TOGETHER WITH

Good Morning Solihull 👋

September is officially underway and there's plenty happening around the borough.

This week we're looking ahead to Touchwood's 25th birthday, finding out who's in the running to become Solihull Business of the Year, discovering two local brunch spots, hunting down £4 cinema tickets and finding somewhere you can fly directly from Birmingham for just £52 return.

We've also got a couple of particularly lovely community stories this week, including a Solihull couple celebrating 100 years of life and 70 years together. ❤️

Plenty to get stuck into this week!

Let’s get into it.

— Max

There are some brilliant businesses doing their thing across our borough and next Friday, we’ll find out which of them will take home one of Solihull’s biggest business honours.

The Solihull Awards 2026 take place on Friday 11 September at the National Conference Centre, with 42 businesses and organisations shortlisted across 11 categories.

And there are plenty of familiar local names in the running. 👀

🌱 Solihull Breakthrough Business
Includes: Caroline Creba Fine Jewellery, Love Property Co, Slow Century Records and The Purple House Clinic.

❤️ Solihull Community Builder
Finalists include: Birmingham Airport, She Sweats Solihull, Solihull Moors Foundation, The Knowle, Dorridge & Solihull Memory Cafés and Visit Knowle.

⭐ Customer Commitment
Among those shortlisted are: Glam and Glow Beauty Lab, Hogarths Hotel & Restaurant and Midland Eye.

There are also awards recognising sustainability, workplace culture, digital innovation, international business, non-profit organisations and some of Solihull’s brilliant unsung heroes.

Each category will crown a winner on the night, before one organisation is named the overall Solihull Business of the Year 2026. 🏆

👉 So, who are you backing?

Hit reply and tell us which local business, organisation or entrepreneur you think deserves a bit more recognition.

And if you run a business in Solihull — or know somebody doing something brilliant locally — we’d love to hear about them. Tell us what they’re working on and they could be featured in a future Solihull Spotlight.

👉 See the full Solihull Awards shortlist

I’m going to admit upfront that I’m slightly biased with this one.

My wife absolutely loves reading. She’s one of those people who can disappear into a book, is always looking for the next one to read and genuinely believes there aren’t many things better than a good book and a cup of tea.

So naturally, that passion has turned into a little business idea of her own: Once Upon A Time Box. 📖💕

The idea is simple, opening a new book should feel like a treat.

Each £14.99 surprise book box contains a handpicked book alongside a few cosy extras, including a bookmark, reader’s log, pin badge, scrunchie, teabag and some Love Hearts. And because every box is put together individually, no two are quite the same.

It’s like a little blind date with a book, wrapped up into something you can enjoy yourself or send as a gift to another book lover.

She’s only just getting started, so I thought I'd use my small corner of the internet to give her a shameless husband plug. ❤️

And if you do order one, I'd genuinely love to hear which book arrives in your box!

👉 Discover the Once Upon A Time Book Box on Etsy

A handful of people with links to Solihull and the wider West Midlands have been recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours and were recently welcomed to the Mayor’s Parlour to celebrate.

Among them were England Football U21 manager Lee Carsley, St John Ambulance volunteer Alan Grigg, who was recognised for his service to the Solihull community, and John Wright, recognised for his services to cricket across Warwickshire and the West Midlands.

Also receiving honours were Gordon Cresswell, Georgina Johnstone and Michael Leonard.

👏 A huge congratulations to all six — it’s always nice to see people making a positive difference locally getting the recognition they deserve.

👉 Read more about the recipients

Now this is a lovely one.

Solihull resident and Navy veteran Stan Field recently celebrated his 100th birthday, but there was another pretty incredible milestone waiting just one day later.

Stan and his wife Ivy, 97, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. ❤️

The couple, who now live together at Royal Star & Garter in Solihull, first met at a church in Yardley back in 1950.

Stories like Stan and Ivy’s are also a lovely reminder of why supporting older people in our community matters so much.

Next April, I’ll be taking on the London Marathon for Age UK Solihull, raising money to help the charity continue supporting older people across our borough.

So if you enjoyed Stan and Ivy’s story or simply want to help an organisation doing brilliant work for local older people any support for my marathon fundraiser would mean a huge amount.

And from everyone at Solihull Spotlight: Happy 100th Birthday, Stan — and Happy 70th Anniversary to you both! ❤️

👉 Read Stan & Ivy’s story

🏃 Support my London Marathon fundraiser for Age UK Solihull here

Sometimes the best local finds are the ones hiding right under your nose.

The Castle Lane, tucked away on Castle Lane in Olton, is a neighbourhood café serving up everything from cooked breakfasts and breakfast sandwiches to paninis, pancakes, cakes and plenty of coffee.

If you're after something a little lighter, there are options including avocado and poached eggs on sourdough, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, granola and porridge too.

It feels like exactly the sort of independent local spot we love discovering at Solihull Spotlight.

📍 46b Castle Lane, Solihull, B92 8DD

👉 Have you tried The Castle Lane yet?

Over in Monkspath, Hallies Cafe has become a popular spot for breakfast, brunch and the all-important coffee catch-up.

The menu goes well beyond a standard bacon sandwich too — think loaded breakfast bagels, eggs on sourdough, halloumi, nourish bowls, pancakes and plenty of tempting coffees and sweet treats.

And if you're someone who judges a café by its brunch menu, this one could be worth adding to the list. 👀

📍 Farmhouse Way, Monkspath

👉 One for your next breakfast or brunch date?

