FIT (CAR & VAN) from coronavirus patients which is already stretching hospitals HUNTER 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT to capacity, with a backdrop of relatively few spare ICU beds and EST OVER 18 YEARS existing staff shortages. The pressure in which is being placed upon people just like my parents is not only affecting their work life but also their personal lives. PUNTURE REPAIRS In all nearly 40 per cent of doctors said that they were currently suffering from depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, emotional distress or other mental health condition relating to or Flaxley Tyres Flaxley Alignment Centre WE OFFER A FREE CHECK ON made worse by their work. A quarter of the doctors who responded said that was directly due FOR ALL YOUR TYRE NEEDS THE HUNTER ALIGNMENT SYSTEM to the impact of COVID19. The opportunity for my parents to receive their vaccinations does NEW provide some hope for the future, however, it cannot dispel the problems and dangers in which they experience regularly at work, living a life in PPE (personal protective equipment.) Emily The Covid-19 pandemic has placed NHS staff under extreme pressure, both mentally and physically. Regardless of working in the hospital or on call, staff had still had to continue going into work with the uncertainty of being infected themselves and infecting their household’s members. Knowing this could occur, and still having to work every day and care for other people, must be extremely challenging for any individual. Another element that would cause staff to experience stress is how their working environments have been adapted, with the delivery of care having www.flaxleytyres.co.uk to be digital. This would cause distress for both staff and patient, as they are not getting the support they need through no fault of their carers. There have also been difficulties for NHS Unit 1, Imex Business Park, Flaxley Road, Stechford B33 9AL staff regarding the increase in people being admitted to hospital, with the higher demand for resources to help those in need. Without these resources, staff would have undoubtedly withgone significant stress in order to attempt to help everyone they could, even if they did not have the resources to do so. Looking for personal or business self storage? We can help. WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND ONE OF OUR FROM ONLY £25 ADVERTISERS A WEEK ■ 24/7 CCTV with automated access email: ■ Secure site with no minimum contract [email protected] ■ Upsize or downsize easily ■ space / virtual facilities ■ E-commerce packages ■ Forklifting services Need a quote? Call 01675 470900 Email [email protected] UNIT 14 S TATION ROAD, COL ESHILL, BIRMINGHAM. B46 1HT 4 GAMING CORNER My Computing and Video Games History By Steven Graham From an early age, as long as I can remember I have always been an avid video gamer, and I still am at the age of 45 years old! Over the years I have been pleased to have owned many computers and video game systems. The release dates for The UK are in brackets alongside the machine. My interest in computing began with my parents buying me and brother a BBC Micro B (1981) computer which had very primitive games and graphics, but it introduced me to the world of computers and gaming! Then one Christmas, my brother and I were given an Amiga 500+ Cartoon Classics pack(1991). This was a huge step up games and graphics wise. As I remember the games in the pack were Captain Planet, Lemmings, Bart Simpson Bart Versus The Space Mutants, and something that I had never seen before at that age, a painting programme called Deluxe Paint III. The Amiga 500+ stayed with me for a while and I built up quite a games collection on it. My next machine was my first dip of my toe into the gaming console world. I remember that my brother and I saved up for what seemed like ages to buy a Super Nintendo Super Streetfighter 2 Turbo(1994) pack. I remember that it came with two controllers, something that new consoles now don’t, so it saved us from buying another for two players. For my next console, I was working at a video games shop in Birmingham City Centre called Electronics Boutique. We had two shops, the main one, the flagship shop was in The Pallasades. They got arcade machines, each showing the launch games which were, Ridge Racer and Wipeout. I think I remember Battle Arena Toshinden, a fighting game too being released but I’m not 100% on that. On first seeing the Playstation, I was blown away at the graphics and how fast the games were moving, to look back at those games today, you would laugh at how blocky and out of the date they looked.