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Friday 12th December, 2014

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Olivia
SEE PAGE 10

BIG MATCH: Manchester United VS Liverpool

Mum backs move to put defibrillators in Salford schools after daughters death

CHRISTMAS
JUMPER FEVER
AT MEDIACITY
SEE PAGE 9

SHOCKING FIGURES: Olivia is just 1 of the 12 youngsters who die every week of cardiac arrest

SALFORD mum who lost her 14-year-old

daughter to a sudden heart attack has welcomed the citys move to put defibrillators
in all schools in the area.
Tracey Rabys daughter Olivia tragically passed
away at St. Ambrose Barlow School after collapsing during a game of rounders in 2008. Her life
could have been saved if a defibrillator was available.
Ms Raby is pleased to see that Salford has now

By Becca Frankland

become the first city in the country to have the

life-saving machines in every school.
She said: If it helps any further families from
going through the heartache of losing a precious
child then it is brilliant, as it is the worst pain ever
and never goes away.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 8 >>

Hope for Emily

2 Quays Mail Friday, December 12th, 2014

CHILD OF COURAGE: Emily James who suffers from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome featured on a Channel 5 documentary earlier this week

By Dan McLaughlin

16-YEAR-OLD Ehlers Danlos

Syndrome (EDS) sufferer from
Eccles featured in a Channel 5
documentary on Wednesday night.
Kids Hospital at Christmas followed
staff and patients at the Royal Childrens
Hospital in Manchester, where EDS sufferer Emily James was treated for the lifethreatening disease.
The episode showed her mum and dad
learning CPR, and introduced her consultant Dr Malcolm Lewis.
Emily has undergone 17 operations in
12 months as the incurable condition
causes severe dislocation and chronic
pain.
Her family are hoping to raise 2,500 for
private treatment as Emily has been told

nothing else can be done on the NHS.

Wendy Marshall, Emilys auntie, said
that she has been overwhelmed with the
messages the family have received since
the broadcast.
She said:
We watched the documentary and cried
our eyes out.
Emily is such a strong girl, but when
people saw her on the television crying,
they were touched.
We are so proud of Emily and just absolutely lost for words.
The first episode of the three-part series
shows Emily being allowed home for
Christmas after she was admitted into hospital overnight for treatment, and ended up
staying for 12 months.
Christmas is so special in the James
household and it broke our hearts at the

prospect of Emily missing Christmas.

It has been so special this year, and the
family have been celebrating since the end
of October!
They are just loving it this year, being
together at a special time.
Emilys mum Karen and her husband act
as carers for all four James children who
suffer from EDS.
Emily was nominated for the Tower FMs
Child of Courage Award by her auntie
Wendy. As a prize, she received a personalised congratulatory video from Olly Murs,
her favourite singer.
Wendy said: She was so shocked to be
a winner she is just fanatical about Olly
Murs.
She was supposed to see him in concert last year but she was too poorly.
She gave the ticket away to another

child at the hospital who was going home.

In preparation for the broadcast, Emily
featured on the covers of Satellite and Digital TV and TV Times, with the latter sending her a surprise present for being so
cooperative to open on Christmas day.
The GoFundMe fundraising page has so
far raised 360 with support locally from
Essence Takeaway in Swinton who are donating 20p from every festive burger sold.
The Halloween turned Christmas House in
Swinton is also collecting donations.
Wendy added: The amount of messages we have received has been outstanding.
I cannot believe the support.
Its nice to see the family smiling there
are good days and bad days, but they are
still smiling.
Check out the fundraising page to
donate: gofundme.com/hiy2lk.

Manchester set to miss air pollution targets by 10 years

By Joe Harker

A GOVERNMENT report published on

Tuesday confirmed that Greater Manchester is one of several areas in the UK set to
miss its EU targets for air pollution.
The report split the UK into 43 testing
zones and 38 of these have failed to stay
on track.
It is projected that Greater Manchester
will achieve the objective, set for 2015, by
as late as 2025.
It was also named as being amongst the
16 worst places for air pollution in the UK.
The UK has regularly been threatened
with a 300 million fine by the EU for constantly failing to achieve pollution targets.
The report identified transport as the
biggest offender, being responsible for the
majority of all air pollution in Manchester;
traffic on the roads was the worst of this as
it caused 45% of Manchester based pollution.
The problems to health are so severe that
a new Government initiative is being
drafted that will require hospitals, schools
and care homes to be built outside of cities
and away from major roads.
Roads, especially main junctions, are
considered far too polluted for the sick,
young and old to be constantly exposed to.
It is also considered unsafe to build new

houses that are directly adjacent

to main roads.
However, the proposals to construct
schools, hospitals and
homes outside cities
comes
with a
distinct
drawback
as this
may
only
serve
to create
new
high
population
areas that
require significant road infrastructure and
expose others to pollution and cause further
problems.
Estimates show that air pollution is responsible for 28,969 deaths in the UK per

year; the previous Government report on air pollution had this

figure at 5.3% of
deaths.
One proposed
solution is the
establishment of
Low
Emissions
Zones
in centres of
high
population;
councils already
have the
power to
set these up
but have
never done so
for fear of public
backlash.
Establishing a Low Emissions Zone would require excluding vehicles that are not low emission
vehicles, this is impractical as it would

mean a ban on diesels, HGVs and heavier

vehicles such as buses.
The report condemned this approach,
calling it the politically easy way out and
argued that it would only serve to inconvenience the public by depriving them of
public transport and supply vehicles.
A diesel scrappage scheme had previously been proposed by Mayor of London,
Boris Johnson but has been quickly defeated in both 2009 and 2014 when the
motion was raised.
Manchester is unfortunate to have many
houses built facing onto main junctions
while the M60 and M62 have been identified as major sources of air pollution in the
area.
This report contrasts with the Coalitions
goal of becoming the greenest Government ever as the situation has not been
improving enough in accordance with EU
guidelines.
Mike Kane, MP for Wythenshawe and
Sale East was part of the Environmental
Audit Committee at the time of the reports
publication, however he has since left the
committee in recent weeks and his representatives declined to comment on the
matter.

Teenager
in Ritz
Accident

A TEENAGER was left in a critical

condition after falling from the balcony
inside the Ritz nightclub.
The 18-year-old old male from Walkden in Salford fell 12ft onto the concrete floor during a club night
LightBoxx.
Emergency services were called to
the scene at around 2:40am on Sunday morning and the injured reveller
was immediately taken to Salford
Royal Hospital to undergo surgery for
a fractured skull.
A spokesman from the GMP announced that he has now been moved
out of intensive care and is in a stable
condition.
Police are investigating reports that
the clubber was taking part in a drinking game with friends at the time of the
incident, and the GMP are not looking
for anyone else relating to the fall.
Quays News contacted the Ritz for a
statement, but bosses have declined
to comment. However, they did say
that their thoughts are with the
teenager and his family during this ordeal.
Questions are now being raised as to
whether correct safety precautions are
in place at the Ritz, and whether there
is anything the club can do to prevent
this accident from happening in the future.

Girls out
loud

YEAR nine girls from Albion Academy

in Salford attended a graduation afternoon that took place on Wednesday at
MediaCityUK to celebrate the end of a
twelve month programme set up by
Girls out Loud.
Successful businesswoman and
founder of the scheme, Jane Kenyon,
set up Girls out Loud in an attempt to
help the most disadvantaged girls by
guiding them through the challenges of
growing up.
The scheme is made up of women
who refer themselves as Role models, targeting schools around the UK,
in particular Oldham and Salford.
A group of 20 year nine girls were
selected to join the Big Sister Programme earlier this year. The girls
were allocated a big sister to report to
with any problems they had over the
12 months.
The graduation marked the end of a
twelve-month journey where the girls
received t-shirts and certificates for
being part of the programme. The afternoon was filled with emotional
speeches and reflection on their experiences as a group.
Jane said: They will no doubt stay in
touch with their big sister but not in the
formal way they have done in the past
twelve months. It was a very emotional
graduation event.
Jane and the role-models dedicate
their time into providing support and
awareness to help raise the aspirations of young girls. She said, My
main aim is to reassure them that they
can have whatever life they desire, no
matter how different that might look for
each individual.
Jane hopes she can expand the
scheme by targeting girls right up to
university age, eventually making the
scheme more wide spread throughout
the country.

Investigation after
Withington fire

Friday, December 12th, 2014 Quays Mail 3

DESTROYED DAYCENTRE: The fire in Withington is said to have happened intentionally, made worse by strong winds

By Adam Stevenson

irefighters have said that the Withington daycare centre which set ablaze
on Wednesday night is destroyed.
Over 35 fighters worked into the night
tackling the serious blaze which began at
around 9pm.
Manchester fire said that the fire was assisted by the strong winds currently affecting the Greater Manchester area.
According to Councillor Paul Andrews,
Executive Member for Adults Health and
Well-being for Manchester City Council, the
reasons for the fire starting are yet to be
discovered.
"There was a fire started at 9 'o clock on
Wednesday and obviously it's gone straight
through the building and destroyed it. With
a great deal of luck nobody was injured but
the building has actually been devastated."
The full building was ridden with flames
requiring four fire crews and an aerial platform to put it out.
The Councillor is yet to find out whether
the building can be salvaged or if it must be

demolished.
Many of the streets surrounding the area
are still covered in hoses with the building
still smoking the following morning.
He said "It's heartbreaking. It's a wellloved resource which is now gone. As far as
the service is concerned we've got a similar
facility in the North of the city called Heathfields and one in the south of the city on
Hall lane.
We're trying to look in the local community for a suitable building in the interim to
enable the people who can't travel to actually stay within this local area.
Police officers have been going door to
door asking locals to keep windows closed
but have not evacuated any residents.
He said "Hopefully at some point we'll be
told actually how the fire started."
Marie Thomas, a resident from the area
who lives opposite the centre, explained
that she was shocked to see the fire having
not heard or seen anything for some time.
"About 8.30 I came to put the bin out and I

saw the fire engine. I wondered why it was

here and something caught my eye and
then I saw the blaze. I wondered how long it
had been going on, I didn't hear a siren I
heard nothing."
"Well I got told last night that they thought
it was kids. Where the entrance is to the
building that's actually a bus stop as well
and apparently they think that kids have
rammed the bench up against the doors
and that's where they think the fire started."
Due to the severity of the blaze it is a
possibility that the fire happened intentionally.
She added "Most municipals buildings
want burning down but that particular one
worked."
Greater Manchester Police are continuing
to investigate the circumstances of how the
fire began.

For more on this story visit our website

at quaysnews.net.

Uni meets with police for security measures

By Emily Paterson

MANCHESTER Metropolitan University

and University of Manchester met this week
to discuss a demand in increased security
measures in Fallowfield after two suspected
rape incidents that happened last week.
Sarah Beth, Manchester Metropolitan community officer met with Greater Manchester
Police to discuss the ongoing issues surrounding student safety in Fallowfield.
Manchester Metropolitan University want
to tackle the areas of black spots where
low-lit streets are a high risk for students
walking back from university alone.
Fallowfield is one of the most popular
areas for students to live in Manchester but
they are now living in fear and are scared to
leave their homes alone.
Mike Palmer, President Ambassador of
Manchester Metropolitan University, has
asked students to tweet photos of areas that
are low lit in an attempt to reassure them
that the University are working on improving
their safety.

He said, We personally think there is a big

issue in Fallowfield with black spots where
lights are out and there are dark corridors.
We decided to set up a twitter campaign
getting students to tweet us a picture of anything they see. It could be an overhanging
trees or a bulb thats out. We can then send
it to the council so they can sort it.
Manchester Metropolitan have general advice centres that offer students support and
guidance on how to keep safe including free
rape alarms for girls walking home.
Joanna Horton, 20, moved to Fallowfield
this year and presumed it was safe. She has
been scared of leaving her house alone to
do simple tasks like food shopping and
going to her lectures and thinks police need
to do more in her area to keep girls safe.
She said, I assumed moving to a predominantly student area living together in a community would be safe but I couldnt be more
wrong. I think police need to do more because no patrols are evident and girls are

still being attacked.

A student petition has been launched as a
result of young women in the surrounding
areas of Fallowfield feeling unsafe and is
calling on Greater Manchester Police to step
up the mark in patrolling Fallowfield.
Joanna continues, I have signed the petition because I believe this is the only way it
will push change to happen.
However, Greater Manchester Police said
they want to reassure students that they are
doing everything they can to keep students
safe. They said, We have increased patrols
in the area to provide reassurance in the
community.
Manchester Metropolitan and University of
Manchester will work closely with Greater
Manchester Police and the council to find
ways of keeping areas of Fallowfield safe for
students. Until then, students are urged
when walking in the dark, to do so with company and stick to well-lit areas that they
know.

