Black Country Talking News

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. There's some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the region. You’ll have to be sharp of mind, as we also have another challenging Quiz from Roger. We hear from Meena who has the forecast for the week ahead. We have all the reaction from the weekend’s Black Country derby day action. And we introduce ...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. From solar farms in the Black Country to biscuit’s made from waste plastic bottles..... There’s some fascinating news from across the region, and beyond. And we introduce another bake-along session from Penny Melville-Brown OBE – also known as the blind baker – this time Penny brings us a an easy to make and...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. There’s some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. You’ll have to be sharp of mind, as we also have another Did You Know segment from Roger, and Quiz with Meena. We hear from Meena who has the forecast for the week ahead. We have all the latest news from the Weekend’s action for Wolv...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon including the Lifestyle Newsletter for September with Dan. With next week marking Sensory Awareness Week (7-13 September), the City of Wolverhampton Council's Sensory Team shall be hosting a range of activities, including a series of informative videos, demonstration sessions, and awareness stands at both the Civic Centre and the Beac...

In this week's edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. There's some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country, including the story of a new machine, deeply rooted in Midlands engineering, which has been sent across the Atlantic in pursuit of another landmark in land-speed history. It's full steam ahead as we hear all about the Severn Valley Rai...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. There is some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country, including details of a hidden local gem, tucked away behind the trees and stone walls of Goldthorn Park, Wolverhampton. You’ll have to be nimble-minded, as we also have another number puzzle challenge from Roger, and Quiz with Meena. ...

In this week's edition, we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. Theres some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. You’ll have to be sharp of mind as we also have another Did You Know segment from Roger, and Quiz with Meena. As we continue to bask in these sunny climes of Costa del Black Country- is there any rain on the horizon? We hear from Meen...

This week marks a significant celestial event. The solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, will be a rare and spectacular event for the UK, marking one of the largest solar eclipses in nearly 30 years. This Beacon update provides information on safe viewing methods, as it is never safe to look directly at the Sun, local viewing events and tools that may help create an accessible experience of the ec...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. There's some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. We have a couple of feature focus segments this week too: With this week marking international assistance dog day, we learn about a new pilot project in the Black Country helping to tackle incidents where individuals are unlawfully den...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed; including the lifestyle newsletter for August with Dan. From JRR Tolkien and the Rock Houses of Kinver Edge to the Red House Glass Cone and the latest exhibits at Stourbridge Glass Museum- there’s some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. We continue our journey “’round the Wrekin” wi...

In this week’s edition: We find out what’s been happening at Beacon with the latest update from Helen and Muhammed. There’s all the latest news from across the Black Country, including an update of significant changes to some local bus routes and services across the region. With the tale of Malcolm the Emu, there's plenty of fascination to be had too. Get ready to ‘chill out’ and test your ...

In this week’s edition: We find out what’s been happening at Beacon with the latest update from Helen and Muhammed. There’s all the latest news from across the Black Country, With this week marking Black Country Day, we celebrate all things Black Country: There’s a feature focus on one of the region’s proudest musical success stories from Beacon volunteer and talking news contributor David ...

After the footballing theatre from the early hours of Monday morning, this FIFA World Cup keeps shifting our evenings and stretching our screen time well beyond the usual bedtime routine; we take a tactical timeout, or hydration break, to offer fresh relevance to some recent research, into how high intensity artificial light in the evening (i.e. screen time exposure) may effect long term eye he...

In this week’s edition: We find out what’s been happening at Beacon with the latest update from Helen and Muhammed. There’s all the latest news from across the Black Country, With this week marking World Chocolate Day, with thanks to TNF Soundings contributor Lindsay, we learn the history of the day which is marked each year on the 7th of July. Is this spell of sweltering heat set to contin...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon; with the lifestyle newsletter for July with Dan. Some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country, including guidance on how to spot heat exhaustion. You’ll have to be nimble minded, as we have another challenging Number Puzzle Quiz from Roger and Meena. Meena also has the latest forecast for the week ahead. We co...

