Liverpool Life 4:16

16 - March - 2016

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE...

PAGE 3

PAGE 13

SPORT

PAGE 19

6,500 take part in Liverpool’s Half Marathon

LJMU graduate inspires others with cancer blog

© JMU Journalism

©Rimrose Valley Friends

Group fight to halt dual-carriageway plans

LIFEextra

©Alice May Purkiss

NEWS

THANK YOU B & GOODBYE

Bomb scare

By CONNOR LYNCH

It’s the end of our time on the Liverpool Life team 2015/16.

See inside for our highlights of the year included in our special edition pull-out pages.

Also see what we got up to in London, China and our first Journalism Ball in aid of Macmillan Cancer.

omb Disposal units were called to Liverpool City Centre for a second time this week to deal with unexploded World War Two bombs.

Five bombs described as ‘non-fused ammunition’ were discovered at a building site on Pall Mall, only one day after two similar devices had been removed.

Police put a 200m cordon in place, starting from the junction at Pall Mall and Leeds Street, and evacuated all business premises in the area, including the Williams and Mercedes garages.

The munitions are believed to have been from an old Allied Forces ammunition store, rather

than a live bomb left behind from the Blitz, during which Liverpool’s docklands were a key target of the German Luftwaffe.

Toby Bresnan works at Fishlock Flowers, who had to evacuate their premises for the second day in a row.

He said: “It’s been a bit of a pain in the doo-dah. We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had any early deliveries so it hasn’t been too bad, but I was shut out yesterday completely because I was out doing deliveries when it happened.

“I’ve heard what they found today is even bigger, I was talking to a traffic warden, and he said it’s an old ammunition store, so it could actually be one of ours!”

The road was eventually reopened at 11:50am, and staff were allowed to return to work.

Bomb disposal units called to city centre ©Connor Lynch

Life|News|2

Merseyside police tackle illegal use of bikes

By CAOIMHE HARKIN Merseyside police have launched a campaign to crack down on the illegal use of bikes across Merseyside communities. The new campaign, which was launched last Thursday, is urging members of the public who may be affected by the dangerous, anti-social and illegal use of off-road bikes to speak out anonymously to help police take them off the streets.

Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy has joined forces with crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers and Merseyside Police to launch the initiative which encourages people to come forward with information about the location of unlicensed and

uninsured bikes so they can be seized.

Superintendent Jenny Sims said: “Merseyside Police will not tolerate the illegal or anti-social use of scrambler or quad bikes but we need the public to tell us where these bikes are being stored and who is using them, so we can take action and take these bikes out of circulation.”

She added: “In the wrong hands these bikes are potentially lethal and people need to understand the consequences of driving these bikes irresponsibly.”

The new campaign is to make members of the public aware that anyone who takes to the roads illegally and poses a danger to pedestrians and other motorists

on our roads can risk losing their licence, their vehicle and if their reckless driving results in injury or death they will face a prison sentence.

Crimestoppers are only interested in what information callers have, not who they are.

Crimestoppers’ North West Regional Manager Gary Murray said: “I would appeal to the public to contact us about where these bikes are stored and who is using them.

“Together we can get these bikes off the streets and make them safer for your family. We do not know the identity of anyone who contacts us or cannot trace your call, we just want your information, not your name”.

OPEN: Sgt Peppers Bistro ©Wikimedia Commons

DANGEROUS: Mersyside police hope to reduce the number of illegal bikes on the streets. ©Wikimedia Commons

Demolition begins for the Cream club

By LUCY DARBYSHIRE

Liverpool-based Mees demolition has started work this week in demolishing Wolstenholme Square in Liverpool city centre.

The demolition of the multiple building in the square will make way for a £40 million redevelopment scheme. The development will house more than 400 apartment as well as a new venue for the nightclub Nation, home of the nightclub superbrand Cream.

The company’s head office is based in Liverpool, where the team is also currently involved in the redevelopment of the Royal Hospital. The plans for Wolstenholme Square, which have already been approved by Liverpool City Council, will see contractor Newry Construction build five apartment blocks, as well as a retail space, restaurant units and an underground club.

Experienced demolition

Life

NIGHTCLUB: Cream is set to be demolished this week. contractors Mees will use the latest technologies and equipment to ensure that disruption in the busy city centre area is kept to a minimum during the clearing of

Team

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the site. The entire scheme will be overseen by developers Elliot Group.

Thomas Mee, managing director of Mees Demolition, said:

©Wikimedia Commons “We know that all eyes will be on the redevelopment of this iconic Liverpool square. Being so close to Liverpool ONE and The Albert Dock, Wolstenholme

Square will be a fantastic place to live once the development is completed. Liverpool is booming at the moment, with demand for city living at an all-time high.’

Mayor joins festival with investors

By STEPH BOCKING A record number of private sector firms have joined Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson at a global property and investment festival, in Cannes, this week.

The 36-strong delegation of local businesses exceeds the total of 27 firms that supported Liverpool at the event last year.

The new sponsors will support Mr Anderson at the MIMIP festival, held on the French Rivera, in a bid to sell £6.5bm worth of property developments to potential investors.

This year, the Liverpool delegation will be orientating its presence as an International Waterfront City. The four day event is being led by Marketing Liverpool,

an organisation that works to attract investment into the city.

The event, which is being held from the 15-18 March, will be attended by 90 countries, 2225 exhibitors and 21,000 international delegates.

Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision, Max Steinberg, has said: “Built around the city’s magnificent waterfront, the Liverpool MIPIM 2016 stand will aim to attract investors, encourage conversation and, crucially, get them to discover Liverpool’s unique investment offer.”

Mr Steinberg added: “These will look at pressing issues at pressing issues such as the Northern Powerhouse, how international waterfront cities can develop and, more locally, the Liverpool Waters project.”

“It’s a clear sign of strong collaboration in the city. It’s about us uniting, with the city leaders, to share a unified message: Liverpool is open for business.”

Organisers hope that Liverpool’s profile will be boosted in two events that will form part of official MIPIM programme, which includes a City Investment Forum and a Northern Powerhouse event that will be held in the Grand Auditorium.

The four day festival takes place every March and is the premier networking event in the European Real Estate calendar.

The record number of sponsors that are supporting Liverpool at MIPIM include Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Signature Living.

Beatle themed bistro to re-open

By SOPHIE CORCORAN The owner of the famous Sgt Pepper’s Bistro has announced that the restaurant is almost complete.

The restaurant in Penny Lane has been closed for the past decade after it was plagued by failed promises to restore its former glory.

The owner Ray Maatook has pledged that the premises will be up and running by the end of 2016. Mr Maatook bought Sgt Pepper’s in 2004 but has never been opened since, despite it being granted planning permission which included a first-floor extension.

The owner vowed to never sell the restaurant but promised it would continue as a hospitality venue when a new operator picked up the reins.

The Bus Shelter and Penny Lane still remains a popular stop for fans on the Fab Four trail, and a new sign for the shelter has recently appeared.

Abuse in spotlight at theatre

By CAOIMHE HARKIN

Pilgrim Street Arts Centre, Birkenhead, is hosting a night of plays which will tackle the issue of child sex abuse.

This Friday is national child exploitation day, and the Last Minute Theatre group, Wirral, have developed a special production to mark the day.

The group has put together a number of short plays which will be staged to raise awareness. On One Condition…’ is designed to raise young people’s awareness about what exploitation is, grooming methods and where victims can find help and support. Each small play is accompanied by an interactive question and answer section to aid learning.

Deputy Police Commissioner Councillor Sue Murphy said: ‘I’m delighted to have been invited to attend this production aimed at raising awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) on this very important day.”

Life|News|3

Fighting to save valley beauty spot

By BARRY ROCKS

A Liverpool community group is fighting to halt plans to build a dual-carriageway through Rimrose Valley Country Park in Sefton.

Rimrose Valley is an area of natural beauty, one of few remaining locations in the Liverpool area free from urbanisation and industrial development. It has been dubbed the “Green Lung” of Sefton for its ability to produce clean air in a densely populated region.

Last year Highways England announced that in order to deal with increased traffic flow in the coming decades, further infrastructure developments are required in the area.

In a recent statement it said: “We are currently looking at two options to reduce congestion on the A5036 and meet the needs of the future traffic growth from the expansion of the Port of Liverpool and from other developments in the area.”

Preliminary findings have estimated the cost of developing the current A5306 dual carriageway which runs parallel to the park at £250 million.

On the other hand to build a new dual carriageway through Rimrose Valley would cost £150million.

Highways England held a series of information evenings

for residents of the Sefton area last week.

But due to high level of public opposition the company had to draft in more personnel to deal with the flow of public complaints.

Si Smith heads Rimrose Valley Friends, a community initiative which utilises the park through nature walks.

If plans for a road go through, they intend to mobilise as one voice for the surrounding communities, working within the law to defend the unique piece of countryside.

Si believes that due to the number of existing residential homes hugging the A5306, Highways England will decide to pursue the cheaper option of dissecting Rimrose Valley.

He told Liverpool Life: “We don’t know if they’re taking into account the long term social costs and health care costs.

Caused by people losing the green space that they have on their door step. There are areas of deprivation that rely on Rimrose Valley, there are very poor areas indeed. Netherton has been confirmed as having a lack of green spaces.”

The communities of Netherton, Ford and Seaforth and Bootle border Rimrose Valley.

Without it they are encapsulated by pollution generation. The

traffic and industry means that the people of those communities have nothing to improve from the pollution.

Si added: “We’re very much in need of experts to help us find our way through this and bring a successful challenge.

We’re calling for volunteers to take a leading role in helping us to build our resistance case.”

He continued: “As well as signing up as a friend we’ would like to encourage people to visit Rimrose Valley to see for themselves what an amazing place it is.”

For more information visit: Rimrosevalleyfriends.org

BEAUTY: Rimrose Valley sunset. Pictures © Rimrose Valley Friends

WILDLIFE: Bullfinch and Weasels can be seen in the green space.

24 hours of yoga for sport relief

By LUCY DARBYSHIRE

Liverpool Yoga Studios, opened its doors yesterday for 24 hours in a bid to raise money for Sports Relief.

The Studio formerly known as Bikram yoga Liverpool, offered free classes on the hour, every hour to raise money for the charity. The yoga teachers, took classes in a relay style over the course of the 24 hours. Visitors were

able to drop in into different sessions throughout the course of the day.