Campaign urges public

re-think on sexual abuse

4 Quays Mail Friday, December 12th, 2014

By Reny Mihaylova

CAMPAIGN warns in the midst of all of

the intoxicated commotion, some things,
which no human being should ever experience, happen.

marks Pokuaa.
Students should never use alcohol as an
excuse, because that is just silly.
The Salford No Consent No Sex campaigns main target audience are perpetrators.
We believe that it is important to highlight
the message that this is not the victims
fault, mentions Pokuaa.
Most of the time people dont realize that
they have been sexually assaulted or
raped, because the perpetrators arent the
usual suspects waiting in a
dark alleyway.
These could be your
friends or flatmates with
whom you have had too
much to drink with.
Apart from involving
students by creating
events and evoking students interest by posters,
the SSU has adopted a
zero tolerance policy towards sexual abuse. It will
be renounced when there is
no more sexual abuse in Salford or in
Manchester or
even in the
whole world,
revealed
Pokuaa,
who has
taken a
personal
stand
towards
the
subject.

Student Unions all around the Greater

Manchester area are participating in a joint
campaign called No Consent No Sex. This
scheme is endorsed by the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and is to tackle the issues of sexual assault on campus.
The campaign came about due to a NUS
report revealing that at least 68% of women
go through sexual abuse during their
higher education and the doubling (from
15-30) of sexual abuse reports that have
come through to the GMP from August
through October, 2014.
As a result of these consequences,
the initiative to prevent sexual abuse
has been undertaken by students
unions. The Salford Students Union
(SSU) is also participating in this effort. It
launched the No Consent No Sex campaign three weeks ago. Vice
President for
Health and
Social
Care,
Jasmine
Pokuaa,
is the
leader of the
effort.
The campaigns purpose is to
make students understand and
think about
This
what they are
camdoing before
paign
they actually
has
do it, reCampaigner Jasmine Pokuaa holds up #NoConsentNoSex poster

Pervert Savile driver jailed

By Tamsin Dyson

MANIPULATIVE and dangerous former

DJ Ray Teret has been sentenced to 25
years in jail on Thursday after a string of
historical sex offences on girls as young
as 12.
The public gallery cheered and clapped
when monster Teret, was found guilty by
a jury at Manchester Minshull Street
Crown Court today for seven counts of
rape and 11 counts of indecent assaults
on teenage girls.
The 73-year-old is said to have used
his celebrity status to prey on his vulnerable victims, aged 12 to 15, in night clubs
and youth organised discos throughout
the 1960 and 1970s.
Detective Chief Inspector Graham
Brook said; After decades of hiding behind the veneer of being a distinguished
radio presenter, Ray Teret has finally been
exposed as the manipulative and dangerous sexual predator that he is.
Victims present at the court and
erupted with cheers and applauds while
the verdict was read with one branding
him a monster'.
The ex-Picadilly Radio presenter from
Altrincham will face imprisonment for sex
offences against 11 women after he denied 18 rapes, one attempted rape, two
serious sexual assaults, 12 indecent assaults and one count of indecency with a

opened my eyes to a whole new world. As

representative of all Salford students,
I wouldnt want anyone to feel like they
are hindered in their progress because
somebody has sexually assaulted them. I
would like them to get support. I would like
them to get help from whoever they can.
And I would like them to feel like its not
their fault because a lot of the time they feel
like it is their fault.
In some cases, victims say: I didnt drink
too much this wouldnt have happened. If I
didnt wear a short dress it wouldnt have
happened. If I wasnt wearing a low cut
dress it wouldnt have happened.
This isnt true. I just dont want sexual
assault to happen anymore, adds Pokuaa.
Follow the campaign on social media
with the #noconsentnosex .

Jamine and Marina Hristova

Exclusive events happening this

month at the Salford Students
Union:

Next Thursday, Salfords debating society

will be discussing the main issues which affect
women through their upper education;
The Student Union and the Salford Dancing
Society will be collaborating to create a flash
mob conveying: No Consent, No Sex motto;
Students will be designing 3-D handprint
models as a reminder of the campaigns main
messages. These will be permanently installed around the main university buildings.

Gas attack closes Tameside

By Adam Stevenson

THICK AS THIEVES: DJ Ray Teret

child.
Also known as Ugli Ray, he was a
close friend and former colleague of
Jimmy Savile and was cleared of the other
charges after a 10 day deliberation by the
jury.
The court heard that Teret was described as following Savile around like a
shadow. Teret was charged of raping a
15-year-old girl in his flat however there is
no proof that Savile was present.
Victims of Teret came forward following
the public accusations around peadophile
Savile in October 2012 leading to Terets
arrest a month later.
Greater Manchester Police are now investigating more abuse accusations from
four women who have come forward in
wake of the trail.

OVERNIGHT ATTACK: The alleged CS Gas attack took place at around 3am

TAMESIDE Hospital has confirmed

that it was forced to close its A&E last
night following the release of a noxious
substance.
At around 3am Friday morning a 46
year old man was taken to A&E by the
police following an arrest for allegedly
being found on enclosed premises. After
being placed into a police van the man
intentionally banged his head and subsequently injured himself. When the police
took the man to Tameside, he released a
noxious gas with notably similar effects
to CS gas.
GMP Chief Superintendent Rob Potts,
said "While it is too early to say exactly
what happened, it is clear we have failed

to sufficiently search the man prior to putting him in the van."

The man discharged the substance from
what the police say looked like a cigarette
lighter, which left the A&E department
closed for approximately one hour. Though
some people did suffer minor effects from
the gas, nobody became seriously ill as a
result.
"We arrest many people every single
day and in the vast majority of cases they
are searched and brought into custody
without issue. Unfortunately on this occasion this has not happened. This
matter is being referred to our Professional Standards Branch for review.

Better by
cycle?

TRANSPORT for Greater Manchester has revealed plans for 37

miles of new cycle lanes in areas
such as Prestwich, Cheetham Hill,
Wilmslow Road and Manchester
Airport, with more routes planned
for Salford, Stockport, Ashton
canals and the Bridgewater.
The scheme, dubbed Better by
Cycle is part of a 20 million-pound
investment which aims to create
improved cycle paths which, in
places will lead through infrequently-used green spaces and in
other places create enhanced and
safer paths for cyclists through
busy city-centre traffic.
Some key changes will be made
to Oxford Road as part of the
Wilmslow Road renovation.
The changes include a complete
closure of several sections of the
road between daylight hours to
general traffic, more than four kilometres of segregated bus lanes as
well as Dutch-style segregated
cycle lanes.
Graeme Sherriff from the Love
Your Bike campaign told the Manchester Evening News that some
of the planned route does not meet
the design criteria set out in their
manifesto, which includes being
safe, coherent and future-proof.
22-year-old Gareth Clake is the
President of the University of Manchesters cycling club The plans
arent perfect but having the separate cycle lane is a big improvement, and getting rid of some of
the traffic from Oxford Road will
make it safer and easier to use.
The closing date for comments
on the Cheetham Hill Road and
Wilmslow Road cycleways is January the second.

Lowry xmas
donations

SALFORDS Lowry Theatre is

raising funds and awareness for a
very special cause this Christmasfor Salfordian children and young
people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions.
The arts and entertainment centre
kicked off the fundraising last night
at its 2014 Salford debut of Slavas
Snowshow and will be hosting
weekly creative workshops for children with Autism from local schools.
Children with Autism from Springwood Primary School in Swinton
and teenagers at New Park High
School in Eccles were treated to
practical workshops when professional dancers, artists and writers.
The older pupils will then get the opportunity to watch The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time at
The Lowry.
Meanwhile, fundraising will continue through bucket collections at
all four of the Theatres Christmas
shows: Peter Pan Goes Wrong,
Were Going on a Bear Hunt,
Slavas Show and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time,
from December 9 to the January 10.
Four festive plays will be on at
The Lowry, with each show involving
characters who see the world differently, as people on the Autism spectrum often do.
Follow @The_Lowry and visit
www.thelowry.com/xmasappeal
for more updates.

Women protest
about service cuts

Friday, December 12th, 2014 Quays Mail 5

Cuts to womens services left group Safety 4 Sisters outraged

By Ellie Bryan

rotesters took to the streets of Manchester yesterday to demand an end

to cuts in services supporting vulnerable women.
The demonstration was organised by
Safety4Sisters, a charity that specialise in
protection, safety and support for women
who have experienced gender violence and
who have no recourse to public funds.
Angry protesters filled St Peters Square
in the city centre with banners and whistles
to demonstrate against the cuts.
Manchester City Council recently announced that they will be cutting a further
60 million pounds and will be cutting into
the womens services.
Kate Cook, a founder of Saftey4Sisters,
commented, Safety4Sisters is a supporting
campaigning group for women who dont
have any access to services and who stay
in abusive relationships because they dont
have the right to go in a refugee.
We are demonstrating today against the
cuts in services. This means Womens Aid
cant provide childrens services and women

cant get into refugees to leave abusive

men. Lots of independent services around
Manchester that support women have had
cuts already and cannot survive through the
cuts.
Womens Aid is a national charity set up
to protect women and child from domestic
abuse. It is one of the largest domestic
abuse charities in Manchester and has
many services such as food and clothes
banks and support for women in domestic
situations.
Gail Health, chief officer at Womens Aid,
said Womens refugees provide a safe environment for women who have nowhere
else to go. The question I want to ask is
who should pay for the financial mess we
have got ourselves in? It should not be victims of violent sexual and domestic abuse.
Many students joined the protest including
the University of Manchester Student Union.
Full time Women's Officer at the Union,
Jess Lishak, said, I organised a group of
students to go along to the protest.It was really good to see women's services like
Women's Aid, Rape Crisis, The Pankhurst

Centre, Refuges, Legal aid and Refugee

Services coming together to say that these
cuts that central government have imposed on the council are horrendous and
have to stop.
The demonstration came as part of
Human Rights Day which is used to raise
awareness of issues which affect many of
us around the world. The day also marks
the end of the 16 days of action associated with UN International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women.
In 2012, more than 14 independent
Womens Aid services were cut with domestic and sexual health services being
the most affected. This saw an estimation
27,000 women turned away because the
lack of spaces available.
Domestic violence has been reported to
have risen by 17% in past year. More than
1.9 million pounds has been cut in
refuges and domestic violence services in
London alone.
If you would like to find out more information about Safety4Sisters, you
can follow them at @Safety4Sisters

Manchester Ambulance Service urge

Christmas party-goers to plan ahead

By Declan Fisher

Manchester ambulance services have

urged the public to plan ahead in order to
lower the risk of ending up in casualty this
Christmas.
The Christmas period has ambulance
personnel at their busiest, and Manchesters ambulance services are no exception.
Last year the North West Ambulance
Service saw a reduction in the number of
emergency calls it took over the Christmas
period and this year it aims to do exactly
the same.
Director of operations Derek Cartwright
has urged people to take more care to
make sure that their Christmas period
doesnt involve calling out an ambulance.

Mr Cartwright said So we can best respond to those with life-threatening or potentially life-threatening conditions, we
need the help of the public to keep our
ambulances free.
Cartwright also stated that getting dehydrated in stuffy, overcrowded shopping
centres in the Christmas period can be
avoided by drinking plenty of water, and
taking regular breaks.
Many of the recommendations made by
Mr Cartwright were related to alcohol intake: many people end up in hospital after
a night out, rather than safely at home.
He said: we dont want to stop people
having fun but also pointed out that in the

majority of cases, the incident can be easily avoided.

As well as obvious warnings not to drink
and drive, the director of operations also
informed that: alcohol lowers your body
temperature so wear a coat when going
out.
Other advice included: keeping an eye
on elderly relatives or neighbours, making
your own way to hospital unless its an
emergency, and picking up any prescriptions that are needed in advance of Christmas, due to the four-day weekend which
GPs will have from Christmas day onwards.

Foodbank demand i
Manchester expert

6 Quays Mail Friday, December 12th, 2014

Gang
member
wins
murder
appeal

A man who was convicted for the

murder of a teenager has had his
conviction thrown out at the Court of
Appeal.
Ex-gang member Dwaine George
spent 12 years in prison for the
killing of Daniel Dale in Harpurhey,
Manchester in 2001.
Sir Brian Leveson, presiding over
the appeal, said today that his conviction was no longer safe.
The appeal hearing was called
after new scientific evidence came
to light relating to gunshot residue,
which had initially being used by the
prosecution to convict George.
The case was prepared by law
students at Cardiff University using
its Innocence Project which was set
up to consider miscarriages of justice in criminal cases.
The Innocence Project was set up
in 2005 as a way to help students
cover real-life legal scenarios. Working under the provision of practising
solicitors and barristers, they shape
the defence for long-term prisoners
who maintain their innocence, as
George has always done.
They have submitted over six
cases to the Criminal Cases Review
Commission in total.
George, 30, was initially released
in 2013 on a life licence.

