NEWSPAPERS occasionally set the agenda of the communities they serve, just as they often simply reflect the life and lives within them.

Recent weeks have been dominated by the kind of stories that draw a grim interest from readers but do little, if anything, to raise the spirits.

The saga of school funding, the continuing blight on families trying to park cars at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, the farce of others trying to find out where their family tax credit has gone - they're just a few.

Today's Evening News looks at stories in a similar vein, and worse. But they shouldn't mask the joy and anticipation that's been a part of the week for many people across the Faithful City and the communities beyond.

That's certainly the case in Colletts Green, where the Kenney family is waiting to welcome Ark Royal sailor son Richard back from the Gulf.

St Peter's gran Enid Deeprose has grand-daughter Natalie Lazenby on the same warship.

Others will follow in the days and weeks to come, heroes to their friends and families for having done their duty.

Across the city, a summer ball brought fun and laughter to the students of Elgar Technology College as they celebrated the impending end of one era in their lives and the start of another.

And, at Barbourne's Sunnyside School, children were expected to look like they'd been dragged through a hedge backwards, in the name of Acorns Children's Hospice.

They're all shining lights on a grey day. We hope they've helped to brighten your lives.