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Friday 19th December, 2014

Experience the
Aeolian
light display
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SALFORDS NEWEST LOCAL NEWSPAPER

Famous WW1
truce match
revisited on
football pitch

Fighter AJ in brave battle

against rare disease
STORY ON PAGE 20

Fathers fight for 80,000 signatures on petition for heel prick test to help other children

By Ellie Robinson
News Reporter

BABY Anthonys family was

told the devastating news
that their child would never
be able to smile.
Anthony Jack, known as AJ
was diagnosed with
Krabbes disease at just
three months old, a degenerative disorder, which is
fatal to babies affecting just
1 in 100,000.
Anthonys parents, Jenna
Bannon and Tony Rushe,
originally suspected that
their son had colic at three
months old; a common ailment in newborns. Unbeknown to them the
diagnosis would be much

Brave
mum
lands
OBE
READ ON PAGE 5

more severe.
His father Tony, told me: I
was determined to make
him smile and for one moment, one split second he
did. But it was a very
cracked smile and then
from that point on he never
did it again. He was like a
robot.
Rapidly he just stopped
smiling and he cried a lot.
Obviously we thought the
crying was something to do
with wind or colic and so
did all the doctors, nurses
and health visitors and so
on, said Tony.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 3

RESTING PEACEFULLY: Baby AJ unaware of how little time he has left

First female bishop leaves

her church after eight years
2 Quays Mail Friday, December 19th, 2014

By Adam Stevenson
News Reporter

DUE to a historic change in Canon Law,

the first female bishop has been appointed
to the Church of England. The announcement came yesterday after just a month has
passed since a change in the legislation.
Parish priest Revd Libby Lane was chosen
as the bishop for Stockport, a role which became vacant in May. She will be consecrated
as the eighth bishop for the town and will be
ordained at York Minster on 26th January.
The position she holds, a suffragan bishop, is
subordinate to a diocesan bishop because
the assigned area may not have a cathedral
of its own. Because of this, Mrs Lane will be
unable to enter the House of Lords. Legislation to fast track women bishops into the
House of Lords was yesterday discussed in
Parliament, and a female representative is
expected to have a seat by the New Year.
With over 20 years experience in the
Church, Mrs Lane was ordained a deacon in
1993 and became a priest in 1994. Since
2007, she has been the vicar of St Peter's
Hale and St Elizabeth's Ashley in the diocese
of Chester. Her husband, George, is also a
priest and they were one of the first married
couples in the Church of England to be ordained together.
Giving a speech to her parishioners on
Wednesday, Mrs Lane shared her gratitude
by explaining that "If I manage to do this at
all well it's because of you."
"I've managed to get through today without getting emotional."
"I've been spending much of today answering press questions about how I feel.
How conscious [I am] of the confidence the
diocese has placed in me. You have prepared
me for what will lie ahead."
I honestly can't imagine that there are
many communities who not knowing anything at 10 o clock in the morning, by 5 o
clock in the afternoon have not only completely reordered the building, but deco-

rated the church and got celebratory bells

ringing."
Mrs Lane wasn't the only person to speak
at the service, Arch Deacon of Macclesfield
Ian Bishop shared his words of praise for
Mrs Lane, and for his fondness of the new
legislation, calling her a "most gifted lady",
and that "in a way it was only ever going to
be a matter of time before somebody
whisked her away."
"The world has embraced this move in the
Church of England. It is a fantastic moment
in our history and it's like you've [Libby]
suddenly united everyone. Libby has managed to unite everyone in congratulations."
People across the UK took the time out to
congratulate Mrs Lane, including Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and Archbishop Sentamu of York. Prime Minister
David Cameron also shared his praises by
turning to Twitter, labelling it "An historic
appointment and important day for equality".
Mrs Lane was educated in Manchester
and studied at Oxford University. She's one
of eight clergy women from the Church of
England who are Participant Observers in
the House of Bishops, and is the representative from the Diocese of the North West.
She's a keen Manchester United supporter
and enjoys reading and learning the saxophone in her spare time.
Georgina Watmore, close friend and colleague of Mrs Lane's thinks that she'll be an
outstanding bishop.
"I'm very fond of her, she's been a fabulous person to work alongside and I feel
genuinely excited for her as a person. I'm
obviously thrilled as a woman but I just feel
so excited that it's this particular woman because she's outstanding. I have no doubt
that she will do what will be quite a difficult
job very well."
"I expect to see more female bishops in
the years to come."
The appointment of Libby Lane leads the
way for female bishops throughout the UK.

Charity urges us to take on

the festive #5TINCHALLENGE
By Joshua Tindall
News Reporter

those in food and fuel poverty.

Risha Lancaster, a co-founder of
Coffee4Craig
said
A LOCAL charity founded only last year is
If
you
search
#5tinchallenge on Twitter or
urging the community to join an ambitious
Facebook
you
will see other organisanew campaign to help the needy
tions,
some
on the other side of
this Christmas.
Manchester and even in Cardiff
Coffee4Craigs #5tinchaland Edinburgh supporting
lenge gives people the
the cause.
opportunity to donate
If I get a call from a perfive tins to a local food
son
in need I can work
bank, before challengwith
other charities in
ing friends and family
Greater
Manchester,
to do the same.
Barakah
Food Aid in Sale
The idea was origiis
just
one
organisation we
nally thought up by
work
with
regularly.
Spirit and Soul DJ Simon
Risha and her wife Fie set
Williams, who interviewed
up
Coffee4Craig
after Rishas
Coffee4Craigs co-founders
brother
died
in
September
2013.
earlier in the year.
Craig, who had become homeless himI was horrified at the poverty on the
streets, and I thought to my- Haslingden Highs donations self, had spoken of his desire to set up a business to
self, Ive got to help Cofhelp
homeless
people
like himself just
fee4Craig he said.
months
before
he
died.
It doesnt matter if you bring in five tins
Now, that family business is a realisation,
or two tins, anything you can afford will
and
it is set to rise in popularity thanks to
help those in need.
the campaign, which continues to take social
This is about food, as simple as that.
media by storm.
The charity is now branching out, workIf youd like to get involved, simply doing with other non-for-profit organisations
to help not only with homelessness but also nate to your local food bank and tweet
the hashtag #5tinchallenge

LIBBY LANE: Addressing members of the church as she makes farewell

Shoplifting at an all time

high this Christmas period
By Matt Langhorn
News Reporter

POLICE are increasing their patrols at

some of the busiest shopping destinations around Manchester as the top 10
hotspots often targeted by shoplifters are
revealed.
Some of the biggest retailers are
braced for immense crowds over the festive period, but in amongst the crowds;
shoplifters tend to lurk.
Boots and Primarks Market Street
stores have been named as the top targets in the region for festive thieves.
Police have attended several shoplifting incidents at the stores since the beginning of December. Inspector Richard
Byatt, of GMPs city centre neighbourhood policing team, said extra officers
would be deployed to tackle the festive
rise in shoplifting.
He said: To combat the seasonal increase in shoplifting over the Christmas
period we will be running extra patrols
in the busiest areas, such as round the
Christmas markets, and we have a Shop
Watch scheme. The scheme includes
shopping centres and high street shops,
and allows retailers, security staff and
police to communicate via two-way radio.