Xmas carol
concert

THE Ceremonial Mayor of Salford

City Council, Christine Hudson,
hosted a Christmas Carol concert at
the Salford Cathedral last night.
There were readings from Father
Michael Jones, the Dean of the
cathedral, the Chief Inspector of the
GMP, Steve Howard and the City Director of Salford Council, Jim Taylor.
Music was played throughout by
the BBC Philharmonic and The
GMP band.
Performances included a quintet
from The Swinton High School, a
nativity play by The Cathedral
School of St Peter and St John RC
Primary and choirs from St Edmunds RC Primary and Salford City
Councils staff.
The offertory collection will be
split between The Ceremonial
Mayors Charity Appeal, Salford
Young Carers Service and the Salfordian Trust.
Ian Stewart, the City Mayor
thanked the performers and wished
the congregation a very merry
Christmas and the best possible
New Year.

By Taaliah Nazar

t a time of year when many people

are debating the size of turkey and
how many sprouts theyll need for
Christmas dinner, there are thousands more
that are struggling to eat at all.
There has been a sudden, rapid growth iin
the number of foodbanks and supermarket
food collection points. You could be forgiven for thinking that food poverty is a new
problem. The truth is rather different; food,
or rather a lack of it, has been a growing
issue since the nineties, when the first
Trussell Trust foodbank was founded by a
couple in Salisbury operating out of a
shed at the
end of their
garden.
It would
seem that
whilst bringing the problem to people
who were
previously
unaware of
the poverty
crisis happening
around them,
the appearance of both foodbanks and strategically
placed food collection points suggests a
normalisation of food aid for the future, according to Manchester expert, Dr Kingsley
Purdam.
Dr Purdam, along with two colleagues at
the University of Manchester, has written an
in-depth report entitled Hungry Food
Stigma; it makes both interesting and worrying reading to say the least.
The research, conducted in the North
West, took into consideration evidence from
a survey, case studies of foodbanks in the
area and interviews with foodbank users. In
this one city alone there are seven Trussell
Trust foodbanks, and a
further thirty
other free
food providers
in the area.
The Trussell
Trust are
opening foodbanks at a rate
of two a week.
Their figures
reveal that the
number of
people they
gave emergency food to
rose from almost 350,000
in 2012/13 to
over double at 900,000 in 20013/14. If this is
the tip of the iceberg, as both the figures and
Dr Purdams research support, then we
have a huge problem and it is only going to
get worse its estimated that 4.7million
people in the UK live in food poverty and the
Trussell Trust predict there will be more than
one million people using their foodbanks in
2014 alone.
This is without taking into consideration the
many independent foodbanks and other informal sources of food aid that often go undocumented and rely heavily on both
community support and donations.
The reasons people turn to foodbanks
varies massively and, contrary to what some
public figures would have you believe, its
not because poor people dont know how to
cook.

While Baroness Jenkin has apologised for

her comment, putting it down to stupidly
speaking unscripted, she is not the first to
make such a sweeping generalisation former Conservative Government Health Minister Edwina Currie seemed to blame
foodbank users themselves, stating that
they never learn to cookthe moment
theyve got a bit of spare cash theyre off
getting another tattoo.
Katie Hopkins has also jumped on the
blame train, comparing foodbank users to
cancer patients in a recent outspoken rant

on social media while Rachel Johnson, sister of the Mayor of London reportedly compared them to animals, saying Apart from
the telly and the cigarettes, they are living
like animals.
The language used to describe foodbank
users seems located in a discourse of blame
when in reality most people turn to them as
a last resort and not as a way to save a few
quid.
Linda from Sale, Manchester was forced to
use her local foodbank after being sanctioned by the job centre, having her benefits
suspended for several weeks. She says, I
dont know what I would have done without

the foodbank. When the job centre stopped

my money for missing an appointment because my daughter was ill I had nowhere
else to turn to get food for me and the kids.
They were really friendly but the food they
gave us was supposed to last for three days
but I was sanctioned for three weeks. Without the food from them and other friends we
would have starved.
Dr Purdams research found that in one
North West city there were seven Trussell
Trust foodbanks and one being set up, with
thirty other food aid providers. Its clear from
this that any estimate of food aid use based
on Trussell Trust data is likely to be a huge
underestimation.
The study also shows that, contrary to public perception, the most common reason
given for visiting a foodbank was benefit

sanctions, followed by delays in benefit payments it seems that this underlying issue
is a major cause for concern and must be
addressed as part of the food crisis debate.
Many of the people Dr Purdams research
team spoke to described a sense of desperation and need that led to them going to a
foodbank, one female visitior said that she
felt like she was begging whilst waiting for
her pension credit and another said she
was willing to turn to prostitution if she did
not get help from the foodbank.
For many people using foodbanks the impact of changes
in benefits and
entitlement had
created a family
crisis, this included the Spare
Room Supplement or socalled bedroom
tax introduced in
2013. Other
foodbank users
highlighted how
recent difficulties
and relationship
breakdown had
contributed to
their financial difficulties. Whatever the case its clear to see that food
poverty is a growing problem in both Manchester and further afield.
A key policy debate resulting from Dr Purdams research relates to the role of the
state, the voluntary sector and commercial
organisations in addressing food poverty in
the UK, and the role citizens can have in ensuring their own welfare.
Perhaps there is some inevitability about
the scale of food insecurity in the UK, given
the impact of the eco nomic recession and
present welfare reforms but whilst the local
uthority has
provided some funding, food aid is still predominantly reliant on
volunteers and
donations.
This, along
with the normalisation of
food aid with
foodbanks on
the high street
and food collection points
common in
supermarkets,
are issues that
cannot be ignored any
longer and will
require us all to
pull together to
make a difference.
Now is also a good time to consider how
food waste and reuse is regulated in the UK,
compared with other countries in the UK
its estimated that 15 million tonnes of food
are wasted each year.
With some planning and communication
theres no doubt that some of this waste
could be avoided and the government needs
to step up and ensure access to adequate
food for all. What can be termed as the localization of food welfare is actually nothing
more than a way of brushing it under the
carpet or passing the buck.
Food poverty is an issue that affects us all
and needs addressing urgently although
sadly its clear that the financial vulnerability
of certain populations is embedded far beyond the temporary fix of a food parcel

is underestimated says

Friday, December 12th, 2014 Quays Mail 7

Staff at Oldham foodbank have been helping to battle poverty

The Labour Party pledge for extra cancer funding

By Freya Budd

THE Labour party have released a statement outlining their aims to pledge 330
million in Cancer treatment funding.
The announcement comes in preparation
for the ending of the Cancer Drugs Fund
established by David Cameron during the
2010 general elections which is set to end
in 2016.
Should Labour establish a win during the
elections, their plan would be introduced as
a replacement and as part of their health
reforms to the NHS.
The majority of Cancer treatments prove
incredibly costly to the government, with
one of the most expensive treatments
(Kadcyla) costing a minimum of 90,000
per course, but promises to extend lives by
an average of up to six months.
Previous Labour proposals regarding cancer treatments have included a 2.5 billion
funding pledge which was aimed on providing a total of 36,000 more nurses, doctors,
and midwives, whilst simultaneously cutting
the long treatment waiting times for cancer
tests so that it would be detectable from an
earlier stage, in hope of providing faster
treatment.
Having previously said that he was aiming
to cut Cancer treatment waiting times, Ed
Miliband has continued to take his plan a
couple of steps further with the new announcements. During a recent interview
with the BBC, Party Leader, Ed Miliband,
said he believed early diagnosis of cancer

is critical and that it could save up to

10,000 lives per year.
Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has also
released a statement to the press establishing that helping more people beat cancer is a priority for the Government, and
that they are well on track of meeting their
goal to save an extra 5,000 lives.
The development has also come within a
good time for reforms to cancer treatments,
with the new 28.5 million Manchester
Cancer Research Centre set to open its
doors in early 2015, providing medical experts from around the world with a base for
joint research into cancer treatments and
their effectiveness alike.
The Christie have also recently announced a breakthrough approach in treating patients with neck cancer through a
series of tests to identify whether or not
they require unconventional treatment.
The proposal itself includes a plan to establish a 330m cancer treatments fund in
hopes of improving access to life saving
treatments such as the latest drug based
treatments and surgery, with a primary
focus on radiotherapy all of which Labour
are planning to put into place should they
succeed in the next general elections to be
held in October 2015.

For more on this story visit our website at quaysnews.net.

You cant put a price

on a childs life

8 Quays Mail Friday, December 12th, 2014

Trans sex
service
thrives in
Salford

SALFORDIANS have expressed

their concerns over the number of
transgender and transvestite escorts operating in the area.
Those working in and around Salford Quays are worried that the
services are denting Media Citys
cosmopolitan reputation.
Over the last few months, the
trans-community has been more
openly socialising in the proximity of
the Quays. Despite this being
hugely welcomed by bars and
restaurants in the area, some are
worried that this increase is down to
transvestite and transsexual escorts
who are using the area for business.
Some of these services charge up
to 120 an hour.
Gemma Worthington works at
Media City. She has become aware
of the concerns about the escorting
services.
Although I dont agree with escort
services Im definitely open to the
idea of trans-people feeling more
comfortable in a mainstream environment. There are plenty of heterosexual people who escort in the
area Im sure of it.
This topic continues to be controversial but without proper evidence
it is wrong to assume that escorting
is as widely accepted in the area as
some believe.

Market
attacker
sentenced

A MARKET worker from Manchester was sentenced for attacking a

rival marketer for selling similar
goods to his stall.
The 34-year-old caused multiple injuries to the victim including a 2cm
cut on his face, a 3cm cut on his arm
and back injuries.
The defendant was handed a two
year suspended sentence, 180
hours community service and will be
under a 7pm to 7am curfew monitored by an ankle tag for 16 weeks
along with having to pay 850 compensation and 725 prosecution
costs in 100 a month instalments.

Sax in the
city

A MYSTERY man has been spotted blowing his horn near the Mancunian Way, dressed in an
eye-catching fluorescent yellow
jacket and black knee-high socks.
The saxophone-playing cyclist was
spotted by Manchester city centre
councilor Kevin Peel.
It is unclear as to why the young
cyclist felt the need to play his instrument in the rain, but some have suggested that the beauty of the scene
may have overcome him as he cycled past the River Medlock.
Do you know the horn-blowing
cyclist? Contact Quays News on
news@quaysnews.net.

By Becca Frankland

THE Salford-based charity Hand on

Heart and Salford City Council have come
together to ensure that all 97 schools in the
area are equipped with defibrillators.
Defibrillators deliver a therapeutic dose of
electrical energy to the heart and can rapidly improve the condition of the patient.
Having a defibrillator on site can make the
crucial difference between someone recovering from the cardiac arrest or dying.
Ms Raby added: Its so important to
raise awareness as before Liv died I had
never heard about the condition, however
since her death so many young people
have died in a similar way.
Around 12 young people die every week
from cardiac arrest, thats 12 more than
there should be.
Hand on Heart also offers training for
teachers and pupils on the machines and
other life support skills, including CPR.
Once a school receives life-saving equipment and training is completed, they are
then given Heart Safe status.

The automated external defibrillators

which have been supplied to Salford
schools are portable and include simple
audio and visual commands. The machines
also diagnose the cardiac problem and
treat it through electrical therapy.
Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart backs the
campaign and has helped the charity
achieve its goals. He said: Once again Salford people have blazed a trail that I hope
every other school in the country will be
able to copy.
Ms Raby also has the same dream: I
am hopeful that one day every school in the
country will have defibrillators, as you cant
put a price on a childs life.
Over 400 fully and partially funded defibrillator packages have been issued to
schools by Hand on Heart since the charity
began back in 2010. Its aim is to successfully make every school in the UK Heart
Safe in the near future.
In just over a year 140,000 has been
raised through public donations and grants

to provide schools with the machines.

Research shows that if a defibrillator is
used within the first three minutes that
someone is in cardiac arrest, their chances
of survival increases by 74%. For every
minute which goes by without treatment,
the victims chances plummet by 10%.
Lesley Groome, from Hand on Heart, explained: We want to raise awareness of
sudden cardiac arrest out there in the
schools, raise funds and put defibrillators
into the schools and teach staff how to use
them and teach children a life skill, CPR,
how to call 999 and recognise the signs of
having a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest.
The charity has had funding help from organisations including Armitage Residents
Group, City West Housing Trust and Oaklands Hospital Group.
To find out more about funding defibrillators in schools and Hand on Heart
visit their website at
www.handonheart.org.

Homeless Film Festival.

