The Lancashire & North West Magazine | April 2022

www.lancmag.com

April 2022

£2.45

Lytham Gin

a little bit of Lancashire in every drop

Coniston Stonecraft Luxury Slate Products from the Lake District

RELAX AND UNWIND with the House of Daniel Thwaites

DanceSyndrome Dancer Led, Disability Inspired

ROWLAND HOMES Elegant • Traditional • Stylish

SPA DAYS FROM £100 at Contours Day Spa

She Inspires Awards

The next generation of inspirational women

STOP, UNWIND & RECONNECT A Retreat by The Purpose Pusher

Mother’s Day Gift Vouchers The perfect Gift from Crow Wood

BEAUTIFUL FURNITURE FOR THE LIVING ROOM, BEDROOM & DINING ROOM AND LIGHTING SOLUTIONS FOR THE WHOLE HOME CELEBRATING 14YEARS OF BEAUTIFUL LIVING

UNIT 4 | MILLENNIUM COURT | POULTON BUSINESS PARK FURNESS DRIVE | POULTON LE FYLDE | FY6 8JS

N 01253 893334 E paula@padcl.co.uk F @PadPoulton WWW.PADCL.CO.UK

CONTENTS...

38

186

178

Hyndburn

Macclesfield

Manchester

Features 8 14 15 16 17 18

114 8

20 22 24 26

28

28 32 34 42 48 52 54

34

198

62 64 68

70 76

82 88 92

94

182 www.lancmag.com

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MORE THAN A WOMAN: The Local Entrepreneur Breaking Down Barriers GRAND NEW SEASON Blackpool Grand Theatre wants you to #PlayYourPart Light up your life with CRACKING COMEDY at Blackpool Grand in 2022 Private Peaceful Lesley Celebrates 40 Years of Safe School Crossings New Build Bungalows Offer Luxury Living for the Over 55’S in the Ribble Valley North Lakes Hotel & Spa, Penrith Langdale Chase, Lake Windermere Seal of Excellence for Leyland Site Manager Lytham Gin Live Forever - A Celebration of Music That Will Never Die Contours Day Spa A Walk on the Wild Side YouTube channel ANDREW IRVINE - The North-West Hero Lost on Mount Everest CRIME STORIES BY ANNA FOULDS - James Hanratty Coniston Stonecraft An Interview with Brendan Donnelly Lighting Inspired by... The Gilded Age There’s No Better Gift This Mother’s Day Than a Gift Voucher for The Woodland Spa Immersive Zombie Drive-In Cinema Experience Launches At Camelot Theme Park PRIME MINISTERS - George Grenville to The Marquess of Rockingham Inspired by the United Nations, local woman Gulnaz Brennan plans to make us all become ‘orange’ Mr Benn and the Rock Fortress Three Sofa Trends Shaping 2022 More Than £1 Million in National Lottery Funding Goes to North Lancashire’s FoodFutures Partners to Support Communities to Tackle Climate Change Time to discover the good life with Rowland Tonia Bern Campbell’s Ashes Laid to Rest in Coniston

102 North Fylde Photographic Society are bringing out the long guns 108 FLIRTATIOUS – Making Heads Turn!

109 Ginger Accounts 110 Your Best Sales Representatives Who Don’t Wear Suits 114 GLENN TILBROOK Plays Spring 2022 UK Tour Dates 118 Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip Stopping Smoking 120 Northern Health Science Alliance responds to release of Government’s Levelling Up White Paper 122 £10,000 Grant Available for Healthy Heart Community Projects Across the UK 126 Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip Forming Good Habits 130 Del Monte Recipes 134 Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip Establishing Positive Eating Habits for Children 142 Black Dyke Band in Concert at Bury Parish Church 152 Eco-Friendly Gadgets for the Home that will Save You Money 154 Adventures That Start and End at Beautiful Railway Stations 156 Dare to Dream 166 “Would You Believe It” 174 The Life and Legacy of the Remarkable KATHLEEN FERRIER 182 TINBOX ANGEL 194 Thinking About Buying a New Home in or Around Lancashire? Here’s The Best Way to Go About it 196 Families Invited to Support Cumbria’s Special Wildlife at Free RSPB Events Happening Across the County 198 Flowers Attracting Our Vital Bees 200 Stop, Unwind & Reconnect- A Fabulous Retreat by The Purpose Pusher 202 SIR WILLIAM WALTON A Lancashire Musical Genius 206 New Drive to Promote Woodland Creation Grants for Farmers and Landowners 208 New You, New Hobby?

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

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...CONTENTS

Regulars

April 2022 • Volume 45 Number 4

140

60

Aiming Higher

140

Balance Counsellor

144

Books: Emma Kay

145

Books: Robert Graham

146

Catherine Dean Coaching

148

Colour Me Beautiful

158

Deborah Hatswell

160

Denise Mullen

164

Fleetwood RNLI

116

HayMax

80

Laura Pearson

124

Life of Di

172

Mama Shar’s Caribbean Cooking

100

Miles Consult & Construct

192

Miranda Christopher

112

Percent Edge

162

Positive Change Coach

74

She Inspires Award Winner

106

Tenet & You

136

Totally Local Lancaster

128

Zodiac Predictions by Manish

164

192

100

148

160

136

www.lancmag.com

April 2022

£2.45

Managing Director: Natalie Christopher natalie@lancashiremagazine.co.uk Editorial: 01253 336580 editorial@lancashiremagazine.co.uk

Lytham Gin

a little bit of Lancashire in every drop

Design Manager: Tanjé Beach Sales Enquiries: 07918 685673 Coniston Stonecraft Luxury Slate Products from the Lake District

RELAX AND UNWIND with the House of Daniel Thwaites

DanceSyndrome Dancer Led, Disability Inspired

ROWLAND HOMES Elegant • Traditional • Stylish

COVER: Lytham Gin

4

SPA DAYS FROM £100 at Contours Day Spa

Accounts: 01253 336588

She Inspires Awards The next generation of inspirational women

STOP, UNWIND & RECONNECT A Retreat by The Purpose Pusher

Mother’s Day Gift Vouchers The perfect Gift from Crow Wood

General Enquiries/Subscriptions: Sharon Henry • 01253 336588 accounts@lancashiremagazine.co.uk The Lancashire & North West Magazine Ltd, Seasiders Way Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 6NZ

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

Writers: Aiming Higher Alijan Kirk Anna Foulds Arighi Bianchi Catherine Dean Claire Morton Där Lighting Deborah Hatswell Denise Mullen Diane Wade Emily Walker Gulnaz Brennan Harold Cunliffe Janet Broughton Joel Newman Julia Riewald

Kate Gostick Kath Taylor Ken Harcombe Laura Pearson Manish Kumar Arora Margaret Brecknell Max Wiseberg Miranda Christopher Paul Cusimano Peter Pearson Rightio Sajedah Maka-Ismail Sarah Harris Sarah Ridgway Sharmen Frith-Hemmings Stephen Cheatley

UK Only Subscription Rate: 1 year £25 – saving of £4.40 2 years £48 – saving of £10 3 years £73 – saving of £15 5 years £115 – saving of £32

F @lancmag I @lancashiremagazine Visit our website at www.lancmag.com

Note to contributors:- While every care is taken with manuscripts, drawings, photographs and transparencies, no responsibility is accepted during transmission or while in the Editor’s hands. The contents of this magazine are fully protected and nothing may be used or reproduced without permission.

www.lancmag.com

IN THIS ISSUE...

W

e start this month with a fantastic interview with Sara Dewhurst from the multi-award-winning gin brand, Lytham Gin, where Lancashire is very much at the heart of the brand and whether it is honey, berries, or botanicals it all comes from the region so there is a little bit of Lancashire in every drop.

Catherine Dean Coaching parts with us some more insight on what she has learnt about weight loss from living in France, Deborah Hatswell talks to us about the experiences of a young woman who has had a number of supernatural events throughout her life, Sarah Harris from Colour Me Beautiful shares what she has found from an online umbrella Boutique called Brolliesgalore - perfect for the kind of weather we would expect of April and Alijan Kirk continues in his 6

series of profiling our nation’s Prime Ministers.

Camelot Theme Park in Chorley, Lancashire launched an immersive zombie drive-in cinema experience in which you need to survive a terrifying one-mile journey through a zombie-infested wasteland then pass a military checkpoint as the army battle to keep control of the park, and try to avoid the hordes of the undead searching for their next meal.

Guests who make it to the safe zone can experience a seminal horror film on one of the UK’s biggest outdoor screens - a few of the Lancashire Magazine staff still haven’t recovered from their experience!

We have a couple of book recommendations for you: ‘Foots, Lonks and Wet Nellies Lancashire’s Food and Drink’ by Emma Kay

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

which explores the rich and culinary heritage of Lancashire, through an illustrated look at the history of its food and drink; and ‘The Former Boy Wonder’ by Chorlton writer Robert Graham - a novel that lovingly brings large parts of 1980s Manchester back to life, in part a chronicle of his love affair with the music-loving city he moved to almost 40 years ago.

Our featured towns this month are the Lancashire Borough of Hyndburn, Macclesfield, which according to an annual survey by Rightmove, was named as the happiest place to live in the North West and Manchester, home to many pioneering innovations.

And of course, as always, we have features on homes, health, delicious recipes, fashion, entertainment, fascinating history, and a bit of wildlife and more - all in our April issue. www.lancmag.com

A C H I L D R E N ’ S T H E AT R E PA R T N E R S H I P P R O D U C T I O N I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H B I R M I N G H A M R E P

Adapted & Directed by

ROBERT ICKE

Set and Costume Designer

Puppet Designer and Director

BUNNY CHRISTIE

TOBY OLIÉ

TU E 19 – SAT 23 APRIL Box Office 0125 3 2 9 0 1 9 0 Groups 0125 3 74 3 2 3 2 www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk

animalfarmonstage.co.uk @AnimalFarmOnStage

MORE THAN A WOMAN: The Local Entrepreneur Breaking Down Barriers Jen aged 7

Dancing has so many benefits for your health and wellbeing, everyone should try it! Dance is brilliant because you can just put music on and start dancing anywhere! Then you have to believe in yourself, because everyone can achieve if you believe you can. ‘Dream, believe, achieve’ is my favourite motto!”

To celebrate International Women’s Day and Down’s Syndrome Awareness week, which both take place in March, we meet Jen Blackwell, a local entrepreneur with a difference, and some of the amazing women that she works with through local charity DanceSyndrome.

8

J

en is 40 years old and lives in Chorley and her greatest passion in life is dance. She also has Down’s syndrome but has never let her disability stop her from living life to the full.

Talking about how her love of dance grew, Jen said “I was always dancing as a child. Dancing helps me to focus my energy. When I’m dancing, I’m in another world and everything else just disappears. It’s an amazing feeling.

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

Jen’s story shows her absolute commitment to that motto. After she left school, Jen and her mum, Sue, spent 10 years searching for the right dance training opportunities that would allow her to follow her dream to be a leader and performer. After all those years of searching, they couldn’t find anything that was accessible for Jen because of her learning disability, so they took matters into their own hands and set up their own organisation DanceSyndrome in 2009.

Fast-forward to 2022 and Jen’s charity is rapidly growing, and she has recently been profiled alongside 100 female entrepreneurs from across the UK, as part of the f:Entrepreneur ‘#ialso100’ campaign to celebrate the achievements of women running businesses.

Delivered by Small Business Britain – the leading champion of small businesses in the UK - f:Entrepreneur www.lancmag.com

was launched in 2017 to showcase trailblazing female founders from across the UK who lead businesses alongside other responsibilities, such as volunteering, mentoring and community support. From quantum computer engineers, and vegan fruit farmers, to sustainability advocates and inclusive dancers, this year’s campaign celebrates inspiring and resilient female entrepreneurs that have flourished despite the challenges of the past years.

Facing challenges is nothing new to Jen but she has never let learning disability get in her way; she always has a positive attitude and determination to succeed. She has always wanted to lead, choreograph, and perform and her goal is to “get the world dancing!” She absolutely does that through DanceSyndrome, a charity that is co-led by people with learning disabilities working alongside professional Dance Artists to offer fully inclusive and accessible dance workshops, leadership training and performances. Jen thrives in the spotlight and thoroughly enjoys the fun and the smiles and laughter that flow freely in her dance activities.

DanceSyndrome founder Jen Blackwell with the E3 award

DanceSyndromeGroup

Jen said “I am very proud of what DanceSyndrome has achieved. I started this charity to help other people like me who couldn’t access opportunities in dance because they had a learning disability. I always feel so proud when I see my friends living a life in dance because I know that my charity has helped them to follow their dreams. Without DanceSyndrome people might still be lonely and feeling lost, like I did before I started the charity.”

The inspiring impact Jen and her fellow Dance Leaders have in their dance sessions has been widely recognised, most notably with a Prime Minister’s Point of Light Award in 2018 and the Queens Award for Voluntary Service 2019, the voluntary organisation equivalent of an MBE. DanceSyndrome celebrated their first national dance industry award in 2021 with the People’s Choice Award at the One Dance UK Awards and Jen has been featured on prime-time TV by the National Lottery and been invited to events at Buckingham Palace and The House of Lords, amongst many other achievements! www.lancmag.com

UDance 2022

DanceSyndrome encourages people from all different walks of life to come together and enjoy the physical and emotional benefits of dancing. Their motto is that “everybody can dance“.

Regardless of your age or ability, there is beauty in all movement - there is no right or wrong way to move. The sessions are all led by a person with a learning disability working in equal partnership with a professional Dance Artist. They are delivered in a way that all movements can be adapted to meet

Ellie Bamber

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Dorothy Shepherd

the physical needs of every individual and support is given to help everyone to participate in a way that they enjoy. Some dancers have learning disabilities, some have physical disabilities, some don’t have any disabilities. There are young people from age 11 through to older people in their 70’s. The only requirement is that you want to enjoy some dancing.

The young people involved with the charity are thriving and enjoying a range of creative opportunities.

This month, a team of three of the younger Dance Leaders are involved with the U.Dance festival which is a celebration of young people under the age of 25 in the dance sector. David Corr, Jessica Reid, and Ellie Bamber are representing DanceSyndrome this year at the Northwest regional final at The Lowry with a piece called III (Three) is the Magic Number. For David and Jess, this is their third year of being involved in the festival. In 2019, they were chosen to represent the Northwest at the national festival in London, a significant achievement in such a well-respected competition.

For Ellie, this is a new experience.

“I am very proud of what DanceSyndrome has achieved.

I started this charity to help other people like me who couldn’t access opportunities in dance because they had a learning disability. I always feel so proud when I see my friends living a life in dance because I know that my charity has helped them to follow their dreams” - Jen Blackwell 10

Ellie is 21, from Blackpool, and has been involved with DanceSyndrome for just over two years. Talking about the U.Dance Festival, she said “I’m really excited about this project, it has been lovely dancing with Jess and David and as a group we have really connected. The piece explores three bodies in space and movement created by exploring the number three. The Dance Artists Sophie and David Darcy have been brilliant, they really understand us, and I think we have created a beautiful dance, that we can be really proud of.”

“Our first performance was at the Media Centre in Preston, and we found out just before Christmas that we had got through to the next stage – so it was like an early Christmas present.

I was so excited and very proud of us all. They gave us some good feedback, so we have had some extra rehearsals and got it really polished ready for the net stage at The Lowry.

I’m really looking forward to dancing there. Dancing on a stage makes me feel alive and sharing the experience with my friends makes it extra special.

The whole process has really pushed me, not only in my dancing technique but also to speak out, to give ideas, listen to others, to take feedback and act on it to get better and better.

“I love being part of DanceSyndrome, we really are an amazing dance family. I have danced from the age of two and attended other places, but sometimes struggled to fit in with my learning difficulties. DanceSyndrome welcomed me with open arms, and I now feel I belong.

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

“My dream is to teach children with special needs dance. I feel this is now achievable, because of the support I receive at DanceSyndrome. I am now taking my level two Dance Leadership qualification with DanceSyndrome and feel really positive that my dream will come true. My learning difficulties won’t hold me back and I want to show others there are no limits to what you can achieve if you follow your dreams.”

At the other end of DanceSyndrome’s age demographic, Dorothy Shepherd is one of the older people who are thriving with DanceSyndrome.

Dorothy has been involved with the charity since 2015. Talking about how DanceSyndrome has impacted her life, she says “When I was little my Mum used to take me to see the annual showcase performance of our local dance school and I so wanted to join the classes and dance. Sadly, finances did not allow this. About six years ago a friend told me that DanceSyndrome was having an open day to learn about the ethos of the charity and to join up to their Dance Leader Training Course. I could not believe that I, a 67 year old woman would be given the chance of following my dream. I was very concerned that my age was against me and whether I had the confidence and courage to try. I rang the Managing Director to check things out and basically convince myself that it was a real possibility to join up. The conversation was so warm, welcoming and encouraging that I went ahead and attended the open day and I have never looked back.” www.lancmag.com

Jodie Turner

“I now lead dance and volunteer with this wonderful charity. I have felt encouraged, empowered, supported, and included in my dance journey.

My body confidence and mental confidence around dance have grown enormously and are helping me to fulfil my dance potential including further training, dance development and performance.”

“There are so many benefits of my DanceSyndrome experience including seeing true inclusivity in action, about which I am passionate.

It’s wonderful to see co-leading with differently abled dance leaders.

Our community Everybody Dance classes are a real highlight. Dancers patiently encouraging and supporting unconfident, shy and sometimes anxious people to find their comfort zone. People who think they cannot dance or contribute start to realise that they are valued at whatever level they feel able to take part. It may be a very simple movement or even an involuntary movement that is offered - this will be accepted with respect and celebrated and included. It can take one session or fifteen or even sessions over a period of two years for some people to truly take part, but I know that eventually there will be an awakening of the ‘I can do it realisation’. The pleasure, delight, and satisfaction of seeing dancers blossom into self-confidence and independence is massively rewarding.

Dance is a joy in my life.”

The community dance workshops that Dorothy mentions, Everybody www.lancmag.com

Dance, are DanceSyndrome’s most popular sessions and the best way to get started if you want to give inclusive dance a try. They take place across the Northwest, including Clitheroe, Chorley, Great Harwood, and Preston, with new sessions coming soon in Blackburn with Darwen and Hindley.

There are also online versions which are offered via Zoom, which came about as a result of the pandemic.

Dance Leader Jodie Turner said “Zoom dance sessions have been important to my life because it has enabled me to keep dancing. I have still been able to lead dance sessions which I enjoy, and I have even learnt new and different styles of dance.

Zoom kept me in touch with my dancing friends and we had new friends join us. I have enjoyed just being able to dance. I have loved seeing and talking to my friends in my dancing family. I have never had so many friends in my kitchen!”

Online dancing enabled DanceSyndrome to reach beyond their physical location, breaking down more barriers than ever before! People from as far as South Africa, Europe and the USA were able to participate with truly inclusive dance for the first time ever, and they loved it! Now, this small charity with a big impact can reach even further, engaging isolated people, people without transport, people without enough support and people who are still struggling with Covid-19 anxiety, in the comfort and safety of their own homes. A real positive to come out of the pandemic.

It’s testament to the hard work and dedication of the DanceSyndrome team that they are committed to offering such a diverse range of opportunities.

Jen’s determination to change the world through dance is reflected in every member of the team and her values are embedded in every activity, whether that’s a national festival or a workshop in a Lancashire community.

Everyone is genuinely welcomed with open arms and supported to be the best that can be.

When Jen says, “I am changing people’s lives through dance”, she is 100% correct! Research with participants in DanceSyndrome workshops showed that they report many improvements in their lives after a workshop, including feeling physically fitter, having improved mental health, feeling that they have a better social life, having a sense of belonging and being included, being more able to communicate and ultimately just feeling happier. It’s no wonder that Jen and her charity are receiving so much attention.

What’s not to love about this amazing initiative?

If you would like to support this unique local charity, there are lots of ways that you can get involved.

Check out their website: www.dancesyndrome.co.uk or email info@dancesyndrome.co.uk for more information.

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 11

Zoom: Mon 7-8pm Tues 2-3pm

Everybody Dance Sessions £5 per person

Chorley: Tues 1-2pm

Preston: Weds 10-11am

Clitheroe: Sat 10:30-11:30am

Great Harwood: Sat 11am-12pm

Visit www.dancesyndrome.co.uk/events to book a place!

Can you support our work?

Could your business sponsor a workshop?

Donations help to create happiness, friendships & opportunities for people often excluded from mainstream dance.

Could you volunteer or fundraise to support our work?

To donate online visit: www.dancesyndrome.co.uk/donate To donate by text: £5 - text DANCE to 70970 £10 - text DANCE to 70191 £20 - text DANCE20 to 70191

www.dancesyndrome.co.uk

Donations gratefully received

info@dancesyndrome.co.uk

THE PEOPLE’S PALACE

GRAND NEW SEASON WINTER | SPRING 2022

April

June

Pinocchio

Tue 05

Seven Drunken Nights Julian Clary - Born to Mince Aida

Wed 06 Fri 08 Sun 10

Kinky Boots The Musical Animal Farm

Wed 13 to Sat 16 Tue 19 to Sat 23

ELO Again

Wed 27

May Jason Manford: Like Me

Private Peaceful

Sun 01 Mon 02 to Sat 07

The Legends of American Country Show Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em Craig Revel Horwood Dead Lies

Sun 08

Rob Beckett - Wallop!

Count Arthur Strong

Sun 05

The Magic of Motown

Sun 12

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

Mon 13 to Sat 18

80s Live

Sun 19

Boogie Nights

Wed 22 to Sat 25

Bowie Experience

Thu 30

July Onwards The Lancashire Hotpots

Sat 09 Jul

Steve Steinman’s Anything For Love

Sun 10 Jul

Twopence To Cross The Mersey

Tue 04 Oct

Vincent Simone - Tango Passions

Sun 16 Oct

Tue 10 to Sat 14

Sleeping Beauty Ballet

Sat 20 Nov

Sun 15

Sleeping Beauty Panto

Fri 02 Dec to Sun 01 Jan 2023

Tue 17 to Sat 21

Marty Wilde Dreamboats and Petticoats

Red Hot Chilli Pipers

Sun 22

Jon Richardson Sun Records The Concert

Fri 03 Feb 2023 Thu 23 Apr 2023

Fri 27 to Sat 28 Sun 29

To book visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call 01253 290 190

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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

www.lancmag.com

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Blackpool Grand Theatre wants you to

#PlayYourPart The Blackpool Grand Theatre are continuing to plan their road to recovery after 18 months of enforced closure due to the pandemic.

A

udiences are slowly returning to the theatre but after an extremely successful pantomime season, the theatre is looking forward to an exciting 2022. After the theatre’s

recent launch of their new season brochure and with a new chief executive joining the theatre in Spring, 2022 looks set to be a

To discover What’s Coming in the upcoming months at Blackpool Grand Theatre view go to blackpoolgrand.co.uk/what’son For any further information please call 01253 290190 or go to blackpoolgrand.co.uk

fantastic year of shows for everyone. #everyonehasathing However, the theatre still needs your help and is calling on the local community, theatre supporters and anyone who loves live performance, for their help and support. The Blackpool Grand still has a long way to go before operating as it once did to we are asking local supporters to #PlayYourPart in supporting the Grand come through this time.

With 91% of the theatre’s income coming from ticket sales, every day is vital to its survival not just in the town but across the region. After operating with a skeleton staff, the theatre worked through hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of refunds, credits, and limited transfers to new dates during the pandemic.

Anthony Stone, Blackpool Grand Theatre Chair said, “During the pandemic hundreds of theatres across the UK, including The Grand, closed and the arts and entertainment industry, along with many, many other businesses across the country, faced an uncertain future. At that time, I believe, it was important to protect the theatre and its workforce by taking every opportunity to slow down the devastating financial impact of closure, so we can be in as good a shape as possible when we re-opened again last year.

Arts Council England and Blackpool Council continue to support the theatre and with additional funding support, for which we thank them sincerely. However, The Grand earns 91% of its income through ticket sales which, as you can imagine, are now depleting our reserves. If you can, and would like to, donate to help the theatre survive, we would be extraordinarily grateful.”

Here's how you can support The Blackpool Grand Theatre: The venue is asking locals to help in planning for recovery, you can support the theatre in various ways; 1. Donate at blackpoolgrand.co.uk/recoveryfund 2. Purchase an 1894 Club membership 3. Purchase tickets for our Winter/Spring 2022 season 4. Use Amazon Smile, or Name A Seat So, please #PlayYourPart! Donate at blackpoolgrand.co.uk/recoveryfund

www.lancmag.com

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 15

blackpoolgrand.co.uk

Light up your life with

CRACKING COMEDY at Blackpool Grand in 2022

Live comedy shows all presented Just for Laughs by Blackpool Grand Theatre

B

lackpool Grand Theatre is bringing back the happiness this year with a blistering bill of top comedy names that are guaranteed to bring the house down. And that’s no joke!

Banish those long lockdown blues and join us for the ultimate feelgood night out. Laughter is the very best medicine they say, so what are you waiting for? It’s Just for Laughs!

Giggle and guffaw as the legendary comedian and actor Omid Djalili is back on stage for his ever provocative Good Times Tour on Sunday 13 February; Ed Byrne presents his masterclass in observational comedy in If I’m Honest on Friday 18 February; Katherine Ryan brings her hilarious perspective on love, life and what it means to be a Missus on Sunday 27 February; outrageously camp comic Julian Clary sallies forth to pleasure the provinces with Born to Mince on Friday 8 April and smash-hit stand-up star Jason Manford is back in Blackpool with his latest laugh-out-loud live show Like Me on Sunday 1 May. Chuckle and chortle to all the witty wisecracks from the magnificent ‘Mouth of the South’ Rob Beckett in his sensational new stand-up show Wallop! on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 May; the inimitable Count Arthur Strong brings his wonderfully eccentric charm to his twentieth anniversary tour And This Is Me! on Sunday 29 May; there’s gloriously daft nonsense from Mock The Week star Milton Jones in Milton Impossible on Thursday 13 October; Saturday night TV legend Harry Hill is starching up his big collar ready for the silly spectacular Pedigree Fun! on Saturday 15 October and it’s never too early to book for mild-mannered funny man Jon Richardson in his knockout new show The Knitwit on Friday 3 February 2023.

Katherine Ryan Missus Sunday 27 Feb

Omid Djalili - Good Times | Sunday 13 Feb Big stars bring the big laughs and The Grand has a dynamic double act of top comedy dramas that just fit the bill! Madcap DIY disasters and priceless misunderstandings are on the cards as the loveable 70s TV star Frank Spencer returns in Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em starring Joe Pasquale (I’m A Celebrity, The Producers) and Suzie Blake (The Victoria Wood Show, Coronation St) from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 May. Oooh Betty… it’s Frank-ly too good to miss!

"A day without laughter is a day wasted " – Charlie Chaplin Sing with joy as The Rise and Fall of Little Voice takes the spotlight from Monday 13 to Saturday 18 June starring Shobna Gulati (dinnerladies, Coronation St) and Ian Kelsey (Emmerdale, Casualty) packed full of humour, heart and countless powerhouse ballads. Jim Cartwright’s timeless tale is a gritty and witty Northern fairy tale that explores the highs and lows of findings your dreams in a small town and a noisy world.

Blackpool Grand Theatre - tickling your funny bone all the way through 2022 Just for Laughs.

Please call the Box Office on 01253 290190 or visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk for full listings, bookings and further information on all our live music events.

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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

www.lancmag.com

blackpoolgrand.co.uk

Private Peaceful From the author of War Horse, Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful Adapted by Simon Reade is heading to the Blackpool Grand Theatre in May.

S

et in rural Devon and the battlefields of Northern France Private Peaceful tells the story of the Peaceful brothers, Tommo and Charlie, whose tough rural childhood, framed

by the loss of their father, forges an irrevocable sibling loyalty.

Until one day they both fall for the same girl. And then the Great War comes. Here we join 18-year-old Private Tommo Peaceful

Private Peaceful is a Nottingham Playhouse production. It is directed by Elle While, with Design by Lucy Sierra, Lighting Design by Matt Haskins, Sound Design by Dan Balfour, Movement Direction by Neil Bettles, Composer Frank Moon, Fight Direction

by Jonathan Holby, Voice and Dialect Coach Marianne Samuels and Casting Director Ginny Schiller CDG.

family and friendship on what may be his last night on earth.

The UK Tour is produced by Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and supported by Arts Council England through a National Lottery Project Grant award.

The Peaceful brothers, Tommo and Charlie, have a tough rural childhood facing the loss of their father, financial hardship and a cruel landlord.

Private Peaceful heads to the Blackpool Grand Theatre from Monday 2 May to Saturday 7 May 2022 with a selection of evening and matinee performances. Concessions apply. Age guidance 9yrs+.

Their fierce loyalty to each other pulls them through, until one day they both fall for the same girl. And then the Great War comes.

To book your tickets now, go to blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call 01253 290190.

in the trenches as he takes us on a journey through his most cherished memories and tells his story of courage, devotion,

Set against the epic backdrop of WW1, we join 18 year old Private Tommo Peaceful in the trenches as he takes us on a journey through his most cherished memories and tells his story of courage, devotion, family and friendship.

Private Peaceful was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, won the Red House Children’s Book Award and won the Blue Peter Book Award. Acknowledged by Michael Morpurgo (War Horse, The Butterfly Lion) as his favourite work, this professional premiere is a new ensemble-version by Simon Reade. It tells the story of a country lad fighting a war he doesn’t understand for people he cannot respect.

www.lancmag.com

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 17

Lesley Celebrates 40 Years of Safe School Crossings

For 40 years Lesley Owen has been helping children get to school safely, and last week it was their turn to say thank you to her.

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housands of children and their parents all know Lesley as the first face they see in a morning as they go to school. Since January 1982 she has been a constant fixture at Norbreck Primary Academy as a school crossing patrol officer.

Karen McCarter, Headteacher of Norbreck Primary Academy, said: “It is wonderful news and an amazing achievement that Lesley has worked for 40 years keeping the children in Blackpool schools safe as they cross roads to and from school every day. It has taken courage and dedication to stand out in all weathers always with a cheerful smile. We are all in awe of her dedication and service. What a lady!”

Pupils at the school marked Lesley 40 years of service in a special presentation with handmade cards and a bouquet of flowers.

Cllr Neal Brookes, Blackpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Public Safety, Highways and Transport, said: “On behalf of Blackpool Council I’d like to thank Lesley for her service over the last 40 years. It is a remarkable achievement.

Lesley started in the role in 1982 when she heard the previous officer was retiring and she mentioned she would be interested. The next thing she knew, there was a police officer at her door signing her up!

“School crossing patrol officers are such an important part of the community and school life. I am sure there will be parents taking their children to Norbreck today that remember Lesley from their own school years.

Lesley said “It has been terrific to be a school crossing patrol officer for 40 years, it’s what keeps me going. I enjoy everything about the job and it’s the children that have kept me doing it for so long.

“We are always looking to recruit more officers – I hope Lesley’s experiences show how rewarding it can be.”

“I’d like to thank all the children, parents and staff at Norbreck School.”

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Anyone interested in becoming a School Crossing Patrol Officer can call 07423 787270 for more information.

www.lancmag.com

SHORT BREAKS AT NORTH LAKES HOTEL & SPA Our short break packages are just the ticket for time away in the heart of the Lake District, whatever the occasion.

Each stay includes access to the spa and fitness facilities.

The stunning restaurant with a relaxed open kitchen and vast fireplace is perfect for dinner, afternoon tea or Sunday lunch.

Enjoy a drink by our cosy log fire.

Enjoy delicious food cooked fresh for you on our open fire grill.

Spend time in our award winning spa.

From delightful doubles to luxury suites, the choice is all yours.

northlakeshotel.co.uk houseofdaniel thwaites.co.uk

For more details please visit northlakeshotel.co.uk or call us on 01768 868111 or email reservations@northlakeshotel.co.uk

New Build Bungalows Offer Luxury Living for the Over 55’S in the Ribble Valley NEW build bungalows are a rarity now in the UK, so Redrow’s latest release of four modern single storey one and two-bedroom homes in Barrow provides an exclusive opportunity for those searching for an easy-to-manage home.

left: Oak Leigh Gardens Bungalows

In fact, according to Rightmove, less than 10% of homes within five miles of Barrow are bungalows, with the property website reporting demand for Bungalows has increased postpandemic.

their home without compromising on specification. Modern, yet with very little maintenance required, they provide a stressfree lifestyle in the beautiful Ribble Valley, which is regularly voted as one of the best places to live in the North West.

The newly built properties, at Redrow’s Oak Leigh Gardens development, on Whalley Road, near Clitheroe, have been built specifically to cater for those aged 55 and over.

“The exclusive bungalows are being built in small groups of four, with the Maple properties being semi-detached and the Beech homes in a mews style.”

The Beech, priced at £196,995, is a one-bedroom bungalow, with an open plan kitchen / dining area and lounge at the heart of the home, a luxurious master bedroom and wellappointed bathroom.

Oak Leigh Gardens is close to the Forest of Bowland, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and within that, Pendle Hill.

But it’s also close to larger towns like Burnley and Blackburn with all the amenities they offer, while having plenty of shops, bars and restaurants on the doorstep, and good schools with easy access.

The two-bedroom Maple is priced at £212,995 and consists of a master bedroom, a generous second bedroom, open plan kitchen/dining area and lounge and a bathroom.

Sian Pitt, sales director for Redrow Lancashire, said: “These well-proportioned properties are a rarity for the local property market yet perfect for those who are looking at downsizing 20

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

To find out more about Oak Leigh Gardens and the new collection of bungalows, visit www.redrow.co.uk/oakleigh or call 01254 865167 and arrange an appointment with Redrow’s sales team. www.lancmag.com

LANGDALE CHASE Glorious Terrace

Indulgent afternoon teas

Romantic getaways

Call us now to book your table or reserve your bedroom

LANGDALE CHASE WINDERMERE Lake District, Cumbria, LA23 1LW 01539 432201 langdalechase.co.uk

PENRITH

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orth Lakes Hotel and Spa has recently added the AA Silver Star Status to its raft of accolades and awards, positioning this stunning hotel as the area’s

most stylish destination for couples, friends and families who are looking to explore the Lake District’s rugged landscape. Rustic in design, the hotel’s look and feel has been heavily

inspired by the Cumbrian countryside and reflects the area’s rural heritage.

Artwork depicts Lakeland scenes and landscapes, including contour lines on bedroom ceilings and an antique rowing boat hung stylishly in the stunning restaurant.

Situated in the historic market town of Penrith, North Lakes Hotel and Spa is conveniently located just off the M6 and only a few minutes’ walk from Penrith train station. The hotel is a short distance from the Lakes’ dramatic landscapes and the stunning

Eden Valley, making it an ideal location for short breaks and family holidays.

Breath-taking walks, quaint market towns and historic castles are all within close reach.

The hotel caters for all group sizes, from individuals to couples and families.

There’s delightful double rooms, stunning Suites and family rooms with bunk beds for the children. As well as dog-friendly rooms and a ‘Waggy Tail Welcome’ for guests’ furry friends, the hotel has ‘VI Little P’ packages for children, who’ll receive their very own fluffy bathrobe, a personalised cookie, fresh milk and activity packs.

North Lakes is home to the unique dining experience that is FYR, Cumbria’s only open fire grill restaurant. With enormous wooden beams and a spectacular outdoor terrace, it’s a visual delight as well as a culinary one. FYR is famous for its steaks; every cut of meat is aged for a minimum of 28 days and cooked to the diners’ exact specifications - right in front of them. For a special treat, try North Lakes’ Afternoon Tea, a delicate selection of smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches complimented by freshly baked scones and a selection of cakes, from macaroons to ‘Cumbria’s Famous Sticky Toffee’ cake pots. The cosy bar is a perfect post-dinner retreat where guests can sample fine wines as well as Thwaites’ award-winning cask ales.

For those looking to relax and unwind, North Lakes’ spa and fitness area boasts a state-of-the-art gym, relaxation rooms, a sauna, steam room and a heated full-length swimming

pool.

North Lakes Hotel and Spa could also be the dream location for The Big Day. The stunning hotel is licenced for civil ceremonies and offers flexible reception rooms for each type of celebration. There are bespoke packages to suit all occasions but North Lakes lends itself beautifully to intimate winter weddings, with its cosy festive interiors, roaring open fires and outdoor fire pit that’s perfect for unique photographs. Couples who say ‘I do’ at North Lakes can retreat to their four-poster Bridal Suite and return to the hotel one year later to celebrate their first anniversary.

As the flowers start to bloom, North Lakes Hotel and Spa has unveiled a magical new wellness experience; the ‘Taste of Spring’ Spa Day. Upon arrival, guests can head straight to the spa for two-hours access to the

facilities before enjoying a soothing 25-minute treatment. Thoughtfully curated by the hotel’s team of highly skilled therapists, treatments include a calming D-vine facial, invigorating cranial massage and re-energizing foot ritual. Complete the self-care session with a delicious two-course lunch or a decadent Afternoon Tea. The Taste of Spring Spa Day starts at £70 per person and is available throughout March, April and May. North Lakes has also designed a special package for Mother’s Day which starts at £109 per person for a one-night break with Champagne on arrival, spa treatments and sumptuous breakfast. Short on time? Take Mum to North Lakes for its famous Sunday Lunch, complete with a glass of Ayala Champagne.

To book your North Lakes experience, please visit www.northlakeshotel.co.uk

LAKE WINDERMERE

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ccupying a magical location, Langdale Chase is regarded as the best lakeside address throughout the Lake District National Park and boasts unrivalled views.

Whilst many guests will visit the hotel to relax and soak up the atmosphere, the area is full of unmissable attractions. The bustling towns of Ambleside and Bowness are only

ten-minutes away by car and one of the region’s most famous attractions, The World of Beatrix Potter, is located in Bowness-on-Windermere.

Whether it’s wandering around William Wordsworth’s final home, Dove Cottage, visiting the Victorian Neo-Gothic Wray Castle or paddleboarding on Lake Windermere, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Set within historic gardens which were originally designed by Thomas Mawson, the landscape architect behind the Hague’s Peace Palace

Gardens, lies the awe-inspiring Langdale Chase. Built in 1890 as a private residence, Langdale Chase first opened its doors as a hotel in 1937 and today still houses many special features, including the original boathouse, which is considered one of the best on the shores of Windermere.

Since Daniel Thwaites PLC acquired Langdale Chase, the hotel has won prestigious awards including two AA Rosettes for the restaurant.

Situated across the main house and the Lake House nearby, the hotel boats 29 classically elegant rooms.

Featuring period furniture and with views out over the countryside and lake, it’s the perfect backdrop for a Lake District retreat. Guests can also enjoy little extras such as home-made biscuits and fresh milk to make them feel right at home. Langdale Chase has dog-friendly rooms and beloved pets will receive their very own comfy bed, the ‘Waggy Tail Welcome’, a snug towel, food bowls and personalised dog biscuits. Each of the dog-friendly rooms are conveniently located on the ground floor with easy access to the beautiful gardens.

After a busy day exploring, guests will find there’s many places to hunker down at Langdale Chase, whether that’s in the Lakeview restaurant, the elegant conservatory, a snug corner in the bar area or out on the sunny terrace. The hotel’s team of expert Chefs have created a menu of local and seasonal dishes including, Lakeland Gin cured salmon, Cumbrian lamb and Morecambe Bay Lemon Sole. For those wanting the traditional

Afternoon Tea experience, look no further than Langdale Chase. Served daily and beautifully presented on a tiered cake stand, the artisanal sandwiches include tempting regional flavours. The sumptuous offering also includes heaven-sent cakes and desserts including fluffy scones, served with strawberry preserve and Cornish clotted cream. For those looking for something extra special, Langdale Chase has launched an exceptional tasting menu on Friday and Saturday evenings. From £75 per person, enjoy expertly created dishes, including confit duck and black pudding pressing and warm chocolate fondant with cranberry, peanut and salted caramel. Why not add a wine flight to further enhance your experience.

With special occasions such as Mother’s Day and Easter approaching, Langdale Chase has introduced a ‘Champagne Short Break’. Arrive at 3pm to a chilled glass of Champagne and enjoy a sumptuous dinner in the award-winning restaurant before retreating to your Character bedroom.

One-, two-, three- and four-night breaks are available with breakfast included each morning - and prices start from just £109 per person.

To book an unforgettable, lake side experience at Langdale Chase, visit www.langdalechase.co.uk

Daniel Thwaites PLC, Lancashire’s oldest familyowned brewer and award-winning hotelier, is proud to include North Lakes Hotel and Spa and Langdale Chase within its collective of impeccable properties. From the Lake District to Fareham on the south coast, each fantastic property is unique, every detail is top-quality and the atmosphere is always warm and welcoming. Whether it’s a spa day, a city break or a countryside retreat, Daniel Thwaites has a property to suit.

For more information on Daniel Thwaites and its superb properties, please visit: www.houseofdanielthwaites.co.uk

Seal of Excellence for Leyland Site Manager A REDROW project site manager is celebrating after winning a Seal of Excellence Award.

left: L to R: Darren Horner NHBC North West Regional Director, Simon Nix with his Seal of Excellence Award and David Campbell Commercial Director at NHBC Simon Nix, from Leyland, is thrilled after winning the award during the Pride in the Job Awards.

for the coveted Seal of Excellence, which Simon has now won four times in the past six years.

Established by the National House Building Council (NHBC), the Pride in the Job Awards celebrate the exceptional contribution site managers make in creating homes of outstanding quality.

The father-of-one, is also starting the year with a promotion as a project site manager with Redrow Lancashire.

Pride in the Job, first launched over 40 years ago, is the most highly regarded competition in the house-building industry.

This is Simon’s fourth Seal of Excellence Award, awarded this time working at The Oaks at Taylor’s Chase in Warrington.

“You never know until the day of the awards if you’ve won a Seal Of Excellence,” said Simon, who has worked for Redrow for almost 12 years.

“I was very nervous and felt the weight of expectancy on the day of the awards, especially as my award was announced second from the end.

“It’s a testament to the whole team because it’s not just me who wins this award, but the lads on site too. You can’t do it alone, you have to develop that we mentality, they want to win it just as much as I do.”

Simon has previously won six NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Awards and was one of just 450 site managers nationwide to receive a ‘Quality’ award in the first round of the NHBC’s 2021 competition, out of 11,000 who were eligible. All Quality award winners then go on to compete 26

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“I am working on the quality side now, so I will be helping the newly promoted site managers to ensure they are aware of Redrow’s standard details and encouraging each of them to try their very best to continually raise the standards and quality on their sites, as well as working closely with the subcontractors.

“Another part of my role will be setting up the new sites to make sure that when the manager arrives on his site he has the best opportunity to make his site a success, and that the first impression of the site is something in which he and the subcontractors will be proud to work on. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the year ahead brings.”

Keith Collard, construction director for Redrow’s Lancashire division, said: “This award is a tribute to the exceptional standards that Simon and his team work hard to achieve on a daily basis, and have continued to do throughout the pandemic.

“And it’s a well-earned reward for the commitment Simon has shown year after year. Simon is a really popular manager, and we are delighted that he has done so well again this year.”

To find out where Redrow are building in the region visit www.redrow.co.uk/lancashire www.lancmag.com

LYTHAM GIN Inspired by Lancashire’s coastline.

Distilled with love in the Ancient Parish of Lytham.

Find out more at: www.sandgrownspirits.co.uk and get 10% OFF all purchases in our online store using the coupon code LANCASHIRE2022 at checkout

Lytham Gin

By Sarah Ridgway

Sara Dewhurst started Lytham Gin from her tiny utility room three years ago, since then the craft gin brand has grown tremendously.

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oday, Lytham Gin is a multiaward-winning craft gin produced in a large industrial unit, with an onsite shop and tasting room. Lancashire is very much at the heart of the brand and whether it is honey, berries, or botanicals it all comes from the region so there is a little bit of Lancashire in every drop.

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Tell us about the company and what led you to found Lytham Gin? Originally, I was a chemistry teacher and after a while, I decided I wanted to do something different and bought a deli. I loved teaching but another big interest of mine was food and drink. I did that for about 18 months before starting to miss the science aspect of my life. I had spent 24 years in the science laboratory and before that, I was an industrial chemist, and I missed the hands-on practical side of making. The idea for making gin came from a Christmas shopping weekend in Manchester with my husband.

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I ordered a gin and tonic at the hotel bar as I have always enjoyed them and there were more than 30 different types of gin behind the bar.

They stocked a Manchester Gin, a Liverpool Gin, an Edinburgh Gin and lots of other geographical gins.

I chose my gin and I sat back down with my husband and said, “I am sure there would be a market for a Lytham Gin.” We talked about the concept all weekend and then forgot about it over Christmas. January rolled around and I suddenly remembered what we had been talking about and I said I’m going to do this! I applied for my licence and by March I was a qualified distiller and sold my first bottle of gin at the end of April 2018.

I sold the delicatessen and now run Lytham Gin full time. I have a team of three employees who are brilliant.

I also create gin for other businesses and we have just started exporting to Hong Kong and Singapore.

How integral has your own scientific background been in your journey and has it given you an advantage?

It’s definitely given me an advantage.

I have an in depth understanding of distillation and I’m very aware of the risks associated with the process. I’m particularly interested in the chemistry of organic flavour molecules.

Understanding how ethanol behaves as a solvent allows me to extract www.lancmag.com

at the start of 2018. I won Best New Business at The EVAs and our gins have won two GIN GUIDE awards, several medals at The London Spirits Competition and multiple multi-star Great Taste Awards meaning we have this year become one of The Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Producers. The awards and recognition demonstrate the quality of our products. I’m very proud to be a Lancashire brand and have a bit of Lancashire in every bottle.

How did the pandemic impact the business?

the year. I pick samphire from the estuary, gather berries from the lanes, collect petals from gardens and parks and have even helped harvest honey.

There really is a little bit of Lancashire in every drop. the botanical oils which give gin its unique taste in the most effective way possible.

I’ve been told by other businesses who want their own gin that they chose me because I am well qualified and know what I am doing!

Is the market over-saturated or is there room for everybody and why do you think Lytham Gin stands out?

I think the market is getting fuller and fuller as the months go by with around 850 distilleries now in the UK making craft gins. Lytham Gin stands out because our philosophy is to use something from the local area in each variety. I forage for botanicals around Lytham and the Fylde throughout www.lancmag.com

People love this personal connection with nature and many of our customers buy from us to give something from their home town to their friends. We have a beautiful range of gifts available online that are regularly sent to addresses right across the UK. Many of them can be personalised too.

Lytham Gin is nearly 4 years old and started in my tiny utility room at home.

We quickly outgrew the space and converted our large garage into the distillery, keeping its location a closely guarded secret! By the middle of 2019 we needed a much bigger space and acquired an industrial unit in Lytham.

