Outdoor Theatre is Coming to Bolton School

Local primary school children and their teachers are invited to Bolton School to enjoy a new magical outdoor theatre production called ‘The Lost Words: Told in Gold’.

The production is the official adaptation of the book ‘The Lost Words’ by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris and has been adapted and directed by Collette Murray. It will be performed by UnderSong Productions and has been described as suitable for family audiences and the young at heart of any age.

A woodland theatre-trail for all ages, ‘The Lost Words: Told in Gold’ production takes it audience through a giant goldfinch nest through to a woodland, featuring stunning 3D installations of Morris’ golden illustrations and Macfarlane’s words.

Audiences are invited to seek, find and speak the lost words; spells wrapped around trees, words to be discovered in the undergrowth and perched on branches like starlings. Let new words take and root and thrive and grow!

Recommissioned by Bolton School and supported by Arts Council England, ‘Told in Gold’ will come alive in the school grounds and then tour across the local area visiting Bolton at Home community centres.

UnderSong Productions’ exciting new show will take place across the school day in their huge goldfinch nest dome, with the School’s beautiful woodland as the backdrop.

Ticket numbers for each show are limited to 50 in accordance with the dome’s capacity and are on sale now (£10 each) via the email mentioned. A free ticket for accompanying staff is available per every 15 pupil tickets purchased.

The shows run times are 10am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm on every day between 11-15 July and 18-22 July. Bolton School’s own pupils from Infant School to Year 7 will enjoy the production from 27 June to 8 July.

There will also be two weekend days when the show is open to non-school groups: 2nd July when it airs for Youth Zone and Bolton School’s Saturday Social club with the Octagon Theatre and when there will also be a Gala as well as two public shows on Saturday 16 July.

Positive audience feedback about the show includes:

‘If a three year old can be totally taken by it without understanding the deeper meaning of it and me to be in tears watching it, it is the perfect package.’

‘If you hear of this being performed anywhere near you, go see it!’

‘An immense theatrical performance that captivated adults and children alike.’

Primary schools are also encouraged to get involved. UnderSong Productions would love attending primary schools to take part in a mass art exhibition and costume parade that will decorate the inside of their huge Goldfinch nest theatre. Please contact UnderSongProductions@ hotmail.com to book your tickets and for further information and they will send you a digital pack with some ideas for becoming an honorary ‘Goldfinch’ school.

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.”

WAS IT PEGGY LANTERN THE BOGGART OF CRIME LAKE?

