The Lancashire & North West Magazine | November 2020

www.lancmag.com

November 2020

ÂŁ2.45

From the Lakes to Lancashire meet the dynamic company making waves The

Christmas Decorators

The Torpedo

A Lancashire invention

from America to Lancashire

Ruby Hoyle

World Champion Kickboxer

A lost purse leads to

a strange tale Our personal health coach

helps you manage stress A glimpse of

Victorian Lancashire Inside...we help you kickstart your Christmas gift search

Contents...

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66

102

Darwen

Lytham

Manchester

Features

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42

16

30

8

Robert Whitehead

12

Blackpool Battle of Britain Tribute

16

Manchester art gallery opens more days

22

Alternative bonfire night suggestions

30

A glimpse of Victorian Lancashire

40

The Vitofoam Murders

42

Heart UK - how to eat well

48

The story of the Christmas Decorators

52

From the Lakes to Lancashire, meet the dynamic company making waves

60

A lost purse leads to a story of an unusual sighting

76

Harold William Ainsworth

92

Liverpool Theatre Festival

112 The Christmas gift guide 120 The Sea Watch Foundation 124 Rare lizards being released back into the sand dunes

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134 Our food critic 142 Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes 152 A profile of Elmsfield Joinery 162 Looking back at a rosy summer 178 Taking a look at a Wedding company with a difference 182 A profile of Ruby Hoyle, a world champion kick boxer 192 Bolton School virtual run 196 Plants finding new places to grow after lockdown 200 Home DIY tips 204 DJ Shub collaborates with Phoenix on new single ‘The Social’ 208 Show us your pets

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Contents Regulars 64

Books

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Wildlife

November 2020 • Volume 43 Number 11

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151

134 Our food critic 138 Recipe 151 Peter Rutt 158 The life of Di 160 Around the region 166 Colour me beautiful 172 Moo style 176 Nelly’s Blog 206 Horoscope 210 Business index

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134

166

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www.lancmag.com

November 2020

£2.45

From the Lakes to Lancashire

meet the dynamic company making waves The

Christmas Decorators

The Torpedo

a Lancashire invention

from America to Lancashire

Ruby Hoyle

Editorial 01253 336588 editorial@lancashiremagazine.co.uk Sales Enquiries • 07918 685673

World Champion Kickboxer

A lost purse leads to

a strange tale Our personal health coach

helps you manage stress A glimpse of

Victorian Lancashire Inside...we help you kickstart your Christmas gift search

COVER: Cumbria taken from Bispham by Stephen Cheatley

4

Managing Director Natalie Christopher natalie@lancashiremagazine.co.uk

Design Manager • Hugh Dairy Designers • Maralette Wenham Roget Pode Accounts • 01253 336582

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General enquiries/subscriptions Sharon Henry 01253 336588 sharon@countymags.co.uk The Lancashire & North West Magazine Ltd, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 6NZ Writers Jessica Gregson • Stephen Roberts • Andrew Harris • Duncan Hodgson • Bevan Ridehalgh • Carl Lee • Karen Pennington • Bernard Bale • Tony Burdon • Pam Graham • Mairead Mahon • Stephanie Monk

UK only Subscription rate: 1 year £25 – saving of £4.40 2 year £48 – saving of £10 3 years £73 – saving of £15 5 year £115 – saving of £32 /thelancashiremagazine @lancashiremag

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.

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In this issue...

November issue and you realise you are turning the lights on in your house early now and there is a nip in the air in the mornings to wake you up.

an old mining village between Wigan and Warrington. They all got together and created a bit of magic. They started smartening up the backstreet with flowers and seating, which progressed to artwork on the fences. A lovely tale of community spirit with the project going on to win Wigan Council Best Garden category.

So, what’s in store for you in this month’s magazine. Well we have a few gift guides for you, in case you are wondering what to get those family members and friends who are hard to buy for. From headphones to candles to notebooks and pens, you should find inspiration here.

We have the story of how two people realised they could make a business putting Christmas decorations up. From starting putting lights and baubles outside a restaurant in Colorado, America, to putting decorations up for Steven Speilberg and Kevin Costner. Returning to the UK, next it was the Hertfordshire mansion of David and Victoria Beckham, their client list has gone on to include top hotels and eateries.

It wouldn’t be the Lancashire magazine without a bit ‘o’ history so Harold Cunliffe takes us back to Victorian Lancashire. We are still experiencing the effects of Covid 19, but epidemics happened around 140 years ago too. Harold reveals Lancashire Victorian life through newspapers and periodicals. Looking at the old photographs of life back is fascinating to see how things have changed.

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We tell the tale of Robert Whitehead, born in Bolton, who became a marine engineer. His career led him to design one of the most influential devices used in war.

In December 1866, Robert demonstrated his invention, the worlds first torpedo.

William Harold Ainsworth

William Harold Ainsworth was a Lancashire novelist born in Manchester in 1805. He had a reputation of of glorifying criminals in his stories, and wrote about the Lancashire witches and his fictional accounts of the time are still interesting today. His book ‘The Lancashire Witches’ is still in print now.

Looking back at a rosy summer is the account of what the neighbours did during lockdown in a backstreet in Golborne,

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

So, onto our regulars. A look at maintaining your health with our new monthly columnist Paul Thompson, a personal health coach and wellbeing consultant. This issue he covers stress, the symptoms to look out for and how to manage it. Other features cover the importance of eating well, staying hydrated, and reducing your sugar intake.

We learn how conservationists have been releasing lizards onto the Fylde sand dunes. How connecting with wildlife during lockdown has saved lives, and plants have found new places to grow.

Our places covered are Darwen, Lytham and Manchester and of course our usual mix of fashion, food and oddities.

Enjoy the magazine. www.lancmag.com

MAKE it a

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Robert Whitehead the inventor of the torpedo

By Margaret Breknell

Robert Whitehead

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In December 1866 Whitehead demonstrated his invention, the world’s first effective selfpropelled torpedo, to the Austrian Imperial Navy for the first time.

O

n 3rd January 1823 James Whitehead, a cotton bleacher from Bolton, and his wife Ellen welcomed a new baby boy into the world, whom they called Robert. Their son would one day become a highly influential engineer, who would transform marine conflict forever by overseeing the development of one of naval warfare’s deadliest weapons. Today Robert Whitehead is relatively unknown, but his story is a remarkable one and one which led him into close contact with some of Europe’s most powerful figures in the late 19th century.

After attending Bolton Grammar School, Whitehead was apprenticed as a 16-year-old to Richard Ormerod & Son, an engineering firm in Manchester where Whitehead’s maternal uncle, William Swift, worked as a manager. Whitehead also attended classes at Manchester’s Mechanics’ Institute where he studied technical drawing and engineering.

In the mid-1840s William Swift moved to Europe to work at a shipyard in the south of France owned by a British industrialist called Philip Taylor. Following Whitehead’s marriage to Frances Johnson, the couple decided that they too would move to the continent in search of a better life and Whitehead found work with the same employer. This position gave him a grounding in shipbuilding and marine engineering, which he would put to such great use later in life.

From there Whitehead moved with his wife to Milan where he worked as an engineer designing machinery for the textile industry. Milan was still a territory of the Austrian Empire at the time and a dangerous place to live. The British couple’s stay in the city during 1848 coincided with five days of intense fighting in the streets between Austrian troops and the rebelling Milan population, which came to be known as “The Five Days of Milan”.

The couple decided to move on again in the hope of finding a more peaceful place to bring up a family and ended up in what was then another Austrian territory, the seaport of Trieste (now a city in north-east Italy).

Whitehead’s work in Trieste in developing marine engines brought him to the attention of the owners of a metal foundry in the nearby city of Fiume, which was at the time also still in the Austrian Empire (today, Rijeka in Croatia). In 1856 he accepted the job of manager at Stabilimento Tecnico di Fiume. Within a few years the company had gained a reputation for being at the www.lancmag.com

cutting edge of marine engine design, with the Austrian Navy a prominent customer.

Around 1864 Whitehead was approached by a retired Austrian Navy Captain living in Fiume called Giovanni Luppis. Luppis had discovered plans drawn up by an unknown Austrian naval officer for a small remote-controlled boat filled with explosives which could be launched from the shore and aimed at enemy ships. From the plans Luppis had arranged for his own prototype to be built, which he called the “Saviour of the Coast”. The device took the form of a small floating metal tube filled with explosives, which was steered from the shore by two ropes attached to the rudder. Luppis was not entirely happy with the device and sought Whitehead’s assistance in improving the design.

Whitehead is said to have worked with the original plan for several months, before concluding that it was unworkable in its present

form. However, he was intrigued by the idea and set to work on an alternative design, attempting to develop an underwater self-propelled weapon powered by compressed air. In December 1866 Whitehead demonstrated his invention, the world’s first effective self-propelled torpedo, to the Austrian Imperial Navy for the first time.

Whitehead continued to work on the project and within a few years the torpedo could travel underwater up to half a mile at a speed of around 7 knots. The Austrian Government purchased the rights to manufacture the product, but crucially the contract which was negotiated allowed Whitehead to hold on to all patent rights and thus he was able to continue selling his torpedo to other countries. Soon the British Government came calling and following a successful demonstration in late 1869 the Royal Navy made

Above: Early Whitehead torpedoes and Luppis’ original prototype

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Above: Robert Whitehead (right) and son with battered test torpedo in Fiume c.1875

a large order the following year.

It too subsequently purchased manufacturing rights and production commenced at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich.

The promise shown by Whitehead’s novel invention was not sufficient to save the ailing Stabilimento Tecnico di Fiume. The company was declared bankrupt in the mid-1870s. Whitehead bought out the company with the financial assistance of his son-in-law and renamed it the Whitehead Torpedo Company. In 1877 he brought out the MK2 model, an improved version of his first model, which travelled faster and further than before.

By 1880 the Whitehead torpedo, as it came to be known, had been sold to many of the leading powers in Europe and was soon being exported around the world. For all the torpedo’s success, however, the US Navy was initially reluctant to invest in the product, despite being approached twice with an offer to purchase the manufacturing rights. Instead, the US tried to develop its own version before eventually starting to use the Whitehead torpedo in 1892 after US company EW Bliss secured manufacturing rights.

The design was constantly updated. The MK3 model included for the first time a gyroscopic device for steering the torpedo, which was invented by an Austrian engineer called Ludwig Obry. This device increased the weapon’s accuracy significantly. By the time the MK5 model 10

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came along in the early years of the 20th century, the device was powered by heated air, in contrast to the earlier models which were “cold-running”.

This allowed the torpedo to travel up to 4000 yards at a speed of some 27 knots.

Whitehead’s invention made him a huge fortune. He commissioned an architect to design a grand villa for him and his family to live in Fiume. He also acquired the large country estate of Paddockhurst near Worth in Sussex. As the torpedo’s success grew, the factory in Fiume continued to expand and develop. In the early

Above: Whitehead Torpedo Factory in Fiume c. 1910

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1890s a manufacturing facility was established in the inventor’s native land with the opening of a new factory at Wyke Regis near Weymouth in Dorset. Once the local area’s biggest employer, today a modern housing estate stands on the factory’s former site and all that remains is the original foundation stone.

Through his work Whitehead also came into contact with some highly influential people. One such person was Count Georg Hoyos, a member of a prominent Austro-Hungarian aristocratic family. The pair first met during the early testing stages of Whitehead’s invention. Hoyos was a lieutenant in the Austrian Navy and commanded the gunboat which was adapted to launch the new torpedo during trials in Fiume. Hoyos became close to Whitehead’s daughter, Alice, and the couple married in 1869. He went on to play a major role in running the business alongside his father-in-law. With his list of contacts and considerable influence, Hoyos proved a major asset in its development.

The family’s influence spread further with the marriage in 1892 of Georg and Alice’s daughter, Marguerite Hoyos, to Herbert von Bismarck, the son of the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck.

This family connection to Germany’s famous Iron Chancellor, who has been widely credited with unifying Germany and creating one of the world’s most powerful nations during the late 19th century, is certainly fascinating. However, cinema fans may be more interested in another family member’s connection to one of the most iconic musical films ever made.

In 1911 Robert Whitehead’s granddaughter Agathe (the daughter of Robert’s son John) married an Austrian naval officer called Georg von Trapp. The couple had first met two years previously when Agathe was asked to officiate at the launching ceremony of a new submarine in Fiume. Sadly Agathe contracted scarlet fever and died in 1922 at only 31 years of age, leaving von Trapp to bring up their seven children alone. Five years later von Trapp remarried. His second wife, Maria, was a former nun and the tutor to one of his daughters. She trained the seven children to sing and they became known as The Trapp Family Singers. If this story sounds familiar, it is probably because it would later be immortalised in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, which was turned into the Oscar-winning film starring Julie Andrews in 1965. When the film was released, I wonder how many residents of Robert Whitehead’s native Bolton were aware of the town’s connection to the von Trapp family?

Whitehead was not far short of 80 years old when he finally retired from the business following a stroke. He passed away in November 1905 and was laid to rest at St Nicholas Church in the Sussex village of Worth, not far from his former country estate of Paddockhurst. www.lancmag.com

The introduction of the Whitehead torpedo towards the end of the 19th century coincided with intense activity on the part of several nations in developing a viable submarine. A rudimentary form of submarine already existed before this time, but the use of such an underwater vessel in warfare became a much more interesting prospect once Whitehead’s self-propelled torpedo came on the market.

It is no exaggeration to claim that the Whitehead torpedo changed naval warfare forever. As one obituary, published shortly after his death, states, “As a result of his invention new fleets were created, constructed specially for the use of this weapon. In all the great navies there are now torpedo craft of various types, torpedo cruisers, torpedo boats, torpedo destroyers, submarines and others, all of them the children of Mr Whitehead’s invention”.

Another newspaper obituary refers to his great invention as “the most destructive engine of warfare that the world has ever seen”. It must have been difficult for Whitehead to live in the knowledge that, for its all technical brilliance, he had created what was called by critics at the time as “the device of the Devil”. He is known to have expressed hopes that his invention would, in fact, prevent war, as the existence of such a destructive weapon, available to both sides, would act as a deterrent to world leaders contemplating military action. Sadly he underestimated the human race’s capacity for self-destruction. The torpedo was widely used in World War 1, which started less than ten years after Whitehead’s death.

The boy born in Bolton to James and Ellen Whitehead in January 1823 was destined to travel a long way from home and to have a significant influence on world affairs before and after his death. The words from the Bible that were inscribed on his tombstone in the churchyard at Worth sum it up perfectly, “His fame was in all nations round about”.

Above: 1866 Whitehead Torpedo in Croatian Maritime Museum courtesy of Juloml/CCBYSA3.0

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Blackpool puts on a spectacular tribute for Battle of Britain anniversary Blackpool staged a spectacular tribute to mark the 80th anniversary of Battle of Britain Day.

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he resort released a video compilation featuring two of the iconic fighter planes that took part in the battle, an Illuminations display that includes the lighting up of The Blackpool Tower in red, white and blue, and a performance

by Britain’s favourite wartime group, the D-Day Darlings.

The short film is being released on Battle of Britain Day, September 15, to commemorate the heroic deeds of those who fought for their country and can be viewed at www.visitblackpool.com/battleofbritain During the Second World War, Blackpool was one of the largest military training centres in the world with almost 800,000 RAF recruits 12

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undergoing their initial training there. During this time, Blackpool residents raised funds to sponsor three Spitfires known as Progress I, II and III. One of the replica Spitfires, nicknamed “Holly”, is playing a starring role in this year’s Blackpool Illuminations display.

In collaboration with the resort’s aviation museum, Hangar 42, the refurbished plane has been sited on a seafront roundabout with the fuselage lit with sweeping search lights and a dazzling laser show.

And it was in the shadow of the Spitfire that the D-Day Darlings gave an exclusive performance of classic songs before being invited to switch-on that night’s Blackpool Illuminations display. Since

Above: D-Day Darlings at Spitfire credit Blackpool Illuminations web

For more information on Blackpool Illuminations and switch-on times, please go to visitblackpool.com/ illuminations.

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appearing in Britain’s Got Talent, the group have emerged as the show’s most successful female group.

Then, as the Illuminations came on, a Hawker Hurricane flew over the Promenade with The Blackpool Tower and heart illuminated in red, white and blue as a tribute to the British forces.

Cllr Gillian Campbell, Cabinet Member for Tourism & Culture for Blackpool Council, said: “Blackpool has a proud history of aviation and a long and lasting relationship with the armed forces.

“During this pandemic, we have lost some of our traditional events such as Armed Forces Week and the annual air show, but we were determined not to let this Battle of Britain anniversary go unnoticed.

D-Day Darlings switch on Lights - credit Blackpool Illumination web

“It is a shame that we were not able to promote the Hurricane fly-past or the performance by the D-Day Darlings so as not to attract crowds, but we are thrilled to be able to showcase the highlights via our website and social media channels.

“Visitors will also be able to see the Spitfire in situ on the Gynn Roundabout every night throughout the Illuminations season.”

John Coombes, Chairman of the Lytham St Annes Spitfire Team at Hangar 42 said: “We have been thrilled to play host to the Polish Heritage Hurricane Flight during Battle of Britain week. As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle it is vitally important that as a society and local community, that these highlights in history are not forgotten as the generations pass.”

Katie Ashby, lead singer and founder of The D-Day Darlings added: “We’re thrilled and proud to be involved with this special feature celebrating the special 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, as part of the famous Blackpool illuminations.

“Our proud affiliation with Blackpool started 12 years ago when the group was first formed with performances at various hotels around the resort.

Blackpool played a huge role in the war and kept spirits up with a packed program of shows, making our involvement in this momentous occasion so poignant.”

This year’s Blackpool Illuminations, which also include a tribute to the UK’s Corona Heroes, with a display of hearts and rainbows on the Golden Mile, have been extended by two months and will shine until January 3. www.lancmag.com

Spitfire in Blackpool Illuminations - credit VisitBlackpool

Hangar 42 Hangar 42 is located at Blackpool Airport, Lancashire. Constructed in 1939 for the RAF at the outbreak of WW2, Hangar 42 was home to various RAF and Polish Squadrons, operating night fighter cover for Preston and Merseyside Docklands.

Hangar 42 has been relatively untouched since 1945 and retains many original features. The ancillary rooms at the side of the building have been cleared and restored with period features and furniture.

The Visitor Centre has been developed to ensure that the sights, sounds and equipment of the era are brought back to life to give our visitors a valuable insight to the realities of fighting on the Ground, as well as in the Air during the dark years of WW2.

For more information on events, services, tours and how to donate, please go to https://www.spitfiredisplayteam.co.uk/hangar-42/ LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 13

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Manchester Art Gallery to open more days each week after fantastic visitor response to its re-opening

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anchester Art Gallery is set to increase the number of days it will open in order to meet visitor demand after welcoming more than a thousand people through its doors in its first week of re-opening.

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Opening our doors again last week following our Covid induced shutdown was a feeling like no other

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From Wednesday 9 September it will open for five days each week, from Wednesday through to Sunday, instead of the current four days each week.

The decision to extend its opening hours comes just a week after its doors were flung open again to gallery-goers for the first time since it closed to all but virtual visitors back in March.

More than 200 people visited the gallery on the day it re-opened (Thursday 20 August), with numbers increasing to just over a thousand during its first four days of opening.

The socially distanced queue of visitors outside the gallery on re-opening day - all waiting for their pre-booked visitor slots - were welcomed once inside by gallery director Alistair Hudson and his staff - who had a surprise for their very first visitor through the door.

Lucky Manchester resident Tatiana Boisteanu who had bagged the very first timed visitor slot on opening morning, was presented with a year’s membership of the Friends of Manchester Art Gallery, along with a copy of the gallery’s brand new catalogue, and a gallery goody bag.

Alistair Hudson, Director of Manchester Art Gallery said: “Opening our doors again last week following our Covid induced shutdown was a feeling like no other.

“When the gallery was forced to close its doors back in March this was the first time it had been closed in its 200-year history - even two world wars had not seen it shut.

“After 155 days of shuttered windows and culture in quarantine, it was a joy to finally fling open the doors and welcome people back inside.

“Of course we were a bit nervous beforehand about how visitors would respond - both in terms of the new safety measures, and also whether they would even come at all!

“But our opening week - short though it was at only four days - went brilliantly with staff and visitors alike adapting quickly to all the LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 17

safety measures we’ve put in place, and we saw increasing numbers of visitors throughout the week.

“Now that we know our systems work, and that the demand to visit the gallery again is there, we plan to increase the number of days we’re open each week to five from September - and we can’t wait to welcome even more people back inside.”

Visitors to the gallery will be able to see its much-loved displays of British and International art and design, including the world famous Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Millais, Holman Hunt and Rossetti, and other highlights including works by Stubbs, Turner, Landseer, Lord Leighton, and Wagner’s The Chariot Race.

Also on display until 4 October 2020 is the exhibition Jerwood Makers Open, which showcases five new commissions by early career artists working in wood, textiles, ceramics and metal.

A one-way route though the building has been introduced that will allow visitors to see many of the highlights of the collection plus a brand new introductory gallery. The new display ‘What is Manchester Art Gallery?’ offers a dynamic introduction to the gallery including its origins, how the collection was formed, and how it relates to Manchester and its people.

Current social distancing restrictions mean it won’t be possible to open up the entire gallery straightaway to visitors from August, although plans are being made to do so as soon as these are eased. This means that for 18

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Going back into the gallery again after so long feels like reconnecting with an old friend after not seeing them in ages.

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the moment, the rooms featuring the gallery’s sculpture collection, 17th century Dutch art, Lowry, and Valette will not be open.

The gallery’s main exhibitions programme will restart in late Spring 2021 with Derek Jarman PROTEST! which was only weeks away from opening when the gallery was forced to close its doors to visitors back in March.

Other highlights coming up next year include Dandy Style - an exhibition in November 2021 exploring 250 years of masculine style and identity through fashion, painting and photography.

Also coming up in November will be Bernardo Bellotto: Five Spectacular Views Reunited, an exhibition created in partnership with the National Gallery.

Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Skills, Manchester City Council, said: “Going back into the gallery again after so long feels like reconnecting with an old friend after not seeing them in ages.

“Some things are the same - the building is still of course full of great art, and whether you’re a first time visitor or a pre-Covid regular, there’s so much to see.

“And some things are a little bit different - from the brand new display ‘What is Manchester Art Gallery? to the necessary changes put in place to keep visitors and staff safe.

“Culture is without doubt one of the things in life that sustains and soothes us. Whether it’s an amazing painting, a haunting piece of music, watching a brilliant play or going to a live gig. We’ve all been through so much in the last few months, it’s brilliant to see places like the gallery slowly and safely start to open up again. www.lancmag.com

“If you’ve never been to the gallery before, come and see us, and if you have - welcome back!”

Whilst entry to the gallery remains free of charge, visitors will have to pre-book their visit on-line through the gallery website or via the free-to-download Art Fund on-line ticketing app.

In order to make the gallery as safe as possible for visitors and staff, and to comply with social distancing restrictions, each of the bookable slots - either for individual visitors or for groups of up to six friends visiting together - will be five minutes apart to allow a steady and safe flow of visitors through the gallery.

Booking conditions will also require people to give their names and addresses, and to wear face coverings in line with national advice on the wearing of face coverings in busy public places.

For more information and to book tickets visit www.manchesterartgallery.org

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Annie’s Bonfire

First and foremost: please keep your pets inside on bonfire night. It is very dangerous to have dogs in the garden if fireworks, bonfires and sparklers are being used, as is allowing cats to wander about when fireworks are being set off. Please keep all your pets safe and keep them inside.

Having said that, don’t think being in lockdown means you can’t celebrate the holiday! Though I personally do not condone using fireworks and will not be..., if you wish to use fireworks please do so safely and be sure to purchase professionally made ones and follow all the guidelines and safety precautions. Here are a few alternatives which do not breach the lockdown rules.

Research the history of bonfire night

Especially if you have children who do not know the origins of bonfire night, this can be a fun way to spend the day. There are multiple informative and entertaining documentaries online as well as articles to educate yourself and young ones. This could be a fun day activity followed by….

Make a guy fawkes

Now you and the little ones are more knowledgeable, I’m sure you all know the less known tradition of making a ‘Guy’ to burn on a bonfire. Your Guy (old clothes stuffed with straw or other clothes etc.) does not have to be burned, you could keep him as a reminder of the fun time spent together.

Bake

I am a huge fan of baking and will take any opportunity to whip up a cake or two and decorate it accordingly. Cupcakes with tiny chocolatefinger-and-icing bonfires on top are a personal favourite.

But toppings could include anything; marshmallows, marzipan-Guys, sweets, even sparklers!

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Sparklers

Lighting sparklers is a safe and fun activity for children please ensure an adult supervises them at all times as they are not toys. Also please wear gloves when handling sparklers and ensure an adult lights them. www.lancmag.com

night alternatives

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Darwen

By Stephen Roberts

When I wrote about Darwen before (July 2019), it was lumped in with Blackburn (Blackburn with Darwen). This time I’ll be giving it centre stage (Darwen without Blackburn you might say). It’s a market town of some 28,000 bods (2011 Census), whose citizens are known as ‘Darreners’ and who live aside the River Darwen, although the river is hidden from view in the town centre where its south-north flow is accomplished underground.

The Grade II* Listed war memorial of 1920 in Bold Venture Park (author – ‘The wub’, source – Own work)

Last time I pondered its football team, or at least its predecessor (a nice bit of history that included an unlikely appearance once-upon-a-time in the FA Cup quarter final of 1878-79), Mr. Samuel Crompton who lived in Darwen, and Charlie Chaplin, the Beatles and Gandhi who all put in an appearance.

Then, I was extolling much Victorian and Edwardian heritage, including the Market Hall (1882), Bold Venture Park (1889), Jubilee Tower (1898),

Sunnyhurst Woods (which became a public park in 1903), and the Library (1908). Now, it’s time to hunt out some more ‘stuff’.

I’m going to consider Darwen’s listed buildings.

There are 33 of them, predominantly Grade II Listed (30), with just three having the higher Grade II* listing. Darwen began as a mainly agricultural community that was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. I’m expecting that a ramble through

Darwen’s architectural heritage will reflect this move from agriculture to industry. I’ll start with those three standout structures, which comprise a church, a mill chimney and a war memorial.

The church is sandstone and slate St Peter’s (1827-29), built in a Perpendicular style by Thomas Rickman (1776-1841) and Henry Hutchinson (1800-31), an ‘architectural genius’, who worked in partnership from 1821 until Hutchinson’s untimely death ten years later. It was a so-called Commissioners’ Church, or Waterloo Church, built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824.

The ‘Waterloo’ bit came from the famous battle, of course, which was responsible for a surge in national triumphalism which seems to have extended to church building. The mill chimney (1867) of the India Mill is redolent of that industrial era and is a full 300 foot high so a true local landmark. It’s in the style of an Italian campanile, or free-standing bell tower.

Finally, there’s the war memorial in Bold Venture Park (1920), designed by Louis Frederick Roslyn (1878-1940), a London-born sculptor who specialised in WW1 memorials. The main feature of the Darwen memorial is the winged angel, although the bronze panels containing depictions of soldier, nurse and sailor are also impressive. Roslyn was busy in Lancashire for he was also responsible for war memorials in Blackley (Manchester), Clitheroe, Haslingden, Oswaldtwistle and Rawtenstall. Darwen has its quota of war memorials as there’s also the

Listed structures abound in the woods so this is definitely a place to head for if you appreciate fresh air, nature and the odd bit of heritage

Left: Grade II Listed Lightdown Drinking Fountain of 1907, Sunnyhurst Woods (author – ‘Plucas58’, source – Own work).

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Below: The Grade II Listed Lower Chapel which dates to 1719 so is now just over 300 years old (author – David Dixon / Lower Chapel, Darwin / CC BY-SA 2.0, source – www.geograph.org.uk).

Grade II Listed ones in Lower Darwen (adjacent to St James’ Church, which is another Grade II Listed building originally of 1722) and Park Road (the Methodist Church memorial which commemorates the church members who lost their lives in WW1).

There’s also a Boer War memorial of 1902.

Moving on to some of the other Grade II Listed buildings, we can get a feel for how Darwen has changed through an analysis of these structures. The very oldest ones are predominantly of a farming nature, so: Middle Moss and Higher Moss Farmhouse (probably early-17th century); Bury Fold (a farmhouse originally of 1675); and the barn at Earcroft Farm (1688). There’s also the slightly later and rather poetically-named ‘Bog Bank Farmhouse’ of 1756.

We’ll soon move on to industry though. Low Hill House (c.1812) was built for Bolton-born Samuel Crompton (1753-1827), the inventor of the ‘spinning mule’ and all-round pioneer of the spinning industry, then enlarged for the wonderfully-named Eccles Shorrock (1827-89), a man with a Dickensian name if ever there was. Born the year that Crompton died, Clitheroe-born Shorrock was a cotton industrialist who commissioned the India Mill and its iconic chimney.

I mentioned the 85 acres of Sunnyhurst Woods last time I wrote about Darwen, a verdant spot which became a public park in 1903, so not that long after the death of Queen Victoria and accession of her son Edward VII (reigned from January 1901, crowned in August 1902). 18th century ‘Sunnyhurst Cottage’ www.lancmag.com

is in the woods and has now been re-named ‘Dennis Gillibrand Cottage’ and acts as a local visitor centre.

Built in the 18th century, the two-storey cottage, which is typically of sandstone and slate, has a symmetrical look about it from the front, albeit the lean-to garage spoils the effect slightly at one end.

The cottage was re-named in honour of Dennis Gillibrand, born and bred in Darwen, who founded the Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods in 2000.

Listed structures abound in the woods so this is definitely a place to head for if you appreciate fresh air, nature and the odd bit of heritage. Look out for the Potter Gateway, which dates to 1903 when the woods opened as a park, and is at one of the entrances to the wood (it’s in the form of an octagonal lychgate) and the Lightdown Drinking Fountain, which is a slightly later construction at 1907 (restored 1982) and is a fine-looking obelisk. There’s also a stone bridge of 1903, the Chadwick Lychgate, also 1903, and the Olde English Tea House, known as ‘The Kiosk’ replete with gate piers and dating to just before WW1 (1911-12), plus another bridge (the carved bridge) of 1912 and the octagonal ‘Greenway Shelter’ (a.k.a. ‘The Bandstand’), which was erected in the same year. If you visit Darwen and you’re not tempted to go down to the woods today my question would simply be: ‘Why not?’

Darwen folk were clearly God-fearing for there were also plenty of churches and chapels. In addition to St Peter’s there’s the Lower Chapel of 1719 (so a tad over three centuries old), which is a www.lancmag.com

Above: Grade II Listed Low Hill House of c.1812, which was built for Samuel Crompton and extended by the splendidly-named Eccles Shorrock (author – ‘Plucas58’, source – Own work).

Above: Park Road Methodist Church War Memorial which was erected after WW1 and is Grade II Listed (author – David Dixon / Darwen Old Cemetery, War Memorial / CC BY-SA 2.0, source – www.geograph.org.uk)

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Above: Grade II Listed 18th century Sunnyhurst or Woodman’s Cottage, now renamed Dennis Gillibrand Cottage and in use as a visitor centre (author – ‘Plucas58’, source – Own work).

two-storey Congregational chapel of sandstone and slate, including a sweet gabled porch plus no fewer than four date-stones (the chapel was extended a few times), and mullioned windows and quoined corners. Yum. The Belgrave Chapel is another Congregational chapel of 1847 by Edward Walters (1808-72), who also did a lot of work in Manchester, including the fabulous 1850s Free Trade Hall, whilst the Old Chapel (which is not quite so old at 186466) was originally a Methodist chapel designed by Lancastrian Ernest Bates (1828-77), who was born in Oldham and spent most of his final 20 years in the Old Trafford part of Manchester. The chapel has found a new purpose today as a J.D. Wetherspoon pub, which just fills me full of mirth as my dear old paternal grandad was a Methodist and was forever denouncing the ‘demon drink’. Just makes me giggle at the irony really. I find building re-use endlessly fascinating really. The register office where I married my beloved wife is now a lap-dancing club (not in Darwen I hasten to add). I digress. St Cuthbert’s (1875-78) was designed by Edward Paley (1823-95) and Hubert-Austin (1841-1915), a pair of Lancasterbased architects, in a Gothic style with later addition of the tower in 1907-08 when the church’s nave was also lengthened.

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Left: The Grade II Listed Potter Gateway, Sunnyhurst Woods, which dates to 1903 (author – ‘Plucas58’, source – Own work).

Other listed buildings form an eclectic mish-mash including: a railway tunnel entrance (1847-48); the large Woodlands house (1860s), plus its late-19th century greenhouse, which is also Grade II Listed; and a pair of octagonal tram shelters (1902) in Baroque style. I’m happy. I’ve given you some tips for things to look at the next time you’re in Darwen.

It’s a tale of farm and mill, and church and pub, but whatever else you do please ensure you visit those woods. www.lancmag.com

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Victorian Lancashire Newspapers and periodicals from the past are a great form of primary material for researchers and historians

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oday we find that the media use images of past iconic headlines in news coverage. Items which were documented at the actual time of the event or incident are in the main documenting history. This year we have all suffered with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in one way or another. Looking back around 140 years ago we find that a county just to the north east of Lancashire that some disturbing news was released, “An extensive epidemic of an exceedingly fatal character had been prevailing and had caused 60 deaths in a population of less than 10,000.�

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Above: May Day at a Lancashire pub where the horses where well-groomed horses were put on show

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he infectious disease had been conveyed in various directions by visitors to the district.

The local Sanitary Authority applied to the Local Government Board in London for advice as to the measures to be taken to stop the spread of this very infectious virus. Medical professionals noted that they had never seen this infectious disease before and that visitors and attendants to the sick caused fresh centres of the disease to establish.

The article stated that the Government would commission an inspector to investigate the circumstances of the epidemic to offer help and advice.

One of the ways the public travelled in those days was via the stage coach. It was with great excitement and interest to the villagers of Lancashire when the Liverpool to York coach commenced. “Streets presented a very lively appearance, being lined by spectators all through the towns and villages as the coach passed though with the horses having their faces towards York,” it was reported. A number of stages were set up where a change of horses could take place. Reading through the articles regarding the stage coach we find that all did not go to plan.

A number of incidents took place which had an effect upon the financial aspect of the business.

One incident happened when the coach was near Tadcaster. The axle broke when close to this named town and the coach had to be left behind, all the passengers were conveyed to Manchester

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via Oldham and Cheetham Hill by another coach.

It was at the start of autumn that the stage coach plying between Liverpool and York made its last journey through the towns and villages.

There was much sadness when Hudson’s coach passed through with a large number of horses collected from the various stages, which would be sold at auction.

There are many stories regarding horses which were the main motive power for centuries.

Emotions ran high for those who watched the film, “War Horse.” In one true story which was related from the time of the Boer war the horses did a good deed in capturing members of the enemy.

Our men and the Boers were near neighbours at

One of the ways the public travelled in those days was via the stage coach a fort, so near that when the horses were turned out to water all halters were removed so if the Boers attempted to steal the animals the lack of headstalls would make it difficult for them to hold on. On the day in question the horses were let out of the fort to water, they rushed down to the water hole. What was not evident was that the Boers were closer than had been expected, and jumping out of their trenches succeeded in capturing the animals. The Boers were good horsemen and were making good their escape, guiding the horses towards their town. It was as the bare-

Below: Refreshment for carters on the road to Rochdale.

Image courtesy of Link4Life, Rochdale

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back riders were gaining speed that suddenly a bugle was sounded at the fort, “horses in a trot.”

Immediately the team turned around and hastily made for home, carrying their passengers. Those riding on the outside managed to jump free but a number of Boars were captured, and taken prisoner.

A Victorian Lancashire farmer had a placid faithful old equine friend who had worked well in the fields over the years. Then one day his friend became lame in one of his legs. Deciding that he would give his horse a chance to heal he decided that a few weeks rest in the stable may restore him in to good health. At this time the farmer’s cat had made a nest in the hay loft above the horse in the stable. Soon kittens were heard from above. Old Neddy would witness the cat as she jumped into the hay rake then to the ground to gather food for her young. On one occasion she injured her leg while jumping down to the ground. When she returned to the stable she found that she could not jump up to the hay rake or higher to tend her young. The farmer was amazed when passing the

stable, he heard the cat meowing at the horses’ feet, followed by the horse picking the cat up by his teeth and placing it with its young kittens.

One hot summer’s day a carter was on his way back to Manchester after travelling from Yorkshire. At the point when he was near Heaton Hall, Manchester, he decided to stop for some refreshment. After securing his horse and vehicle he entered a public house close by. Around an hour later he came out of the hostelry to find his horse and cart had disappeared. His first thought 32

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was that it had released itself and followed a passing vehicle, which they tended to do if not secured. The carter had no option but to set off walking in the direction in which the horse was facing. After a few hundred yards he spotted his steed at the entrance gates to Heaton Hall, known as the ‘Smithy Lodge,’ but upon examining his vehicle he noticed that the cart was on one side of the gates with the horse still attached to the shafts were on the other side of the gates.

No matter how hard he tried he could not free the horse and cart from the gates. He could not

Above: Smithey Lodge entrance to Heaton Hall and Park

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understand how the animal managed to get the gates trapped between it and the cart? The answer to this riddle would have been solved if the poor fellow had looked at the wall nearby. There seated were several highly amused mischievous children who walked the horse and cart down to the gates, unhitched the animal, closed the gates, putting the shafts through and then re-harness the horse.

The Police Court heard a case where a carter took his refreshment too early. A young man named as Bob was charged with being drunk in charge of a horse and cart. His father appeared in court enabling his son to carry on working. In answer to the charge his father said that his son had made a slight mistake that was all. (Laughter in court). The magistrate stated that he made a great mistake. He must not make these slight mistakes. I do not think he needs much correction this time; we shall deal with him leniently. He will be fined 5 shillings (25p), and costs.

Not so leniently. Mrs Taylor appeared at the same court charged with being drunk and disorderly. The policeman stated that on the previous night he saw the prisoner drunk and creating a disturbance on the road to Rochdale.

She was so helplessly drunk that the police officer borrowed a wheelbarrow from the allotments nearby to transport her to the police station, which was over a mile. In court the prisoner alleged that someone had given her a drugged drink. Inspector Cowherd mentioned that she had previous for the same offence. She was fined 11 shillings, (55p) www.lancmag.com

and costs, or fourteen days in prison.

A young couple upon tying the knot decided to have an animal about the house. He wanted a dog, she a cat. The compromise was that they would have both. Dog and cat grew up together, lived together for many years on amicable terms.

One day the cat wandered on to the railway line close by. No doubt being distracted by a bird or mouse the feline did not notice an oncoming train. The poor animal was injured and was unable to move. Later that night the master’s of the house were concerned that the cat had not returned. Their other household companion went in search and was attracted to the spot by the mewing of the pitiful animal. The man’s best friend carried the cat home where it was attended too.

Mining in days gone by was very hard work and they encountered poor working conditions.

Women down the pit would work topless due to the heat, which was prohibited by the Lord of the Manor if there were children working in the mine.

In some rural locations the miners had to contend with rats and bats. The rats became accomplished food stealers. If the miner placed his food in a metal kettle the rats would steal the kettle. Bats would fly around in the dark mine occasionally hitting the miner in his face. Should a bat do the same to a mule the animal would kick out and bite any man who happens to be nearby. “For a man to have his dinner stolen by rats, then to be hit by a bat and kicked by a mule, is a

Above: A different view of the Smithey Lodge entrance to Heaton Hall and Park

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Left: Victoria. How the press announced the death of Queen Victoria. Note the columns of the text have black lines.

Left: Hitler dead. This was welcome news to those serving in the South East Asia Command.

This item was published in their dedicated newspaper

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combination of infelicities calculated to make him wish himself at work in almost any other field of labour,” commented the editor of the newspaper.

Another dangerous trade was that of laying sewerage drains. It was reported in a Manchester newspaper that a new sewer was in the course of being laid in the Cheetham Hill district of Manchester. The excavation was about eleven feet deep at the time when two men were in the trench in the course of laying the pipes, when a fall of earth took place, one of the men being buried up to the neck and the other being entirely covered. Steps to extricate the men were quickly put into action. One man was rescued who was not suffering any injury. The other man aged 23 years could not be rescued for two hours and was found to be dead.

