The recycling centre at Lifford Lane is conveniently situated by the tip. I'm pleased that the…read morerecycling aspect of this has now grown: previously it was primarily a tip, with a couple of little recycling bins for odds and sods, but now, it seems, there is plenty more recycling to be done. Now at Lifford Lane they recycle quite a large amount of diverse household items: green garden waste, cardboard, paper, glass, metal, wood and wood-based products (MDF, chipboard etc), engine oil, car batteries, fridges & freezers, textiles, shoes, TVs & CRT Monitors, fluorescent tubes, gas bottles, soil, hardcore & rubble. I have no idea what you could possibly recycle soil or rubble as, but ours not to reason why - the good thing is they have this capability and they make it easy for us. What's not so great are the queues. It's just as well that the centre is set halfway down a fairly quiet road that leads to a business park - otherwise the queues of traffic that occasionally build up there would be wreaking havoc on the roads of Birmingham. Be prepared to sit in your car with your junk for a long time....

As these places go, it's better than most. If you want to avoid queuing for ages, go first thing…read morein the morning or avoid a Sunday. The guys at the entrance are usually quite friendly and not generally as gruff as you get at other tips I've visited. The parking bays for the bulkier things are quite tight to me, but then I'm the world's worst parker, so it's probably just me. The recycling place tends to be pretty busy, which is encouraging. Quite often though this means parking up can be tricky as there aren't designated bays and some people's idea of parking leave even me speechless. Also, the paper and bottle banks can get very full indeed, especially after a holiday. Sometimes if you're only recycling these items I think you would be better off finding a more local bank. The other thing to note is that children aren't allowed out of the car for obvious reasons. This however did come as a huge disappointment to my daughter rather strangely.

It has to be said, this is a good motorway service station. Yes the prices in "their own" eaterie…read moreare above average, but that is to be expected. The facilities are excellent, and the last 2 times I was there I had a baby with me, so I used the facilities!! The food places are a Costa Coffee, (which has soft seating) Burger King and Eat In (their "own brand") and a microwave is provided for free so you can heat baby food /milk etc, they even provide disposable bibs (must find their supplier!!) and the changing facilities are good too. They could be a bit bigger, but hey, I do have quite a "sturdy" buggy! Overall a very visitor-friendly place to make a stop.

Beware Parking Eye parking fine scam in operation, avoid this motorway service station at all…read morecosts, unless you want a parking fine. After a 4 hour drive from London, I refuelled (£60), got a coffee & snack (£8) and rested for an hour or so. Quite a pleasant service station, I was in Telford for a funeral. But a week later I got a fine in the post from Parking Eye!!!? So avoid this service station at all costs.

This is one place you can visit if you need a PC or even a laptop that needs repairing. People will…read morehave their favourite stores in terms of where they get their laptops repaired. Give this place a try though. As well as repairing PC's and laptops, you can also purchase laptops and other computer accessories from here. But to be honest I would be more comfortable buying a computer/laptop from elsewhere. The CD's on sale are pretty expensive and that led to me buying them from another place. The prices in terms of the laptops being sold are pretty good. But again I would go somewhere else to buy a laptop. Customers I have spoken to have said they would come back to this shop and get their laptops repaired. The wait was not that long which was one reason why they said they would return. Staff are really helpful and they do know their stuff.

TWO SHOPS ON THE SAME STREET…read more The Computer Shop Has Ceased Trading. Alternatively the lads at Theitbusiness.com are available to help. Theitbusiness.com 0121 208 3142 70 Great Hampton St Hockley Birmingham B186EW

Strange scene the rehearsal room scene. For a seasoned old semi-pro like me, the cleaner and more…read moreclinical the facilities, the less vibe the place seems to have. But there is a fine line between a certain ambience and outright squalor (take for instance the rehearsal complex in Birmingham I once visited which had a dead pigeon rotting in an open lift shaft and holes in the stairs. No such problems at Hockley Street Studios, which is neither soullessly spotless or seriously dilapidated. I've been using rehearsal spaces in and around Birmingham for about 14 years and Hockley Street Studios is the one I've used the most over the last 8 years and have rented a lock-up there for the last two and a half years. All the staff are friendly and are themselves musicians. It's the kind of place where they soon get to know you. Rehearsal spaces can get expensive but this studio has a small room which can be rented for £5 an hour. The amps and PAs in the by-the-hour rooms work, there's a free pool table and there's no holes in the stairs. My one minor quibble is they rarely sell single strings, which is a pain in the backside if, like me, you're always snapping your high E

Affordable, well staffed rehearsal place about 10-15 minute walk from Birmingham City Centre…read more If you are a band looking for a lockup, the studios have a number to choose from ranging from £40-80 a week depending on need. This amount is reduced is you share your lockup. There are drinks and snacks available, a free pool table and a lounge to hang in and the studios put on a number of parties throughout the year. Recommendation - Room 19 is the room to use for rehearsals!

I go there at least once a week to do my laundry. The staff…read morethere are very friendly and helpful. I wish them luck and hope they can keep up the good work for many years to come.

Local Computer repairs and sales with friendly advice and reasonable prices.read more

Went in with some questions about which laptop to get given I am trying to learn how to code, and I…read moregot excellent service at Gigante Computers. The staff were really friendly and gave me multiple suggestions with a detailed description of the pros and cons of each, and even let me try some of the laptops they had in the shop. Stephen was very knowledgeable and helped me through the process of choosing my laptop and now that I have my dream laptop I couldn't be happier. Extremely happy with my experience overall and will definitely be returning for any future tech needs. Highly recommend!

I'm a student and I came here to get my laptop repaired - I was really happy with the service…read more Great communication throughout and I got frequent replies, the staff were friendly and reassured my worries. Highly recommend!

I went to Web Design Coventry to get SEO for my company site, best bit of marketing we've ever…read moredone. They're part of the larger Creare company, and continue to work with nothing but professionalism on my campaign. They have stayed in regular contact and have been happy to help whenever I've called up with a question. What really impressed me was the commitment to building a long standing campaign, it's never felt like they're just going to take my money and do a lackluster job. I'd highly recommend them to anybody looking to get their business going online.