Lovely ladies with a penchant for past times…read more Sugarfoot Stomp started their swinging nights at the Sunflower Lounge back in 2004 and were the first in recent years to dedicate a night to music from the 1920s to the 1960s. Their aim is to play good music, do something different and bring fun and dancing wherever they go. "Doris, Daisy, Dixie, Daphne, Dorothy, Dorkas and Dakota are a group of good-time-ladies sent to scintillate the ears with all fine music from the 1920s-1960s." I will admit to knowing these ladies fairly well but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are passionate about putting on great nights and making them more than just somewhere to have a drink and dance but a whole immersive experience that can include visuals and hand-made decorations. They generally now hold their events at the Hare & Hounds but can often be seen popping up at festivals across the country and have even been featured in Dazed & Confused Magazine. There are now several similar events but Sugarfoot Stomp is the original and still the best :)

This is a brilliant night out run by some fun-loving music obsessives from Brum. I should declare…read moresome interest at this point and say that some of my dear friends are involved with Sugar Foot Stomp, so I suppose you must take my review with a pinch of salt. The theme of the night is old skool music, and by old skool I don't mean early Hip Hop, I mean music from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. In fact, I suspect they've never played a record at these events that is younger than them. The ladies who run it put in a lot of effort to making each event special and generally have a lot of fun whilst they are doing it. This enthusiasm is infectious. You'll be sure of a good night at the Sugarfoot Stomp.

This place is downstairs from Bodega and is opened up on weekend afternoons…read more Bodega is rammed all the time, the guys making silly money up there so when things get a little crazy on a weekend he opens up this extra part of it (with its own bar and food menu) to earn even more money. I hate the seats so much, they have very high seats on stools or even low seats on sofas, I'm really tall and i struggle with both I swing around on the stools and often fall off, and my legs are basically behind my head on the sofas. But the reason people come down here is to stand up and dance, the music stays authentic, as do the cocktails. Alto of the people i know who come down here use it as a prefer ed preshrinking area before a big weekend night out. Not a bad little area just wish they would fix the seats.

The Sugarloaf Bar is situated underneath Birmingham's popular South American cantina; Bodega…read more Many people may not have noticed Sugarloaf as it is only open Thurs-Sat from 5pm and like me, if you go to get a table upstairs and it's fully booked (it usually is) you might just skulk off somewhere else... *sad face* Sugarloaf is a dimly lit (in the best possible way) basement bar with great decorative features like brightly painted walls with mexican wrestling mask inspired lanterns and sugar skull artwork. Bare bricks, vintage chandeliers and comfily upholstered, low bench seating make this a trendy and comfortable place to while away a few hours. Although you can't get the full range of Bodega's amazing food and cocktails, there are bar snacks and cocktails aplenty in this great after-work haunt. I can recommend the Batatas Fritas (V) £3.25 (sweet potato fries with sour cream), Frijoles (V) £2.75 (double cooked black beans with crumbled cheese, rice and cream) and the Raspberry Caipirinha £5.00 (Cachaca with fresh raspberries, raspberry liqueur, fresh limes and sugar). Beef Burritos are a firm favourite too although they are better from upstairs with all the trimmings. Sugarloaf is available for free private hire (subject to a minimum spend) and can accomodate up to 80 people. Please contact the bar to discuss your requirements.

The staff were really friendly and the theatre layout felt taller than most so the acoustics were…read moreamazing. The line for hot drinks was too long to even attempt before the start of the show and it's a shame they don't have other hot drink options on the top floor. I also felt the price for what we saw was a little high. More for the fact that there was a very loud family next to us and no employee made any attempt to stop them from disturbing everyone. Beautiful venue but overpriced tickets.

marked down sadly as actual concert was wonderful. I was sadened that we never sang the national…read moreanthem...........is there a reason for that?? looking forward to next years concert!

Despite many great events popping up at The Bond this year, I only managed to get down to check it…read moreout this weekend. When I heard that a Gin Festival was hitting Digbeth, there wasn't a chance I was going to miss out. So, the Gin Festival was planned over the same weekend of City of Colours which meant that Digbeth had one buzzing weekend planned. I had hoped to get out on Saturday, but after hitting a nightclub on Friday night for a friends birthday; I was a little worse for wear in the day and didn't make it. It did mean that I had a rather special Sunday instead (which ended up being an even better choice than originally planned). Enough with the wittering and down to business... The Bond is located off the main drag of Digbeth and the other side of Heath Mill Lane from the entrance to the Custard Factory. You can walk down Digbeth High Street to get there, but we found it significantly quicker to walk down Fazeley Street from behind the back of Hotel La Tour. It's not that obvious when walking down from Fazeley Street, but one you get outside it there is a big iron sign which tells you that you have arrived. I imagine the building was once a warehouse used for stocking barges (as it's well positioned right next to the canal with a small area for boats to pull in), but it's now an events space. First thing of note... it's pretty big. There is plenty of outdoor space both covered and uncovered and a couple of buildings that were being utilised for the Gin Festival. It may be even bigger than this, but we only saw what was being used on the weekend. It has a large conference style room with a toilet block towards the back, a further indoor space with a smaller room and another toilet block and a large "car park" style area and another largish covered area outside. There is a cafe onsite (which was serving hot dogs on the weekend) but I'm not sure what the permanent fixtures of the site are as I have only been for the one event. I have to say, I really liked this venue. I liked the layout, the mix of outdoor and indoor spaces and the plentiful loos. Seeing as the event was held on a scorching Sunday afternoon, the shaded areas were very welcome and everything was laid out very sensitively. I would definitely attend another event in this space! I can't comment on drinks prices (as I was at a drinks based event), but I'll have to update this review if I get back to more events here.