Prior to the invention of the electric light the main form of lighting was by gas. It seems amazing today to hear that if anyone was to suffer a leakage of gas, a search for it with a naked flame would not be a good idea, such as a candle or oil lamp. It was early morning at a weaving shed, when shortly after seven o’clock when the premises were entered there was a smell of gas.

One of the staff decided to seek out where the leakage occurred so obtained a lighted candle with which he tested each of the lighting burners.

Having no success he entered the room where the gas pipe entered the packing room, where instantly a violent explosion took place. The employee was knocked down and the hair on his head was singed, but beyond the shock he was uninjured. Damage to the building was minimal.

A door at the far end of the shed had been blown off its hinges, a number of bobbins were later found on a brick croft some 30 yards distant. A man known as “Sandy Lang,” was in the act of washing himself and was knocked over by the blast. The only internal damage was some waste wool which had caught fire and was promptly extinguished.

At the present time we hear that the farming community are suffering loss under the theft of plant and animal stock. The problem of stealing animals is as old as the hills. In a newspaper report from the 1880’s we find that two labourers stole 26 sheep. The sheep were taken out of a fold of around 150 early one morning and driven to market, a distance of ten miles where they were sold at a public stock auction. Both men were prosecuted and found guilty. One man was handed a seven year sentence and the other five years. At the auction payment for the animals was via a check. Both men not having a bank account they entrusted a local licensee to cash the cheque for them, which was to be their downfall.

At the Chester Assizes a man was brought before Justice Lush charged with committing an outrage against a female church organist whilst on her way home late one night. He knocked her down with a heavy blow and outraged her.

He was found guilty and given twelve years of www.lancmag.com

penal servitude. It was reported that there was a “great sensation in the court when the sentence was pronounced.” At the Manchester Assizes two men were sentenced for robbery and violence which took place at Burnley. It was stated that after robbing the poor fellow they both kicked the victim about the head, face and body until he was frightfully mutilated. The judge decided to hand them both twenty five lashes of the cat on their backs in addition to eighteen months’ in prison.

His honour stated that they only way to make them realise how serious their action was, is by inflicting the cat on their bare backs.

Many Lancashire towns had the pleasure (or otherwise) of a visit by an American Doctor,” a man named as Wardle who entered the towns with a Scottish piper. The “Doctor,” was a herbalist who it was claimed could cure many ailments.

In one town which he visited the villagers treated the piper to quantities of his native brew, whisky, which had an effect upon him. When the wagon entered the next town the piper was found to be dead. Police and a doctor attributed the death to alcoholic poisoning.

Another interesting character to visit Lancashire towns was “Professor Poplin.” His claim to fame was that of the champion clog walker of the world. He claims to walk forty miles in eight hours, one hour of which is spent for refreshment.

The challenge was set in a village near Manchester. He carried out the challenge with

twenty minutes to spare, carrying a 20lbs weight on his back for the last five miles.

A national newspaper once requested that I archive the reports as published of public executions. It is a strange phenomenon that once the reader starts to read the extensive reports detailing the execution it is hard to stop reading it in its entirety, no matter how gruelling the facts maybe. Items like these would not be published in this form today. Marlow was one of the executioners who attended the place of execution. At Strangeways Prison in Manchester he had the task of hanging an Irishman. At 8 am. that day the poor fellow was brought from his cell to be placed on the double wooden hatch. A bolt held those securely until the given moment that the drop would take place. Moments before the white hood and noose was applied the attendants noticed that the man had moved from the marked position on the drop. Both attendants moved forward to position the convict at which point a loud creaking noise was to be heard. The convict turned to Marlow and commented, “You know sir, these boards do not seem safe, they should be checked over, someone may get injured!”

Below: Three Arrows Inn near Heaton Hall. A watering place for carters

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Fake News, updated and remixed for a post-Corona world with Jonathan Pie Jonathan Pie’s critically acclaimed sell out show FAKE NEWS finally returns, updated and remixed for a post-Corona world. His live show arrives in Blackburn at King George’s Hall on Saturday 29th May 2021 and tickets are on sale now.

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fter months stuck in LOCKDOWN, Jonathan Pie returns to the road to discuss how corona has changed the world… and his career prospects.

“Brings the audience to their feet - hilarious” Chortle

Jonathan Pie is the exasperated news reporter whose videos have been seen across the world.

With over 1.5 million Facebook followers, his online videos regularly achieve millions of views going viral internationally.

“Smarter, sharper, angrier and more opinionated than anything George Alagiah will give you” The Times

Described as ‘brilliant, brave, raw and analytical without forgetting to be funny’ by Ricky Gervais.

His three live shows have sold out venues such as the Hammersmith Apollo and the London Palladium and have been performed across the US and Australia too.

“a true tour de force” Evening Standard

Tickets for Fake News (The Corona Remix) are on sale now from the usual outlets.

Event Details VENUE: King George’s Hall, Northgate, Blackburn, Lancashire. BB2 1AA DATE: Saturday 29th May 2021 TIME: 7.30pm TICKET PRICES: From £21 (A transaction fee will be charged per booking.)

BOOKING INFORMATION Tickets are available: Online: kinggeorgeshall.com • By Phone: 01254 582579 36

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

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Check openi times ng du Coron ring av restric irus tions

Take the leap onto the property ladder at Weaver Park in Hartford

The three-bed Letchworth is available at Weaver Park

THERE’S good news for potential first-time buyers looking for a house of their own as the latest phase of Redrow’s Weaver Park is bridging the gap for smaller budgets and bringing yet more choice to buyers in Hartford.

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he popular development, off School Lane, has launched a brand-new phase that includes a number of three and four-

bedroom homes that are perfectly suited for family life or young couples sharing. Current prices start from £287,995 for a semidetached Letchworth, while three and four-bedroom detached houses are available from £315,995 to £381,995.

“We’re very pleased to launch this new phase that extends the choice of Redrow homes in Hartford,” says Anna Evans-Kerr, head of sales at Redrow Homes (NW). “The three and four-bedroom homes at Weaver Park are ideal for first time buyers and second steppers, while our other two developments, Hartford Grange

The Marlow - kitchen

and Water’s Reach, offer larger homes that are more suited to established homeowners with bigger budgets.

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www.lancmag.com

“Weaver Park is the final piece in the puzzle and means more people can now experience Redrow’s ‘better way to live’ in Hartford.”

Like nearby Hartford Grange and neighbouring Water’s Reach, Weaver Park features properties from Redrow’s Arts & Crafts inspired Heritage Collection. Traditional exteriors combine with bright, modern, largely open plan interiors designed for today’s lifestyles.

A recent survey conducted by Redrow showed that a quarter (24%) of future home movers in the UK are reconsidering what they want from their next home. Across the North West, private outdoor space, bigger kitchens and excellent energy efficiency are now the most sought-after amenities.

Anna continues: “I’m happy to say all the homes at Weaver Park have their own gardens, spacious open-plan kitchen and dining areas and are well insulated to modern standards to prevent heat loss, as well as including key elements such as energy efficient boilers and appliances, plus low energy lighting.”

Situated in the leafy Cheshire village of Hartford, which boasts an abundance of charm, Weaver Park is within walking distance of

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The four-bed Marlow is available at Weaver Park

restaurants, good schools and local independent shops. Hartford Station offers trains to Liverpool, Birmingham and London, while nearby Greenbank Station serves Manchester and Chester.

The adjacent Water’s Reach development has more three and four-bedroom detached homes coming soon, while Hartford Grange, off Walnut Lane, currently has top of the range four and five-bedroom detached house from £594,995 to £832,995.

Weaver Park is open from Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5.30pm.

For further information call 01606 369800 or go to www.redrow.co.uk/weaverpark LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 39

Vitafoam Murder

52 years on

By Harold Cunliffe

Soudan at the time it was a cotton mill

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t is sixty years since the town of Middleton, Manchester awoke to the news that a caring health professional had been murdered while on duty at a nearby factory.

Many people in this town today still remember with sadness of hearing the shocking news in which a man had devastated the lives of a family from Oldham.

Mrs Pauline Bethal of Church Street, Royton, had only been employed at the Vitafoam factory for two weeks prior to her murder. On the 29 August 1968 the mother of a boy aged 6 and girl of 4 years started work at the Soudan Mill, Middleton at 11 pm, and had only treated one patient. The next patient to enter the works nursing room would cause an outrage which would shock the community and leave a family without a wife and mother. Ronald James Lewis aged 26 had previously worked at Vitafoam, but at the time of the offence he was working at the Ramsay Mill in Chhadderton as a cutter.

On the night of the murder Lewis had finished work around midnight, and then had a desire to visit Vitafoam. There he convinced the staff that he was an employee giving a false name. Attending the nursing room Nurse Bethal prescribed aspirins. He then began to make sexual advances towards her, this she rejected. Lewis felt outraged and pulled out a knife and stabbed her 14 times in the chest and stomach, he then picked up a pair of scissors which were laying in the surgery 40

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Courts - courtesy of Link4life collection www.lancmag.com

and stabbed her a further 13 times, also kicking her lifeless body twice. Lewis left behind a very traumatic scene. Local historian Harold Cunliffe made contact with the police constable who was first on the scene and it transpires that he was shocked at what he saw that night. Today the officer has vivid memories of the event. The sight of scissors today makes his blood run cold. He related that while at the dentist he spotted a pair of scissors which were in an open position on the counter. Without realising he had picked them up, closed them and put them out of sight.

At this period the police had introduced “Panda Cars,” Ford Anglia as seen in the television series, “Heartbeat.” On that fateful night the culprit was making his way home along Middleton Road towards Oldham when a passing panda spotted the lonely man in the darkness. The officer offered the man a lift, he was going in that direction. It was when the officer had completed his tour of duty, at home his wife noticed blood on his tunic. Alarm bells rang and he promptly reported the fact. It was when Ronald Lewis arrived home his wife spotted the blood stains on his clothes that she became concerned. Lewis told his wife that he was not involved; he had witnessed another man kill a woman. Mrs Lewis in wanting to protect her husband took him to speak to the police so he could be eliminated from their enquiries. At the station he related how he witnessed another man attack and kill a nurse at the Vitafoam works, Oldham Road. The police were having none of this noting the quantity of blood on his clothing and formerly interviewed him where he confessed that it was he who had carried out the murder.

The following day, Saturday, the 26 year old Ronald Lewis, wearing a black track suit and white T-shirt was before the Middleton magistrate, Alderman Arthur Emmerson, who heard the evidence. At the end of the hearing Lewis was remanded in custody until his case could be heard at the Manchester Crown Court.

James Ronald Lewis was in the dock at Manchester Crown Court , January 1969. Mr Justice Crichton heard Lewis plead guilty to the murder of a mother of two children. Mr Richard Forrest, QC, prosecuting said that Mrs Bethal a “complete stranger” to Lewis had started work as a nurse at Vitafoam last August, the same month as she was murdered. Passing sentence, the judge told Lewis: “You have pleaded guilty to murder.

The sentence upon you is life imprisonment.” www.lancmag.com

Magistraits court- courtesy of Link4life collection

Ald Arthur Emmerson_ LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 41

Using the Eatwell Guide to plan your meals A healthy, well-balanced diet is important for managing your weight and preventing serious health problems, including heart disease.

The Eatwell guide is a visual tool that represents government guidelines on healthy eating.

In this Healthy Tip, we give you some tips for planning a healthy, well-balanced diet using the Eatwell Guide.

What is the Eatwell Guide?

The Eatwell Guide shows the proportions of different types of food that make up a healthy diet.

This is represented as a plate, which is divided into five food groups.

The Eatwell Guide is appropriate for most people, but it should not be used in meal-planning for very young children.

It is not essential to achieve this balance with every meal, but it is good to try to get the 42

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Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip,

by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

proportions right over a day or longer. Try to consume a variety of foods from each of the food groups to ensure you consume a range of nutrients.

Fruit and vegetables Fruit and vegetables should make up over a third of the foods in your diet as they are a good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. However, most people do not eat enough. Fresh, frozen, tinned, www.lancmag.com

dried or juiced fruit and vegetables all count.

Fruit juice and/or smoothies should be limited to around 150ml a day due to their high sugar and low fibre content. Try adding fruit to breakfast cereals and increase the amount of veg or salad in your lunches and evening meals.

Potato, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates Starchy foods, such as pasta, rice, bread, breakfast cereals and potatoes provide us with energy and essential nutrients. These starchy foods should make up just over a third of your diet.

Choose wholegrain versions, such as wholemeal pasta, brown rice, wholemeal bread and wholegrain breakfast cereals.

You can also try to leave the skin on potatoes for extra fibre. Get your day off to a good start with a bowl of wholegrain cereal or a slice of wholemeal toast with some fruit. www.lancmag.com

Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins Try to include beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat or other protein with most meals.

These foods are a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals. Try to choose a lean cut of meat, such as chicken without the skin, as it is lower in saturated fat. If you eat fish, aim to have two portions every week, including a portion of oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel or sardines as these contain the essential fatty acids that are good for your heart.

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Oils and spreads

High fat, salt and sugar foods

Try to choose unsaturated oils and spreads, such as rapeseed, vegetable, olive and sunflower oils. Try to cut down on butter, hard margarine, coconut oil and animal fats as these are all high in saturated fat, which can increase your risk of heart disease. When cooking fatty meats, such as bacon, cut away as much of the fat as possible. All fats are high in calories (energy) and should be consumed in small amounts.

Foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar should be consumed in small amount.

These foods, which can be eaten as an occasional treat, include chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sugary soft drinks, butter and ice cream.

Dairy and alternatives Try to include some dairy or a dairy alternative with each meal. Products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt are a good source of protein as well as some vitamins. They are also a key source of calcium which is vital when it comes to keeping your bones strong. Choose lower fat and sugar dairy products where possible.

This includes reduced fat cheese or fat-free and sugar-free yoghurt.

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Water, lower fat milk, sugar-free drinks.

Aim to drink around six to eight glasses of fluid every day. Water, lower fat milk and low sugar/ sugar free drinks (including tea and coffee) all count. Fruit juice and smoothies can also count towards our fluid consumption. However, they can be high in sugar and low in fibre, so we should drink no more 150ml of these in a day.

You can find more healthy tips, recipes and advice at heartresearch.org.uk.

www.lancmag.com

Christmas Decorators Lancashire

A Christmas decorating service for commercial and residential properties offering a bespoke service for interior and exterior decorations.

Commercial

Residential

Events

www.thechristmasdecorators.com/Lancashire m 01204 20 80 55 E @thechristmasdecoratorslancashire m 07857 919 543 Q the_christmas_decorator m 07739 562 280 D @TCDLancashire

The Christmas Decorators A2 poster.indd 1

11/09/2020 11:03:04

Liverpool Santa Dash goes virtual for 2020 due to pandemic City’s kick-start to Christmas is latest live event casualty Organisers announce big changes to 17th annual festive fun run Santas urged to dash virtually and support eight charities

Santa Dash 2019 DSC_5149 Credit Paul Francis Cooper.jpg

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ne of Merseyside’s most popular public events is the latest casualty of the Coronavirus pandemic – with this year’s Liverpool Santa Dash being brought to a halt.

Highly regarded as the city’s kick-start to Christmas, this year’s event would have marked the 17th consecutive year of the festive fun run.

However, it is with great regret that organisers BTR Liverpool announce that the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash 2020 will not be taking place in its much-loved usual format this year due to the ongoing global pandemic and strict social distancing guidelines.

The news will come as a huge disappointment to the thousands of Santas – young and old alike – who take part in the UK’s biggest festive 5K fun run.

The BTR Liverpool Santa Dash was created by BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell and was first staged in 2004. A separate 1K Mini Dash for under

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12s was added in 2007, and blue Santa suits were introduced three years later.

After working tirelessly and considering a number of scenarios with the ultimate aim of delivering the large-scale public event safely, BTR Liverpool say this is just not possible.

The large number of participants, volunteers, event support teams, and staff members cannot be guaranteed a Covid-safe environment.

However, the team have come up with an exciting plan for 2020 to still enable eager dashing Santas to get their festive fix.

BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing and delivering headline race events across Liverpool City Region.

Its growing portfolio also includes the BTR Liverpool Skyline Half Marathon; BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K; BTR Port Sunlight 5K and 10K; and 52-mile BTR Tour Of Merseyside. www.lancmag.com

BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell commented: “Due to the size and scale of the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash, it is impossible to host event with social distancing restrictions in place. Although we are only in September, we have made the decision early so we can inform people as soon as possible about the changes for this year.

“Not being able to host the event in its usual energetic and exciting format is hugely disappointing – the sea of red and blue Santas dashing round the city is quite spectacular. The event is a real highlight of the year, both for participants and the BTR team, but we are living in unprecedented times.

“However, given the growing popularity in virtual running and the absence of live running events – to ensure our dashing Santas still get their festive fix, we are making the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash virtual for 2020. The event will raise funds for eight fantastic charities who need a boost right now, and we’re encouraging participants to complete their 5K festive fun run and enjoy Santa Dash day in their own way.”

“The BTR Liverpool Santa Dash is inclusive and open to everyone – wheelchair participants, walkers, joggers and runners. Take part with friends, family or colleagues, take those Santa Dash selfies.

The event will be different this year but I am sure we can still make it very special.”

Event planning and registration will remain the same. Participants can still register online or in person at two pop-up collection points in Liverpool city centre and the Wirral, locations will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Santas will receive their medal when collecting their race pack. To support the virtual change, there is now an option for Santa suits to be posted. An online Santa Dash gallery will also be created by BTR Liverpool to feature the virtual festive fun run images.

The BTR Liverpool Santa Dash goes virtual on Sunday 6 December 2020 – get festive and support good causes.

The virtual option will enable Santas to still pull on their running shoes; dash socially distanced with a small group of friends; enjoy a festive fun run experience wherever they are located; and still earn the bespoke Santa Dash medal. And there’s still a choice of red or blue Santa suits.

Eight charities will benefit from this year’s event – with BTR Liverpool pledging to donate all profits between:

Santa Dash 2019 DSC_5236 Credit Paul Francis Cooper

Alder Hey Children’s Charity; Claire House Children’s Hospice; Clatterbridge Cancer Charity; North West Air Ambulance; North West Cancer Research; Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Wirral Hospice St John’s; and Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice.

BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell added: “Just by taking part in the virtual BTR Liverpool Santa Dash, participants will be supporting good causes. We will be donating all profits generated through the event, and they will be split equally between the eight official charities.

“We usually have one official event charity for the Santa Dash, but this year we are supporting the eight charities who should have been involved in the full BTR race portfolio for 2020. With all events cancelled since March, it’s also been a very difficult time for charities who need a helping hand now more than ever before to continue their vital work. www.lancmag.com

Santa Dash 2019 DSC2471 Credit Paul Francis Cooper

To register for the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash visit www.btrliverpool.com Website Facebook Twitter Hashtag

www.btrliverpool.com Facebook/BTR Liverpool @BTRLiverpool #LiverpoolSantaDash LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 47

The Christmas Decorators part 1

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hristmas decorations have provided a welcome distraction from the dark days of December ever since Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made them fashionable in the middle of the 19th century. These days it is hard to imagine Christmas without them and we all enjoy the festive cheer which some well-chosen lights and a tastefully decorated tree provide.

A company called The Christmas Decorators has taken this passion for baubles and twinkling lights a stage further by establishing a highly successful business which specialises in offering a bespoke Christmas decorating service. It all started in the early 2000s when a British couple called Nick and Sarah Bolton added some festive sparkle to the restaurant they were running in Aspen, Colorado, to entice diners through the door. The decorations were so effective that the couple were soon being asked to provide a similar service for other businesses and homes in the area.

Marsh Mill Village

Exterior lighting

A private members’ club, frequented by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, was one of the first establishments in Aspen to use the couple’s Christmas decorating service. They obviously did a great job, as before long the Boltons were being asked to put up the Christmas decorations at some highly impressive properties belonging to such A-Listers as Steven Spielberg and Kevin Costner.

In 2005 the couple decided to return home to Merseyside and set up a similar business. With such an impressive client list behind them and offering a unique service that no other company in the UK provides, the orders soon began to flood in.

Over the years the client list has grown to include some of the UK’s top hotel brands, eateries and retailers, as well as a whole host of other venues. A brief glance at the website reveals some highly impressive commercial clients including Hilton Hotels, The Ritz, Harrods, Legoland and The London Palladium.

An especially memorable commission involved decorating the Christmas tree in Bethlehem’s Manger Square. As the company says in its brochure, “There is no better accolade within the Christmas industry than to have decorated the Christmas tree in Manger Square Bethlehem.

After all, this is where it all began”. The Mayor of Bethlehem was clearly impressed with the result describing it as “the most beautifully decorated www.lancmag.com

Christmas tree that we have ever been blessed with”.

The Christmas Decorators can also boast a long list of satisfied customers who have had their own homes turned into a winter wonderland. One Christmas not long after the Boltons returned to the UK, The Christmas Decorators were given the task of decorating David and Victoria Beckham’s Hertfordshire mansion, dubbed Beckingham Palace by the media. The Beckhams’ wish list included human-size toy soldiers, giant lollipops and “Legoland” in the garden, as well as the inevitable thousands of sparkling lights, which the company were more than happy to supply.

Above: Bolton Market Place

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Penrith Town Centre

Today the Christmas Decorators is a multi-million pound business with regional offices spread all across the UK, as well as in the USA and Dubai.

The demand for The Christmas Decorators’ services increased dramatically as a result of the publicity generated by the Beckham project.

Those home owners who prefer to opt for a slightly more understated look at Christmas need not worry. The Christmas Decorators prides itself on offering a bespoke design and installation service to suit each individual client’s needs.

Crucially, they also dismantle all the decorative displays after the big event and take away them for storage until the following Christmas.

Today the Christmas Decorators is a multimillion pound business with regional offices spread all across the UK, as well as in the USA and Dubai.

The North-West’s regional office, which is based in Bolton, covers the whole of the Lancashire and Lake District area. This part of the business, which has been operating for nearly three years now, is run jointly by Managing Directors Danny Berry and Andy Lowe. The pair together provide an ideal skill set for a business of this type. Danny worked previously in the construction business and has proved he has a head for heights, which comes in handy when 50

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erecting a 50ft Christmas tree. Andy is a qualified electrician and so is the perfect man for installing thousands and thousands of LED string lights.

They are grateful for the support given to them by the company’s founder, Nick Bolton, who acts as their Business Development Manager. As such, he is in contact with the pair on a weekly basis.

Danny and Andy also speak highly of the spirit of mutual co-operation and support which exists between the different regional businesses.

The pair clearly share many of the same values, having a great passion for what they do and taking pride in excellent customer service. They enjoy meeting their customers face-to-face. “We love seeing people’s faces light up when they see the final result at the end of the installation”, says Danny. Both men are married with young families of their own and enjoy involving them by taking them to visit some of the projects they have completed.

In the time they have been running The Christmas Decorators they have also proved they have an eye for great design and fine detail, as a look at some of the Christmas installations they have previously created will testify. Danny and

Above: Christmas decorations in a Country manor

www.lancmag.com

Andy talk with pride about some of their past successes such as the display at Sarah Layton Jewellers in Whalley which, they say, “everyone was talking about and had a big impact”.

They have certainly built up an impressive client list over the three years they have been in business. It is fair to say that if you are out and about in Lancashire and the Lake District on the run up to Christmas, there is a good chance you will come across one of their installations.

Over the past few years they have brought festive cheer to Penrith town centre, Fleetwood Freeport and Bolton’s Market Place Shopping Centre. The Christmas Decorators also supply and decorate the Christmas trees in high-end supermarket chain, Booths, as well as 32 O2 stores across the region.

Danny and Andy have also decorated the homes and gardens of residential properties across Lancashire and the Lake District. The Christmas Decorators are renowned for their many celebrity clients, but their service is available for anyone who is looking to take the hassle out of the festive season and wishes to enjoy a stylishly decorated home at Christmas. They can tailor their projects to suit a range of budgets, with prices starting from as little as around £450 for a festive doorway.

As well as offering interior and exterior lighting solutions, The Christmas Decorators will create and install lavishly decorated Christmas trees, together with festive garlands, floral arrangements and decorative ornaments. All are designed to co-ordinate and work in harmony with the property. The company prides itself on the quality of products which it uses. None come out of a box or a catalogue. All The Christmas Decorators’ lights and decorations are designed and manufactured in-house to an exceptionally high specification.

This approach means that not only does the company retain full quality control, but it also has the ability to offer a fully bespoke service. Bespoke Christmas decorations offer both commercial and residential customers the opportunity to be unique and stand out from the crowd. The Christmas Decorators’ creative team can produce spectacular tailor-made decorations made exclusively in any size, shape, style or colour. In-house manufacturing includes metal fabrications, woodwork and fibreglass products, allowing the freedom to produce anything imaginable.

Danny and Andy are already gearing up for the countdown towards this year’s festive season.

They do employ a team of six to ten people who will be on hand to assist, but they have only eight weeks, or 40 days, in which to complete all the installations. This year, of course, offers some unique challenges because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the business has put procedures in place to ensure that all installations are carried out in a Covid-safe manner. All staff will have www.lancmag.com

disposable gloves and face masks available to wear, when required, and have been trained to be “Covid aware”.

After what has been a difficult year, many people will appreciate some Christmas sparkle more than ever in 2020. Judging by some of the spectacular results which they have produced in previous years, Danny and Andy will be more than ready to take up the challenge and bring some much needed festive cheer into all our lives.

In next month’s issue we shall take a further look at the different packages which The Christmas Decorators can offer, as well as having an insight into some more favourite past projects.

We shall also learn about the other installation services which Danny and Andy offer through the rest of the year.

Above: A modern luxury Christmas tree

To learn more about The Christmas Decorators Lancashire, visit their Facebook page @thechristmasdecoratorslancashire.

They can also be found on Twitter @TCDLancashire and Instagram @the_christmas_decorator.

To speak to The Christmas Decorators Lancashire, please contact Danny Berry on 0773 9652280 or Andy Lowe on 0785 7919543.

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 51

Expert team sets sights on helping Lancashire businesses VIEWS towards the Lakeland hills from the Lancashire Coast and moors have always been a feature of life in the Red Rose county.

Now a leading North-West PR firm is looking in the opposite direction and expanding into Lancashire from South Lakeland.

32West directors Jonathan Lee, Frank Stretton and James Higgins

32West is one of a handful of PR Firms in the North West (and the only one outside of Manchester) to be highlighted by industry bible PRWeek UK.

many inspiring stories from organisations we work with to help celebrate their amazing achievements in Lancashire.”

The company - whose three directors and hugely experienced media professionals James Higgins, Frank Stretton, and Jonathan Lee, are all from the North-West - was this year listed among 30 firms described as ‘bubbling under’ the prestigious UK Top 150.

All three directors have worked across the NorthWest and beyond throughout their successful careers in the media.

32West’s six-strong team, which grew to nine with three new members joining in October - services clients from the Scottish Borders to London, engaging audiences and telling businesses’ stories through words, videography, photography, social media, creative, and commercial campaigns.

Now the company, which prides itself on ‘Helping amazing businesses grow’, is expanding into Lancashire.

Jonathan, born and bred in Blackpool and with strong links to the Fylde Coast, said: “We already have strong connections to Lancashire so it made sense that our next step would be to be working with businesses and organisations in that area.

“Every business, and every person in business has a story to tell. We enjoy helping those businesses and organisations tell those stories, to spread the word to their target audiences and help them grow and prosper.

“We are delighted to share with Lancashire Magazine readers in this edition just a few of the 52

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After 32West was set up two-and-a-half years ago they are now enjoying using that considerable media expertise to help businesses and organisations in the county.

James said: “Our energy and creativity are boundless, and harnessing the power of both, we work with our clients in a way which excites and inspires, to create content and campaigns which will help them achieve their business goals.

“Our portfolio of clients is diverse and we work across all sectors including retail, manufacturing, engineering, hospitality, professional services, and public sector with people who are passionate about their businesses and organisations and are looking for cost-efficient, effective, monitored solutions to help them grow.”

Frank added: “We have recently invested in stateof-the-art digital technology to further help our customers, which has been extremely well received by many of our clients.

“We are excited to be able to bring those industry leading solutions to help businesses across Lancashire.” www.lancmag.com

Meet the 32West team

James Higgins With 20-plus years of senior level media experience, 32West founder James is passionate about putting the company’s clients on the regional, UK and global map.

A former award-winning editor and journalist, James also offers business consultancy services to help companies achieve their ambitions.

Frank Stretton With 25-plus years commercial experience at some of the UK’s largest regional news brands, Frank has extensive media buying expertise to ensure maximum reach for marketing activity.

He is at the forefront of rolling out 32West’s new cutting edge digital reputation management platform

Jonathan Lee Jonathan uses his 30 years of media experience to help create messaging and storytelling to reach target audiences. As a former media group managing director, Jonathan is passionate about forming longterm, trusted business relationships and effective partnerships to help organisations achieve their goals.

Caroline Barber A holder of the North-West Journalist of the Year accolade, Caroline has a vast array of contacts and is highly respected and trusted across the media industry. Caroline works on a number of accounts, and has developed a specialism in public sector communications, advising and liaising with civil servants at the highest level.

Amee Wightman Amee is vastly experienced in delivering successful social media campaigns for a diverse range of clients in a variety of sectors, including fashion, engineering, public sector, professional services, and travel and works closely with businesses to help them build their brands. She heads up 32West’s social media operation.

Celia Powell Video content creator Celia loves life behind the lens and has a background of documentary filmmaking and storytelling. Celia helps plan and create engaging content packages across words, pictures and video and has worked on a variety of recent campaigns including across recruitment, financial planning, education and charity.

If your business or organisation needs help and support with, PR, communications, social media management, marketing or reputation management, you can contact the 32West team on 01229 808 306 or by emailing james@32west.co.uk

www.lancmag.com

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 53

Lancashire business group delights in making a positive difference A Lancashire networking group is proving that business can be a force for good.

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ince its launch two years ago, the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network has brought together businesses from across the area which are committed to supporting the local community.

Its members support its ethos of giving back through social, environmental and economic initiatives, from creating opportunities for young people to helping the long-term unemployed back to work.

The network, which celebrated its second anniversary in October, is part of the Blackpool Pride of Place partnership, which promotes the area’s economic development and tackles its social challenges.

Lisa Scargill

It is free to join and open to any business which wants to contribute to the local community.

Network members have recently helped deliver digital careers advice, from video content to mini-tasks for students, via the Start in Blackpool website, a careers platform for young people. “The virtual model has worked brilliantly,” said Lisa.

“And we’re hoping to continue it in some form after restrictions have lifted.”

Over the past two years, the network has created a platform where people can share skills and experience, mentor startup businesses, or volunteer for a couple of hours.

Joanne Burr is co-founder of Communicate SLT CIC, a social enterprise based in Blackpool which provides speech, language and communication services and training for schools, nurseries and local authorities.

Lisa Scargill, who is Enterprise Coordinator at Inspira for the Blackpool Opportunity Area, said the network played a vital role in engaging employers with schools and colleges.

Lisa said: “The Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network knows which employers are keen to support young people, and I connect them with schools and colleges.

“It can be anything from a strategic level where they become an Enterprise Advisor working with a college or school, to helping support the curriculum or offering work experience.

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“It’s about raising the aspirations of young people in Blackpool and raising awareness about the variety of job opportunities there are in this area.

Every business from BAE Systems to the Sandcastle Waterpark, and organisations in a whole host of sectors, need a range of skills. Getting employers into schools to talk about the world of work widens perspectives and opens young people’s eyes to what opportunities are available.”

“As a social enterprise, our mission is to support communication skills for life,” said Joanne, who is a speech and language therapist.

Joanne Burr

“The network has been fantastic for us because we can link in with some of the initiatives and give back to the local community.” www.lancmag.com

Blackpool Pride of Place Blackpool Pride of Place is a partnership made up of local government, business and the voluntary sector which has come together to understand the challenges facing the town and set out a clear plan to address the issues.

In 2018, the partnership published a plan to make the town a more attractive place to live, with a thriving economy, leading to more jobs for local people. Its vision included creating and safeguarding at least 10,000 jobs, growing the economy by £1bn, and building 3,000 new quality homes by 2030.

Through the network, the company was able to use its specialist speech and language skills to provide mock interviews for Year 11 students, and do a presentation for sixth formers on communication skills for life, and speech and language therapy as a career.

“The network works both ways. During lockdown, we got fantastic support from them which included sending out a business continuity checklist, which I found invaluable, and phone calls to check we were doing okay.

“It’s certainly helped us think about our business from a wider perspective and discover different ways we can support our community.”

For Amanda Crossley, who runs Concierge Ninja, which creates bespoke packages for visitors to Blackpool, the network is a positive step towards tackling negative stereotypes of the town.

She said: “If we work together, we can change the town for the better and make it a great place to live and work. The potential is there and we can make it happen.”

Amanda Crossley

It also aims to improve employment rates for 16-24 year-olds and establish Blackpool as a ‘can do’ place to attract more graduates, families and business visitors. This plan is the backbone behind Blackpool’s £500 million Town Deal, in which the Government is asked to create a long-term strategic partnership with the town to develop the economy and tackle deprivation.

The Town Deal would provide the resources, policies and support needed to deliver the Pride of Place vision.

The Pride of Place partnership, which is supported by national charity Business in the Community, created the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network as part of its agenda to develop the town’s strengths. www.blackpooltowndeal.co.uk

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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 55

Home care group expands across Lancashire An award-winning home care provider has expanded its business in Lancashire.

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estmorland Homecare, which already delivers services across Blackpool, Poulton-le-Fylde and Lytham, has opened a new office in Lancaster.

The base in Brock Street is now the centre for its services for Lancaster and the surrounding area.

“It’s a really exciting time for the business and we’re delighted to be expanding into the Lancaster area,” said Dr Chris Moss, who runs the business with Dr Josh Macaulay.

Dr Josh Macaulay and Dr Chris Moss, directors of Westmorland Homecare

Westmorland Homecare provides services to people in their own homes including home help, personal care, dementia care, companionship services, and palliative and end of life care.

The experienced NHS doctors established Westmorland Homecare because they wanted to help people more than just while they were in hospital - and understood that having the right support at home was essential.

“Every individual should be able to remain in their home as long as they wish and lead an active and independent life,” says Chris.

“We want our clients to thrive and live life to the full, no matter what age they are. That is our mission and something we are dedicated to delivering every day.”

Founded in 2017, Westmorland Homecare was named among the top 10 homecare agencies in the country following an inspection earlier this year by the independent regulator, the Care Quality Commission, which rated it outstanding in every 56

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area. It is the second time it has achieved the top rating. In 2018, it won Best Rural Start-Up in the north at the Rural Business Awards.

Westmorland Homecare’s services include home help, such as assistance with housekeeping and meal preparation, and personal care, which can include help with dressing and bathing. It also provides dementia care, companionship services, and palliative and end of life care.

For more information about Westmorland Homecare visit www.westmorlandhomecare.co.uk or call 01253 978891 (Poulton-le-Fylde office).

For more information about services and job opportunities at the Lancaster office contact christie@westmorlandhomecare.co.uk www.lancmag.com

Former Cadet force chief is leading SUCCESSFUL leadership coach who led the Lancashire the way AArmy Cadet force is a finalist at this year’s prestigious English Veterans’ Awards.

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eil Jurd, who was Commandant of Lancashire Army Cadets, which has about 1,000 cadets and staff, has been shortlisted in the Community Award category.

Neil, who mentors leaders in a range of industries in Lancashire and Cumbria - including in the education sector - has this month launched a new online leadership course.

Neil, who runs Neil Jurd Leadership, said: “Good leadership is something I’ve always been passionate about and I want to help empower people to realise their potential in being a successful leader.”

During his time in the military, Neil led a number of overseas expeditions including in Nepal and Pakistan, and also led a Gurkha Squadron in Iraq before getting injured by enemy fire. He also trained officers at Sandhurst.

Neil said: “During my time in the army, I was faced, on a daily basis, with incredibly difficult and life-changing decisions to make. And I learned a lot about leadership from that.

“From my experience, leadership achieves things far beyond what we could do alone.”

While voluntarily leading the Lancashire Army Cadet force, the largest in the UK, and running the www.lancmag.com

ACF national officer training, Neil has also dedicated his time to coaching and developing senior teams, including those in the education and charity sectors, into successful leaders.

Neil said: “The reason why I wanted to create this online leadership course is that I want to be able to provide good support to those people who were never taught leadership skills but find themselves in a managerial or leadership position.

“For instance, teachers were taught how to teach, not how to lead so when the time comes, to have the opportunity to sit in a headmaster’s position can be seen as a daunting task for some people.

“I believe the videos created for the course will help inspire and provide confidence to those who want and need to learn how to lead effectively.”

Above: Leadership coach Neil Jurd pictured with members of the Lancashire Army Cadet force.

Neil’s course will be available to buy from his website www.neiljurd.com

Left: Neil Jurd with members of the Gurkha regiment in Iraq

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 57

Blackpool breakthrough for Lakeland pub group A BREWERY is toasting victory after one of the largest pub chains in the country - which owns the Velvet Coaster in Blackpool - agreed to serve its ale on tap.

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tringers in Ulverston, owned by the Lakeland Inns group, hit the ground running after lockdown was eased and seized the opportunity to secure a deal with JD Wetherspoons.

The brewery’s ale is now on sale at the Velvet Coaster in Blackpool, among other pubs across the North-West.

Kirsty Ridge, managing director of Lakeland Inns which owns the brewery, said: “For some time we have been working towards the position where, as a brewery, we could offer our ales to the biggest pub chains in the UK. “To get to this point has taken incredible hard work and dedication on the part of the brewery team and also the wider Lakeland Inns family.

“We have invested a great deal in Stringers since we bought the brewery in 2018 and I’m delighted that this is now paying off in so many ways.”

Key to the brewery’s expansion into the country’s larger pub chains was securing accreditation from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), a quality assurance mark linked to the beer production process.

Stringers was acquired by Lakeland Inns in 2018.

The brewery has been brewing more than 4,000 pints a week and supplying 12 different ales to pubs and bars across the UK since Lakeland Inns invested £50,000 in an expansion programme.

News of the Stringers deal comes as Kirsty prepares to spend the next four months participating in the super-intensive Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative.

The programme has been developed to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunity by providing greater access to education, capital and business support services.

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Kirsty, aged 30, has taken Lakeland Inns from a single pub entity to a business which now operates five pubs and Stringers.

She said: “I couldn’t believe it when I found out I had managed to secure a place on the Goldman Sachs programme.

Above: Kirsty Ridge, managing director of the Lakeland Inns Group which owns Stringers Brewery

“While I feel that, along with the team, I have achieved a lot in business over the last five years, I don’t have any formal education which underpins the decisions I make or the strategies I implement.

“A lot of what I do is based on research I have carried out, my experience in the industry to date or on some occasions, a gut feel.

“What I am really looking forward to as part of the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative is being exposed to some really high quality practical education and business support.”

Goldman Sachs launched the 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme in 2010 to specifically address the support gap for small enterprises, helping them to unlock the economic and job creation potential of their businesses.

The programme is designed by leading experts and is run in partnership with the SaΪd Business School at Oxford University, the Aston Centre for Growth at Aston University, Leeds University Business School at the University of Leeds, and the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School.

The programme brings together leaders of small businesses from across industry sectors and creates unique networking and peer learning opportunities.

One of Stringers’ ales ‘Furness Gold’.

www.lancmag.com

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.”

A Lost Purse Leads to Sickly Creature Sighting Report, 2019 ‘The ‘thing’ looked more like some sort of love child between a Wolf and a Panther’

One of the questions I’m often asked the most is where do I find my accounts. Often I don’t find ‘them’ at all. They seem to find me, somehow, some way? It has happened so

I

went out shopping for food as you do, and as we were driving home on our normal route when I spotted a purse in the middle of the road next to the Petrol Station. I felt compelled to get it before someone ran over it, or worse took it for themselves. We went to the Petrol attendant and I left my number on a piece of paper hoping the owner would contact them or head back that way. Then my Husband went around to all the local shops and GP surgeries leaving our number in case the owner was local and would retrace her steps at some point. Something kept on at me all day to find her as I knew she needed it back for sentimental reasons. My Daughters suggested asking for help on Facebook and I posted her name and a pic of the purse on there and asked people to share it. It worked a treat which was great as the owner of the purse

arranging to post it back she went quiet. She came back about 10 mins later and said she had checked me out as she was so shocked I’d gone out of my way to find her to return the purse.

