Liverpool Life 8:13 March 4 2020 by Steve Harrison

NEWS EVENTS LIFESTYLE SPORT FROM THE HEART OF THE CITY

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ADIDAS SIZES UP LIVERPOOL

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AMINA ATIQ WEDNESDAY MARCH 4 2020

How a phone box outside the Town Hall could save your life By CHARLOTTE KENNY A telephone box outside Liverpool’s Town Hall has been converted into a defibrillator as part of a campaign launched by Medicash to make Liverpool “heart safe.” The defibrillator will be available 24 hours a day as part of a campaign by the health insurance group to ensure that no one within the city centre is more than two minutes away from a defibrillator. Studies show that if someone is suffering from a cardiac arrest, their chances of survival is 80% if a defibrillator is used within this time. The campaign is known as CardiACT which is managed by Medicash working alongside North West Ambulance Service and the Liverpool BID Company. The campaign has expanded to Halton as studies have shown that without a defibilator, the chances of survival from suffering from a cardiac arrest is two per cent. Sue Weir, Chief Executive of Med-

icash, said: “The installation of this defibrillator is an important milestone in our campaign. Reusing these iconic telephone boxes and giving them a new purpose to save lives is a fitting next chapter for CardiACT”. Chief Fire Officer Phil Garrigan told Liverpool Life: “Defibrillators can be the difference between life and death and it’s extremely important that these pieces of equipment are as freely available as possible. “Studies have shown that when someone goes into cardiac arrest, a shock given within three minutes provides the best chance of survival. That’s why we wanted to make this investment and ensure every single one of our Community Fire Stations across Merseyside is home to a defibrillator. We are in the business of saving lives and these devices do just that. These defibrillators are safe and simple to use and could potentially save a member of our community’s life.”

Liverpool gets tube map art By DAN JONES

Telephone box defibrillator © Charlotte Kenny

Debate over future of greenbelt By ETHAN JUKES-MCNEE A major public consultation is under way to save Wirral’s greenbelt from housing developments. A new Local Plan is being prepared to shape the future of the borough for a 15-year period between 2020 and 2035, and the public are being asked for their views. Hundreds of people have already taken part and the discussion is now in its fifth week, with just three weeks left. A housing requirement of 12,000 new homes for Wirral by 2035 is being enforced by the Government and the council has said that strategic regeneration will be required in order to ensure the borough’s open spaces can be protected from the development. It is aiming to develop urban areas in order to avoid the greenbelt - however, if these sites cannot all be delivered then the only other option would be to use Wirral’s green space. Councillor Anita Leech, the deputy leader of the local plan, said: “Early

CONSULTATION: Residents have their say ©Save Wirral Greenbelt Facebook in the process of developing the options for the Local Plan I made sure that many small areas of green spaces which people use in urban areas were not put forward for potential development to keep them available for their local communities. “But in addition to that, under our

LIVERPOOL LIFE Lush promotes hand-washing campaign P3 Liverpool celebrates World Book Day P5

Acne and mental health P8 2

proposed consultation, it would be possible for communities to request the designation of land as Local Green Space, allowing them to identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them.” The consultation will run umtil 5pm on Monday 23 March 2020.

CONTENTS Liverpool artist in the frame P10 Festival Gardens facelift P17

JMU Jiu Jitsu triumph P20

Liverpool’s iconic streets have gone underground. Hull-based artists Underdog Studios have turned the city’s streets into a Tube-style map highlighting Liverpool’s major points of interest. It is the 26th map in the studio’s series of different towns and cities in the UK. Hannah Ewart of Underdog Studios said: “We chose Liverpool because it is such an energetic, passionate and exciting city. “People love Liverpool and creating the map was long overdue for us. It was also a good excuse for a research trip over to the city centre, of course. “We are based in Hull, East Yorkshire, which was one of our first maps. My dad grew up in Maghull so we have always had links with the other end of the M62 and I was brought up a keen Reds supporter! Although we made sure to add Goodison Park to the map, too.” Underdog Studios is made up of Hannah and her mother Ann Ewart. The duo recently won a Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday award in recognition of their work. Their maps can be seen on social media and the studio’s Etsy shop.

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EDITOR: Katie Preece PRODUCTION TEAM: Ady Sargeant, Scott Clarkson, Charlie Burgess, Tilly Kenyon, Scarlett O’Toole, Grace Plowman, Jessica Rigg, Emily Roberts, Ash Rowe, Jose Ruiz, Tammy-Lee Walsh Danielle Wilson FRONT COVER: © MilenaSaPhoto

Store’s bid to promote healthy handwashing

Students tackle face mask stigma with film By EVELYN EDWARD

Liverpool Lush store promotes its new campaign By FAYE WASILOWSKI

Lush on Church Street is encouraging shoppers to come in and wash their hands for free to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus. The natural beauty brand started promoting the initiative last Friday via their shop windows. The Liverpool store is amongst 105 in the UK to allow members of the public to wash their hands for free, with no need to purchase any products. Liverpool Life Magazine spoke to Sarah Fletcher, one of the store managers at the Liverpool branch. She said that despite the Coronavirus outbreak, with an updated figure of 36 people in the UK being diag-

nosed she had not seen a dramatic increase in people coming into the store and washing their hands She said: “Everybody is different and we all have different ideas and thoughts about the situation. “It is good for the public to know that there is a facility for them to do so if they want. I think that if someone is concerned, it is good to know that there is a platform on the high street that can help them with those concerns.” Mark Constantine, co founder of Lush, in a statement on Instagram, detailed how it is preferable for people to wash their hands with bars of soap over liquid soap, as it: “the alkalinity and foaming ability are the nature of

the soap, as is antibacterial action. It also dislodges and washes away viruses.” Some reports have indicated that people are panic buying hand sanitisers to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Both Liverpool Boots stores on Church Street are running low on hand sanitiser, with a customer warning of a limit of two per person. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced his Four Step Plan, for tackling Coronavirus yesterday. In a statement made from Downing Street, Johnson said the plan will pan out in four stages of containing the virus, delaying the spreading, researching for a cure and mitigating the impact of the virus.

In a statement on the school website, Mr Bellamy said: “As a precaution, we are closing to allow our school community to move forward and ensure that the school is clean for all of our staff and students. “We have not been asked to close by the local authority or Public Health England. “The student concerned is asymptomatic, however, is now in self-isolation at home and will not attend

school for a period of fourteen days. “The student will not be tested unless he displays symptoms associated with the virus.” The school will undertake two days of deep cleaning and plans to reopen on Friday for its staff and 1,100 students. National advice at the moment is to not close schools or businesses unless advised to do so by Public Health England.

Wirral school closed after COVID-19 scare By EVELYN EDWARD A high school in Merseyside has closed after a pupil’s parent tested positive for coronavirus. The child’s parent had attended the Hilbre High School on Monday and while the student shows no symptoms, they will self-isolate for 14 days. Some pupils had recently been skiing in northern Italy but the head teacher Mark Bellamy said this was unrelated.

LJMU students teamed up to tackle the stigma around face masks which people wear to combat coronavirus by making a short film. A group of five Chinese students put forward the idea for the video after reading about cases of racism towards Chinese and Asian people in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. A team of students from drama, film and journalism degrees volunteered to work on the project, writing filming and editing it in just a week. Face masks are commonly worn in China to filter fine dust in the air caused by pollution, and are often referred to as ‘courtesy masks’ when a person is sick - they can be used to prevent their germs from infecting others. However in the UK it can be an unusual sight, and with coronavirus panic ramping up it can often lead to assumptions that the wearer has the disease. The film aims to show that face masks are just a considerate measure and that you shouldn’t be afraid of masks or the people wearing them. LJMU MA International News Journalism student Qian Yang also made a video last month holding a sign saying ‘I am a human not a virus’ and asking for hugs. The response was incredible, with Yang receiving a lot of love from the public.

Anger as trees are felled in cemetery hit by storms By ETHAN JUKES-MCNEE Protesters have voiced their concerns after a number of trees were felled in West Kirby Cemetery. The cemetery, on Black Horse Hill, has been closed to the public since February 13, stopping residents from visiting the graves of their loved ones. Following storm Ciara and storm Dennis, it was sealed off to visitors because of concerns over tree safety and the danger of them falling onto visitors. But as the council attempted to ensure the safety of the cemetery as fast as possible it was facing a backlash from protestors who were angry at the council’s decision to cut down 33 trees that were deemed unsafe. A group of protestors gathered at

9am on Monday as the contractors arrived to clear the trees, A spokesperson said: “This is absolutely shocking. We need trees to save the atmosphere. “They can also help with flooding, which is very important at the moment.” Charles Barnes, who lives in West Kirby, said: “We’ve just recently had really strong gales, hardly any branches came off. “The council has felled all the trees, when in fact probably just a little bit of gentle maintenance on one or two branches was all that was needed.” Wirral council’s tree policy is to double the amount of tree cover in the borough over the next decade. Labour councillor Tony Norbury, said: “It’s been a really sad day for

our environment, I feel. The new tree strategy will hopefully be able to mitigate felling trees to the ground and find other ways that we can protect dangerous trees so that they’re not a danger to the public.” The council has consulted its arboriculture specialist and claims that it recognises “the important part trees play in protecting our environment and supporting local ecosystems.” The trees are not the only cause for concern at the cemetery. H Johnston, said on social media: “I have spoken to the council about West Kirby cemetery, because our grave has been under water since before Christmas. “It seems to be news to them, but the men who maintain the cemetery must know what it’s like? Anyway, I was told the council had no money.”

