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Alice Kinsella admitted she fought back the tears as she finally achieved her lifetime ambition.
The 20-year old gymnast helped Great Britain book their place in Tuesday’s women’s final after making her Olympic debut in Tokyo.
However, she confessed there was work to do with her all-around score of 51.665, following the vault, uneven bars, beam and floor, leaving room for improvement.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” said the Walsall star.
“Obviously, it’s been a dream of mine since I was little and now, I can finally say that I’m officially an Olympian and it feels very special.
“There was plenty of emotion out there, though it felt very different without a crowd. I can say I’m an Olympian for the rest of my life and that’s all that matters.”
British Gymnastics made the decision to prioritise the women’s team event in Tokyo, selecting a youthful squad they really think will be primed when the Games arrive in Paris in three years.
Kinsella won balance beam gold at Commonwealth Games in 2018 and then landed the European title 12 months later.
Sutton Coldfield’s Laura Unsworth becomes most-decorated GB hockey star
Unsworth helped Britain beat India in a 4-3 thriller to claim bronze and keep their proud place on the women’s hockey podium.
Unsworth, 33, became the first British male or female hockey player to capture three Olympic medals – bronze in London and Tokyo, and gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“To be honest, it probably is up there with the Rio gold medal,” she said. “The things we have had to overcome as a team, people don’t know about. As a squad, we stuck together. We have been resilient – we fight.
“If someone told me when I first started playing hockey when I was 11 that I would win three Olympic medals, I would have just looked at them and said: ‘you what’?”
The final preparations are underway for the opening of the £160 million designer outlet at Mill Green, which will be welcoming customers from 10am on the first day that non-essential shops are allowed to reopen.
There will be no grand opening or ribbon cutting due to the pandemic, which has already delayed the centre opening by a year, but a raft of heavyweight brands will be ready to welcome shoppers from across the West Midlands.
Visitor numbers are being limited to encourage social distancing, meaning a maximum of 2,100 customers will be allowed in the centre at one time.
Centre manager Mike Thomas said: “Our new centre brings together some of the world’s most sought-after brands across the fashion, lifestyle and food and beverage sectors.
“When we officially open the doors to customers next week, they can enjoy a host of premium designer labels, including Ted Baker, Lacoste and Tommy Hilfiger. “They can also expect a fantastic mix of much-loved brands, such as Beauty Outlet, Superdry and Yankee Candle.
“We have an exceptional line-up of sportswear and athleisure brands that features Adidas, Under Armour and Skechers, while rounding off our first collection of F&B operators is Starbucks and Five Guys.
“Customers can look forward to more exciting arrivals in the coming weeks, including the highly-anticipated openings of Nike, Asics, Wagamama and The Cosmetics Company.”
But due to the coronavirus pandemic no opening day special discounts will be offered, and all events planned for open spaces have been cancelled this year.
Mr Thomas added: “While we will be unable to host any events this year due to our health and safety measures, in the future we will certainly use our piazza and other public spaces to host many memorable guest events as we do at our centres throughout the UK and Europe.
“To make sure we protect the health and wellbeing of all our customers we won’t be offering any special opening day discounts but as with all McArthurGlen designer outlets, there will be year-round savings of up to 60 per cent and we will regularly host additional promotions and events when the time is right. Customers should also often check our Facebook and Instagram pages for any special giveaways we are running.”
Courtesy of Birmingham Live Click the link for the full story.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/covid-inquests-how-fetching-paper-19730738
Those living or working in parts of the WS2 postcode area will be encouraged to take a Covid-19 test this week – even if they are not showing symptoms
Those over the age of 18 who are living or working in parts of the WS2 postcode area will be encouraged to take a Covid-19 test this week – even if they are not showing symptoms.
Home test kits will be provided as part of the drive, in addition to at least one additional mobile testing unit.
All positive tests will be analysed to identify any further spread of the new variant.
Councillor Stephen Craddock, Walsall’s portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said: “I do understand that this news will cause concern. Our priority remains very much to keep our communities, and particularly our most vulnerable residents, safe.
“Please do play your part by following the ‘hands, face, space’ guidance and minimise your contact with others as much as possible.
“We are aiming to test an additional 10,000 residents without symptoms of Covid-19 in the next few weeks to assess containment of this variant.
“If you are asked to be tested, please do take up the offer. It’s quick, easy and painless and, put simply, you could save lives by doing so.”
Stephen Gunther, director of public health, added: “The more cases of the variant we find, the better chance we have at suppressing it.
“There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness, or that the regulated vaccines would not protect against it, but research indicates that it does transmit from person to person more easily.
“We know that mutations form a part of the virus cycle and the scientific community is well prepared to analyse new variants and assess what action may need to be taken.”
The world’s first mobile airport for flying cars and autonomous delivery drones has won government backing and will be launched in Coventry later this year, it has been announced.
Air-One has been designed to transform urban transport – allowing air taxis and electric drones to land and recharge, helping to reduce congestion, cut air pollution, and contribute to a zero-carbon future.