The creative projects incorporate short
and long term film making and animation
sessions, so we invite people to support us
on those events. People can help and volunteer on the general day today running of
the charity, or help us on skilled sessions
where people deliver or support the workshops we run.
Every year throughout the first two weeks
of November, we have a touring film festival
so this year we toured in 12 locations
around the country, screening homeless related content in cinemas and special locations. We dont just screen issue based
films, we screen really good films which
may have already had international distribution, like The Fisher King or Cathy Come
Home.
We screen these films to the audience to
raise awareness of the wider issues of
homelessness, so not just street homelessness but also children in the care system,
or refugees and asylum seekers, people
that might have had a relationship or experienced bereavement and have become
homeless.
The Antwerp Mansion fundraiser itself
consisted of a number of local ska and pop
bands. Performing on the night were
Mancheska, Skinny Living, The Uplifters
and Liberation UK. Band Skinny Living supported Jake Bugg on tour, and are confirmed to play at The Isle of Wight Festival

in 2015.
Whereas Mancheska are a horn-fronted
eight piece band, who play up-beat tunes
and a mixture of Jamaican classics.
There were also two DJs who took to the
stage after the bands had performed Josh
Sowa and Ranny Kundi who were dedicated to supplying hits until 3am. They each
played a wide range of music differentiating
between the likes of house, garage, jazz
and classic hits.
Rosemary Booth was one local artist who
had her work displayed in the exhibition on
the top floor of Antwerp Mansion. Winner of
the Manchester Metropolitan Graduate
Award, Rosemarys displayed artwork consisted of intricate patterns which were
hand-drawn and lit-up with light sources in
order to accentuate the complex detail.
Many other artists also had their work on
display including textile artist Rachael
Herbest, painter Naomi Litvack and landscape artist Raymond Martin. Some of the
pieces were also available to be purchased,
with all funds raised going straight to the
Homeless Film Festival.
The fundraiser is about creating awareness and bringing to light issues that people
mahy not be addressing Clare Cummings,
volunteer at the Homeless Film Festival, organised the event herself after joining the
charity only two months ago.

Homeless film festival

By Grace Evans

ON Wednesday night, derelict mansion

turned alternative music venue, Antwerp
Mansion, played host to the Homeless Film
Festival. Kicking off at 9pm, the venue in
Rusholme welcomed the public to a nonprofit night of live music and DJs, with an
added art exhibition highlighting local talent.
The Homeless Film Festival is a UK wide
project dedicated to confronting and presenting the issue of homelessness in society today. The registered charity mainly
focuses on screening high-end films from
across the globe in independent cinemas
and unique locations, all of which have
homeless issues as their main theme or are
films that are made by homeless people
themselves in a range of different genres.
The night at Antwerp Mansion was the organisations bi-yearly music event whose
sole aim was to fundraise for the touring
festival so they are able to continue to raise
money for homelessness in a creative manner. Shockingly, 90,000 people are expected to wake up homeless this
Christmas, and with Manchester alone seeing a 10% rise in homelessness in recent
years, the need for support is constant. The
Homeless Film Festival directly donates all
money raised from their events to helping
those sleeping rough across Britain.
We do creative projects throughout the
year as well as a touring film festival.
states Dean Brocklehurst, co-director of the

Salford Uni
backtracks
on beard
statue

LAST Saturday, the media erupted

with the breaking news of Salford
Universitys future asset. A fivemetre-tall sculpture of Friedrich Engels infamous beard is to be built
next to Salford Crescent, off University Road.
This project is to entice visitors by
enabling them to conquer the historical figures Bush Ranger and thus
see Salford through a whole new perspective.
Unfortunately at the time, Salford
University and arts production company, Engine, are still in the process
of signing contracts to create this
great masterpiece.
Engines Jai Redman stated: We
are still in the process of commissioning the project, but we will be able to
comment more on it on Wednesday
of next week.
And yet, the first item which appears on Engines website is news of
Engels beard model. The arts production company note that their inspiration for this display comes from
former Haienda DJ Dave Haslams
book (entitled Manchester, England). Engels beard is supposed to
be a symbol of wisdom and learning.

WHO IS FRIEDRICH ENGELS?

Friedrich Engels originated from
Manchester. He was most popular in
the 1980s as one of the founding fathers of communism.
NOW HOW ABOUT THAT BEARD
The trademark of Engels is his
drooping, bushy, manly beard. Engles facial hair is so famous that it
even has a social media following.
On Facebook, THE BEARD has a
page with 135 likes. On Twitter, it is
subject to a hashtag and there is
even a user with such a name.

HAIRY: Engels famous beard

This Christmas help

Save the Children

Friday, December 12, 2014 Quays Mail 9

By Freya Budd
Reporter

ONE of the world's leading independent

children's charities, Save the Children, has
announced that ahead of their Christmas
Jumper Day tomorrow, sales have hit an
all time high as millions of festive themed
jumpers have been sold around the UK.
The Christmas Jumper Day itself is taking place nation-wide, and will see millions
of participants rummaging through their
wardrobes in hope of finding their most
embarrassingly festive knits or making
franticly making a dash to Primark.
Popular retail stores such as The White
Company will also be taking part, with their
staff members replacing their usual uniform for a jumper until Monday, and donating 1 for each day they take part, bringing
a wider awareness to the cause. Other retail giants such as Primark have taken the
event a step further, and are donating 2
to the charity for every jumper sold in
store.
Having already raised 48,042, the
event is expected to be a big success in
achieving the charity's aim to make the
world 'better with a sweater.'
In true fit with embracing the festive period, Salford University's own Quays TV
presenters are all going to be wearing their
own Christmas jumpers during the day to
participate in donating to the charity.
Fashion and beauty blogger, Kim Stewart, offered advice on how to stop yourself
from looking like an overly decorated
Christmas tree by going for the typical
colours like red and green and steering
away from anything too flashy like tinsel or
lights, and said that the best way to pull

CHARITY: Quays reporter Chloe Nebbard with blogger Kim Stewart

off the look is to keep it simple.
Whether or not you are a Grinch or
Buddy the elf by nature, Stewart believes
that the event is brilliant, fun, and a less
serious way for people to get involved.

Friend of Geldof
launches Manchester
novel in city centre

By Jayna Patel
Features Editor

DIVERSELY talented Karl Walsh, who

toured with Bob Geldof in the 90s,
launched his Manchester based book,
The Rat King, in true Mancunian style last
night, with an exclusive animation and live
music.
Karl, who played at Salford Music Festival in September, was on hand to sign
copies of his new novel, a thrilling
dystopian horror about a plague in 2015
Manchester, laced with crime and corruption at Northern Quarters Whisky Jar.
The writer then treated fans to an exclusive reading of a part of his book, which he
believes will resonate with Manchester
residents: My plan is to start with people
in Manchester because of the local references and if you start to read the book
youre going to read about places you
know about and there are lots of iconic
venues in it. I mention the Bridge Water
Hall, Oxford Street, the John Rylands Library, and of course the Victorian Arches,
which are really famous now for being the
site of where people used to hide from the
blitz.
Meanwhile, local acoustic duo, Finch
and the Moon, set the tone for the night
soothing audiences ears, with their gentle
mix of covers and original songs having a
sleepy charm.
After an intriguing read through of the
second part of the book, that was brimming with compelling description and sensory language, singer, Mike Crook kept the
Manchester theme alive delivering an

acoustic medley of authentic songs and strumming with true northern

feel, performing Manchester themed songs,
Northern Faith and Part
Time Human. Golden
Apple, a duo that Mike is
one half of, engaged with
the crowd, with their
catchy folk song When
Will I Be King?
Karl reckons most writLAUNCHED:
ing is autobiographical
and his experiences of living in Manchester largely inspired the book. Karl said: If
you find youre writing about a scene and
there are elements of the scene that you
dont fully understand then you have to research it, but in the main, no I dont really
feel the need for research. I think you write
from whats inside you. Life is research.
Having found success touring with Bob
Geldof in the 90s amongst other artists
with his band, To Hell with Burgundy, Karl
formed the four piece, The Visitors and set
up Earliest Records in Manchester. He
also performed at the book launch and is
very supportive of Bob Geldofs annual
Band Aid project, despite the controversy
surrounding Do They Know Its Christmas?, with the lyrics being changed to reflect Africas Ebola crisis.
I think its wrong to criticise something
thats so well intentioned in these difficult
times. You know, Im a big fan of Bob
Geldof and I think the good that he does
outweighs any harm thats done.
On why the single sells so many copies
each year he added: I think it taps into a

If you like us are feeling festive and

in the Christmas spirit, you can opt wear a
jumper and you can also donate 2 to the
cause by texting 'WOOLY' to the number
70050.

Karl Walsh reading from his book

desire to do good in people. I think people

are generally well meaning and want the
best for each other and the Band Aid phenomenon gives the opportunity to send the
money in the right direction. With plans
for a movie of The Rat King in the pipeline,
a promotional short animation produced by
Andrew Feely was screened at the launch,
juxtaposing dark, gritty scenes with a
rhyming script penned by Karl.
It seems that no matter where the authors creative projects take him in future,
Manchester will always play a part in inspiring them with Karl fondly saying: I
think that Manchester is the centre of the
world and I think that the Northern Quarter
is the hottest part of Manchester at the
moment.
So I think the Whisky Jar is the best little bar in the Northern Quarter. They have
a fantastic open mic night and I was attracted to that part of it, so it seemed like
the natural place to launch the book.
The Rat King is available to buy in hard
copy from Amazon or available to order
from other book retailers.

10 Quays Mail Friday, December 12, 2014

Entertainment & Culture

The Hobbit: the final tale

CREDIT: CREATIVE COMMONS

JOURNEY: The Hobbits journey comes to an end as fans queue up from midnight for the final episode of the adventure

By Emma Sanders
News Editor

HE THIRD instalment of The Hobbit

Battle of the Five Armies, which
was shown in Manchester for the
first time at midnight on Thursday, is tipped
to be the biggest film of the Christmas period.
Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage)
and the dwarves engage in a war on several fronts in a battle to stop Smaug and
prevent the obliteration of Middle-Earth in
the final of the highly anticipated Hobbit

trilogy.
When Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman)
was disturbed by Gandalf (Ian McKellen)
and the army of dwarves in The Hobbit
An Unexpected Journey, he wasnt to
know hed be confronting a fire-breathing
dragon.
But after re-claiming the lonely mountain
from Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) the
small hobbit and his dwarf friends must
now keep the beast away and a battle to
save Middle-Earth has erupted on several
fronts.

The Telegraphs Robbie Collin was less

than impressed, claiming the latest film
was something not to be watched so
much as ploughed through for closures
sake.
He claimed Peter Jackson had muddled the perspective of how The Hobbit
story should be told and the most recent
addition to the trilogy has further muddled
that perspective. Bilbos child-like view of
Middle-Earth wasnt displayed according
to Collin.
However, Sam Taylor, a resident in Sal-

ford, went to see the premiere showing of

the new film at the AMC Cinema on
Deansgate in Manchester and thought the
final block-buster was possibly the best of
the three and deserved great credit.
It was amazing! It deserved an ovation
at the end and the final instalment of Peter
Jacksons epic saga was a truly fitting
round off.
In keeping with the Hobbits light heartedness, The Battle of Five Armies not
only thrilled, but amused greatly, with
tongue firmly in cheek throughout.
It was a highly satisfying end to the trilogy.
Sam wasnt the only one who enjoyed
The Hobbit and it seems that Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings fans were very
keen to support his latest trilogy.
Rebecca Sime, a resident from Bolton
who studies in Manchester, also went to
the AMC but watched all three Hobbit films
through-out the afternoon as the cinema
showed the entire trilogy in the lead up to
the new film.
She commented, I knew it would be
good. Im a fan of all the Lord of the Rings
films and I enjoyed the first two Hobbit
films so the final one was not going to be
any different.
I was excited all day to go and watch it
and when we got to the cinema the queue
was starting to get really long. Im glad we
got there earlier as we had good seats.
I could go back tonight and watch it
again it was that good! Even if youre not a
fan, Id recommend watching it. Its funny,
exciting, un-expected and of course, full of
twists. Its the best film Ive watched this
year - better than The Hunger Games and
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Cinema times: www.amc.co.uk

New film The Imitation Game and its link with Manchester
By Reny Mihaylova

AS The Imitation Game reaches international fandom, it is worth knowing that Alan Turing, whom the movie is based on, has a permanent
statue close to Manchesters famous Canal Street.
That statue, now linked to the movie, joins the hundreds of films which
have based themselves within Manchester.
Just a few weeks ago Nicole Kidman was filming in a Manchester street
which doubled up as a Manhattan one.
But what else has been filmed here?

ALAN TURING MEMORIAL

The Imitation Game, starring heartthrob Benedict Cumberbatch and the

infamous beauty Keira Knightley came out on 14 November 2014. The American-historical
thriller has won 22 awards and recalls the life of Alan Turing.

