Liverpool Life 2:9 November 26 2013 by Steve Harrison

Liverpool

Life 26th - November - 2013

www.jmu-journalism.org.uk

This week...

Bus lane closure One month on, we look at the reaction on Twitter.

More on page 9

in the run up to Christmas. Independent businesses set up in the village include Independent Liverpool cards4scousers and craftcreative.

LET’S GIVE POVERTY THE PUSH

United effort to help the city’s poor Liverpool is taking action against poverty following the release of new figures showing the city is the second worst hit in the country by the impact of bedroom tax, and there are nearly 700 new rough sleepers on the streets. The Mayor of Liverpool has launched ‘The Mayor’s

Hope Fund’ to tackle poverty in the city, where donations can be made in Tesco stores to raise money for local foodbanks. A new campaign to help beggars has also been launched, “Your Kindness Could Kill”, to advise people not to give money to people begging on the streets.

Instead people are encouraged to donate to local charities, so the money beggars receive doesn’t get spent on drugs or alcohol. Payday loans which increase people’s debt are also being capped by a new law from the government. Full story: page 3.

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Grieving father is Pride awards king

GREEN DREAM TEAM To celebrate National Tree week, the Green Dream project in Bootle will be planting 420 new trees on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The Green Dream is a community environmental project based in the heart of Bootle. The team work within the local community planting shrubs and trees, creating habitats for wildlife and installing art pieces with the help of volunteers aged 16-17 from the National Citizen Service. The National Citizen Service is open to all 16 and 17-year-olds in England, which gives them the opportunity to take part in a team project that will help the community. National Tree Week is celebrated all over the UK from Saturday 23rd November until Sunday 1st December.

By Lauren Cordelle

A life-saving campaign has been honoured at one of the region’s most prestigious award ceremonies. The Echo’s Pride of Merseyside Awards took place over the weekend, honouring many unsung heroes from across the area. The biggest award of them all - the Pride of Merseyside Award - was given to the Oliver King Foundation for their determination to put a life-saving defibrillator in every school and public place. Founder Mark King said: “I was very humbled to win the award.” The charity was set up by Mr King and wife Joanne, following the death of their son Oliver in 2011. Since losing Oliver, the pair have fought to raise awareness and save lives, and together have gained the support of hundreds from across Merseyside and elsewhere. Mr King said: “There’s tremendous work from all of the community, so the award was unexpected, completely out of the blue. For us though, it’s not about the awards, it’s about the foundation.” The award came on the day that the final defibrillator was installed in a primary school in Knowsley. Mr King said: “The foundation has gone from strength to strength. Now that we have got

SECOND STRIKE ACTION

University staff across the UK will strike for the second time in three months. UNISON, Unite and UCU, have confirmed that members will be partaking in a strike over pay contracts. Staff at Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool John Moores University and University of Liverpool will all be taking part in a strike around the city. Some university buildings will be closed and details of these are yet to be confirmed. The strike will be taking place on Tuesday 3rd December.

CRAFTY XMAS

By Nadine Higham The pair that gave their name to Liverpool-based PR agency Paver Smith are leaving after the company sold part of its business. The company today completed the sale of its specialist pre-planning communications unit to national engineering consultancy, Curtains Consulting.

Liverpool

Life Chief Sub Claire Bynoe News Karl Cryer Grace Lindsey Claire Reid Lisa Kerr

Education Award Ian Mackenzie

Lord Mayors Award The Whitechapel Centre

Villages Housing Community Group Award Listening Ear Butterflies Project

Armed Forces Award Andy Grant

Friend Award Joyce Wolfe TRAGIC: Oliver King’s sudden death inspired his father to set up the award winning charity in his name ©The Oliver King Foundation defibrillators to all the schools in Knowsley, we are moving onto defibrillators in the community, with 30 ready to go out which we have planned so far. Next, I’m delivering two to Southport Rugby Club.” Mr King, who pays for the defibrillators himself, is not asking for government funding but for the backing of the government to make legislation, so that defibrillators are easily accessible to all that may need them, wherever they may be. And to help prevent the deaths of 19 children that occur from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome each week. The star-studded Echo ceremony was held at Isla Gladstone

Sovini Merseyside Community Personality Margaret Kelly MSIF Merseyside Entrepreneur Award Jacquie Johnston-Lynch Courageous Child Award Conor Durkin-O’Brien and Jamie George Connolly Sports Team Award Irby Girls U14’s Football Team Conservatory, and presented awards to many people and groups for their outstanding contributions. Recipients included two boys who have battled a serious illness whilst helping others, an 85-year-old lady who helped her neighbours stay independent in their own homes and a hero fire-

Charity Organisation Award Inside Right Courageous Act Award James Kewley Sports Personality David Campbell Young Personality Award Lauren Hall Isla Gladstone Conservatory Arts Award In Harmony Echo Pride of Merseyside Award © Flickr/ Snap OK Foundation

fighter who put his life at risk to help a woman who considered ending her own life. Other inspirational winners were Jacquie Johnston-Lynch and Ian Mackenzie, who went above and beyond to mentor students with learning difficulties, Margaret Kelly for her tireless work with older people, Listen-

ing Ear Butterflies Project for offering support, strength and compassion to young people suffering from bereavement and former international footballer David Campbell for his soccer academies in Merseyside. For more information visit http://www.theoliverkingfoundation.co.uk

Curtains for Liverpool PR duo Paver Smith

A Christmas flower demonstration is taking place this Thursday in aid of St John’s Hospice. ‘Crafty Christmas’ will feature craft stalls to showcase the unique Christmas gifts. Special guest demonstrator, Eleanor Griffiths, will be taking part to demonstrate the step by step guides in handcrafting. The event takes place at Heswall Hall, 7pm, and tickets are £8.00.

Editor Bill Evans

And the winners are...

Team

Features Editor Josh Weale Features Jess Hayes Jack Horrocks Abi Bramhall Sports Editor Nick Seddon Sports Bethany Wells

Do you have any news or feedback? Email us on: liverpoollifenews@gmail.com

Founders of the business, Dougal Paver and Rachel Smith, will join Curtains Consultancy and lead a new pre-planning team – supplying PR services for any property projects requiring long term PR support. The move to Curtains, which operates worldwide from its Liverpool HQ, will mean Paver and Smith will both cease to be shareholders in Paver Smith,

which will be rebranded in the New Year. The deal comes six months after former Trinity Mirror Managing Director, Sara Wilde-McKeown, invested in the agency and became managing director. As part of these changes, the agency’s PR Director, Chris Hulme, is to become a shareholder and board member alongside Ms Wilde-McKeown,

Jon Brown and Chairman David Heal. Ms Wilde-McKeown said: “We are delighted to welcome Chris to the board. He is one of the industry’s leading consultants and commands a huge amount of respect from his colleagues, peers and clients. He now has a major role to play in the future of the agency.” Rachel Smith and Dougal Paver have now been appointed

as directors of Curtains Consultancy, this means the duo can continue their partnership albeit with a different company than their own. Dougal Paver said: “The time was right for the business to make some strategic changes. Rachel and I are pleased with the outcome and all parties are looking forward to this next phase of respective growth and development.”

The beauty spot of Europe

By Nadine Higham Chester has been voted one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, ahead of Prague, Venice and Paris. The city, which was founded as a Roman fort in the year 79, came fifth in an online survey by American newspaper USA Today – beaten only by Riga in Latvia, Bergen in Norway, Innsbruck in Austria and Dubrovnik in Croatia. The article said: “In Chester, Roman walls surround a charming collection of Tudor and Victorian buildings and a delightful shopping district filled with half-timbered shops reminiscent of a Grimm tale. “There’s not a modern structure in sight, making Chester one of the most popular destinations for visitors to Cheshire.” Chester ranked higher than Prague, Budapest, Santorini, Venice and Bruges. The city, which was first established by Romans, is home to Roman walls, Saxon churches, the medieval rows, Tudor pubs, Georgian town houses and Victorian monuments such as the Eastgate clock.