There is a ghost called ‘Peggy’s Lantern’, in the village of Woodhouses, just outside Failsworth. It’s said the ghost can be seen walking with a lantern or you will hear the ring of her bell along the lake. Peg is sometimes called the Boggart of Crime lake. The lake is man made and was made as a result of flooding caused by a canal culvert blocking the Crime Valley, Crime Lake was formed in 1795. It is said there are two cottages set beneath the murky depths. Peggy’s lantern was a name known by our first witness, Claire is local to the area and her parents still live close by. Peggy Lantern or Peg ‘O’ Lantern is a local tale, told to children who dared to visit the Crime lake area. As a child Claire would play there with others and the children would hear things moving around in the woodland. Many years later in her teens Claire had an experience she has never forgotten. Close to Crime lake and the Daisy Nook nature reserve there is a small public house. No longer used as a pub, it is now an Italian Restaurant but the building remains the same. This is the pub Claire visited that night, and the old red phone box is still outside. Claire explains what happened to her that night in her own words: “As a child we used to come down here to play, we would often hear strange noises in the bushes and we just put it down to the local legend of Peg ‘o’ Lantern. We would all think it was just older kids trying to scare us. If you played near the canal you would hear the bell or the lantern and we would all run for home. There would sometimes be rustling and sounds of movement, but nothing you could see or make out. When I was around 19 I was on a date with a lad that I was seeing and we went to the pub that has the little phone box next to it. It was called The Crime View at the time. Now it’s an Italian restaurant. If I remember correctly I had maybe half a larger and we had both been playing pool. It was still early and we left the pub and walked a little ways down the road. We were both standing there just chatting on the pavement close to the trees. Then from nowhere came this mighty ‘roar’. I don’t know how to describe it, it wasn’t a growl or a roar, more a mixture of the two. It was nothing that myself or the lad I was with recognised. It wasn’t your usual wildlife, it wasn’t a fox or a deer or anything like that. The ‘roar’ was coming from a place on level with us, but the land has a steep embankment here. So whatever growled was either really, really tall or it was in one of the trees close to us. I can’t describe just how deep this roar was. It was like a lion’s roar, a very deep baritone roar. It was so shocking. We both just froze to the spot, and I turned to the lad and asked him, “did you hear that”? and he said “that big roar, yes I did”? At this point he suggested we go and wait in the old phone box and call my Dad to come and get us. As I was ringing my Dad we were both holding onto the small glass partitions on the box in the hope of keeping the door shut, tight. For all we didn’t see anything that could have made that roar, it was so deep and so loud it had to be close. I have asked myself over the years if we really did hear it, and I know we did. People have asked me if it was just a person, or a sick animal. Iv never heard anything like that roar before or since. It was a deep guttural ‘raaaaaaaah’. I have tried to recreate it over the years but I can’t. The slope on the embankment is really steep and it could not have been a person from the pub or any human playing a prank. When I got home I told my Mum and Dad what had happened and my Dad said ‘don’t worry about that, it’s probably nothing, but he did say not to go there again at night. I remember gripping that phone box door and holding on tight which is pretty impossible to do” At this point I asked our witness to tell me some more about the experiences she had close by when she was a child. I wanted to know if the rustling noises she heard playing as a child had any connection to the experience close to the pub. She explained: “If my parents had known I was playing down near Crime lake at night I would have been in big trouble. One particular day I remember there was a group of us, a mix of girls and lads. I was about 10 years old then and we were all hearing these large rustling noises coming from the trees close to the path and behind the fence. It was dark in there as there wasn’t much light within the trees. It was just this one noise and we all set off running like rockets. All we could think about was the legend of Peggy

Colour and Style www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk OUR SECTION ON COLOUR AND STYLE WITH SARAH HARRIS FROM ‘COLOUR ME BEAUTIFUL’

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.

E sarah@sarahharrisstyle.co.uk D www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk HOLIDAY VIBES

August is here and summer is at last upon us! Holidays are at the forefront of most people’s minds whether ‘home or away’ it’s a chance to re wind and enjoy the warmer weather.

I've decided to dedicate this month to all things holiday, to ensure that you look your very best on the beach, by the pool or drinking a cocktail at the bar!

TRAVEL IN STYLE THIS SUMMER

After two years of not being able to travel very far it’s time to re-look at Holiday Packing, dust your suitcase and prepare for that long awaited beach holiday! And instead of packing everything but the kitchen sink let’s look at what to pack and clever packing tips that will make your holiday less stressful. Having a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear is awful but taking it with you on holiday is even more stressful! How often do you find you take a suitcase PACKED with outfits, only to return with (at least) half of them un-worn?

This Summer, I’m giving you my top tips and insider tricks to ensure you can travel LIGHT and in STYLE and no more excess baggage charges!

If you're going away for a two week beach holiday ask yourself honestly how many daytime outfits you really need. Chances are you'll be spending most of your time in swimwear and a cover-up. If you plan to wear each cover-up three times then really you only need four or five daytime outfit options to see you through a two week holiday. The same applies to evening outfit options too; wear each item three times and take separates so you can mix and match them, as well as a few accessories to ensure you can keep variety throughout your trip. You can always treat yourself and use the hotel laundry service during your stay too.

DOWNSIZE

There's no need to take full-size beauty products away with you. Decant them into smaller bottles which will take up much less space in your suitcase.

I would recommend taking minimum make-up products. Stick with your tried and tested favourites. Go for a more natural look on holiday as it will allow your skin to breathe and your natural beauty to shine through.

PACK SMART

Get organised with separate garment bags for your clothes. I recommend using separate bags for each type of clothing so you can easily see what you have and ensure you wear it, it is like having a portable well organised wardrobe! They are also great for keeping accessories separate from your clothes so that they can’t pull or damage clothing. You can purchase them from Amazon, Etsy, Shein and Mull amongst others.