Grange Cemetery before storm Dennis © WikiCommons

Hundreds queue to snap up limited edition trainers

Clothes-swap gets Scousers well connected

By ROSIE PATEL

By STEPHEN BRAMHILL

Hundreds of people queued overnight outside a Liverpool store as limited edition trainers dedicated to the city went on sale. There was a large crowd on Bold Street oustide the ‘size?’ store who were all waiting for the latest limited edition Adidas trainer. Size? collaborated with Adidas to celebrate 20 years of the store, where the shoes are exclusively available in Liverpool and Dublin. The collaboration links back to the 10th anniversary in 2010 where six shoe designs celebrating six cities were released. Luke Mathews, footwear designer and buyer, said: “The 2020 collection is inspired from the six shoes that were released in 2010 for the 10th anniversary.” Over 500 people were amongst the crowd on Bold Street but it was believed that only 350 shoes were on sale in that store. Some of the fans had been queuing since Wednesday. Chris Binns, footwear designer and buyer, said: “We have only made 2020 pairs and they are spread over locations. However we expect them all to sell out. “We have seen people que before but we have never seen that scale come to life, it was brilliant seeing that reac-

Trainer fanatics camping outside the store awaiting the release. © Rosie Patel tion and we enjoyed being part of it.” The green shoe was inspired by Liverpool’s history and each pair has a premium gold number on the heel to signify the limited amount of shoes which were released. The trainers were priced at £90. The first 150 purchases at the store were given a wristband to attend an exclusive party. There will also be more releases inspired by the original series.

100-day challenge to help young people comes to a winning end By STEPHEN BRAMHILL A 100-day challenge launched by Liverpool City Council with the aim of helping young people finished yesterday. The scheme, which started on November 7, aimed to get members of different communities in Liverpool to work together with the council and an organisation promoting innovation, Nesta, to improve the livelihoods of younger people within Liverpool’s communities. The focus on younger people relates to the fact that one in three children in Liverpool are growing up in poverty. Also, the communities selected for this programme which are: Speke-Garston, Princes Park and Anfield and Everton are also ranked within the top 10% of deprived communities within the UK. Clare McIntyre, a Labour Councillor from Wavertree, believes in the 100-day challenge. She told Liverpool Life: “The 100day challenge is a brilliant way of bringing people in the community together. “The sharing of skills, talents and

Partners of the 100-day scheme

experience to drive change for young people’s health and life chances is to be celebrated. “It is strengthening young people’s voices in the decisions that matter to them. All communities can drive change and we can provide supportive environments.” On the 100th day, Liverpool City Council revealed that after all three communities spent time discussing and proposing ideas to the Liverpool City Council and other organisations who are involved such as; Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services and the Mersey Care NHS

Foundation Trust. All three communities provided beneficial ideas to help those in the community. Speke-Garston decided to set up a parenting group, Princes Park created 10 new apprenticeship opportunities for young people and Anfield and Everton looked at improving school attendance. Nesta, the organisation working alongside Liverpool City Council, have been doing 100-day challenges across the UK for the last five years in an attempt to improve communities that may arguably be neglected.

A Liverpool charity continues to unite the younger and older generation of Scousers with a clothes swap event which took place on Sunday. Liverpool Cares is a charity that aims to ensure people living in Liverpool who may be experiencing loneliness, regardless of their age, can come and connect socially with those in a similar position. The charity achieve this by hosting regular events, ensuring that there are plenty of opportunities for those who attend to socialise regularly, and this was achieved through their ‘Great Scouse clothes swap’. During the event, those in attendance had the opportunity to bring some of their old clothes to give away to people who may have more need for it. There was also a raffle, quiz and a selection of cakes and cocktails, all included when buying a ticket for £10. Most importantly, it gave lonely people another opportunity to interact and enjoy themselves. All the money raised will be used by Liverpool Cares to ensure that they can put on more events throughout the year in Liverpool.

Birkenhead welcomes new ferry By LAURA KELLY Stena Line’s new ferry is set to arrive in Birkenhead this week. Stena Edda is the first of two ferries being introduced on the Belfast to Liverpool route. Her first voyage is expected to be next week. Stena Edda and her sister ship, Stena Estrid, will be replacing Stena Mersey and Stena Lagan which served the Belfast to Liverpool route since 2005. Both ships will be rebuilt for service elsewhere. At 215 metres, the vessels being built for the Irish Sea will be larger than today’s standard RoPax vessels and provides the space to carry 120 cars and 1,000 passengers and crew. The capacity will increase by almost 20% compared to the current vessels in service. The ship is designed to make travel more ‘sustainable’, having a super-efficient hull shape, using biodegradable oils and bio-repellent paint to minimise the impact on the ocean. Stena Line state they are continuing to phase out single use plastics and are moving towards more eco-label detergents on-board as well as switching to LED lights. Stena Line describes the ship as ‘lagom’, which is Swedish for ‘just right’.

Controversy over the cost of character costumes By ADAM HIGGINS

Gateacre Secondary School

Reward for readers as World Book Day arrives By STEPHEN BRAMHILL A national charity has launched a readathon in Liverpool for World Book Day. Read For Good, a charity that aims to encourage the younger generation to enjoy reading, is continuing their partnership with Liverpool Learning Partnership after working together for two previous readathons in 2017 and 2018. The campaign is taking place tomorrow for the first time. On this day, both organisations are asking everyone in Liverpool to join more than 400,000 children already signed up to take part to simply read something they love for 10 minutes at 10am for their campaign, Drop Everything and Read, #DEARLiverpool. Both organisations are also asking the public to donate £1 either with a one off donation online or by sponsoring a pupil. Justine Daniels, the Chief Executive of Read For Good, said: “Liverpool was the first city in the UK to run our much-loved Readathon across

its whole school community back in 2017, in a model that’s now been copied by other cities including Manchester and Leicester. “We can’t wait to see the creative ways schools will run it for the third time.” Jenny Holder, Liverpool Learning Partnership’s Reading Coordinator, said: “We know our third Readathon will create a real buzz about books and reading across the city’s schools and #DEARLiverpool on World Book Day March 5 is something we’d love all children, teachers and the wider community to join in with.” This year’s event, which also aligns with the 2020 Liverpool Year of Reading campaign, is being supported by current Waterstones Children’s Laureate and number one best-selling author and illustrator, Cressida Cowell. It is also being supported by Wilf Merttens, the Read for Good storyteller at hospitals including Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Cressida, the author-illustrator of the best selling ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ book series, is hosting an event for

primary schools at The Epstein Theatre today and then visiting Alder Hey Children’s Hospital later that day. Wilf Merttens, whose work as a storyteller was featured on the primetime appeal show for the 2019 BBC Children in Need, will visit two secondary school events on Tuesday March 10. During the last two readathons in Liverpool, all schools who have taken part have raised more than £33,000. For each school, their money raised sees 20% for their library, 10% is donated to Liverpool Learning Partnership to assist them with other projects taking place in the city. The rest is donated to Read For Good. As well as increasing the amount of books on offer for students at each school, this initiative also allows Read For Good the opportunity to donate books to hospitals and ensures children in hospitals across the country to be visited by storytellers. Read For Good have been assisting schools since 1984 as a charity and have raised millions since their start with Roald Dahl as their first chair.

What’s all this a-boat?

World Book Day has sparked controversy, with many of the costumes purchased for the event being produced in countries that openly exploit children for work. The event encourages pupils to raise funds for ‘children less fortunate than themselves’, yet 7m costumes sold for the occasion originate from either Asia or Africa - in parts of which child labour is notoriously common. Around one in 10 of costumes were produced in Madagascar, where children as young as five years old have previously been forced to work in extremely dangerous conditions for little to no pay. Primary school teaching assistant from the Wirral, Joanne Horton, believes that World Book Day is essential for young children but that more could be done to combat harsh working conditions abroad. She said: “It’s a great day for primary school students as it gets them reading. They take to this better than if we just gave them books in the classroom. “A lot of kids hate to read, so it helps them to develop and we can also raise money for new books for schools. “I’m absolutely against any kind of slavery or child labour, it’s definitely something the country should be looking into and I can’t see why we can’t bring in clothes from other countries, where there are acceptable standards in the workplace.” • Focus on Book Day: p7.