She said straight away after seeing some of my articles I have written that 14 years ago she saw something she couldn’t explain close to home when she was a young girl, and she also knows of a few others who have seen ‘it’ too.

Talk about serendipity. She had filled up with petrol in our town and left the purse on the car roof. I wonder if that purse had a little push by fate as she was driving up the road. We are very lucky that at the time she saw the Creature the witness was so upset she kept a journal at the time and still had the entry she had written describing the Creature she saw.

It happened on the 14th May 2006.

lived about 35 miles away in Liverpool and was not local to me at all.

She messaged me and said she was so shocked I handed the purse in as she had given up on humanity after an earlier loss so thought the purse would have been snatched.

As I was chatting through messenger 60

many times now I have stopped questioning Why? I really believe in some of these cases serendipity is at play.

A very good example of that is what happened on 3rd December 2019

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

16/5/06 - “A couple of days ago it was a nice day so I decided to get off the bus early and walk back home because I didn’t have any homework or anything to rush home for. I went the usual route via the golf course so I could roll down the hill. I had heard the big Cat rumours from around the course but I wasn’t scared. I thought the golfers were all just making it up, I never thought for a moment it was maybe real. I was sure it was complete BS. Until I saw the yellow eyes glaring at me, but I’ve never seen a Cat that big. ‘He’ was either poorly or not a Panther at all, ‘he’ was mangy like a feral Fox but ‘it’ was about a 100 times bigger than a Fox. ‘It’ was grey and the eyes were not Catish in any way. The ‘thing’ looked more like some sort of love child between a Wolf and a Panther. But not cute and fluffy at all ‘It’ was really ugly. I remember ‘It’ had a lump between ‘It’s shoulders. ‘It’ was obviously scared and poorly but what could I have done to help it? I thought I was brave until that moment but instead I nearly cried. I think I would have coped with ‘it’, if ‘it’ looked like a Cat but ‘that’ was not a cat”.

www.lancmag.com

27/5/06 - “I bumped into a guy called Mike and his buddy George who were playing golf down on the course. I told them about what I saw the other day and asked if they had seen ‘it’. Mike swore he also saw ‘It’ but he said ‘it’ didn’t look like a Cat to him either.

His mate said we were both mad but I knew and he knew and we both believed each other”.

2/6/06 - “The more I think about things the less sure I am that ‘it’ was a Cat after all. I’ve been looking online to match what I saw but I’m not finding Cats with yellow or orangey eyes, none that have circles anyway.

I’m confused? Was I seeing things?

Maybe there’s a gas leak making people go mad and I’m one of them?

Dad said ‘it’ was a murderer in a mask trying to scare me off the course.

The ‘thing’ I saw had a hunch on ‘It’s back between the shoulders and was upright on its back legs.

As I was reading my journal it took me right back to that day. I remember so clearly what it was like seeing ‘It’.

The feelings I felt, I’ve never been scared like that since. I felt sick and I remember running and almost going www.lancmag.com

straight through the style instead of over it I was so scared.

When I was little, as young as two, I would see a Wolf in my bedroom at night, every night my Dad would use an imaginary lead to take the Wolf out of my room so I could sleep, I wonder if these two events are connected in some way? His eyes are what I remember the most, they were this amber orangey colour”.

Was the Creature sick or ill, hence it revealed itself? Or was it connected to the Wolf that the witness would see in childhood? Did her decision to get off the bus early mean she accidentally bumped into the Creature? Or was the event engineered in some way? Fourteen years on the event is still very fresh in her mind. And one strange point I should note. The garage where our witness filled up her car and the garage where I found the purse are two separate garages in two separate towns. I was at my local garage on the A6. The young lady was in the next town over and didn’t drive through my town on her way home? How did the purse move 3 miles, and be in the perfect position for me to come across it one hour later?

Our witness is now convinced more than ever that what she saw that day was Canine. She had never heard of Dogman and when I asked her to just google the name and look at the images she was very taken with one of the depictions of the beast of Bray Road. But the Beast she saw looked very sick and ill, it’s eyes looked jaundiced.

Read the Witness Statements in their own words. https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07P9MZSD2

debbiehatswell@gmail.com

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 61

Walk the wellbeing way!

Fleetwood residents have created and launched a new pathway to better mental and physical health. The Fleetwood Wellbeing Way is a route along the Town’s Esplanade with a series of challenges and tips on staying happier and healthier.

F

rom the original idea to the launch on Saturday 8th August, residents have taken the lead, supported by Lancashire Mind, Wyre Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and Healthier Fleetwood.

Victoria Mitchell is a resident and one of the organisers, she said, “We have taken the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ as our starting point. These are connect to others, be active, keep learning, take notice and give to others. Along the walk we’ve placed signs with ideas to build resilience, boost wellbeing and improve both mental and physical health. Residents, and visitors, are encouraged to share how they’ve completed a challenge with the friends and family or on our social media. We’d also like to hear ideas for future challenges which will help create a healthier, supportive and caring community.”

The route of the Fleetwood Wellbeing way begins and ends with 2 large signs, one is opposite the Sea Cadets base, by Beach Road, the other opposite The Mount Hotel, by Promenade Road. In between are the 5 ‘challenge signs’, displayed on the coastal side bus stops.

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For further information see Fleetwood Wellbeing Way on Facebook. www.lancmag.com

Residents keeping in touch with their families.

Quotes taken from CQC Inspection Report 27th February 2020.

“I am very safe – the staff are very good. I don’t know what I would do without them”

CQC Inspection Report 27th February 2020: OVERALL GOOD.

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Excellent home cooked food (5 star rating) Private garden to rear of property and beautifully presented gardens. (Winners of Lytham in Bloom awards for 8 consecutive years).

“It feels like home because it is my home. I never feel lonely.

I am quite contented” For more information, please contact: Michelle Neville (Manager) - michelle@hedgeshouse.co.uk Alternatively, please call in for an informal chat.

Hedges House Residential Care Home 37/39 Church Road, Lytham, Lancashire. FY8 5LL Tel: 01253 739930 www.hedgeshouse.co.uk Find us on

BOOKS Our roundup of this months literary delights

People who Witness Paranormal Creatures The Fortunate Unfortunate Book Series.

This book is the first in a series of books written by Deborah L Hatswell which feature witness reports collected over a 40 year period. Deborah uses the word ‘Paranormal’ in its widest sense to describe the Creatures that are being seen. Paranormal simply means ‘around normal’ or just ‘on the edge of normal’ and as these Creatures are beyond our understanding, and are still in the realm of theory there is no real word or genre that can describe them correctly, so for now we use the term Paranormal. Impossible Creatures and Unexplained events happen to ordinary people in towns and cities worldwide every day. In this book you will hear from the witnesses themselves as they take you back to the day of the event. You will read of encounters with Ape Men, Dog men, Unseen predators and Hairy Bipedal creatures.

How many times have you heard the statement “I would love to see something like that?” or “wow you’re so lucky, I would give anything to see one up close” Or my favourite “why didn’t you take a picture to prove what you saw?” Being a witness to something impossible is not the lovely spiritual meeting most imagine. In this book I will explain what it is really like being a child witness to something nobody could explain away or smooth over quickly. Seeing something so traumatising can stay with a person throughout their entire lives. Finding others who understand can be validating and freeing for the person having the experience.

Deborah...

“I started this book series many years ago, in the very early days I would search the UK for any reports or articles that matched the strange Creature I saw in 1982. It took a long time to find others, but eventually I did. And as the years have passed I have become a voice for others who wish to share their ‘Truth’ publicly. So now that is what I do, I share the experiences in the words of the witness themselves, in articles and books, podcasts, Interviews and youtube videos in the hopes of finding answers and finding others who are also out there thinking they are alone in what they have experienced.

In 2016 I stated a volunteer investigations team, made from members all across the UK, who can visit the area of a report and meet with the witness in person. We

64

A Lost Purse Leads to Sickly Creature Sighting Report, 2019 ‘The ‘thing’ looked more like some sort of love child between a Wolf and a Panther’

One of the questions I’m often asked the most is where do I find my accounts. Often I don’t find ‘them’ at all. They seem to find me, somehow, some way? It has happened so

many times now I have stopped questioning Why? I really believe in some of these cases serendipity is at play.

A very good example of that is what happened on 3rd December 2019

Read I a story from one of Deborah’s books inside the magazine went out shopping for food as you do, and as we were driving home on our normal route when I spotted a purse in the middle of the road next to the Petrol Station. I felt compelled to get it before someone ran over it, or worse took it for themselves. We went to the Petrol attendant and I left my number on a piece of paper hoping the owner would contact them or head back that way. Then my Husband went around to all the local shops and GP surgeries leaving our number in case the owner was local and would retrace her steps at some point. Something kept on at me all day to find her as I knew she needed it back for sentimental reasons. My Daughters suggested asking for help on Facebook and I posted her name and a pic of the purse on there and asked people to share it. It worked a treat which was great as the owner of the purse

arranging to post it back she went quiet. She came back about 10 mins later and said she had checked me out as she was so shocked I’d gone out of my way to find her to return the purse.

She said straight away after seeing some of my articles I have written that 14 years ago she saw something she couldn’t explain close to home when she was a young girl, and she also knows of a few others who have seen ‘it’ too.

16/5/06 - “A couple of days ago it was a nice day so I decided to get off the bus early and walk back home because I didn’t have any homework or anything to rush home for. I went the usual route via the golf course so I could roll down the hill. I had heard the big Cat rumours from around the course but I wasn’t scared. I thought the golfers were all just making it up, I never thought for a moment it was maybe real. I was sure it was complete BS. Until I saw the yellow eyes glaring at me, but I’ve never seen a Cat that big. ‘He’ was either poorly or not a

investigate the scene and interview the person and take a statement. The reports are then mapped and reported to the general public. This community group also enables people with similar experiences or interests to meet up and chat online. I believe each one of us has a tiny piece of the puzzle, by getting together and sharing knowledge we will hopefully begin to understand the puzzle of our own ‘Truths’. lived about 35 miles away in Liverpool and was not local to me at all.

She messaged me and said she was so shocked I handed the purse in as she had given up on humanity after an earlier loss so thought the purse would have been snatched.

As I was chatting through messenger

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

Talk about serendipity. She had filled up with petrol in our town and left the purse on the car roof. I wonder if that purse had a little push by fate as she was driving up the road. We are very lucky that at the time she saw the Creature the witness was so upset she kept a journal at the time and still had the entry she had written describing the Creature she saw.

It happened on the 14th May 2006.

Panther at all, ‘he’ was mangy like a feral Fox but ‘it’ was about a 100 times bigger than a Fox. ‘It’ was grey and the eyes were not Catish in any way. The ‘thing’ looked more like some sort of love child between a Wolf and a Panther. But not cute and fluffy at all ‘It’ was really ugly. I remember ‘It’ had a lump between ‘It’s shoulders. ‘It’ was obviously scared and poorly but what could I have done to help it? I thought I was brave until that moment but instead I nearly cried. I think I would have coped with ‘it’, if ‘it’ looked like a Cat but ‘that’ was not a cat”.

27/5/06 - “I bumped into a guy called Mike and his buddy George who were playing golf down on the course. I told them about what I saw the other day and asked if they had seen ‘it’. Mike swore he also saw ‘It’ but he said ‘it’ didn’t look like a Cat to him either.

His mate said we were both mad but I knew and he knew and we both believed each other”.

straight through the style instead of over it I was so scared.

When I was little, as young as two, I would see a Wolf in my bedroom at night, every night my Dad would use an imaginary lead to take the Wolf out of my room so I could sleep, I wonder if these two events are connected in some way? His eyes are what I remember the most, they were this amber orangey colour”.

People Who ‘Witness Paranormal’ Creatures - on Amazon, paperback £4.99 2/6/06 - “The more I think about things the less sure I am that ‘it’ was a Cat after all. I’ve been looking online to match what I saw but I’m not finding Cats with yellow or orangey eyes, none that have circles anyway.

I’m confused? Was I seeing things?

Maybe there’s a gas leak making people go mad and I’m one of them?

Dad said ‘it’ was a murderer in a mask trying to scare me off the course.

The ‘thing’ I saw had a hunch on ‘It’s back between the shoulders and was upright on its back legs.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0851LN7H1 Was the Creature sick or ill, hence it revealed itself? Or was it connected to the Wolf that the witness would see in childhood? Did her decision to get off the bus early mean she accidentally bumped into the Creature? Or was the event engineered in some way? Fourteen years on the event is still very fresh in her mind. And one strange point I should note. The garage where our witness filled up her car and the garage where I found the purse are two separate garages in two separate towns. I was at my local garage on the A6. The young lady was in the next town over and didn’t drive through my town on her way home? How did the purse move 3 miles, and be in the perfect position for me to come across it one hour later?

People Who ‘Witness Paranormal’ Creatures - on Amazon, Kindle £1.77 As I was reading my journal it took me right back to that day. I remember so clearly what it was like seeing ‘It’.

The feelings I felt, I’ve never been scared like that since. I felt sick and I remember running and almost going

Our witness is now convinced more than ever that what she saw that day was Canine. She had never heard of Dogman and when I asked her to just google the name and look at the images she was very taken with one of the depictions of the beast of Bray Road. But the Beast she saw looked very sick and ill, it’s eyes looked jaundiced.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084166RNK Read the Witness Statements in their own words. https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B07P9MZSD2

debbiehatswell@gmail.com

www.lancmag.com

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Lytham St Annes

By Stephen Roberts Lytham and I have been acquainted before. In the August 2019 issue I pondered its name (Lytham and St Anne’s or Lytham St Annes) and much else besides.

I gathered in Lytham Hall (c.1760), an old windmill (1805) on Lytham Green, Ashton Gardens and the Old Market Hall of 1848, the splendid Lowther Gardens (1872), a Victorian pier (1885) and the Open Championship golf course (1886), stories of George Formby and his ukulele, and the new Fylde Gallery (2008). It’s amazing really how much you can fit into the average town feature.

Grade II* Listed dovecote at Lytham Hall (author – Barbara Carr / Dovecote at Lytham Hall / CC BY-SA 2.0, source – www.geograph.org.uk).

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www.lancmag.com

And now, the time has come to find what else Lytham has to offer, so Steve is going to employ one of his favourite stratagems in such situations, a perusal of some of the town’s Listed buildings. Like plaques on walls I find they tell me a lot about a place, its history and heritage, its development, and its character. There are 91 in Lytham, so I’m spoiled for choice. I could mention all of them (excepting the few I’ll have covered last time) but then the editor would have to bin several other features to afford me the room. I’ll just pick out some of the best then.

There’s one Grade I Listed building (Lytham Hall), which I described last time. Don’t miss it though, as it’s a Palladian country house of the mid-18th century, much like the one I live in.

There are four Grade II* Listed structures with the remainder being Grade II Listed. Don’t sniff at a Grade II Listed building though: many of them are little treasures. Until the 19th century Lytham was but a village on the Lytham Hall estate, so the earliest of the Listed buildings date from this era and reflect typical village life of the time (church, houses and cottages, a farmhouse and that windmill). Things changed from the late - 1830s when Lytham began to develop a new resort persona, plus aspirations as a commuter town. Buildings of this era reflect this development (larger houses, hotels, pubs, shops, more churches, a church hall, that market hall, and other public buildings such as institutes and libraries, memorials and even phone kiosks). It’s interesting what can be listed sometimes: there are oft a few surprises in there.

Below: The Victory Hall at St Cuthbert’s, a Grade II Listed structure that was erected in 1920 to commemorate those who’d died during WW1 (author – Steve Daniels / St Cuthbert’s Church Hall / CC BY-SA 2.0, source – www.geograph.org.uk).

Below: Grade II* Listed St John’s with its elegant spire (author – ‘Rept0n1x’, source – Own work).

Things changed from the late1830s when Lytham began to develop a new resort persona

My search for those Grade II* listings takes me straight back to Lytham Hall. Not content with having a Grade I Listed hall, why there’s also a Grade II* Listed dovecote of the late-18th century, so not that much younger than the hall itself. A red brick octagonal structure with a slate roof it looks like a home from home for those doves, 850 of whom can be accommodated in its nesting boxes. Coo. Away from the hall and its doves, Perpendicular St Cuthbert’s (1834-35) is an example of the expansion that went with Lytham’s resort reinvention, as the spiritual needs of the increased population and the many visitors loomed large. Early English St John’s (1848-49) came quite soon after, designed by Edwin Hugh Shellard (1815-85) who practiced in Manchester and the North West with St John’s Minster, Preston considered his finest achievement. The final Grade II* Listed building is a third church, which just shows the importance of religion in the Victorian www.lancmag.com

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 67

Above: The Queen’s Hotel, Grade II Listed and fine (author – Terry Robinson / Queen’s Hotel, Central Beach, Lytham / CC BY-SA 2.0, source – www.geograph.org.uk).

and Edwardian mindset. This one, Fairhaven United Reformed Church, is the latest of the trio (1907-12), originally a Congregational church, designed by Briggs, Wolstenholme and Thornely, in a ‘free Byzantine’ style, which certainly gives it an eastern appearance. It even has an octagonal minaret tower in its north-eastern corner, plus a domed roof and smaller octagonal turrets with domed lanterns.

And so, to the Grade II listings. Now, I’ll have to be selective here otherwise you could all be here for some considerable time. There’s 86 of them after all. I need to be fed, watered and hopefully housed on these trips, so my eye caught today’s Railway Hotel, which is intuitively in Station Road. Originally named the Railway Hotel, it was adjacent to the first Lytham railway station, having its name changed later to the Hansom Cab before reverting to the Railway Hotel in its modern guise as a Wetherspoons’ pub. The building dates to the mid-19th century.

Lytham’s original station (1846 vintage) was in Station Road (a site now occupied by the fire station), whilst the town’s operational station (1863) is counter intuitively in Ballam Road. I love these little historical niceties. Another option for my bivouacking might be the three-storey Queen’s Hotel, which is also of mid-19th century vintage and is situated on Central Beach, which sounds very central and beachy. An interesting example of an unusual listing is the promenade shelter 68

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(c.1900), a cast-iron structure with felted roof. It’s so ‘seaside’.

Talk of ‘beachy’ reminds me that we’re talking a coastal community here, so among the Grade II listings are structures redolent of embracing and battling with the seaside topography and elements. The Old Lifeboat House of 1863 has some ornamentation, a wooden lantern with pyramidal apex atop the roof, replete with weathervane. It faces the former slipway, with large double doors beneath a gable with a finial (more ornamentation). The first Lytham lifeboat was launched in 1851 and the Old Lifeboat House remained in use until the late-1990s when the boat was relocated to St Annes. In its

Above: The Old Lifeboat House, which is Grade II Listed (author - David Dixon / The Old Lifeboat House / CC BY-SA 2.0, source – www. geograph.org. uk).

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Left: The Laura Janet memorial, St Cuthbert’s churchyard (author – Keith Worden, source – Own work).

illustrious history the former station of the Lytham Lifeboat saved some 270 lives. In the churchyard of St Cuthbert’s is the Laura Janet memorial, which demonstrates the peril of the seas and the bravery of volunteer lifeboat crews. The worst disaster in the history of the RNLI saw a total of 27 lifeboatmen die across two boats (St Annes and Southport).

The ‘shout’ had been to try and rescue the crew of a German barque that had run into trouble in a severe storm in December 1886.

More structures were raised after WW1, partly to commemorate the fallen but also to celebrate a victory that had been hard won having taken more than four years to grind out. Lytham’s war memorial (c.1920-25) is in white Portland stone and looks very ‘Cenotaph’, in fact, it is a cenotaph, a tall, slightly tapering one with a decorative top. The fallen are named and remembered on panels. The Victory Hall meanwhile is the

the former station of the Lytham Lifeboat saved some 270 lives

Left: Lytham’s Grade II Listed 1920s war memorial that was raised to commemorate the fallen of the Great War (author – ‘Rept0n1x’, source – Own work).

www.lancmag.com

parish hall of St Cuthbert’s church and was erected, also in the war’s wake, in 1920, and again was conceived as a tribute to those who had lost their lives in that attritional conflict. A Perpendicular-style red-brick construction with sandstone dressings and a slate roof, the hall comprises six bays when facing it from the road with bays two and five being larger and gabled, with lower service bays on either side, which both include an entrance porch.

I’m going to deviate from my theme for my final landmark, which is Lytham railway station.

Well, I have to find my way to the town and back home again.

The station’s used by about 80,000 souls a year and lies on the Blackpool South to Preston line. Alright, it’s not a listed

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 69

structure but I’m not a fan of cars, much preferring trains, so the station had to appear, even though it’s broken my rule of looking out for those precious listed buildings. There’s a couple of other stations in the conurbation: the lesser-patronised Ansdell and Fairhaven, which is handily next to the Open Championship golf course; and St Annes, which sees rather more passengers per annum than Lytham (c.115,000). A bunch of heritage, a trio of railway stations to drool over, and the opportunity to build a sand castle or three; my boxes are well and truly ticked.

Right: A promenade shelter, an unusual Grade II Listed structure, which is very typical of the seaside (author – J Thomas / Shelter on the Prom, Lytham / CC BY-SA 2.0, source – www.geograph.org.uk).

Below: The Grade II Listed Hansom Cab pub in Station Road, which is today named ‘The Railway Hotel’ (author ‘Rept0n1x’, source – Own work).

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www.lancmag.com

Cumbrian Heritage Back with a Bang and New Innovative Ways to ‘Live’ the Past

N

ecessity has been the mother of invention in UK tourism and the members of the dynamic cultural and heritage group, Cumbria’s Living Heritage, have come back more vibrant than ever, when opening their doors, laying down their gangplanks and cooking up edible treats.

The group has shown the spirit that conveys why it has ‘living’ in its name, making heritage come alive in the moment, however difficult that moment has been. Its summer 2020 offering shows more product development than ever, bringing visitors and local residents some incredible opportunities to experience the brand-new, the exquisite and the downright tasty.

Keswick Museum has come out of the blocks flying, with an August 12, 246th birthday ‘Southey Celebration’, focusing on the life of the Poet Laureate – and the man who gave the world the inspiration for what became 72

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‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’.

Storytelling by Becky Cole and Digby, joint stars of Digby Days, is between 10.30am and 11.15am, followed by an ‘ask the expert’ session with Southey Residency guru, Charlotte May, who will also be revealing some lesser-seen Southey possessions and exhibits. No booking is required and entrance is free.

At Holker Hall & Gardens, folk can experience the historic home’s first Drive-in Movie Night on August 15, when ‘Downton Abbey’, will be screened with the stunning hall as its backdrop, at 8.30pm. Movie goers can drive in their car, at a cost of £20, when gates open at 6.30pm and even pre-order cinema bubbles for their bubble. Holker is also promising us the return of Chilli Fest in September, a Halloween Pumpkin Trail, Winter Markets and more and even has a pop-up pub to tempt.

That desire to keep visitors fed and watered is also evidenced at Askham

A piece from the BENGAL exhibition at Grizedale

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Hall near Penrith, where a new barn offers woodfired pizzas and handpulled beers between 11.30am and 8pm each day. Eat Out to Help Out has been embraced by venues within the group, including the Gaddum restaurant at Brockhole.

Outdoor theatre will wow families at stunning Brantwood, the former home of John Ruskin nestled right above Coniston Water. A one-hour production of the classic children’s novel, The Wind in the Willows, is taking to the stage, for a family event at 6.30pm on August 19.

At Rydal Mount, near Grasmere, poet William Wordsworth’s most loved home, never-before-seen treasures are on display. There’s the family bible, with the beautiful copperplate handwriting of William’s parents detailing their wedding day and the birth and christening dates of all of their children, including William.

There are his walking sticks, one with silver crest, and two new portraits

by Sir William Buxall and Samuel Crosthwaite respectively, the latter being William’s last known portrait.

Add to this an artist’s impression of the home the poet once planned on what is now Dora’s Field – a spring daffodilfilled memorial to his daughter - and it offers even more excuses to visit the home and wild and spiritually serene 5-acre garden in which William heard his exclusive cuckoo. Parties of four people at a time can tour the house, whilst roaming the glorious garden should provide few social distancing issues. Booking is available for selected dates, in August and September, at www.rydalmount.co.uk But there’s so much more.

The Gruffalo has relaunched his orienteering trail at Whinlatter Forest.

At Grizedale Forest, there are spiritual healing experiences between the trees and also BENGAL: The Four Elements, an exhibition bringing together 10 years of artistry and sculpture by artist Gerry Judah. There are sailings once more on the Victorian Steam Yacht Gondola and you can get on the trail of Beatrix Potter at Hill Top, the Armitt Museum, Ambleside and the Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead.

There are terrace teas at Blackwell – the Arts and Crafts house in Bowness – to be enjoyed whilst drinking in views of Windermere. Gardens at Mirehouse near Keswick, Dalemain and Hutton-in-the-Forest near www.lancmag.com

Penrith, Levens Hall near Kendal and Muncaster Castle on the Cumbrian West coast (both also offering house tours) and Holehird Gardens near Windermere, have all reopened.

Lakeland Motor Museum and National Trust and Historic England properties and sites have the welcome sign up and Muncaster’s Meadowvole is even reporting hawks and owls flying overhead, as flying displays recommence.

But if you still need to be tempted

by Cumbrian culture and heritage, why not enjoy a heritage sailing on the Windermere Jetty Museum’s fully restored steamboat, St Osprey, costing £40 for four people on a 30-minute trip, with a £10 charge for each additional person up to a total number of 8. Or, enjoy exclusive 75-minute hire for 8 people’s enjoyment, for £160, Thursday to Sunday, sailing at 10.30am, 1pm or 3pm, as long as you are one family bubble.

Or, you could head to Brockhole, on the shores of Windermere, to explore the brand - new Woodland Faerie Trail - a maze of 50 little faerie doorways, hidden amidst ferns and moss-covered rocks, in ancient woodland, in the Enchanted Wood.

Tickets can be bought on arrival, as you discover that maybe Victorians were right about faeries living at the end of the garden.

Steamboat Osprey, from the Windermere Jetty Museum

And, if you wish to explore all of this and more, there’s the opportunity to stay at Swarthmoor Hall’s newly reopened self-catering apartment, housed within a Grade II-listed hall that is known as the birthplace of Quakerism. A three-night stay, from August 3, will cost £775, putting you just two miles from the coast near Ulverston and at the heart of all of the action and exciting things-to-do from Cumbria’s Living Heritage.

All of the website links to members are accessible at www.cumbriaslivingheritage.co.uk, to quickly discover what’s brewing – in every sense. Cumbrian heritage is back – with a bang!

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 73

Two blackpool projects win getting building funding

Tower St Car Park_ Houndshill Phase 2 Development CGI.1

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lackpool has successfully secured funding worth £8.6m for two ‘shovel ready’ town centre regeneration projects from the Getting Building Fund, aimed at giving the economy a quick boost, post Covid-19.

Centre in Nov 19 for £47.6m, the aim being to support its sustainability and to re-purpose parts of it through the delivery of a transformational leisure and retail development.

The mixed use development comprises: • 9 Screen Imax -style Cinema (40,575 sq ft)

In response to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) recently invited the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as part of a UK-wide Government initiative, to put forward ideas for accelerating existing Government funded capital projects within local growth programmes, to generate new development activity within 18 months, to help create jobs and raise overall demand in the economy.

Blackpool Council submitted two projects which have subsequently been allocated funding through the Getting Building Fund which are: 1. Houndshill Shopping Centre – Phase 2 Development As part of its strategy to revitalise the town centre Blackpool Council purchased the Houndshill Shopping 74

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• 2 New Restaurants (3,760 sq ft) • A relocated Wilko Store (22,500 sq ft) The scheme objectives are to create new complementary leisure uses, while securing the site for the tramway terminus through allowing the planned relocation of the existing Wilko store, providing new amenities and promote increased investor confidence in the area.

2. Abingdon Street Market The aim of the project is to rejuvenate the visitor experience, growth, and sustainability of the Abingdon Street indoor market in Blackpool Town Centre. It will support the creation of a range of independent retail and food retail services, and office uses, together with performance space, www.lancmag.com

that will provide amenities and wider benefits and promote increased investor confidence in the area.

Abingdon Street indoor market, which has declined significantly in recent years and is currently for sale by its private owner. With a new offer it will address the needs and demands of residents and visitors and provide a modern experience at the heart of the town centre.

Lancashire was allocated £34.1m overall and Blackpool’s schemes are two of ten projects across the County chosen to receive additional financial help from Central Government alongside Fleetwood Docks Mixed Use Regeneration Project and Hillhouse Technology Enterprise Zone electrical, water and access infrastructure project.

The focus was on projects that are able to offer assurances on timelines, fast deliverability and the creation of jobs.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council said: “We are pleased that Government continues to look at opportunities for levelling up the UK economy, especially at this critical time as we recover and rebuild from the devastating effects Covid-19 has had on our local businesses and our economy.

“Houndshill Phase 2 Development and the regeneration of Abingdon Street Market are both projects that we are currently seeking funding for through our Future High Streets Bid and so we are delighted that we can now accelerate the delivery of these two projects and bring new jobs and opportunities into the town centre much sooner than planned.”

and leisure industries.

“The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership is in regular dialogue with Government to ensure the economic effects are minimised and the county receives the support it needs and deserves. By working closely with our partners, we have successfully secured a total of £34.1m from the Getting Building Fund for investment in quality projects which will drive economic recovery and create jobs. The two schemes in Blackpool have the potential to create up to 225 jobs and revitalise the town centre. When added to the significant investment by the LEP through Growth Deal funds, the most recent of which was a contribution to the manufacturing facility on the Enterprise Zone, I am confident we will see transformational change in the town and increase investor confidence in the area.’’

The two Blackpool projects will now be taken through the LEP’s due diligence process. Lancashire LEP will be expected to deliver the agreed projects but will have flexibility to deliver the greatest economic benefits to the area. Any significant changes to the projects should be discussed with the Government in advance, and all investment decisions must be undertaken in line with locally agreed audit and scrutiny arrangements.

The Future High Streets Bid comprises a comprehensive and imaginative programme to complement existing regeneration projects and bring about the much-needed transformational change, that will also support the town’s economic recovery post COVID-19 and the “Lancashire Recovery Plan” submitted by Lancashire LEP. Blackpool Council has established an ambitious programme, focused on the core of the Town Centre where it aims to build on previous work to strengthen and develop the town centre through various strategic interventions including the acquisition, subsequent investment and management of Blackpool Tower, the Winter Gardens Conference Centre and Houndshill Shopping Centre.

Steve Fogg, Chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership said, ‘’It is fantastic that Blackpool has managed to secure funding for two projects through the Getting Building Better Fund. The Covid-19 crisis has naturally had an adverse impact on most areas of the Lancashire economy, and Blackpool particularly so due to its reliance on the tourism www.lancmag.com

To find out more about the regeneration projects already taking place across Blackpool or to sign up to our free regeneration newsletter please visit: www.blackpool.gov.uk/BetterBlackpool

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 75

William Harrison Ainsworth the Lancashire novelist

By Harold Cunliffe

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Left: Cartoon Drawing of William Harrison Ainsworth

n 15th September 1881 a banquet was held at Manchester Town Hall in honour of William Harrison Ainsworth. This prestigious event was attended by the Mayor, together with around a hundred of the Manchester area’s literary elite of the day (mostly men, although four women were also invited). Known as the “Lancashire novelist”, Manchester-born Ainsworth was regarded as one of the leading authors of the Victorian era, who at one point even rivalled Charles Dickens in popularity. Yet today he is only known to a tiny handful of people. So who was William Harrison Ainsworth and why did he disappear into obscurity within a few decades of his death?

William Harrison Ainsworth was born at 21 King Street in Manchester on 4th February 1805 to a prominent Manchester lawyer called Thomas Ainsworth and his wife Ann, the daughter of a Unitarian minister at Cross Street Chapel. At that time the King Street area was home to many of the city’s great and the good, whose properties reflected their status. The Ainsworth family home no longer exists, but it is known to have been a handsome three-storey Georgian residence of the type that still survives elsewhere in the city centre.

The family moved to Cheetham in 1811, although they kept their King Street home. At the beginning of the 19th century Cheetham was to all extents and purposes still a separate village to the north of Manchester. With its beautiful views of the surrounding countryside, it proved popular with those who could afford to live away from the smoke and grime of the city centre.

In 1817 Ainsworth was sent to Manchester Grammar School, an experience on which he would later draw in his novel Mervyn Clitheroe.

Whilst still at school, he began to submit literary work to magazines, often using the pen name “Thomas Hall”, and soon began to enjoy some success. On publishing extracts from his play Venice, or the Fall of the Foscaris, one magazine compared him in favourable terms to Lord Byron.

High praise indeed for a writer who was still a schoolboy at the time.

However, despite this early literary success, Ainsworth was expected to follow his father into

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the legal profession and on leaving school in 1822 began to study law. Perhaps unsurprisingly he seems to have had little enthusiasm for his new career. However, Ainsworth became a partner of the firm following his father’s death in June 1824 (as was the norm at the time) and was required to complete his legal studies in London. He moved to the capital later that same year and would never return to live in his native city again.

Ainsworth may have gone to the capital to further his legal career, but the move also proved helpful to his literary ambitions. In London he met many of the leading literary figures of the day including publisher John Ebers, whose daughter Fanny he married in October 1826.

Ebers published Ainsworth’s first novel Sir John Chiverton the same year. Written in collaboration with his friend John Partington Aston, Ainsworth in later life distanced himself from the work and is said to have described it as “incomplete”.

However, the novel did bring him to the attention of historical novelist Sir Walter Scott, with whom Ainsworth would be compared throughout his literary career.

John Ebers persuaded Ainsworth to sell his partnership in the family law firm and invest in a publishing business with him. The venture proved to be a financial disaster and by 1830 Ainsworth was compelled to return to the legal profession to support his and Fanny’s growing family.

By this stage Ainsworth was already beginning to develop the idea of his historical novel Rookwood. The book was eventually published in April 1834 and proved to be an overnight success.

Ainsworth would never have to work as a lawyer again. Rookwood was very much in the genre of historical and gothic romance which the novels of Sir Walter Scott had so popularised. Scott himself had died only two years previously and Ainsworth was soon being lauded as the natural successor to the great Scottish novelist.

The action in Rookwood takes place in the 1730s and the basic story is centred around a dispute between two brothers over their father’s estate. However, this barely begins to describe a plot which would not look out of place in a modern-day TV soap, including a curse,

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 77

His portrayal of the women accused of witchcraft is sometimes too much based on the type of traditional hag found in gothic fairy tales rather than historical fact

mistaken identity, doomed love affairs and multiple deaths. An interesting sub-plot features the real-life 18th century highwayman, Dick Turpin. His introduction to the story was not entirely necessary to the plot’s development, but proved an entertaining diversion. Ainsworth’s description of Turpin’s non-stop ride from London to York in one night on his famous horse Black Bess particularly appealed to readers. There is no evidence of Turpin ever having made such a ride, but such was the popularity of Ainsworth’s account that the story to this day remains a prominent part of the legend attached to the highwayman.

Ainsworth turned to the subject of another reallife 18th century criminal, Jack Sheppard, in his novel of the same name which was published in 1839. The book tells the story of the young Jack’s descent into criminality at the hands of Jonathan Wild, who, in turn, was also based on a notable real-life villain active in London in the early 1700s.

As with the Dick Turpin sub-plot in Rookwood, in choosing this subject-matter Ainsworth cleverly tapped into the public appetite at the time for a genre which is now referred to as the “Newgate novel”. These stories were loosely based on the lives of past well-known criminals, but were much embellished. The genre received its name from the fact that writers would often draw ideas for suitable subjects from the Newgate Calendar, a publication which had started off life as a monthly bulletin of executions produced by the Keeper of Newgate Prison in London.

Ainsworth’s Jack Sheppard again proved to be an immediate hit with readers, comfortably outselling Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist which was published at around the same time.

Numerous theatrical versions of the book opened 78

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in London, but writers in the genre, and Ainsworth in particular, faced a critical backlash following an infamous murder which took place in the capital in May 1840. The aristocratic Lord William Russell was murdered in his sleep by his Swissborn valet Francois Benjamin Courvoisier and it was widely reported that Courvoisier had claimed to have been inspired by a passage in Ainsworth’s book to commit the murder.

Other crimes were also reported to have been inspired by the book and its theatrical spinoffs, prompting the Lord Chancellor to ban any plays in London with Jack Sheppard in the title for 40 years. The literary establishment turned against Ainsworth, criticising him for glorifying criminals and thus disassociating themselves from the scandal that followed the Russell murder.

The following report in the Cambridge General Advertiser was typical of the press coverage that Jack Sheppard received, “We have regretted that Mr Ainsworth’s talents should have been employed on a subject so unworthy of them. That to please the bad tastes

Above: Illustration from Rookwood Dick Turpin and his horse

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and morbid appetites of a small class of readers, he should have employed them in the description of unnatural exhibitions of vice and depravity”.

Ainsworth’s literary reputation never really recovered from the critical outcry regarding Jack Sheppard, but for the next few years he remained popular with the reading public. The author never returned to the notorious 18th century criminals, whom he had been accused of glorifying, but instead gained inspiration from further back in history in novels such as Windsor Castle (1843) which is set during the time of Henry VIII. In the late 1840s Ainsworth began to turn to his native county of Lancashire for inspiration.

His 1849 novel The Lancashire Witches is based www.lancmag.com

on the true story of the Pendle witches who were tried and executed for witchcraft in Lancaster in 1612. The subject matter suits Ainsworth’s imaginative and colourful style perfectly and he throws everything at it, with supernatural goingson, evil monks and curses a-plenty.

His portrayal of the women accused of witchcraft is sometimes too much based on the type of traditional hag found in gothic fairy tales rather than historical fact. However, with this fictional account of events he reawakened interest in the story of the Pendle witch trials, which endures to this day. This probably explains why The Lancashire Witches remains the only one of Ainsworth’s novels to have never been out of print

Above: Lancaster Castle Scene of Pendle Witches Trial

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since its original publication. The book enjoyed huge commercial success, but it proved to be the last of Ainsworth’s works to do so.

This does not mean that Ainsworth stopped writing. He had nearly forty novels published during his lifetime including several more based in his native county.

One such work is The Life and Adventures of Mervyn Clitheroe, which is unusual in that it has a more contemporary setting than his other novels and contains passages which are semiautobiographical in nature. The book is dedicated to “My contemporaries at the Manchester School” and the title character’s experiences at school loosely reflect Ainsworth’s own.

Much of the action takes place in the fictional “Cottonborough”, which is clearly based on the Manchester in which the author grew up in the early part of the 19th century. Its contemporary feel was not popular with his fans, who preferred a more historical setting, but to the modern reader it provides a tantalising eye-witness account of life in Manchester in the early days of the Industrial Revolution.

Further novels set in and around Lancashire followed including Manchester Rebels of the Fatal ‘45 (published in 1873), Preston Fight (1875) and The Leaguer of Lathom (1876).

In later life Ainsworth abandoned London completely and moved to Brighton. He ended his 80

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days in the Surrey town of Reigate. By the time that he attended the banquet held in his honour at Manchester Town Hall in 1881, he was largely forgotten in the capital’s literary circles. However, his work remained hugely popular in his native county, particularly his Lancashire based novels.

In his speech on that night Ainsworth referred to his pride in being known as “the Lancashire novelist”, a name which was bestowed on him by his fellow Mancunians. He added, “My desire has really been to write Lancashire novels that please the whole county, and I did not care whether it pleased anybody else”.

These defiant words say a lot about the state of mind of a man who for an all too brief time in the past had been at the pinnacle of the literary world, but who had seen his work fall totally out of fashion.

Only a few months later Ainsworth passed away at his home in Reigate, aged 76. As early as 1903, less than two decades after his death, a letter appeared in the press lamenting the “shockingly neglected grave of William Harrison Ainsworth” in Kensal Green Cemetery. His work has never returned to fashion. The style of Gothic novel favoured by Ainsworth and his mid-19th century readers may today seem overblown and old-fashioned, but his native county owes him a debt of gratitude for being among the first writers to put Lancashire on the literary map.