 Cotton Travel Storage Bags - www.shein.co.uk Remember we are all in this together. Everyone will be in swimwear and no-one will be scrutinising our wobbly bits. Treat yourself to a fabulous new bikini or one-piece. It’s worth paying a little extra for the hidden support and good cut. I love this one from Fantasie, a brand that offers different styles and cuts to suit every shape. Each range has a variety of bikini tops, bottoms, one pieces and tankinis. The asymmetric pattern is very flattering on all body shapes, see below.

 La Chiva Twist Front Swimsuit - www.fantasie.com

Another good pattern is the animal print and I found the perfect one in next whilst out shopping www.next.co.uk which has tummy control and comes in different patterns and colours.

 White Animal Print Tummy Control Swimsuit - www.next.co.uk

For those more conscious and in need of more cover a swim dress is perfect and this one by Next comes in three different colours and goes up to a size 30.

 Langkawi Tankini - www.fantasie.com

Joules have a great selection of Bikinis Bottoms which can be worn with a Bikini or Tankini top as seen below.

 Left: Sandy Tie Front Bikini Top & Tie Side Bottoms in Bee Stripe Right: Sandy Tie Front Tankini & Bottoms - www.joules.com 

2. COVER UP

A pretty beach cover is a stylish staple with a multi-purpose. As well as protecting you from the sun, it’s useful to pop over your swimwear at lunchtime and a great confidence booster if you really don’t like to walk around the pool in just a bikini. Choose a shape and colour that flatters you and you’ll feel a million dollars!

 Crochet Embroidered Kimono Cover Up - www.next.co.uk

 Pure Cotton Longline

Beach Cover Up Shirt - www.marksandspencers.co.uk

 Melissa Maxi Dress in Apple - www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk

3. BAG IT

A chic beach bag is a must for any seaside retreat. Use it to complement your poolside wardrobe. Jute or straw is a good option. It’s sturdy enough to keep its shape, even if the bottom gets wet, and the neutral tones work with most colours. Consider your scale when you’re selecting the perfect bag. Generally the larger your frame, the larger you can go with your bag.

 Sam Ubhi Wicker Basket & Tiff Tiffy Scarlett Silk Kaftan - www.saharalondon.com

Straw Mini Tote Bag & Cotton Embroidered Beach Dress  - www.marksandspencers.com

Sunglasses are functional but they don’t have to be boring. First think about the shape of your face. I usually suggest to go opposite, so for example, a round face will look best in squarer frames. Then choose a colour that flatters your skin tone. This will also depend on your Style personality.

Eva Dave of Style Optique in Market Drayton has a wonderful collection and her customised styling advice will find you the perfect pair of sunglasses that will not only suit your Colouring but also complement your Style Personality.  Sunglasses Courtesy of Eva Dave - www.styleoptique.co.uk

Finlay and Co. also have a great selection and they have a new sustainable collection which are handcrafted from Italian Mazzucchelli acetate which is not only better for the environment but also stronger.

 Vivian with Marmalade / Green Lenses - www.finlayandco.com

5. BARE MINIMUM MAKE-UP

 Colour Me Beautiful Make-up - www.colourmebeautiful.co.uk

No-one wants to wear a full make-up by the pool, but a light application can give you that extra confidence boost. Our tinted moisturiser is lightweight and packed with conditioners to hydrate the skin. Add a sweep of golden sand or galactic frost highlighter across your cheeks and forehead and you’ll be oozing poolside glamour. Top up with a slick of lip gloss in your best colour before you head to the bar for a lunchtime cocktail!

 Weave Panama Hat - www.next.co.uk  Aviator Sunglasses - www.ray-ban.com

Hats are also a summer essential as they shade you from the strong sunlight and are a really stylish accessory especially when worn with chic pair of sunglasses! The model above left looks stunning in her relaxed chic style but remember to choose a style that suits your face shape, size and proportions. There is nothing worse than seeing a petite in a large sunhat that drowns their dainty features or equally a tiny hat on someone of larger scale! The eye is drawn to the jewellery which means we can use this to our advantage. Divert the eye away from your not-so-good bits by layering pretty bracelets on your wrist. Choose your best metal. Warm skin tones suit gold, whilst cool skin tones look gorgeous in silver.