In this week’s edition: We find out what’s been happening at Beacon with the latest update from Helen and Muhammed. There’s all the latest news from across the Black Country, including news on how you can help shape the future of local voluntary and community services. With Armed Forces Day being celebrated across the region this weekend, with thanks to TNF Soundings, we hear some humorous, ...

In this week’s edition: We find out what’s been happening at Beacon with the latest update from Helen and Muhammed. There’s all the latest news from across the Black Country, including news on how you can help shape the future accessibility of the NHS App and digital eye care services. We take a journey around a local area with more than 420 million years of historical significance; can you ...

In this week’s edition: We find out what’s been happening at Beacon with the latest update from Helen and Muhammed. There’s all the latest news from across the Black Country, including news of a historic gem in the heart of Wolverhampton, dating back to the 12th century. Talking News Federation's soundings contributor Tina, challenges us all with another number puzzle quiz. With the Footbal...

In this week’s edition: We find out what’s been happening at Beacon with the latest update from Helen and Muhammed. We have all the latest news from across the Black Country. With the FIFA Football World Cup 2026 now just over a week away, we sail our way across the Atlantic, for some fascinating nostalgia from 40 years ago, to the last time the competition was held in one of this year’s hos...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon, including the lifestyle newsletter for June with Dan. Some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. Nestle down and find your comfy spot, as with thanks to TNF soundings, we introduce the third and final Episode of ‘Beyond the Call’ an exclusive 3-part short story, about a visually impaired military veteran, wri...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. We have some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country, including an account from local historian Sarah Haywood looking to bring the story of a local legend, known fondly as the Brierley Hill giant, back into the spotlight. Nestle down and find your comfy spot, as with thanks to TNF soundin...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. We have some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country, including a lowdown on the Commemorative events planned to celebrate 25 years of The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Nestle down and find your comfy spot, as with thanks to TNF soundings, we introduce Episode 1 of ‘Beyond...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. Some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. You’ll have to be sharp of mind, as we have another challenging Quiz from Roger. We continue our journey “’round the Wrekin” with Michael and Lesley Braccia. With Wolves’ relegation from football’s top flight confirmed, we shift our focus to...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed; including the lifestyle newsletter for May with Dan. We have some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country; including an article focusing on exercise and nutrition for eye health, with tips on keeping active during Spring, what to eat to keep your eyes healthy and how to sleep better. You’...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. We have some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. Including an introduction to What3words - a geocode system that divides the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares, each identified by a unique combination of three words. This system allows for precise location identification, making it...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed; as well as an update from Dan. There’s some fascinating news from across the Black Country, including the third and final part of our series focusing on the Express and Star’s 20 letter test for the Royal Mail. With thanks to the Electoral Services at City of Wolverhampton Council, there’s a special segment d...