Above: Illustration from Mervyn Clitheroe

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UCLan wins national accreditation for its engineering courses Students to benefit as civil and structural engineering courses given national recognition The new accreditation for UCLan’s courses means that students will now have the endorsement of the country’s top engineering organisations as well when they graduate.

Dr Paul Watson, Principal Lecturer at UCLan’s School of Engineering said: “This is tremendous news for our students as it means that they will now graduate with a degree which is backed by the oldest and most respected professional engineering institutions in the UK.

UCLan Engineering Innovation Centre

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he University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has won national accreditation for its civil and structural engineering courses, earning formal recognition from some of the country’s leading assessment bodies.

Both UCLan’s BEng Civil Engineering Honours degree course and its Masters degree course in Construction Project Management have received formal accreditation from the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM), giving the opportunity for students to now graduate with enhanced nationally recognised qualifications.

The new accreditation is backed by the country’s leading engineering bodies including the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Structural Engineers, Institute of Highway Engineers, and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (on behalf of the Engineering Council UK).

The national recognition for the courses follows rigorous assessments of UCLan’s teaching facilities and its training methods for students which have seen notable steps forward in the past three years.

In 2019, UCLan opened its brand new £35m Engineering Innovation Centre at its Preston campus, providing state-of-the-art learning and training facilities for engineering students at the University.

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“It also reflects the fact they are taught by civil engineering professionals recognised for their areas of specialism in civil engineering, using the very latest civil engineering laboratory equipment and software in our new Engineering Innovation Centre.”

In addition, the new accreditation will also open upon additional opportunities for students to undertake more on the job training, through parttime study and degree apprenticeships. The courses also include the chance to take part in residential field trips to the Western Lake District for Geology, to the Central Lake District for team building, and to North Norfolk for Constructionarium and the opportunity to construct a mini iconic structure.

Paul said the new accreditation was a clear reflection of the work put in by both students and staff during the past three years.

He added: “This is a great accolade for UCLan’s civil engineering students, graduates and staff. It reflects all the hard work that has been put in to ensure we have created the best civil engineering learning environment possible.

“We really are proud of this achievement as it is the ultimate seal of approval which means we are delivering engineering courses to students that are now recognised and accredited at the very highest level.

“Our students will graduate with the knowledge they will be recognised by the very best institutions across the industry. Institutions that could also be their future employers.”

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 81

Reducing your sugar intake Around 63% of adults in the UK are either overweight or obese. Excess weight gain occurs when you consume more calories (energy) than you need. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Sugar provides energy and consuming too much can lead to weight gain.

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip,

by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK 82

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In this Healthy Tip, we provide some tips for lowering your intake of sugary foods and drinks to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. www.lancmag.com

Check food labels When checking food labels be aware that added sugar can be listed in a variety of ways, such as sucrose, glucose, maltose, fructose, dextrose, honey, syrup, molasses, treacle or fruit juice concentrates. The food label may also provide information on how much sugar is contained.

High in sugar - Foods that are high in sugar contain 22.5g or more of total sugars per 100g Low in sugar - Foods that are low in sugar contain 5g or less of total sugars per 100g

Save sugary foods and drinks for an occasional sweet treat We all like to have a treat from time to time, but if we consume sugary foods and drinks too often, it can be a risk to our health. Sugar is added to many commonly consumed food and drink products, such as cakes, biscuits, puddings, sweets, chocolate, soft drinks and sweetened yoghurts.

Try to limit the amount of these foods and drinks in your diet by eating them less often and in smaller portions. www.lancmag.com

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 83

Reduce sugar in your drinks If you usually add sugar to hot drinks, why not cut back gradually on the amount of sugar you add, until you can cut it out altogether.

Alternatively, you could opt for an artificial sweetener, however this will not help you to adjust your taste preference for less sugary drinks. Try swapping sugary soft drinks for water, sugar-free or reduced-sugar drinks.

Unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies also contain sugar so try to limit your intake to no more than 150ml a day.

Are honey and brown sugar healthy options?

Although they are often marketed as healthier options, brown sugar and honey are not better for you than white sugar. These products are simply different forms of sugar and they are all high in calories. Brown sugar is the same as white sugar, with a small amount of molasses added in to give it a brown colour and a different flavour. Although honey is a natural product, it has a low nutritional value and it is also high in calories. Therefore, you should try to reduce your intake of honey and brown sugar as well as other types of sugar and syrups.

Reduce your sugar intake at breakfast time Frosted, chocolate or honey-covered breakfast cereals tend to be high in sugar. Try replacing these with unsweetened wholegrain breakfast cereals. For added sweetness, you could top your breakfast cereal with fruit, such as sliced bananas or berries and this will also contribute to your 5 a day.

Switch to low-sugar desserts For a low-sugar dessert try adding fruit to a low-fat and low-sugar yoghurt. If using tinned fruit, choose tins in juice rather than syrup. If you cannot resist a sugary pudding, eating a smaller portion is a better option as it will contain less sugar than a regular-sized portion.

Further information If you would like further information on weight management, you can get advice and support from the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/livewell/healthy-weight/start-the-nhs-weight-loss-plan/ You can find more healthy tips, recipes and advice at heartresearch.org.uk.

What about the sugars contained in fruit?

Fruit contains naturally occurring sugars as well as fibre, vitamins, minerals and water. In this combination fruit is generally regarded as being good for our health. Eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day is recommended as part of a healthy balanced diet.

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HEARTS FOR HOMES THE QUAINT SHOP IN THE LOVELY TOWN OF RAMSBOTTOM The concept of Hearts of Homes is to bring affordable yet charming home décor and gifts to our customers.

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amsbottom gift shop Hearts for Homes celebrates it’s four year anniversary this April as owner and busy mum of three boys’ Kerry Khan reflects on how life has changed since she opened.

When Kerry first launched this beautiful, unique gift emporium back in 2016, little did she know

that within two years she would be outgrowing the original premises on Bolton Street and moving into a shop with three floors right on the corner of Bridge Street.

This prime spot formerly the Bridge Street News is now well established as Hearts for Homes and it’s pretty pink window display keeps the crowds coming

MADE IN THE UK, LARGE SELECTION OF COLOURS...

STOCKIST OF THE ORIGINAL ARTISAN RANGE • NEW & IMPROVED LABY RANGE • AL FRESCO INSIDE OUTSIDE RANGE • CHALK WALL PAINT • TRIM PAINT • EASY GRADE WAXES • BRUSHES • FRENSLEEN • FINISHING COAT • FRENCHIC SUGAR COAT • STENCILS • ACCESSORIES & OTHER

w www.heartsforhomes.co.uk e kerry@heartsforhomes.co.uk 47 Bridge Street l Ramsbottom l BL0 9AD t 01706 560462

in as it opens seven days a week in peak seasons.

Kerry’s passion for upcycling furniture snowballed into a gift and homeware boutique packed with treasures from floor to ceiling including gifts for mum, dad, baby and even mum to be.

From stunning silver jewellery made with real flowers ideal for Mothers Day to elegant scarves

by Shruti. Books, Manchester Bee unique giftware, wedding gifts, homewares from the Just Slate Company. From clocks to cushions, pebble frames made to order, quotes on cards by Claire, The Mudlark local pottery by Lynn and artwork by another Ramsbottom artist Julian Cohen.

“We have an incredibly loyal local customer base but our customers come from as far as Cheshire to shop here, we source all our suppliers individually and we’re proud to showcase local craftspeople and talent. I am delighted that we have already started holding craft workshops on our newly refurbished top floor too. Local artists have offered their services by popular demand including furniture painting and stained glass craft” adds Kerry.

One of the newest additions to the Hearts for Homes range is the environmentally friendly ‘Frenchic’ furniture paint. A firm Pinterest favourite, Frenchic is a chalk and mineral paint, toxin and solvent free with no odour with a creamy and rich coverage.

Designed not to peel or chip, the paint can be used literally anywhere including nursery furniture and in bathrooms.

“Frenchic has been so popular since we started to stock it” says Kerry. We have sold so much, the colour palette is fantastic and prices start at £8 for a small tin”.

Redrow supports sexual abuse charity TRUST HOUSE Lancashire has received a £200 donation from housebuilder Redrow that has enabled them to continue to support those most at risk throughout Covid.

Jennifer Garner, Catherine Smith and Jessica O’Neill from Trust House Lancashire

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rust House Lancashire is a Rape & Sexual Assault Support Centre, offering support and counselling to survivors of sexual abuse. Although based in Preston, the charity provides support for children and adults across Lancashire. It’s free for all service users.

Catherine Smith, CEO of Trust House Lancashire, says: “Prior to lockdown, the charity operated from several satellite sites to make attending face to face sessions more accessible for the parents, carers and children by being nearer to where they live.

“When lockdown struck, we had to adapt our ways of working to continue to offer our support. The money from Redrow was used to purchase phones, sim cards and headsets so we could speak over the phone to anyone who needed our help.”

Catherine adds: “Counselling and other trauma informed support can help to minimise the impact on the victim and assist them in being able to live their life in the best way possible. By providing opportunities for counselling, therapy and support for victims and their families, this can be a really positive step for them and for their futures.”

Trust House Lancashire is one of twelve groups and good causes that have shared £5000 from Redrow’s Leyland community fund.

These funds are set up to provide support to communities close to where they build.

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CEO of Trust House Catherine Smith with some items purchased with Redrow’s fund donation Sian Pitt, sales director at Redrow Homes (Lancashire) adds: “This charity is vital in providing support to those who need it most and I’m so pleased our donation has enabled their volunteers to continue to aid abuse survivors.”

For more details about Worden Gardens, s ee www.redrow.co.uk/wordengardens, call 01772 340818 or visit the sales centre, open daily. www.lancmag.com

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.

Apartment living leaves no rooms wasted

The kitchen, living and dining space

CHILDREN fleeing the nest, grandchildren growing up and no longer coming to stay or a change in circumstances are just some of the reasons why homeowners may find themselves with a home that’s too big and Redrow has a space-saving solution…

C

hoosing to move to an apartment at The Courtyard in Woodford Garden Village, Cheshire, means buyers can make the most out of all their living space rather than have rooms left empty and unused for large parts of the year.

Anna Evans-Kerr, head of sales for Redrow Homes (NW) says: “Moving into a home that is more suitable space-wise eliminates much of the maintenance and upkeep needed in a larger family home, and avoids the wasted cost of heating unused rooms.”

Anna continues: “The Courtyard really offers a luxurious lifestyle. The apartments are larger-than-average making the floor space equivalent to some houses; however the difference is the lesser number of rooms, which means all space is maximised.”

Apartments come with indulgent features such as underfloor heating, bi-fold patio doors onto a spacious 90

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balcony and other benefits such as a gated entrance and a private garage for each property.

Currently there are 28 two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments available with prices from £364,995.

“The apartments are also perfect for a lock up and leave lifestyle. Woodford Garden Village is less than 10 minutes from Manchester airport so they could be ideal for anyone who may need a base when they’re in the UK but may spend more time abroad,” adds Anna.

There are plans for a show apartment to be unveiled in 2021; however, in the sales centre at Woodford Garden Village, would-be homebuyers are able to take a full virtual tour of the properties through the use of state of the art interactive visual technology.

The Courtyard lies in close proximity to Wilmslow, Poynton and Bramhall and is within commuting distance (13 miles) of www.lancmag.com

A bedroom in The Courtyard

The Courtyard

central Manchester. It’s part of the wider Woodford Garden Village development, which features a diverse range of new homes from mews style properties to large and luxurious five-bedroom executive detached houses, a central village green, numerous areas of open space and play areas. It will also have its own shops, a pub and primary school. www.lancmag.com

To find out more, visit the sales centre at Woodford Garden Village open seven days a week from 10am-5.30pm, call 0161 636 0798 or go to www.redrow.co.uk/thecourtyard.

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Andrew Lancel to open Liverpool Theatre Festival with one-man comedy play by city playwright Jonathan Harvey Swan Song will launch nine days of outdoor performance at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church

Andrew Lancel - credit Matt Ford

Swan Song, a comedy by Liverpool playwright Jonathan Harvey, will open a brand-new theatre festival in the city next week marking the return of live outdoor performance.

Liverpool Theatre Festival will take place between Friday 11 September and Saturday 19 September 2020 in the grounds of St Luke’s Bombed Out Church and will help to kick-start the return of theatre productions in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Swan Song is a one-man play written by Jonathan Harvey and starring Liverpool actor Andrew Lancel.

The play will be directed by BAFTA award-winning director Noreen Kershaw. The show is produced by Liverpool Theatre Festival, in association with Bill Elms Productions and Quarry Street.

Swan Song will officially start the nine-day run of Liverpool Theatre Festival on Friday 11 September 2020, with performances at 6pm and 9pm.

The festival has been created by Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms to support the city’s devastated theatre scene. Performances will take place within the church walls, in the grounds of St Luke’s in the heart of Liverpool city centre, and follow stringent social distancing and Government guidelines.

The festival line-up includes musical theatre, drama, comedy, cabaret, monologues, and children’s shows. Tickets are on sale now.

Swan Song was first staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1997, before transferring to Hampstead Theatre with award-winning comedy actress Rebecca Front in the lead role. Jonathan Harvey has now adapted the play specially, and Andrew Lancel will play the solo role of Dave Titswell at Liverpool Theatre Festival.

Producer and artistic director Bill Elms commented: “Swan Song is a funny, clever and inspiring production to open the inaugural Liverpool Theatre Festival. Andrew Lancel, Jonathan Harvey and Noreen Kershaw are an incredible blend of creative talent, and I am confident audiences have a real treat ahead of them. We’ve had a heart-warming and phenomenal response since we announced the festival last week.

People are excited for the return of live theatre – and we’re excited to give them that experience back after such a long time.”

Swan Song is written by Jonathan Harvey.

Forty-something Dave Titswell is a gay teacher with a crush. Set in Liverpool in 1997. Life, love and work – none are simple for Dave. Everyone knows someone like Dave – or could even be a Dave themselves. Will a school trip to The Lakes change things for the better, or make things decidedly worse? Swan Song will make audiences laugh, but equally pull at the heartstrings. www.lancmag.com

Andrew Lancel is no stranger to Liverpool audiences. Well established on the national theatre scene, Andrew is also widely known for his television roles as DI Neil Manson in The Bill and super-villain Frank Foster in Coronation Street. He has twice played Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein on stage to great critical acclaim, first in Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles (also produced by Bill Elms) which premiered in Liverpool and went on to play London’s West End, as well as playing Epstein in the national tour of Cilla The Musical, Bill Kenwright’s stage adaptation of the TV series written by Jeff Pope.

Andrew Lancel

Andrew Lancel commented: “Liverpool is a leader when it comes to the arts and theatre – so to launch this wonderful new festival is a real honour. The last play I saw before lockdown was Jonathan Harvey’s Our Lady of Blundellsands at The Everyman which I loved – so it’s very cool, and a little ironic, that my first play back is with Jonathan. We have known each other for years and worked together a lot but never on stage, so it’s humbling that he has adapted this play for me. It’s very funny, moving, and I think people will really relate to it today. His characters are literally gifts to play and to watch.

“This play is about reuniting too. Reuniting theatre and audiences with live performance in Liverpool is extra special. To be back with Epstein producer Bill Elms is a buzz, and I’ve worked on some very serious storylines on Corrie with Noreen LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 93

Jonathan Harvey

Kershaw, the original Shirley Valentine. It feels like coming home for us all in so many ways.”

Jonathan Harvey’s credits include Gimme Gimme Gimme; Murder Most Horrid; Coronation Street; Call The Midwife; and Tracey Ullman’s Show.

Jonathan added: “I was deeply disappointed when Our Lady Of Blundellsands was brought to an abrupt halt by Covid, so I’m excited to be involved in getting live theatre back on stage in our home city. Swan Song is a comedy about a teacher who’s trying to hold onto his dignity while the education system crumbles around him – and I’m thrilled Andrew is playing Dave. I’m delighted to also be working with Noreen again, she directed many of my Corrie scripts and my last episode of Call The Midwife. As the original Shirley Valentine, Noreen definitely knows a thing or two about one person shows.”

attending a safe environment. Capacity has been reduced to ensure socially distanced seating; hand sanitiser stations; temperature checks before entry; masks are requested to be worn when moving round the venue; and visitors are encouraged to attend in their social bubble groups.

Noreen Kershaw’s television directing credits Our Girl, Moving On, Scott & Bailey, Emmerdale, Shameless, and Heartbeat. She has been a series director on Coronation Street, and was awarded a BAFTA in 2014 for an episode she directed. Her acting credits include Life On Mars, Brookside, and Watching.

The team at St Luke’s have been successfully running a Covid-safe garden café/bar on-site and they will provide theatregoers with premium drinks and freshly cooked pizza, drinks can also be purchased on a special app and delivered to ticketholders at their seats.

Live performances came to a complete standstill nationally in mid-March due to Covid-19 lockdown.

With no indication on when safe and financially viable indoor performances will resume, Bill Elms has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to organise Liverpool Theatre Festival now that outdoor live performances are permitted.

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Increased safety guidelines will also take place behind the scenes. Shows will be limited to oneact performances; each show lasts a maximum of 75 mins to reduce audience movement; the cast and crew will socially distance and be temperature checked; and a maximum of four performers per production.

Liverpool Theatre Festival programme also includes live productions of A Fairy Tale Journey Across The Mersey, Laughterhouse Comedy, The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper, Sweet Mother, Shakers by John Godber, Deathly Confessions, Matinee Musical Classics, Music Of The Night, Judy & Liza, Hurrah For The Pirate King! and Something About Simon.

Tickets for Liverpool Theatre Festival are available from Ticket Quarter.

Check the website and social media for updates, visit https://www.ticketquarter.co.uk/online/liverpool-theatre-festival-2020 Website:

www.liverpooltheatrefestival.com

Facebook:

/liverpooltheatrefestival

Twitter:

@lpoolTFestival

Instagram:

liverpooltheatrefestival

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BLACKPOOL SIXTH

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Find out about award-winning Blackpool Sixth • Detailed information about each of our courses with over 50 A level and Vocational courses on offer.

• Activities to try at home to find out which courses are right for you.

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Literary Inspiration Staycation Hotspots with Our Famed Writers

B

e inspired with your staycation choices this year as luxury gift hub, Pen Heaven, take a tour around the British Isles with some of their favourite writers and their most inspired destinations.

With every good book providing all the power to transport you into a far-flung world, it’s often hard to believe some of the most popular fictional landscapes were inspired right here in blighty! From the towering mills of Birmingham to epic castle ruins on the Cornish coast, the UK has much to answer for when it comes to playing the finest backdrop for some of the greatest novels ever written.

Whether you’re seeking a new destination or returning to a favourite haven, travelling is an excellent way to feed the imagination and inspire artistic endeavour.

Just make sure you arm yourself with the most traditional of tools - a simple pen and journal, to help capture the mood and let the creative juices flow.

Following the literary footsteps of some of our most beloved authors, Pen Heaven outline the UK hotspots that inspired fantastic tales, matching each destination with felicitous writing tools to bring out the writer in you, read on...

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Tintagel, Cornwall

The rugged north coast of Cornwall, with its sweeping clifftops, castle ruins, and sea caves makes for a dramatic and awe-inspiring setting full of Arthurian legend. The land of myths and magical encounters, it is suggested that the towering Tintagel Castle was the birthplace of King Arthur.

Historian and chronicler, Geoffrey of Monmouth was the first to propose the connection, detailing the account in his magnum opus Historia Regum Britannae. Roger Lancelyn Green, Chrétien de Troyes, and Alfred Tennyson are amongst those who immortalise the land on paper, each enchanted by its mythical beauty and mystery.

Oxford

Visconti Mirage Amber Rollerball Pen, £109

Amalfi Medium Refillable Leather Journal, £21.50

What to pack:

Saturated with literary association, Oxford has been attracting and inspiring intellectuals for many centuries. However, it is perhaps Phillip Pullman and his beloved His Dark Material trilogy that does the city most justice. From Exeter College, the basis for Jorden College in His Dark Materials to The Botanical Gardens – featured in the very last chapter of Pullman’s trilogy, along with reportedly inspiring parts of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the cultural city has much to captivate writers of all ages.

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What to pack:

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Bomo Art Sailing Map Journal, £27.50 Cross Classic Century Brushed Black Fountain Pen, £55

www.lancmag.com

Whitby, Yorkshire

The epic story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was conceived from the vast remains of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire. Inspired by a legend of a pale female ghost who wanders in the ruins of the former Gothic monastery, the fable portrays the lady was bricked up alive in one of the walls and was often seen in the crumbled windows. Located on a cliff facing the North Sea, the ruins are within an archaeological area dating back to the Bronze Age and are said to offer a fantastic (and surely spooky) atmosphere – the perfect setting for any a dark tale.

What to pack: Parker Pen IM Special Edition Fountain Pen, £35

Wray Castle & Hill Top, Lake District

Although the children’s author and illustrator was born in London, it was Beatrix Potter’s love of animals (she had numerous as pets), and many summer holidays spent in the Lake District that inspired her most famous creation, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It was from the proceeds of her first book that Potter purchased Hill Top, the motherland for many of her subsequent Little Tales characters, including Tom Kitten, Samuel Whiskers and Jemima Puddle-Duck.

Full of many treasures and scenes painted by Potter for the Little Tales series, it is no wonder this is one of the most visited literary shrines in the Lake District.

What to pack: Caran d’Ache x Paul Smith 849 Ballpoint Pen, £35

Filofax Domino Soft Personal Organiser, £27

Sorrento Large Leather Journal, £17.99

Moseley, Birmingham After moving to Birmingham aged 3, it was the area of Moseley, that heavily influenced legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien and his works The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings trilogy. Bringing Middle-Earth to life, it is well-documented that the fictional Shire in both books was inspired by Sarehole and its Mill, whilst the ancient forest of Moseley Bog provided the perfect setting for the woodland in each of Tolkien’s masterpieces. Perrot’s Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks Tower lay claim to shaping the backdrop for the imposing Two Towers of Gondor – back when Tolkien was a child, these now dormant towers would have churned out plumes of smoke, most reflective of the doom-laden and sinister Mordor. www.lancmag.com

What to pack: Yard-O-Led Viceroy Barley Sterling Silver Ballpoint, £310

Chianti Medium Leather Journal, £29.90

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London

Home to the city’s most famous fictional detective, it was a Victorian London that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to pen Sherlock Holmes.

Weaving a rich tapestry of what the big smoke then encompassed, from opium dens to wealthy homes of the aristocracy, it often comes as a surprise to hear that Conan Doyle spent a modest four years in the capital. Any fan will know that Holmes both lived and worked from 221b Baker Street, now a museum paying homage to the detective, but it was at 2 Devonshire Place (the location of Conan Doyle’s medical practice) that many a story involving Holmes was scripted.

What to pack: Feather Quill, Ink & Magnifying Glass, £34.96

Pen Heaven, founded in 2008, offer a comprehensive range of writing instruments and leather goods with in-house engraving and embossing. Specialists in classic brands such as Parker, Cross and Lamy, Pen Heaven also boast some more unusual and hard-to-find items such as the Japanese hand painted Platinum range, Italian calligraphy sets and the design focused Worther brand.

Stamford Notebook Medium, £44.50

“I never travel without my diary.

One should always have something sensational to read in the train” – Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Ernest.

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www.lancmag.com

BOOKS Our roundup of this months literary delights

HALLIE RUBENHOLD Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2019 Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London – the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.

Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers.

What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. That person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women.

For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that ‘the Ripper’ preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating stories from being told.

Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world of poverty, homelessness and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but their greatest misfortunate was to be born a woman.

“An angry and important work of historical detection, calling time on the misogyny that has fed the Ripper myth. Powerful and shaming” - GUARDIAN Awards for THE FIVE • Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2019 • Hay Festival Book of the Year • Shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction • Shortlisted for the Historical Crime Writers’ Association Non-Fiction Crown Award • A New York Times, Sunday Times, Daily Mail, GQ, Washington Post, Oprah Winfrey Magazine and Independent Summer read/ History Book of the Year

30th January 2020 | Black Swan Paperback | £9.99

The Five is the next of Hallie Rubenhold’s works of women’s social history, following her books Lady Worsely’s Whim, The Scandalous Lady W (turned into a BBC drama) and Harris’ List of Covent Garden Ladies (which inspired The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock and ITV’s Harlots) Her expertise lies in revealing the stories of previously unknown women and episodes in history. By drawing upon a wealth of formerly unseen archival material and adding a full historical context to the victims’ lives, The Five promises to change the narrative of these murders forever. www.lancmag.com

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Manchester in 10 years

By Stephen Roberts

Now, I’ve written about Manchester for you twice before (‘Metro & Monuments’, January 2017, when I sampled statues and tramways, and then again in November 2019 when I looked at some of the city’s standout architecture and institutions). For my third foray into this northern powerhouse I’ve decided to tease you with ten dates from the city’s past that will send you on a tour of the best in academia, radicalism, transport, public buildings and music: many of the things that make Manchester what it is. This will be a city feature with a difference.

1653 – Chetham Library I love a library because I adore books. I have my own library (a.k.a. my study or home office).

It has none of the history of the Chetham though, which was founded in 1653, during that period known as the Commonwealth when we lacked a monarch having cleaved Charles I’s head from his shoulders during the English Civil War. Chetham’s, named after founder and merchant Humphrey Chetham, was the first free public library in Europe and is acclaimed as the oldest library in the English-speaking world. The Chetham was 102

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the meeting place of Marx and Engels in 1845, who worked in a window alcove, the fruits of their combined labour being ultimately ‘The Communist Manifesto’. Manchester was ever revolutionary.

Above: Chetham’s Library (photograph by Mike Peel (www. mikepeel.net).

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1840 – Free Trade Hall

Peterloo remembered. Plaque on former Free Trade Hall (Steve Roberts).

1819 – Peterloo

The first Free Trade Hall was built as the headquarters of the Anti-Corn Law League in 1840. The hall’s name was full of prescient meaning as leading Manchester men had founded the League, which had its HQ in the city from 1838, and campaigned against the Corn Laws which kept the price of bread artificially high to the detriment of our poorest citizens. That wooden building was replaced by a brick one (1843), which served the League up to when the hated Corn Laws were repealed (1849), which in turn was replaced in the 1850s by the magnificent structure we see today, Manchester’s best-known building and home to early Hallé concerts.

Although severely bomb-damaged in WW2 the Palladian façades have been retained as part of a modern hotel.

Below: The 1850s Free Trade Hall, the third such building on this site (Steve Roberts).

If the city staked a claim early on as a centre for learning, it was also a hive for radicalism. The rapid development of the textile industry, and attendant living and working issues, encouraged social and political struggles, which came to a head in 1819 with the so-called ‘Peterloo Massacre’. A red plaque on the former Free Trade Hall claims that 15 died with over 600 injured when a peaceable rally was broken up by cavalry.

The tragedy was influential. The Manchester Guardian (today’s ‘Guardian’) was founded two years later to campaign for political reform and in 1832 the Great Reform Act was passed.

Manchester had not had an MP since 1660 but was finally re-enfranchised in 1832 when the Whig Mark Philips took his seat in the Commons.

1842 – Manchester Piccadilly Sandwiched in between those first two Free Trade Halls was the opening of Manchester’s Piccadilly Station, although it opened as Store Street in 1842, being renamed London Road in 1857. It would not take on its modern nomenclature until 1960. Canals and railways helped to encourage the rapid development of commerce and industry in Manchester, with the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&MR) being one of the nation’s earliest. Grade II Listed Piccadilly would become Manchester’s principal railway station with a total of 16 platforms (14 National Rail and two for Manchester’s Metrolink) and over 30 million passengers a year (2018-19). It’s the fourth busiest UK station outside of London and receives trains from six different operating companies. www.lancmag.com

Manchester Piccadilly railway station in its London Road era, c.1905 (author – unknown, source – old postcard).

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1847 – Manchester Cathedral I always think a city should have a cathedral, although there are, incongruously, a few towns that have them too. Manchester got its cathedral in 1847 when the Manchester diocese was created. The sandstone cathedral stands on the old centre of town and is largely 15th century and was the parish church until its promotion.

Its origins seem to go back to 1215 and Robert Greslet, 5th Baron of Manchester, who decided to build a church adjacent to his manor house, which is now Chetham’s Library. Chapels added to the outer north and south aisles have made it one of the country’s widest churches, whilst particularly treasured are the 30 choir stalls with canopies, all intricately wood-carved, and featuring some of Europe’s finest misericords.

Above: Manchester Cathedral, complete with scaffolding (Steve Roberts).

1848 – Frédéric Chopin As well as industry, radicalism, learning and religion Manchester has embraced music. The Polish composer and virtuoso pianist, Frédéric Chopin, who wrote mostly for solo piano, must have appreciated Manchester, as he gave a concert here in August 1848.

It was one of only 30 public performances he gave in his final 18 years, one that was cut tragically short at just 39 (for most of his life Chopin was in poor health and he would die just over a year after his Manchester gig). The concert was held at the Gentleman’s Concert Hall (1830-98) which was replaced by today’s Midland Hotel. Chopin’s visit is recalled by an unusual statue in Deansgate, which also marks the contribution of Polish people to civic life in Manchester.

Frédéric Chopin statue, Deansgate, Manchester (Steve Roberts).

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1857 – Hallé Orchestra Less than ten years after Chopin’s concert, the birth of the world-famous Hallé Orchestra came about. The orchestra arose from the Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857, with founder Charles Hallé (1819-95) establishing the concerts as a private venture the following year. Manchester’s love of music developed alongside the orchestra with presumably Chopin looking down approvingly.

After Hallé’s death, the Hallé Concerts Society was founded (1898) and a series of distinguished conductors followed, including Sir John Barbirolli (1899-1970) as the orchestra established an international reputation. It’s now based at the Bridgewater Hall, which opened in 1996, and is named after the 3rd Duke who commissioned the Bridgewater Canal that crosses Manchester.

The Bridgewater Hall, which opened in 1996 and is today the home of the Hallé Orchestra (author – Alan Stanton, source – Bridgewater Hall, Manchester).

1876 – Town Hall I mentioned civic pride and the Victorians had that in abundance, throwing up enormous public buildings that were visual statements of a town or city’s rise to prominence. Nowhere in Manchester did they do it better than with the Grade I Listed Town Hall, a Gothic-style edifice completed in 1876, and one of the most important creations of Alfred Waterhouse (1830-1905), the Liverpool-

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born architect and Gothic Revivalist who did a lot of ‘stuff’ in both Liverpool and Manchester.

There are statues outside in Albert Square, including one of the Anti-Corn Law League lads (Rochdale boy John Bright), plus others inside, including of that man Hallé. The Great Hall contains Ford Madox Brown’s ‘Manchester Murals’ illustrating the city’s history.

Below: Manchester Town Hall (Mark Andrew).

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1894 – Manchester Ship Canal I mentioned Manchester and Liverpool in the same breath: neighbours and rivals, joined by that railway in 1830. Liverpool, of course, the great Atlantic port and Manchester, enviously inland, and missing out. Manchester’s solution was the engineering feat of the Manchester Ship Canal, which opened in 1894. With the loss of industry to the ports, those Manchester denizens, the

spinners and weavers, decided that transforming the city into a port was the solution. Dependence on cotton was reduced as raw materials for other industries could be brought in and by the early1970s I’m reliably informed Manchester had become the third port in England. It also became an important commercial, financial and banking centre, which remains the case.

Above: Aerial view of the Manchester Ship Canal pictured alongside the Mersey (author – ‘Parrot of Doom’, source – Own work).

1992 – Metrolink And finally, to Manchester’s Metrolink. I do wish my own conurbation had something like this, but sadly, it doesn’t. Having the audacity to build a 36-mile-long inland waterway in the late-Victorian era threw down a gauntlet which was picked up a century later when the Metrolink light rail system first began operating in 1992.

The most extensive light rail system in the UK, it comprises 65 miles of standard-gauge track, 100-odd stations, and a smart fleet of Bombardier M5000 units. I have ridden it myself and enjoyed the experience. Manchester has much history and heritage to be proud of but as Metrolink demonstrates it’s also a modern, vibrant city.

The Victorians, with all their drive and ambition, would have been proud of it.

Manchester’s Metrolink.

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Euxton girls sport new kits thanks to Redrow

Redrow’s Paul Fishwick with Euxton FC coaches Michael Taylor and Anthony Matson

A CHORLEY-based U13’s girls’ football team has received a £500 boost from housebuilder Redrow towards a new kit.

Euxton Girls FC with Redrow’s Paul Fishwick

E

uxton Girls FC, based at Greenside Recreation Park, has over 200 members across 14 teams, including two new teams, who

play in the West Lancs Girls and North Valley Leagues.

The U13’s North team are the lucky ones to benefit from Redrow’s donation and will be wearing a new kit next season.

Club coach Michael Taylor says that like many grassroots teams, they have been massively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and so the sponsorship has been a huge benefit as the new season approaches: “The new kit will hopefully benefit the team for the next two years. We are very grateful to Redrow as the kits really help us to create a sense of identity for the different teams. We’ll continue to raise awareness of the club and all the achievements of the teams.”

Formed in 2002, Euxton Girls are launching an ‘open age’ team next season that anyone over 18 can join. The club has produced many players who have moved onto successful careers in the game, some in the US and others playing for Liverpool FC Women

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and Blackburn Rovers LFC. Several former players also play for Chorley FC Women.

Michael adds: “Euxton Girls is unique in this area being a girl only club and the girl’s game is getting bigger, especially going into 2021 and the start of the Women’s Euro Championships so attention will only grow.”

Sian Pitt, sales director at Buckshaw Village headquartered Redrow Homes (Lancashire), says: “We always like to support local sports teams around where we build but this team trains close to our head office so we definitely wanted to help when the opportunity arose.”

Redrow is currently building close by at Worden Gardens, offering three and four-bedroom homes starting from £254,995.

To find out more information about where Redrow is building across Lancashire visit www.redrow.co.uk/Lancashire www.lancmag.com

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WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF GARDENING?

Those of us who garden, know that there is something very special and very healing about our hobby. Gardeners have known that gardening has health benefits for years but sometimes find it difficult to quantify or justify it. Finally scientists are now agreeing that nature bathing, or spending time in nature is good for us and that includes time spent out in our gardens.

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There are so many different ways that gardening enhances our lives and the benefits to each person will vary depending on their mental and physical health.

EXERCISE Digging, weeding, hoeing, sweeping and other gardening tasks are a gentle workout, forget the gym membership, get outside and start gardening. It burns calories, stretches and strengthens our muscles and joints and keeps us moving.

That’s if we are not riddled with aches and pains, disabilities or just with age creeping up on us. Gardening is also good for our heart health and is said to reduce the risk of strokes.

It’s not just that gardening is a form of exercise, of course that helps keep us fitter and more supple. There is much more at play and the benefits to our mental health may be just as significant as the physical benefits.

MINDFULNESS Gardening gives us a focus, as we sow our seeds and plant our gardens we are creating a future, hope for a future and a tomorrow that gives us something to look forward to. In the depths of winter, the lure of spring approaching lifts our spirits.

The very task of choosing seeds to grow in our gardens and to plan and plant in our borders is a distraction, a daydream and a way to fulfill our hopes and dreams.

It’s a form of mindfulness or mediation as we focus our attention to the task in hand. By concentrating on what we are doing we escape from the chaos inside our minds and join a different realm where each moment is devoured and savoured slowly, like a breath mediation or a mindfulness exercise.

Hartley Botanic Tradition 8 Planthouse, Sheffield SUNSHINE

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Breathing the fresh air and blowing the cobwebs away from a period stuck indoors is an uplifting experience. Even a short walk outside can have a similar effect. Exposure to the sun while out in our gardens and in nature creates vitamin D in our bodies, the sunshine vitamin is important for our wellbeing and helps deter and lessen the affects of Seasonal Affected Disorder, known as SAD.

Growing our own food and flowers for the home has a satisfying effect on our lives. Being self-sufficient is a very gratifying feeling, even if you start small by growing a few herbs for your menus.

If you can produce fresh food for the family throughout the year you save not just the money you would buy them for, but what you grow is fresh, homegrown and you are in control of what you use on your food crops. From fertilisers and feed to pest control, by choosing organic or harnessing the power of nature instead you can make your homegrown produce free from chemicals and pesticides and better for your health. Plus it’s fresh, grown in soil and full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

BENEFICIAL MICROBES Working with the soil exposes our immune systems to a variety of microbes that help strengthen it. While it’s important to wear gloves and protect broken skin and wounds from contaminants, it’s also important to have a connection to the earth. But there is even more evidence (from studies at Bristol University) that a ‘friendly bacteria’ (Mycobacterium vaccae) found in the soil could be beneficial to our mental health.

It has been used to treat cancer patients who reported improvements in their quality of life and it is thought that it helps in the creation of a feel good hormone serotonin. This bacterium is present in the soil and gardeners and in fact anyone out in nature may be breathing it in.

ON TREND Gone are the days when gardening was a second rate career, or a topic of ridicule.

These days horticulture is not only ontrend but it is even being prescribed by GPs for some of their patients. If you are not already hooked, then give it a try.

Take small steps and venture outside to explore the bounty of your garden.

Hartley Botanic Vista, West Yorkshire www.hartley-botanic.co.uk • info@hartleybotanic.co.uk

• 0800 783 8083

Hartley Botanic, Wellington Road, Greenfield, Oldham OL3 7AG The only aluminium Glasshouses and Greenhouses endorsed by the RHS

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© The Royal Horticultural Society 2020. Endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society. Registered Charity No 222879/SC038262. rhs.org.uk

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Our Christmas gift guide for music lovers JLab Audio (The #1 true wireless brand under $100 in the US) GO Air True Wireless Earbud– Available in black, white, navy and army green, are now available from John Lewis, Argos, Currys PC World and JLab Audio website for £29.99.

Puro Sound Labs PuroPro volume limiting, active noise cancelling adult headphones – will be available from Amazon with an RRP of £199.99

The PuroPro is the latest addition to the range, with a slick design and studio grade audio quality, providing adults with a listening experience that is both high quality and healthy. In keeping with the Puro Sound Labs mission to protect consumers’ hearing, the headphones are also volume limited to 85 dB for up to 8 hours per day, and 95 dB for up to 50 mins per day, as recommended by the World Health Organization. The headphones are equipped with Puro Balanced Response® Curve technology, engineered to deliver an amazing listening experience with clear, crisp vocals, plus two adjustable ANC levels, ensuring that users can listen to their favourite tracks and podcasts undisturbed, or find their own space in shared environments.

The wireless Bluetooth v.5 headphones are complete with a lightweight, foldable design and matching hard cover carrying case and are ideal for travel, with long lasting batteries that provide up to 28 hours playtime with ANC, 32 hours without and 300 hours of standby time.

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Offering 20+ hour’s playtime, custom EQ3 Sound, at an incredibly affordable RRP of £29.99/$29.99, GO Air is the smallest true wireless product JLab has ever created. The lightweight buds deliver clean, crisp, audio for the daily listener and features dual connect, incorporating dual microphones that allow the earbuds to be used individually while the other remains in the charging case. Designed to go anywhere, the GO Air and its case are compact and small enough to fit in any bag or pocket.

Featuring a 20% smaller body than JLab’s best-selling JBuds Air, GO Air offers a slimmer profile, great for small ears. The longer earbud stem provides a snug in-ear fit, and comes with three sizes of gel tips so users can customise the fit to each ear. Focused on convenience and accessibility, the GO Air’s charging case measures under three inches by one inch and is designed with an integrated charging cable.

The earbuds are secured into the open case with strong magnets. JLab’s patented cable design ensures you never lose the cable or need to find another to recharge your case.

Each earbud will hold a 5-hour battery life and their case provides 15 extra hours.

Users can play, pause, change tracks, and adjust volume by pushing or holding the outside buttons. Custom EQ settings can also be adjusted through the earbud and cycle through three sounds: Signature, Balanced, and Bass Boost.

A built-in microphone also allows for phone calls to be answered and hung up, as well as activating voice assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant. An IP44 sweat resistance keeps the earbuds durable for day-to-day activities.

