The Big Hoot auction date announced

ART collectors and owl enthusiasts are being offered the chance to bid for one of 89 individually decorated giant owl sculptures in Birmingham on Thursday 15 October at The Big Hoot auction.

The owls have been hand-designed by an array of well-known and up-and-coming artists, including critically-acclaimed graffiti artist Temper; Birmingham’s own Ozzy Osbourne and self-confessed Doctor Who fanatic, Stephen McKay, who designed the extremely popular Dr Whoot.

The Big Hoot, presented by public art specialists Wild in Art, in partnership with Birmingham Children’s Hospital, has been taken firmly under Birmingham’s wing, with visitors flocking from far and wide to explore the city’s streets, parks and open spaces, all of which have been turned into a virtual aviary.

The owls will continue to inhabit the city until Sunday 27 September before being sold to collectors and businesses at Thinktank science museum.

The auction will be hosted by Fieldings Auctioneers, co-founded by Nick Davies from BBC’s Flog it! and Will Farmer from BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, and is expected to raise £500,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Louise McCathie, director of fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of this project.

“The Big Hoot has already brought so much joy to thousands of children in Birmingham and will continue to do so for years to come with the money that will be raised through the auction.”

Sally-Ann Wilkinson, director of Wild in Art, said: “The Big Hoot has provided Birmingham the chance to rediscover their city, and to some, the owls will be priceless.”

The bidding for each owl is expected to start in the region of £3,000-£5,000, with favourites such as Dr Whoot and Ozzy’s Owl expected to raise considerably more.

Legal firm swaps briefs for baskets at charity fruit picking day

STAFF from Midlands law firm FBC Manby Bowdler swapped their legal briefs for baskets to spend the day harvesting fruit and vegetables to benefit local organisations and families in need.
 
Solicitors, paralegals and administrative staff collected more than 150lbs of fruit and vegetables from Bearstone Fruit Farm on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border that was then donated to York House in Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, and Lea Road United Reform Church and St John’s Parish Hall in Wolverhampton.
 
The church used some of the produce for one of its regular community lunches. The remainder of the produce is being frozen and used at its Roma drop-in and café as jams, cordials, jellies and crumbles.

St John’s Parish Hall in St John’s Square, next to the FBC Manby Bowdler office, gave the produce to people in need in the local community.

The 18-strong team collected around £500 worth of raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, carrots, beetroot, broad beans and rhubarb in a tradition called ‘gleaning’.
 
FBC Manby Bowdler paralegal Samantha Roberts, whose father John started the fruit farm 44 years ago.
 
She said: “As the farm is mainly pick your own, it’s not cost-effective to harvest the produce and it is difficult to find somewhere that will take a one off delivery due to a surplus, so gleaning was the obvious solution.
 
“I had the idea that an FBC Manby Bowdler team could take a day out and gather the fruit and deliver it to these organisations who could put it to good use, rather than see it go to waste.”
 
 

Demons of Tune announce special fund raiser

THE Demons of Tune, the Birmingham band formed by members of the city’s professional services community, is performing at a special charity fundraiser to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Harry Jeavons-Fellows.
 
Harry, a private equity fund manager, founded the group in 2000 with the aim of giving Midlands’ professionals an outlet for their musical talents and to raise money for charity.
 
The now 13-strong band of legal and finance specialists has helped to raise more than £300,000 for good causes.
 
“Harry’s Gig” will be held at The Jam House, St Paul’s Square, on Tuesday, 22 September.
 
Tickets start from £20, with all proceeds going to Harry’s favourite charity, “Give Them A Sporting Chance”, which provides people with disabilities and their carers with dream experiences.
 
The Demons are promising a 90-minute set, including a mix of contemporary tunes, old favourites, heavy rock, crooning ballads and girl-power anthems.
 
Mike Ward, of law firm Gateley, first persuaded Harry to perform. He said: “We couldn’t let this important anniversary slip by without commemorating it. Harry was a much-loved member of the Midlands’ business community and is sorely missed to this day.

“His legacy includes the six figure sum the Demons have raised for charity to date.”

Mills & Reeve tackle the highs and lows for blood cancer charity

AN intrepid team of seven from the Birmingham office of law firm Mills & Reeve is nearly three-quarters of the way towards a £20,000 fundraising target after hiking 13 kilometres across the Lake District in gale force winds.

The team, along with more than 80 colleagues from around the firm’s network of offices, took on the firm’s annual charity challenge to raise money for Leukaemia Lymphoma Research, a UK blood cancer charity that has been working to beat blood cancer for more than 50 years.
 
The challenge involved a mix of scrambling and hiking the 13.2 kilometre route, taking on six peaks on the way. Despite winds of up to 70 miles per hour and poor visibility making it even more demanding the fastest team finished in six hours 43 minutes.
 
The challenge was organised by the firm’s trainee solicitors, including Angelika Ketzer,from the Birmingham office.
 
She said: “The day went really well despite the winds and poor visibility, which meant we were in the clouds for much of the trek. It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved and we’re delighted to be able to contribute to such a worthy cause.”