By ADAMMA SARGEANT

Tributes for ‘Helen’s Law’

Crowds gathered to visit HMS Prince of Wales at Liverpool’s waterfront over the weekend. The 65,000-tonne ship arrived for its week-long stay on Saturday. The new £3.1bn warship welcomed guests marking the first time members of the public have been invited onto the HMS Prince of Wales. The ship boasts a 70-metre wide and 280-metre long flight deck and will have the ability to travel an impressive 500 miles a day. The vessel has an expected life service of up to 50 years and will help to deliver carrier-strike missions and aid Royal Navy forces at home and abroad. The boat was guided by three tugboats and HMS Charger down the River Mersey on Friday afternoon, with visitors lining the areas around

Tributes have been paid to the family of murder victim Helen McCourt after MPs last night voted in favour of a law inspired by their campaign. The family had called for killers to be refused parole if they didn’t disclose the whereabouts of their victim’s body. Ian Simms, who was jailed for life for Helen’s murder in 1989, was released last month. He has never revealed the location of Helen’s body. The Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Bill was passed unopposed by MPs yesterday. It has been dubbed ‘Helen’s Law’ in memory of the 22-year-old from Billinge. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said: “To all those families affected by despicable crimes like these, I pay warm and heartfelt tribute.”

HMS Prince of Wales the Liverpool cruise terminal in order to see it. The cabinet member for culture, tourism and events and Deputy Mayor, Wendy Simmons said: “Maritime events are always hugely popular in Liverpool and this will be no exception with our world heritage waterfront providing an incredible backdrop for a striking vessel.”

© Adamma Sargeant Captain Darren Houston, the Commanding Officer of HMS Prince of Wales, said: “The tremendous support displayed by Liverpool demonstrates the remarkable depth of feeling that people have for the ship and the Royal Navy.” There is still a chance to catch the ship as it is expected to stay in Liverpool until Friday.

‘It’s all been a learning curve’

Daniel Williams meets journalist Orna Herr, holder of the LJMU Tim Hetherington Fellowship

t was clear journalist Orna Herr wasn’t used to being interviewed. I approached her after she finished her talk. Nervous and giggly, I could tell she didn’t normally find herself on the other end of the notebook. Orna (pictured) has only been in the journalism world for a short time, having finished a MA course in Journalism at Liverpool John Moores University last year. Yet despite this brief tenure, she has seen a meteoric rise in her career and is now Editorial Assistant at an internationally-renowned magazine. The 31-year-old returned to the LJMU Redmonds Building last week to talk to aspiring students about her work with Index on Censorship – a London-based magazine and website. She delivered the talk alongside editor-in-chief Rachael Jolley. The magazine reports on global issues of

freedom of expression and has won numerous awards since its 1972 birth. The jump from local journalism to an international outlook was daunting at first, Orna says, as she had little knowledge of global politics. She said: “I didn’t know a lot about the international stuff. I had the naïve perception that everywhere in Europe is quite liberal. “It’s all been a learning curve. You can’t know everything. Orna was given the exciting opportunity to work at Index on Censorship as part of the Tim Hetherington Fellowship – a year-long paid fellowship only available to LJMU journalism students. A candidate has been selected every year since the Fellowship’s inception in 2016. It was set up to commemorate the Liverpool-born photojournalist Tim Hetherington, who was tragically killed in Libya in 2011.

Orna has taken on various responsibilities at the quarterly released magazine, including producing a podcast, which she jokes has been her “biggest challenge.” “I hate the sound of my own voice,” she laughed. “I have to listen to it when editing, but [on the upside] you get more confident with interviewing people.” The podcast, called The Big Noise, which is released with every magazine, has seen the LJMU graduate interview various figures, from international journalists such as Hungarian Viktória Serdült, to novelist Richard Hine who runs the presidential parody account @ realDonalDrumpf. Orna also writes for Index, which is something that she loves to do. She said: “Part of my job is to write for the website. I did a recent article about how the Chinese government is controlling information on the coronavirus and how they are maintaining influence internationally.

“I learned so much from it because there’s a lot of research and you get to write which is something I love to do.” Many journalists move to London for the benefit of their careers but it doesn’t make the decision any less daunting. Students often worry about this, particularly the financial aspect, but Orna gave words of encouragement to those looking to make the move to the capital. The former Waterstones worker added: “I love London. It reminds me of Liverpool – it’s got that kind of bustle but much bigger. I have a similar lifestyle (as to when I lived in Liverpool). “You’re not swimming in cash, but you can have a fun lifestyle.” The deadline is fast approaching for students to apply for the Tim Hetherington Fellowship, and aspiring journalists will no doubt hope to emulate the success Orna has achieved during her tenure.

Real time help for real life problems OLIVIA WAGG speaks to NSPCC Liverpool on the launch of its new safe social media campaign

ntertainment, education and information - the internet really is a wonderful addition to our everyday lives. But for some children, it can leave them vulnerable - vulnerable to abuse, bullying and extra pressures on their mental health. The truth is, childhood has changed. Kids are hiding behind filters, feeds and emojis but behind their online personas, many of them are suffering, with some even thinking of taking their own lives. The NSPCC has revealed that on average 67 children a day are receiving help from its Childline service as they struggle with suicidal thoughts and feelings. In response, the NSPCC is today launching a nationwide campaign, KIDS In Real Life, urging the public to help them save a child’s life, in real life. Bronagh Officer, NSPCC Childline

Liverpool, a switchboard volunteer, said: “I think that the campaign is a great way to get more people on board, the campaign will also help children to recognise that they are not alone, online and in real life too.” #KIDS_IRL is highlighting that with so much of childhood today happening online, there are more

ways than ever for children to hide how they really feel. That’s why they think that it’s essential that young people have a safe space online where they don’t have to filter themselves. Esther Rantzen, Founder and President of Childline, said: “Over the last ten years we have seen a rise in the

number of children describing their feelings of such intense unhappiness that they tell Childline they want to end their own lives. This new campaign highlights that many of these profoundly unhappy young people hide their feelings to those around them online, bottling up their suicidal thoughts which may become overwhelming. “Worryingly we don’t have the resources to be there for every child who needs us, which is why it is so important the public get behind #KIDS_IRL and supports the NSPCC in their mission to be there for all the young people who reach out in their darkest hour.” The NSPCC is calling on people to show their support through a ‘Pledge to Protect’ and make a donation to fund vital services like Childline which are there for children and teenagers when they have nowhere else to turn.

Is it the final chapter for bookworms? Liverpool Life’s Megan Stringer investigates the decline in the number of children and young people reading for pleasure

ENGROSSED: Reading can spark a child’s imagination © Annie Spratt

Book day on a budget Children around the country will be excited to go to school dressed up as their favourite book characters. However, for many parents this will add extra pressure onto their everyday life, with many struggling to manage finances, and with the average price of a costume ranging between £10-£20, parents will have to decide whether to spend money on a costume and sacrifice something they might need, or leave their children feeling disappointed. Here,we share our top tips on how to put together a last-minute costume on a budget. Matilda –Roald Dahl Matilda is best known for her red bow in her hair. Pair this with a blue dress, white socks, school shoes and obviously a pile of books, and you’ll be good to go! Angelina Ballerina - Katharine Holabird If you have a child who loves dancing, you’ll love how easy this costume is. All you will need is ballet clothing and hair in a tight bun.

orld Book Day 2020 is taking place tomorrow, with children all around the country dressing up as their favourite literary characters. Despite this, over the last few years, the number of children and young people who read every day and the number of those who read for pleasure have declined, according to research carried out by the National Literacy Trust. The study, which was released in 2019, stated that out of 27,945 children and young people surveyed, just over a quarter (25.7%) of those aged 8-18 read every day, compared to 43% in 2015. Liverpool charity The Reader aims to combat these statistics and believes that reading is a tool to help humans survive and live well. The national charity, based in Calderstones Park, want to bring about a Reading Revolution, so that everyone can experience and enjoy great literature. Zoe Gilling, director of Shared Reading Programmes at The Reader, told LL: “Reading books, stories, poems – great literature – can help with inner life, mental health, and soul troubles. Reading helps connect us to others, but perhaps more importantly when we are stuck, it can help connect us to feeling, to ourselves. “The latest research from the National Literacy Trust, published last week, found that children today are reading less than in previous generations and they’re enjoying it less. There are a number of reasons for this - our children are growing up in a busy, disconnected world with vast amounts of information to consume. “The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says: ‘Reading for pleasure is the single most important thing that will make a child successful in life’. It’s this and inspiring a lifelong love of reading, that’s the focus of The Reader’s work

with children and young people.” The charity currently has 1000 volunteers and each week they take part in Community Shared Reading groups. These can take place in libraries, community centres, shops and high-street cafes. Zoe explains what shared reading is, saying: “Beyond the intrinsic value of reading and literature, The Reader believes that the act of reading them together, aloud – rather than in solitary-reader-isolation – multiplies their power and value. “Read a poem alone, as we mostly do, and you have your own experience and imagination to bring the text to life. Read it with six other people who aren’t necessarily like you, and you have six lives and six imaginations with which to bring it to life. “Read it with someone telling you what it means to them personally and you have the profoundly moving experience of intimate understanding with someone you barely know – this is what Shared Reading does!”