STORY: Alan Turing, a Manchester pioneering computer scientist and cryptologist, solved
(during WWII) Germanys Enigma Code and thus saved millions of lives. Unfortunately,
the UK government later prosecuted him for gross indecency.

OTHER MANCHESTER MOVIE LOCATIONS...

MANCHESTER TOWN HALL

The Iron Lady (2011), which portrays the story of Margaret Thatcher and stars
two times Oscar winning actress, Meryl Streep, was filmed here to recreate the Westminster location.
Sherlock Holmes (2009) saw director Guy Richie shoot some of the scenes at this Manchester destination, instead of the House of Commons.

City centres hidden gem:

The Grill on the Alley

Friday, December 12, 2014 Quays Mail 11

By Helen Vaudrey
Features Editor

THE Grill on the Alley describes itself as a

restaurant serving solid, honest, simple,
proper food - job done. Solid? Why yes,
the food seemed solid enough, especially
their signature ribeye steak that I requested to be cooked rare but instead
proved tougher to hack in to than if it were
still attached to the back of a live cow.
Honest, simple and proper? Again, I cant
argue with their mantra on this either, the
simplicity of which each dish that was presented to me quite frankly blew me away.
And finally, Was the job done? Lets say
that towards the end of the evening I was
actually considering taking the steak knife
to myself to avoid tasting the pudding.
Surprisingly, the Grill on the Alley is
widely professed to be one of the best
restaurants in Manchester and lists number three in the Mancunians guide to top
restaurants in the city.
Naturally, I was inclined to find out for
myself. Tucked away on Ridgefield Street
on the most affluent alley I have ever
walked in to, the restaurant boasts a welcoming and warming decor which features
open brick walls and low hanging bulbs
dangling two metres down from a high
ceiling. However, much to my surprise I
found myself being led, much like a cow to
the slaughterhouse, down a flight of stairs
and into the far less appealing basement
of the restaurant.
Deciding that I didnt really care about my
waistband anyway, I decided on the deep
fried brie to start. The brie was accompanied by sweet beetroot and red onion com-

George
Lucas yet to
see new
Star Wars
trailer

TRIED AND TESTED: The Grill On The Alley serves up a meal to Helen Vaudrey what was the verdict
pote with rustic croutes.
Unfortunately, the cheese was not cooked
sufficiently and was lukewarm at the time
of serving.
The texture was gloopy and lumpy and
resembled more of a liquid than cheese
and quite deterred from the other elements
of the dish that were prepared and presented to a good standard.
No sooner did I place down my knife and
fork did I find that my dish was taken away
by the waiter and replaced within two minutes by the main course. Nothing gives a
more unprofessional impression in a fine
dining restaurant than food being rushed
out at such high speed. In the Grill on the
Alley the main courses are priced on average around eighteen to twenty pounds per
head. At this price range you would expect

a little more effort being put in to the

preparation of the dish you ordered, even
a relatively simple dish like steak, or at the
very least that it would be cooked the way
you requested.
I requested the ribeye to be cooked rare,
something the chef was apparently unfamiliar with and it instead arrived seared
and cooked straight through with a side
order of soggy chunky chips presented in
one of those annoying mini fryers that
chains like the Yatess utilise. Yet at
19.75, I genuinely think the Yatess round
the corner would have provided better
value for money.
For desert: sticky toffee pudding. I was
tempted to opt for a cheeseboard, but was
astonished to see that at ten pound, the
menu only offered a selection of three

cheeses yes you read that right three.

Compare this to the Damson restaurant
which is one place behind the Grill on the
Alley on Manchesters top restaurant list
and the price really does take the biscuit,
or the cracker in this case.
Damson offers a choice of seven cheeses
at the exact same price as the Grill, and
offers a full board selection for an extra
five pound.
In short, if youre looking for the solid simple food that is quoted on the Grills website, then this restaurant will certainly not
let you down. However, if you actually
have compassion for your taste buds and
your purse strings, then I strongly advise
you take your carnivorous appetite to another steak house and steer well clear of
this alley.

By Rebecca Bretherton
Entertainment Editor

STAR Wars fans the world over

were treated to the first sneak peak
of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force
Awakens two weeks ago. As excited
mania and parodies ensued it came
to light that creator George Lucas
has yet to see the trailer - despite
being listed as a Creative Consultant
on the project.
He told the New York Post its not
in the movie theatre, I like going to
the movies and watching the whole
thing there. I plan to see it when its
released."
Lucas sold his company (George
Lucas Films) to The Walt Disney
Company in 2012 for $4 billion, evidently breathing fresh air into the
franchise. The new film is directed
by JJ Abrams, the director behind
the new Star Trek franchise. Star
Wars: The Force Awakens is due for
release in December 2015. Only
time will tell if this new Star Wars
journey will prove as successful as
JJ Abrams previous endeavours.

Light up the night at Picadilly Gardens

LIGHT: Manchester Art Gallery lights up for a new Picadilly Gardens art festival this December

By Rebecca Bretherton
Entertainment Editor

THIS week a new light festival debuted in

Manchester. The event, Enlighten Manchester will bring artists from across the
word to the city. Its a pilot launch with
plans for a much bigger festival due to
take place in December 2015, which will
coincide with the UNESCO International
Year of Light.
Running for just four days from the 11th
to the 14th of December it showcases a
small number of art exhibits using light and
sound in Manchesters famous Piccadilly
Gardens.
Enlighten Manchester is the brain child
of art agency Curated Place and is work-

ing in partnership with Manchester City

Council, Heart of Manchester BID, Manchester Art Gallery and the Manchester
School of Art.
I visited the festival on its opening night
and though it appeared the organisers
were struggling somewhat with the dismal
wet and windy weather I was impressed.
There were lights set up to mimic the
sound and look of raindrops, whilst a single spotlight named Catch Me Now
caught the attention of passers-by as it
moved randomly across the floor.
One of the more intriguing was a set of
different coloured lights, the show titled
LYS*ARP and is described as a series of
lanterns used to transform Piccadilly Pavil-

ion into a playable instrument, something

the passer-by I spotted seemed to be having fun with as he walked under the
lanterns path.
Then there is one of the more understated exhibits, a projection on a concrete
wall, the letters situated on the ground are
reflected up on to it reading, A Solid Wish
Scatters.
With interesting ideas, despite struggling
with the weather as it appeared not all of
the exhibits were up and running on time.
Its an exciting taster of things to come this
time next year.
For more information regarding the exhibits and times visit: www.enlightenmanchester.co.uk

Christmas spirit des

12 Quays Mail Friday, December 12, 2014

Christmas
Markets
not jolly for
business

MANY local bar and restaurant owners in the areas surrounding the
Christmas Market sites have complained in regards to an increase of
litter on the streets and decline in
sales in their businesses.
This year, the opening weekend of
the annual Christmas Markets
hosted record-breaking crowds of
over half a million visitors who spent
an estimated 2 million over the 300
stalls.
The markets are not all candy
canes and jingle bells for the surrounding businesses and in some
cases the restaurant and bar staffs
have suffered a great deal in the
past few weeks.
Mike Edge who owns The Splendid Sausage Company, a restaurant
which opened on John Dalton Street
in April located just below Albert
Square, says the markets have
caused nothing but hassle for his
weekday business.
We have noticed a decline in
weekly lunch time business and a lot
of rubbish dumped right outside of
our shop. We pay for that bin to be
collected and emptied each week
and our bin people wont collect it
because the rubbish is next to the
bin not in it. It seems to be more
from the market traders than the actual public.
Mikes wife Emily who also works
at the restaurant added: our delivery drivers are finding it really difficult because there is a big flower
truck that parks right in front of our
shop for hours on end, so our drivers are going round and round trying
to find some where convenient to
pull up, this pushes back all of our
preparation time.
Though Manchester City Council
is proud to host the markets each
year, business owners claim less is
done by them to take into consideration such matters as rubbish and
traffic congestion.
Manchester City Council was unavailable to comment on this issue.

CHRISTMAS: Manchester Christmas markets return bigger and better than ever as KEY 103 colaborate with Manchest

By Koray Erol
Pictures Editor

CHRISTMAS time in Manchester has always been an unique experience for its
visitors. The phenomenal Manchester
Christmas Markets, families all-time
favourite ice rink and the magnificent
Christmas Lights switch-on event has already got everyone into the festive spirit.
The Christmas Lights switch-on event organised by Manchester City Council in collaboration of Key 103 kicked off the
Christmas celebrations in Manchester.
A breathtaking firework display to end
the Christmas Light Switch-On in Albert
Square was the biggest indicator to over
25,000 attendees that Christmas is coming.

Currently holding the reputation of accommodating the UKs biggest Christmas

Markets, with a ground breaking 300 stalls
spreading across nine different locations,
the Manchester Christmas Markets will be
bringing the best of festival food and gifts
to all of its guests until 21 December.
Saraya Gallagher, frequent visitor of the
Christmas Markets said: I come here
every year, and every year it gets better
and better. This years Christmas Markets
are absolutely massive if I were to compare it to previous years. All the stalls,
buildings, decorations are amazing but Ive
got to admit that my favourites are still the
mulled wine and the ice rink.
Ms Gallagher added; I was gutted that I
couldnt be here for the Christmas Lights
switch-on, Ive heard it was spectacular.

However I am so glad that the ice rink is

open in the New Year, I am certainly going
to be visiting the ice rink again.
The Spinningfields Ice rink has been welcoming visitors since the 6 November and
will be hosting its guests until 4 January
2015.

wife, the Oldham born model and singersongwriter, Karen Elson.

Throughout the night she took the crowd
through a number of Christmas songs as
well as her own material, ranging from her
own anthemic single, Open Up Your Arms
to Brenda Lees Rockin Around The
Christmas Tree.
Having played the majority of her set
with her new band, the singer performed
three emotional tracks with her keyboardist and vocalist, ending with a tearful
rendition of Joni Mitchells River, to which
she apologised for struggling to finish the
piano ballad.
Ending the set with her full band performing The Pogues Fairytale of New
York, the crowd joined in with the singing,
ending the night with the most fitting track
for this time of year and the most appropriate ending to encourage audience participation, which didnt need to be forced.

Ren Harvieu set the bar for the forthcoming year of expected new material
from the musician, gearing up to the release of her new album in the New Year; a
thoroughly entertaining, and at times emotional set from Salfords own star.

Ryan Giggs
hangover
Salford born singer-songwriter brings
cure
some Christmas cheer to Manchester
RYAN Giggs restaurant claims to
have created the ultimate recovery
cocktail, tried and tested by
the former footballer himself.
Coming just in time for the festive
drinking season Snap Out Of It
promises to cure partygoers of their
hangovers by giving them a much
needed health-kick.
Snap Out Of It is similar to the
traditional Bloody Mary but
Georges Dining Room & Bars
mixologist John Adeyemi takes a
twist by replacing vodka with Giggs
favourite spirit, gin.
One of Georges other owners,
Kelvin Gregory said: Customers
are going mad for the new
cocktail already, I think Christmas
may have started early for us here
in North Manchester!.

By Josh Nicholl
Music reporter

IN 2011 Ren Harvieu was told she may

never walk again after breaking her back
in a freak accident.
Following a miraculous recovery, the Salford songstress appeared on Later With
Jools Holland, got nominated for the
BBCs Sounds of 2012 poll and released
her debut album. Through The Night on Island Records, entering the charts at number five.
Bringing her annual Christmas show to
The Ruby Lounge, the theatrical singersongwriter performed to a packed venue in
her hometown of Manchester.
The soul artist walked out onstage glamorously clad, complete with a Santa Claus
hat. Opening with a traditional number,
The Train Song, which she famously released back in 2012 with Jack Whites ex-

@renharvieu on Twitter

scends on the community

Friday, December 12, 2014 Quays Mail 13

ter Council for the light switch on (inset) The ice rink at spinning fields (below) just one of many this year as the public embraces the spirit of the season

CHRISTMAS SING-SONG AT THE RUBY LOUNGE

Salford born singer Ren Harvieu, who was told she may never walk again, sang a range of songs at The Ruby Lounge last night to a crowd of hundreds

Timeless fashion

14 Quays Mail Friday, December 12, 2014

Review :
Black Sea

IF youve seen the classic working

class drama Brassed Off and believe
thats how all redundancies end up,
then you really need to see this film.
Broken, depressed, plucky, confident
and scheming; (Jude Law) Robinson
is down on his luck with a plan to fight
back.
Sacked from his job as a submarine
pilot at multi-national salvage corporation Agora. Over a pint, a former
colleague divulges word of 40 million worth of gold in a sunken Nazi
sub at the bottom of the Black Sea.
Robinson plots a method to get the
gold and assembles a motley crew of
former comrades and foreign bandits
including Ben Mendelsohn (Place Beyond The Pines) as Fraser, with over
a century of experience combined.
The crew are promised an equal
share of the booty, question is: can
they locate it and get out without
being detected by the Russian navy?
Laws Robinson is the films lynchpin,
grabbing the audience by the scruff of
the neck and hurling them straight in
at the deep end of the claustrophobic,
intense, thrilling action. The notion of
less bodies equating to more booty
for the rest overcomes several members of the crew.
Theres a resonant and gritty authenticity as the crew strives to better their
lives.
Kevin Macdonalds direction his
best since The Last King of Scotland
- keeps the action tight inside the ancient vessel, using Dennis Kellys intelligently paced and wrought
screenplay as his base. Little to no
CGI affirms the realism retaining
the tension of impending doom.
This is Laws film, in a career-best
role, sporting a surprisingly convincing Scottish accent. His gritty,
unflinching conviction and dry brutal
honesty grips the audience in his iron
fisted commanding hand.
With truly heart-stopping set pieces
and moments of breathless danger
the film immerses the audience in
claustrophobia, reminiscent of Alfonso Cuarons Gravity. A gripping,
unflinching and brutal thriller.