Looking for things to do in Solihull this week? Here are a few events worth having on your radar…

The Kilkennys — The Core, Solihull
A night of traditional Irish music lands at The Core tomorrow as The Kilkennys bring their mix of much-loved folk songs and original music to Solihull. The show starts at 7.30pm on Friday 4 September, with a running time of around 2 hours 15 minutes. Tickets are £26, with availability now limited.
👉 The Kilkennys at The Core Book tickets

Touchwood Turns 25 — Touchwood, Solihull
Touchwood is celebrating a pretty big birthday this Saturday — 25 years in the heart of Solihull! 🎂 The celebrations include hands-on printmaking with local artist Cris Wong, limited-edition Touchwood mugs raising money for Acorns Children's Hospice and the return of the Touchwood Tornado, with plenty of prizes up for grabs. It all takes place on Saturday 5 September.
👉 Celebrate 25 Years of Touchwood

£4 Cinema Tickets — National Cinema Weekend
Fancy a trip to the cinema this weekend? This might be the time to do it. 🎬 National Cinema Weekend takes place on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September, with tickets at participating cinemas available for just £4 — any film, any seat and most formats. Locally, that includes Cineworld Solihull at Touchwood and Cineworld Birmingham NEC, with all Cineworld locations participating. IMAX screenings at Cineworld are £6.
👉 Find your £4 screening National Cinema Weekend

Open Day & Plant Sale — Oasis Mental Health Support Garden, Knowle
A lovely community one for next weekend. 🌱 The Oasis Mental Health Support Garden in Knowle is opening its gates on Saturday 12 September from 11am–4pm, with free entry and a range of herbs, perennials and other plants available to buy ready for autumn planting. There'll also be drinks, snacks and homemade cakes in the café. The garden is tucked just off Station Road in Knowle, with parking available on site — and everyone is welcome. Oasis has been supporting people across Solihull for more than 40 years, with its Knowle site home to its horticulture and conservation project.
👉 Oasis Mental Health Support

Mell Square Market Week — Solihull Town Centre
Three days of local shopping are coming back to Mell Square this month. Mell Square Market Week runs from Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 September, 10am–4pm each day, with a different theme daily: artisan food and drink on Tuesday, crafts and collectibles on Wednesday, and fashion, accessories and vintage finds on Thursday. A nice excuse for a lunchtime wander around town. 👀
👉 Mell Square Market Week

Paint & Sip — Slug & Lettuce, Solihull
Paintbrush in one hand, drink in the other. 🎨 Paint & Bubbles is bringing another relaxed Paint & Sip evening to Slug & Lettuce in Solihull on Thursday 17 September at 7pm. Everything you need to create your own canvas is provided, the session is fully guided and absolutely no artistic talent is required. Tickets are £33pp. This one has proved popular and is currently showing as sold out, but there is a waitlist if spaces become available.
👉 Paint & Sip Solihull

⚽ Earlswood Town keep rolling
There’s plenty happening down at The Pavilions. Earlswood Town recently picked up a 3–2 win over Inkberrow, while midfielder Louis Bridges has also celebrated his 100th appearance for the club — quite the milestone. The Earls are back in Midland League Division Two action this Saturday, travelling to Coventry Alvis for a 3pm kick-off. (earlswoodtownfc.co.uk)
👉 Follow Earlswood Town

⚽ Moors looking for a response
It’s been a difficult opening few weeks for Solihull Moors, with Monday’s 3–1 defeat to AFC Fylde leaving them searching for their first National League points of the new campaign. Next up is one of their longest trips of the season, away to Gateshead this Saturday at 3pm. Then there’s a great chance to watch them locally on Tuesday evening, when Leeds United U21s visit Damson Park in the National League Cup — with admission free, although tickets need to be claimed in advance.
👉 See the latest from Solihull Moors

🏒 The Barons are back on home ice
Ice hockey returns to Hobs Moat this weekend as Solihull Barons begin their Division 1 campaign at home to Nottingham Lions. The puck drops at 5.30pm on Sunday 6 September at Planet Ice Solihull, with tickets available from £12 for adults, £7.50 concessions or £29 for a family ticket. If you’ve never watched live ice hockey before, this could be a very good weekend to give it a go.
👉 Solihull Barons fixtures & match information

Well… quite a few of you replied to last week’s newsletter and said yes to a regular Cheap Flights from Birmingham section.

So, we’ve been hunting. 👀

The idea is simple: every week, we’ll have a quick look at where you can fly direct from Birmingham Airport without spending a fortune.

And there are some surprisingly tempting options around at the moment…

One to bookmark if you can sneak away midweek.

Direct Ryanair flights from Birmingham to Budapest were showing at around £52 return, departing Wednesday 16 September and returning Friday 18 September.

That gives you two nights for thermal baths, ruin bars, great food and a wander along the Danube — without even needing to take a full week off. 🇭🇺

Or how about a few days in Poland?

We found direct Birmingham–Kraków flights for around £106 return, flying Monday 14 September to Friday 18 September.

It’s a little more than our usual finds this week, but still a very reasonable direct return fare for four nights away and Kraków makes a brilliant autumn city break. 🇵🇱

Prices were available when we checked on 2 September and can change quickly. Fares are typically the basic ticket price, so luggage, seat selection and accommodation will cost extra.

• Bin collections: https://digital.solihull.gov.uk/BinCollectionCalendar/
• Council news + updates: https://www.solihull.gov.uk/news
• Travel disruptions (West Midlands): https://disruptions.tfwm.org.uk/

Thanks for reading Solihull Spotlight 💙 let’s chat again on Sunday! Hit reply and tell me what you want more of next week: family, events, food, deals, walking routes, live music, sport, or hidden gems.

P.S. Want your business in front of thousands of local Solihull readers? Reply with SPONSOR and I’ll send over our options.

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