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Reading helps connect us to others

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• To find out more about the work of The Reader and what’s happening at Calderstones, visit www. thereader.org.uk

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory –Roald Dahl If you’re feeling crafty, you could have a go at creating an oompa-loompa costume; do you have any orange face paint and a green wig lying about? If not, dressing up as Charlie Bucket is extremely simple. You need a pair of school trousers, blue jumper and a bar of chocolate. To go that one-step further, you could make your own golden ticket too. The Boy In The Dress – David Walliams Two items – a dress, and a football; that’s it! Gangsta Granny – David Walliams All you need is a black eye mask (or face paint or mascara), a ‘granny-style’ cardigan or blouse, a black skirt, old slippers and a pair of wrinkly tights. To finish off the look, use a sack or even a bin bag. Last but not least, if you don’t have a grey wig, talcum powder works great as a substitute!

BOOKS: Encouraging children to read © Kimberly Farmer

SOME SCARS ARE MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

COVER UP: Some dermatologists think there should be more focus on acne’s psychologial effects. © Parker Johnson via Unsplash

Liverpool student has told of the devastating impact acne has on her life in a bid to raise awareness of how the condition affects mental health. Kelly Jones, 21, spoke out amid a new trend which has seen bloggers and celebrities going bare faced on social media and sharing their skin trouble. Their stories underline how for those who don’t suffer with acne, it can seem that it only affects your physical appearance. However, the affects it has on you goes much deeper. Kelly says that when she started suffering with acne, she was shocked when her skin started to break out and wouldn’t clear up despite trying several remedies. She tried buying treatments from the shops, taking antibiotics and creams prescribed by the doctor but nothing seemed to help. She said: “I’ve never had extremely good skin but I’ve never had skin like this, it’s just got so bad, its developed out of nowhere, I’ve always

ROSIE PATEL investigates the effects that acne has on mental health and beauty bloggers going bare on social media

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took good care of my skin. “Having acne has knocked my confidence and made me feel extremely shy which is not like me. “It has affected my emotional health, I’ll cry about it, it can make you feel so emotional. You’re always so worried about what other people are thinking of you.” People’s lives are influenced by social media and even though the new trend of people going bare face is a positive influence, there is still a large amount of editing that takes place which puts pressure on people especially those who are easily influenced to look that way. It causes girls to feel incapable of leaving the house without makeup and shows them a false reality making others question their self-worth. Kelly added: “I avoid conversations with people and avoid going to places like the gym and library because I don’t want people to stare at my face. “It makes you feel like you’re not worth anything, it really affects how you feel about yourself. “I’ve never been insecure about an-

Sometimes I just don’t want to get out of bed because of it

ything before but my skin has taught me to be more sympathetic when other people are insecure about things like their weight. I can now understand how it makes you feel”. Even though many are aware of acne, they are not aware about the psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor self-image and a feeling of being alone. A new survey done by the British Skin Foundation found that nine in ten dermatologists think that not enough importance is placed on psychological effects. Even though many people are aware about what acne is physically they do not relate depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor self-image and a feeling of being alone with it. Kelly said: “When people are talking to me I just want the conver-

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sation to be over so people don’t look at me, it holds you back. “Sometimes I just don’t want to get out of bed because of it.” Unfortunately, there is no quick approach to treating acne and it can be a long progress. Everyone skins could react differently to different remedies. Kelly added: “I’d advise others suffering with acne to try their best to act on it and not just complain about having bad skin, to actually be active about trying to get it better. “Also I don’t look at people’s skin and think it’s bad so other people won’t be concentrating on yours. “Just remember it will eventually go - it’s just temporary.”

What is acne?

Acne is a skin condition that occurs when your hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells. Acne can run in families, but most cases are sporadic and occur for unknown reasons. The typical appearance of acne is a mixture of the following: oily skin, blackheads and whiteheads, red spots, yellow pus-filled pimples, and scars.

Kelly Jones says her confidence was knocked by suffering from acne. © Rosie Patel

Occasionally, large tender spots or cysts may develop that can eventually burst and discharge their contents or may heal up without bursting.

Yoga mum’s life changing journey living with arthritis CHARLOTTE KENNY finds out how a busy mother copes with arthritis using yoga, Pilates and dieting techniques

t is a picture that Julie Kenny never thought she would be posing for. Dressed her gym gear she lifts her left leg high into the air then lets out a laugh. Three years ago the mother-ofthree - then aged just 44 - she was diagnosed with arthirities.But today she tells LL how the life-changing news motivated in a way she thought not possible. She is now a gym enthusiast, attending yoga and Pilates classes every day, Julie didn’t let her illness stop her from living a healthy life. Having never actually stepped in a gym until she was diagnosed, Julie was certain she wanted to have the healthiest lifestyle she could have. Arthritis is a disorder which affects joints. Symptoms include joint pain and stiffness, the first sign of arthritis is pain which can feel like a dull ache or a burning sensation. Julie told LL: “Being told I had arthritis was heartbreaking, I was in agony all the time, so I knew something wasn’t right as I was having difficulty walking. “I was on a family holiday in Shropshire and I couldn’t keep up with the kids. I knew I had to do something to get it under control and manage it.” “I began researching different techniques and exercises which can help with the pain, I discovered yoga first which is also brilliant for your mind as well as it is all about inner peace and having a clear mind. That is important to me, being a mum to three children. “I practice yoga every day which reduces joint pain as well as improves joint flexibility and function.

“It also lowers my stress levels and tension which helps me to get a better sleep. However, I tend to avoid poses which require me to balance on one foot or bend my joints mainly my knee as the last thing I want is to make it worse.” Julie then stumbled across Pilates at the gym, which has proven it is a great form of exercise for people with arthritis who shy away from different types of exercise as they feel like they won’t be able to do it. Pilates is a gentle activity which doesn’t stress your joints or act as a burden. Julie told LL: “Pilates is a brilliant option for people who suffer with knee pain like me. It is very similar to yoga, but it is more muscle based. “I started off with yoga to see if it worked for me and then I went on to Pilates and now I feel so much stronger than a few years ago when I couldn’t walk without being in pain.” There are several other ways to help improve arthritis, these include using hot and cold therapy, different medications, massages, acupuncture and what you eat also plays a huge part in your health. For example, inflammatory foods, fried and processed foods, sugars, dairy products and alcohol also make arthritis worse. • If you are affected by arthritis or would like some more information, please visit https://www.nhs.uk/ conditions/arthritisvt

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Julie posing at her gym © Charlotte Kenny

I feel so much stronger than a few years ago when I couldn’t walk without being in pain

How artist spreads his wings Paul Curtis serves up new mural... on side of pub By JESSICA RIGG

he artist behind the famous Liverpool liver wings and Beatles mural at Cain’s Brewery has picked up his paintbrush again. Paul Curtis has created a stunning mural depicting HMS Birkenhead. He has painted it on Gallaghers Pub, located on the corner of Chester Street in Birkenhead. Paul’s latest project saw him transform the wall into a recreation of the 1852 wreck. It means those passing by get to see a memorial to the tragedy on 26th February 1852 which saw a suspected 450 passengers who died aboard the ship. Paul, from Liverpool, said: “I do artwork around Liverpool because it’s my home and where I’m from. Some of my most notable pieces are the Liver birds and Abbey Road, both in the Baltic area. My latest work was for HMS Birkenhead. “During the shipwreck, the corporal told the soldiers to stand back because there were women and children aboard. They were given the lifeboats, I’ve tried to capture this moment in the artwork.”

Paul Curtis has many famous clients in his portfolio, such as: The Baltic Market, Everton, The Hot Water Comedy club and many more notable names around Merseyside. When asked how Paul first got into art, he said: “It was by accident. I got made redundant from my job in the gas and oil industry and I was just twiddling my thumbs. “My career started when I did a piece for my sister’s baby’s nursery, a picture of Bambi and a woodlands scene. People told me it was good and it was a career path I should follow. “To begin with it was very hard and I was not having much luck, I didn’t think I’d be able to do it. It was at that point where I thought I needed to do something that was seen by the public more, which led to the decision to do the wings mural, and since then I am always busy.” Liverpool’s Liver wings are a notable spot on Jamaica Street in the Baltic Triangle, being a common tourist location taking their pictures alongside the wall, as well as the Beatles famous Abbey Road. Paul is hoping to divert more attention, this time towards the other side of the water, with his latest mural in Birkenhead.