They can let each other know when

shoplifters are in the vicinity, and security staff can then prevent these people
from entering stores.
Boots flagship store at the Intu Trafford Centre has also been listed as a top
target.
Electrical beauty consultant for Boots
at the centre, Chloe Nebard, has spoken
of her experience of incidents, If I was a
new employee it would scare me, but its
just something you learn to deal with.
We have two security guards at the store
all of the time. I must admit that it can
be scary at times, but theyre really not
nice people at all and though we have
never been formally trained to deal with
shoplifters, were told never to intervene.
More than 128 shoplifting incidents
were reported, from across Greater
Manchester during December more
than double the normal monthly average
of 61 per month throughout 2014.
The Centre for Retail Research has estimated that more than 42m of goods
will be stolen in Manchester over the
festive period.
Also listed were major supermarket
chains Morrisons (2 stores), Asda (1
store) and Tesco (1 store).

GMP warn
public of
Mad Friday
retail chaos
GREATER Manchester Police have
issued a stark warning for anybody planning on spending Mad
Friday in the city.
With three hundred thousand
people expected to visit the city
centre this weekend, Greater Manchester Police have issued advice
to party-goers ahead of Fridays
festivities.
Chief Superintendent John
OHare from Greater Manchester
Polices Specialist Operations,
said: Our officers will be on duty
throughout the holiday period to
ensure people have a safe and
peaceful Christmas. However, I
urge everyone to consider how
they plan to spend their festive period nobody wants to end up in a
police car, ambulance or in the
worst instance a hearse.
Friday is also set to be one of the
busiest nights of the year for pubs
and bars all over the country with
many people marking the beginning of their Christmas holidays
by flocking to Manchesters many
nightspots.
The owner of the Northern
Quarters The Whiskey Bar, Nick
Parr explained the challenges that
Mad Friday presents to his industry:
Its a known busy night and the
level of unruly behaviour always
escalates, due in part to naming
such an occasion Mad Friday, he
said.
Mr Parr added: Due to the notoriety, a majority of our regular
crowd will probably stay at home
and many different people will be
venturing all over, knowing everywhere is busy.
It is not just the citys police and
bar staff that will have their work
cut out on Friday; the ambulance
service will also have a major part
to play.
Steve Hynes, Greater Manchester Head of Service, North West
Ambulance Service NHS Trust,
said:
We want to encourage the public to consider the seriousness associated with this time of year,
especially in the week before
Christmas. Our staff see first-hand
the devastating affect alcohol-related incidents can cause - in some
instances, it can result in death.

Fathers delight at
Baby AJs last smile
Friday, December 19th, 2014 Quays Mail 3

JENNA and Tony took Anthony to a pediatrician, who noticed that something
wasnt right. She decided to do a full body
check and then discovered that there was
something a lot more seriously wrong
with Anthony.
Tony then added: The pediatrician didnt know what it was, because Krabbes
disease only affects 1 in 100,000 and nobody seemed to know what it would be.
The couple was told that Anthony
would need to stay in the ward for a couple of weeks for further tests.
Tony explained: We were there for a
week before anyone really took much notice of what was going on and then the
neurologist came to have a look at Anthony and demanded an MRI scan, but
again she didnt know what was wrong.
The blood tests and scans came back
and it was revealed that Anthony had a
neurological disorder, which affects babies
after three months. This would in turn
cause a loss of limb mobility, senses and
inevitably his breathing, leading to cardiac
arrest.
The family who never left his side was

Limited time

told that they would have a limited time

with their son: They only gave us two
years with Anthony.
Four weeks ago Anthony suffered cardiac arrest, and Jenna and Tony were told
that he would not make it through the
night after flat lining for 34 minutes; doctors didnt see a way that his body could
take the pressure:
Everyone had prepared the night for
the fact that Anthony was going to pass
away.
He then added: To a certain degree
wed both accepted it, we didnt want him
to go through any more pain or injections
or cardiac arrest. If he wanted to be at
peace we were ready to let him go.
But through all the odds Anthony hung
on. Jenna and Tony were told that the moment of truth relied on whether or not Anthony would take his feed.
The feed went down and because we
had been awake for 48 hours we just fell
asleep and woke up around seven or eight
oclock in the morning next to the nurse
who told us that hed had six feeds.
From that point on he just kept getting
stronger.
Tony then went on to explain: Our
problem is that although we went through
a cardiac arrest, staying at Derian House
for a week and being at the hospital, is

ONE YEAR: Baby AJ celebrates his first birthday with

friends and family and continues to support Manchester City FC

By Ellie Robinson

News Reporter

that at any point we could have to go

through that all again.
Or we are going to have to accept the fact
that at some point he is going to pass away.
A family friend Catherine ThompsonEvans launched a petition in aid of Anthony
and other children with genetic diseases to
raise awareness and increase the number of
diseases tested for at birth.
Currently in the UK only 5 diseases are
tested for, through the heel prick test in comparison to countries such as America, which
test for 31 disorders and Australia and New
Zealand testing for 28.
No one should have to see their child
going through a cardiac arrest, regardless of

what the problem is or what the diseases are.

Or every time you see a doctor just accepting
that hes going to pass away soon.
Thats why we started our petition, thats
why we dont understand why screening isnt
done from the word go, a simple heel prick.
Jenna told us that although though isnt a
cure Anthony still could have been given a
fighting chance of surviving: he could have
had a blood transfusion which would have
prolonged his life.
Its not to say in 20 years time therell be
a cure. But at least were giving him a fighting
chance.
The family needs momentum now more
than ever to keep the petition going, even
though Anthony is doing well at the moment,
they still need another 80,000 signatures to
raise the issue in parliament.