The day started bright an early, with a 6am start and after a long 24 hours, the doors shut at 6am. The classes were designed for all ages and abilities and were selected to showcase the benefits of yoga, making it accessible for all.

Estelle Cartlidge, creator of Liverpool yoga studios said: “We’ve had an amazing turn

out, people who haven’t been to yoga before, have been taking part in the laughing yoga, we just want to take the misconceptions of yoga away, yoga is for everyone, for all ages and body types.

So far we are close to the £1,000 mark, and the day is still early, we are aiming for £3,000, with the positive turn out we have had to far, I’m hopeful we will make our target.”

The day started off with

a ‘Morning Family Glowga party’ which invited families to, dancing, doing yoga, and lots of glow paint. The party is designed as way to boost creativity, acting as a fun stimulant for a more productive day at school or in the office.

Estelle added: “Obviously yoga is really good for body, mind and soul, and even though people don’t automatically see it as a sport,

all sports to me is to get a fit body and a fit mind, so I just wanted to raise money so more people can get fit, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”

Gemma Merna ex- Hollyoaks and regular yoga teacher, came in to teach a lesson at 10am and to support the cause.

Estelle explained: “We had Gemma Merna here who is an ex-Hollyoaks star and a regular teacher here.

Specialist motoring officers in decline

By LUCY NIXON

LABOUR: Louise Ellman © Louise Ellman Twitter

Cuts to the number of specialist motoring officers could be putting lives at risk, according to a Liverpool MP. Louise Ellman, Liverpool Riverside MP and Chair of the Commons Transport committee, has spoken out following the release of figures showing a decrease in the number of motoring offences over the last decade.

The number of offences on roads in England and Wales more than halved from 4.3 million in 2004 to 1.6 million in

2013, figures show.

However the Commons Transport Committee have claimed that the reduction in the number of offences recorded is due to a lack of specialist officers on the roads, rather than a decrease in the amount of offences actually occurring.

Louise Ellman MP claimed that drivers still need educating on how to be as safe as possible on the roads.

"The fall in overall road offences does not reflect an improvement in driving.

“The Department for

Transport says education, engineering and enforcement are key to road safety. One cannot exist without the other.

“More than one fifth of people seriously injured or killed on our roads in 2014 were not wearing seatbelts.

“A driver being impaired by alcohol contributed to eight per cent of all fatal accidents.

“If enforcement of road traffic laws is to be effective, the decline in specialist roads policing officers must be halted” she said.

Although the number of offences have fallen, MPs have

made calls to increase the amount of specialist transport police on our roads.

Neil Greig, of road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said it was "unlikely to be possible" however for police forces to increase their number of specialist traffic officers due to budget restraints.

"Targeted enforcement, better intelligence and more efficient use of police resources could be just as effective.

“Every police officer should be on the look-out for road traffic offenders” he explained.

FILMING: This Is England cast members. Pictures © Daniel Brown Facebook

Daniel’s doing it in style

By LISA RIMMER

A Runcorn stylist has established himself on the London fashion scene after working with some of the biggest celebrities in music and TV since graduating from university last year.

Daniel Brown, 21, has launched his own styling agency, ‘DANYUL’ in his own right after gaining a strong celebrity clientele.

Daniel moved to London after college to attend university with the intentions of becoming a print designer but after assisting backstage at London Fashion Week last year, he realised that he wanted to become a stylist.

Completing an internship at Alexander McQueen, his big break came after he dressed singer Connor Maynard at a shoot for Hunger magazine.

Daniel’s work with Brit winner Jack Garrett has meant his celebrity interest is growing and after dressing him for the award ceremony, Brooklyn Beckham has been keen to be dressed by him.

Daniel was the lead stylist for the televised version of the popular ‘This Is England 90’ that aired on screens last year and has just had confirmation that the job has extended to the new series that will be aired later on this year.

Talking about his move and career, Daniel told Liverpool Life: “I’ve been so lucky to have worked with the people I have.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I’m just a normal lad from Runcorn who has been extremely lucky after a lot of hard work.

“I’m looking forward to what the rest of this year has planned for me.

“It’s been crazy. London is like a treadmill without a stop button. I moan when I’m bored and when I’m busy I wish I wasn’t!

“It’s always nice to go home and switch off for a few days. I can’t complain though, I’m just so happy that DANYUL keeps getting bookings for shoots and appearances. I just can’t believe it.”

Life|News|4

Liverpool set for New elderly apprenticeships exercise TECHNO GYM: © Twitter/@NikiBraveHart

scheme

By RYAN JONES A scheme has been launched

by Liverpool City Council to replace the “liveability” exercise classes which had to be cut due to budget reductions.

The council received a significant backlash after they announced they were to close the scheme down, with many older people saying they felt like they’d “been thrown on the scrap heap.”

The award winning “liveability” scheme was run mostly by nurses and provides around 1,000 older people with home assessments to try to reduce the risk of falls and stop social seclusion.

One older person who was delighted by the news that the cancelled scheme was going to be replaced by something else was 71 year old Margaret Buchanan.

Margaret said that after her husband died two years ago she was determined to live her life to the fullest because it’s what her late partner would have wanted.

“For a while after my husband passed away I wasn’t really sure what to do with myself.

“I was devastated when I heard the liveability scheme was being cut because it helped me get back on my feet and make a new set of friends.

“Keeping fit was something me and my husband enjoyed and most mornings we would go for walks on the front.”

Councillor Roz Gladden, Deputy Lord Mayor & Cabinet Member - Adult & Children’s Social Care & Health, “The new service will be operated in three centres in the north, south and centre of the city.”

By SOPHIE CORCORAN

Liverpool’s council is encouraging local people to get involved with National Apprenticeship Week.

Throughout the week Paradise Place, Liverpool One, will be transformed into a showcase for apprentice opportunities.

The event runs until Thursday 17 March and will hold different theme days throughout the week. These themes include: fashion, beauty, catering, engineering and manufacturing.

Local colleges and training providers will be on hand to offer advice on the different apprenticeship routes for these fields of work.

On Wednesday the spotlight will be directed onto hospitality, catering and the Visitor Economy. There will be opportunities to get involved with cookery demonstrations, tasting sessions and ‘have a go’ activities.

The roadshow concludes on Thursday and will focus on Service and Manufacturing op-

portunities. There will also be a ‘skills show’, demonstrations and the chance to get involved and ask questions about careers in professions such as engineering, construction and mechanics.

Andrew Bresford, an apprenticeship hub co-ordinator at Halton Borough Council has organised the events for this week.

He said: “I’m very proud of the collaboration between Hub members for National Apprenticeships Week as it highlights the unswerving commitment to Apprenticeships as a key, common priority for the region”.

According to the Government’s website the key themes for National Apprenticeship Week 2016 are: “An apprenticeship can take you anywhere, with a particular focus on higher skills to show how young people, entrepreneurs and businesses can “rise to the top” through traineeships and apprenticeships.

The key themes for National Apprenticeship Week 2016 are: “An apprenticeship can take you anywhere”, with a particular fo-

cus on higher skills to show how young people, entrepreneurs and businesses can “rise to the top” through traineeships and apprenticeships.

In recognition of National Apprentice Week, Merseylink is pleased to announce that its scaffolding supplier Altrad NSG has hired two local apprentices to work on the Mersey Gateway Project.

David McNamara, 22 and Paul Humphries, 20, both from Runcorn, have joined the scaffolding and industrial services specialist on a 20-month apprenticeship scheme.

The Deeside-based subcontractor is supplying all of the scaffolding and access required for the construction of Halton’s new cable-stayed bridge and the associated 9.3km road network. The two recruits will be supporting NSG’s experienced scaffolding workers.

David, who is based on site at Ditton in Widnes, said: “I’ve worked with Altrad NSG since I left school and I’m keen to pro-

BUILDING FUTURES: BUILDERS AND THEIR APPRENTICES © Mersey Gateway press office

gress in the trade. I’m enjoying it a lot.

“I’m learning so much from working on site and the lads are really supportive.”

National Apprenticeship Week has been co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and is designed to celebrate the impact apprenticeships have.

‘Girls Against’ tackle the safety in venues across UK

By AMY COLE Getting groped at gigs is being tackled by five girls across the country, and now they are looking for help.

The group started after Hannah Camilleri was sexually harassed when attending a Peace concert in Glasgow last September.

She said after the attack: “It made me feel very scared and it felt like I had no control…

Some people have told us that they don’t want to go to gigs now because of an experience they’ve had in the past.”

Girls Against is made up of five girls; Hannah, Anna, Anni,

Tune into our radio podcast

Ava and Bea, the group are completing their exams and fighting sexual harassment at the same time.

Although their name may imply they are standing up for just girls, they pride themselves on supporting all genders in the fight against sexual harassment.

They want to encourage anyone that has experienced this at a gig to come forward.

The girls are now looking for reps to work for them across the country. Each rep would go to gigs in their area, spread the word about the campaign, and even try and talk to the bands to get them on board.

Applicants could have the chance to meet their favourite musicians, but must regularly attended concerts in their area.

Another main task of the reps is to talk to the security at the venues and find out what they are doing to promote a happy environment, free from groping in the crowds. Merchandise including the ‘Girls Against’ badges will be available to hand out to the crowds.

Hannah continued: “It makes us feel like we’re actually doing something with our lives and that we’re making a difference to the world.”

The campaign has gained popularity as famous bands

such as Peace and The Slaves have shared stories on social media, saying that they do not agree with this behaviour at their gigs and are encouraging people to speak up if they see anything like this happening around them.

Music duo Slave posted on their Facebook page: “Cardiff was an amazing show but it has been tainted for us now after hearing reports of lads groping young girls in the crowd.”

Putting your hands all over any women without her permission is not on at any sort of concert.

“Please follow girls against on Twitter to fight this. ”

GIRLS AGAINST: © Twitter/@girlsagainst

£160m cash boost for M62 between Liverpool and Hull

By SOPHIE CORCORAN

Chancellor George Osborne is expected to disclose a £161 million investment to accelerate upgrades to the M62 between Liverpool and Hull in his budget announcement today.

The money is part of a raft of transport announcements including government backing for a high speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds.

Osborne is expected to commit the Government to taking forward the plan between Manchester and Leeds, with £60 million to cut journey time to 30

minutes from their current 49. If current plans go ahead, journey times by train should be cut to 40 minutes by 2022.