New mural painted by Paul Curtis © Pic Paul Curtis

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HMS BIRKENHEAD FACTS

Since the wings mural, I’m always busy

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• HMS Birkenhead sailed from Portsmouth in January 1852 and travelled along the coast of South Africa before facing difficulties after tragically hitting a rock on 26th February 1852. • The disaster struck at around 2am, initially flooding the forward compartments of the ship. • The ship was approximately 3 miles away from the shore when the accident struck. • HMS Birkenhead is mostly remembered due to the large number of deaths aboard the ship.

Scouse celebration serves up charity success By JESSICA RIGG The organisers of Global Scouse Day have hailed 2020’s take on the national day as a huge success. Trending on social media sites including Twitter, #GlobalScouseDay is celebrated once a year in honour of Merseyside. Established in 2008 by three Liverpudlians, Laura Worthington, Dave Critchley and Graham Hughes, this is a day to not only celebrate Merseyside’s signature dish, but also give back to the community. Scouse is a traditional Liverpool stew, typically made up of either beef or lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions and cabbage. Scouse, frequently eaten during the winter months, has been

popular in Liverpool for decades, with variations of family recipes handed down through generations. Executive Chef at Lu Ban restaurant, Dave Critchley, from Liverpool, said: “I’m the chef in all this. Food is my passion and Liverpool is my passion, so Global Scouse Day just made sense.” Laura Worthington, owner or Laura’s Little Bakery in Liverpool, said: “Global Scouse Day is to get everyone on one day to just celebrate being a Scouser, celebrating our wonderful city, and obviously what better to base the day around other than our own dish, which is Scouse.” Dave added: “What’s been really amazing is all the different restau-

rants getting involved and putting their own take on Scouse. We’ve got Spanish Scouse, Chinese Scouse, Japanese Scouse, Scouse pizza and many more which have been popping up recently.” Laura added: “Today [Friday] I’ve seen Scouse in Torquay, Australia, New York and Glasgow. There are so many people getting involved and we want everyone around the world to get involved. Liverpool-based charity, The PaperCupProject, has been working alongside Global Scouse Day, with all monies raised going towards the charity. Volunteers have collected any leftover Scouse donated from restaurants and bakeries around the city to

less fortunate and homeless people around the streets of Merseyside. Dave added: “This day had to be about giving back to the community, it had to be for a cause and have a reason behind it.” Global Scouse Day has previously been supported by charities local to Liverpool, such as the Whitechapel Centre, R Charity and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. Founder of The PaperCupProject, Michelle Langan, said: “Our team were delighted to be the chosen charity for Global Scouse Day. There was so much support and goodwill around the day. We can’t wait to find out how much has been raised so we can share the great success.”

LL Amina Atiq © Wesley Storey

Young activist uses voice to make social change

BY BENJAMIN LYNCH

Liverpool poet and activist is hoping to use her voice to help create social change. Amina Atiq describes herself as ‘Yemeni-Scouse’, a title given to her by someone who recognised her, but has since made it her own. “A lot of people used to refer to me as the ‘Muslim girl’. I felt like I was being stereotyped and my identity was limited,” the 24-year-old told LL. “Someone came up to me and said ‘Are you that Yemeni-Scouse writer’? I was a bit confused, but it stuck as I really liked it. “Nobody calls me the Muslim girl anymore.” It was an incident on a train last year that further instilled her drive to speak up. Amina believes the occurrence, which involved a man indicating she should speak English, despite her being from Liverpool, was reflective of some problems within society today. She said: “Islamophobia is definitely a problem; I’m not going to dismiss it. But we have to accept it. Once we accept it, we can learn to change it.

“Far-right views are on the rise but I still don’t think they get covered in the same way an extremist Muslim would.” A finalist of BBC Radio 1’s Words First competition for 2019, Amina says she has struggled with her identity at times. Racist incidents are on the rise nationally and only recently, there were reports of members of the Chinese community in Liverpool affected by hate crimes after the outbreak of coronavirus. “It was only when I got to secondary school I heard the language of islamophobia and racism. It was very new to me and I started writing out of that. I was asking: why are people treating people who look like me in this way?” The question of identity is ever present in her work and she is currently working on her first one-woman show, titled ‘Broken biscuits’, set in the living room of her Grandmother’s Liverpool home in the 1970s. Amina hopes it will ‘untangle’ what it means to belong. Describing herself as someone who used to ‘hate’ the colour of her own skin, it is easy to see the motivation behind her work. “I used to get upset; I hated the colour of my skin. I still have a love-hate

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relationship with both my Yemeni side and my scouse side as a result.” Having already caused a stir on the country’s poetry scene, Amina is hopeful of her future projects and what they might mean to others. It was only when she started her creative writing degree at Liverpool John Moores University that she was diagnosed with dyslexia. Her debut collection of poems is currently set to be released next year.

Poetry allows me to

come out of the box. Everyone needs some creativity in their lives

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Amina Atiq © MilenaSa Photo

Time to celebrate women of the world BY MEGAN STRINGER

ith international women’s day taking place this Sunday, it’s no surprise that there are an array of events, workshops and performances taking place around the city this week. Liverpool Life has rounded up the top events for the weekend. Friday March 6 International Women’s Day Performance Showcase, Blackburne House, Hope Street Liverpool-born singer songwriter and performance artist Nicola Hardman, creator of the We Want Women project, which is aimed at getting women’s voices heard in the performance arts. This Friday, she

is hosting a showcase at Blackburne House, which focuses on women in music, acting, comedy, poetry and dance. The event will take place from 7pm-11pm.Tickets are £4 and can be found on Skiddle. The Women’s Organisation and Northern Power Women #BeTheChange, 54 St James St The Women’s Organisation and Northern Power Women are collaborating for a free event at 54 St James Street, to discuss issues including International Women’s Day PR stunts, and what needs to be changed in boardrooms, politics and at home to make a difference. Panel guests include Councillor Sara Rowbotham, a former frontline NHS Sexual Health Worker who cared for victims of the Rochdale

grooming scandal, and Irene Afful, Founder & Director of Ametrine Enterprise Solutions. After the panel discussion, there’ll be a chance to network with other local business women, and chat to the Women’s Org team. The event is from 9.30am-12pm. Sunday March 8 Womenstrike Merseyside 2020 The first ever International Women’s Day started out a strike for women’s rights and world peace. On March 8 history will repeat itself, as women across the world will strike again against unfair conditions. Liverpool will host a strike and a march starting at the Bombed Out Church, starting from 12.30pm, and the main issues that will be protested against iare the climate crisis and its

effects on women, violence against women, cuts to women’s services and the threat to reproductive rights. A celebration will follow at Blackburne House. Radioactive: Preview and Satellite Q&A at Fact Fact is showing an exclusive preview of Radioactive. The film, which is due to be released on March 20, follows the journey of the extraordinary scientist Marie Curie, who became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize. The screening, which starts at 1.45pm, will be followed by a live satellite Q&A with the star of the film Rosamund Pike (who plays Marie Curie), and director Marjane Satrapi. You can book tickets via the Fact website.

Business is booming for DUO Beauty sisters

By ADAMMA SARGEANT

erseyside sisters Djellza and Fjolla Grajqevci are the brains and the beauty behind the booming makeup business DUO Beauty, set up in October 2018. The girls’ aim is to give their clients confidence. Speaking to JMU Journalism they said: “Confidence is a powerful thing! I love being able to show people just how beautiful they are.” Liverpool has been hailed as Britain’s most pampered city, with Scousers spending the most on beautifying themselves in the country. Therefore, it should not come as a shock that the standards for the beauty industry in Liverpool are extremely high. The sisters at Duo Beauty are making a huge impact in the industry and boast a 12k following on Instagram. The pair would often receive compliments from strangers on their makeup and then began doing family and friends makeup for special occasions. They quickly realised they had the opportunity and talent to do what they love full time and opened their salon on Smithdown Road in October 2018. At DUO Beauty, enhancing a client’s natural beauty is at the forefront of their minds in all the work they do. “A touch of makeup is often all it takes for someone to see their own beauty for the first time.” They take an abundance of pride in their work and leave every customer with a smile on their face. A client of the girls, Rachel Mcloughlin, explained: “I never liked the idea of someone else

MADE UP: Rachel Mcloughlin before and after her new look. © Adamma Sargeant doing my makeup and I was really apprehensive the first time, but the girls made me feel super comfortable and I loved the final looks, I loved it so much I came back.” She added: “I never wanted to take the makeup off!” As well as offering makeup applications, the girls also offer one-to-one intensive courses for beginners or those looking to brush up on their techniques, to pass on some of the skills they have learnt over the six years of being makeup artists.