Little Bill turn up the heat in Salford for energy improvements

By Matt Farr
Sports Editor

THIRTY-one free, energy-efficient boilers

have been fitted in homes across Salford,
as part of the Little Bill campaign.
The campaign allows households to
apply for energy improvements to cut
costs and improve efficiency, with more
boilers planning on being introduced in
the coming months.
The brand new boilers have been made
available as part of a 30 million fund introduced on Wednesday by the Green
Deal Communities Scheme and the Green
Deal Home Improvement Fund, and
seeks to help residents across England
and Wales.
The scheme means households in Salford can apply for a maximum of 5,600

worth of improvement works to their

property, including double-glazing and
floor insulation.
Loft and cavity wall insulation is also
available and can help wipe more than
300 off the average household bill.
A new boiler can save as much as 305
on bills every year, potentially providing
residents a combined net total of 7,300
over the next year.
Salford residents were generally in a
buoyant mood after hearing of the energy improvements.
A local commented, Its great that they
have provided the funding. With energy
costs often rising, its brilliant that weve
been given the help we need to combat
those rising prices.
The timing is also perfect. Its going to
be very cold this winter, and we are fortu-

nate to be one of the first to receive a new

boiler, she said.
78% of residents were pleased to hear
they could apply for household energy
improvements, while 60% expressed
their delight at how the new money was
planning on being spent.
Little Bill refers to a canine mascot for
the Greater Manchester Energy Advice
group, which works closely with all 10
Greater Manchester councils to provide
residents with both friendly advice and
the best government and local council
approved energy schemes.
The mascot can also be used on a more
practical basis, acting as a draught excluder in homes.
Send us your views on making your
home more green by emailing
news@quaysnews.net.

KEEPING HOMES WARM: Residents can apply for free home insulation

News from
the courts

Mother of murdere
after work on hate c

4 Quays Mail Friday, December 19th, 2014

Drink
driving
sentence

Sylvia Lancaster OBE: We have only just starte

A 22-YEAR-OLD man from Seedley,

Salford was sentenced at Manchester and Salford Magistrates
Court on Thursday for drink driving.
The driver was stopped by police
on Walkden Road for not wearing
a seatbelt and later provided two
samples, testing positive for 52%
alcohol level in his system.
The defendant pleaded guilty,
stating that he had been out
drinking the nightbefore and believed himself safe to drive the following day.
The judge sentenced gave him a
14-month-driving ban, meaning
he will be disqualified until 17th
February 2016. But the sentence
will be reduced to until November
2015 if he opts to undertake a
driving course by 11th September
2015.
The motorist was also handed a
393 fine.
The defendant faces up to 6
months in prison if he fails to
comply with any part of the sentence.

Witness
threatened
in court

A MAN has appeared in court this

week under suspicion of contempt of
court by revealing private details
about a live case held at Manchester
Crown Court.
The 20 year-old suspect posted information on social media sites, such
as Facebook, which related a robbery
case. He also uploaded photographs
and made comments about the witnesses that were took as threatening.
The man has not released a plea at
this moment in time and will have another hearing in the Magistrates Court
on the 2nd January 2014.

Drugs
holder in
custody

A 41- year old man appeared at

Manchester Magistrates court on
Thursday after pleading guilty
for possession and intent to supply class A drugs.
The man also pleaded not
guilty for the possession of
Heroin.
GMP ceased 12 mobiles and
114 snapbacks in a property but
the man claims he knew nothing
about the items.
The man was rejected bail and
remains in custody. He will appear at Crown Court on 2nd January 2016.

RSPCA claim its not fit to

SUBCULTURE MURDER: Sylvias beloved daughter Sophie, victim of Bacup hate crime attack in August 2007

By Joe Garrett
News Reporter

The RSPCA added that buyers find it hard

THE RSPCA have warned against the dangers of buying blind from breeders as part of to go away empty-handed when they go to a
puppy farm Some traders dont care if puptheir #notapresent campaign.
pies live or die. They know that when faced
The RSPCA have decided to launch this
with a cute puppy, people find it very difficampaign in response to figures released by
cult to walk away, even if something doesnt
YouGov.co.uk which state that almost a third
of children ages four to 15
will ask their parents for a
puppy for Christmas this
year.
Only 3% of these parents
would consider buying their
children a puppy as a present though. However the
RSPCA fear that many will
fall foul of the puppy trade
this year, especially at
Christmas.
A spokesperson for the
RSPCA said: The last thing
anybody wants on Christmas
Day is to be sat with a vet,
anxiously waiting to hear
whether the puppy theyve
given their children is dead
ABUSE HORROR: Dogs kept in cages at Puppy Farms
or alive.
seem right.
The Society added Some puppies are far
Other supporters are also joining the fight
too young to be removed from their mothers
against puppy farms. The Puppy Love Camand others will be too weak to survive.
paign was launched in 2007 to raise awareThis is backed up by figures that 41% of
people who bought a puppy last year did not ness about puppy farming and have worked
closely with the RSPCA in the past.
see the animal with its mother and more
Ronnie from the Puppy Love Campaign
than half didnt see the breeding environhighlighted the responsibility of buying a
ment.

puppy at Christmas time. people buy puppies for Christmas, then they realise theyve
got to let a puppy out every twenty minutes,
they usually dont last until New Year before
they are dumped on rescue. Its just all
wrong.
She also suggested why
puppy farms seem to be so
popular If everybody rescued they would not only get
a healthy dog, it would most
likely be house trained, its a
much better option but people want puppies, and you can
only get cuddly puppies
mostly from puppy farms.
Animal shelters in the UK
will once again have to deal
with the fall out of unwanted
puppies which were given as
presents. An estimated
110,000 dogs a year are abandoned in the UK, and one
healthy dog is put down every
hour due to not being able to
find a home.
The rise of puppy farms may see this
trend increase and the RSPCA have already
received a 30% increase in calls concerning
the puppy trade then they did for the whole
of 2013.
There are some breeders who have suffered because of the poor reputation puppy
farms have attracted over the last couple of

ed Sophie awarded OBE

crime campaign

Friday, December 19th, 2014 Quays Mail 5

HATE CRIME STATS

ed. There is so much more work to be done.

In October 2014, the

Home Office, Ministry of Justice and
the Office for National Statistics published that over 2013
to 2014, 44,480
hate crimes were
recorded by the police, an increase of
5% compared with
2012 to 13, of which:

By Josh Nicol

ON August 24th 2007, the emergency

services received a phone call from a distressed teenager: "We need... we need an
ambulance at Bacup Park, this mosher has
just been banged because hes a mosher."
Sylvia Lancaster, the mother of Sophie
Lancaster, who was murdered in 2007, was
awarded an OBE last week for her work
against hate crimes since her daughters
death.
Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend
Robert Maltby, were walking through Stubbylee Park in Bacup when they were followed by a group of teenagers who began an
unprovoked attack on Rob. When he was
knocked unconscious, the group began to attack 20-year-old Sophie, who had begun to
try and protect him by cradling him in her
arms, repeatedly stamping and jumping on
her head.
The two victims fell into a coma and Sophie never regained consciousness and died
thirteen days later. Two of the attackers
were convicted of murder whilst the other
three were convicted and jailed for grievous
bodily harm. Police at the time suggested
that the attack may have been linked to the
couples involvement in the Goth subculture
and the way they dressed.
Sylvias OBE award was presented to her
by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace and
highlights the recognition she is receiving
for her hard work and determination in raising awareness for subculture hate crimes
since her daughters death.
I feel very honoured to have been
awarded an OBE. I believe that it is a valida-

tion of the work that has been undertaken

over the last seven years. Sylvia said. I see
it as a signal to the alternative subcultures
that they are at last being recognised.
In Greater Manchester, the Sophie Lancaster Foundation has had a pivotal impact.
As of April 2013, the GMP have allowed the
recording of alternative subculture hate
crimes as well as the agreed national categories, including disability, race or ethnicity,
religion or belief, sexual orientation and
transgender identity.
A statement on the GMP website said: We
have done this following work we have carried out in partnership with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, as we feel that adding
this extra category of hate crime will help us
better understand how some people are suffering from crimes because of their appearance, and better respond to the needs of
victims of crime.
In relation to taking further actions to implement these laws nationally, Sylvia said:
The foundation is currently talking to every
police force that we can. I understand that
more academic research needs to be undertaken but I feel that more forces will take on
board our message.
Young people tell us all the time that they
feel safer and are able to be themselves as a
direct result of our work. We had a message
from a young woman in Chelmsford saying
that her and her boyfriend were walking
home late at night and the police stopped
them and checked if they were ok.
She was absolutely thrilled with the fact
the police were taking them seriously so I do

SYLVIA : Honoured to be awarded OBE

think we are having an impact. Sylvia continues to focus on creating respect for alternative subcultures in communities
nationwide and will carry on to work alongside police forces and politicians to ensure
people these groups are protected by the
law.
Adds Sylvia: We have only just started.
There is so much more work to be done.

37,484 (84%) were

race hate crimes
4,622 (10%) were
sexual orientation
hate crimes
2,273 (5%) were religion hate crimes
1,985 (4%) were disability hate crimes
555 (1%) were transgender hate crimes

o buy dogs from puppy farms

BUYERS WHO DIDNT SEE A PUPPY WITH ITS

MOTHER
years by those not able to make the distinction between the two.
Mave Roston has been breeding bullmastiffs in Manchester with husband Alan since
1958. She has seen that the RSPCAs and
other organisations campaigns against
puppy farms have affected her business.
She stated You cant say every breeder is
bad, because they are not. A genuine
breeder who has been around a long while,
you can ask them anything and get their
honest opinion.

CHILDREN WHO HAVE ASKED FOR A PUPPY THIS

CHRISTMAS (AGES 4-15)

She also explained that getting a rescue

dog could bring its own problems. Theres a
danger when you get a dog from a rescue
centre, youve got to know why they are
there because people arent honest enough.
The dog could be bad tempered and
could have a snap at someone, thats when
accidents happen.
Mave also said that pet shops that sell
puppies are doing so for the wrong reasons
These bigger establishments are not proper
breeders, everything is money orientated. A

WHO WOULD GET A DOG FROM A PUPPY FARM?

proper breeder just about breaks even, if

they are lucky.
We contacted several pet shops to answer
these claims but they refused to comment.
The RSPCA are adamant that those thinking of buying a puppy as a present this year
do thorough research and make sure that
they can handle the responsibility.
Buying a puppy is a big commitment, so
if youre sure you can provide the right
home for a puppy. Or why not rehome a dog
from RSPCA or another animal rescue or-

ganisation.
Government legislation is in place to force
the quality of puppy farms in form of Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999.
This requires local authority to provide regular inspections of breeding farms and requires them to have a licence.
However, problems with enforcement
have not curbed the activity of puppy farms
and it may be another bad winter for mans
best friend and the organisations left to deal
with the fall out.

Teen goes from tradi

6 Quays Mail Friday, December 19th, 2014

Councils
tackle
empty
housing
problem

THE 10 Greater Manchester Councils are working alongside the

Homes and Communities Agency
on
an empty to plenty strategy, designed to fill the 25,000 empty
houses across the city. There are
currently over 1000 empty properties in Bury alone, and around
1500 in Oldham.
Established in 2011, The Greater
Manchester Combined Authority
(GMCA) aims to improve economic
performance. The scheme is said
to have already occupied around
600 homes.
Bolton Council, in partnership
with Bolton Home, has been responsible for the occupation of
more than 75 units of accommodation in the borough, including a
disused pub which was turned into
14 flats. Stockport now has 21
more houses in use through Stockport Homes and Equity Housing
Group.
Those who own empty properties are being urged to seek advice
from local authorities about access
to funds to help put the properties
back on the market. Those who
haven't yet got in touch only have
up until March 2015, the date in
which the budget must be spent.
Empty properties generally cost
between 2,000-5,000 in council
tax and utilities. For a four bedroom house, this could go up to
around 8,000. If a house owner
does not want to bring the property back into use, the council has
the right to enforce sales and compulsory purchase orders.

Clinic
name
tribute to
student

SALFORD University heads have

named a new clinic in honour of
former student Khuram Shaikh who
was murdered on holiday in Sri
Lanka. The orthotics and prosthetics graduate was shot and stabbed
on Christmas Day in 2011 in a
tourist resort in Tangalle. Four men
were jailed for his murder.
Salford Alumni Khuram Shaikh, a
Red Cross worker, devoted his skills
to helping people in different parts
of the world.
University bosses are hoping that
the new clinic, located in the Brian
Blatchford building, will give students the chance to practice clinical
prosthetics to the standard that
Khuram did.
Sue Braid, Head of the School of
Health Sciences at Salford University sai he was an "exemplary student in all senses of the word".
The clinical facility is very much
the focal point for training and we
wanted to name it after Khuram so
that his legacy lives on."

YOUTH ENTERPRISE: Tommie Rose promotes a market for teenage business talent

By Callum Lambert
News Reporter

SALFORD teen entrepreneur Tommie Rose

hit the headlines last month when it came to
light that he had built a 14,000 empire of
confectionary goods at his secondary school
in Manchester.
However, rather than being put off the
scent of business when teachers threatened
the schoolboy
with a suspension, Tommie already had
his next move mapped out.
Im into t-shirts now, Ive sold around
300 and made around 4000 in three
weeks, said the 15-year-old.
Thats getting expanded into jumpers,
gym wear, shorts, just everything that you
wear on a daily basis and Im hoping to even
try and pull off a raincoat.
His company Black Market Products was

started with the help from Applique Apparel, a custom printing clothing firm based
in the Northern Quarter.
They recently gave me 200 t-shirts for
free and now Ive just done an order for
1000, explained the pupil at Salfords Buile
Hill High School.
In my first term year I aimed to sell 1000
but Im going to smash that because Ive
been doing it now for three weeks and already sold 300 and thats just through social
media. My next aim is to get my product into
a shop.
His ambition doesnt stop there, though,
as the teenager also intends on delivering
inspirational speeches to the youth, basing
talks around his own motto of never giving
up despite others negativity.
For Tommie the business acumen became
clear at a very young age, with a trading

cards commerce being his first venture.

