Liverpool Life 5:12 February 15 2017 by Steve Harrison

15 - February - 2017

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE... NEWS

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Students meet the former Business Secretary

LIFEextra

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Young medics provide life-saving service

SPORT

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Huge win for LJMU women’s rugby team

CALDERSTONES CONTROVERSY ANGER: Protesters gather outside Liverpool Town Hall By CONNOR BENNETT City planners have dealt a blow to local charity group the friends of Harthill and Calderstones Park after they approved the plans for Redrow homes to be built on the parkland site. Council planning ofﬁcers recommended that the plan should be approved and it was, by a vote of four to one, despite weeks of protest from the group and residents. Housing developer Redrow have been looking to build around 50 homes next to Calderstones Park but their plans had been met with resistance at every turn from residents. The land has been earmarked for the Redrow homes following claims that it is not open to the public so is therefore not parkland.

Planning blow for park protesters

The group held two protests yesterday, one on Harthill Road and one at Liverpool Town Hall ahead of the decision. Around 200 people protested at Harthill while a further 30 joined the demonstration in town. The group are also attempting to get Village Green status granted for parts of the land in a bid to stop any building. Caroline Williams, a member of the friends of Harthill and Calderstones Park, told Liverpool Life: “There is a village application going in to say people have walked that land, have used it for recreational purposes for over 20 years and witness statements

have all been signed and they’ve all been submitted.” The group have based their protest on Harthill being a part of the park and say they found deeds from a Freedom of Information request that backs their claim up. Williams commented: “There were two Freedom of Information requests and they basically said that park has leases and licenses on it for different things.” As part of the Harthill scheme, charities and community groups in the area – speciﬁcally Beechley Riding Stables, CalderKids Adventure Playground and the 75-year-old Calderstones

children’s railway - are being offered new facilities elsewhere and while they have seemingly accepted the plans, the group still looked to dispute them. Williams added: “Obviously the riding stable is a recreational facility and Calder Kids is an adventure playground for the disabled and also the miniature railway, they are all things that are good for use. They’re all things that ﬁt in to the park use whereas a housing estate doesn’t ﬁt in with park use.” The group have also gained the support of Calderstones School, whose buildings sit adjacent to the land. They

have also said it will strongly object to the plans as they are concerned about the potential trafﬁc increases and noise pollution that any development would have on the school and its pupils. Local Gogglebox TV stars Leon and June backed the campaign on Twitter on Monday evening, sending their support to the local residents and urging Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson to help stop the plans being approved. Seeing as the area is a park and green space, the group have been concerned about the precedent this decision sets for the future and what could happen to other green

spaces across the city. In January, Liverpool was ranked bottom of the UK’s biggest cities with available green spaces at just under 17 percent. Mapping company ERSI UK analysed satellite pictures from last spring and found that other cities had close to a third more green space. The planning decision could now open up the debate on sites like Allerton Priory, where Redrow had planned to build 160 homes but had plans rejected. The Flintshire-based housing company is currently appealing that decision and this approval could give them the chance to win that appeal.

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Kindness of strangers touches tragic family By LEWIS JENNINGS The children of a couple who died of cancer within days of each other have been ﬂooded with support after a picture of their parents’ last moments together circulated online. The image of Mike and Julie Bennett, from Wirral, was taken mere hours before he died last Monday. His wife passed away just a few days later on Saturday night at the same Merseyside hospice. In a statement, their eldest son Luke said: “My brother, sister and I are overwhelmed by the enormous support and generosity we have received

from so many friends and well-wishers. “Mum has appreciated all the help from close friends in supporting the family over the last three years through difﬁcult times and it would be a huge relief to her to know this support will continue.” A JustGiving page set up by friends of the family has so far raised over £200,000 - quadruple the initial target amount. The appeal aims to help Luke, 21, and his siblings, Hannah and Oliver, 18 and 13 respectively, to continue to live a life at home and sustain their activities and studies. Mike discovered he had a brain tumour in 2013 and had

been nursed at home by Julie and the children. The 57-yearold had served an apprenticeship with Baldock’s Furniture Manufacturers in Liverpool and was a self-employed cabinetmaker. Julie, 50, was diagnosed with liver and kidney cancer in May 2016. She worked as a primary schoolteacher at Somerville school in Wallasey. Family friend Heather Heaton Gallagher said: “Words cannot express our desperate sadness for such a beautiful family. The Bennetts are known to all for their generosity, their love for life, and their down to earth approach.

Thieves target asylum seekers HAND-IN-HAND: Tragic photo of cancer couple went nationwide ©Family handout photograph “Julie has kept the children in a normal routine whilst dealing with Mike’s illness over the past few years. When Julie became ill, she made it her purpose to create as many

memories as a family for the children to hold onto.” The tragic events inﬂuenced one Merseyside man to set up a run in aid of the Bennett siblings.

‘Kenny Fields’ keeps �ighting waste

By ANDREW NUTTALL

A successful campaign to increase local recycling efforts made a welcome return to Kensington Fields. In a bid to get residents engaged with the idea of reusing and recycling their old items, the Kensington Fields Community Centre hosted a second event as part of the ongoing ‘Kenny Fields Fights Waste’ campaign. The project brings together local residents, councillors, community groups and recycling representatives to tackle the increasing waste issues and, overall, make the area cleaner. Bulky Bob’s is a councilfunded item collection service, and staff were on hand to offer out some of the furniture they have collected, including armchairs; sofas

and microwave ovens, with free delivery to visitors. Amy Gallagher, who helped to organise the event, said: “I work as a Sustainable Waste Management Ofﬁcer and work closely with residents in Kensington in order to tackle any waste issues they may be having in the area. Putting on events such as these promotes re-use and raises awareness of the service Bulky Bobs offers which ultimately helps discourage ﬂy tipping.” As well as furniture, the event also offered a huge clothes swap, with sizes ranging from new-born to XXL, for people to donate or exchange their unwanted items as opposed to throwing them away. The Liverpool City Council worker also said: “The clothes swap is a way of promoting re-use in the

Life

some badly-needed items for free. “It’s beneﬁcial for communities and brings something very positive to Liverpool as a whole.” Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority claimed that, in 2014, Liverpool households would throw away a combined total of about 22,000 tonnes of clothing and textiles each year. Events like this are therefore a small, yet important, step

to reducing the amount of waste Liverpool sends to the landfill each year. Delivering information about recycling and energy saving tips at the centre were Granby Toxteth Development Trust, a community organisation partnered with Liverpool City Council as part of the waste-fighting campaign. The Assistant Mayor of Liverpool and ward councillor Nick Small also came along to promote and encourage Kensington to keep up their hard work. He said: “We know there is a long way to go and many houses still send their waste off to landfill. “But the campaign has only just been launched and with the enthusiasm of the champions I am sure it will have a real impact.”