Highways England is set to be given £161 million to accelerate upgrades to the M62 Liverpool to Hull motorway and the highspeed rail line should eventually be extended to connect Liverpool to Hull and Newcastle.

By road, major improvements to the M62 between Liverpool and Leeds could cut journey times by up to 20% and increasing capacity by a third, alongside the development of a major strategy to enhance the entire

motorway network including access to Manchester Airport.

A spokesperson for Liverpool’s Chamber of Commerce said: “The Chamber welcomes the report from the National Infrastructure Commission published today and looks forward to the Chancellor’s response in the Budget.” million to cut journey time to 30 minutes from their current 49. If current plans go away journey times by train should be According to the National Infrastructure Commission a better connected North will be better for jobs, families and for Britain.

GEORGE OSBORNE: ©UserMHolland / Wikimedia Commons

Life|News|5

Buddy days for dementia sufferers

By LUCY NIXON

A new scheme is set to offer advice and support for carers of Dementia sufferers.

The Museum of Liverpool is introducing ‘Buddy days’ as a way of offering advice to carers on the array of resources and activities that the museum has to offer dementia sufferers.

The buddy days are part of the museums’ House of Memories app and museum tour which has been specifically created for those living with dementia and their families.

The app allows users to explore objects from across the decades and share memories together. As they make their way around the museum they can then ‘save’ favourite objects to their own personal memory tree which they can then look back on with the aim of prompting recognition from their own past.

National Museums Liverpool volunteer Angela Hamilton explained the importance of the buddy days.

“Dementia is arguably one of the most heartbreaking diseases. Here at NML we are committed to providing a service which those with dementia can enjoy. The House of Memories app allows people to explore the museum whilst making a record of the experience for them to look back on.

“The buddy days are aimed at offering carers advice on how they can make use of the services we have to offer. They will also let them meet other people in similar situations to themselves,” she said.

The buddy days will include high-quality theatrical experiences as well as a chance to try out the innovative My House of Memories app and a museum memory tour. They are set to take place on Wednesday 27th April and Thursday 28th April. To sign up for a buddy day you can simply email learning@liverpoolmuseums. org.uk.

Skydiver to raise money for Aigburth charity shop

By LUCY DARBYSHIRE A local hero, is taking to the skies, to help out a charity after it was targeted by thieves last month.

The charity shop Sunflowers, was targeted by a robbery last month, when hundreds of pounds were stolen from a safe.

Daniel Cooper tried to capture the thug. Since the robbery, Daniel has decided to take part in a sponsored skydive, to try and raise enough money to cover the loss and help the charity to raise its profile in the city.

The charity based in Aigburth, is dedicated to supporting individual and families that have been or

are affected by a cancer diagnosis in the Merseyside region.

So far, Daniel has raised £1700 for Sunflowers in private donations from local businesses and colleagues and he’s now set up a fundraising page via Virgin Money Giving with a view to raising even more.

Chief Executive of Sunflowers, Emma Squibb said: “Sunflowers is a small charity and we rely a lot on our community to help us progress with our work with families affected by cancer. We feel so blessed to have Danny fundraising for us.

“Danny isn’t just a neighbour to us, he’s a local hero, and we are confident that he will help raise the funds we need.”

TARGETED: The Sunflowers charity shop was robbed last month © Google Maps

Running to ‘slow down for Bobby’gic

By LISA RIMMER

A group of amateur runners from Dovecot are training to run the distance from Liverpool to Downing Street next Saturday to raise money for road safety for the “Slow Down For Bobby” campaign.

Six-year-old Bobby Colleran was killed after being knocked down in West Derby in 2014.

The campaign was started by his mum, Joanne, to raise awareness of safety for drivers in the city.

Kathy McDonald, 52, from Dovecot, started Dovecot Plodders last year. The group meet twice a week to run together and are complete beginners who run for fun as well as fitness. Kathy had the idea get the group to raise money as she has previously raised money for the campaign

last year and thought that using the group would give the campaign more momentum.

Kathy told Liverpool Life: “We’re just a group of women who meet up and run. We don’t have huge ambitions of running marathons but with there being 24 of us, we can split the run and the distance won’t be that hard to cover.

“Anything we can do to raise awareness for the fact that the road safety in Liverpool needs improving we will do. This poor little boy shouldn’t have died, so we believe that road safety should be taken more seriously.”

The distance between Liverpool City Centre and Downing Street is 223 miles and the group plan on running nine miles each. Their goal isn’t to do it in an impressive time, just so long as they complete it.

PLODDERS: The Dovecot runners will be covering the distance of the journey from Liverpool to London © Lisa Rimmer

Sonic at the O2

New music museum to hit the city

By LUCY DARBYSHIRE

By LUCY NIXON

Runcorn band The Sonic Revolvers will be headlining the O2 academy this Saturday.

The band are to mark their latest tour with a single and headline show, at the Liverpool O2 academy.

Their headline show at the Liverpool O2 Academy on Saturday, March 19, will come a day after they release their latest single NSA on iTunes.

To buy tickets priced at £7 for their Liverpool show on March 19, just email the sonic revolvers@live.co.uk

Plans for a new music museum are one step closer to being approved.

The British Music Experience (BME) is set to open in the Cunard building this summer, providing the proposal is approved by cabinet next Friday.

The report proposes a seven-year lease with the city council acting as landlord.

The museum will be funded through a series of grants and third party contributions along with £1.7million from the city council.

As part of the deal it is

expected that around £3.1 million will be invested into the Cunard building prior to the museum opening in the former Departure Lounge on the ground floor. This investment will see improvements made to the toilets, café area and outside access to the building.

Mayor Joe Anderson spoke of his excitement at the prospect. “The BME will be a fantastic addition to the city’s existing attractions and we are already getting indications it will be hugely popular as music once again proves to be a huge visitor driving force for the city,” he said.

“This is a win-win situationnot only does it result in a new cultural asset to the city but it also means council tax payers benefit financially from the project and we can reinvest in valued services,” he added.

It’s thought that the museum will create around 35 new jobs and potentially attract over 20,000 visitors each year.

The BME is set to head to Liverpool following a successful five-year run at London’s O2 which has seen over 600 rare music heritage items go on display. The vast collection of memorabilia, which includes some of David Bowie’s

Ziggy Stardust costumes, offers an enthralling trip down music memory lane.

The museum’s interactive approach allows visitors to unlock display cases and listen to tracks via their smartphones and tablets as well as featuring an interactive instrument studio and dance booth.

BME spokesman Harvey Goldsmith told Liverpool Life why Liverpool is the ideal location for the museum.

“The BME is delighted the project has reached the cabinet for approval. We look forward to joining the cultural offering of Liverpool and creating

something innovative and exciting for visitors.

“The UK desperately needs a home for its rich history of popular music and there’s no better place than the City of Liverpool.

“We share a vision of Liverpool as the popular music capital of the UK and beyond,” he said.

In the future, the BME will begin to host various educational programmes through a range of events including workshops for school children and master classes hosted by industry experts, with plans to host a gala each year.

Life|Focus|6

The Big Scoop Conor Allison and Sam Davies investigate the problem of dog fouling in Liverpool and the possible solutions being trialled at home and abroad

A

n everyday annoyance.

A consistent stain on our streets. The one downside to our four-legged friends.

Dog fouling is an issue that affects people up and down the country, and the case is no different in Liverpool.

But what is being done to keep the streets (and our shoes) clean?

Over the last five years, Liverpool City Council have issued 808 penalty notices for dog fouling, amounting to £57,380 in paid fines. Whilst there is no specific number to decipher whether the fines offset the cost to clean up dog mess, a reasonable estimate would conclude the figure doesn’t come close. The city’s current street cleaning contract runs around £11m per year, which includes the task of ridding the streets of dog waste.

A solution currently leading the way in solving this problem is a technological service that registers dog DNA and retrospectively fines owners who have not picked up after their pet’s excretion.

Streetkleen, a North Wales-based biotechnology company comprising of environmental economists, engineers and social entrepreneurs, has had sustained success across the pond in 49 states and Canada with an initiative called ‘PooPrints’.

The process involves taking a dog’s individual DNA and registering the owner’s details. Any dog waste found in public areas can then be sampled and tracked back to the owner for prospective prosecution.

PooPrints is currently being trialled in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, with a view to branching out into other areas of the UK. Gary Downie, Managing Director of StreetKleen, told Liverpool Life over 80 local authorities have expressed an interest in adopting the service.

He said: “The objective of the

PooPrints pilot in East London is to develop the service in the context of a UK local authority — which has never been done before.

It is an extremely ambitious project by its nature. “[The interest in the service] clearly demonstrates that economically minded policymakers realise that a new approach is sorely required, and many have seen for themselves the success of dog DNA registration regimes elsewhere.”

A workshop is currently being planned by London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council so that they can share their experiences with other local authorities. They will explain how they intend to make dog DNA registration compulsory using existing legislative means.

Whilst the service may soon be coming to Flintshire County Council and Warrington Borough Council in the North West, we looked at how Liverpool relates to this issue and what is being done to tackle the problem.

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council, said: “It’s an issue which does cause concern. What we’ve tried to do is to encourage responsible dog ownership. In the north of the city, there are dog control orders to combat the issue in parks, cemeteries and other places.

“It’s not just a Liverpool issue, it’s an issue throughout the country. Let’s get this into proportion, most owners do clean up after their pets and it’s just the minority who don’t.

While there is a problem, we do have to recognise that it’s certainly not everybody [that leaves dog waste on the street]. The question is really: ‘Why do we get that minority who behave in this anti-social way?’

“It’s a mix of both enforcement and education. There are fixed penalty fines that people are made to pay, but also education, from the signage that goes up, we use pester power – we speak to schoolchildren about that. We have a newly formed environment team that goes around to schools to talk about all kinds — about litter, recycling and that will also include issues about dog fouling.”

A little known issue arising from dog waste being left on the streets is the potential health risks. Research by the Europeans Scientific Council for Companion Animal Parasites es-

timates that around 3% of the UK population have been exposed to toxocara – a parasitic worm which can infect humans with an illness named toxocariasis. In rare cases the worm can affect organs such as the liver, lungs, eyes and brain.