 Rose Gold Charm Bracelet - www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk

Don’t forget to pack a scarf! I always take one in my hand luggage as the temperature changes when flying, also it is useful for over your shoulders when the evening gets cooler and it adds a pop of colour to your outfit!

Cashmere Gauze Stole  - www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk

Have a wonderful Summer and whether you are holidaying in the United Kingdom or going away on a beach holiday think carefully about what you are packing! If you need any help please do contact me. Look after yourselves and each other! Warm Wishes, Sarah x

E sarah@sarahharrisstyle.co.uk D www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk

CARMEN POMIÈS

Football Legend and Heroine of the French Resistance By Chris Rowe

Mlle Carmen Pomiès, captain of the French football team, prepares to dive from the high board into the pool at Blackpool, watched by Marjorie Thomas of the English team. (Getty)

• Carmen Pomiés’ life is terrific life story, linking a fascinating individual to the events of the 20th century: two world wars, the advance of women’s rights; society in France; migration; culture and society in post-war America. • She is a significant figure in the history of women’s football in the interwar years, playing an important role in the game in England as well as France. • Much of the history written about women’s football so far has been interesting but rather parochial. The story of Carmen Pomiès is genuinely international, though it links closely with the familiar history of women’s football in England. • 100th anniversary of the FA ‘ban’ against the women’s game in 1921. Carmen Pomiès (1900-1982) is a significant figure in the history of women’s football in the interwar years. Carmen was in the first generation of women’s sport in France, first in athletics, winning medals throwing the javelin in international competitions, and playing football for Fémina Sports and France from 1920. Her life in sport is intertwined with key personalities such as Alice Milliat and Violette Morris.

Carmen also played a huge part in the story of women’s football in England: she played many times for and against the famous Dick, Kerr Ladies of Preston, including their 1922 football tour of the United States. Carmen became almost an honorary Englishwoman, making lifelong friends of important footballers such as Florrie Redford, Lily Parr and Lizzy Ashcroft. During these years, Carmen was not only a player but also an important influence in promoting the game and fighting for equality. Carmen also had fascinating siblings: her brother Georges was a film star and famous modern dancer who died tragically young, her older sister Hélène was a left-wing author and translator.

From 1940 Carmen was secretary to a famous film star, Renée SaintCyr, and was active in the French Resistance. In 1946, she settled in Rochester NY before moving to New York to work for the United Nations. From 1956, her life is shrouded in mystery because of gaps in the evidence. She died in France in 1982. So her life is about much more than just football! ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Rowe was born in Liverpool. He studied at Liverpool University, followed by postgraduate studies in London, Vienna and Providence, Rhode Island.

He was a lecturer at the University of Victoria, Canada, specialising in the Age of Discovery before returning to England as Head of History at Winstanley College for 30 years. He was a Chief Examiner, setting A level History examinations, and author of textbooks, mostly on 20th century Europe. From 2003, he worked with the Council of Europe and Euroclio, training history teachers east of the former Iron Curtain. He joined Historiana as assistant editor in 2010 and from 2016 has authored materials for Football Makes History.

This is his first book for Pen and Sword.

Carmen Pomiès by Chris Rowe, ISBN: 9781399091701 is available NOW in hardback from www.pen-and-sword.co.uk RRP £25

QA&

WITH CHRIS ROWE

QWho was Carmen Pomiès? Carmen was a ‘posh girl from Paris’ who became one of the outstanding female footballers in the years between the two world wars. Carmen was many times captain of France, played on tours abroad, to England, Portugal and the United States, and was an important ambassador for the women’s game. Carmen also had a fascinating life outside football. Her older sister was the editor and author of several books. Her younger brother was a film star and an internationally famous modern dancer. Carmen herself was secretary to a famous film actress, Renèe Saint-Cyr. During the German occupation from 1940, Carmen was active in the French resistance. After the war, she went to live in the United States before returning to France at the end of her life.