HISTORY: The city of Chester attracts many tourists without one modern building in sight © Flickr/ Friar’s Balsalm Stephen Mosley, the city’s MP said: “The eclectic collection of every English architectural style makes Chester truly special. “Picking just one feature, it would probably be our unique medieval Rows. Whilst some cities also have Roman walls, and others have landmark cathedrals, nowhere has Medieval Rows like Chester. Our rows provide two-tier shopping, with balconies, throughout much of the city centre. They’re beautiful and unique.” The city council announced a £1.3 billion redevelopment

plan in 2007 to make Chester a “must-see European destination”, however the plan, set to last ten years, saw projects put on hold a year later due to the economic downturn. Even without this development the city is still recieving worldwide recognition. Mr Mosley hopes that the poll will attract visitors to the city. He said: “As a Chester resident, I know how great our city is. I now hope people from across the UK and all over the world come to Chester to see it for themselves.”

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Paul O’Grady ©Flickr/@ antaean

O’GRADY RETURNS TO CHAT by Alisha Daya

Merseyside TV presenter Paul O’Grady returned to his ITV show last night following his recent angina attack. The 58-year-old comedian has suffered two heart attacks in the past and was admitted to St. Thomas’ hospital last week after suffering from an angina attack. On his return to ‘The Paul O’Grady Show’ yesterday evening, the TV star made light of his health situation by entering the stage on a stairlift and was accompanied by a nurse. He also thanked fans and viewers for their kind support. He thanked the hosts who stepped in for him while he was recovering, including Vernon Kay and Jo Brand for their help, he joked that singer Michael Ball “only came in to use the lav”. His first show back after his health scare included guests retiring boy band JLS, best-selling author Jackie Collins and music from Dido.

Liverpool hardest hit by bedroom tax by Sarah Mee

Liverpool is within the top two cities in the country to be affected by the bedroom tax imposed earlier this year. Liverpool council cabinet member for housing, Cllr Ann O’Byrne has said there will certainly be an increase in the number of people using food banks as a result of this tax. Liverpool came in as the second worst city in the country for the impact of the bedroom tax with 10,705 affected families. The figures show that more families in the North West were affected by the bedroom tax than any other region of England. One person in 46 is now around £700 worse off each year because of the cut to the housing benefit, imposed in April of this year. Within the Merseyside region there are 26,604 people affected, meaning many are having to consider finding smaller homes, which experts say are in short supply. These figures show the residents of Liverpool are facing extreme difficulties in their daily life, and encompassing this with the new figures stating there are nearly 700 new homeless people on the streets since

COASTAL WALKERS WARNED The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has warned walkers along the Wirral coast to be aware of incoming tides after two rescues were made in the last two days. Liverpool coastguards were alerted after a dog walker was stranded, after the tide had come in. On Sunday, a man needed rescuing after being cut off by the tide on a sandbank. He was up to his waist in water after waiting for half an hour when the coastguards came to rescue him. Warning signs have been posted along the coast, to alert people walking by. Leasowe Bay and Crosby Bay have been noticed as problem areas where the tide has been coming in too quickly. The RNLI has urged walkers to be careful and be aware of the situation they’re in, warning them to not go too far out along the coast.

last year, poverty is becoming a significant issue within the city. However, Liverpool is responding to the problems in a number of ways, one of these being the Mayor of Liverpool

Please don’t kill with kindness by Kerryleigh Gough

Wirral ©Flickr/@MOZ278

ANGRY: The bedroom tax protest in March 2013, Liverpool.

Your kind donation to beggars on the street could actually kill, warns Liverpool City Council. The warning comes following a new ‘Your Kindness Could Kill’ campaign that is being launched to urge the public not to give money to the beggars. Dave Flack, operations manager of Basement centre: “The campaign all depends on whether people understand the message. Many homeless people on the streets beg in the hope of getting money put into their cup. It’s their way of easing their pain and using the money to in many cases feed their addiction. It points out that many beggars have alcohol or drug addictions and the misplaced generosity of passers-by could be condemning them to an early death. The City Council suggests that donating to the local

Joe Anderson’s campaign to help relieve this poverty. The appeal is called ‘The Mayor’s Hope Fund, and allows people to donate a total of £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 by texting

LMHF14 and the amount to 70070, or to add at least £1 on to their bill in any Tesco store. All the money raised is to go straight to foodbanks across the Liverpool region.

Picture by Katie Dodson

The Hope Fund was started up after a trip to North Liverpool Foodbank earlier this month left the Mayor feeling shocked by the struggles working people of Liverpool are having.

Some help better than no help We asked the people of Liverpool what they thought about giving beggars money and if they thought the new charity campaign was a good idea:

charities instead would be a better way of providing more long term help. Dave Flack said: “I would strongly agree for people to give money to the charities rather than to the people on the streets as that money goes on drink and drugs there’s no doubt about it. If the money was to come to us we could further supply the homeless people with clean clothes and underwear and food.” Official collectors will be in the city centre on Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoon’s leading up to Christmas. The campaign has ample support from local charities and authorities such as Citysafe, Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS) and Merseyside Police City central Bid. LCVS, part of the global wide charity United way, are the two charities that have been selected to collect the money created via the campaign and distribute it.

Emma McNeill, 31, from Walton said: “I don’t agree with it, I know of one regular beggar who has openly told me that he isn’t homeless, begging is simply his job. Sometimes he even brings his friend’s dog with him to keep him company while he begs. The campaign is a good idea in some circumstances.”

the cap of payday loans will be after acknowledging that some companies charge 5000% annual interest. The Chancellor, George Osborne has said that the overall cost of credit will be capped with controls on charges, includ-

ing arrangement and penalty fees, as well as on interest rates. In August this year, Liverpool City Council had banned payday loan websites from its IT network to protect residents from debt. Research had shown that in

Emma McNeill, 31

Marie Weale, 19 & Ruth Pecking, 19

Pictures by Laura Ryder

Marie Weale, from Liverpool said: “If you want to give them money then you should be able too, but I think perhaps buying them a sandwich would be better. The scheme will work in persuading some people to give money to charities but I don’t know if it will change everyone’s opinion much.” Ruth Pecking, from Liverpool said: “It’s up to the person and what they wish to do. Surely some help is better than no help at all”.

Payday loans to be capped by new laws by Alisha Daya

The government is to introduce a new law which will cap the costs of payday loans. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a new regulator, will decide the level at which

2012, the average payday loan debt in the city was £1748. The law has been seen to be a positive change by preventing people from the effects of debt. Labour leader, Ed Milliband, has already pledged that he wants to cap the cost of payday

loans and wants to ban companies from advertising on children’s TV. The cap will be included in the Banking Reform Bill, which is currently passing through parliament but no changes are expected to be seen before 2015.