L

ocal councils face extensive pressure from constituents because of the unsightly mess and subsequent health risks, but are faced with difficulties regarding the clean-up.

Citing a recent dog fouling campaign in Grimsby, which saw a 16% decrease in the problem and was lauded, as a result, Gary Downie explains: “By conservative estimates, this series of activities probably cost between £250,000-£400,000 — an eye-watering amount of money, that interestingly was passed off as money well spent despite still having 80% of the problem left to deal with.

“The catch-22 for local authorities — regardless of where they are located — is that they do face huge public demand to tackle the issue of dog fouling.”

In April, legislation will come into effect which will require all dogs in England, Wales and Scotland to be microchipped. Whilst this is a move to tackle the rising number of strays across the UK, the same technology could be used to combat dog fouling.

However, Mr Downie indicates that this strategy may already be outdated: “I see a scenario very soon where people identify that the microchipping legislation was a huge missed opportunity. In my opinion, it was a good idea 11 years ago.

“Fast forward the generation of a dog, and is it what’s required in a modern, digital society? Already, microchipping can easily be surpassed in terms of affordability and benefits by canine DNA. Within the next few years, mobile DNA technology will be able match to a database in real time through a mobile device.”

Whether the future lies in DNA registration or focuses more on microchipping remains to be seen. What is certain is the positive developments being made in this area, and local council’s willingness to take on board any potential solution to this problem. Will Liverpool soon jump aboard?

© JMU Journalism

FOUL: Owners are being encouraged to pick it up © Conor Allison

Dogcilla’s paws for thought

AWARENESS: Dogcilla visits Liverpool © Dog’s Trust

By ROCHELLE BEIGHTON Liverpool welcomed a new visitor last weekend, as Dogs Trust’s mascot Dogcilla stopped in the city during her tour of UK this month.

Dogcilla paid a visit to Dogs Trust Merseyside on Saturday and Sunday as part of the organisation’s campaign to raise awareness in a change of law, which makes microchipping dogs compulsory in England, Scotland and Wales.

Hannah Baker, a spokesperson for Dogs Trust, told Liverpool

Life: “Dogcilla is Dogs Trust’s larger than life mascot and at the moment she is helping raise awareness of the charity as a whole as well as reminding people of the impending change in law whereby it will become compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped.”

“The reaction has been great.

Dogcilla is a long-standing mascot for Dogs Trust but as we count down to the change in law we have used her services to help spread the message even further.”

Dogcilla was on site to meet Merseyside’s Dogs Trust team at their rehoming centre in Whiston, as well as being on hand to welcome people to microchipping events.

The new legislation introduced by the government will be enforced on April 6th. Dog owners who do not microchip their furry friends with their details could face a £500 fine.

Hannah Baker told Liverpool life: “Dogs Trust sees microchipping as a vital part of being a responsible owner. A microchip,

which cannot easily be removed, increases the likelihood that a lost, stolen or straying dog can be identified and returned to its owner. It will also help promote responsible dog ownership.”

“If there are suspected cases of puppy farming, animal cruelty, dog fighting or antisocial behaviour such as dog fouling, then the owner can be traced and dealt with. If there are fewer stray dogs as a result of being microchipped, Dogs Trust will have extra space in our centres for more dogs abandoned for

Life|Arts|7

Meeting heroes is all in a day’s work for Dan EMILY CURREN

W

speaks to LJMU Journalism graduate Dan O’Sullivan about landing a dream job in Dubai.

ith graduation peeking over the horizon for many students at the moment, the thought of achieving a first or a 2.1 will be on a lot of people’s minds – the most coveted degree classifications, which may help to get any graduate whichever job they please. But for Dan O’Sullivan, graduating with a 2.2 in international journalism wasn’t as bad as people might think.

Since waving farewell to LJMU in 2015, Dan is now based in Dubai working in his dream job in the world of sports journalism as a content executive and live sports reporter for beIN Sports.

Dan always knew he wanted to be a sports journalist ever since he was a 16-year-old with a love of writing – and talking – so he decided to pursue a career path based on it!

He chose to study international journalism at LJMU based on the feeling that the course offered the best teaching for journalism - what he didn’t know about were the opportunities that would be presented to him as part of his studies

later on, including interviewing his favourite football stars: “At University for my documentary I was lucky enough to secure interviews with Neville Southall and Graeme Sharp – who were both part of Everton’s most successful team and as a massive Evertonian this was a great experience.”

He also enjoyed the opportunity to use the industry standard broadcast studios which the university has to offer, and found it prepared him better for reallife work.

Since his university days ended, Dan has gone on to interview many other famous sports personalities as part of his job with beIN Sports, including Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Michel Salgado and Tim Sherwood.

Describing what he loves most about his job, Dan said: “I get to watch, write and talk about sport everyday – so it’s most definitely a dream job for me.”

D

uring his time at university, Dan undertook several work experience placements at publications such as What’s On Magazine Dubai,

THEATRE

Guys and Dolls at Empire Theatre, ends Saturday 19 March Guys and Dolls the tale of gamblers, gangsters and nightclub singers in New York City, comes to the end of its run at the Empire Theatre on Saturday.

The musical, based on a series of short stories

by Damon Runyon, features some of Broadway’s greatest show-stopping tunes, including Luck be a Lady and Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat.

The production stars Corrie actor Richard Fleeshman and ex-Dynasty and Emmerdale star Maxwell Caulfield.

For information call 0844 871 7615.

DUBAI DREAM: Dan O’Sullivan landed a job with beIN sports in the UAE’s biggest city © Wikimedia Commons/ Imre Solt

‘

Enjoy university life while it lasts and do as much work experience as possible

’

Good Magazine, Emirates Man Magazine, Hype Music Magazine. This became valuable experience for him later on, as while he didn’t have the highest final grade in his degree, his knowledge of the industry is what secured his dream job in the end.

He managed to get his job at beIN Sports through a number of live reporting and aptitude tests, which he managed to excel in through what he learned at

university as well as the industry experience from his work placements.

Dan’s parting advice for current students is: “Enjoy university life while it lasts, do as much work experience as possible and don’t get 59%!”

So for any soon-to-be graduates, take Dan’s advice and don’t be too worried if you don’t get the grade you wanted. There are still plenty of opportunities out there!

What’s On MUSIC

Liverpool Acoustic Festival at Unity Theatre, Friday 18-Saturday 19 March Liverpool Acoustic Festival returns for a third year, and the 2016 festival promises to be bigger and better than ever before. The two-day festival takes over the Unity Theatre this weekend, and for the first time, it will branch out into the Philharmonic Hall’s brand new Music Room venue.

Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 0151 709 4988.

SPORT

Student Student Wakeboarding Day: – £10 per 15 minute session – Book as many sessions as you like – Limited sessions available, so please book ASAP – To book email ride@liverpoolwakepark. co.uk or call 01512308247 – Must pay in full to confirm booking – Price does not include hire kit – Any standard welcome from beginner to pro athlete

Dan before his venture across the globe to join beIN Sports Pic © Facebook/ Dan O’Sullivan

ARTS

Liverpool Painters of 19th century Saturday 6 February – Sunday 20 March 2016 Exploring Liverpool’s painters of the 19th Century in parallel with the Walker Art Gallery’s exhibition Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion.

The Williamson has lent extensively to the Walker Art Gallery’s exhibition which focuses on a select group of Liverpoolbased artists and their cutting edge PreRaphaelite realism. Their display will show additional work by those featured artists.

More information can be found at www. liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker.

Life|Exhibition|8

Comic Con arrives in Liverpool with a bang!

The colourful comic carnival came to Liverpool and people arrived in their droves. JAMES GAMBLE reports...

M

CN Comic Con came to Liverpool for the first time ever last weekend, and did not disappoint the thousands of fans dressed in outfits of everything from Pokemon to Superheroes, and Robots to anime characters.

There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the event, which has previously been held in Bolton, Manchester and Blackpool.

The event, held in the Exhibition Centre turned half of the town centre into an escapist world of comic books and superheroes, with people of all ages from all over the country having travelled to Merseyside to experience a different world entirely.

The main hall at the Exhibition Centre on the docks was flooded with punters buying memorabilia, sketches and drawings from professionals, as well as old computer games and, for the budding vigilante, even samurai swords and other weapons from famous films and television shows.

Trailers for upcoming fantasy films were debuted including the new World of Warcraft movie WARCRAFT, and The Huntsman: Winters War. Fans were treated to first viewings of the trailers on screens around the hall.

T

he best costume and best performance awards were handed out after the participants strutted their stuff in costumes, and showcasing choreographed dance or acting. The winner of the best costume/ best cosplay was Liverpool’s own Gabby Monet as the bride from Tim Bur-

ton’s animated Corpse Bride.

Gabby said: “This is about my sixth or seventh Comic Con, I get really nervous on stage so I always feel I will be less nervous every time I come but it’s always scary. I’ve cosplayed Rapunzel, Mary Poppins, Tauriel and loads more.”

This is Gabby’s second best costume win, after winning the award two years ago in Manchester. She said: “This costume has been an ongoing project for a couple of months so it’s great to see it win.”

The best performance award went to Arun Prakash from Blackpool, for his lively and realistic performance of WWE wrestler The Undertaker. Arun Rashad said: “This is my seventh appearance, I’ve been to ones in Preston, Blackpool and Bolton. This is my first win so this is a big win after so long, it’s great because you kind of feel like a minor celebrity!”

Arun won a brand new Nintendo DS for his performance, but other performace highlights included Bane bringing the apocalypse vibe to Merseyside, some very strange anime performances and Deadpool threatening the judges at gun point.

Deadpool, the superhero from the new box office film of the same name, proved to be the most popular male costume of the weekend, ranging in both age and quality of costume. The most popular female equivalent was without a doubt Harley Quinn from unreleased superhero movie Suicide Squad.

Comic Cons in England are not as big or as often as events held in Europe, and especially in America, with the general consensus being that Comic Con events in America may

‘The Exhibition Centre turned half of the town centre into an escapist world of comic books and superheroes’ be the biggest and best, but the harsh reality is that they are far too expensive to go to.

Though European Comic Con events in Europe are popular amongst those who have brought their stalls to Liverpool, event regulars are happy to see more Comic Cons appearing in the UK.