SISTER ACT: Meet the girls painting the faces of Liverpool. © @duo_beauty_ via Instagram

They also offer a range of beauty services such as spray tans, waxing and hair services. The girls are continuing to grow their business and are currently looking for experienced staff members to join their expanding team. There is no doubt they have a bright and successful future ahead of them as they continue to make an impact on Liverpool’s beauty industry. “The flutter of excitement at the process and wanting my client to be happy is a feeling I hope will never go away,” the girls added.

Fast Fashion: Should we change the way we shop?

By CHARLOTTE KENNY

ivienne Westwood said: “Buy less, choose well, make it last.” But with more than 60 per cent of fabric being synthetic, and clothes being produced at quicker rate than every before, fast fashion is becoming a huge issue in the world we live in today. Clothing brands are constantly trying to keep up with celebrities with the power of social media allowing fashion producers to get ideas from celebrities and produce them quickly. Fast fashion means that producing the clothing is fast, it is easy for customers to purchase items with buy now, pay later schemes, such as Klarna, and it is even quicker for clothing to be delivered with options such as next day delivery and in some cases even same day delivery. In this sense, clothing is often worn just a few times, sometimes even once before it is completely disregarded. Fast fashion began in the early 1990s when Zara opened its doors in New York City. The New York Times regarded this store as “fast fashion” to describe how quickly Zara produces clothes within two weeks. This has now become the norm. As a young woman, I never realised or understood how damaging fast fashion is on the environment. I am more than guilty of wearing something once and leaving it in my wardrobe, never to be seen again. In the book Fast Fashion: Response to changes in the fashion industry authors Vertica Bhardwaj and Ann Fairhurst say: “The fashion apparel industry, has significantly evolved, particularly over the last 20 years. “The changing dynamics of the fashion industry have forced retailers to desire low cost and flexibility in design, quality, and speed to the market, key strategies to maintain a profitable position in the increasingly demanding market.” A prime example of fast fashion which stands out is the way brands copy outfits worn by the Kardashians. Kim Kardashian uploaded a photograph to Instagram wearing a gold two cut of dress with a thigh spilt. A few hours later, clothing brand Missguided produced an identical dress, which is massively cheaper than the one Kim Kardashian was wearing. This doesn’t just influence the environment but also the designer brand that Kim Kardashian is wearing as people may not want to pay for the designer version if they can buy the Missguided version for £20 maximum with free delivery. After discovering that about 85 percent of textile waste in the USA goes straight to landfills or it is incinerated and it won’t decay. I decided to make some changes. Firstly, I pulled

out everything from my wardrobe onto my bedroom floor and I made three piles, the first pile was clothes I would donate to the charity shop, the second pile was clothes I would put on Depop to sell and the third was clothes I regularly wear and I wanted to keep. There are several other ways you can do your bit to reduce fast fashion whether it is reducing the amount of clothes you’re purchasing or selling them on applications such as Depop or Ebay.

bby Hughes, 21, told Liverpool Life how her fashion habits have changed. “I started getting my clothes altered once I realised the effects of fast fashion. I also made a Depop account, so I was helping to reduce fast fashion as well as making money too.” Chloe Hall, from Seaforth, told Liverpool Life that she used to buy a new outfit everytime she was going on a night out. “In the end, I realised I was wasting so much money and I had no room in my wardrobe at all. I began selling my clothes on Depop and I banned myself from ordering clothes.” Student Mollie O’Hare told Liverpool Life: “I’ve recently discovered the impact of fast fashion and I have been taking any clothes I don’t want anymore to the charity shop. “I have also started asking myself before I buy something whether I will wear this in a few months or am I just going to wear it once and if it is the second option then I don’t buy whatever it is.” As Vivienne Westwood also said: “It’s about quality, not quantity, not landfill.”

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Fashion for the future © Lauren Fleischmann on Unsplash

The fashion apparel industry has significantly evolved, particularly over the last 20 years

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Depop and the rise of second-hand shopping

BY EVELYN EDWARDS

art eBay, part Instagram, the Depop app allows users to sell second hand clothes and has over 15 million users. Overwhelmingly used by millennials and Generation Z, 90% of its users are under the age of 26. Selling stuff online isn’t new, but Depop’s social media aesthetic appeals to young people in a way that these sites couldn’t before. While the apps primary purpose is selling clothes, it also has options to let

users follow sellers as well as like and message each other to show off collections or secure sales. Second hand clothing used to be seen as uncool, but the trend of vintage fashion in recent years has seen the app flourish with some sellers making a living off finding and selling clothing. And with the fashion industry producing 10% of global carbon emissions, sustainability is the name of the game when it comes to re-used clothing.

What a day for fine arts Tammy-Lee Walsh visits a seance and a videogame world, all within the confines of St George’s Hall

he cold, decrepit chambers of St George’s Hall were brought to life as the setting for the ‘What Day’ exhibition. It saw first year students from LJMU’s Fine Arts course showcase a wide array of work within its walls. From the eerie scene of a séance, to the lively flashing neon image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, to a massive tapestry depicting artwork from the game Minecraft, this exhibition was certainly not lacking in variety. It was an immersive experience as the students had been encouraged to utilise the unique structure of the venue when displaying their work, one piece in particular that made use of the surroundings was that of Kiayodee Kinsalas. His work depicted the dark side of the trading industry with a display of the many goods ported to Liverpool

from the outside of one of the cells. But as visitors stepped into the cell, they were met with images of the cruel conditions that slaves endured back then. In contrast to Mr Kinsala’s moving work, one of the more humorous displays was room with walls covered in post-it notes with anonymous confessions and visitors were encouraged to share their own secrets. Overall, this was an exhibition where each individual display was impressive enough on its own but together, along with one of Liverpool’s most historical buildings as its backdrop, the ‘What Day’ exhibition was truly an immersive experience.

 Abstract and artful: LJMU student showcase. © Tammy-Lee Walsh

Tate exhibits poignant piece on race, beauty and history By DEMI WILLIAMS

ate Liverpool is featuring an exhibition from one of the world’s most influential living artist’s, Theaster Gates. Amalgam is Gates’ first solo museum exhibition in the UK, and is inspired by the story of Malaga, an island off the coast of Maine in north-eastern US. From the 1860s, the island was home to a small mixed-race community of black and white heritage, who lived in harmony during a time when racial segregation was enforced across the US. In 1912, the state governor forcibly evicted the community, which resulted in them having no housing, jobs or support afterwards. Amalgam, which means a mixture, blend or combination, presents a range of art from sculpture, installations and a gripping short film. Among its thought-provoking exhibits guiding

you through the social histories of migration and interracial relations, the installation explores how the events on Malaga unfolded. Told through an accumulation of clips that intertwined itself around monk music and the discussion of poetry and lyrics, Gates also provided a 35-minute short film titled Dance of Malaga, that told a beautiful, complex message of identity and skin type. Flashing to and from a gathering of dancers who bore the element of survival, the focus was also on gospel and passages of belief. Amalgam is a powerful and emotionally-riveting exhibit that shines light onto the inhabitants that lived on the island of Malaga. Displaying art that generated the message of righteousness and beauty, the exhibit goes into depth to voice the story that carries resilience and subjugation. Gates manages to tell a riveting story of Malaga through the combination of

contemporary art and various objects and materials related to its history. A unique art form that embodies the love and spirit of its Malaga community. • The exhibit is open until May 3 and is free for members of the Tate.

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Dance of Malaga, a short film

Drama students team with charity to tackle addiction By TAMMY-LEE WALSH

olunteers from a rehabilitation charity have collaborated with LJMU’s Drama department to produce a play. ‘The Clearing’ is a show which aims to depict the many challenges that people dealing with addiction face during their recovery process. The performance took place last Friday as part of a ceremony for those graduating from the Transforming Choice programme. The cast consisted of volunteers from Transforming Choice, a charity in Liverpool, which specialises in rehabilitating people who struggle with addiction. Jay Keenan, a staff member from Transforming Choice, talked to LL about his experience as part of the cast. He said: “I’m not an actor so it was a bit nerve-wrecking but I kind of based my role off of my own personal journey to help deliver it as best I could. “I think acting is a way of expressing and a lot of the people in the audience today are the family of those who are graduating, so it’s like a window into what life at Transforming Choice is like.” They may not be professional actors but the team from Transforming Choice still gave a moving portrayal

of what the recovery process entails, from lowest points of feeling hopeless and suicidal to the bonds formed during group therapy sessions. One thing that was evident both in the performance and from speaking to the actors afterwards is that Transforming Choice offers a unique style of support, with the volunteers who had previously received their help, referring to the charity as a family. Paula Simms, the LJMU lecturer who directed the show, said she believes it has been a therapeutic experience for those involved, telling LL: “We started working on this about a year and a half ago and we decided to take inspiration from The Clearing book by Christina Ashworth, who’d done the research into Transformation. “We thought it would make a great verbatim piece. It’s good for the family members to see because otherwise they wouldn’t know what goes on since it’s a very private process. They get to see the type of torture and heartbreak that they go through.” Paula plans to continue working with Transforming Choice and hopes to do another play focusing on the struggles that women specifically go through and to tackle taboo subjects such as the effects addiction has on motherhood.

