Liverpool Life issue 12

Liverpool

Life

www.jmu-journalism.org.uk

19th - February - 2013

END OF AN ERA

by Sam McDonnell

The Mathew Street Festival is set to undergo a transformation after 20 years of musical entertainment in Liverpool’s most famous street.

The newly-anointed Liverpool International Music Festival, which will feature the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, will take place jointly on the Pier Head and in Sefton Park, Mayor Joe Anderson has confirmed.

This summer’s celebration will mark the end of the Mathew Street reign, which has brought hundreds of thousands of people to the city to see both tribute bands and original acts perform in venues across the city centre on the August bank holiday, focussing on the hallowed Cavern Club and the influence of the Beatles.

In an interview with BBC Radio Merseyside, Mayor Anderson said that the changes to the festival would save the council £320,000 per year; 40% less than the previous guise.

He said: “After 20 years of Mathew Street Music Festival it feels right that the event evolves into a refreshed event which will have mass appeal.

“Over the years the original festival has become more high-profile and as a result it became one of the most costly to stage.

“It simply isn’t affordable to continue funding this event when we are facing cuts of more than £149m over the next four years.”

The festival has caused controversy over the years, with Mayor Anderson referring to the ‘drunken culture’ that the event has attracted and this move further away from the pub and club district of Mathew Street is hoped to curb such behaviour.

However, Lennon’s Bar on Mathew Street is among those to confirm that the changes will not be affecting their usual operations in August.

The bar tweeted: “We won’t be cancelling our festival long live the Beatle Convention long live Mathew Street Festival!!”

“I don’t think they should have axed it, it brought an awful lot of people into the city.”

Mairead Kelly, 62, Childwall

“It’ll be better for younger people because it’ll be different kinds of music.”

John Friel, 51, Warrington

“I think it’s a good idea because I reckon it’ll be policed better.”

Jill Holmes, 40, Huyton

“It’s a shame it’s being axed because it was just getting a name for itself.”

Steven Butchard, 48, Crosby

“The new festival will still be good for the city. I think it’s even better for the city actually.”

Paul Taylor, 23, Huyton Mathew Street Festival has been axed and replaced by new Liverpool International Music Festival © David Dawson/Flickr

More on page 3...

The news this week...

Plan Bee Organisation to give away 50 hives to help the declining bee population

My beauty nightmare!

The treatments that could end up costing you more than money

Victory at last ...

Tongan five help Old Anselmians to their first away win in nearly 18 months

More on page 4

More on page 9

More on page 15

Life/News/2

Butchers reap scandal benefit

by Sarah Bold Butchers in Liverpool have today noted an increase in the number of customers following the horsemeat scandal.

With horsemeat finding its way into products ranging from beef readymeals and school dinners, it appears that local shoppers are turning their back on supermarkets at the heart of the scandal and buying fresh meat from independent outlets.

Trisha Miller, of Richmond Deli, said: “We certainly have seen an increase, most of our meat is prepared and cooked on the premises by our own butcher and chef, so people know what they’re getting is beef.”

Prescott Farms butchers, in St. John’s market, said: “It’s a bit of a mixture of how it’s affected the trade, it’s had some good effects.

It’s opened people’s eyes to supermarkets and the ways that they fool people with the things that they sell.

“It’ s always better to shop at your local butchers, that’s what people are starting to realise now. It’s going to take time for people to get the confidence to shop for meat in supermarkets again.”

Dean Harris of A.I. Roberts butchers in West Kirby said: “I think people have been deceived. Horse meat is not going to do you any harm, it’s the drugs that they give the horses.

When you buy a beef burger it should only be beef.”

Mr Harris went on to say that he is delighted with his store seeing a 30 percent increase in business since the issue was first highlighted earlier this month.

He said: “For us it has been good news, but it’s been a long time coming. You can’t buy 20 burgers for a pound and expect quality but what you get is what you pay for and that is what has happened.

Redundancies at Republic

by Sophie Marsden

B Clarke and Family butchers on Allerton Road in Mossley Hill “I still think there is a lot more to come out. But it is good news for the small retailers. We buy quality and everything we buy is traceable back to the farm and that gives customers confidence in what they are buying.”

A.I. Roberts is not the only independent family butcher in Merseyside to note a 30 percent rise, as a similar increase in business has been reported at B Clarke & Family Butchers on Allerton Road in Mossley Hill.

Liverpool

Life Team

Editors Ian Bolland Revise Editor Tara Lamb News Editor Alice Kirkland News Arild Skjaeveland David Williamson Hannah Ashraf Vanessa Gainford Features editor Michaela Shaw

Republic at Liverpool One © thinkretail/CreativeCommons/

Features Hayley Minn Lauren Kelly Andrew McKenna Sport editor Ryan McCann Sports Sara Ainsworth Eoghain McKane Picture editor Joe Lanigan-Smith

Copy editors

Rosie Cameron

Rory O’Reilly

Danny Trampnow of F Trampnow & Sons butchers on Scotland Road said: “I was in Sicily three weeks ago, they sell it in the supermarkets there and as soon as you put it next to beef it just stands out. It is purple; the colour of the meat is like deep maroon purple. There is no fat on it at all and it just stands out.

“You will never see it in butchers because you could never pass it off as raw but all these manufacturers, once it’s cooked it just turns brown

like beef right away.”

Mr Trampnow was also hopeful that the press coverage will benefit his business: “A customer has just come in to say it’s been on the television, to tell everyone to go back to the butchers, so it might make us a bit busier.

“It is a dying trade anyway, I think with it being in the paper every day last week, that they were taking the tin cans off the shelf and now that it has been on the news I think we might do a little bit more.”

Clothing store Republic is the latest high street retailer to go into administration.

The news was announced last week and Ernst & Young was appointed administrator to the chain of stores across the UK. There are four Republic stores across Merseyside, including Liverpool One, Birkenhead, Chester and Warrington. The shops will continue to trade while the search for a buyer continues. The website has been shut down and the only information it provides is details of the administration and the current sale at the stores.

Republic has 121 shops in total and 2,500 employees, all of which now risk losing their jobs. The head office is situated in Leeds, and since the announcement, 150 staff have already been made redundant.

The fashion store focused most of its retail in the North of England, which is an area particularly badly affected by the recession.

Staff tweeted the following after the announcement: “Sadly #Republic is now in the hands of Administrators.

We did all we could but it’s simply too tough out there. Thanks for your support.”

One employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The stock’s been really bad for ages and they’ve been cutting corners with the stock quality-wise.

“I had a feeling something was going on about a month ago when they were really pushing internet sales and then last week it became

pretty much official that we were in trouble.

“They were supposed to get rid of half the stores and that would have helped, but the landlords wouldn’t lower the rent payments or contracts so now the administrators have taken over.

“They have sacked half of the head office staff and the staff at the stores will be next. The website is closed now and we’re not taking gift cards or returns.”

The youth clothing brand has been struggling for a while and suffered from poor trading in recent years, as more people turn to online to shop.

Republic’s profits were down by eight-six percent in the year leading to January 2012.

The administration of Republic is the latest of the high street stores to announce the same news.

Other recent closures have included Comet, Jessop’s, HMV and Blockbuster. Liverpool’s popular hardware store Rapid also announced its closure earlier this month.

Which? gave a statement providing advice for Republic customers: “If a store goes into administration it may refuse to accept gift vouchers, though this situation may change.

“If they do refuse and you need to make a claim, write to the administrators with proof of your vouchers.

“Unfortunately there is no guarantee that you will get the full value back, and a claim could take some time for the administrators to process.”

Republic joins other well-known high street shops such as Rapid and Blockbuster in administration.

Hygiene horror hits home at Chinese restaurant

by Jess Etherington

A popular Chinese restaurant in Liverpool city centre was almost closed on the spot after their food hygiene was found to be so poor.

Liverpool magistrates court heard that the self-service restaurant on Hanover Street had rat droppings found on food, raw eggs and defrosting chicken next to cooked food and that they had no cleaning routine for cleaning rooms where food was stored and prepared.

The environmental health officer from Liverpool City Council visited the restaurant six times between March 2012 and October 2012 and found that on each occasion they were breaching food safety regulations Buffet Star Ltd and its managing director Jung Wai Hui of Glendyke Road L15 pleaded guilty to 20 breaches of the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006.

The director and the company were each fined a total of £24,000 and ordered to pay £5,216.05 costs.

On his first inspection on 29th March 2012 an environmental health officer noted that the lack of routine cleaning had resulted in a major build-up of food debris and congealed grease on surfaces

A major build-up of food debris and congealed grease on kitchen equipment including floors, walls pipework, equipment and doors.

The tiled floor covering was damaged which meant it could not be easily cleaned or disinfected and the walk-in refrigerator was covered by unclean cardboard.

There was evidence of rat droppings in the food storage room and the food handlers wore unclean protective clothing and showed a poor level of personal hygiene.

Additionally the same chopping boards were being used for both raw and cooked food and there was no soap or towels in the wash hand basin in the kitchen

Staff were ordered to stop preparing food and start cleaning the restaurant and it was only not closed on the spot as it was so close to closing time.

The following day the officer returned and found that although extensive cleaning had been done further cleaning was necessary to remove food debris and grease from the floor and equipment surfaces.

Upon further visits the officer found the restaurant still was not improving its hygiene standards or cleaning routine, and on the final visit more rat droppings were found in the boiler room where food was being stored.

Councillor Tim Moore, Liverpool City Council cabinet member, said: “This is an appalling example of putting profits before public health.

It is baffling that he continued to operate in this way despite all the warnings. These fines should be a warning to those who put people’s health at risk” Katie Lawrence, from Wallasey, used to eat regularly at the restaurant.

She said: “I went to eat there with the girls at the end of last year. I’ve always enjoyed eating there, very clean and pleasant from the outside - but it just shows you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors!”

Life/News/3 Fashion Police uniforms unveiled

by Sophie Marsden

Mathew Street Festival on August Bank Holiday 2007 © Flickr/ Hddod

An empty Mathew Street after the festival cancellation in 2013

What is the future for Mathew Street?

by Emma Callum

Bars and businesses are preparing for a summer without the Mathew Street Festival for the first year since 1993.

