President 's Column: Buzzing Brum

Wow, what an incredible couple of weeks it 's been for our region, writes Tony Elvin.

Before the Games, I heard people saying, please don 't be rubbish, please don 't be rubbish, such was the low bar they had set for the region 's ability to deliver a successful event. Those pessimistic and dissenting comments quickly washed away after a stunning Opening Ceremony, and with the eyes of the world upon us, we kept the pedal to the metal throughout. Day after day proving the doubters wrong and whisking everyone along in the spirit of the Games.

At #SolihullHour on Tuesday, our weekly get-together for local businesses on Twitter, we asked for favourite moments of the Games - and received plenty.

And there were so many highlights. Our wonderful volunteers, a city transformed with colourful banners, flags and floor stickers, the arrival of The Queen 's Baton Relay, the giant Bull, the heaving crowds in Birmingham city centre, the ease of travel to and from the venues, the para-athletes given a stage to perform with everyone else in packed stadia, our poet laureate Casey Bailey and the cool 'Brum Ting ' portrayal of our young city. Brum was buzzing! Exuding confidence as we 've never seen before, a confidence I pray we can hang on to.

As an adopted Brummie, I am so proud of what we 've achieved and what we 've shown to the world. The reaction from journalists, athletes and tourists has been wonderful and it finally feels like we 're being noticed for the right reasons, recognised for what we are, rather than those outdated tropes of a concrete jungle.

Feeling the magic in Solihull

The magic made its way to Solihull too. The NEC was just as well organised. We had Adam Peaty tucking into doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. I 'm guessing that was after winning gold, although it could explain why he ended up collecting a silver in one of his races!

The Seychelles team had a Krispy Kreme experience too. There was a wonderful moment when they spotted their national flag behind the counter and excitedly demanded to know why it was there, and what was the connection. They were delighted to find out that, along with lots of other flags as part of a Commonwealth flag trail around Touchwood, local school children had made it.

Solihull Hour

So, this week the theme for #SolihullHour was 'highlights of the Commonwealth Games ' but each week we rotate between a topical question and then business tips from members. As an example, for our next Solihull Hour, The Wine Events Company will be sharing their top tips for the supermarket aisle before returning to another topical question the week after.

We 're inviting Solihull Chamber members, like you, to join us each week between 7-8 pm to Like, Retweet and support fellow Chamber businesses, but we would also like you to share your top three tips with us. If you would like to supply three top tips, please contact your relationship manager who will be delighted to help. Either way, we 'd love to see you each Tuesday at 7 pm.

Proud adopted Brummie and Solihull Chamber president, Tony.

Tony Elvin is president of Solihull Chamber of Commerce and general manager of Touchwood