This gave us a large production area as well as plenty of storage, a little shop and a tasting room. We’ve far exceeded anything I imagined back

By the start of 2020, we were stocked somewhere in the region of 120 to 130 bars, restaurants, and clubs across Lancashire. Obviously when the pandemic hit that all disappeared overnight. We knew that we had to do something to fill that void of losing those customers, but we were taken back by the sudden increasing traffic to our website which happened almost immediately. By the beginning of April, we knew we had to diversify the business so rather than selling to hospitality the focus shifted to selling directly to consumers. We upgraded everything on our website, the shop, photographs, our gin descriptions were expanded to include their perfect serve and where the botanicals come from etc. It worked really well because our online sales grew and grew.

When things started opening up again, some of the hospitality venues restocked, and some didn’t. We are in fewer bars and restaurants now but have a really loyal customer base which is lovely. I feel a personal connection with everyone who stocks us. We were able to re-open the tasting room and are now welcoming lots of those

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How have you built longlasting relationships in the local community?

I’m very proud to come from Lancashire and I love Lytham and its surroundings.

I’m very keen to celebrate the local area and this isn’t limited to using local ingredients. Where I can, I will use local businesses for my supplies. My labels and packaging are produced in Lancashire. I was able to use a local timber merchant and flooring specialist to fit out the distillery bar and I always try to source any equipment from Northwest companies before looking anywhere else.

people who bought online to events here where they can make cocktails, try perfect serves, or just learn about the whole gin-making process.

followed by Zesty Orange and Positively Purple. The gift sets are very popular too.

I also like to give back to my community. A percentage of the sale of every bottle of Blooming Gorgeous goes to the Lytham in Bloom charity.

I have a strong link with Rotary and make three gins for their End Polio campaign. This started with a chance meeting back in 2018 where a local Rotarian asked if I could make a purple gin. Purple is the colour of the campaign as it represents the dye used to identify children in Africa and India who have recently been vaccinated.

Their little fingers are dipped in a dye so medics can easily tell if they have received a dose. Passionately Purple Gin was created to raise funds for the charity and has so far raised over

The tasting sessions run during the week and the weekends, and you get a 30-40 minutes tour downstairs.

I take you through the whole of the gin-making process, talk through the botanicals and how the gin is made and how we bottle it. We finish upstairs in the tasting room for up to two hours where we get to taste all six gins as perfect serves with recommended tonics and garnishes.

Lytham Gins: • Original Dry • Bee’s Knees • Navigator • Blooming Gorgeous • Positively Purple • Zesty Orange Our best-selling product remains the full-size bottles of the Original Dry Gin without a shadow of a doubt.

Included in the cost of the tasting experience is a £10 voucher to spend in the shop. Our most popular gin has always been the Original, closely 30

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www.lancmag.com

£50,000, improving and saving the lives of countless children.

As well as charity connections, I have particularly strong links with Stringers department store, who stock my entire range, and with Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, for whom I make their Royal Lytham Gin. Our local park, Lowther Gardens, chose is to make their centenary gin last year and we were very proud to have been chosen by Northcote to make their Obsession Gin in January.

How important is being a Lancashire brand and is there much competition in the area?

Lancashire is gaining a reputation for high quality craft gins. There are now at least 8 distilleries in the region, all producing highly acclaimed gins and it is a pleasure to be part of this community. Many of us know each other and although we are technically in competition, I think we recognise that by producing great gin, we can attract customers from all parts of the country and all benefit as a result.

Craft gin drinkers tend to be collectors, they rarely buy just one gin, they like to try as many as possible. Finding new gins is fun as each is different and has their own story.

available. For example, the honey in my Bee’s Knees Gin comes from a small bee keeper who is based on the Fylde Coast. I wouldn’t dream of using mass-produced honey that has been shipped half way around the world in Lytham Gin. I like everything I use to be as local as possible, reducing the carbon footprint of my products. I am mindful of the responsibility businesses have to the health of our planet. When I was distilling in my garage, the stills were powered by solar panels on the roof. Unfortunately I haven’t got that option here so instead I chose an electricity supplier who provides 100% green energy.

What’s new for 2022?

The most exciting thing planned for this year is a celebration of the Lytham St Annes Centenary. It’s 100 years since Lytham and St Annes-on-theSea became joined together under a royal charter and in honour of that milestone, we are creating a new gin.

The recipe is a closely guarded secret but it will be a traditional London Dry

Gin containing coastal botanicals from the town. We are planning on just one run of 300 bottles of this very special gin.

We are also keeping our fingers crossed that Lytham Gin will be available in Australia by the end of the year... 2022 looks set to be an amazing year for us.

Sandgrown Spirits, Unit 3 The Old Mill, Boundary Road, Lytham St Annes, FY8 5LT. www.sandgrownspirits.co.uk

How has the team grown?

When I started in 2018 it was essentially just me. My husband, Paul, designed the distillery and put systems in place to allow me to keep accurate records but he has a full time job of his own. He helps at events and festivals and really enjoys being a part of the business. My Mum and Dad help out with deliveries and at busy times in the distillery but when online sales took off in early 2020, I needed to take on staff. I now have two members of staff who help me in the distillery and another member of staff who helps with paperwork. I am pleased to have created employment opportunities in the local area.

How do you incorporate sustainability into the business?

I was able to offer an internship to a student at Lancaster University who worked on a project to conserve water. This is going to be beneficial to the company and to the environment once it is complete. When I consider packaging I make sure I avoid plastic where possible and always try to select biodegradable materials. I use sustainably sourced botanicals and choose organic products if they are www.lancmag.com

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Live Forever is a new touring production celebrating “music that will never die” and comes to Liverpool this Spring 2022 with a stellar line up.

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he show at the Liverpool Camp & Furnace on Saturday March 12th 2022 features Oaces - the number one Oasis tribute act. For any Oasis fan this is not to be missed. Also joining the bill is the official Oasis and Noel Gallagher HFB tour DJ Phil Smith. Having also been guitar technician for The Stone Roses and toured the world DJing for Oasis, it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about tunes.

Support comes from Laid – A Tribute To James. Playing all the hits including Sit Down, Come Home, Laid, She’s a Star, Tomorrow, Getting Away With It, and Sometimes Laid have received high praise everywhere they play and have marked their territory as the leading tribute to one of the best bands to come out of Manchester.

Completing the line-up is The Kar-Pets. Although The Kar-Pets are an Inspiral Carpets tribute band, but a tribute

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band with a difference: their lead singer Tom Hingley was actually the lead singer with Inspiral Carpets from 19892011. Tom sang on all the Inspiral’s chart hits, including This is How it Feels, Saturn Five, Dragging Me Down, I Want You, She Comes in the Fall and all the songs on the bands four Major label albums - Life (1990) The Beast Inside (1991) Revenge of the Goldfish (1992) and Devilhopping (1994).

D liveforeverlive.com F Live4everlive T LFLive1 DOORS OPEN 7.00pm SHOW START TIME 7.15pm Tickets available from: www.ticketweb.uk/event/live-forever-live-oasis-ukeventim-olympia-tickets/10902205?fbclid=IwAR0y7 HBKzyyf55cIFPNlb6nJhKpP-lXxwqogVs7rf8dqWts_ AyKLDmyPcsY www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Liverpool/Camp-AndFurnace/Live-Forever--OACES--Tom-Hingley--The-LaidJames/35888173/

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CONTOURS DAY SPA EST 1990

* SPA DAYS FROM £100

* *ONE HOUR PRIVATE USE OF THERMAL SPA * *ESPA FACE AND BODY TREATMENT

* *TWO COURSE LUNCH OR AFTERNOON TEA *THERMAL FLOOR WITH HYDRA SPA, STEAM, SAUNA AND HEATED LOUNGERS *ESPA FACE AND BODY TREATMENTS *ALLUMIER SKIN PEELS *CACI *DERMALUX LIGHT THERAPY* COMCIT MICRO NEEDLING *RADIO FREQUENCY SKIN TIGHTENING *HOLISTIC THERAPY CONTOURS DAY SPA WHINS LANE, WHEELTON, CHORLEY, LANCASHIRE PR6 8HN 01254 831111 www.contoursdayspa.co.uk

Contours Day Spa BySarah Ridgway

This week we spoke to the owner of Contours Day Spa Lesley Barrow who has over 32 years of experience in the beauty and holistic sector.

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he luxurious spa facilities include a private spa suite, seven treatment rooms, an outdoor hot tub and on-site plantbased restaurant and much more.

Nestled in the gorgeous Lancashire countryside, Contours is the perfect spot to feel relaxed and rejuvenated.

have exclusive use of the spa. Our experience is more personal as you get the spa to yourself, which is also a popular choice with many faiths that prefer privacy. Our key thing is private use so nobody will be in the spa when you are, and all clients enjoy full one-hour treatments with their chosen package. We have an onsite restaurant Whins Green Kitchen offering delicious plant-based food,

including breakfast, vegan afternoon tea and a la carte menu that changes every eight weeks depending on the season.

Tell us about your existing team of therapists and what’s on offer?

We have a fantastic team of 8 therapists with a wealth of experience in holistic and beauty treatments and

What sets Contours apart from other Spas in the area?

The beautiful location was a large factor, so when this place came up for sale, I wanted it straight away as I have lived in Wheelton most of my life and knew it well. It is perfectly located as it is rural which fits our holistic theme perfectly but immediate access to the M61, M65 or the M6 makes it easy to reach. Contours is also a private and exclusive spa so rather than sharing your day with hundreds of people, which is not always relaxing with everyone chatting, you can come with your best friend, partner or whoever as it is a minimum of two people and 34

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seven treatment rooms. We offer massages, facials, and spa treatments but also more specialised treatments such as CACI a non-surgical facelift, Radio Frequency Skin Tightening which is exclusive to us, Omnilux regenerating light facials, MicroNeedling - so much more choice than your basic spa.

Tell us about your holistic treatments We offer a Holistic-Hopi Ear Candling Treatment which soothes and releases tension. It is a traditional treatment that helps to clear sinuses, head pain, clear blockages from the ear to balance the head and the mind. We also do sea clay body wraps, hot stone massages and other types of massages

to suit all requirements. I used to teach this profession at Blackburn College, and I am still an assessor and internal verifier, so I train many of my spa therapists and currently work in the salon three days a week.

Which products/brands do the spa use and why?

Everything in the salon and restaurant is vegan which aligns with our ethos as a business. We use ESPA products and Delilah make up which are all vegan and contain no animal products or test on animals. ESPA products are all recycled, and we refill the glass containers they provide.

You offer very affordable wedding make up packages, tell us about them: I started my career with Estee Lauder on their makeup counter when I was 16 years old. It was normal for me to do at least 10 make up looks a day on different people. I am the make-up artist for wedding and prom makeup, and we have an on-site hairdresser. It is a very good and affordable package and keeps us busy.

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WHINS GREEN KITCHEN Tell us about Whins Green Kitchen There are not many vegan restaurants in this area, so it attracts people from all over not just the locally. Absolutely everything on the menu is plant-based except for local free eggs which we offer at breakfast. The kitchen opened in December 2019 and has been open sporadically due to lockdowns.

During that time, we were still able to offer takeaways, hot drinks, cakes etc to keep it going so are relieved to be fully open again. We have just acquired our evening licence to open Fridays and Saturdays, so we are expecting to be booked up and busy which is exciting.

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What should people expect from the menu?

My partner David and I are the creative team from devising the recipes, taste testing, to the presentation we do it all. I have been a vegetarian since I was 13 and vegan since I was 21 when it was a much harder time to be vegan but now it is much easier with so much on offer and we want to get that message out. Our aim is to veganise people’s favourite dishes, so everything that people love to eat just without meat and animal products.

We have lots of traditional wellloved British dishes on the menu but our vegan version of them and our best-selling dish by far is the Vegan Wellington, which is unique to us.

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It is packed with lentils, walnuts, chickpeas, perfectly seasoned and mixed in a homemade puff pastry accompanied by gravy and roast potatoes, it is just gorgeous. The Whin Burger is also very popular and is a pea protein that looks just like meat.

Other dishes on the menu include cottage pie, Thai veg curry, fajitas, beetroot risotto, and a full Christmas dinner. Our vegan afternoon tea is very special, with delicious cakes and club sandwiches made with aubergine bacon and vegan scones made with soya milk which are super creamy and very popular. We got voted the Best Vegetarian Restaurant in the North West during National Vegetarian Week, even though we www.lancmag.com

are plant-based, and cater to allergies offering gluten and dairy-free options etc. The menu changes around every 8 weeks dependent on the season and has had great feedback on everything so far which is rewarding.

Funding from the European Agricultural Fund for rural development, how has that been used and invested in the business?

We received some money from The Agricultural Fund whose aim is to help create local employment opportunities in the greenbelt. We now employ a team of 14 people in the restaurant from the local community, so nearly everybody that works for us can walk or cycle to work www.lancmag.com

which is great for the environment too. We support local businesses by buying our produce from local farmers, milkmen, and suppliers, we recycle everything, and all our dishes are made on-site keeping our carbon footprint small in the process.

Finally, what is new for Whins Green Kitchen in 2022?

We are looking forward to opening Friday and Saturday evenings and will be expanding the team as we start getting back to normality. We will hold something special for Valentine’s Day, and in the warmer weather the outdoor terrace will open, we have a pizza oven and will offer hot dogs and burgers etc. so that will keep us busy for the foreseeable future.

Contours Day Spa M Whins Barn Whins Lane Wheelton Chorley Lancashire PR6 8HN N 01254 831111 E contoursdayspa@hotmail.co.uk D www.contoursdayspa.co.uk F @contours.dayspa T @contoursdayspa

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HYNDBURN

By Sarah Ridgway

The Lancashire Borough takes its name from the River Hyndburn of which its towns lie alongside. It is situated between Blackburn and Burnley, with the Forest of Rossendale to the south and Ribble Valley to the north.

The administrative council is based in the borough’s largest town of Accrington, which holds 50% of Hyndburn’s population.

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he area proudly maintains a strong sense of community, with several local charities supporting its residents. It is a place of innovation with the first handpowered spinning wheel originating in Oswaldtwistle and the “The Nori Brick” produced in Accrington formed the foundations of Blackpool Tower. Karrimor International, the well-known manufacturer of outdoor clothing and equipment was founded in nearby Clayton Le-Moors in 1946.

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In 2003, Sports Direct acquired the trademark and the brand is still sold throughout their stores nationwide.

Redevelopment and Investment Accrington Town is set to receive a £70m investment to transform the town’s-tired retail centre and has proposed a plan to attract new residents by building up to 140 new homes. The huge injection of money hopes to generate up to £9.6 million each year for the local economy, encourage more visitors annually and create hundreds of new employment opportunities. The 10–15-year plan will prioritise sustainability to create better environmental quality in the town. According to Government data, some areas of Hyndburn are amongst Lancashire’s most deprived areas and the ambitious plans have garnered some criticism from other areas of the borough. Great Harwood councillor Patrick McGinley raised concerns that the other 50% of people in the surrounding area won’t benefit from the investment.

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Innovation: The Spinning Jenny In 1764 cotton weaver James Hargreaves from Oswaldtwistle developed a concept for a handpowered spinning wheel that could spin eight threads simultaneously, greatly reducing the workload of producing yarn. Named the Spinning Jenny, after his daughter, it was a huge step towards the industrial revolution, and later production would advance to spinning eighty threads. In 1768 several Spinning Jenny’s were destroyed when a group of hand spinners broke into Hargreaves’ home. Fearing the invention would result in them being replaced and without employment, the group set out to destroy their competitor.

The incident sparked Hargreaves to leave the area and he relocated to Nottingham where he opened a small mill using his Jenny’s to spin yarn for hosiery, in 1770 his Spinning Jenny received a British patent.

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Remembering The Accrington Pals The 11th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment better known as the Accrington Pals were a group of friends from the town who enlisted to form a volunteer battalion during the First World War. In response to Kitchener’s call for volunteer armies nationwide, the battalion recruited 1,100 local men by September 1914.

The men would perform their training drills throughout the town and the much-loved soldiers were given a grand send-off when they departed for their official training at Caernarvon in North Wales in 1915. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916 tragedy struck, resulting in over 600 casualties and several deaths.

Accrington lay devastated and much of the town was affected by the loss of many husbands, sons, brothers, and friends killed on the battlefield.

The Accrington Observer & Times reported after that there wasn’t a street in the Accrington district that didn’t have their curtains drawn as the bell at Christ Church tolled in the men’s memory for the entire day.

The battalion gallantly re-assembled and was in action until the end of the war, a memorial chapel at St John’s is dedicated to their service.

The Accrington Brick What does Accrington have in common with the iconic Empire State in New York? The answer is bricks.

Thousands of the Accrington Bricks better known as the “Nori Brick” built the foundations of what was the tallest building in the world until 1970 standing at 1,454 feet. The Nori brick, world-renowned as the hardest brick on the market due to the clay used to manufacture them, was of the highest strength, acid-resistant and a distinct red colour. First produced in Altham by the Accrington Brick and Tile Company Ltd from 1887 till its closure in 2008, after coming back into fashion in 2015 the factory’s doors reopened and former Prime Minister David Cameron made a stop at the factory during an election campaign visit to the area. The Lancashire brick is used in several structures such as Battersea Power Station, Blackpool Tower and thousands of factories, schools, and homes throughout the north of England. www.lancmag.com

Julie Hensmondhalgh: From the Streets of Accrington to the Country’s most Famous Street Julie Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington in 1970 and is best known for playing well-loved Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street from 1998-2014. A proud Accrington local and a huge part of the community, the actress was made a Freeman of the Borough of Hyndburn in 2015 with a glitzy ceremony celebrating her career and achievements. Life began on Rough Lee Road, where the actress resided with her parents and brother in a modest two up two down terrace house. Her father left school early due to extenuating circumstances but was described as a very spiritual man who wrote wonderful poetry, and his love of books and music filled the house. Her father worked at Crowns Paints, Darwen and her mother at an engineering firm at the end of their street in-office roles. Julie’s older brother Dave went on to attend Oxford University and is a professor.

After attending Accrington and Rossendale College the aspiring actress applied for drama school and aged 18 was accepted at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduation, she won parts in The Bill, Catherine Cookson’s The Dwelling Place and Victoria Wood’s comedy film Pat and Margaret which also starred Julie Walters. In January 1998 the actress made her first ground-breaking appearance on the famous cobbles of Coronation Street as Hayley Patterson the first transgender character in a British soap. Hayley was involved in several dramatic storylines including one concerning a gender transition but will be fondly remembered as one half of a much-loved couple with Roy Cropper who she married in 2010 becoming Hayley Cropper. The actress is a patron of Trans Media Watch a charity that aims to improve media coverage of transgender and intersex issues.

On 20th January 2014, nearly 10 million tuned in to watch Hayley’s final scenes, suffering from pancreatic cancer Hayley took a lethal cocktail and died by suicide in the arms of her beloved Roy’s arms. That year Julie won a National Television Award which she shared with her co-star of 15 years David Neilson. After the credits rolled the actress worked with pancreatic cancer charities and attended a parliamentary debate regarding the subject in 2014. After hanging up Hayley’s iconic red anorak the actress cocooned herself into a cottage in the Lake District with her dog and her father’s diaries which spanned from 1946. Over a few days of solace, the actress devoured her father’s diaries and poetry, later developing them into a play which she showcased to a soldout audience including her mum and brother above a Manchester pub.

In 2015 Hesmodhalgh undertook a role in the BBC film, Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster about the murder of 20-year-old Sophie who was kicked to death in a Lancashire Park in an unprovoked attack while out with her boyfriend.

Julie played Sophie’s mother and became friends with the real-life Sylvia Lancaster and is patron of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. That year the actress took home the Royal Television Award for Best Female Actor in a Drama for the role.

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Heart of the Community: Maundy Relief Charity Maundy Relief is a registered charity that aims to help anyone in need whether it be from physical, emotional, or mental health. The organisation began in an Accrington printers’ shop in 1998 when three people, Sister Dorothy McGregor, the Rev Len Singleton and Alan Freeman met by chance. After witnessing the struggles and division between the rich and poor in the community the trio pledged to help. Starting with homemade food parcels their services extended to offering a friendly ear to those who needed a friend and today Maundy Relief is a registered charity providing social care and is a wellrespected part of the community.

Services include counselling which operates Monday to Friday on a contribution basis, but they state inability to pay will not block use of the service. The Maundy Relief Key Scheme is another service that assists in finding suitable accommodation and helping with the tenancy paperwork. The charity offers a free community lunch Monday to Saturday and provides food parcels at their drop-in centre. The Maundy Relief charity shop uses its profits to help run the charity but relies on its volunteers and donations to operate so ongoing fundraising is ever prevalent. In December 2020, Accrington Stanley chairman Andy Holt met Lucy Hardwick, manager of Maundy Relief at the club’s foodbank 40

collection. Holt gave Lucy £100 and challenged her to turn it into £500.

The charity utilised the money by purchasing chocolates and baskets to create chocolate hampers that were sold at the Accrington Christmas Light Switch On. The hampers raised £478; a supporter very generously doubled it making the total an incredible £1,000 for the charity. In 2020 this special charity received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Award, an MBE for volunteer groups and the highest award given to charities.

THINGS TO DO IN HYNDBURN Crack the Clues at the Whalley Spy Mission Treasure Trail Sharpen your minds as you prepare to walk the secret Whalley Spy Mission Trail.

A great day out with friends or with the whole family (not pram friendly) the trail stretches two miles and takes approximately 2 hours to complete but can be done entirely at your own pace.

Each group will need to purchase a Trail Booklet, (one is suitable for 4-5 people) from the website to test the imaginations and crack those clues. If some of the clues leave you completely baffled, don’t worry there is a free mobile phone text service to reveal the answers so the mission will be completed.

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Enjoy an Activity Packed Family Day Out at Oswaldtwistle Mills

Get Active and Cycle or Walk the Hyndburn Greenway

The Lancashire mills are packed to the rafters with fun things for children and grown-ups to enjoy including crazy golf, several soft play areas, museums, and art galleries.

Mini golfers can enjoy the views as the 12-hole mini-golf course journeys through a wildfowl reserve so spot local birds while you putt.

The children can run riot at the Mr Bubbles play area that is set across 10 multiple levels and suitable up to age 10. After all that activity time, soak up some local knowledge at the display areas about Oswaldtwistle and the history of the mill.

The stunning cycle route offers a congestion-free trail that is also perfect for walkers. Along the way, you will come across local sites such as the Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington Water Park, old mills, and canals. There are several routes to choose from taking you through Baxenden, Accrington Town Centre, Church, Rishton and Great Harwood.

Finish your day by indulging in some retail therapy with over 80 discount outlets to choose from.

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Soak up some Local Culture at the Haworth Art Gallery and Artists’ Studio The Haworth Art Gallery is housed in a grand Tudor Style house dating back to 1909 and the home of William Haworth, a textile manufacturer.

The house lies in nine acres of

luscious parkland and is a popular wedding venue choice and a great day out for culture vultures alike.

The museum boasts the largest collection of Tiffany glass in Europe, the collection which includes jewels, glass tiles and mosaics was gifted to the museum by design apprentice Joseph Briggs. Briggs emigrated to the United States from Accrington aged 17, after working for Tiffany for 40 years, in 1933 he sent his collection of Tiffany home to Accrington. The art gallery houses a collection of stunning paintings from the 18th and 19th Centuries and a collection of watercolours. The old stables are now transformed into artist’s studios that hold workshops, exhibitions, and events throughout the year. End your visit with a stop at The Gallery Kitchen for some afternoon tea.

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A Walk on the Wild Side YouTube channel

By Stephen Cheatley During the pandemic restrictions of early 2020, I along with many others, was unable to do the things I had planned for the year.

south coast of the UK, mostly to do astronomy photography. I’ve been an astronomer since 2010 and since travelled the world to follow my passion of photographing the night sky.

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My friend said I should walk around Blackpool with my camera and do videos for YouTube. I’ve had a YouTube account since 2006 but only ever uploaded random videos, with some getting a few hundred of views at very best. 

t was early July and I told a photographer friend of mine that I was feeling a bit low due to not being able to get out like I had been doing the previous year 2019 when I visited Scotland, Iceland and the

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 Taking his advice, I went out later that day and filmed my first Blackpool video using a small pocket camera which I had borrowed off my brother. I had the idea to film different sides of the town, starting with the more rundown areas to show a different side to Blackpool which many people may not have seen. I then took a walk through the old part of Blackpool which is currently being developed and finished the video on the promenade to show the sunset.

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I then uploaded the video to YouTube and I was blown away by the amount of views it got in the first few hours.

The video gained around 2,000 views that evening, when I would normally expect a handful. By the next evening the video had amassed over 10,000 views and my subscriber count had rocketed from 115 to over 600. I released further walk around videos over the next few weeks and my subscriber count had gone well above 1,000, and my watch hours had 

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 reached 4,000, so this meant I could join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning a bit of money via the ad revenue made on my videos.

I then changed the channel into a brand account and called it A Walk on the Wild Side to represent some of the content I was creating, i.e. I would some

of the rougher parts of town in an edgy style. It is this style of content which I believe caused my channel to grow very fast, as a lot of people like to see the other side of Blackpool and not just the bright lights and the Golden Mile.

My most popular videos tend to be town centre walk arounds at night and

storm videos, where I put myself out there on the promenade in the wind and rain to bring the action to my viewers. My other most popular videos have been news type videos, where I would film a derelict building being demolished, such as the Ambassador Hotel in Blackpool which had to come down after suffering a fire and resulting water damage that made it unsafe.

History of Blackpool videos also do very well, where I will talk about old buildings past and present and I also learn quite a lot myself as I have to research some of these. It was videos like these which helped my channel to grow very fast, and help me to my current subscriber count a the time of writing to be 28,000. Livestream walk around videos have also been a very popular feature of my channel, where I can regularly attract 500-700 live viewers. 

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I now consider the vlogging to be a part time job alongside my photography, and I aim to continue with the videos and branch out into cafe/restaurant and food reviews to appeal to a wider audience.

I also have another YouTube channel dedicated to astronomy, which is called Starman. 

D stephencheatleyphotography.co.uk F stephencheatleyphotography T Stephencheatley I starman_1969 www.lancmag.com

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ANDREW IRVINE - The North-West Hero Lost on Mount Everest

By Margaret Brecknell

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rvine was one of six children of businessman, William Fergusson Irvine, who was also a well-regarded local historian, and his wife Lilian. He was born into an affluent family and was educated at a local preparatory school before, in 1916, being sent to board at one of the country’s top public schools, Shrewsbury School.

Here he excelled at rowing and was a member of the Shrewsbury crew which was victorious at the Henley Peace Regatta in 1919.

From Shrewsbury he went on to study engineering at Merton College, Oxford, as well as continuing his success in rowing. He competed in the Boat Race, receiving a highly coveted “Oxford Blue” in the process, and was a member of the Oxford University crew that won the race in 1923.

As well as this sporting success, there were also hints of the epic adventure that was to come. In 1919, when he was still a schoolboy, Irvine is reported to have driven his motorcycle to the top of Foel Grach, a 3000-foot mountain in Snowdonia.

At the summit he encountered a mountaineer called Noel Odell, who had just climbed it on foot.

One of North-West England’s most intrepid explorers was born 120 years ago this month. Andrew Comyn Irvine, known to his family and friends as “Sandy”, was born on the Wirral peninsula in Birkenhead on 8th April 1902. He showed much promise as a budding engineer, mountaineer and all-round sportsman, but tragically did not live long enough to fulfil his potential. The story behind his disappearance and presumed death while on an expedition to Mount Everest in 1924 has intrigued generations of climbers ever since.

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During the summer of 1923 Irvine encountered Odell again quite by chance when the pair both took part in an Arctic expedition organised by Merton College to cross the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, which is situated just a few hundred miles from the North Pole. The more experienced Odell was hugely impressed by the initiative and allround ability which Irvine displayed in the challenging Arctic conditions. www.lancmag.com

Irvine was still studying at Oxford and just twenty-one years of age when, only a few months later, he was chosen to be a member of the third British Mount Everest Expedition team, whose aim was to make the first successful ascent of the world’s tallest mountain. His selection was greeted with surprise, as he was by some distance the party’s youngest and most inexperienced member, but his inclusion owed much to Noel Odell. The older man had also been chosen for the expedition and aware that its leaders were keen to include a younger man who would add some youthful strength and resourcefulness to the mix, he had personally recommended Irvine for the role.

during the long sea journey, Mallory famously remarked that Irvine “could be relied on for anything except perhaps conversation”.

According to an article for The Times written by the expedition’s leader, General Charles Bruce, Irvine was regarded “as the experiment of the expedition”. Bruce added that, “His record at Spitsbergen last year and his really remarkable physique, to say nothing of his reputation as a general handyman, justify the experiment we are making in exposing one of his tender years to the rigours of Tibetan travel”.

In early June two unsuccessful attempts were made on the summit, in each case without the use of oxygen equipment. With the monsoon season now fast approaching, there would probably only be time for one last attempt. The vastly experienced George Mallory had already taken part in one of the unsuccessful missions, but now decided to make one more try using oxygen bottles. To the surprise of some other expedition members, he chose the youthful and inexperienced Irvine to accompany him.

Irvine was, no doubt, flattered to be chosen and probably relished the prospect of the adventure before him, but he may have also been glad of an opportunity to escape the country for a while at a time when a scandal was brewing. In the months leading up to his departure he had formed a relationship with a married woman called Marjory Summers, who was the stepmother of one of his closest friends from his days at Shrewsbury School. Shortly after Irvine’s departure for Everest, Marjory’s husband began divorce proceedings. The subsequent case was well-documented in the press. In a veiled reference to Irvine, a report in The Times related that Marjorie’s husband had been “very much upset about her friendship with a young man, now dead, who had been a great friend of her husband and herself”.

On 29th February 1924, Irvine set sail from Liverpool on board the SS California, together with three of the other expedition members including the country’s most famous mountaineer, Cheshire-born George Mallory. In a letter to his wife written www.lancmag.com

The four men joined the other members of the expedition in the Indian city of Darjeeling at the end of March and the party set off for Mount Everest. Journeying though West Bengal and Tibet, the expedition arrived some weeks later at its chosen Himalayan base camp, which was situated in the Rongbuk Valley, close to a Buddhist monastery. For British expeditions during this period, Everest was only accessible from the north out of Tibet, as the southern side in Nepal was closed to Westerners.

During the expedition Irvine had proved himself to be an invaluable and highly regarded team player. He was described by fellow expedition member, Howard Somervell, as “neither bumptious by virtue of his “Blue”, nor squashed by the age of the

rest of us”, adding that he was “mild, but strong, full of common sense, good at gadgets”. Irvine had shown his mechanical genius throughout the trip by making vital repairs to the expedition’s equipment, as well as some innovative modifications, notably to the oxygen apparatus.

The oxygen tanks used in the 1920s were cumbersome and extremely heavy to carry, but with some clever adjustments Irvine had been able to reduce the overall weight of each set of equipment by some five pounds.

Even allowing for this, the apparatus still weighed in at a hefty thirty pounds, which was an enormous amount to carry on one’s back at such high altitude.

Irvine’s ability to repair on the spot any malfunctions in the notoriously unreliable oxygen equipment played a big part in Mallory’s decision to choose him for the final attempt on the summit. In an interview years later Noel Odell confirmed that Irvine had been chosen because he had “done a lot of the last stages on work on the apparatus they were taking”.

Crucially, too, despite Mallory’s earlier cutting remark about Irvine’s lack of conversational skills on board ship, the two appear to have become much closer during the course of the expedition. In one letter home from Tibet, Mallory commented that Irvine had been doing “excellently up to date” and was proving to be “a very fine fellow” who “should prove an excellent companion on the mountain”.

Dutch brochure for film about 1924 Everest expedition – Credit “Netherland Archives”4.0”

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Rongbuk Monastery with Mount Everest in background – Credit “Oldmainsold/CC BY-SA 4.0”

On the morning of 6th June, following an early breakfast of fried sardines, Mallory and Irvine set out for the summit armed with what by today’s standards would be regarded as the most primitive of equipment.

Noel Odell was the last person to see the two climbers alive in the early afternoon of 8th June, catching a tantalising glimpse of them just 800 feet from the summit before clouds obscured his view. In an account written not long after the fateful mission, Odell recalled, “At 12.50…there was a sudden clearing of the atmosphere, and the entire summit, ridge, and final peak of Everest were unveiled. My eyes 50

became fixed on a small snow crest beneath a rock step in the ridge, and the black spot moved. Another black spot became apparent, and moved up the snow to join the other on the crest.

The first then approached the great rock step, and shortly emerged at the top; the second did likewise. Then the whole fascinating vision vanished, enveloped in cloud once more.”

Having seen the two men, Odell continued up to the camp high on the mountain, from which Mallory and Irvine had set out for the summit.

He discovered in the small tent some spare components from the oxygen apparatus, suggesting that Irvine had made some last-minute adjustments to the equipment before setting off.

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Odell then retreated to the camp at the North Col, slightly further down the mountain.

Two days later Mallory and Irvine still hadn’t made it back to the camp at the North Col and, fearing the worst, Odell was tasked with climbing back up to the pair’s last camp higher up the mountain. He later wrote that, “I reached the tentlet of the camp in the afternoon, only to find everything as I had left it previously, and as Mallory and Irvine had left it on the morning of their climb”. With no sign of Mallory and Irvine having returned there, the remaining expedition members were compelled to accept that the two climbers had been lost.

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Memorial window to George Mallory and Andrew Irvine at Chester Cathedral – Credit “Andrew R Abbott/CC BY-SA 3.0”

Speculation has long existed that the two climbers did, in fact, reach the summit before perishing on the mountain. A month after their disappearance MP, Sir Martin Conway, who was a well-respected mountaineer in his own right, was asked to evaluate evidence from the expedition and concluded that Mallory and Irvine had indeed made it to the top of Mount Everest. Noel Odell, the last man to see them alive, was also of the same opinion.

However, no material evidence was subsequently discovered to substantiate this claim and it would be another 29 years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay made the first known successful www.lancmag.com

attempt on the summit of Mount Everest.

It is said that for years Irvine’s mother, Lilian, left a light on at the Birkenhead family home each night in case he returned home. Over the years several expeditions have been mounted in an attempt to locate the bodies of the two missing climbers.

Irvine’s final resting place has never been found, but, in 1999, Mallory’s body was eventually discovered high up on the mountain, effectively frozen in time as a result of the constant sub-zero temperatures at such high altitude. Intriguingly, the photograph of the climber’s wife, Ruth, which he had promised to leave at the summit, was not found on him. This again

raises the question of whether the two men did, in fact, make it to the top of Everest.

The search for Irvine’s body goes on. The Birkenhead-born man is known to have carried a camera with him on his final mission. Bearing in mind the well-preserved condition in which Mallory was found, experts are now hopeful that if Irvine’s last resting place is ever located and the camera is found on his person, it may still be possible to produce printable images from it. This may, in the end, provide a definitive answer as to whether the two climbers did reach the top of Mount Everest.

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CRIME STORIES

BY ANNA FOULDS

James Hanratty It was 60 years ago this year that James Hanratty, also known as the A6 Murderer, was one of the last people to be executed before Capital Punishment was abolished.

Although the police insist on his guilt, an appeal campaign was launched that lasted decades.

After Hanratty was identified as a suspect he briefly went on the run before being recognized by two Detective constables in a fish and chip restaurant. Unlike Alphon, Hanratty was identified by Valerie Storie in the identification parade, but some argue this was because they were asked to say the phrase “shut up I’m thinking” and Hanratty was the only one in the parade to have a cockney accent like the Murderer.

n August 1961, 22-year-old Valerie Storie and, 36-yearold Michael Gregsten were sitting in their car in a field in Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire. They were then approached by a man with a gun who ordered them to give him any valuables and start driving towards London. After driving for 60 miles and being told to pull into a layby on the A6 he shot Gregsten in the head and sexually assaulted Valerie Storie multiple times. She survived the ordeal after pretending to be dead but was paralysed from the chest down.

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Hanratty changed his alibi during the case from initially saying he was in Liverpool at the time of the murder to later saying he was in Rhyl. This damaged his case even though there were possible witnesses to him being in Rhyl.

James Hanratty was born on 4 October 1936 in Farnborough, Kent but the family had moved to Wembley in northwest London early in his life. After a troubled childhood and an injury that led to him having to give up his first job, Hanratty got involved with the criminal underworld in SoHo by the time he was arrested for the A6 Murder he already had four convictions for motoring offences and housebreaking. Hanratty had been identified as a potential psychopath by two different Psychiatric institutions after being treated.

There continues to be discussion around whether Hanratty was guilty or not. The case has been investigated and reopened multiple times. Two of the detective superintendents involved were found to have withheld key statements and evidence from the trial and were accused

by Hanratty’s family of influencing the investigation.

Hanratty’s DNA was found on Valarie’s underwear and the gun, however, it was also said later that due to the degradation, small amounts of DNA and the fact that many of the items used as evidence were stored together in the same box there could have been contamination especially as a vial had been broken. There is also the argument that if Hanratty was innocent there should have been a third DNA profile picked up on the evidence. The evidence was enough to satisfy the court of appeal in 2002 of James Hanratty’s guilt was beyond all reasonable doubt.

Hanratty, however, wasn’t the initial suspect in the murder investigation it was a man called Peter Alphon.

Peter Alphon and James Hanratty were both staying at the same Hotel before the murder was committed. There were Spent cartridges from the murder weapon were discovered in a sofa in the hotel room from before the murder took place. Later, William Nudds the hotel Manager admitted that Hanratty had asked him the way to the 36a bus route which was where the gun was found in the back seat.

Charles France a former friend of Hanratty told the police that he had previously told him that the best place to hide something that connected you to a crime was at the back of a bus.

Peter Alphon became a suspect after attacking a woman and saying, “I am the A6 Murderer”. When in an identification parade Valerie Storie did not identify Alphon instead identified an innocent man.

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The trial was long-lasting 21 days. On the 17th February 1962, the Jury delivers a guilty verdict and Hanratty is condemned to death. An appeal is put forward along with a petition of 90,000 signatures but it is dismissed on the 9th March, and on 4 April 1962, 25-year-old James Hanratty is hanged.

Having researched this case in order to write this article, I have also tried to work out for myself whether I think that Hanratty was guilty or if at the very least there was enough evidence to convict him. I think the key with this case is that the two questions are more separate than in many other cases. Almost everything in the straightforward facts of this case makes me think that Hanratty was guilty but the fact that there was a possible alibi, the mistakes, possible contamination, and another suspect does make me think that the Jury were hasty to find him guilty. Guilt should be found if it is beyond reasonable doubt that they did it and to me, there is reasonable doubt in this case. www.lancmag.com

Luxury Slate Products from the Lake District Inspired from the stunning Lakeland landscape to create handmade products from locally quarried slate.

Established over forty years ago, you will find our workshop at the foot of Coniston Old Man. We take inspiration from the stunning Lakeland landscape to create handmade products from locally quarried slate. The local slate quarries have helped shape the natural landscape, and have been part of Coniston’s heritage for years. The skills and processes required to create our products were passed down through the generations and our craftsmen rely on skills and tools of the trade that have stood the test of time.

When you buy one of our products you know that you are buying a unique, quality British product that has been handcrafted and finished to an exacting standard. Today slate is no longer used just for roofing slates; the discerning customer knows that this hardwearing, durable material can make a lovely addition to any home, whether it’s a slate nameplate to adorn the front of your house or a chopping board for the kitchen.

Coniston Stonecraft, The Copper House, Mines Beck, Coniston LA21 8HQ E info@conistonstonecraft.co.uk N 015394 41236 F conistonstonecraft I conistonstonecrafts T ConistonStone

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Coniston Stonecraft An Interview with Brendan Donnelly

By Sarah Ridgway This week we spoke to Brendan Donnelly from Coniston Stonecraft in the Lake District who expertly hand-make products from the locally quarried slate inspired by the stunning surroundings.

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he business felt the impact of the pandemic as medal making for the local fell runs and hospitality, their biggest clients ceased to operate. Instead, they adapted to bounce back stronger than ever. The team has since grown to include two apprentices and recently won an inCumbria Business Award for the Best New Business of the Year.

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Why do you think slate remains such a popular material?

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late is the right material for the North-West of England and North Wales. It is what we have always had and used, and it looks fantastic. The products we produce are beautiful, there are no two words about it.

Nobody has ever written to us with negative feedback, our customers relay that they are absolutely overjoyed with what we send them, that’s because the stone itself is so beautiful.

Tell us about your product

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he stone is 400 million years old and can only be found in the Lake District. You can get slate all around the world, but you can only get Westmorland Sea Green and Brathay Blue/Grey Slate from the Lake District.

Our slate masons are so qualified that they can pinpoint which quarry it has come from because there are so many different varieties in the Lake District.

This is the huge difference between our slate and that being produced in China and Brazil. Chinese and Brazilian slate are all the same but ours are so interesting and unique as

no two pieces are the same, we can produce similar but not an exact copy and that makes us unique from the mass-produced market. We are also lucky to have a local limestone quarry which provides our beautiful creamy Baycliff stone.

First and foremost, we want to spread the word of Lake District slate and don’t want to make it unattainable.

Our slate is a luxury premium product that has been quarried in the Lake District by highly qualified slate masons and there are not many of them left anymore. Like most things, the cost of slate isn’t going down and it is quite hard to get yet we still want to make it affordable which is what we have done. When people unwrap our products, they feel special which is always our aim. The personalised label on the bottom of each product reads made in the Lake District, a guarantee of 250 years, who made it, and which quarry it came from because we draw from about six quarries.

Your website says Slate has its limits, but you are keen to push the stereotypes, what requests can you accommodate?

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e always welcome bespoke requests as that is what we love, plaques remain a popular ask for loved ones or pets as many want the latter for their gardens and something personal that will withstand the test of time. We also get a lot of requests from high-end restaurants in the area and throughout the country who come to us with their ideas and ask us to create something special to showcase their food.

We are not a big operation just a team of six not even on a road, we are on the side of the fell. We have a fourwheel drive to get the slate up but are limited on producing larger items such as kitchen tops so we don’t as they would most likely break on the way up.

The business is in a small house that used to be an old copper house and that’s why the railway line extended to Coniston to collect the copper. So, when people ask us where they can park, we tell them the truth, they need to park in the village and walk up the fell to see us.

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How important is being an ethical and sustainable business and how do incorporate this?

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e like to do the right thing and the right thing is being as ethical and eco-friendly as we can.

We will never go outside of Cumbria for our slate, the furthest we will go is 12 miles. We get all our electricity from the local hydroelectric power station which is generated by Church Beck 50 yards away from us. We cool our machines off with water from

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Mines Beck, so we don’t have to use oil which gives the slate a lovely tactile, clean, and fresh feeling. In terms of packaging, we have got rid of any plastics and everything we use is donated from local companies that would have otherwise gone to landfill, we use cardboard from local bike shops in Carlisle and a Lancashire Cotton Mill sends us all their roll ends and old swatch books which we use to wrap products. We also work with Right to Work in Kendal a charity who train people to upcycle sofas and cushions, and we re-use the foam that

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would usually go to Landfill. We are a Green Small Business accredited and in the process of getting all our lighting and machines as ecologically sound as they can be, so it is not all talk we are trying our best.

What effect did the pandemic have on the business?

B

efore the pandemic, a large part of the business was making medals for the Lakes fell runs, when we first locked down 40% of our business disappeared

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overnight and we are still not back to the previous fell run levels, it’s nice to have them back but still means we don’t produce as many medals as we did. Our other big market is hospitality which was also on hold, so instead we started producing more lamps and clocks.

We also began collaborating with other businesses in the area such as cosmetic company Pure Lakes who put their product in hotels. Instead of being displayed on a generic bit of plastic, Pure Lakes use our slate which looks lovely and authentic.

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scholarships on offer. The trust looks after skills that are in decline such as paper makers, thatchers and masons etc and it was great to go down to London with him to receive his award.

What is new for Coniston Stonecraft in 2022

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e want to continue to make more bespoke products and collaborate with other creatives. We collaborated with a couple of glass companies who produce different types of glass which we think will lead to doing garden furniture, not tables and chairs, more like pillars and decorative items for the garden to make them more interesting. That is what we think right now but it is not a huge focus as everything that we are doing now is so well received so perhaps the word is getting out there.

Tell us about your apprentice Liam and your plans to grow and preserve those heritage skills

T

he pandemic made us think long term as two of our masons are in their 50’s and 60’s and between them had a huge amount of valuable experience with no one to pass it on to. We found our apprentice Liam from Furness College who happens to

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be of fourth generation in this industry, with his Great-Granddad, Grandad and Dad all working in local quarries.

He would have gone into it too, but the quarry game is being destroyed by imports from China and Brazil so wasn’t a viable option for him. Fast forward to today and Liam is now a slate mason, which he loves, and his work has already been rewarded and last year he received The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship out of only 20

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We also have another apprentice on the team, Kieran, who is utilising his social media skills for the business meaning we are reaching different markets that have never experienced slate before. Slate was a well-kept secret but now we are exporting to the USA, Switzerland, and Germany for example. People are ringing us up to say we want your slate, so we envisage that it is a decent time to be in the slate market.

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We believe we have influenced that and made a bit of a difference. So that is what we see coming down the track, but we love producing different stuff, and want to continue to accommodate bespoke requests.

Something exciting that we are doing now is making clocks, but clocks that specifically relate to this region. We make a Shepherd’s clock, and the numerals are in the Cumbrian dialect, the old sheep counting dialect from one to twelve that I was taught as a little boy. People can buy a clock made from our beautiful slate with the Cumbrian numerals and this is the stuff that excites and drives us.

We much more prefer the smaller bespoke orders as opposed to the larger generic orders and we are in a very fortunate position with a full order book so we can continue to choose what we want to work on.

Coniston Stonecraft The Copper House, Mines Beck Coniston LA21 8HQ E info@conistonstonecraft.co.uk N 015394 41236 F conistonstonecraft I conistonstonecrafts T ConistonStone www.conistonstonecrafts.co.uk www.lancmag.com

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Aiming Higher YOU CAN DONATE TO AIMING HIGHER USING THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

WEBSITE | www.aiminghighercharity.org.uk/donate JUST GIVING | www.justgiving/aiminghigher/donate/ PAYPAL | Found on Aiming Higher website or call to make donations by phone POST | Aiming Higher, 231 – 233 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 3PB. To see more of what we do please visit our website www.aiminghighercharity.org.uk or follow us on facebook @aiminghighercharity, Instagram @aiming_higher_charity or twitter @ahcharity.

Please ring us on 01253 206447/8 for further information.

A-Team’s New Home This time last year, we reported that Aiming Higher Charity had taken over the running of “The A-Team”, a Youth Group in Blackpool specifically for young people with Autism which has been running for over 16 years.

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utism spectrum disorder or ASD refers to a range of conditions characterised by some degree of impaired social behaviour, communication and language, and a narrow range of interests and activities that are both unique to the individual and carried out repetitively.

Individuals with ASD often present other co-occurring conditions, including epilepsy, depression, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The level of intellectual functioning in individuals with ASDs is extremely variable, extending from profound impairment to superior levels.

At the time the group was running online due to lockdown restrictions but the group are delighted to be back together in real life and with a new base at the Aiming Higher Centre on Church Street, Blackpool. Lockdown had a profound effect on everyone but for these young people who have a tendency to struggle with different social settings and 60

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interactions lockdown was especially challenging and had a significant impact on their overall mental health and well-being. Since coming back together in the summer, the A-Team has helped them regain their confidence, giving them the opportunity to practice their social skills and reaffirm friendships.

In recent months the group has been out and about trampolining, to see Hairspray at the Winter Gardens, to an ice show at the Pleasure Beach, Laser Quest, Bowling and to see Viva’s Christmas Show. They’ve walked the lights and shared a chippy tea and had a spa day making their own facemasks from essential oils.

In February, to celebrate Chinese New Year the group created an array of Chinese dishes which they enjoyed during the session and took home to share with their families.

With the move to their new A-Team Headquarters the group are always looking for more resources and equipment. The young people would love bean bags, a pool table, craft materials and more but like all charities, Aiming Higher saw fund-raising activity decrease in 2020 and 2021. If you can support them in any way possible, any assistance will be gratefully received. Please send your ideas to: heatherholt@ aiminghighercharity.org.uk www.lancmag.com

THE A-TEAM ENJOY A RANGE OF ACTIVITIES DURING RECENT MEETS 

Like all charities, Aiming Higher saw fund-raising activity decrease in 2020 and 2021, so if you can support them in any way possible, any assistance will be gratefully received.

Please send your ideas to: heatherholt@aiminghighercharity.org.uk

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där lighting Raphael 8 Light Chandelier Champagne Crystal, £504

Lighting Inspired by...

The Gilded Age By där lighting - www.darlighting.co.uk

How beautiful are these designs from där lighting and Laura Ashley that are giving us serious Gilded Age inspiration following the hit new period drama.

Aanais 5lt Chandelier is part of the newest collection by Laura Ashley Lighting and Mirrors, £275

Laura Ashley Shamley 5lt Chandelier Matt White Glass, £199

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dmist the fall outs between the old ways and the new societal systems of this historic time in the late 1800’s, there is no confusion regarding just how beautiful the decor is in the new Gilded Age drama, that depicts the luxurious, grand interior lighting schemes of this period of time. Let’s recreate the look with our top picks from our clients.

där lighting Lyzette 1 Light Wall Light Aged Brass Ribbed Glass is part of the newset collection by där lighting, £36

där lighting Izzy 2 Light Wall Light Polished Chrome Twisted Glass, £43.80

Laura Ashley Vienna 9lt Chandelier Crystal & Polished Chrome, £950 62

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Thank you Mum x

MOTHER’S DAY GIFT VOUCHERS THE PERFECT GIFT OF TIME Buy yours online - thewoodlandspa.com World Luxury Spa Awards Winner 2020

There’s No Better Gift This Mother’s Day

The heavenly Serenity Pool is unique to The Woodland Spa

From Afternoon Tea with the girls, romantic cocktails by the outdoor pool to large lavish dinners to impress the most difficult of guests or even just a cosy lunch for two, rest assured the three on site restaurants at Crow Wood Hotel and spa resort have got something special just waiting to be eaten.

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his brand new luxury hotel is set in 40 acres of private parkland in Lancashire, within the Crow Wood resort. It boasts spectacular views of Pendle Hill and the surrounding countryside. It also has a beautiful ornamental lake and fabulous gardens. Rumour has it that if you wake early enough you may well catch a glimpse of the resident deer which roam the grounds. There is plenty to do so you don’t ever have to set foot outside the hotel, but if you decided to take off your robe and slippers for an adventure, start with a woodland walk in the hotel’s beautiful grounds, take in the River Calder, a section of which belongs to the Resort.

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With Towneley’s still living in the area today, check out the famous Towneley Park where the family were in residence for 500 years. The Park opened to the public in 1902 and the museum houses a variety of displays encompassing Natural History, Egyptology, Local History, Textiles, Decorative Art and don’t forget to explore the Period Rooms whilst you are there. Pendle Hill is also close by and the witches of Pendle Hill will need no introduction as you visit their old stomping ground, some say they have never left - what will you find?

After you tire of all the sightseeing return to your luxurious retreat to discover the most impressive spa and treatments globally recognised www.lancmag.com

Than a Gift Voucher for The Woodland Spa and more importantly designed to complement each other and you.

If you’ve not already been to the multi-award-winning Woodland Spa, we highly recommend you do so!

They’ve recently been praised by the Good Spa Guide too and they have retained their 5 Bubble Award once again. They’ve also won the World Luxury Spa Awards for no less than six consecutive years which is impressive to say the least! Their spa days and spa breaks packages are divine!

They have created a range of Signature Treatments. Apparently, you won’t find these bespoke treatments anywhere else. They have been crafted to exacting standards, using the finest products from Natural Spa Factory and deliver unmatched levels of relaxation and luxury. The Hydrotherapy pool is one of Europe’s largest. 15 minutes in there and you can literally feel the stress melt away as powerful massage jets work the whole body to eliminate muscular tension and improve circulation. Our favourite though must be the Serenity Pool. It’s a truly

divine low-lit relaxation room with a high-temperature pool complete with a ‘starry sky’ which just helps you drift off into another world!

For the most fun you can ever have with mud, with no cleaning up after yourself and no dogs in sight why not try the mud rasul, thankfully the mud is warm, no worms included, the nutrients are healing and the hot shower in the room cleans it right off to reveal the skin you were born with.

You have not lived until you have tried this and for a gift for someone special like a beautiful mum it is definitely an out of the box option and hopefully something that your siblings won’t be planning unless you include them too, think mud memories for all the family.

As relaxing as this is not everybody is a fan of mud and if you aren’t convinced it will be for you, or your mum prefers mud strictly in the garden then you can’t go wrong with chocolate. Take a look at the Heavenly Cocoa treatment with a glorious vitamin and mineral enriched body mask, scalp massage and of course prep before hand to get the circulation moving.

Bertram’s Restaurant overlooking the impressive outdoor infinity-edge pool

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Paradise Escape is exactly that, you start off with an aromatic foot ritual, body exfoliation, a massage with raw coconut oil, a mask for your hands and feet and a comforting scalp and neck massage to get you off to a higher place.

If it is visible results for all to see (at the office on Monday) that you think are key and you want to turn back a few years, try the DECLÉOR Prescriptive Performance facial, as the name suggests this is bespoke to you and focuses on your key concerns.

Struggling to decide whether to treat yourself or your mum and what to have or what mum would want ?

Why not go for vouchers and then you can be the plus one, enjoy some time together whilst getting pampered, and this way you can get in on the treatment action and get a thank you for doing it. When buying vouchers you get a treatment brochure included so you can pore over all the fabulous options making sure you pick something to make you and your mum feel brand new.

Vouchers for the whole resort are available and they are really flexible and can be put towards a Thermal Experience, a spa day or the ultimate of all - a spa break. They can even be redeemed in any of their three resort restaurants.

They are the perfect solution and offer an experience to suit every need and budget. Bolt-on an overnight stay in the brand-new Crow Wood Hotel which is just at the side of the spa, and you’ve got a staycation!

Luxury treatments is luxurious surroundings

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Complete your sensory journey with a unique dining experience in the Spa Restaurant – where the food you will eat actually tastes as good as it is good for you

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT ‘THANK YOU’ THIS MOTHER’S DAY, THEN GIFT VOUCHERS WILL NOT DISAPPOINT It might be that you’re looking for a gift for your children’s mum or nan, we think this is quite possibly the perfect gift for every mum to show your appreciation. More often than not, it falls to mums across the country to work hard ensuring that their children have everything they need. They work tirelessly behind the scenes, perhaps washing clothes, cooking dinner, making up packed lunches. We often hear how mums have no time for themselves so that’s why we think they deserve some time to relax.

Having been to The Woodland Spa on numerous occasions and having www.lancmag.com

always found it to be a luxurious and relaxing experience, the team here at Lancashire Magazine think a gift voucher from The Woodland Spa makes the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

We think mums across the county would love the opportunity and time to rest, unwind and indulge in some luxurious pampering and delicious food (the dining experiences are really quite something at The Woodland Spa too).

A gift voucher means that she has the flexibility to spend it how she wants: perhaps a luxury treatment like a facial or a massage or a visit to the Thermal Experience and with a bit of luck hopefully mum will include you in the trip as well.

Gift vouchers start from as little as £25 and can be purchased online at thewoodlandspa.com

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Immersive Zombie Drive-In Cinema Experience Launches At Camelot Theme Park

An immersive zombie drive-in cinema experience launches at Camelot Theme Park in Chorley, Lancashire from 5th February.

experience a seminal horror film on one of the UK’s biggest outdoor screens - an incredible 120 square metres - with total screens covering a huge 240 square metres. There are

plenty more scares in store from Park N Party, the team behind the sell-out drive-in concepts, Scare City and Christmas City - this is designed to be a cinema experience like no other.

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uests in up to 300 cars will watch a series of horror films across 12 weeks at ‘Camelot Rises’ but only after they have survived a terrifying one-mile journey through a zombie-infested wasteland. Those brave enough to enter will need to pass a military checkpoint as the army battle to keep control of the park, then try to avoid the hordes of the undead searching for their next meal. Guests who make it to the safe zone can 68

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Tickets for ‘Camelot Rises’ start at just £50 per car and are available online via Skiddle:

The Camelot Rises concept is a glimpse into an apocalyptic future. A deadly accident has left the mythical world of Camelot destroyed… and full of zombies hungry for human flesh. As the army fight to keep control of the park, those inside must try to survive a deadly night of terror.

flesh-eating zombies the next, as they head towards the derelict, legendary Camelot castle. They will experience all the sights, sounds and sensations that put them right in the middle of an apocalyptic event; sirens, smoke, mangled bodies and, of course, hoards of the living dead coming for them and their loved ones. The guards will be on patrol in the safe zone but there are no guarantees that the zombies won’t break in. Anyone who fails to follow the soldiers’ orders faces being the undead’s next meal.

preparation for a selection of seminal films including 28 Days Later, The Hills Have Eyes, A Quiet Place, Get Out, Ring, Night Of The Living Dead, Rec, Train To Busan and more. These films are frightening, but to watch them knowing zombies could be crawling towards your car turns frightening into terrifying! Guests can safely grab some drinks and snacks before attempting to settle down in front of the UK’s biggest outdoor screens, but they should remember – no one is safe.

The experience is completely immersive - guests will have a torch flashed in their eyes one minute, before being bombarded by a mob of

For fans of scary films, Camelot Rises is an unmissable experience.

The journey through the Valley of the Dead is the perfect, nerve-shredding

T @ParkNParty

https://parknpartymcr.co.uk/ camelot-rises/

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I @ParkNParty F @ParkNPartyMCR

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PRIME MINISTERS

- George Grenville to The Marquess of Rockingham

By Alijan Kirk

I can only assume by now you all are used to the drill. I’ll go on about old Prime Ministers and hopefully you read them!

This one is going to be a task since four of this month’s five did not actually serve in office for a particularly long duration, but we can only see what each one brings!

GEORGE GRENVILLE Back to the House of Commons now, as George Grenville gets the top job, being the chosen successor of the Earl of Bute, although the King held a personal dislike of him. The Whig MP for Buckingham, Grenville rose to prominence as a close ally of William Pitt, being Treasurer of the Navy and then Northern Secretary.

The two would eventually conflict in 1761 when Pitt resigned from the Government, while Grenville remained.

With the Seven Years’ War now over, Grenville’s most immediate task was to rebuild Britain’s economy, since a great deal was spent to cover the costs of the war. Grenville’s solution for this was to pass the Stamp Act of 1765, which imposed an exclusive tax on the colonies in America and required documents and newspapers to be printed on stamped paper from London. It was met with general outrage and rioting throughout the colonies, the first symptoms of alienation between the American colonies and Great Britain.

Another early act of the ministry was to prosecute the MP for Middlesex, John Wilkes (not to be confused with John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln a century later), 70

for publishing an article critical of a speech made by the King. Wilkes would flee to France and although re-elected by his constituency several times, he would be continually denied permission into parliament.

In terms of foreign policy, Grenville’s government was useless. Britain failed to secure alliances with other major European powers, internationally isolating them, which would become a problem for future governments.

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Meanwhile, the King’s dislike of Grenville had resulted in him asking William Pitt to form a ministry on several occasions, being denied each time. He then turned his attention to The Marquess of Rockingham, who agreed to form a government.

With that, the King fired Grenville in July 1765. He never again held public office, although he remained in Parliament until his death in November 1770, aged 58.  www.lancmag.com

THE MARQUESS OF ROCKINGHAM Upon entering office, Charles Watson-Wentworth, the Marquess of Rockingham was determined to ease the tensions in America. He was able to repeal the Stamp Act but this did not ease the tensions because he then passed the Declaratory Act, which asserted that Britain had the right to legislate for the American colonies in all cases whatsoever.

The American issue aside, the Rockingham administration did not achieve anything of note and due to internal dissent within the Cabinet, Rockingham resigned after being in office for only a year.

THE EARL OF CHATHAM Our old friend William Pitt is back!

And this time he finally has the top job. He was not First Lord of the Treasury, the job held by the other early Prime Ministers, that position was held by the Duke of Grafton. Pitt instead chose himself for the office of Lord Privy Seal, which required an elevation to the House of Lords, so on August 4th, 1766, five days after taking office, Pitt was made Earl of Chatham.

For many years, Pitt has been known as “The Great Commoner” for his strong refusal to accept a peerage, however he likely accepted on this occasion because of a desire for a less demanding role, something he felt he needed with his health on the decline.

On entering office, problems Chatham’s government had to face included the status of the East India Company and of course, the tensions with the American colonies. One of the first things they did was to put an embargo on corn. Their reasoning was that it was done to prevent negative consequences of the bad harvest in 1766. Of course, the embargo was met with strong opposition, however Chatham delivered his first speech in the House of Lords to express support of it. In fact, it ended up proving to be almost the only act introduced by his government in which he actually had a personal interest. www.lancmag.com

In terms of America, Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, enacted taxes in the American colonies on tea, paper and other goods. They proved to be offensive to the American colonists, and Chatham was not consulted about their creation, possibly being against his wishes. Chatham himself had diverted his attention to India, seeming to mediate a comprehensive scheme to transfer much of the power possessed by the East India Company to the crown. However he was not able to see this through.

For most of his time in office, Chatham’s physical and mental health were on a rapid decline. He isolated himself from all of his colleagues and even declined to meet with the King. His lack of leadership therefore resulted in an inconsistent government with incohesive policies. In October 1768, bordering on insanity, Chatham dismissed several cabinet members before resigning himself, on the grounds of poor health. Chatham did not return to the House of Lords until 1770, remaining active until his death in 1778.

THE DUKE OF GRAFTON With Chatham gone, the First Lord of the Treasury and the effective head of Chatham’s government towards the end, Augustus FitzRoy, His Grace the Duke of Grafton assumed the office of Prime Minister. Grafton was in office for little over a year, and his government accomplished very little.

The Whig Party had been struggling in Parliament and to maintain a majority, formed a coalition with several members of the Tory Party, appointing Lord Gower as Lord President of the Council and Lord North as Chancellor of the Exchequer, among others.

Grafton’s government focused on foreign affairs, which they were a disaster in. The French had decided to invade the Republic of Corsica and the government chose not to intervene, simply allowing it to fall to the French. Furthermore, the government was repeatedly targeted by a series of public letters written anonymously, while using the alias Junius. Junius was heavily critical of Grafton and his government, whom he believed to be corrupt. These letters were successful in destroying Grafton’s credibility and reputation and thus, he resigned in January 1770, with his government having achieved nothing. Grafton did not remain politically active following his resignation even though he was only 34 years old. He died 41 years later, in 1811, having the longest postpremiership of any Prime Minister in history. 

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LORD NORTH Grafton’s successor was his Chancellor of the Exchequer,Lord Frederick North. Despite what the name suggests, Lord North was not entitled to sit in the House of Lords.

Lord North was a courtesy title which he could use as the heir of a hereditary peerage, his father was the Earl of Guilford. Since he wasn’t in the House of Lords, North was able to sit in the House of Commons, as the MP for Banbury. Furthermore, unlike many of his predecessors, North had a good relationship with King George III, partly based on their shared patriotism and desire for decency in their private lives. North also had a strong resemblance to the King, to the extent that rumours circulated that the two were half-brothers. There isn’t any credible evidence for this.

North’s government were quick to success when Britain was able to prevent a Spanish invasion of the Falkland Islands (I’m sure I won’t have to mention the Falklands ever again…), and this boosted the government’s popularity greatly, as well as demonstrating the power of the Royal Navy and driving a wedge between France and Spain.

Compared to the Duke of Grafton’s failure in the fall of Corsica, North showed a great contrast. With his newfound popularity, North decided to take a chance and appoint the Earl of Sandwich as First Lord of the Admiralty.

The biggest issue facing Lord North’s government was the ever growing issue with the American colonies. In 1773, a number of protesters known as the Sons of Liberty, incensed with the Townshend Acts, destroyed an entire shipment of tea which had been sent to Boston by the East India Company. North decided on harsh punishment. The government passed the Coercive Acts (known as Intolerable Acts in America), which cut off trade with Boston and shut down their government.

He had hoped that the acts would keep the peace and dispirit the protesters. Unfortunately for North, 72

the colonies got even more enraged and the tensions had now gotten to the point that it collapsed into all out war, beginning the American War of Independence in 1775.

Not being a military man, North deferred overall strategy to Lord George Germain and the Earl of Sandwich, who were militarily experienced.

Despite securing several successes, including the capture of both New York and Philadelphia, a decisive victory couldn’t be achieved. Britain’s successes began to diminish in 1778 when France allied themselves with the Americans and sent assistance.

Furthermore, France’s ally Spain joined the war in 1779 followed by the Dutch Republic the next year.

Britain had no allies, a consequence of the isolation established by North’s predecessors. To make things even worse, France and Spain’s alliance threatened the possibility of a major invasion of Britain, however the planned armada resulted in failure.

Speaking of failures, Britain tried on several occasions to negotiate peace initiatives, each one failing.

With the obvious military domination possessed by the Americans a major issue, North’s government passed an act which abandoned previous restrictions on Catholics serving in the military.

While the aim was simply to beef up manpower, anti-Catholic sentiment was still rife in Britain, and culminated in rioting in June of 1780, which was so bad that the government lost control of the city for a week before martial law was imposed. Despite this, public opinion showed support of the North government as many, especially the upper and middle classes, were against anti-Catholicism.

An improvement of fortunes in the war followed, as the France-America coalition suffered a defeat in Rhode Island, which was doubled down by the British capture of Charleston, South Carolina. The upswing of success gave strength to the government in parliament, but it was not to last.

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In October of 1781, a decisive victory was achieved. The Americans gained the upper hand over British troops led by Lord Cornwallis, and there was no choice but to surrender.

When North heard the news, he knew the government could not recover from this. He was right.

Lord North was forced out of office after losing a motion of no confidence, resigning on March 20, 1782. Some politicians suggested that North should face trial over his conduct during the war, although that prospect was quickly abandoned. Despite no longer being Prime Minister, North’s career was not over and his policies actually came of benefit as the war began to turn in Britain’s favour again, and he was to return to government not too long later although never as Prime Minister.

In 1790, North’s father died and North succeeded to the peerage and sat in the House of Lords as the 2nd Earl of Guilford. His time in the House of Lords did not last long, as he died himself aged 60 in 1792. To this day, Lord North is regarded as being “the Prime Minister who lost America”.

THE MARQUESS OF ROCKINGHAM (Part Two!) Following Lord North’s removal, former Prime Minister The Marquess of Rockingham returned to office.

Rockingham immediately pushed for acknowledgment of the independence of the United States, initiating the end of British involvement in the War of Independence.

The war aside, Britain was faced with rising unemployment and thus passed the Relief of the Poor Act 1782, which created unions of civil parishes to provide outdoor relief and set up workhouses. The act was the work of Thomas Gilbert, who had been met with opposition from Rockingham for 17 years beforehand.

Rockingham’s second administration was not long lived. Fourteen weeks after returning to office, the 52 year old Marquess of Rockingham died as a result of an influenza epidemic.  www.lancmag.com

SHE

INSPIRES

AWARDS

Awards Patron

Baroness Trish Morris

2022 “Now the next generation of inspirational women is about to step forward” With nominations for 2022 already underway, this is the reminder from Gulnaz Brennan that the march of women leaders continues.

sheinspires.org.uk

Book your tickets @SheInsprAwrds

24TH NOVEMBER 2022 UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON STADIUM, PREMIERE SUITE

Inspired by the United Nations, local woman Gulnaz Brennan plans to make us all become ‘orange’.

Taking on the mantle of the United Nations Secretary General may seem ambitious to some. But after the spectacular success of SheInspires Awards over the past seven years, Gulnaz Brennan is unsurprisingly ambitious for the Foundation she set up just over two years ago.

The Secretary General’s annual 16 days of activism is to make the world ‘go orange’ to end gender-based violence. For Gulnaz, and She Inspires Foundation, nothing less than being orange ‘EVERY DAY’ is their mantra.

And all the evidence suggests that she will succeed.

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www.lancmag.com

Taking the pledge to be ‘orange every day’.

She Inspires Foundation is supporting victims of domestic abuse by helping with the one glaring need in their lives, becoming independent through finding employment. The Foundation will work with domestic abuse charities to help victims find jobs by recruiting the employers for them.

With backing already from the Greater Manchester Chamber Of Commerce, the Foundation is asking employers to declare that they are ‘Orange’.

Taking the ‘Orange’ pledge, means that an employer has robust policies and support in the workplace for survivors, and where applicable, will guarantee to invite for interview any referrals sent to them for a matching job through the Foundation’s scheme. They do not commit to a job offer, only a chance of one.

Employers everywhere are invited to apply to use the ‘We Are Orange’ logo, so everyone knows that they are involved in the programme. For many, this may become an important part of their Corporate Social Responsibility agenda.

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For the Foundation, using the Secretary General’s colour theme makes the whole programme stand out. People will ask what the colour reference means and will quickly become engrossed when told it’s about victims escaping their abuser and finding independence through employment. That’s what being orange is all about. Where there was anguish, now there is hope.

Discovering champions from SheInspires Awards Finalists She Inspire Awards has a longstanding reputation for celebrating the absolute power of inspirational women. Despite the pandemic, SheInspires Awards attracted over 2000 entries across 18 categories including finalists from around the world for the very first time in 2021.

That’s a remarkable feat, considering Gulnaz started the awards eight years ago from a community centre in Bolton.

“I’m still overwhelmed by how much She Inspires Awards have grown each year” admits Gulnaz. “Though it gives me real confidence that our ambitious plans to dramatically increase the impact of the United Nations’ idea will gain traction.”

The 2021 awards announced 4 carefully chosen ‘champions’, in addition to winners. Ray Hanks, co-founder of SheInspires Foundation, awarded each champion a cheque of £250 as ‘seed’ money to develop ‘We Are Orange’ as they liked. Each ‘Champion’ was chosen by Gulnaz for their qualities of ingenuity and resourcefulness.

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Georgia Platt From the Young Achiever Of The Year Finalists, Georgia Platt is someone who truly recognises how winning awards can deliver the confidence necessary to have belief in her own abilities.

Jenny Hyde From the Local Finalists for Rising Star, Jenny Hyde has made a staggering impact in her company, currently managing accounts equivalent to 60% of the company’s income and with an 84% retention rate.

Preet Inder Dhillon She is an author, columnist and radio presenter and a Culture Champion National Finalist. She says winning this championship has given meaning to her life.

Ruth Liptrot She was the unfortunate victim of a form of Long Covid that, in her case, included the onset of pleurisy – but became so much more complex than that. Despite struggling with her personal problems, she used her ‘News’ expertise to reach out to everyone who was suffering but being ignored. Her first News piece was viewed over 160,000 times.

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Julia Hylton The woman behind #WeAreOrange campaign graphics.

She is testament to the fact that you don’t have to be a huge organisation or belong to one to make a difference. Every single individual can!

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Support that’s worth its weight in freedom from abuse. Permanently.

The Foundation’s task of finding employment for victims of domestic abuse is a noble one but comes with immovable caveats. The safety of those they seek to support is paramount, not least because of the circumstances from which they are being rescued. It is not uncommon for abusers to do everything they can to find the person they have been abusing after they have been moved away from their original home.

That’s why the location of refuges remain a closely guarded secret. Real names are not used during the process of helping the supported victim to find employment.

They are only revealed when an offer of employment is made. Thereafter the organisation is made aware of the support services that remain in place, should their new employee require them. According to the Government Review of Employment Rights for Survivors of Domestic Abuse, 75% of those enduring domestic abuse are

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targeted at work. In some circumstances, therefore, the scheme will be looking to move the supported victim to a different area.

‘We Are Orange’ is a direct nod of support to the United Nations Secretary General’s ‘Orange The World’ annual campaign for 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence. She Inspires Foundation’s campaign is 365 days, so they can proudly announce they are ‘orange’ every day.

Every employer who declares with pride the ‘We Are Orange’ mantle, becomes part of the movement to find a practical way of ending the domestic abuse cycle. They provide a route for victims to become survivors through the independence of work.

Go orange today, and help end domestic abuse. Join us in supporting the United Nations Secretary General’s call to end domestic abuse by 2030.

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 77

We Are Orange She Inspire Awards has a longstanding reputation for celebrating the absolute power of inspirational women.

Just becoming a finalist is considered an honour, as shortlisted nominees attend each year’s Oscar-style ceremony with immense pride and without expectation. As a surprise in the SheInspires 2021 awards, 4 champions were announced on the night. Each champion was awarded a cheque for £250 as ‘seed’ money to develop ideas and spread the word about the ‘We Are Orange’ campaign. Gulnaz knew they would add to what the Foundation was planning and increase their reach.

Georgia Platt One such ‘Champion’ was Georgia Platt, a finalist in the Young Achievers category. Following in the footsteps of her mother and her grandmother, Georgia immersed herself in girl-guiding as soon as she had the chance. She became a Young Leader with 58th Bolton Guides and it was the beginning of Georgia giving back to an organisation that had given her so much. But from then on, Georgia didn’t need a reason for ‘giving’, it had become built-in to her nature.

It’s almost difficult to believe that Georgia has been able to complete so much volunteering whilst still in her teenage years. She has developed an instinct that would serve others well if they looked at Georgia as an example.

As a Finalist in the Awards, Georgia is thrilled by the recognition that came with it. Being seen to do the right thing and become an example for others is an accomplishment that makes her very proud. About as proud as the Foundation is to have Georgia as one of their Champions.

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Georgia shared her ‘Orange’ brief with her student council. They decided to construct an orange balloon arch in the foyer of their college, including information on the programme in the weekly Student Bulletin, sharing posts about ‘We Are Orange’ on screens throughout the building, and having a day when they ask everyone to wear orange ‘in solidarity’. And despite being only weeks away from her exams, Georgia is planning to do something special for the ‘first years’ in the college and to make this an annual event.

What a great legacy to leave behind at her Bolton Sixth Form College; and to take #WeAreOrange with her, wherever she goes.

www.lancmag.com

Championship Winners 2021 Preet Inder Dhillon Another Champion is Preet Inder Dhillon.

She is an author, columnist and a radio presenter by both profession and passion.

In her own elouquent words, Preet says that ‘the seeds of romance with the pen were sown on the blank ground of her heart’ when she stepped into her teens.

She was chosen as a presenter for All India Radio, then she sent an article to an English Daily newspaper that was accepted. She was given a regular space in Hindustan Times, one of the leading English nationals in India. She was published every Saturday for around three years before she joined the Times of India, where she reported bi-weekly on mostly social issues.

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After moving to England, she wrote and recorded radio shows for broadcast in Canada, then became a radio host for a prominent Asian station in Toronto.

Her first book took three years to write and was called ‘Raga to Ragas – and Beyond’, then the biography of the singer Hans Raj Hans – which was released by the Indian Prime Minister. Every penny of her books’ sales went to support the education of girls in India and a home for destitute handicapped people.

It was with the greatest pleasure that the Foundation welcomed Preet, and her ‘seeds of romance’, as one of their Champions. As expected she quickly put together ideas that allowed her to use her greatest strengths of ‘her pen and her voice’.

She would be contacting multiple media houses around the world to create awareness of ‘We Are Orange’. She’ll write features and blogs, then speak to as many people as she can on different platforms to ‘join hands’ to make this programme work.

As a radio presenter, she will include segments to highlight the issue and all of the charities who support victims of abuse. Preet will arrange fundraising events so that local communities can become part of the programme and says she will become a mentor so she can give a helping hand to victims of abuse.

And Preet pledges that she will give ‘her heart and soul’ to the cause.

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 79

Why hire a Professional

M

ost of us are familiar with the term “decluttering”. But not all of us know that there are people out there who can actually help you to declutter.

As a Professional Declutterer and Organiser, my role involves helping people to declutter their homes and business spaces, and to create organised, simplified spaces that support their lifestyles. Decluttering is simply the process of letting go and getting rid of your clutter. Clutter is anything that you don’t use, need, value or love taking up precious space, time and energy.

I have always enjoyed decluttering and organising since I was a little girl. I would love getting my clothes out of my wardrobe, laying them all on my bed, sorting through them and then hanging them nicely in a colour co-ordinated order in my wardrobe.

When I hit a crossroads in my early twenties, I found myself returning to the therapeutic act of decluttering, in order to find clarity and a sense of peace and organisation in my life. I started with my space and then progressed on to declutter and simplify my mind and my lifestyle.

Laura Pearson is an Intentional Life Coach and Professional Declutterer & Organiser, based in Lancashire.

Her mission is to help people to consciously create, live and love their own version of an intentional life and clutter-free, organised space.

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Your external world impacts your internal world.

By decluttering and organising your physical space, you not only create a calm and organised space that you can relax in, enjoy, and truly live in, but you also become more clear, focused, and productive. There are so many physical, mental, and emotional benefits to decluttering your home or workspace.

After experiencing the benefits of decluttering and organising first hand and finding that I was informally helping people in my life to declutter and organise their space, I found myself Googling “how to become a Professional Declutterer”. That’s when I found APDO. APDO are the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers. They train and support people to set up their own Decluttering and Organising Businesses and also host a directory of Professional Declutterers and Organisers from across the whole of the UK (and beyond). These people are available to support you on your own decluttering journey. www.lancmag.com

Declutterer & Organiser?

Whilst it isn’t essential to be a part of a membership like APDO in order to become a Professional Declutterer and Organiser, APDO are doing an amazing job at paving the way for this helpful profession to become more widely known and are making it easier for people to find a Professional Declutterer and Organiser near where they live.

• in order to prepare to downsize and move into a smaller home

There are many reasons why people hire a Professional Declutterer and Organiser and I thought I’d share some of them with you today

• to deal with the loss of a loved one and sort through their space and belongings

1

TO FEEL LIGHTER One of the most notable things that my clients say during and after a decluttering and organising session is that they feel “so much lighter”. Clutter weighs us down; physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically. When our spaces are cluttered, we feel heavy, low in energy, stressed, overwhelmed, tired and distracted. We are likely to also feel disorganised, stuck and unproductive.

Clutter can make daily life hard work; from struggling to find the things that you need, to tripping up over excessive amounts of stuff, to letting things pile up until they become unmanageable. Many people hire a Professional Declutterer and Organiser to help them tackle their space quickly and effectively, so that they can feel better – and lighter.

2

HOUSE MOVE Moving house is said to be one of the most stressful things that you can experience. Packing to move house and unpacking in your new home is both exciting and challenging. Getting the help of a Professional Declutterer and Organiser can help you to minimise the stress of moving. They will support you to only take the things that you need and use, and unpack and organise them in a way that will help you to establish organisation, simplicity and calm, from day one of being in your new home.

3

LIFESTYLE CHANGE A Professional Declutterer and Organiser can help you to declutter and organise your space in order to prepare for or to deal with a lifestyle change. Here are some of the reasons why people have reached out for my support with decluttering and organising recently:

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• to prepare for a new arrival in the family • to minimise their belongings in advance of going travelling

There are many other reasons why people feel called to declutter and organise their space and getting support with this is becoming a more accessible service that people are enjoying taking advantage of.

People don’t just declutter and organise for fun (although it can indeed be very fun and very freeing).

Decluttering and organising your space can be truly transformative and it can help you to move through lifestyle changes, house moves, emotions and low energy. Regardless of the situation or circumstance, decluttering and organising your space is usually the first step towards reclaiming a sense of clarity, calm and organisation in your life.

If you think you might benefit from decluttering and organising your space, it might be time to consider how a Professional Declutterer and Organiser can support you.

Email me at laura@laurapearsoncoaching.com to book a free no obligation 30 minute Connection Call.

Connect with Laura D www.laurapearsoncoaching.com I @officiallaurapearson F @officiallaurapearson E laura@laurapearsoncoaching.com Download Laura’s free guide – 5 Steps to Start Decluttering your Life at: www.laurapearsoncoaching.com/ 5-steps-to-start-decluttering-freebie

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 81

Mr Benn and the Rock Fortress

By Kate Gostick

Last year my husband and I celebrated our Silver Wedding. As I searched for our wedding album to remember the day, I found another album, but this was an album of our honeymoon in Sri Lanka.

I

t was the start of our lifetime travelling together, but seemed like a lifetime ago as I flicked through the pages, bringing the memories alive. Our first three nights were spent at a beach resort, about an hours drive from Sri Lanka’s capital, Columbo. The hotel was the perfect place to rest before our tour. It had crisp white buildings and benefited from a breeze that blew in from the Indian Ocean.

On the third day of our stay, we met with our representative, who introduced us to two other couples who had been married on the same day as us and would be our travel companions for the tour. It was not only having travelling companions that conjured images of Victorian aristocracy touring the colonies, but the

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hotels and places we stopped also oozed faded colonial grandeur. We explored the island beginning with a Buddhist temple and a ride on an elephant.

We climbed on the large square saddle atop the colossal elephant and rode through the jungle carrying large parasols to protect our pasty skin from the penetrating South Asian sun. We were each given a certificate to show we had ridden an elephant, and for the first time, I saw my new name written down, making it all seem even more real. That night I was exhausted, but each night shortly after falling asleep the visions would begin.

I saw spiders falling from the ceiling, snakes slithering over the bed in a twisted, seething mess of bodies and men standing in the room staring at me. As I opened my eyes, they did not leave. They stayed, the fear so intense I would shout and shout what I could see before me.

Every night my husband was woken by a madwoman he was now linked to for eternity screaming about snakes and spiders, strange men and insects. He was awakened in such a way that he could not go back to sleep, with adrenaline pulsing through his veins. www.lancmag.com

“There is a man in the room! There is a man in the room!”

I screamed repetitively on the sixth night of our tour.

“It’s me!” he replied with a sigh resigned to this was how every night was going to be for the rest of his life.

But it was not like that forever and when I stopped taking the malaria tablets on our return the snakes, spiders and strange men did not return except for the man I was now married to.

The next day, the terrors that plagued our nights became a reality in our day. Sigirya is an ancient rock fortress that reaches nearly 200 meters high. It was built for King Kasyapa around 477-495 AD on top of a massive column of rock that could only be accessed through the mouth of an enormous carved lion. The walls of his impressive palace were decorated with frescoes, some of which remained, but the only way to access them was by foot.

As we walked through the stunning gardens ahead of us stone stairs appeared, flanked by the stone lion’s paws that heralded the start of the climb. The steps were a little uneven, and the line of people climbing up the side of the vertical rock face was uninterrupted. It stretched so far ahead of us that the people resembled tiny ants clinging to the red rocks, almost as though they had all emerged from the caves that were hidden around the base of the rocks and had once housed monks. Even at this time, when I was young and at the peak of my fitness, the climb seemed daunting, but people of all ages were braving the searing heat of the early morning sun for the treasures the rock promised. As we climbed, it did not disappoint. The frescos on the walls looked as though they had only been painted a day earlier, not centuries ago. Beautiful maidens with pert, naked bosoms draped with intricate necklaces smiled and depicted scenes from the king’s court. The reds and golds of their traditional headdresses seemed not to have been faded by time, nor were their flawless complexions or the oval faces framed with hair piled high beneath their headdresses. Their eyes were so expressive and gave serenity to the hustle and bustle of the tourist ant army which passed by them. Eventually, the steps levelled out to form a flat walkway with the rock to one side and a tall orange wall to the other known as the mirror wall. It was once said to be so highly polished that it allowed those who passed it to marvel at their own reflection, but now its only marvellous thing was the decades of graffiti.

The stone steps which began our ascent were too quickly replaced by metal ones that clung precariously to the side of the rock with rusting bolts. If we had been the only people clinging to the rock face on these rusting staircases, it would have been a frightening prospect, but since the weight of several thousand people seemed to be testing the bolts ability to adhere us all to the stones, this was a terrifying experience. There was no way back, though.

People stretched in front of us and behind us, and the stream of people pushing past us on the way back down seemed as impenetrable as the mirror wall we had just passed by. The stairs creaked under the weight as though to warn us of our inevitable fate. Our guide told us that some of the stretches of staircases had come from the London Underground and I could not help but think if they were no longer of use to the British transport system were they www.lancmag.com

still in a serviceable enough order to carry a hoard of out of breath tourists to the top of a rock fortress! Eventually, we reached the top.

Although the now decaying palace walls were impressive in themselves, the view across the jungle and tea plantations beyond took the little breath you had left following the climb, clean away. The journey down was no less terrifying than the journey up. The true horror of what we had just embarked on was brought home by our guide, who informed us that the previous day the noise of the visitors’ feet clanging against the metal staircase had disturbed a nest of hornets which swarmed the petrified sightseers and stung many of them. He took great pleasure in letting us know that ten hornet stings were the equivalent of a cobra bite, but I could not help but wish he had told us that before we attempted to reawaken the slumbering, flying death traps.

For our final day, we headed to Galle, a town dominated by the Portuguese fort which defended its harbour. The Portuguese influence continued in the form of lacemaking, and ladies sat in the area around the fort weaving their pillow lace. Their work was so delicate and despite the bobbins quickly clicking together as the ladies drew one over another so fast that you almost did not see them move, the lace grew very slowly. The ladies sold what they had made, from small doilies to large table cloths, but the price did not reflect the hours of work that had gone into each piece. The craft was handed down from mother to daughter over the centuries, but many of the lace makers now seemed elderly. They sat in groups chatting, weaving and selling their stunning creations. Sadly though, the tradition seemed to be dying out probably due to cheaper machine-made lace lacking the individuality of the handmade pieces, the style of which had been refined by a succession of immigrants, political exiles and conquerors from the Portuguese to the Dutch and Malay.

On Boxing Day 2004, a tsunami hit the coastal area of Sri Lanka, and my heart broke to think of the impact on these ladies and their traditions. Even those who were not hit by the water itself would have lost their homes. Many of them were married to the stilt fishermen who sat on crossbars protruding from the vertical stilts which rose from the water just beyond the shore. Here they fished for mackerel and herrings in the shallow water above the coral reef and supplemented their catch with a few coins in exchange for posing for tourist photographs or even allowing intrepid visitors to demonstrate that balancing on the poles was not as effortless as the fishermen made it appear. The lines of men, each with a line dangling into the bright blue water, looked like they had been sitting there effortlessly for centuries. Like a line of cranes, balancing perfectly on one leg, the fisherman sat on their pole looked like this was their natural fishing style. However, in reality, the practice had only begun during World War 2 when the large influx of troops depleted fish reserves and the locals needed to find new fishing grounds and ways to maximise their catch.

Many of the men who were not killed by the tsunami were too afraid to return to their stilts following the tragedy, but they were not from wealthy families and needed to fish to feed their families. The paradise we visited was merely a LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 83

facade that hid, not only the impending catastrophe of the tsunami which would hit eight years later, but also dying traditions and struggles of the people who practised them.

From Galle, we headed to a beach hotel where we spent the last week of our honeymoon relaxing, exploring and buying souvenirs. Whilst we were there, my mother in law had had an eye operation to resolve a condition that was making her sight more and more difficult. We received a message at the hotel to tell us that the operation had gone well, but we wanted to call her and talk to her if we could.

Going from the hotel to the town, where we were told we would find a phone box, was a mud road which was lined with houses and shops. As we walked, we suddenly were plunged into darkness as all the lights went out. A shopkeeper, standing in his doorway, apologised to us that his country was in disarray. He explained that the power station workers had gone on strike and had taken parts of the power station home with them to prevent other workers from taking their jobs whilst they protested their low wages and poor conditions. As we had passed houses on our tour, we had seen that the army was raiding civilian dwellings on more than one occasion. Now it all made sense as the shopkeeper told us that the military had been retrieving the parts, but, at times, the workers would manage to get back into the power station and steel them back, thus plunging the surrounding area into darkness.

As we reached the front of the queue for the phone box, we felt spots of rain. We tried a few times and eventually got through to Dominic’s mum, who told us the operation had gone well. As the call progressed, the heavens opened, and monsoon rains lashed the glass that enclosed us.

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As if by magic, Mr Benn style, the shopkeeper, appeared.

Suddenly, appearing out of the darkness, he was standing on the other side of the glass waving an umbrella. I thought he was very enterprising and offered him some money for his service, but he replied that we were a guest in his country and he just wanted to keep us dry. Before we left to get the flight home, he asked us to go to his shop, where he gave us a box of flowers to take home. We were nervous and suspicious about his motives, wondering if the flowers were concealing drugs and someone would be there to meet us at Heathrow. Maybe our Western, capitalist upbringing had raised us to believe that everyone had an ulterior motive to be kind to strangers. Whatever the cause of our suspicion, it was not warranted and magnified our failings and the shopkeeper’s virtues.

Before we went to Sri Lanka, people had been concerned about our decision. It was the height of the Sri Lankan civil war where the Tamil Tigers were fighting the government of Velupillai Prabhakaran, protesting their violent persecution and discrimination and demanding an independent Tamil state in the North East of the Island. For the main part, their fight was confined to that area of the country, and we had seen no evidence of the conflict. However, as our plane landed at Heathrow on June 15th, 1996, we were informed that the IRA had detonated a 3,300 lb bomb by the Arndale Centre in Manchester, the largest bomb detonated in Britain since the second world war. Conflict is everywhere, but for some reason, some conflicts become familiar and less frightening than those which are alien. Our time in Sri Lanka, although brief, was the beginning of our life discovering that the unfamiliar of other places and cultures is a blessing we wanted to embrace.

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People come to stay with us when an aspect of their life is overwhelming all else.

Whether it be their relationship with alcohol, substances or behaviour, we help guests heal and take back control. Delamere Health Ltd is the UK’s only purpose-built behavioural health clinic. Set discreetly amidst six acres of grounds beside Delamere Forest in Cheshire, we offer exemplary care in a dignified setting.

To find out more, visit Delamere.com or contact our admissions team on 0330 111 2015

Three Sofa Trends Shaping 2022 according to interior experts Arighi Bianchi

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Alexander & James Editor 2 Seater Sofa £1,509

Luxury interior specialist, Arighi Bianchi has unveiled three major sofa trends for 2022, along with top tips for buying the perfect sofa for your home, whatever the size and shape of your space.

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Alexander & James Summerton Corner Sofa including Stool £3,535

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ucy Mather from Arighi Bianchi explains what’s trending – from luxury lounging and vintage glam styles to heritage sofas with a modern twist.

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LUXURY LOUNGING – SUMPTUOUS ‘ACCENT COLOUR’ SOFA

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Sits Cleo Navy Blue Corner Sofa £3,759

A trend that began during lockdown due to the extended periods of time families spent gathered on the sofa, sumptuous ‘oversize’ sofas that offer the ultimate comfort are very much here to stay. We can’t get enough of large, luxurious sofas in tactile fabrics, quilted details and oversized proportions. In 2022 it is also all about loud pops of colour and statement shades – think electric blue, teal and navy. Whilst big and bold, these colours are hugely versatile and will complement an existing colour palette perfectly, bringing it bang on trend for the year ahead.

ELECTRIC DREAMS A current best seller – this Alexander & James Editor 2 Seater[1] electric blue sumptuous sofa is loud, luxurious and great for lounging – available with co-ordinating ‘extra-large pouffes’.

Designer tip: Complement the rich velvet with natural leathers and wood.

CORNER COUCH FOR THE ULTIMATE SLOUCH Another key colour for 2022, heritage green ‘teal’ looks fantastic in velvet.

A corner couch is an effective use of corner space and for those that like a large sofa. Alexander & James’ Summerton Corner Sofa[2] features hand-crafted detailing in the form of pleats, super-sized metallic buttons and delicate gold piping.

OVERSIZED STATEMENT SOFA

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Alexander & James Jean Maxi Sofa £1,275

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With quilted detailing and quality upholstery the Sits Cleo Navy Blue Corner Sofa[3] is enjoyed as much for its comfort, as for its iconic and luxurious style.

VINTAGE GLAM Luxe touches and glam accents are making their way into homes across the country and vintage glam sofas are at the heart of this trend. With art deco inspired lines and plush velvet fabric, this is a fabulous way to update the humble sofa in 2022 and because this styling pairs perfectly with modern design concepts and colour schemes, it’s a really versatile option. From beautiful blush pink to bright blue and canary yellow, these statement pieces will create the wow factor in any home.

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CHOOSE FABRIC THAT IS BOTH GOOD-LOOKING AND PRACTICAL You may have found a colour and pattern that you love but the next crucial step is the fabric.

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Alexander & James Jean Maxi Sofa £1,275

No two fabrics are entirely the same – natural materials, for instance, can sometimes be prone to fading over time due to sunlight exposure. This might make a man-made material the wiser choice if the sofa will be positioned close to the window. An especially popular sofa fabric is leather a strong and durable material that stands up well to everyday use, and even the creases, marks and scuffs it will almost inevitably accumulate over time will simply enhance its character.

Velvet sofas are extremely popular right now, but it can be a high maintenance fabric that will need a bit of TLC.

The Alexander & James Jean Maxi Sofa[4] - with plush velvet upholstery (available in three colours), button back detailing and masses of scatters, it’s the perfect way to add a touch of luxury to your decor.

of a new range based on glamorous modern classics with an art deco twist. Designed and manufactured at the Tetrad factory, the collection features GP & J Baker printed fabrics and sumptuous Italian velvet.

MODERN HERITAGE

If you’re looking to invest in a new sofa in 2022, Arighi Bianchi has this advice to make the perfect purchase:

Heritage styling has been given a 2022 twist with thoughtful detailing adding a cutting edge finish to tweed fabrics and classic shapes. This trend is all about contrasts - here the simplicity of the tweed is contrasted beautifully with the on-trend piping to create a sofa that although looks simple, screams quality and craftsmanship.

Whilst the classic lines of the Spink and Edgar sofa are contrasted perfectly with the art deco inspired pattern against the plush velvet fabric.

This is a key trend for this year as homeowners look to make purchases that offer style and substance, willing to invest in pieces in classic shapes and fabrics that will stand the test of time.

The Tetrad Harris Tweed Bowmore Midi Sofa[5] is a stylish, fully coil sprung Edwardian styled fabric sofa range with hide piping, elegant curves and clean lines.

The Spink & Edgar Tiffany Grand Sofa[6] – a beautiful piece of furniture part 90

GET THE DIMENSIONS RIGHT: It’s a seemingly obvious and unglamorous tip, but presuming you already know where you intend to place your sofa, once that is decided you need to carefully measure up the space. If the sofa will be arriving already assembled, you’ll also need to make sure you’ll be able to negotiate it into your home. That means measuring up the door frames and accounting for any awkward angles.

Remember that ‘width’ refers to the measurement across the back of the sofa, while the ‘depth’ is the measurement from the front of the sofa to the back. If you think that you might have issues getting your sofa into the room it is intended for, make sure you mention this at the point of purchase as it may be able to be delivered in parts and assembled indoors.

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DECIDE ON THE MOST SUITABLE SOFA SHAPE Sofas come in a dizzying range of shapes and sizes - everything from two seaters and corner sofas to opulent four-seat and grand sofas.

The shape of the sofa you choose won’t depend purely on how you intend to use it, as aesthetics will play a part too. A small sofa in a large room, for example, will appear somewhat isolated, while a large sofa in a small room may seem a little overwhelming.

Nonetheless, you’ll also need to take into account practical factors, such as how many people will be routinely using the sofa at any one time, and how they will typically position themselves on it. If you expect to spend a lot of time lying on the sofa, will it be sufficiently long to allow you to stretch out comfortably?

The height of the people using the sofa will also be crucial. Taller people may require a sofa with a higher back for greater support, while if you are shorter, you should check that you’ll be able to comfortably tuck your feet under whatever model you’re considering.

www.lancmag.com

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Tetrad Harris Tweed Bowmore Midi Sofa £2,025

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Spink & Edgar Tiffany Grand Sofa £2,559

DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE FILLING Given that you don’t see what your sofa’s stuffed with, it might be barely an afterthought for you when you’re looking for the best sofa. But that shouldn’t be the case! After all, the sofa filling is effectively what you will be sitting on for years, so it’s worth being aware of the qualities of the different stuffing options out there. www.lancmag.com

A fibre filling, for example, consists of man-made polyester hollow strands that – when you sit on them – compress and expel air. Sofas with fibre fillings are soft and relaxing to sit on, but it’s important to frequently plump and turn the cushions to help keep them looking good.

time, and foam cushions tend to spring back into shape as soon as the sitter rises. As for feather-filled sofas, these don’t appear as structured as their foam-filled counterparts, but they’re definitely luxurious sofas that practically beckon you to sit down and sink into them!

When the priority is to provide a more structured look and firmer support, a foam filling is a common choice. It needs hardly any maintenance over

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PRODUCT INSPIRATION VISIT www.arighibianchi.co.uk

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More Than £1 Million in National Lottery Funding Goes to North Lancashire’s FoodFutures Partners to Support Communities to Tackle Climate Change

North Lancashire’s FoodFutures partnership has received the good news that over £1.1million in National Lottery funding will support North Lancashire’s residents and communities to tackle the climate emergency.

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his money will create six local jobs whilst also supporting the partnership in taking forward key strands of Our Food Futures: A Community Food Strategy For North Lancashire (launched in 2021).

The funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, will be managed by LESS (Lancaster District) CIC and Lancaster District Community and Voluntary Solutions (LDCVS) to cocreate a circular and regenerative food economy for the local community.

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In specific, this grant will support: • The set up of a composting academy and community composting sites across the District.

• The set up of a gleaning network that collects seasonal food surpluses (for example fruit and veg) in order to redistribute it to those who can use it.

• Support the set up of regenerative enterprises and the creation of circular economies via annual events, a granting scheme and project development support.

• Host zero waste challenges, cooking workshops, community meals and food events that develop, serve and celebrate seasonal North Lancashire recipes.

• Develop THRIVE – North Lancashire’s community food magazine – and train a network of citizen journalists that can support us in sharing a wide range of stories whilst highlighting the great community food work already going on in the area.

The FoodFutures partnership hopes this project will act as a catalyst for transforming the local food distribution system whilst also reducing the District’s carbon footprint linked to food..

FoodFutures Coordinator at LESS, Anna Clayton said: “We are thrilled to have received this vital funding thanks to National Lottery players. This project has been enabled by a partnership with LESS, LDCVS, Global Link, Eggcup, Shared Futures and Scientists For Global Responsibility and is all about encouraging

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people to learn about the food system, and how they can play a part in shifting it whilst reducing their own impacts and food waste. We seek to support communities to step into their power and give them a sense of ownership when it comes to reducing waste and improving the sustainability of our food system and wider local economy.”

Nick Gardner, Head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We know communities have a big role to play in responding to the climate emergency.

That’s why, thanks to National Lottery players, we are pleased to be supporting community-led action to address waste and consumption. These projects will bring people together to create a lower waste society, that will not only help us get to net zero, but also support communities to prosper and thrive.”

In total, 21 community-led waste and consumption focused projects across the UK that have received funding from the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund - a £100 million fund that aims to reduce the carbon footprint of communities and support communityled movements that demonstrate what is possible when people take the lead in tackling climate change.

To find out more about The Climate Action Fund visit

www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

To read ‘Our Food Futures: A community food strategy for North Lancashire’ visit:

foodfutures.org.uk/food-strategy

www.lancmag.com

Elegant • Traditional • Stylish If you’re looking for a beautiful new home in the perfect location then you cannot make a better choice than Rowland.

We specialise in designing and building a range of stunning new homes in popular

rowland.co.uk

locations right across the North West that offer amazing style, quality and value.

We welcome you to visit our website at rowland.co.uk and make your personal appointment at a development near you.

Time to discover the good life with Rowland Independently owned and dedicated to the creation of stylish developments, Rowland represents excellence in house design, construction and the creation of thriving communities.

Established in 1993, Rowland is an independent, privately owned house builder based in the North West of England - and we’ve developed a proud track record for offering customers a stylish range of high quality homes at affordable prices.

At Rowland, we believe in providing a varied portfolio of traditional, modern and stylish new homes and apartments in a range of sought after and convenient locations throughout the North West.

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The environments that we create may vary in shape and size, but our commitment to quality means that all are built to the same exacting standards, whether it’s a one bedroom studio apartment or traditional detached family home.

All Rowland homes incorporate eye catching design features, whilst careful interior planning ensures that we maximise every square metre of available living space. The latest heating, glazing and insulation products combine maximum comfort with minimal maintenance, in keeping with today’s busy lifestyles.

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Wherever you choose to live, we hope you’ll find a home to suit your lifestyle and you enjoy the experience! www.lancmag.com

Modern living in balance with traditional elegance Much care and consideration has been given to creating developments that have an atmosphere of a mature community that has evolved over time, so properties are carefully designed and built to include different formats and layouts of brick and render, individual rooflines and gables, distinctive windows and bays, ensuring that every development has its own personal style and stature.

With exacting attention to detail, Rowland has ensured that property interiors demonstrate the latest trends in modern, contemporary design, whilst airy and light openplan environments ensure that living areas make maximum use of space to create a truly welcome family environment.

High quality specification to suit your lifestyle options are available to suit every taste and budget.

As well as a stunning range of stylish appliances, all properties are designed and built to the highest standards with all the latest energy efficient glazing, insulation, heating and hot water systems, which are all covered by a ten year NHBC warranty for additional peace of mind.

All Rowland properties are designed with modern living as a top priority.

The specification is carefully chosen for its quality, practicality and aesthetics, to meet the rigorous demands of modern household requirements and lifestyles. A feature of all Rowland homes is the quality of the internal specification.

A choice of luxury kitchen and bathroom finishes and with multiple tiling, flooring, lighting and electrical

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At Rowland we focus on the details so you can enjoy the space, freedom and comfort of your new home.

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Beautiful locations across the North West now and in the future the wide open spaces of leafy Cheshire – Rowland can offer beautiful new homes in some of the most popular locations the North West has to offer.

Designing and building beautiful new homes in popular locations across the North West is something we’ve being doing for nearly thirty years. We pride ourselves in creating thriving communities and sustainable environments that stand the test of time and that bring people of all ages together for a better quality of life.

Creating a distinctive sense of place, where communities can grow and be proud of their surroundings is appealing to like-minded people who want to share and enjoy a better way of life. Selecting the right locations, where infrastructure supports development and growth, is essential to provide a sustainable balance for future generations to prosper and enjoy.

From the stunning views of Ulverston in Cumbria, to the beautifully serene Fylde coast, from the convenience of Central Lancashire to the outskirts of the bustling city of Manchester and

1

Ulverston

2

Barrowin-Furness

Carnforth

Lancaster M6

Garstang

Fleetwood

Forest of Bowland

3

Cleveleys

Clitheroe

4

Blackpool

M55

Cottam

5

Preston

M65

6

Lytham St Annes

Blackburn

7 1 ULVERSTON - Levens View

4 & 5 bedroom homes from £434,995

Leyland

A56

Rochdale

M6

M66

2 CARNFORTH - Riverside Place

Bury

3 & 4 bedroom homes coming soon

M61

3 GARSTANG - Heritage Park 3, 4 & 5 bedroom homes coming soon

M58

4 BLACKPOOL – Marples Grange

2, 3 & 4 bedroom homes from £165,995

5 COTTAM – Sandpiper Grange

A580

3 & 4 bedroom homes priced from £206,995

M57

6 LYTHAM ST ANNES – Richmond Point 4 bedroom homes from £369,995 7

8

Wigan

M62

Liverpool LEYLAND – Meadow Gate

M60

MANCHESTER

Warrington

9 10

3 & 4 bedroom homes priced from £181,995

Worsley

M60

A stylish range of beautiful new homes are available now across the North West, visit rowland.co.uk for all the latest prices and information.

Grappenhall Heys

8 WORSLEY – Finch Park

3 & 4 bedroom homes priced from £264,995

9 GRAPPENHALL HEYS – Astor Grange

M56

3, 4 & 5 bedroom homes from £367,995

10 GRAPPENHALL HEYS – Lichfield Grange 3, 4 & 5 bedroom homes coming soon

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Chester

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Knutsford

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Welcome to Richmond Point Pride of place in Lytham St Annes Richmond Point is a visionary and prestige development of high quality new homes. It sits in balance with the existing and well established residential properties along the northern fringes of Lytham St Annes and the adjacent countryside.

Rowland is committed to continuing the creation of a thriving and vibrant neighbourhood that embraces the local heritage as well as serve the local residents in Lytham St Annes and Richmond Point will take pride of place amidst this vibrant and popular community.

Lytham St Annes, often referred to as the ‘Jewel of the Fylde’ offers the very best of the good

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life in Lancashire.

Community, leisure, relaxation and social activity makes this popular coastal town what it is today.

There’s an eclectic mix of activities that unites this proud place and makes it special, as well as contributing to its distinctive local identity.

Richmond Point in Lytham St Annes is destined to be a very special place. It’s a place for community, a place to feel at home, a place for life and a place quite like no other!

Richmond Point offers a select range of family homes, perfectly designed to enjoy the good life on the Fylde.

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Tonia Bern Campbell’s Ashes Laid to Rest in Coniston The Coniston Institute & Ruskin Museum

Above: Gina Campbell and Brian Eastham at the graveside

The ashes of Tonia Bern-Campbell have been interred in the grave of her husband speed record breaker Donald Campbell CBE, in a moving ceremony at the Parish cemetery in Coniston 55 years to the day that Donald was killed attempting to raise his world water speed record.

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onald Campbell’s daughter, Gina, her partner Brian, friends, and officials of the Ruskin Museum in Coniston which houses the Bluebird wing, gathered in the cemetery for a service on Tuesday January 4th which was conducted by the Reverend Brian Streeter, Parish priest in Coniston.

Above: Eric Hadwin, Gina Campbell and Brian Eastham with the Landrover at the Ruskin Museum

Gina Campbell said: “This is a generous loan from the Hadwin Family, of an iconic and historic piece of ‘Great’ British engineering, with a huge fan base of followers. So very apt that it should have been used, and is now housed, where it will be, in due course. alongside another iconic historical piece of ‘Great’ British engineering, Bluebird K7.”

The Land Rover was acquired by the Hadwin family not long after Donald Campbell’s untimely death in 1967 from the Campbell estate. It was used as a breakdown vehicle for many years until it became redundant in the late 1970’s.

After many years of disuse, the vehicle has been totally restored and is now on loan to the museum.

Tonia died in Palm Springs, America in June last year aged 93 and it had been her wish that her ashes be buried beside her husband.

Deputy Chairman of the Museum Trustees Jeff Carroll said: “This long-term loan is a very welcome addition to the Bluebird display, it helps to broaden the story the Museum is able to tell about the Campbell speed dynasty, with absolute provenance.

Tonia was an accomplished singer and actress who met Donald Campbell while performing at the Savoy Hotel in London.

“We are extremely grateful to the Hadwin family for their offer of the vehicle which has been lovingly restored to a high standard.

After the short service at the graveyard, the Campbell family and guests visited the Ruskin Museum to see the latest Campbell exhibit, a Land Rover built in 1959 by the company, as part of a sponsorship for Donald Campbell’s world land speed record attempt in Utah in the United States in 1960.

“It should appeal to both Campbell and Land Rover fans alike and we look forward to the day when it can be seen alongside Bluebird K7 in the Bluebird Wing. This is, we believe a sister vehicle to the one used at Utah, Lake Eyre and at the 1966/7 Coniston record campaign, that vehicle we understand having been scrapped a number of years ago.”

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Based in the rural village of Goosnargh, Laurel Farm Kitchens has been recognised as one of only a few truly bespoke kitchen manufacturers in the North West receiving a reputation, second to none, on quality and craftsmanship over the past 25 years.

“Our aim, through the creativity of our kitchen designers and their ability to bring out the best in our client’s ideas is to create the most imaginative and workable kitchens from the canvas supplied.”

ASK MILES CONSULT & CONSTRUCT...

I

hope everyone has settled into the new year and stuck to all their new year resolutions! I know I’ve struggled! The best thing about the new year so far though, is the fact that we are finally seeing some normality. With the return of families and friends meeting again, things start to feel more comfortable and at peace With the latter in mind, it is also encouraging families to spend more on their homes. I have seen a huge increase in phone calls asking for advice on Interior Design and renovation tips.

My friend suggested I provided tips on bathroom design and the new innovations that are out on the market.

At this point, I felt that I should seek some assistance from my husband who seems to be the expert at it! Having been in the industry for over 20 years, I don’t think I am able to let an opportunity be missed!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SANITARYWARE WC’S • Check the position of the soil pipe. Where does run into? o Some go straight out of the wall; others go into the floor and some have a bend on them either going right or left from the back of the WC. • There are many types of WC’s and the above determines the toilet type you can buy.

• Closed Coupled • Back to Wall • Wall Hung • Washlet (This type of WC has improved hygiene standards with its warm water cleansing system and recent developments in air purification, automatic functions, and anti-bacterial technologies)

Whether someone finds it stressful or a huge excitement, it is apparent that planning a new bathroom can take over one’s nerves. To the point, you can “start dreaming of tiles”!!

WHAT THINGS SHOULD YOU CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING A NEW BATHROOM? Let me talk you through some simple steps to help make it a memorable experience, rather than a stressful one.

• How many existing bathrooms have you got?

• Have you got a facility in place whilst your bathroom will be renovated?

• Who will be using the new bathroom? Is it going to be used by the whole family? Visitors? Children?

• How many people will be using the bathroom?

• Does the bathroom need to be adapted for any specific requirements? Are there any less-abled individuals that will require access?

• What will the life span of the proposed bathroom be?

• How much storage will you require within the new bathroom?

• How will the bathroom be heated?

• What sort of existing pipework is present in the existing area?

• Are you converting a room that isn’t a bathroom? If yes, then is there adequate drainage connections.

• Check the location of the pipework, if you are considering transforming your bathroom into a dream room, then this may involve relocating the toilet, basin etc.

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• Comfort height toilet (Designed to be a little bit higher than a regular toilet. The height of the toilet pan is 48cm to help taller or older people.)

FACT – Sir John Harington (1561 – 1612) invented Britain’s first flushing toilet.

BASINS • Check the pipework connecting to the basin. Are the feeds coming in from the floor to the wall?

• Check for waste connections.

• There are many types of basins available, however, they can be used independently or with furniture to allow for storage in the bathroom.

TYPES OF BASINS • Sit on bowl • Insert basin • Wall hung basin • Tall pedestal basin • Half pedestal basin • Semi recess basin • Twin basin • Ceramic basin • Glass basin www.lancmag.com

...A DEDICATED COLUMN

FOR ALL YOU DIY LOVERS AND PROFESSIONALS

WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTION

AND DESIGN INDUSTRY SHOWERS VS BATHTUBS This is a very important matter that is discussed when couples and families are planning a new bathroom. There is no right or wrong answer, as that is down to personal preference.

Feature walls can be added to brighten up your bathroom – bring colour, drama or just harmony. The wall and floor can be covered with tiles.

There are so many options available on the market, it all depends on what look and feel you want to consider. I have talked about colour options in previous articles. “Big” is in! Large profile tiles are very trendy right now. Especially using the same tiles on the floor and the wall.

OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER

• The size of the area is also a very important factor in determining what to choose.

• One should consider the practicality of the usage of the facility.

• What is the health and age of the individuals who will be using the facility?

• Introduce shower seats, can be free-standing, hinged or modular seating • If you go for a shower, then do you prefer a tray or a level “roll in” shower (which can also be suitable for less-abled users) Sun shower – An innovation in showering.

This is an innovation in showering – It improves your mobility and doubles your vitamin D level with an optimally fitting. This product illuminates the body from head to toe with warming infrared and low-dose UV light. https://sunshower.eu/collection/ AESTHETICS

• Heating – will you install radiators or underfloor heating? o Make sure you have this discussion prior to starting your project. This can really make or break the final look of your bathroom.

• Check the water pressure, to make sure that your shower head can still provide you with adequate water.

• Lighting – what sort of mood do you want to create? Will it be a relaxing area or a “wash & go” facility? All of this has an influence on the type of lighting you have.

• Vanity mirrors – Nowadays this is a very important factor to consider. As there would be a requirement to install power for any charging points and lighting. You can even get “De-mist mirrors” with a charging facility.

• Don’t forget your accessories, such as: o Soap dispensers o Toilet roll holders o Robe hooks o Towel rails o Towel warmers o Grab bars I hope this provides you with some basic ideas, which will help make some key decisions.

YOU CAN ALWAYS GET IN TOUCH WITH ME FOR ANY FURTHER HELP OR ADVICE: E N N D

sajedah@milescc.co.uk +44 (0) 1772 759 345 +44 (0) 7581 014 867 www.milescc.co.uk

FOLLOW US ON: I T F L

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@milescc2021 @milescc2021 Sajedah Maka-Ismail Sajedah Maka-Ismail

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North Fylde Photographic Society are bringing out the long guns

Kurt Warner - ©Wayne Paulo

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North Fylde Photographic Society are bringing out the long guns despite the covid situation, people need to come out!

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ayne Paulo Professional Photographer is putting on his first exclusive exhibitions in Thornton Library and Cleveleys Library during February and March.

Showing his Celebrities and Sporting pictures from the eight NFL Super Bowls he has photographed in the USA including Mick Jagger Rolling Stones, Sir Paul McCartney and Beyonce.

In Public Relations, he has photographed enough stars to make a book, “yes” he has a book out as well

“Nearly Famous my autobiography Wayne Paulo”, Publisher: Photo-Stock International, ISBN: 9780956362506.

He might be in the library one of those days, check with the reception, and don’t miss it as they are in short supply! If you miss those days, you can order it online.

Wayne’s pictures have been seen all over the world in the press, never have they been seen together in print, after nearly 40 year of being a pro, Wayne says “it is good to get them there and it is publicity for the club, we are hoping to see more members because of it” They will be organising outings for the club and will post them on their Facebook page for details on when and where to go and meet.

Mick Jagger - ©Wayne Paulo

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Following Wayne Paulo’s Exhibitions is Angela Carr, a prolific photographer, one of the best in Lancashire.

Angela said: “I have learnt so much in the years I have been a member and made many good friends. I enjoy all genres of photography but I am more known for my photos of my dogs, grandchildren and hares. The viewers at Thornton Library and Cleveleys Library during March and April will get a really good idea about our photography at the North Fylde Photographic Society."

D www.northfylde-ps.co.uk F facebook.com/groups/520006824732212 New members, of any level, are always welcome at: M North Fylde Photographic Society, The Church of St Martin and St Hilda, Fleetwood Road, Carleton For further details please see www.northfylde-ps.co.uk or contact secretary Neil Pascoe on N 01253 734243

Midnight Rendezvous - ©Angela Carr

Morning Routine - ©Angela Carr

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Now open, 327 Garstang Road We’re delighted to open our North West hub, offering you the advice you need and help ensure your finances are in the best possible place to match your individual circumstances and aspirations and give you complete financial peace of mind.

Whether you’re thinking about planning for retirement, gifting some of your savings for a child/grandchild’s university fees, wedding, or house purchase, or even just wanting to protect your lifestyle from the unexpected, our expert team of advisers can advise you across all the different financial planning.

To speak with one of our advisers, either drop in and visit us at 327 Garstang Road, Fulwood, PR2 9UP, or call us on 01772 787011.

To celebrate our hub opening in Preston, we’re giving one lucky winner the chance to win a luxury Marks & Spencer hamper To enter, all you need to do is answer the following question:

How many advisers do we have at our Tenet&You hub in Preston?

P.S. You can find the answer on our website, www.tenetandyou.co.uk/preston.

To submit your answer, please visit www.tenetandyou.co.uk/lancashiremagazine.

For full terms and conditions, visit/click here www.tenetandyou.co.uk/lancashiremagazineterms.

The value of investments and the income from them may go down. You may not get back the original amount invested.

Thinking of Remortgaging?

By Peter Pearson Independent Financial Adviser, Tenet&You

Get to know how remortgaging works, why should you remortgage, and our top tips to make sure you’re in the best position to remortgage?

different for remortgage activity with a huge number of borrowers coming to the end of their existing mortgage products, all of whom will be keen to fix in early to the lowest rates available.

their standard variable rate (SVR), which is often more expensive. As such, it’s always worth reviewing your options in case there is a better option available to you in the market to support your mortgage needs.

t Tenet&You we’re able to advise across the full range of financial areas, including retirement planning, protection and insurance, building an investment portfolio and also mortgages.

The term remortgaging means that you are switching your current mortgage deal to another mortgage deal. This can either be with your existing lender or a different one.

Why should you remortgage?

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Following a bumper year in the housing market in 2021, the market saw a flurry of remortgages as people looked to secure historically low rates. 2022 looks to be no 106

Typically, people look to remortgage when the fixed term on their current mortgage deal comes to an end. If you opt to not choose another fixedterm deal, there’s a strong chance your lender will transfer you over to

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While most people remortgage to switch their mortgage deal and save money, there are a number of other worthy reasons why you may want to consider switching products or lenders: • You might want to take advantage of lower interest rates, meaning you’ll be paying less interest on your mortgage moving forward. www.lancmag.com

• Or you might want to unlock the equity in your property, meaning you benefit from the increased value of your home by releasing cash and taking on a new loan.

Getting ready to remortgage it’s important to be proactive and make sure you’re in the best position when it’s time to remortgage. Here are our essential remortgaging tips!

1. Start the remortgage process 3-6 months before your current deal ends

It’s worth noting that at Tenet&You we have access to mortgage deals from 80+ lenders, as well as products not always available to high street lenders to help you secure the best deal for you.

• Your last three years’ accounts/tax returns (if self-employed)

3. Find out how much your home is worth now

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Don’t forget you need to provide the necessary paperwork and evidence you supplied when arranging your last mortgage, so it’s good to have this readily available for your adviser.

Typically, you’ll need to supply the following:

You should always be mindful of your credit score, as lenders will often turn to credit reference agencies to assess your financial history. As such, it’s important to be aware of your position ahead of securing your new mortgage and make sure it’s as you would expect before a lender checks it.

• You might want a more flexible mortgage deal that allows you to make overpayments (additional payments above your monthly mortgage payment) without penalties.

5. Sort your paperwork to speed up the process

Getting the ball rolling now by speaking with a Tenet&You adviser ahead of your mortgage expiring, will help you secure your new deal in good time and prevent you from defaulting to your lender’s likely more expensive standard variable rate (SVR).

2. Check your credit score before lenders do

• Maybe you want to switch from an interest-only mortgage to a fixed rate repayment mortgage. Interestonly mortgages are where you pay off the interest, but not the loan. With a fixed rate repayment mortgage, you pay interest and the loan, and the interest rate remains the same throughout the term (versus a variable rate mortgage, where the interest rate can change).

You’ll need to demonstrate the performance of your business and will need to share your business accounts, tax returns and net profits for instance. Our mortgage advisers can readily support you as they know which lenders require what evidence.

Your home might have gone up or down in value since you bought it, so it’s good to know how much it could now be worth, as you will get a better mortgage deal if you have more equity in your home. Equity is the value of your home minus how much you owe on your mortgage.

4. Self-employed? Struggling to prove your long-term income?

If you’re self-employed or would struggle to prove your long-term income – perhaps you’ve worked abroad or you are on a temporary contract – then getting a mortgage can be more challenging.

• Your last statements

three

months’

bank

• Your last three months’ pay slips

• Your latest P60 tax form (showing income and tax paid from each tax year) • ID documents (usually a passport) • Proof of address (eg, utility bills or credit card bills) Talk to an adviser For advice on remortgaging or any other mortgage related queries, simply get in touch with the Tenet&You team to arrange an appointment with one of our advisers, who will take the time to understand your objectives and advise you on the course of action most appropriate for your circumstances.

You can reach us by calling 01772 787011 or come and visit us in person at Tenet&You, 327 Garstang Road, Fulwood, PR2 9UP. Alternatively, you can also find out more about Tenet&You on our website, www.tenetandyou.co.uk.

A mortgage is a loan secured against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.

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FLIRTATIOUS – Making Heads Turn!

We all want to look beautiful, feel super confident and be noticed! And you definitely deserve to be!

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amantha, 27, originally from Newcastle moved to Lytham St Anne’s in February 2021. She fell in love with the location during a weekend visit there and knew the move felt right for her. But with no family and very few friends in the area, all she held was a vision of meeting new like-minded people and creating a community-spirited business that would help others.

Six months on, Samantha attended some beauty training after doing her own treatments through the Cov19 lockdowns, where she grew a passion for the industry. Combining this education with her BA Honours in Entrepreneurial Business Management, she opened a salon at home, on St Alban’s Road.

As a female, most of us feel the pressure to look good daily, we can spend hours in front of the mirror applying make-up and figuring out what to wear to make us feel more confident. But during these recent lockdowns, everything changed.

When we were all meeting up again, many ladies were commenting on how they couldn’t be bothered with the effort anymore, some having said they’ve gained a few pounds and feeling unattractive in their own skin.

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Several of them turned to the outside world for confirmation that they were doing ok. But this only inspired Samantha as she wanted to help them feel fabulous again!

From this feedback, Samantha went on to create a relaxing environment for you to be pampered like the queen you deserve to be, with premium products that will not be found on store shelving. Give yourself permission to step away from your busy work life schedule for a couple of hours and feel the difference in your inner confidence. All of her treatments are very low maintenance, with some lasting up to 12 weeks!

Her clients have commented, “eyebrow waxing was fantastic and painless” and “the first time I’ve ever had an eyelash tint and could open my eyes immediately afterwards with no stinging at all”, “great to see a new business opening, lovely salon and little goodie bag was a nice touch, would recommend” and “Samantha does more than any other salon I’ve been to, the clients are at the heart of her business”.

As Samantha currently only offers eyelashes, eyebrows and waxing services from herself, she now has the desire to build momentum and dreams of creating a salon offering all treatments imaginable, from various therapists all under one roof.

She has also introduced quarterly parties where everyone is welcome – enabling her community spirit goal to become a reality!

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Although her ambitions might have never come true if it wasn’t for meeting her amazing partner Adam, 30, after moving to St Anne’s. He has encouraged her throughout every step of the journey so far. Plus becoming a step-mum to his two beautiful children Callum, 8, and Skyler 5, has given her the inspiration she needed to create something bigger than herself.

Join us at our Easter Party!

Book your tickets at: https://bit.ly/336dIw2 Book an appointment at: https://bit.ly/3EAdw5v Contact Samantha on: N 07983 330 870 E Samantha.flirtatious@hotmail.com F I @Flirtatious.UK

www.lancmag.com

Ginger Accounts Hilary Barlow FMAAT Hilary Barlow was brought up in Bolton and when she left school her Mum, Eva Lomas wanted her to join the family business. She had owned Holker Estate Agents and had offices in Westhoughton, Leigh and Over Hulton.

her to study for the Association of Accounting Technicians qualification, which she did whilst working full time and bringing up Jacob. After gaining her qualification and a few more years’ experience with some private clients, husband Keith suggested she start her own business full-time and in September 2015 Ginger Accounts was born.

lthough Hilary enjoyed the office work, she did not really like the estate agency side, so went on to work in other office jobs including a building society. It was there whilst doing the building society exams, that she realised she enjoyed working with numbers as she found the Finance exams easy when others were struggling.

Hilary is now a Fellow Member of the A.A.T. and an authorised trainer for SAGE Business Cloud Accounting.

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So was born her love for numbers!

Hilary married her wonderful husband Keith and she went to work in his butcher’s shop, The Bird and Beef in Westhoughton. After their son Jacob was born, Hilary started doing bookkeeping for a local accountant and that is how she ended up in accountancy.

After doing this for a number of years, her best friend encouraged

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She says ‘I found that I like to build a relationship with clients, it isn’t just number crunching to me, it is getting to know my clients, their businesses, their personal circumstances so that I can work with them not only to give them the best possible advice but also to relieve them of the burden of worrying about their accounts and taxation and talk to them in a language they understand. Most of my business comes from word of mouth’.

Ginger Accounts specialises in helping small businesses with their financial affairs from business startup advice through compliance with HMRC regulations and recordkeeping to accounts and taxation.

She offers a range of services that you can build your own package from: Personal Tax, VAT, Corporation Tax, Accounts Preparation, Payroll, Construction Industry Scheme and General Business Advice.

There are big changes ahead in the world of tax, with HMRC bringing in ‘Making Tax Digital’ from 1 April 2024. This could have a big impact on some small business owners both administratively and financially as they have to work out how to navigate their way around a digital world which they are not familiar with. Hilary is there to aid clients’ transition to this new world with as little stress to them as possible.

Hilary and Keith have recently moved to the village of St Michaels, near Garstang, Lancashire into a beautiful lodge overlooking a lake… a gorgeous location to play with numbers and enjoy your work.

If accounts are your biggest fear or that thing you always put off… contact Hilary to put you back on the right track.

CONTACT HILARY: E enquiries@gingeraccounts.co.uk N 07803 207875 D www.gingeraccounts.co.uk

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 109

Your Best Sales Representatives Who Don’t Wear Suits

sponsors the team. He is looking to build a bright future for them.

Spencers Haulage wanted to provide a reliable and efficient link between production and the end-user in a wide range of industries including engineering, printing, and waste management.

Spencers Haulage Ltd. based in Burnley can provide all your needs in haulage, consulting, exports and recycling.

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ith Over 20 years of Distribution, Logistics and Supply Chain experience, Burnley born Gary Spencer, the owner, decided to set up his own Cargo and Freight company in 2018 and has never looked back.

Gary is married to Jane and has a daughter, Amelia who has now given him a grandson, Flynn and he also has a son Olly, who plays for Rosegrove FC football team and Gary’s company

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Gary believes that as well as excellent transport skills you need to provide quality customer service and he has recently secured some big contracts with an aluminium and can recycling company and also with Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station. The company are soon to be looking after sporting events across the country.

He now proudly owns three H.G.V.’s and plans to double the business again in the next two years. They provide a personal distribution service throughout the UK. From small loads to bespoke deliveries.

He is happy to arrange exports as Brexit has created a nightmare for this sector but he is confident he can take away the stress and support in any delivery.

He started as a Logistics Coordinator, moving on to a Transport Planner and then a Logistics Team Leader and finally a Transport and Warehouse Manager for engineering companies.

They can also provide a consulting service, partnering with your transport manager, ensuring compliance, whilst working to budgets and timings to enhance your business performance.

Gary understands that moving large equipment and products can be a headache but with his extensive experienced background in providing bespoke transport solutions, his team can calculate the most effective and safe way to move your collateral.

As Gary says ‘’They are in it for the long haul’’ and they are ‘’Big enough to cope, small enough to care’’

During the Covid pandemic, the company’s one and only contract folded and they never opened their doors again. This was a time to diversify and rethink their plans. Being a newish business, Gary was not entitled to any help from the government but took a loan and invested in his business.

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For all your distribution needs contact Gary: E gary@spencershaulageltd.co.uk N 07540 069 206 F @www.spencershaulageltd.co.uk L www.linkedin.com/in/ gary-spencer-6994b542/

www.spencershaulageltd.co.uk www.lancmag.com

Hilary Barlow FMAAT A fresh approach to looking after small businesses • Taxation: VAT, Personal Income Tax, Corporation Tax,

With 20 years experience in haulage distribution and logistics throughout the whole of the UK. From small loads to bespoke deliveries with transport management, we strive to be your best sales representative who doesn’t wear a suit. Get in touch to discuss how we can solve and assist with transportation for your business.

E gary@spencershaulageltd.co.uk N 07540 069 206 F @www.spencershaulageltd.co.uk L www.linkedin.com/in/gary-spencer-6994b542/

www.spencershaulageltd.co.uk

www.lancmag.com

Capital Gains Tax • Services: Bookkeeping, Accounts Preparation, Management Accounting, Payroll, Construction Industry Scheme • Consultancy: Computerised Accountancy systems, Company Secretarial Services, Company Formation, Sole Trade set up

07803 207875 www.gingeraccounts.co.uk 28 Rowanwater, Garstang Road, St Michael’s, Preston, PR3 0TD Follow us on Instagram:

@gingeraccounts

Find us on Facebook:

Ginger Accounts

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 111

You Snooze, You Lose!

Better Quality Sleep - 7 Top Tips to Kill ‘Snooze’ and Boost Your Energy Everybody knows how it feels to wake up and having to drag yourself out of bed, drained and with no energy.

You might ache in places, feel grumpy and irritable and your brain is foggy.

IMAGINE waking up fully refreshed, re-charged with clear thinking, ready to take on the day with whatever it holds for you.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING SLEEP? Sleep is the time for your body to restore, build new cells and for your brain to memorize information and learn.

Sleep affects every type of tissue and system in the body – from the brain, heart, gut and lungs to metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease resistance.

Studies discovered that sleep also does ‘housekeeping’ for the brain by flushing out toxins that built up during waking hours.

There is much more, but I hope you can see already why sleep is so vitally important for our everyday being.

The quality of your sleep affects how you will feel, think, and perform throughout the day. 2 in 3 people in the UK say they don’t sleep enough and 1 in 3 suffer insomnia impacting the quality of life personally and costing the UK economy over £43billion this year (www.statista.com).

SLEEP IS VITAL FOR LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE Sleeping is a critical factor for your physical and mental health and is just as important as regular exercise and a healthy diet.

Research shows that lack of quality sleep has immediate negative effects on your hormones, sports performance and brain function and can lead to health challenges from brain fog, lack of concentration, anxiety, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, to hallucinations and psychosis and even death.

It also impacts your appearance (rapid ageing) through premature wrinkling and dark circles around your eyes.

Chronic lack of sleep may increase your levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which breaks down collagen, reducing your skin elasticity and making you look twice your age.

��

WHAT DISRUPTS OUR SLEEP? The main factors that disrupt good quality sleep are:  ‘Busy’ Sleep environment & Blue light  Lifestyle - Sub-optimal eating habits, unbalanced gut microbiome, exercise  Lack of resting time or interrupted sleep routine and Circadian Rhythms (e.g., shift working)  Emotional state of mind - Anxiety / Stress / Worries

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TOP TIPS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP

1. MAKE YOUR BEDROOM A SANCTUARY Your bedroom is the place to sleep or have sex. That’s it.

It’s not a cinema, office, storage room or a dining room for example.

Studies showed that people sleep better in a relaxing environment, i.e., when their bedroom is optimized for light, noise levels, temperature, and comfort.

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Consider the following for your bedroom:

6. BE MINDFUL OF GOOD EATING HABITS

 Use light colours of blue, light pink, white, beige and greens. Avoid purple, red, brown, or grey colours.

 Stop eating 3-4 hours before bedtime.

 Reduce external noise; play soothing music, rhythmical sounds.Research found nature sounds to help reduce night-time awakenings, improve sleep quality, and reduce the time taken to fall asleep

 Don’t consume caffeine late in the day as it is a stimulant.  Avoid drinking alcohol before bed, as it is a stimulant, reduces melatonin production and leads to disrupted sleep.

 Keep the temperature at 15-20°C

 Eat ‘sleep-friendly foods’ (see image)

 Diffuse essential oils. Choose Chamomile (sedative), Marjoram (antidepressant, anxiety relief), Clary Sage (calm, sedative), Frankincense (lowers body temperature, aids breathing), Ylang Ylang (tranquillity, peacefulness), Lavender (calm, relaxing, REM sleep)

 Take supplements that promote calmness and sleep like Magnesium, Vitamin D3 / B5 / B12 / E, Calcium, Iron, Zinc to balance nutritional deficits. These can help stabilise the Circadian Rhythm.

 Reduce artificial and bright light. Do increase bright light exposure during the day, as this helps produce Vitamin D and improve sleep quality and duration  Reduce blue light exposure from electronic screens, LED and fluorescent lights and stop using them at least 2hours before bedtime. They reduce the production of melatonin, your sleep hormone, and trick your body into thinking it’s daytime.  Switch off Wi-Fi; the waves interfere with your brain waves during sleep  Choose a comfortable mattress, duvet, and pillow.

2. REDUCE IRREGULAR OR LONG DAYTIME NAPS Naps should be maximum 20 minutes and before 4pm.

If you struggle with sleep, stop or shorten your naps.

3. CREATE BEDTIME ROUTINES  Try to sleep and wake at consistent times every day, including on the weekends. This helps to keep the Circadian Rhythms in sync, our ‘internal body clock’.

Circadian Rhythms influence our body temperature, metabolism and hormone release and control your timing of sleep so that you can wake up ‘automatically’ even without an alarm clock for example.  Create routine habits before going to bed. Your mind learns what is going to happen and will move into the relaxed state and ‘shut down’ mode automatically  Practice mindfulness and affirmations to fall asleep with your mind at peace.  Try relaxation techniques like hot baths, light yoga, reading or meditation 4. SLEEP WHEN YOU ARE REALLY TIRED If you are not asleep after 15mintues, get up, do something relaxing and try again when you are tired enough.

5. KEEP YOUR GUT HEALTHY Our Gut Microbiome produces over 70% of our hormones, including those that help us relax, overcome trauma, calm, and sleep and those that help us wake up refreshed, alert and raring to ‘get-up-and-go’. An unbalanced gut cannot produce these essential ‘helpers’ and will also trouble you with cravings, digestive issues, fertility problems and much more. (I will cover the Gut-Sleep-Axis in a future article). www.lancmag.com

7. EXERCISE REGULARLY BUT NOT BEFORE BED Exercise produces too much cortisol (stress /alert hormone) which can keep you awake I hope my tips help you get better rest at night for more energy during your day. Take one step at a time towards living your best life.  Ask me for a FREE Sleep eBook In my clinics, I combine the power of Science, Nutrition and Mindfulness to help you become the best version of yourself, with a series of transformational programmes, designed around you and your lifestyle.  Send me your questions/feedback  Book your no-obligation 20 minute Explore Call to find out how you can level up CONTACT: Julia Riewald – Success & Health Coaching N +44 (0)7902 214534 E Julia@percent-edge.com LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 113

GLENN TILBROOK

Plays Spring 2022 UK Tour Dates

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uch is the continuing work ethic of a fellow who’s never been far from the action since Squeeze made their recording bow with the Packet Of Three EP in 1977. Those humble three tracks led to such enduring pop classics as Take Me I’m Yours, Cool For Cats, Up The Junction, Another Nail In My Heart, Tempted, Labelled With Love, Black Coffee In Bed, Hourglass (this could go on for a while...), not to mention landmark albums like Argybargy, East Side Story and Some Fantastic Place.

Glenn Tilbrook has more than earned his place at pop’s top table as one of our most cherished singers, guitarists and songwriters, not to mention an in-demand and endlessly endearing live performer. But more than 40 years after he first answered an ad placed by Chris Difford looking for like-minded sorts to form the band that became the much-loved evergreen Squeeze, an ending is nowhere in sight.

Squeeze’s demise in 1998 (though not permanent) saw Glenn embark on a solo career that spawned the albums The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook (2001) and Transatlantic PingPong (2004), showcasing an ever-maturing songwriting talent. Arguably, though, Happy Ending is Glenn’s most personal work to date, a series of evocative portraits of time, people and places, that included writing and vocal contributions by his own children Leon and Wesley, in addition to old friends Simon Hanson (Fluffers/reunited Squeeze drummer) and Dennis Greaves (Nine Below Zero, also Glenn’s compatriot in the side project band The Cooperative).

Anyone who has witnessed Glenn on the live stage can attest to the properness of his doings, as it were. Armed with ready wit, raucous vibes and a shed load of grin-inducing great songs, there are few musicians able to connect with their audience on such an immediate and warm level. The ever burgeoning festival circuit is frequently enriched by Tilbrook the troubadour, whether he be leafing through the plentiful back catalogue of Squeeze or dashing off impromptu audience requests ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Tony Orlando & Dawn, and all points in-between.

TICKETS FOR THE GLENN TILBROOK – SPRING 2022 SHOWS ARE AVAILABLE FROM: Thursday 3rd March NUNEATON – Queen’s Hall Friday 4th March STAMFORD – Corn Exchange Saturday 5th March CHESTER – Live Rooms Thursday 10th March ILKLEY – King’s Hall Friday 11th March HOLMFIRTH - Picturedrome Saturday 12th March STOCKTON – Arc Sunday 13th March YORK - Crescent Wednesday 16th March LINCOLN – New Theatre Royal Thursday 17th March SOUTHPORT – Atkinson Friday 18th March WHITLEY BAY - Playhouse Saturday 19th March CASTLETON – The Devil’s Arse Cavern Wednesday 23rd March WINCHESTER – Theatre Royal Thursday 24th March BURY ST EDMUNDS - Apex Friday 25th March WOLVERHAMPTON / BILSTON – The Robin 2 Saturday 26th March BURY – The Met 114

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON GLENN TILBROOK, CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE / SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: D www.glenntilbrook.com/ F facebook.com/Glenn-Tilbrook -51414747045/ Ö glenntilbrook e glenntilbrook/ Y youtube.com/user/FluffersTV

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM www.thegigcartel.com/ Artists-profiles/ Glenn-Tilbrook.htm www.lancmag.com

THE ARENA

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Offer valid to 30/4/22

Combating Allergens in the Home this Spring

by Airborne Allergens Expert, Max Wiseberg

www.haymax.biz

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pring can be one of the worst times for airborne allergens in the home. We’re all still spending a majority of time indoors, where there are allergens such as dust and pet to contend with and, if you’re one of the unlucky people whose hay fever is triggered by tree pollen, birch, hazel, willow, alder and elm trees are all wafting out their pollen at the same time.

The combined effects can be overwhelming however there are things you can do to help you cope: Many people may be unaware of just how many airborne allergens are around in their home in spring – they could be breathing in a potent combination of pollen, dust and pet allergen particles. Avoiding the allergen is always key with any allergy, whatever it might be, so reducing the amount of pollen, dust and pet allergens around your home will help reduce or even eliminate your symptoms.

If you own a pet then ensure that it is well groomed and shampooed as much as possible to remove pet allergens and pollen particles.

Use HayMax, an organic, drug-free allergen barrier balm that can be applied to the nostrils and around the bones of the eyes in the morning, throughout the day and at night and is proven to trap over a third of pollen, as well as dust and pet allergens, before they enter the body[1]. Less allergen, less reaction.

Wash your face as soon as you get indoors on high pollen count days. This will wash away allergens so that they can’t cause a reaction. Shower at night before sleeping to remove pollen particles, dust and pet allergens from your hair and body.

Keep windows and doors closed to prevent the tree pollen blowing in. Instead, use an air conditioner, preferably with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particle Arresting) filter to capture the pollen particles and to cool and circulate the air.

Vacuum your home regularly, especially beds and fabrics to remove pollen, dust and pet allergens. Wash bedding very regularly to remove allergens. Damp dust surfaces so that allergens are not redistributed into the air.

Store cuddly toys in a cupboard to prevent pollen, pet and dust particles settling on them.

Dry clothes indoors, rather than on a clothes line, to prevent pollen particles being blown onto the clothes by the outside wind.

REFERENCE: [1] Chief Investigator: Professor Roy Kennedy, Principal Investigator: Louise Robertson, Researcher: Dr Mary Lewis, National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit, 1st February 2012.

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We are passionate about flowers, natural ingredients, and wellbeing by offering a collection of flower-based products that is close to nature.

We are a manufacturer of craft-brewed soft drinks, cordials and health shots from flowers, fruit and spices for people who want to stay healthy and feel amazing.

Our traditional craft-brewing process extracts huge amounts of nutrition and flavour from organic flowers, fruits, and spices, to create products that positively impact wellbeing and taste naturally delicious. All products are manufactured in our own SALSA approved facility in Burnley, and we offer third-party co-packing for other brands too.

All products made at our site are of the highest quality and all ingredients are completely natural. No preservatives, artificial colours or flavours are used, and we source raw materials from organically certified suppliers. All our drinks are vegan approved, naturally gluten free, naturally caffeine free’

D calyxdrinks.co.uk | E hello@calyxdrinks.co.uk | FIT calyxdrinks

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip

Stopping smoking

Approximately 6.9 million people over the age of 18 are smokers. Smoking harms almost all organs in the body, including your heart and blood vessels, increasing your risk of having a heart attack.

Quitting smoking can be extremely difficult, but it is an important step in reducing your risk of heart disease.

We provide some tips to help you stop smoking: Decide when to stop and make a plan The sooner you decide to quit smoking, the better. Choose a date within the next two weeks. If you leave it too long, you will give yourself time to change your mind. Identify triggers that make you want to smoke and work out how you will overcome them in advance. For example, if you usually smoke during your break at work, plan to go for a walk instead. Notify friends and family of your intention to stop smoking and ask for their support.

Manage your cravings Cigarette cravings are intense urges to smoke and they can last for 5 minutes.

Quitting smoking requires a huge amount of willpower. When you get a craving, try to distract yourself for 5-10 minutes until it passes. You could try planning a healthy dinner or plan a route for a cycle ride or a walk. Once the craving has passed, you can give yourself a pat on the back.

Get support Getting support to stop smoking can increase your chances of success. You could try contacting your local Stop Smoking Services or chatting to your GP. You could also seek advice from a friend or family member who has successfully stopped smoking, or from someone who is also trying to quit. Perhaps consider using a stop smoking aid, such as nicotine patches, gums, lozenges or nasal sprays to help stop the cravings.

As well as reducing your risk of developing serious diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, quitting smoking can also help to improve your mental wellbeing.

If you’d like to support Heart Research UK’s vital work into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease, please visit www.heartresearch.org.uk for inspiration on how you could help.

Why not reduce your risk by choosing a date to quit smoking today?

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at

www.heartresearch.org.uk/health-tips

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-recipes-2

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers: heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-cookbook

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive Officer at Heart Research UK

Northern Health Science Alliance responds to release of Government’s Levelling Up White Paper Responding to the release of the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper, Dr Séamus O’Neill, Chief Executive of the Northern Health Science Alliance, commented:

LEVELLING -UP -

“We welcome the Government’s commitment to break the cycle of underinvestment in the North, particularly its plans to increase research and development funding outside of London and the South East and to raise healthy life expectancy.

“The North suffers the worst health inequalities in the country – primarily due to the long-term effects of economic disadvantage at population level. Although the levelling up white paper is a positive step in the right direction, more needs to be done.

“In the North we are currently missing out on billions in R&D funding every year due to a lack of investment. Our region should be supported to become globally competitive when it comes to research, industry and clinical assets in the life sciences and other high value sectors. We have excellent opportunities for growth and job creation in a wide variety of Life Sciences fields in the North, but investment must be sustained to build back better, level up and make the UK a global scientific superpower.

“The innovation hub in Manchester is much deserved and needed but if we are to unleash the potential of the entire North of England in this space the funding mentioned falls short of what is needed.

“If the Government is truly committed to levelling up R&D funding in the North, we need to see investment at scale and to join up activity across all areas of excellence in the region where we have a critical mass of research expertise and companies that can create the jobs that are needed.

“There are no easy answers or quick solutions, but we must act now to break the cycle of underinvestment and give the people of the North an even break. The levelling up white paper is a positive move forward, but we need more clarity and sufficient funding. Only a long-term improvement in the economy of the North and by extension, the wider determinants of health, can improve life chances and address the unfairness and injustice experienced by too many people for far too long.”

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£10,000 Grant Available for Healthy Heart Community Projects Across the UK organisations, including charities, community groups, voluntary organisations and sports groups.

The opening and closing dates for applications will be staggered across the regions, with Wales being the first to open on the 31st of January.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive of Heart Research UK, said: “Through the Healthy Heart grants we hope to encourage people across the whole country to make healthier choices and give them practical help to do so.

These grants are available to ensure everyone has the chance to benefit from a healthier, happier and longer life.

“We’re looking for new and innovative projects that really have an impact, especially if they aim to improve the health of at risk or hard to reach communities.”

Community groups that are helping local people look after their hearts can now apply for a £10,000 grant from national charity Heart Research UK.

Since 2001, Heart Research UK has awarded over 300 community grants, directly benefiting the hearts of over 70,000 individuals and countless wider community and family members across all regions of the UK.

One grant will be awarded to each of the 12 regions in the UK, with the first five grants of the year being funded by instore donations from Subway® restaurants across the country.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the world’s biggest killers, and the aim of the Healthy Heart grants is to work preventatively within communities that may be marginalised or not have much access to health resources.

T

he grants are available for new and innovative projects that promote healthy hearts and are aiming to reduce the risk of heart disease in their community.

Projects should deliver health initiatives such as cooking skills, healthy eating and accessible exercise and should promote mental wellbeing and encourage people to be active. The grants are only available to not-for-profit

If you’d like to support Heart Research UK’s vital work into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease, please visit www.heartresearch.org.uk for inspiration on how you could help.

To find out which region you’re in and the full list of opening and closing dates for applications, please visit: heartresearch.org.uk/ healthy-heart-grants For more information, please email: healthyheartgrants@ heartresearch.org.uk

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive Officer at Heart Research UK

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The life of Di

A monthly column by Di Wade, the author of ‘A Year In Verse’

TCHAIKOVSKY’S FINEST

W

ell so much for New Year, which could’ve given third-hand boots a run for their money: And there was me imagining brand spanking newness to the tune of a whole new world - like in Aladdin. OK so not really. Moreover, my parents and I DID see a couple of people in the sea on New Year’s Day, by way of a first: The popularity of wild-swimming notwithstanding, I actually thought they were joking at first, especially since it seemed this pair were less interested in sampling Arctic breaststroking than photographing themselves immersed in a frigid Irish sea. It was enough to give one hypothermia just looking at them, and hastened our steps to Bispham Kitchen for a warming pot of tea and toasted teacake Other than this diversion however, the New Year was indistinguishable from its predecessor. I continued coughing through January, till, approaching a trip to see the Nutcracker with a friend, I found myself facing a Clash dilemma, I.E. should I stay or should I go. We’d

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booked for the ballet last August, (like you do), when we also hadn’t envisaged still needing to wear facemasks. However, this was nothing compared to my current quandary. If I attended the performance, my friend would likely hear not a note, by which she could hardly be expected to be impressed. If on the other hand I stayed home with my hot water bottle, and kindly kept my cough to myself, I’d be letting her down, leaving her in the lurch, going back on an arrangement,--all the kind of things I abhor,--and she couldn’t be expected to be wild about that either: There’ve probably been international treaties struck in less time than I spent deliberating over the matter, and in the end, the decision was effectively made for me. The afternoon before the show saw me coughing so violently that I could only assume anyone in the vicinity must lynch me for making such a row amid Tchaikovsky’s finest, even if they hadn’t sold their house to go and see it.

So that was that, nut finally cracked.

Sod’s law seemed to dictate that I’d

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be abruptly relieved of my cough the very next day. However, it continued unabated – through the pigeonfancying, plus new series’ of Dancing On Ice, and The Bay, and I swear was responsible for my remembering Burns Night so late that I had to make do with vegetarian haggis.

Thankfully however, it did finally cease, and luckily in time for my sister and family coming up, all the more so since this was effectively our Christmas, my brother-in-law having tested positive for Covid a week before Christmas Eve, meaning they all had to stay in London, my brotherin-law in the broom cupboard.

These were certainly interesting times.

Festive celebrations in January? Who knew. However, apart from a lovely weekend, (even if my youngest nephew did trounce us all at Scrabble), here at last was something positively new for the so-called new year. Let’s have more of the same, the more the merrier, with knobs on, I’m sure we all deserve it.

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Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip

Forming Good Habits

Many of us will be considering how we can maintain the heart-healthy habits we started at the beginning of 2022.

time as I would like, but I can still make something quick and healthy”.

Staying motivated can be particularly challenging, especially during the winter months, however research indicates that if we are able to maintain a habit for around 66 days, it can turn from a short-term to a long-term habit.

Setting reminders or cues for ourselves can increase our chances of success. Try taking out your sports kit the night before a run or setting an alarm to move once per hour.

To help you reach your goals over the coming months, here are some tips for increasing success: Set a Goal One of the most important things we can do for our motivation is set a goal. It helps us to focus on the future and gives us something to aim for. Remember to make your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART).

Set Cues

Track your Progress Tracking progress can be a great way to see the improvements we make, which can increase our motivation to continue.

You can use apps such as MyFitnessPal, or even a simple spreadsheet to track weight loss, running times or the number of vegetables you eat per day!

Pair Up Forming a habit with a friend or family member can be a great way to increase accountability and share success!

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at

www.heartresearch.org.uk/health-tips

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-recipes-2

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers: heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-cookbook

Challenge Your Thinking Next time you find yourself shying away from a positive habit such as exercising or cooking a healthy meal, consider if the thoughts you are having about the task are logical or helpful. For example, instead of saying “I don’t have time to cook”, you may say to yourself “I don’t have as much

If you’d like to support Heart Research UK’s vital work into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease, please visit www.heartresearch.org.uk for inspiration on how you could help.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive Officer at Heart Research UK

New homes across Lancashire How very Redrow We pride ourselves in building quality homes throughout Lancashire

Images typical of Redrow homes. Details correct at time of going to press.

Discover more about the new homes in Lancashire

Visit: redrow.co.uk/lancashire

Redrow strive to create environments that will stand the test of time, where people can appreciate and enjoy their surroundings. We create homes that are designed for the way we live today, yet are rooted in the time-honoured traditions of craftsmanship and care.

MANISH’S ZODIAC PREDICTIONS

M

anish Kumar Arora is a renowned KP Astrologer, Numerologist, Tarot Reader & Vastu Consultant. He has been rendering professional advice to clients with a reasonable degree of success. He has been conferred with the title of ‘Jyotish Varahamihir’ and ‘Jyotish Aryabhatt.’ He has been writing monthly astrological columns for many international magazines.

ARIES: (21 Mar - 19 Apr) You want mental stimulation, and you’re easier to be around because you say the right things and try to get along well with people.

You’re more defensive of your beliefs, but you need to be more open to what other people believe. It’s also a time when inspiration comes suddenly, and you could pick up new, and possibly radically different, interests or goals at this time. If single, you can meet someone through a sibling, neighbour, or in your community.

If you’re in a relationship, you can have a mental rapport with your partner.

Favourable Dates: April 3, 10, 12, 21, 28, 30 Favourable Colours: Red & Blue

LEO (23 Jul - 22 Aug) This can be a good time to focus on your finances, and you want to increase your financial security.

This is a great time to do something that benefits both you and someone else or to deal with other people’s money (debts, loans, inheritances, taxes, joint finances).

You can begin to transform yourselves, your lives, and the world for the better, emerging from the ashes. With a romantic partner, you can connect better with one another, compromise and talk of peace, and work together over common bonds and interests.

Favourable Dates: April 3, 8, 12, 17, 21, 25 Favourable Colours: Blue & Yellow

SAGITTARIUS (22 Nov - 21 Dec) This is a time for making the decision to either embrace or let go of a situation, relationship, or powerful feeling instead of staying on the fence. There could be a stronger desire to get your work “just right.” Perfectionism can be a driving force and powerful motivator but avoid taking this to counterproductive lengths!

You are magnetic now and could stand out for your services or the work you do. It’s a very fertile time for your work and, for some, relationships blossom through the pursuit of your daily routines.

Favourable Dates: April 7, 9, 16, 18, 25, 27 Favourable Colours: Yellow & Grey

TAURUS (20 Apr - 20 May) You want to be in comfortable environments and with people who make you feel supported.

The ideas you come up with tend to be more traditional than unconventional. You don’t feel much like working hard, but if you actually force yourself to, you can get more work done in less time. You have an easy time processing the emotions of a situation, and recalling the emotions you felt in past experiences, but have a hard time with facts, figures, or being objective. You are beginning a period best used for emotional renewal, tying up loose ends, and laying low.

Favourable Dates: April 6, 8, 15, 17, 24, 26 Favourable Colours: Yellow & Blue

VIRGO (23 Aug - 22 Sept) You want to have new experiences, and open yourself up to what you can do outside of your comfort zone. You may come across as more rebellious, independent, and futuristic.

You’re driven to stick with something until you’re sure it’s done. You would be hardworking and focused. You want a physical connection in love this month, especially if in a relationship, and are more passionate.

If single, you want that passion in your life, but may not want to do much to get it, wanting it to come to you instead.

Favourable Dates: April 2, 7, 11, 16, 20, 25 Favourable Colours: Blue & Grey

CAPRICORN (22 Dec - 19 Jan) You feel a great need to push your personal interests and projects forward, it’s a strong time to do so. There is an increasing focus on the building and development of your projects, plans, and ideas, as well as income, means, and resources. This can also be a time when support — emotional or material, can more readily come to you, even though you are more independent than you are usually. It’s a perfect time for making connections, contributing, sharing your ideas, and finding inspiration for new goals and projects.

Favourable Dates: April 2, 3, 11, 12, 20, 21 Favourable Colours: Yellow & Red

LIBRA (23 Sept - 22 Oct) You can be more tactful, diplomatic, and try to get everyone to get along. In love, you want a mental connection, and if in a relationship, you try to talk more with your partner and understand what they’re thinking. If single, you want someone who can keep your interest, seems intelligent and has a breadth of knowledge, and can be good in social situations. You’re capable of doing whatever it is you set your mind to, so make the most of that. You may come across as more mature, grounded, or responsible.

Favourable Dates: April 4, 8, 13, 17, 22, 26 Favourable Colours: Blue & Green

AQUARIUS (20 Jan - 18 Feb) This month gives your professional or public life a further boost. You seem to know exactly when to make the right move — when to go all in and when to hold back and wait for things to come to you. You’ll find that moving outside of your normal bounds and routines improves your opportunities. You have a great hunger for new experiences and knowledge that feed your mind and spirit. This is a time for demonstrating your commitment, making plans, firming up existing ones, and showing confidence in both yourself and the people around you.

Favourable Dates: April 1, 2, 10, 11, 19, 20 Favourable Colours: Blue & Red

GEMINI (21 May - 20 Jun) You may decide to pursue something new, and feel good about it. You can come across as prouder, warmer, and friendlier.

You want to get attention and praise from people, and you feel that you deserve to be in the limelight. You are likely to feel the need to assert your independence, with those in authority, family, and/or a partner. You have a stronger desire to define your relationships or to come to a deeper understanding and possibly commitment. Around the 22nd, you might experience a disruption that sets you on a new course altogether.

Favourable Dates: April 6, 8, 15, 17, 24, 26 Favourable Colours: Yellow & Blue CANCER (21 Jun - 22 Jul) You feel most like yourself when you’re engaging your senses. You want to indulge, relax, and enjoy the moment.

You feel more confident and secure, and this helps you get your emotions under control, so you’re calm and even no matter what’s happening. Your passions increase, and if single, you could be quite grumpy without an outlet. If in a relationship, you want to be more intimate with your partner, and while they may appreciate your passion, they may be irritated by your possessiveness and jealousy.

Favourable Dates: April 2, 5, 11, 14, 20, 23 Favourable Colours: Red & Green

SCORPIO (23 Oct - 21 Nov) You come up with lots of ideas and plans on your own, but may not feel like sharing them with anyone just yet. You can feel most like yourself when you’re in the background, out of the spotlight, and not being bothered by anyone. Other people can be draining, and you have more energy on your own. You can feel more like your true self and are willing to go outside of the box if it means getting what you want. You can benefit from being a rebel or from being more eccentric.

Favourable Dates: April 2, 6, 11, 15, 20, 24 Favourable Colours: Purple & Green

PISCES (19 Feb - 20 Mar) You can be especially motivated to get going on a creative project, hobby, or even a relationship. This is certainly a good time to bring a more lively spirit to a relationship. Connections, or reconnections, can be made now and can be quite rewarding, and in some cases, profitable. Your heart may be ruling your head now, but you have plenty of opportunities to channel this energy meaningfully. You’re likely to come up with exciting and creative ways to improve your home or to enjoy family.

Favourable Dates: April 1, 7, 10, 16, 19, 25 Favourable Colours: Yellow & Red

Manish Kumar Arora, 91-9871062000 | K.P. Astrologer, Numerologist, Tarot Card Reader & Vastu Consultant F www.facebook.com/manishastroconsultant | E manish@manishastrologer.com

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Rolled Leg of Lamb with Prune and Pine Nut Stuffing Recipe Development for Del Monte® cooled stuffing over it, leaving a gap at one shorter end and along both longer ends – the stuffing will fill up these gaps as you roll the meat. Press the stuffing into the slashes and crevices in the meat. Now roll up the meat as snugly as you can, working towards the shorter end with the gap. It doesn’t need to be super tidy! Use the pieces of string to secure the meat firmly in its rolled-up shape. Scoop up any stuffing that escapes and push back into the joint. Weigh the joint now.

5. Transfer the meat to a roasting dish.

Brush it all over with oil and season well with salt and pepper. Put the roughly chopped onion and celery around the meat, and the bay leaf if using, and pour 200ml water into the tin. Calculate the cooking time at 20 minutes per 500g stuffed weight (you should get a total between 1¼ and 1½ hours). Put the meat in for this time.

DAIRY-FREE | SERVES 6-8 PREP TIME: 45 minutes COOK TIME: 1½ - 1¾ hours

6. If you have a probe thermometer: the meat should reach around 60C in its thickest part for medium, and around 70C for medium-well done.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE STUFFING:

Method:

• 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

1. To make the stuffing, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry, stirring, for about 10 minutes, until golden. Add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes more then take off the heat. Add the thyme, prunes and pine nuts and season well with salt and pepper. Leave to cool completely.

• 1 onion, finely chopped • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • About 1 tbsp thyme leaves • 1 can (410g) Del Monte® Prunes in Juice, drained, de-stoned and roughly chopped • 50g pine nuts, lightly toasted

2. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.

• Salt and pepper

3. Open out the lamb on a board, skin side down. Use a sharp knife to make some deep slashes into the thicker parts of the meat, then lay a sheet of parchment over the meat and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to beat it (just a bit – no need to go mad!) into a reasonably even, roughly rectangular shape. Discard the parchment.

INGREDIENTS: • 1 boned leg of lamb, 1.5-2kg • Salt and pepper • Olive or vegetable oil • 1 onion, roughly chopped • 1 stem celery, roughly chopped • 1 bay leaf (optional) • 1 rounded tbsp plain flour • 750ml hot chicken or lamb stock

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4. Have ready 3-4 long pieces of cotton string. Season the surface of the meat with salt and pepper, then spread the

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7. Transfer the meat to a warmed dish and cover with foil while you make the gravy.

8. Tip all the juices from the roasting tin, along with the veg and any stray bits of stuffing, into a saucepan over a medium heat. Sprinkle over the flour and whisk it in. Let the juices come to a simmer and thicken. Gradually whisk in the hot stock and any more juices that have seeped from the resting lamb joint, and bring to a simmer again. Cook for a couple of minutes then taste the gravy.

If it seems good, add salt and pepper to taste, pass it through a sieve into a warmed jug, squishing the veg in the sieve to extract maximum flavour, and it’s ready to serve. If you feel the flavour could be a little more intense, simmer the gravy down for a bit longer until it tastes good to you before seasoning and sieving.

9. Serve the lamb in thick slices with the gravy, new potatoes and spring veg.

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Hearts for Homes was established in 2016 when our shop first opened in the lovely town of Ramsbottom. The shop, spread over two floors, is full of gifts, home decor and kitchenware & is an official stockist of Frenchic paint. We are open every day and stock exciting brands including Agnes + Cat, Sass & Belle, Rex London, Glover & Smith Pewter, Eric Jackson prints & much more…

M 47 Bridge Street, Ramsbottom BL0 9AD | F @heartsforhomesuk | I heartsforhomes N 01706 560462 | E kerry@heartsforhomes.co.uk | D www.heartsforhomes.co.uk

Peach, Honey and Rosemary Cobbler Recipe Development for Del Monte®

VEGETARIAN SERVES 4-6 | PREP TIME: 25 minutes COOK TIME: 30 minutes INGREDIENTS:

Method:

• A little soft butter

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5. Butter a 1.5 litre-capacity oven dish.

• 2 cans (415g) Del Monte® Peach Slices in Juice • 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary (or use grated orange or lemon zest) • 2 tbsp runny honey INGREDIENTS FOR THE COBBLER TOPPING: • 100g self-raising wholemeal flour • Pinch of salt • 35g cold butter, diced • 35g caster sugar • 50g ground almonds • 1 medium egg • 4 tbsp milk

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2. Drain the peach slices, reserving 2 tbsp of the juice. Arrange the peaches in the dish, scatter with the rosemary, then trickle over the reserved juice and the honey.

3. To make the topping, put the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, or a food processor, add the butter and rub it in with your fingers, or process until the mix resembles crumbs. Stir or blitz in the sugar and ground almonds. Beat the egg and the milk together then stir into the flour mix to make a soft, sticky dough.

4. Drop the dough over the fruit in small spoonfuls – the topping shouldn’t cover all the fruit.

5. Bake for 30 minutes until the ‘cobbles’ are cooked through (test one with a skewer and check it comes out ‘clean’). Serve hot, warm or cold with double cream.

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Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip

Establishing Positive Eating Habits for Children

Childhood is a particularly important period for forming positive behaviours related to nutrition. Children who learn and practise positive eating habits from an early age are likely to make healthy choices when they grow up.

Here we explore some ways to help promote positive eating behaviours: Stick to regular meal and snack times • A regular eating pattern forms the basis of a healthy, balanced diet.

• Children love routine. Providing three meals, and two or three snacks a day is ideal for children.

• Keeping mealtimes regular creates predictability and encourages a healthy appetite.

Set a good example • In the long term, children and young adults are most likely to learn from how we behave rather than what we tell them. The more we can be a role model about healthy eating habits the better!

choosing to eat a wide variety of foods, or by ensuring you drink plenty of water.

Eat together at the table

and washing fruit and vegetables. Older children could get involved with preparing the shopping list, chopping, and peeling!

• Wherever possible allow your children to eat with you. Family mealtimes offer an excellent opportunity to teach children good eating patterns as well as a time to connect and talk to each other.

We hope this has given you some ideas to try with your family!

• Make the meal table relaxed and enjoyable, free of pressure or tension and minimise distractions by turning off the television and keeping phones away.

www.heartresearch.org.uk/health-tips

Get them involved!

• Children love to get involved in new things, so why not get them to help in the kitchen? Cooking with kids and getting them involved in the meal preparation process may encourage them to try new healthy foods.

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-recipes-2

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers: heartresearch.org.uk/ heart-research-uk-cookbook

• Small children could be responsible for setting the table, any mixing or stirring

• Set an example to your child by showing them how you make healthy choices and how you practice positive eating habits; this could be something as simple as

If you’d like to support Heart Research UK’s vital work into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease, please visit www.heartresearch.org.uk for inspiration on how you could help.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive Officer at Heart Research UK

For Everything Paul Smith

Now Including Sunglasses

By Paul Cusimano, Joseph Clothing, Lancaster

The curtain gently rises to reveal a new world. A world in which nearly everyone has been affected, in different ways and to varying degrees.

Although free, we each must determine how cautiously we move forward There’s no point debating the rights and wrongs, the could ofs and should ofs, but no doubt they will be for many years to come. Me, I’ve always been a ‘glass half full’ person. Never lived recklessly but won’t wrap myself up in cotton wool either. I felt, and hoped, that twenty twenty-two was going to be the beginning of the end, the two years we all want to forget, but will never.

A

nother January Lockdown that most of us feared, never happened. Instead, the restrictions we have been subjected to, have been gradually lifted. It still feels surreal. It’s still not like it was. I think we are all shell shocked and are having to set our new ‘normals’, gradually. We need coaxing out of ourselves again.

Lancaster Chinese New Year. Lancaster, City of Culture.

To that end, I want to coax you. Not just to visit our City and its history, culture, architecture, cafés, restaurants, bars, shops and hospitality but with some incredible events. Let us entertain you, as the saying goes.

The first has already been and gone, Lancaster Chinese New Year. The celebrations were the largest in Lancaster’s history. On Saturday the fifth of February there was a Chinese variety show held at Lancaster Grand (a ticketed event). Over two hours of music, dance, singing and beautiful traditional costumes. The audience left the theatre totally enamoured by the experience.

On the Sunday (sixth), there was the traditional parade around the City centre streets with the customary lions and dragons. There was live entertainment in Market Square along with stalls selling both Chinese food and goods. The streets and many of the City’s businesses were filled with colourful displays and Chinese lanterns.

Sorry if you missed it, well Percy and Josh (Popber) have promised an even bigger event for 2023.

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Lancaster Chinese New Year. Fun for everyone.

You cannot say that we are not issuing you with plenty of notice. May is the month when Lancaster is the place to be. For many of the events you may wish to consider stopping over in one of the many fantastic boutique style rooms found in the City (see www.totallylocallancaster. co.uk for places to stay).

Highest Point Festival (12-14 May) As the name suggests, this event is held in fifty four acres of stunning park located at the highest point of Lancaster. www.lancmag.com

Lancaster Festa Italia (21-29 May) As the joint biggest single day event in Lancaster’s calendar, we have not only decided to take over the running of the event ourselves (Bruno, Michelle and I – ‘Totally Local Lancaster’) but we have decided to expand it, due to popular demand…

Highest Point Festival (main stage).

Ashton Memorial watches over Highest Point.

There will be live Opera at Lancaster Castle (ticketed) on the twenty first and second. This launches the event.

Many of the City’s bars and restaurants will be offering Italian food and drinks (as ‘specials’) during the period of Festa. We are planning to have live entertainment on the Monday (23rd) and Tuesday (24th) at The Grand Theatre.

On the Thursday (26th), and in collaboration with the organisers of the ‘Lancaster Music Festival’, there will be live performances in some of the bars and restaurants.

The Friday (27th) sees the Winner of the Totally Local Lancaster ‘Best Italian Actor’ in an Italian series screened in the UK, flying in to be presented with the award.

The winner will be chosen from either Montalbano, Gamorrah or The Young Montalbano.

There will be a screening of one of their films/episodes as well as opportunities to meet and chat with them over the weekend (all details to be confirmed nearer the time, see ‘Lancaster Festa Italia’ fb page).

Sunday the 29th, the Main Day. The Gran Finale. There will be more of everything; music, dancing, supercars, motorbikes, Italian street food, traditional markets stalls, street acts, roaming Roman soldiers (not forgetting our wandering waiters), Gladiator re-enactments and even cooking demonstrations.

James at Highest Point 2021.

With views over the City and across Morecambe Bay to the hills of the south Lake District, Williamson’s Park is an incredible venue. During the summer, ‘The Dukes Theatre’ also put on live shows in the park, often moving the audience around it using different areas for different scenes.

The main stage is located opposite the Ashton Memorial with usually two to three supporting stages located around the park. Although a ticketed event, the prices are very reasonable and sell out pretty quickly. Last year saw headliners such as James, Rag’n’Bone Man, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Rudimental, The Lightening Seeds and Rick Astley, to name but a few.

Lancaster Festa Italia - Everyone’s joining in.

Cars, Scooters, Motorcycles - if it’s Italian, we’ll have it.

Some of those already confirmed for this year are Richard Ashcroft, Kaiser Chiefs, Shy fx, Jax Jones and Clean Bandit (who also performed last year). A wonderful few days of superb entertainment, in what has to be, one of the best outdoor venues in the country (see www.highestpoint.co.uk for more information and ticket sales). www.lancmag.com

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Dino Day (16 & 17 July) To date, this has been a single day Event but due to its popularity, it is going to be held over the full weekend. Children absolutely love it. Realistic dinosaurs roaming around the City centre, baby Dino meet and greets, a competition trail and in the City’s Museum, there will be a plethora of palaeontology pursuits to both entertain and educate the young ones.

Lancaster Festa Italia.

Bennett’s MV Agusta dealership will be present.

We are proud to announce that this year Lancaster Castle will also be involved on the Sunday. Outside the Castle there will be more vehicles on display (Alfa Romeo’s, FIAT’s, Lancia’s and Abarth’s), whilst inside there will be artisan stalls, the Bambino Zone as well as a complete array of children’s activities and entertainment.

Ci vediamo li.

Lancaster Pride (26 June) Another Event that brings colour and flamboyancy to Lancaster. An Event that has steadily grown and has been really embraced by the businesses. The Pride parade marches around the City finishing in Dalton Square, where there will be stalls and live entertainment. Many of the bars also join in to support and promote the Event.

Lancaster Grand Prix (17 July) Following last year’s highly successful round of the National Road Series, supported by British Cycling, the event will not only return but will see the addition of the Women’s race (women’s am, men’s pm). Williamson’s Park will again host the event (start/finish) with the race itself being battled out over multiple laps through the Trough of Bowland. A physically demanding, yet beautiful, course.

Lancaster Jazz Festival (9-11 September) A firm favourite of the locals. Just chill away the weekend with great beer (or drink of your choice), fantastic music and a superb choice of venues. It is as simple as that. Come enjoy and make new friends.

Lancaster Jazz Festival.

Lancaster Music Festival (13 – 16 October) This is definitely one that rocks the City. Up until 2019, the multi-award-winning Music Festival was hosted in most of the bars and outside spaces in the City, but in 2021 (2020 was cancelled) musicians would pop up and perform in some of the shops also.

This is another Event for which you might consider staying over for a couple of nights.

Lancaster Grand Prix - One gruelling course. Incredible athletes.

Lancaster Music Festival. What a venue, Lancaster Castle.

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Light Up Lancaster (4 & 5 November) Lighting displays all around the City. Visual displays that will mesmerise you, and the children, projected on, and in, some of the iconic buildings, like the Judges Lodgings, City Museum, inside Lancaster Castle as well as other countless buildings.

You will find illuminated art in shop windows, creatively lit passages and Squares. The Event closes with a spectacular fireworks display that is visible from almost anywhere in Lancaster and surrounding district.

Light Up Lancater. Welcome to Lancaster.

Lancaster Christmas Light Switch On (27 November) Another family favourite and one that launches the festive period. The proceedings start with the annual ‘Santa Dash’ in aid of the local CancerCare. Seeing adults, children and even dogs wearing Santa outfits, running the two different length courses is wonderful. A few take the race seriously, but for most it’s just great fun.

Once everyone has had chance to catch their breath, the stage show begins. Live music and entertainment until around 8pm, only stopping for the official lights switch on which is shortly after 5pm.

Light Up Lancaster Finale.

Lancaster Christmas Light Switch On. Always pulls a huge crowd.

Light Up Lancaster in The Priory Church.

Light Up Lancaster in The Priory Church.

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These are just some of the larger scale Events.

Particularly through the summer months, there are plenty of other smaller Events scheduled, including a few new ones that are just being finalised. Then there are the ‘Plays in the Park’, in which actors the likes of Andy Serkis have performed in.

Lancaster is small, compact and punches well above its size. Just goes to show, size doesn’t matter. In fact, I feel that these are real strengths for Lancaster, as everything is so accessible. Any business is within a five minute walk from one to another, including the stunning Lancaster Castle. From Lancaster Castle to the Ashton Memorial in Williamsons Park, is just over a mile.

You don’t want to drive. Lancaster railway station is located in the City centre. You’ve no excuses. Hope to see you soon.

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Balance Counselling and Coaching Ltd

PUT YOUR LIFE IN BALANCE

By Kathryn Taylor

In life, there are many times when we can be our own worse enemy when we let our negative thoughts and emotions hijack us. This is never intentional but the impact on our life and mental wellbeing can be totally overwhelming.

T

hey can prevent us from functioning on a daily basis and if left unchecked can immobilise us and prevent us from addressing the underlying issues.

It is natural for us to focus on the negatives but the impact it can have on us if we don’t realise this is what we are doing, impacts our ability to move forward and process situations and can leave us feeling trapped and at times overwhelmed.

The First step First, you need to recognise and acknowledge that this is what you are doing.

This can be done in several ways a couple of which I have detailed below: 1. Ask people you trust to be honest with your family/friends/colleagues, whether they recognise that when you talk about situations in your life do you talk negatively about yourself. Do they recognise that you use phrases like those above.

The thoughts it can generate include statements like the below:

2. Think about the situation that is causing you an issue and do a brain dump writing down exactly what your self-talk says. Then when you have finished read through what you have written and identify the negative thoughts you are having about the event.

Nothing ever goes right for me

Taking action

Everyone is against me I’m not good enough

Once you have identified the negative thoughts you are having then you can start to examine them in more detail:

• Are you mind reading – this is when you think you know what someone else feels or thinks but have no evidence to support it?

• Are they factual? What is your evidence?

• What are the actual facts?

• How can you find out the facts?

• What emotion am I feeling and why?

When you have all the facts down you can start to ask yourself: • What would you like to be thinking and feeling about this?

• What is in your control to change?

• What can you do differently?

• Who do you need to include to support you to take action?

• Knowing what I now know is there a different way to view the situation?

All my colleagues think I’m not up to this job It’s all my fault There is nothing I can do to change this situation Whilst it isn’t something you can change overnight there are things that you can do that will help you address your thoughts and start to move forward and change the things in your life that you are not happy with and over time cement new thought patterns that allow you to be open to different options in life.

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This enables you to start to form an action plan to enable you to change the way you think and feel about the situation you are in. When making your action plan think about the steps you need to take and break them down into manageable parts.

Then put your plan into action.

Focus your attention on the positives We can retrain our brain to be more focused on the positives in our life.

We can do this by taking daily steps to enable us to start looking for all the positive things in our life’s:

b. Diarise 15 minutes at the end of each work week to note down everything you have achieved that week.

The purpose of this is to get you to pause and recognise your achievements for that week and pause to recognise them. This has several benefits • It allows you to focus on the positives in recognising what has gone well • If you are having a bad day/week it reminds you of everything you have achieved.

• When preparing for your reviews it can be used to remind you of everything you have achieved. This is especially useful for annual reviews as we often forget to include things especially if they are from the start of the review period.

• When you update your CV then you have a record of your achievements to choose from • When you decide to apply for a new role/go for promotion it gives you multiple options to demonstrate your competencies.

1. Create your own positivity journal. a. Get yourself a new notebook that you will only use for this purpose b. Every day write down a minimum of three positive things that have happened that day. These can be small things, like getting out of bed on time, enjoying a coffee with friends, having a comfortable bed etc.

The purpose is just to get you to start noticing all the positive things in your life. This has two benefits to it.

• You are starting to retrain your brain • you are having a bad day and feel everything is going wrong you can read back through it and remind yourself of all the positives in your life.

2. Create an achievement log – This is aimed at work situations but can be used across all areas of your life. a. Get yourself a new notebook/ create a spreadsheet that you will only use for this purpose

For a confidential discussion email: info@balancecounsellingandcoaching.co.uk or call on: 07794 143 171 or visit: www.balancecounsellingandcoaching.co.uk www.lancmag.com

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Black Dyke Band in Concert

Black Dyke Band is the most recorded band in the world with over 350 recordings and growing every year.

In October 2020, the band’s recording of music

by John Rutter become the first by a brass band to reach No.1 in the classical music chart.

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t is also the most successful contesting band in the world having won the European Championships thirteen times; most recently in 2015, the British Open no fewer than 30 times (most recently 2014) and the National Championships of Great Britain 23 times (most recently 2014). In 2009, and again in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the band became Champion Band at the English National Championships and were

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named English National Champions in 2014 by virtue of having won the National Brass Band Championships in October 2014. In recent years, the band secured an unprecedented hat trick of wins at the Yorkshire regional championships in 2016, 17 and 18, which they followed up with another win in 2020.

In 1816 Peter Wharton founded a brass and reed band in the Yorkshire village of Queenshead – later to www.lancmag.com

at Bury Parish Church reported that this Band reached its zenith from 1838 to 1843, at which time it consisted of 18 musicians.

Conductor

become Queensbury. John Foster, apart from being the founder of Black Dyke Mills, played French Horn in this band. It has been said on many occasions that Black Dyke was formed from it; however, this is not strictly true, as Peter Wharton’s band went out of existence through loss of members. In 1833, a new band was formed named ‘Queenshead Band’, which may well have contained players from the former band. It is www.lancmag.com

Professor Nicholas Childs has achieved the highest international reputation as a performer, teacher, conductor, interpreter and advocate of new music, and producer of pacesetting recordings. Nicholas has had phenomenal success with many bands, including highly acclaimed national titles and European championships. His current tenure as Principal Conductor and Director of Music of the famous Black Dyke Band has been marked with continued contest success, claiming both British Open and National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, awarded the Harry Mortimer Maestro award for his outstanding ability as a conductor, and being named the 2014 Conductor of the Year by 4br.com and Brass Band World (magazine).

Further acclaim has come for his many innovative concerts and world premieres featuring a variety of soloists and musical combinations.

His recordings with Black Dyke Band have been heralded as the very best in the brass band world including multiple CD of the Year awards.

Nicholas gives important emphasis to the development of the brass band movement. This comes via his commitment to the training of outstanding young musicians both at the collegiate level as well as within the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band, and the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain (founder and music director). He currently

serves as Professor of Music at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he has taught for many years.

When bestowing this prestigious professorship on Dr. Childs in 2014, Professor Linda Merrick, Principal, RNCM, declared: “We are very proud to be able to honour Nicholas Childs’ outstanding contribution to the music profession with a professorial title.”

He also enjoys being Professor and Guest Conductor at Senzoku Music College, Tokyo, Japan.

In 2007 Prof. Childs made his conducting debut at the BBC Proms held at the Royal Albert Hall, London conducting Sir Edward Elgar’s Severn Suite.

On the contest stage Nicholas is one of only two conductors who have won over 100 Championships in the Elite Section.

7.30pm Thursday 7th April 2022 Adults: £12 Children 16 and under: £6 M Bury Parish Church The Rock Bury BL9 0AH N 07503 728 491 E burypcoffice@gmail.com Tickets available from: WEBSITE: www.buryparishchurch.com/ blackdykeband IN CHURCH: on Fridays and Sundays BURY TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE: Mondays to Saturdays

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FOOTS, LONKS and WET NELLIES LANCASHIRE’S FOOD AND DRINK

By Emma Kay Foots, Lonks and Wet Nellies Lancashire’s Food and Drink by Emma Kay ISBN (9781445695655) is available from all good retailers and directly from the publishers, priced at £15.99

E

xplore the rich and culinary heritage of Lancashire, through an illustrated look at the history of its food and drink.

Readers may be surprised to learn the real origins of Lancashire hotpot and discover that some of those all-timefavourites like Jelly Babies, Vimto, and Fox’s biscuits all have their roots in the county. While Eccles and Chorley cakes are well-known Lancashire staples, gingerbread production and simnel cakes are also at the heart of the county’s baking heritage. Together with big names such as Richmond sausages and Hartley’s jam, there is a surprise for everyone in this book, revealing the identities of numerous best-loved British culinary classics based in Lancashire.

Author Emma Kay looks at the regional fare and dishes that have characterised Lancashire over the years, picking out the many interesting stories that contribute to this county’s food and drink narrative. Alongside its traditional food festivals and products, the county boasts diverse food and drink markets and well-known producers and cooks. Lancashire’s Food and Drink will appeal to all those who are interested in the history of Lancashire and its food and drink legacy.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Emma is a post-graduate historian and former senior museum worker. Now, food historian, author and prolific collector of Kitchenalia, with numerous books to her name, she lives in the Cotswolds with her husband and young son. Her articles have appeared in publications including BBC History Magazine, The Daily Express, Daily Mail and Times Literary Supplement.

She has contributed historic food research for a number of television production companies and featured several times on Talk Radio Europe, BBC Hereford and Worcester and LifeFM. Emma has appeared in a tenpart series for the BBC and Hungry Gap Productions ‘The Best Christmas Food Ever’ - and on BBC Countryfile, co-presenting a feature exploring the heritage of the black pear. Emma founded the Museum of Kitchenalia in 2012 (www.museumofkitchenalia.co.uk).

Foots, Lonks and Wet Nellies Lancashire’s Food and Drink by Emma Kay is £15.99 (ISBN 99781445695655) an be purchased from all good local retailers, or directly from the publishers www.amberley-books.com/foots-lonks-and-wet-nellies.html and is also available in Kindle, Kobo and iBook formats.

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Chorlton Author Recreates 1980’S Manchester in New Novel The Former Boy Wonder by Robert Graham is published

by Lendal Press on 24 February 2022. RRP £12.99

F

ormer City Life music writer conjures up memories of legendary venues The Boardwalk, The Hardrock and Free Trade Hall.

Former City Life music writer conjures up memories of legendary venues The Boardwalk, The Hardrock and Free Trade Hall A Chorlton writer has released a novel that lovingly brings large parts of 1980s Manchester back to life.

Robert Graham, a creative writing lecturer, says The Former Boy Wonder, published by Lendal Press on 24 February 2022, is in part a chronicle of his love affair with the music-loving city he moved to almost 40 years ago.

The book, his second novel, follows the highs and lows of 49-year-old Manchesterbased music journalist Peter Duffy as he increasingly finds work hard to come by at fictionalised versions of Mojo and Uncut magazines, where he has been freelancing for over 25 years. The story follows the music fanatic and father of one as his first love, Sanchia, looks like she might be about to come back into his life. Belfastnative Peter descends into a full-blown mid-life crisis, risking his relationship with his teenage son and wife in the process.

The novel is not autobiographical, though Graham, 66, was also born in Belfast and cut his teeth as a music writer with now defunct Manchester what’s on guide City Life, after moving to Hulme in 1984.

Old Manchester haunts revisited in The Former Boy Wonder include San Marco cafe, which was located just off Spring Gardens, as well as band venues The Boardwalk (Little Peter Street), The Gallery (Peter Street) and The Hardrock in Stretford, a short-lived 3,000 capacity venue that

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hosted gigs by acts including Bob Marley, Roxy Music, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie. Situated on Greatstone Road for just three years in the mid-1970s, a B&Q was later built on the site, which itself closed down in 2015.

Other historical hotspots namechecked in the book include the Free Trade Hall, where, in 1966, Dylan was barracked for abandoning folk music to go electric (one of the audience famously shouted “Judas” at him) and the student union in Manchester Poly’s Cavendish House, where U2 once played to a couple of hundred people.

Goulden Road in West Didsbury and Beech Road in Chorlton are both essential settings as the plot unfolds.

Graham said the book, with its themes of midlife, first love and fatherhood, had been on his mind for at least a decade and he is excited to finally have it in print.

The story takes place across several time zones and locations: early 1980s and 2010s Manchester, Northern Ireland in the 60s and 70s and Notting Hill in the early 80s.

Graham, who taught creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University between 2004-2014 and once (briefly) managed Manchester punk band Membranes, said: “I moved to Manchester in 1984, and have seen the city shed its skin and reinvent itself many times.

“It’s what Manchester does best, and I don’t mourn the passing of the venues, bars, restaurants and neighbourhoods that are no longer there. Manchester is a future-looking city. It always has been, from the building of the Manchester Ship Canal through the Commonwealth Games to the creation of Media City.

It’s been a lot of fun to recreate the Manchester I knew in the 1980s, though –West Didsbury house-shares, Fallowfield bed-sits and the many venues where I watched the bands of the day play. I think readers of my book will enjoy taking a nostalgic trip back in time, too.”

Graham said that like his protagonist Peter, he has been an obsessive music fan since childhood.

“Growing up in Belfast during the Troubles, where the bands I was reading about in the NME never played, prepared me to be blown away by living in Manchester with its impressive musical tradition and by what was happening here in the 80s,” he said.

“It was possible to see any major band that passed through town, from Elvis Costello and The Clash to The Stones, but also to be a part of the scene when homegrown talent like New Order, The Smiths and The Fall were breaking through.

“Working at City Life, the listings magazine, I got to interview Morrissey and Marr just before their first album came out and Mick Hucknall before Simply Red signed with a major record label.

For a boy who grew up in band-starved Belfast, it was a transformative experience.

In this and many other ways, Manchester has become a part of me, and as soon as I moved here I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

“In fact Manchester looms so large in the book that it’s almost a character in its own right.”

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WHAT I LEARNT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS FROM LIVING IN FRANCE Part 2 - Santé This week, inspired by the French focus on quality over quantity, we’re back in France and looking at how moderation matters when it comes to weight loss.

The Mediterranean diet is based on the traditional foods that people used to eat in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. This isn’t a specific diet, but a Mediterranean diet would typically include fruits, vegetables, oily fish, whole grains, beans and lentils, nuts & seeds and lean meats. You’d probably drink a lot of water, but it’s also common to have a daily glass of red wine.

Catherine Dean is a Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach supporting women feel better, have more energy and ditch diets.

Her approach to health and wellbeing isn’t about quick fixes or fad diets.

It’s about helping you to create healthy habits that fit around your busy life, make a real difference and, most importantly, last in the long term.

Many studies have shown the Mediterranean diet can support weight loss and help prevent lifestyle diseases such heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The cultures that eat a Mediterranean diet enjoy a rich and varied diet, seemingly without restricting the things they love such as wine. So, how do they do this and how does it relate to weight loss?

In small French villages, where my husband and I have spent most of our time in France, a lot of social activity will centre around a Tabac (a tobacco shop that often serves

alcohol as well) or PMU (Pari Mutuel Urbain - a French, betting system which often serves drinks & small snacks). You don’t need to gamble to use the PMU, you’re very welcome just to have a coffee or a glass of wine, as I have done on more than one occasion!

In the UK, I’ve sometimes been served two 250ml glasses and then been offered the rest of the bottle “free”. That’s a lot of alcohol. I’ve never been asked that in France. The standard serving size is 125ml or sometimes 150ml. My husband, an avid beer drinker, has been frustrated on more than one occasion when he’s been presented with half a pint.

When the “issue” has been resolved, he has been given his pint, it’s regularly been described as, “Une biere Anglaise”. A reminder that a French man would rarely be seen drinking beer out of such a large glass.

That’s not to say the French don’t like to drink. In fact, in 2019 they were the second biggest wine consuming country in the world, after the USA, drinking 26.5 million hectolitres.

My husband and I have recently returned to the UK from the south of France, where we’ve both worked for the last seven years. I love many things about France and am particularly fascinated by the French diet and lifestyle. In last month’s article, I wrote about how the French love of a long lunch can support weight loss. Slowing down to enjoy and savour our food is a simple, but powerful way to help us to tune into our body and pay attention to what it needs.

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However, in my experience, the way they drink is markedly different to the way we drink in the UK. The focus isn’t on the quantity of the alcohol, but on the quality.

According to Tim Spector in his book The Diet Myth, they way we drink matters, “regular, relaxed, all hoursFrench-style drinking patterns are seemingly protective, as opposed to the episodic, down-inone… binges of many Britons”.

Red wine in particular contains phytonutrients, particularly flavonoids and resveratrol both of which are thought to have health benefits. These nutrients, also found in a variety of berries, onions, citrus fruits and cocoa products, are thought to decrease inflammation, support liver elimination and act as an antioxidant – reducing free radical damage in our body.

Should I Drink More Red Wine?

Instead of getting our health supporting chemicals, such as flavonoids or resveratrol from just one source, from say, red wine, it’s far more sensible to eat a varied diet of vegetables, fruits, beans, oily fish & lean meat with the occasional glass.

It’s more than likely that the health

benefits from the Mediterranean diet come from the protective effect provided by the overall diet and not one single factor.

Of course, drinking alcohol in excess can be harmful to our longterm health. And in relation to weight loss, alcohol contains 7 calories per gram compared to just 4 calories per gram of food for carbohydrates and protein, although this is not the only reason to be mindful of our alcohol intake. While it is possible to lose weight and still enjoy the occasional tipple, as with the centenarians in the Blue Zones and our French friends, the key is to enjoy in moderation.

Here are my tips to help you channel your Mediterranean vibes and enjoy your favourite drink in moderation: Take your time and really savour the taste. Enjoying things in a more mindful way can actually help to reduce our intake.

Drink with friends. In the Blue Zones (areas around the world with the highest number of healthy, active centenarians) people drink alcohol moderately and regularly. The key this here is that they drink 1-2 glasses

per day with family and friends, usually with a meal.

Enjoy smaller quantities of highquality wine. The Barbagia region of Sardinia is a Blue Zone where the population tend to drink Cannonau wine. Cannonau is a red wine which seems to have the highest levels of polyphenols of any wine.

Of course, too much of anything can be a bad thing. However, small amounts of good quality wine, savoured and enjoyed with friends could have some health benefits, particularly when supported by a varied and balanced diet. Take pleasure in the good things and everything in moderation.

If you’re ready to ditch diets, feel less stressed and have more energy a Nutrition & Coach could be exactly what you’re looking for.

To find out how fully personalised nutrition coaching could help you to achieve your health and weight loss goals, head to: www.catherinedeancoaching.co.uk Have a nutrition question that you’d like to be answered in a future article? Send your questions to Catherine at: info@catherinedeancoaching.co.uk

References: The Diet Myth, The Real Science Behind What We Eat - Tim Spector, www.statista.com, www.healthline.com and www.bluezones.com

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Colour and Style

www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk

OUR SECTION ON COLOUR AND STYLE WITH S A R A H H A R R I S F R O M ‘ CO LO U R M E B E AU T I F U L’

|APRIL SHOWERS April is here and who know what kind of weather we will expect but one thing is for sure here in the UK it’s always good to have an umbrella! There are so many different styles and colours and I’d love to share what I have found from an online umbrella Boutique based in West Lothian, Scotland – Brolliesgalore www.brolliesgalore.co.uk I hope you enjoy the exciting styles and colours and find the one that suits you!

|BROLLY MASTERY

I’m Sarah Harris and I’m a Colour and Style Consultant who trained with Colour Me Beautiful the world’s leading Image consultants. My background is in fashion and after leaving school at 16, I travelled to London to work as a Fashion/Photographic Model, I enjoyed the life and it allowed me to travel the world, during my career I also worked in wholesale/retail within the fashion industry.

I learnt all about fabrics, business, international companies and trying all those clothes on – the quality, cut and fabric. I took a break from the business when I married and had our two children. I retrained as an Image Consultant with Colour Me Beautiful who have been changing the lives of women and men for over 35 years.

I’d like to inspire you with Colour, Style, and Skincare tips every month, I’m hoping to give you an interesting read.

If there is something that you would like to know about, please email me and I will do my best to help.

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What Colour is your Umbrella?

Do you ever notice the colours of umbrellas when you’re out and about? The next time it rains take a look at them and I can guarantee that more often than not they’ll be black or darker shades. Then take a closer look at the faces beneath them you will see how the black casts dark shadows across the face, which isn’t very flattering!

Colourful umbrellas brighten up your day but also the lighter shades are kinder to your face! See it as an addition to your outfit and choose a colour that complements your look. Umbrellas are wonderful accessories and of course, they are worn over your face which makes it essential to know the Colours that will suit you! www.lancmag.com

They come in all shapes and sizes, and I love this heart shape design from Brolliesgalore, and purple is on trend this season!

Soake Heart Umbrella by www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Dramatics The Dramatics will love this luxurious double canopy umbrella in the finest Italian satin fabric, its green outer canopy seems to change when seen from different angles and the Swarovski crystals and enamelled peacock handle,

by Pasotti, adds to the luxury of this very daring accessory!

The Rib Rainbow classic is perfect for anyone who just loves colour or can’t decide which colour to choose!

There is an array of stunning colours and styles to suit every Style personality and Colour type.

Bellezza Double Canopy Umbrella with Swarovski Crystals www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

24 Rib Rainbow Classic Stick Umbrella www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

This glamorous umbrella by Pasotti with its black satin outer canopy, tiger print interior and black Italian leather studded handle is one that will get you noticed and most certainly not for the shy!

Which Style is for you?

Creatives This beautiful, scalloped edge umbrella designed by French designer Guy de Jean is perfect for the Creative Style personalities, with its multicoloured abstract art canopy of geometric blocks of colour.

Glamour Black Tiger Golden Stud Luxury by Pasotti www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Charme – Geometric abstract scalloped umbrella by Guy De Jean www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Romantics

Van Gough’s ‘Starry Night over the Rhone” by Soake from one of their Art Umbrella versions of their stylish walking length umbrellas is a work of art!

This elegant umbrella by French Designer Guy de Jean is perfect for the Romantics, the pretty floral design in pinks and ivory with scalloped edging is beautiful!

Stormking Art Umbrella by Soake -Van Gough “Over the Rhone” www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Charme – Pink Floral Umbrella buy Guy De Jean www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

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For those who are better in deeper colours the Blue StainedGlass Dragonfly by Stormking is perfect!

Naturals Practicality is key for the Naturals and the Blunt Metro 2.0 is perfect as its compact, convenient, collapsible, robust and wind resistant! What more could you ask for!

Stormking – Blue Stained-Glass Dragonfly www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Classics Co-ordination is what Classics love and this beautiful paler green umbrella by Pierre Vaux is the perfect choice, the design isn’t too overpowering and the detail in the matching wrist loop and carry bag has everything a classic loves!

Laverne -UVP Green Parasol with white Stripe by Pierre Vaux at www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

BLUNT Metro 2.0 Folding Wind-resistant Umbrella www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Fulton’s first Eco Umbrella which is made from 100% recycled materials, the handle is made from sustainably sourced bamboo. These umbrellas are made to last which is perfect for the Naturals!

Fulton Eco Planet Manuel opening folding Umbrella in Beehive www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

City Chic

For someone with a deeper palette the navy and white polka dot design is timeless and chic, it’s waterproof and has UV protection should you need to shade yourself from the sun!

This elegant umbrella from French designer Guy de Jean is a timeless classic with a twist, the square shaped canopy, and the tricoloured design of navy blue, white and red is very chic!

La Parapluie Français Collection by Guy de Jean

La Parapluie Francais Collection -French Designer umbrellas

by Guy de Jean www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

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www.lancmag.com

The Simple chic style of the Navy and Cream striped design

by Jean Paul Gaultier is a timeless addition to any wardrobe.

... Shapes and Styles to Surprise!

Rayes Umbrella in Navy Blue and Cream by Jean Paul Gaultier www.breolliesgalore.co.uk

|RAIN OR SHINE...

Whatever the weather either raining or sunny an umbrella is one of the best investments you can make as they protect you from the rain or strong summer sun, so choose a Colour and Style that suits your Style Personality, and I can guarantee you will use it often!

Cockatoo Bird in Cage See-Through Dome Umbrella www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Every Colour of the Rainbow...

Violet Boutique Ribbed Pagoda by Soake www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

Have fun finding an Umbrella that suits you and if you need any help, please let me know!

Look after yourselves and each other!

Warm Wishes, Sarah x

These Plain Umbrellas come in an array of beautiful colours www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

E sarah@sarahharrisstyle.co.uk D www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk

Style

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Eco-Friendly Gadgets for the Home that will Save You Money by www.rightio.co.uk

An eco-friendly lifestyle starts at home. It’s about the appliances we use, the energy choices we make, and how we handle our waste.

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s we move into 2022 with a sustainable mind it’s important to think about how we affect the environment in your day-to-day lives. There are many ways to bring down your carbon footprint but it sounds like an expensive task.

Here, Rightio have detailed some sustainable gadgets that will help you save energy, money, and reduce your carbon footprint, while providing you with ease and comfort in 2022. Let’s lead the way to sustainability.

SOLAR KETTLE A standard 3 kW electric kettle uses 0.225 kw/h to boil a full (2L) kettle. That costs you about £28.93 a year.

Yes, boiling only the amount of water you need or using a stovetop kettle can reduce your kettle energy use and costs. But there is an even more sustainable solution – a solar kettle.

SMART THERMOSTAT The UK government was one of the first to lead the way in the use of smart thermostats as part of its journey to achieving net-zero by 2050. Many other European countries have followed by example.

A smart thermostat works by connecting to your Wi-Fi to learn your schedule and light and heating preferences.

That way it can optimise the energy and electricity used in your home. It’s the perfect addition to your yearly gas safe boiler service which will ensure your boiler is in optimal condition and keep your energy bills at minimum while reducing your carbon footprint.

LED SMART BULBS It’s a well-known fact that LED bulbs are much more efficient than incandescent ones. They can reduce your energy costs by up to 20%. But the newest addition to eco-friendly lighting – LED smart bulbs – is a real game-changer / is even more efficient.

LED smart bulbs come with a perk: they can connect to your phone through Bluetooth so that you can take full control of their operation. This means that you can turn lights off in unoccupied rooms and change the lights’ colour. Saving lighting energy has never been easier.

Solar energy is easily available, and the kettle works to its optimal efficiency when the sun is shining right upon it. Nevertheless, it can still produce warm water even on cloudy days and will keep it warm as long as it’s getting a little bit of sun.

It’s ideal not only for the home but also for camping and travelling. But the best bit is that it’s completely sustainable as solar energy is free for everyone.

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LEMON-POWERED CLOCK Tic-toc, tic-toc, the clock in your house informs you not only about the time but also about every little bit of energy used to do so. Yes, it might not use as much electricity as an electric heater, but it all amounts to your final energy bill. www.lancmag.com

Instead, opt for an eco-friendly clock powered by lemons. Yes, you read it right. When the citric acid in the lemon is combined with the copper and zinc in the clock, the produce current which is enough to power the clock for a week. Don’t forget to reset the time once you chance the lemons!

This is not only a sustainable source of energy but also a really eye-catching contemporary home décor. Some might even call it a state-of-the-art clock!

EGLOO CANDLE-POWERED ROOM HEATER The biggest contributor to our energy use is our heating system. What if there was a way to minimise that energy use without freezing in our own homes?

The Egloo room heater is made from two Italian terracotta doom that resemble an igloo, hence its name. It is heated with four tea light candles placed on a metal stand inbetween the domes.

Once heated, it draws air in which causes warmth to be radiated into the room.

H2O SHOWER RADIO Did you know that listening to music and singing in the shower can be sustainable while also fun? The H2O shower radio is powered by water pressure from the shower. It’s free to use and you can also listen to it while brushing your teeth as excess energy is stored in its internal battery.

When you turn it on again, it will automatically tune to the last station you listened to.

Living sustainably doesn’t have to require much effort.

Rather, we can implement small habits and invest in ecofriendly gadgets for the home that will help us minimise our carbon footprint. We can’t wait to see where technology will take us next.

But how much can it actually heat a room? It’s estimated that a 20m² room can be heated by 2° to 3° for up to 5 hours at the cost of just 7.56 pence.

The great news is that it can also be used as a diffuser and humidifier!

SOURCES https://checkappliance.co.uk/how-much-energy-does-a-kettle-use/ https://www.rightio.co.uk/services/boilers/ https://wiser.draytoncontrols.co.uk/blog/european-governments-support-smart-thermostats https://www.talk-business.co.uk/2019/05/01/how-much-money-can-my-business-save-with-led-lighting/ https://www.envirogadget.com/clocks-and-watches/citrus-powered-eco-friendly-clock/ http://homeli.co.uk/egloo-candle-powered-terracotta-dome-heater-by-marco-zagaria/

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Adventures That Start and End at Beautiful Railway Stations LYTHAM TO ST ANNES Starting at Lytham Railway Station, the first five-mile walk shows off breath-taking sea views, pristine parks and quaint streets.

Items on the ‘must see’ list for this route include Lytham Windmill, which was built in 1805, The Clifton Memorial, which was erected in 1872 and the Spitfire Memorial, which is dedicated to local people that lost their lives in World War II.

L to R: David Pownall from Huckleberry Films with Tony Ford from the South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership filming walk between Lytham

Community Rail Lancashire, which is an organisation focused on improving community rail lines, stations and services, has launched a series of self-guided walks across the county.

everything in between, and I hope that people really enjoy everything on offer.

he three videos take ramblers through some of the most beautiful scenery that Lancashire has to offer, from the stunning coastal backdrop of Fylde to the rolling hills of East Lancashire and the delightful farmland between Burscough and Rufford.

The videos, which have been produced by Huckleberry Films, are filled with interesting facts and figures about the rich histories of the towns, villages and hamlets they pass through.

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“After a very difficult two years people are becoming increasingly confident to get out and about and have a wonderful time and there is no better place than in Lancashire!”

Ending at St Annes-on-sea Railway Station there are plenty of choices to stop for refreshments on the way, from the grand Clifton Hotel to the Clock House Tea Rooms, which was used as a rest break for tram drivers after it was built in 1918.

ROSE GROVE CIRCULAR WALK The next beautiful walk starts and ends in east Lancashire, at Rose Grove Railway Station. During this 2.5-mile walk, which can be extended to six miles with suggested detours, people can learn about the industrious history of the Leeds to Liverpool canal. At 127 miles long, it is the longest waterway in the UK and played a key part in the industrial revolution.

From the station, walkers can take in the amazing views along the Padiham Greenway, which opened in 2011 and is looked after by a group of dedicated volunteers.

Each video has been designed to showcase adventures that start and end at well-known railway stations that are looked after by Community Rail Lancashire.

Richard Watts, Chair of Community Rail Lancashire, is delighted with the results. He said: “This exciting project has been assisted by many local people, from historians to volunteer groups and many more, and this is evident in the end result, which has been expertly brought together by Huckleberry Films.

“We are extremely lucky to have access to all types of walks in Lancashire, from coastal to rural and 154

Stunning scenery on the walk between Lytham and St Annes Railway stations

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There are lots of interesting things to see on this walk, the most notable being the portrait bench, which has three tribute statues to people from the area.

Thomas Lund is a young boy who won a competition to design the logo for the Padiham Greenway, Margaret Pearson, also known at the Padiham Witch, was found guilty of witchcraft in 1612 and Albert Smith was born in Rose Grove in 1903 and worked at Rose Grove Sheds for more than 40 years.

A wander through peaceful woodland near to Padiham is also a highlight and, if visited at the right time of year, walkers will be welcomed by a sea of bluebells.

David Pownall from Huckleberry Films recording on the Padiham Greenway walk

The route brings you back to Rose Grove Railway Station, passing by Burnley Barracks Railway Station.

BURSCOUGH TO RUFFORD Over in West Lancashire, the 4.5-mile Burscough to Rufford walk has something for everyone to enjoy.

The first treat along the way is the quaint Burscough Wharf on the edge of the Leeds to Liverpool canal, which was a veterinary practice that treated the horses that pulled goods along the water.

It is now a thriving hub of small business including shops, cafes, health and beauty parlours and creative businesses.

Beautiful views on the Padiham Greenway route David Pownall from Huckleberry Films recording on the walk between Rufford and Burscough Junction

Former steam powered corn mill, Ainscough Mill, has now been converted into luxury housing, but its recognisable building still dominates the skyline for miles.

Burscough Community Farm is also a sight to behold.

The 18-acre community smallholding offers locals the chance to grow fruit and vegetables or attend one of the many practical courses that are offered onsite.

Ending at Rufford Railway Station, there are options to extend the walk or jump back on the train to one of the many interesting and exciting destinations on the West Lancashire line.

A further video, based in East Lancashire, is also being planned and should be complete in time for Easter.

THE VIDEOS CAN BE ACCESSED HERE: communityraillancashire.co.uk/lancashire-by-rail/

Gorgeous views on the walk between Rufford and Burscough Junction

South Fylde Line CRP: a walk between Lytham and St Annes stations: www.youtube. com/watch?v=bC7CtK2ZJJ0 East Lancashire CRP: a walk along the Padiham Greenway: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=1Yaq8Wisk8E West of Lancashire CRP: a walk between Rufford and Burscough Junction along the Rufford Branch and Leeds & Liverpool canals: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=8CkGdwUC7KE Route maps are also available for each walk.

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Dare to Dream

By Emily Walker and Joel Newman

The history, the science and the meaning behind the question why do I dream?

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o some a dream is a manifestation of their greatest fear, to another a dream means their unlikeliest wishes for the future but to science they are an array of images, emotions and sensations conjured by the brain as you enter certain levels of sleep.

The process of a dream is allowing the brain to digest the past and prepare for the future while you yourself are not in a conscious state to decide and lead your mind’s path. It could be that a dream is allowing you to contemplate the day’s events, finalising and retaining the memory as your mind refreshes for the following day. Alternatively, it could be that your dream is fuelled by a future threat, exploring possibilities and outcomes as your instincts result in a fight or flight response.

In order to attain the level of sleep required to summon dreams you must enter the REM stage of sleep. This is the

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deepest stage of sleep known to humans, the body remains still as the eyes can dart around behind the protection of their lids conjuring and sourcing images that we then refer to as dreams. These sometimes bizarre and often illogical circumstances that our mind concocts account for 20-25% of our night sleep.

The random and sometimes irrelevant circumstances we dream often leave the dreamer with many questions.

What does it mean? Why did I dream that? Did that really happen? This is a time when a magnitude of deep sleepers turn to the internet, to research the meaning behind their night’s experiences.

Scientists have concluded that dreams fall into one of 55 categories, these include flying, falling, being chased and having super powers to name just a few and despite struggling to make sense of your dreams it is in fact proven that they are linked to personal experience. An example of this is that between the year 1950 and 2000 there was a large increase in the number of people that dreamt www.lancmag.com

the source of them can range from intrigue to addiction.

Google reports that these are some of the most common searches regarding dreams researched on the internet.

“What does it mean to dream about falling?”

This common dream/nightmare is thought to indicate a lack of control and unhappiness in your life be that personal or in the work place. It could be that you believe everything is beyond your control and that you are not making integral decisions that effect your life. A suggested remedy to this is to find a new way of relaxing to put your mind at ease.

“What does it mean to dream about losing your teeth?”

A dream of losing ones teeth is often linked with concerns about appearance but also the inability to communicate.

This again is a common dream prompting the person having the dream to assess and evaluate how they proceed.

“What does it mean to dream about flying?”

Dreams about flying can be linked from the feeling of freedom, soaring high and unrestrained but it can also be linked to the feeling of needing to flee, that you need to find that freedom and dictate your own path without restraints.

“What does it mean to be late in a dream?”

Being late in a dream is again a common reflection from your waking life. It is usually associated with fear about a deadline at work or school.

“What does it mean to dream about water?”

Water in any state represents our current form of mind, be that stormy and wild or peaceful and serene. To see stormy waters usually means you are not a peace, there is something making you unhappy or uncomfortable where as a peaceful body of water reflects your inner calm state of mind. about flying. This is thought to be a result of flight being normalised as a human experience in this time.

Despite the brain slipping in and out of these strange scenarios between 4 and 6 times each evening you often wake to remember none of the brain’s visions. Scientists estimate that this is because within 10 minutes of the dream concluding 90% of it will have been forgotten. The most common ways people remember dreams have also been explored and it has been determined that the most effective ways to remember your dreams are the following: • Waking up naturally and not with an alarm • Focusing on the dream as much as possible when you wake up • Writing down the dream upon waking • Making recording dreams a routine To those people who do remember their dreams deriving www.lancmag.com

As can be seen with each of these regularly occurring dreams the meaning can be derived and identified by reviewing your current state of affairs. Sometimes this may require a more objective state of mind but ultimately the answer can be found from your thoughts and feelings and to address the matter of an unpleasant potentially recurring dream is to address the problem itself in your waking life.

There are also factors in life that can make you more susceptible to dreams such as pregnancy and bereavement.

These are matters that it is not possible to address easily in order to resolve dreams and instead the intense emotion experienced in these circumstances may transport the mind to different places in their dreams.

It is always important to remember that dreams are merely your unconscious mind, they are thoughts that resonate with you without your conscious influence. Despite some worries and concerns they are not a definite indication of the future and are only representations conjured by your brain from previous thoughts and experiences.

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DEBORAH LILITH HATSWELL is a phenomenonist, writer, podcaster, Investigator and the founding member of the Being Believed Research and Investigations group. Deborah is the UK’s leading expert on the British Bigfoot and Dogman phenomenon and she has taken or researched over 3,000 personal witness reports from all across the globe. Deborah is based in Lancashire and has formed a team of volunteer investigators researching the many witness reports that are reported each week to BBR. Deborah is a witness herself to an impossible creature that she saw in 1982:

“It took 30 years for me to find an official body that would take myself and my experience seriously. During those years, I found thousands of people in a similar position. Their experiences were with Reptilian or Cryptid Creatures, Alien Beings and Shadow People, Invisible Entities and all manner of Dimensional Entities. Many of the witnesses are abductees who have had a lifetime of interaction. Some families have had to deal with phenomena for generations. There are cattle mutilations and missing people all across the UK.”

I FELT HUNTED THAT NIGHT - This month I would like to share with you the experiences of a young woman named Holly who has had a number of supernatural events throughout her life. Born in the Shetland Isles, Holly is used to the usual wildlife in the area. Her family have lived on the Islands for centuries. There is an old folklore tale on the North West Coast of Scotland that centres around a benevolent creature known as the Wulver who would help starving families, heal the sick and as long as they were left to their own devices everything on the Island flourished.

I had spoken about the Scottish Wulvers in one of my podcasts in January 2022 and Holly is one of my listeners. She contacted me through email and she is happy for me to share her experiences with you all.

“When I was a child, I was camping in the Perthshire woods with my dad. It was about 3am on a bright, clear moonlit night. We both seemed to wake at the same time, to a grunting noise in the distance, which wasn’t a stag, I froze and heard heavy footsteps approaching our tent, that were purposeful- almost creeping, so as to dampen the noise of the steps. I could tell it was something walking on two feet by the noise it made, but it sounded/felt really heavy.

A large shadow appeared at the side of the tent and I could see it move around us as it circled the tent.

It then walked off, out of the clearing where we had camped, and back into the woods.

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Years later when I was in Aberdeenshire, I lived in a house in the woods. One night I was going for my usual evening walk through the forest when I suddenly felt an instinctive danger, a feeling of dread washed over me and a gut warning told me to get the heck out of there, which was strange, because I love being in the woods, but what I felt that night was a primal fear. It sounds ridiculous, but I felt hunted. It’s something I’ve never felt before, and hope I don’t again. I heard the cracking of twigs getting closer to me and a deep guttural grunting/ growling, which I sensed began to circle me. The circle around me was getting smaller, and I ran out of the woods, and got on to a small road, and I ran back to the house.

But one incident that happened recently has really puzzled me. I should explain I’ve seen what I thought was just another human spirit in my home. I have my medium ‘switch’ set to off as a means of self care, so I see spirit and am aware of them still, but I don’t let them fully come through to me until I set a specific time for it. I’ve noticed a white whoosh of energy going around my home, pre-materialisation. On Thursday last week, I visited my dad on the Island I grew up on, and it was magical. I felt so happy. That evening, I was sitting on the sofa with Stanley, my cat, and a huge white wolf with bright blue eyes came through the door and stood at the bookcase. www.lancmag.com

Deborah set up BBR to help those people find somewhere they could report their experiences to and encourages them to investigate the cases and theories for themselves.

Now it is time to bring all of the so-called ‘alternative subjects’ under the same roof and let’s share our knowledge bases in the hopes of answering some of the still unanswered questions...

‘They’ were observing me. I got the sense they were bipedal, but when they popped their head around the door to look at me, they were lower to the ground, with their arms down. It is the strangest thing, because at the time, just before they appeared, a calm came over me and I felt so much love. When they appeared I felt so safe and happy. Part of me questioned if I was seeing things, but at the same time, my cat, Stanley, turned around to look in the spot I was seeing the wolf. He’s usually a bit timid, but he too was so calm and relaxed, and could obviously see what I saw.

I meant to say- whatever that huge benevolent wolflike creature was, it’s face was almost like a wolf crossed with a bear and an alsation, but they were white and silver in colour. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It sounds completely bonkers, and I questioned if I was hallucinating or something, but my cat looked up at the same time, in the same spot I saw this Being, as he does when someone he’s comfortable with walks in.

I still feel their energy around, and they seem to be observing me and also protecting me. This incident came on the same day as a significant healing of past trauma in my life. Is there a connection?

On this day, I also hugged my favourite ancient standing stone. Interestingly, on the Island of Unst, there is a network of underground houses and tunnels from very long ago. The people who own the land made a livelihood from it, and didn’t want archaeologists disturbing what had been there for centuries or more. Could this be where he is from?”

- Holly James

...Until next time, Deborah

E debbiehatswell@gmail.com | D debhatswell.wordpress.com | T BbrDeborah PATREON: www.patreon.com/DeborahHatswellBigfootReports YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/channel/UCYGn8pR90PO_oBzO jiZ23tA/ SPREAKER: www.spreaker.com/show/british-bigfoot APPLE PODCASTS: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/british-bigfoot-dogman/id1480592906?uo=4

Denise Mullen is a journalist, columnist, writer and entrepreneur.

Now I Never Thought of Doing That With a Leaf Blower...

By Denise Mullen

So you have to watch Oberon, he’s tricksy.

And there’s the rub. Husband (mine) is in charge of moving the rabbit run and hutch on wheels around the garden from time to time. So Heberon or Obetty, as celeb power couples’ names are re-engineered these days, are frequently treated to pastures new.

I

’m the first to admit I’m not well up on what bit of the thinking the right side of the brain controls and what bit the left. And, now we’re on the subject, is there anything in the middle?

Apparently men have a ‘nothing’ box.

You know, when you ask a man what he’s thinking and he says, “nothing”.

And that’s where it is, it’s in between the day to day thinking areas.

Women are deeply suspicious of this because we never think of nothing. All our boxes are full. We’re like cats. See an empty box, climb in it and have a nap.

Women, instead, have some sort of evil chamber of lists dating back to palaeolithic man. These were the times when our pre-history sisterhood started as they meant to continue. It’s 160

likely they inspired the confusion their mates encountered after revealing the badly drawn (and in the wrong colour/ place) antelope on the cave wall back in the day, and we’ve gone on from there. I’m not sure whatever the grunt for ‘Fine’ was, but I’ll hazard a guess it was wielded with much more finesse than a knobbly club.

But I digress.

So we have two rabbits. Hetty and Oberon. Hetty is a sweet little grey lop-eared female and, her husband Oberon - is an absolute sod.

If Oberon were human he’d be some sort of rock God who snorted or drank everything, raised hell, threw TVs (when they weren’t screwed to the walls) out of hotel windows and dated and dumped super-models with the speed of a revolving door.

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Last weekend he moved them, fortunately putting the hairy hound in the house first, and then let them out triumphantly to enjoy fresh grass and a new ‘twiggloo’. (twigloo, an igloo made from twigs for the enjoyment of undeserving rabbits).

Only he’d forgotten to link the mesh fencing to the hutch and the pair scarpered – straight under the summerhouse.

“Wife” he shouts. “Wife!”

I trot over and am told “The rabbits have got out, they’re under there’ (vague pointing to foot of summerhouse) ‘and I’m off to see my mum now.”

I counter, “Er, you’re going nowhere mate.”

Him: “She’s 93 and I’ve promised I’ll be there this afternoon.”

Me: “I’m sure you will be, just as soon as you’ve caught the rabbits, I’ll help.”

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Him: “You can’t be so mean. Just sit there they’ll come out eventually.”

leaf blower would be just the thing for rabbit eviction.

Me: “It will be dark in an hour; you need a rethink.”

Good idea, I acknowledge, go and grab the hand-held one, I suggest.

And the rabbit. He’s just chilling in a light and playful breeze. Most of the gale is deflected above him.

My cousin and his wife turned up.

Johnny – the mongoose - France leaves to offer a hearty greeting. Me and a young friend, Becca, are poking under the summer house with clothes props.

I stomp off and get the smaller blower, shove it under the decking and go all full throttle.

I can hear him telling our visitors he’s just off to see his mum – a bit like a Papal visit or a mercy mission from Mother Theresa apparently.

Although Oberon did come out, he wasn’t exactly worried or rushed. He shambled out, all badass - whiskers blown the wrong way and backcombed ears.

I chip in: “He’s not going anywhere; the rabbits are out and he let them out.”

He was pounced on and shoved in the hutch where his Mrs, I’m hoping, told him it had been ‘Fine’ and didn’t speak to him for the rest of the night.

He is then on his high horse, yelling at me, “Why are you telling people it’s my fault?”

Me: “Because it was!”

By now Hetty (the nice one, remember?) has hopped home, bored with all the shouting and poking. Oberon? Not a chance.

How long the husband (mine) has been rootling around in his ‘nothing box’ I’ll never know, but he decided a www.lancmag.com

So we then have 15 minutes of him trying to insert the enormous nozzle under the summerhouse. It’s too long, it’s not bendy, it doesn’t fit.

He emerges through the garden gate looking like one of the original Ghostbusters. Huge great back pack, a nozzle about four foot long. He’s already pull-started it. Sounds like he’s off to fell a forest. He’s doing the walk too, you know when macho Hollywood stars walk slow-mo in a line to go shoot Godzilla or put out an inferno.

The moral of the tale? When you have an evil and cunning rabbit under a small structure; always choose a noisy – but nimble - machine over clothes props and ectoplasm exterminators.

I think we all agree, it just makes more sense.

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Hi I am Janet and I am your resident Positive Change Coach bringing you techniques and insights to help you navigate the changes in your life positively. I have 15 years experience and now work globally from Costa Rica to New Zealand and everywhere in-between.

See you soon, I’ll give you a bell, I’ll touch base with you Three phrases all meaning the same but using different descriptors.

Visual, audio and kinaesthetic. These Representational Systems (RS) indicate the first sense with which you interact with the world.

A VISUAL person sees the world An AUDIO person hears the world A KINAESTHETIC person feels the world Our behaviour and language differ according to our type.

Visual people when asked a question will look up at the picture to see the answer.

Audio people will tip their heads to the side to listen for the answer.

Kinaesthetic people look downwards and inwards to feel for the answer.

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VISUAL BREATHING: VOICE: SPEECH: GESTURES:

KINAESTHTIC

Shallow - high in chest

Even - across chest

Deep - from stomach

High pitched

Clear, precise

Low & deep

Fast

Medium

Slow & pauses

Expansive

More enclosed

Slow, rested

This all comes from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) developed in 1972 by a linguist and computer Programmer, Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the USA. If in a relationship you feel you are not being listened to, as if you are speaking on parallel lines – that is because you are speaking two different languages, as in the example above.

If you are struggling with communication listen and watch the other person and you will find for example one of you is visual and the other audio. Plus, your body language will be mismatched.

1

Identify your own RS, start to understand yourself. For example, I am visual, and I cannot talk without my hands, I have to draw the picture for you, this often means I knock things over! Therefore, when giving a talk I keep my glass of water well out of reach, to avoid sending it flying when I am talking (something that happened frequently before I discovered NLP).

2 3

AUDITORY

Identify the other person’s RS– watch their body language and listen to their descriptors.

Adjust your body language and speech to match theirs more closely.

RESULT: Your communication in the relationship will improve and you will both feel heard.

When I teach yoga I demonstrate the poses – so the visuals can see me, I describe in detail so the audios can hear me, and I physically adjust those who are kinaesthetic – although since the onslaught of Covid I have to keep hands off and work one to one at a slower pace.

You will have a dominant and a secondary RS. My dominant is Visual, and my secondary is Kinaesthetic. So, when buying an item, I have to touch it – no online shopping for me.

Before studying NLP I frequently bumped into things, and as I said knocked things over. I was worried that I had something physically wrong with me, so to discover that there was a reason and that I could develop strategies to manage it was amazing.

NLP allows me to communicate with my clients effectively leading to quicker results. There is much more to NLP!

CONTACT ME FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH ASSESSMENT OF YOUR REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEM

Head to my website for more information D https://thepositivechangecoach.com For a complimentary 30 min., 1-1 Positive Change Discovery Session contact me E janetbroughton@thepositivechangecoach.com DRU Yoga classes available live online or via YouTube Y Janet Teaches DRU Yoga Claim your FREE Positive Change Personality Quiz to discover your Change personality, how it affects your life and how we can empower you to live your Best Life.

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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 163

BY KEN HARCOMBE -Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Fleetwood RNLI

WE ARE THE RNLI THE CHARITY THAT SAVES LIVES AT SEA

date with their training. Most of the training at Fleetwood is completed at the station.

This helps build up local knowledge and team work, both of which are important when on a service call-out.

RNLI College, Poole

Neil explained ‘Before we allow any recruit to set foot on a lifeboat, they undertake an extensive health and safety module. It’s important they always consider the safety of their colleagues, as much as they consider their own. Once the volunteers have completed this module, they move on to launch, recovery and seamanship, before they even look at search and rescue training. It’s a huge commitment to be a volunteer with the RNLI and that commitment is as important, as having a maritime background’.

The RNLI has a mission - to save lives at sea. But, when an organisation is responsible for over 5,500 volunteers, who operate in a dangerous environment like the sea – in all conditions – the number one priority will always be to bring the crews back home safely. This is why the RNLI takes training seriously. The RNLI has always considered its workers and volunteers’ safety with the utmost importance.

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any years ago, the majority of the volunteers had careers at sea, either military, merchant or fishing. They were well versed with safety aboard a pitching and rolling ship. Their expertise within the RNLI, came from their experience.

But today, many volunteers hail from very different backgrounds. At Fleetwood RNLI, we have a policeman, a paramedic and a businesswoman amongst its crew, but are possibly more fortunate than most, due to its proximity to Fleetwood’s famous nautical college, as many lecturers are also volunteers. But having no experience at sea isn’t seen as negative to the RNLI. Everybody who volunteers brings with them different skills and experiences. Seafaring skills, like navigation or communication, for example, can be taught.

Neil Atkinson, who is the Principle at Blackpool & Fylde’s Nautical College in Fleetwood, is also the Training Coordinator at the town’s lifeboat station. He ensures the training modules presented to him by the RNLI Training Centre in Poole, are completed and each volunteer is up to

Safety briefing, Fleetwood RNLI

When the RNLI pager is set off by HM Coastguard, there is an obvious sense of urgency. But that doesn’t mean safety is compromised. Before the volunteer crew even set out to sea, a safety briefing is completed at the lifeboat station, usually by the Coxswain or Helm. This ensures the crew are aware of the weather conditions, a change with local hazards, tides and a possible recovery plan for the casualty.

This ensures there are fewer surprises once in the lifeboat.

Whilst most of the training is carried out at the local lifeboat station, the RNLI also have world-class training facilities down at their support centre in Poole, Dorset. Tony Cox is the full time Mechanic at Lytham St Anne’s lifeboat station and is responsible in ensuring their all-weather Shannon class lifeboat, Barbara Anne, is always ready to respond in an emergency.

Tony’s RNLI development plan means he occasionally attends training courses at the RNLI Training College in Poole. His most recent course covered the electronic element of the Shannon class lifeboat, an extremely important part of the lifeboat set up these days. Whilst the training course primarily covered working on engines and solving electrical issues on the Shannon,

Tony Cox, Lytham St Anne’s RNLI

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT FLEETWOOD RNLI GO TO: www.fleetwoodlifeboat.org.uk TO DONATE OR SUPPORT THE RNLI GO TO: https://rnli.org.uk/support-us Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity registered in England and Wales (209603), Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland (20003326) and the Bailiwick of Jersey (14)

Tony also found meeting other crew from around the country, just as important.

Building friendships within the RNLI family, has become a vital part of the RNLI college experience.

Tony explains, ‘An important part of our training includes carrying out repairs whilst at sea. If you are out on a rescue and a problem crops up, it needs sorting. You can’t just call out the local breakdown service!’

‘Following training courses, we usually set up a WhatsApp group to keep in touch once the course has finished and we are able to discuss issues that other crew may have experience of. The group usually includes a few of the lecturers as well, who frequently discover new information from their classes. This information can then be passed on in following courses.

It’s important that training is two way and that everybody benefits from information sharing. The lecturers are always available to help out. It’s a vital part of the support network we have in the RNLI.’ The RNLI College in Poole is instrumental in all aspects of training and helps develop plans for Training Assessors and local Training coordinators to work from. Whilst there is a small training team in Poole, there are many more trainer/assessors around the country, who visit individual stations to ensure all volunteers and crew are up to date with their schedules.

It’s not only lifeboat crew that benefit from the college though. There are over 1,500 lifeguards patrolling around 250 beaches in the summer and many lifeguard

Sea survival pool, Poole, with upturned ‘B’ class lifeboat

supervisors’ complete leadership courses at the college before the lifeguard season starts.

The facilities in the college at Poole include a sea survival pool, as well as workshops. Last year, the charity’s specialist training college held 569 training courses, covering lifeboat, technical and casualty care training, with over 3,300 attendees. In addition, a further 1,500 training and assessor visits were made to lifeboat stations on the coast. This ensured over 14,000 assessments were carried out on the RNLI’s volunteers and crew in 2021.

A massive effort by the training department, which emphasises how important the RNLI consider the welfare of its team.

Furthermore, the RNLI have set up an online Learning Zone, which volunteers can access when it is convenient for them. The Learning Zone helps both staff and volunteers to progress through the various modules at a speed which they find comfortable. It takes on average about 12 months for a volunteer to pass an assessment, which allows them to attend call-outs and be available for crew selection. Of course, the training never stops and there are frequent refresher courses. In addition, the experience gained on search and rescue call-outs, is invaluable.

Whilst the world-class training facilities are used mainly by RNLI crew, lifeguards and their support, they are occasionally utilised by outside agencies, including independent lifeboat stations and the military, including the Royal Marines, who are based in and around Poole. They also accommodate the search and rescue (SAR) agencies from further afield and recently helped with the training of a visiting SAR team from Iceland, who’d purchased one of the RNLI’s decommissioned lifeboats.

lifeboats. He is also a Trainer Assessor with the RNLI. In his role Shaun supports other lifeboat stations to ensure volunteers not only complete their training, but are competent and confident when responding to a sea rescue.

Shaun explains. ‘The RNLI training is more structured these days and it means all elements are covered and recorded.

Nobody can miss out or skip a training module. That’s important because many of the crew don’t have any maritime experience. At Blackpool RNLI, we try to cover the theory in the training room and then go to sea straight afterwards, to carry the theory into practice.’

‘Covid has presented many problems, not least mixing with other households and social distancing, but the volunteers have risen to the challenge. Their enthusiasm and commitment have ensured we’re ready for whatever comes our way, which for a busy lifeboat station like Blackpool, is vital.’

Neil Atkinson, from Fleetwood RNLI has the last word.

‘Training the RNLI volunteers is an expensive business. On average, it costs over £1,600 a year for every volunteer crew and shore crew. But the RNLI training ensures their volunteers are given both the knowledge and the equipment to place safety of themselves and their volunteer colleagues, as their main priority. We can’t thank the public enough for their continued support and helping to keep the RNLI volunteers, safe. Quite frankly, without that support, we could not operate.’

Neil Atkinson, Fleetwood RNLI

Shaun Wright is a train driver and Instructor with Northern Rail. He’s also a volunteer at Blackpool RNLI. He has been with the lifesaving charity since 1997 and is now Helm on the town’s B and D class

Shaun, with partner Hayley, Blackpool RNLI

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“Would You Believe It”

By Harold Cunliffe knew the character named Les which I featured. She related that at that period, as a young girl, would sit on the footpath chatting to him. Many people referred to him as “daft Les,” but I think that he was quite clever and far from being daft.

Moses Deakin’s Men’s Hostel

In this article we take a look at events which took place which when related make you sit up in your seat, those tales which have a totally unexpected ending.

view of the former Deakin’s Men’s Hostel. Best of all was the fact that Anne, who lived with her parents and brother in the rooms above her father’s camera shop, which incidentally was located next door to the hostel, was that Anne commented that as a child,

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uch as a coincidence or items which make you think, “Well, would you believe it?”

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The collection of old photographs was taken by Alan Halkyard who was a expert photographer, Alan, who once became a household name in parts of North Manchester, mainly due to him being a photographer for the local newspaper plus owning at one point, three camera shops. Alan’s first camera shop was at 60 Old Hall St, Middleton, which is well documented in the collection of black and white photographs. The collection which give a glimpse of this former Lancashire mill town in the 1950’s and 60’s are now of historical interest, mainly due to the locations being captured have been developed. One of his former homes at Oldham Road where he ran his business and had a dark room is now demolished and is currently a car park. The shop at 60 Old Hall St has also been demolished and forms part of the car park to the Middleton Arena. One of the customers at his Old Hall St shop was Jack Bagot, a

Alan Halkyard outside his shop with son David

An example of this phenomenon came about a few days after I had submitted the story of how Moses Deakin ran his Men’s Hostel, in which I detailed his unique way of awakening those clients who desired to have a lie-in. He cut the rope supporting the hammock. What was totally unexpected and a pleasure was that I was contacted by the daughter of a man who I had known since the mid 1960’s, Alan Halkyard. Anne requested visiting my home to return a book which I had loaned Alan prior to the start Covid virus. On the day Anne paid a visit she brought along a collection of retro, and mainly black and white, photographs taken by her father in which, to my amazement was a photograph which gave an amazing www.lancmag.com

THEN: the former Co-op shop at Oldham Road

friend who was the owner and Editor of the Middleton Guardian newspaper which was located a short distance away. At this period Jack personally took all the photographs for his publication, no doubt purchasing his materials from Alan, then one day he decided to capture the changing face of the central area of this Lancashire “Take Two.” The art of photography by Alan

Richard Briers presents the Polariod prize to Mr Halkyard

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NOW: the former Co-op shop at Oldham Road

Mill town from an elevated position, obtained by climbing the gas holder to acquire a bird’s eye view. Mr Bagot was given consent to climb the holder, but in practice found that he was unable to tolerate the height he had to encounter to acquire the image. Next he had a word with his photographic friend, Alan, who took the challenge

and captured an amazing shot from the gas holder. I have since been informed that Alan did not like heights, but on that day he bravely climbed the gas holder and took the picture. The photograph which he captured overlooking the central area of town has such clarity that upon close inspection the Middleton Wakes fairground, located on its dedicated site on the opposite side of the centre of town can be seen with in the distance. From this assignment Alan was asked if he would consider taking on the position of press photographer. It is my opinion that it was due to Mr Halkyard attaining this appointment, which lasted for around five years, that the town now has so many classic images which document the changes which have taken place topographically.

The Middleton Guardian, following their weekly publication donated many of the black and white photographs to the Local Studies section at the Central Library. At one period of time the Librarian would visit the newspaper office each Friday to identify the published photograph’s which he thought would be of benefit to their photographic archive. Sadly, the man who instilled the art of photography into so many people passed away April 2021. On a personal note, I had known Alan since the 1960’s. My position as an apprentice gardener in the Centre Garden was in sight line with Mr Halkyard’s second shop at Manchester New Road, where he could observe yours truly at work maintaining the Central Gardens, plus on many occasions Alan would photograph myself and other gardeners as he demonstrated the various camera’s to customers. It was when I was to be married Alan kindly offered to arrange for one of his friends to film the church service. This he did and would only accept the cost of the exposed film.

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BLOOD RAN COLD One of my duties as Parks Foreman was to inspect buildings and playground equipment for safety.

Every six months I would inspect any buildings of vintage which were the responsibility of the council. One such building is a small cottage within a wood. In fact it is named “Wood Cottage.” This ancient building comprised of two floors and was once the residence of the gardener and his family to the Lord of the Manor.

Within the ground floor living area an old coal fired copper boiler was still in situ in the corner of the room. On this occasion I carried out my inspection within the lower floor. All was well, so next I proceeded upstairs. I suppose my mind was in auto-pilot, having performed this inspection so many times previously. Starting near the stair I walked towards the centre of the room, then as I projected my torch at the old wooden roof all looked to be fine. It was when I inspected the floor at the point it joins the back wall that my blood ran cold, very cold indeed.

I remember that day as if it was yesterday, looking at the wooden floor I was standing upon had no means of support. The back wall had moved out of plumb by over ten inches thus leaving the floor joists in mid-air, totally unsupported. My first instinct was to try to make myself lighter, nothing of substance was supporting my weight or the wooden floor, and it was the nails in the floorboards which ran at right angles which fixed them to the floor joist which held the floor in position. Trying to make yourself less heavy is an impossible thing to do.

Next crawling on all fours to spread my weight I slowly crept towards the stairs and made my escape. Upon sounding an alarm with the building section emergency action was taken.

Within an hour the building was made safe with the use of wooden props and scaffolding. The building inspector confirmed the fact that it was only the century old nails in the floorboards which kept the joists in position, “You were very lucky, almost half of those nails have rusted away,” he commented.

I suppose anyone who had at some point been employed by the local council will have tales that a normal person would find hard 168

to believe. My personal feeling regarding the council, was that they put out information which show that they are a caring authority, in other words, it is not what they are doing, it is what they are ‘seen’ to be doing.

One example was the introduction of the Health and Safety policy.

Rochdale Council, within their brief stated that they would “train all of their employees to avoid hazards!”

This amazing comment was used as part of a staff training course at Rochdale Technical College. Having access to the annual health and safety report there were entries detailing accidents which must have been of embarrassment to the heads of the departments. Here is an example.

Dated 10 December. Municipal Offices, Smith St, Rochdale. Floor 5. “Injuries sustained by a member of staff by falling from a desk whilst involved in putting up Christmas decorations. Then in the January accident report, floor 5 (Treasurers Dept) Municipal Offices. 6 January.

Member of staff sustained injury by falling from a desk while involved in the process of taking down Christmas decorations.” This is a classic, “would you believe it?”

HANDS ON From an early age Harry was a child who was ‘hands on’ so to speak.

Aged five he would follow his father around the processing plant where he was employed, making a mental note of the procedures as he carried out maintenance at weekends. At school he was very proficient in subjects where he had to use his hands, like woodwork. One Christmas Harry set his heart on a construction set; he had hoped that Father Christmas would grant him this special present and he pestered his parents constantly.

He had so many ideas of the items in which he could build out of the metal components. Many boys of this age were delighted to receive a Meccano set. Imagine his surprise that Christmas morning when he found the Meccano set in his stocking, “magic, how good is that” he thought.

Maybe it was the cost of a new set which made his parents to decide to purchase a second hand set. Bargains could be found when members of the public would place a postcard in the newsagents shop window. This is how

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this set was acquired. The problem encountered however was that no one had checked the contents. The box which was in a good used condition seemed to contain the correct number of construction pieces, but lacked one vital component; there were no nuts and bolts. In the 1960’s, unlike today, the shops closed for a few days over the festive period, then a few days later when the shops toy shop opened his dad bought two packs of nuts and bolts, and to alleviate his sons disappointment a clockwork motor was purchased which could power the items which he intended to make like fairground rides. It was when he was aged 11 a family friend, who was a plumber, taught him the art of plumbing. Harry was the school friend of the plumber’s son, who displayed no interest in his father’s trade, but for young Harry watching this man working with hot liquid lead and welding pipes together, was so fascinating. Looking back to the 1960’s the plumbers blowlamp was powered by petrol or paraffin.

This method was not easy to control at all. One day the plumber, Arnold Stone Heywood had an urgent job to attend too, it was a burst water main within an outside toilet, remember those? Having to put your coat on the use the toilet. Harry jumped at the chance of accompanying him when he commented, “like to come along,” “you bet I would,” he replied. Inside the freezing cold W.C. Arnold brought the blow lamp into life. This involved igniting a small piece of rag under the jet which in turn made the lamp roar into action like a jet engine. The size of the flame was determined by the pressure within the lamp, increased pressure was via the use of a pump, a release value reduced the pressure.

A thick layer of ice covered the stone roof, which began to melt as the blow lamp warmed the air in the small toilet.

Mr Heywood made a perfect plumb on the burst pipe from the liquid lead he had heated in a crucible, applying it with his hand which had a circle of leather for protection. Once the repair was completed they looked at each other with a feeling of satisfaction, then Arnold commented, “It is not a bad life plumbing you know. We are in this little toilet, freezing outside, we are nice and warm and cosy in here, always remember that we deal www.lancmag.com

with the elements, fire and water.”

For a boy who was still of school age, this was amazing to watch. Arnold Heywood was the grandson of Mr Heywood of the once famous trio of builders, plumbers and painters, known as, Heywood, Jackson & Jessop. Each one of the tradesmen had their own field of expertise. When Arnold returned from his war service in 1945 he resumed his trade. First of all he required a vehicle. At a car dealership in Oldham, Lancashire, he found a vehicle which was the right size for his business and having a young family, for social use too. It was a few weeks later when he received his registration document through the post, which upon reading who the previous owner was, he could not believe his eyes. It was the Rt Hon. Winston Churchill. M.P. At that time being the M.P. for Oldham. When in the north of England Winston resided at the J.W.Lees brewery at Middleton Junction, they being friends of the Churchill’s.

HANDY LAD Harry was a handy lad, he could put his hand to anything and was well known in the area in which he lived for his talents. This area was the vast Manchester Overspill Estate, “Langley.” During his teenage years he had a friend who was a little older than himself, who decided to start his own boiler making and repairing business. For a period of time he would call on Harry to assist him with boiler repairs, which entailed working through the night, a period when the heating plant could be closed down. It was when steam pipes were required and had to be installed high above the ground at a pig farm near Oldham that Harry spotted movement in the corner of his eye some fourteen feet below. During the early hours of the morning a number of rats were busy raiding the mountain of waste food.

Being elevated on planking above, on a large vat of hot pig swill, an attempt to reduce their numbers took place.

Targeting the rats and their demise was effected by dropping tools on them as they made off with items off with their booty. A few nights later, both young men having worked for three hours none stop decided to have a break. Both were sitting in the old van having a coffee. It was a satisfying www.lancmag.com

experience having a hot drink from the flask on that bitter cold winter’s night. Unexpectedly there was a nice surprise in store. His friend offered a treat; he produced a square biscuit tin from behind the driver’s seat which was filled with what looked like Cadbury chocolate mini rolls.

“There you go,” he commented. “Eat as many as you like.” It was so hard to comprehend that this treat was available, trying to afford food for a basic meal was the hard, certainly no money was available to be spent on the luxury of cake. Money was in very short supply, they were working with rusty second hand tools. Harry got stuck in, and quickly devoured two mini rolls. There is a saying, “your eyes are being bigger than your belly,” was true that night. Not being used to such a sweet desert only three rolls were consumed. Upon enquiring where his mate had purchased the rolls he was informed, “I called here this afternoon to measure up to see how much pipe we would require for tonight, then, as I was about to leave the Park Cakes bakery lorry arrived with all the unwanted food. As the driver was tipping the food in to the heap which is used for feeding the pigs, I managed to rescue the chocolate rolls off the top of the pile.” Park Cakes it transpired over produce each day because the high class retailers which they supply require perfect examples. Any cakes not meeting this high standard are destroyed. Feeding this waste food to the pigs is the best and most environmentally way of disposal. Harry could not believe that he was consuming food destined to be pig swill.

A WEDDING ALBUM MYSTERY Today we are all well aware of the manipulation that can be carried out with digital media. When digital photography was in its infancy many readers of magazines would comment that the stars that had been photographed had had their image “airbrushed,” or digitally manipulated in which to remove facial blemishes and to improve their looks. Today we all accept what is published without scrutiny of the images published. The press were the first I suppose to change the way they produce images for their newspapers to digital media. One of the first instances of how this worked

was totally amazing. A police chase of armed robbers through Lancashire was a good example of how this media was of benefit. The criminals drove along the M61, along the M62 and attempted to make good their escape via the M66 on a route to escape from the police on the Edenfield Moors. The press were keen to report this story so sent out photographers to capture the action. The daily newspaper fraternity had the latest digital cameras; local newspapers still had roll film type cameras. The police chase ended at Spotland, where the press gained a number of images of the arrest. Then with the new digital equipment, the images were downloaded and sent instantly to Fleet Street to be reproduced for the public to view.

Meanwhile the local newspaper photographers were in the dark room, processing their film. One of the local press photographers started a wedding photography business in his spare time. Best of all he could view the images instantly, in real time and retake any which were not up to standard. One of his first customers however was left a bit bemused when she and her new husband viewed the wedding album. Both of the newlyweds were very pleased with their digital photographs, the bride did have one concern; she did not recognise the vicar who performed the ceremony? Other family members had their doubts too and had no idea who he was either. The bride was delighted with her album and contacted the photographer to have extra prints made, then she happened to mention the vicar, he did not look quite right. It was at this point that the photographer came clean. Over 20 years ago we did not understand digital manipulation.

The photographer named Lee was still learning his craft and had mastered the art of removing and replacing people from a photographic image. As a bit of fun, he had removed the vicar’s image and replaced it with the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is amazing to think that not one of the guests who viewed the album recognised the Archbishop.

Lee, as a matter of course replaced the manipulated photograph. But it certainly gave the happy couple a talking point.

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AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT Around twelve years ago the congregation at the New Jerusalem Church at Rhodes, which is close to Heaton Park, became so depleted that the decision was made to close the place of worship. Those members of the congregation who were responsible for the building were keen to recycle and re-use anything they could rather than take to landfill.

My involvement was to record the history of the church. It is a sad fact that church organs have very little value in this country. The church at Rhodes had a lovely compact organ made by Binns. In attempt to find a new owner for this instrument we discovered that normally the organs have no value and are taken apart with any metal being taken to the scrap dealer and the wooden components destroyed, many via a bonfire within the church grounds. It was a coincidence that a programme was broadcast on Radio 4 which told the story of a man in Latvia, a handyman who was also a scrap dealer who would visit the U.K. to remove church organs to be transported to Latvia, then to be rebuilt within their places of worship. It transpired that many

churches in that country did not have an organ. A musician would provide the music when hymns were sung. Making contact with this man who was featured in the programme resulted in Uldis and his brother Vilnis (pronounced Vilni) arriving at the church to remove the organ. Both brothers slept in the church for two weeks while the work was carried out. During their stay in town I would visit them each day to make sure they were safe and to answer any questions that they may have. The brothers used a former Swiss Army truck to transport their material, bringing their adapted vehicle over via the ferry. It was while Uldis was on the ferry that he had a conversation with a fellow trucker, a German heavy goods driver.

This driver was very interested in the way Uldis and his brother made their living. He mentioned that he had a spare sheet which would cover the rear of their vehicle; it was a spare tarpaulin and was glad to dispose of it. The only problem was that it had the company’s logo written on the side, this being “Dick Lister.” Uldis was grateful of this gift and made good use of it. Upon my second visit to the church both brothers were looking despondent. I enquired what

the problem was. Vilnis commented “The people in this town do not like us at all. As we are driving around your roads they are pointing at us, laughing at us. We do not feel safe.”

I made the police aware of their concerns, then after photographing their vehicle I found the reason why people were pointing and laughing, it was the name visible on his truck.

“Dick Lister.” With only speaking a few words of Latvian I had a job to describe what the first four letter word related to here in Britain. Acting out in Charades style I said it was a “name” and “something else,” where I enacted the using of urinals in a gents toilet.

Both brothers roared with laughter when they realised, no doubt it was the tension being released at that moment rather than my actions which caused the hilarity. Each visit I made, Uldis would have an item in which he would like to acquire to take back to Latvia. This ranged from a soup ladle to a steam engine. One day he wanted a fork lift truck, another ten ladies and ten gentlemen’s watches. I replied, “No, no fork lift truck.” A few days later we visited the scrap dealer to dispose of the lead tubing which had been removed from the organ. It was too heavy to transport back to Latvia.

The brothers carefully dismantle the organ Removal of the lead tubing

The Swiss truck used by Uldis and Vilnis

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Making a video of the moving parts with a Russian made camera

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Udis became very excited when we arrived at the scrap dealership. Firstly at the engine sound then the vision of a fork lift which was used to lift the lead from the vehicle. Our Latvian friend’s eyes lit up, he shot out of his cab like a bullet, “Har-rald, we must buy fork lift, How much, fork lift.” It was not for sale.

It was a Sunday morning when I invited them both to attend the ancient Middleton Parish church. Both men had been in the newspapers so were known to many of the townsfolk, including the scrap merchant. Vilnis and Uldis were delighted at being welcomed into the church, where upon spotting them enter, Canon Nick Fiest personally welcoming them.

Uldis however was very interested in the organ. He spent a little time working out the way it had been installed. Next he commented to his brother, “Vilni, if vicar prove to be no good, we come back for the organ.” I doubt that this ancient church would ever close. When the organ was fitted at the church in Latvia a loose fitting paving stone which was under a carpet was repaired. Lifting the large stone a number of items of precious metal were unearthed. It transpired that when the Russian Army entered the town the church Elders buried their vestments for safe keeping, and then were forgotten.

“AFTER 30 YEARS” Henry Lesley Lionel Whelen, who was a driver for the Co-operative Furnishing Dept in 1969, would relate his time spent on active service during the Second World War. This was his main topic of conversation.

No doubt he was one of those brave souls who had witnessed the horrors of war and did not receive treatment for his trauma, unlike today. Lionel would relate how he was based at Ardwick Barracks, Manchester, and how he received his orders to march to the railway station on his journey to France. He mentioned that as they were marching towards Piccadilly Gardens a man with a camera took their picture. He related “Someone shouted and we all turned around to face the camera.” In 1969 with the 30th anniversary being celebrated that year the press were keen to publish photographs and memories of the war, and put out an appeal asking readers to send in their material. www.lancmag.com

When the series began Lionel was an avid reader so purchased a copy each day. You may well imagine the look on his face when one day, to his amazement; the photograph which was taken in 1939 showing the Manchester Regiment going to war was featured. This photograph took pride of place on top of his television until his demise.

HEARD IT HERE FIRST And finally. On a personal note, I was surprised to unearth some information recently where a man who was once my neighbour, living four doors away from my home was once a famous body builder, a Mr Universe type, in fact he was one of the contestants for the title at the London Palladium in 1956. Mr Ken Latham won the title of Mr Manchester, Mr Oldham and at the 1953 Queen’s Coronation Gala was awarded the title as the “Perfect Man.” Ken was a physical training instructor in the R.A.F., then following being demobbed took up the sport of body building after being inspired by the American Olympic team of 1948.

This team was based at Uxbridge where Ken happened to be based in the R.A.F. There he noticed that their champions used weights in training, so Ken tried this out himself. He gained a stone in weight and increased his physique to a level where he could take part in competitions.

Another surprise was that a musician, Mr Ronald Wood, who once lived on the same road as my home was the “First ever” person in Britain to play an electric organ. This was to a packed audience at the College of Technology, Manchester. Searching newspapers of this period we discover that two electronic organs were flown over from America for Mr Wood to demonstrate.

The information published at the time stated that two types of electronic organ arrived from America, which was to be dismantled and copied after the concert so that they could be manufactured in this country. Both organs delighted the audience at the concert by the various sounds in which they could produce.

Organs of this type were to be available in 1956 and intended to be used to replace the traditional church organ, plus used in pubs, clubs and theatres. Mr Wood lived in this part of Alkrington twenty years before I took up residence so I was interested to know more about this person. Ronald Wood was a choirmaster and organist at the Parish Church of St John, Failsworth, Manchester. Also organist at the Odeon Theatre, Manchester, for the Rank Organisation. Mr Wood was also a close friend of a well-known Middleton organist, Frank Gordon and it transpires that they worked together at the Paramount Theatre, Manchester.

The Manchester Regiment going to war with Mr Whelen arrowed

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Foods of the Caribbean

By Sharmen Frith-Hemmings Learning about and experiencing the foods of the Caribbean is one of the great experiences of recent times.

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he truest taste of the foods is gained from visiting the restaurants and ‘cook shops’ where the local people get their meals.

Fish is a regular part of any Island diet and although it can be prepared to tourist standards the best way to enjoy it is prepared in the local and sometimes old-fashioned way.

Fish is enjoyed fresh from the sea. In some of the islands, they are brought to the villages by the local fishermen on the back of a ‘pickup truck’ blowing the shell of a Conch to alert people that they have a fresh catch or can be bought on the beach when the fishermen have returned from fishing.

Fish is prepared in several different ways, the most common of which are Fried, Steamed, or roasted on a barbeque grill.

A fish is transformed using local herbs and spices. Fish is cooked and eaten with the head-on as a matter of fact some people prefer the head of the fish. It can be eaten on its own or with just about anything. Locals will eat fish with cooked green banana, yams, sweet potatoes, vegetables, even with dumplings and other ground provisions. Whichever way it’s done it is always delicious.

I have included a recipe for you to try. Have fun trying and please post your pictures on our Facebook page @mamashars for a chance to win a meal either at our shop or when we are out and about this summer. Winners will be announced next month.

M 5 Brennand Street, Burnley BB10 1SU E info@mamashars.com N 07988 890974 F @mamashars I @mamashars

MAMA SHAR’S CARIBBEAN COOKING

We boast authentic, delicious and affordable Caribbean meals and Celebration Cakes.

We can work with any budget and give you amazing flavour and homemade taste.

SHAR FRITH EVENTS

We provide event planning, catering, festivals, street food.

We provide an altogether high standard of service to all our clients.

Photography credit: John Cox

MAMA SHAR’S CARIBBEAN COOKING E info@mamashars.com N 07988 890974 FI @mamashars SHAR FRITH EVENTS #E info@sharfrithevents.co.uk N 07988 890974 FI @sharfrithevents

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Mama Shar’s special Fried Fish and Sauté Cabbage

By Sharmen Frith-Hemmings MAMA SHAR’S SPECIAL FRIED FISH

gently into the oil allow to seal.

1kg fish fresh of your choice, cut into pieces 1 onion finely chopped/grated ½ bell pepper grated ½ tsp black pepper 2 cloves garlic crushed 1sprig of thyme stripped off the stem 1 tbsp all-purpose seasoning Oil for frying Vinegar/lemon

When golden brown on one side, turn and allow to brown on the other side. Reduce the heat and allow to cook on the inside. Prick to ensure that juices are clear in colour not opaque.

Coating Mixture Mix together: 1-1½ cup self-raising flour ½ tsp black pepper 1 tsp all-purpose seasoning 1 tsp herb of choice (dried) Method Sprinkle with dry seasoning and rub this in. Spread the wet seasoning and rub well. Cover and set aside for ½ hour to marinade.

Heat the oil until rings appear in the oil.

Dip fish in the coating mixture and ensure that all the fish is covered, shake to knock off all the excess flour. Place

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Repeat until all fish are fried. Arrange on a plate and garnish with sliced peppers or chopped spring onions/ scallion. You can use lots of onions and pepper sautéed as per cabbage recipe. It gives the fish added flavour.

SAUTÉ CABBAGE 1 small cabbage sliced 2 medium onions sliced 1 medium bell pepper sliced A sprig of thyme Salt & pepper to taste Method Add oil to a pan and heat. Add onions and thyme sauté for about 30 seconds. Add cabbage, stir ensuring that the cabbage is covered in oil and herbs.

Reduce the heat to low, allow to steam until crunchy soft.

Add salt & pepper to taste.

Remove and serve with a favourite dish.

Goes great with fish.

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The Life and Legacy of the Remarkable

KATHLEEN FERRIER

By Margaret Brecknell

Above: Kathleen Ferrier in Orfeo ed Euridice Credit: Dutch National Archives/CC BY-SA 3.0 nl

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Kathleen Mary Ferrier was born 110 years ago this month.

Although this charismatic contralto singer’s professional career lasted for little more than ten years, she remains one of the 20th-century’s most celebrated performers and left a remarkable legacy in more ways than one.

Thereafter Kathleen’s reputation as a promising young pianist steadily grew, with more success in competitions such as the 1930 Liverpool Festival and her first appearance as a soloist at Blackburn’s King George’s Hall.

She also began singing lessons with a local professional singer called Anne Chadwick, although her sister, Winifred, later recalled that at this time Kathleen lacked confidence in her vocal ability.

athleen was born, on 22nd April 1912, in the Lancashire village of Higher Walton, the third and youngest child of William and Alice Ferrier. Her father was a local schoolteacher and the family moved to Blackburn two years after Kathleen was born, when he was appointed as headmaster of St Paul’s School in the town.

Her work as a telephonist also continued. In 1934 she transferred from Blackburn to the Blackpool Telephone Exchange to be nearer her future husband, a bank clerk called Bert Wilson. The pair married in November 1935, at which point her employment of nine years ended. In those days the GPO did not employ married women.

Both of Kathleen’s parents were gifted amateur singers and from an early age Kathleen too showed musical talent, although not as a singer, but as a pianist. Kathleen is said to have taught herself to play at a very young age and, convinced of her young daughter’s potential, Kathleen’s mother arranged for her to have lessons with a local piano teacher called Frances Walker.

The couple were soon on the move when Bert was transferred to Silloth in Cumbria. Kathleen’s life seemed to be going nowhere fast during those early years in Cumbria, but all that changed

K

in 1937 when she entered the prestigious Carlisle Musical Festival piano competition. Her husband bet her a shilling that she would not dare to enter the vocal contest as well and she decided to take him up on the wager.

Kathleen proved victorious in both categories, with the Carlisle Journal reporting that the judges considered her to have “a very, very beautiful voice indeed, one of the finest voices they had heard”. Her success soon led to a string of singing engagements in the North-West and her career as a professional singer was underway.

In February 1939 Kathleen appeared on the radio for the first time in a BBC variety show called Hark Forrard, which was broadcast live from Newcastle. Her performance on the show proved to be yet another triumph for the budding singer and led to further bookings from BBC Newcastle. Alice Ferrier died shortly before Kathleen’s first radio broadcast and so sadly did not live to enjoy her daughter’s success.

Kathleen’s playing developed rapidly under Frances Walker’s tuition.

At the age of just 12 she entered the piano competition at the prestigious Lytham St Annes Music Festival and finished an impressive fourth out of forty-three entrants. The following year she returned and came second.

There was talk of Kathleen going to a music college, but ultimately, with her father set to retire, the family’s financial situation meant that she was compelled to leave school and start work.

Only months after her 14th birthday, she found employment as a trainee switchboard operator with the GPO at Blackburn’s Telephone Exchange.

Kathleen did, however, continue her lessons with Frances Walker and in November 1928 entered a national competition, organised by the Daily Express, to find the best young pianist.

The 16-year-old won her regional heat in Manchester and an upright piano in the process, but she could not repeat her success at the final held in London’s Wigmore Hall. www.lancmag.com

Above: King George’s Hall, Blackburn Credit: Tim Green from Bradford/CC BY 2.0

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Despite her husband’s part in Kathleen’s fateful decision to enter the singing competition at the 1937 Carlisle Musical Festival, their marriage had not proved particularly happy and Kathleen’s new career as a singer did not help in this regard.

Bert joined the army following the outbreak of World War II and at that point the marriage effectively came to an end. Kathleen began to appear professionally as “Kathleen Ferrier”.

The couple were eventually divorced following the end of the war and Bert, with Kathleen’s blessing, subsequently married a close friend of hers called Wyn Hetherington.

Kathleen’s meteoric rise to the top of her profession during the war years proved quite extraordinary. In early 1941 she auditioned successfully as a singer for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), the forerunner of the modern Arts Council. CEMA was established during the early days of World War II with the aim of providing singers, musicians and other entertainers to perform special wartime concerts at locations such as military camps and munitions factories.

She had been receiving formal vocal coaching from the highly regarded Dr John Hutchinson, who had been a judge when Kathleen won her second Carlisle Musical Festival singing contest in 1939. Now her work with CEMA brought her into contact with some of the musical world’s leading figures.

She sang with Manchester’s famous Hallé Orchestra and after one performance was introduced to Sir Malcom Sargent. The illustrious conductor recommended her for an audition with the London-based agent, John Tillett, whose client list included some of the best-known performers of the era. Tillett was impressed by her and took her onto his books. Kathleen was immediately offered a series of singing engagements and took the decision to move down to London to further her career, accompanied by her sister, Winifred.

“a very, very beautiful voice indeed, one of the finest voices they had heard”

- The Carlisle Journal After performing in Mendelssohn’s Elijah alongside the British baritone, Roy Henderson, she asked him to tutor her and he is often credited with helping her to realise her full potential as a singer. Henderson later recalled that, “Kathleen was born with a wonderful cavity at the back of the throat. One could have shot a fair-

Above: Manchester’s Free Trade Hall Credit: KJP1/CC BY-SA 3.0

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sized apple right to the back of her throat without obstruction. This space gave her that depth and roundness of tone which was distinctive. The voice rolled out because there was nothing to stop it”.

The Lancashire singer’s breakthrough moment in London came in May 1943, when she sang in Handel’s oratorio, The Messiah, at Westminster Abbey, alongside two of the era’s most celebrated operatic stars, Sir Peter Pears and Dame Isobel Baillie. The famous music critic, Neville Cardus, later described this performance as the moment when Kathleen first “made a serious appeal to musicians”.

Another of British classical music’s most influential figures, the composer, Benjamin Britten, was present that day at Westminster Abbey and he was so impressed by her performance that he later wrote the title role of Lucretia in his opera, The Rape of Lucretia, with her specifically in mind. The premiere of the opera was scheduled to open the world-famous Glyndebourne Festival in 1946, always a highly anticipated event, but even more so on this particular occasion because it would be the first time the Festival had been staged in five years because of World War II. Kathleen was by this stage in constant demand as a singer and recording artist, but she is said to have been initially nervous about taking on the role. Although operatic arias were by this time a regular feature of her concert performances, she had never appeared in a full-length opera before. Ronald Duncan, who collaborated with Britten on The Rape of Lucretia as the opera’s librettist, later recalled that “she remained shy and diffident throughout the rehearsals at Glyndebourne”, adding, “she could not see that it was we who were lucky”. She need not have worried, as her debut was a triumph and brought her new-found respect within the operatic community.

She returned to Glyndebourne the following year to perform in a production of Gluck’s opera, Orfeo ed Euridice, in what proved to be her only other full-length operatic role. Later in 1947 she sang Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the first ever Edinburgh Festival, beginning a collaboration www.lancmag.com

with Bruno Walter which would last for the rest of her life. Walter had enjoyed a close personal association with Mahler, who was at the time still largely unknown to UK audiences, and Kathleen is credited with being an important influence in bringing the composer to the attention of the wider British public.

On New Year’s Day 1948 Kathleen set sail from Southampton for the USA, the first of three transatlantic trips she would make over the next three years. Following the end of World War II, she also travelled widely across Europe and her tour of America helped to establish her as an internationally renowned performing artist.

Kathleen was popular wherever she went. A charismatic performer with a magnificent contralto voice that is widely recognised as one of the best of all time, she never forgot her Lancastrian roots and in letters to family and friends revealed her wicked sense of humour.

Some of these were published after her death and provide a vivid insight into the down-to-earth person behind the glamorous public persona. In 1943 she was admitted to an Aberdeen nursing home after contracting influenza whilst on tour. She begins a letter home to her father and sister with the words, “Hello Loves, Aren’t I a twerp?”, continuing “the nurses here are perfect gems…I’ve being washed more than I’ve ever been washed in my life before! I’ve even negotiated the bedpan and haven’t done anything over the edge!”.

even been unwell. Sadly, she never enjoyed good health again. Two years of radiation treatment followed, but she continued to perform whenever possible.

In February 1953 Kathleen was persuaded to appear in four performances of a new production of Orfeo ed Euridice at Covent Garden.

During the second performance she felt an agonising pain in her left leg.

Despite being barely able to move, she somehow made it through to the final curtain, at which point she was rushed to hospital. Because of the prolonged radiation treatment, the femur in her left leg had partially disintegrated.

Even then most remained unaware of the extent of Kathleen’s illness, with the public being told that she was suffering from arthritis.

This proved to be Kathleen’s last public performance. She died six months later in October 1953 at the age of just 41. The news was greeted with profound shock and there followed a great outpouring of public grief. Those who knew her well within the classical music world

were similarly affected. Following her death, the Hallé Orchestra’s legendary conductor, Sir John Barbirolli, who had become one of Kathleen’s closest friends, wrote to her sister, Winifred, that, “She was a wondrous being and I feel very humbly privileged to have known and loved her”.

Kathleen Ferrier’s recordings are still enjoyed and treasured today, but this remarkable Lancastrian left another priceless legacy too. Not long after her death an appeal was launched by Barbirolli and other leading classical music figures to establish a cancer research fund in Kathleen’s name.

Donations flooded in from all over the world. Before her death in 1953, cancer was very much regarded as a taboo subject and was rarely discussed in the media. Kathleen’s story was one of the first occasions on which the illness was brought into the public domain and through that press coverage the need for vital research into the disease was aired for the first time. The Kathleen Ferrier Fund still exists today and continues to fund essential academic research into oncology.

An encounter with royalty at the Royal Albert Hall in 1948 is also recorded in a letter to a friend, with Kathleen writing that, “I was very thrilled last week…to be introduced to the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and Prince Philip…Princess Margaret admired my frock, so it was a pleasant meeting – she made me feel like a million dollars with her interest and appreciation!”

Tragically, in early 1951 and at the height of her fame, Kathleen was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy three months later. She resumed performing in the summer, with most of the public unaware that she had www.lancmag.com

Above: Sir John Barbirolli Credit: Dutch National Archives/CC BY-SA 3.0 nl

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MANCH

By Sarah Ridgway

Manchester is the second city in the UK but proud to have led the way throughout history in several fields.

D

uring the 18th century, it became the largest cotton producer and the world’s first industrialised city.

Home to many pioneering innovations including the first working canal, the first steam-driven mill, and the first inter-city railway. The Suffragettes were founded here, and political activist Emmeline Pankhurst was named by Time Magazine as one of the most important 100 people of the 20th Century. The first computer nicknamed “Baby” was also developed here in 1948. In stark contrast, to the present fast and lightweight models of today, “Baby” took more than 50 minutes to complete one task and weighed over a tonne. Legendary Mancunian Alan Turing was a gifted mathematician who cracked Nazi codes during WW2, his contribution is said to have cut the war short by two years saving millions of lives in the process. The restrictive period of the 1950s meant Turing was unable to live as an openly gay man thus the academic has evolved into an icon for the LGBTQ+ community. A sculpture of Turing rests on a bench close to the city’s Gay Village in his memory. In 1952 the year after being elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London, Turing was arrested for “gross indecency” as homosexuality was a crime at this time. The sentence was 12 months of hormone therapy which took a huge toll on his mental health. Tragically, in 1954 in the 178

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middle of some revolutionary work, Alan Turing committed suicide at home. The academic’s life hit the big screen in The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2015. In 2009 his unjust prosecution for his sexuality was overturned and pardoned by the Queen, in 2021 Turing was selected as the face of the new £50 note.

A MANCUNIAN ICON: THE HACIENDA You cannot talk about Manchester without mentioning music! The city has a long and vibrant musical history, producing top home-grown bands that helped define a generation. The “Madchester Years” started in the city in the late 1980s and was associated with the indie-dance scene or indie-rave. Iconic bands such as The Stone Roses, Oasis, The Smiths, and Joy Division all hail from the city.

The era maintains a strong influence and attracts visitors to Manchester from all over. The Hacienda was a Mancunian institution famous throughout the 1980s and early ’90s.

The nightclub was financed by Tony Wilson, owner of the record label Factory Records and Peter Hook from the label’s band Standing Order. Peter Hook later recalled in his book The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club that up to £6m of Standing Orders profits were used and remains unsure of the exact figure that was lost. During its heyday, the iconic venue hosted many legendary artists including a then-unknown Madonna who played her first UK performance at The Hacienda. The club opened on May www.lancmag.com

ESTER 21st, 1982, as a members-only club which was short-lived due to not making enough money. In 1986 the venue came into its own as iconic house nights such as Nude filled the dance-floor and queues to get in circled around the building. In the late ‘80s, drugs were rife and in 1989 the first ecstasy related death occurred. Over the next few years, the club gained a notorious reputation for gang violence and narcotics. On June 28, 1997, the crowd took to the dance floor for the last time after the club lost its licence.

The building was demolished in 2002 and apartments were built on the space. That same year the British film 24 Hour Party People starring Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson chronicling the vibrant musical era was released. A month after it was demolished The Hacienda rose from the ashes for one night only with each detail recreated meticulously for the film in an Ancoats warehouse.

THE UK’S FASTEST GROWING CITY AND ITS BOOMING ECONOMY Greater Manchester’s population grew by 149% between 2002 and 2015 and is now the fastest-growing city in the UK with a population of over 2.7 million. In 2021 a new study chose Manchester as the best place to live and work in the UK for young professionals. Factors included affordable rent, number of live job opportunities and a vibrant lifestyle. Investment has been thick and fast over the last few years and Media City at Salford Quays led the www.lancmag.com

way as a £650m plus project which created a 200-acre creative hub which the BBC, Granada and ITV all relocated to. What was once a derelict wasteland is now full of life, bars, restaurants, and corporate buildings providing a huge boost to the local economy. Manchester city centre continues to grow rapidly with ongoing construction and high-quality office blocks popping up across its skyline.

The city boasts a huge presence of FTSE 100 Companies and several head offices who have chosen to relocate to the area. There are also many home-grown companies such as Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing, JD Sports, McVities, and The Co-Operative group creating countless employment opportunities attracting people to Manchester from all over.

THE PROPERTY MARKET BOOM Covid slowed the housing market down due to job insecurity but the July stamp duty holiday in 2020 encouraged people to take this as an opportunity to move and the house prices grew. Property prices in Manchester are said to be growing twice the rate as in London and in 2021 house prices were the highest on record, the average cost of a home in the UK was £264,00, and £237,380 in Greater Manchester. The ever-growing population of the city often means that supply cannot keep up with demand, so buyers face tough competition and are often outbid.

Rightmove listed their UK property hot spots of 2021 and five of Greater Manchester’s suburbs made the list.

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area for buyers in the UK. Other areas making the top ten were South Manchester areas Chorlton, Bramhall, Heaton Moor and Prestwich in North Manchester. The pandemic also brought a wave of workers from the capital city to the area who wanted to utilise their higher London salaries in a cheaper property market. A city centre two-bedroom apartment costs on average £1,163 a month in comparison to London at a whopping £3,000 per month. In 2019 only 5 per cent of employees worked from home, compared to 2020 when nearly 47 per cent were working from home in some capacity. The pandemic has permanently shifted attitudes towards remote working and many people have left London to work remotely and are snapping up property in Manchester’s city centre.

GENTRIFICATION IS RIFE Ancoats: The city centre’s estimated population in 2019 was 65,000, and by 2026 is expected to reach 100,000.

The once-neglected no-go-area of Ancoats is now a super trendy neighbourhood within minutes of Piccadilly station.

The area regularly wins awards for one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world and has been transformed into high spec apartments for young professionals, with artisan bakeries, craft beer breweries and restaurants on the doorstep. Some existing local businesses are concerned they are being pushed out and the sense of community is gone, although other locals have embraced the arrival of the young crowds and like the buzz they have brought to the area.

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Levenshulme locally known as Levy is a short drive from the affluent Heaton Moor but had a long-standing reputation for crime. Fast forward to the present and the area has welcomed an independent market, a whole host of vibrant cafés and eateries while maintaining its strong community spirit. The Old Victoria Levenshulme South Station has plans to redevelop into a co-working space, with urban gardens and a cycle cafe and the area has been dubbed “the new Chorlton” raising house prices substantially.

Stockport’s regeneration is well underway, and a further £1bn regeneration is in the pipeline to create an urban village of 3,500 homes. The once tired town is now home to independent businesses, and the historic market is a bustling hub with vintage fairs and events. Foodie Friday on the last Friday of the month takes place on the market with a huge range of local food vendors to choose from.

Keep your eyes peeled as the town has been the background for many TV shows including The Stranger on Netflix.

KING OF THE NORTH: ANDY BURNHAM During the dark days of the pandemic, one person always had the city’s back, and that was its mayor, Andy Burnham.

In the middle of the strict tier system which left Manchester languishing in Tier 2 for twelve weeks, the mayor put his foot down as talks of being placed into harshest Tier 3 were underway. Many local businesses especially the hospitality sector were already under extreme financial difficulties www.lancmag.com

and Tier 3 would be the final nail in the coffin for some. Mr Burnham engaged in a very public spat with Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the unfair financial support packages being offered on entering Tier 3. He highlighted the unfair north-south divide as London was set to receive much higher compensation. The mayor demanded £90m to get businesses and workers through the difficult times, he settled for £65 which the Prime Minister rebuffed as £5m too much and the area finally received £60 million, after standing his ground Burnham won praise from the city’s residents crowning him King of the North with a flurry of memes and merchandise to follow.

THINGS TO DO IN MANCHESTER Tread the Cobbles on The Coronation Street Tour Corrie has been on our screens since 1960 and moved from its original Granada home over to its new multimillion-pound set at Salford Quays in 2013. On the weekend fans can take a 90-minute interactive tour that gives access to all areas. A tour guide will take visitors across the famous cobbles, past the Rover’s Return, Roy’s Rolls Cafe and many more Corrie favourites offering up all the backstage gossip as you go.

Dance in the Streets at Manchester Pride 2022 After a two-year hiatus, Manchester Pride is back bigger and more vibrant than ever this August bank holiday. The www.lancmag.com

huge celebration also serves as an important platform for the LGBTQ+ and attracts thousands from across the country. Their website also stated, “Manchester Pride Festival makes a £34 million impact and contribution to the economy of the city of Manchester.” Pride festival is the registered charity biggest source of income which gets redistributed back into their projects and good causes.

Kick Back at The National Football Museum On 17th April 1988 at a Manchester hotel, the first professional Football league was formed, and today the city is home to two top premier league football teams, blue and red should give you a clue. The Football Museum is a great day out for football fans to get up close and personal with the history of the game and iconic artefacts such as Geoff Hurst’s 1966 red England shirt from the World Cup Final. Enjoy the changing exhibitions and have a go on the interactive games to test your ball skills.

There’s Something for Everyone at Mackie Mayor Mackie Mayor is a popular food venue housed in a glorious Grade II listed market building dating back to 1858. The spot is the perfect place to avoid the all-important question “what do you fancy eating?” as it houses a variety of independent food vendors under one roof, no booking is required, just turn up.

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TINBOX ANGEL

By Margaret Brecknell

Based in the historic city of Lancaster, Tinbox Angel are manufacturers of stylish luxury leather handbags and accessories, each handcrafted to an exceptionally high standard.

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inbox Angel’s extensive range of products offers a carefully blended mix of modern and classic designs, meaning there is something to suit every style and budget.

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Amanda Gallagher is the creative talent behind Tinbox Angel, assisted by her husband, Paul, who joined the business in 2020. She comes from a family of professional upholsterers. “My mum, dad, grandparents and two of my uncles all worked in the industry”, she explains. “My grandparents ran a furniture shop with my uncle for many years and every summer I would spend days there.” In 1983 Amanda’s parents moved to Lancaster, where her mother had been brought up, and opened a furniture shop in Caton called Royal Upholstery. Amanda adds, “I knew early on into learning to sew that I had the family gene. I was obsessed with making things, and I had a real passion for making bags.”

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Yet, initially, she did not consider making a business out of it, but instead enjoyed a successful career in recruitment.

Even when, in 2007, her mother passed away and left Amanda her beloved sewing machine, she had little expectation of using it. “I took it laughing, thinking that will never see the light of day again and pushed it to the back of the wardrobe,” Amanda recalls.

It was only when she took a break to have a family of her own that the sewing machine was brought out and put to good use. Very quickly, Amanda rediscovered her passion for the creative process and by the time she was ready to return to work, she had realised, in her own words, that “the thought of my not using my hands to work was just not an option for me anymore.”

The first step towards starting her new business was to find a workspace, as her conservatory at home was already overflowing with her ever growing collection of craft supplies. “I found a vintage caravan which my husband and my dad stripped out, decorated, added some old

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carpet, linked to mains electricity and away I went,” recalls Amanda. She worked for two happy years in the caravan, with only her radio for company, but as the business continued to grow, she eventually moved, in 2016, into a purpose-built workshop in her garden.

The memory of her time in that caravan lives on in her distinctive business name. “I loved my time in my little ‘Tinbox’, which was where the name came from,” Amanda explains. “The ‘Angel’ in my business name is my mum and her sewing machine. As soon as I put the two names together, they just seemed to fit.”

Since the autumn of 2019, Tinbox Angel has been based at the Covered Yard, off King Street, in the historic heart of Lancaster city centre. This atmospheric covered courtyard, which once housed the stables for the John O’Gaunt public house, is now home to an eclectic mix of craft workshops and is well worth a visit. Amanda relishes being in such a historic part of the city, believing that, “It really goes with what I do.”

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A visit to the workshop provides customers with the opportunity to see first-hand some of the beautiful leather handbags and accessories which are lovingly handcrafted there. However, if you are unable to visit Lancaster in person, Tinbox Angel’s website provides a full online retail service, with free UK delivery on all orders over £30.00.

A glance at the website reveals just what Tinbox Angel has to offer. The range of handbags includes everything from modern clutch bags in vibrant colours or funky animal prints to large classic leather tote bags. Accessories for him and her include coin purses, card holders and leather journals. Nearly all orders are handcrafted individually after purchase, so should you be buying a gift for a special occasion, please check on delivery time. For last-minute shoppers there is also a special “Ready to Ship” section on the website.

The company’s ethos is to supply quality leather

goods to people who appreciate work from handcrafted suppliers. Amanda prides herself on the reputation which Tinbox Angel has established over the years for producing handmade leather goods whose quality is second to none.

“We do not make mass-produced items. We put our heart and soul into our designs” she says. The process begins with sourcing the raw material from some of the top leather merchants in Britain and Italy. “We believe in using the whole hide and can always repurpose the scraps of leather.

We never throw anything away,” Amanda explains.

Whilst Tinbox Angel does not produce one-off bespoke designs, Amanda and the team pride themselves on their ability to adapt their existing range of products to suit individual customers’ needs. Customers may customise their handbags by changing the colour or print, choosing a lining in a contrasting colour, including an extra pocket or even by simply adding a tassel. The options are endless and Amanda is always on hand to offer valuable advice.

Tinbox Angel has also invested in brand new state-ofthe art equipment, which further increases the ways in which items may be personalised. The laser cutter enables engravings to be added to products. “Logos, or even poems, can be added to the leather, making a very special gift or corporate product. We have also invested in a hot foil de-boss machine where we can add initials and logos in metallic colours directly to the leather”, Amanda explains.

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The simple, but effective, personalised leather bracelets have proved a popular gift over the Christmas and St Valentine’s Day periods and with prices starting from just £12.00 it is not difficult to see why. With a variety of colours from which to choose and perfect for men or women, the bracelet can be embossed with the recipient’s initials or name. Alternatively, with the option available of having lettering engraved on the inside of the bracelet, send that certain someone a special “secret” message.

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The following recent reviews from just two of Tinbox Angel’s many satisfied customers speak for themselves.

“I never considered myself ‘a handbag person’ until I discovered Tinbox Angel’s creations. Now it’s hard to resist each new style and gorgeous leather! From dependable everyday cross-body bags to sparkly evening purses which make your outfit, every one of my Tinbox bags makes me happy. Beautiful quality and workmanship without being “designer” prices. I can’t recommend Tinbox Angel highly enough.”

“I’ve now had several things made by Amanda for myself and for presents for family and friends. Amanda’s work is fabulous with real attention to detail and her enthusiasm and passion for her work shines through. She’s so helpful in finding the right leather and colour to suit you. I absolutely love everything she makes!”

Amanda has recently started running special sneaker workshop days at her Lancaster premises on one Sunday each month and these are already proving extremely popular. These all-day sessions make an ideal gift for any family member or friend who loves to create things and likes to learn new skills, as well as being perfect for anyone who just fancies treating themselves to a special one-off experience.

bags and personalised leather journals, so keep checking the Tinbox Angel website and social media pages for updates.

With Amanda’s eye for business, her ability to innovate and adapt to her customers’ requirements and “bags” of natural creative talent, the future looks bright for Tinbox Angel and it will be exciting to see how the business progresses over the next few years.

VISIT TINBOX ANGEL AT The Covered Yard, King Street, Lancaster LA1 1JN (Please check website or social media for opening times) D www.tinboxangel.com F @tinboxangeluk T @AngelTinbox I @TinboxAngel

The cost of £155 includes full hands-on tuition and a delicious lunch (special dietary requests can be accommodated if made at the time of booking), plus tea, coffee and soft drinks throughout the day. Don’t forget that at the end of the workshop you will also have your own personal bespoke pair of sneakers to take home with you.

There is, of course, the additional bonus of being able to boast that you made them with your own hands.

Amanda is hoping in due course to expand these workshop sessions to include other products such as clutch www.lancmag.com

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MACCLESFIELD

By Sarah Ridgway

In 2018 Rightmove’s annual survey named Macclesfield as the happiest place to live in the North West. Influencing factors were safety of the area, services, access to green spaces, parks, and culture.

Hall School and The Kings School which dates to the 16th Century. The town once famous for its booming silk industry also boasts some notable Maxonians including Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Bargain Hunt’s David Dickinson and Sarah Burton OBE who designed the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress.

he Cheshire town is nestled between the Peak District and Cheshire Plain with stunning countryside on the doorstep and strong transport links. Manchester is a quick 20-minute train ride away, the train to London is only 1hr and 45 minutes with good road connections to the rest of the country. The town has two independent schools, Beech

A History of Silk

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As you wander through the streets you will notice several warehouses and mills dating back to the 18th Century when Macclesfield was the country’s major silk manufacturer. The story began in the 17th Century with button production which were covered with linen or mohair. During Tudor times

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Spanish silk buttons were the height of fashion but needed to be imported, in response, Macclesfield button makers began covering their buttons in silk to meet demand. The craft was very profitable for the families producing the buttons providing a huge boost to their income. For example, a female button maker could earn four shillings a week in comparison to an agricultural worker on much less. The buttons were traded at local markets and fairs and via merchants in London and Manchester. As the silk button industry began to decline the town’s creatives turned their attention to producing silk instead. By the mid-18th Century, the town’s mills began weaving silk, weavers from Spitalfields in London www.lancmag.com

bombed during WW2, and after the war pharmaceutical company, ICI now known as AstraZeneca opened and still manufactures from the town today.

The Demise of Macclesfield Town and Rise of Macclesfield FC

Above: Teggs Nose

trained the local crafts people and by 1820 the number of mills had grown to around 70 employing up to 10,000 people. Macclesfield silk was world-renowned for its quality and the industry continued to be a significant part of its economy into the 20th Century. The Silk Museum offers visitors the chance to learn about the town’s fascinating 300 years old silk industry including an intriguing collection of silk maps used by servicemen shot down or captured by the enemy in WW2. As silk is lightweight and easily folded it was ideal material to print maps on outlining escape route. The maps were then sent to the prisoners cleverly hidden inside a variety of items such as a gramophone record, a Monopoly board and even inside a pencil. Macclesfield is believed to be the only mill town to evade being www.lancmag.com

Burscough in a 1-0 win. BBC iPlayer documentary Making Macclesfield FC follows the uplifting journey.

THINGS TO DO IN MACCLESFIELD Get Active

Macclesfield Town Football Club was founded in 1874 and ended abruptly in September 2020 when the high courts liquidated them due to debts of over £500,000. The team were relegated from the English Football league with players also speaking out at not being paid during the 2019-20 season. “The Silkmen” fans were devastated, the team played their last final game against Witton Albion on 14 September 2020 before their beloved club was listed for sale online. Thankfully this was not the end as former footballer Robbie Savage and his business partner Rob Smethurst bought the assets of Macclesfield Town, a huge gamble as it had no players, no league, and a completely worn-out stadium.

Smethurst reported the club was making a monthly loss of £100,000 due to a waterlogged pitch and issues with construction. An uncertain challenge lay ahead, to find a team and a league within nine months to be ready for the 2021-22 season.

Fast forward and the rebranded Macclesfield FC now play in the North West Counties Premier Division managed by former Macclesfield Town player Danny Whitaker. On 13 October 2020 Whitaker became the first ever manager of Macclesfield FC and played in the club’s first competitive match at home with

Macclesfield is surrounded by beautiful countryside providing lots of spots to hike or ramble. Tegg’s Nose Country Park remains a wellloved walking area due to its stunning surroundings and views. Those who venture to the top will be rewarded with views of Shutlingsloe’s Summit, Macclesfield Forest and if the weather is kind, you can spot Liverpool to the West and the Welsh hills. Tegg’s Nose summit reaches a height of 380m, at the foot lie two reservoirs, Bottoms Reservoir from 1850 and Tegg’s Nose Reservoir from 1971, both were used to supply factories in the nearby village of Langley and are a calming and beautiful site in all weathers. To finish, rest your tired toes and grab a well-earned cup of tea and a cake at the dog friendly family-run Tegg’s Nose Tea Room.

Teggs Nose

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The Middlewood Way

Go for a Ramble The Middlewood Way follows the old railway line from Macclesfield to Marple and its 11 miles offers walkers, cyclists, and horse riders a congestion-free trail through nature and stunning views over the Cheshire Plain. The footpath extends east to the Peak District and the Cheshire Plain to the west for the more experienced walkers, for those wanting a shorter walk the path runs near the Macclesfield canal, so there is the option for an easier circular walk.