QYou have said that you had never even heard of Carmen Pomiès until you were 78 years old; how did you come to write a book about her? It’s an intriguing question, even for me as the author. By 2002, when I retired from classroom teaching, I’d had two careers in History: first as a lecturer at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, specialising in the Age Discovery; then as head of the History department at Winstanley College near Wigan, mostly teaching modern European history. On the side, I was a senior examiner for History A levels, and wrote textbooks on 20th-century history. None of this had anything to do with Carmen Pomiès, though I did start teaching and writing about social and cultural history – and this often involved looking at the importance of sport in society. It was in my third career, as a freelance consultant working with international history projects for the Council of Europe and EuroClio (based in The Hague, EuroClio links together national history associations across Europe) that I became involved with History educators working on issues relating to history and citizenship. This took me to many places in Europe, such as Moldova, Ukraine, Cyprus, Estonia, Bosnia, and Tomsk in Siberia. The purpose was always to encourage History teaching that was transnational and from many perspectives, not just one-sided nationalism. A central theme was the value of social and cultural history as something universal, shared by people everywhere, and how it could be less divisive than studying wars, revolutions, and national histories Sorry for the lengthy History teacher’s explanation here! But working around Europe really changed my life and the ways I thought about History.

QCan you tell us how all this connects to Carmen Pomiès? Trust me, it really does! By 2016, at a EuroClio conference in Belfast, a group of friends and colleagues was ready to launch our plan to use football as a way of enticing young people to look deeper into history. The result was a new website, footballmakeshistory.eu – a way to showcase stories, videos and learning activities that would provide, we hoped, a ‘toolkit’ full of attention-grabbing sources that would use enthusiasm for football as a ‘hook’ to get students and educators thinking about big themes like politics, migration, identity, diversity and equality. My special role was providing Football Makes History with 100+ football life stories, and that’s where Carmen Pomiès came into my life. Hers was one of the first of these life stories to go online.

QWhat did you hope to achieve through your 100+ life stories? And why was Carmen one of the first? Choosing names for the life stories was not about ‘rounding up the usual suspects’ – the football stars everyone already knew about. Instead of a ‘Hall of Fame’, the idea was to get young people interested in the hidden histories beyond who won the most trophies or scored the most goals. Every life had to have an important backstory: Black players and coaches held back by racism, Jewish footballers who died in Auschwitz, football people who were victims of discrimination, alcoholism, or depression. Because we wanted to be inclusive and promote equality, it was obvious that a number of the life stories selected had to be women. Some of those selected, like Lily Parr, Florrie Redford and Violette Morris were obvious choices but, as I began collecting evidence about them, Carmen Pomiès was featured over and over again. At first, I was just curious, but it did not take long for me to be absolutely hooked.

QWhat made Carmen’s story stand out as the one you wanted to write a book about? Partly, it was just the fascination of discovering somebody absolutely new to me but there was more to it than that. Carmen seemed to be everywhere. As I researched my life stories on women in football, great English names like Lily Parr and Florrie Redford, great French names like Violette Morris and Alice Milliat, known in France as the ‘Suffragette of Sport’, Carmen Pomiès cropped up over and over again. She was best friends with Lily and Florrie. Her life was intertwined with Violette’s, competing with her on the football pitch and in athletics, as a javelin thrower winning medals in international competitions. Carmen’s story drew me into things I’d only half grasped about the history of women’s football. I belatedly realised how widely the women’s game spread after the First World War and how much interest it generated. More significantly, I discovered the extent and intensity of the nasty antifeminist backlash against women’s football – how women footballers came under attack from maledominated organisations, from social conservatives, from unkind cartoonists, from the churches, from right-wing politicians. It became clear that women like Carmen were not just fighting to keep playing football; they were warriors in a culture war, fighting for equality. This search for equality became a key theme of my book.