FEDORA FASHION: Transversing both the young and old generations of the British public with its timeless boho-chic look

By Reny Mihaylova
Reporter

AS the winter days turn colder and shorter,

fashion become more limited to woolly
wraps and chunky knits. But this year, a
trendy item of the past is being brought
back to life- the Fedora.
During this winter season, you will see it
all around: decorating the window displays
of retail shops; bobbing up and down the
busy streets of Manchester; travelling on
the train to distant locations and even
shopping at your local Tesco.
But apart from being a great and popular
accessory, the Fedora has great historic
value.
Behind every great fashion masterpiece
stands a French mastermind. The Fedora
makes no exception to this rule. It was first
introduced in Victorien Sardous 1882 play,
Fedora. Sardous play portrayed the story
of Princess Fedora Romanoff and starred
the most promiscuous sex-symbol of the
late 19th century, Sarah Bernhardt. Bernhardt was the living portrayal of scandal:
she constantly wore mens clothing and
usually played male roles (e.g. Hamlet,

REVIEW: Subtitled dramas

newest hit: The Legacy

By Joshua Tindall
Editor

SOPHISTICATED, intriguing and full of

fantastically written dialogue, the breadth
and popularity of subtitled dramas has
risen sharply in the last few years.
One country which the UK has fallen in
love with primarily because of its TV is
Denmark. In fact, weve become somewhat seduced by the Danish language
because of their dramas, ranging from
The Killing, to Borgen and now, the
newest, and most family-driven yet The
Legacy.
Much like many British dramas which
have struck gold over the decades, The
Legacy is based on family strife and tensions, as opposed to the past Danish hits
focusing on dark crime and political ructions.
With a cast as big as Downton Abbeys,
The Legacy asks viewers to consider the
aftermath of a loved one from a harsh and
industrial light what happens to the
money that is so often left behind. With
that, comes moral questionability about
just how much should be fought over.
This tale focuses on rich and grand
family, at the helm Veronika Gronnegaard,
a well-known artist who has hidden her
terminal illness. Not only that, she has
hidden another child which

is a shock to her other children not least

because there is now another person to
fight over when the legacy is discussed.
The programme has hit heights of nearly
two million viewers on Danish TV, a number which is eye-opening considering its
population is only just over 5 million.
Whilst The Legacy, which is shown on
the niche channel Sky Arts, might not hit
those numbers here, it is still sure to be a
drama which is fawned over by the newfound lovers of the phenomenon that is
subtitled drama.

Sky Arts 1 , Wednesdays 10pm

Judas Iscariot). She was the first actress

to wear the centre-creased soft brimmed
hat.
During the 1920s, the fedora took on new
heights. It consequently became a symbol
of liberalism and equality for the Womens
Rights Movement. It was associated with
New York City gangsters (who have inspired Al Pacinos Scarface and Marlon
Brandos Godfather) and it was the coolest
accessory at the hidden speakeasies of
the Prohibition period. Many film noirs
clichd this accessory with the likes of
Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. It was
also an inseparable part of Jazz musician

Frank Sinatras stage attire.

Despite falling off the fashion radars in the
1950s, the fedora made its comeback into
popular culture. It became the attire of the
lead character in George Lucas 1982 film,
Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark.
It danced the moonwalk with Michael
Jackson. A wide brim, white fedora was
the essential accessory for the creator of
Discworld, Terry Pratchett.
Finally, it brought sexy back with Justin
Timberlake.
Nowadays, the felt hat is restoring a classic timeless boho-chic essence to the
streets of Manchester.

In cinemas soon - Taken 3

LIAM Neeson is back as ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills for the third and final
instalment in the Taken movie franchise. Six years ago, we were first introduced to Mills and his family for
Taken (2008), as he ventured to Paris
to rescue his kidnapped daughter.
Four years later, Taken 2 (2012)
moved to Istanbul, where his wife was
instead taken hostage as a revenge
ploy.
Now, in 2014, you might be wondering what on earth can happen next.
This time, an innocent Mills is accused
of a ruthless murder and is tracked
and pursued by the government. I
guess this had to be the case, really,

since there were no more family

members to kidnap. Neeson himself
said hed only return for the third film
if no-one was taken. Alongside the returning Neeson, both Maggie Grace
and Famke Janssen also reprise their
roles. Forest Whitaker joins the cast
as Inspector Franck Dotzler.
The first film was a big-hit, taking almost $25 million on its opening weekend. The sequal almost doubled
those opening weekend figures in the
USA.
The films director Oliver Megaton,
who also directed the second film, will
be hoping for a similar haul. The film
hits the big-screen across the UK on
8 January.

JASON Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and

Charlie Day return in the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2011 smash-hit
comedy, Horrible Bosses.
This time around the gang have quit
their jobs and its their turn to be the
(horrible) bosses. Nick (Bateman),
Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day) are trying to start their own business with a
new self-cleaning product called The
Shower Buddy.
To get their new business venture off
the ground they attempt to get an investment from Burt Hanson (Academy-Award winner Christoph Waltz)
who robs them of the rights of their invention. The guys decide to get even
and kidnap Berts son, Rex (Star Trek
star, Chris Pine) and hold him for ransom.
However, when the plot doesnt go
exactly to plan, Rex decides to help
the guys out as a way to get back at
his dad. As the film progresses it gets
tougher to tell who is in charge and
how it will all end.
Jennifer Aniston also returns as sexcrazed dentist Julia Harris, who brings

the same crude humour delivered in

another perfectly, shocking performance that only she can give. You will
all anticipate the scenes Aniston stars
in, whether it is with excitement or
dread at what she will say or do next.
Other returning characters include
gangster Dean M.F Jones (Jamie
Foxx) and Nicks former boss, Dave
Harkin (Kevin Spacey) who is now incarcerated. Even though the scenes
to feature these original characters do
provide some good jokes and a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, I feel
that these two were brought back because of popular demand and not because they were featured in the initial
script for the sequel. The scenes with
M.F Jones in the same old bar seem
to feel a little repetitive from the original.
Overall, a nice sequel with enough
comedy and laughs to entertain you
for two hours, but after the shocks
and hilarity Horrible Bosses offers,
Horrible Bosses 2 needs a little work
promotion to be on the originals level.

Review: Horrible Bosses 2

Friday, December 12, 2014 Quays Mail 15

FILM REVIEW:
Get Santa
By Rebecca Frankland

COMEDY MAESTRO Jim Broadbent

takes centre stage as Santa Claus
for this gritty yet warming tale of
one boy and his fathers efforts to
save Christmas.
Ex-con Steve (Rafe Spall) leaves
jail with plans to make up for his absence with his nine year-old lad Tom
(newcomer Kit Connor), but his
scheme is soiled when Tom discovers Santa in his garden shed.
With a crashed sleigh and reindeers let loose around town, Santa
needs the help of these two unlikely
heroes, but with a stint in prison on
the cards for St. Nic, can they get
him back to Lapland in time for
Christmas?
This festive treat comes courtesy
of horror tastemaker Christopher
Smith, renowned for his lo-fi movies
including Triangle and Black Death.
Testing the water of another genre
surprisingly pays off for Smith, and
with Ridley Scotts production company on board the film is executed
with a wonderfully British flare.
Get Santa sits without the tinselinfused, sickly-sweet approach usually taken to modern Christmas
movies; it isnt sugar-coated with
fairy-tale tosh. With the dysfunctional family unit paving the way for
some elements of the story to develop, the film has a welcome layer
of social realism.
Some immature humour stems
from the reindeer flatulence communication system and the occasional
slapstick injury. It ticks all the boxes
for a giggle-athon from the younger
viewers, whilst some jokes would go
right over their head and straight
onto the adults lap.
Some of the films funniest scenes
come from Broadbents time in jail.
He gets a lesson from the hard man,
Barber (Stephen Graham, from This
Is England) in how to fit in while
locked up; cue Santa with corn rows
and a swag walk. The other inmates,
Knuckles (Nonso Anozie) and Sally
(Warwick Davis) need a little more
convincing, but of course they eventually take a shine to him.
Spalls ordinary guy persona as
Steve makes him a relatable, charming protagonist. The relationship between him and his son Tom delivers
some of the usual, valuable life lessons needed for a Christmas film:
family is important and everyone deserves a second chance. You know
the drill.
The casting is perfect. It seems as
if the role of Santa was made for Jim
Broadbent. His kookiness and likeability become one of the standout
aspects of the movie. The real reindeers are a superb touch and add a
little extra aww to every scene they
appear in.
The gloomy visuals brighten as
the film progresses and magical effects replace it. The cockles of even
the coldest hearts would have
warmed up by the end of this flick.
Despite the quality acting, it just
falls short of curating that hairs
stand up on the back of your neck
moment that we strive for while
watching a festive film. It might not
go down as an all-time classic, but it
puts a smile on your face and after
all, isnt that what Christmas is all
about?

Frog and Bucket spreads festive

spirit with Christmas comedy
INTHESPOTLIGHT: The stage awaits for compre,Phil Ellis and headline comedians, Gary Delaney and Alun Cochrane

By Robert Bhamber
Entertainment Editor

WITH the festive season in full swing,

Manchesters Frog and Bucket comedy
club launched the first of their exciting annual Christmas shows on Thursday
evening.
The compre for the night was Frog and
Bucket stalwart Phil Ellis, who faced the
difficult task of warming up a crowd who
were attending for a party rather than the
comedy. Some were far from responsive in
his attempts at audience interaction, but
he managed to win over the majority of the
crowd after creating an imaginary feud between two software companies who were

BOOK REVIEW:
Captivated by
You - Sylvia Day

By Rebecca Bretherton
Entertainment Editor

embarking on their Christmas night out.

With the audience finally focused on the
comedy, Ellis introduced Mock the Week
regular, Gary Delaney. Delaneys act is
simple; there are no personal stories, or
funny anecdotes about his time on the
road, just razor sharp, quick one-liners
from start to finish.
He may be a regular on TV, but it is live
stand-up where Delaney really excels.
There are no restrictions on the topics of
his gags. They vary from childish to completely unacceptable throughout and the
quality is just as high as the quantity. Delaney relishes in testing the morality of the
audience, often stating that those who
laugh at his risqu jokes are just as much
in the wrong as he is for telling them.

But despite his indecent material, Delaney remains a likable character; often
putting himself at the butt of the joke. His
jokes are eminently quotable, perfect for
those on an office outing to tell around the
water-cooler the next day.
After a short break, Ellis returned to introduce the second and final act of the
night, circuit veteran, Alun Cochrane. His
observational material and laid-back delivery provided the perfect contrast to Delaneys onslaught of punchlines.
With stories about the difficulties of owning a dog, to his usage of Marks and
Spencer carrier bags, Cochranes relatable material kept the audience in excellent spirits throughout and ensured the
nights comedy show ended on a high.

