Manufacturing challenge

Where next for manufacturing - the new challenge?

The West Midlands was once one of the most productive regions in the world.

The Birmingham area alone was home to over 1,000 trades.

Eighty per cent of all the world's chains were made in the Black Country.

But today you're more likely to find signs of West Midlands manufacturing at one the region's thriving museums than in factories, foundries and warehouses.

Simon Topman, president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and managing director of whistle company ACME, takes an in-depth look at the progressive fall in manufacturing in the region.

He talks to Inside Out about his reflections on the region's declining manufacturing base.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Politics Show - manufacturing decline
• West Midlands Manufacturing Challenge
• Advantage West Midlands
• West Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service

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Kojak's Brum

Who loves ya? Birmingham gets the Kojak treatment

Twenty five years ago cinema audiences across Britain were being treated to a tour of Birmingham by Hollywood star, Telly Savalas.

But how did a series of beautiful yet random shots of the city make it onto the silver screen?

And what on earth did it have to do with an actor famous for his role as television detective Kojak?

Inside Out tells the story of the making of one of the strangest - and most popular - films ever created in the Midlands.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC News - Who loves ya Brum?
• The Baim Collection
• Telly Savalas

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

Flaming June

Flaming June - Mary Lloyd, artist's muse

Tucked away in leafy suburbia lies a story you might not expect to find.

In a house in Worcestershire hangs a painting of a beautiful young woman - all the owners know about the woman is her name, Mary Lloyd, not who she was.

Ashley Blake goes along with the family as they try to unlock the story behind the painting.

Recent evidence suggests that Mary Lloyd was in fact the muse for one of Britain's most famous artists, Lord Leighton.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Arts
• Leighton House

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites