Liverpool Life 2:8 November 19th 2013

Liverpool

Life

www.jmu-journalism.org.uk

19th - November - 2013

BINGE CITY Read the shocking statistics on page 5

© Flickr/digitalurbanlandscape

40,000 people in Liverpool are drinking too much

ON YOUR Cyclists reject city’s record on safety BIKE! RISKY: Cyclists think Liverpool is not a safe place to ride

Cyclists in Liverpool have condemned statistics that claim Liverpool is a safe city to cycle in.

This week...

However, according to figures from iCycleLiverpool, three cyclists were killed on Liverpool roads in the first

Picture: Liberty Chrismas

six months of 2013, comparably lower than other major cities in the UK. Full story: page 3

Marvellous memories

High price of health

Little means such a lot

More on page 7

More on page 2

More on page 10

Living life in the fast lane ... at 99!

New charges could raise £1.2billion

Academy to help clubless players

Life|News| 2

Experts propose fee to see your GP Medical charges could raise £1.2bn

By Jack Birch

Ministers have been advised to consider extending prescription charges, as well as bringing in new fees for visits to NHS GP surgeries, in a bid to raise £3 billion a year for the health service.

A report by Reform, an independent think tank, suggests that new charges on a greater range of prescriptions could raise £1.4bn, and charges for GP visits could potentially raise £1.2bn and with hospital care charges at £200m.

Cathy Corrie, who co-authored the report, told Liverpool Life: “The report shows there is a historic funding gap where £30bn has been lost. It is very unlikely that efficiency savings and tax increases will bridge that gap.”

The report proposes that one way of tackling the problem would be to raise the current prescription charge of £7.80 to £10.

The Reform researcher said: “We have seen over the last four decades that rises in prescription charges are nothing new.”

The think tank are also sug-

gesting making changes to the exemption scheme currently in place which is described by Miss Corrie as “one of the most generous schemes in a developed country in the world.”

She said: “Nine in ten prescriptions in England are free. We suggest raising the paid prescriptions to pension age. However the same exemptions would still apply to those on low income.”

TAKING STEPS TO SUCCESS

By Helen Healy Aintree University Hospital has been commended by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg as it is named one of the top apprenticeship employers in the country.

The University Hospital was named in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers List at the National Apprenticeship Awards in Birmingham on the 14th November.

The list, which is compiled

by The National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City and Guilds, has no ranking system, no first or second place.

Liverpool

Life

Team

Editor Paul McIntyre

Features Editor Nadine Higham

Chief Sub Simóne Foggin

Features Sarah Mee Will Shaw Ryan McElroy

Picture Editor Liberty Chrismas

©Flickr

Clegg praise for Aintree hospital

Liverpool John Moores University are taking part in Global Entrepreneurship Week, the world’s largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship.

Students are invited to LJMU’s own Centre for Entrepreneurship to talk about the prospects of being self-employed and working on a freelance basis.

The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘take a step forward’ and encourages budding business people to seize the opportunity to take part.

News Shannyn Quinn Hazel Miller Laura Ryder Alisha Daya Kerryleigh Gough

Paying to see your GP may be introduced according to the proposal

Sports Editor Jade Masri

All companies included are equal and make up a range of businesses from the public and private sector.

The teaching hospital - which services include accident and emergency, liver surgery, speech and language therapy, radiology and a chest centre - has seen over 400 staff complete apprenticeships over the last four years.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg spoke of his admiration for the hospital: “I would like to take this chance to congratulate Aintree University Hospital on its success at this year’s National Apprenticeship Awards.

“Apprenticeships are at the

guilds Top 100 @Apprenticeships employer for 2013!

“Winning praise from @nick_ clegg.”

The hospital also received a second mention at the awards ceremony as they won the accolade for Large Employer of the Year, beating off stiff competition from other Merseyside organisations for the top spot.

Fiona Chapman, NVQ Co-Coordinator at Aintree, said: “We’re delighted to win this award. Aintree currently employs 60 apprentices in clinical and non-clinical roles and prides itself on inclusive apprenticeship programmes which engage staff at all levels.”

Samsung hit by glitch

By Helen Healy

Samsung have suspended an update for UK handsets after a technical glitch has left users furious.

Named the ‘Jellybean’, the update upgraded users from version 4.1 to 4.3 and was intended to improve graphics, multimedia and overall performance, along with providing support for the newly released Galaxy Gear Smart-watch.

The glitch has mainly affected users of the Galaxy S3 and a small number of Galaxy S4’s.

The South Korean company which is known for its efficiency and forward thinking smartphones have seen sales of the S3 reach £30 million within five months of its release.

The update which has been available for two weeks has seen complaints increase over the last few days. The main issues that users have faced is the draining battery life, music stuttering, problems loading applications, screens freezing and alarms not working properly.

On the Samsung Facebook page users have been expressing

their anger: Chris Wyatt, wrote: “I can’t believe the silence from Samsung after the latest ‘update’ for the S3. It has rendered the phone almost useless. Won’t wake, battery life appalling, can’t find signal in places it previously did and it crashes more often than Pastor Maldonado!!!!!”

Michelle McDougal also spoke of her frustration: “Really unhappy since the S3 updatemy phone is practically useless.

Samsung Mobile UK has said it will resume the upgrading service at the earliest possibility

POORLY PAUL MISSES TV SHOW Paul O’Grady has been rushed to hospital after suffering an angina attack.

The 58-year-old - who has survived two heart attacks in the past - had to pull out of hosting his ITV1 show on Monday night and has revealed to friends that he was suffering from angina.

In a text message to a friend, the star admitted he would be undergoing surgery today, saying: “I’ve had an angina attack and need a few days’ rest in hospital.

“I am going to be out of the game for quite a while, and am going in for surgery tomorrow,” he added.

Paul, who has previously suffered from two other heart attacks, had his morning show covered by singer Michael Ball yesterday.

A message on the show’s Twitter feed read: “Sadly Paul’s feeling poorly, but join Michael Ball and guests tonight, it’ll be a hoot!”

Katy Perry

©Flickr

PERRY TO RETURN TO CITY Katy Perry has announced her return to Liverpool in 2014 as part of her ‘Prismatic World Tour’.

The tour, which kicks off its worldwide jaunt in Belfast, will visit Liverpool Echo Arena on May 21st and will end with a three-night residency at London’s O2 Arena.

The singer, whose third album PRISM hit number one earlier in the year, has promised that the tour will be more mature and will bring her closer to her fans than ever before.

Tickets will go on sale on November 22nd at 9am.

Sandbags to keep floods at bay

Sports Niall Dudley

Do you have any news or feedback?

Email us on: liverpoollifenews@gmail.com

heart of our drive for a stronger economy: equipping people of all ages with the skills employers need to help their businesses prosper and compete in a global market.

“As we work to increase the opportunities for hard-working young to people to achieve their ambitions through high-quality apprenticeship training, it is vitally important that we celebrate the achievements of employers like you, who go the extra mile to help their apprentices succeed.”

Aintree Hospital’s official Twitter account said: “Very proud that we are a @cityand-

OP: Paul O’Grady ©Flickr

ADVICE: Cllr Nick Small

Liverpool businesses are being advised to ensure that their buildings are protected from flooding this winter.

Some shops and businesses have been working with Liverpool Council who have issued flood sacks to ensure they’re prepared for a potentially harsh winter.

Councillor Nick Small, cabinet member for employment, enterprise and skills, said: “Flooding causes business owners major disruption or

even their livelihoods so it is vital that they have plans in place to deal with this – and that is especially true for small businesses.

The council has issued advice to businesses, such as ensuring they have the correct insurance, not storing valuables in basement areas and knowing how to turn off gas and electricity supplies.

Cllr Small said: “Just by taking small simple steps to prepare for floods will

give businesses a much better chance of surviving and recovering. As well as preparing for flooding it is important businesses are ready for emergencies of all types and are able to bounce back from setbacks such as power loss and local incidents that have an impact on your trade like disruptions due to roadworks.”

Businesses are advised to look at the council’s ‘Building business resilience’ booklet.

Cyclists’ dismay at ‘safety’ claims

By Nathan Pearce

Cyclists in Liverpool have condemned statistics that claim it is a safe city to cycle in.

Liverpool ranks far lower than Manchester and Birmingham, where 14 and 18 cyclists were killed respectively, in the first six months of the year.

However, according to figures from iCycleLiverpool, three cyclists were killed on only Liverpool roads in the first six months of 2013, comparably lower than other major cities in the UK. Rob Owen, 20, said: “People cycle because it’s free but the councils aren’t making it safe for people to actually cycle. The only reason the statistics make Liverpool sound safe is because there are far less people cycling here, than in London and I think that’s partly because of all of the news of cyclists being killed on the roads, it just leads to a fear culture among cyclists.”

Willoughby Warner, 21, cycles to university every morning, said: “It’s really bad in the morning, I think drivers are less aware. Bus drivers and taxi drivers are always the least careful and that’s got even worse since the council have

said anyone can use the bus lanes.”

Noel Skillicorn, 31, said: “I have cycled on various locations around Liverpool including the city centre and you can never feel safe when riding because it only takes one moment to have an accident. Obviously the chances of being involved in a road traffic accident increases when cycling in the city centre and I feel drivers around the city could be a bit more sympathetic towards cyclists.”

‘46 children were either killed or seriously injured last year on Merseyside roads’ However, some cyclists feel that both they and the motorists need to be more aware when they’re on the road.

Noel Skillicom (left) and Phillip Littlewood (right) do not feel safe on their bikes Andy Benyon, 25, from Wirral, said: “In our area the roads are safe enough, it’s just the drivers AND cyclists don’t pay enough attention to what’s around them.

In other areas they need to be made safer like London, look at the cyclists that have been killed there, this however is being addressed with the introduction of new lanes.”

Six cyclists have died in London over the last fortnight alone, and this has raised safety concerns amongst campaign groups.

Phillip Littlewood, 21, from Liverpool said: “Traffic, buses, people in white vans, there’s plenty of problems for cyclists around the city, even in the Wirral. I’ve been knocked off once, an old bloke in his car was turning right and

didn’t see me and I had to swerve to avoid him and the swerve was too much and I came off the bike.

Cyclists in London aren’t like cyclists up here, I lived down there for years, the all shoot the traffic lights, some of them are as bad as the people driving cars or buses.”

The news comes in the same week that figures revealed the number of children killed on Merseyside roads is three times higher than the national average.

46 children were either killed or seriously injured last year on Merseyside roads, 58% above the UK average.

Julie Townsend, the Deputy Chief of, a road safety charity, Brake said: “It is a sad truth that young people are involved in a huge proportion of serious road

crashes. As drivers they are more likely to take risks, and very often it is young people themselves who are the tragic victims too.

“Road crashes remain the biggest killer of young people and are a common cause of horrific, life-changing injuries. But young people also have the energy and creativity to do something about this.”

Merseyside was also worst for the number of pedestrians involved in road traffic accidents.

Last year there were 211 collisions that led to pedestrians being killed or seriously injured, according to figures from the Department of Transport.

Liverpool Council is running several programmes for young people to raise awareness.

Campaign to switch off hand-free calls

Life|News|3

LOCAL MAN WINS £2.8m DRAW

A pensioner in Liverpool was the lucky recipient of a huge National Lottery win today.

Brian McTigue, 66, from West Derby won more than £2.8m in Saturday night’s draw.

Mr McTigue’s winning numbers were 3,19, 21, 30, 41, 47 which he said he uses every time he plays.

He told the Liverpool Echo: “I checked my first ticket and was delighted that I’d matched three numbers and won £25. I went off to cook Sunday dinner so it was a couple of hours later when I went back to check my other two tickets.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I checked, checked and checked again and then screamed and burst into tears. It was a whole mix of emotions.”

Mr McTigue is the latest in a long list of millionaire lottery winners from Merseyside which includes the ‘Magnificent Seven’, a group of IT workers that shared a £45m Euromillions jackpot in November 2009.

WRAP UP AS COLD REACHES THE UK Weather forecasters are warning of two weeks of freezing weather conditions and wintry winds of up to 70mph.

Some parts of Northern England and Scotland have already seen four inches of snow today with people in Liverpool also waking up to a thin covering of sleet on the ground after a night of heavy hail fall.

The average temperature for November is around 9 degrees but the majority of the UK will see the temperatures dip to 4 or 5 degrees by the end of the week.

Manchester will be the coldest city later this week, when the temperature is expected to fall to minus 2C on Friday and minus 3C on Saturday.

SOUND CITY IS UP FOR AWARD

Pic by Liberty Chrismas

MEMORIAL: Remembering victims of road accidents in Liverpool.

By Nathan Pearce Motorists are being urged to turn off their mobile phones whilst driving in a nationwide campaign.

The ‘tune into road safety’ campaign, which is part of the larger Road Safety Awareness Week, warns motorists of the risks of multi-tasking whilst driving

Katie Shephard, Director of Brake charity, said: “In an age when being constantly connected is the norm; more and more of us have smartphones, and find it hard to switch off, even for a minute.

“While there are enormous benefits to this new technology, it’s also posing dangerous

temptations to drivers to divert their concentration away from the critical task at hand, often putting our most vulnerable road users in danger.” Road safety awareness week involves schools, universities, workplaces and communities across the North West to raise awareness of the importance of safety on the roads.

Merseyside Police are also taking part by introducing heightened police enforcement aimed at targeting drivers using a mobile phone.

Katie Shephard said: “We’re calling on drivers in the North West to tune into road safety: turn off your phone or put it in the boot, and never try to mul-

ti-task at the wheel. We’re also appealing to everyone to refuse to chat to someone on the phone who’s driving, to help them arrive safely.”

The campaign comes after 50 families gathered for a poignant memorial in St. John’s Gardens to mark victims of road traffic accidents in Liverpool. The

The ever-growing Liverpool Sound City has been nominated for two UK Festival Awards.

The music event, which takes place every May bank holiday across the city centre, has been nominated for ‘Best Metropolitan Festival 2013’ and ‘Best Line-Up 2013’.

The three-day event is up against the likes of Glastonbury, Bestival and Reading/Leeds.

The winners will be announced on December 2nd at the Round House in London.

Life|News|4

Fight to save ‘promenade in the sky’

By claire reid A new campaign to save Liverpool city centre’s fly-over and give it a massive make-over has been launched.

The Churchill Way flyover consists of two structures which run from Islington around the back of the Central Library and the World Museum along to Dale Street and Tithebarn Street.

The 2012 Strategic Investment Framework (SIF) has laid out plans for the removal of the flyover costing roughly £3-4 million, but campaigners, ‘Friends of the Flyover’, would like to see it transformed.

The ‘promenade in the sky’ is a plan to turn the road into a cyclist and pedestrian-friendly route, with cafes, kiosks, allotments and even bee hives to create honey. There are also ambitious plans to build a ‘theatre in the round’, including space for artists’ studios as well as start-up units for small businesses.

In a statement, the group said:

“It will create an attraction that offers ‘dwell’ time around the Museum Quarter, which is currently surrounded on most sides by areas that are not attractive or considered that safe for pedestrians.

“The space will offer the potential for animation activities such as theatre, music, art, cafes, allotments, trim trails, cycle paths etc.

This new urban park will bring a much need return on investment into the city.”

The campaign already has support on Twitter and Facebook, and Councillor Nick Small, Cabinet Member for Employment and Skills, tweeted: “Interesting ideas from @FlyoverLPL about the eyesore that is Churchill Way flyover – look forward to meeting group.”

The project is in its early stages and will first have to go to the consultation stage before detailed design proposals are drawn up and the group begin fundraising.

By Helen Healy

Four are injured in market stall collapse An illustrator’s impression of the city’s Churchill Way flyover which is said to save the city

by lewis bell

Police had cordoned off the Christmas market stall on Church Street. Pic: Liberty Chrismas

Four people were injured this afternoon when a market stall collapsed in Liverpool city centre.

Amongst the afternoon rush in the middle of town, lunch-time shoppers looked on in horror as the Christmas market chalet fell to the ground.

A man tried to bravely intervene by coming to the aid of a mother and a new-born baby taking the brunt of the impact.

He hurt his knee and was treated at the scene of the accident by paramedics and was taken to hospital.

The baby was also was struck by falling debris and was taken to hospital however, the mother escaped unharmed.

The structure on Church Street was only erected at the weekend.

Geoffrey Holland, 62, from Wavertree, was busy constructing his stall situated about 20 meters from the one that buckled.

Mr Holland said: “I was on the roof and I heard a big bang and screams.

When I looked up to see what happened I saw the chalet in a heap

and people rushing to help.”

Emergency services were called to the Christmas market run by Geraud Markets shortly before 1pm.

A city council spokesman has commented that they will be looking into the incident and a Health and Safety Executive will be carrying out a full investigation.

The accident comes a day before the market was set to open, creating an air of caution amongst the chalet owners that safety is of the utmost importance.

Now a permanent fixture of the city’s festive calendar, the market is in its seventh consecutive year in the city and has become a fixture of the Christmas period with shoppers of the city.

The stalls provides opportunities to buy stocking fillers and indulge in traditional cuisine, as they feature international stalls from five continents of the world.

The market will close on the 22nd of December and is open from 10am to 8pm.

Everyman set to open in March

by Aimée Hamilton

Top: new exterior of Everyman. Pic by Liberty Chrismas Left: what the Everyman theatre used to look like.

Pic: Flickr/Kip Voytek

HospiTal accused oVer saFeTy

Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre will reopen next March following a £28 million revamp which has taken almost three years.

As Liverpool Life reported at the beginning of October, an additional workforce had to be put in place to ensure the completion of the theatre by early 2014.

Executive Director Deborah Aydon said: “After ten years’ planning and two years’ construction we are thrilled to be able to announce the Everyman’s reawakening.

“We have a very busy few months ahead, getting ready for that extraordinary moment when the people of Liverpool can take possession of their beautiful new theatre.

“The reaction to the exterior has been really wonderful and we can’t wait to have the Everyman fully back to life, thronged with people making it their own.”

There will be a “lighting up parade” at the theatre on the 1st of March and Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” will be opening the following week.

Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz said: “The Everyman has historically been a theatre that has represented the renegade and generous spirit of this city. It has held its arms wide open for the broadest section of humanity. It has always been fearless.

“It has always had a twinkle in its eye. When choosing the productions for this inaugural season I wanted plays that expressed

these qualities; rebellious stories infused with wit and love. Stories for everyone that each in their different ways celebrates individualism.”

Designed by Haworth Tompkins and funded by the National Lottery from Arts Council England, European Regional Development Fund and the Northwest Regional Development Agency, the new Everyman is a reincarnation of the old theatre which closed in 2011.

A newly refurbished basement bistro will be joined by a new ground floor cafe and first floor bar and balcony. The building will also feature new creative spaces, including a rehearsal room, workshops, sound studio, a Writers’ Room, and a special studio.

Arrowe Park Hospital has been accused of potentially putting patients at risk by ignoring safety guidelines.

A report compiled by the Dr Foster Group, which specialises in publishing data about UK hospitals, highlighted that a minimum amount of high risk operations should take place at hospitals until surgeons’ skills are up to date and of a high standard.

It continued that 21 NHS trusts are performing too few abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs.

Arrowe Park was amongst the number of trusts that had performed under 100 of the aneurysm operations in the three year time period.

Dr Foster, who works in partnership with The Department of Health, said on their website: “The number of hospitals performing this operation infrequently has been falling for several years yet this remains an issue in some parts of the country.”

A spoke-person for Arrowe Park hospital has hit back at the claims by saying that it does not take into consideration that operations at the hospital are split between two bases, Arrowe Park and the Countess of Chester Hospital, which collects its own data about procedures and standards of care. www.nhs.co.uk website views from patients about their treatments are positive: WirralMum: “My son recently had shoulder surgery at Arrow Park Hospital, ward 12.... Very impressed the care they showed my son was wonderful and this was evident from all staff. Love the NHS! Thank you.”

discounT To neuTer bull breed dogs Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre is offering free and discounted neutering for bull breed dogs across Liverpool.

In one year an unneutered dog is capable of producing up to 67,000 dogs. Freshfield’s answer to these statistics is to microchip bull breed dogs, ensuring any that have escaped from their owners can be swiftly returned and neutered.

One bull breed gets put down across the UK every hour.

‘snub’ For Vc Talk

About 2,750 University of Liverpool staff members boycotted a seminar by its Vice Chancellor.

Workers were urged not to attend the event by unions after pay cuts resulted in cooks and cleaners not getting paid a decent wage.

Union leaders at Liverpool University claim that only around 50 of the 2,800 staff members showed up, leaving the Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Howard Newby with an embarrassing audience.

The university says the contract for staff members are “fair and generous”.

Liverpool: capital of binge culture

By Harriet Midgley

Image ©Flickr_ JC Cole

Liverpool has been named the capital of binge drinking culture by the NHS. According to the NHS, excessive drinking in the city is significantly worse than both the regional and UK average.

It is estimated that 40,000 people living in Liverpool drink more than the recommended amount and that 11,000 people are at high risk due to drinking.

Liverpool has more hospital admissions due to alcohol than the majority of the UK with approximately 360 people under the age of 18 being admitted every year due to alcohol.

Gideon Ben-Tovim, Chair of Liverpool Primary Care Trust said: “We have seen an overall decrease in the level of alcohol-related hospital admissions, linked to our various awareness-raising campaigns ‘Pssst!’ and ‘What’s Yours?’, and reinforced by our Community Alcohol Service, and our large-scale brief interventions programme.”

Mr Ben-Tovim spoke to the Health Service Journal earlier this year about the improvements alcohol awareness campaigns have made to Liverpool in the past.

‘Fewer Units’, a new anti-drinking campaign in partnership with the NHS has been launched to encourage local people to give up booze over the Christmas season. The ‘Fewer Units’ website offers a 30 second test to see how alcohol negatively affects your health, an app to track and manage alcohol intake and alternative activities in Liverpool to encourage people to cut back.

Excessive drinking is a problem throughout the UK. Long term drinking can cause cancer, diabetes and mental health issues amongst other problems.

Monday marked the beginning of national Alcohol Awareness Week, the event is created

by Alcohol Concern - the UK’s leading alcohol issues charity.

This year’s theme is ‘talk-

Life |News |5

The national statistics for England:

1. The government advises that men should only drink 3-4 units of alcohol daily and women 2-3 units.

2. Over 45s are 3 times more likely to drink every day.

3. People who work are more likely to drink than unemployed people.

4. Around 200,000 people come to work with a hangover every day.

5. Alcohol is the second biggest risk factor for cancer after smoking.

6. 61 per cent of men and 72 per cent of women in 2011 had either drunk no alcohol in the last week, or had drunk within the recommended levels on the day they drank the most alcohol.

ing about alcohol’. The charity hopes that this will encourage people to discuss the health impacts and social problems related to drinking.

There will be alcohol awareness events across Liverpool this week. Health promotion staff from the NHS will be at health centres offering free information, advice and support

to anyone considering cutting back on drinking.

After the success of ‘Dry January’ this year Alcohol Concern is once again promoting the campaign for 2014. Nearly 4,500 people across the UK decided to give up their drinks in January and Alcohol Concern are aiming for an even bigger response this year.

Chester Zoo’s Neo

The tiny dik dik antelope, the world’s smallest of its kind, makes a big impression as Chester Zoo’s newest arrival.

BREWERY VILLAGE GETS GREEN LIGHT

By Bill Evans

Plans to develop the Cain brewery site into a tourist attraction have been approved.

The plans involve rebuilding Upper Parliament Street into a brand new complex of hotels, food halls, restaurants, pubs and cafes called The Brewery Village.

The plans were given the go ahead by city planners this morning at a meeting in the Liverpool Town Hall. The current building will be given a revamp and some of the older and unsightly parts demolished.

The Brewery Village will include a glass-walled sky bar as the centre piece, rising above everything else as well as the Brewery tap pub being fitted with a roof terrace. A cinema and hotel will also form part of the project, which could create up to 800 jobs.

Sudarghara Dusanj, Managing Director of Cains, said: “We want to create a major new tourism and leisure asset for the city which would secure the future of the Cains beer brand and the grade II listed brewery for decades to come.

“Cities like Manchester and Newcastle have been unable to save their breweries but we know this scheme will ensure Liverpool has a thriving and historic brewery building for future generations.”

Louise Ellman, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: “This is an exciting and creative scheme which will see the restoration of one of the city’s key heritage assets and the creation of a new visitor attraction for an important part of Liverpool.

The proposals enable a proud brewing tradition in the city to become the focus of regeneration. I back these proposals.”

£1m LIVER FACELIFT

Liverpool’s iconic Royal Liver Building is to receive a £1.1m refurbishment.

Construction business Galliford Try secured the ‘fasttrack’ contract, which must be completed within 11 weeks, to overhaul the third and ninth floors of the building.

Top Left in the office ©Chester Zoo, Top Centre snuggeling down ©Flickr_ r4n ,right ©Chester Zoo and above ©Chester Zoo Facebook feeding time.

LJMU lifesaver campaigns for compulsory first aid

By Sarah Mee

A young woman from Huyton is campaigning to get first aid training made compulsory in schools, after her experiences have left her with no doubt of the importance of learning life-saving techniques.

Aimee Pye, 21, from Longview, Huyton, has started a petition to make first aid training compulsory in schools across Britain, after several close calls with life and death.

The most recent incident saw Aimee save a teenage boy’s life with first aid when he had a violent seizure during a plane flight.

Aimee was on a flight from Malaga to Liverpool airport when a 19-year-old boy had a violent seizure and she was able to help thanks to her training with St John’s Ambulance.

The first saw the need for first aid training after she found her mum unconscious due to an overdose and there was nothing Aimee could do to help.

Three years ago, the 21-yearold’s mother suffered from se-

vere depression and was found unconscious in the bathroom by her daughter after overdosing on anti-depressants. On arrival at the hospital, Aimee’s mum went into cardiac arrest.

Speaking about the horrific incident, Aimee said: “The doctors who treated her told me that if I was a minute later calling the ambulance she would have been at home when it happened and with nobody there medically trained she would have died.

“The guilt overwhelmed me and I researched how to learn first aid online.”

Aimee began volunteering with St John’s Ambulance two years ago and can now perform potentially life-saving first aid, something which she feels should be a universal skill held by everyone.

St John’s Ambulance says 150,000 people die every year in situations where they could have been saved by first aid treatment.

Her campaign includes a petition asking for 100,000 signatures by next June for the matter to be discussed in parliament.

She wants the law to change so it is compulsory for schools in Britain to have first aid training for pupils.

The e-petition is available at: epetitions. direct.gov.uk/petitions /51756 Aimee said: “I can’t stress how important it is for everyone to learn first aid. When an ambulance is called it has 10 minutes to attend the scene. In those 10 minutes someone’s life could be lost without first aid assistance.

“The more people that know first aid, the more lives that can be saved, you cannot deny that hypothesis.”

Over summer, Aimee worked in Malaga as a research assistant and her first aid skills came into use once again.

A man was punched and knocked unconscious by another man whilst on the beach, and Miss Pye was able to help him regain consciousness with her knowledge of first aid.

Miss Pye went to St Columbas Primary School in Huyton, and then went onto St Edmund Arrowsmith High School and Carmel College before universi-

Aimee in her uniform

ty. There were no opportunities for her or her fellow pupils to learn first aid throughout her academic life.

The young campaigner is now considering a career change to be able to further her efforts in helping people. She graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a law degree but she wants to train to be a paramedic.

She said: “Due to recent events, I have decided Paramed-

Life|News|6

50 years on: Liverpool remembers Kennedy

W

here were you when JFK was shot?

For many reading this, of course you are too young to have an answer, but for those who were alive at the time it remains a vivid memory.

Indeed, that question became synonymous with one of the most traumatic episodes in American history.

The murder of US President John F. Kennedy was an event that stunned the world, and as the 50th anniversary of his shocking assassination in Dallas approaches this Friday, we went out onto the streets of Liverpool to ask people for their recollections The most interesting and inspiring story to emerge was that of Des Evans from Wallasey. His memories should strike a chord with our trainee reporters.

The 76-year-old told JMU Journalism: “I remember the day like it was yesterday, I was actually working for the Liverpool Echo and Evening Express newspaper

in the old Daily Post and Echo building. I worked nights, and I was in the newsroom when the story had come through to us.

“We held an immediate news conference and the staff started to flood into the office.

“It was one of the biggest stories there had been since I started working at the Evening Express, which was on my 15th birthday in 1952.

“It was an unbelievable situation. My memory is going, but that day will never leave my mind.

Kennedy was such a nice man, and he was such a powerful leader. I know it’s coming up to the 50th anniversary soon, and it just makes me think of when I was a young trainee journalist.

“It’s when things like that happen that I want to go back to when I was a young journalist because everything is different every day, and it’s always something that I enjoyed extremely.”

Read more at www.jmujournalism.org.uk

Terry Williams, 67, Liverpool

Alice Wilson, 79, Liverpool

“It was a very upsetting day for all, he was a great leader and a great man.

He was probably the best president America has had, and will have in the future.”

“I was in the launderette on Walton Road, I couldn’t believe it!”

Linda Osbourne, 69, Kensington “It was terrible, I liked John Kennedy a lot. I remember the Bay of Pigs and my father told us that the country was at the verge of another world war. I was actually at home, just in the house with my family.”

Bryan Crotty, 72, Liverpool

Linda Parle, 64, Liverpool “Coming home from work, and I turned the TV on and that’s when I found out. I was shocked and devastated because I thought he was a really good man.”

didn’t do too much to me, because up here we don’t take politics too seriously.

But it was just the way he “I was just round the was shot. As it’s coming corner from here, I was up to the anniversary I at the Forum club which was a cinema back then. I asked the lads at the pub was going home because I and everyone in the pub was working nights at Ford remembered what they were doing.”

Motoring Company. It

JFK: Vivid

memories half a century later Hit single banned by yet another uni

By Harriet Midgley

O

The single has courted controversy since its release. Pic © Robin Thicke/Twitter

ne of the year’s most popular songs has been banned by yet another UK university.

Robin Thicke’s number 1 hit ‘Blurred Lines’ was banned

by Chester Student Union which claimed that the song promotes rape.

Chester Student Union has made the decision to ban Robin Thicke’s number 1 hit due to the track’s questionable sexual politics.

The song has now been boycotted by over 20

Universities across the UK including London, Nottingham, Brighton, Leeds and Birmingham.

The lyrics “I hate these blurred lines” and “you know you want it”, along with the controversial music video, have been criticised by many for being sexist and promoting sexual violence.

Married father of one, Robin Thicke defended the song during an interview on The Today Show claiming that it is pro-feminism.

He said: “If you listen to the lyrics, it says ‘That man is

not your maker’, it’s actually a feminist movement within itself.”

He further claimed that the song is actually about his wife, ‘Mission Impossible’ actress Paula Patton, saying: “She’s my good girl. And I know she wants it because we’ve been together for 20 years.”

The song has arguably become one of the most controversial songs of the decade, thanks in no small part to Thicke’s performance earlier this year with Miley Cyrus at MTV’s Video Music Awards.

Life Profile 7

Howzat for a life!!

Pick of the week Talents to come together at Baltic Triangle

Ken Medlock has achieved more in his 99 years than many other people could hope to do. He is an OBE, he has been a JP, a Chairman of Radio City, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and now he can add published author to the list.

GEMMA SHERLOCK went to find out more

K

en Medlock’s Wirral living room is filled with many mementoes from his life, showcasing the range of his achievements.

From taking a central role in the life of the city of Liverpool, as Chairman of its radio station and the Chamber of Commerce, to his successful career as an engineer he has certainly packed a lot in, so it is no surprise that as he approaches his 100th year he decided to write a book about his life.

Ken had never intended to write a book but was advised to record his life by the Liverpool Archives and the result was his biography ‘A Good Innings’ which his wife Edna, 98, helped him to write.

He told, Liverpool Life: “Chances don’t come

Ken at home with a copy of his biography

to everybody in their life, I have been fortunate to have so many chances. Some only have chances out of risk, but I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities I have had.”

Some of those opportunities are illustrated in the book, which includes pictures of Ken with some notable famous faces, including Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Ken Dodd, Michael Heseltine and one of Liverpool’s famous sons - Sir John Moores.

Ken came over to Birkenhead, Wirral, in the 70s as CEO for the Birkenhead branch of what was then the Cooperative Wholesale Society and he says he will forever be grateful for the move to Merseyside.

“If I hadn’t have come here I would have never have been Chairman for Radio City,

Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, North West Regional Development Agency and done tours around the world.” lthough he will celebrate his 100th birthday next September he still plays an active part in civic life and is a familiar face at Liverpool John Moores University, where he has attended every one of the Roscoe Lecture series’ for the past six years.

“I would like to say that I caused them to form in a way. I sent them a letter with a £100 donation as I was so impressed and wanted to help them to inspire students more.”

But of all his achievements he is most of proud of his family; he has three sons, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Ken and Edna are soon to be approaching their 74th wedding anniversary and it is a memory of Edna that he says was his happiest ever moment.

“The happiest moment was the birth of my third boy, Richard, as it was not only a joy to have another child but in the process it saved my wife’s life.

“At the time her iron content was low and if she hadn’t had a check to see if she was pregnant it wouldn’t have been recognised. Having Richard saved her life.”

As he stretches his legs in his chair and wipes a small tear from his eye he says he has no regrets and he sums up his philosophy on life.

“My experience when things go wrong is to always keep your courage up because there is always something else further down the line.”

A

Celebrating with royalty: Ken and the Prince of Wales at Radio City’s fifth birthday

“Chances don’t come to everybody in their life, I have been fortunate to have so many chances. Some only have chances out of risk, but I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities I have had.”

A host of Liverpool’s creative talents are to come together for a 24-hour event at the Baltic Triangle tomorrow.

Liverpool X will take place in a range of venues across the Baltic Triangle and the winner of the Liverpool ‘GetIntoThis’ prize 2013, Baltic Fleet, will perform alongside speakers including political thinker, Phillip Blond and editor of Vice Magazine, Andy Capper, renowned architect Will Alsop and design expert and commentator, Stephen Bayley.

Josh Burke, of Liverpool-based promotions company Waxxx, which is running the event in partnership with Archetype, said: “We were excited to come on board when we saw the scope of the event.

We felt it was a natural fit for us and something we’d like to be part of going forward.

“I was so happy to be able to bring some of Liverpool’s best promoters together for one night where we weren’t in competition, but working with one another.”

The event is free and open to the public, with tickets available from the Liverpool X website.

Christmas Shows coming to town Fred Lawless, writer of smash hit Royal Court Christmas shows, including Nightmare on Lime Street, is back with his wackiest show yet. The theatre show ‘The Hitchhikers guide to Fazakerley’ makes its debut at the Royal Court Theatre this week.

The story revolves around a father’s wish that his ashes should be spread by his family whilst wearing costumes from famous space movies.

Prices for tickets start at £18 and the show will run from the 22nd November – 11th January .

Bruno to send Echo to Mars

Hawaiian born singer Bruno Mars comes to the Echo Arena on the 24th November.

The ‘Moonshine Jungle World Tour’ will showcase the hit singles ‘Treasure’, ‘Marry You’ and ‘Locked out of Heaven’.

The tour is set to be a festival of dance and bright lights with support from soul singer Mayer Hawthorne.

# Life|Features|8

Selfie: 2013

by Lauren Cordelle

©Twitter/Barack Obama

T

he term ‘selfie’ has been crowned Oxford Dictionaries ‘word of the year’.

The word developed from a niche social media tag to a widely used term for a self-portrait photograph.

To qualify for word of the year, a word needs to have become prominent or notable within that year and not necessarily have been created.

A team of researchers for Oxford Dictionaries said that the word’s use had increased by 17,000% in the past 12 months.

Other contenders included the word ‘twerk’ – a dance move performed and made famous

by Miley Cyrus, ‘binge-watch’ – meaning watching lots of TV and ‘Schmeat’ – the name for synthetically produced meat made from biological tissue.

‘Selfie’ was first used back in 2002, when a man posted a picture to an Australian online forum of his facial injuries after he tripped over some steps. He later apologised for the fact it was out of focus, saying that it wasn’t due to him being intoxicated, but instead because it was a ‘selfie’.

This year, selfie has been used more and more, with celebrities jumping on the bandwagon and uploading self-portraits on a daily basis. The likes of Justin Bieber and Rihanna have been happy-snapping and uploading their selfies to Twitter and Instagram.

Judy Pearsall, Editorial Director for Oxford Dictionaries, told BBC News: “Social media sites helped to popularise the term, with the hash tag: #selfie appearing

©NASA on the photo-sharing website Flickr as early as 2004, but usage wasn’t widespread until around 2012, when ‘selfie’ was being used commonly in mainstream media sources.”

Some of the most famous selfies are those that have gone viral, including one from astronaut Aki Hoshideustin, of the International Space Station taking the first ever known selfie in space. The picture was posted on Twitter by BuzzFeed reporter Andrew Kaczynski, and has gained over 3000 retweets so far.

As well as the selfie, other picture crazes include the ‘belfie’ – a self-portrait of your bottom, the ‘helfie’ – a picture of one’s hair, and the ‘welfie’ – a workout selfie.

It has also become the subject of academic study.

Madeline Jenks, from the University of Cape Town, is part of the Curate Africa photography project.

She wrote a journal article ‘Sneaking into the frame: Photographers Inverting the Lens’ in which she says: “The ‘selfie’ has become a huge trend in casual photography. People use these selfies to document moments of their lives and share quick updates with their friends and family.”

Bent Fausing, an academic from the University of Copenhagen believes selfies are more than just a bit of fun.

As part of his research for the Danish National Research Database, he has published ‘Selfie and the search for recognition: see for yourselfie’ and he says: “In our digital age, these quick self-portraits are numerous and flourishing and it is not just the mirror or the raised arm that characterizes

selfies as a genre but also a particular aesthetics. It is about reflection, identity and recognition – human beings want to control how they are seen.”

) (n. raph g as o t ho ne h elf, p a o nes t a th of o ith n lly w e e k ta pica phon d n ty art a a sm ebcam to a w ded ia r o loa d e up ial m e. soc ebsit w

Send us selfies of you holding your Liverpool Life issue to liverpoollifenews@gmail.com.

Life|Culture|9

GOGGLEBOX

Elen Crean explores the TV show everyone is talking about

T

he popular Gogglebox has returned to our screens for the second series on Channel Four and has taken the Twitter-sphere by storm.

The programme films various families, cou-

ples and friends watching the box and their entertaining points of views. So in an easy, yet still strange, format, it is a programme in which we watch others watching television and then watch them talking about the television they have just watched.

From the ‘Posh Couple’ Steph and Dom in Sandwich, Kent to best friends Michael and Steven in Wigan, the cameras capture their instant reactions and hilarious debates over the last seven days of telly, including shows such as the “X Factor”, “999”, “What’s Your Emergency” and “Question Time”.

Particular favourites include Leon

Lucy Bannister looks into

W

It has been 10 years since the end of Liverpool-set TV soap Brookside. The show was famed for its controversial and sensational plotlines. However, it is claimed that this eventually led to its downfall after the overuse of these kinds of storylines disillusioned its audience. Despite its cancellation, it left behind a legacy and was voted the 4th greatest British soap. Although it has now lost its place to fellow Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks. Hollyoaks, too, is filmed in Liverpool at Lime Studios.

Grange Hill was also filmed at the same studio.

You’d be hard pressed to find somebody who hasn’t heard of the Harry Potter franchise. The series has become the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. In The Deathly Hallows Part I, the scene in which Harry and Hagrid are chased by evil wizards through a tunnel is in fact shot in the Queensway Tunnel. With hundreds of TV shows and films now under its belt, the city has reaped the rewards. In 2012 alone it earned £19m. Is Merseyside the new Hollywood?

The pair have captured the hearts of the viewers with their close relationship and humble habits. June is seen to flick through a Radio Times to see ‘what’s on’ whilst Leon tries to persuade her to give him another cracker. We see his strong views against Nigel

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M E R S EYW O O D ith the news that the second series of Channel 4’s thrilling TV series Utopia has been shot in Liverpool, the city’s film industry is thriving. It is the second most filmed UK city, behind London. It is also home to Lime Pictures, the UK’s biggest independent TV production company. But what draws filmmakers to the city?

And what other TV shows and blockbuster films have a home in Merseyside?

Critically acclaimed Chariots of Fire tells the true tale of British athletes Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, who each overcame their own hardships to compete in the 1924 Olympic Games. Considered one of the greatest British films, it is perhaps mostly remembered for its famous opening scene which depicts athletes running in slow motion across the beach, with the Chariots of Fire instrumental in the background. However, many of the scenes depicting Paris are in fact shot in Liverpool. The city’s Town Hall was used as a double for the British Embassy in Paris.

and June Bernicoff from Allerton who the Liverpool Echo has dubbed “The Mersey King and Queen of Gogglebox”.

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 Leon poses for a ‘selfie’ on his twitter page @LeonAndJune

Farage on Question Time whilst June shakes her head and hides behind her hand. Leon’s softer side is shown as few tears were shed whilst watching Educating Yorkshire and June is repeatedly seen as reserved and shy as she tells her husband to “STOP” when the conversation turned to her college figure. How could you possibly not love them?

The 70-somethings are retired teachers and have been married for 53 years. In last week’s show, Leon was shown to Skype his daughter in New Zealand with

great difficulty, so it came as a surprise to the Twitter fans last week when the duo started up a twitter account.

In five days the couple have gained over 16,000 followers, over 1,000 retweets of Leon’s first tweet and celebrity followers including John Bishop, Michael Ball and Sarah Millican.

Twitter users were delighted when the word got round they had joined the site: @GraceFDay said: “Leon and June are my two favourite people ever”, @ RevDavidOldham said: “Is this true? Are you on twitter? We love you!” and @ JoHughes124 said: “You remind me so much of my Mum and Dad, my Mum wouldn’t let my Dad have a cracker either June!”

So let the Gogglebox cult begin as we all get addicted to this highly infectious programme of the real-life Royal Family.

Life|Sports|10

Opportunity Academy

By Jessica Watters

I

magine being in a football environment every day for as long as you can remember and then being told you are not good enough and will be released into the real world.

All you know is to train day in day out, you lack qualifications and have experienced little of the outside world. From a big wage to unemployed, where do released Premier League footballers look next?

When Premier League players are released they fall through all divisions, the Premiership, the Championship, League One, and League Two and down to the Blue Square Division or Evo-Stik League Division. But even here players often sit on the bench and rarely do they get paid.

Released players find it extremely hard to adapt to life outside football. Sometimes they are forced to move back home after moving closer to their football club. Their club becomes a family of people they train with every day. To say goodbye to this is a massive shock, more often than not they have to get a job outside of football as non-league games rarely pay.

B

rian told Liverpool Life: “I look at these lads and all of a sudden someone has told them they are not good enough to be a football player.

It is a massive shock to the system and it must hurt like crazy so at the moment I am enjoying trying to help.”

If anyone knows best how it feels to leave the Premier League as a player it is Brian.

He suffered a bad injury when he was 25 and was forced to retire from football at just 27.

He added: “This is probably why I appreciate what these younger players are going through because I have had a

similar sort of experience as football was taken away from me. I couldn’t believe what the world outside of football was like so I rolled up my sleeves and got myself back into football in a small way and grew from there.”

The difference between a football environment and real life is massive and hard to deal with as a young man.

Brian said: “In a football environment you are pretty much locked up and are spoilt. To have all that spoilt stuff that you get taken away from you is an emotional time. In a nice way we say to them we can’t guarantee we can find you a Premier League Club tomorrow but we can get you to play football again and by the time you are 21, 22, you might well be on your way back up to the top.”

B

rian has been using his experience to help the boys increase their confidence.

“We have a lad with us, Mike who was released from Stoke City, hasn’t really played football in four months whereas a year or so ago he was on the bench for a European cup tie for Stoke City. You wonder how much that has knocked his confidence.”

Mike Clarkson, aged 20, was released from Stoke City Football Club in May where he played since he was just 11 years old. At the young age of 18 he was on the bench for Stoke in the Europa League.

Mike said: “It was a great experience, I had the right people around me pushing me and it was a great time. I thought nothing bad was going to happen to me in the future but I think I should have expected it.”

Mike is still playing football, he has currently signed for Market Drayton Town FC in the Evo-Stik League. However he

has had to get a job on the side of his football.

“It has been a big learning curve especially financially having to source my own income. I have used my coaching badges that I got while at Stoke to get a coaching job.”

Brian Little, ex-manager and player for Aston Villa, and ex-manager for Tranmere Rovers and Wrexham is putting together a new acadamey programme for younger players who have been released from Premier League clubs and want to get back up to the top.

“There is no simple route to making a living out of football but I think that being released is the hardest thing that can happen to a youngster without a great deal of experience of what goes on it the big wide world.”

Chris Lynksey, aged 19, was released from Tranmere Rovers in May. He was first signed by Wigan Football Club at the age of just nine and played there until he was 16 and then went onto Tranmere. Chris has been luckier than most released players and has been signed by Celtic Nation who is members of Division One in the Northern League.

C

hris said, “A programme like the one Brian is doing massively helps if you are looking to get back into other clubs and keep fit.”

Hussein Neymar, aged 19 was released from Bristol City Football Club and then released from Stoke City Football Club.

Hussein has just recently joined Brian’s programme in the hope of finding a new club.

Hussein said, “I wish I could get my chance to go back into the Premier League and prove people wrong. A programme like this is really helpful because a guy like Brian knows what standard you can play at and if you have a future in the game or not.”

Brian told Liverpool Life:

Left to right: Hussein Neymar, Chris Lynskey and Mike Clarkson. Photos by: Jessica Watters

Backgorund photo by: Grongar Flicker

Life|Sport|11

Steve Prescott playing

RESPECT PAID TO RUGBY LEGEND

by Gemma Brezinski

Friends, family and well-wishers paid respect to Steve Prescott,father of two who lost his seven-year battle with stomach cancer yesterday at St Mary’s Church in St Helens.

England’s Rugby League World Cup squad were amongst the thousands of mourners who lined the streets at the funeral for Steve Prescott.

His son Taylor, 12, told the congregation: “I’d like to say how proud I am of what my dad has achieved. I have got lots of great memories of the times we have had together. I will remember them forever.”

Also among the mourners were England captain Kevin Sinfield, former internationals Bobbie Goulding, Paul Newlove, Garry Schofield, Gary Connolly and Paul Dixon and St Helens Chairman Eamon McManus, along with head coach Nathan Brown and Captain Paul Wellens.

Bobbie Goulding said: “The turn-out is testimony to Steve Prescott, a top man and a really great friend.”

ENGLAND TO PLAY CHAMPS

by Gemma Brezinski

England are to play Rugby League World champions New Zealand in the semi-finals of the World Cup at Wembley next Saturday after an easy win over France.

The result from last Saturdays match against France ended 34-6 which means England take their place at next weekend’s double-header. Their fixture against the kiwis will be followed by Australia playing either Samoa or Fiji in the second semi-final.

England coach Steve McNamara said the team need substantial improvement for their World Cup semi-final.

©flickr Leeds library and information service

Merseyside gears up for derby day

by Gemma Brezinski

The 221st Merseyside derby is taking place at Goodison Park this Saturday.

The clash at Goodison Park appears to have taken on even more significance with the Toffees, sixth in the table, just three points behind their second-placed neighbours.

Everton defender Phil Jagielka will be captaining his side.

He has admitted his involvement in England’s two friendlies against Chile and Germany will help deflect some of the attention from the impending Merseyside derby.

Leighton Baines said: “When a derby is coming up everyone gets excited and you just want to get out there and do it.”

Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard will be taking centre stage as captain for Liverpool, for whom he has made over 600 appearances in the past.

The Merseyside derby, a reoccurring event, tends to be a fractious affair. Phil Dowd will be tasked with trying to keep things in check during the lunchtime kick-off. He has officiated 11 games so far this season, handing out 41 yellow cards and one penalty.

The fixture at Goodison Park sees Everton’s Roberto Martinez oversee his first Merseyside derby as manager.

Liverpool are second in the Premier League on 23 points after recovering from a loss to Arsenal with a convincing 4-0 win at home against Fulham before the international break, whilst Everton are in sixth, having not scored in their previous two league fixtures.

It should be noted that they also haven’t conceded a goal in that period.

The derby has brought plenty of drama, passion and intrigue over the past few years, and with both sides currently riding high in the table this looks set to be another exciting match.

No fixture has ever seen more red cards since the formation of the Premier League.

Come Saturday, Reds and Blues alike will travel en masse to Goodison Park where families will be divided, friends will be split, all hoping for their respective sides to build upon their promising starts to the season. The winners will gain bragging rights till the teams next meet in January.

Fans say:

Paul McIntyre, 21, Everton fan: “There’s a reason this match has more red cards than any other in Premier League history. It means a lot to both teams and both sets of supporters. There’s nothing quite like getting one over your local rivals, and as Everton and Liverpool have reached a similar level in recent years the match has become an important part of the league campaign as well.”

Jack Birch, 21, Liverpool season ticket holder: “This derby has a different feel to it than previous years as Everton seem to be playing a better style of football than they did under Moyes, so it’ll be a better game to watch than games gone by. We’ve had the edge over them in recent years, as they’ve not beaten us for a while, but everybody knows that anything can happen when it comes to derby day.”

Nickica Jelavic clashes with Martin Skrtel in last year’s derby © Propaganda Photo

Difference makers: Who will come out on top in the big local clash?

Liverpool Luis Suarez Age: 26 Total appearances: 103 Total goals: 59

by Jack Birch A lot has been written about Luis Suarez since he arrived in England, but despite his numerous controversies, it is widely accepted that he is a gifted footballer. As far as derbies go, Suarez has scored four times against Everton, including a goal at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final in 2012. The Uruguayan has been in scintillating form this season, and sits joint-top of the Premier League goal scorers’ table with eight goals – despite missing the first five league games of

the season. Such is his importance to the Reds that principal owner of the club John Henry has offered to fly the forward back from Jordan on his private jet to ensure he is back in time for the match. Everton’s defence will hope they can contain Suarez’ craft and guile on Saturday in a bid to win their first derby since 2010.

Everton Romelu Lukaku Age: 20 Total appearances: 8 Total goals: 5

by Jack Birch Prior to Romelu Lukaku’s arrival at Everton on transfer deadline day in the summer on a season-long loan deal, the club had not won a single game in the league, having drawn the first three games. In his first match for the Toffees, the Belgian scored the winner against West Ham – getting knocked out in the process and instantly gaining cult-hero status. Since that fixture at Upton Park, Lukaku has been in inspired form, scoring another four league goals for his side, including a brace against Newcastle United in a dominant first half

display at Goodison Park. The statuesque forward was part of a West Brom side that completed an unlikely double against Liverpool last season, scoring in both league fixtures. Lukaku, known for his physical style, is likely to cause problems for a Liverpool defence that have a recent history of struggling with powerful forwards.

Liverpool

LifeSPORT 19 - November - 2013

SECOND CHANCE

Ex-Rovers manager gives hope beyond the Premier League

By Jessica Watters

Former Tranmere manager Brian Little has launched a new programme to give released Premier League players hope outside the top division.

The elite programme aims to keep players fit with regular intense training sessions with Brian. This training hopes to get players signed by clubs and work their way back up the leagues to the Premiership.

Mr Little said, “I think one of the things to do is to get them on training field and just have a look at them and assess them and see what their strengths and weaknesses are. Then we need to encourage them to get

out there and play football again because they lose their confidence.”

Going from an enclosed football environment where everything is a phone call away into the wide world with no job can be a big shock for released players.

“I think the most important thing is to try and give them some home truths,” Mr Little said. “In a nice way we say to them, look we cannot guarantee we can find you a Premier League Club tomorrow.

“But what we can do is try and get you to play football again and by the time you are 21, 22 you might well be on your way back up to the top.”

Brian Little coaching Mike Clarkson, former Stoke City youth player. Photo by: Jessica Watters

Lacrosse ladies’ Triwizard clash

By Kirsty McColgan

Liverpool John Moores University Ladies Lacrosse team that took part in a Triwizard tournament. Photo by: Sarah Latham

LJMU Ladies Lacrosse team took part in a Triwizard tournament this week. The tournament includes three lacrosse teams in Liverpool who take part in various games to win the tournament.

The JMU ladies came forth in this competition but they have learnt a lot from this tournament and hope to play better in future games.

Team captain Sarah Latham said: “We have a lot of new freshers on our team who have never played before so I am happy with this result and we will learn from this and be better next term. The Triwizard tournament is the best tournament all year.”

It is called a Triwizard tournament because genuine lacrosse sticks look like broomsticks, and the game is similar to ‘Quidditich’ in the Harry Potter movies.

LJMU Camogs win championship

By Kirsty McColgan

John Moores University Camogie Team won the championship match this week against Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University.

The camogie team, who only play for the university teams two months a year, played the championship and the knockout stages on the Erin go

Bragh pitches in Birmingham.

As well as the John Moores University team, the other teams that took part in the Irish sporting competition were Liverpool Hope, Dundee University and Robert Gordon University.

The seven-a-side team won all of their matches in the knockout stage to get to the final championship match.

RESPECT PAID TO RUGBY LEGEND P.11

In the girls’ first game they beat Dundee University by five goals, six points to zero goals and zero points (5-6 to 0-0). They also beat Liverpool Hopes University by 5-4 to 1-2.

Camogie manager, Clodagh McPeake, told Liverpool Life: “I am so happy to have worked with the girls this term, they are all such fantastic players,

and this has shown in the championship tournament. I am excited to see the girls in the future at the different clubs and hope they all continue to play on competitively.”

The team for the Camogie Championship Tournament consisted of Rachel Hamilton, Paula Gribben, Duibhin Murphy, Naomi McManus, Aileen Martin, Aneliese Lagan and

Niamh Hughes.

Paula Gribben, from Newry, was presented with the player of the tournament in the championship games award.

The league for the LJMU Ladies Camogie Team is now over, and the players who have played for the university team will now go on and play for various club teams in Liverpool.

BRIAN LITTLE OPENS ACADEMY P.10

ENGLAND REACH WORLD CUP SEMI P.11