Whether you titter, giggle or outright belly laugh, we could all use cheering up a bit! And at the Heart of England, we’ve got just the evening for you!

Join us on the 25th May 2012 for our latest Comedy & Curry Night! With a mix of different styles, there’s something for everyone, and I haven’t even mentioned the comedians yet!

We’ve got Andy Robinson, Andy White, Craig Deeley, Larry Dean and Ryan Gough as MC. There’ll be silly voices, improvisational comedy, embarrassing stories and much more.

The evening kicks off at 7:30 and with hilarious stand-up, a curry buffet and disco till 1am – all for just £15! Some grab some mates to bring along and call us on 01676 540 333 to book now.

We all know that planning a Christmas party, whether a large corporate function, or small gathering of friends, can be one of the most stressful times of the year, and bringing together everyone’s interests is never easy!

At the Heart of England, we’ve done all the planning and theming for you, so all you have to do is collect the money and enjoy yourself!

This year, we’re going to be providing our very own take on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

Enjoy freshly roasted chestnuts and the sounds of the Carollers as you prepare to enter the cobbled streets of Victorian England.

Then tuck into a scrumptious three course meal before partying into the early hours with our fantastic Heart of England DJ.

With a spectacular nightclub sound, laser and video show, casino table, gigantic games and much more, be prepared to have a cracking Christmas do!

Take a look at the video of last year’s Christmas party event on the left to get a flavour of what’s on offer.

We’ll be updating our Christmas website as we release more information. Book online or call us on 01676 540 333 now to avoid disappointment.

SoLO are looking for willing volunteers to take on the challenge of going down the Zip Wire over the lake at Heart Park and/or book a session or three of Zumba to raise money to let their good work continue.

SoLO is a charity that provides children, young people and adults with learning disabilities the opportunity to enjoy social and leisure activities that the rest of us take for granted, enabling them to meet their peers, make friends, and try new challenges – helping them develop independence and personal skills which will stay with them for life.

By doing so, they enable the parents and carers of those individuals with much needed respite – a break from the full-time job of caring for disabled people.

To take part, you need to register with SoLO. Registration is just £10, which is refundable later if you raise more than £100 in sponsor money. Just email info@solihullsolo.org or ring 0121 788 3469 and speak to Maria, who will send you all the details and sponsorship forms.

If you don’t fancy the Zip Wire, come along to a Zumba session of your choice for just £5 on the day.

Or if you want to really challenge yourself, try the SoLO Triple Threat! 3 challenges in one – The Dorridge Fun Run, the Zip Wire and the Zumbathon. (See www.dorridgefunrun.org for more details and register for £10.)

For more information of SoLO’s work and fundraising events, go to www.solihullsolo.org, or call Maria on 0121 788 3469.

If you visit Heart Park (open now for weekends and holidays throughout the summer), it’s likely you’ll see our Quad Pod or Pirate Boat barrel trains being towed by a quad bike around the site, providing a great source of excitement and enjoyment for both children and parents.

We’re pleased to now be able to offer our Quad Pods and Pirate Boat barrel trains for both hire and sale. These fantastic models are made from a new high density HDPE plastic, with soft seats, retractable safety belts, and lockable towing hitches which won’t rust.

Our Quad Pods meet all the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive and each Quad Pod will be ADIPS Certified for Safety.

4 hour session hire is available for just £500 + VAT + fuel & travel expenses, which covers the hire of 6 quad pods, as well as a driver and quad bike. Or a set of 6 Quad Pods can be bought for £3,300 + VAT (this excludes the quad bike and driver!).

Ideal for caravan parks, trekking centres and other visitor attractions, barrel trains are a fantastic activity to offer to visitors, and we’ve recently sold to clients across the UK, including both Scotland and Ireland.

For more information, see QuadPods.co.uk or call us now on 01676 540 333.

But you’ll have no regrets about going to Heart Park this year! We opened for 2012 on the 31st March, and to mark the occasion, a pirate crew sailed in on The Black Pearl II and entertained throughout the day.

Easter was also very enjoyable. We held an Easter egg hunt, and kids help Benji Bunny find his missing eggs around the park and spell out the missing word. And a delicious 3 course lunch special at The Quicken Tree Restaurant went down a treat!

Heart Park will now be open at weekends and holidays throughout the summer. We’re open from 10am – 5pm (last admissions at 4pm). Entry includes access to lakeside and woodland walks, unique beach, our inflatable Bouncy Kingdom, Children’s play area and a ride on our Land Train.

A wide variety of additional activities are also available for an small additional charge, including pedalo rides, Quad Pods, Crazy Golf and much more!

For more information, see the Heart Park website, or give us a call on 01676 540 333, and we look forward to an enjoyable summer!

Working alongside Stuart Maun from Maun Consulting, we were preparing to host an evening event for the award winning hairdressers, the Francesco Group, with 400 hairdressers joining us from all over the country!

Stuart’s written a very nice post on his blog about everything that went into the event. Take a read to see how we helped him prepare for the day.

With rooms available for small meetings of 2 to conferences of 300, fully equipped event suites, team building activities and more, we can create the right package for you. If you’d like to find out more about what we can offer for corporate events and conferences, see our website or give us a call on 01676 540 333.

The whole team at Heart Park is getting ready for what we hope will be our biggest year yet. New for the season, we now have a children’s zip-wire and nest swing to play on! We’ve had literally tonnes of sand delivered to top up the beach, and our pirate boats and pirate pods are ready to give guests a thrill as they’re pulled along by one of our quad bikes. We’ll even have a range of pirate goodies in the shop for you to remember your day by.

So join us on the 31st for what is going to be a fantastic day! There’ll be pirates plundering the high seas and with Kids Go Free*, you save your lovely loot!

Heart Park will be open from 10am on Saturday 31st March and we’ll then be open during school holidays and on weekends for the summer! There’s no need to pre-book, just pay on the gate, and we’ll see you there!

*Kids must be accompanied by a paying adult. T&Cs apply.

This last week has included starting arrangements for a corporate Fun Day in May, which is going to take place on our 165 acre site at the Heart of England Conference & Events Centre. We’ve been organising an area act for the event, and we look forward to welcoming the Vander Brothers with their amazing act, the Vander Space Wheel of Death!

We’re also going to be opening our doors to over 450 hairdressers from one of the largest hairdresser chains in the UK this weekend, who will be hosting a catwalk show and spectacular awards ceremony with us.

We wish them all the best and hope they enjoy their day!

Here are a couple of photos taken on the night, as well as a thank you letter we’ve received from Warwickshire Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.

Thanks to everyone who attended for supporting such an important local cause.

We’re opening up the Birchley Suite and will be running a fantastic evening of fun, gambling and games (sounds good, right?). Tickets are just £15 each, and include a traditional “Hearty” Hot Buffet Meal, Race Night and the legendary Heart of England Disco until 1am.

So visit the website for more info and to book, or give us a call on 01676 540 333.

We’ll be donating all gambling proceeds to the Warwickshire Air Ambulance, so be prepared to dig deep and show your support for a fantastic local service!