Above, Batman and Catwoman with another reveller below © Ste Catterall/Connor

Farewell from

Liverpool

Life

The end of an era

By CALLUM SMYTH

During the past year, the Liverpool Life team have brought you some of the most important news stories from across Merseyside through our weekly paper, radio podcasts, television broadcasts and our news website.

The stories have included all the latest from the ongoing EU debate, Liverpool’s reaction to the Paris attacks in November and the recent neo-Nazi riots in the city centre.

Our reporters have been using the skills and knowledge they have gained over the past three years to produce professional standard journalism.

At the beginning of the year, the idea of being able to fill a newspaper in such a short space of time seemed like a daunting task to most of us, but after weeks of working hard the team have become much more confident in approaching potential stories and turning them into headline news. We all came to university as individuals, but over the past

seven months we have shown our abilities to work well as part of a team.

The important team dynamic is spread amongst our four different media, with the TV and radio teams collaborating with the online and print groups to make sure that all of the main stories are being covered and shared with each audience.

Our design teams work hard to the very last minute to make sure that every little detail is perfect.

Throughout the year we have been kindly guided in the right direction by our lecturers who have showed us how to spot a front page splash in a world full of inside column fillers.

With their help and experience, we have been given as near to a workplace environment as we could get in our final year of being student journalists.

And last but not least, thank you to our readers.

We hope you have enjoyed reading our stories over the past year and we wish next year’s news reporters the best of luck.

Thank you and goodbye.

TEAMWORK: It’s always a good idea to get a second opinion.

FINAL LOOK: Our flat plan is used to spot errors before print.

CONFERENCE: News days begin with a meeting to discuss our top stories.

Stepping out of the newsroom

LONDON: Students making their way to the capital.

By STEPHANIE SWEENEY and CHRISTY JADE BIGGAR

It’s not all about assignments, hardworking student journalists are entitled to have fun too.

As the expression goes, work hard play hard. We certainly did at the inaugural Journalism Christmas Ball at the end of first semester. Students embraced the party spirit and let their hair down, all

in the aid of Macmillan Cancer. First, second and third years got dressed up to impress and were greeted with a glass of prosecco and a student playing the piano.

The dancefloor was never empty, with the DJ keeping the buzz throughout the night.

It was a great way to end the semester and raise money for a worthwhile cause at the same time. At the end of our second year, eight lucky student got the

PARTY TIME: The Journalism Ball was a major success. opportunity to go on an educational stir on campus. Everyday hundreds of trip to China. From the get go they were pictures were taken of them and swarms immersed into Chinese culture. of the young and old were screaming Learning to speak Mandarin, taking “selfie” at the group.

Chinese calligraphy classes, attempting Last month our third years got to take to sing Chinese opera and visiting all the a well-deserved break from the gruelling sights. The month-long trip took them to and stressful final semester to head down Shanghai and Beijing, two of the biggest to London for the night. Radio and TV cities in China. They visited Zhejiang students got the coach down to visit Sky University of Media and CommunicaNews Headquarters. tion, and their presence caused a huge Text students travelled by train to take

part in a question and answer session at The Guardian. Students got to see for themselves how two of the country’s major news teams work and received valuable advice about how to make themselves stand out when applying for jobs.

Afterwards everyone reconvened at the hotel and enjoyed a night out in ‘the Big Smoke’. It was a chance to spend some time with our course mates outside of university just before we finish.

Life|Farewell

Class of 2016

As the academic year draws to a close and we reach the final edition of Liverpool Life, we hear from some of the students graduating this summer

“

James Knowles Radio

Conor Allison - Text

The highlight of my year has probably been working within a close-knit team and coming together at the end of the programme to do something worthwhile.

It feels like something to be proud of because there’s only a small group of us. Richard is such a good inspiration because he’s so passionate about what he does and he’s always there for us.

Laura Gilchrist - Radio

”

My favourite part of AJP has been working as a team and making new friends. We’ve become so close over the past year and it’s been great to work with everyone. My highlight of third year would probably be learning all the gallery skills, because we hadn’t done that before. It’s what I want to go into after university so it was great to enhance my skills throughout the year. I’d say it’s a very tough field to get into, and you’ll probably have to work your way up the career ladder, but it’s so much fun. If you’re looking for a job where you’re constantly on the move and doing different things every day it’s perfect.

It’s tiring and stressful at times but it’s been very rewarding. The past year in TV has been a whirlwind of emotion. There’s been so many stressful times, but I wouldn’t change any of it. I’ve made great friends and learned new skills, and I’ve loved every minute.

Eleanor Davies - TV

”

Christy Jade Biggar Text

“

The AJP module has given me a great opportunity in terms of starting my career in journalism. With my interest primarily being in sport, being given the chance to cover Jurgen Klopp’s first game at Anfield back in October was something I’ll never forget. The module and the tutors - Kate, Steve and John - reward hard work and it’s really taught me to take initiative and have the confidence to pitch and produce some great journalism. I currently work for an American football news outlet and look forward to putting the skills I’ve learned at university to good use.

“

The highlight of my year was probably going down to London with James Knowles and interviewing Sir Brian Leveson. It was challenging and it was fun and Richard told me I’d never get him to talk about press regulation so in the end I asked him for some advice and he was very helpful. Another highlight was the Christmas Ball. It was fun and we all got together and celebrated the end of semester one. Next after uni I want to teach shorthand, but I need to get my teacher training qualification so I’ll be doing that after I graduate.

The newsdays have been quite a highlight for me, you turn up every week and you don’t know what you’ll be doing or what stories you’ll be covering. You get to have a laugh and if you work with people that you have fun with, then the days go quickly and we produce good work. That’s been the highlight – getting to know all these people, and producing quality radio pieces with Richard!

”

For me from the beginning, my confidence has built up – you need to be confident in talking to strangers for news stories! University life has shaped me into the person I am today, so it was a great journey, a great experience, I’ve met a lot of people that I’m proud to say are my friends. My favourite story has to be a feature piece I did on the university’s rowing coach, a story which has never been told before and after it was published he felt happy and like someone was actually there to listen to what he’s been through.

Tiernan McGee - Text My favourite part of AJP has been presenting for TV. I love the live adrenaline part of it. I like meeting the different interviewees and getting to know their stories. I feel as though I have become an expert in things that I wasn’t interested in before. To people who are thinking of studying TV in the future, I would say everything will come with practice – filming and editing. The thing you should remember is originality. It is not enough to just monitor news websites. My plans were to do a Masters and then get a job in production.

However, I got offered a job unrelated to journalism and the skills I have learned here helped me secure that job.

Vaiva Gedvilaite - TV

Life|Farewell

The fina m l JMU a Journ e t o a i lism we d a b R t e am e h T

The TV team Liverpool Life End of year special produced by: Callum Smyth Elle Spencer Steph Sweeney

The final Liverpool Life team

Our Year in news

Life|Wellbeing|13

The compelling story of a young woman battling cancer ... in her own words So used to telling the stories of others , Alice May Purkiss has found herself telling her own and inpiring others along the way.

Steph Bocking reports

A

s an award-winning blogger and journalist, Alice May Purkiss has dedicated her career to reporting the stories and events that circle the lives of others. However, at the beginning of this career she couldn’t have expected that the most compelling story she would ever write would be her own.

Last July, at just 26 years old, Alice was diagnosed with breast cancer. A disease that affects only one in every 2000 women under 30, each year.

After receiving this devastating news, Alice, now 27, decided to transfer her skills as a talented writer into an online campaign. Through her blog, she began to narrate her journey as she bravely battled breast cancer, in the hope of raising awareness of the disease to other young women.

During the nine months since her diagnosis of Grade 3 breast cancer Alice has undergone a mastectomy on her right breast, has completed a course of chemotherapy and is currently receiving radiotherapy treatment.

Despite such difficult moments, Alice has maintained a thoroughly positive attitude towards life, which is reflected through the witty sense of humour she injects into all of her blog posts.

She told Liverpool Life: “I’m aware that there are still a lot of positive and really great things in my life. Don’t get me wrong, having cancer is an awful thing, and I do have days when I will feel down, but it’s not all horrendous. I’m a fairly upbeat person anyway and most days I am happy. There are a lot of great things around me and so I feel like you just kind of have to get up and get on with it, there’s nothing else you can really do.”

Earlier this year, Alice was awarded Bloggers’ Lounge ‘Lifestyle Blogger of the Year’, for her website. However, it seems her biggest personal achievement is her ability to encourage other young women to get into the habit of regularly checking their breasts, in a campaign she has labelled ‘Check Your Chebs’.

She told Liverpool Life: “A lot of people have got in touch with me who have had breast cancer or they are going through treatment. So to provide them with an account and be honest about it, the opportunity to do that and be a part of it is incredible.

“I think cancer is generally thought of as an old person’s illness. Many people also don’t realise that breast cancer can affect both men and women. So it was a conscious effort on my part to try and raise some awareness around that. It’s important that people get to know what their normal is and take control of their own bodies by checking themselves regularly.”

Alice, originally from Yorkshire, graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 2010 with a degree in Journalism. She currently lives in London, where she works as a Social Media and Marketing writer, but has decided to take a break from her career whilst she focuses on her health.

B

efore her diagnosis last summer, Alice had just started to build up her fitness through a regular exercise routine, but was forced to retire her running shoes whilst her body healed after her surgery. Despite this frustration, she has refused to let her treatment stop her from keeping active.

In January, just two days after completing her course of chemotherapy, Alice took part in the Cancer Research Winter Run 10km.

“It’s important that people take care of their own bodies by checking themselves regulalrly” She said: “I woke up on the morning of the race and thought to myself ‘What have I got myself into here?’

But I wasn’t going to let having cancer stop me from doing it. And I am so glad that I did it because it was a great day and I really enjoyed myself.

“I did the race with my boyfriend and my sister and her boyfriend. I had a sign on my back that said ‘I’m running for the end of my chemo’ and the whole way through the race people were high-fiving us and giving us hugs. It was fantastic and I’m so glad that I did it.”

Later this month, Alice will be joining the Coppafeel’s ‘Boobettes’ campaign. As a ‘Boobette’, she will join other women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 35, in a drive to raise awareness of breast cancer in young women. The group will encourage women in schools, work places and young women’s institutes across the country to educate themselves about symptoms and get into the life-long habit of checking their breasts.Through one of the most difficult periods of her life, Alice’s decision to openly share her story and raise awareness amongst other young women is truly admirable. It’s a decision that reflects her inspirational attitude towards life, from which we can all learn an important lesson.

