Organisers are hoping the winter weather will not drive people away from seeing the entertainers in Nuneaton at this year’s Christmas lights switch on.

A number of neighbouring authorities have chosen to cancel their annual events, but Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council are instead urging people to wrap up warm and come and enjoy the fun.

Assurances have been made that the town centre will be gritted in the morning in preparation for the events, which kick off at 11am, so it will be safe for all who wish to attend the popular community occasion.

Events will run throughout the day, until town mayor Don Navarro leads a lantern procession around the row and then turns on the Christmas lights. It will be followed by a fireworks finale.

There will be plenty of entertainers in Nuneaton performing throughout the day, including a steel band, a jazz band, and singer Kirsty Anderson.

A leading company of surveyors in Nuneaton is taking the lead on a renovation and regeneration project at the former Ritz Cinema and Gala Bingo Club.

Cartwright Marston is working on behalf of a mystery private investor, who has spent millions of pounds on refurbishing the property, which is on the corner of Abbey Street and Roanne Ringway.

It is rumoured that two national leisure companies and a major national retailer have shown “serious interest” in taking over the three-storey building, but no firm offers have yet been made.

Guy Hands, head of the commercial department at the surveyors in Nuneaton, said the building had undergone a major transformation over the last six months, in order to make the building suitable to let.

He said: “It has been made safe and lettable and anyone who wants it could move in quickly and carry out any work they want to do.”

The details of discussions with interested parties has not been revealed, however, it is known that the building, which is part grade II listed, cannot be used as a bingo hall again, because of a covenant placed on the site.

The building was closed at the end of 2007.

Construction students at the North Warwickshire and Hinckley College are getting a unique insight into the industry, as they watch the college’s new campus taking shape before their very eyes.

The wannabe architects and builders in Nuneaton, who are studying for the Construction and Built Environment Diploma at the Hinckley college, will see the new purpose-built Creative Arts campus going up brick-by-brick from their vantage point in the learning centre next to the site.

It is part of a project set up by the college and building contractors ISG, which aims to provide a unique teaching tool for the young builders in Nuneaton.

College tutor, Alan Robson, who leads the Construction and Built Environment Diploma, said: “Having the classroom located next to the construction site provides a fantastic learning experience for the students and brings the subject to life.

“They can see the weekly progress of this exciting building project and gain a real insight thorough regular talks and seminars from professionals working on the project.

“The green technologies that will be incorporated into this new building – such as the rainwater harvesting system and the sedum roof – make the construction even more interesting to our students.”

The students, who are all aged between 14 and 16, come from secondary schools in the area to study at the college.

The budding builders in Nuneaton have all said they are happy to have this opportunity on the course.

Nuneaton Academy student Ben Davey said: “Being so close to where the work is being done and listening to people who are actually working on the site is a good way to learn.”

Jonathan Kell, regional managing director of ISG, said: “Sharing best practice, knowledge and expertise is central to our success as a business and ISG’s initiative with the College is essentially an extension of this practice.”

The new campus is due to open to students in September.

The Construction and Built Environment Diploma is designed to give students a mix of class work and hands-on experience.

A lack of suitable same sex hospital accommodation in Nuneaton has left the George Eliot Hospital Trust facing a possible £400,000 fine.

The hospital failed to meet a deadline in providing high standard same sex accommodation as part of new targets for NHS Warwickshire. It is now waiting to hear from the Strategic Health Authority whether or not it will have to pay the fine.

The wait for news only adds to the financial problems currently being experienced by the cash-strapped hospital trust, which has been told it must make cuts of up to £300,000 to avoid debt.

The hospital had been hoping to begin the new financial year with a healthy £1.1m in the back, which would have been enough to repay a sizeable NHS capital loan.

The hospital is also in the middle of a huge economy drive to save up to £26m by 2014.

The problems at the George Eliot hospital, added to the issues with hospital accommodation in Nuneaton, have left the trust facing uncertain times.

There was a great deal of fund raising activities going on in schools, banks and solicitors in Nuneaton for this year’s Children in Need. Crazy antics and amazing fancy dress were the order of the day all in aid of the BBC charity that aims to help children in the UK.

Lester, Dixon and Jeffcoate Solicitors in Nuneaton hosted a coffee morning with some delicious treats on offer. The children and staff at See-Saw Day Nursery enjoyed a duvet day as they all wore their pyjamas for Pudsey.

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I definitely felt my age when my Dentist told me that I needed to get dentures. I have always tried to look after me teeth, but the products available when I was young are nothing compared to the ones available now, so my teeth have gone through the wars a bit. I only needed a denture that would replace three of my teeth, but I really wanted to get the best quality dentures so that no one would notice that I was actually wearing any! I asked my sister where she got her dentures as they are completely unnoticeable, and she told me about www.denturemanufacturernuneaton.co.uk.

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I am a big Mini enthusiast and I have to confess that I’m a bit of a geek about them. I have loved them since I was a little boy and have spent a lot of my free time as I have gotten older repairing old Minis. I only moved down to Nuneaton a couple of months ago, and I was a little bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to find a Mini specialist who was as good as the one I used in Glasgow. Luckily, I found one who was better! I searched for a Mini specialists in Nuneaton and found www.carpartsnuneaton.co.uk.

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My car is very old. And I don’t just mean ten years old, I mean very old. I bought it from a second hand dealer six years ago, but I don’t think it was second hand, I think it was about ninth hand. At first it got me from A to B, then it started getting me from A to inbetween A and B and breaking down. I couldn’t afford to buy a new car until recently, when I got a new job. I know some people feel some affection towards their cars, but I did not. I wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible. I wanted it scrapped. I found out about www.carscrappingnuneaton.co.uk, so I took it there to be scrapped.

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My husband and I are rubbish at interior design. In fact, we have very little style between us. This makes things really difficult when it comes to home improvements. It can take us weeks just to choose a paint colour or a couple of new cushions for the sofa. Amazingly, we have just managed to create a new stylish and totally individual bathroom.

We found a company at www.Bathroomdesignnuneaton.co.uk to help us design the most amazing bathroom.

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It can be a bit of a shock for many women when they give up work to become a full-time mum. I know all the men out there will be thinking: ‘how hard can it be, staying at home drinking coffee and chatting with mates?’ But it is not always quite like that.

Going from a career and a very sociable workplace lifestyle, to being stuck at home with a small crying baby, can be very lonely and emotionally difficult. When my neighbour had her first child recently, I knew exactly what advice to give. I got her to log onto www.Childrenscentrenuneaton.co.uk, where she found plenty of other mums in the same boat, as well as experts to talk to.

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