The zero-emission airport, designed by Urban Air Port, can be installed in a matter of days and has been backed by Hyundai Motor Group which plans to have commercialised its own flying vehicles by 2028.
Coventry City Council and the UK Government are also supporting the world first, which will be located next to the city’s Ricoh Arena.
Air-One has been developed for the forthcoming ‘urban air mobility’ revolution which is estimated to be worth almost £1 trillion over the next 20 years as companies and authorities invest in Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft and the infrastructure it requires.
It can be operated off-grid and can also be integrated with electric vehicles and sustainable public transport.
Pamela Cohn, chief operating officer for the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group, said: “As we advance our eVTOL aircraft programme, development of supporting infrastructure is imperative.
“Air-One is a unique project that is set to help lead the way in developing a robust, accessible and intermodal infrastructure network for future mobility.
“We are excited to be part of this partnership in the UK and look forward to working together to create community impact and opportunity through safe, affordable, and human-centred mobility solutions.”
The airport – which is around 60 per cent smaller than a heliport – will be the first of more than 200 zero emission sites Urban Air Port plans to install worldwide over the next five years in response to global demand.
Initially, it will be used to help the public understand the new technology, with Malloy Aeronautics, a UK-based drone developer, demonstrating the use of large cargo drones at the site.
Its design allows the airport to be easily dismantled and moved to alternative sites, as the air-mobility sector develops.
Alongside urban environments, the design has been developed with disaster emergency management in mind.
They can rapidly deploy drones and other eVTOL to collect and transport emergency supplies, equipment and people where needed.
Ricky Sandhu, founder and executive chairman of Urban Air Port, said: “Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs will need Urban Air Ports.
“Over a hundred years ago, the world’s first commercial flight took off, creating the modern connected world.
“Urban Air Port will improve connectivity across our cities, boost productivity and help the UK to take the lead in a whole new clean global economy
Wednesday’s update of the latest Covid-19 case rates for every local authority area in England has been released as the country faces coronavirus lockdown until March.
The coronavirus figures, for the seven days to January 23, are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government’s testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).
The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.
Data for the most recent four days (January 24-27) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.
Of the 315 local areas in England, 18 (6%) have seen a rise in case rates and 297 (94%) have seen a fall.
Sandwell in the West Midlands has the second highest rate, down from 930.4 to 781.5, with 2,567 new cases. Wolverhampton is fourth with 696 per 100,000 people.
Walsall, Redditch, Dudley and Birmingham are also in the top 20.
The 10 areas with the biggest week-on-week rise in rates include North Warwickshire in sixth (403.0 to 435.2).
The list has been calculated by the PA news agency based on Public Health England data published on January 27 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.
Here is the list in full. From left to right, it reads: name of local authority; rate of new cases in the seven days to January 23; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to January 23; rate of new cases in the seven days to January 16; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to January 16.
TOP 10
Knowsley, 822.6, (1241), 1102.3, (1663)
Sandwell, 781.5, (2567), 930.4, (3056)
Slough, 714.9, (1069), 1022.5, (1529)
Wolverhampton, 696.8, (1835), 886.2, (2334)
St. Helens, 667.3, (1205), 824.0, (1488)
Brent, 664.7, (2192), 916.1, (3021)
Ealing, 663.5, (2268), 896.1, (3063)
Walsall, 655.0, (1870), 737.4, (2105)
Hounslow, 650.0, (1765), 931.0, (2528)
Rushmoor, 622.6, (589), 862.6, (816)
Rest of West Midlands
Birmingham, 577.9, (6598), 712.4, (8134)
Worcester, 467.3, (473), 684.6, (693)
Cannock Chase, 437.7, (441), 537.9, (542)
Coventry, 435.2, (1617), 517.1, (1921)
North Warwickshire, 435.2, (284), 403.0, (263)
Solihull, 428.0, (926), 525.5, (1137)
Telford and Wrekin, 420.9, (757), 499.3, (898)
Tamworth, 415.9, (319), 474.6, (364)
East Staffordshire, 403.3, (483), 529.4, (634)
Wychavon, 373.2, (483), 510.7, (661)
Nuneaton and Bedworth, 362.6, (471), 418.8, (544)
Bromsgrove, 361.4, (361), 558.7, (558)
Rugby, 332.3, (362), 405.7, (442)
Stoke-on-Trent, 321.0, (823), 386.2, (990)
Wyre Forest, 315.9, (320), 392.9, (398)
Stafford, 305.2, (419), 389.7, (535)
Shropshire, 302.7, (978), 440.1, (1422)
Malvern Hills, 260.5, (205), 344.4, (271)
Newcastle-under-Lyme, 250.3, (324), 305.2, (395)
Warwick, 239.3, (344), 292.9, (421)
Staffordshire Moorlands, 207.2, (204), 254.0, (250)
Stratford-on-Avon, 185.2, (241), 285.9, (372)