By MATTHEW NOONAN Burglars have ransacked one of Merseyside’s leading asylum seeker charity dropin centres. The burglary took place at Asylum Link charity headquarters based at St. Anne’s Church in Overbury Street on Edge Hill. The safe was teared from the wall, with the ofﬁces and kitchens trashed – causing around £100,000 worth of damage. The drop in centre was set up in March 2001 and one of Merseyside’s recognised safe spaces for asylum seekers and refugees from countries such as Syria and Iraq. The money stolen was from a pot that was being used to pay back Asylum Link’s 130 volunteers who help to run the drop in centre. A Merseyside police spokesperson said: “A burglary was reported yesterday at about 1pm, and may have taken place between the afternoon of Friday February 10 and lunchtime on Sunday February 12.” Anyone with any information has been urged to contact the police on 101 or to make an anonymous phone call to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Appeal aims to axe Late Night Levy

Team Bringing you the news every Wednesday

Editor Andrew Livingston News Editor Laura Hughes News Aaliyah Rugg Alastair Baker Hollie Hayes Poppy Backshall Features Editor Gabrielle Walsh

RECYCLE: Clothing success © Andrew Nuttall community and discourages residents from just throwing their clothes away, which will ultimately end up in landﬁll. “The clothes swap takes place in various locations around Liverpool and offers local residents a range of men’s, women’s and children’s clothes along with shoes, toys and books. “Also, many people that are in need in the local area are able to just take away

BLOW: Asylum seekers support ©Asylum Link

Features Damien Horwood Emma White David Purcell Rosie Steedman Sports Editor Josh Hodge Sports Andrew Cook Sam Heyhirst

By PAUL GREENOUGH

Liverpool City Council is facing a new battle over the planned late night levy on Liverpool bars and clubs - a plan which was given the goahead in December last year. It has been a rollercoasterride for the bid, with the city’s specialist licencing panel originally turning down the idea in March 2016. Now, the plan is to be considered in court after an appeal was launched to reverse the decision with many late night businesses hoping for the plan to be axed. Alison Lockett-Burke of the HUS restaurant said: “Small independent businesses like ours ﬁnd it really hard to

keep on top of all the existing taxes etc. so this on top is just a joke.” In favour of the bid to halt the new levy, Alison went on to say: “Bars like ours, even though we are well behaved and our clientele never cause any trouble, are being punished for being in city centre.” The plan is for any alcoholselling businesses, between midnight and 6am, to pay a higher fee to help support police presence around the city for safety. It could cost businesses anywhere from £220 to £4,440 a year. The appeal argues the process for review in the ﬁrst place was “ﬂawed” and “irrational.”

At the time it was originally introduced a Liverpool council spokesman said: “The Late Night Levy scheme will be trialled from next April and this will then be reviewed after a year.”

LIVERPOOL CLUBS: Bid to halt planned levy © Paul Greenough

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Bus tribute to Warrington band Viola Beach By NICOLE QUINN

REMEMBERED: Memorial for Warrington band Viola Beach displayed on Arriva bus © River Reeves Foundation

Arriva Bus Company have launched special memorial buses to mark the ﬁrst anniversary of the deaths of Warrington band Viola Beach. The four band members and their manager died after their car crashed on a motorway and fell into a canal. Singer Kris Leonard, 20; guitarist River Reeves, 19; drummer Jack Dakin, 19; bass player Tomas Lowe, 27, and manager Craig Tarry, 32, are thought to have died instantly. The manager, Craig Tarry, was driving the band back to a hotel in Stockholm in the early hours of the morning after they had played at a Swedish music festival.

Arriva worked with the families and the River Reeves Foundation charity to celebrate their lives by re-decorating the buses, which were ofﬁcially launched yesterday. Sharon Dunne from the River Reeves Foundation told Liverpool Life: “All the families are really pleased with the buses. “It is not a tour bus they would have had, but we think the lads would think it was great that they have buses driving round with their pics up the side.” She said they are hoping the buses will run throughout February and March to mark the anniversary of their tragic deaths and then the funerals that took place throughout March last year.

An Arriva spokesperson said: “We wanted to mark the anniversary of the accident involving Viola Beach which resulted in ﬁve very special and talented young men losing their lives. “The families have taken what was a tragedy and turned it into something positive.” The buses will be on routes from St Helens into the North of Warrington. The River Reeves Foundation has the ambition to help young people realise their dreams as musicians, actors, writers, artists, dancers and directors through grants, donations and legacy projects. Their fundraising calendar is packed this year, including a ‘RivFest’ and a Riv’s Riders event.

£1m apprentices for Wirral hospital By JESSICA HARRIS Arrowe Park Hospital is set to launch a £1.1m apprenticeship scheme as part of a national drive next month. The Birkenhead-based hospital is the Wirral’s largest employer and wishes to lead the way in providing employment opportunities for young people wanting a career in healthcare. Arrowe Park are investing in the development of their existing staff through apprenticeships, as well as brand new start up schemes for new staff, all with the intention of enhancing patient care. Apprenticeships in roles such as healthcare, laboratory, pharmacy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy assistants, business and clinical administration posts will be available. Director of nursing and midwifery, Gaynor Westray said: “The NHS is a great place to work, providing people with the best care possible while enjoying a rewarding career. I’ve been working for this Trust for 30

By LEWIS JENNINGS

Paul Nuttall has admitted that his claim to have lost a ‘close’ friend at the Hillsborough disaster is false. In a post from August 17, 2011 the UKIP leader’s website said: “Close personal friends of mine lost their lives.” A Radio City news presenter, who was also at the game, confronted Nuttall with evidence suggesting he lied. Initially the Bootle-born politician denied the claim but later said: “I haven’t lost a close, personal friend. I’ve lost someone who I know. “I’m sorry about that, but that is something… I haven’t put that out. That is wrong.” Nuttall, who refers to himself as a “Lepping Lane survivor” on his website, continued to deny allegations he lied about his whereabouts on the day. He added: “I just want to make it perfectly clear. I was there on that day. I’ve got witnesses, people who will stand up in court and back me 100 percent. “It’s cruel and it’s nasty. It’s making out as if my family are lying as well, which is just not fair or right.”

Take a ‘Peak’ on tour

By PAUL GREENOUGH

EMPLOYMENT: Apprenticeship scheme is set to be launched by Arrowe Park Hospital with hopes of enhancing patient care © Wirral hospital grants - Wikimedia commons years and I could not think of a more fulﬁlling and caring place to work. “The hundreds of apprentices who have joined our Trust in recent years have played an important role in helping us to deliver patient care. “Anyone who is thinking of a career in healthcare and in an environment where

they will be well supported is urged to consider one of our apprenticeships.” Lauren Jones, from Manchester, told Liverpool Life about her decision to choose a nursing apprenticeship over a traditional university degree. She said: “I feel sorry for those people feeling pressured into thinking that

having a degree is the be all, end all. At 26, I am now a fully qualiﬁed nurse with a well-respected qualiﬁcation behind me. Working alongside doctors and nurses whilst I was still learning was the best experience I could have had. You could learn all areas of the theory spec but will never know how to act

in certain situations until you face them head on. “My apprenticeship got my foot in the door with the NHS, I will always look back and know that I made the right choice.” Information on how to apply for apprenticeships can be found at Arrowe Park’s next open day; March 6.

Valentine’s vow renewal for hundreds of couples By PAUL GREENOUGH

ROMANCE: A couple renews their vows © Paul Greenough

Nuttall admits false claim

Over a hundred couples renewed their wedding vows live on the radio yesterday morning, as part of a Valentine’s Day ceremony. Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Cunard building on Liverpool’s docks, BBC Radio Merseyside hosted the mass vow-renewal live on air.

Registrar Pat Evans helped the 170 couples, with more than 7,500 years of love between them, renew their love and even renewed her own vows with husband Bill. Norman Sudworth, 62, and wife Jackie, 60, who have been married a quarter of a century were part of the ceremony. Norman said: “It was a great chance to renew

our vows on the radio. A nice special day to celebrate our marriage.” When asked how to stay happy in a relationship for so long he said: “Stick at it through thick and thin and in sickness and in health.” Billy Butler, one of BBC Radio Merseyside’s longest running presenters, who spoke to the room reading a

poem about love, renewed his vows with wife Lesley of 27 years. David Walsh 60, and wife Pauline, 56, from Widnes said their secret to a happy marriage was to “keep laughing”. One thing stayed the same with every couple though, the key to happiness seems to be love.