IT is the hotly anticipated fourth book in

the Crossfire series by New York Times
Bestselling author, Sylvia Day. The series
was originally intended as a trilogy, with
the author informing readers that there
was still more of the story to tell and subsequently announcing two extra books.
The problem? By the end of this book, it
felt like the story had moved nowhere; we
were right back to where we started.
The book starts pretty much where the
previous one finishes. Gideon and Eva
have married in secret and as far as
everyone else is aware they are just engaged.
By the end of the book, Cary (Evas best
friend) has found out theyre married but
nothing else has really changed. Its a
sorry case of rinse and repeat; Gideon and
Eva argue, she cant trust him but theyre
back together in the end, theyre still getting married and theyre still with a mountain of problems ahead of them.
In reality it would seem the only reason
a fourth book, and soon a fifth, will be in
existence is because the books sell and
they have even been optioned for a TV series by Lionsgate.
So what actually happens in this book?
Megumi returns and it turns out her
boyfriend has been hurting her, but its
mentioned briefly and is dealt with off
page. Brett Kline, Evas ex-boyfriend, returns and she spends most of the book
battling her feelings towards him and if
thats the way this author wants to go it

will, in my opinion, ruin the series. Love triangles are an overused plot device that
only infuriate the reader or bore them.
Considering the not-so-stable relationship
between Gideon and Eva, I really dont
see how this would benefit the story.
Corinne, one of Gideons exs, returns and
she wants to write a tell-all book to remind
Gideon of how good they were together.
Honestly, I really dont care about this
character and it seems the author is just
trying to create unnecessary drama to
stretch the story.
The one element that may be noteworthy is Gideons stepfathers discovery of
what happened to Gideon as a child and
the fact he actually believes him - but we
didnt really need to see this. The way the
third book ended, suggested that they
would continue to work through their problems together. A sunshine and rainbows
happy ending was a long way off for this
literary couple but this wasnt necessary
as it was implied and any reader worth
their salt could read between the lines and
see that.
Long story cut short, I was disappointed
but I wasnt surprised. I didnt expect this
book to be very good and none of the sequels have lived up to the first. So if youre
a fan of the series, finish with book three.
You dont need to read the drama of this
instalment when Gideon and Eva had a
perfectly happy ending to begin with.
Rating: 1/5

Stockport para-cycli
golden year with BBC

16 Quays Mail Friday, December, 2014

Boltons
Amir Khan
set for Las
Vegas fight

KHAN: Heading to the MGM Grand

By Luke Betts
Sports Reporter

FORMER WBA Light Welterweight

champion, Amir Khan, is set to face
Devon Alexander in Las Vegas on
Saturday night, as he hopes to grab
the attention of unified champion
Floyd Mayweather.
The Bolton-born fighter has had
his eyes set on the undefeated
money man since the deal was
nearly sealed by the Americans fans
last year.
In an online poll Mayweather allowed his fans to decide his next opponent. Although Khan was the
winner the match up went to Marcos
Maidana, a fighter Khan has already
beaten.
Since then, Khan has been doing
his best to make the fight happen.
He even fought on the undercard of
a headline Mayweather event
against Luis Collazo, after which
Mayweather promised the fight
would happen someday.
In his latest press conference Amir
Khan insisted he has complete faith
in his capabilities.
I have the fastest hands in the
ring. I have some of the best skills in
boxing. I deserve to be regarded as
among the elite fighters in the world,
to be talked about in the same
breath as Mayweather and Pacquiao. I believe I am the future of
boxing.
Many have criticised the Pretty
Boy for handpicking his fights in the
past, as he bids to reach 50 wins before the end of his career. As well as
Khan there is also a lingering controversy surrounding the Manny Pacquiao matchup, which he has also
been accused of avoiding.
In the short term Khan will have
his work cut out in the MGM Grand
on Saturday night.
Ahead of the fight Khan spoke
about headlining in Las Vegas:
Its a dream come true. Its been
a very tough camp for the last 12
weeks. I have been pushing myself
very hard and have been focused
throughout the whole camp.
Alexander took an early dig at his
opponent saying, I dont know what
it is about Khan, but a lot of UK fans
want to see me beat him for some
reason.
The Bolton bruiser described
Alexanders style as being similar to
his own and told fans to expect an
explosive and powerful fight that is
not to be missed.

By Dan Whelan
Sports Editor

ON Sunday evening Stockport para-cyclist, Sophie Thornhill, will return to the city
that was home to what she describes as
her biggest achievement of a highly successful year.
A double gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Sophie will
take her seat in the citys SSE Hydro
Arena amongst the greats of British sport
with a chance of being crowned Young
Sports Personality of the Year.
Im just ecstatic to be nominated. To
win would put the icing on the cake after a
brilliant year for me, she said.
I watch the awards every year and I
would be so proud and honoured to win,
added the 18 year old.
Sophie suffers from Oculocutaneous Albinism which severely impairs her vision
but, after being encouraged to take up the
sport by fellow para-cyclist and family
friend, Anthony Kappes, her rate of development has been breathtaking.
Her triumph at this summers Games
with pilot Helen Scott was just one success that saw Sophie become one of ten
athletes nominated for the prestigious honour.
I've had such a fantastic year. Winning
at the Commonwealth Games is something I just want to savour for as long as
possible she said.
2014 has been another fruitful year for
British athletes and Sophie knows that she
is up against stiff competition to add yet
another award to what is already a considerable personal haul.
I feel so honoured to be nominated
among fantastic athletes. Everyone has
had such a brilliant year.
She explained, I remember when I was
told, I was over the moon.
Being a para-athlete you dont always
get noticed but Im overjoyed.
In the initial ten-athlete shortlist, paraswimmer Erriad Davies and wheelchair
racer Jade Jones, were named alongside
Thornhill for a chance of winning the prize,
something which the cyclist feels is hugely
important in terms of raising the profile of
para-sport.
I think it's absolutely brilliant that three
para-athletes have been nominated. The

Credit: Creative Commons

ONTRACK: Sophie and pilot, Helen Scott, push for the finish line in a tandem sprint event
amount of talent out there needs to be
recognised and this has helped in a brilliant way, she explained.
To see any young athlete in sport is fantastic but I know from personal experience

how hard it can be when you have a disability, but this never holds us back and we
just do the sport we love, she added.
Three months prior to the Glasgow
Games, Sophie had emphatically secured
another brace of gold
medals at the Track World
Championships in Mexico;
this particular achievement coming less than two
years after joining the Paralympic Development Programme.
When I joined the Programme my career
changed drastically. It allowed me to get the training I needed to improve.
Becoming full-time meant
IN ACTION: English duo push for Commonwealth glory a big improvement in my
lifestyle. Im loving every

Academy opening signa

MAPPINGTHEFUTURE: A digital view of the new academy layout, including the Etihad Stadium, while Manchester City chiefs reveal p

ist looking to cap a

C sports award win

Friday, December 12, 2014 Quays Mail 17

Credit: Glasgow Commonwealth Games

VICTORY: Sophie and Rachel James (above) celebrate gold at Glasgow games
and (below) Thornhill and Scott take the plaudits after a win the previous year

minute, she explained.

In Aguascalientes, she and Welsh pilot
Rachel James smashed the one kilometre
world-record before the pair clinched gold
in the sprint event, defeating their Australian opponents.
If Sophie is crowned Young Sports Personality of the Year at Sunday nights ceremony, she will join an illustrious group of
former winners that includes Andy Murray
and Lewis Hamilton.
Ahead of the awards, the shortlist was
whittled down to three with Sophie taking
her place alongside gymnast Claudia Fragapane and golfer Bradley Neil. But, with
the chance to crown a landmark year in
style, the cyclist is just grateful to have had
her achievements recognised.
It's an honour that the panel has nominated me, I cant thank them enough. I
cant believe I get to do this as a job, she

Credit: Creative Commons

said.
Sophie also described fellow para-cyclist
Sarah Storey as a huge influence on her
career.
The 11-time Paralympic champion went
to the same high school as Sophie and
has helped the youngsters development
immeasurably over the past few years.
Sophie said: It means the world to me.
If I can achieve a tiny fraction of what
Sarahs done then Ill be over the moon.
In September, Sophie claimed her fifth
and sixth gold medals of the year in the
1000m and the 200m flying lap at the
British National Track Championships in

Manchester and, despite Sundays ceremony looming, she is already looking forward to next year, saying:
We've got our World Championships in
Holland in March so at the moment all
prep is going towards that.
2015 is a big year. It's only a year until
the Olympics in Rio and it'll go so quickly.
We're just going to get in some good training and keep driving forward, she added.
If the unrelenting upward trajectory of
Sophies cycling career continues, we can
expect to see her with yet more medals
draped round her neck in Brazil, plus
plenty more in-between in the years leading up to the games.

Salford
prepare for
clash with
Padiham

SALFORD CITY return to league action on Saturday when they entertain

bottom of the league Padiham (KickOff 15:00).
Following the postponement of
last weekends match at Ossett
Town due to an unplayable pitch,
Phil Powers side will be eager to get
on with their league campaign and
put the cup loss to Ramsbottom
United behind them.
Speaking after the game, even
Power admitted he thought his side
played better than in the win over
Burscough at the weekend despite
going down to 10 men.
But at the rear end of a run of poor
results, and now out of all the cup
competitions, it is about the right
time for The Ammies to pick up
where they left off at the end of October, and get back to picking up
points in the league against a side
they did the double over last season.
For Padiham, there hasnt been
such a turn though, and a run of
eight consecutive losses has led to
manager Danny Craig leaving the
club this week by mutual consent.
The Storks survived their first season in the league, finishing a creditable 19th with 42 points, but
appear to be suffering from second
season syndrome, having won two,
drawn three and lost 16 matches
this season.
As is quite often seen in the higher
leagues, a change in manager
sometimes accompanies a change
in fortunes, and that will be the reaction interim manager Stephen
Wilkes is hoping for with a run of two
home games coming up that could
go a long way to helping them off the
bottom.
Salford, meanwhile, will have their
sights set on re-gaining the top spot
for the first time since early November, and face a long battle with Darlington and Northwich that will go
right through until April.
With fans being urged to bring old
toys to the match to help support a
Key103 campaign in the last home
game before Christmas, the team
will be hoping they can return the gift
of three points.

als landmark in Citys journey

plaque to commemorate the academys opening

By Dan Whelan
Sports Editor

MANCHESTERCITY Chairman Khaldoon

Al Mubarak said this week that the clubs
journey to become a leader of world football was far from over.
Speaking at the official opening of the
City Football Academy, Mubarak said that
the real work begins now after six years of
tireless effort to evolve City into a successful and sustainable club.
The new Academy boasts some of the
finest facilities of their kind which will be
used by Citys senior, youth and womens
teams. The development includes a 7000
seater stadium, a 190 metre bridge connecting the Academy to the Etihad Stadium as well as important community links.
70% of the workforce used to build the
site was sourced from the Greater Manchester area whilst 883 contracts were

POINTMADE: Mubarak outlines Citys ambitions to Chancellor George Osborne

awarded to local companies in the process
of the development.
The facility places City at the zenith of
grass roots development as well as providing a highly attractive prospect for potential signings.

Mubarak stated that the completion of

the project marked the commencement of
a period of time designated to the development of young talent both personally and
professionally.

England battle to reduce

Sri Lanka series deficit
18 Quays Mail Friday, December, 2014

DRIVINGSEAT: Root digs deep to frustrate Sri Lankan attack

By Matt Farr
Sports Reporter

ENGLAND overcame late nerves to seal a

priceless victory over Sri Lanka in a rainaffected fifth ODI, keeping the series alive.
The visitors, inspired by an unbeaten
century from Joe Root, produced an excellent display with both bat and ball to keep
themselves in contention ahead of the final
two games.
Chris Woakes starred with the ball on
Wednesday, finishing with figures of 6-47
to restrict Sri Lanka to 239 all out. His
bowling effort was the third best by an
England bowler in ODIs, and made him
the very first England bowler to take two
ODI six-wicket hauls.
However, poor weather conditions
forced play to be abandoned between innings, and was forced into a reserve day.
The game resumed on Thursday morning,
where Root and James Taylor (68) helped
England chase down the total.
It is a rare occurrence for 50-over
games to be played over two days. One
such match did happen last year, again involving Sri Lanka, during a tri-series match
against the West Indies. On this occasion
though, the Sri Lankans came out on top.
Another blissful innings from veteran
Kumar Sangakkara (91) and a late burst
from Thisara Perera (27) had earlier put
the Sri Lankans in a commanding position.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (35) and Angelo Math-

ews (40) also gave handy contributions

with the bat, but in the end, they still appeared to be 20-30 runs short.
Despite falling an agonising nine runs
short of his century, Sangakkara was able
to record his 91st half-century in the oneday international format. Coupled with 19
ODI hundreds, Sangakkara now has 110
ODI scores of 50 or more. Only Indian-legend Sachin Tendulkar (145) and newMumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting (112)
have more.
With the World Cup in the offing, places
in the 15-man squad are at stake, and
there are still players with points to prove
for both sides. Sri Lanka opener Kusal
Perera (0) failed yet again with the bat,
leaving him with just 99 runs from five innings in this series.
Meanwhile, both Alex Hales and Ben
Stokes were dropped from the England
side to accommodate the returning Alastair
Cook and James Tredwell; neither player
doing enough on Sunday to stake a claim
for a place in the side.
With England chasing a second victory
in the series, they were put on the back
foot early on by the returning Sachithra
Senanayake. The spinner claimed the
wickets of both Moeen Ali (4) and Alastair
Cook (20), but Taylor and Root lead a spirited recovery.
The concern over Cooks form and captaincy will no doubt continue as long as he
is in the side, but his innings of just 20 is