The popular August bank holiday attraction is to be replaced by Liverpool International Musical Festival, which will take place at Pier Head and Sefton Park.

The festival normally attracts around 300,000 people a year, but because of cuts to funding, the council can no longer afford the £320,000 it costs Mayor Joe Anderson made the announcement in an interview with BBC Radio Merseyside, saying the move is due to budget cuts the council are experiencing. Local businesses in the area are concerned that the diversion of tourists will mean a negative impact on the economy.

Local taxi driver Mark Doyle, Aigburth said: “I think it’ll be a really bad burden on our livelihood as a taxi trade and the three-day festival really helps the taxi trade out. It’ll have a bad effect on hotels, retailers and everybody else around the area. I don’t think cutting the festival altogether is the right thing to do.”

Hotels surrounding the popular street are also concerned the axing will mean a drop in business. Duty Manager Rebecca Elliott at the Premiere Inn, Vernon Street, believes saying goodbye to the festival will also mean the same for

customers.

She added: “Loads of people come from all over the country for the festival to see the Beatles tribute bands and other live music. We’re normally overbooked at the time of the year, and people make bookings for the next year two weeks after the event. I don’t think we will be as busy this year though because of this.”

However, Carl, Manager of Revolution at the Cavern Quarter, believes the new festival change won’t stop people visiting the popular hotspot.

He said: “It has been getting worse year on year since the council have taken over; the quality has been getting watered down. I think it will actually benefit the Mathew Street area with it not being run by the council.”

He also argued that it won’t deter people from going out.

“People will still want to go into town for the weekend and it’ll be better because there won’t be stages everywhere.

We’ll just put our own live stuff on anyway.”

Jack Dunne, from Garston, who is a taxi driver in the area, disagrees though. He said: “It’s taking business out of the economy. The tourists want to be in the city centre not somewhere else in the city. It’s not going to be good for the bars around here because they get so much trade when the festival is on. People are bound to lose their jobs because of this decision.”

A new exhibition in Liverpool is showcasing the changing styles of police uniform.

The display at the Met Quarter shopping centre is called ‘Fashion Police’ and is a free exhibition open to everyone and runs till the 26th March.

The display has been developed by Merseyside Police and aims to demonstrate the role that police in the area have played throughout history.

The exhibition features police uniforms and memorabilia dating from the 1800s to the present day. Vintage uniforms on display include capes and hobnail boots. Visitors are invited to try on the uniforms and the exhibition will also provide a history of policing through the ages.

British police uniform has remained iconic and this exhibition will provide visual evidence of how it has been adapted and changed over hundreds of years.

Police in Merseyside have been given the opportunity to show themselves in a different light this month, firstly through Colin Lewis’s photographic exhibition ‘Portrait of a modern police force’ and now the uniform exhibition.

Merseyside Police Chief Constable Jon Murphy told Liverpool Life: “It reflects the changing of police uniforms over the last 200 years. It very clearly reflects the significant changes in the force and also how uniform has become more protective.

“For some time the force has been working with the council to have a museum in St George’s hall.

“It shows that we think our history is important and we’re proud of that.”

Chief Constable Murphy has worked in the police force for 38 years and opened the exhibition last week.

Merseyside’s new Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy also attended the opening.

Schools in Merseyside are also invited to get involved, and are being given the opportunity to enter a competition to design the police uniform of the future.

Pound a home

by Maddi Conforth

Brazilian Beatles tribute group All You Need Is Love playing at the Cavern Club this morning to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first number one single in the UK charts “Please Please Me” Photo: Paul Collins

Plans have been put forward to bring boarded up homes in Liverpool back in to use, by selling them to local people for just one pound.

The homes are situated in Granby, Four Streets, Webster Triangle East and Arnside Road in the Kensington Renewal Area.

The ‘Homesteading’ scheme will see up to twenty properties being sold to local people for one pound. Buyers would be expected to refurbish the properties to Decent Home Standard meaning they must be in a reasonable state or repair, be warm and weatherproof and have reasonably modern facilities.

Life/News/4

Bee happy - and save the planet

Campus security in knife attack horror

by Maddi Cornforth

by Maddi Cornforth

A local organisation is to lead the way in Merseyside bee-keeping after receiving funding from Peoples Postcode Lottery.

Blackburne House Group, based in Liverpool city centre is known for educating unemployed women with the skills to get employment and is one of the UK’s leading social enterprises.

The organisation is aiming to supply almost 50 hives, as well as the bees themselves and the necessary planting and training in bee keeping needed to keep a hive successfully. Beekeeping as a trade and hobby is in decline, but Blackburne House hopes to revive it.

Andrea Rushton, spokesperson for Blackburne House said: “It is our wish to help tackle the effects of climate change locally by highlighting the decline of the Honey Bee and to try and support the increase of its presence.

“We are fortunate that we have the support of the Mayor, Joe Anderson on this as Liverpool is one of the few local authorities that has both a Green Agenda and Carbon Reduction Commitment.”

The scheme is the first project in Merseyside to be funded by the Peoples Postcode Lottery and is due to start shortly. Blackburne House sees the project as an opportunity to tackle issues of climate change locally in a fun and achievable way. They hope it will bring people of all ages, genders and backgrounds together to learn the art of bee keeping.

Andrea Rushton said, “I personally feel like I will be able to make a difference to the plight of the Bee and will also be able to ensure that there are future generations of Bee Keepers. I am thrilled that Blackburne House

Four men wielding a machete attacked a worker at a Liverpool University halls of residence last week.

The security worker was set upon whilst filling up a cashpoint at Carnatic Halls, on North Mossley Hill Road, on Wednesday 13th February.

Students watched in horror as the four men, who were carrying a machete type weapon, threatened the man before assaulting him and demanding the cashbox. The males took the box from the guard and got into a blue coloured vehicle before driving away.

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: “At about 11.55am a security guard delivering a cash box to a cash machine located in Liverpool University’s Carnatic Halls on North Mossley Hill Road when he was approached by four males.

“The guard sustained minor injuries during the incident and has been left shaken following the incident.

“House-to-house enquiries have been undertaken and CCTV is being sought from the area.

“During the search of the area officers discovered a blue Ford C-Max alight nearby. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service attended and extinguished the blaze.”

The vehicle has since been sent for examination and Liverpool University have released a statement.

A spokesperson said: “Incidents like these are extremely rare. The university takes the safety of its students, staff and visitors extremely seriously and we work closely with police and other agencies to optimise security at both our city centre campus and our halls of residence in South Liverpool.

Our halls of residence benefit from 24-hour security patrols and dedicated police officers.”

Climate change council

by Jamie Allen

Knowsley Council are the first council in the North West to sign a pledge with the aim to tackle climate change.

The Local Government Association’s ‘Climate Local’ pledge has commitments to reducing carbon emissions and preparing for the future effects of a changing climate.

The council’s aim will be to reduce overall emissions in Knowsley by at least 20% by 2020; the council will also support local businesses and households to achieve the same goals.

Cllr Ron Round, Leader of Knowsley Council, who signed the pledges on behalf of the council, said: “At Knowsley we take our responsibility for addressing climate change seriously. The council is already taking action to reduce carbon emissions and save money through energy and fuel efficiency.”

Knowsley Council has also joined the European Covenant of Mayors which is a separate commitment to reduce carbon emissions but on a Europe wide scale.

A bee hard at work pollunating a flower ©Andreas/Creative Commons/Flickr has been given the opportunity.

“We have been educating women for 30 years this year and this is an excellent addition to the legacy we are able to leave behind.”

The organisation will provide training to communities, voluntary works, tenant groups and anyone else that is interested.

To find out more visit www. blackburnehouse.co.uk.

 There are about 20,000 different species of bees in the world.  Bees live in colonies and there are three types of bees in each colony – The Queen Bee, The Worker Bee, The Drone.  The Drone’s only job is to mate with the Queen.

sack attached to their stinger.

Bee Facts  Worker bees clean the hive, collecting pollen and nectar to feed the colony and take care of young.  Bees store their venom in a

 Only female bees sting – this is because the stinger is part of the female bee’s reproductive design.  Some bees die after stinging because their stingers have little barbs or hooks on them which are ripped away.

Wirral Waters to go green

by Kate Molyneux

A major environmental project is set to take place on the Wirral with 1200 trees to be planted.

The scheme will cost £1.4 million, and Wirral council says it will transform key streets in the Wirral Waters development as well as existing communities in North Birkenhead.

Wirral Waters Development is a £4.5 billion project that will transform the Birkenhead Dock on the River Mersey by regenerating the area and providing jobs. It is the largest regeneration project in the UK, and is an opportunity for Wirral to become environmentally friendly and sustainable, creating over 20,000 jobs.

Part of the development includes making the proposed International Trading Centre a ‘green’ place by planting over 1,000 trees at the Wirral Waters site. The first tree planted was a Gingko tree, the national tree of China, with help from Wirral Council leader Phil Davies, in order to generate a new landscape in one of the countries most deprived areas.

Cllr Davies said: “I think it’s a really imaginative idea to use urban tree-planting as to enhance quality of life.

It’s a really exciting project.”

An artist’s impression looking across Illchester Park before and after the tree planting project

The project will be delivered by Mersey Forest and will be funded by the Forestry Commission via the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The council is also working with Peel Holdings as part of the wider Wirral Waters project

to regenerate the area and create new economic growth.

Ben Greenaway, Green Streets Coordinator at The Mersey Forest, said: “The Wirral Green Streets scheme will brighten 8km of key transport routes into Birkenhead’s docks to

enhance local neighbourhoods, provide more attractive walking and cycling routes to Wirral Waters, and demonstrate to investors that the area’s regeneration is moving beyond its planning phase into delivery on the ground.”

Free dog chipping offer

by Maddi Cornforth Dogs Trust Merseyside are offering free microchipping for one weekend only.

The centre in Huyton will welcome dogs from Saturday 16 March 2013 - Sunday 17 March 2013.

They will chip as many dogs as the owner brings free of charge, but remind the public that any donations to the centre are welcome.