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Red squirrels bounce back from pox By Liberty Chrismas Scientists have confirmed that the Red Squirrel population at the Seaforth Coastal reserve appears to have recovered after an outbreak of pox. The virus, which decimated 80% of the Red Squirrel population at the reserve in Formby in 2008, is spread by the larger Grey Squirrels who were bought over to England from North America by the Victorians. Over the last century, most of the Red Squirrel population in Southern Britain has been wiped out as a result, with the Grey variety outnumbering them 2.5 million to 160,000. However, research carried out by scientists at the University of Liverpool in conjunction with the Lancashire Wildlife Trust suggests that 10% of the Red Squirrel population at the Formby site are now carrying antibodies. This suggests

that they may have previously recovered from the disease. Andrew Brockbank, Countryside Manager for the National Trust in Formby, said: “Red squirrels would feature on many people’s list of favourite British wildlife and it’s been a huge relief to see the numbers recovering at Formby in the last five years after the 2007/8 crash. “Whether red squirrels have any long term immunity or not remains to be seen. But the recovery of the population and the findings of the research give us hope that red squirrels have a better chance of survival at Formby than we had thought possible just a few years ago.” Rachel Miler, Red Squirrel Field Officer for The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside said:“The research was undertaken by Tim Dale at The University of Liverpool and was funded by NERC and the Na-

tional Trust. Lancashire Wildlife Trust have been involved from the beginning of the PhD, providing monitoring data on the red squirrel population and also helping with data collection for the research. “The results have shown that up to 8% of population have antibodies to the pox virus. This is fantastic news for our local population as we know that some of the red squirrels have encountered the pox virus and survived it, which gives us hope if we have any future outbreaks. However, more research is needed to determine whether these individuals now have any long term immunity to the disease.” One animal, who tested positive for the disease when originally captured, was found to have been naturally cured when later retested. The squirrel, nicknamed Clarke for his ‘superpowers’ has since been tracked and seen to be in continuing good health.

WALTON MP LEADS DEBATE By Ryan McIlroy

RECOVERY: The numbers of red squirrels are on the rise Pic: Flickr ©

Bus bosses scrap to ‘Save Our Lanes’ By Alisha Daya

Arriva has launched an online petition to try and fight the bus lane enforcement that Mayor Joe Anderson had imposed. After a month into the ninemonth trial suspension, one bus driver has claimed that the times of passengers’ journeys have been delayed due to the suspension of bus lanes. The ‘Save Our Lanes’ campaign aims to secure the position of bus lanes in Liverpool by getting supporters to sign an online petition. Arriva Merseyside said that some services have been forced to divert due to congestion on the roads causing passengers to be late for work and school. Mayor Joe Anderson wanted to abandon the city’s 24 bus lanes to try and reduce traffic. He believed that the people of Liverpool wanted the city to be less ‘gridlocked’. The nine month trial aims to gather evidence for the necessity of bus lanes but Arriva believe that passengers will be lost if journey times continue to be delayed. A spokesperson from the Confederation of Passenger Transport, recognised as the voice of bus, coach and light rail industries by the government, said: “CPT was alarmed to learn of the Mayor of

Liverpool’s proposal to suspend bus lanes in the city. Priority measures such as bus lanes enable services to move freely and keep to time, providing an attractive alternative to taking the car, which in turn helps ease congestion and improve local air quality.” Arriva wants to try and get as many people to back the petition in hope that the Council will consider bringing back bus lanes. There has also been discussion about how the city could be losing revenue due to traffic users using the bus lanes. Travellers have reacted on Twitter: Mary G tweeted: “Would love to know how much the removal of bus lanes in Liverpool is costing taxpayers and how much when they are reinstated!” However, it appears that some people in Liverpool are happy to travel without the obstacle of bus lanes, including Mayor Joe Anderson. He tweeted: “Just travelled from Royal Liverpool Hospital at 5.40pm down Kensington on to Prescott Road to Old Swan no bus lanes, fantastic clear route”. Lillian Sherlock also tweeted: “Love this no bus lane thing, driving into Liverpool easy peasy #rushhour”.

A Liverpool MP is to lead a Commons debate on the social impact of company sell-offs. Walton MP Steve Rotheram claims that administrators need to consider the effect on jobs and the local people rather than just accepting the highest bid. The debate comes after the Trigon Snacks factory was almost lost to his constituency in September and was nearly bought by a German firm that wanted to break the business up.

LOCALS SET THEIR BUDGETS

by Aimee Hamilton

Liverpool City Council has revealed that 900 people have completed their online budget simulator. The simulator, which has been available for almost a month now, was launched so that residents could have a go at setting the council’s budget for 2014/2015. Locals were challenged with reducing next year’s spending by £45 million, contributing to the projected total of £156m of savings the council expects to make over the next three years. The online calculator consists of a series of sliders for various sectors such as children’s and adult services, housing and neighbourhoods and tourism, amongst others; when moving the sliders, users are advised of the consequences of their selected change. The simulator is available online at http://liverpoolcc.budgetsimulator.com/ until mid-January and also via a mobile app compatible with smartphones and tablet computers. The budget for 2014/2015 will be set in March next year.

COUNCIL FIGHTS ABUSE

Suitcase 1938 travels to Liverpool

Wirral council is to lead a training initiative to help combat the sexual exploitation of children. Taxi drivers, takeaway workers and pub landlords in Wirral are to receive training to help them spot children potentially being sexually exploited. The initiative comes as borough child protection agencies feel a “real need” to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation.

sion into Britain. In 2008, Jo’s two daughters Ros and Jane Merkin decided to mark the 70th anniversary of the event with a show at Liverpool Street Station, London, entitled Suitcase 1938. Five years on, the show is back to mark the 75th anniversary of Kindertransport, and this time is travelling the country with performances from Glasgow to Southampton. LJMU drama lecturer and director and devisor of the show Ros Merkin described the experience of touring as hard work. She said: “It’s been hectic, we do

Merseyside police arrested 53 people in a crackdown on local crime. Police launched raids in the early hours of this morning in an attempt to tackle drugs offences, gun crime, violent disorder, assault and money laundering. Supt Paul White said: “The force has made significant inroads into disrupting gun crime and taking guns off the streets.”

ANGRY: Arriva fight back against Joe Anderson’s bus lane suspension. Pic: Puru-Two/Flickr ©

By Liberty Chrismas A lecturer from Liverpool is touring the country with a moving play based on the war-time experience of her mother. In December 1938, Jo Hacker and her sisters Paula and Melanie were sent unaccompanied from Vienna to Britain, leaving their parents and baby brother behind. They never saw their family again. Jo and her sisters were part of the Kindertransport scheme to allow 10,000 children in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia thought to be at risk from the Nazis, admis-

three performances per day, then we travel for a day, set up, rehearse and find volunteers, perform and do it all again.” Dr Merkin explained she made the show site-specific to make something that replicated the children’s own experiences. “I wanted the audience to feel the same sense of unfamiliarity, being taken places they didn’t know, being stared at by passers-by. In Liverpool passers-by at the station were all stopping to see what was going on.” “Every venue has been good in a different way, every city has its own characteristics.”

53 NETTED IN RAIDS

REHEARSALS: The cast of Suitcase 1938 at work

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Liverpool: 7, R sport minister: 0 LT

U S E

By James Routledge

©Twitter @helengrantmp

The people of Merseyside scored a victory over Sports Minister Helen Grant today – but it was a close-fought contest. The Maidstone MP had come a cropper yesterday when asked five questions about sport … so we posed the same questions on the streets of Liverpool. Seven people got at least one of the questions right, but that still left six people who fared no better than the hapless minister. Joel Richards, 22, from Kensington, answered three out of the five questions correctly and gave a scathing review of Ms Grant’s performance. “If you’re going into a job where your main concern is sport and you don’t know these kinds of things then you’re not fit for the job.” Ms Grant was completely unaware that the winner of the last women’s Wimbledon Championships was Marion Bartoli, only being able to answer, “It’s not one of us.”

Jed Mason: “She should know.”