QHow satisfying was the experience of researching and writing your book? I didn’t do it on my own! I was also lucky enough to have help from inspiring friends and colleagues in my quest to find out about women’s football and about Carmen. Marcel Put, a Dutch member of the Football Makes History team, has been a terrific researcher digging for new information and documentary evidence. Helge Faller from Germany, probably the best-informed expert on the history of women’s football in interwar Europe, has generously shared his vast specialist knowledge. Steve Bolton, the grandson of a famous Dick, Kerr Ladies player, Lizzy Ashcroft, has become a valued new friend, as obsessively enthusiastic as me about Carmen and owner of a wonderful archive of historic documents and photographs. My older brother, Ian, a French teacher who has travelled more widely around France than anyone I know, has been my minder as I collected books and articles in French and acquired copyright permissions from the National Library of France. At a conference in Eindhoven in January 2020, I met Petra Landers, one of the top players for Germany in women’s international football in the 1980s. Having Petra as a new friend has been inspiring, because she is not only a famous football player of the past but goes frequently to Zambia and Ghana to coach young African girls on how to play the game and how to train a new generation of coaches. Petra also took part in the Climb to Equality, when international women footballers trekked up Mount Kilimanjaro to play in the Level Playing Field match at the summit of the mountain. Working with these marvellous helpers has been a pleasure and a privilege. Also, writing the book has coincided almost exactly with the pandemic. My travels around Europe were halted. People of my age went into a sort of house arrest, meeting friends and family only online or on the phone. So, Carmen became my lockdown therapy, something to think about and look forward to every day. How lucky is that?

QHow do you feel about your book now it’s finished? Very happy, I think. It’s good that now I’ve finished the book I like Carmen just as much or even more than when I started, which is not always the case when authors write about someone they did not know much about before. I also like the way Carmen’s life fits in with the twentieth-century history I taught my students about. On a personal note, I like the way Carmen’s life has some parallels with my own. Like Carmen, I was mad about sports, especially team games. Like Carmen, I sailed across the Atlantic in my early twenties. (She sailed from Liverpool to Quebec in 1922, and I sailed to New York with Queen Elizabeth in 1965). She went to live in North America, in Rochester and New York, in 1946 but later

returned to France; I lived five years in Western Canada from 1967 but came home to England a few years later. Finally, I even quite like the fact that I have not been able to find everything about Carmen’s life. There is a lot of mystery about what happened to her after 1960, or when exactly she returned from America to France. This might seem frustrating but part of being a good historian is understanding the things you do not know. It’s quite comforting there are things for someone after me to find out and finish the story.

The Deepdale Memorial to Dick, Kerr Ladies, installed 1917 Carmen is third in the line, Lily Parr is first; Florrie Redford sixth (Lancashire Photography)

 DAMEN FUSSBALL – WETTKAMPF MIT KÛSSEN | [Sporting Contest With Kisses] International Competition in London. In a new fashion, instead of shaking hands, the lady captains kiss each other before the kick-off Ball in hand, French captain Carmen Pomiès leads her team out onto the field of play with enthusiasm for the battle to come. A German postcard from 1925 shows Carmen Pomiès with Florrie Redford at the kick-off, France v England, Herne Hill, London, 1925. (Ullstein Bild/Getty)

New book from award-winning chef Dave Critchley reveals the influences of Chinese culinary art and Lu Ban recipes.

Chef Dave Critchley is a whirlwind of creativity – in the kitchen, in business, and in the community.

Now, the western world’s first and only apprentice to a Chinese Master chef has found time to turn author – with Cherry Blossom (hardback, 224pp).

It plots his rise and dedication to Chinese culinary arts and also features more than 75 recipes created and served at Liverpool’s award-winning Lu Ban Restaurant, for readers to recreate at home.

The award-winning chef, who has just seen Lu Ban named Liverpool’s best restaurant by the city’s tourism bosses, brings his unique personality to each page. He shares anecdotes of his time in China, while many of the recipes are also influenced by Dave’s expanding knowledge of flavour combinations.

The book’s title ‘Cherry Blossom’ reflects its strong association with China. Each spring it coats the Far East nation in blankets of pink – filling the air and fragrance and offering a sense of new beginnings.

Cherry Blossom captures that feeling – with eye-catching photography of the mouth-watering dishes, while Dave’s journey into the world of Chinese food and culture is still very much at its start.

The last apprentice of Master Wu, Dave continues to learn the culinary arts and his expanding knowledge of flavours influence the food and menu at Lu Ban restaurant, which distinguishes it from any other restaurant in the country.

The recipes in the book are inspired by Dave’s travels and experiences in China and each recipe in the book has featured on the Lu Ban menu.