Fans of BBC drama ‘Peaky Blinders’ can now visit filming locations in the city as part of a new tour scheme. There will be six new tours of Peaky Blinders filming locations across Liverpool and Southport. Creator of the tours Julie Kershaw told Liverpool Life: “There are fans all over the world and they are starting to find their way to Liverpool in an attempt to find some of the filming locations. . It is particularly popular in France and the US.” To book or for further information formation contact Julie Kershaw peakylocationstours@yahoo.com.

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Life|News|4

HONOURED: Winners © Deana Walmsley & Charlie Airey

Musical duo strike LA luck

By LEWIS JENNINGS

A new scholarship, to honour musician and songwriter Michael Molloy has been handed to 21-year-old Deana Walmsley and 18-year-old Charlie Airey. The Michael Molloy Scholarship, awarded for the ﬁrst time in 2017, was created to honour the life of Michael who tragically died in a coach crash as he travelled back from Bestival in 2013. Charlie and Deana will get the chance to travel to LA to record music and write songs, funded by their charitable performing arts school Rare Studio and Agent. Deana told Liverpool Life: “There are no words to describe how I feel to be honest. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet that we are going. I just can’t wait to get myself out there and show the world who we are.” The two Liverpudlians were granted the opportunity because they have shown outstanding progression during their time at the Wood Street-based school. Charlie told Liverpool Life: “Me and her have been best mates since the day I started at Rare in September 2014 and for me, this could not have been more deserved. “My brain was switched off after celebrating brieﬂy for Deana, so when I heard the words ‘Charlie Airey’ I couldn’t quite believe it. “We will take Michael Molloy’s name with us on our journey to Los Angeles and try our best to make his family proud.”

A Day in the Life of Liverpool legends

By LEWIS JENNINGS

The ‘Holy Grail’ record that introduced the world to the Fab Four and paved the way for their colossal success is now on display at the Beatles Story Exhibition. This week marks the 55th anniversary since Brian Epstein presented the unique acetate record to George Martin in a desperate bid to get the band a record deal. The vinyl features the ﬁrst song John Lennon ever wrote, ‘Hello Little Girl’, ‘Til There Was You’, and is inscribed with Epstein’s handwriting. In his book ‘Tune In’, leading Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn said: “Its uniqueness is enhanced by Brian Epstein’s handwriting on the labels, and the recognition of what it led to – making it one of the rarest and most collectible of all Beatles records.” Though George Martin was initially wary of the disc it

eventually led to the breakthrough that would earn the band widespread recognition and cement their icon status. Ian Shirley, Rare Record Price Guide Editor, said: “This is one of those Holy Grail items like the original Quarrymen acetate that the band recorded themselves. This acetate is a unique item that, in many respects, it helped Brian Epstein to start the ball rolling to world domination.” The news comes just days after the legendary Liverpool group proved that even today they are still as relevant as ever, striking success in the 59th Annual Grammy Awards A similar copy of the rare record was sold at auction for £77,500 last year after it had been found hidden away for over ﬁve decades. ‘Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years’, directed by former child actor Ron How-

ard, is the third Beatles-related ﬁlm to receive an accolade in this category. It is the eleventh Grammy for the band after their last win in 2014, when they were awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement honor.

By JESSICA HARRIS

Forum, told Liverpool Life of how the rally of support came into fruition. He said: “Just before Christmas, we were brainstorming on the forum about ways in which we could do something for charity. I came across a guy local to me that posted a notice on Facebook looking for volunteers who would be willing to go and do some decorating at a local hospice. They were looking to ﬁnd ﬁve or six volunteers to go and do up one of the corridors and communal areas and thanks to us, they ended up with over 40 volunteers! “I posted a video to the forum requesting members to get behind the project

MOP TOPS: The Fab Four in their youth © Wikimedia Commons

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE: Statues of the Fab Four on the Albert Docks © Lewis Jennings

Decorators join forces to aid hospice

PEACHY: Speedo Mick © Mike Cupit

An army of decorators have answered a social media call for help after a local hospice was quoted £8000 for a paint job. Tradesmen and women across the UK gathered in Liverpool last week as part of a community DIY SOS. Members of The Decorator’s Forum, a Facebook group for painters and decorators worldwide, spent two days revamping Woodlands Hospice free of charge after it came to their attention that the trust was in desperate need for a refurbishment. Mike Cupit, an administrator for The Decorator’s

and do something together and luckily I got one hell of a response.” Businesses in the area caught scent of the charity trail and offered up their own services. A local Holiday Inn hotel offered to put up those who had travelled from the likes of Glasgow and Essex for the duration of their stay, and paint manufacturer Crown donated 300 litres of the colourful stuff. Everton fan and regular fundraiser for Woodlands Hospice, Speedo Mick, also made an appearance, donning a pair of decorator’s overalls that coincidentally lacked material and showed his famous backside.

The number of members on the forum currently stands at over 5000 and Mr Cupit describes it as “a family that is growing all the time”. He added: “We’re hoping to use this project as a springboard to help go forward and do more work in the future. Now that the ball is rolling, we’d like to do a project like this every six months or so.” A spokesperson for Woodland’s Hospice told Liverpool Life: “It was a fantastic weekend that had a really nice atmosphere. They were a group of lovely people who gave up their time and worked really hard and now the hospice looks amazing.”

New future planned for Croxteth

By MATTHEW NOONAN

A proposal will be made to Liverpool City Council’s cabinet this Friday to ensure new investment and increase visitor numbers to Croxteth Hall and Country Park. A new partner will now be sought by Liverpool City Council to manage the park on behalf of the local authority. The plans ensure the future of the park and hall will now remain open to the public – and save £1 million in the process. It is also hoped that the plans will increase the number of activities and special events held at the hall and country park. Councillor Peter Mitchell, Mayoral Lead for Parks, said: “The preservation of Croxteth

Hall and Park as a public asset, with free public access, is our number one priority and after years of searching for a partner we are very close to securing a win-win situation. “The estate has been enjoyed by millions of people for generations and holds a unique place in the city’s heart.” However, it is not thought that these proposals for Croxteth Hall and Park will affect the £3.5m plans for Myerscough College’s plans to build a new equine and animal centre for further educational purposes. The proposals were put together after the city council made consultations with local stakeholders in order to “seek ideas and potential solutions”.

REJOICE: Future of hall remains safe for public © Peter/Flickr It is thought that as many as 600,000 visits are made to the hall and park every year, which is also home to facilities such as a rope adventure course, an adven-

ture playground, gift shop and horse-riding centre. If the palns are approved on Friday, the project will be implemented later on in the year.