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The family get to see the torture and heartbreak they go through

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Director and lecturer: Paula Simms

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Seeing stars in your eyes in St. Helens

By CHARLIE BURGESS

t. Helen’s Theatre Royal has revealed an all-star line-up for the month of March. Fans of classic rock will be thunderstruck by LiveWire, a six-man tribute to the legendary AC/DC. Expect loud volumes, tweed hats and head banging. See them on Friday March 6. If you’re not too tired from riding the highway to hell, head back the following night to catch a nostalgic northern dance experience. An 11-piece band, four vocalists and hits from R Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson and Gloria Jones, it could only be Northern Live – Do I Love You.

Later on in the month, Strictly comes to St. Helens. Ian Waite and Vincent Simone return with their new show, Act Two. A combination of dance, comedy and spectacle that can only be relived when the series comes back on tele. Strictly come see them on March 23. A final highlight comes on the 27th with a tribute to one of pop’s biggest acts, the late, great George Michael. A rollercoaster ride through a 35-year career full of absolute belters, experience the versatility of a legend whose music took inspiration from jazz to reggae, created iconic sax licks, acoustic ballads and sun-soaked gems like ‘Club Tropicana’.

Also on: By The Waters Of Liverpool: An empowering period piece about a young woman’s fight to educate herself during wartime. A cast of TV soap veterans bring this feminist piece to life. Tuesday 17 - Saturday 21

Derek Ryan The Irish country music sensation stops in St. Helens on part of his biggest tour to date. Acclaimed winner of Sunday World’s Album and Songwriter of the Year award. Friday 13

ool p r e v i mL o r F gs n i t e e r G

Spring is just around the corner - we hope - so Liverpool Life has compiled a list of some of the best open spaces to visit

By DAN JONES iverpool’s city centre has plenty to offer - from the shops and bars, to museums and cafes, there is plenty to keep you occupied for several days. But, what of the hidden treasures that surround the city centre? Liverpool has an array of beautiful places to visit, all just a train or bus ride away. Merseyside is blessed with more than 10 miles of coastline, starting in Waterloo with Crosby Beach. Now the adopted home of Antony Gormley’s Another Place, you can visit the 100 life-size Iron men, dotted all along the golden sands. The beach also has a walkway, which leads you from the Marina to the old coastguard station, with train stations at both ends of the walk. A coastal path will lead you to the small village of Hightown where there is a pub and shop perfect for refreshments. The continuation of the path will take you to the famous dunes of Formby Beach and National Trust red squirrel reserve, perfect for an afternoon of exploring ... and a Mr

Whippy, of course. The beach will eventually bring you to the Victorian seaside town of Southport, filled with shops and restaurants. There are things to entertain all ages, but for most people the real fun is in the arcades filled with penny games, the pier and chip shops. You really can’t beat fish and chips on the beach, can you? Each one of the places mentioned can be reached via Merseyrail’s Northern line route, Arriva or Stagecoach buses. If sand isn’t your cup of tea, never fear! Liverpool is also surrounded by open green spaces, perfect for a bit of fresh air not far from the city. We start with Sefton Park. All 235 acres of the park is situated just south of the city and is easily accessed via the many bus routes in that area in the city centre. The park is filled with different routes, ponds, cafes, the lake and the iconic Palm House, which is home to many events, such as live music and markets. The different routes will bring you to various areas in the city, including Smithdown Road and Lark lane, filled with perfect venues for dinner with friends or an afternoon drink.

Not far from Sefton Park is Princes Park, which is a Grade II* Historic Park, alongside Sefton. The park was built in the Victorian era, with the original Golden Gates and the serpentine lake is still there today. It was designed around the Georgian-style mansions that surround it, why not grab a coffee and take a stroll?

ituated on the edge of the River Mersey is Otterspool promenade - perfect for a picnic lunch, releasing some energy with a run or just enjoying some well-needed fresh air. Another great place to visit is Calderstones Park with its woodland, cafe and lake. The 94 acres can be perfect for some quality time with friends and family. Further along the coast sits Speke Hall and its grounds. The National Trust-run Tudor house gives a

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fascinating insight into the past, with guided talks and experts on hand dressed in traditional Tudor dress bringing the house to life. The hall has play areas and a cafe and could fill an unplanned morning perfectly, with the 86 bus stopping only metres from the entrance to the site. Continuing with grand homes of the past, Croxteth Hall country park, in West Derby, is a fine example of a working country estate in the Northwest of England. Visitors can see several attractions including the Hall, the Victorian walled garden and the West Derby courthouse, that dates back to the reign of Elizabeth I. From the coastline to the park, there is something in the area to keep everybody happy. P.S always check the weather, there is nothing worse than getting caught in the rain!

You really can’t beat fish and chips on the beach

Festival Gardens in full bloom

fter being derelict for more than 30 years, plans to regenerate the Festival Gardens site in South Liverpool look set to go ahead with a focus on new homes and community facilities. Liverpool City council has received a £150,000 grant from the Strategic Investment Fund of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the funding will go towards the clean-up phase of the 100-acre fromer landfill site. The land was transformed in the 1980s to host the International Garden Festival. During a five-month run in 1984 the Festival Gardens attracted more than three million visitors, with its huge mix of ornamental gardens from all over the world and the grand centrpiece, Festival Hall. In a recent city council meeting councillors explained that the area represents a significant regeneration opportunity, with economic benefits for the City and City Region. The project will aim to provide 1,500 homes in a new sustainable community and generate approximately £1.4 million a year in council tax income. Vinci, Arup and Kier Business Services have been appointed to work on pre-remediation material

trials. Michael Doran, Communications Manager at Liverpool City Council told Liverpool Life: “This information will inform a strategy for the comprehensive remediation of the development zone.” When asked about the plan’s progression, he said: “After previous false dawns and three years of site investigations and preparations by the council, the momentum we now have is extremely positive.” When completed, the project intends to be the greenest and healthiest neighbourhood in the City Region. Mike Doran added: “This is fundamental to the developers’ design and the justification for the council entering into the agreement for the site. It is also key to meeting the Liverpool City Region and Liverpool City Council inclusive growth strategies.” Despite this, the site will provide more than just homes. “Not only will the development create a significant new community in the south of the city with high quality living, as well as new community facilities, it will also create significant local employment and training opportunities,” he said.

By Jose Ruiz

READY, SET, GO: Boccia game in action

Bowling for a funding boost

By FAYE WASILOWSKI

Go Fund Me page, which has been set up since January, is urging people to donate funds to help the club buy sports equipment. Boccia (pronounced “bot-cha”) is a Paralympic sport which is similar to bowls. The independently-funded Greenbank Giants have applied to Sport England for money to support them in buying the Boccia balls, but have been unsuccessful as of yet. The Greenbank Giants Boccia Club, which launched in 2017, is looking for financial support, as funding for individuals is scarce and the club is finding it difficult to fund the club. Liverpool Life spoke to Mark

Rowlands, who set up the funding for the Boccia club. He spoke about the problems the club has experienced with funding. He said: “First of all, funding for everything to do with disabilities has delays. I will say ignorance is still there with disability. The financial crisis in 2007/2008 has decimated the Government and private funding schemes. “ Mr Rowlands continued: “The problem of ignorance has improved quite a lot, but it has to go so much further to get it to the real place of true equality in disability with sports, education, employment and general living standards. “This is the problem with disability

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I will say ignorance is still there with disability

sports. Its popularity is no way near to able bodied mainstream sports and that is due to it being televised more frequently. As a result, it will mean that the chances of getting sponsorship for someone who is a disabled athlete is very low indeed.” The game’s objective is to award points to those who can throw, kick or ramp the balls closest to the white target ball, otherwise known as the jack. Whoever gets their ball closest to the jack will be awarded the most points. The Greenbank Giants need to raise a total of £750, which would cover the cost of the six Victoria Boccia

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balls needed for the game. So far, they have raised £320. The club is open to players of all disabilities, including physical and learning difficulties, in which both males and females can compete against each other. The club offers a classification system, in which those with similar disabilities will fairly compete against each other. Mr Rowlands said: “For an all inclusiveness, the Government needs to totally rethink adult social care. It is not working right for everyone. Disability sports should be a choice for everyone who wants to partake.”