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Trust Nika Touch Bluetooth Wireless Earphones – Available in Black, Turquoise, Blue, White & Pink from Amazon for £19.99

Combining great sound, an extralong wireless range, portable charging capabilities and a premium, on-trend design, the Nika Touch offers a fantastic listening experience that is ideal for those who are always on-the-go. With a wireless range of 10 metres and Bluetooth 5.0, the earphones make listening to music or taking calls as convenient as possible, without the risk of losing connection. The earphones provide up to 6 hours of playtime from a single charge, however the carry case included with the earphones gives on-thego charging, making the total playtime of the earphones up to 16 hours; ideal for long working days and travelling. With a stylish design, a secure silicone fit, touch controls and a built in microphone, the Nika Touch is a fantastic option for those looking for an affordable, ultimate true wireless experience.

Trust Tones Bluetooth Wireless Headphones – Available in Black, Turquoise, Pink, White & Blue from Amazon for £ 24.99

With the Tones, users can have an enhanced music experience, both wired and wireless. Simply plug the 3.5mm cable into the audio device or listen wirelessly via Bluetooth and a 10 metre wireless range.

With impressive sound (40mm drivers) and playtime (up to 25 hours), the headphones provide the perfect combination for a high quality listening experience on-the-go. The headphones are both user-friendly and comfortable, with cushioned on-ear pads, an adjustable headband and a lightweight design, plus buttons on the ear cups to adjust the volume, skip songs and access the built in voice assistant.

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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

For gamers young and old The PuroGamer Volume Limiting Gaming Headphones – Available from Amazon for £69.99

The PuroGamer headphones are designed specifically for gaming with a slick design, high quality audio through both sound and an omnidirectional, noise cancelling microphone. They are also volume limited to 85dB to ensure that there is no damage to gamers’ hearing health when there are explosions or other noises in gameplay.

Featuring a 7.1 surround sound technology, the headphones allow gamers to immerse themselves into the world of their games and the 50mm graphene driver and response equaliser provides a balanced and safe sound. Additionally, the headphones have 82% ambient noise isolation at 1kHz

to shut the rest of the world out. The Puro Balanced Frequency Response Curve also allows the PuroGamer’s to sound great even at lower listening levels and the game dialogue and sound effects to be heard clearly against the full spectrum of audio.

Trust GXT 830-RW Avonn Gaming Keyboard – Available from Argos RRP £24.99.

Key features: • Full size layout • Rainbow Wave illumination with adjustable brightness • Anti-Ghosting: Up to 6 simultaneous key pressings • 12 Direct access media keys • Game mode switch; directly disable windows key Product Image • Adjustable brightness The Trust GXT 830-RW Avonn offers you a full-size layout gaming keyboard with 12 multimedia keys. Let the compelling rainbow wave illumination guide you and always hit the right key! The Avonn gaming keyboard will complete your gaming set-up with vivid colours. The LED lights are adjustable in brightness which makes the GXT 830-RW also perfect for gaming in darker times: choose your war colour or draw your enemies into your web with the alluring Rainbow Wave illumination.

The keyboard has a full-size layout meaning that it is optimally designed for fast key entry. The GXT 830-RW features anti-ghosting technology to ensure you can game fast and accurately. You will remain

in control even when you press up to 6 keys simultaneously.

The Avonn features 12 direct access media keys, making it possible to control your music or the LED lighting of the keyboard. You can even play and pause music, start a search or change pages directly with the keys on your keyboard.

The special game mode switch ensures that you will not return to your desktop accidentally when hitting the Windows key since it is disabled during those intense gaming sessions.

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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE Trust Gaming GXT 488 Forze Headset for PlayStation®4 (PS4™), Available from GAME for RRP £29.99.

An officially licensed product for PlayStation®4, the GXT 488 Forze is designed to enhance video games with powerful, immersive sound. With a stylish design that matches PlayStation®4, the headset is the ideal way to enrich the gaming experience.

With 50mm speakers, the Forze deliver ultra-clear dialogue and powerful bass so, whether on a battlefield, racetrack or in a stadium, gamers can be fully immersed into the game.

Trust Gaming GXT 258 Fyru USB 4-in-1 Streaming Microphone, Available from Amazon for RRP £119.99. Available from Power City, Smyths Toys and Euronics in Ireland.

The headset’s design combines comfort with sturdiness to ensure that those wearing can be comfortable even during long gaming sessions. With soft earpads, an adjustable headband that is metal reinforced and available in three finishes: black, blue camo and grey camo, they both look and feel good to wear. Easy to set up, connect it by simply plugging the 1.2m nylon cable into the DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller. Thanks to the inline remote on the cable, it is also quick to adjust the volume or mute the microphone without having to go into a menu.

The Forze can also be used with tablets, smartphones and laptops.

EKSA Air Joy Pro 7.1 Surround Sound Ultra-light Gaming Headset - Available for £32 direct from the EKSA website (Free shipping – est 15 day delivery time) or $34.99 on Amazon.com

The sleek Trust Fyru 4-in-1 streaming microphone takes recordings to the next level whether recording a podcast, music track, streaming or gaming. The multipurpose mic features excellent audio quality with both voices and instruments which are crystal clear and rich to a near-professional studio quality whilst still being amazingly easy to use. The Fyru allows for recording in 4 different ways, optimized for any situation. Use cardioid for a clear recording without background noises e.g. individual recording or bi-directional for a duet or interview. Stereo is the go-to for a stereo music setting or omnidirectional pattern for a group-podcast. A simple plug-and-play USB connection to instantly connect to a PC or laptop and makes it the ideal gadget for various purposes. With a zero-latency headphone monitoring port, recordings can be perfected and listened to in real-time.

Furthermore, settings can also be regulated with convenient microphone gain, mute and headphone volume knobs on the front of the microphone and the internal pop filter filters out plosives and fricatives (unwanted sounds from letters like P and F) to make even smoother recordings.

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The EKSA Air Joy Pro 7.1 surround sound gaming headset was developed by pro gamers and game designers to be ultralight and thus comfortable for long gaming sessions. Weighing in at just 162gms, the Air Joy Pro is almost half the weight of most other gaming headsets currently available in the market. The slim, yet sturdy, inner metal body distributes the pressure evenly across the head while the soft woven earmuffs ensure a snug fit with less clamping force.

The headset allows gamers to enjoy extreme immersion whilst gaming with 7.1 surround sound so they can hear exactly where enemies coming from as if they were actually in the game itself. The customtuned driver and accurate and balanced

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audio production means gamers can tell where a noise is coming from rather than be overwhelmed by thundering explosions, in turn losing the subtle footsteps of opposition players. The noise canceling microphone picks up the voice clearly while isolating the ambient noise and the detachable design allows it be removed when not in use. The audio wire is also detachable and the 90° adjustable hinge makes the headset extremely portable for travelling, mobile gaming or for wearing around the neck when on a gaming break.

The volume slider and microphone mute button are easily accessed on the Air Joy Pro for quick and convenient control.

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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

for the house proud EZVIZ C6N Pan / Tilt Indoor Camera - £59.99 from Argos

Should there be an intruder in the home, the Pan/Tilt WiFi Smart Camera will alert users straight away with a message via the EZVIZ app to their smartphone, take a snapshot and even proceed to record the events and the suspicious activity. The camera will also track and follow them, gathering up as much footage as possible.

Great for monitoring pets, little ones or elderly relatives.

Furthermore, with the two way talk, users can see, hear and speak all through the EZVIZ app, whether at home or away. With the 340 degree Horizontal and 105 degree vertical rotation Pan and Tilt feature, users can see everything in the room.

The camera will track movement automatically across the room, providing the best footage possible. This can also be manually moved around via your EZVIZ smartphone app.

Using the sound of your voice users can view live footage via their Amazon Alexa and Google Hub. The Infrared (IR) allows clear video even when it is dark, giving clear night vision and recording, providing 24/7 security in the home or office. The internal microphone supports audio pickup within five meters and video recording with sound, meaning users can have a two way conversation if needed via the EZVIZ app. tado° V3+ Smart Thermostat Starter Kit – Available for £199.99 from Amazon UK or £219.99 with the Hot Water Control included

The tado° V3+ Smart Thermostat Starter Kit bring simplicity and comfort for a healthy home climate. Designed to save energy and costs for users by up to 31% of an annual energy bill, tado° is an intuitive device and app that is compatible with any smart home (Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple Homekit) and can also be used to control multiple rooms. The new app provides the ultimate control allowing users to manage heating schedules as well as showing information such as how warm it is at home, how much users are saving and also providing important information on the quality of air in the home and tips on how to improve this to provide wellbeing at home.

With features such as Geolocation, tado° can use resident’s location to control the heating so that it is not using the heating when nobody is at home and it can begin to heat when the first person is on their way back. Using Weather Adaptation, Open Window Detection and Insightful reports, it also can change and adapt based on the environment.

The EZVIZ 3MP Smart Video Doorbell is a Wi-Fi video doorbell designed with a 3MP lens that can capture a 180-degree vertical field of view, so users can see visitors from head to toe and see deliveries left on the doorstep in high quality video. It overcome blurry imaging and blind spots, issues which are common with other smart video doorbells. The EZVIZ 3MP Smart Video Doorbell initiates a video call via the EZVIZ App on a user’s smartphone when a visitor rings the bell, so the door can be answered anywhere, at any time, even when miles away.

EZVIZ 3MP Smart Video Doorbell available from Argos for £134.99

To add an extra layer of security, the EZVIZ 3MP Smart Video Doorbell sends an instant alert to a connected smartphone when it detects any human movement thanks to its built-in Passive Infrared (PIR) human detection sensor. With remote viewing and two-way talk capabilities, users can see and communicate with visitors whilst the customizable detection area feature allows users to keep watch on important areas thus reducing false alarms.

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For the adventurous at heart DOOGEE S88 Pro IP68 rugged phone with triple camera, unique LED back lighting and 10,000mAh battery - $249.99 from DOOGEE online store and AliExpress

The Doogee S88 Pro takes some design cues from Iron Man’s helmet and packs a massive 10,000mAh battery inside a properly rugged frame. And the phone runs stock Android 10 out of the box. The Iron Man thing is just two eye-shaped LEDs on the back. They are RGB and are used as big bright notification lights. The phone also has two customizable buttons on the side, which can be programmed with three actions each (single and double click plus long press). On the other side there is a fingerprint reader and there is NFC support.

The 10,000mAh battery is good for a month of standby or you could play 3D games for 19 hours straight. With typical usage you should get 7-8 days between charges.

You can use the handset as a power bank with 5W reverse wireless charging. The phone itself charges at 10W wirelessly.

The Doogee S88 Pro is a tough device and can survive many hazards. The drop test was repeated 1,000 times showing that the phone can handle drops from 1.5m height on a rough surface and 2m height on a smooth surface. If you drop it in water, it can spend 2 hours at 1.5m depth or up to a full day at 1m. It’s also IP69K rated, meaning it has protection against high pressure, high temperature water sprays. Not just that, the device can survive extreme cold (-55°C for 4 hours), can be left

out in the scorching sun and it brushes off high humidity and even acidic atmosphere. It’s all thanks to the tightly-sealed, shock-proof frame. As an Android phone, the Doogee S88 Pro offers a 6.3” 1080p screen (with Gorilla Glass, of course). It’s powered by the MediaTek Helio P70 chipset (12 nm, four A73 cores, Mali-G72 MP3 GPU), which is paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage. A microSD card slot is available for expansion. There’s a triple camera on the back, featuring a 21MP main unit. It’s based on a fairly old IMX230 sensor (we’re talking Xperia Z3+ era hardware here), but it can record 4K at 30 fps. Also, there’s a 130° ultrawide-ange camera with an 8MP sensor and an 8MP depth sensor. On the front is a 16MP selfie camera inside a teardrop notch.

Campster is a portable chair that provides the same seating comfort and height as a normal chair, yet, when folded it takes up less room than a 1.25 litre water bottle and weighs just 0.940gr/2lbs Engineered to be the smallest, lightest, and least restrictive portable chair ever, Campster flips the concept of the need for a huge and bulky camping chair to be comfortable. After careful research, Sitpack discovered that high seating (43cm 17”) is a feature not found in any other super portable chairs and following intensive testing, found huge value in sitting high and packing small. The Campster is a simplistic and minimalistic solution which uses gravity to unfold, with a “one-pull” locking system only seen on Sitpack products. After a little practise, Sitpack believes use will become second nature.

Campster – The world’s smallest, most portable camping chair – from £64 on Indiegogo In Demand

The all-in-one frame, complete with a ripstop nylon seat, means the chair weighs only 2lbs with the ability to carry capacity up to 300 lbs. The simple pivoting arms ensure the backrest will follow every move, whether it be forward, backward or to the side. As long as the user’s legs are kept on the ground for support they can move around freely. With an included carry case, the Campster is perfect for any outdoor events including beach days, family outings, festivals, fishing, picnics and country walks.

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For home or agile working with ease

Moshi IonGo 5K Duo Portable Battery for iOS and Android – Available from Moshi for £74.95

Moshi Lounge Q Wireless Charging Stand, Fast-charging with Adjustableheight for all Phones – Available from Moshi for £69.95

With built-in Lightning and USB-C cables, you’re always prepared to power up wherever you go. This iOS and Android friendly-battery, guarantees to charge both devices simultaneously thanks to its bi-directional charging feature. Recharge your iPhone and IonGo 5K Duo at the same time so your battery is always topped up. Using the same battery technology used in the latest electric vehicles, the cells are optimized for charging, discharging, and low internal resistance.

Lounge Q is a premium wireless charging stand that combines Scandinavian style and advanced functionality in one. The internals are driven by Moshi’s proprietary Q-coil™ technology which includes a ferrite sheet that offers better charging speed and efficiency compared to other wireless chargers. This allows Lounge Q to wireless charge through cases up to 5 mm thick. The stand is Qi-certified by the Wireless Power Consortium and thanks to its extended power profile, it can fast-charge any device up to 15 W. Lounge Q is compatible with any Qi-enabled phone

Trust Halyx 4 Port USB 3.2 Gen 1 Hub £21.99 from Amazon

Expand the number of USB ports of your laptop or PC with the Halyx Aluminium 4-port USB-A 3.2 Hub. It adds 4 extra USB-A ports to your computer by only using a single USB-A port, and transfers data at a speed of up to 5 Gbps by using USB 3.2 Gen 1. The thin and compact Halyx is durable and stylish die-cast aluminium alloy housing. It works on any PC or Laptop with a USB-A port and is ‘Plug-in and go’ so no additional power adapter is required.

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Moshi Urbana Laptop Briefcase – Available from Moshi from £154.95 in black, blue or grey

Carry your mobile essentials in style and comfort with Moshi’s Urbana briefcase. Despite its ultra-slim profile, Urbana boasts a spacious interior large enough to fit up to a 15” laptop plus an iPad with room to spare for books, folders, and other documents.

A padded ViscoStrap™ provides hours of flexible comfort to help alleviate shoulder strain throughout the day. Keep accessories such as pens, chargers, smartphones and cables neatly organized in the bag’s numerous exterior and interior pockets. Urbana also features a water-resistant coating to safeguard your valuables from unpredictable weather. Crafted from lightweight and durable materials, Urbana’s smart functionality represents the cornerstones of our design philosophy. If you’re looking for a slim and stylish bag to complement your lifestyle, the choice has never been easier.

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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE AVITA PURA 14: the minimalistic yet stylish Windows 10 notebooks

The PURA 14 R3 is available in Rose Gold, Crystal Blue and Space Grey now for RRP £329.99 from LookAgain, JD Williams and eBuyer.

Studio.co.uk, Grattan.co.uk and many other retailers. The PURA R5 will be available in Silver Grey for £429.99 from JD Williams and Studio.co.uk from mid-September.

The PURA 14 cleverly packs powerful functionalities inside a super slim, clean and sleek body design offering unparalleled portability and ease of use. Following on from the successful launch of the AVITA LIBER in July 2019 and the positive reviews on popular technology websites including T3, Tech Radar, Trusted Reviews, ZDnet and Stuff, the brand is back with a lightweight, very affordable offering with new, powerful AMD processor options and

For fitness fanatics young and old

greater memory.

The re-engineered keyboard enhances efficiency, the non-slip cover reduces the risks of falling or impact to the device and the extended battery life on the notebook means it now lasts up to 8 hours. The AVITA PURA is the perfect companion to seamlessly combine work and everyday life. Using the AMD Ryzen-3200U/53500U processors with high-performance speed, the notebooks are ideal for day to day computing tasks as well as more complicated operations. Featuring 4GB RAM along with superfast 256GB SSD internal memory (microSD card slot supporting up to an additional 128GB) and Windows 10 Home preinstalled, the notebooks are able to boot up in a lightning quick speed of below 20 seconds.

JBuds Air Sport True Wireless Earbuds – Available in Black and White for £69.99 from John Lewis, Very and Studio

The JBuds Air Sport feature an over-ear hook for sportfocused activities and 40 hours of playtime. The earbuds themselves hold a 6-hour battery life in each earbud and 34+ additional hours in the charging case. Built for fitness, the JBuds Air Sport are IP66 sweat resistant and have Be Aware Audio, designed to let ambient noise for safe listening while running outside or working out with a friend. They also feature stereo audio during calls for crystal clear calling, a compact case with patent pending built in USB charging, and touch sensors. Like all JLab products they are universally compatible with both Apple and Android products.

Fourfit Mini 2 kids fitness tracker with heart rate tracking and full colour screen - £24.99 (RRP £49.99)

There’s never been a better time to take care of the kid’s health. Reward the children for being active & set health goals with Fourfit Mini 2. The mini is slim fitness and activity tracker band for children that has all of the features of our best-selling adult band with a smaller strap for kids.

The only children’s fitness tracker to include heart rate tracking as standard!

Want to get the kids outside? Get them excited about being active? Incentivise them to get more sleep and live healthier lives? Tech meets activity, the perfect synergy keeping the kids engaged and you the parents informed.

Features: Sleep tracking, Activity level monitoring and tracking, Lung health tracking (blood oxygen saturation), Vibration Smart Alarm, Get up & move reminder (vibrates and reminds the kids to get moving in the watch to do activity if they have been inactive for a while), Step tracking, Heart rate tracking, Blood pressure monitoring, Calorie counter, Easy find from the phone app with built in anti-lose feature, 5 colour choices

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Hearing protection headphones for kids who love their music

For the budding David Bailey ShiftCam MultiLens patented slide & shift photography lens case for iPhone 11 / Pro / Pro Max – Prices starting at £79.99 from ShiftCam

The PuroQuiet Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth headphone – Available from Amazon for £89.99

The PuroQuiet was developed by a father who realised his 10 year old daughter had sustained NoiseInduced Hearing Loss from listening to music too loud, for too long. Finding no one was addressing this issue adequately, the family set about designing and developing the highest-quality, studio-grade, volume limiting to 85 decibels children’s headphone whilst still at an affordable price.

Made from high-quality aluminium, with plush noise-isolating ear-pads, the latest Bluetooth profiles for CD-like quality wireless audio, a highly sensitive microphone for taking calls or gaming with friends and up to 16-hours of active battery life the PuroQuiet headphones certainly deliver on audio quality and style. In addition to the sleek new design, the PuroQuiet headphones have an active noise cancellation feature found on high-end headphones that suppress ambient noise levels and provides a superior listening experience in even the loudest of environments. It blocks out daily noise and background sounds up to 22 dB, complemented by 82% noise isolation.

Key Specifications: • Active Noise Reduction Performance: Safe -22 dB • Physical Ambient Noise Reduction: 82% at 1KHz • Volume Limiting: 85dB Sound Limit • Audiophile Headphone speaker: 40 mm Custom Dynamic Drivers • Frequency Range: 20 Hz – 20 kHz with <1% THD • High Quality Qualcomm CSR8635 Chipset • Bluetooth v4.0 Wireless w/A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP Support • Wireless Operating Distance: 30 Feet • Battery Type: Rechargeable Lithium Ion • Noise Cancelling Playtime: 16 hours approx.

• Long Play Battery Life: Up to 22 hours normal use, 200 hours standby • Available Colours: Blue/Black, Pink/White

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The Shiftcam MultiLens case is an ideal accessory for those with time on their hands looking to start a new hobby or to keep the kids entertained in the garden or whilst walking. With close up photos of insects, spring flowers and family shots a source of endless fascination.

The ShiftCam MultiLens Case is a compact, integrated MultiLens iPhone case that switches lenses in fractions of a second. Incorporating 4x Telephoto*, 10x Macro, 20x Macro* and 180 degree fish eye lenses, plus a CPL filter to polarise ultra-wide photos, the ShiftCam MultiLens case adds unparalleled versatility and quality to your iPhone 11 camera.

Designed to simplify the external mobile lens experience and make it convenient for everyone, users can shift seamlessly and instantly between lenses with a simple slide-and-click motion. All your lenses are always ready on your phone with no bag, box, or case needed. To protect the lenses, the case features a hinged cover, and its 2-metre drop protection makes the toughest iPhone even stronger.

For the sleep deprived Kokoon - The world’s first sleep aiding headphones – Available from Kokoon.io for £349.99

Kokoon was founded with the mission to become the nonpharmaceutical, digital ‘go to’ for helping people relax and sleep easier.

The Kokoon app features techniques, tracks and concepts developed with sleep professionals to optimise the chances of falling asleep. Many of these techniques feature in a form of talking therapy known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT. CBT is an evidence-based therapy generally regarded as the gold standard treatment for insomnia with a proven success rate.

Kokoon uses these techniques to help users by delivering a customised content experience developed for the individual using the sensor data gathered from their body and environment. For example, as a wearer falls asleep in a headphone, audio changes in response, fading out the content and introducing white noise to mask out disturbances. The system also tracks what’s working for a user then personalising content for greater effect. The Flexmould™ Comfort patented design helps Kokoon headphones mould to the shape of the users head to be comfortable wherever they are worn and thanks to the high quality natural fibre fabric, air flows easily through the ear cups to keep the wearers cool and comfortable. The ear cushions can also be detached and washed to be kept fresh and clean. Also useable as regular Bluetooth 4.0 headphones, the Kokoon Relax features premium acoustics from a 40mm electro dynamic driver and active noise cancelling making them ideal for listening to music or watching movies whilst travelling or simply relaxing. At just 350g/12.03oz they make the perfect travel companion with folding earcups and an included carry case.

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Britain’s citizen scientists come together to make a successful National Whale and Dolphin Watch The 2020 National Whale and Dolphin Watch event organized by the Sea Watch Foundation involved hundreds of volunteers from all around the British Isles, and it ran between 25th July and 2nd August.

• At the moment of writing a total of 709 sightings have been submitted after the 9-day event and sightings continue to stream in.

• Scotland has recorded the highest number of sightings (n=323), closely followed by England (n=284), then Wales (n=88). Around the Channel Islands, observers reported 13 sightings, and there were also seven reports from around the Isle of Man. One sighting was recorded in Northern Ireland.

• Nine cetacean species (minke whale, bottlenose dolphin, humpback whale, harbour porpoise, killer whale, common dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, Atlantic whiteside and white-beaked dolphins) were recorded, and two non-cetacean species (basking shark and sunfish).

• Sightings were recorded from 280 locations from Shetland down to South Devon and from the west coast of Wales to the Outer Hebrides • Thirty two collaborating organizations have joined this year’s event with hundreds of volunteer observers involved in land and boat-watches.

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Common dolphins sighted off Soar Devon on July 31st ©Andrea Duxbury

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Volunteer Observer landwatching in Scrabster on July 26th July 2020 ©Zoe Doran

“The most memorable sightings from this year’s Watch week include feeding humpback whales off Grishipoll, in the Inner Hebrides, leaping and fast swimming Risso’s dolphin groups sighted off the Outer Hebrides, Shetland, Orkney and NE Scotland, killer whale pods sighted off Shetland and around Caithness, common dolphins off and large pods of Atlantic white-sided dolphins sighted around Shetland.”

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Bottlenose dolphins sighted on July 30th ©Laura Harm South Brecqhou Sark Channel Islands

Cetacean data collection is strongly weather dependant. Factors such as sea state, swell height and visibility to the horizon affect how easily animals can be detected during a watch. Heavy rain and wind can even cause watches to be cancelled altogether. For these reasons, every year, we rely heavily on good weather conditions for the success of National Whale and Dolphin Watch. Like previous years, this year’s event was scheduled over nine days to increase the chances of coinciding with a favourable weather window.

The weather forecast was wetter than last year and overall more changeable with hot temperatures mainly recorded towards the end of July.

Above:

Humpback whale ©Chiara Giulia Bertulli

Below:

Minke whale ©Chiara Giulia Bertulli

“Despite the troubling times with coronavirus, this year’s event has shown the strongly supportive and committed spirit of our volunteer observers, which gives us hope for the future of our seas”, says Dr Chiara Giulia Bertulli, Sightings Officer at Sea Watch and lead organizer of this year’s event.

All the verified sightings so far can be viewed on line: (www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/nwdw-2020-sightings-data/) where they are updated as more reports come in Sponsors have also donated amazing prizes for people who are returning their recording forms after conducting watches during NWDW: www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/national-whale-dolphin-watch-2020-competition/ www.lancmag.com

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Watch your stress levels

We all experience stress from time to time.

There are many things that can lead to us feeling stressed. It can come from the news, our jobs, financial insecurity, health issues and personal problems. Feeling constantly stressed and overwhelmed can lead to a rise in blood pressure and resting heart rate, both of which increase our risk of having a heart attack.

We have some tips to help you avoid unnecessary stress and deal with existing stress in a healthy way.

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip,

by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

What is stress?

Stress is essentially when we feel threatened or under pressure and our bodies are preparing to either fight or run away from our current situation.

This so-called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fight or flightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; response should only occur on rare occasions and it is useful for getting us out of dangerous situations. For many people stress can be more long term and persistent and this can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health.

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Avoid consuming too much news Whilst it may be important for us to stay up to date with current affairs, a constant stream of negative news reports can be a source of stress and anxiety.

The World Health Organization recommends that we watch, read or listen to the news to just once or twice a day for short periods. Why not schedule a daily timeslot when you will allow yourself to check the news (e.g. 7:00 pm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7:30 pm).

Breathing and meditation Just breathe. Despite the growing attention that meditation and breathing exercises is getting, it is still one of the most underrated things you can do to ease your stress levels and lower your blood pressure. To do this all you need is 10 minutes of your day to sit and do absolutely nothing but concentrate on your breathing.

Meditation is one of the simplest and cheapest ways of reducing your stress levels and blood pressure, and there are many free guided meditation resources online to teach you how to do it.

Walk your way to a healthy heart Not only is regular physical activity good for our heart health, but it can also alleviate stress. It is recommended that adults get 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each week, such as brisk walking. When we feel stressed, we may tell ourselves we are too busy to exercise.

However, physical activity does not have to be a time-consuming chore.

Incorporating small changes to increase our daily steps can improve our overall mental and physical health. You could start by making small changes, such as parking at the furthest point away from the shop entrance in the car park, getting off the bus a stop early, or leaving your office during your lunch break to take a walk. www.lancmag.com

Ask for help Sometimes stress can feel overwhelming and you may need a little help to manage it. Try speaking to a friend, family member or a work colleague about how you feel. If you think you would benefit from professional help, you can speak to your GP. You can find more healthy tips, recipes and advice at heartresearch.org.uk.

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Rare Sand Lizards Released Back to Fylde Sand Dunes Over the last three years conservationists have been giving the UK’s rarest lizard a helping hand, captive bred sand lizards have been released on to the Fylde Sand Dunes as part of a long-term conservation project to restore the species status and historic range within the UK.

The sand lizard reintroduction has been a success

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mphibian & Reptile Conservation (ARC), Fylde and Blackpool Council’s, Fylde and North Merseyside Amphibian Groups (ARGs), Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Natural England have teamed up to safeguard the future of these magnificent lizards. Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Fylde Council and Blackpool Council are members of the Fylde Sand Dunes Project which is funded by the Environment Agency and managed by the Wildlife Trust. This project manages the dunes for wildlife and as a soft sea defence and engages with the local community and further afield about the work it conducts.

In the UK sand lizards only live on two rare habitats; sanddune and lowland dry heath. Due to vast historic losses, and fragmentation of these habitats via development and land use change, the species has been lost from north and west Wales, Cheshire, Kent, Sussex, Berkshire, Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall. Native populations now only remain in Merseyside, Surrey, and Dorset -though even here losses of 97%, 95% and 90% have occurred respectively.

Due to these losses the sand lizard is part of ARC’s Biodiversity Action Plan. This has three main aims - protect the sites as nature reserves where the species occurs, to manage these sites to maintain and restore suitable conditions for sand lizards and, to re-introduce sand lizards to managed sites in their former historic range.

Currently there are two captive breeding centres for the Sefton sand lizards managed by Ray Lynch and Paul Hudson (Fylde and North Merseyside ARGs). These centres have outdoor enclosures that mimic the sand lizard’s natural dune environment. The captive bred juveniles have been released on to the Fylde Sand Dunes in early September each year to allow the animals to gradually get used to their new home before they hibernate in October.

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Releasing lizards onto the dunes Geoff Willetts, Senior Coast and Conservation officer (Fylde Council) ‘Fylde Council are proud to be part of such a fantastic project and are privileged to witness the sand lizards re introduction to our beautiful sand dunes here on the Fylde Coast. www.lancmag.com

LWT Sand Dunes Officer Amy Pennington with a lizard www.lancmag.com

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The sand lizard reintroduction has been a success

Releasing lizards onto the dunes

Andrew Mills, Sand dunes Area Conservation Ranger (Fylde Council) ‘Over the last three years the team have released over 300 sand lizards on to the Fylde dunes. It has been a great project to be involved in and we have already had a success story with hatched eggs found in September 2019 proving that the conditions here can support a healthy population of sand lizards. Sand lizards are such amazing animals and it’s such a shame that their range has reduced due to habitat loss and fragmentation, hopefully projects such as this one on the Fylde dunes and across the UK can help boost their population. It’s been great to work with Paul and Ray who have done a fantastic job rearing the animals and passing their knowledge on to the rest of the team. It is an exciting time on the dunes, and I am looking forward to watching how the population develops.’

Alan Wright, Campaigns Manager (Lancashire Wildlife Trust) ‘This is an example of how wildlife benefits from organisations working together and sharing expertise. The fact that sand lizards will be more abundant on such a busy area as the Fylde dunes is wonderful news and can only be good for local nature in general. What a brilliant project!’

Paul Hudson and Ray Lynch, Fylde Amphibian and Reptile Group ‘We have been part of the nationwide sand lizard breeding program for the last 8 years and along with other partners, we have been able to re-establish breeding colonies of the Merseyside race of SL at various sites in west Wales. We are now in our third year at our Fylde Coast dune system and it is great that we have witnessed breeding success at what is now the most northerly site in England.’

Jonathan Webster, ARC Chair of Trustees said “We are delighted with the success of the sand lizard re-introduction programme. So far the partnerships have instigated 76 re-introductions to both dune and heathland sites in 12 vicecounties and restored the species to 7 of these. 80% of these have been successful or going well and more are planned for the future.”

We have high hopes for this re-introduction as the site is naturally suitable for the species and well managed by the Fylde Sand Dune Project partners. Ongoing surveys by trained site staff, volunteers and Amphibian & Reptile Groups of the UK will let us know how the species is doing in the long term, and when they start to colonise new areas.

If people want to find out more about our native amphibians and reptiles or can help with surveying and conservation work on the Fylde Sand Dunes please contact us at the address’ provided below.

Fylde Council, geoff.willetts@fylde.gov.uk or andrew.mills@fylde.gov.uk Nick Moulton, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, anju.sarpal@arc-trust.org or nick.moulton@arc-trust.org Ray Lynch, Fylde Amphibian and Reptile Group, ray.lynch@hotmail.co.uk

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust 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 27,000 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. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust call 01948 820728 or go to cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.

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Volunteers urge families to take their plastic beach toys home In just three months, the St Annes LOVEmyBEACH volunteers have collected an astonishing 133 plastic beach toys that were left on the beach.

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he beach cleaners are urging families to take their toys home rather than leave them behind.

The volunteers collect the toys, alongside other litter, to prevent them from entering the ocean and harming marine life. Rather than send the toys to landfill, they have been cleaned and donated to a local charity, Park View 4U, to extend their life and put the items to good use.

The St Annes North Beach Care group noticed two summers ago, how many toys they were collecting during their weekly beach cleans. Almost all remained in perfect working order and had no reason to be disposed of.

Michael Pearson, group leader said: “Rather than add to the growing amount of waste heading to landfill, we decided to save the buckets, spades and plastic shapes knowing they could be reused. It is a joint effort between the two beach clean groups in St Annes and we are very happy to support local charities working with children.”

Last year the toys were donated to Lancashire Wildlife Trust and this year to Park View 4U, as both charities work with children on environmental projects.

Emily Parr, Fylde BeachCare Officer commented: “Unfortunately for the environment, a set of plastic beach

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toys can be picked up very cheaply at a pound store. Many families now seem to view taking the toys home as an inconvenience, instead choosing to leave them behind on the beach. Our concern is that people are viewing them as a disposable, single use item, rather than something that should be saved for future beach visits.”

Plastic buckets, spades and toys are made of PVC, a type of plastic which is difficult to recycle and could take up over 450 years to break down in landfill.

Dave Foreman, St Annes North volunteer added: “It’s not only the toys themselves that are a problem, they all come wrapped in further plastic and we are frequently picking up the netted packaging and tags that have been ripped off and left.”

The LOVEmyBEACH message for beach users is simple, when you visit the beach leave only footprints. This not only means dispose of you litter responsibly, but also take away any items which can be reused or recycled.

In the case of plastic toys, throwing them away is not the answer. Instead, reuse them on your next visit or pass them on to another family that could make use of them.

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Adam Partridge Auctioneers Titanic Artefacts Below:

Spode demitasse cup and saucer made for Stoniers and the White Star Line

Above:

Markings under the Spode saucer

Above:

Documents and other ephemera relating to William Barrows

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ollectables make up large sections in our sales and it is interesting to consider what makes an item desirable to a collector. In many cases there is an intrinsic value, but objects may become valuable because of their design, because of their rarity or because of their connections.

A perfect example of the latter is memorabilia connected with RMS Titanic. The White Star Line passenger liner hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage to New York. She broke into two and sank on 15 April 1912. Over 1,500 passengers and crew were lost and the tragedy has been the subject of fascination on both sides of the Atlantic ever since.

The least personal of such items are fixtures and fittings, not actually off the Titanic as most were lost, but made to be on the ship. Recently we sold a cobalt blue and gilt Spode demitasse cup and saucer with little intrinsic value but the base of the saucer was marked for the White Star Line and for Stoniers of Liverpool, who supplied the Titanic with china, and it had a registration number. This was similar to items known to have been made for the Titanic First Class saloon and possibly

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for her sister ships the Olympic and the Britannic. It sold for a surprising £8,400.

Items of ephemera are more personal, but again have not actually come off the ship. An important collection of Titanic documents were consigned with us for sale a few years ago. Edward William Peter Barrows was a White Star Line First Class Saloon Steward who died on the Titanic. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Of the 322 stewards on board only about 60 survived. The ephemera included a letter sent by Barrows to his sister the day before the ship set sail, a photograph of him, two Post Office telegraphs informing his mother of the loss of Barrows; one from J Bruce Ismay the Chairman and Managing Director of the White Star Line and the other from John Bartholemew, the Victualing Superintendent, who would have known Barrows personally. There was also a letter from the Daily Telegraph Titanic Relief Fund and further paperwork about compensation. There was much interest in this lot and the hammer price was £10,000.

The most valuable items are personal objects that survived, A fob watch and

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a fur coat have made large sums. The band is said to have played as the boat sank. The violinist did not survive but the violin did and was sold for over a million dollars.

All the items that are sold are either surviving from the event or are items that have a connection. But more recently there has been the possibility of recovery of objects actually from the ship as the wreck of the Titanic was discovered on the seabed in 1985.

There are differing opinions about whether the retrieval of artefacts is ethical, despite the continuing fascination and huge value of any object. Or should the Titanic be left to rest in peace as a mass grave?

Adam Partridge Auctioneers is fortunate to have one of the country’s leading studio pottery and 20th century ceramics specialist who regularly attends our Macclesfield auction room and our Preston valuation office.

Please call for more information 01772 347 380. www.lancmag.com

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Hi, I’m Paul...

...from PT Health Coaching, a personal health coach based in Darwen in Lancashire. Health coaching isn’t just the traditional personal training. It is personalised approach to all aspects of an individual’s health and wellbeing. Whether you have health goals, such as losing weight or performance goals, such as to run a marathon in a certain time, this is the place to come.

Stress less to live your best life

Last year, my family and spent I spent a holiday in Greece. We had a fantastic time and came back feeling fresh and rested. As always, when I come back from holiday, I promised myself to introduce some of the good habits I picked up whilst there. Habits such as reading more, looking at my phone less, watching less TV and spending more quality time with my family. But, once I returned to the UK, the realisation of ‘real life’ hit home and the good habits slowly slipped away.

It’s inevitable that if you have more time on your hands (like when you’re on holiday), you are more likely to feel less stressed. At home, you have work, household chores, children to manage etc etc. and it’s understandable for you to feel more stressed and for bad habits to slip back in.

The holiday in Greece was an eye opener in another way too. My wife (who won’t mind me discussing this) has been suffering from a particularly stubborn verruca that she has had since she was very young, and has been having some intensive treatment at a podiatrist’s. Although it has been improving (slowly), it was still there.

She went back to the podiatrist after the holiday and he was pleased to announce that it had completely

disappeared and no further treatment was necessary. “How!?” asked my wife. The podiatrist went on to explain that the combination of sand, sea and sun would’ve been a factor, but also mentioned stress. He explained that when your body is in a relaxed state, it has more energy to invest in healing itself.

This made so much sense to me and made me think, how many physical illnesses or symptoms are caused by or take longer to recover from because we are stressed?

When you consider that we are in the middle of a global pandemic, living with chronic stress could make us more susceptible to it.

What are the symptoms I should look out for?

Now, it’s important to note that a certain level of stress in our life is crucial. It helps us to get things done, but how much is too much? Your body is a wonderfully designed organism and it will tell you when stress is building up and things are getting too much. Everyone’s body will tell them in a different way, but there are some common symptoms to be aware of:

• • • • • • • • •

Low mood Shoulder, neck, and back ache High blood pressure Headaches and migraines Indigestion • Stomach ulcers Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Skin conditions • Poor circulation Sex drive changes • Change in appetite Immune system deterioration (you pick up and struggle to get rid of coughs, colds, bugs, infections).

Pretty grim, right? And these are just some of symptoms. You may personally have recognised others too. By being aware of some of these symptoms, you can deal with stress earlier and recover more quickly. The long term impacts of stress on the body are significant: anxiety, depression and cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and stroke. www.lancmag.com

My top tips for managing stress 1. Meditate: Taking time out to meditate each day, will help you become grounded and see the day in a positive and balanced light. It is a proven way to reduce stress and you can use apps such as Headspace or Calm.

2. Plan your day: Planning for the day ahead, means you are more likely to get more done compared to not planning at all. Write a realistic ‘to-do list’ which has chores, tasks, but also some fun stuff too – we all need some ‘me time’.

3. Connect: Being isolated from others is associated with physical health problems and early mortality. Humans, to a greater or lesser extent are social beings, so scheduling time to chat with your colleagues, friends and family is crucial to manage your stress levels.

4. Exercise: taking part in regular physical activity is a proven way to reduce stress and anxiety and improve your mood. It’s the release of those wonderful endorphins that helps with this. Ideally, if you get chance to do this outdoors, then do so, as the combination of leaving your house, going into green space and exercising is even more potent.

5. Eat well: Hippocrates famously said: ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.’ This is because, getting a good balance of vitamins and minerals as well as eating regularly helps your body and brain function at its best and will make you more resilient to illnesses. Eat plenty of and a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and proteins from nuts, seeds, fish and eggs and complex carbohydrates from potatoes, rice, chick peas, lentils, quinoa, wholegrain pasta and breads. Reduce the treats: chocolates, cakes, biscuits, sweets, crisps, processed foods and alcohol. Your body cannot thrive in an environment that has an abundance of those foods.

6. Take time out: Taking time out from the things that are a cause of stress is a good way to manage your stress levels. This might be a 5 minute break or a holiday. This might include time without your devices, that keep you constantly switched on to the outside world. Time with yourself can be both powerful and therapeutic.