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Bluecoat kicks off 300th anniversary By DAMIEN HORWOOD

The Bluecoat art gallery has launched its ﬁrst event in its 300-day programme to celebrate the building’s 300th anniversary. Entitled ‘Public View’, the exhibition features works from 100 artists, all of which have been exhibited at the Bluecoat previously in their careers. Running from February 4 -April 23, ‘Public View’ presents a wide range of work, varying from photographs to sculptures and video footage, as well as blending works that have been exhibited in the gallery before together with brand new pieces. While the exhibition showcases art from some internationally-known artists such as Yoko Ono and

By EMMA WHITE

MAURICE DOHERTY: Special commission ©Damien Horwood

BLUECOAT: 300th anniversary

Derek Boshier, there is also work from younger and less well-known names such as Jamie Shovlin. There is also a strong representation of Merseysideborn artists, including Paul Morrison and Mark Leckley, which reﬂects the Bluecoat’s continuing commitment to artists from throughout the

the perfect start to Bluecoat’s 300th anniversary year. “It celebrates the achievements of our past while simultaneously looking towards the future as we maintain our long-running connection with these artists and continue our commitment to supporting artists at all stages of their careers.”

region. Bluecoat’s artistic director and curator of Public View Paul Briggs believes visitors will enjoy being able to see some of their favourite artists or art, whilst also discovering something new which may never have been shown before. He said: “The exhibition is

©Damien Horwood Public response has so far been positive with people praising the Bluecoat for the exhibition. Mrs Dororthy Pryce, 74, of Bootle, said: “It’s lovely, a truly beautiful show. There’s something here for everyone to enjoy even if you are not a big lover of art.”

Cable: ‘Look for positives in Brexit’ By LAURA HUGHES Liverpool could benefit from a post-Brexit Britain, according to former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable. He gave an exclusive interview to JMU Journalism before he delivered the Liverpool John Moores University Roscoe Lecture. The 73-year-old Yorkshireman strongly favoured the Brexit Remain group and is concerned about the effect of leaving the EU, suggesting that there are “quite a lot of clouds on the horizon”. He told Liverpool Life: “I mean Brexit is happening, the reality is we have got to try and see some of the positive potential. “But the brutal truth is that it is very difficult to see much of an upside and it is possible to see a lot of the potential problems.” Looking to post-Brexit Britain, the politician admitted there could be some benefits for northern communities like Liverpool. He said: “If you want to have a system where say Liverpool City Council wants to buy from Liverpool companies as oppose to buying from anywhere in Europe you will

Vicar voices delight at new role

have greater freedom, so that’s one of the potential advantages.” Mr Cable has frequently visited the city over the past decade and has “seen the city develop over the years”. He also spoke about the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ initiative that was forged during his time in the coalition. He explained: “It was coined by George Osborne whilst I was in the government and it was very much his personal vehicle.” He then went on to discuss what he thinks the term means to the people of Liverpool. He said: “What I hope it means is a positive view about the future of the north of England, particularly this part of England, Merseyside. “It went through a very bad period, with the collapse of the docks and some traditional industries. “But I think the message has to be a positive one that places like Liverpool are now really doing much better. “Liverpool One has transformed the city and three universities with an enormous amount of students.” The politician, who was knighted in 2015, claimed the

The Reverend Keith Hitchman has become the new vicar for St Michael-in-theHamlet and Christ Church in Aigburth. Keith has served in fulltime ministry within the Anglican Church for 27 years and has been an ordained minister for 21 years, serving in several churches and chaplaincy positions. He has worked on many different projects over the years including leading the ‘River in the City’ initiative and has co-founded the Liverpool Street Pastors initiative. Having previously been a member of the Liverpool Green partnership, Keith is in full support of the campaign to save Sefton Park Meadows and gets behind the efforts to prevent Sefton Park library from closing its doors to the public. Keith added: “The great thing about my new role is being rooted and focused in a local area. It’s a privilege to have been invited to join the committee of the St Michael’s and Lark Lane Community.”

Film club’s lessons from past By ANDREW NUTTALL

BENEFITS: Sir Vince Cable, centre, with LJMU journalism students Liberal Democrats coalition was a “very positive period in British history”. Since 2008 student tuition fees in the UK have tripled to £9,000 a year going against the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto which stated they would “phase out tuition fees within six years” and “scrap fees for ﬁnal-year students immediately” if elected. Mr Cable agrees that the trust in the Liberal democrats was dented by this fee rise after he explained: “I was in the middle of it all so I know

the story. I mean we made a bad mistake in making this pledge and increasing the tuition fees. “What happened was that everybody said at the time, because of this so-called fee increase, people will stop going to university. Well, the opposite happened.” Sir Vince has a love for ballroom dancing and started taking lessons 25 years ago. He was partnered with professional dancer Erin Boag, in the 2010 Christmas edition of Strictly Come Dancing. JMU

©JMU Journalism Journalism took the chance to ask him if he would appear back on the show and he revealed: “I don’t think so, I mean Ed Balls has done his best. “I don’t know how but the word had got around that I was keen on dancing, so I was invited on initially to do some dancing with Alesha Dixon.” His highlight in the ballroom spotlight was a perfect score from Strictly judge, Len Goodman, and Mr Cable said: “Yes, it was good - I got a 10 from Len!”

A Liverpool ﬁlm club is screening a politicallycharged movie from 1966 tomorrow evening. Liverpool Left Film Club screens productions that are politically viewed as leftwing. Tomorrow’s 5.30pm screening is of The Battle of Algiers, which depicts the Algerian rising against French colonial rule between 1954 and 1957. Club organiser Mark O'Brien said: "We could argue that in today’s dangerous and unpredictable political world, watching a ﬁlm changes nothing. However, it does open up a narrative for debate.” Tickets on the door at The Caledonia Pub (L7 7DX) cost £4, with a discounted student price of £3.

Life|Society|6

The young medics who are making a difference

Nicole Quinn follows medical students as they teach vital life-saving skills

team of medical students have got together to provide a lifesaving service across Merseyside. The StreetDoctors charity first launched in Liverpool in 2008 and has since continued to grow and evolve, resulting in 14 teams and over 300 volunteers in cities across the UK and Ireland. It was set up by Dr. Simon Jackson and Dr. Nick Rhead when they were studying in Liverpool. Originally operating as ‘The Liverpool Project’, the charity was established after the pair got chatting with local youth leaders and realised not only the extent of youth violence across the region, but also that they had the first aid skills which could benefit young people at risk of violence.

The Liverpool team is comprised of 17 medical students studying at the University of Liverpool. Team Leader Ollie Sunderland is in his ﬁfth year as a medical student. The 23-year-old told Liverpool Life: “I’ve always been interested in teaching, and I felt the charity offered a great opportunity to do that in a challenging environment whilst additionally having a positive impact on the local community. “I also felt the charity offered a fresh and dynamic approach to reducing youth crime by educating young people of the medical consequences of violence and encouraging positive choices and equipping them with skills to help manage an emergency situation.” Their main aim is to equip young people with practical skills to save lives and to also change attitudes

ACTION:

Medical student in action during a training programme © StreetDoctors

SMILES: Medical students from University of Liverpool © StreetDoctors and increase their conﬁdence and aspirations, to reduce the likelihood of violence. The team teaches in youth centres alongside youth offending teams (YOTs), pupil referral units (PRUs), prisons, and as part of teaching programmes offered by local community groups, such as Merseyside Fire and Rescue service and Liverpool FC. The two modules that are taught over two consecutive weeks are entitled ‘What to do when somebody is bleeding’, which teaches the basics of how the body works and immediate haemorrhage control, and ‘What to do when somebody is unconscious’, which discusses drug and alcohol misuse, as well as an introduction to CPR. Ollie said: “The majority of our work is with 'at risk' young people, since they are more likely to be exposed to violence and can often sadly fall through the cracks of conventional mainstream schooling meaning they frequently lack the

necessary support to reach their potential and make positive choices.” “I also really enjoy hearing success stories about people who have utilised the knowledge learned in our sessions, for example one attendee helped perform CPR following a road trafﬁc collision.” Most large cities have a problem with youth violence and unfortunately Liverpool is no different. Each year 5000 people are admitted to English hospitals due to assault by a sharp object, and knife crime affects one in six young people in the UK. Ollie said: “At a time when funding for community projects is increasingly hard to come by, I believe the role of charities has never been more crucial in order to try and bridge the gap to meet the needs of young people.” In addition to delivering teaching sessions, the StreetDoctors also spend a lot of time fundraising for the charity at a national level. Past fundraisers have included

a battle of the bands, clinical skills revision days for medical students and the Liverpool Santa dash. Several of the volunteers are running the Liverpool half marathon this year. Steve Boote, who works with Wavertree Youth Offending team and helped run the very ﬁrst StreetDoctors' sessions in 2008, said: ‘’As far as I am aware nobody has approached this with the same level of conﬁdence or enthusiasm in the ability to change our young people’s outlook.‘’ The charity currently recruits medical students from the university to deliver the teaching sessions. At the annual conference they discuss youth violence and the future of the charity with nurses, doctors, charity workers, lawyers and the police. • Any donations made will help the team to continue doing the work they do. They can be made via their JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/ streetdoctors/liverpool

Creative festival supports mental health

Amber Roberts reports on the return of NOW Festival ready for Mental Health Week

ast week saw the return of NOW festival, the arts festival dedicated to engaging young people in creative discussion around the topic of mental health. This was a follow on from last year’s successful ﬁrst ever festival, and took place at the Epstein Theatre during National Children’s Mental Health week – February 6-12. The show consisted of various performances from different groups and schools across Merseyside, all sharing the theme of ‘mental health and the rights of a child’, and was created by Merseyside Youth association, part of the Liverpool Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) partnership. Tony Nieman, part of the team and a NOW festival mentor said: "This is a fantastic organisation and a fantastic project. We work in many different ways such as with parent-

ing groups, schools and professionals, and we as a team are doing an awful lot to promote mental health. "The message we are putting out there is simple; mental health is everybody’s business. This is an amazing festival because it tells us all about our rights, and those rights have come from young people be-

childhood’ by St Francis of Assisi school, which demonstrated how difﬁcult childhood can be for individuals, but how help is really never far away. The performances focused on mental health and also the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child, which consists of 54 articles covering all aspects of a child’s life from the right to an education to the right to be protected from sexual exploitation. Julie Stockton, a member of the audience said: "I have been moved to both tears and laughter by the performances over the past two days. The messages being delivered are so poignant because they have been portrayed by children and it really highlights how important it is to talk about mental health."

'I have been moved to both tears and laughter by the performances'

SPOTLIGHT: Epstein Theatre hosts NOW festival © Amber Roberts

cause we listen. Twenty schools and youth groups took part in this year’s NOW festival and all of the performances were organised by the young people themselves. They included a rap about children’s rights from ‘The Champions’ a group dedicated to breaking down the barriers faced by disabled people and a performance called ‘fairy-tale

Life|Arts|7

LIFE EXTRA Why Janine’s made showbiz her business L ife in the big smoke has proved to be an exciting and thrilling adventure for former LJMU student Janine Yaqoob, who now works as a showbiz news reporter at the Sunday Mirror and the Sunday People. After graduating in 2008 she worked for four years as a reporter and leisure editor for a handful of publications across Merseyside, including the Liverpool Echo, Southport Visiter, Crosby Herald and the Ormskirk Advertiser. It was from here that, armed with the experience, she decided to move to London to try something completely different - the world of show business. She said: “It started off with shifts for the Sunday People, general news shifts. Then the position became available for a TV correspondent. It was a bit of a change going from news to showbiz, but with any national papers you have to accept any role to get your foot in the door. From

Hamish Elwood talks to LJMU graduate Janine Yaqoob about her life as a Showbiz Reporter

there I became a showbiz news reporter, for both the Sunday People and the Sunday Mirror, and that’s where I currently am. “I never saw myself going into showbiz to be honest. I started off at a local paper in Southport after I ﬁnished at LJMU. From there I carried on the news side of things, showbiz was never something I wanted to go into. Although now that I’m in this world, it’s really exciting, very fast-paced. If you look at tabloid newspapers it’s clear that showbiz does sell, so we have a lot of pressure to break the biggest stories.” She continued: “Speaking to the big name celebrities is always fun, we speak a lot to Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole when she was involved

Record Fair@ The Bluecoat 29 Oct

WHAT’S ON MUSIC: Busted @ Liverpool Guild of Students February 17 Mic Lowry @ 02 Academy February 18 Kings of Leon @ Echo Arena February 25

with the X Factor or speak to a legend like Bill Roach. I don’t think I quite have a career-defining story yet but I’m sure there’s plenty of time for that.” Although never expecting to go into show business, all it took for Janine was an interest in the area and the determination to move to London to pursue it. Although it may have seemed like a gamble at first, she had confidence in her abilities to enter this new world. “I think I’ve found my calling. What’s good about showbiz is there’s a lot of different elements to it, you can do the softer side of it, but I’ve chosen to focus on the harder news element of showbiz. That will keep me interested for a while and

GOING FOR GOLD: Janine with Team GB’s Olympic gold medalist Max Whitlock ©Janine Yaqoob

I’ve now progressed to a showbiz news reporter but potentially one day I could become a showbiz editor. “My typical day is different as the week goes on. I’m on a Sunday paper so on a Tuesday we’ll have a meeting in the morning and it’s a lot of coming up with ideas and meeting contacts – generally over lunch or dinner. As the week progresses, it’s setting up interviews and by around Thursday or Friday there’s a lot of writing involved. On Saturday we work on a daily newspaper that has a lot of breaking news, we come bursting in on a Saturday morning to see what’s been happening and see what we can follow up from there. “It’s quite hard to say exactly what I do as every day is so different. It’s quite nice that people like Simon Cowell know you on a ﬁrst name basis, they ask you how are and how’s your family. It’s nice to be accepted into the fold like that, it shows you how far you have come.”

SINGING SUPERSTAR: X Factor 2016 winner Matt Terry ©Janine Yaqoob

FILM:

THEATRE:

ARTS:

Fifty Shades Darker

Sleeping Beauty @ The Epstein Theatre April 7 - April 27

Bluecoat Tickets £33

The Narnia Experience @ St. George’s Hall February 10 - 25

Slip into something ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ for the eagerly anticipated second chapter in the record-breaking ‘Fifty Shades’ phenomenon. Book tickets now with Odeon

The classic tale of Princess Aurora The Last Five Years @ The Epstein Theatre June 7-June 17 Hilarious musical tells the love story of two New Yorkers

February 4 - April 23 A specially curated exhibition marks the beginning of Bluecoat’s 300th anniversary programme. Features 100 artists who have previously exhibited Read all about it on page 5

A walk-through theatrical experience, where visitors step through a wardrobe of fur coats into a wintery forest full of pine trees Read about it on page 9

Life|Profile|8

Lights... Camera... Photos...