Across more than 200 pages, Dave, in partnership with Lu Ban director and fellow chef Mike Mounfield, delivers a wealth of appetising options across defined chapters and catering for all tastes with meat, fish and vegetarian dishes.

Chapters include snacks, soups, dim sum, small plates, large plates, side dishes, dumplings and desserts.

CHERRY BLOSSOM

By Dave J Critchley

Cherry Blossom by Dave J Critchley is available NOW in hardback from www.awaywithmedia.com/buy-books/ cherry-blossom RRP £35

There is also a chapter to recreate the kitchen’s sauces and seasonings while Cherry Blossom also includes a section dedicated to the restaurant’s cocktails.

DISHES INCLUDE:

· Five flavour cucumber – Dave’s very first Chinese dish · Jasmine smoked pork baby ribs · Kung Pao Cauliflower · Poached Chinese Pear and Jinhua Ham · Chicken Wings Critchley Style · Bok Choi GBM · Cherry Blossom – Lu Ban’s signature dessert

The book, published by A Way With Media, is priced at £35 (plus P+P) and is available to buy online or in person from the restaurant.

ABOUT DAVE CRITCHLEY

Dave Critchley is one of the best-known chefs in northwest England. A one-time graphic designer, he has found his creativity in restaurants across Manchester and his home city of Liverpool.

Bestowed the honour of being the UK’s only apprentice to one of China’s Master chefs – Master Wu – he is continually expanding his knowledge and appreciation of Chinese culinary art.

He has played a key role in setting up various initiatives in the city of Liverpool, including Well Fed Boxes, Liverpool Independent Delivery Service and Global Scouse Day, which celebrates the city’s famous stew.

More recently, Dave’s creative culinary skills have come to the wider attention of the public via the BBC’s Great British Menu, having appeared in the regional heats in Series 16 and 17.

Cherry Blossom is Dave Critchley’s first book.

KEY FIGURES ABOARD RMS TITANIC

Superstars and Scapegoats By Anthony Nicholas

KEY FIGURES ABOARD RMS TITANIC Superstars and Scapegoats by Anthony Nicholas, ISBN: 9781399086004 is available NOW in hardback from www.pen-and-sword.co.uk RRP £20

• 110 years after the sinking of Titanic, the book reveals a series of key characters who affected the fates of the ship and its passengers. • For the first time ever, the book explores each of these individuals’ history, background and life experiences. • Provides context for their actions on the night that Titanic sank. • Discusses how their combined decisions, actions and omissions impacted the events of that night.

Titanic. The Marilyn Monroe of ocean liners. A sleek, sultry beauty, taken out way before her time. A kind of 21st century Flying Dutchman, with interiors by Cesar Ritz, still striving to achieve the waters of a port she can never reach.

Fuelled by a subtle mixture of horror, fascination and sheer, fatal glamour, she surges heedlessly across the still, starlit calm of our collective subconscious, hell bent on achieving her chilling, near midnight rendezvous with her killer.

Titanic is a brilliantly lit stage, carrying her cast of exotic, terminally endangered extras toward an abyss at once both unfathomable and inconceivable.

Here’s where any similarity with any other tome about the Titanic ends.

For the first time ever, a succession of key characters and groups of individuals come to the fore. Centre stage, over seventeen chapters, we meet the men whose decisions, actions and omissions combined like some slow burning powder trail to trigger a final, cataclysmic conclusion; the foundering, in mid Atlantic, of the biggest moving object ever seen on the face of the planet.

One by one, a series of individuals take a bow. Seemingly omnipotent owners and hugely experienced ship’s officers. Engineers and designers. Would be rescuers and embattled wireless operators.

We meet them as individuals, not supermen. Their histories, backgrounds and life experiences are assessed for the first time ever, putting their actions on the night that Titanic sank into a context, a light as stark as that of the distress rockets, arcing into the sky… ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anthony Nicholas has been writing about cruise ships, ocean liners and sea travel for some thirty years. His work has featured in newspapers such as The Times, The Independent, The Mirror and The Scotsman, as well as magazines such as Ships Monthly and World of Cruising.