Dogs will be chipped on a drop-in basis during the weekend event; however, if you’d like your dog to be chipped by us and you can’t make these dates, please call the centre to make an appointment for another day.

Find out more about the benefits of microchipping at www.chipmydog.org.uk.

Life/News/5

Salon sign causes a stir

by Jessica Etherington

The cutting edge logo of a Wallasey hair salon has caused a local resident to complain to the council for it to be removed.

The resident, believed to live in the area but not in view of the salon, finds the salon’s new artwork disgusting and offensive, believing it will attract the wrong type of people to the area.

However, Mac & Mohawk is moving to new premises on Rake Lane and owner Iain Mcintosh is hoping for the salon to stand out from the competition in the area.

Mr Mcintosh said: “I have had nothing but good response about our logo, it is a landmark for the area and a talking point.

I have not met anybody who does not like it.

“We just wanted to be different, we wanted to cause a stir but not to offend anyone at all!”

Iain, who has been a hairdresser for over 25 years, believes that the graffiti art design, which was created by an artist called Gary Pate from Uthink Cic is art and brings something original to the area.

Gary said: “Without graffiti

Scientists begin chimp study

by Daniel Farrell

Chimps at Chester Zoo use grooming as a currency, according to new research from an LJMU scientist.

A group of LJMU scientists have found evidence that suggests chimps use grooming as a form of currency. Dr Koyama collaborated with LJMU’s Professor Filippo Aureli to complete the study which was carried out at Chester Zoo. LJMU’s Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology found evidence to support a mating market with the chimps at Chester Zoo, with sexually receptive females receiving and being able to demand more grooming from males. The research which was carried out over a three-year period, has now been published been published in the journal ‘Animal Behaviour’. It showed that males gave more grooming to females when they had swelling on their bottoms, indicating the time of ovulation. The scientists also discovered that males who were ranked higher gave less grooming than males of lower ranking and therefore ‘paid’ less.

Dr Koyama said: “This study is about the evolution of cooperation and how cooperative behaviour is maintained. We’ve found evidence to support supply and demand within the context of a mating market. This has only ever been found before in humans and red weaver birds.”

we would not have the historical representation of culture, day to day living and the community life of cave men. Yes that is how long humans have been painting on walls. Urban art is not to everyone’s liking and the guy is entitled to his opinion, even if ill informed.”

Thomas McHugh, who lives in direct eye-line of the new salon, which will be opening Tuesday 25th February said: “There’s a lot worse things to be complaining about, the Mac Mohawk design is art and personally, I love it!

“I think the older generation should try to embrace it instead of just seeing it as graffiti in a negative way. People are always going to complain about something, but this is 2013.

Crazy is the new norm.”

The salon, which has run successfully for five years, currently resides on Seaview Road, but has had to find new premises as business is booming and requires a bigger site.

When the new salon opens it will employ between 15 and 20 people, and all of the current staff bar one are from the Wallasey area, which is something that is important to the owner.

JMU joins global organisation

by Maddi Cornforth

Talking point: Sign has been labelled offensive

JMU students are joining volunteers from across the world to build new houses in Toxteth.

Charity Habitat for Humanity is responsible for the scheme and are building 32 houses in total.

The organisation is a global charity originating from America.

It was founded in Liverpool ten years ago and is one of just three Habitat for Humanity posts in the UK. People have come from all over the world to volunteer on the Toxteth site, from places such as Sudan, China, Hong Kong, France and America.

The Territorial Army are also building a new road just behind Kingsley Road, in Toxteth where the houses will be built and putting in the drainage. Habitat for Humanity was givrn 2.2 acres of land by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and have already built nine houses. Another 23 are set to be built within the next two and a half years. Future homeowners of the new three-bedroom family homes are also helping to build their own houses as well as their future neighbour houses in what is called a ‘sweat equity’ scheme. In return for 500 hours of volunteer work on the project, future homeowners will receive £10, 000 towards their mortgage.

The homes are built to be cheap to run and to accommodate growing families, who, without Habitat for Humanity, would not be able to afford to be on the property ladder.

Liza Parry, Executive Director said: “The difference between other developers and us is that we’re actually building a community. The homeowners are building the houses together so they’re getting to know each other as neighbours before they’ve even moved in.

“Our current homeowners still volunteer and that fact that we can involve local people, whether that be JMU students or graduates, trainees or local unemployed people and give them that opportunity to give something to the community.”

At least 20 students from the university are currently volunteering, building the houses.

A lot of these are studying engineering or architecture.

Habitat for Humanity is also involved with the LJMU. The Toxteth housing scheme gives people the chance to develop their skills and gain confidence in working. `Liza Parry has said that many people do not have the confidence to work if they have been unemployed for a long time.

Loan help makes dreams come true

by Jamie Allen

A spiring entrepreneurs in Merseyside will be able to get financial help to realise their dreams with a new scheme launching later this week.

Start Up Loans is a government scheme that works throughout the UK to provide start up loans to 1830 year old, once they sign up to the scheme they receive low cost

loans and valuable mentoring Since the scheme launched last year over 1000 businesses have started up and Mayor Joe Anderson believes it can have the same success.

He said: “I am sure that we will have a lot of successful entrepreneurs as a result of this initiative. We have a lot of young people with imagination, ideas and drive. They just need the funding

and guidance to get them started in setting up in business.”

Liverpool-based Riverside credit union has been appointed as the scheme’s partner in Merseyside and they have secured £5m pounds in funding from the Start Up Loans Company.

The main focus of the scheme is not about the money, there is a lot of focus on the mentoring that goes along with it. Chairman of

the company and former Dragon’s Den star James Caan believes this can make a massive difference.

He said: “In the beginning, we started 500 businesses in five months. We have now achieved 500 businesses in five weeks. This goes to show that people across the country have the passion to be entrepreneurs.”

The Start Up Loan’s company was set up by David Cameron’s

Enterprise Advisor Lord Young of Graffham to give over a million unemployed young people a viable career option in business.

It was initially targeted at 18-24 year-olds but earlier this year it was expanded to 30-year-olds.

Anyone who is interested in starting their own business can visit the dedicated website. www.riversidecreditunion.co.uk/ startupliverpool .

Life/Style/6

Can you have too many student homes in a city?

One of several buildings across the city being renovated for student housing.

Pictures by Sophie Marsden

As plans to transform a former hotel into student accomodation are revealed, Sam McDonnell and Sophie Marsden discover not everyone is happy Multimillion pound plans to convert a gigantic former hotel into a student block have led to concerns about the amount of student accommodation in the city centre.

The Scandinavian Hotel on the edge of Chinatown is the latest building to undergo a student-based revolution, joining other notable structures including the Grade II listed St Andrew’s Church of Scotland on Rodney Street, a proposed construction on Hope Street and expansion of Grand Central’s capacity by Lime Street Station.

The Hope Street project announcement was met with ire from some local residents, and the news of the Scandinavian Hotel scheme on the corner of Berry Street and Duke Street has induced many of the same concerns.

Frankie Feeney, a 52-year-old care worker from the city centre, said: “It’s a waste for it to be turned into student apartments. It should be turned back to the original way as it was, as a hotel.

There’s too many student accommodations round Liverpool now, it’s changed that much it’s unbelievable.

“Everywhere you go it’s not houses for people who need it, it’s houses for students who don’t even live in the city, who come here for a few months a year and then get off and leave the city in a state, especially on a student night out.”

Old Swan resident Heather Campbell’s concerns were reluctantly pushed aside in pragmatism.

The 66-year-old retiree said: “It does seem like they’re popping up everywhere,

but I don’t know what else you could do with the buildings. It’s not the best thing that could happen with the city but people have to make money and students have to live somewhere so we’ll just have to deal with it.”

Others, however, greeted the news more positively.

Jake Mitchell, 22, a construction worker, said: “It doesn’t really bother me. I think it’s great. It’s not as if many people can afford housing round here anyway so they might as well use it.

“And in the summer when they all go home it’s fine too – there’s less traffic!”

Downing, the property group responsible for the new development, released a statement saying they were planning to create 241 new student rooms in the his-

toric hotel building, but is this a sign of the times that the days of moving out the city centre in later years of study to live in private accommodation are over?

Student accommodation company Unite’s Service and Sales Manager for one of their student villages thinks it may be, in wake of their 26 new rooms being built on their grounds.

Chris Jones, from Grand Central, said: “What second year customers tend to say is that it’s a sort of rite of passage to live in private accommodation outside of the city centre; it’s an opportunity to live a little and, on paper, a lower price is always attractive, but now with the higher tuition fees coming in we’re finding the students are wanting a better level of service as opposed to just being price

driven.”

Mr Jones did admit that there could be a point of ‘saturation’ within the city centre with more and more options coming into play for residency, but he was confident his operation offered a service that was required by an increasing number of students.

He said: “A lot of the time the people who choose to go in private properties outside of the city centre think it’s good because it’s only £60-per-week, but coming into town can be money on taxis, whose name is going to be on the bills?

What happens if you fall out?

“Sometimes people just want to do it, but, we have a huge percentage of people coming back to us in third year, saying, ‘it wasn’t that good’.”

Many buildings across the city, including the Scandanavian Hotel at the edge of Chinatown (far left) are being developed into student accomodation despite widespread anger

Liverpool

Life

Killing spree wins comedy award

By Sarah Bold A play which debuted at the Liverpool Everyman theatre has won the Time Out ‘Best New Comedy’ at the Whatsonstage awards.

The Whatsonstage awards are the only awards for the theatre based on public votes, based in London.

The Ladykillers, a play adapted from the 1955 black comedy film of the same name, was originally staged at the Everyman, before moving onto the Gielgud theatre in London.

The play had some stiff competition with Zach Braff of Scrubs’ first venture into playwriting.

His play, All New People, came a close second with 27.8% of the vote, with The Ladykillers receiving almost 31% of votes.

It was adapted by Graham Linehan, writer of Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd.

He said: “The producers thought that the Everyman had everything the play needed already in place. It’s a brilliant venue, the audiences were always nice but not too pushy.

“It’s always nice to see some of your work recognised, and especially nice to win an award.

I’m really proud of everyone, as everyone’s efforts turned into a great play.

“It’s sweet of them to give us the ‘Best New Comedy’ award, as the play was adapted from older material.

“There are more plans for The Ladykillers; we’re going to tour again in 2013, maybe with some differences to the cast.”

Spice Girl Mel C also won Best Supporting Actress at the awards for her role in Jesus Christ Superstar, and performed a song from the musical.

Cheers! The beer’s here

By Jess Etherington Liverpool Students’ Union will be holding its first beer festival this week.

Scholars Beer Festival will feature twelve real ales and three real ciders, aimed towards students who will be able to taste ten for £6.

The festival starts this Thursday 21st from 12noon to 12 midnight, and goes on to Saturday 23rd February.

Nadine Taylor, Venue Manager at the Students’ Union, organised the festival.

She said: “I am doing a beer festival because it is what students have told us in our Better Union Forum they want.

“It is always my overall objective to ensure that what I provide through Scholars is what students want.”

Nadine has been working closely with events management student Stuart Parkinson to organise it and is keen to help support him in his degree.

She said: “I help him understand the policies, procedures and everything behind putting on an event to support him the best I can with his project for his course.”

Stuart said: “I’m in my fourth and final year at LJMU. Organising the Beer Festival has benefited me in a few ways. Firstly, it’s given me some practical experience of running an event and using public relations tactics to help promote the event.

Secondly, this will go a long way in helping me with some of my modular coursework this semester.

I’d love to see Scholars Bar packed out!”

If the event turns out to be a success Scholars will be running it on a regular basis.

Liverpool dancers put their best feet forward to raise awareness of the campaign to fight violence towards women by using dance.

Across the globe, more than 200 countries signed up to take part in the first One Billion Rising event on Valentines Day, with activists, celebrities, including basketball player Royce White, and political leaders joining in the dance Starting in Samoa, the 48-hour long “rise” travelled across the world, through the Pacific Islands, Asia, Europe, Africa, and America.

Liverpool was one of many cities in the UK to take part in the event when organisers invited ris-

ers along to The Black-E on Great George Street.

Damien Kelly, Community Engagement Worker said: “It’s an important issue that needs to be raised. We are honoured to be a part of such a big movement.”

Beginning with an open Zumba and World Dance class full of upbeat songs celebrating women from around the world, risers arrived in their hundreds wearing red and black to mark their support of the movement.

The Liverpool event even saw a marriage proposal when Ceri Black announced to risers: “Thank you for making my proposal so special tonight guys - she said yes!”

Rossana Abueva, a One Billion

Music

25th February 02 Academy The Courteeners In their biggest UK headline tour to date, Indie rock band The Courteeners come to Liverpool ahead of the release of their third album Anna.

Tickets: SOLD OUT

21st February Philharmonic Pub, Hope Street Shiverpool Described as a trail blazing tour by Visit Liverpool this is Liverpool’s original and most famous historic ghost walk!

Date: Thursday 21st February 2013 Venue: The Philharmonic Pub » Location: Liverpool » Doors: 8:30pm til 9:45pm (last entry 8:30pm) This tour is popular with all age groups and appeals to a broad spectrum of people. Families, group nights out, team building or a romantic scare for two this tour has something for everyone.

Discover Liverpool’s most famous ghosts, grisly history and be taken on a journey that ends at the awe inspiring Gothic Anglican Cathedral.

Tickets: £11.00 full price and £8.00 concessions

Theatre

Arts

24th February Echo Arena Justin Bieber Teen sensation Justin Bieber hits Liverpool next week with his sold out World Tour ‘Believe’.

Justin Bieber will perform at the Echo Arena and be joined on tour by ‘Call Me Maybe’ star Carly Rae Jepsen as well as Australian pop star Cody Simpson.

Tickets: SOLD OUT

20th February - 3rd March Empire Theatre Phantom of the Opera Cameron Mackintosh presents a spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera coming to the Empire Theatre, Liverpool from February 20th to March 9th 2013.

This spectacular new production is directed by Laurence Connor, with choreography by Scott Ambler, Set Design by Paul Brown, Costume Design by Maria Björnson, Lighting Design by Paule Constable and Sound Design by Mick Potter.

The production is overseen

by Cameron Mackintosh and Matthew Bourne.

Liverpool SU staff get their delivery of beer in

Liverpool dancers fight abuse

by Emma Kemmery

What’s On...

The Phantom of the Opera became the longest running show in Broadway history on 9 January 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486th performance, surpassing the previous record holder Cats. This coincided with the Broadway and the US national touring company celebrating an unprecedented 20,000 performances in the United States. In October 2010 the London production celebrated its 10,000th performance.

Family Dancers taking part in One Billion Rising in Liverpool © ABPhotography

Rising UK organiser, said: “The invitation goes out to all women and men in the North-West region who would like to rise up.

“The event can take any form -

e.g. poetry reading, dance party, film showing, a theatrical staging of monologues, music and song, panel discussions and a flash dance mob.”

27th Feb – 3rd March Disney On Ice is back at the Echo Arena and includes more than 50 Disney characters.

The production will include characters such as Lilo and Stitch, Princess Tiana and Mickey Mouse as they exhibit surprses, skating and vibrant costumes.

Tickets: £13.00-£36.00 Family Tickets: £44.00 – £72.00

8th February - 3rd May Tate Liverpool Sylvia Sleigh Although widely over-looked in the field of modern and contemporary art, Sylvia Sleigh was a realist painter who became an important part of New York’s feminist art scene in the 1960s and beyond. She was particularly well-known for her explicit paintings of male nudes, which challenged the art historical tradition of male artists painting female subjects as objects of desire. The exhibition at Tate Liverpool will be Sleigh’s first UK retrospective, and the largest exhibition of her work to date Tickets: Free 22nd February The Gallery Liverpool, 41 Stanhope Street Erotic Art Exhibition Fine art sculpture and photography - the annual erotic exhibition showcasing fine art, photography and sculpture intended to evoke erotic arousal.

23rd February The Bluecoat, School Lane.

Bluecoat Heritage Day Discover the fascinating history and architecture of the Bluecoat, the oldest building in Liverpool city centre dating from the early 18th century. Its transformation from charity school to contemporary arts centre will be revealed in the first of our new heritage days.

Full programme on the Bluecoat website.

Tickets: Free

Life/Music /8

LIVERPOOL LIVE

PAVILIONS MARK END OF TOUR WITH STUDIO TIME

JMU jukebox RIHANNA - UNAPOLOGETIC Rihanna’s seventh studio album, ‘Unapologetic’, is an eclectic mix of sounds which almost mirrors the different sides to the star’s personality.

Once again the album is a true reflection of how Rihanna can continually re-invent her style as she incorporates a mixture of dubstep and pop with a slight urban feel to the album. Her striped back vocals in the powerful ballads ‘Diamonds’ and ‘Stay’ showcase Rihanna’s more delicate side, while the heartfelt and intimate tracks are similar to Adele’s ballads.

MICHAELA ROUTLEDGE

By David Williamson An up and coming Liverpool band is setting out the path for their future. Pavilions a post-hardcore, alternative rock band set sights on an album release.

Bassist Alex Male told JMU journalism: “We are in the final stages of putting the songs together for the new album, we’re making final tweaks and now it’s all about studio time and getting our demos recorded.

“With our newer material you can tell as a band we have matured, the song writing is more complex. There are a lot more heavy sections, melodic sections and more use of vocal harmonies.

“We feel the music more now; we can put a lot more across with the music and use it to better our performance on stage.”

Currently the band have an EP out on ITunes and other online stores, it contains three songs including their most popular single and music video ‘Science and Gods’ . Other songs on the EP include ‘Family Tree’ and ‘Hey baby let’s dance’.

“

“We did our first tour in November, it was the greatest feeling we have all ever had”

“

Pavilions were formed in the summer of 2011 under the name ‘Sydney Chasing Safety’. Since then only three of the original members remain in the band Tezz Roberts – Vocals, Ryan ‘Coop’ Cooper - Guitar/Vocals, and Tel Earthey - Drums.

Previous members of Pavilions have come and gone due to personal reasons, because of this the band needed to pick up a second guitarist and bassist, this saw the entrance of bassist Alex Male, and guitarist Alex Headen.

The band toured in 2012 and are currently booking

Waxxx-ing lyrical in Dreams A close look at the Waxxx in Dreams performance at HAUS

By Joel Richards @HAUS Considering I had never been before, I was eager to see what the fuss was all about at Waxxx having heard good things about their events.

Upon arrival at Greenland Street, I was unsure of what to expect as I approached the warehouse but once I stepped inside I drifted away amongst the clouds and dreamy paraphernalia which greeted me within every room that I entered into.

A different sound hit my ears I made my way through the various rooms taking in all

that was around me.

Although the likes of Escha and Tom O’Rorke made a sizeable impression on me, it was the Tea Street Band who I was there to see. Their year has got off to the best possible start; not only have they received airtime on BBC Radio 1 & 2 respectively, they have also featured on John Kennedy’s XFM show with new single ‘Push the feeling On’ set to be released soon.

In fact they have even featured on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch playlist and are set to showcase their talents in Ireland as part of ‘The Anfield Wrap: On Tour’, as well as featuring at New York Sound City in March.

With all the hype and excitement surrounding the lads at the moment it may have been

easy for them to get complacent.

However that wasn’t the case here as the five-pieces’ 40 minute set opened with the superb ‘Lost for Words’ before aimlessly drifting into ‘Summer Dreaming.’ Whilst they were struggling to compete with the sounds emanating from the other room, they seemed to cope well and amongst all the bubble foam that sprayed throughout the room, they pushed the feeling on and took them to another place where they left in a state of euphoria.

Overall I was left very impressed by the Waxxx guys who put on a great night and for just £5 it was worth every penny and I will certainly be looking to visit their next event.

their next tour for Spring 2013. Announcements will be made via social networks.

Alex said: “We did our first tour in November and it was the greatest feeling we have all had, it was a weeklong sleeping in a van, meeting new bands and playing for people in new areas.

“The band has got a lot tighter as time has gone on; everything’s a little more fluent.”

It wasn’t all without problems though, Alex said: “Our biggest problem on tour was finding a shower; luckily we came up with the plan of touring leisure centers and going swimming each morning.”

It hasn’t been the easiest journey for the band, Alex leaves this advice for anyone thinking about starting a band.

He said: “As a new up and coming band you will write songs that people will love whilst others hate it. Whilst receiving praise is the best part of being a musician, you have to remember that not everyone is going to like what you do. There are some negative comments that you can do nothing about, it is personal opinion. Other comments you can use and help you to develop your band further.”

Don’t miss Esco This Thursday sees local act Esco Williams take to the stage at the 02 Academy.

Having had a successful 2012 in which he won the 2012 MOBO Unsung Award, the self-professed “Soul Powered Nerd” has been championed by local publications such as The Anfield Wrap, and a headline appearance at the Hotham Street Venue is just reward for his emerging talent.

With an impressive array of funk, neo-soul, jazz and everything in between in one high-energy package, the Toxteth native has received over 100% of pledges in order to help fund the production of his first album. Now, follow-

Esco performing live ing the release of ‘New Challenger’ it appears that the only way is up for Williams and his burgeoning talent having been play listed on BBC Radio 1Xtra, and FLAVA. Esco’s energy and performance is that of a rock star.

AMELIA LILLY - SHUT UP The corporate seeds of ‘that reality talent show on’t telly’ continue to disperse across the ravaged landscape of chart music as another artificial shell has been dispatched from the mother ship. Not so Fresh from the production line, Amelia Lily shrieks, ‘shut up and give me whatever you’ve got’, instantly reeling you in with her impassioned, rasping vocals a la Kelly Clarkson.

Then, suddenly, we’re in the midst of Clubland live, and no one’s having a particularly good time.

JOSHUA NEVETT

JESSIE WARE – SWEET TALK As light as a feather and as dainty as a brittle china doll, ‘Sweet Talk’ exudes radiance while yearning, softly and quietly behind a sumptuous melody.

Honest, wholesome and heartfelt she displays uncertainty in her emotional convictions as each passing vocal is dripped in demeaning sentiment. It seems there’s an impending wave of nostalgia surrounding everything Jessie Ware does, heavily afflicted by the warm fuzzy enchantment of a by-gone era.

JOSHUA NEVETT

Life/Style/9

My luxury facial left me in agony The price one woman paid to look good

by Kate Molyneux It’s well known that Liverpool is one of the beauty capitals of the country, and as the cosmetic and beauty industry continues to thrive, it’s no wonder botch beauty treatments are on the rise.

Women now visit salons weekly and with summer drawing closer the beauty regimes commence, with spray tans, facials, tinting and even Botox, so that women feel their best for summer events and holidays.

But Liverpool Life spoke to one Liverpool woman who had a nasty experience when she went for a chemical facial peel at a salon near Anfield. “My facial peel treatment was a really bad experience,” said the 40 year-old woman, who did not wish to be named.

“I have had a lot of treatments done before, like facials, tinting, waxing and other cosmetic treatments and nothing has ever gone wrong. But when I went to a salon I had never been to before, I assumed they knew what they were doing; I was later left in agony.”

The Liverpool lady went for a chemical skin peel treatment that when performed correctly, should remove dead skin cells and renew your face, creating a smoother, younger and healthier glow.

“The yellowy cream that they put on is supposed to be left on a certain amount of time, depending on your skin type. I wasn’t offered any test or asked any questions really, just for my basic details. It felt fine when it went on, a little itchy, but after quite a long time the girl decided to take it off. I thought she had forgotten about me,” she said.

Later that night the 40 yearold woman’s skin got worse. Her skin was still red raw and she had developed a vicious rash on her cheeks and forehead. “I didn’t know what to do! So I put cold

compress on my face to cool it down, and I couldn’t speak to the salon because it was closed.

“The redness had gone down after a day but the rashes were still there days later. It makes me nervous to go and get other treatments now,” she said.

The usual procedure when having any sort of beauty treatment done is to have a ‘patch test’ somewhere on your skin prior to the treatment. Allergies should be noted with the salon, and a short consultation should be provided with treatments like tinting, facials or anything with chemicals that could harm the skin.

Now law firms have begun to help victims of botched beauty treatments, and Liverpool’s EAD Solicitors say the industry has seen an increase in the number of treatments going wrong because of human error or omissions.

Pam Williams, an advisor for EAD talked to Liverpool Life about Katy, beauty team solicitor and some of her cases.

“Katy Link deals with a wide range of cases involving beauty treatments. Several of her cases relate to treatments provided by beauty salons for the body and facials,” she said.

“Recently, Katy dealt with a client who attended a salon in Cheshire to have a Hot Stone massage. The hot stones were put on our client’s lower back and she suffered burns and then had to recieve medical treatment. We reported this matter to the clinic and following investigation, liability was admitted and the claim was successfully settled.”

Still many salons do not follow protocol and risk clients well-being. So as the summer approaches and people start preparing their beach body it is worth knowing what can be done to avoid short or long term damage, and escape a botched beauty accident.

“I wasn’t offered any test or asked any questions really, just for my basic details”

Top tips for beauty treatments from So Coco Rouge’s Katy So Coco Rouge is an Award Winning Salon based in the heart of Liverpool. They offer customers various services and treatments including manicures, waxing, and wedding packages.

Katy a member of staff at So Coco Rouge has never had any botched beauty treatments and she spoke to Liverpool Life about how we could avoid them too.

• Recommendation is always the best way to find your therapist. If you are still unsure always look into the salons reputation which you can usually find online.

• Every salon and its staff should have the relevant insurance to suit the treatments they offer.

This is a legal requirement.

• All beauty treatments should be carried out in a safe and hygienic environment. Always make sure all of the tools and equipment used have been cleaned in the correct manor.

• Every beauty and hair treatment should only be carried out by a fully trained and qualified

individual.

• All hair and beauty treatments no matter how big or small carry risk of chemical and physical damage.

• Numerous mistakes can be made dependent upon the treatment like incorrect quantities of product used can cause burns or

infections. One of the biggest causes of these is eye treatments for example eyebrow waxing and tinting.

• Always contact your salon/ therapist as soon as any sort of reaction occurs.

• Be sensible when choosing your treatment/salon. If an offer

sounds too good to be true it probably is.

• If you decide to go a step further and decide to have surgical treatments make sure you are 100% sure and understand the consequences if something goes wrong

Celeb regrets after unkindest cut Everyone likes to be told they look good and we try to look our best by going to the gym, eating healthy and by wearing expensive make-up and clothes. However for some, beauty goes far beyond these solutions and instead they attempt to achieve their dream image by going under the knife.

Celebrities are the people we most commonly associate with having plastic surgery. Being in the public eye 24/7 and trying to keep up with the young rising stars

in Hollywood can be quite intimidating and so celebrities want to look as beautiful as they can. Or in other cases, they have a feature that they hate and are desperate to get rid of and see no other answer that to turn to a surgeon for help.

But unfortunately these procedures do not always go as planned as found out by Leslie Ash, Bruce Jenner and Heidi Montag who have admitted to regretting their surgeries and would never recommend it to anyone.

Before Leslie Ash

Bruce Jenner

After

Heidi Montag has said she has been labelled ‘The surgery girl’

Life/Style/10 Life/Style/10

Here comes the

sun The sun is out! Its time to get excited.

It may only be February, but the latest Spring / Summer collections are warming us up nicely. Here are a few of the best pieces from some of the high street favourites...

Rihanna for River Island It’s not spring unless you throw in some yellow, and you can’t get more yellow than this. Everything about this dress sums up Rihanna’s signature style - sexy and playful.

2

Accessorize strawberry cross body bag £25 Nothing screams spring like a nice juicy strawberry! Get sweet with this colourful signature piece, bound to make you stand out in the crowd.

Primark Dress £20 Wedge trainer £15

Asos midi skirt £35 Pink to make the boys wink - and they will be winking with this bright number. Girly, floaty and flirty. A much needed boost to our wintery wardrobes.

Misguided.com high waisted skinny jeans £26.99 The joy of jeans! They are an all time favourite - and the truth is, they are timeless. So what better way to spend your cash than a good old set of skinny jeans - whether you team them with a pair of boots, sandles, ballet pumps, trainers, killer heels, whatever, they are sure to go with pretty much anything.

Primark Aztec cardigan £14 We all know that the great British weather is terribly unpredictable.

One minute you’re sunning yourself up in a strappy cami top, next it’s blowing a gale and you’re dithering away. Don’t get caught short - carry a cardigan!

Bonprix tri colour blouse £24.99 Smart casual is clever - play it safe with this sophisticated yet youthful blouse. A staple piece for an easy day/ night transition

Life/Health/11

Fast food tax eats into obese Britain’s pocket

by Dani Baldwin

Doctors across the UK are calling for a fat tax of up to 20% on fizzy drinks to tackle the growing rate of obesity in the country.

The calls for reform come at the same time as national chip week.

For a nation that celebrates fatty foods, is it any wonder that obesity is such a large problem?

Over 26% of adults and a shocking 1 out of 7 children in the UK are obese. Being overweight increases the risk of health complications such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Treating overweight patients in the UK costs the NHS an estimated £500 million a year and this figure is expected to grow as surgical procedures such as gastric bands increase in availability and popularity.

Doctors blame junk food and fizzy drinks for the obesity epidemic that has caused the UK to become the fattest nation in Europe. They argue that increasing tax on fatty produce will help to curb people’s bad eating habits.

So if junk food is causing such a problem why do we promote unhealthy food?

This week is chip week, a national celebration of chips running from Monday 18th to Thursday 21st February. Fries

are the nation’s favourite, from chunky chips, curly fries to wedges but does this only encourage overeating?

According to a recent survey, in one year we eat nearly three billion meals containing chips and over 250 million fish and chip meals are sold in the UK each year.

David Linton, director of Triple F Chips, who supply potatoes and chips to award winning chip shops all over the UK said: “Fish and Chips is the traditional British dish and has been around for 150 years. It is a very good nutritional meal and very tasty when cooked properly. I personally don’t believe a tax like this is workable.