I nice venue tucked away in Digbeth. There is a lovely courtyard area on the canal which is great…read morefor outdoor event. The are also two big rooms which can be hired out for weddings or markets. I came to a wedding in October and it was warm and cosy and the food was great. This weekend I came along to a winter food market. They had plenty of temporary food shacks set up in the courtyard selling waffles and burgers etc but inside there was stalls selling breads, pies, beers, as well as goods like cards and jewellery. It was a cold but sunny day and a pleasant place to be in. Only a ten min walk from the City Centre I would say.

SpeedQuizzing... Now there's a word…read more It sounds far more geeky than it really is. Instead of using a quiz sheet and waiting for the rounds to go by before you learn the answers, you download an app to one of the phones in your team. You answer using the app!! It's fast moving and much more fun than a traditional quiz. I've been twice. Once to a record breaking speed quiz attempt. (I lasted two hours!) And then to the Yelp Speed Quiz at Chung Ying Central. Quiz night plus dimsum!! If you want a unique quiz experience come and play this.

Stoo from Box Entertainment throws some of the most tense, nerve-racking quizzes I've ever been to…read more Yes, we all know pub quizzes are just supposed to be a bit of fun but throw Speedquizzing into the mix and it's like your very own game show but with booze (and usually lots of swearing). These quizzes are totally uncheatable, there's no going back and changing your answers three rounds down the line as once the 10 seconds are up that's it - your answer is in, the points are tallied and the scoreboard updated. My most recent experience of Speedquizzing was down at XP at the Mockingbird Theatre - and Stoo provided us with a suitably geeky quiz to befit the occasion (apart from the music round, Flashdance Stoo? Seriously??). Tensions run high, rivalries develop and every time you hear your buzzer to signal your team got the right answer fastest (and gained extra points) is like a little victory all on its own. If you haven't been down to a speedquizzing event hosted by Box Entertainments Stoo is running them at loads of places now - The Actress and Bishop, The Lord Clifden, The Mockingbird and loads more.

I came here once for a course and this venue was perfect. It's very clean, feels new and modern…read morewith spacious rooms, rooms with large screens for lectures as well as a coffee break room. The studio is perfect for hosting courses, lectures etc. and is very centrally located in Birmingham city.

The Orange Studio, now renamed 'The Studio' has to be one of my favourite restaurants. I love how…read moreit's hidden away, even though it's right in the middle of the city centre. It's situated above the old Orange store on Cannon street, where there is now just an internet cafe on the ground floor. Below the restaurant are conference rooms and the restaurant sits on the top floor. The setting is modern and the atmosphere cool and relaxing. The outdoor seating has some pretty plants decorating it and it's really lovely to sit outside on a sunny day. The food is good and well presented. Perhaps slightly pricey, but not unreasonable and staff are friendly and attentive too!

I know a lot of people use this magnificent building as a walk-through - I do too - but I am in awe…read moreof this place. As an event planner (amongst other things) this place is a dream. Years ago, I attended a few industry events here - all amazing. More recently, I have been to amazing events in the amazing Symphony Hall, housed within the ICC including Glen Campbell and the exclusive event when Beverly Knight got her 'Broad Street Star.' However, my best experience was actually recently when I had a behind the scenes tour for which they allocated one of their security guards - the man in the know - to do this for us. The way this place transforms with a touch of a button (or hundreds of buttons) to make every event special is amazing. As a bonus, he had so many back stage stories to tell it was hugely entertaining!

The ICC holds all kinds of conferences from party conferences (it's the only place which has had…read moreall 3 main political parties) to Slimming World conferences. Most people see it as a corridor from Centenary Square to the canals and Brindley Place and in a lot of ways it is. I'd much prefer to walk through the ICC to get to the canals then walk that small stretch of Broad Street especially at night/in the rain. However, what a lot of people don't realise is behind the fronts you walk past there are over 10 halls, some with the capacity to hold over a thousand delegates. They're all really swanky too, and they have a wonderful events team that can transform any space as far as the client's imagination can reach. The staff are friendly and always smiley. A great place to pop to the toilet too if you're in town.

Great cinema compared to Coventry's Showcase. Large, free car park on the retail park with…read moreMcDonalds, Frankie & Benni's and KFC close by. Like all cinemas, the popcorn and confectionary are extortionate but it's the same everywhere. Screens are always clean and well kept - staff are always polite and pleasant.

Cineworld cinemas is a great chain because no matter where you go in the country it maintains its…read morestandard across the board. It has a massive car park and it free and its handy if you wanna grab food before/after the movie. There is no time restrictions on car parking either which is good. The food and drink is the same as every cine world cinema, the only think that should go is the games room its too big and that space can be used for something else. Screens aren't huge but they are a good fair size, they were clean and tidy and the temperature was good as well.