Give it a try… switch your phone off at 9pm and see if your sleep improves.

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7. Sleep: Sleep is a crucial part of our lives. By the time we reach 60, we have spent 20 years of our lives asleep.

There’s a reason for that: sleep is required to help repair, regrow and maintain the bodies balance (homeostasis). To find out more about sleep and how to improve it, check out the Sleep Council’s website: www.sleepcouncil.org.uk 8. Hydrate: we can live 3 weeks without food. We can only live 3 days without water. Our bodies, at a cellular level, are made up of 50-70% water. That’s why it’s important to keep hydrated throughout the day. It will help with your mood, allow you to perform at your best and aids with many bodily functions. Try to keep a water bottle topped up for each member of your family. You can find out more about water here: https://pthealthcoaching.com/my-blog

Stress Awareness Week The 2nd of November is the beginning of International Stress Awareness Week. This is a great opportunity to explore your current stress levels and to make some positive changes. Why not set yourself a goal to work on one or several of the areas above and notice the impact it has on you.

To find out more or to get some support contact me on:

Tel: 07495 892987 Email: paul@pthealthcoaching.com Web: www.pthealthcoaching.com

Paul

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European Regional Development Fund

A way to make Europe

Persimon® and Stem Ginger Sponge This pudding is SO delicious – perfect for chilly days!

Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes Serves: 6 100g butter, plus 1tsp for greasing 100g light muscovado sugar 2 large eggs, beaten 1tbsp milk 100g self-raising flour Pinch of salt 1/2tsp ground ginger 2tbsp chopped stem ginger in syrup 2 Spanish persimon®, halved and leafy top removed Squeeze of lemon juice 1tbsp demerara sugar 20g pecans, chopped 2tbsp golden syrup

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan oven 160°C, Gas Mark 4. Grease a 22cm ceramic baking dish (or similar) with a little butter.

2 Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, then gradually beat in the eggs. Stir in the milk. Fold in the flour, salt, ground ginger and stem ginger.

3 Transfer to the baking dish and spread out evenly.

Cut the persimon® into thin slices and arrange on top of the sponge mixture, fanning out the slices.

Sprinkle lemon juice and demerara sugar on top of them.

4 Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately, sprinkled with pecans and drizzled with syrup.

Cook’s tip: Make the puddings in individual dishes, though reduce the cooking time to 20-25 minutes.

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Connecting with local wildlife during lockdown has saved lives Watching wildlife from your window is a life saver and has helped people to escape from their lockdown isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic, a new report by The Wildlife Trust has revealed.

flowers and people by Nick Rodd

Starling Ben Hall 2020 Vision

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he new report, which has been sent to 10 Downing Street and Defra, outlines how wildlife helped people to overcome the stress and loneliness of lockdown and, in some cases, offered benefits for serious mental health issues. One individual even went on to tell The Trust that nature “has saved my life.”

And that added interest in nature will have had major benefits for plants and creatures, as people put food on bird tables and created wildlife-friendly areas in gardens and parks.

According to the report which had over 1,200 responses, 99% of respondents told the Wildlife Trust that connecting with local wildlife and outdoor spaces during the coronavirus restrictions has been Very Important or Important to them.

The survey came after The Wildlife Trust noticed more people than ever before getting in touch to say they were seeing wildlife more frequently and that the birdsong appeared to sound so much louder this spring.

My Wild City Project Officer Hilary Wood said: “This report shows how necessary a nature connection is for people’s quality of life in and around Greater Manchester. Nearby Nature needs to be prioritised in the City Region’s Covid Recovery Plans to ensure everyone has the opportunity to connect with nature.”

The report comes at a time when environmental organisations and charities like The Wildlife Trust are

Sahar by Nick Rodd battling to protect and improve greenspaces amidst increasing development threats like HS2 which are likely to have huge, lasting impacts on our precious wildlife.

Daveen Wallis, Director of Nature and Wellbeing at The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside said: “At a time when we are facing global health, climate and ecological emergencies, people are turning to nature for their health and wellbeing. We need to harness this interest and turn this connection into positive ways people can take action locally to help us address climate change and species extinction.”

The full report can be found by visiting www.lancswt. org.uk/our-work/nearby-nature-report along with further information on practical action you can take to protect local wildlife and what The Wildlife Trust is doing as an organisation to protect nearby nature in our region and beyond.

My Wild City is a partnership project between The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside and Manchester City Council, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Find out more by visiting lancswt.org.uk/mywildcity

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust 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 27,000 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. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust call 01948 820728 or go to cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.

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Meet the critic!

As a new series for the Lancashire and North West Magazine, Barrister-turned-food-writer Richard Sagar takes us through some of the finest culinary venues our historic county and

surrounding areas have to offer.

Keep an eye out for Richard’s reviews in each edition as he quite literally eats his way through the North West!

La Locanda

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s you pass through the charming Ribble Valley village of Gisburn, you could be forgiven for failing to notice the somewhat unassuming La Locanda – but don’t let its dainty proportions lull you into a false sense of apathy; this small but perfectly formed restaurant truly is the real deal.

After ringing a bell and being welcomed into the attractive reception area by a joyous hostess, the irresistible aromas one ordinarily associates with long Summer holidays in the Mediterranean flooded my nostrils – the earthy notes of garlic and paprika circulating in perfect harmony with the heady scents of citrus and chilli. Within seconds of entering the building I knew I was in for a gastronomic treat – and my oh my, how right was I! I was fortunate enough to be in the capable hands of Cinzia (owner and front of house extraordinaire) for the evening, who went to great efforts to ensure I was comfortable and made

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welcome. Her first treat was a vibrant pomegranate red aperitif named Bicilcletta – a North Italian classic made from Campari and Prosecco – and what a way to waken the taste buds it was.

The fabulously bitter Campari paired with the fresh and fruity bubbles of the Prosecco made for a stimulating and certainly moreish pleasure.

Within seconds of entering the building I knew I was in for a gastronomic treat – and my oh my, how right was I!

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Following on from this sensory awakening, I was presented with, what I have no other option than to describe as the most impressive bread board I’ve ever had sight of. All breads were homemade and leavened for 24 hours. First was a beautifully simple ‘Pane Toscano’ called ‘sciapo’ owing to the absence of any salt in the recipe. In addition was a particularly tasty focaccia with a touch of garlic, rosemary and extra virgin olive oil – and the third was a delicious crisp-bread named Pane Carasau, or ‘paper music’ owing to its very thin and crispy nature.

Also on the board were large, plump and firm green olives along with a truly www.lancmag.com

delicious tapenade of sorts, made from green olives, cherry tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. Even the accompaniments were special – the finest Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP and organic extra virgin olive oil from Altermura in Puglia.

The care and attention given to sourcing the very best ingredients was abundantly clear throughout my time at La Locanda. When speaking with Cinzia, she explained to me their business ethos – to serve food slowly to be savoured, to use locally sourced ingredients or where they won’t suffice, only the best of Italian products are imported. 95% of the wines in the restaurant arrive directly from the producers, and 98% are made with indigenous grapes of Italy. The range of Italian lagers and craft beers was similarly impressive.

Whilst on the subject of alcohol, prior to my starter arriving I was presented with a glass of Frappato IGP from Sicily.

This organic red was light in colour, yet remarkable in complexity, with notes of cherry, raspberry and white pepper, all

perfectly balanced and well structured.

Interestingly, at La Locanda there is only a small corkage fee applied to the retail price of the wines. When I asked the reasoning for this, Cinzia simply remarked that it gives her customers the possibility to taste exceptional wines with their meals because, and I quote, “if you drink well, you can taste better the food!”

This wine was a perfect match for my starter, which was duly brought to me in all its splendour – huge red Mediterranean prawns, or Gamberoni Rossi N’Duja e peperoni for the more linguistically virtuous. These fleshy prawns were cooked with Calabrian sausage and baby sweet peppers making a superbly rich and sumptuous sauce which just demanded to be mopped up with some more of that delicious bread!

I was clearly feeling particularly hungry on this occasion, because not only did I devour all of the breadboard and prawns, but I also ordered a pasta dish to sandwich in before my main!

This beautifully thin beetroot ravioli filled with goats cheese and honey was simply sublime. Served with a rich butter and rosemary sauce the overall flavour combination was like a party in my mouth – and like any good party, I wish it could happen again and again.

Whilst I only had a small portion, this is also available as a main – and I would most certainly recommend it as such

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for any vegetarians amongst us.

For my main dish however, I couldn’t resist the prospect of the 35 day matured Aberdeen Angus rib eye, served on the bone. Prior to its arrival I was given a small raspberry sorbet to cleanse the palate, which served its purpose perfectly. As the steak arrived, the quality of the meat was immediately visible, and rightly so having been sourced from a farm in the village, quite literally a stone’s throw away. To taste, it was as steak used to taste. Those deep earthy beefy flavours throughout well marbled and moist meat – an absolute taste sensation.

This was served with truffle potatoes, grilled cherry tomatoes and baby aubergines. Despite the relatively few ingredients, this was absolutely all that was necessary. As I washed it down with a glass of Friuli Venezia Giulia, you’d struggle to find a happier man in the land!

By this time I was quite contentedly full, but Cinzia recommended I tried her house speciality - Tiramisu. Naturally, I obliged and I was very thankful that I did. This was made with the original recipe from the ‘Le Beccherie’ restaurant in Treviso, where the mother of the owner invented it in the sixties.

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To taste, it was as steak used to taste. Those deep earthy beefy flavours throughout well marbled and moist meat – an absolute taste sensation.

coffee, savoiardi biscuits and marsala wine, it was the perfect way to finish an utterly fantastic meal and dining experience.

On my way home from La Locanda, I was musing to myself as to just how lucky we are in Lancashire to have these hidden gem restaurants.

The quality of the ingredients and the delicacy with which they were sourced and prepared was nothing but special – and that set the standard for everything else. If you’re ever remotely close to Gisburn and find yourself in need of a treat, I would wholeheartedly recommend you give Cinzia a call and experience her magnificent La Locanda for yourself.

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Our Sharonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quick recipeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lemon Possett

Ingredients 600 ml double cream 140 g caster sugar 2 large lemons, juice and grated zest

Method Put the double cream in a large pan with the sugar. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Take it off the heat, add the lemon juice and zest and whisk well.

Pour into 6 ramekins and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Sprinkle with the pared lemon zest before serving with shortbread.

1 large lemon, pared zest only

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Ingredients 1 lb stewing steak, cut into bite sized chunks 1 medium onion, chopped 2 to 3 stalks of celery, chopped 6 to 8 medium sized potatoes 3 to 4 carrots, sliced 1 sweet potato, cut into bite sized pieces 1 large can of diced tomatoes 1 tsp minced garlic Salt and pepper, according to taste 1 litre of beef broth, 1 tbsp Corn Flour

Ingredients for the dumplings 1 cup of self - raising flour 2 tbsp Shredded suet 2 tbsp dried parsley ½ tsp salt Ÿ cup of water

Method

Mix all ingredients together with a fork and roll into small balls www.lancmag.com

Beef Stew with Dumplings

Method Saute the stewing meat on medium heat until all sides are nicely browned.

Add the meat to the slow cooker.

Then add the chopped potatoes and canned diced tomatoes.

Add the chopped vegetables.

Add chopped garlic, salt and pepper according to taste.

Pour the beef broth over everything and stir to mix it all together. If needed add enough water so that the liquid is level with the top of all the ingredients.

Place the lid on the slow cooker and set it to low for 8 to 10 hrs or high for 4 to 6 hrs.

Make Dumplings, ensure batter sticky.

Pot in stew for last hour, remove and stir in 1 tbs cornflour to thicken stew, then serve.

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Homemade Bean Soup Ingredients 2 cups of dried bean soup mix 1 ham bone leftover from cooking a ham or a ham hock (optional) 1 medium sized onion, chopped 3 to 4 stalks of celery, chopped 1 large can of diced tomatoes 4 large potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces 4 to 5 large carrots, sliced

Method Place 2 cups of the dried bean soup mix into a large bowl, add enough water so that they are covered by at least 2 inches of water and soak overnight. The next morning, drain the soaked beans and place them in a large 8 quart stock pot.

Place 2 cups of dried beans in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil, turn the heat off and allow the beans to sit in the hot water for 2 hours.

Or if you have a pressure cooker, you can add the dried beans to the pressure cooker, cover with at least 2 inches of water. Secure the lid on the pot. Heat until the rocker is rocking gently, then cook for 20 minutes. Move the pot to the sink and allow a stream of water from the tap to flow onto the lid. When the pressure vent goes down, it is safe to open the pressure cooker.

After the beans have been cooked in the pressure cooker, remove the ham bone and add the coarsely chopped onion, chopped celery and diced tomatoes. Add water until the pot is almost full.

Place the pot on the stove with the burner set to high and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and allow the soup to simmer until the beans are tender. This will take at least an hour.

The beans will absorbs quite a bit of liquid and some will cook off, so you may find that you need to add more water during the cooking process.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add too much though because the more you add, the more you will dilute the wonderful flavours that will have developed.

About 15 to 20 minutes before youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ready to serve the soup, add the diced potatoes and sliced carrots. When the potatoes and carrots are tender, the soup is ready to eat.

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Dream of Turning Loss into Legacy Comes True During Lockdown

J

amaicans are a passionate people, so perhaps it’s no real surprise that one of their most remarkable contributions to world cuisine is a bold, full-bodied cake that leaves you wanting more.

Rum cake is a delicacy with deep cultural and historical roots: the sugar, molasses and rum which make the cake so unique, rich and enjoyable are also a reminder of hundreds of years of Jamaican history, rooted in the island’s colonial past.

Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes are no different, made to a secret family recipe passed down from generation to generation, mother to daughter, brim full of juicy fruits and real Jamaican rum.

Agnes Viola Henry, aka “Vie”, was a strong, kind Jamaican woman, a descendent of slaves whose ancestors worked the island’s sugar cane fields. Like many who travelled to Britain in the 1960’s hoping for a better life, she settled and worked hard for her family, but never forgot her Jamaican heritage, becoming renowned for her very rummy rum cakes.

Sadly, Vie is no longer with us. However, her youngest daughter Elaine was determined to mark her passing with a fitting tribute to her inspirational mother and Jamaican heritage. The idea of Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes was born...

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Agnes Viola Henry aka Vie

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Elaine was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, spent most of her adolescent years in Ash Vale, Surrey and lived in France for over 20 years of her adult life. When she moved to the tranquil surroundings of the Lake District in 2019, she certainly wasn’t expecting to find one of the key ingredients for Vie’s cakes right under her nose, let alone a whole host of links to her Jamaican roots. Exploring her new home, Elaine took a visit to the coastal Georgian town of Whitehaven, discovering The Rum Story and Jefferson’s...

Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes are no different, made to a secret family recipe passed down from generation to generation

Mr & Mrs Henry 06 July 1963

Founded in 1785, Jefferson’s is a family wine and spirits business. The company plied its trade across the globe until 1998. Like many merchants from Cumberland and Westmorland, including the Lutwidge’s (of Lewis Carroll fame), Jefferson’s had interests in the Caribbean, interests with deep-seated links to the ‘Triangular Trade’ (slaves, sugar and rum). Jefferson’s 1785 Dark Rum bears testament to that.

Jamaica and Cumbria have a shared heritage which links them indelibly, even to this day, with references across the island to these deep-seated connections: Westmoreland, Kendal, Carlisle Bay and Cumberland.

Inspired by her journey of discovery, Elaine set about working with expert cake maker Lisa Smith from Ginger Bakers, to craft a superlative range of cakes - some made with Jefferson’s rum - to honour her mother Vie, her roots and Cumbria’s shared heritage with Jamaica.

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Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes launched a crowdfunding campaign in July to raise £5000 to buy a van for the blossoming company. Company founder Elaine Rémy chose the 6th July as it is her parents’ wedding anniversary and the secret rummy recipe that inspired the business was her mother Vie’s.

Parents legacy crowdfunding wedding anniversary

Elaine explained further: “My parent’s were married for 54 years and gave me so much in their lifetime, their wedding anniversary just felt like the right day to launch. In all I do, I want to honour them and in particular my mother, Agnes Viola Henry, aka “Vie”. Her family recipe passed down from generation to generation is now being enjoyed by so many people and I’m sure if mum was still here she’d be very proud.”

The campaign was successful with 131 backers raising over £6,000. This was matched by NatWest Back Her Business who donated a further £5,000 bringing the grand total to over £11,000.

Elaine adds: “It’s an amazingly uplifting feeling to be supported by people who want to see Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes succeed, especially as many of these people are strangers. I am incredibly grateful to all who have supported me so far.”

Further details on the Crowdfunding Campaign can be found here: https://natwestbackherbusiness.co.uk/viesjamaicanrumcakes

Matson Ground Holidays are sponsors of the #ViesNeedsAVan crowdfunding campaign Happily, the gift of a Rum Cake is a token of deep friendship and respect.

So, why not choose from one of the six delicious treats in Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes range and show you care?

Rummy Golden cakes made with a 35% spiced gold Jamaican rum, just the thing for any occasion.

Rummier Delectably mysterious cakes made with a 40% dark Jamaican rum.

A special edition Christmas cake will be made using Jefferson’s 1785 Extra Fine Dark Rum.

Rummiest Boozy celebration cakes made with a 63% white over-proof Jamaican rum.

www.viesjamaicanrumcakes.co.uk www.viesjamaicanrumcakes.regalo.gifts Linkedin.com/in/elaineincumbria Facebook.com/viesjamaicanrumcakes Instagram.com/viesjamaicanrumcakes Twitter.com/viesjrumcakes

Elaine Rémy

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Elaine is also a qualified transformational coach and an Emotional Intelligence and Intercultural Communication practitioner who supports managers and leaders in business on their journey of personal and professional growth and development.

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Anatolia Sea View: 01253 789 551 Pleasure Island, 1st Floor, South Promenade FY8 1LS

A traditional Turkish Ocakbasi (open barbecue) with hot and cold Meze, marinated and grilled meats, vegetables and kebabs plus authentic Turkish pizza Anatolia, a contemporary Turkish barbecue restaurant.

Positioned at Pleasure Island, South Promenade, the focal point is the large Ocakbasi, an authentic Turkish-style charcoal grill which infuses the marinated meats and vegetables with a trademark smoky taste. The menu offers traditional Turkish classics for eating in or to take away. The menu sees a range of hot and cold starters such mixed Meze, Imam Bayildi, stuffed vine leaves and plenty of vegetarian choices. Mains offer marinated Shish kebabs, lamb chops, ribs, wings and slow-cooked dishes like Mousakka and lamb shank.

More saucy Iskender kebabs, marinated and finished with yoghurt, are also on offer as are a choice of traditional Turkish pizzas called Pideler, a stone-baked, boat-shaped dough with a crispy outer crust filled with a mixture of toppings. Desserts feature Baklava and Turkish Dream. And why not finish with Raki and Turkish coffee? Anatolia is a great choice for a party or celebration with several set meal choices

Local charity DanceSyndrome is excited to be launching an innovative new Zoom dance session for people with and without disabilities. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rave with Dave and Bexâ&#x20AC;? is an exciting new concept co-led by Dance Artist David Darcy and Dance Leader Becky Rich. Participants of all ages

Rave with Dave and Bex! and abilities will spend five weeks learning a flashmob routine and on the sixth week they will hold an online rave event to perform their routine in front of a live audience with glow sticks and glitter at the ready!

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Below: Dance Syndrome Team 2020

D

anceSyndrome is a multi-award winning dance charity that delivers inclusive dance workshops and dance leadership training, as well as inspiring performances that demonstrate a focus on ability rather than disability. The charity was founded

by Jen Blackwell, who happens to have Down’s syndrome, because she found it difficult to find opportunities in community dance due to her disability. DanceSyndrome’s ethos is that disability should never be a barrier to following your dreams.

Dancers with and without disabilities work together to inspire people to see what can be achieved when we all become more inclusive.

DanceSyndrome supports many vulnerable adults across Lancashire who are currently shielding due to the COVID-19 outbreak. While they have been unable to hold their regular community dance sessions, the charity have adapted to provide online sessions, which have become the norm for 2020.

The DanceSyndrome team wanted to limit the impact of isolation on vulnerable participants and continue to make them feel a part of what they refer to as “the dancing family”. Since lockdown began they have delivered many workshops online using Facebook, YouTube and Zoom to bring the sessions to regular participants and anyone else who wanted to use them. They have helped people across the UK to stay active at home during isolation thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, Arts Council England and Community Fund for Lancashire.

Rave with Dave and Bex starts on Thursday 17th September at 7pm.

If you would like to find out more about the sessions, please visit www.dancesyndrome.co.uk/events

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Rave with Dave and Bex is the newest addition to a range of Zoom sessions that include Street Dance, Contemporary Dance, daily wake up sessions and even an infant’s session led by 3 year old Max, who has Down’s syndrome.

Dance Artist Dave Darcy said “Rave with Dave and Bex is about giving people the chance to really let loose and dance. We will rave through the decades from 80’s dance classics to modern day bangers!

The sessions are designed to be fully engaging and welcoming for everyone, from the experienced Ravers to those with no dance experience at all.

Come and learn, create, rave and have FUN!” The sessions will be co-led by Dance Leader Becky Rich. Becky is also an Ambassador for the charity, promoting the charity’s work and actively demonstrating that having Down’s syndrome, or any disability, shouldn’t stop you from following your dreams. Her dream was a career in dance and she is living that thanks to DanceSyndrome.

Becky said “I am really looking forward to Rave with Dave and Bex on Thursday nights at 7pm from 17th September. We still have lots of daytime sessions which you can join but this is something different. I am really excited because we are using glow sticks and we will have a jolly good dance! This is going to be a big party! The music will be fantastic and we will get away from these difficult lockdown times. Join us for the fun through Zoom. I know the one thing we all need is to be happy. Join this jolly good party! Please tell everyone you know.”

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Visit Beetham Nurseries for a lovely day out in a safe and fun environment.

Beetham Nurseries has given us a few suggestions for stocking fillers while you are there.

Blasta Henriet Yellow Wheat Bag £25.95

BEETHAM NURSERIES Pool Darkin Lane Beetham nr Milnthorpe Cumbria LA7 7AP

JJ Textile Blanket, Various Designs From £89

Pintail Candles, Various Scents £12.95

Bloomingville Ceramics Pixie Green Homeware range From £16.95 150

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Dorothee Lehnen Hot Water Bottle, Various Designs £29.99 www.lancmag.com

A catch up with Peter Rutt Our monthly coloumn by Peter Rutt.

P

art 1 of 3. Regular readers will know I love weird and wacky stories, even if they are not true.

So imagine my pleasure when I came across the sensation of alleged time slips in Liverpool.

Various people claim they slipped back in time, usually to the 1950’s or 1960’s. One claimed he slipped back to early 1900’s. He said as he walked down Bold Street the sky went very dark and what had been that year in the decade of the 1990’s changed to early 1900’s judging by the fashion he spied. Also the shops were old fashioned. Gone were the modern day stores as were modern day cars, replaced by horse drawn carriages. There was air there was sound and if he felt more confident he would have interacted with a person.

Imagine whipping out your smartphone to show someone from the early 1900’s!

Orhad go amy step further and take photos first book published in the or summer film whatofyou see.

What would your 2013 entitled Jack the phone record?

Ripper from the Cradle to the Grave.

Thereanswering is the story who Despite allofthea man questions walked has nearposed to Bold and henew history on Street the subject, alleges as he turned questions have arose.a corner, was faced with a dead end. An old wall The book was an edited piece as that wasn’t there the previous day had the publisher did not feel that certain suddenly appeared. Like the previous excerpts werethe worth printing.suddenly man he said sky became But these omitted paragraphs and there. darker prior to this obstacle being sentences answer a large swathe ofand He even touched the construction these new questions. it was solid. Confused, he headed back theVarious way he people came. around the world thatMost haveofread book send on meapress the my stories centre cuttings of the latest person to believe period of 1993-1997 apart from the who Jack the Ripper (JTR) really was. one in the next paragraph. They may It is often based on one bias or another well be Urban Tales and tall ones at and reading these ridiculous that.despite But it isme thought provoking.

But there areit three particular storieslevels.

I will notions does not fit on many centre on. all authors that write about Of course thisThis manone believe they are right except allegedly occurred in 2006 me.

I know I am right as do thosehe that when a lad called Sean admitted read it.

No conjecture, no hearsay shoplifted an item and ran out of the and guess work or tryingGuard. to fit theAs shopno pursued by a Security Sean got to ainto corner (and theItsky perpetrator a time line. all went fits. dark) he turned carried onplace. running All pieces of theand puzzle are in but when he looked back he noticed

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Back to these new questions. The accomplice of JTR, a man named Jimmy went back home to his native North Yorkshire in the mid 1890’s after his beloved, best friend and son virtually shunned him. There was nothing in London left for him. I have been asked what happened to him.

On his journey back by steam train he a town where he had his stopped pursuer off wasinnowhere to be seen. memories that causedand himtook nightmares Relieved, he stopped in his ever since he was there in was 1868.

To surroundings.

Everybody wearing exorcise thesethe dark thoughts of criminal clothes from 1960’s and cars were deeds that haunted him,era. he dropped old fashioned from this Starting in a Public House out for ahis beer.

But to to worry he brought modern mobile but itacross displayed no an olderphone, man from the room signal. at Ashim. he walked back past the store stared Not wanting to make eye he robbed hethe noticed it wasn’t thedrunk one contact with stranger, Jimmy he entered Asleave he looked up and wasearlier. about to when ahead the he could see the modern world. old man rose from his chair and When he took ahim. look behind him it was still followed the 1960’s. Frightened by his experience As Jimmy exited the pub he could he caught a (modern) bus to get away. hear another set of footsteps behind The Security Guard that chased him him.

The man shouted “Jimmy Clark.” asserted that he was only a few paces Jimmy round.

This behind stopped the thiefand butlooked as he got to that time they did make eye contact.

The corner, the lad had vanished. He was old man recognised bemused by this. him as being one

of the London gang; even though he never drugged or handled the abducted children. “Her name was Rose” he shouted as Jimmy was now running to escape this chance of being arrested.

He boarded the next train and never returned down south. The ghost of his deeds never got exorcised.

We need to go back to late 1868 to explain.

This man came to collectinhis The other two stories appear daughter, Rose,and from school. But she to May’s edition a plausible answer was nowhere to be seen.

Jimmy the conundrum.

But going backwas to an nearby pullingwhich up theis flap on the back earlier point, of interaction, of a woodenon cart that a heavy I pondered this.

If had you talk to sheet covering to Jimmy someonesomething. from a longHe agospoke era and influence them to takebefore a different course at length at the time, wandering to one they historically did take, would off bemused why his daughter was not that have on the there afterramifications her teacher said shehere was and in now?during Also ifthe youday. collect an item from class the 1950’s, does it travel with you back Later an inquiry was carried out to the present day? when a number of children at one school had disappeared. Eventually a teacher was blamed but he said a group from London had come to drug and snatch the children for the London slave market.

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Elmsfield Joinery Ltd

By Stephen Roberts

Now, as an historian, I do tend to like things that are bespoke and high quality, anything in fact that reeks of heritage and possibly restoration. We have to keep our past looking good for 152

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the future after all. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve summarised in a few words what Elmsfield Joinery Ltd is all about as this Morecambe based family business has 35 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience in this field. www.lancmag.com

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It seems harder than ever to obtain decent customer service these days, so finding a company that prides itself on not just matching our expectations, but exceeding them, is a real bonus

s someone who has all the DIY capability of ‘Mr Pastry’, I can only admire those who can expertly turn their hand to this kind of thing.

Expertise clearly runs in the genes at Elmsfield too, as this really is a family concern, comprising Stuart Todd, and his two sons, Andrew and Liam.

Although Stuart has all that experience going back more than three decades, Elmsfield Joinery is a relatively new venture, having been established in 2016.

finishes in our interior design concepts, executing & completing all projects in such a way’. This is all about producing the finest quality purpose-made joinery items at the most competitive price.

If you’re in the market for doors, including bifolding doors, windows, sliding sash windows, a timber staircase or a conservatory, then you might wish to pop along to Elmsfield’s premises on Southgate on the White Lund Industrial Estate in Morecambe, which is easily accessible from the M6. The business has a commendable ethos: ‘To work in accordance with the clients’ requirements and exceed their expectations in terms of quality, cost control and time management’ and ‘To consistently deliver eco-friendly world-class

A couple of things jump off the page at me here, namely ‘exceeding client expectations’ and ‘delivering eco-friendly finishes’. It seems harder than ever to obtain decent customer service these days, so finding a company that prides itself on not just matching our expectations, but exceeding them, is a real bonus, and as for eco-friendly, I’m all for it. I suspect that there are many, at home and abroad, who are still not taking the climate emergency seriously enough. Elmsfield Joinery is not among them.

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Just look at its use of Accoya Wood for starters, a high-performance timber that’s ideal for windows, doors, cladding, decking and many, many more applications. The wood has quickly become an industry benchmark for performance and sustainability, as there’s no other timber currently offering the same combination of quality, stability, versatility and durability. This modified wood is sustainably-sourced with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification and therefore has minimal environmental impact throughout the entire period of its life, from production, through its use, to its end. A chemically-treated timber, it’s quite a new thing and an impressive product to boot, which begins its life as a UK-based softwood, but following its treatment metamorphoses into a stable wood with all the properties of hardwood.

It’s cheaper though, and equally importantly, the precious tropical rainforests can rest easy.

Elmsfield Joinery is very much a North-West based company (‘Made in Lancashire’ you might say), with a catchment area that includes Cumbria, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.

It specialises in work for both private customers and trade, domestic and commercial, with no job considered either too big or too small. There’s flexibility in both materials and design to cater for all requirements and budgets. Bespoke staircases, window frames (including ones to hold precious historic stained glass), barn conversions, heritage work, refurbishments and restorations are all a part of the mix. Commissions don’t come much more prestigious than Lancaster Castle where some early oak doors were restored as the site planned its reinvention from onetime prison (until 2011) to burgeoning tourist attraction. There’s a lot of responsibility with this kind of work as we’re talking about a building that dates right back to the Norman Roger de Poitou, whose life straddled the 11th and 12th centuries and who owned a considerable amount of Lancashire at the time.

I’m sure he’s looking down on his stone castle feeling that it’s been in safe hands.

The bespoke nature of the work means that every single job is so different. There’s nothing boring about this business as every day brings its unique challenges that need to be overcome. Job satisfaction is a given really, especially with that ongoing contribution to maintaining the region’s rich heritage. It’s reassuring to know that we still have the skills in the early-21st century to maintain all our old assets that in some cases go back centuries. As an historian I can only applaud this and reflect on the fact that we don’t always consider the work that goes into restoration, not just to keep these structures standing, but also to ensure that they are safe for us to visit.

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Commissions can certainly be unusual, such as the old derrick (crane) on the waterfront at Lancaster that required restoring, a job that was completed for the local authority. With restoration it’s important to keep what can be preserved, in this instance the existing steelwork, to maintain the structure’s historicity as far as possible, whilst replacing whatever can’t be saved, and here that was the old timbers. You’ll see what I mean about boredom not being an option. Failure to deliver is also something that’s not considered.

Stuart and his two boys must all get on well given that they do so much work together, so it’s gratifying to hear that they ‘tend to get on o.k. to be honest’. As with the vast majority of businesses, 2020 has been no easy year either, with the workforce furloughed for a time, but now back at work and as busy as ever. Elmsfield is not about to sit on its laurels either, having invested in a new CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine, which helps with ‘profiling’ (these state-of-theart pieces of kit provide automated control of machining tools (e.g. drills, boring tools, lathes, and even 3D printers) so that specifications can be met in precision style by utilising a computer programme rather than manual operation).

Joinery may be a trade that goes back centuries but it’s very much a combination today of traditional skills and high-tech. www.lancmag.com

If I’m honest I was probably secretly hoping that Stuart and his boys would be ‘Joiner & Sons’ or maybe ‘Carpenter & Sons’, or even ‘Wood & Sons’, as I do love names that are tailor-made for occupations, but I’m not disappointed. There’s no doubt that this firm of accomplished carpenters is tailor-made for what it does: the delivery of a bespoke, high-quality product using a four-step end-to-end working process – initial contact, full quotation, build and delivery. The results speak for themselves.

Elmsfield Joinery Ltd Unit 10, Southgate White Lund Industrial Estate, Morecambe, LA3 3PB. Tel: 01524 845492.

E-mail: stuart@elmsfieldjoinery.co.uk for a free, no obligation, quotation on a vast range of bespoke joinery services.

Web: www.elmsfieldjoinery.co.uk to browse the Elmsfield Joinery website.

Open: Mon-Fri 08:00-16:30.

Note

‘Mr Pastry’ was an accident-prone, bungling character, who first appeared on TV in 1946. He was played by actor/comedian Richard Hearne OBE (1908-79).

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Holden Wood Antiques

By Stephen Roberts

Open for business and with an improved offering.

That’s the good news story at Holden Wood Antiques in Haslingden, Rossendale.

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caught up with owner John Ainscough again, having previously interviewed him for the October 2019 issue. It’s fair to say that a quantity of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge since then. As you may recall, Holden Wood Antiques is a unique set up, being based over two storeys of a former church, Grade II Listed St Stephen’s. ‘There are over 50 dealers here offering unusual and personal gifts, everything from furniture, clocks & watches, ceramics & glass to books, ephemera, paintings, art, jewellery and militaria’. The setting is unique and the items ever-changing and fascinating.

St Stephen’s itself has a story to tell, the church that had to be moved stone by stone, a mile up the road, in 1926, when a decision was taken to flood land to create the middle of three reservoirs. John, an escapee from the IT profession, bought the empty church at the beginning of 1996, opening the antiques centre in the November and then the current, and popular, conservatory tea room in 2009 (there had been a smaller affair prior to that). With the church being Listed, there is little scope for adaptation, however, the mezzanine floor was added to give further floor space, and original features remain, such as stained glass windows, a memorial to those men who died in the Great War and benefactors’ stones remembering the people whose money enabled this structure to be raised in the first place. You won’t find a graveyard at this onetime church though, as the cemetery remained where it was, which enabled Holden Wood to lay out a valuable car park.

Inside, independent dealers rent space from John, each one of them having his or her own specialism. The fact

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that Holden Wood has a number of regular customers, some of whom return every single day, demonstrates that the wares are forever interesting, changing, and competitively priced. Eclectic is a good word to describe what goes on here: you never know what you might find.

As we’ve learned from TV programmes like ‘Antiques Roadshow’ it’s not always the value of an item that makes it interesting (although the ‘big reveal’ is always worth watching), sometimes it’s the story behind an item that makes it worth acquiring. Some of those tales can be very personal. Unique items that have a story behind them really can come alive before your eyes.

Of course, 2020 will be remembered as the year that threw down challenges the like of which we could never have anticipated. Holden Wood was as affected as any other business. Its tea room had to close on Friday 20th March, with the antiques centre itself following shortly afterwards on Monday 23rd. It was that very evening that the UK’s national lockdown was announced. The tea room continued to offer takeaways, with the remaining food going to a local hospital and its nursing staff. It was a time when we all wanted to show our support for our NHS staff and key workers and Holden Wood Antiques was no exception.

The dealers’ wares remained in the antique centre for storage during the period of unavoidable closure, with individual dealers just removing their most valuable items. For Holden Wood the situation was extremely difficult, with the need to safeguard the business as a going concern, whilst also seeking to be fair to its many stallholders. No rent could be charged during the closure, www.lancmag.com

so the business earned no rental income during lockdown.

Stallholders were also given free rent when the premises reopened too.

There is a saying that every cloud has a silver lining.

This was certainly a cloud and a half, but it did give the business the opportunity to do a lot of work on the site which ordinarily would be difficult with the premises occupied. The outside woodwork has been repainted, plus the railings and gates. The inside lighting has been replaced, together with all the emergency lighting. The opportunity has been taken to repaint part of the church, take out and thoroughly clean all the cabinets and refresh with new stock. Individual dealers were also able to refurbish their own sales areas while no customers were around, adhering strictly to social-distancing guidelines at all times. As far as refreshments are concerned, there’s now a new picnic area outside, which has come in really useful. It’s understandable that not everyone has been comfortable rushing back inside to eat, so the picnic area has certainly proved its worth and has become a valuable addition to the antique centre’s offering. I feel that with all this having been accomplished, there’s a question we could pose that doesn’t normally fit with an antiques centre, namely: ‘What’s new?’ Lots.

With all this work completed the antiques centre was delighted to open its doors again, after nearly three months of enforced closure, on Monday 15th June.

Holden Wood Antiques was once again open for business, but was also a little bit brighter and fresher than it had been back in March. The tea rooms then followed suit on Saturday 4th July, with all the measures in place to control the flow of customers and so forth. There’s a

new menu (some foods were not immediately available on re-opening) and every customer has their own fresh menu (no re-useable menus any longer). Screens have also been installed and a third of the tables removed. My wife and I have been dipping our collective toes back in the water with some of our local cafés and we know where we feel comfortable: Holden Wood’s tea room sounds very much like one of those places. With the antiques centre open once more it has been gratifying to see the regular customers, those bread-and-butter supporters of the business, returning through the doors.

Once the customers are back inside the church, they will find lots of interesting stock. It seems that nothing stands still for long in the world of antiques. There is, for example, lots of new militaria to browse, and jewellery too. The antiques world has changed, and Holden Wood reflects this move by actively going out and seeking out the quirky, unusual and unique things that people are looking for. Individuals are always bringing these sorts of items into the centre to sell, so, one way or another, there is new stock arriving all the time.

There’s been much talk of the ‘new normal’ and the need to try and turn an undoubted negative into a positive wherever possible. At Holden Wood Antiques there is a real sense of renewal. The site has had a makeover and there’s lots of fresh items to peruse. The café is different too, and there’s also the new picnic area. As John told me: “We’re finding lots of new people coming in to see us now who perhaps wouldn’t have visited us previously.

Fewer people are flying abroad for now, so there’s more of us on ‘staycations’ looking for things to do locally. We have more younger people coming in than we had before, which is really great to see as we want to encourage a new generation of collectors. They’re all looking for that special item that no-one else has, that unique talking point that has a real story to tell”.

There’s a lot of positive reasons for visiting Holden Wood Antiques. As well as the fascinating building in which the business is housed, and the endless browsing inside, there’s also the beautiful setting, with relaxing walks around the three reservoirs. The Rossendale Way is handy too, plus the Rossendale Shoe Trail, which celebrates the area’s industrial heritage, and local museums. There’s something for everyone really, and if all that isn’t enough for you, then there’s the conservatory tea rooms for home-made food, plus the picnic area. No trip out is complete without a visit to a tea room (your scribe’s personal view of life).

Holden Wood Antiques – it’s good to have it back.

Holden Wood Antiques Grane Road, Haslingden, Rossendale, BB4 4AT. Tel: 01706 830803.

Web: www.holdenwood.co.uk • E-mail: john@holdenwood.co.uk Open every day 10:00-5:00.

Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday.

Holden Wood Tea Rooms • Tel: 01706 211630 Open every day 9:30-4:00.

Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday.

Gift certificates are available for both the antiques centre and tea room.

Free professional valuations are available, including for probate and insurance purposes. A regular newsletter is planned for the future.

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LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 157

The life of Di A monthly column by Di Wade, the author of ‘A Year In Verse’

F

lowers seem to have been big this year. No I’m not talking monster marigolds, vertiginous violets, or bodybuilding begonias - having neither been munching magic mushrooms or plying my plants with steroids lately.

It just occurred to me t’other day that photographically, it seemed to have been all flora of the non-spreading kind recently - the flowers I’d sent my mum for her birthday, the flowers I’d sent my dad for Father’s Day, the flowers in my garden, the flowers in my parents’ garden - and the flowers we’d seen while out for walks. Then there were all the gifts of flowers I’d sent outside the family - to one friend for her birthday, to another since she seemed to be having a lousy time at the moment, and another and her husband for their silver wedding.

Then again, I’d neither been strolling the streets of Prague agog at classic buildings, or trawling the Houndshill Shopping Centre for gifts lately.