How do you define what is healthy and unhealthy? We certainly do not advocate unhealthy eating and I enclose a poster in our shop and on the website.”

David’s shop, Western Grove in Chester, will be handing out free chips with all meals this week but have teamed up with Chester Rugby Club to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.

He said: “I will probably eat our fish about twice a week, but will train 6 days per week and still play competitive touch rugby.”

We spoke to the public to see what their thoughts on the fat tax are.

Kelly Reddington, 21 from

Manchester said: “Like everything else that’s had tax put on it including cigarettes and alcohol, people are still buying them. It’s just more money for the tax man. I don’t think added tax would bother people much.”

Christie Eardly, 21 from Manchester said: “I agree & disagree.

It’d probably stop me buying junk food but for obese people I don’t think it’d do much, I think they would still buy it.”

Calories Factbox Can of coke: Can of Fanta: 1 regular portion of chip shop chips: Big Mac: Medium margarita pizza per slice: Bar of galaxy chocolate: Chicken Tikka Masala with rice: Chicken super noodles:

139 Calories 160 Calories 956 Calories 550 Calories 220 Calories 250 calories 890 Calories 497 Calories

Autism charity launches Play areas to major fundraising appeal go smoke-free

by Scott Fitzpatrick

Liverpool City Council has given the go-ahead for a new scheme to stop smoking in play areas across Merseyside and Cheshire.

The scheme, which is intended to lower the number of children under the age of 16 that take up smoking, will be put in place in over 100 play areas across the region, with 40 play areas in Liverpool being specifically targeted.

According to Heart of Mersey, three out of four children under the age of five are aware of cigarettes and nationally an estimated 330,000 children under the age of 16 have tried their first cigarette. Over 94% of people supported the scheme to decrease the number of young people smoking.

Robin Ireland, Chief Executive at Heart of Mersey, said: “This is part of a number

by Katie Croft A charity dedicated to helping people with autism has launched a major campaign.

Wirral Autistic Society, which provides extra care for families of autism sufferers, was set up in 1968 by a group of six families struggling to provide the support that their autistic children needed when approaching adulthood.

Autism is a lifelong development condition, and a child with autism needs extra care and support.

There are currently 550,000 families across the UK who have children who suffer from autism but with only 3000 places at residential homes across the country, there are still many families who need help.

The Wirral Autistic Society has now launched its biggest appeal in its 45-year history. The first phase of the lifetime appeal will see the society’s original home, Raby Hall, completely redeveloped at a cost of £755,000.

The project will create a brand new, state of the art accommodation for eight people who suffer from autism.

Thomas Whelan, 21 will be one of those who will benefit from this project. Rick Myers, fundraiser for WAS said: “Thomas is one of the ones who will be affected by the move. He is quite sensitive to noise and the environment and finds it difficult to live in Raby Hall as it’s just not fit for purpose anymore, having narrow corridors, no en-suite facilities and it being very noisy at meal times.

“We want to build something we can leave for future generations.

Our homes are a home for life.”

While the society’s current facilities provide a great service, they are dated, far from ideal and unable to

of things we are doing in a bid to de-normalize how cigarettes appear to young children. So far we have had no reports of any issues with the scheme. We knew beforehand that there was large support from smokers and nonsmokers.

“In addition to this, the problem with cigarette stubs being dropped has also been wiped out.”

This is not the first scheme of its type as similar projects in countries such as Spain, Hong Kong and Singapore have been in place for a while now. Seven councils across Liverpool and Cheshire, including Knowsley and Halton, have already implemented the scheme across 602 play areas.

Mr Ireland said: “There is much more awareness now about the importance of not smoking in front of children. This helps to ensure that children are less likely to be subjected to smoke.”

Arthur Johnson and Rick Myers, of Wirral Autistic Society accommodate the amount of residents the society attracts.

Because of the lack of services the homes can offer at the moment residents are restricted in their potential to achieve. Guests at the new Raby Hall facility will enjoy a lot more comfort in their everyday lives with the aim to allow them to live like any other person.

Mr. Myers is aiming to raise the funds necessary within the next 18 months so that the redevelopment can take place as soon as possible.

The appeal has already received

a massive boost with a generous donation of £7,500 from Mike Rice, owner of the Queens Royal Hotel, New Brighton. The hotel adopted the society as its charity more than a year ago and has already made a massive difference.

After attending the launch Mr. Rice said: “I was very touched by a video which was screened illustrating the urgent need for updated, modern residential facilities which will make such a difference to the clients’ lives.”

The society also offers family

support services, as it specialises in providing care for young adults aged 16 and above, it is often helpful for parents to have financial advice, along with coping and management skill workshops.

Arthur Johnson, Press Officer for Wirral Autistic Society said: “There isn’t formal help for sufferers once they are out of education which makes this all the more important.”

The Lifetime Appeal is a three phase development which, in total, is set to cost in the region of £2.5 million over the next ten years.

Launch of the Smoke-Free campaign

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Life/Sport/13

UFC stars suffer defeat

by Daniel Farrell

Liverpool’s two UFC fighters have had an unhappy weekend in London with both fighters losing due to shock decisions.

The two scousers Terry Etim and Paul Sasswho are part of Team Kaobons based in Wavertree, were heavily favoured in both their fights, however were both beaten on points decisions at the weekend.

The sold-out Wembley Arena played host to the UFC this weekend and both fighters were big favourites on home soil.

Sass, from Croxteth, was the clear favourite going into his fight with American Danny Costillo.

The victory looked foregone conclusion as Sass made an early submission attempt in the first round only for Costillo to break free. The frustration continued as Sass numerous attempts of submissions were countered with Costillo eventually taking the fight to a close split decision.

Sass record now stands at 13 wins and 2 losses with no draws; however the Liverpool lad is still highly regarded as one of the hot prospects in the UFC lightweight division.

Wavertree’s Etim also looked to repeat his first three UFC performances in which he emerged victorious, looking to bounce back from the devastating knockout he received from Brazilian Edson Barboza last year.

Etim has managed to establish himself in the UFC lightweight division making his debut in 2007. Heavily favoured Etim was however upset by opponent Renee Forte, as he failed to really get into the fight. Etim took some heavy punches throughout the fight, mainly in the second when the fight was almost stopped after some heavy punches coming from Forte.

Etim managed to make it to the end of the fight however the judges voted unanimously for Forte. The 27-year-old Etim’s record drops to 15-5 and in four fights with Brazilians he has lost each one.

However the Wavertree-based Team Kaobon did have some success with Sunderland’s Andy Ogl, winning his earlier fight.

Fury play off blow

by Jamie Allen LJMU’s American Football team hindered their chances of a playoff place after an embarrassing 54-0 loss to Sheffield Sabres yesterday.

The Fury have a record of two wins and four losses with just one game remaining and it leaves them with a big gap to the leaders in the Big North Western Conference of the British Universities American Football League (BUAFL).

LJMU sit 6th in their respective conference, the Big North Western Conference, some six games behind the impressive leaders the unbeaten Derby Braves.

JMU were never really in the game as their opponents racked up the points in an uncompromising fashion.

The team are looking to improve next year as they hope to capitalise on the rise in popularity the sport has had in the UK in the last five years.

The BUAFL was set up in 2007 to take over from its predecessor the British Collegiate American Football League.

Fans group calls for ticket price reduction

by Joel Richards

Liverpool Supporters Union Spirit of Shankly has joined a nationwide campaign in a bid to lower ticket prices for football fans.

The Football Supporters Federation’s “Score Campaign” which was launched in Manchester last month, aims to see ticket prices for travelling fans capped at £20 for adults with SOS working alongside the national supporters organisations such as FSF and Supporters Direct (SD) ‘in order to develop a nationwide alliance that brings together supporters of as many clubs as possible in this common cause.’

The campaign has recently gathered momentum after Liverpool fans displayed banners showing their displeasure at recent matches after they were charged £62 for their Premier League match against Arsenal, as well as £51£53 for their trip to Manchester City.

A banner on display at the Etihad Stadium said “Working Class Game- Business Class Prices” whereas another simply stated “£nough is £nough” in red and blue which was shared between both Liverpool and Man City fans.

Spirit of Shankly Spokesman James McKenna told Liverpool Life: “It’s very important; it’s a massive issue for supporters of all

clubs particularly those of us in the Premier League. We felt that something needed to be done and as we’ve spoken to more people we realise how important an issue it is.

“A lot of supporters are now recognising that something needs to be done and that if we all do work together than we can actually achieve something in lowering prices for fans who travel up and down the country supporting their side.”

With domestic and global TV rights deals on course to top £5bn Michael Brunskill from the FSF believes that in order for Premier League clubs to get the revenue they can take a small hit on ticket prices and still not make any huge financial loss.

Speaking to Liverpool Life, he said: “Obviously there’s a very strong feeling among football fans that generally ticket prices are too high. We are trying to do a campaign that would make a change and the ‘twenty is plenty’ is a mark on that.

“You can’t take the away fans for granted and we want clubs to set a maximum cap on ticket prices which is £20. It sounds ambitious but you’ve got to aim high and I think there is an appetite from some clubs and the PL that without the atmosphere generated at games they would get nowhere near the TV revenue which they currently receive.”

The SOS have been keen to

highlight the issue to Liverpool supporters outside matches with leaflets showing the alarming rise in ticket prices since the late 1980’s.

Mr McKenna said: “We have put a leaflet out that has shown the price rises between 1989 and cur-

rent day. The Bank of England rate of inflation is 77% but football ticket prices have gone up 716%.

It is absolutely staggering when you look at it. Football exists in its own bubble and we have seen in recent years that as more money comes into the game, that goes

born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in Liverpool where his father managed Liverpool.

Kenny moved on to manage Blackburn and Newcastle United.

Under the 1997/98 season Paul played under his father for the Tyneside club.

Darren and Sir Alex Ferguson

nowhere else but into the wages of players.”

“Obviously there’s a very strong feeling among football fans that generally ticket prices are too high. We are trying to do a campaign that would make a change and the ‘twenty is plenty’ is a mark on that. You can’t take the away fans for granted and we want clubs to set a maximum cap on ticket prices which is £20.