Alice May finishing the Cancer Research Winter 10k with her end of chemo message fixed to her back and also above © Alice May Purkiss

Life|Holidays|14

Free From

parts .co

© Cli

Holidays

Easter is a time of family togetherness, new beginnings, spring-cleaning and lots of chocolate! But what if you’re on a specialist diet? Christy Jade Biggar brings you some simple swaps you can make this Easter

© Cliparts.co

Sugar Free goodies

Gluten Free Recipe for hot cross buns

Ingredients

Hotel Chocolat doesn’t have a dairy free Easter egg out this year, it does sell a delicious fruit and nut chocolate slab.Pick it up for £16.00 in the city centre shop in Liverpool ONE.

£16

Dairy Free

Chocolate treats

After a chocolatey treat made without milk? We’ve chosen four scrummy treats to suit any budget.

3. Selfridges © Selfridges

The department store’s handmade Booja-Booja chocolate truffles are vegan, dairy-free and glutenfree and come with rum-soaked sultanas. Yum!

2. ASDA £10 The supermarket chain has an extensive variety of ‘free-from’ foods.This bargain chocolate egg comes with an additional packet of orange flavour chocolate disks.

4. Tesco

This dairy, gluten, wheat and egg free Easter egg would be great to share with younger siblings, and will hopefully satisfy your Easter cravings.

£3

£2.50

© Tesco

©ASDA

Method

1. Bring the milk to the boil, remove from the heat and add the butter. Leave to cool.

Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast with the warm milk and egg with a wooden spoon, then bring together the dough

1. Hotel Chocolat

© Hotel Chocolat

300ml full-fat milk, plus 2 tbsp more 50g butter 500g gluten and wheat-free white bread flour (we used Doves Farm gluten & wheat free white bread flour) 1 tsp salt 75g caster sugar 1 tbsp sunflower oil 2 tsp quick or fast-action yeast 1 large egg, beaten 1 tsp olive oil 75g sultana 50g mixed peel zest 1 orange 1 apple Apples, finely chopped 1 tsp cinnamon For the cross: 30g gluten and wheat-free plain flour, plus extra for dusting 3 tbsp apricot jam (for the glaze)

with your hands. Don’t knead.

2. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.

3. Tip in the olive oil, sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, apple and cinnamon and mix into the dough. Shape into buns by lightly oiling your hands and dividing the dough into 100g pieces before rolling into balls. Leave to rise for another hour.

4. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix the flour with about 3 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross. Add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle.

Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.

Bake for 20 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown.

5. Gently heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.

Not just for the movies, brand Free’ist make a great popcorn that isn’t just sugar-free, it’s guilt-free.

Free’ist foods are stocked in some supermarkets in the free-from aisle, and available on their website www.freeist.co.uk

© Holland and Barett

© Free’ist

© Wikimedia Commons

Holland and Barrett stock a bake-your-own cake mix, which is free from gluten and gives you the freedom to use a sugar substitute when preparing your own Easter cake creations. Order today at www.hollandandbarrett.co.uk

Life|Festivals|15

Celebrating all clover the world

The essential guide to the perfect St Paddy’s Day

by HANNAH ROGERS

FACTS St Patrick’s Day, or The Feast of St Patrick, is celebrated on March 17 every year – the traditional death date of the patron saint of Ireland. In 2012, it was estimated that nearly three quarters of Liverpool’s population has Irish roots, so it’s no surprise that St Patrick’s day is a big celebration in the city. To celebrate the holiday, here’s five facts you may not know about the day: 1. St Patrick’s Day became an official holiday in the early 17th century 2. As well as being a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, it is also observed in Canadian provinces Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Montserrat, a British overseas territory.

3. The day became associated with drinking thanks to the Christian churches lifting restrictions on alcohol consumption for the day.

4. Although the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick was actually believed to have been born in Britain.

5. The tradition to wear green clothes/accessories or shamrocks is called the ‘wearing of the green’.

SODA BREAD RECIPE Get into the Paddy’s Day feast spirit by making your very own Irish Soda Bread. Made with bicarbonate soda instead of the traditional yeast, it became popular in the 19th century and a soda farl – a more rounded version of the bread - has become an essential part of an Ulster Fry. Read below for an easy method to make the quintessential Irish bread.

Ingredients: 4 cups all purpose flour 4 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 112 g margarine (softened) 225ml buttermilk 1 egg 57g butter (melted) 57ml buttermilk Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine.

Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly.

Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an ‘X’ into the top of the loaf.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Check after 30 minutes to see how well it is done.

You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

BALOONING UP: St Patrick’s Day decorations ©Hongreddotbrewhouse/Wikimedia

WHAT’S ON St Patrick’s Day parade, town centre Join Manchester Community Pipe Band, Liverpool Irish Flute Band and Cambria Band at 2.30pm on Mount Pleasant by the Old Irish Centre for a March through town. It will start at Great Orford Street, going down Hope Street, through Chinatown onto Renshaw Street, then through Liverpool One Bus Station and will terminate at Derby Square. Everyone is invited to wear green and make the parade the biggest in 20 years.

B*Witched at Bongo’s Bingo, Camp & Furnace 90’s Irish superstars B*Witched are the guests of honour at the bingo extravaganza on Greenland Street. Tickets are £17 and there’s a top prize of £1000 up for grabs. Doors open at 6.30pm but tickets are selling out fast. Buy yours in advance from skiddle. com.

Irish Community Trail, Museum of Liverpool Discover the Irish Heritage of Liverpool at the museum, with Irish features spread across all three floors of the museum, from the history of Liverpool’s link with Ireland to modern day music and art. Look out for the Calderstones spiral to identify items on the trail.

DRINKING HAT: Revellers enjoying the Irish festivities ©JMU Journalism

Life|Wellbeing|16

Cut above the rest Schoolgirl Aisla Reid is on a mission to help little princesses.

HANNAH ROGERS finds out more

PROUD: Aisla, right, shows off her braids © AISLAHAIRDONATION

A

nine-year-old girl made the brave decision to donate the majority of her hair to a charity that specialises in making wigs for young girls and boys currently receiving chemotherapy for cancer treatment.

Aisla Reid, from Wallasey, decided she wanted to cut off her 18 inch long hair after a girl in her class became ill and ended up having to lose her hair. After growing it for four years, the hair Aisla donates will make a sizeable contribution to a wig for a The Little Princess Trust.

Speaking before the big cut Aisla said: “I want to cut my hair

IT’S OFF: Aisla Reid after the chop © AISLAHAIRDONATION

to make other kids happy. I’m not scared, my hair will grow back.”

But, that’s not all. A JustGiving page was set up in order to let people sponsor the big cut, with an original target of £350 – the cost of making one wig. So far, the justgiving page has raised £1,349 from 111 donators, smashing the original target by nearly 400%.

Maryann said: “Aisla was so very brave, she seemed a bit chocked up on the first cut, but when she saw her hair she was so pleased and happy. Aisla had some friends here to support her and many other friends and family. My mum cried so the

hairdresser made her pay an extra £10 for crying!

“We couldn’t have hoped for the amazing people out there that have made this such an amazing adventure for both Aisla and the rest of us.”

Aisla’s mum, Maryann Reid, threw a special party at their home on Saturday while mobile hairdresser, Jenny Parry took the scissors to her hair.

M

onica Glass, from The Little Princess Trust, said: “What a fantastic girl Aisla is! How wonderful that someone who is so young is doing so much for others. Aisla’s beautiful hair will be blended

HAPPY: Showing off her curls © AISLAHAIRDONATION

with other similar contributions and will be made into a long wig for a poorly child or teenager in this country.

“The amazing amount of money that Aisla has raised, thanks to her very kind and generous supporters, will help the charity provide three further wigs to other sick children.”

The Little Princess Trust provides wigs completely free of charge to boys and girls all over the UK and Ireland, and work closely with the best hairdressers and with the kids themselves to make sure the style of wig they get is perfect for them.

Donations can still be made on Maryann’s JustGiving page.

INSPIRATION: Aisla Reid before the chop © AISLAHAIRDONATION

Life|Style|17

Stylist sets sights on the stars

By LISA RIMMER

Starting his career as an apprentice at Liverpool’s renowned salon Barbara Daley, Patrick Wilson never believed he would become a session stylist working on sets for Victoria Secrets shows and assisting Kardashian hairdresser, Jen Atkin.

Patrick knew that session styling was where his passion lay and after winning such awards as the L’Oreal Colour Trophy in 2014 and gaining a coveted place on the GHD Art Team, Patrick, known to his friends as ‘Patch’, has climbed the ranks and now inspires those starting out in their hair careers.

A regular face season after season at London Fashion Week, Patrick recently assisted accomplished and well-respected hair legend, Sam McKnight back-

stage who has created hair looks for publications such as Vogue and for designer runway shows across the globe.

Jen Atkin, hairdresser to the Kardashian clan, has been a name that Patrick has wanted to work with for quite some time. She created the trademark ‘Kim K Wave’ and has recently launched her own hair care brand name ‘Ouai’. On a recent press trip to the UK to promote the hair care line, Patrick was asked to assist her in creating looks as part of the tour.

Talking to Liverpool Life, Patrick said: “It was an absolute dream come true. I know perceptions of the Kardashians are sometimes a little bit ‘marmite’, but I really respect the work that

ON THE JOB: Patrick cutting hair © Patrick Wilson

Jen produces on them. She is so talented and I was so excited to learn from her and pick up her insider tips. What I really loved was how surprisingly down to earth she was.”

Patrick toured with Jen on her Ouai launch and said that even though he had become a household name within the industry in his own right, assisting Jen was something that he will never forget.

When he isn’t assisting celebrity hair stylists and winning industry competitions, Patrick can be found at Electric hair salon, based in Harvey Nichol’s Liverpool Beauty Bazaar. After Patrick left Barbara Daley, the owner of the Electric, Mark Wooley, saw Patrick’s potential and have him the kick start in his career that he needed.

When he isn’t travelling around the country training GHD endorsed salon staff on new trends, then he is making the women of Liverpool look fabulous at Electric.

Patrick says: “The best part of my job is that two days are never the same. I really love that Mark [Wooley] lets me grow as a session stylist and keeps me working here at the salon. I’ve had some incredible experiences.