HUMANITY: Pictures from the Hear My Voice project © Elizabeth Pennington

From volunteering in Uganda to capturing the voices of homeless people in Liverpool, Amelia Eccleson-Davies talks to the girl planning to change the world, one photo at a time

aving appeared in six television and film productions, studying for a degree in Performance for Stage, Screen and Radio and having her photography work feature in five big publications - Elizabeth Pennington may be the most ambitious 20-year-old you know. The freelance photojournalist and actor grew up on the Wirral and moved to Sheffield for university with the hopes of becoming a fulltime actress or filmmaker. However, soon after starting at Sheffield Hallam, she had a change of heart due to her time at Birkenhead Sixth Form College and her various trips abroad. Elizabeth, who was an extra in the third series of Peaky Blinders, told Liverpool Life: “I came to photography almost by accident. I’d wanted to be an actress since I was around the age of 12 or 13, so naturally, I felt that it was a career that I really wanted to pursue. “I studied film at college and had an incredible and influential tutor, Bert, who had also been a photographer so I think he really started me on this path. He has been key in really opening my eyes to the visual medium of film and photography.” After a life-changing volunteering trip to Uganda in 2015 at a HIV/Aids awareness centre, Elizabeth’s whole mind-set and awareness of the world’s less fortunate changed drastically. A year later, Elizabeth visited Moldova on a mission's trip through a Christian organisation called Operation Mobalisation with a friend who was also on the mission. Whilst there, she took photographs to document her trip but came to the realisation

that she had the power to use them to raise awareness of the difﬁculties others face. This led to Elizabeth wanting to show others in wealthier parts of the world the plight that the underprivileged have to endure, and Elizabeth found the best way she could do this was through photography. Elizabeth’s main aim with all of her professional work is to be able to portray people’s stories around the world. She said: “I felt that by using photography I could give the people a voice, to raise awareness not only of their situations but also to put Moldova on the map. "Once I returned to university, I just felt that my heart was changing. I still enjoyed acting very much and there is a part of me that I think always will. But I want what I do to really mean some-

thing, for me to have some sort of impact on the world and have a positive outward focus.” More recently, Elizabeth has captured her local communities in Shefﬁeld and Liverpool through photojournalism. Her project Hear My Voice focused on telling the stories of the cities’ homeless through portraits with the aim of raising awareness of their everyday struggles and what led to them living on the streets. She told Liverpool Life: “I think the biggest thing that

I have learnt so far is really how much we all have to look out for each other. In particular with the Hear My Voice project, I think we have to be very careful about the way that we treat people because, from doing this project, I’ve seen and heard just how easily people’s lives can change. I had a number of prejudices when I ﬁrst started the project. However, they vanished almost instantly when I began to see how quickly people wanted to open up, to share their stories and to share their pas-

'I want what I do to really mean something, for me to have some sort of impact on the world'

sion about raising awareness of the homeless.”

he continued: “I have heard a number of photographers and documentary ﬁlmmakers say that you have to be careful about not showing too much emotion and not getting upset. It’s a concept that I don’t understand. I am human. “I do not want to be a hollow shell and get to a point in my work when I feel nothing at all for the people that I am photographing and speaking with. "I think if that ever happens, it’s time to re-evaluate, because that is not the kind of person I am and it is not the kind of photographer that I want to be.” She says that her drive and determination are down to the support her parents have provided her with while she

was growing up. Elizabeth admires their patience with her tendency to jump from ideas and career plans but says their careers as a teacher and a detective in the police force have provided her stability growing up, with opportunities that she’s been very fortunate to have. The young creative is currently working on an exhibition in collaboration with Ben’s Centre, a homeless charity in Sheffield. She is also looking ahead to her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a couple of months time to make a short documentary film with UK charity Phoenix Aid, who support victims of the 1990s conflict around Bosnia and Kosovo. Elizabeth also hopes to travel to Italy to tell the stories of families of the victims of last year’s earthquakes, as well as a project in the Republic of the Congo with a charity which provides pioneering operations for the blind and partially-sighted. Elizabeth is also a Children’s Champion for UNICEF UK which means that she has regular meetings with local MPs to discuss the issue of child protection in areas of conflict, a cause that she has become very passionate about and hopes to document in the future. When asked about her future career goals, she told Liverpool Life: “I have been incredibly fortunate to have some truly remarkable contacts, both in photography and journalism. Many of them work in conflict zones around the world so I am constantly in awe and inspired by their work. “So if anything it would be to emulate their work, not necessarily within conflict zones but just to tell the stories of those who would otherwise go untold.”

Life|Culture|9 Step inside the mysterious and magical wardrobe as James Jones explores the wonders of Narnia and the magical creatures that lie beyond the icy frost and snow. It’s a child’s and adult’s fantasy to see the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe come true Narnia: The coronation © James Jones

Step into the wardrobe I

t has been many children’s dream to step through the wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia, which is exactly what you can do at the Narnia Experience at St George’s Hall. The event, which is set to run until February 25, will take you on an adventure through the snowy and mythical land that is found through the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’s famous children book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It will take you through the famous St George’s Hall as you take on the role of either Lucy or Edmund and allows you to immerse

yourself into the ﬁrst book in the famed Chronicles of Narnia series. The story, which is meant to be a representation of the death and rebirth of Jesus Christ, takes you through Narnia after meeting Mr Tumnus and sees you encounter the Beaver’s lodge, the evil White Witch and Aslan the Lion himself. You also witness the battle of Narnia take place before visiting the magniﬁcent throne room and leaving the wardrobe back into the Professor’s study. The event is put on by the Christian Group ‘In Another Place’, who have done productions such as

this before in the past, including the Alice Experience, based on the book Alice in Wonderland. The production itself has over 500 people working on it from all over Merseyside, and hopes to have up to 83 schools from across the region come to experience the magic of Narnia in the hall. The Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes was one of the visitors at the experience, and he talked of just how important productions such as this are, saying: “It is a great experience. “It’s based as we know on this big C.S. Lewis story, the story of the

Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and you walk through that wardrobe into a magical world and that’s what they’ve done here in St George’s Hall. “They have made a magical world for people. It is just amazing, 500 people involved, with thousands of people who are going to be coming through. “What C.S. Lewis did was he just reimagined it. He thought what it would be like if it was a separate world of winter? What would it be like if Jesus Christ was a lion? What would the death and resurrection of our saviour be like? He imagined

that in a way that brought it home to hundreds of thousands of people across the world and they have done that here. “Something like this that draws the community together, which has an honoured place for everybody, of all different ages and all different abilities, there’s a place for them here. That is a real message that we can send out. Not only to those that visit here but across the city to say ‘there’s room for you and a valued place for you and if you want to know what that looks like, come to this show, see what a load of people can do’.”

How Terrier Mick made Crufts dream come true Joshua Doherty speaks to Ron Ramsey about his late canine friend going all the way and winning more than a hundred awards

ith Spring approaching, and with it the imminent arrival of the world’s most prestigious dog show, Crufts, many owners and breeders are busy making their ﬁnal preparations to their canines in the faint hope of achieving the lifelong ambition of winning Best in Show. For Liverpool native Ron Ramsey, that winning feeling is one he’s familiar with, having achieved with his Kerry Blue Terrier, Torums Scarf Michael, also known as Mick, back in 2000. Mick scooped a myriad of prestigious Best in Show awards during his career, over a hundred in total, including the Montgomery

Dog Show twice and becoming the only dog to win the triple-crown of Westminster, AKC, and Crufts dog shows. However, despite breeding arguably the most successful show dog of all time, Ron still speaks fondly about his famous victory at Crufts in Birmingham. Speaking to Liverpool Life he said: “The dream came true, it was unbelievable. You set out to say you’re going to achieve this and if you shared that with many people they’d pat you on the back and wish you good luck. “That was always my dream, to win Crufts and to win Montgomery too. It’s like aspiring to win the Premiership and the European Cup, the pinnacle of dog