I’ve also learned a lot more about flowers this year. This is courtesy of my former groundsman dad, with whom I’ve had far more walks and talks in the past months, including gaining a whole new fascinating insight into gardening. I was incensed beyond measure when he described painstakingly and repeatedly replanting, only for neighbouring cats nightly to dig up his handiwork, then befoul it for good measure. What was that all about? I mean, if your neighbour or their dog entered your property uninvited, dug up your dahlias, trashed your tulips, spoiled your soil, and by way of a parting shot, did a hefty dollop of their business where you habitually erected your deckchair, there’d be all hell to pay, so why was it acceptable in their cats? OK so it wasn’t the cats’ fault necessarily - but it still seemed hard on the proud gardener, who after all might have done worse with their lockdown than try and make their garden an especial triumph.

I was as appalled as though I were

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Alan Titchmarsh preparing a Chelsea exhibit. Fuming on my dad’s behalf, felt thoroughly vindicated in having always preferred dogs.

I was equally astonished by the assault by a seagull on my mum’s sea bass.

She’d only parked it on the dustbin for a minute while she went to fetch something else from the freezer, within which time the bird had descended and was already well into attacking the freezer bag with a vengeance. Nor did it remove itself that far when she reappeared, watching beadily from the gatepost in the apparent hope that she’d depart and give it another shot. I mean, I’d heard of gulls diving on tourists’ fish and chips in Devon – but just assumed

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they had a lower class of seabird down south – and in any case, that fish presumably wasn’t a solid block of ice..

Then there was the crow which nicked my dad’s fig roll – or at least he assumed it was a crow from its mad cackling from the chimney pot when he returned to his coffee, (and non-biscuit), in the garden, having merely nipped in to fetch his book. Who knew? And given all these new-found interests, should I perhaps branch out into naturism, I mean naturalism, or maybe just settle for flower-arranging? I am after all practically on first name terms with everyone at Jeanettes Florist..

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Around the region Arley Hall Food Festival ‘Good to Go’ The Great British Food Festival is going ahead as planned on the 26th & 27th September at Arley Hall near Knutsford in Cheshire, and has recently been awarded the Visit Britain ‘We’re Good to Go’ certification.

The ‘We’re Good to Go’ mark shows that the event has implemented Covid-19 government guidance, and put in place measures to ensure visitor and staff safety.

Daniel Maycock, a director from the Great British Food Festival said ‘We are really looking forward to putting on this new, covid compliant, version of our Food Festival at Arley Hall. The event has been a regular in our summer calendar for a number of years and we can’t wait to be back out on the event field.’

The event has been modified due to the current climate, with online pre booking of tickets now required, limited capacity on the event site, a one way system around the stands and all traders asked to wear face coverings. Daniel added ‘We wanted to

keep as much of the event as possible, but unfortunately some of our regular elements can’t work but we are bringing over 100 amazing food and drink stalls, a chef demo stage, BBQ demos and a live music stage. We will also have some children’s entertainment and our popular forager walks – best of all it’s all in the open air, with a lovely view of Arley Hall and lake.’

Tickets for the event have been reduced in price, due to the limited line up, to just £7.50 for adults and £2.50 for kids, all tickets must be pre booked and contact details given.

The event is open from 9.30am-5pm on both the 26th & 27th September and tickets are now available on www.greatbritishfoodfestival.com, where you can find out more details.

Pilkington Bus Announces Four New Routes, Four New Vehicles, and Eight New Drivers in a £3 Million Contract Accrington’s Pilkington Bus company has announced it will be investing half a million pounds in new buses and personnel to fulfil a contract recently awarded by Lancashire County Council.

The new contract, worth in the region of £3 million, is great news for everyone, keyworkers, residents, students and visitors to the region.

Alan Pilkington, Pilkington Bus Managing Director, said: “We’re proud to be offering this new service to the public. It’s a vote of confidence from Lancashire County Council (LCC).

We’ve been partnering with LCC since 1979 and we’ve come to be a preferred supplier because we always provide a 100% service.”

The new routes, that began operating in July, will greatly improve transport links around the Ribble Valley, Blackburn and East Lancashire. The new services will be:

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• Clitheroe to Chipping (The existing 2-hour service will increase in frequency to every hour, 7 days a week including all day on Sunday) • Blackburn, Mellor • Blackburn, Mellor, Brockhall • Blackburn, Mellor, Brockhall, Clitheroe The new contract comes at a very good time for Pilkington Buses. The current health crisis has caused challenges for the company in terms of social distancing and the temporary suspension of school run services.

The company has been operating buses in the area for 50 years and in that time they’ve

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built a reputation for safety, reliability, and cleanliness. Recently, confidence in public transport has taken a hit because of the coronavirus pandemic, but members of the public can be assured that Pilkington Bus is taking the threat of Covid-19 seriously.

Mr Pilkington explained: “We are doing everything we can to keep the public safe. That’s why we’ve been taking extra measures to ensure the cleanliness of our vehicles and we’re making sure the public comply with the government’s obligatory facemasks on public transport.”

Local Rochdale based bus manufacturer, Mellor, supplied two of its popular lowfloor Strata buses as part of the the vehicle deliveries.

Area Sales Manager, Jane Dransfield, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Pilkington Bus and other local bus operators as they recover from extremely challenging circumstances.”

“Our size appropriate bus range provides the ideal solution for local bus operators, especially on rural routes, where smaller capacity vehicles provide the flexibility and cost-effectiveness to ensure routes remain viable and frequencies are maintained.”

“It’s a win-win solution for bus operators and their passengers.”

Lancashire County Councillor Alan Schofield, Ribble Valley South West, commented: “We want to celebrate this investment of nearly £3 million. It’s great news for everyone involved. It means better connectivity and an improved service for the whole community and further afield.”

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Keeping you up to date with events around the North West Blackpool Council awarded Silver Armed Forces Recognition award

Blackpool Council has been awarded a silver award from the Ministry of Defence for its work supporting the armed forces community.

The Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Awards recognise both public and private organisations that support reservists and ex-service personnel.

The scheme was launched to acknowledge employers who employ serving and former members of the Armed Forces community, and demonstrate flexibility towards training and mobilisation commitments for Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.

As an employer Blackpool Council aims to support Armed Forces employees to enable them to continue their service such as offering paid leave for annual deployment exercises.

Other work includes supporting local Cadet Force Adult Cadet Units to help them tap into wider funding to aid their local provision.

In house training has also been developed in partnership with the Royal British Legion to make staff more aware of the local support that is available to those with a service history.

For spouses and all armed forces employees there is a direct link into the Blackpool Council Health and Wellbeing board via the Armed Forces Champion to help combat some of the more specific concerns faced by this group.

In addition, Blackpool’s popular Armed Forces Week programme of events is designed

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to provide a unique range of activities that appeal to members of the Armed Forces, veterans of all ages, cadets, their families, friends and the wider general public.

Partners include the Royal British Legion, Royal Air Forces Association, Veterans UK, Connexions, Help for Heroes and many more.

Commenting on the announcement of the 2020 Employer Recognition Scheme Silver awards: Johnny Mercer, Minister for Defence People and Veterans said: “The breadth and diversity of the winners this year shows how business support for the Armed Forces continues to grow no matter the sector, company size or location. I am grateful for the positive attitude and flexible policies these organisations have adapted towards the defence community, which is testament to the fantastic contribution our serving personnel, veterans and their families can make to any organisation. I am delighted that so many companies are supporting our people and that, through this scheme, we can give them the public recognition they deserve.”

Jan Cox, Regional Employer Engagement Director at the North West of England and the Isle of Man Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association (NW RFCA), said: “On behalf of the Ministry of Defence we are honoured to be able to recognise the support and commitment given to the Armed Forces Covenant by employers in the region, through the Employer Recognition Scheme

awards. Each recipient has demonstrated not only that they support the Covenant and the Armed Forces community, but also that they are prepared to support their Reservists, Service Leavers, Veterans and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers in the workplace. The experiences and skills gained through service in the regular forces, with the Reserve Forces, or with the Cadet Forces, equips people with valuable life skills – self-discipline, confidence, communication, teamwork and leadership – all of which are in demand by employers.”

Cllr Derek Robertson BEM, Blackpool’s Armed Forces Champion, said “We are delighted that our ongoing work has been recognised with this award.

“As the Armed Forces Champion, I along with other individuals and organisations are keen to drive forward the armed forces agenda in Blackpool and work to encourage businesses throughout the town to be armed forces friendly employers. The skills that ex-service personnel, Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers bring to their role are greatly appreciated and they are a valued part of our Blackpool community.

“We will continue to work to ensure all Armed Forces employees feel welcomed and supported through their career, promoting positive experiences and working with other local organisations to deliver best practice both in our organisation and across the town.”

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Looking back at a rosy summer

By Gerard Lees

Sometime in the near or distant future you might be asked the question, “What did you do in the Lockdown?” The residents of one street in Golborne, an old mining village between Wigan and Warrington, can answer that they created a bit of magic in their own backyard - or backstreet, to be more accurate. And as they say in that part of the world it was done for “next to nowt’.

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A

row of twenty large Victorian terraced houses makes up a part of Harvey Lane, a street stretching in total for about 400 metres from the centre of the village to the rear gates of Haydock Park racecourse. A walk past the front doors shows them obviously cared for by a selfsufficient and proud community.

They once had orchards to the rear but these were cleared and more modern semi-detached properties built on the land in the seventies, leaving a backstreet unadopted by the Council and just a place to leave the bins.

For the last couple of years a few of the residents have tried a little smartening up of the backstreet, planting a few flowers and putting out a couple of bits of seating. The two things happened; the Lockdown and a sunny backend to March and through April. Lee Suter, who moved into the street four years ago takes up the story.

“I work as a teacher in Worsley and run a gardening club for the the pupils. We had a big

Slowly, pieces of art appeared alongside the flowers and plants, many using the existing rear fences of neighbours - all with their permission, of course! fund raising sale coming up in the Spring but the Lockdown put an end to that and I was left with lots of plants and flowers, and a little time on my hands. I donated some of the produce to community groups like Golborne In Bloom but when someone offered me some bricks for free I started to build some flower beds. The neighbours started to show an interest and I passed over as much as they wanted and helped plant more in the beds they made from scavenged bricks, wood and concrete. The rest is, as they say, history … or more accurately, horticulture.

Slowly, pieces of art appeared alongside the flowers and plants, many using the existing rear fences of neighbours - all with

their permission, of course!

An Alpine scene was painted on a redundant garage door at one end, whilst mannequins of children peered out of sunflowers and daises at the other. An old fireplace was re-sited with a tribute to the NHS on it and wooden struts supporting a fence became a Cross of St George, with two tiny flags, one Serbian, the other Irish, in either corner, acknowledging the ancestry of two residents. Further along, a plane is taking off, its wings originally the cross members of a metal pole used for tying one end of a washing line, and a few yards away a 3-D goalkeeper challenges any penalty takers. Every other fence panel has a bench to sit on and enjoy the scene, apparently often accompanied by a beer or a glass of wine to help discuss the day’s events. Sunflowers smile everywhere, though Joan www.lancmag.com

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Aston’s, at around the eleven foot mark, towers over the others, seemingly giving its happy approval to the scene along the backstreet. A concrete badger peeps from between two plant pots, and one set of parents, who foster children, roll out an astroturf carpet for the kids to play on.

In the second week in May, VE Day fell perfectly and patriotic music accompanied barbecues and drinks, all with social distancing faithfully observed, of course. Melissa Holt-Brewster, who lives in the middle of the terrace, explains her involvement.

“My house only has a small backyard and when my kids were smaller I wanted them to see how plants and flowers grew from seed. So I took a tiny part of the backstreet opposite the house and put a few vegetables in. The neighbours didn’t seem to mind so each Spring I worked my way along until we had little patches of colour and greenery.

Then this year came with the Lockdown and the the sunny weather, and it saw lots of neighbours begging or borrowing building stuff that would

otherwise have been thrown away. Old paint pots had their contents drained and by the end of April the transformation was well on its way. I knew something had happened when I came out in my dressing gown early one May morning to sit on our bench and have my breakfast coffee. Usually I am on my own but up and down people were already sat out or beavering away! It went on from there. People just needed a gentle push and the community spirit has been as contagious as the Covid! The locals here are always friendly but some have said they now know neighbours’ names after anonymously saying hello for years. The backs gave a focal point and I think that is the best part of what we’ve done.”

The project won one of Wigan Council’s Best Garden categories, though the community thinks it should have been for “Most Creative” rather than “Edible”!

So as we approach Autumn what’s next?

Well, most of the herbs, plants and flowers will regenerate next year and the art work can be touched up or added to. Dickens’ “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, could be applied and the benefits of the project can be summed up with a comment from one of the neighbours. “ It was a moment in time that we will all look back on and reminisce and there will be a legacy of a beautiful space and increased friendships. When you see strangers taking a detour from their regular walk to come down a backstreet, it does say something”.

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Colour and Style

www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk

Our section on Colour and Style with Sarah Harris from ‘Colour Me Beautiful’

Colour – Colour – Colour it’s the new season and at Colour Me Beautiful a fresh collection of beautiful Colours have been created!!

What’s New this Season and what has been around since the start of CMB? Colours and Style Personalities!

CMB have released 10 new colours that are perfect for this season we haven’t had any new colours for 14 years!! Cliff Bashforth who in 2016 took over Colour Me Beautiful, after working over 25 years as their top consultant and Pat Henshaw who has co-written the CMB books have collaborated to bring some stunning colours to brighten up our wardrobes!

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.

Email: sarah@sarahharrisstyle.co.uk www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk

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Cliff Bashforth MD of Colour Me Beautiful

Pat Henshaw Co-author of the Colour Me Beautiful books

At our Colour Me Beautiful virtual conference in September it was announced that Colour is key to updating your wardrobe and if you think about it styles are more or less recycled season after season but to receive new colours is very exciting. You may already have the colours in your wardrobes and of course if not there are plenty in the shops and I’m sure you’ll be running to take a look after reading my article!

I went into this business because I could see the difference the correct colours had upon my face it was like having a mini face lift, with colour of course! And another reason was Cliff’s enthusiasm! He was on fire with excitement from his love of colour and anyone who knows Cliff knows he’s infectious, you just can’t walk away without being inspired and to be honest I thought if he can do that for me and all the hundreds of clients that he’s consulted then this is a business I want to be part of. www.lancmag.com

Let’s get excited again – a new creation is always inspiring and exciting and there is no better time than now for Colour Me Beautiful’s New Colours!

The colours are all from nature - we look at the sea and land for inspiration. Their names resonate holidays, exotic places and being with nature, something that many of us have only dreamed of this year. I’m so excited with the new colours and how we can wear them using our current wardrobes!

Our new colour cards have 6 swatches on each which include silver for the cools and gold for the warms.

They have also include the most flattering make-up shades, on the back. If you want an update please get in touch at sarah@sarahharrisstyle.co.uk Below is Jane Lewis a fellow CMB consultant looking gorgeous with the new warm swatch and as you can see the colours work in harmony with her hair colour, eye colour and skin tone. I’m holding the new Cool swatches and again you can see they work in with my wardrobe and compliment the colours that I am already wearing.

This is what colour does for you , it lifts and lightens and if it is right for us it works in harmony. You can instantly see if a colour is wrong once you’ve had a consultation. This also applies to our make-up. Jane is wearing a peach lipstick again in her colours and I’m wearing a cooler Cerise.

Jane Lewis CMB consultant seen above is a warm dominant and holding her 6 new colours www.lancmag.com

This is me with the new cool colours and such a great addition to my wardrobe.

The New Colours

Lagoon, Ocean, Pebble Grey, Sand, Pansy, Orchid, Garnet, Spice, Mango and Olive Grove.

The Warm Colours – Gold, Sand, Spice, Olive Grove, Mango and Ocean.

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How do we add a pop of colour to our wardrobe to brighten up and bring it up to date?

Look at your neutral colours for example I will use some of Colour Me Beautiful’s universal colours that everyone can wear; Charcoal, Navy, Taupe, Pewter and Soft White. Most of us have our neutrals in trousers, skirts, Jackets, t shirts. If we use our neutrals for example a taupe skirt and add one of the seasons colours depending whether we want tone on tone or colour block we can add it to another colour like below the Roxy shirt Jacket from Kettlewell is worn with the more neutral navy. www.kettlewellcolours.co.uk

The Cool Colours – Silver, Laguna, Pansy, Garnet, Pebble Grey and Orchid.

Look at the new Lagoon and Ocean such beautiful blues the names take me back to Brooke Shields in the film ‘The Blue Lagoon’, shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific!

Lagoon is the cool blue and it looks great teamed with Hot pink for the cools or Blush pink for the lights! If you are warm based the Ocean is a better blue and paired with verbena for the softs or Bright periwinkle for the Clears it’s a stunning combination!

Then there’s Pebble Grey and Sand you can feel yourself on the beach picking up a pebble to throw into the sea whilst running on the sand the words whisk you away to somewhere exotic. Pebble Grey with the new Orchid or Pansy is perfect for Cools! Sand on the other hand is for those with warm characteristics and looks gorgeous with Mango.

Pansy and Orchid give the feeling of being in a beautiful garden! Then there’s Garnet such an energising colour and again the name associated with the gemstone, the depth of colour is stunning and worn with purple or bright periwinkle is a perfect combination for the Christmas season for the Clears, Cools and dramatics!

And look at Spice, Mango and Olive grove to get your taste buds going on an eastern adventure of mystery and excitement, the names conjure up magic and excitement!

Colours with all their meanings evoke certain memories or images and with these in mind they make us feel and look so much better and I am so grateful that Cliff and Pat have brought these new colours to us. Especially this year with all the uncertainties, somehow colours make me feel grounded and the new seasons colours being associated with nature gives a feeling of a new beginning from nature. Let us make this a new beginning and start taking care of the planet and in doing so we will take care of ourselves and our fellow beings.

Over the past months we have been looking at shopping our wardrobes and re using what we already have and if you’ve been following my monthly articles you will have de cluttered your wardrobes and now you can look to see if you have any of the new colours!

One of the key colour trends this season is colour blocking which I mentioned in the September issue and tone on tone which is perfect for anyone who is a soft in CMB terminology.

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Kettlewell have the Roxy Shirt jacket which goes well with denim

Kettlewell Laguna short tie wrap and French grey Joanna dress

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Pebble grey and Orchid add a pop of colour to charcoal

Kettlewell - Lilac pink lambswool coatigan

How important is your Style Personality?

Taupe combined with Spice and Sand tone beautifully

Believe it or not no item of fashion will ever rule over comfort, men and women will always choose comfort first even if they are a dramatic. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t rate comfort top of the list when choosing pieces for their wardrobe. And it doesn’t mean casual there are many items that look very chic and comfortable. It is very much the way you wear them and the colour combinations.

Coatigan as the term refers is a coat with cardigan feel which are very fashionable this season as we are wanting comfort more than anything else! This lilac pink will look great with the new Colour Me Beautiful’s Pebble Grey for the Cools.

We all have different style personalities and at CMB this has always take priority , believe it or not, over colour!! Did you know that in the book ‘Colour Me Beautiful’ the section on style personalities comes in the chapter before Colour!

This is because our style personality dictates what we wear.

We need to know our style personality and then look at the colours in our palette to see how we can wear our colours to suit us, therefore, a colour and style consultation looks at you as a whole and helps you build the tools to know how best to dress yourselves. We look at you as an individual and each consultation is different like each one of us.

Colours and Style Personality work together to build the image that you want to portray to the world.

Fabric – Fabric -Fabric I want to leave you with something to do:Once you’ve sorted your colours and of course wardrobe look at the labels in your clothes and see where they are made and what are they made of? Next month we will look at fabric as it is so important to understand the material that you are draping on your bodies and what different fabrics can do for you.

Enjoy the lovely new colours of this season and stay safe and looking forward to next month!

Warm Wishes, Sarah x

www.sarahharrisstyle.co.uk www.lancmag.com

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Clarrisa K - Creating A Beautiful Canvas From Within Hi, I am a Beauty, Wellness and Spiritual Guru, with qualifications in Beauty Therapy, Psychological Astrology and Design. I have worked in the Beauty Industry for 20 years and became an Astrologer in 2018. I owned a Beauty Salon when I lived in London, which gained lots of public success; however, it was not profitable, so I chose to close it and start from the ground up. Although I have always been a spiritual person, the change in life and mindset drew me much deeper to spirituality which took me through a transformation. I moved out of the busy city and found my home in Lancashire, where I have made some incredible friends and have been able to continue to have a passion for life and feel more enriched as a Mother.

I began Clarissa K Explains It All Blog and Podcast to help women connect with alternative solutions to questions they had from within regarding life and the

Clarissa K Explains It All is a weekly podcast that tells a moving story about our journey through life, love, relationships, intimacy, people, society and wellness that connects with all, inspired by Astrology.

The Clarissa K Explains It All podcast aims to offer positive and alternative solutions to every woman who believes her needs in love, attraction and intimacy can also create intrigue and challenge. The knowledge discovered about love through relationship astrology can help exercise how to value the individual concept a person has about love and marriage.

My aim is to offer unique solutions to women regarding wellness, presented in a creative way, just making life a bit more colourful. I believe our relationship with our own emotions 170

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things we go through, just like I did. The show is aimed at creating a dynamic between our sense of beauty and love with astrology and lifestyle.

I am also the Founder and Creator of Her Luxury Wellness, https://herluxurywellness.com/ which is a lifestyle website, a one-stop-shop for enlightenment, skincare, wellness and fitness advice with recommendations to trusted Spa brands and lifestyle advice that reflects a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice to feel special with self-love, respect and care. Since the March 2020 Lockdown, I have dived into creating movement for the website as I had to readjust, regarding performing treatments. Although it has come at great sacrifice, 2020 has given me, like so many, a sense of enlightenment regarding what is felt to be right for life - showing us that what we do must be a benefit to our shared human experience.

is fundamental to our environment and the experiences we attract into our life. Further understanding of our own concept of love can develop into positive connections with other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of love, aligning with an intention of creating a beautiful love life.

Reflection from the COVID-19 2020 re-assesment of life, personally allowed me the opportunity to really see whether I am true to my belief in thinking we can manifest our dreams.

I see this life, where it is taking us, and there are so many wonderful things coming, we just have to take the time to understand that a bud planted in the ground looks different in the following spring.

I am also starting a 3-year degree in Business in September, which will be amazing for my career journey. www.lancmag.com

Her Luxury Wellness is a Beauty and Wellness lifestyle website that offers beauty, wellness and spiritual solutions to the woman who believes her world shows reflections of how she feels. She is a woman who wants only the best that life has to offer because she recognises her value.

Her Luxury Wellness is her one-stop shop for enlightenment, skincare, wellness and fitness advice with recommendations to trusted brands and lifestyle advice that reflects her choice to feel special, to feel adored, to feel like a Queen with self-love, respect and care.

For more information go to: www.herluxurywellness.com www.lancmag.com

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Our award-winning style guru, Moo, has worked in television for over 20 years with presenters including Natasha Kaplinsky, Kirsty Young, Kirsty Gallacher and is now a personal stylist to us ‘normal women’ sharing all the inside tricks of the trade. If you’d like any personal styling advice or to see more tips please visit www.moostyle.co.uk

Boy has everything changed!

Usually at this time of year I attend Autumn/Winter events to see what is happening in the world of fashion. I see, touch and hear what is on its way into the shops in order to help my clients find the best buys. This year there is none of that in person! So just as I did for Spring/Summer earlier this year, I spent the day in front of Zoom seeing online what is coming up. It’s the new way forward. On the positive it does mean you get a front row seat for everything but you don’t get to touch – and I miss that. The New York fashion week is moving from 7 days to 3 digital days…so you can join me on the front row (FROW) if you fancy!

we can find different ways to put those items together so your price per wear for each piece really drops.

We want to make sure that each piece that you buy works with what you already have in your wardrobe so we need to ensure you know what you have! A capsule wardrobe works to 60-70 items – yes that includes shoes and outwear – and when it is that small you will know and value all the

pieces you have. We need to work on different ways to wear the same item to get the maximum wear out of it. So can we dress up those trousers with heels and a jacket, and dress them down with (stylish!) trainers? I do run an online capsule wardrobe workshop if you’d ever like to know how to do it for yourself. It’s great fun!

Please just drop me a line to moostylist@gmail.com

The interesting thing is that in all honesty there seems nothing new in fashion A/W 20/21. So that means we can start with shopping our own wardrobe. This sits very nicely with the benefit of sustainability. It is proven that most of us wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time, so let’s cull our wardrobe to what we actually wear. There is no point in having garments sitting in your wardrobe that you never use. Let’s see the wood for the trees and then

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We want to get that price per wear for each item in your wardrobe to under a fiver! If a pair of jeans or jacket costs a whopping £200 but you wear that piece at least twice a week then in a year it has cost you less than £2 per wear, and as it will be a quality purchase that will last, in a year’s time when you are still wearing it, it will be mere peanuts price per wear!

Whereas if you buy a fashion jacket at £40 and only wear it once…then by comparison that is a high value item aka as a mistake purchase (!)

shoes available at Moda In Pelle

Incredibly Brits spend over 65% more on clothing that the French. I find that shocking as a lot of my clients are keen to emulate the Parisian chic style…and they can by spending less money! The UK is ranked number one in the world for online shopping (Daily Telegraph, 6 January 2018) so we need to ensure we are not sitting at home just buying on a whim. Let’s just buy mindfully what we will wear again and again.

SO how do we do this? As a personal stylist I help you hone your signature style by taking into consideration your style personality, your body shape, your lifestyle and your colouring. Fashions do not suit everyone and will come and go, let’s work out what suits YOU specifically. Everything needs to flatter your shape, work for your lifestyle and authentically represents who you are. Style personality is a big part of this. It may be that you are a CLASSIC dresser for instance. I often work with classic clients to help get them out of a rut. They have found what they like and stuck with it for years…so I help them make that style more contemporary with little twists.

A great example are these fabulous Moda In Pelle shoes.

They are loafers in super soft leather which classic dressers love, but they are brought up to date with a platform, metallic detailing and with some great colour options.

The new thing... ... in the shops seems to be COLOUR. Now obviously as a colour consultant I appreciate how important this. Colour can have an effect on you and those around you. It can affect you physically and mentally – blue is proven to calm your brain waves, whereas red can raise your heart rate. It can affect how people see you – people wearing red can be thought of being more dynamic, passionate but perhaps aggressive whereas wearing white can be seen as more hygenic and clinical but also cold.

Most importantly it can also be used to flatter your colouring. If you chose colours that flatter you they will make you look healthier and younger. In everyone’s colour palette (as in the colours that suit you in particular) there are two main areas

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to consider. Firstly, your neutral palette. These are the backbone of your wardrobe for investment purchases as they can be worn year in year out. They should take up about 50-60% of your wardrobe. These depending on your colouring could be colours like beige, grey, brown or navy.

Then there are the accent colours that complement your colouring and make you look and vibrant. These pops of colour can play into any new seasonal colours to refresh your wardrobe. So it may be that you decide to buy a new t-shirt or blouse in pumpkin or orchid. These new pieces you could wear and wear that season and then next season replace with a different colour. But they always work with your neutrals of (say) navy trousers or tan loafers.

Colour Me Beautiful new colour range

Fabulously for the first time in 14 years

the colour experts Colour Me Beautiful have added another 10 new colours to their colour pallet ranges. Obviously for a colour geek like me Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m giddy but what on earth does that really mean? It shows how important colour is proving at the moment, there are more colour options available to all of us. These 10 new colours have been inspired by nature which also underlines the shift in priorities. Even hearing their names such as olive grove, lagoon and pansy connects us to nature straight away. Think of how you will wear colour this season. You could reinvigorate your wardrobe by adding new colours and mixing with your neutrals. Perhaps go for working a tone-on-tone look or add vibrancy by contrasting colour blocking.

What you wear each day IS important. It can help you feel more positive about yourself which will impact your interactions and your work; it also reflects who you are to the outside world so we want it to be our very best version.

Again because that will impact on how positive we feel and thus our mental health. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not vanity. If you need any help or advice please do contact me via my website moostyle.co.uk or join my facebook group for style tips and shortcuts Moo Style VIPs.

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FALL IN LOVE WITH AUTUMN

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Antonella Talks Fashion Online shopping has boomed since the onset of lockdown back in March as a natural reaction to the enforced closure of shops and has been supercharged by necessity. You yourself may have shopped more online in these last 7 months than you have done in your entire life. Plus many people have become more online ‘savvy’ and where online shopping in the past wasn’t appealing as they preferred to touch and feel products and simply enjoyed the whole shopping experience, nowadays they prefer to shop online from the comfort of their own homes. It’s easy to see the appeal in online shopping when you can have items sent to you simply by the click of a button without leaving the warmth of your own home.

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ello there and welcome to November’s edition of my blog in conjunction with The Lancashire and North West Magazine. My name is Nelly, AKA Antonella The Uncensored Reviewer, you may or may not have seen my face and heard my not so quiet voice all over Facebook and Youtube, you may even have seen me on This Morning in my very own Flowerpot Corner reviewing products. I’m also the co-owner of the multi award winning ladies boutique Ruby & Daisy and we specialise in easy wearing , affordable clothing for ladies of all sizes and ages. We have both a bricks and mortar store in Crawshawbooth, Rossendale and a huge online presence at www.rubyanddaisy.co.uk. We firmly believe that fashion should be accessible to all people regardless of their size, shape and age and over the past7 years of trading we can proudly claim that is what we have achieved.

Now then, there is no escaping the fact that Christmas is around the corner and although 2020 has not been the year we quite envisioned, the show must go on , time still ticks away and there is no escaping the ‘C’ word. But let’s face it, Christmas shopping this year is going to be quite unlike anything we have experienced in the past, particularly as the rules and regulations are constantly changing. As I write these words, gatherings of 6 or more are banned, so that’s my plans for my annual shopping weekend to London with my girlies out of the window! Boo Hoo! However I’m not here to pass judgement or express any political views and I simply adhere to all rules that have the nations best interests at heart.

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We ourselves at Ruby & Daisy experienced a huge surge in online shopping throughout lockdown and that growth is continuing. We’ve had so many women tell us that they had no idea how to shop online before and they lacked the confidence to do it, however they bit the bullet, made their first order with us and haven’t looked back since. As a result we now have customers ordering from all over the world who simply can’t get enough of us and have affectionately called themselves RADdicts !

We have worked tirelessly on our website to make it as user friendly as possible and we pride ourselves on making it as just a pleasurable experience as visiting us in person is.

Our website is really easy to navigate around and we pride ourselves on the fact that the happy smiling faces you see on www.lancmag.com

there belong to either myself or other members of the R & D team including the other co-owners Louie & Helena and other staff members.

At Ruby & Daisy we have a dedicated Gift section where you can find a vast selection of gifts for your loved ones not only for Christmas but for birthdays too. We have everything from slippers that come presented in their own gift box, leather clutch bags at only £12, designer inspired perfumes, scented homeware, jewellery, scarves and of course our very own Ruby & Daisy gift vouchers which can be redeemed both online and in store. In addition to all this you can feel safe in the knowledge that we use reputable couriers with a fast efficient delivery service. Mainland UK delivery is a mere £2, so if you find you have forgotten a present, it won’t cost the earth to place another order. Plus for those occasions where you simply can’t wait to receive your parcel, we offer an express, next day delivery service for £4.95.

Orchid Noir

Lexi Leather Clutch

Starry Night Slippers

Now then, what I suggest you do next, is put the kettle on, delve into the biscuit tin and log onto www.rubyanddaisy.co.uk and discover at first hand ‘The Wonderful World Of Ruby & Daisy’.

www.lancmag.com

See you soon, Love lots, Nelly

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Who is DFC?

DFC Lancashire was set up in 2009. It started off with 2 likely lads who had a belief that weddings could be so much more than your average wedding disco. Our mission was simple, to provide a high end, branded DJ business with a uniform look of black-tie DJs, hosts, and cool artists.

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he passion didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop with just DJs though. We always had the belief that we could improve all aspects of wedding entertainment.

We did this by adding black tie wedding hosts (our take on a modern day toastmaster) to our services, a booking system that made it easy for our clients to input their music and style of their wedding, and a branded business that is now award winning.

Jump forward 10 years and a business of just 2 DJs, has now grown into a brand. We now have an office team of 5, 10 wedding hosts, a range of over 25 artists, and a team of full / part time DFC DJs, all driving around the North West of England in our branded DFC vehicles, performing at over 1000 weddings & events every year.

Since starting DFC, our mission has remained the same; to give our clients the best experience possible. We like to refer to this as #theDFCexperience.

The DFC experience is a tried and tested method which now runs as a well-oiled turntable. The experience starts from the first initial

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enquiry with us. The more we get to know our clients the better the experience we can deliver. By talking through what you want from your day, we can then recommend the best experience to suit your needs. We provide a level of customer service and event planning that will support our couples throughout their wedding journey. Our clients can also come and meet us at our DFC office in Leyland, or a new concept, we now offer zoom meetings.

What do we offer and how can we make our clients have a smooth wedding planning to an amazing day?

Well, we offer services that cover from Ceremony all the way through to Last Dance, to keep your guests entertained throughout. Let’s start with the ceremony; we can offer Harpists, Pianists, String Quartets and Solo singers. Moving to the more relaxed part of your day, the Drinks Reception. we have many options, why not have a solo artist such as a sax player or duo performing background music? Next we have the Wedding Breakfast, our Wedding Hosts offer a personalised service, which can be adaptable to your needs whether it’s a traditional day you’re going for or if you want to get the party started earlier. Our hosts can create this for you. Saving the best till last, the evening!

We have many options from solo artists during the retire time, whilst waiting for evening guests to start to arrive, to Sax players and percussionists to www.lancmag.com

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perform with your DFC DJ, not to mention a range of bands including DFC Live to have a mega party.

And don’t forget, #theDFCexperience doesn’t need to end there, we also offer film and photo services so you can reminisce about your special day, even once it is over.

If you want to learn more about DFC Lancashire, why not have a stalk of us on our social media channels. You can find us on Facebook – by searching DFC Lancashire. Or why not meet the team on our Instagram stories @DFCLancashire.

For a more detailed look into DFC our website is the perfect place to get a feel for who we are and what we do. www.DFCLancashire.co.uk

We hope to see you and your guests on the dance floor somewhere soon.

All the best, Team DFC 180

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Ruby Hoyle

By Stephen Roberts

Ruby Hoyle:

Image courtesy of photonomyphotography

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A kickboxing charity fund raiser. It’s not often I get to use those words in the same sentence. Aged just 13, Ruby Hoyle has an appealing and alliterative mix of attitude, ambition and application.

Ruby Grand Champion 2019

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uby is not any old kickboxer but a 13-time world champion kickboxer representing England. She also has two brothers who are world title holders and also represent Team England, so her family clearly has something of the ‘martial art’ in its genes. If you’re not fully conversant, Kickboxing originated in Japan in the late-1950s and is a combo of kicking and punching, recommended for not only self-defence, but also as a means of maintaining one’s general fitness. Ruby would love to have an opportunity to compete at the Olympics, but sadly Kickboxing is not yet an Olympic sport, the closest to it being Taekwondo (since 2000). Come on the IOC (International Olympic Committee): we have some potential medal winners in Lancashire.

Tall for her age at 5’ 9”, an undoubted asset in Ruby’s sporting endeavours, you might be forgiven for thinking that self-confidence can’t ever have been a problem for this talented and committed young lady. We must never judge books by their covers though and Ruby has had to overcome shyness and lack of confidence to try and fulfil her drive to be the best she can be.

As part of that quest to enhance her self-belief, Ruby is assigned to a modelling agency and applied for the ‘Miss Teen Great Britain’ competition herself, picking up the accolade of ‘Miss Junior Teen Lancashire’. She found out that she had reached the final and should have been looking

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forward to the grand final coming up around this time, an event that has been one of the many casualties of the Coronavirus epidemic, being postponed for a whole 12 months. Although this has been disappointing for Ruby and the other contestants, it was undoubtedly the right decision, as any attempt to stage the event would have been severely compromised and not the experience that it promised to be. I’m sure it will be worth waiting for when it finally does come around.

If you’re of a certain age and thinking back to the televised ‘Miss World’ contests of an eon ago, well, today’s beauty pageants are nothing like that. We can breathe a sigh of relief. Today’s contestants will put themselves forward, making multiple appearances, and will be active in charity work and fund-raising. It’s no longer mostly about appearance but is about content, about being an ambassador and role model, and providing an example that others might aspire to. Ruby has reached out herself to a former Miss Junior Lancashire, Eddison Holmes, who won the title a couple of years ago and is 17-18 now, so able to offer advice and support. Good communication skills, both as mentor and aspirant, are invaluable in life. As Ruby has demonstrated, you have to be prepared to overcome any shyness you feel, and ask for what you need, as the world will rarely come to you.

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Ruby’s Mum, Helena, told me how proud she was of her daughter’s application, which she’d been motivated to put together herself. Ruby spoke of her pride in the place where she lives (Blackburn). A pupil at Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School, she’s a bright youngster who appreciates not only her surroundings, including its open spaces, but also the important part played in her life by her Mum’s business, ‘Ruby & Daisy’s’, which is named after, you guessed it, Ruby, and the daughter of Helena’s business partner, Daisy. Antonella, ‘talks fashion’ in the Lancashire & North West Magazine each month.

It’s a clothing business that has the empowerment of women at its heart: that fits very much with Ruby’s ethos, as she sets out determinedly to empower herself.

Lockdown, of course, presented all of us with issues and challenges, irrespective of our age. For Ruby, and her fellow young contestants, the drive was to continue to offer themselves as ambassadors and role models in spite of organised events and gatherings being cancelled. It is in such situations that the Internet and social media head centre stage. These media have enabled them to get lots of material out there about positivity, including some specific messages around suicide awareness and prevention. For Ruby, it was a case of looking at lockdown as an opportunity to try some different things, and to use technology, and home filming,

Above: Ruby & Her Brothers Karate & Kickboxing World Championships Niagara Falls 2019

Make no mistake, this is a martial art, so selfdiscipline and a total commitment is at its heart.

Below: Ruby Full Contact World Title July 2019

to get the stuff out there. People talk about a ‘new normal’ all the time now, but one of the gains from all of this may well be the turn to new ways of doing things (your scribe, a public speaker, has introduced himself to ZOOM for example). I digress.

Returning to Ruby, one could certainly say that she has a lot going for her. A sporty individual, who’s in the athletics team at school, and is the Lancashire shot put champion, it seems that achieving has no boundaries (just a thought Ruby, but the women’s shot put has been in the Olympics since 1948).

As someone whose athleticism extends to a brisk walk around the block, I am feeling somewhat in awe of this young lady’s all-round ability and competitiveness. Ruby had got through to the finals again, which were to have been held at Trafford Park, Manchester, but, well, you know the rest. It’s been one of those years.

I’m reluctant to say that putting the shot is just a side-line, when she’s clearly so good at it, but Ruby’s real passion is kickboxing, which accordingly takes up a lot of her time. Ruby literally fights all over the world (the last world championships were held at Niagara Falls) as well as everywhere in this country. This year’s world championships in Madrid have been another virus casualty, but we hope for greater luck with next year’s staging in the United States. Those 13 world titles Ruby has won have been in various styles or disciplines, for example,

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Above: Ruby World Championship 2019

Above: Ippon Showdown August 2019

‘light contact’ and ‘full contact’, which sounds like a lot more fun. Make no mistake, this is a martial art, so self-discipline and a total commitment is at its heart. Ruby is a 2nd Dan black belt, so her next step-up will be to 3rd Dan. For any youngster who’s thinking this sounds like fun, well, it’s hard work too, but it’s the kind of attainment that does make your CV stand out from the crowd. Being a 2nd Dan kickboxer says something about the person: drive, dedication and desire. More alliteration.

Helena and I talked of our mutual-admiration for one Muhammad Ali, the great three-time Heavyweight Boxing champion, who could psyche out an opponent with a prediction and a poem. There was much more than ring-craft to Ali though, a man who used his fame and fortune constructively, as an activist and philanthropist.

If you have gifts, the onus is on you to use them to best advantage, not only to push yourself but to benefit others too. I rather think that Ruby is imbued with the same mindset. With Helena’s business partner, Antonella, being an ambassador for the Frank Bruno Foundation, which exists to provide support and encouragement, and the motivation to succeed, for those who’ve suffered from mental health issues, then expect Ruby and her peers to be getting involved in this too. Mental health has certainly been given more exposure of late and thankfully it is no longer a taboo subject www.lancmag.com

Ruby is a 2nd Dan black belt, so her next step-up will be to 3rd Dan.