Culture Fix There are lots of museums in Macclesfield including Paradise Mill where you will get a hands-on experience with the stages of the silk process on a real-life loom and the Silk Museum for an in-depth history. The West Park Museum houses a fascinating ancient Egyptian collection which was gifted by Marianne Brocklehurst the daughter of silk manufacturer John Brocklehurst to the town from her travels to Egypt between 1873 and 1891. Jodrell Bank is to Cheshire what the tower is to Blackpool, a familiar structure and family favourite. Jodrell’s Bank’s world-famous observatory attracts thousands of visitors each year and is home to several radio telescopes including the main Lovell Telescope which at 76m is the world’s thirdlargest steerable radio telescope. The observatory was founded in 1945 and its rural location was chosen to be free from radio interference. Significant scientific work and contributions have taken place here, and it was awarded UNESCO heritage status 188

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Clarence Mill - Old Silk Mill

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in 2019. Today the discovery centre offers a fantastic day out to suit all ages curious to learn about the big bang theory and the universe, there are also many hands-on activities and the chance to view the famous Lovell Telescope.

Retail Therapy Treacle Market has been trading for 12 years and is one of the biggest artisan markets in the North West. Over 140 stalls set up shop on Market Square on the last Sunday of the month, excluding December. Expect to find antiques, vintage wares, artwork, creative pieces and lots of food and drink to fuel you as

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you shop. For your retail therapy fix, the Grosvenor shopping centre is packed with well-known brands and plenty of independent outlets and boutiques to choose from. Don’t forget to pop into Macclesfield institution Arighi Bianchi, a luxury furniture destination that opened its Grade II listed doors in 1883.

Whet Your Appetite There are lots of great eateries and pubs dotted across Macclesfield to pick from including the Picturedrome which opened in November 2019.

Originally the town’s oldest cinema it underwent a complete transformation and reopened as a food hall housing independent food vendors.

The Picturedrome was redeveloped by the same team who developed the hugely popular Mackie Mayor in Manchester and Altrincham’s Market and has been lovingly restored to maintain the glorious character of the building. For a sugar fix head to Granelli’s of Macclesfield who has been serving award-winning ice cream in the town for over 120 years. Their Italian style ice cream is all handmade at the Newton Street shop and the neighbouring shop is a small ice cream museum chronicling Granelli’s history, memorabilia, and old ice cream carts they have used throughout their impressive time serving the towns sweet tooth.

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Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Observatory

A Very Notable Maxonian Macclesfield famous son Ian Curtis was born in Stretford, Greater Manchester but grew up in Macclesfield and is buried in the cemetery. He received a scholarship aged 11 to attend Kings School where he further developed his interests in literature and poetry. Curtis was interested in music from a young age and was a member of a church choir as a child, citing David Bowie and Jim Morrison as his inspirations.

During his time at school, he won numerous scholastic awards but teenage years proved quite chaotic including being caught shoplifting 190

records. Despite obtaining nine O-Levels, after a quick dabble at A-Levels Curtis quit and instead sought employment.

He secured a job at a record store in the city centre before starting a career with the civil service including the Ministry of Defence. He later worked at Macclesfield Employment Exchange as an Assistant Disablement Officer.

In 1975 Curtis married Deborah Woodruff who started dating when they were both 16, their daughter Natalie was born in 1979. After briefly living with Ian’s grandparents and residing in Oldham the couple returned to Macclesfield and put down roots at 77 Barton Street.

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In July 1976 Curtis attended a Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall and bumped into three of his childhood friends, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, and Terry Mason who talked of their aspirations to start a band.

History was made and Joy Division followed, although Mason would later be replaced by Stephen Morris as the drummer after responding to an ad in a local shop. The band were initially managed by Rob Gretton before being signed by Tony Wilson at Factory Records.

In 1978 Curtis began suffering from epileptic seizures and was diagnosed with the condition the following year.

His doctors described his case as so www.lancmag.com

severe it would have a huge impact on his daily life. Doctors tried many medications to bring his seizures under control to no avail. As his condition got worse Curtis turned to alcohol and smoking to help him sleep, the medications began having side effects on his moods which was noticed by his wife and family. His condition was so serious Curtis was advised not to hold his baby daughter in case it compromised her safety. While recording their second album his seizures were so severe, one incident included Curtis being absent from the studio for two hours. Peter Hook later found him unconscious in the bathroom after hitting his head on the sink after a seizure.

In 1980 at a concert in Finsbury Park, lighting technicians used strobe lights against their managers’ instructions causing Curtis to collapse and have a seizure on stage. After recovering that night Curtis was adamant, he wanted to do their planned second gig in West Hampstead.

During the show Curtis’s unique and iconic dancing style evolved into one of his most dangerous seizures to date.

Curtis attempted suicide in April 1980 after battling depression and his condition deteriorating, Tony Wilson invited him to recuperate at his Derbyshire cottage. Soon after his wife Deborah began divorce proceedings, and on May 18th, 1980, Curtis wrote a loving letter to his wife and hanged himself, he was just 23. Joy Division released two albums Unknown Pleasure and the second Closer which was released two months after his death.

IAN CURTIS ACRYLIC PORTRAIT by Justin Eagleton (below right) presented to Peter Hook (below left) to raise money for Manchester Mind Charity in 2009 D www.justineagleton.com | I @justin_eagleton

Manchester Music Tours makes a stop at Macclesfield to honour its towns famous son, visiting his home on Barton Street, the Old Labour Exchange on Peak House where Curtis worked and bears a Joy Division plaque. The tour pays respect to the singer’s final resting place at Macclesfield Cemetery, “Love will Tear us Apart” is written on his gravestone, as chosen by his wife Deborah who was the inspiration for the song. www.lancmag.com

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MIRANDA CHRISTOPHER E

ach and every one of us has a dual nature. Living life by our ‘hidden rulebook’, the one formed when we were small, designed to keep us safe; and the one outside of the rules as the powerful creator.

Remember that time when your mother told you ’no’ repeatedly because you could get hurt? That got stored in your rulebook, you gave it some meaning of what you needed to do to stay safe and, to gain your mothers approval. This rule about safety shows up later in life as, for example, an aversion to taking risks; to living your life within strict limitations. That rule served you when you were small yet now, it’s not so useful. Especially when it comes to that new business, that new relationship or going for that career you really want.

The core of my work, is to teach people how to develop their awareness of the rules they unconsciously follow.

When you have awareness you are able to make different choices in life.

Let’s take the area of business.

In my three and half year research project into female entrepreneurship I uncovered so many of the rules that women have unconsciously implemented in their lives, including me.

No-one sets out to fail in business, to have a lousy relationship or to quit their job because they hate it.

It’s just the nature of life.

But what if I said we actually do? We actually set out to fail.

Would you just switch off and think I was a bit strange or would you be willing to explore more?

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Imagine investing your life savings, your redundancy package or even taking out a loan to fund your new venture.

You are really excited.

You’ve wanted to do this for so long.

You create your vision, your plan and start your execution. You really want to create a business that works for you and those important to you. You absolutely know what success means for you.

So, why then do you find yourself holding back, not doing the much needed marketing or jumping on those sales calls? We all know that sales are the lifeblood of any business. Why do www.lancmag.com

My Next Obvious Step... you find yourself distracted by trivial things, like putting on the washing or eating yet another chocolate biscuit?

Why do you struggle to look at your bank account, pretending that your bank balance isn’t rapidly declining?

Why do you feel you must have every last detail of what to do completely figured out before you take a step forward?

When we go for something we want, something different, something that has us acting and being different, there is a pattern that plays out to ensure that we don’t change; or that we change within very strict parameters.

It’s like we have a magnet pulling us back to the same old same self; the one that feels like a fraud, that believes they are unlovable or just simply not good enough to succeed.

The further we try to move towards what we desire, the stronger the magnet becomes.

Then we just rinse and repeat in life.

We try again with another job, another relationship or another business. And get the same results.

What I also observed during my research was the falseness of the vision we believed we wanted to create. When we are truly entrenched and living from our rulebook, the rulebook dictates what the vision should be. “I just want to replace my salary with my self-employment”, not recognising that to do so would take much longer hours and have most entrepreneurs operating on less than minimum wage. Or, “I’ll be happy to earn £x” unwittingly set by the rule that, as a woman I shalt not earn more than my father, to do so would be dis-respectful.

When we develop our awareness and step outside the limitations that keep us safe, we are able to magnetise what we truly desire, no www.lancmag.com

rulebook involved.

But how do we know if our desires are dictated to by the rulebook or are really what our hearts truly desire?

Great question.

I like to think that life is like a raging storm, dragging you along at it’s will.

Swirling and whirling you around, hoovering up everything in its path, sucking up all kinds of detritus to throw your way.

I really didn’t want? Tune into the feeling as you ask the question, sit with the feeling and with patience you will know the truth.

Feel free to contact me on www. mirandachristopher.com/contact to arrange an exploratory call on how your rulebook is holding you back from what you truly desire.

Stepping outside the rulebook is like stepping into the eye of the storm, it’s calm, serene and you can see all of the storm, everything that is going on. From this vantage point you can see all the possibilities available to you and, even better, you can see the pathway to get there. But there’s a catch, to have what you want you have to go back into the storm, otherwise you become like a monk in solitary contemplation, detached from life.

You have to go back into life where it’s easy to lose perspective on what you desire. Getting carried along with the storm of life. It’s important to learn how to step into the eye of the storm at will, to regain our bearings and reconnect with the success we desire.

I found this month that my obvious next step was to look at everything I have been doing, connect into the energy of each activity and really feel it in my body, then ask myself the question, “is this activity really leading me to my heart’s desires”? The feeling reveals it all. Does it feel light, joyful and uplifting in my body or does it feel heavy, maybe uncomfortable and perhaps with awareness of pain? You can use this technique with any area of your life, relationships, finances, business and health and wellbeing to name a few.

www.mirandachristopher.com

And with regards to setting out to fail, use the technique. Did I set out to unconsciously fail in my relationship, in my business or to take a job that LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 193

Thinking About Buying a New Home in or Around Lancashire?

Here’s The Best Way to Go About it LAST year marked the busiest 12 months in the housing market since 2007, and 2022 looks set to be no different.

Above: Redrow show homes in Lancashire

Less than a week into the start of a new year and Rightmove* was already seeing a 19% increase in the number of people requesting valuations on their homes, compared with the same period last year.

Redrow concurs that January is one of the busiest times of the year for people visiting its show homes – and there are currently nine professionally designed, fully furnished Redrow show homes waiting to be explored in Lancashire and Greater Manchester Sian Pitt, sales director at Redrow Lancashire said: “For anyone wanting to purchase a new build home, booking a visit to a show home is a must.

“Here in Lancashire we are lucky to have a wide selection of show homes, catering for everyone from first time buyers to families, and also couples wanting to downsize.

“A visit to a show home is a very personal experience, although members of our knowledgeable sales team are on hand to answer any questions, from the styles of home available, to further details about the development or even the local area, such as how far it is to the nearest shops or schools.”

To help you plan your visit, Redrow has just launched a handy podcast with top tips on what to look for when visiting a 194

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show home, featuring advice from social media lifestyle and property influencers Elliott and Matt, and estate agent Matt Nicol. Here’s a summary of their advice: • DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE VISITING When you’ve chosen an area you’d like to live, and found a development you think would be ideal, make sure it’s by a respected developer like Redrow. Once you’ve done that, go on to the development website where you can learn more about the types of properties available there, take a look at the site plan, and find out more about local amenities. The more you learn about the development BEFORE you visit, the more you will be able to take in once you’re there.

• MAKE A LIST OF QUESTIONS AND TAKE NOTES It’s easy to get swept away by the thrill of looking around what might potentially be your new home, so make sure that you make a list of everything you want to ask on your phone or in a notebook. That way you won’t come away with any queries unanswered. Ask the sales team about local schools, how reliable the public transport is, and what previous or current homeowners have liked about each property. This is your chance to find out everything you need to know. Ask for a tour of the site, if possible, so you can get a better idea of the street layout and open spaces. www.lancmag.com

• LIST YOUR PRIORITIES

• DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE NOSEY

You may want a corner plot for extra space or privacy, or a south-facing garden if you like longer sunshine hours, so decide on your priorities and what you’d be willing to compromise on.

That way, when you view the property, you’ll have a firmer idea of what you’re looking for.

While it feels like a real home, nobody actually lives there so feel free to open cupboards and drawers, view the storage space, check out the appliances - find out what is fitted as standard and what’s an upgrade – and have a closer look at the energy efficient boilers.

• FIND A DEVELOPMENT WITH THE RIGHT SHOW HOME

• AND FINALLY, TAKE A MOMENT TO STOP AND TAKE STOCK

Be mindful that your chosen development may have show homes in a different style to the house you want to buy. While they’ll give you a great impression of the quality and high specification, if you want to experience your own new home’s layouts you may have to travel to a different development or view an online 3D tour. If there isn’t a show home nearby for your chosen house type, it’s worth asking if you can view a completed plot or nearly completed plot; your developer may be able to accommodate your request.

You can take as long as you want to view the show home. How does it make you feel? Could you imagine yourself living there?

You may be the type of person who knows instantly that it’s ‘the one’ or, if you’re still unsure, take time away and arrange a second viewing which might make things clearer.

• ONCE INSIDE A SHOW HOME TAKE IT ROOM BY ROOM If you buy a new home, you’ll be living in it for a long time, so don’t rush through a show home. Go through the property with an open mind, and imagine yourself living in every room.

Sit on the sofa or at the dining table and picture yourself or your family in the space; imagine how your furniture would look there and whether you would change or adapt the use of any rooms - would you use that third bedroom as a study, a gym or a playroom? www.lancmag.com

Fully furnished Redrow show homes can currently be viewed at Tabley Green in Fulwood, Oak Leigh Gardens in Barrow, Worden Gardens in Leyland, The Grange in Burscough and Bridgewater View in Mosely Common. Booking an appointment is recommended. *www.rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/property-news/moving-home-in-2022

For more about where Redrow is building go to www.redrow.co.uk/lancashire

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Families are invited to learn all about Cumbria’s beautiful wildlife, natural habitats, and important local conservation projects – as Lake District Estates teams up with the RSPB to host free educational activities at their popular attractions and holiday parks.

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taff and volunteers from the RSPB will be found at stalls popping up at Lake District Estates’ busiest sites during February and April, including the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, the iconic Ullswater ‘Steamers’, Waterfoot Park and Hill of Oaks.

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Families Invited to Support Cumbria’s Special Wildlife at Free RSPB Events Happening Across the County

Stalls will be packed with information about Cumbria’s special wildlife and natural habitats, while families can get hands-on and explore their surroundings with free ‘Wild Challenge’ interactive activities, such as ‘Wildlife Bingo’.

Pin badges will also be available to purchase and there will be an array of fabulous RSPB children’s magazines available to read such as ‘Wingbeat’, ‘Wild Explorer’ and ‘Wild Times’.

The events kick-off at the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in February, as the heritage steam railway prepares to open for two-weeks only during halfterm.

Visitors will find the RSPB stall at the Railway’s Dalegarth Station from 10am - 4.30pm on February 13th, 20th, and 27th.

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Jamie Hamilton, Membership Officer at RSPB says: “Families can expect to be wowed by the displays found on our stands at LDE sites this February and April. We encourage you to come and talk to one of our friendly staff members about all of the important conservation work taking place over Cumbria. We are passionate and knowledgeable about giving nature a home, please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions you might have!”

Rachel Bell, Head of Marketing and Development at Lake District Estates says: “We are delighted to be working with the RSPB at our attractions and caravan parks. The RSPB do amazing work to protect our beautiful birdlife, wildlife and important natural habitats, it’s a great chance for visitors of all ages to appreciate their surroundings, get hands on and engage with nature, and learn how they can get involved with exciting local initiatives.”

RSPB stalls can be found at the following Lake District Estates sites: Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway – Dalegarth Station: Sunday 13th February Sunday 20th February Sunday 27th February Saturday 2nd April Wednesday 6th April Wednesday 13th April Ullswater ‘Steamers’ – Glenridding Pier: Sunday 3rd April Saturday 9th April Saturday 16th April Waterfoot Park: Tuesday 5th April Hill of Oaks: Monday 4th April Monday 11th April

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Flowers Attracting Our Vital Bees Bees are one of our great pollinators – Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Alan Wright looks at why insects are so important for our plants for and us.

Buff-tailed bumblebee have some of the largest nests, producing up to 500 workers - photo Alan Wright

“One third of our food relies on pollination” A tree bumblebee finds a nice Cosmos by Alan Wright

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any millions of years ago, flowers would stand around waiting for the wind to blow grains of pollen in their direction The pollen was launched from one flower’s stamen in the vain hope of hitting the female stigma of its distant relatives – this required a lot of pollen.

This method of fertilisation was a rather hit-and-miss affair and it is still around for some grasses and cereal crops, but it really needed something a little more reliable.

So along came the insects and some rather clever scheming by the flowers.

The plan was to persuade the insect to touch the stamen and pick up the pollen and then flutter or buzz over to another flower’s stigma.

we bend down to sniff flowers. Admit it, you bend down and smell flowers when nobody is watching?

Some flowers also have “landing lines”, directing insects right into the stigma – patterns on their petals and leaves. Or they have evolved into trumpets with the sweet spot at the far end. How I love to hear bees inside trumpet flowers, like foxgloves, buzzing with delight, “I have found the nectar, yummy.”

This amazing fertilisation has helped our plants to grow and spread out across the landscape. It means we are treated to wonderful smells and colours so we can enjoy those flowers as much as the insects.

But how do you persuade a bee to land on your sexy bits? Sorry, but it all comes down to sex here. First of all, you offer them a substance they cannot resist, nectar – a sugary and sweet tasting temptation that they cannot do without.

Insects will be out and about now as summer draws closer and some people will say they are terrified because bees and wasps sting. That is generalising a bit to say the least, because there are tens of thousands of types of bees and wasps and most of them don’t sting.

Then again, most of us wouldn’t recognise them as bees and wasps, because they come in many shapes and sizes. And then there are Red tailed bumblebee

by Alan Wright (2)

Tree bumblebees are some of the earliest to emerge from February onwards - photo Alan Wright

And let’s get them to the nectar by squirting out sweet aromas. Those are the lovely smells that we notice when

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Hoverflies home in on a flower by Alan Wright There are 25 different bumblebees including the common carder bee on thistle by Alan Wright

500 people dressed up as bees for the Manchester Festival of Nature in 2019 by Alan Wright

hoverflies. A huge number of these insects can be seen in and around our gardens and window-boxes, so it is amazingly interesting to study them.

Look out for the beautiful redtailed bumblebee, the ginger-haired tree bumblebee, and the delicious looking marmalade hoverfly, they are common in North West gardens, adding splashes of colour to your already bright plants.

It is a great feeling to sit out in summer and listen to the bees buzzing and watching hoverflies watching you as they hover in the same spot

for minutes on end. It is calming and great for our mental health.

And while these insects are keeping our gardens looking lovely, remember without pollinators we wouldn’t have a third of the food that we love to eat.

Yes, one third of our food relies on pollination.

Bumblebee in close up by Alan Wright (1)

After all the trouble the plants and insects have gone to, to make sure we are fed and have beautiful gardens and parks, we should appreciate them even more.

Bee activity at RHS Bridgewater by Alan Wright (Medium)

Marmalade hoverfly

by Terry Jolly

White-tailed bumblebee helping flowers to grow

by Alan Wright

The Wildlife Trusts The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is dedicated to the protection and promotion of the wildlife in Lancashire, seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and four of Merseyside, all lying north of the River Mersey. It manages around 40 nature reserves and 20 Local Nature Reserves covering acres of woodland, wetland, upland and meadow. The Trust has 30,000 members, and over 1,200 volunteers.

To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www.lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129

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Stop, Unwind & Reconnect A Fabulous Retreat by The Purpose Pusher Full Moon & Spring Equinox Weekend Join us on Friday 18th March and float out on Monday 21st March ¤ Are you tired, stressed and burnt out? ¤ Do you feel lost? ¤ Are you longing for transformation? ¤ Do you want to reconnect to who you truly are? ¤ Would you like to take some well-deserved time out?

If you answered YES to most or all of these questions, then I invite you to a truly transformational life changing 3 day retreat

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feel you. I understand where you are at. There were many points in my life where I just needed a break or change from the place that I was in, whether that be physically, emotionally, financially, mentally or spiritually. I needed inspiration and guidance. When I sought it out from masters all over the world, my journey and life transformed completely.

I’m Claire Morton, otherwise known as The Purpose Pusher. I thrive on lifting others up to be the best version of themselves. We all came to this planet at this time for a purpose – so why do we let the busyness of life stop us from checking in with ourselves with what we really want: our purpose, passions, dreams and desires?

Therefore I’ve created the perfect opportunity fot you to check in with yourself on a beautiful, transformative retreat for the mind, body and soul called Stop, Unwind & Reconnect.

During this 3-day event, I will share with you, all the knowledge and transformation I have experienced over the last 20 years.

I have always felt compelled to keep on transforming, to find my inner truth, to find clarity and purpose and to follow my heart and intuition.

It feels amazing to have the opportunity to create space for human beings – whoever you are and whatever stage you are at in life – to come and connect, and nourish your mind, body and soul.

You’ll learn how to fall in love with looking after you, your mind, body and soul - and in doing so, learn to become re-connected to yourself.

The Stop, Unwind & Reconnect Retreat will be a powerful, fun and inspiring place that leads you to become your healthier, happier and open-hearted self.

The Stop, Unwind & Reconnect Retreat has been carefully thought out, down to every last detail, to ensure you are able to immerse yourself fully. By gifting yourself the time, energy and space to come away from your busy schedule, interrupting the patterns and behaviours of a busy, stressful and crazy way of life, this Retreat will support you in changing the way you think and feel and open you up to the world of choice and possibility.

Add to this, beautiful, delicious, clean food, high-end and spacious accommodation with amazing views and you just know it’s going to be the most gorgeous, immersive and transformational experience, allowing all of us to stop, unwind and ‘go deep’ before springing into action and reconnecting with our new lives.

The Stop, Unwind & Reconnect Retreat will take place during the Full Moon and Spring Equinox weekend and will include the following: ¤ Supreme intention setting activities ¤ Exploring, unveiling and transforming your beliefs so that you create space to connect with you and your best version of yourself ¤ Building a relationship with all emotions, so it you can move forward ¤ Delve into your energy around money and how to step into receivership ¤ Connecting into the energy outside your five senses, your physical reality - to learn how to manifest your dreams, passions and desires into your personal reality ¤ Connecting with the energy of your future self - the soul you’ve always wanted to become ¤ Group Meditation to reinforce your new personal, empowering and positive state ¤ Embodying the high vibe energy of celebration so you can attract and invite in more of your desires ¤ Embed new habits that lead to success and high performance that are bespoke to you ¤ Come away with inspired action and commitments that are aligned with you, what you REALLY want

D thepurpose-pusher.com I the_purposepusher L Claire-morton-high-performance -coach F https://bit.ly/thesuccessfulkindset

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www.lancmag.com

Performance Spiritual Business Coach

THIS IS FOR YOU, IF YOU: 4 Are looking for change 4 Want to take responsibility for your own life and step into your full power 4 Want to venture deeper into a path of personal transformation 4 Want to live a healthier and successful way of life 4 Want to raise your vibration to attract more abundance and positivity into your life 4 Want to create a foundation for a solid meditation practice

THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU: 8 Just want a holiday and you’re looking for a sports or yoga workout 8 Want others to make the changes for you 8 Want to change others, but not yourself 8 Want to stay in ‘victim’ mode 8 Are not open to ‘go deeper’ and do shadow work The Stop, Unwind & Reconnect Retreat includes: ¤ 3 nights’ accommodation in beautiful North Wales ¤ 3 fresh and healthy daily meals ¤ Water, tea, coffee and herbal teas (please feel free to bring your own alcoholic drinks) ¤ Hatha and Kundalini Yoga ¤ Sound bath with bowls and gongs ¤ Daily Meditation ¤ Transformational workshops ¤ Cacao Ceremony ¤ Full Moon Ceremony ¤ Breathwork practices ¤ Reiki Healing ¤ Yoga Nidra

Bio for consideration for: *Expert Comment * Radio/TV Interviews *Features * Q&As *

Profiles CLAIRE MORTON - THE PURPOSE PUSHER

A multiple award winner with over 20 years of coaching experience in the private and public sector, Claire is an expert in meditation, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, yoga, and wellbeing care as well as being a fully qualified yoga teacher.

She is an expert in meditation, mindfulness, emotional One of the UK’s most sought-after transformational well-being coaches, bestselling auth intelligence,andyoga, and wellspreading as the message podcast host Clairewellbeing is a highly qualifiedcare, woman onas a mission banish burnout and that living a life of reduced stress is not only possible, being a fully qualified yoga teacher alongside her but well within - and she believes it’s the responsibility of high achievers to find this balance, so that the work as a Master practitioner and leadership harness their NLP true potential and make impactful changes in their worlds. Advocating ‘Con she is passionate about halting the hustle culture, something which saw he developmentConnection’, specialist. anxiety, depression and an alcohol dependence and now uses her coaching and leadersh

experience combined with her meditation and Master NLP qualifications to help high pe “sort their head out” and become stronger in body and mind, so they can fulfil their true with confidence and clarity.

She is passionate about working with people to help them leave the world a better place they found it, as a result of increasing collective consciousness as a wider community.

Someone who struggled herself with being constrained to corporate and societal bounda free spirit who in her youth embraced new adventures and her freedom of expression - s that to constrain us is to kill us, and that it doesn’t have to be this way! Having struggled with her identity, having an outer body experience in her teens that made her question e and had her believing she had gone ‘mad’ for many years as she challenged the meaning

IF YOU FEEL THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW! The Purpose Pusher’s Stop, Unwind & Reconnect Retreat includes many different transformational practices and ceremonies to unblock and let go what does not serve you. Together, we will create space for transformation, find clarity on what you want, create new habits and practices and learn how to implement them into your daily life.

When you start to take responsibility for your life and venture deeper into personal growth, your life will change radically. The transformation will bring you clarity, inner strength, focus, self-love, better health, better relationships, empowerment and success, your version of success.

The price includes the whole programme, accommodation and food/beverages.

LOCATION: Nefyn Road Efailnewydd, Gwynedd, Wales LL53 5TH

¤ Travel and health insurance not included

DATE OF ARRIVAL: Friday 18th March at 4.30pm for 3 nights

¤ Places are limited to 10 To book on or speak to Claire about this retreat, email E Claire@thepurpose-pusher.com www.lancmag.com

DEPARTURE: Monday 21st March at 10am thepurpose-pusher.com/retreats LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 201

SIR WILLIAM WALTON A Lancashire Musical Genius

By Margaret Brecknell

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William Walton, one of the foremost British composers of the 20th century, was born 120 years ago in March 1902. Over a remarkable sixty-year career he produced an impressive body of work including symphonies, choral works and concertos. He enjoyed considerable success as a film score composer and was also responsible for specially commissioned musical pieces for two important royal occasions.

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lthough in later life he made a point of not talking about his northern roots, William Turner Walton was born in Werneth, an area of Oldham, on 29th March 1902. His father, Charles, was an accomplished singer and musician, who had been among the very first students to study at the Royal Manchester College of Music when it opened in 1893.

Charles was subsequently appointed as the organist and choirmaster at St John’s Church in Werneth, where he remained for over 20 years. Walton’s mother, Louisa, was also a gifted singer.

The young William showed musical promise from an early age, singing in the church choir and learning how to play the piano. At the age of just 10, he travelled from Oldham to Oxford with his mother to attend an audition for probationer choristers at Christ Church Cathedral School after his father saw an advertisement in the newspaper.

Walton later recalled how the audition nearly didn’t happen at all.

Just before setting off for the station, it was discovered that this father had spent the money intended for their train fares at the local pub. His mother was compelled to borrow the money from a neighbouring grocer, but they missed their intended train and arrived late for the audition in Oxford.

In desperation, his mother pleaded for him to be heard and he was accepted.

He hated his first term in Oxford, as his fellow pupils made fun of his northern accent, and so began a lifelong compulsion on Walton’s part to reject his Lancashire background.

In later life, the composer revealed www.lancmag.com

that he only began to compose music initially “so as to make myself interesting”, as he feared that otherwise he would be sent home to Oldham when his voice broke and he could no longer perform as a boy chorister.

The strategy certainly proved successful. The then Dean of Christ Church, Dr Thomas Strong, was impressed by his work and took the young Walton under his wing, even paying his school fees when his scholarship was affected by the outbreak of World War I. Strong was not the only one to recognise Walton’s musical potential. On seeing some of the Oldham boy’s early manuscripts, the eminent composer, Sir Hubert Parry (today best known for setting Blake’s poem, Jerusalem, to music), remarked to Strong that, “There’s a lot in this chap; you must keep your eye on him”.

“This young composer is a born genius” - The Manchester Guardian

At the tender age of 16, Walton became an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford, but although he continued to excel at his musical studies, he failed the exams in Greek and Algebra which were required for graduation. He did, however, make some influential acquaintances during his time at the university.

One fellow undergraduate was a member of the famous Sitwell family.

Sacheverell Sitwell introduced Walton to his siblings, Osbert and Edith, and offered him a helping hand when the budding composer failed to complete his degree by inviting him to stay with them all at their flat in Chelsea.

Walton later reminisced that, “I went for a few weeks and stayed about fifteen years”.

The Sitwells were at the forefront of the cultural scene in the London of the early 1920s and through them Walton met some of the most influential artistic figures of the era including the poets Siegfried Sassoon and TS Eliot and the Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky. The siblings helped his career in other ways too. Walton first came to public attention when he collaborated with Edith Sitwell in setting some of her poems to music.

Façade is now regarded as one of Walton’s most notable works. The William Walton Trust, which was established following the composer’s death to continue to promote his music, describes Façade as “a nineteen-year old’s work of genius, original and inimitable”. However, its first performance was greeted with derision, with one newspaper review the following day headlined “Drivel they paid to hear”. The avantgarde way in which the work was staged probably did not help in this regard. Edith Sitwell appeared at the first performance, reciting her own poems through a large megaphone, but she was hidden from view by a flamboyantly decorated screen.

Walton later successfully adapted the orchestral score for a ballet choreographed by Frederick Ashton, which is still performed on a regular basis today.

The publicity generated by that first performance of Façade in 1923 did, at the very least, help to raise Walton’s profile.

His popular overture, Portsmouth Point, was performed at the Proms in 1927 and his Sinfonia Concertante for piano and orchestra, with each movement dedicated to a different member of the Sitwell family, was similarly well-received.

Towards the end of 1928 the influential conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, suggested that Walton should write a concerto for the viola player, Lionel Tertis. Several other composers had already written pieces for Tertis, who was famous for having almost single-handedly rekindled interest in the viola as a solo instrument. Walton wrote his viola concerto whilst spending the winter at Amalfi in Italy with his friends, the Sitwells, but was mortified when Tertis rejected the piece on the grounds that it was too avant-garde for his taste. 

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Above: Christ Church, Oxford Credit: Soham Pablo/CC BY 2.0

 In the end, the concerto was performed for the first time in October 1929 with another musician, Paul Hindemith, as soloist. The work was greeted with instant critical acclaim.

The Manchester Guardian music critic wrote that, “This young composer is a born genius”. Such was its impact that Tertis, who attended the premiere, realised almost immediately that he had made a mistake in rejecting the work and soon started performing it himself.

At the age of 27, Walton was propelled to the very top of the pile among the English composers of his generation. His next major composition, Belshazzar’s Feast, whose premiere at the Leeds Festival followed two years later, further cemented his reputation.

Walton had been first commissioned by the BBC in late 1929 to compose a short choral work. Osbert Sitwell came up with the idea of writing a cantata based on the biblical story of Belshazzar’s Feast and personally selected appropriate sections of text from the Old Testament. The BBC had asked for a small work requiring no more than fifteen musicians. Walton struggled, however, to compose the piece within the restrictions laid down by the BBC and eventually ended up with a choral work on a much grander scale. As well a full orchestra and chorus and baritone soloist, its first performance at the 1931 Leeds Festival also featured no less than two brass bands.

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In early 1932 Walton was asked by the then conductor of Manchester’s famous Hallé Orchestra, Sir Hamilton Harty, to write a symphony. During his long career Walton became renowned for his painstaking composition technique and for his perfectionism.

Progress on his First Symphony was typically slow, with the piece taking nearly four years to be completed. An emotional upheaval in his personal life also hindered the creative process when he was three-quarters of the way through completing the work.

Walton was now living abroad for much of the time. His relationship with the Sitwell family had cooled after he began a relationship with a wealthy young German widow called Imma von Doernberg in the late 1920s. He had composed three of the four movements for his symphony when, in early 1934, Imma left him.

The composer later admitted that the break-up had led to a severe case of writer’s block, and the fourth movement was only completed a year later after Walton became involved with Alice Wimborne, a Viscountess, 22 years his senior. The couple would remain close until Alice’s death in 1948.

Walton’s status in the classical music world was now such that he was invited to compose a special piece for the coronation of King George VI in May 1937. The composer whose music had only a decade or so earlier

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been viewed as too avant-garde by some critics was now viewed as the successor to the great Edward Elgar, who had died in 1934.

Kenneth Wright of the BBC’s Music Department wrote to one of his colleagues in late 1936 that, “Walton would love to be commissioned by the Corporation to write a really fine symphonic Coronation March.

No one will doubt that his immense technical ability should produce a March…of equal value to the existing Elgar Marches. He is the one person of the younger generation of composers most able to do this”.

Unusually for Walton, he composed Crown Imperial in less than a fortnight. It was performed again at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, along with a new march by Walton, Orb and Sceptre.

More recently, Crown Imperial was performed at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.

As war in Europe loomed, Walton worked on a violin concerto whilst living with Alice in the Italian resort of Ravello. The composer later revealed that this work was intended to be a musical expression of his love for Alice. The William Walton Trust describes the concerto as “in many ways the most beautiful work Walton wrote”. He was unable to attend the work’s premiere in the USA in late 1939 because of the outbreak of World War II.  www.lancmag.com

Above: St John’s Church, Werneth Credit: Alexander Kapp/CC BY-SA 2.0

 During the war years Walton devoted much of his time to writing film music. Belying his reputation for being slow and methodical, in 1942 alone he composed the music for four films, all of which were intended to serve as unofficial morale-boosting propaganda for the war effort. He later turned his score for the 1942 film, The First of the Few, about the Spitfire’s designer, RJ Mitchell, into a concert work called Spitfire Prelude and Fugue.

Walton’s score for Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film version of Shakespeare’s Henry V is another which is still performed regularly today.

By the time World War II ended in 1945, a major new British composer had emerged on the scene in the form of Benjamin Britten and Walton had effectively lost his position as the leading musical light of his generation. He was, nevertheless, commissioned by the BBC in 1947

to write his first opera based on Chaucer’s work, Troilus and Cressida.

His work on it was halted by the death of Alice Wimborne in April 1948 and it was only eventually completed in 1954. The opera’s premiere later that same year was greeted with polite, but lukewarm, reviews.

At the end of 1948, only months after Alice’s death, Walton travelled to Buenos Aires for a conference. Whilst in Argentina, he met Susana Gil Passo, who, at the age of 22, was 24 years his junior. After a whirlwind romance, the couple were married and soon settled on the Italian island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. The spectacular gardens of the home which they later built there, La Mortella, have become famous in their own right and are now a popular tourist attraction.

Walton died at his home on Ischia in March 1983 at the age of 80. He had

continued to compose music until the early 1970s when his health began to fail. Despite receiving a knighthood in 1951 and the prestigious Order of Merit in 1967, Walton appears to have become slightly resentful of the fact that, in later life, he did not receive the same level of attention as some of his peers such as Benjamin Britten. His self-imposed exile in Italy probably did not help in this regard.

Today, William Walton is rightly celebrated for his outstanding contribution to 20th-century British classical music. His memory also lives on in his birthplace of Oldham.

In the early 1990s Oldham-born artist, Brian Clarke, designed three interlocking stained-glass skylights for the town’s Spindles Shopping Centre, which were inspired by Walton’s music. This spectacular artwork provides a fitting tribute to one of Oldham’s most famous sons. 

Below: Stained glass skylight at Spindles Shopping Centre Credit: Brian Clarke

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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 205

New Drive to Promote Woodland Creation Grants for Farmers and Landowners

• New drive to encourage farmers and landowners to create more woodland as a financial and environmentally rewarding option • Up to £10,000+ per hectare through grants and free specialist advice available to help farmers diversify their business • Follows publication of the England Trees Action Plan, which committed to treble tree planting rates by the end of Parliament

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new drive to encourage farmers and landowners across England to plant and manage more trees has been launched.

Woodland creation offers a profitable way for farmers and landowners to boost their business as well as deliver environmental benefits, alongside food production. The 206

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Forestry Commission and Defra are drawing attention to the attractive grant schemes and free specialist advice available through a new campaign launching today.

The grant schemes will help land managers diversify their business, with the potential to receive a grant of over £10,000 for every hectare of new woodland created.

Woodland creation is one of the options that farmers will have as part of England’s new agriculture policy which is being designed in partnership with industry, and which will reward them for the wide range of environmental outcomes they help to deliver alongside being our primary food producers.

Today’s drive follows publication of the England Trees Action Plan last year which committed to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament – to at least 7,000 hectares of trees per year in England. This equates to just 0.08% of the 9.3 million hectares of farmland in England changing to woodland each year by the end of that period. www.lancmag.com

There are a variety of funding opportunities available to support the creation and management of new and existing woodlands, provided by both Defra, the Forestry Commission, and other woodland creation partnerships across England. Through the Forestry Commission’s England Woodland Creation Offer, farmers and landowners will be paid to create new woodland on areas as small as one hectare (and that can be made up of smaller plots) – from small scale planting on marginal or unproductive land to large mixed woodlands.

The Offer supports the creation of a range of woodland types and sizes, including: along rivers to improve the water environment; through natural colonisation; for sustainable forestry and where their location and design will provide public benefits including greater access to nature. With this support, converting marginal or unproductive land into new woodland can create additional income streams - without taking good agricultural land out of use. Importantly, they will be able to transfer to an environmental land management scheme without having to repay the current funding, meaning there’s no need to delay planting trees now.

Tenant farmers can receive England Woodland Creation Offer funding if both they and their landlord are content with the tree planting proposals.

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis said: “Our new schemes are about supporting the choices that individual farmers and landowners make for their own holdings. These grants are available to help farmers and landowners grow and manage more trees as a profitable part of their overall business model, and I would encourage them to look at that support where they feel that it is the right choice for their business.”

Keith Jones North West and West Midlands Area Director for the Forestry Commission and Forest Services said: “The Forestry Commission continues to support farmers and landowners by exploring ways to grow trees and create new woodlands which meet their needs and ambitions. I would strongly urge everyone considering woodland creation to look into these new grants. You can contact your local Woodland Creation Officer for advice and to discuss tangible benefits which trees can bring to your business.

“Trees and woodland play a vital role in protecting the planet and help mitigate the increasing threat of climate change and biodiversity loss. Creating woods can be an excellent way to diversify farms, especially on marginal land. There are exciting opportunities to grow and manage trees in a way that maximises the benefits they provide for climate, nature, people and the economy.”

Mark Tufnell, President of the Country Land and Business Association said: “We would encourage landowners to consider how woodland creation could fit into their farm or estate and to look closely at the England Woodland Creation Offer.

Planting up areas of marginal land can have many benefits for livestock, water, soil and wildlife management – as well as providing long term income from timber, carbon credits, and woodfuel. Funding for woodland creation is www.lancmag.com

now much more attractive than before and so it is well worth considering for the least productive areas on the farm or estate. Woodland creation, alongside management of existing woodland, is one of the key ways to combat climate change.”

Woodlands designed for multiple purposes can add value to farms and farm businesses, while complementing food production. The campaign highlights the range of public and environmental gains for biodiversity and people that growing trees on farmland can provide. These benefits include: boosting biodiversity; providing access to nature; reducing soil erosion; absorbing carbon which can be sold as carbon credits; and protecting communities downstream from flood risk.

The Environment Secretary recently announced further details of England’s new agricultural policy with support for tree planting and woodland creation forming a key part of the plans to design a future farming system that works in the best interests of British farmers. By taking up grants such as the England Woodland Creation Offer now, farmers and landowners will be able to transfer into a future environmental scheme (Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery Schemes) at agreed points without having to repay their current funding. As the rollout of the environmental land management schemes progress, the Government will include further standards in the Sustainable Farming Incentive to deliver wider environmental outcomes, such as improving hedgerows and combining trees or shrubs with crop and livestock farming.

Through opportunities such as agroforestry, having a more wooded landscape can complement food production and livestock farming. This includes silvopasture systems where you can significantly increase the number of trees in the farmed landscape, alongside grazing systems for cattle and sheep.

Further, the National Food Strategy highlighted that the kind of land that could deliver the greatest environmental benefits is often not very agriculturally productive, with the most productive 33% of English land producing around 60% of the total output of the land, while the bottom 33% only produces 15%. Speaking recently at the Oxford Farming Conference, the Environment Secretary said: “… around 60% of our agricultural output comes from just 30% of land. So we know that it is entirely possible to maintain our food production, indeed to increase our food production, but to do so in a more sustainable way in some areas, and to also see some land use change in some other areas.”

The Government is committed to increase planting rates to 30,000 hectares per year across the whole UK by the end of this Parliament. This forms a key part of the UK’s efforts to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss To get involved in the campaign you can contact: putdownroots@defra.gov.uk and view the campaign here: woodlandcreation.campaign.gov.uk LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 207

New You, New Hobby?

By Anna Foulds

DANCING LESSONS!

Learn to play a musical instrument

Yoga or martial arts classes?

Or both?!

The New year is the perfect time for trying new things or picking things up again that perhaps we have done in the past.

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obbies are perfect to give us something different to do unrelated to work or other stresses of lives and especially after the last few years more and more of us are looking for something new to try.

However, as a serial Hobbyist myself I know it can be hard to keep motivated to do it and I think that’s partly because sometimes that hobby isn’t quite right for you. So here are a few ideas of hobbies for the new year and just a little bit of information so you don’t find yourself giving up after just a couple of weeks.

The idea of playing an instrument can seem really daunting with people spending years learning and although the practice is necessary with every instrument, I have come across at least for a start it could be for only 15 minutes a day.

There are also more options for instruments with different difficulties and price ranges. For example, if you want something quick to learn and at the lower price ranges, there are Kalimba’s, ocarinas and Ukuleles. Many of these can easily be self-taught.

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salsa, ballet, jive or tango?

If you are looking for something a little more involved learn that instrument you’ve always wanted to play whether it be violin, piano, accordion, trombone, or electric guitar.

Don’t worry if you think it’s too complicated, no matter if it sounds terrible at first you will be able to do it with practice.

I started to learn the violin when I was around 6 years old and eventually dropped it a few years later because I was bored with the types of music I was having to play. I recently have started plying again more often and now I’m older I’m enjoying it much more because I can play whatever I want and not have the pressure of doing it every day.

Whichever instrument you feel Is right for you don’t feel as though you must spend too much for a start and if you are having lessons ask your teacher for a few different recommendations before you buy. If you don’t want to buy an instrument or can’t decide which you would like to play you can always try singing lessons.

After the Christmas holidays, many of us are looking to get fitter and healthier but personally, I struggle with motivation especially with running. So, this year I am determined to pick up a new hobby that will help me get fit whilst having fun.

Of course, everyone has heard of yoga it is the perfect way to relax and get a bit more flexible and healthier. The great thing about yoga is you don’t need a big space to do it in and have options of doing online and in-person classes if you want. www.lancmag.com

Learn to sew/crochet or how about knitting or even needle-felting?

Take up drawing or painting

Another great way of getting fit is taking a martial art class. There are many different types of martial art so it’s best to do your own research and find the one that’s right for you. Don’t be afraid to try a couple. There are of course the most well-known ones like Karate, kung-fu, judo and taekwondo but if you are looking for something a little different perhaps Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that incorporates music and dance. I think martial arts are a brilliant hobby to take up and I’m very tempted to take up one myself.

Dancing itself is also a great way to get fit and have fun with different groups and classes in different styles for all ages. You could try salsa or ballet, jive, or tango. There are so many different options to choose from.

Drawing and painting perhaps seem like an obvious option for a hobby but many feel that they cannot do it because they don’t think they are good enough. Although natural talent can be helpful with art it’s not necessary. Like learning an instrument with practice anyone can be good at art. The great thing about art too is that t allows you to make mistakes because it doesn’t really matter. Whether you are painting the Mona Lisa or just smearing paint on some paper if you are enjoying it then it is the perfect hobby. However, as I said earlier don’t feel pressure to buy expensive materials at first. Then if you do enjoy it and keep pursuing it buy some better-quality materials at a later date.

www.lancmag.com

Read Miranda Christopher’s book, MINERVA Manifesto

Another creative option for crafting is sewing, crochet or knitting. These are perfect options if you are wanting to make something that you can use or wear and there are so many resources and books available to help you get started with these. Personally, I was never particularly good at these, although I enjoy them so I looked for something a little easier for me personally and found needle felting, which uses wool roving and a sort of needle to make shapes, and then you can use it to make little animals or anything you can think of. I think it’s a great option if you can’t wrap your head around different stitches and count rows of knitting.

Reading isn’t so much a particular hobby, but it is a great way to spend time. Whether you are using books as a learning resource or to escape to another world reading helps you relax and engage your brain. You can also read books on how to expand your mind and change your life to allow you to be a happier person. These are great to give you a new, better outlook for the new year.

The most important thing to remember however you are wanting to spend your time for this new year is to set realistic goals for yourself. These will give you a sense of achievement and help you keep doing the things you want to. They will also draw your attention to what you can do to make your life better organized so you can lead a happier, healthier life.

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 209

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For Everything Paul Smith

Now Including Sunglasses

Try Something New this spring Driving Experiences for the whole family.

Land Rover Young Off Roader It's the kids' turn to get into the driving seat!

We are inviting 11- 17 year olds to learn to drive in a safe off road setting, tackling slopes, negotiating obstacles and driving through deep water. Get behind the wheel of a brand new, dual-controlled Range Rover Evoque, with tuition from a specialist Land Rover Instructor.

Learn new skills, impress your friends and have loads of fun.

1 hour Off Road Driving sessions are available 7 days a week, may be purchased as a pre booked session or gift voucher

Land Rover Heritage Drive Perhaps the Ultimate day out (we think so!)

Experience 4 Iconic Land Rover Vehicles spanning 67 years of Land Rover technology on purpose built tracks designed to test the vehicles and drivers to the limit.

Full day adventures for up to 4 people.

Half day adventure sampling 2 vehicles also available .

Why not combine your driving Experience with a night away in our onsite holiday cottage?

Please contact us for details.

01756 611060 - info@lre3.co.uk yorkshire.landroverexperience.co.uk Land Rover Experience North Yorkshire Yellison Farm Barns Broughton Hall Estate

Skipton North Yorkshire BD23 3HS