Credit: Troy_DA/Flickr

unlikely to do him any favours in the shortODI hundred, the stage was set for Lanterm.
cashires Jos Buttler to get his side across
The pair put on 104 for the third-wicket,
the finish line. He picked up a single to
before Taylors fine innings came to an
fine-leg, but a misfield allowed him to
end. The Nottinghamshire-batsman, who
come back for a second and win the game
scored 90 in Sundays defeat, was caught
with five balls to spare.
by Ajantha Mendis at fine-leg off the bowlThe victory will give England confidence
ing of Thisara Perera.
ahead of the series climax, as well as the
Having made his return to international
forthcoming World Cup in early 2015.
cricket on Sunday after a two-year abIf England win in Pallekele on Saturday,
sence, Taylor is proving to be a real selecthe series will be level at 3-3, with Tuestion headache for the England hierarchy,
days game in Colombo becoming a winraising questions over why he wasnt sener-takes-all affair.
lected in the limited overs format earlier.
But if Sri Lanka win, then Englands
Roots defiance continued meanwhile,
hopes of winning the series will be
with Ravi Bopara (28) playing a supporting crushed, taking an unassailable 4-2 lead in
role as England coasted towards victory.
the series.
However, when
Bopara perished
with 15 runs still required, the pressure
started to mount on
the visitors.
Eoin Morgan (5)
eased the nerves
only temporarily,
finding the fence on
his first ball; but he
too fell victim to Sri
Lankas spin, and
once again they
were in a spot of
bother.
With Root having
reached his third
WALKINGON: England keep their series hopes alive with win

Sale Sharks tackle Saracens Altrincham skaters prepare

in European Champions Cup for a Frozen performance

By Will Smith
Sports Reporter

SALE SHARKS take on Saracens at Allianz Park on Saturday in their last European game until after Christmas.
Sale travel to north London to take on
Sarries in their fourth game of this years
European Champions Cup which will be
shown live on Sky Sports.
Its the second time the clubs have met
in the space of a week with the London
Club running out narrow winners in a 1915 victory at the AJ Bell stadium.
Last weeks result meant that the Sharks
cannot qualify for the next stage of the

competition and a shot at European glory

will have to wait for another year. However, after Sarries win they still have a
good chance to qualify from a group completed by Clermont and Munster.
Danny Cipriani, who has been clear in
his desire to return to the England national
team recently, is expected to play again for
the Sharks after being instrumental
throughout the season.
For Sarries, ex-Sale player, Charlie
Hodgson is out of the game after suffering
an injury in last weeks encounter between
the two sides. Hodgson is expected to be
replaced in the side by England international Owen Farrell.

By Emma Sanders
News Editor

ALTRINCHAM Silver Blades Figure and

Dance Club showcase a number of talented skaters and dancers on a regular
basis during events in Greater Manchester
and their next big hit, Frozen on ice promises to entertain all.
On Sunday 14th December, Altrincham
skaters will bring Princess Elsa and
Princess Anna, our favourite characters
from the hit Disney movie, Frozen, onto
the ice rink in Spinningfields, Manchester.
Viewers can join in with the movies popular songs and admire the skills and talent

of the skaters from Altrincham. The performance will last 20 minutes, beginning at
12.30pm and the public can join in with the
Frozen cast in a public skate session until
3.30pm if booked in advance. They may
even be taught something about skating!
The Silver Blades are a competitive and
social club who welcome members on a
regular basis but they must require skaters
who have reached the minimum standard
of Skate UK level five.
The high standards set by the club have
continued to entertain Greater Manchester
and the club will carry on the development
of some of the best figure skaters in the
local area.

Friday, December 12, 2014 Quays Mail 19

Also in
action this
weekend...

GUDJOHNSEN: Returns to Bolton

BOLTON Wanderers welcome Ipswich Town to the Macron Stadium

on Saturday 13th December in
this weeks championship fixture.
Ipswich are well-placed near the
top of the table, only one point off
leaders Derby County with 37
points.
The home-side however find
themselves at the other end of the
table; Neil Lennons men currently
sit in 17th position and trail their visitors by 15 points.
Bolton Wanderers legend, Eidur
Gudjohnsen could make his second
debut and says he feels at home
upon his return to the side after 14
years.
The omens for the hosts dont
bode well as Ipswich havent lost a
game against Bolton since April
1999.

ROCHDALE are looking to end a

run of three games without a win
away at struggling Colchester United
on Saturday afternoon.
Dale head into the match looking
to end their bad run after they only
won one game in November- a 3-0
home victory against high-flying Preston.
Dale travel to the Colchester Community Stadium knowing they are
facing the leagues second worst defence ; the Us have conceded 34
goals in 19 games; only Crewe have
conceded more.
If Rochdale secure victory and
Oldham and Notts County both lose,
Keith Hills men will move into the
play-off place due to a better goal
difference.
OLDHAM Athletic take on Yeovil
Town at Boundary park on Saturday
looking for a win that could
strengthen their place off hopes.
The game will be a family affair
which sees Yeovil manager Gary
Johnson face-off against Oldham
boss Lee Johnson.
The Latics are looking to build
upon an impressive 3-0 away victory
at local rivals Rochdale last time out
and have a striker bang in form with
Daniel Johnson having netted twice
against Dale.
Oldham can move up to 5th in the
league table with a win over the
Glovers and if Sheffield United fail to
beat Fleetwood town.

BURY travel to the Kassam Stadium this weekend to face Oxford

United in the Sky Bet League Two.
David Flitcrofts team come in to
the game after earning a replay after
a last minute equaliser against Luton
Town in FA Cup on Saturday.
Bury Manager said "We dominated the game in every aspect really and to be 1-0 down was a bit
unjust, I felt.
The Shakers have gone five
games without a win and they currently sit in ninth place ahead of Saturdays meeting.

Success in Rome
paves the way for
Citys festive spell
ETIHADSTADIUM: City will be hoping to enjoy a successful Christmas period on home turf

By Dan Whelan
Sports Editor

DESPITE being without a host of high profile stars, Manchester City shone in Rome
to book their place in the last 16 of the
Champions League for the second consecutive season.
The draw, which will take place on Monday, could see the Premier League champions face one of three Spanish sides, two
of whom contested last years final, the
other boasting a certain Lionel Messi.
Pellegrinis men, who qualified thanks to
Wednesday nights 0-2 win in Rome, finished second in their group behind Bayern
Munich and will face a tough task regardless of who they draw in a few days time.
Second half goals from Samir Nasri and
Paulo Zabaleta earned Citys passage
from the group stages, one that had
looked unlikely after matchday four when
the blues capitulated at home to CSKA
Moscow.
With Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany,
David Silva and Sergio Aguero all unavailable for a starting berth on Wednesday
night, it was left to the supporting cast to
catapult City through with a workman like

Credit: Creative Commons

performance.
attention swiftly back to Premier League
Citys European form has often been
matters, as they travel to Leicester tomorlamented; they have shown a naivety
row.
which has served to infuriate fans and
Kompany is expected to return to repundits alike but on a Wednesday night in
place either Mangala or Demichelis whilst
Rome they displayed the solidarity that
Toures ban only covers European football.
they have waited so long
David Silva made a welto materialise on the Eurocome return from the bench
pean stage.
at the Stadio Olimpico and
Nasri ignited the game
could be in contention for a
on the hour mark with an
start against the leagues
unstoppable drive which
bottom side.
left Roma keeper Morgan
Leicester boss Nigel PearDe Sanctis clutching at
son goes into the game
thin air.
under pressure; his side
The performance was
have lost eight out of their
capped by a goal from
last ten and a visit from the
Pablo Zabaleta who, on so
Premier League champions
many occasions, has epitcould not have come at a
omised the team spirit
worse time. Pearson has
within a squad punctuated
also been asked to explain
with stars.
an altercation with a fan
The media often overCredit: Creative Commons which occurred after the
look the power of the col- NASRI: On target in Rome
Foxes recent defeat to Livlective in favour of
erpool.
unfounded views on an over-reliance on a
City have won their last six games and
select few individuals.
will be looking to take that form into the
Before Pellegrinis men can concentrate
busy Christmas period in the hope of
on Mondays draw they must first turn their
keeping pace with leaders Chelsea.

Smalling joins Uniteds lengthy injury list

Continued from back page

Manchester United will be without Chris

Smalling for Liverpools visit after the central defender became the latest player to
be added to their lengthy injury list, after
he was forced off with a groin injury just 18
minutes into Monday nights 2-1 win away
at Southampton.
It is likely Jonny Evans or Michael Carrick will be used as his replacement. Angel
Di Maria is on course for a return following
two games out with a hamstring injury
whilst Phil Jones may also return from a
shin injury which has kept him out since
Uniteds 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion in mid-October.
Rafael, Luke Shaw and Daley Blind are

all still out for United due to injuries. Its

also unlikely Van Gaal will play young
Paddy McNair after he substituted him before half time against Southampton.
After the game in an interview with Sky
Sports Van Gaal said, I had to substitute
him, its disappointing for me but also for
Paddy, but I had too.
Liverpool travel to the Manchester without Daniel Sturridge who is out with a thigh
injury.
Rodgers also has doubts over Mario
Balotelli and Kolo Toure who both have
groin injuries. Liverpool are likely to recall
Steven Gerrard and Dejan Lovren who
were only on the bench against Sunderland last weekend.

SMALLING: Misses out

Credit: Creative Commons

City sink Roma

& look ahead to
Leicester clash

United aim
for perfect
six with a
victory over
Liverpool

By Will Smith
Sports Reporter

ANCHESTER UNITED are aiming

to make it six wins in a row in the
Premier League with a victory
over Liverpool on Sunday at Old Trafford.
United go into the game in superb form
having won their last five Premier League
games, the latest being Monday nights 21 victory away at Southampton.
Sundays game is Louis Van Gaals first
taste of the rivalry between the two teams
and he would love to pile the mounting
pressure on Liverpool boss Brendan
Rodgers with a win in front of his home
fans.
The teams head into the game with very
different levels of confidence given recent
results. Louis Van Gaals men are high on
confidence due to their impressive run,
whilst Rodgers Liverpool team have only
won three of their last ten games in all
competitions and have suffered high profile defeats to Newcastle and Crystal
Palace in that time.
Liverpool beat United on both occasions
last season with Daniel Sturridge securing
victory at Anfield in the early-season encounter. They then travelled to Old Trafford
in March and demolished United 3-0 heaping further pressure on then manager,
David Moyes. It was the first time United
had failed to score against Liverpool in either league game since the 2000/01 season.
United are currently 3rd in the Premier
League table, eight points behind leaders
Chelsea and five behind second place
Manchester City. Liverpool sit 9th in the
league, the same position United were this
time last season.
Liverpool were also knocked out of the
Champions League midweek after only
managing a 1-1 draw against Basel which
meant they failed to qualify for the last 16
and found themselves dropping into the

Europa League instead.

It will be Louis Van Gaal first derby
game against Liverpool and he will know
how important a win in this fixture is.
Van Gaal has the perfect assistant in
Ryan Giggs who played 38 games against
Liverpool in his illustrious career and
scored four goals, so surely the Dutchman
will use Giggs to promote to the new signings like Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao,
Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera, given
how important a win against the Merseyside men is.
Brendan Rodgers heads to Old Trafford
with a fairly mixed record in this game having led Liverpool to two wins and three
losses in his time at the club so far.

Pg 19

Credit: Calcio Mercato

TARGET: Louis Van Gaal has his sights set on a win over Liverpool this Sunday
Rodgers is likely to recall captain Steven
Gerrard who was only a substitute for Liverpools last league game, a 0-0 draw
against Sunderland at Anfield.
Gerrard has scored more Premier
League goals against United at Old Trafford than any other player. The two penalties he converted last season took his tally
to nine goals in 33 appearances against
United.
Overall in this fixture, the two teams
have played each other 22 times at Old
Trafford with United winning 13, a win percentage of 59%. Liverpool have only won
five games at Old Trafford in the Premier
League era; their win last season their first
in four years.

This game comes at the perfect time for

Van Gaal with his team in a good run of
form and theyll look to avenge the defeats
they suffered last season. However, it is
the opposite for Rodgers who goes into
the game under severe pressure given
Liverpools poor league position, elimination out of the Champions League and failure to fill the void left by Luis Suarez.
The referee for the game is Martin Atkinson who has refereed both clubs once this
season; Uniteds 1-1 away draw at Sunderland in August and Liverpools 1-1
derby draw with Everton at Anfield in September.
Turn to page 19 for team news

Credit: Creative Commons

UNITEDLOOKINGFORREVENGE: Liverpool kept a clean sheet and emerged 3-0 winners at Old Trafford last season