‘I think it might be easier to win the lottery’

showing.” Despite the shock of victory, Ron had held the belief that Mick was destined for greatness years before he went on to achieve what he did. He said: “I knew he was

special from an early age, and the few good friends I have in dogs will tell you that. I told them that I’ve got something special that just might be able to win Crufts. “If you were to go back to 2000 and say to anybody in

dogs, no matter what level, that a dog was going to win all of what Mick has won they’d have laughed. “But you’ve got to have a lot of luck too, I think it might be easier to win the Lottery.” However, Mick’s successes didn’t end at Crufts, and big victory on this side of the Atlantic was the beginning of unprecedented levels of success across the Pond, winning over a hundred shows, and completing the other two legs of the Triple Crown with victories at Westminster and AKC. Ron told Liverpool Life: “The hardest part about what happened to Mick was that I let him go to America, because I wanted him to carry on being successful. “If you win Crufts in this country, the next thing is you carry on showing and winning until you eventually get beat and I didn’t want that. “Mick is a legend in America. He did in America what

no other dog has ever done. “He’s been in Time Magazine, but the greatest thing for me was that the USA Today called him the greatest import since The Beatles. Imagine being just an ordinary Liverpool lad and hearing that!” Mick’s inﬂuence doesn’t end in front of the judges and his succession of victories, along with his soaring population Stateside has greatly expanded the Kerry Blue proﬁle worldwide and Ron said: “I’d like to think he has done a lot to improve the reputation of the breed, and that’s partly why I wanted to see the breed winning all over the world. “Mick lived for 15 years, passing away in 2011, his career ensured a whole new appreciation for the Kerry Blue Breed, transcending dog shows, and his equally successful life as a sire has ensured that appreciation will continue.

Life|Sport|10

‘Take Me Out’ fun leads CALM fundraiser effort By PAIGE FRESHWATER LJMU Hockey is running the Liverpool Half Marathon to raise money for a men’s suicide prevention charity. The men and women’s team are joining forces to raise funds for Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), which works to reduce the number of male suicides across the UK. With a goal to raise £5,000 before running the half marathon on April 2, the society received around £400 in donations at their ‘Take Me Out’ fundraiser on Friday night. The event was based on the popular television show Take Me Out, which aims to match a single man with one of 30 single women and is hosted by Paddy McGuinness. Men’s Hockey Club Captain, Oliver Kelly told Liver-

pool Life: “The Take Me Out night was recommended by CALM. They said that the event would meet the interests of our target market, with them being student orientated people. “The Take Me Out night was a good way to get people engaged with the charity. If they are not participating they are watching, and it is a really fun activity. If people are having fun they are more likely to donate and get actively involved.” According to CALM, suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. They also found that 75% of all UK suicides were male in 2015. Mr Kelly added: “CALM addresses that [male suicide] and they also speak of the no crying and not talking aspects of it. The stereotypical alpha

male isn’t likely to complain or express their opinions. That has been noted as one of the causes of male suicide and one of the snowballing effects, obviously in an extreme case of suicide, but also in other things like mental health illnesses. “We kind of struggled over the past few years to get involved with a charity that we can associate with and put ourselves in the position of. CALM targets males who are between 18 to 40 years old, and it is something that we are all aware of. “As university can be a very lonely place for some people, we thought that it is a good charity to support.” NO LIKEY, NO LIGHTY: The LJMU Ladies and Mens hockey teams participate in the charity event. © Paige Freshwater

Grand National alcohol cap aims to quash anti-social behaviour By JAMES JONES

No pressure Gini By PAIGE FRESHWATER

A Liverpool midﬁelder reckons his teammates are putting too much pressure on themselves in an attempt to make up for their recent results. Reds’ playmaker Georginio Wijnaldum believes the Reds

attempts to get back on track have had the opposite effect, with the defeat at Hull proving to be the turning point. Liverpool FC have won just once in 10 matches during 2017, against League Two minnows Plymouth

Aintree’s Grand National festival has joined a Jockey Club plan that aims to stop drunken anti-social behaviour from happening at race meetings. The plan aims to restrict the amount of aclohol people can buy at the bar at one time at the course, restricting them to four drinks at a time. It also includes putting free ‘water stations’ at every bar, which allows visitors to the famous horse racing landmark to get something else other than beer, as well as giving the racegoers complementary bottles of water as

they leave at the end of the day. The move comes after several scenes at other race meetings across the UK were met with condemnation, such as when Scouse glamour model Katie Salmon ﬂashed towards the paparazzi at the Cheltenham Festival. However, the Aintree Festival has been relatively trouble-free over the last few years, and a poll by Liverpool Life found that the majority of people believe that the stadium should not cut down or restrict alcohol at the Grand National.

LJMU Ladies rock the boat in landslide win By PAIGE FRESHWATER LJMU Rowing women’s senior squad claimed ﬁrst place in the Head of the Mersey competition at Warrington Rowing Club. The women’s senior four rowed against Warrington BC and LJMU’s novice team, which is made up of four ﬁrst year students. With a result time of 16:57:9, the women’s senior squad beat their closest competitor, Warrington BC, by around two minutes in the four kilometre race.

Cox of LJMU Rowing women’s senior squad Lily Ferguson told Liverpool Life: “It was awesome. It feels really good to have won because we have worked really hard for it. “The first length was pretty tough because it was against the wind and against the flow of the water. So, everything was against us. “The second length was just so good. It went so quickly and everything was with us. We were flying. It felt so good. “This is my first win this

year and it is so exciting. I am so happy.” The boats raced against the current in the ﬁrst length of the competition before turning around and racing down the Mersey, and back to the starting line. Cox of LJMU Rowing women’s novice squad Gabriel Goldring told Liverpool Life: “It was quite a bendy course. We train on the docks which are quite straight, but I quite liked it because the big 90 degree turns are actually quite fun to navigate. “The team did quite well.

We had a shaky start and we caught a crab right at the beginning of the ﬁrst length. “We pulled it back and brought the pressure back up and we actually made a big gain on the boat in front of us. We really pushed into them and were about three lengths behind them. “Overall, it was not the best race. It is the ﬁrst one we have done as this four though, so it was a good start. “I think we came a lot behind where our personal best is. It was just race day nerves.”

Life|Sport|11

Boxer set to visit city By PAIGE FRESHWATER Boxing champion Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather confirmed his visit to Liverpool next month in a video ‘shout out’ to his fans. ‘The Undefeated Tour’ is the final leg of Mayweather’s city drop-ins, where he is set to feature in a 45-minute interview with Sky Sports’ Johnny Nelson. This comes after reports are circulating suggesting that he and household name in the UFC Connor McGregor will fight each other in a boxing match sometime in the near future. The fight has been on the cards ever since McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez for the Lightweigh Title, becoming the first UFC fighter to hold two titles at two different weight divisions. The two have been shutmouth about revealing plans to set a date for a fight. Mayweather will be at the Liverpool Echo Arena on March 10.

Legends back campaign By PAIGE FRESHWATER Some of Merseyside’s football legends are backing the Liverpool Echo’s Share Your Lunch campaign, to help lessen food poverty across the city. Liverpool and Everton stars hope to raise thousands of pounds by selling football and sports memorabilia on an online auction.