What I used to do when I was eight is sell
cards called Match Attax with the players
ratings in schoolyards because I had the
whole collection, explained Tommie.

Young businessman

My granddad used to get me packs and

packs so I used to sell my doubles in school,
I didnt use to sell normal ones I sold limited
edition and the shinies. They only got me
1.70 at the end of the day but that was
enough for a can of coke and an ice cream.
Ever since then I thought I can get used to
having money, just selling in school having a
bit of money like other kids do now.
This lasted until aged 11, when teachers
became wise to Tommies antics and he ad-

Is the government Start

By Taaliah Nazar
Features Editor

A NEW scheme offering 100,000 first

time buyers in the UK new homes with a
20% discount has been announced by the
Prime Minister as part of a drive to help
people onto the housing market.
Aspiring homeowners will be asked to
register their interest in buying via the
Starter Home Initiative from the start of
next year, an initiative that has been developed to help what some have dubbed
Britains housing crisis.
A large part of the project involves
a change to the planning system,
freeing under used or unviable
brownfield land from planning costs and levies in return for a below market
value sale price on the

homes built on
the site.
Young people
want to plan
for the future
and enjoy the
security of
being able to
own their
own home,
appearing
to

overlook the 85,000 homeless people on social housing waiting lists

in Manchester alone. There may
be a need for affordable starter
homes but the need for affordable social housing is farmore
pressing.
The reality is that this scheme
is not going to increase housing
availability, nor improve affordability. Similar schemes in the past
have done little more than transfer
lots of taxpayer cash into developers
pockets without really increasing output or decreasing the costs charged for
housing. There is no long-term benefit or gain for society from this
scheme, unlike real investment in social housing that
sees new homes built,

ing cards to riches

Friday, December 19th, 2014 Quays Mail 7

MADE OF MONEY: Tommie Rose, aged 15, pictured above with Theo Paphitis after Black Market Product range is launched
mitted that he was stupid and immature.
Nevertheless the Salford lads determination to succeed was born and he set his
sights on academic success as well as business achievements.
I said to my mum and dad that I really
wanted to go to university as I wanted to
travel and be accommodated and I said Oxford or Cambridge right from the start,
Tommy clarified.
At first they sniggered and laughed and
said you need really good grades to get
there, I said Ill get my grades. They also said
you need a hell of a lot of money because we
have an auntie and she now has to pay her
student loan off. I said what if I started selling again and just put the money into the
savings account. So thats what I did and I
earned 14,000, I think theyre still shocked
to this day that Ive got that.

For a three year study at university I do

not think that is enough but local businessmen have saidthey are going to donate a
sum to match it so Ive got enough money.
Yet Tommie didnt anticipate then that he
would achieve as much as he has in such a
short space of time, with the recent visit of
multi-millionaire Theo Paphitis making him
question whether university would be the
right move for him.

rented at rates people can afford and let

to families on a perpetual basis.
Is this really nothing more than
Camerons idea of trying to buy election
votes?
When Thatcher sold off council houses
in her own bid to do the same it led to the
largest shortage of social housing ever,
with thousands of homeless paying the
price.
The governments denial of the role of
social housing in ensuring our economic
needs to be met is both short sighted and
self-defeating. The current housing policies are not sustainable, as was shown by
the role it played in the economic crash
five years ago.
It could be an attempt by the government to delay the UK housing market
from collapse. The UK is the highest indebted EU country with an ageing, pen-

sion-less population and the younger

generation strapped up with increasing
student debt, estimated at 44,000 each
from 2015. This latest Starter Home
Scheme is very similar to other shared
ownership schemes - weve had buy to
rent, help to buy, rent to buy and now
buy for votes short term and perhaps
locally they seem like a good idea but
from a long term macro economic perspective the raw perspective the raw
price goes up to compensate.
We do need an increase in housing
stock but Im not sure this scheme will
give us that. If it were really about lowering prices then surely an idea would be to
bring down all housing costs by 20%. We
dont need discounted houses, or affordable builds just simply more homes.

Job offers

Theo said to me you need to think long

and hard now, do you want to go to university and studybusiness, you might come out
better you might come out the same, revealed Tommie.
Ive been offered lots of jobs at recruit-

ment agencies, going around schools doing

speeches for the pupils finals which Im
probably going to take as its a young ambassadorial role; Theo is the main ambassador for that. With university it just depends,
I think it is going to be one of them things
where it either happens or it doesnt.
Tommie speaks with maturity beyond his
years and advises other young entrepreneurs to make the same calculated risks
that he has if they are to succeed.
After a month of madness for the
teenager, there is a sense that this is only the
beginning of something special for his future
endeavours.

Mystery man
saves elderly
lady from fire

THE actions of a quick-thinking

window cleaner and a working
smoke alarm have saved the life of
an elderly lady after a fire broke
out in her flat on Park Road, Timperley.
Fifteen firefighters and three fire
engines from Stretford, Sale and
Wythenshawe stations received a
call from a window cleaner who
happened to see smoke and flames
through the window and called 999
early on Tuesday morning.
Cover jets were used inside and
outside the property to bring the
fire, which had started in the bedroom of the ground floor flat at
Mayfair Court, under control.
The occupant, a 94-year-old lady,
had managed to escape the smoke
and flames because she had a
working smoke alarm, which woke
her up before the fire service arrived.
A Greater Manchester Fire and
Rescue Service spokesman said:
The fire had started in the bedroom. It has left quite bad fire damage and the rest of the property is
smoke damaged.
A window cleaner happened to
see smoke and flames through the
window and called 999.
While he was on the phone, the
smoke alarm triggered and the
woman managed to get out of the
flat herself. She had a lucky escape.
The woman was treated for
minor smoke inhalation and did
not require hospital treatment.
The cause of the fire is still unknown at this stage.
The fire service has put her survival down to a working smoke
alarm and the quick-thinking actions of the mystery window
cleaner, who they have been unable
to trace.

ter Home scheme all it seems?