Working with L’Oreal, an experience that I never imagined I could top, is something I will never forget. Now, I have work planned with celebrities for this year and I’ll carry on my work with GHD, something that I still can’t believe I do.

Working with Jen is another thing I can thank Mark for.

I literally owe everything to him. He’s really nurtured my

HAIR DUO: Partick Wilson and idol Jen Atkins © Patrick Wilson career and I really appreciate it so much.”

Patrick has put Liverpool on the map in the hairdressing world. He says that people travel far and wide to come to Liverpool based Electric to have their tresses styled by him. Now, after assisting Jen, he says that the interest that he has attracted has escalated tenfold, yet he remains grounded and humble, even in light of his impressive resumé.

Patrick says: “I have people tweeting me who are starting off their careers telling me how much of an inspiration I am. It’s so lovely and makes me realise how far I’ve come. Liverpool will always be my home but I guess the world is my oyster now and my career is only just beginning.”

HAIR CARE: Jen Atkins Hair line © Patrick Wilson

Lee turns up the heat in Sahara quest

By SOPHIE SEAR

A

West Kirby solicitor has been bracing the Saharan sun, right here in the city centre.

Lee Quinn decided to ditch the office wear in exchange for his running gear to take on the infamous ultramarathon, the Marathon des Sables and he has teamed up with Dr Ben Edwards, an environmental physiologist at Liverpool John Moores University, who, alongside his Sport and Exercise Science students, will be helping Lee to adapt to a warmer climate from the comfort of Byron Street.

LJMU’s campus owns one of four climate chambers in the country. The chamber itself can change the climate from conditions of high altitude to desert heat in order to help athletes adapt to

different environments before taking on an extreme weather challenge.

Alongside Lee, Dr Edwards is training four others who will be taking part in the race.

He told Liverpool Life: “What we’re doing is measuring Lee’s core temperature, progressively increasing it to promote adaption. We’ve pushed this by exercising him in a heat chamber, getting his temperature to 38.5 degrees.”

Every training session, Dr Edwards and his students will be increasing the heat of the chamber. This will enable Lee to lose heat quicker when running in Morocco.

Ben added: “It’s a progressive strain on his body which he can recover from and then when he goes out to Morocco he’ll be fit for purpose.”

Competitors have to carry their own equipment throughout the race and are entitled

to a 12 litre allowance of water per day. Time penalties are added to those who require fluids or medical attention.

The West Kirby solicitor said: “I’ll be wearing the same set of clothes throughout the week, I’ve got two pairs of socks, a little matt to sleep on and the mandatory stuff like an antivenom kit and toothpaste.”

With three weeks to go before flying out to Morocco, Lee described himself as a mixture of emotions; scared, nervous and excited.

He added: “I think because I’m newish to running and I’ve never done many ultras before I’m new to this journey.

I’ve put all this effort in and if something disastrous happens…

“I’m just going to go out there, have fun and see what happens. I’ll be on my own, but throughout this journey I’ve got to meet some of the other

guys. I’m excited to meet them out there and the banter that comes when running these types of races.

“You can have support as you cross the finish line but it is so expensive and they have to make their own way there. It’s a really expensive camping trip just to see someone cross a line.

I wouldn’t sell that to anyone, especially my wife and child.

They’d rather go to Disneyland.”

The race is certainly a gruelling one, it’s a 160 mile, 6-day marathon across the Sahara Desert in Morocco starting this April- a race that has been acknowledged as the toughest endurance foot race in the world.

Lee is raising money for a children’s cancer charity, The Neuroblastoma Society, and in his own words is fairly new to running.

He told Liverpool Life: “I’ve

always enjoyed keeping fit and this was just a positive goal to work towards. I’d heard about the MdS from someone at work and knew what it involved. The year before signing up for this I climbed Mount Blanc and it was like, well what can I do “To date this is my biggest challenge in terms of physicality and mentality, just because of the amount of training I’ve had to do for it. You can get a little bit bored of training because you don’t seem to think the actual race is getting any closer. But all of a sudden it’s here and you’re doing it- or in my case it starts in three weeks’ time.”

So far, Lee has already exceeded his fundraising target of £5000 and owes a large amount of that to his colleagues at 2020 Legal. Currently, his total rests on 6,500 with three weeks to go.

IN TRAINING:

Lee Quinn hard at work © Sophie Sear

Life|Sport|18

JMU back with a varsity vengeance

Fowler’s dug-out dream edges towards reality

By JAMES GAMBLE

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has announced that he is on his way to gaining a UEFA Pro Liverpool varsity is back this year License as he looks to launch and with University of Liverpool his management career. taking it last year, Liverpool John Fowler was at the FA’s NationMoors is back with a vengeance. al Football Centre on Monday With just under a month till as he looks to achieve the the Liverpool John Moores and highest managerial accolade University of Liverpool Varsity competition, the teams are training in an attempt to kick-start his coaching career. hard to be ready for the annual He joins former Blackburn competition.

The Liverpool Varsity competition has been running since 1993 and is the annual coming together of the two largest universities in Liverpool! The fixtures are played at several locations around the city of Liverpool. A great partnership was formed this year between University of Liverpool and Liverpool SU to make Varsity an event that

By LUCY DARBYSHIRE

students would really get behind.

Student wakeboard day at docks

est one you can do. I started it in January and it will take around a year. By next June I should have completed it.”

The former Red’s legend has every confidence in himself to progress into football management, and believes that an opportunity will arise once he completes the course.

He said: “Everyone knows I want to be a manager. It’s what I have always longed for and I am almost there now.”

BOSSING IT: Robbie Fowler is set to take the step up into management © Wikimedia Commons

Cables shackled by lack of investment

By JACK WHITEHEAD

For most football fans in Merseyside the dream is to watch their win every cup imaginable , the obvious choices of Liverpool or Everton spring to mind, but

By CAOIMHE HARKIN few, if anyone, would choose to A student wakeboard day is being watch Prescot Cables.

Prescot Cables is an old club, held at Industry 1, Liverpool its creation actually came before waterpark, on Wednesday (16th Liverpool’s in 1884 and right March). It costs £10 per each 15 minute session and you can book from the start it’s been a club with the local community at its heart. as many sessions as you like.

The ground they play in, Valerie You must pay in full to confirm Park hosts around 250 supporters booking and the price does not for each home game, the income include the hire kit. Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which of the club is modest – similarly to other clubs in their position. involves riding a wakeboard over Ged McCabe, from Prescot, the surface of a body of water. who attends all games when he’s not working at Cables, this season has been the first time he’s returned to the club since he was a young boy, some 40 years ago.

He told Liverpool Life: “It hasn’t changed at all really and that’s going back 40 years since the last time I was there, obviously back then you used to go in groups

By BARRY ROCKS with your mates and usually we’d just bunk on round the back One week on from an impressive which was great.” top 200 finish at the Womens There’s always been a tighteights Head of the River race in knit, friendly atmosphere at the London. LJMURC competed in ground and the entry fee is reaChester’s annual North of England sonable - it’s what Ged finds most Head on River Dee. appealing there.

The women finished the 5K race He added: “When I first went in 6th position with a time of 18 back I knew quite a few people minutes and 57 seconds, enough to beat rivals University of Liverpool by 3 seconds.

President of LJMURC, Liz Oxby, spoke to JMU Journalism, she said: ”We won last year and if we By JAMES GAMBLE hadn’t achieved the same I felt Ian Ayre has announced that he it would have been on me and I will be stepping down from his didn’t want that. role as Chief Executive of Liver“There was a lot of pressure so pool Football Club in May 2017, everyone was on edge really. We had beaten them the week before despite owners Fenway Sports in London but with a more expe- Group declaring their wish for him to remain in his role. rienced crew. Once we knew the Both Ayre and the club inresult, it was more relief for me. sist that the decision to leave “The rest of the crew were very had nothing to do with recent excited. It was the first proper criticism received from fans rewin we have had all year and we were very proud of what they had garding ticket prices at the club, which saw a walk-out protest at achieved to get to that point.”

JMU Girls in varsity victory

Rovers manager Gary Bowyer as well as Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett, hoping to finish the course in 2017.

Since retiring from playing football in 2012, Fowler has been linked with top roles at several clubs, but a managerial role has yet to materialise for the 40 year old.

Fowler said in an interview: “I’ve got the other coaching badges and now I’m doing the Pro Licence which is the high-

down there, one of the people I knew her son now plays centre forward. The ground has the bar area that everyone gets in and has a little drink. You can get a nice pie and cone of chips for cheap which always helps too.”

The club itself is trying new ways to increase its sponsorship and are always on the lookout for further investment.

It’s a stark contrast to some of the other teams on Merseyside, Premier League giants Liverpool, in particular, and Everton are often berated over the price of their tickets.

Earlier this year saw the protest ‘walk out’ at Anfield on 77 minutes, due to the announcement that the dearest match-day ticket for Liverpool games could be as expensive as £77 per game.

A ticket at Prescot Cables is £7 for an adult, £3 a concession and it’s free for children.

If you add on top the new £5.4 billion TV deal that Premier League clubs will receive this year, which is around £300 million each, you start to gage the difference of what clubs really have at their disposal.

It makes you wonder if a club like Prescot Cables, who now languish in the Evo-Stick Northern premier league, has a chance of ever escaping their current predicament.

For Ged, a previous season

WARMING UP: Prescot Cables players prepare for a fixture ticket holder at Liverpool for 30 years, the future doesn’t look so promising.

He said: “They’re trying a lot at the moment to raise the money, they’re even selling squares on the pitch. They are big into their sponsorship and they work hard to get what they get, but I think they have a real problem with finance at Prescot, and even in that league, being as far down as they are they struggle financially

big time.”

One event the club has in a bid to raise revenue is a beer festival, which is taking place in the ground this coming weekend with all, who are of the age to drink, welcome.

There are teams, however, who have shown you can rise through the divisions. AFC Wimbledon was originally started by supporters in 2002, it has since had five promotions in nine seasons

© JMU Journalism

to rise from the 9th tier of English football to the Sky bet league 2.

Ged isn’t holding his breath though.

“It can be done, the more successful you are the more people will come and watch you, if they can see you’re on the up they’ll give you finance but sadly we’re not all Salford City, who have these millionaire and billionaire backers.”

