Cathy Dobbs: Brides' hotel dreams turning into nightmares

There’s so much to think about - from availability, cost and location to the menu, décor and gardens. It can take months of searching, but with the average wedding now costing just over £20,000, couples want the perfect day.

So, imagine how frustrating it would be to be told your wedding is being cancelled because the government has taken over the hotel. Those four-poster bedrooms and luxury bridal suites, amounting to £400 a night in some hotels, are being filled with asylum seekers.

This costs the UK taxpayer £3.5 million a day. However, to put that in perspective it’s the same as paying for just one celebrity wedding every day. No wonder champagne socialists can’t see what all the fuss is about and think us commoners should just put up and shut up.

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Talking of speaking out, I’m hoping that a recent survey isn’t going to make Brummies worry too much about their accent.

A report by education charity The Sutton Trust said the Birmingham accent is the least respected in the UK.

However, I think it all depends on where you come from. As a young reporter with the Express & Star I once visited the World War I trenches in France.

After a long journey it was a relief to be greeted by one of the loveliest Brummies I know – Dr Carl Chinn. The historian came straight over and in his enthusiastic tones said: “Y’alright Cath – how y’doing Bab?” and it felt like a bit of home in that sad, dark and slightly scary place.

Our accents don’t just identify us – they unite us. Wherever you are, if someone speaks with a Brummie or Black Country accent you instantly know that you have something fantastic in common.

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Suella Braverman is proving to live up to her name as she doesn’t seem scared to speak a few brave, but uncomfortable truths.

According to Suella our migration problem is “completely out of hand” and when it comes to the police vetting practices, they “make it too easy for the wrong people to enter and remain in policing”.

This comes after a report found that pimps, gangsters and predatory sex offenders have been allowed to join and stay in the police.

It was revealed that the drive to increase diversity in policing was also being used as an excuse to lower standards. Trust a government-run service to employ criminals as police officers just so they can tick a few boxes.

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Friends have told me that they’ve stopped watching the depressing ‘the end is nigh’ BBC news in the evening. Instead they are switching to box sets and more light-hearted programmes like Gavin and Stacey on iPlayer.

Finishing the day feeling happy means they fall asleep quicker and feel less stressed – who knew just pressing a different button on the remote could improve your health!