Follow Tommie on Facebook for updates on his latest products:
www.facebook.com/tommie.rose

STARTER HOME BUILDING: Development begins in January 2015

Safety questioned as taxi

convicts are unveiled

8 Quays Mail Friday, December 19th, 2014

IN DANGER: Manchester civilians getting into a black cab could be putting their trust into convicted rapists, phaedophiles and dangerous drivers from the city

By Freya Budd
News Reporter

THE Manchester Evening News has unearthed shocking information about licensed taxi drivers who hold criminal
offences.
Having obtained the records through
Freedom of Information laws, the Manchester-based news giant released the facts regarding licensed taxi drivers to the general
public. The records revealed that a rapist
was granted a taxi license in 2007 and this is
just one example taken from a further 292
convicted criminals who have been successful in getting licenses.
Amongst the law-breakers are dangerous
drivers and sex offenders, who, despite having openly admitted their crimes, have been
granted permission to drive taxis around the
general Manchester areA.
The most alarming information that has
been revealed so far is that the majority of
admitted convictions are that of sexual assault. In 2007/2008, there were 11 sex offences, including paedophiles and the
convicted rapist granted a taxi license. The
following five years, there were a further 24
sex offences, all of which included soliciting

women and sexual assault.

There were two crimes that have been
more readily revealed to the local press,
which cite an incident involving a driver
convicted of making 'sexual contact' with a
girl under the age of 13 and another who is
said to have had sex with a boy under the
age of 16.
In the wake of this information being revealed, the general public are expressing
concern for their safety. Alison, a regular
user of taxis admitted, If you jump into a
cab you expect them to be licensed properly.
I definitely wouldn't want to get into a taxi
driven by a convicted rapist.

Women are now afraid

Emanuello, another member of the public,

told us that he no longer takes taxis after his
girlfriend had a bad experience with a
driver. He says that it is because of information such as this coming out, that people are
very scared. Women are now afraid of getting into a taxi on their own he added.
Paul Brent, chairman of the National Taxi
Association for the Northwest and Midlands
area, expressed concern about the figures
and said,

There are two factors to look at Britain

and abroad. When people come over to
work from abroad, they are only required to
have a good conduct certificate, that's the
first issue that needs to be sorted out
The second is the law of Britain. It's a
very expensive exercise to get laws overturned or appealed.
He later continued to add, I think the government should do more. They don't seem
to want to do anything.
A trusted source has also informed us of
an incident involving a driver who held previous convictions for dangerous driving,
which resulted in a fatality.
When trying to get a license, drivers of
any taxi must declare criminal convictions
they might have in their actual license applications. It is then up to the city council to
check over the drivers applications by working closely alongside the Criminal Records
Bureau.
Any drivers who are cited to have possible
previous convictions then have their applications passed through the system to the licensing committee, which is comprised of
elected councillors.
Before making a decision, the committee
weighs up a few factors, including; the indi-

viduals age, when the offence was actually

committed and the date of their conviction.
Brent commented on the process, The
council has to be happy that the person is fit
and proper before issuing a license.
Should a candidate be turned down during any stage of their application, they do
have the option of appealing the decision
before a magistrates court. This is, however,
both extremely consuming in terms of both
time and general cost.
Local taxi driver, Mark Lavery, offered his

I am disgusted

perspective, I am disgusted by all of this. I

don't really even know what to put into
words about it. At the end of the day people
trust us with their children. It's absolutely
wrong.
Mr Brent offered his advice to people
travelling by taxi, All I can say to people is
that if you can find a tried and tested taxi
firm and request a registered taxi driver
who is licensed to that specific area, for example Manchester, then you should do so.
Tweet @QUAYSNEWS if you have experienced anything of this nature.

One last effort to save Stockport cinema from axe

By Matt Langhorn
News Reporter

THE future of the single screen cinema, The

Savoy in Heaton Moor, hangs in the balance.
The doors closed on the iconic and rare
building over a month ago leaving local
residents with just a sign on the door saying: Sorry, closed due to technical fault.
It is believed it closed for maintenance,
but campaigners for saving the cinema
have questioned this, What maintenance
to a single screen cinema can take over a
month? One campaigner asked.
The Savoy Arts Centre Group wants to
save the building. The groups aim is to convert the cinema, which opened in 1923,
into a digital cinema and arts centre with a
cafe bar. The single screen setup is one of
only two in the region.
The group has six months to raise the
cash to buy The Savoy, which is up for sale

at 750,000 or 40,000 annual rent. It is

thought the building is being sold off for
development.
The council has listed the building as
an asset of community value following
widespread public support, which means
it cant be sold for six months.
Ron Cook, chairman of the campaign
group, discussed their plan of action, We
are looking at applying to the National
Lottery Fund, and one of the biggest
costs to the cinema is the maintenance of
the seating and auditorium space and the
updating of digital equipment and projectors.
Having served the Heatons for 91
years, The Savoy is now rightly regarded
as a key asset for the area. We hope we
can safeguard it for future generations.

Follow updates on the story by logging onto our website:

QUAYSNEWS.NET.

Tamsin Dyson

STOCKPORT SAVOY: Closed due to technical fault and only 6 months to save the cinema

Pensioners battle for

vulnerable in Salford

Friday, December 19, 2014 QuaysMail 9

By Jack Gordon-Brown
News Reporter

TWO Salford women have set up a new committee named SEARCH (Seeking, Empowerment, Advocacy, Rewards, and Challenges)
due to their involvement with Salford City
Council with regard to cuts to transport for
the disabled.
Norma Parkinson Green and Noreen Bailey
chaired the committees first meeting in Little Hulton last week alongside Labour Councillor Peter Wheeler, on the eve of the Royal
Courts of Justice appeal against Salford
Council cutting transport for disabled
adults.
Norma and Noreen have both been involved directly in transport in the City of
Salford for people with disabilities, and they
have set the committee to help the carers of
the most vulnerable.
We realise there are so many people in the
community, particularly parents/carers,
who are not benefitting from all these
changes and they are really weary, particularly now that the Council has taken away
funding for transport. Many have to take
people to day centres and respite themselves, and many are elderly carers, said
Norma.
Some people have had to give up their employment to ensure people get to their centre. So from the knowledge we have we
decided to set up a group to help people
with disabilities and the elderly. We want
people to come along to meetings to talk
about the way they feel and how we can
help them challenge services by directing
them to Healthwatch.
We know that the cuts that are coming
next year will hurt families even more, so
what we want is to work together with services to try and cushion the impact, says
Norma.
Noreen first launched a petition to scrap
the cuts in February of this year, but it has

Warning over loan

sharks preying on
poor at Christmas

SALFORD City Council is warning

residents against borrowing
money and taking out loans from
illegal lenders and loan sharks
this Christmas.
Figures published last week
show that Salford is one of the
most in-debt places in the country coming fourth as the worst
city for debt in England.
The National Citizens Advice
found that one in every 200 people in Salford are getting advice
and help from their local services
for serious debt problems.
The council blocked access to
many lending websites last year
in Salford libraries and other
council buildings. which have
charged customers up to 4,000%
interest.
Salford Citizens Advice Bureaux
have already dealt with 8,000 debt
cases this year and this number is
thought to rise in the run up to
Christmas. Tom Togher, Salford
Citizens Advices chief executive
said Its not surprising that Salford is one of the worst places for
people facing serious debt problems.
People are really struggling to
make ends meet at the moment
and we think things are only
going to get worse.