Ian’s exit is breath of fresh Ayre for Reds the home game against Sunderland in February.

However Ian and the club have not ruled out the possibility of him taking another role at the club after his tenure as executive ends.

A club statement released by club chairman Tom Werner, principal owner John W Henry, and club president Mike Gordon, read: “Ian advised us of his intention to step down as CEO a few months ago. We asked him on several occasions to take some

time to reconsider his decision, but have been unable to convince him to remain as CEO beyond May of 2017.

“We will at some point in the near future begin identifying and recruiting a worthy successor to continue to build on the outstanding foundations which have been laid by Ian.” Ian has been with the club since 2007 when he was appointed as Commercial Director for the club, and later promoted in 2011 to managing director.

RESIGNATION: Liverpool will be looking for a new chief executive. © Wikimedia Commons

Life|Sport|19

Crabbie’s Grand National grand opening

By LUCY DARBYSHIRE

Crabbie’s Race course will hold the Grand opening day next month. This is a day that offers a feast of world class racing as well as sensational live music and entertainment for you to enjoy.

Simply breathtaking, Grand Opening Day will set the stage for three days of incredible racing at The Crabbie’s Grand National Festival.

Building on the momentum of this year’s opener, 2016 is sure to be a spectacular display of sporting endeavour, as the world’s best runners and riders reunite for one of the most challenging and thrilling events in the sporting calendar.

Runcorn rowing club replace clubhouse

By LISA RIMMER

A Halton rowing club has been able to replace its old clubhouse with a brand new building thanks to expert help from bridge builder Merseylink.

Runcorn Rowing Club had received a Sports Council grant to cover the cost of a new building, but the project was in danger of never getting off the ground as a large amount of costly building work was also needed to get it started.

As a voluntary organisation with limited funds and expertise, the rowing club decided to apply to the Merseylink Time Bank scheme for help.

Keen to assist, Merseylink pulled together a specialist team of surveyors, ground engineers, and construction operatives to help get the Weaver Canal site

ready for the new facility.

This involved clearing and surveying the land, testing for utilities, digging out foundations, waterproofing and damp proofing. The team then reused materials from the Mersey Gateway Project to create a foundation slab to support the new building.

The rowing club, which was established in 1894, has strong links with local schools in Halton as well as with Runcorn Canoe Club and Liverpool University Rowing Club. It has recently invested in an adaptive rowing scheme to enable disabled rowers to train and compete.

Chris Wheatley, Captain of Runcorn Rowing Club, said: “This magnificent gift of time and expertise has enabled us to install our new clubhouse and teaching facility in time for

SUCESS: Winners of the marathon

©Connor Lynch

Rugby club revamp A Wirral rugby club and sports training company have teamed up to create a centre of excellence.

Anselmians Rugby club is working with AFYA on a scheme that it says will provide elite level coaching and player development and bring new players to the sport.

It coincides with plans to build a new club house facility on its site in Eastham.

The excellence programme is for players aged 13-18 and will give them coaching and advice on fitness, skill development, positional and team tactics as well as nutrition.

generous contribution.”

Neil Wilcock, Employment and Skill’s Coordinator for Merseylink, said: “This is another great example of how our Time

By CONNOR LYNCH

By LUCY DARBYSHIRE

By CAOIMHE HARKIN

our 2016 Spring Head event.

“The new building will make an enormous contribution to our club and I would like to thank the Mersey Gateway Project for their

Thousands take part in half marathon

Complete a mile with a smile Liverpool will be hosting the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile at Newsham Park on the 20th of March You can sign up to the race by going on to sports relief website Where you have the option to pick how you will be entering the race, you can walk, run or do both.

Entry fees range from adults £7, children £3 and for families £17.

To get sponsored for the run, sign up to the Giving pages to fundraise for sports relief.

REVAMP: Rowers thrilled with new facilities ©Runcorn rowing

Bank scheme is benefiting the community. By providing the specialist technical advice and labour that Runcorn Rowing Club so desperately needed, we have been able to ensure that the club can build on its success and continue to invest in exceptional training facilities.”

Time Bank was set up to provide practical help and support to local community projects, schools, colleges and the local authority. It works by matching successful applicants with Merseylink’s industry experts and suppliers who provide professional advice and support.

Around 24 local organisations have benefited from the scheme since it launched in May 2014 with Merseylink providing the equivalent of approximately £57,000 worth of support.

GIRL POWER: First females to finisH

© Paul Francis Cooper

More than 6,500 people assembled at the Pier Head to take part in the Liverpool Half Marathon this weekend.

With runners from 16 different countries taking part and the oldest of them being 87 years old, the Vitality Liverpool Half Marathon is put on by BTR Liverpool,.

The 13.1 mile route took runners on a journey past some of Liverpool’s most iconic landmarks, as they bypassed the Anglican Cathedral, Princes and Sefton Parks, culminating in a four-mile finish along the River Mersey.

The winner of the half marathon itself was Ethiopia native, Dejene Gezimu, who ran a time of 66.55 minutes.

Dejene, who now lives on Merseyside and runs for Liverpool Harriers, was very relaxed after the race, saying he finds it much easier to run here than back in Africa.

He said: “I ran the race very well. I had put in a lot of hard work in, and with the types of training that I do, and I felt

GREAT TURN OUT: 6,500 runners took part ©Connor Lynch that the race was very easy.

“When I run in Ethiopia it is very different, there is high altitudes and it can be very difficult, whereas here I can work by running on the roads, so it is not as hard.”

Many others who took part in the race were doing it for

a cause that is close to their hearts, as a great number participated in order to raise funds for their chosen charities.

The event was held as part of the national Vitality Run Series, which consists of nine events in England.

Liverpool on top for return leg

By RYAN JONES

Liverpool blew Manchester United away with a dominant 2-0 performance that left the reds with one foot in the Europa League. The decision for Jurgen Klopp now though is to stick or to twist?

Defensively Liverpool have been weak so the risk of setting up to be compact and tight at

the back could backfire if United were to grab and early goal.

With Southampton up next and Europa League qualification still attainable in the league, Klopp faces a selection head up as he will have to rotate his team with players like Sturridge unlikely to be able to play two games in such quick succession.

Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying in the top four are more

or less over meaning winning the Europa League is their best chance of getting into next season’s Champions League. While they’re leading 2-0 at half time of the two-legged affair, there is still work to be done against a United side who will be looking to respond after three games without a win.

Everton cruised through to the semi-finals thanks to two strikes

from Romelu Lukaku against his former side against Chelsea.

The Belgian will be looking to take his form into the next game against an Arsenal side whose season is crumbling beneath their feet.

Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Premier League are fading fast and the gunners have justone win from their last seven games with pressure mounting on

Arsene Wenger it is perhaps the best time for Everton to play them.

Elsewhere, Tranmere face rivals Forrest Green in the English National League. The team are on 62 points in fourth place and with just four points separating them and 9th placed Gateshead, they’ll need to run together to ensure they don’t drop out of the promotion places.

Liverpool

LifeSPORT

SAINTS DO IT AUSSIE STYLE 16 March 2016

Inside Sport

©Wikimedia Commons

TACKLE: The Australian Football sport is taking off in Merseyside © Merseyside Saints

By BARRY ROCKS The Australian Football League Central and Northern League now has a new member for the upcoming 2016 season, the Merseyside Saints.

The sport is a combination of rugby, soccer and Gaelic football and consists of two teams competing to score goals.

Training out of Wirral Rugby Club, the Saints were born after Will Sykes reached out on AFL’s Facebook page for someone to start a team with.

Olivier Lemesle a Frenchman living in Southport responded, he was a former AFL England coach.

Both men met up for a beer

in town and the Saints were established.

For their first full season the Mersey side have been welcomed with a baptism of fire into the league, despite only forming late last summer and only had a handful of warm up tournaments under the belt.

However club founder, Will, couldn’t be more excited for season ahead, he told Liverpool Life: “Becoming a league side is a huge step up for a squad of inexperienced players although I feel that we have a strong squad with a huge untapped resource of potential players within Merseyside.

“My hope is that the step up to a league side will help develop

some of the Saints players into international players, who will go on to represent England or the United Kingdom side in international tournaments.”

Will’s passion for the development game has been recognised

by AFLCNE who recently announced him as coach for the Northern Storm, a collective of Central and Northern players who will be playing England Dragon slayers in a national competition. The ‘Slayers’ have a proud history; and have been crowned European 9-a-side EU (Euro) Cup Champions three times - more than any other country to date.

Four Mersey players have also been called up for the represent-

ative side.

The club is the ideal entry level for all those interested in trying a new sport.

From the current batch of players with four are Aussies and of the 15 only four had played before coming to their first training session.

Will welcomes all people in the Mersey area to come give it a try.

He said: “Anyone and everyone of all abilities and fitness levels are welcome along to training.

“Aussie Rules footy is too much fun to be restricted participation. We range from non-sportsmen to ex -professional rugby league players, we cater for everyone.”

AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL: What you need to know:

 Combination of rugby, soccer and Gaelic football.  Consists of two teams competing in modified cricket grounds.  In England, the game is usually smaller, played on converted rugby pitches.  Each team consists of nine players.  There are four posts either side of the pitch.  A team score a goal when they score between the two centre posts, worth six points.

LJMU pip rivals to take title

By SOPHIE SEAR Liverpool John Moores University has topped the table with their men’s first football team beating lifelong rivals Manchester University for the league title.

Holding the top two spots in the league, Manchester had to beat LJMU by three goals to be in with a chance of winning on goal difference.

After going 1-0 up within the first half an hour, Manchester

were looking dangerous.

Dale Hodge, 22, player in the first team, told Liverpool Life: “We started strong in the second half and went on to win a penalty in the opening five minutes.

“Curtis Williamson came on as a substitute to grab the winner with 15 minutes to go.”

The final score was 2-1, meaning LJMU had won the league by five points in total.

The team will go on to playoffs next month against the top

teams from Scotland and the Midlands.

Dale added: “The manager has worked really hard with us since September and the hard work payed off.

“The lads deserve it as we were by far the best team in the league having only lost one game all season.

“It’s the first time John Moores men’s football have won the Northern league so it’s quite a big achievement.”

TACTICS: The team discussing play

© Dale Hodge

Robbie Fowler on his way to UEFA licence

© Runcorn Rowing Club

Runcorn Rowing Club gets a revamp