In this week’s edition we have: All an update from Beacon with Dan. There's some fascinating news from across the Black Country, including the 2nd episode of a 3-part series, where the Express & Star puts the Royal Mail to a 20-letter test. We also have some fascinating nostalgia, as we head back in time for a classic ‘rags to riches’ story of Victorian times. You’ll have to be nimble-minde...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen Some fascinating news from across the Black Country, including a lowdown on some of the free activities available across the region over Easter. Hopefully any Easter cards you may have posted out have reached their destination in time.  That has definitely not been the case for many residents of the Black Country over the ...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed; as well as the Beacon Lifestyle Newsletter for April, with Dan. From the latest innovation and creation to a SEND focus on education, we have the latest news from across the Black Country. You’ll have to be nimble-minded, as we have another challenging number puzzle with soundings contributor Tina, using ment...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. From health and wellbeing to free events and sight-seeing, we have the latest news from across the Black Country. With news of a couple of new railway stations opening across the region, we also take ourselves back to the 90’s for another journey upon the tracks, with Beacon volunteer and Railway Enthusiast D...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. From health and wellbeing to free events and sight-seeing, we have the latest news from across the Black Country. And despite another poor weekend of results of Wolves and West Brom, we step back a little further into last week for some more positive vibes from our BBC Young Hero Award winner Frazer, as well ...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen. From health scans to the forthcoming elections, we have the latest news from across the Black Country. You’ll have to be sharp of mind, as we have another set of ‘ten teasers’ from Roger, with his General Knowledge quiz. We continue our nostalgic adventures with Beacon’s Talking News Contributor and Railway Enthusiast Da...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed, plus Beacon’s Lifestyle Newsletter for March 2026, with Dan. Some fascinating news and nostalgia from across the Black Country. You’ll have to be nimble-minded, as we have another challenging number puzzle with Roger and Meena, using mental arithmetic to keep our brains active. We continue our journey “’roun...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Muhammed and Helen. From the fifties to the fifteen hundreds, and from our roads to our skies, we have some fascinating news, nostalgia and information from across the Black Country. There’s all the reaction to the weekend’s FA Cup football action for both Wolves and West Brom. We’ve had a typical cold snap of sun, sleet and ev...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed, including information about how to access the RNIB’s Access to Work Survey. Including an urgent alert from the UK Health Security Agency - we have the latest news, nostalgia and a lot of valentine’s love from and for the Black Country. You’ll have to be nimble-minded, as we have a February number puzzle and c...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed. We have the latest news, nostalgia and innovation from the Black Country, including a feature focus on just what is happening with the postal delivery service across the region. You’ll have to be nimble-minded, as we have the latest puzzles and challenges from Roger and Meena. With temperatures still holding...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Helen and Muhammed, plus Beacon’s Lifestyle Newsletter for February, with Dan. The latest news from the Black Country. You’ll have to be nimble-minded, as we have the first of a new series for 2026. A simple number puzzle with Roger and Meena, using mental arithmetic to keep our brains active. We continue our journey “’round th...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Dan and Helen. From The Beatles to The Traitors, to our Towns and our Trains. We have some fascinating news and information from the Black Country. You’ll have to be sharp of mind, as we have our latest did you know section from Roger and quiz with Meena. There’s all the reaction to the weekend’s football action for both Wolves...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Muhammed and Helen. We have some fascinating nostalgia and all the latest news from the Black Country, You’ll have to be sharp of mind, as we have our latest did you know section from Roger and quiz with Meena. There’s all the reaction to the weekend’s FA Cup action for both Wolves and West Brom. Hopefully the cold snap of win...

In this week’s edition we have: All the latest from Beacon with Muhammed, Dan and Helen. We have some fascinating nostalgia and all the latest news from the Black Country, as well as a satirical look at the new year ahead! You’ll have to be sharp of mind, as we have another challenging Did You Know section from Roger and Quiz with Meena. After a remarkable start to the new year for Wolves, ...

In this edition We have tales of Christmas’ past from 100 years of our newspaper archives, An update from Beacon, A festive quiz with TNF soundings contributor Roger. We have special guests- local author and acoustic duo- Mike and Lesley from Second Chance, wishing us all a ‘Bostin Christmas’ with a Black Country version of the Nativity Story. Some feature football stories- where football ...

In this edition we have some: Christmas cracker jokes full of festive fun and cheer, and a topical Brainteaser for the winter season in the form of an audio-based i-Spy. Our gardening experts provide some ideas on bringing nature indoors and decorating the house over the festive period; with plants and wreaths to brighten up the festive season. We travel on a magical fictitious festive adven...

In this edition we have quite a musical journey: Finding out how Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody stormed the charts in 1973 and turned four West Midland lads into global music legends. We hear from Beacon Volunteer David Smith who tells us all about a glam rock band who also, quite literally, had a block-buster release in the same year of ’73. Get ready for a sing along, as in our latest j...