Midlands Morning No. 14 · Monday 13 July 2026 · West Midlands |
Good morning 👋 Morning! Grab a brew — there's a proper mix in the inbox today. We're leading with something genuinely lovely: a seven-year-old from Edgbaston about to become the youngest ever performer on Channel 4's The Piano. Balance that against a tragic early-morning crash on the Queensway that police need your help with, and a loaded handgun taken off the streets in Sparkbrook overnight. Elsewhere: pay-to-park really is coming to Sutton Park this summer, Dudley's cracked down on off-road bikers at Merry Hill, and a Staffordshire couple's Wolves-themed garden bar is chasing national pub shed glory. 🌤️ Warm and mostly sunny, up to 27°C — a proper summer's day, and a good deal calmer than last week's amber alert. |
💡 DAILY FUN FACT That bottle of brown sauce in your fridge? Pure Brum. HP Sauce was actually dreamed up by a grocer in Nottingham, Frederick Gibson Garton, who patented it in 1895 and named it after hearing it was being served in the Houses of Parliament. But it was Birmingham that made it famous: in 1903, Garton sold the recipe to the Midland Vinegar Company of Aston to settle a £150 debt, and HP Sauce was brewed and bottled there for over a century, becoming Britain's best-selling brown sauce along the way. Production only left Aston for the Netherlands in 2007, after more than a hundred years of being unmistakably Brummie-made. |
🎹 SPOTLIGHT |
A Year 3 pupil from Edgbaston is about to become the youngest performer ever to appear on Channel 4's The Piano — and it all started with a set of gloves shaped like animals.
🚨 APPEAL |
A driver in his 20s died and his passenger was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a car hit railings in Birmingham city centre in the early hours of this morning.
🔫 CRIME |
A man in his 20s is in custody after firearms officers found a loaded handgun and ammunition during a stop-and-search in Sparkbrook in the early hours of Sunday.
🅿️ HEADS UP |
After years of delay and thousands of objections, Birmingham City Council says charging for parking at three of its best-loved green spaces is now planned for this summer.
🛵 BLACK COUNTRY |
A car and an illegal e-bike were seized last week as police, council officers and security staff joined forces to tackle a wave of antisocial off-road biking around Merry Hill.
🍻 QUIRKY |
Tina and Rich Hibbs built a garden bar so their Wolves-obsessed other half could watch matches in peace — now "Hibbys" is one of just three finalists for the UK's top pub shed.
★ SPONSORS ★ |
🏆 SPONSOR SLOT — OPEN FOR BIDS Be the local name readers wake up to Put your business in front of thousands of West Midlands readers every single morning. One business · 3 months at a time · highest bid wins. 🚀 🔒 Bids stay private — only we ever see the numbers. |
📅 WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK |
Birmingham Indian Film Festival
Until Sun 19 July · mac BirminghamTitanic Exhibition
Until Sun 19 July · NEC CampusGladiators Experience
Until Mon 31 August · NEC CampusEngland vs Argentina — World Cup semi-final
Wed 15 July, 8pm kick-off · Atlanta (watch locally — fan park TBC)Public vote: Pub Shed of the Year 2026
Voting open now · Online
✅ TO-DO AROUND THE PATCH |
☐ BIRMINGHAMCatch a screening at the Birmingham Indian Film Festival, running at mac until 19 July
☐ COVENTRYWander round Coventry Cathedral and the bombed-out ruins right next door
☐ DUDLEYTake the family to Dudley Zoo & Castle
☐ WALSALLCool off with a walk — or a paddle — at Walsall Arboretum
☐ WOLVERHAMPTONHave a look round Bilston's rebuilt outdoor market, now trading daily
☐ SANDWELLTake a lakeside walk at Sandwell Valley Country Park
🧠 DAILY QUIZ Birmingham likes to boast it has more miles of canal than which world-famous canal city? |
A) Amsterdam
B) Venice
C) Bangkok
👉 Hit reply with A, B or C — get it right and your name goes up on the leaderboard in tomorrow's edition.
✅ YESTERDAY'S ANSWER
Yesterday we asked: Coventry City's finest hour: what year did the Sky Blues win their only major trophy, beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 in the FA Cup final?
The answer: B) 1987.
No correct replies landed in time for today's edition — get yours in and be first on the board.
🏆 LEADERBOARD — JULY 2026
The board is empty — be the first name on it!
That's your lot for today. Hit reply and tell us what we missed — and if you spot Bowen on The Piano this Sunday, give him a wave from us. |
Midlands Morning · your daily West Midlands briefing. |