Andrew Lankin, 21, from West Derby, said: “She should be sacked. She can’t be passing laws about sport when she doesn’t seem to know much about it.” A question on who were the current FA Cup holders left her dumbfounded and asking for help before she eventually answered, “Manchester United.” The correct answer was Wigan Athletic. Anja Steiner, 20, Liverpool, said: “I think she should get the sack. Why didn’t she do her research before getting the job?” She didn’t know that the captain of the England Rugby Union team was Chris Robshaw and didn’t even know that the footy team of her constituency, Maidstone United Football Club, left the football league in 1992. Kevin Harkin, 19, Mossley Hill, said: “You would expect her to know this kind of stuff.” The final question posed to her concerned the biggest gold medal winner at London 2012,

Mark Hartley: “Shocking.”

The questions asked to Sports Minister Helen Grant Q. Who won the women’s title at Wimbledon? A. Marion Bartoli Q. Which team currently holds the FA Cup? A. Wigan Athletic Q. Who is the captain of the England Rugby Union team? A. Chris Robshaw Q. When did Maidstone United leave the football league? A. 1992 Q. Which Paralympian won the most gold medals at London 2012? A. Jacqueline Freney but that question also left blank looks on all the people we asked. The answer was Jacqueline Freney. Jed Manson, 51, Knotty Ash, said: “Yeah. She should have at least known some of them,” while Mark Hartley, 35, Anfield,

Kevin Harkin: “Expect her to know.”

said: “Yes, it’s quite shocking, really.” Others were more apathetic when asked. Melanie Panday, 51, Penrith, said: “She should know, but I don’t really care. As long as she can do her job.”

Andrew Lankin: “Should be sacked.”

Chance to buy view with a room

By Sarah Mee Bidston Observatory could be sold within the next few days, but campaigners have disapproved of the manner in which the sale is being handled. Built in 1866, the Grade II-listed building has been given a deadline of November 30th for developers to make offers on it. Friends of Bidston Hill are a local community group created to watch over and assist in the management and improvement of the Bidston Hill conservation area. They are concerned the

planned sale of the observatory does not take into account any community use for the site. Roy Caligari, Chair of Friends of Bidston Hill said: “We are most concerned about the potential consequences for Bidston Hill, and we disapprove of the manner in which the sale is being conducted.” An advertisement for the 14,500 sq ft site on property listings site Rightmove states: “Best and Final Offers by the 30/11/13 please for the former Bidston Observatory with planning permission for conversion to four apartments: comprising

© Flickr/markhsal a substantial building with associated land located on the ridge of Bidston Hill and Park Wood.” Speaking about what he believed the building should be used for, Mr Caligari said: “We would oppose offices due to potential issues of security at night. We would oppose residential developments in the car park of the Observatory, on the site of the former Braehead Cottage. “If we can’t stop new residences, we’ll campaign to limit them to a few cottages in keeping with the tradition of Bidston Hill.” The observatory is owned by

the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is visible from north Wales and across the Mersey in Liverpool. Last year, Wirral council passed planning permission to convert the two-storey building into residential apartments. The Friends of Bidston Hill group supported this application because it included listed buildings consent, but this new sale will allow whoever buys it to build in the car park of the Observatory, which the campaigners worry would spoilt the Bidston Hill site and popular walking trail.

Celebrating its 11th successful year at the same venue, The Merseyside Guitar Show returned once again to Aintree Racecourse on Sunday. Peter Hoarty, company director and event organiser, said: “It started off as just a small show, with a few hundred people attending, mostly vintage dealers. But it’s continued to grow every year and now we do five shows annually.” Mr Hoarty began running guitar shows in 1998 with his wife Gail Hoarty, after seeing similar shows in America. The show took place at The Exhibition Centre, Aintree Racecourse. There were more than 90 exhibitors, collectors and dealers and featured a variety of workshops and demos from different musicians. The Northern Guitar Show is now the biggest one-day show in the UK.

MARINE FIGHTS FOR PAYOUT A former Marine from Liverpool, who lost his leg after an explosion in Afghanistan, is fighting to get full compensation from the British Government. Andy Grant, who lives in Aintree, says the government have “fought harder than the Taliban” against him and his personal claim for compensation. Andy has been told that he must face an independent tribunal to claim the type of payout he deserves. Part of his right leg was amputated after he was hit by shrapnel from an improvised explosive device. However Grant’s claim is being delayed due to a dispute over

Liverpool cancer centre loses title and funding The cancer research centre in Liverpool has lost its ‘centre of excellence’ status. As well as the title more than £100m was doled out between 15 chosen centres of excellence, as decided by Cancer Research UK, but Liverpool’s was not one of them.

FOR SALE: Bidston Observatory

RETURN FOR GUITAR SHOW

Cities such as Manchester, London and Edinburgh won the title and the funding. Liverpool city council leaders said the decision was “disappointing” but that they had a “huge amount” of confidence in the quality of cancer services available in Liverpool.

Life|Education|6 As New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion hosts an event helping young disabled people to find employment, Gemma Sherlock reports

remarkable achievement of a Wirral schoolboy who lost sixteen and a half stone was honoured at an awards ceremony for young people with disabilities this morning. The Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Robert Meadows, 18, at the Floral Pavillion, New Brighton. The final year pupil at Meadowside School was told by a doctor he would not live past the age of 20 if he didn’t lose weight. He has now lost sixteen and a half stone in the past year through his own determination. Tim Gleave, his social worker from Wirral Council Transition Services, wanted to give the award to applaud his hard work at losing the weight. He said: “Although the school has always been very involved to try and help Robert there was a need for a lot more people like us to get involved. The gravity of the situation eventually sunk in with Robert and he was the one who made a difference in starting to change his lifestyle and his eating habits.” The event ‘Your Future Your Choice’ aimed at 14-25 year olds witnessed hundreds of young people and their families taking part in various activities aimed towards their future. It’s now six years since Wirral Council, NHS Wirral and

OPPORTUNITIES: Mayor of Wirral David Mitchell with members of the Best Bites cafe team at New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion young people’s support agency Connexions launched ‘Your Future Your Choice’. The programme first started out as low key event in Bromborough and now attracts more than 800 people from both special and mainstream schools who use the event to shape their future lives. The careers day is funded by Wirral Council and NHS Wirral and looks at gaining young people a smooth transition into their adult life. Team Manager for Transition Services at Wirral Council, Peter Burgess, said: “Every year it seems to get bigger and better. It’s a whole combination of things for young people and their families to start the planning process.” Mayor of Wirral David Mitchell attended last year as Deputy Mayor and was delighted at how the event has grown within a year.

FUTURE PERFECT He said: “I was really impressed last year but this year it’s even better. You just have to walk around and see how many different outlets there are. This is a comprehensive programme for moving on with your life, I think it’s the one thing that shows everybody has an equal chance in life and to get the best they can out of life. “I think events like this give disabled people the opportunity just to be the same as everybody else.” Several local organisations came together to give advice and support. Eastham Day Centre and Heswall Centre

were on hand to show various sporting and craft activities available. The café ‘Best Bites’, who employ people with disabilities, also demonstrated their cooking skills that can be developed. Various housing associations and apprenticeship stands were there to give advice for different career paths.

he ‘Your Future Your Choice’ was also an opportunity to recognise young disabled people who have achieved a lot in a short amount of time. Children Complex Care

Specialist Nurse, Amanda Eccleston, at Wirral NHS Commissioning Support Unit, attended for the first time and emphasised the importance of days like these. She said: “Today is really important because transition is such a big time for a young person and their family, if you think about a mixture of their emotions for them. It just gives families and young people the choice to look around, plan and ask questions to try and plan their future.” The event is set to return again next year with the hope of more local organisations getting involved to help the disabled community.

‘Your Future Your Choice’ factfile: An event that has been running for six years to help disabled people cope with the transition years.  A free event open to families and young people with disabilities  They provide support and advice for: education, training, employment, housing, health, leisure, adult services and money matters.  Has over more than 60 organisations there and growing each year.

DETERMINED: Wirral Mayor poses with award winner Robert Meadows at the Floral Pavilion

INVOLVED: David Mitchell plays golf

CAREERS: The event had numerous careers stalls (Pictures by Gemma Sherlock)

Life |Profile |7

Liverpool

Life

The year of the beard

The idea behind Movember - combining facial hair and fundraising - caught Chris Andrews’ imagination. In order to raise money for homeless charity Crisis the young Liverpudlian has been growing a beard since January without so much as a trim and calling his efforts ‘The Yeard’ Jess MacDonald found out more about the man behind the beard

harity-aware Chris Andrew has always wanted to fundraise for a good cause, so he took some inspiration from Movember and the ‘yeard’ was born. 24-year-old Chris, from Liverpool was extremely aware of homelessness in his city and wanted to do something about it. He said: “I used to live in a part of town where it was a daily occurrence to bump into or have a chat with someone who was on the street for one reason or another. This daily encounter with this marginalised part of our society left me with the feeling that this really shouldn’t be an issue in our 21st century. Although people often assume that homelessness goes hand in hand with some sort of substance abuse, this is not always the case. There are a lot of people out there who are simply stuck in a rut and need some sort of hand out.” After seeing how successful the Movember cause became, Chris, who has been able to grow a solid beard since the age of 15, decided to raise awareness for his chosen charity through growing a lot of facial hair. From the 1st January 2013, he decided to let his beard grow without any form of taming, hoping for a reaction. He added: “Overall, the reaction is great! People are often really amused by the beard and

interest has obviously gathered the bigger it has got. Strangers will often come up to me in the street or the bar and ask a plethora of questions while simultaneously wanting to touch it or play with it. “Some people on the other hand, find it really normal – they think I’m one of the hangers on in the current fashion of big beards and then can be surprised that there’s a cause behind it after I tell them.” The chosen charity, Crisis, is the national charity for single homeless people. Their aim is to end homelessness, through delivering life changing services and campaigns for the people affected. Offering training and employment opportunities, Crisis wants to change the way homeless people are looked at and treated by society. Chris thought the schemes and activities on hand at Crisis offered a better way of life for people suffering with homelessness, he said: “They have schemes in place for finding long term housing solutions, improving health and wellbeing as well as putting in some great work to make Christmas so much more enjoyable for those in need.” As a means of fundraising, Chris has benefitted mostly from word of mouth. He has let his ‘yeard’ grow and grow, to the point where it has been successful enough to spark up conversation about his cause and resulted in people donating.

“Obviously people do start talking the more absurdly long the yeard gets. I’ve mainly used Facebook and the Just Giving website to keep the project well publicised.” Planning to dedicate December to the final fundraising, Chris has a lot in store, entering the ‘Best Beard’ competition at Camp & Furnace’s event on the 29th November: “Hopefully I’ll raise some awareness for the charity then. “Aside from this, I’m planning to run a little competition over Facebook, take to the shopping streets to provide some therapy to the pogonophobics out there and hopefully get a bit of busking on the go too. With a bit of white hair spray, I think I could pull off a pretty good Santa too!” With a fundraising target of £2000 and only 10% remaining to achieve, Chris is hoping to excel his goal. He said: “My grand finale is to auction off the rights to do the shaving/styling/butchering of the yeard on the first of January. I’m going to give in and allow the winner to attack my whole head, but would take kindly to being left with my eyebrows for the New Year.” It’s been a great success – people have continually commented on how much they love the project and the cause – I’m not sure what else I could have asked for. Now I’m just waiting for someone to offer to take the reins for next year…”

Pick of the week SANTAS ARE COMING TO TOWN

Liverpools anual Snata dash with take place on December 1 this year. Approximately 8,000 Santa’s will race through the city centre all for charity. They will set off at 9:30am at the Pier Head and trek 5K around the city. Just before the finish Line by Moorfields, Batala band drums will be beating to mark the last 100 yards to go. As they approach the finish line, snow will fall from the skyline as the runners will be cheered on by an 8 foot reindeer, snowman and Father Christmas.

DIVERSITY DANCE AT THE ECHO Dream Believe Achieve: Diversity is hitting the Echo Arena with a brand new arena show on December 4 2013. Since winning Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, Diversity has won numerous awards and has been the first act to perform outside N0.10 Downing Street. The dance group have performed across the country to their legion of devoted fans, delivering exceptional talent and gravity defying moves. The show will include special guests and lots of surprises. Not one to be missed. Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

ALADDIN READY TO ROCK The biggest, brightest most magical rock and roll panto returns to The PlayHouse. The fun take on the classic tale of Aladdin will run from 29th November 2013 – 18th January 2014. If you are looking for something to get you into the Christmas Spirit, this is ideal and is sure to put a smile on any Scrooge’s face. Ticket prices start from £10.

Life|Features|8

For richer or

poorer? C

hristmas is just around the corner and debt is on the rise, but it’s not just Christmas presents that are being bought with borrowed money. Young couples are getting themselves into thousands of pounds worth of debt, all in the name of marriage. Getting hitched is big business. Even those in love who can’t afford a roof over their heads are splashing out on luxurious, extravagant weddings. In Liverpool, average debts are said to be more than £450,000 – some of the highest in the UK. One in eight newlyweds are more than £3,000 in debt because of the soaring cost of their big day, according to a new study. A third of people preparing to marry admit landing in debt to pay for their wedding, while 23% delay getting married due to their strained finances. Researchers found the average wedding bill now tots up to £18,244 with the average cost of a honeymoon being over £3000. Many couples are forced to borrow money from family or friends or take out credit cards to meet expenses. Why are weddings so expensive? Young people desire the celebrity lifestyle more than ever these days. Who can blame them? We are surrounded by images of big houses, designer handbags, supercars and

As an increasing number of Liverpool couples land in debt to fund their big day, Hazel Miller looks at how to plan a dream wedding on a realistic budget... extravagant celebrations on a daily basis. However, getting married doesn’t have to cost you a small fortune. Wayne and Coleen Rooney splashed out on a luxurious Italian wedding costing them an eye-watering £5 million, according to The Daily Mail. The bill included £1million on pre-wedding celebrations, £400,000 to book Coleen’s favourite band, Westlife, and £200,000 on her dress. She has even spent £85,000 on trips to New York for dress fittings. Obviously we can’t all afford a wedding like theirs, but some couples still try to imitate a big budget celebration on a low income by borrowing money. Debt can destroy a marriage. It can cause arguments and tension in a relationship and end up being the elephant in the room. If you are planning to start your married life with a huge debt hanging around your neck, you’re unlikely to lead

a happy life. An elegant and sophisticated wedding can be achieved without getting yourself into thousands of pounds worth of debt. Weddings did not always cost so much. Cath Bore, a writer from Liverpool told Liverpool Life “We got married on a shoestring and had no money at all! In 1995, it cost £50 for the licence, £30 for my outfit, and we had a buffet at a friend’s house – for the food, plus booze, was about £200 in all I think.” She added “Lots of people thought it was a bit weird that we didn’t have a catered wedding. A close friend of mine spent £12,000 on her wedding just months before my big day, and she got divorced four years later. We’re still together nearly 19 years on! We won!” Cath decided to spend her money on furnishing her house rather than splashing out on a big wedding.