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Gaelic club fundraises to replace goal posts By AOIFE MONAHAN A local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Liverpool are appealing for donations after their goal posts were destroyed by recent weather conditions. Liverpool Wolftones GAA, who train and play matches in Wavertree Playground, were “devastated” to find their goal posts blew down due to the aftermath of Storm Ciara last month. GAA is an amateur sport and therefore, the club are relying on donations to help them out. The estimated costs of new goal posts is around £5,000; they have set up a GoFund Me page and have already reached £2,690 from 117 donors. Donations on the page have come from club players, family, friends, and other GAA organisations including, the British camogie board and hurling teams from Manchester and London. Vice-Chairman of the club Colm Wray, said: “We had a committee meeting and someone mentioned throw up a Go Fund me page and we thought why not, if we get four or five hundred pound from it that would be great. “Because Gaelic Games is seen as more of a community than a sport people have really rallied around us.” Wolftones are an important part of

Competitors at the start of the race

Thousands race to raise funds for cancer charity © Liverpool Wolftones GAA Go Fund me page the Irish community in Liverpool as they are the only GAA club in the north of England to offer all four aspects of the Gaelic games; they have teams in Men’s Gaelic Football, Women’s Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camogie. Without having goal posts, it is proving difficult for the teams to train and host matches at their home ground. The club was set up in March 2010 to, provide the vast numbers of Irish arriving on Merseyside the opportunity to play Gaelic games. Now, in what should be a triumph 10 years for Liverpool Wolftones, they are faced with having no goal posts to use.

Local talent gets to grips with world-class opponents By TOBY CLARKE Liverpool’s local talent stole the show after an evening of high-level submission grappling at Fusion Nightclub on Saturday. Grapplefest, a submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, was back in Liverpool once again at the weekend. Grapplefest is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu event which allows some of the best fighters from all over the world to showcase their abilities, and test themselves against some of the toughest opponents the sport has to offer. However, it’s also an opportunity for local fighters to showcase their talent on the international circuit. While, Kade Ruotolo and Jon Blank won their respective titles with their own set of impressive submissions on the night, it was the competitors from Liverpool who really stole the show. Ben Hills, who fights out of Next Generation Liverpool, defeated his opponent in a hard-fought battle.He began the fight looking to attack of his back. While he maintained a strong butterfly guard from the bottom position, he constantly looked to deploy a variety of submission attempts. He came close to securing a heel hook, and while his opponent did well to escape, Ben took control of the scramble and consequently, he caught

Competitors at Grapplefest © Gropplefest his opponent with a triangle choke to finish the fight. Paul Webb, who also trains at Next Generation Liverpool, finished his fight with plenty of time to spare. His opponent pulled guard early in the fight, which gave Paul the top position he needed to implement his game. He maintained a strong position on his opponent, which eventually led to him passing his guard. Paul then capitalised on this opportunity, as the arm lock submission quickly followed. After his fight, Paul said, “I was happy when he pulled guard, that’s half the problem with heavyweights, it’s getting them down to the floor. So, once I was on top, I knew I could just implement my game and have fun with it really. “I wanted to just pressure him, in a sense that, he’d just give up in the end, and I felt like that’s what he did when he gave me his arm, it was all over.”

By JAMES LEE Thousands of participants took to the streets of St Helens at the weekend to race in a 10k charity race. The race has become an annual event in the local running season, with the aim to raise money for the Steve Prescott Foundation. The Foundation acts as the legacy of former rugby league player Steve Prescott MBE, who died in 2013 from a rare form of abdominal cancer. Before his death, he formed the SPF to raise funds and awareness for Try Assist, formerly The Rugby League Benovelnet Fund, as well as the Christie Hospital in Manchester. He undertook many extreme physical and mental challenges during his illness to raise funds and the 10k race continues his legacy with many supporting it since its creation. Sunday’s course took the runners around St Helens before finishing in St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium. A total of 1,790 people completed the course, from those who regularly compete to those racing for the first time. A trio of St Helens Sutton Athletic Club members ran the fastest, with club chairman Matt Crehan recording a time of 31:26, with Jon-Jo Doherty coming in over a minute later at 32:48. Third position went to student Charlie Roberts at 33:13. Roberts is set to compete for Merseyside in the English Schools Cross Country Champion-

Steve Prescott racing © StevePrescott ships in two weeks time. The fastest female was Jade Smith who finished at 39:46. The entire race was divided into separate categories based on age and gender. For both male and female, there was an open category and then separate categories from 40+ and upwards. Athletes from St Helens Sutton Athletic Club, Knowsley Harriers, St Helens Striders, Liverpool Run Bugs, Kirkby Millers, Warrington AC, Southport Waterloo AC, Liverpool Harriers AC, Widnes Wasps Running Club and Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton Harriers all competed. Ex-Rugby stars were in the town to compete with Rugby AM’s Wayne Godwin completing the event in a time of 45:35, all whilst wearing little clothing.

Victory at the oche for LJMU By ADAMMA SARGEANT The LJMU Darts team recently came face to face with the University of Manchester team and came away with a victory. The LJMU A team are currently third, with Lancaster A-team in first place, making them the team to beat. The game took place in The Scholar, Roscoe Street, which is where the team meet every Thursday to play either socially or competitively. The game starts with two treble games seeing LJMU’s B team play the A team, then three double games and finished with games of singles. Going into the last singles game it was all square with Max Deignan of LJMU playing Manchester’s

Tom Savage. On the decider, winner takes all match, Max hit double 16 to win it for LJMU. President of the LJMU darts team Joseph Gough,24, told LL: “It’s been good, Manchester are a good set of lads so we always have fun when they come up. Darts almost come second. “We have a drink and a good laugh but once we start playing everyone takes it seriously.” He added: “We have two more league games. “We have to play Ethiad and Lancashire away which will be good fun.” The team will be playing Lancashire University on March 14. In other darts news, the Unibet premier league game will take place on March 12 at the M &S Bank Arena.

LLSPORT Campaign banner. Liverpool Varsity Facebook

Rivals set as Varsity excitement builds

The biggest sporting competition between rivals LJMU and University of Liverpool kicks off this month. The annual Varsity sees the two biggest universities in Liverpool go head-to-head in over 40 sporting events to compete for the coveted Varsity trophy. This year’s competition will start on 15th March with one of the first events being powerlifting at Taylor’s Strength and Training, Truman Street. The event will last for three days

By AOIFE MONAHAN and include swimming, American football, men and women’s basketball, football and rugby along with many more competitive university sports. This year, LJMU will be hoping to snatch the cup from eight-time Varsity champions University of Liverpool (UoL). The competition is set to be fierce this year, as sport teams from both

LJMU Jiu Jitsu society scissor sweep to victory By TAMMY-LEE WALSH

From one pool to the next By DANCHO BASHOV

LJMU’s Jiu Jitsu society have seen an impressive weekend at the Randori National by earning six medals, which is an impressive feat for a small club. Emma Wood spoke to LL about her experience. Although she didn’t win any medals, she says she enjoyed the atmosphere of the event and being there to support her team mates. She said: “It was my first time attending the Randori nationals so I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the competition. “I went in confident but I did find the groundwork quite difficult as both my competitors were giving their all. I didn’t get through to finals but I enjoyed cheering on the others later and watching the higher competitors compete using locks and arm bars.” Another member of the Jiu Jitsu society, Lewis May, told LL: “It was a great weekend. To take home six medals with just 10 competitors is a very good return. “I’d previously competed in the Atemi nationals in November but this was my first Randori and I took the bronze medal.” Overall, the club took home one gold medal, three silver and two bronze.

INSIDE SPORT

Universities have had notable achievements so far. LJMU Women’s Football team won the league last month with a game in hand, while UoL men’s archery team had first and second place winners at the BUCS. The rival universities have been going head to head at the annual Varsity competition since 1993 and 2020 will be no different. Spectators from both universities are encouraged to go to each event and show their support.

WINNERS: The LJMU Jiu Jitsu members after their victory

Boccia seeks fund boost: p18

Darts win is sweet for LJMU: p19

Liverpool Under 23 coach Neil Critchley has left his position to take up the head coach role in Blackpool. The 41-year-old had to stand in for Jurgen Klopp on two occasions this year due to the congested fixtures list. Critchley led a youthful side out in the EFL Quarter Finals against Aston Villa as a stand-in for the first team’s absence due to their involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup. Unfortunately for the Blackpool-born coach, his side were on the back of a 5-0 thrashing. He was again given the nod during the newly adopted Winter Break period and fielded the U23’s against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup fourth round replay. His team came out on top via a 1-0 win which kept the Reds in the competition. His replacement at Liverpool has already been announced as Tim Jenkins, who is taking the job on a temporary basis. Jenkins previously served as the assistant coach/head of analysis at the club. Liverpool U 23’s next match comes against Wolfsburg on March 10 in the Premier League International Cup Quarter Finals.

Grapplers descend on city : p19