“It sounds ambitious but you’ve got to aim high and I think there is an appetite from some clubs and the PL that without the atmosphere generated at games they would get nowhere near the TV revenue which they currently receive.”

He said: “This season there has been more and more gaps in away ends at football matches and it is their loyalty and dedication which needs to be recognised. Obviously it’s not to say we don’t think home ticket prices are expensive but we decided to run a campaign that we thought would be a success. We need fans to lobby their clubs to make a case.”

Although they are yet to call for a mass boycott of Premier League games in protest at present, Mr Brunskill revealed the FSF are trying to help focus media attention and get fans from all clubs together.

He added: “We’ve already seen Liverpool fans display banners at games and maybe it is a case of one group of fans organising the others to get together work.”

Dads and lads deadly combos

by Eivind Haugstad Kleiven

With Paul Ince being appointed the Blackpool manager yesterday he will be managing his son Tom. With this news we thought we’d look at some of the best father-son combinations in football history.

Frank Lampard Snr & Jnr Frank Lampard senior had eighteen years at West Ham where he was plying his trade as a hard tackling left back. After retiring Lampard Sr started with coaching and was Harry Redknapp’s assistant coach when his son, Frank Lampard Jr began his professional career at Upton Park.

Johan and Jordi Cruyff

The name Johan Cruyff needs no further introduction. The Dutch genius is arguably the greatest footballer from Netherlands. He was unfortunate not to win any World Cup, suffering a defeat against West Germany in 1974 and decided to boycott the 1978 World Cup for political reasons, bear in mind he had immense success at club level for both Ajax and Barcelona. The attacking midfielder had spells at both Barcelona and Man United. From 94 to 96 Jordi played under his father at Barcelona.

Harry and Jamie Redknapp

Kenny and Paul Dalglish Paul Dalglish, son of former Scotland international and Liverpool-legend Kenny Dalglish, was

As a player Darren played for his father Sir Alex at Manchester United from 1990 to 1994, although Darren spent most of his career at Wolverhampton. Darren decided to follow his dad’s path and is currently manager for Peterborough.

© Trinity Mirror

As a member of a fairly wellknown footballing family, Jamie Redknapp played under his father Harry Redknapp for Southampton in 2005. Jamie is also a cousin of the Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, and nephew of former West Ham United coach Frank Lampard Senior. Harry Redknapp

was heavily linked with the job as England-manager after success at Tottenham. He is currently manager at QPR, fighting to save the London-club for relegation.

Arnor and Eidur Gudjohnsen The most interesting father and son combination is arguably Arnor and Eidur Gudjohnsen. They were actually teammates. Eidur come on to replace his father during Iceland’s 3-0 friendly win over Estonia in 1996. Eidur later went on to play in the Premier League for Bolton and Chelsea.

In 2005/06 Eidur won Champions League with Barcelona and it’s therefore easy to forget that Arnor actually had quite a respected career and won over seventy caps for Iceland.

Life/Sport/14

Stripped! Rovers lose out on sponsor deal Key:

1. The first shirt worn under Wirral Council’s sponsorship 2. Worn in their first appearance in division two since the 1930’s.

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3. Away shirt that was worn in John Aldridge’s first season.

4. A special edition kit made for the 1991/92 season.

5. Most memorable game for League Cup semi-final heartache against Aston Villa.

6. Goalkeeper strip worn by Danny Coyne and Eric Nixon in the mid 90s.

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7. Worn in 94/95. In Division One play-offs, but missed out on play-off final.

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8. Two mid-tabled division one finishes for the Superwhites in this strip.

9. More mid-table finishes, but they started giving sides a hard time in the cups.

10. Mid-tabled finish, but this was their second strip during their memorable cup runs.

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11. Worn when Tranmere narrowly missed out on League Cup glory.

12. One strip saw no less than five managers at the helm.

13. First worn after relegation to the third tier of the English leagues.

14. Season ticket holders were stitched into this special strip from 2002 to 2004.

16 Jamie Allen Barnes report

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and

Joe

Wirral Borough Council has ended its 25 year association with its local side Tranmere Rovers by ending its shirt sponsorship deal.

The Superwhites have proudly worn the name on the front of their playing shirts since the late eighties but will be forced to search for a new sponsor with their current deal coming being scrapped at the end of this season.

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EVERTON LADIES 5 VICTORIA UNIVERSITY 0 Everton Ladies’ pre-season has got off to successful start with a victory over a touring Canada side.

Their 5-0 win over Canadian side Victoria University on Thursday 14th Feburary saw midfielder Brooke Chaplen get a hat-trick as Toni Duggan grabbed two to win comfortably.

Duggan’s two goals against Victoria University followed on from great success at the FA England Awards ceremony for the Everton

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Team’s council budget cut blow The council were forced into this move after it was announced they had to make plans to save £106million by 2016, the sponsorship deal was just one of the casualties alongside the rise of council tax and loss of 350 jobs to help balance the books.

Council leader Phil Davies said the settlement his council had received was ‘disgraceful’ and made

the cuts ‘unavoidable’.

Cllr Davies added the £100,000 Rovers deal was: “difficult to justify” whilst facing the ‘unprecedented’ cuts the entire council is facing.

This news comes as Rovers prepare for their League One clash with newly managerless Swindon Town.

The Birkenhead side will be

Everton ladies get off to good start

by Tara Lamb

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side as Duggan and team mate Alex Greenwood won awards earlier this month.

Striker Duggan received the England Women’s Under-23 Player of the Year and Full-back Greenwood picked up England Women’s Youth Player of the Year.

Both players came through the Everton Ladies Centre of Excellence and are regular first-teamers ahead of the new Women’s Super League Season which begins in March.

Duggan sees herself and her fellow teammates Jill Scott and Rachel Brown in the teamsheet for England’s next fixture in the Cy-

prus Cup next month.

Everton will play Merseyside rivals Liverpool in the first clash of the season at the Reds new home ground Halton Stadium on the 23rd March in the Stage One Continental Cup, which will also be the first live match of the season due to be played on ESPN. Everton’s first Women’s Super League Match will be against Doncaster at home on the 14th April.

Everton will look to continue their pre-season success as they face Manchester City at the Liverpool Soccer Centre tonight (Tuesday).

without four key players as Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Liam Palmer are serving suspensions while full back Danny Holmes and Northern Irish forward Adam McGurk are missing through injury.

Ronnie Moore’s side will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after a poor run of form over the last month which has seen

the side slip from top of the table to fifth place - two points behind Bournemouth with a game in hand after their 2-0 defeat to Shrewsbury at Prenton Park.

Their last win came on the 19th of January away to Brentford.

Tranmere will be looking to improve their form and carry on with their promotion push to secure a place in the Championship.

15. Finished third and narrowly missed out on a return to the second tier.

16. Avoided relegation in 2006 before missing out on play-offs the following season.

17. Not often you see Tranmere wear black. But they did in 06/07.

18. A smart third kit for their two league one seasons.

19. It would be Les Parry’s last full season in charge in this kit.

20. This season’s as Rovers aim for promotion.

Life/Sport/15 Famous Anfield comebacks

by Joel Richards

Tongans take to field for Annies Two of Old Anselmian’s Tongan contingency, Tane Ha’unga and Mahe Pepa, chasing down a Fleetwood rugby player

by Sam McDonnell A Merseyside rugby team took to the pitch on Saturday amidst an air of the South Pacific, with a third of their team being from Tonga.

Wirral-based Old Anselmian’s fielded five ‘Friendly Islanders’ for their North West One division clash with Fleetwood, and the international contingent made the difference as the team went on to win their first away game 20-12, their first in nearly 18 months.

Old Anselmian’s captain, Carl Hellier, explained why ex-pats Loa Tupou, Mahe Pepa, Filini Mafi, Tane Ha’unga and debutant Paea Liku, who now all live in the Wirral, were so important to his side’s endeavours: “They bring quality: pace and power, and tackling ability. Certainly, in defence and carrying the ball they’re crucial. They pride themselves first and foremost on physicality and finesse second. Their grassroots at home is all based around that,” he said.

“There’s a bit of the fear-factor for the opposition too: when you see five Tongans who are big and physical it can give you an edge, especially at our level.”

Indeed, Anselmian’s actually have six of the South Pacific Islanders on the books; with Paea Liku’s brother Tevita currently nursing an injury that keeps him out of the side.

Carl, 30, said: “It’s got nothing to do with money as some people think, because there used to be a bit of a sarcastic swipe at the Tongans that they’re a bit mercenary and move around for money, but none of them are getting paid by us. We don’t pay anyone here.”

The back row forward also described how the going is not always easy for a lower level rugby team to find not only the quality but also the sheer numbers to compete.

He said: “Annie’s struggle, as I’m sure a lot of clubs do, with strength in depth. The hardest thing about the youth set up is to do with players being picked off to play for better clubs. We had one lad last year who is about 21 and played second row for us and was doing really well, but he’s now gone on to play for Caldy, who are a couple of divisions above us.”

The Anselmian’s captain added that university can have an effect on bringing younger players through too, with many potential first-teamers packing their bags and moving away at the age of 18.

The Tongan company are part of the changing face of Old Anselmians, with former Ireland international Simon Mason returning to his pre-professional club to take the coaching reigns in 2008, which has brought about two promotions.

Mr Mason explained the how the international flavour of the team came about: “Initially our Tongan link was through Mahe Pepa, who was the brother-in-law of one of our centres, then Loa Tupou joined us as forwards coach in 2009 and he was a real focal point for us. Loa epitomises the Tongan virtues of good humour and courage whilst big tackling is ingrained in their rugby culture!

Mr Mason went on to echo his captain’s sentiments of the hardships of lower level rugby, but takes many positives.

He said: “It has been a huge challenge to see the club get to and then try to sustain rugby at this level.

It has not been easy with a horrific injury list over the past two years but in adversity you see the real character and integrity of people in and around the group. It has been especially pleasing for me to see so many of the St Anselm’s College lads come into the first team and play with such spirit and skill.”