Simone Melvin, 22, from Liverpool, is getting married in October next year. She chose to get married as it was the natural next step in her relationship, having got together four years ago. They had already lived together for two years and believe that planning for the future is better once you are wed. She said: “We didn’t really decide on a budget, we just started by looking for a venue with a good price and decided from there what we wanted.” She added: “We were completely blind to the cost of a wedding; there were lots of things that we didn’t consider”

imone, who works as a nursery nurse, has decided to use her creativity to help cut costs. She has made her own invitations and table centres. She said: “I think people need to be a bit more resourceful when it comes to getting mar-

ried, budgets can help to get a better deal. Debt is a lot easier to get into these days, but loans shouldn’t be how you plan to pay for a wedding. You should really think about how many guests you want, magazines and blogs give really good ideas how to keep the costs from getting out of control.” There are a number of ways to keep to your budget, hitched.co.uk is a free wedding planning website offering tips and guides on how to plan a wedding. Website editor, Francesca Cribb said: “Couples working towards a wedding budget should consider taking advantage of online planning tools. Organisational budget planners, appointment calendars and to-do lists, are free to use on hitched.co.uk and can help couples stick to their wedding spend.” She added: “For couples wanting to get married on a budget,

consider booking a venue with an all-inclusive package so that you know exactly how much money to budget for during the run up. You could also get friends or family to help when it comes to making creative elements such as the wedding cake, wedding decor, or why not grow your own wedding flowers, if you have enough time. Wedding planning couples could also take advantage of suppliers with special offers. A photographer featuring a special deal, or a wedding band offering something exclusive, could help save you money in the long run. Last of all, honeymooning several months down the line could pro-long the excitement of the wedding, leaving something special to look forward to in the near future.” Karl William, from Liverpool, got married in August this year. He said: “I think if it’s the most important day in your life, or a couples’ life, and if you can afford it, then go for it, but for some people the best part of £20,000 could be put to more use, but each to their own. I spent about £18,000 on mine, but we had a lot of help from my family. If we didn’t have any help financially, we might have ended up in thousands of pounds worth of debt, which we would still be paying off today. If you can’t afford it then don’t do it.”

InstaFood

Life|Culture|9

Are appealing images of food shared on social networks like Instagram affecting our eating habits? Shannyn Quinn reports on the new phenomenon of food boredom created by #foodporn

ould #foodporn be the latest weight-loss trend? Probably not, but according to recent studies, over-indulging on photos of food could make eating less enjoyable. Food porn may not have made it into the Oxford dictionary yet, but the photo craze just keeps growing and growing. Instagram has become a social-media sensation since it first launched in 2010, with the ‘food porn’ craze following shortly after. Even if you don’t love food, you‘ll still know all about the food porn phenomenon. It’s no longer rude, or bad-mannered, to use your mobile phone at the dinner table... just as long as it’s to take a photo of your perfectly presented spaghetti bolognaise. Since obesity is a growing issue, the question is, does looking at food porn contribute to the problem, or does it make us lose interest in ‘real’ food? New research from a team of scientists at Brigham Young University has discovered that sharing and consuming an excess of food photos of cakes, chocolate, pancakes and all other things delicious, results in us being ‘bored’ of the taste and feeling like we have already eaten the food and moved on. In one of the studies in America, half of the participants viewed pictures of sweet foods like cakes and chocolate, whilst the other half looked

TASTY: Sarah Mee’s home made baked sweet potato with chive Philly, bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes at pictures of salty foods such as chips and crisps. They were then asked to rate the picture based on how appetising that food appeared, and finished the experiment by eating peanuts, a salty food. In the end it was revealed that the people who had looked at the salty food ended up enjoying the peanuts less, even though they never looked at any pictures of peanuts during the study.

o if you want to enjoy eating your food, avoid looking at too many pictures of similar food beforehand, looking at just a few photos of food may not have much of an impact, but multiple viewings of the same images triggers sensory boredom in the brain, which is similar to that

feeling you get when you’ve eaten one-too-many pieces of birthday cake… except you haven’t eaten one thing. This could be bad news for those of us who regularly post or look at food images online, but the findings could actually be of some use to dieters. According to Jeff Larson, a co-author of the study at Brigham Young University, the more images a person views, the greater the effect will be. So those who have a weakness for naughty foods such as chocolate and icecream may be able to reduce their enjoyment by binging on photos instead of calories, but until researchers know more, don’t be too quick to sign up to the ‘Instadiet’.

Fact file Q. What is ‘food porn’? A. Taking mouthwatering pictures of delicious foods and posting them on various social media websites such as Instagram. Q. How does Instagram work? A. Instagram is an online photo and video sharing, social network company like Twitter and Facebook that allows you to upload, edit, and caption your own photos.

#InstaDiet

Some of the food created for Instagram by Liverpool Life’s very own reporters. Why not send us yours? @Livlifenews Grace Li ndsey’s Spanish Tapas

Foggin’s Simóne ta salad pas chicken

Aimee Jones’ GreenVictori a Sponge

r’s Karl Crye o dob Chicken A

Life Sport 10

DOWN... BUT NOT OUT Will Shaw looks at sportsmen who have battled depression through their careers

onathan Trott has become the latest name in the world of sport to be struck with a mental illness. The England cricketer left the Ashes tour of Australia following the first Test match in Brisbane on Sunday with a long-standing stressrelated condition. It is thought that Trott has been fighting the condition for quite a while and that the added pressures of the Australian public and a drop in form may have been too much for him. This is not the first incident of an England cricketer leaving a touring party early due to mental illness, Marcus Trescothick pulled out of the 2005/06 series against India with depression. Trescothick announced he would not be available for the 2006 Champions Trophy, however chose to travel to Australia the following winter to take on Australia for the Ashes.

It was not to be though, as Trescothick again returned to England before the end of the tour which saw England lose 5-0. He tweeted: “Let’s not start pointing too many fingers at the reason why and how, let’s just think about the man in the mist of it all.” Mental illness is apparent in all areas of sport; the football community was rocked in 2009 when Robert Enke committed suicide following his long standing battle against depression. The former Germany goalkeeper had intended to work with Ronald Reng on his biography after his career, revealing his troubles. Reng has since written and published the book ‘A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke’, which highlights how Enke had to cope with the loss of his daughter while dealing with depression. The death of Enke was sadly followed by that of fellow ex-footballer Gary Speed in 2011, who

Jade Masri discusses the help available to sportsmen and women who are suffering

t’s the dream of millions: become a professional sports personality so you can play your favourite game while earning millions and living a lavish lifestyle. From an early age children are encouraged to pursue sports in schools as well as out with many joining sports clubs that teach advanced techniques in their chosen field. While it may seem just a game at first, many learn that advancing into the professional side of sports is serious business. Football, basketball, boxing, cricket all take a tremendous amount of training and dedication from the players in order to enable them to reach professional standards. Competition is fierce and so only the top athletes will ever get the opportunity of playing in the top leagues. Given that many athletes will reach those high standards before the age of 21, we come to understand the pressures they face before they even gain a placement in the billion pound industry. Having said this, we can start to question the price paid to become an athlete and maintain the quality that is expected from one at the top of the industry, but unfortunately this doesn’t involve any cash. Looking at a sports personality, we get an image of health and top physical strength and so people assume that they must be healthy emotionally as well. Athletes may also be idealised, seemingly immune to problems. Additionally, athletes themselves often do not want to appear weak and may fear that seeking help for mental illness will make them appear that way. Athletes suffer from the same types of mental illness and at the same rates as the general

population. Being an athlete does not protect against depression, anxiety, or other mental illness but in some cases poses an increase to the risk. An upside to being based in a professional sports environment is being able to take advantage of the help that is available to troubled athletes. This may include professional psychological help or other areas that cater to an athlete’s wellbeing. Mr Ian Beattie, a Senior Lecturer in Sport Development at Liverpool John Moores’ University, said: “It is the responsibility of the coaches/ governing bodies to work with the athlete to reduce risks. Sports Mentors are vital in this.”