been a long and weary battle against the

council in the courts since then.
Michael Robson, a disabled man from Swinton, won a judicial review against the cuts to
subsidise transport for 200 adults in September, but in October the judge Stephen
Davies sided with theCouncil, ruling that the
service could be withdrawn. However, Irwin
and Mitchell, the law firm that represent
Michael and Jennifer Barrett, have taken the
appeal to the Royal Courts of Justice in London, with a result expected in January.
Were saying yes there are cuts to be made
because Labour spent too much, but Ian
Stewart always said that hed make sure the
vulnerable were the last people to have cuts,
but theyve been the first basically, says
Norma.
Over 26 people attended the first meeting to
discuss problems they were facing, but the
committee is not just there for support over
transport cuts, it is also in place to assist the
elderly and the disabled when further cuts
possibly come into place.
One Mum who has two disabled sons explained at the meeting that she was having
difficulty getting one of her sons to the day
centre because her other son who is disabled is also at home. She said when she informed Social Services she was told "leave
your son on the bed while you take your
ther son to the day centre, this Mum was
distressed and at a loss as what to do next,
explained Norma.
Both Noreen and Norma have personal
reasons to challenge the cuts, Noreen supports two young men who both use wheelchairs and another with Autism and Norma
has a daughter who has learning disabilities.
Im 66 and John (Noreens husband) is
68 and hes not in good health. He had
bowel cancer a few years ago and now he
suffers with his chest quite bad. But were
still having to get up every morning to take
the lads out, get them in the van, take them

DETERMINEDDUO: Norma Green and Noreen Bailey aim to help the elderly
to the day centre, then afternoon again to
of the community, said Noreen.
get them back home, and it is really making
Salford Council were unable to comment
is so weary, says Noreen.
this week, but on October 23rd, after the
According to some carers and individuHigh Court Judge dismissed the judicial reals, assessments were not always carried
view brought against them, Strategic Direcout before people were being taken off
tor for Community, Health and Social Care
transport and the Council did not consult
Sue Lightup said they were pleased that the
with all the people that would be affected by judge recognised that they had carried out
the transport changes, unfortunately many
assessments properly and dismissed the
people did not know about the changes until claimants challenge.
it was happening" said Norma.
The council admitted it was a difficult deBut despite the lack of communication at
cision to make but with 110 million in cuts
the time, Norma and Noreen are both willsince 2010 they had little choice. They also
ing to work with the Council in the future
pledged to continue to work with families
with regard to further cuts being impleaffected to find alternate ways
mented.
of meeting peoples needs.
Many people are unable to verbally comWe have been monitoring attendance at
municate their wishes and some are too
day centers carefully since the changes came
weary and frightened to complain, hopefully in and are satisfied that it has not dropped.
this is where our role will come in to speak
on their behalf. It's not a case of shouting
but hopefully working together for the good

Withington finds new venue

for burnt community centre

GUTTED: Fire devastated Minehead Resource Centre in Withington

VULNERABLE and elderly adults will get
a replacement venue just days after a
huge fire destroyed the Minehead Resource Centre in Withington last week.
Users of the community centre have
been given an empty council building in
Ardwick.
An appeal for donations including
Christmas treats and decorations have
been launched.
The 65 regular users of the day centre
will be provided with free transport to
Heathfield Day Centre in Newton Heath
and Hall Lane Resource Centre in
Wythenshawe, while the Aked Close

building is made ready. Councillor Paul

Andrews, Executive Member for Adult
Health and Wellbeing at Manchester City
Council, said: Kindness in the face of such
adversity shows again how Mancunians
will always work together to pool resources, expertise and generosity to help
those who are most vulnerable.
The situation isnt ideal especially at
this time of the year but knowing people
care is especially poignant at Christmas.
The council hopes the replacement
venue will be used until February when a
permanent solution will be installed.

5K funding secured for regeneration of Peel Park

AFTER securing 54,000 of funding

from the Heritage Lottery Fund and
the Big Lottery Fund last year, Salford City Council are rapidly deciding on plans for the regeneration of
Peel Park.
The funding is being used to research the history of the park and to
support designs that will restore the
park's infrastructure and its facilities to meet the needs of local residents.
Salford City Council, Friends of
Peel Park and the University of Salford are all working closely together
to develop the plans during the second stage of a hopeful bid for a further 2.1 million from the Heritage
Lottery Fund.
Peel Park has been neglected for
a long time, partly due to the population moving away to other parts of
Salford explains Andy Salmon,
Chairman of Friends of Peel Park.
But it is of major historic value and
an important green space for a rapidly growing population. Its actually
the largest green space that is a
short walk from Manchester City
Centre so its important to Manchester as well."
The consultation closes on January 9th 2015, and the final plans go
forward to the Heritage Lottery
Fund for second-round approval in
February. Restoration works are expected to start in Autumn 2015.

90,000 left hom

10 Quays Mail Friday, December 19, 2014

Council
finance
chiefs fear
over
budget cuts

LOCAL councils are set to tighten

their belt due to more budget cuts
set by central government.
It was revealed last week, Oldham Council are set to let go of up
to 120 employees as they attempt to
meet further budget cuts.
In the last four years, they have
suffered losses of 144m from their
budget and are now set to try and
squeeze a further 60m in the next
two years, starting with 35 million in
the 2015/2016 budget.
Salford City Council are also set to
cut their budget by 56m in the next
two years, resulting in a loss of funding to vital local amenities, such as
social and children services.
Abdul Jabbar, who is a Cabinet
Member for Finance and Human Resourcesin Oldham, has voiced his
concerns over the proposed cuts:
Many authorities in the area are
facing similar problems, some more
than us, some less. Its not just an
Oldham problem its a local authority
problem, and unfortunately I think
the government has got this wrong
as councils cant cope with this level
of cuts going forward.
He continued: What were finding
in reality is that the cuts started four
years ago that we were promised
would be finished by now are continuing. And theseverity of the cuts are
increasing.
Maintaining a good level of service
remains paramount to Cllr Jabbar,
howeve he is also unhappy, with
more alleged restrictions on the way,
he has tried to voice his displeasure.
Mr Pickles the Secretary of State
has ignored what we have said. He
has ignored the evidence before him
and still believes that despite making
all those cuts for
all those years, local authority can
deliver more savings. We are at loggerheads with the Secretary of
State.
Although frontline police services
and the NHS will remain unaffected,
important public services such as
street cleaning are going to take the
brunt of the cuts. Cllr Jabbar admits
Oldham Council are now having to,
provide services in a different way
or in some cases, withdraw services
altogether.
We will do everything we can to
change our services, to make them
more efficient and hopefully provide
the same level of service. There will
become a point though, when weve
exhausted everything and we wont
be able to do anymore.