This Thursday sees Liverpool needing to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit in order to progress past Zenit St. Petersburg in the Europa League. JMU Journalism looks back at some memorable European nights at Anfield where the Reds have prevailed against the odds.

Liverpool 3-1 St. Etienne (3-2 agg) European Cup 3rd Round 2nd Leg (16/03/1977) After succumbing to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg, the stage was set for what has since gone down in folklore as one of the greatest ever European nights at L4. The Reds got off to the best possible start after two minutes when Kevin Keegan’s chipped effort curled into the back of the net to give them the lead.

However the French side drew level in the second half which meant that Bob Paisley’s men would have to score twice more. They soon regained the lead thanks to Ray Kennedy on 59 minutes but with less than ten minutes left they still required another goal. Super-sub David Fairclough.

Latching on to a through ball from Kennedy, Fairclough fired a low shot in to the Kop goalmouth to send Anfield into raptures.

Liverpool 3-0 Auxerre (3-2 agg) UEFA Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg (06/11/1991) Just 23,094 hardy souls turned up on a night that Liverpool dramatically overturned a two-goal deficit to triumph 3-2 on aggregate against Auxerre.

An early penalty from Jan Molby set the tone before a goal from current first-team coach Mike Marsh levelled the tie before half-time.

It was Walters who then won the tie for Graeme Souness’ men with a clipped shot just inside the far post to send those inside Anfield wild.

To date this remains the only time Liverpool have overturned a two goal deficit from a first leg in their decorated European history, however they will have to change this statistic come Thursday night if they are to progress.

Liverpool 3-1 Olympiakos UEFA Champions League Group Stage (08/12/2004) The odds were stacked against them at half-time after the Greeks lead thanks to Rivaldo’s deflected free-kick. But a half-time substitution worked in the home side’s favour and they reaped instant rewards after sub Florent Sinama Pongolle equalised from close range to renew hope. Still requiring another two goals, striker Neil Mellor entered the fray and his tap-in with just nine minutes remaining set up a grandstand finish before his cushioned header found Steven Gerrard on 86 minutes and with one swing of the captain’s right foot, a powerful drive past the despairing dive on Antonios Nikopolidis won it for Liverpool and ultimately set them on their way to Champions League glory.

Jack Robinson shipped out

by Eivind Haugstad Kleiven

Wolves have signed Liverpool’s young left back Jack Robinson on loan to the end of the season.

The 19-year-old has been drafted in with Stephen Ward Wolves’ only fit left-back with George Elokobi still out injured.

“We’ve got no cover in that position with only Wardy at the club and he was ill yesterday so I’ve acted quickly and got the deal done. I think Wardy will be OK for tomorrow, though.

Robinson is the second youngest ever to play senior football for Liverpool, having made his debut as a substitute against Hull at the age of 16 years and 250 days on the final day of the 2009/10 season.

He has not been involved in the league this season under Brendan Rodgers, but has featured twice in the FA Cup, Capital One Cup and Europa League.

Liverpool face tough second leg

Carragher’s future role

by Eivind Haugstad Kleiven

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists Jamie Carragher will have a future at Liverpool after he calls it the day after this season.

Brendan Rodgers insists that there will always be a place for Carragher at Liverpool.

Rodgers said: “He hasn’t totally made up his mind.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a small amount of time away but, over time, I’m sure he’ll have a role here at the football club.”

The Bootle-born defender, who has played over 700 matches for Liverpool, recently announced that he will retire after the season.

Many former Reds have have insisted the Anfield club should offer the 35-year-old a role in the coaching staff at Melwood.

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge said: “There are no better players to show the new lads ‘The Liverpool Way’. He’s a great role model for the younger players”

The stage is set for another magic European night at Anfield this Thursday as Liverpool hope to bounce back in it after paying for wasted chances in the first leg of their Europa League tie.

Zenit St Petersburg could be accused of rustiness going into this game, having last completed a competitive match on December 10, when they drew 1-1 with fellow Russian heavyweights Anzhi Makhachkala in their domestic league, but showed no signs of weakness.

Hulk scored the opener, before Sergei Semak scored the final one for Zenit in front of a partisan home crowd, making the task even harder for Liverpool.

Liverpool ended a five-match winless run in style with a dominant display over a weakened Swansea City.

The final score ended up 5-0 and Liverpool`s new Brazilian new signing Philippe Coutinho scored a

cracking goal at his Anfield debut.

Fabio Borini’s injury proved to be the only black mark on an otherwise impressive performance.

The Italian forward has had a nightmare first season with the reds.

It was only recently that Borini returned after fracturing a bone in his right foot in October.

In the dying minutes of the match against Swansea Borini dislocated his shoulder ruling him out for the rest of the season.

As this wasn’t enough, the former-Roma striker’s injury record is worrying and it shows now that he may need a second operation as he has been struggling with pain in his right foot.

Liverpool’s reserve keeper Brad Jones didn’t feature in the squad against Swansea as he has been struggling with a shoulder injury, as well as Jon Flanagan and Martin Kelly, who are both out with long term injury.

Liverpool-winger, Stewart Downing is hoping to receive much needed help from the home crowd

and is confident that Liverpool will score goals.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Fabio Borini season is over after he dislocated his right shoulder in Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Swansea on Sunday.

Borini’s debut season at Anfield has been a nightmare. The former Roma-player also fractured a bone in his right foot in October.

After the comeback last month Borini has complained that he still has a pain in his foot and had wished to undergo surgery as soon as possible to be able to play in Italy during the summer U21 European Championship in Israel.

Liverpool’s medical staff have been observing the foot injury and had hoped that it would improve so that Borini could finish the season.

The Italian forward will most likely use the injury spell to perform a new operation on the foot injury he suffered in the fall.

Borini was Brendan Rodgers’ first signing for reportedly £11 million having played under Rodgers before at Swansea.

Liverpool

LifeSPORT

WE CAN TURN IT AROUND

19- February -2013

by Joe Lanigan-Smith and Daniel Farrell

Mersey Tigers head coach Tony Walsh believes his side can turn their season around despite a winless streak of 23 games in the British Basketball League.

The Liverpool side were outclassed on Friday against Worcester Wolves losing the match 119 to 64.

Wolves had opened up a 13-point lead by the first quarter with the score being 29-16 and the Tigers were 54-33 behind by half time.

The Tigers’ poor form continued as they were unable to claw back the gap set by the by the Wolves.

Arnas Kazlauskas managed to bring further embarrassment to the Tigers with scoring 17 points in only 20 minutes of action. In the final 10 minutes of the match, Albert Ziwa and Daniel Belgrave both hit three-pointers to ensure each of Wolves’ 12-man squad made the score sheet.

The Tigers have been unable to secure a win all season, and are sitting bottom of the British Basketball league, with no points after 23 games. However Tigers coach Tony Walsh is confident that his team can overturn their run of bad form and finally record a win the British Basketball League.

Walsh believes that the gap is starting to close be-

tween his side and teams above them in the league.

Since their introduction to the BBL franchise in 2007, The Tigers had been one of the most successful teams in the league winning the treble in 2008, before financial trouble forced the team into administration and forced the sales of major players.

None of this year’s current side has played in the BBL before and Walsh says that he will not go against his principles as he tries to assemble a side full of local talent from around the North West.

Walsh told Liverpool Life: “This season is all about development, the Tiger’s previous owners and management over the past few years have wasted money on winning trophies, bringing in the best players in the country and didn’t focus any time on community development, however the new owners are 100% behind my vision of offering local young basketball talent in the Northwest the chance to play in the BBL. “From the start I have said that it is about the sustainability of a strong basketball programme in Merseyside, I have big shoulders and can handle the losses, but the team is starting to close the gap on teams. Scores are starting to get closer and other teams have begun to sit up and watch what’s happening on Merseyside.”

Liverpool defender to stay on as coach?

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Tranmere 24-year deal not renewed P14

Josh McGinn in action for Mersey Tigers against Sheffield © Mersey Tigers/Facebook

Ladies GAA team aiming Everton Youth team for victory in Manchester reach Quarter-Final

by Lauren Kelly

JMU Ladies Gaelic football team proved on Saturday that you can never take past success for granted after they managed just a one point victory over rivals Liverpool Wolfe Tones in a friendly game.

JMU were the clear favourites going into the match after clenching the Division 1 league title over University of Liverpool in December. But the lack of training over the Christmas period and the 1-5 to 1-4 scoreboard showed that the LJMU ladies need to buck up if they are to

perform well at next weekend’s British Championships in Manchester.

Coach, Nathan Deery, a Business Studies student at the university, was less than impressed with Saturday’s performance as he told Liverpool Life; “Most of the girls have been at home for the whole of January on placement, and clearly ignored my orders to keep up their fitness routine. The girls were knackered after the first half on Saturday so if they’re really serious about making the final at next week’s tournament they need to spend as much time as they can in the gym,

or in the football field as they can.

It’s up to them; I can’t do it for them.”

Deery’s approach to the training and intolerance for excuses may seem a little harsh, but it is clearly working as proved by the girls win in December, their first title in 3 years.

The ladies team will travel to Manchester on March 1 hoping for success, and will look the part in brand new kits and tracksuits sponsored by a local solicitor’s firm and will meet various university teams from across England, including fierce local rivals University of Liverpool.

by Jamie Allen

Everton Youth booked their place in the quarter finals of the FA Youth Cup after a blistering second half display saw them score three goals in 9 minutes to beat Arsenal Youth 4-2.

The Blues, were level at half time, after Arsenal’s Chuba Akpom put the home side in front. The young Gunners weren’t in front for long as Matthew Pennington cancelled out the lead two minutes later.

Chris Long, Conor Grant and Harry Charsley scored three quick fire goals to put the tie to bed.

Despite earnest efforts from the Londoners, Everton had done the damage with that clinical start to the second period.

Through to the sixth round, an additional two-legged semi-final stands in any route to the final.

Everton Youth last won this prestigious tournament in 1998 when they beat Blackburn Rovers.

Arsenal meanwhile, seven-time winner of the cup, were one of the favourites to win the competition Despite a late goal from Serge Gnabry Everton secured a well-deserved victory and put themselves in the draw for the 6th round.

Spirit of Shankly join ticket campain P13