suffered with a similar condition. Former England cricketer, Jeremy Snape, has since turned his sights to sports psychology, he wrote in his blog, Sporting Edge: “Consider how it would feel to have cameras following us into the office, your name (and mistakes) making the headlines every day, slow motion replays of your mistakes on the big screen and the relentless scrutiny of mind, character and skill. And that is before you sit alone in your hotel room replaying the mistakes over and over again in your mind. “Painted like this, it is easy to see how life would feel more intense, more lonely, encouraging you to become more reclusive and keep your doubts to yourself. This is where the challenge begins, and for those who are driven by very high standards of achievement, the critical self-talk fuels the spiral.” Depression is not a new aspect of cricket

noun

and can be tracked back to 1954 when Harold Gimblett, stopped the game while batting for Somerset against Nottinghamshire.

imblett’s life was hampered with anxiety and self-doubt which heavily affected his state of mind. He admitted during his playing career that he was taking sleeping pills to help him sleep and other pills to wake him up. The former England batsman later went on to commit suicide in 1978 after he failed to overcome his mental illness. The growing awareness of mental health issues within sport can only be a good thing as more and more examples arise. Foundations are in place for sufferers such as Trott and hopefully he will return to cricket as others have previously been able to.

Depression

severe, typically prolonged, feelings of despondency and dejection: self-doubt creeps in and that swiftly turns to depression ©Oxford Dictionaries

here are many factors that can strain the mental health of a sports personality, one of which is their reputation. Having a good strong reputation increases an athlete’s value, meaning that he or she would be worth more money to the industry and in many cases that would lead to a pay increase for the athlete. Making sure that your supporters are kept happy and that you can meet their expectations as well as the expectations of the managers. Personal factors are also to blame in some cases as many forget that sports personalities tend to lead normal lives too, with them facing many stressful situations that any other person could face on the daily bases. Are sports personalities at risk of mental illness because of their careers? Mr Beattie replied: “Yes, but there are other factors aside from their sport.”

Life|Sport|11

LJMU TOPS LEAGUE Liverpool John Moores’ team of the week is the men’s badminton first team who stayed top of the BUCS Northern 3A Division with an impressive 7-1 victory over Manchester Metropolitan firsts. In the game at the Didsbury Sports Centre in Manchester, the LJMU team were particularly emphatic with a crushing victory over the league’s bottom team, Manchester Met on November 20th. Team captain, Jack Berry said: “It was another terrific team performance against a strong Manchester Met side, who we drew with at the end of last season. He added: “Throughout the season, the team’s performances have been getting better and we are learning each other’s games, and forming strong doubles partnerships. They are currently unbeaten so far this season after five games putting them on 13 points, three points clear of Edge Hill’s first team who are in second place. Next up for them is a last 32 clash in the Northern Conference Cup against the University of Manchester’s thirds on November 27th.

TIME TO PICK THE WINNER This year marks the 60th annual Sports Personality of the Year Awards, to celebrate Liverpool life are holding their very own Merseyside Sports Personality of the year awards. Last year cyclist Bradley Wiggins won the award following his Tour de France victory and his success at the London Olympics. The 10 nominees for this year’s award are expected to be announced tonight. We want to know who your winner would be, whether it is reds legend Jamie Carragher for his outstanding shift from pitch to punter, or, WBC International Super Middleweight Title holder Calumn Smith; we want your nominations, send the sports personality along with your name and age to liverpoollifenews@gmail.com.

FURY’S GOOD START

LJMU’s American football team continued their best ever start to a league season with a 34-18 home win over the Bangor University Muddogs. The Fury, who play their home games at JMO Sports Park in Skelmersdale, put in a good performance to come from behind. Ross Jones, who plays centre on the offensive line, said: “We had to come from behind and grind out plays and touchdowns, through a work rate we haven’t experienced this season as Bangor pressed.” The table-topping LJMU Fury, next face Staffordshire ﬁrsts at JMO Sports Park on December 8th.

TIGERS GO Mersey Tigers have announced they have dropped out from the English Basketball League, despite winning their opening ﬁve matches. The announcement follows their expulsion from the British Basketball League in July.

Injury from the derby Bellew to bring title home By Simóne Foggin Everton’s Leighton Baines has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a fractured toe. The injury was sustained in Saturday’s tense Merseyside derby 3-3 draw against Liverpool, where the player was substituted only ﬁve minutes into the second half. After starting every match this season, the injury acts as a devastating blow to Baines’ top form start to the season. The left-back star is set to miss one of the blues biggest matches of the season when they travel to Old Trafford to face champions Manchester United and old boss David Moyes on December 4th. The derby at Goodison Park, saw both teams ﬁght to stay level and by the end of the second half a Everton victory looked promising. The pinnacle moment came when Daniel Sturridge snatched an equaliser for Liverpool in the 89th minute, denying Everton the win. One of the main talking points after the game was the

Mirallas tackle on Suarez. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers wasn’t happy about the challenge and said: “Mirallas should have been sent off. We don’t want to see players sent off and it was 11 v 11 and great attacking endto-end stuff, but if someone should be sent off then that’s what should happen” Everton manager Roberto Martinez didn’t agree: “I don’t think it is a red card because it is not a malicious incident, he tries to win the ball but gets there late. I think a yellow card.” Meanwhile, the under-18s ‘mini derby’ ended in a 3-1 win for the Blues at Finch Farm this afternoon. This weekend, Everton will take on Stoke City at Goodison Park, in a match which could see them over take champions Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League table. From the other side of Stanley Park, Liverpool FC will travel to the North East to take on Hull City. The Reds will be conﬁdent of a result against them.

By Laura Ryder Liverpool may have a new boxing world champion by the end of this week. Born in the city, Anthony Bellew is hoping to win the WBO light heavyweight title this week after his ﬁght with Adonis Stevenson. In 2011, in a bid for the title, Bellew lost against Nathan Cleverly in front of his home crowd at the Echo Arena. Tony Bellew, who still trains at the Rotunda gym in Liverpool, has won three ABA Heavyweight Championships and is the reigning British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion. However, since his defeat against Cleverly, Bellew who is nicknamed ‘The Bomber’, due to his power punching, has won his last four matches and drew a controversial ﬁght against Isaac Chilemba whom he went on to beat in a rematch. The boxer, who sports the royal blue of his football team, Everton FC, is having a second go at the World Championship on the 30th of November in

BOMBER: Bellews first fight as a matchroom fighter © Twitter/TonyBellew the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec, Canada and seems confident. He posted on his twitter yesterday, @TonyBellew, “It’s been a long road and I’ve endured a lot but make no mistake I’m ready now and my team have me in a perfect place, Gaffer, Gary & Fran”. He went on to tell the Liver-

pool Echo, “Luck has played no part in my path. My path has been about hard work, dedication and refusing to back down. It has been a long road and I have learnt from every obstacle.” Bellew, who will be ﬁghting on his 30th birthday, is hoping to return to Liverpool with a belt.

mattbeard02 managers player of the year #WellDeserved � #TWAL” The reds ﬁnished top of the table with 36 points after winning a staggering 12 of their 14 matches. After being the only team to win all of their last three matches, they became, arguably, unstoppable. They took the trophy after their 2-0 victory over Bristol Academy. Liverpool went in front with an early penalty. After a slow start Bristol came back into the second half, having upped the tempo, they very nearly secured a long shot goal to make it 1-1 but the Merseyside ladies were on top form with Omarsdottir ﬁring in a late goal to secure the win.

