Ganesh just after his birth

It’s already been a year since Twycross Zoo saw the arrival of Ganesh, the baby elephant who turns 1 on August 6.

Ganesh arrived last year (see original article here) and has grown considerably since his birth at the zoo and Twycross Zoo are giving you the  opportunity to win a family gold pass to the zoo and 10 others around the country, a feeding session with the Elephants and a family meal in the new Himalaya.  All you need to do to stand a chance of winning the prize is guess Ganesh’s weight, to enter you simply need to get a form from Twycross Zoo and fill it in before August 5.

Entry forms will be available from the zoo on July 21 2010.

Battle of the Bands Flyer

The annual Battle of the Bands competition is back for 2010 and starts this weekend at Tamworth Assembly rooms.  The annual competition see’s some of Tamworth’s up and coming bands go head to head in six heats to stand the chance of being crowned the best band in Tamworth.

The weekly heats start this Friday (28 May) with Show Stoppa the first act on stage.

Tickets for the heats are priced at £5 with tickets available on the door.  To attend you need to be over 14 and their is a strict alcohol policy.

For more information visit the Assembly Rooms Facebook page.

You can name the Baby Red Handin Tamarin

Drayton Manor Park come up trumps again if you are looking for something to do with the kids this Half Term Holiday.  Even better, you could win a family pass to the park and name the new arrival at the park, the baby Red Handed Tamarin (pictured right).

Zoo keepers are asking for help from the public to name the new arrival who was born to proud parents, Davina and Les on April 16.  He is currently being looked over by his parents and sibblings, Socks, Mitten and Night.

Zoo keepers are asking members of the public to take part in a competition to name the furry bundle. Suggestions can be emailed to Drayton Manor Zoo education officer, Kiri Charlton, on kiricharlton@draytonmanor.co.uk.

He isn’t the only new arrival though, there are also baby meerkats, marmoset babies, and a pair of racoons.

Back Up Plan

This weeks new film is Back Up Plan, and once again, simply read the review below and answer a simple question at the end of this article for your chance to win 2 tickets to a film of your choice at Tamworth’s Odeon Cinema.

THE BACK UP PLAN (12A)

Who´s in it?
Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen

What´s the plot?
Meet a guy, get married, have a baby. That’s the plan. But if you do it in the wrong order, that’s when you need a back-up plan.

‘The Back-up Plan’ stars Jennifer Lopez as Zoe. Fed up of waiting for Mr Right, Zoe decides it’s time to have a baby – and goes it alone. But things don’t go according to plan when, on the day of her artificial insemination, she meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin), the perfect guy she’s been looking for.

Love, marriage, kids – Zoe and Stan could have the perfect partnership. All they have to do is learn how to do it backwards.

For a chance to win tickets to ODEON Tamworth just answer the following question:

Who turns out to be Zoe’s ( Jennifer Lopez) perfect guy?

To enter the competition, email odeoncompetition@tamworthblog.co.uk the correct answer and your name and address. The competition closes at 11.59pm on Friday May 14. Winners will be picked out of a hat and announced on the Tamworth Blog website.

Date Night

This weeks new film is Date Night, and once again, simply read the review below and answer a simple question at the end of this article for your chance to win 2 tickets to a film of your choice at Tamworth’s Odeon Cinema.

DATE NIGHT (15)

Who´s in it?
Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mila Kunis, Mark Wahlberg

What´s the plot?
Meet the Fosters, just an ordinary married couple – who make an extraordinary mistake.

From the director of Night at the Museum, ‘Date Night’ stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey as a couple who go on a date to put the spark back into their mundane marriage.

But their hot date soon goes into meltdown, when a case of mistaken identity sees them fleeing from a bunch of psychotic mobsters and corrupt police. The Fosters thought they were hitting the town – now they are on a hit list.

‘Date Night’, a date at the cinema you’ll never forget.

For your chance to win two tickets to Odeon Tamworth simply answer the below question:

Why do the Fosters go on a date?

To enter the competition, email odeoncompetition@tamworthblog.co.uk the correct answer and your name and address. The competition closes at 11.59pm on Friday April 30. Winners will be picked out of a hat and announced on the Tamworth Blog website.

Tiger tucking into Easter Egg

The animals at Drayton Manor Parks Zoo have been given an eggstra special treat from the children at Birds Bush Primary School in Tamworth.

Children from the Belgrave Primary School took part in a competition to design a special Easter egg as part of the schools education programme, but also to help make easter that little more special for the animals, as part of the enrichment programme.  The competition saw some 360 entries across the two categories (4 – 6 years old and 7 – 11 years old).

A winning design was chosen by the zoo’s education officer, Kiri Charlton with Paige Warren, aged 6 and Shaye Jenkins, aged 10, having their designs turned into meat filled paper macher eggs which were then given to the zoo’s tigers as part of a tasty treat.

Paige and Shaye with their winning designs

As part of winning the competition, Paige and Shaye were on hand to watch the tiger’s eat their eggs and enjoy a family day out at the park.