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Ruby Hoyle:

Image courtesy of photonomyphotography

that we should be afraid of discussing and confronting.

As Ruby can attest, sport has a part to play in physical and mental health. If you’re having a ‘down day’ a bit of training can work wonders.

Ruby has more ambitions to fulfil too. She’d like to become an influencer in a positive way on social media (a positive influence you might say) and furthermore she’d like to get into American Wrestling in the future. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has certainly expanded into an international phenomenon so there are certainly opportunities there. I wouldn’t bet against Ruby making it over there. She’d also like to do cat-walk modelling too, so there are still plenty of goals to achieve. Well, after all, she’s still only 13!

You’re never too old to learn and one thing this 60s-something scribe has learned from Ruby’s story is that there is literally nothing that you can’t ever do.

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exist in this girl’s lexicon. We can be whatever we want. We can show that no-one can put a label on us. Ruby may be a black belt, but she also has the poise and grace to appear in pageants.

They are two different arenas. In both of them she has believed in herself, pushed herself and constantly thought ‘big’.

Remember the name: Ruby Hoyle.

Ruby Hoyle:

Image courtesy of Ruby & Daisy

Instagram – missjrteenlancashire Just Giving Page – Ruby Hoyle www.missteengreatbritain.co.uk

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Welcome to The Wonderful World of Ruby and Daisy We offer a personal shopping service in store along with refreshments, reserved items, loyalty cards and regular special offers.

Our brand new website delivers a helpful shopping experience, as do our Facebook & Instagram Pages.

Shop online to build loyalty points and join our friendly community via our Facebook V.I.P page to receive exclusive discounts and offers.

Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for videos, competitions and much more!

Come and see us or get in touch for a first-hand ‘Ruby & Daisy Experience’ As a special Ruby & Daisy treat we are giving you 20% off your purchase with code LANCSNWR&D20.

Simply apply the code at the checkout on our website www.rubyanddaisy.co.uk or present this magazine feature in store. *T&C’s apply.

www.rubyanddaisy.co.uk 331 Burnley Road, Novak Mill, Crawshawbooth, Rossendale, BB4 8LA

Call Us On: 0808 196 2216 Follow us on Facebook & Instagram! Facebook: Ruby&Daisy / Instagram: rubydaisy1

Ruby and Daisy -

Community support at its finest:

By Sian Montgomery

A frequent resident of the Lancashire Magazine, Ruby and Daisy have always been dedicated to treating every customer as a part of their Ruby and Daisy family.

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elieving in the simple idea that fashion suppliers should identify the needs, worries and comfort of it’s customers, the ladies at Ruby and Daisy strove to reignite a love of clothing for, what they call, a “forgotten generation of women”.

Helena, Louie & Antonella founded Ruby and Daisy on the simple, but previously neglected, idea that fashion should be accessible, affordable and beautiful. During the unprecedented times we have all been facing, the multi award winning clothing boutique Ruby and Daisy have been pioneering good spirits and community support amongst their Ruby and Daisy family and beyond.

The Rossendale boutique famed for it’s fashionable offerings that are curated by real fashion, for real women certainly made a positive impact. In line with their mantra of making other women feel good and overcoming the typical boundaries of fashion, Helena, Louie & Antonella wanted to support the women who were out on their key- worker duties so that they too could feel good in such a distressing time. Getting out 188

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of their uniform and workplace is one thing, but getting out of the exhausting mindset is quite another. With this in mind, the team at Ruby and Daisy wanted to alleviate stress wherever they could and lift spirits as much as possible, so they wanted to show gratitude. We gave away over 100k worth of discounts on all their clothes for key workers. Not only did this help aid money worries and provide mood- boosting fashion that key workers could look forward to wearing once they got home, this act of kindness became a lifeline for many- as being able to just feel human and feminine again was such a relief, as women were able to come home and feel sane again in this crazy world they were having to face. They also extended their support to their various social media outlets with facebook we have nearly 80k followers and collate moral support as well as financial support for the key workers fighting the good fight each and every day. The V.I.P. facebook group is the most uplifting & motivational group of people. It has been, & still is, a great help www.lancmag.com

to people in these difficult times. Aside from publicising their discounts and deals, Ruby and Daisy kept their socials booming with updates on how to support the NHS (such as the Clap for our Carers Scheme), inspirational quotes to help keep people smiling and tips and tricks on ways that customers could support small businesses through the dark times- even if this just meant liking their pages and leaving reviews while many retailers were unfortunately closed to help boost the presence of small businesses that can often be shadowed by larger chain retailers.

The community support didn’t just stop there.

It’s no secret in business that things can be a little cut throat, with businesses often having to just look out for themselves and their finances above all else, which became an even more prevalent issue when COVID-19 hit. However, Ruby and Daisy opted not to focus solely on their business, but to support other businesses around them in their community. Helena, Louie & Antonella made a point of promoting all local businesses and supporting them wherever they could in order to rally the community together so that they could all survive the financial crisis as one.

This warm extension of generosity was even given to their personal competitor businesses, and those in the same industry, to make sure that every local business (big or small) had the best possible chances of overcoming the pandemic.

By bringing all businesses together, Ruby and Daisy encouraged people to shop everywhere they could in order to make sure everyone felt the benefits. Whether this meant buying a blouse from their store, but grabbing their accessories at a local boutique, then picking up a pair of shoes elsewhere; the team at Ruby and Daisy felt no hardship. It just goes to show that crises really do bring out the best in people, especially the lovely ladies at Ruby and Daisy, and the proof is in the pudding judging by their sparkling reviews online.

One look on their Facebook posts advertising their Blue Light Card discounts that have been running intermittently throughout the pandemic is truly heartwarming, that still continue on the last Thursday of every month, each one filled with comments and questions from grateful key workers expressing their thankfulness towards the Ruby and Daisy team for giving back where they could.

As mentioned before, Ruby and Daisy have always treated every customer as a part of their Ruby and Daisy family, ensuring that they leave with confidence in their beauty and a smile on their face and, though we are slowly returning to a “new normal”, the girls certainly aren’t forgetting that times are still tough for many and are still continuing their endeavour to give a little extra www.lancmag.com

Helena, Antonella and Louie

Laura Thom NHS worker and VIP

to those in need by continuing their 10% Blue Light discount for key workers and students as well as a 20% discount on your birthday when you make an online account and join the Ruby and Daisy family- it really is the little touches that make all the difference. In addition to their ongoing discount schemes, Ruby and Daisy are also tailoring their stock in order to support the new necessities of the COVID-19 age, whilst allowing women everywhere to express themselves through their style choices and feel both good and safe. On their website, they introduced a vast collection of reusable protective face masks in all sorts of patterns, colours and prices to encourage all members of the Ruby and Daisy family to stay safe and keep others safe too. Plus, in true Ruby and Daisy fashion making their fashion accessible to all women, they also added maskerchiefs for those who are uncomfortable wearing the standard mask (or want to change it up a little) that are easily breathable and designed for glasses wearers so they can avoid the ever dreaded “mask fog”.

So, it’s safe to say that Ruby and Daisy have managed to put a wonderfully positive spin on things in such a difficult time, both for their Ruby and Daisy family and beyond, and have set up a great precedent for small businesses going forward: that alliances and generosity is often far more important than numbers.

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BOOKS Our roundup of this months literary delights

Freight Trains in the North of England An Illustrated Survey, 1955–2018 Author: John Matthews

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e all remember the famous trains of yesteryear like ‘The Flying Scotsman’, ‘The Royal Scot’ and ‘The Waverley’, passenger trains from the great days of steam, but behind the glamour of these celebrated expresses were the dirty unloved goods trains. Well into the 1980s it was possible to ride behind and experience most locomotives on passenger services, but the arrival of the HST and diesel multiple units soon changed this, and with the odd exception, today’s locos can only be found working on freight trains.

The interest in the goods or freight train has risen greatly in recent years even against a backdrop of reduced depots, yards and variety of workings. This book brings together the work of many of our most outstanding railway photographers featuring some of their best work from the mid 1950s right up to the present day. The old local trip with its wooden trucks, the long mixed goods, the heavy steel train and Speedlink services all feature from the steam, diesel and electric eras. Put these trains into picturesque Northern landscapes or set them against almost forgotten industrial backdrops and we hopefully have a book that captures the ‘Freight Train in the North of England’

Highlights • Good Photographic Coverage • Well Researched Captions • Useful to Modelers • Livery Details • Variety of Interesting Locations About the author John Matthews was born at Preston Royal Infirmary in September 1951 and grew up in a terraced street devoid of a single car! He left school at sixteen with the achievement of two GCE ‘O’ levels in English and Mathematics and a job working in Lloyds bank at Southport followed. He is now a widower after the sad loss of his wife Sharon four years ago. He has two sons and two grandsons of whom he is very proud. He has adopted a snow leopard and other interests include watercolour painting and cricket.

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RRP: £25 ISBN: 9781526749154 144 PAGES · HARDBACK PUBLISHED: AUGUST 2020 PEN & SWORD TRANSPORT Pen & Sword Books Ltd Matthew Potts, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS Tel: +44 01226734679 Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Email: editing@pen-and-sword.co.uk www.lancmag.com

Virtual Fun Run Around the World raised over £2500 for Bolton Hospice The annual Bolton School Junior Boys’ Fun Run is normally a fun and colourful highlight to the summer term. Although the usual plan was derailed in 2020 by the Covid-19 lockdown, the school refused to give up on raising thousands of pounds for charity.

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he Fun Run went virtual with the aim of following in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg and collecting enough kilometres to circumnavigate the world in 8 school days!

Boys and their families were encouraged to clock up miles each day by running, walking and cycling in their local area. Fogg’s route via Cairo, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hong Kong, Tokyo, San Francisco and New York before returning to Bolton gave the school a total of 29,825 kilometres, or an ambitious 135km per child. Virtual sports lessons and the afternoon of 22 May, the day that the Fun Run would have been held, were devoted to the cause.

Above: Fun Run Map: The map of the boys’ route around the world in 8 school days

Daily posts on Twitter kept everyone up to date on how far they had collectively ‘travelled’ and shared updates from the boys’ walks, runs and bike rides to keep everyone excited and invested in the challenge.

On the day of the Fun Run itself, everyone dressed up to represent a country and completed their exercise in costume, with photos shared on social media. Laps around the garden, sessions on the exercise bike, some long family workouts and contributions of kilometres from staff across the Bolton School foundation further boosted the total distance travelled.

Throughout the eight days of the challenge and over half term, donations poured in via JustGiving https://www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/bolton-school-junior-boys to support this year’s chosen charity: Bolton Hospice.

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Jr Boys Fun Run 2020 ed: Children of key workers in costume for the afternoon Fun Run at Bolton School Junior Boys’ School.

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Left: 6A Fun Run: Year 6 pupils is costume for the virtual Fun Run

Right: Virtual Fun Run 4B: Boys in Year 4 wearing country costumes for the virtual Fun Run

Left: Fun Run 5A: Year 5 pupils in fancy dress for the virtual Fun Run

Mrs Sue Faulkner, the Junior Boys’ headteacher, said, ‘We were of course disappointed not to be able to hold our usual charity fun run as it is an enjoyable event and one which raises a lot of money for good causes. We didn’t quite get all the way ‘round the world in our virtual fun run but we did manage to raise just over £2,500 for local charity Bolton Hospice.

‘We wanted to raise money for this local cause as we are aware that many smaller charities will not reach their fundraising targets this year as a result of Covid-19. The response from our boys and families was quite overwhelming.’ www.lancmag.com

Right: Virutal Fun Run Y3: Year 3 boys dressed as countries for the virtual Fun Run

Bolton Hospice sent the following message: ‘We are enormously grateful to everyone at Bolton School Junior Boys for your continued support at this very difficult time - thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

‘Without the support of people like you we wouldn’t be here to care for those most in need, your support means the world to us.’

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Scottee and Louise Wallwein to host MIFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artist drop-in ahead of Manchester pride weekend

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o celebrate Manchester Pride 2020 (28-31 August), Manchester International Festival (MIF) has been inviting LGBTQ+ artists to join our weekly Artist Drop-in sessions, which were set up in response to the Covid-19 crisis and provide a space for creatives of all kinds to keep in touch, share experiences and share ideas.

Scottee image courtesy of the artist

The event, on Thursday 27 August at 2pm, was hosted by two artists widely recognised for their contribution to working class and LGBTQ+ representation in arts and culture: the award-winning poet, playwright and performer Louise Wallwein MBE, and artist, writer and director Scottee.

As well as an opportunity to celebrate the contribution of LGBTQ+ and working class artists, it was also a chance to discuss the challenges that exist, as a result of Covid-19 and more widely.

Other artists this month, in the run up to Pride, have included Lois Weaver - one half of Split Britches, co-founder of Spiderwoman Theatre, WOW, and Artistic Director of Gay Sweatshop - plus Manchester-based British Ghanaian interdisciplinary artist Christian Asare, and one of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most celebrated drag queens, Cheddar Gorgeous.

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Louise Wallwein by SheraleeLockheart

Louise Wallwein MBE is a poet, playwright and lyricist.

Her work has been performed on shorelines and in the sea, in the streets and on the wing of a Second World War Shackleton aircraft, and in theatres across the UK and internationally. Louise’s work has been produced by BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, BBC One, Contact, Red Ladder, National Theatre Wales, the Royal Exchange Theatre, Walk the Plank, Battersea Arts Centre, Z-arts, HOME and Manchester Camerata. Louise also works in communities, working with thousands of people to develop their voice. GLUE, her acclaimed, theatre-demolishing one-woman show, is published by Smith|Doorstop.

Scottee is a self-taught artist who makes political performance. He is the co-founder of Scottee & Friends Ltd, a collective of artists, producers and participants working across the UK; an Associate Artist at HOME; one of the founding members of the Working Class Artist Group.

Go to mif.co.uk/whats-on to find out more. www.lancmag.com

Following this week’s Pride related event, MIF’s next Artist Drop-in on Thursday 3 September features theatre maker Chanje Kunda alongside dancer, choreographer and director Darren Pritchard – representatives respectively for MIF and HOMEon the National Freelance Taskforce, which was set up to strengthen the influence of the self-employed who make up a large and vital part of the performance sector.

MIF Artist Drop-Ins are just one of the ways MIF have been helping Greater Manchester based creatives whose livelihoods have been seriously affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

Other activity includes supporting local artists and performers to develop work during the lockdown – from online Remote Residencies to workshops and exhibitions. MIF is also part of GM Artist Hub, offering advice and resources to the independent practitioners, artists, and companies of Greater Manchester.

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Plants find new places to grow

Throughout the lockdown Wildlife Trust officers have been asked if nature has carried on as normal? Well, Alan Wright has discovered a new normal for plants.

Bramble is being allowed to grow by Alan Wright

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hile we have been avoiding the pandemic over spring and summer, the birds have been singing louder and nesting in new places, not drowned out by cars and noisy people. Other wild animals have been spotted nearer to towns and in more abundance as they have allowed to get with their lives without being disturbed.

And yet one of the more obvious natural phenomena has been occurring even closer to our homes, and actually in our walls.

Without our council gardeners being around to tidy up, plants have encroached onto, into and through our stone walls.

Taking any walk though Lancashire villages and you will see plants and shrubs proudly standing on top of drystone walls.

Some have grown over from gardens and fields, while others have sprouted up from seeds or after years of trying.

While many plants will have come through tiny gaps, others will have been seeds either blown or dropped by birds and insects. Yes, some of them will have been eaten by a bird and come out of the other end, and dropped onto a wall.

It is funny to see beautiful yellow ragwort standing high above a neighbouring meadow on top of a local wall. I have also spotted cotoneaster and dog-rose, quite prominent plants. I check their stems but they have actually come out of the wall itself, so the seeds have been deposited and, this summer, they have been allowed to grow.

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Ragwort proudly stands atop a wall by Alan Wright www.lancmag.com

Dog-rose has lovely flowers in summer www.lancmag.com

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Walls have been filled with lovely light blue forget-menots and ivy has flourished in places where it has normally been cut down.

Then, there is the strawberry, proudly growing from the top of a wall and offering more fruit and seeds for the local birds to spread. That was a real surprise.

Walls have been filled with lovely light blue forget-me-nots and ivy has flourished in places where it has normally been cut down. This is great for insects in winter and those bugs will provide late food for our overwintering birds.

Of course there will escapees from gardens, at the bottom of our road there is valerian and lots of poppies poking through the stonework.

So, is all this part of a takeover by nature? Is nature re-invading our patches, after years of being pushed back by the constant march of humanity? Or is it, simply, that we are treading a little lighter and giving plants and the creatures that rely on them a little more room to stretch?

Seeing wild – and not so wild – plants growing out of walls and adding colour to our surroundings is something that has raised my spirits during lockdown.

Are those strawberries?

Cotoneaster is a popular shrub

Red valerian pokes through the stones

Honeysuckle escaping through a garden fence

Let’s hope that we have learned lessons from this worrying period in our history and think more about how we work with nature and not against it.

Ivy and forget me not have been doing well this year The Lancashire Wildlife Trust 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 27,000 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. For more information about Cheshire Wildlife Trust call 01948 820728 or go to cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.

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Redrow give charity a reason to smile AS part of the ongoing community engagement with areas close to where it builds, Redrow has supported a Leyland project that aims to organise ‘smiles’ for local youngsters who are going through a tough time.

Miles of Smiles’ Directors R-L Karen Rainford, Joe Rainford and Barbara Cooke

Miles of Smiles with their newly launched website

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n association with its Worden Gardens development located off Leyland Lane, Redrow has donated £750 to Miles of Smiles - a not-for-profit charity that works to help local children, who care for siblings or parents, smile.

The charity has used the money to create a website that will promote their work to families and children on a wider scale.

Karen Rainford, one of the charities founders said their aim is to give children something to look forward to and create memories that will last a lifetime: “Our work helps mainly youngsters who look after mum or dad, have lost siblings or youngsters who have a sibling living with a life limiting condition.”

“We help make children remember what it is to be a child as many of them have a lot of responsibilities and worries and see things no child should have to.

“Thanks to Redrow’s donation we have been able to build our website without the money coming out of our own pot and continue to provide ‘smiles’, which have included things such as family meals, pamper days, concert tickets and even made some children princesses for the day.”

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During lockdown the charity continued to give out ‘smiles’ in the form of Birthday Bags to children who weren’t able to celebrate properly.

Since launching in 2008, Miles of Smiles has delivered over 400 ‘smiles’ to children.

Sian Pitt, sales at Redrow Homes (Lancashire), says: “Through our community fund of £5,000 we’ve been able to support 12 very diverse community groups across the Leyland area. Miles of Smiles was definitely a very deserving cause as they make such a positive impact on children’s lives and we wanted to ensure they could continue to do so and promote themselves to as many families as possible through their website.”

To find out more about Miles of Smiles visit their new website at: www.milesofsmileslancashire.com For more details about Worden Gardens, see www.redrow.co.uk/wordengardens, call 01772 340818 or visit the sales centre, open daily.

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Easy home DIYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

As lockdown gradually lifts and we are allowed to visit each other safely, why not take the opportunity to spruce up your home in preparation for guests? I offer some suggestions as to cheap and easy to create, as well as fun!

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Upcycle old wooden chairs

Collect photos from magazines and newspapers or print images from online and paste them all over your wooden chair with pva glue. Images with complimenting color schemes work best. Or why not use acrylic paint, nail varnish or even shoe polish to create patterns? Animal prints such as zebra or leopard, stripes, spots, gradients, any pattern will bring some life onto an otherwise plain chair. Use a white paint as a base coat for a bright pattern or apply colors to the bare wood to achieve a more subtle look.

Brand new countertops for a fraction of the price and time

Change the sofa without changing the sofa

Use contact paper to change the theme of your kitchen! Although it can be pricey, it can be well worth it to have counter tops that are appealing and match the rest of your kitchen. A personal suggestion is marble, it’s very classy and with two colors it isn’t overwhelmingly ‘in your face’.

Black and white is a favourite color combination and will match your appliances no matter what color they are.

The simple act of changing the colour of the cushions on your sofa adds a completely different atmosphere to your living room. Adding matching throws and blankets also help!

Corresponding the colors you choose to the season gives the room more character; cooler colors and pastels suit summer and spring whereas warmer colors like reds and oranges heat the room in winter.

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Big wool knitted rugs Though time consuming, making your own rug is a very personal touch to your decor and adds to the atmosphere of your house being a home. Extra thick wool (at least 1 inch) is available from craft stores and online add knitting patterns can be accessible from the internet.

DIY wall decor The walls of my house are covered with photo frames with sing lyrics, film quotes and funny sayings and they’re the items of decor that get the most compliments. Photo frames I usually pick up from poundland or amazon.com, and I print the contents myself. I’m massively obsessed with musicals so I have a wall dedicated to Les Mis song lyrics, along with a wall for quotes from films I like and another wall full of my favourite songs. I paint some of the frames to match the rest of my decor and I leave

some plain. The task of making them is quite enjoyable and the finished result is well worth the time.

Garden decor I love my garden. It’s small and has no grass but that doesn’t mean I can’t make it beautiful.

The brick wall is such a lovely shade of red and the bright bunting flags stand out very nicely. Along the bottom of the wall are rocks and stones I gathered from the beach (living in Blackpool has its perks) that I painted; beetles, patterns, dates I want to remember and my dogs paw prints! The wall that runs parallel supports long pots with 202

asters, carnations, hydrangeas and sunflowers. The colours look so happy, they always bring me joy to look at. When I have friends round, we like to sit in the garden and eat and listen to music; I purchased some outdoor dog beds to sit on.

They were much cheaper than actual furniture and look like regular cushion seats. All of these items were very cheap and easy to achieve.

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The Scents Of The Wax House Gift Guide Adventureâ&#x20AC;Ś Luxury Room & Linen Mist Create an impression in an instant. Refresh your home with our new range of Luxury Room Mist.

Spritz on cushions, linen and curtains effortlessly decorating each room with the finest of fragrances that will last for hours.

Each fragrance has been carefully chosen from our range to soothe and freshen your surroundings.

Wax Melts and Burners Gift Sets Explore our carefully selected exquisite Wax House gift ideas featuring an array of fabulous home scenting products to suit everyone. Choose from our Wax Burner and melts gift sets to our three Votive Candle Gift.

Hand thrown Pottery Wax Burners

Baby Pink Wax Melt Burner & Melts Gift Set.

Choose your favourite scents from our highly acclaimed Soy Wax Melt packs.

Each eco friendly pillow pack contains two large melts, giving hours of lasting fragrance to enjoy.

Style up your interior space with our exclusively designed Pottery Wax Burners specially commissioned for The Wax House.

Each burner is traditionally hand thrown by our local potter here in the heart of Lancashire, giving you a totally bespoke artisan product.

Grey Glass Wax Melt Burner & Soy Wax Melts Gift Set Votive Gift Box

Mixed Wax Melts

To see the full range go to: www.thewaxhouse.co.uk Email: enquiries@thewaxhouse.co.uk Tel: 01253 399942 or 07712 601633

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Former A Tribe Called Red member and indigenous producer DJ Shub collaborates with Phoenix on potent new single ‘The Social’ All proceeds from the single will go to Black Lives Matter & Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women

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Pic Credit - Jay Soule

ollowing on from the release of his previously shared single ‘Calling All Dancers’ earlier this year, which have now amassed hundreds of thousands of streams since it’s release, Canadian producer DJ Shub now continues the support for his forthcoming new album with another pounding offering ‘The Social’ ft. Phoenix, out on the 24th July via his own Shub Music imprint.

from a lightweight on the scene. Originally making his mark as a member of A Tribe Called Red, winners of a Juno Award in 2014 and shortlisted for the esteemed Polaris Prize music award, Canada’s equivalent of the Mercury Prize, in 2013, as well as being dubbed the Godfather of PowWowStep, he has continued to confirm his reputation as one of Canada’s most forward-thinking artists.

His latest jam sees him team up with Toronto native Phoenix, who has been a solid addition to the Canadian music landscape for the last decade. Since the release of her 2011 debut album ‘Books, Bucks & Beats Vol. 1’, she has been an integral part of the hip-hop scene in North America, both as a member of the notorious hip-hop collective The Sorority and as an independent solo artist.

Aside from the traditional recording and performing areas of an artist, Dan General has found immense success in the world of film & TV synchronisation licencing. Most notably, the infamous UK actor, comedian and producer Sacha Baron Cohen handpicked the song ‘Indomitable’ as the theme music to his Showtime series, ‘Who Is America?’ The show was critically acclaimed, landing 3 Emmy Award Nominations, 2 Directors Guild of America Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Her collaboration with DJ Shub comes at a timely point in her career as it gave her an opportunity to highlight the struggles of black and minority communities across the world right now, treating this new offering as a call to arms for all those that feel oppressed to rise up and take a stand.

Speaking about the new track, she said, “The Indigenous and Black communities have very similar struggles. We both come from generations of hurt, pain and trauma. We’ve both been uprooted and displaced and have every reason to rage, and yet we continue to contribute so much beauty to the world. I stand with each and every one of my Indigenous brothers and sisters in the fight against injustice and will continue to be an ally, as they have for us. We are in this together.”

All proceeds of the release will be distributed to causes close to DJ Shub and help motivate the fight for change in our oppressed communities. Black Lives Matter and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women are charities and support networks that have contributed amazingly to the efforts to provide education and unity to those victimised by the makeup of our societies.

With more than 1 million Spotify streams and 2.6 Youtube views under his belt, DJ Shub aka producer Dan General is far

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Dan also composed music for ‘The Grizzlies’ (staring Will Sasso), an emotional film based on true story, it depicts a youth lacrosse team that was set up to help combat an epidemic of youth suicide in the community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Dan went on to win Best Original Song at the Canadian Screen Awards for the title song ‘Trials.’ Dan’s music has also been placed globally including Fox Sports Australia, Les Mills in New Zealand, VICE in the United States and CBC in Canada to name a few.

‘The Social’ will feature alongside the previously shared cuts ‘Calling All Dancers’ and ‘Shake Ya Bustle’ in previewing his soon-tobe-announced new studio album, which is set to arrive later in the year.

Listen https://soundcloud.com/therealshub/dj-shub-the-social-nmm-master24bit441/s-Q2FIjfdUkWo

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Clitheroe development offers more choice for first-time buyers

The Birch at Oak Leigh Gardens

THERE’S good news for potential first time buyers looking for a house of their own as Redrow’s Oak Leigh Gardens is offering more choice in Clitheroe.

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he development, off Whalley Road, has two distinct new homes collections that include a number of three and four-bedroom homes perfectly suited for family life or young couples sharing.

While the Heritage Collection offers traditional Arts and Crafts inspired architecture with period style features, the Harwood range provides streamlined, smart exteriors, finished in stone, for those who prefer a more contemporary look. Both collections offer up to the minute interiors designed for modern lifestyles.

The kitchen in the Rowan house style - also available at Oak Leigh Gardens

Current prices start from £282,995 for a three-bedroom detached Birch, while four-bedroom detached homes start from £329,995.

Sian Pitt, sales director at Redrow Homes (Lancashire) says: “Buying your first home is a big step so you’ll want to choose one that you will love for years to come. Oak Leigh Gardens has a great selection from both our Heritage Collection and Harwood range.

One thing they do have in common is providing plenty of space to grow into, open-plan kitchens, main bedrooms with their own ensuites plus private gardens to relax in.”

Homebuyers can also use the Government backed Help to Buy to get them moving sooner.

Sian explains how it works: “Buyers can secure a house with just a 5% deposit and then the Government will lend up to 20% of the value of the new home through an equity loan, which is interest free for the first five years and can be repaid at any time within 25 years or on the resale of the home, whichever is sooner.

Buyers will then need just a 75% mortgage from a bank or building society of choice.”

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Nestled between Pendle Hill and the Forest of Bowland, in the sought-after Ribble Valley, Oak Leigh Gardens’ rural location has proved to be an attractive selling point for commuters and young families, especially as it’s also so well connected.

Situated just off the main A59 Preston Road, the homes are close to the M6; Clitheroe is less than three miles away and places like Blackburn, Burnley, Preston and even Manchester are all easily reached.

Closer to home, there’s an Ofsted ‘outstanding’ rated primary school just a short walk away, and two ‘outstanding’ rated senior schools within a couple of miles.

To find out more about the homes or help available see www.redrow.co.uk/oakleigh, call 01254 865167 or visit the development and view the fully furnished show homes, which are usually open daily from 10am to 5.30pm.

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Your star horoscope

Manish 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: Mar 21 – Apr 19 You are inspired creatively, artistically, or spiritually at this time.

Your imagination, intuition, and psychic sensitivity are high now, and you find yourself wanting to paint or listen to music, daydream, or fantasise rather than concentrate on practical matters. Romance has strong emotional trends this month. Avoid splashy expenditures to impress as they may have just the opposite effect. Relationships with people around will be calm and friendly.

Durable relationship will stand the test and prove its substantiality again. Friendship and cooperative endeavours will flourish now.

Favourable Dates - Nov 4, 7, 13, 16, 22, 25 Favourable Colours - Red & Blue Taurus: Apr 20 – May 20 You will attempt to significantly improve your work and career at this time. You may seek new employment, a promotion, or request an increase in your salary. Everything to the spirit of a complete freedom to move would be there. The field is ready for love, and there’ll be either a new affair, or some fresh enthusiasm towards the current relationship. You’ll feel attraction to partners that make you admire them by their cultural knowledge or spiritual potential, as well as those who belong to different places or social structures.

Favourable Dates – Nov 1, 3, 10, 13, 21, 28 Favourable Colours - White & Yellow Gemini: May 21 – Jun 20 You’ll probably manifest more interest in the financial area but under conditions of stress it can result in restlessness or carelessness.

This is the perfect time to make a wish and practise the law of attraction. Look out for someone who comes in to your life around these dates who can help you. It may be someone who’s successful in their career, a private benefactor or some other guardian angel. This person has the power to help you more than you can imagine and you feel as if you’ve known them for ever.

Favourable Dates – Nov 1, 9, 10, 18, 27, 28 Favourable Colours – Red & Yellow Cancer: Jun 21 – Jul 22 The career, the ambition to advance and succeed socially will consume a lot of your physical and mental energy. Connections will be one of the strengths, whether it’s about collaboration and alliances or contacts with counsellors, clients or the public. You’ll benefit from taking joint action at the material or social level. Committed relations promise to be tender, cheerful and nice. The sentimental availability will increase and, along with it, the receptivity and benevolence towards each other. You’ll use your personal charm, diplomacy and connections.

Favourable Dates – Nov 2, 8, 11, 17, 20, 26 Favourable Colours – Blue & Green

Leo: Jul 23 – Aug 22 You will be better able to manage your financial and money affairs than you have in the past due to easier communication and a more solid and secure foundation from which to operate. Now is the time to put your plans into action and to get things moving because contacts you make during this time will be more open to what you are wanting. Romance may require some investment, some patience a bit more talking than normal. Be willing to ‘do the work’ necessary to fix, foster and find.

Favourable Dates - Nov 1, 3, 10, 12, 18, 21, 28 Favourable Colours - Red & White Virgo: Aug 23 – Sep 22 The work atmosphere will be tense and conflicts might arise. Irritations, conflicts with the people you relate to on a daily basis, and a generalised feeling of impatience or edginess characterise this period. Because you are not feeling very obliging or compromising, this is not a good time to try to come to an agreement with another. Errors made in haste, speaking too forcefully, sharp words spoken on impulse, or accidents occurring due to restlessness and impatience are all possible at this time. If single, this is not the time to search love.

Favourable Dates – Nov 3, 5, 12, 14, 21, 23, 30 Favourable Colours – Green & White Libra: Sep 23 – Oct 22 If you started a project at the end of last month, keep going with it and don’t give up, especially if its work or health related. You have a few more months yet to bring your bigger goals to fruition. Anything you begin on or around this date promises financial reward. There are significant opportunities to make connections, exchange information, and to learn something through a meeting or chance encounter.

Whatever’s not working in a relationship, here’s your chance to find a way forward, even if you agree or not.

Favourable Dates – Nov 2, 5, 11, 14, 20, 23, 29 Favourable Colours – Purple & White Scorpio: Oct 23 – Nov 21 Good cooperation, especially with co workers and financial issues in the first week may allow you to get projects rolling or wrap them up, depending upon your current status. You’re going through a very promising period regarding creativity, expression and talents, excellent for promoting your own image and works. You will make your social relationships and personal charm will flourish. Everything will come easier now, people will be nice to you and you’ll get collaborations and advantageous contracts.

Favourable Dates – Nov 2, 5, 11, 14, 20, 23, 29 Favourable Colours – Purple & White

Sagittarius: Nov 22 – Dec 21 You’ll show a lot of ambition and determination, and the most appropriate thing would be to use them for initiatives requiring strength and tenacity, such as laborious, long-term projects.

Collective activities will favour you. You’ll be able to find the necessary resources to carry out your plans, provided that you have clearly defined objectives and you build strategies to help you reach them. You might also have to handle some confrontations or situations in which you have to persuade, insist, fight, maybe even face competition or rivalry.

Favourable Dates – Nov 2, 3, 11, 12, 20, 21, 29 Favourable Colours – Red & White Capricorn: Dec 22 – Jan 19 You will experience some major personal changes which will benefit your way of life. Your energy levels will remain high over the next few weeks. Channel your imagination into something creative. Something in the field of music will appeal. In terms of romance you are likely to be a little flighty and reluctant to be tied down, but there’s nothing wrong with just enjoying yourself. Opportunities in career-related, may be a little unnerving. You may not be quite ready to embrace the new, but it should soon soothe many doubts.

Favourable Dates – Nov 1, 3, 10, 12, 19, 21, 28 Favourable Colours – Red & Yellow Aquarius: Jan 20 – Feb 18 The months ahead could start with you taking too much on, and then getting despondent because things don’t go your way. However, your impressive levels of insight and intuition will guide you through to a workable alternative, as long as you don’t give up. To your friends or loved ones, you may express a more reasonable and competent side that allows you to show those around you, that you are willing to offer solutions. If in a relationship, your ability to compromise and make concessions will keep things going smooth.

Favourable Dates – Nov 3, 8, 12, 17, 21, 26 Favourable Colours – White & Yellow Pisces: Feb 19 – Mar 20 You’re likely to be feeling as though you need to make your mark, perhaps someone inspires you or you feel you’re not making the most of your talents, but there are some original and creative ideas just waiting to be tapped. You are grounded in the material plane yet you can reach into higher planes of consciousness through your connection with nature. Changes in your personal relationships, which will ultimately be positive, feature heavily. Romantically, the later part of the month will bring plenty of chances to meet new people.

Favourable Dates – Nov 1, 8, 10, 17, 19, 26 Favourable Colours – Red & Yellow

Manish Kumar Arora, 91-9871062000 | K.P. Astrologer, Numerologist, Tarot Card Reader & Vastu Consultant www.facebook.com/manishastroconsultant | manish@manishastrologer.com

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Football is not ‘a matter of life explores the importance of football to and death’ Historian English fans during the COVID-19 pandemic

A

s fans across the country look forward to the start of the 2020/21 football season, a leading academic from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has explored the importance of football during the Covid-19 pandemic and has called for a renewed perspective.

Dr Kevin Moore, a visiting Fellow at the International Football Institute (IFI), which is a partnership between UCLan and the National Football Museum, said the disruption caused by COVID-19 was an opportunity for fans to take a step back from the beautiful game to think about the real importance of life.

Published in the leading football journal, Soccer and Society, and entitled Football is not ‘a matter of life and death’. It is far less important than that, the paper compares the situation to the Second World War where football in England was stopped for seven years, far longer than the 100-days of football absence during the pandemic.

Commenting on the paper Kevin said: “To many fans now, there seems to be an obsessional, unhealthy importance about the game and I say this as a football fan myself. The current Covid-19 pandemic is an opportunity for us to gain a renewed perspective on football. It is just a game and we can easily live without it – if we have to.”

The paper discusses the debates surrounding the return of the Premier League, after the Foreign www.lancmag.com

Secretary Dominic Raab suggested its restart would ‘lift the spirits of the nation’.

It also touches on the controversies surrounding footballer’s wages and clubs furloughing their staff amidst a national crisis.

Kevin added: “Fans will want to go back to see live matches, but only if they feel safe – so many may not return until there is a vaccine. In the meantime, it is likely that all professional league games will end up being pay-per-view; vital for the survival of some clubs.

This factor may change some fans to paying but staying at home, particularly longdistance fans.”

Kevin Moore

The paper: Football is not ‘a matter of life and death’. It is far less important than that. Football and the COVID-19 pandemic in England can be accessed here, with free copies for the first 50 non-academics accessing: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2PVAWNINJGNXFQ7RXT5S/full?t arget=10.1080/14660970.2020.1797496 LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 207

Show us your Pets

W

ith the recent rise in people working from home we want to see what you and your new fuzzy coworkers are getting up to.

Send us your photos for a chance to be featured in our ‘Show us your Pets’ feature - the best one each month will win a free years subscription to the magazine, the photos will be judged by our editor Mew Dairy, pictured below.

Email your pet photos to Mew at info@lancashiremagazine.co.uk - marking the subject as ‘Show Us Your Pets’

May Parker, One of our regular readers in isolation with her best friend Peggy for company.

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Mia enjoying isolation on the beach with her beautiful four – legged friend Simba.

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Turing Pardon architect calls on tech giants to step in and save hero’s memory The architect of Alan Turing’s pardon and Turing’s Law has called on tech giants to step in and save the WWII hero’s memory.

T

he calls come after the trust that runs the Bletchley Park museum, where Turing worked, says it will lose £2m and a third of its workforce due to Covid-19.

Alan Turing was a pioneering English computer scientist and mathematician whose groundbreaking work is estimated to have saved up to 21 million lives by bringing the war to an end four years early.

He was a mathematical genius and often described as the father of modern computing and artificial intelligence. Much of his work was conducted at The University of Manchester.

The museum at Bletchley Park houses Enigma machines used by the Nazis to generate secret code, as well as the giant computers designed Turing to crack those codes. A new £5m visitor attraction was built in 2011.

Equal rights campaigner John Leech led a decade-long campaign to pardon Alan Turing but his efforts in Parliament were blocked multiple times. The frustrations prompted Leech to slam the long-held conviction as “disgusting, and ultimately just embarrassing for this country” in a heated debate in the Commons.

Pressure from the Liberal Democrat MP continued to mount for ten years, gaining immense public support from physicists such as Stephen Hawking before the Government caved in, and agreed to apologise and pardon Turing posthumously.

Following the victory, Leech turned to demanding and eventually securing pardons for the 75,000+ other men and women convicted of the same outdated crime – now nicknamed Turing’s Law. But this week, in what should be the beginning of Manchester Pride, John Leech has written to the CEOs of the Big Five tech giants calling on them to step in and help fund the trust. www.lancmag.com

He warned that the museum must be preserved to protect Turing’s legacy and remind the country of “the dark stain in our history.”

The Big Five tech giants comprise of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google, and have a combined market capitalisation of over £4.2 trillion.

Equal rights campaigner and Turing Pardon architect, John Leech said: “It is almost impossible to put into words the difference that Alan Turing made to society and the world we live in today.

“Yet the way he was treated remains a national embarrassment to this day. It is an example of society at its absolute worst, and we mustn’t be allowed to forget the dark stain in our history.

“Everything in Turing’s legacy is important; the pardon, and opposition I came up against fighting for it, the pardons for the thousands of others, his rightful place on the £50 note, the films and, of course, Bletchley Park and the museum.

“They all serve as stark and rightfully painful reminders of what we lost in Turing, and what we risk when we allow that kind of hateful ideology to win.

“The likes of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google would not exist without Turing’s work.

Given what we all owe, how much these tech giants owe to him, and his immeasurable contribution to ending World War II several years early, would it not be fitting for these companies to step in and help keep his memory alive?

“A tiny contribution, that these companies wouldn’t even notice, would make a huge difference in keeping Turing’s legacy alive and the lessons from his mistreatment. It is not only vital for our history, but it’s the right thing to do.”

LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 209

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