Their success comes with a club’s transformation, ﬁnishing bottom in the last two league seasons, the ladies have drastically turned it around. Beard told the BBC: “The players have been fantastic and they deserve it. “We’ve a completely new squad that we’ve built together, and they just deserve the utmost respect and credit for what they’ve achieved this year. Beard only joined the club this August, and has sign a contract to stay until the end of the 2014 season. After ending Arsenal Ladies nine-year dominance of the league, the Liverpool team have secured Champions League football, and will face Europe opposition in the forthcoming 2014 season.

Red ladies score awards success By Simóne Foggin

Liverpool Ladies FC was honoured with three awards at the Women’s Football Association Awards, last week. The ladies team finished their 2013-14 season on a high, securing title success and double recognition. Natasha Dowie scooped both Players’ player of the year and top goal scorer after blasting in 19 goals in 21 matches this season. Number one being the first win against Lincoln way back in April. Manager Matt Beard, who took his team to their first league win, was awarded the title of Manager of the year, reds superstar Dowie (@tatsdowie22) tweeted her support: “Buzzing.... Well done @

Rovers short of defenders as they face the Wolves By Simóne Foggin and

Nick Seddon

Tranmere Rovers manager Ronnie Moore is faced with a selection headache, with two of his defenders missing ahead of tonight’s clash against second placed Wolves. Ash Taylor begins his three match ban for the red card received during Rovers’ victory over Coventry City on Saturday, after the club took the decision not to appeal against the ban, whilst Ian Goodison remains sidelined with a groin injury. Despite the club’s best efforts, it looks unlikely that they will be able to mimic the signing of a defender on an emergency loan, as they did when signing Ben Gibson last term. Despite Tranmere’s emphatic 5-1 away win at in-form Coventry City, Wolves will be conﬁdent of a good result, as they sit just a point behind leaders Leyton Orient, seventeen positions above the Wirral side. However, Rovers are feeling optimistic. Moore said: “If we

have to go through one game with a right back or a left back in there it’s what we have to do. It might be that Liam or Danny have to go in there.” A win tonight could push them four places up the table from 19th to 15th. The match comes after a generous donation by a lifelong Tranmere supporter, who has donated a ﬁve-ﬁgure sum to the trust fund that aims to buy the club out within the next month. Peter Scorer, 62, a retired teacher who lives in Prenton, has been a Rovers fan for more than 50 years and believes supporters who have yet to support the bid need to step forward. He said: “As supporters, it’s now or never and we need to raise the money as soon as we can. We all have a duty to help the trust so that as supporters we can take the reins of our club. “Every pound counts. I know times are tough but no matter how much you can afford, it all makes a difference. Every pound could be important and it is so easy to donate.”

The donation comes after the Tranmere Supporters Trust announced a revamp in its intentions to take over the club last month, setting a target of £500,000 to be raised by the end of the year. Chairman of the trust, Ben Harrison, welcomed the donation and urged fans who had yet to contribute to follow his lead. A tweet on the feed of the trust claims that £135,000 has already been raised for the effort, with a further £20,000 to follow from two supporters who are about to donate. He said: “This is a golden opportunity to truly make your mark on the history of the club and leave a lasting legacy. We ask any supporters interested in making a donation above our standard packages to get in touch with us.” Fans can support the bid by signing up for membership, ranging from £50 to £500. Details about the project and fund raising can be found on their website at www.tranmereroverstrust.co.uk

Liverpool

LifeSPORT 26th - November - 2013

Grand National target for Long Run after defeat

By Nick Seddon

Long Run’s trainer Nicky Henderson has suggested his stable star could be aimed for an attempt at Aintree’s showpiece race the Grand National, after failing to scoop the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park on Saturday. The former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner finished a distant but creditable fourth to Cue Card in the Grade One chase and Henderson hinted that his horse could be ideal for the unique test the National poses. He told Channel 4 Racing: “I haven’t had a chance to discuss with Robert (Waley-Cohen), but I’m pretty sure he’ll get a Grand National entry and if his jumping can keep going that way it wouldn’t put them off at all.” The race was won by the Colin Tizzard trained Cue Card,

who produced a dazzling frontrunning performance to see off all of his rivals in the starstudded event. The seven-year-old, who had concerns over his ability to stay the three mile one furlong trip, silenced his doubters with a powerful front running display to defeat a field that contained two Cheltenham Gold Cup winners. The 9-1 shot led proceedings from the beginning and saw off the challenges of Silviniaco Conti and then Dynaste to score by over four lengths. The race, which is in only its ninth year, boasts a prize pot of over £100,000 to the winner and has been touted as the most exciting outside of the Cheltenham Festival. The chase attracted an impressive field, which included current Cheltenham Gold Cup holder Bob’s Worth among others. An emotional Colin Tizzard

spoke of his delight at the result, with his son Joe steering the horse to victory. He said: “He’s jumped better than he ever has and he was on his game today that’s for sure. It’s embarrassing for me to cry but that’s what it’s like. It’s a big one for us.” Joe Tizzard shared his father’s delight, claiming that Cue Card had produced his best performance. He said: “It’s marvellous, I’m absolutely chuffed to bits. We were a bit disappointed after his run at Exeter but that’s the best he’s ever been today.” Earlier on the card, champion jockey Tony McCoy continued his breathtaking season with another vintage performance to score aboard More Of That for Jonjo O’Neill. Racing returns to Merseyside next month, when Aintree holds its Grand National trial the Colin and Joe Tizzard celebrate after winning the Betfair Becher Chase on December 7. Chase at Haydock

BEAUTIFUL GAME - ON WHEELS Powerchair Football Week promoted by Everton By Ryan McElroy

This week marks the UK’s first Powerchair Football Week, with Everton in the Community’s local team helping to share their love for the beautiful game. The event, a joint initiative between Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC) and the Wheelchair Football Association, will run for a week from Monday 25th November onwards and aims to boost the profile of the sport and encourage people to get involved. The Everton in the Community team has its roots in an after-school club in Sandfield Park and has since risen to become one of the founding teams of the Powered Wheelchair League. Over the last 25 years the Everton in the Community charity has grown to be one of the most well-respected and pioneering sporting charities in the UK. Andy Brady, Everton in the Community’s disability coach, said: “The programme has been going since 2007. “About 30 to 40 players have taken part since the programme started, and we also run a cup competition

in memory of Matthew Jones, who sadly passed away two years ago and was the inspiration behind us starting the wheelchair programme.” Earlier this year, the team was visited by former Everton skipper Phil Neville, whose daughter suffers from cerebral palsy, to launch the Medicash Powered Wheelchair League, which will offer disabled players the chance to participate in regular, competitive fixtures until at least 2015. In addition to raising the awareness for potential players, the campaign is also en-

“This is an opportunity for us to showcase the best this most exciting, thriving, inclusive sport has to offer”

couraging the public to get involved by coming to spectate at matches or trying their hand at reporting on the match.

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Two players compete for the ball during a wheelchair football game Gary Kernahan from the MDC said: “Powerchair Football Week is an opportunity for us to showcase the best this exciting, thriving, inclusive sport has to offer. Whether your interest lies with getting out on the pitch, coaching young people or recording the action as a match

reporter, we want to encourage people to meet their local club and get involved.” Powerchair football is a highly inclusive sport, played indoors by mixed-gender teams using a larger 30cm diameter football and playing attachments fitted to the wheelchairs. Sam Bull, National Develop-

ment Manager for the Wheelchair Football Association, said: “We are always looking for ways to raise the profile of Powerchair Football and recruit more people into the sport. “Our sport is one of the fastest growing disability sports in the world, so it’s a great time to get involved.”

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