Kiri, the zoo’s education officer said:

“The education programme is really important to us. Working alongside national curriculum guidelines, we can help educate and inform pupils about the function and role of zoos. Similarly, it’s equally important to enrich the lives of the animals in our zoo so it was great to be able to combine the two schemes.”

Birds Bush Primary School’s Head Teacher, Helen Coulthard said:

“When the pupils found out about the competition they were so excited and couldn’t wait to get started on their entries. From an educational perspective it was a fun and practical way for the children to learn about zoos and it’s been a real treat for the winning children to get to see their designs being given to the animals.”

Miss Emma Songhurst and Adam Wilkes winners, joined by tim Wedgwood of The Castle Hotel

A lucky couple from Tamworth have won their dream wedding after entering the competition at the Tamworth Wedding Fayre in February, run by TamworthWeddingFayre.com.

Miss Emma Songhurst and Adam Wilkes, 25 years old were rung by TCR FM to be told the good news that 18 of Tamworth’s businesses were going to contribute to their dream day after donating the prizes to raise money for St Giles Hospice.

Emma, who recieved the phone call was convinced the call worth £10,000 was a prank call, once it had set in, listeners heard her sob down the phone in disbelief whilst Adam was shouting in the background, beggining planning the big day.

Emma told the organisers how she had been keeping a scrapbook of magazine clippings over the past two years, including pictures of wedding dresses, hair cuts, make up and everything else she thought she would never have.

At the Fayre, she discussed with her father about how they would improvise to find a nice dress for the big day, after visiting the fayre and spending the last bit of money on their entry to the competition.

As the prizes were read out, the bridal gown, bridesmaids dresses and suits, venue, sit down meals, décor, entertainment not to mention everything else, she repeated each one in disbelief and had to take breaks to sob some more.  Her father took over, also sobbing, thanking every business who had donated the prizes.   Giving his daughter the wedding she dreamed off.

With the wedding sorted, the happy couple can now focus on saving for their home for when they are married.

Competition Flyer

A Tamworth based Wedding business are teaming up with St Giles Hospice to give away a dream wedding whilst raising funds for the local St Giles Hospice.

This Sunday (February 28), The Castle Hotel will be hosting a wedding fayre between 12 noon and 5pm with a bridal fashion show.  All businesses involved in the giveaway will be present throughout the day with two fashion shows scheduled for 12.30pm and 3.30pm to show some of the latest trends in bridal fashion, hair and make-up.

Entry to prize draw will be available on the day, with entry to the draw at £1 per entry.  The prize includes Venue, Wedding Breakfast and Reception with the Castle Hotel, Dresses and Suites from Novia bridal wear along with almost everything the lucky couple need to book on their special day.

The lucky couple who win this superb prize will be contacted that evening by TCR FM and notified that their special day just become a lot cheaper.

For more details visit the Tamworth Bridal Fayre website.

Lovely Bones

It’s the weekend and that can only mean one thing, it’s competition time here on Tamworth Blog and once again, thanks to our friends at Odeon Tamworth, we have two tickets to give away to a film of your choice, simply read the below synopsis of new film “The Lovely Bones” and answer the question at the end of this article.

THE LOVELY BONES (12A)

Who´s in it?
Saoirse Ronan, Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon

What´s the plot?
Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Alice Sebold, ‘The Lovely Bones’ is directed by Peter Jackson and stars Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz.

In December 1973, Susie Salmon (Ronan) is murdered by a serial killer and finds herself watching over her grieving family. She also observes her killer, who is preparing to murder again. As events unfold Susie must balance her desire for vengeance against her family’s wellbeing.

For a chance to win tickets to ODEON Tamworth just answer the following question:

What year was Susie murdered?

To enter the competition, email odeoncompetition@tamworthblog.co.uk the correct answer and your name and address. The competition closes at 11.59pm on Wednesday February 24. Winners will be picked out of a hat and announced on the Tamworth Blog website.

Astro Boy - Advanced Screenings this weekend

The weeks are flying by and it’s Friday again and once more, thanks to our friends at Odeon Tamworth we have two tickets to give away to a lucky reader of Tamworth Blog. 

For your chance to win the pair of cinema tickets (to any film), simply read the below review and answer the simple question at the end of the post.  It’s that easy….  This weeks review is the new film Astro Boy which has Advance Screenings this weekend at Tamworth Odeon.

Astro Boy

Who´s in it?
Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Bill Nighy

What´s the plot?
Comedy sci-fi adventure using the latest stunning CGI animation, ‘Astro Boy’ features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Matt Lucas and Bill Nighy.

A young robot with special powers, Astro Boy, sets out on an epic adventure to try and find his place in the world, and along the way meets a host of colourful characters. However, when he discovers his family are in danger, Astro Boy returns home and finds out what it takes to be a true hero.

For a chance to win tickets to a film of your choice at Odeon Tamworth just answer the follwing question:

What does Astro Boy discover about his family ?

To enter the competition, email odeoncompetition@tamworthblog.co.uk the correct answer and your name and address. The competition closes at 11.59pm on Wednesday February 3. Winners will be picked out of a hat and announced on the Tamworth Blog website.