Title contenders cruise to victory 6-1 triumph for Bootle FC By PAIGE FRESHWATER Bootle FC secured an impressive 6-1 victory over Padiham in the North West Counties Football League. The victory comes after the Bucks biggest recorded win in their history over relegation favourites AFC Darwen, winning 9-0. The visitors were the ones who drew blood ﬁrst through a Joel Melia strike that caught the Bootle keeper off guard. Veteran Michael Ordish then got the hosts on the scoreboard for the ﬁrst time in the match, scoring a tap in from a rebound that the opposition goalie could only parry away into the path of Ordish. Tony Rendell then made it two just before half time, giving his team the lead going into the second half after a tight and closed off affair at

the Delta Taxi stadium. Within the first minute of the second half, Carl Peers secured the team’s third goal with a half-volley which flew into Padiham’s goal. Peers received the Man of the Match after the game, after adding a second to his tally shortly after his first goal. Bootle FC Manager Joseph Doran told Liverpool Life: “I think we started well. We started well in the first 10 to 15 minutes, but then they (Padiham) got the goal. “It was one long ball which, ideally, we should have defended better. “We came back from that quite well and to get the two goals in before half-time which meant our lead was really good. “We got an early goal in the second half, so that changed the game. I think they played really well.”

MIDFIELD BATTLE: Bootle FC dominated huge periods of the game © Paige Freshwater Steven Jones scored the ﬁfth goal before Michael Carberry slotted home the ﬁnal goal of the match, with the Bucks securing a well-earned victory after a shaky start. Bootle FC Captain Liam Loughlin told Liverpool Life: “Today was a bit of a tough game for us, supposedly. They [Padiham] are a team who have taken points from

beat us, so we are the team to beat. That is why teams are upping their games against us.” The win against Padiham places the Bucks two points clear at the top of the table alongside Atherton Collieries. Third-placed 1874 Northwich are still a couple of games in hand.

Revenge for Panthers over Sefton

By DANYAAL YASIN

Fight back Southport FC are hoping to ease relegation fears this weekend as they look to bounce back after their 4-1 defeat last week to Dagenham & Redbridge, writes Amber Roberts. The Sandgrounders will travel to Woking on Saturday.

other teams in and around the league. To win 6-1, we did not expect it. “We are still in it for the league at this stage, and that is what we want. “We want to still be in it next month if we can try and stay close to people. “Everybody is chasing us at the minute which makes it harder. Everybody wants to

Birkenhead Park Ladies got revenge on Sefton Park Ladies, winning 22-7. In a ﬁerce game of back and forth rugby action, it was the Sefton lot who saw off waves of Birkenhead attack and managed to outplay their rivals. The points came in the form of four tries and one conversion, with Lauren Grimster and Jemma Stubbs among the scorers after two tries off a maul, with Hannah Lewis ﬁnishing Sefton Park ladies off with a try from the wing. The Sefton Park women scored one try and a penalty kick, but not enough to secure two wins over the Panthers.

Liverpool

LifeSPORT 15 February 2017

RIDING HIGH By PAIGE FRESHWATER

LJMU’s Equestrian A team claimed third place in the dressage and show jumping events at Anglesey riding centre. The senior riders continue to go from strength to strength in the mini leagues and are on their way to securing a spot in the regional championships. Carys Dalton, who competes on the A team, came first place individually in the dressage and show jumping events on Wednesday, and said the team’s success in the competition takes them one step closer to qualifying for regionals. She told Liverpool Life: “I was thrilled. I qualified individually last year and I am hoping to qualify again this year. Coming first means a lot of BUCS [British Universities and College Sports] points that could get me there. “I have been a part of the A team for my whole three years at university and I wouldn’t change it one bit. I love being a part of the A team and being able to represent the university.” The two highest-scoring individuals and the team which secures the most points from the mini leagues qualify for the regional championships. Co-resident of the society David McGrail told Liverpool Life: “There are four horses for the dressage and four for the show jumping [events] with four people in a team. A person from each team must ride a different horse out of the selection, so nobody on the same team is riding the same horse.

Rampant Rangers dominate Manc rivals

By HOLLIE HAYES

Twenty five tries were more than enough for the John Moores Rangers as they displayed their typical ruthless edge against Manchester 2nds and secured not only a 131-0 victory, but the league as a whole. Completely unbeaten for the entire season, LJMU set up camp early in their opposition’s half and claimed their first try from outside centre Harriet Manning in the first

ﬁve minutes of the game. Their experience and power proved victorious as they took advantage of the spaces left by a drawn defence, allowing ﬂy half Katie Jenkins to step through with ease and gain ground for their team. Manchester 2nds remained cool in their defence and challenged the Rangers at their own tactics, but this wasn’t enough for LJMU’s attack. Although Manchester were able to break through LJMU’s

By JOSH HODGE Joe Root has been named as the new England test captain after Alistair Cook’s resignation from the role just a few days ago. Cook stood down from the role earlier this month after being England captain for 59 tests, but made clear his intentions to continue playing. Joe Root will succeed Cook, but the pressure will be on the 26-year-old, as the test captain’s job has often been referred to as one of the hardest in professional sport. Root has played in 54 test matches with an impressive batting average of 52.80 and, with well over 4000 runs to his name in test matches, Root is widely regarded as one of the best batsman in the world today. Tributes have been flooding in for the new skipper and earlier Root expressed his gratitude and delight on Twitter, posting a picture of his wife and child, saying “Been an amazing day! Thank you for all the wonderful messages and well wishes. “Very proud and excited for what lies ahead!” Although the excitement will only just be setting in for Root, he will have to wait five months until he’s able to captain his side for the first time.

TRIUMPHANT: Carys Dalton (above) is one member of the successful A team © David McGrail “They get seven minutes to practice on their horses for the dressage before being expected to go and perform the dressage test, as well as four practice jumps before being expected to go and jump a full course.” Bangor University took home the sought-after ﬁrst place, University of Chester came in second and Aberystwyth University went away with fourth place. Last week, LJMU’s Equestrian C team, which is mostly made up of ﬁrst time competitors, also claimed third place in the dressage and show jumping events at Stepney Bank Stables in Newcastle.

Rule of the Root

line at various points in the game, the Liverpool-based team remained in control and wrapped up the majority of possession. Liverpool’s scrummage proved difﬁcult for their opponents as they turned over the majority of the balls, allowing them to swiftly pass the ball through their back line to Hannah Nolan on the wing, who held three breakaway tries in total. Although Liverpool secured an early lead by half-time,

Pendle Vale win By DANYAAL YASIN

After intense competition, Pendle Vale have been chosen to represent the North West in the National finals of a bowls related sport called Boccia. Awarded for Pan Disability and Heden Green School in the Physical Disability category, 110 UNSTOPPABLE: LJMU’s womens rugby team impressed again children from across the North West took part in the Lord’s Tavwith a whitewash over Manchester 2nds © Jessica Ellis erners Pan Disability Regional persistence did not prevail on Randall to receive a pop from Boccia Qualifier, at Greenbank either side. a ruck on the 22-line and Sports Academy. In the second half Mancrash over the line. Boccia has been a regular sport chester persevered and In total, 25 tries were scored at the paralympic games since grounded their defence, but and three were converted. 1984 and is a sport which relates this was no match for John LJMU Women’s Rugby closely to bowls and petanque. Moores’ free-scoring nature Union will take on Teesside The events winners will now of attack. They played a prein the quarter-ﬁnal of the go on to represent the North dominantly forward attack in Northern Conference cup West in the National Finals at the second half allowing for today with hopes to move the English Institute of Sport in their tight head prop Jessica closer towards the ﬁnal. Sheffield, on May 3.