To date, he has made more than two hundred ocean cruises, river cruises, and transatlantic crossings. These have taken in destinations from Copenhagen to Curacao, and Tromso to Tahiti.

Over the course of these, an almost inevitable fascination with the Titanic gradually surfaced. Over four decades, he tracked the saga of the great, lost leviathan, and those whose fates became enmeshed with her sad story. This book is the result of those decades of considered reflection, tempered with a desire to flesh out certain, long held perceptions with an even handed sense of perspective. The intention of the author was to create a kind of ‘immersive engagement’ experience for the reader; to make them consider this most sensational of stories in a way that they might not, perhaps, have done before.

Anthony Nicholas is also a keen fan of medieval and more contemporary military history, as well as modern, popular mainstream music of the Sixties and Seventies. In time, his stated ambition is to compose a series of travel volumes from past trips. To date, these have spanned four full decades, and covered over half a million miles, encompassing an area from the Arctic to the Amazon.

The travel bug remains a terminal condition to this day...

RACHAEL CLEGG: BOOK ONE (THE ISLE OF MAN TT)

RACHAEL CLEGG: BOOK ONE (THE ISLE OF MAN TT) is available NOW RRP £89 from www.rachaelclegg.com/rachaelcleggboo1

Artist Rachael Clegg is releasing a hardback coffee table book featuring her iconic artwork along with rarely seen Isle of Man TT racing images. The book celebrates ten years of Rachael Clegg’s Milestones art photography – shot on the iconic TT course – and a collection of very special archive images dating back to the first TT in 1907.

The new 280-page book, simply known as Rachael Clegg: Book One (the Isle of Man TT), features a striking collection of photography celebrating the island’s unparalleled racing heritage, and is now available for pre-order.

Rachael Clegg, a renowned artist and motorcycle journalist, and daughter of a former TT racer, has compiled the book including never-before-seen sketches, behind the scenes images and a section dedicated to the history of the TT.

The historical section features incredible, rarely seen archive images dating back 115-years to the first Isle of Man TT, courtesy of the Mortons Archive – a treasure trove of motorcycling history.

Rachael Clegg: Book One (the Isle of Man TT) also incorporates the main body of Clegg’s highly collectable back catalogue of Milestones photographs, which have gained a cult following since the launch of the first edition a decade ago.

The series is directed by Clegg herself, who also appears in the nude, choreographed shots to illustrate real-life stories from the Isle of Man’s rich racing history, with almost all photographs shot at the same spot where a significant racing moment occurred.

Clegg began her Milestones series following her background as the daughter and granddaughter of TT racers Noel Clegg and Tom Clegg and a career in the visual arts.

The unique nature of the images regularly contain props loaned to her from TT legends, like 23-time winner John McGuinness, podium finisher and TV personality Guy Martin, multiple TT winner Phil Read, and current lap record holder Peter Hickman, as well as objects and bikes from the Murray Museum and the National Motorcycle Museum. Clegg’s work won her a place in the FIM’s Book of Women Motorcycling last year.

A dedicated exhibition stand showcasing the book and its work will be present at this year’s Isle of Man TT races – the first TT racing the Island has seen since the COVID19 pandemic – alongside a selection of some iconic modern classic race bikes.

Clegg will be taking pre orders for the book and showcasing her art-prints at the TT Exhibition prior to the official launch at a London Gallery, with further details being confirmed soon.

For those not able to attend the Isle of Man TT, pre-orders of Rachael Clegg: Book One (the Isle of Man TT) can be made here:

www.rachaelclegg.com/ rachaelcleggboo1

Rachael Clegg said:

“The Isle of Man TT has been incredibly close to my heart since childhood. It began when I would watch my father competing in the races, in complete awe of him, and I’ve been addicted to the island and its racing ever since.

My grandparents also lived there, and my uncle (Manx Leathers) made leathers for the likes of and Robert and Joey Dunlop, so there’s a sort of umbilical chord that connects me to the TT and the Isle of Man.

The book is a special edition passion project, which I think will resonate with the droves of avid TT fans around the globe. The photographs – my own collection and those from the Mortons archive – have been carefully selected to tell the TT’s story.

This book has been a long time in the making, and I am very excited to be finally releasing it out into the world for fans to enjoy!”