By Grace Evans
News Reporter

THE festive season is often a time filled with

merry celebrations for most UK families. Unfortunately, with new statistics predicting
that over 90,000 people are going to be waking up homeless in Britain this Christmas, it
is obvious that for some people these joyous
times can often be overshadowed by increased loneliness and suffering.
Homelessness has risen consecutively for
three years straight, and Manchester is no
exception - a ten percent rise has occurred
in the region alone over recent times. With
weather conditions dramatically plummeting during winter months, the need to help
those sleeping rough is increasingly imminent.
Meeting David, it is obvious to see the
harsh effects living rough has on both his
physical and mental state. Dressed in dark
worn-out jeans, a large coat and a striped
scarf, David walks around Manchesters City
Centre trying to raise enough money to stay
the night in a B&B.
In warm months I just dont bother with
a B&B, I spend any money I get on food. But
in winter the cold gets too much, even for
me. I try not to sit on the street and beg, I
like to walk around town hopefully talking
to people about my life and story David admits.
Perhaps most shockingly, David reveals he
has been homeless for three years since
leaving the military. After struggling to find
a job and with having no immediate family,
David felt he had no other choice than to
sleep rough.
I dont really have any family none that
I have contact with anyway. Ive just been
left in this situation and at the moment I
dont see a way out of it anytime soon.
Christmas is the hardest time of the year.
I arent saying I love Christmas, Ive never
been a fan, but it would be nice to spend it
with family and friends. Luckily, there are
lots of places I can go now and there is a lot
of support from charities. People actually
want to help.
Most Manchester based homeless charities significantly increase their workload
over winter in order to cater for the higher
demand of support. The Booth Centre is a
non-profit organisation with the main aim
to help those who are street homeless, just
like David. They depend on public donations
and help those who are homeless to move
off the streets, find new homes and get back
into work.
Every year they launch a Christmas appeal

to raise money during their busiest time of

the year.
We estimate that rough sleeping has increased by 1/3 in the last twelve months
explains Amanda Croome, CEO of the Booth
Centre. Christmas is a difficult time for people who dont have a home
and wont be with their families at Christmas. So the Booth Centre puts on lots of special activities including meals, films, bingo,
quizzes and entertainment, alongside our
usual advice and support.
Not only are well-established charities increasing their workload over winter, but just
last month a new concept to help the homeless was brought to Manchester City Centre.
Street Store invited those sleeping rough to
shop for free at a pop-up shop on
Houldsworth Street in the Northern
Quarter. Items of clothing were donated
by the public to be sold at the shop, and
those who attended were also given free
food. The event was organised by business
man and motivational speaker, Steve
Houghton-Burnett, who helped to run the
event by collaborating with a Salford-based
homeless project - Coffee4Craig. Their idea
was formed after seeing videos of similar
street stores taking place in Africa.
I watched the video about Street Store
after a friend shared it on Facebook. I
wanted to feel compassion but since my
teenage years I've had a fear of homeless
people. You might even call it a
phobia. My fear was that if I interacted
with a homeless person I would 'catch their
bad luck' and end up homeless myself admitted Steve.
The event did everything I hoped it
would and more. In teaming up with Coffee4Craig - the direct action homeless organisation I ended up working with - we had
two distinct objectives. The first was
to make sure we passed on as many items
of clothing as we could on the day. The second objective was to raise enough media
and social-media awareness that
Coffee4Craig could expand their volunteer
base and be recognised in the city as a
'name' that people could donate money and
goods to, secure in the knowledge that it
would end up in the right hands.
We are planning to run a pop-up store
like this in Manchester every year on the
Saturday immediately after Black Friday. It
was such a great counter-point to all of the
pictures of greed that were on the TV just 24
hours before. At our store we had homeless

FESTIVEBLUES: Thousands of people will be

people who only had a few
plastic poles and some string separating
them from all the things that they knew
could keep them warm over winter. Our
Street Store customers acted with a dignity
and decorum that the Black
Friday shoppers would do well to learn
from.
The Mustard Tree is another charity
which helps both the homeless and marginalised in Greater Manchester. At the beginning of November they opened a new store
in Little Hulton, Salford, catering solely to
helping those in need. The shop provides
emergency food packages, furniture and
clothing, as well as offering training, volunteering and employment opportunities so
the people they help can begin to rebuild
their lives.
Mustard Tree is so pleased to have this
opportunity to join with others in making a
lasting difference in Little Hulton. Poverty,

Call for asylum seekers

By Stanislava Antova
Reporter

YOUNG RAPAR (Refugee and Asylum Seeker

Participatory Action Research) members in
Manchester have created a petition called
Breaking Education Barriers in order to
encourage student loan companies to extend
their scope to asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers are entitled to go to university in the UK, provided they meet the
course entrance requirements and can pay
the course fees. Those who have not yet received a decision about their status from the
Home Office are classed as overseas students and will have to pay tuition fees between 8,500 and 29,000 a
year.
In some universities. asylum seekers are
charged with the home rate of tuition fees if
they have proof that an application for asylum in the UK has been made.

Even home fees are impossible for asylumseeking students as they are not eligible to
receive
Student Finance England funding. Moreover,
they are denied the right to work in the UK
and have to live on government hand-outs of
around 36 a week.
Farid Uahidi (pictured right,) 25, Treasurer
at RAPAR, left Iran seven years ago. He came
to Manchester with a Level 3 Diploma in
Computer Networking and was looking forward to attending university.
He was devastated to find out that, because
of his asylum-seeking status, there is no
place for him in higher education in the UK.
He said: Of course, I have been tempted to
just apply for university, and just say that my
loan company process is still going through.
But that is not the right thing to do; that is
not the way it should be. It should be
straightforward for everyone. And if some-

body wants to choose to take that path and

go tohigher education, they should have the
right to do so. Manchester-based project,
Article 26, lobbies universities to waive fees
for a few students
and offers them financial support while they
are studying.

meless this Christmas

Friday, December 19, 2014 QuaysMail 11

Student leader: Young people don't know how to vote

e left cold on the streets of Manchester this Christmas

extreme inequality and disadvantage should
never find a home in our communities. We
are honoured to be a new part of a great
team of groups and individuals who are determined to find ways to a better future.
The financial situation of many individuals and families has worsened, meaning that
more people are homeless or at risk of
homelessness. says Soraya Sheikh, the charities Organisational Development Manager.
A couple of years ago homelessness services in Manchester took a 8.2 million cut,
meaning less beds in hostels, less support
workers, etc.
Funding is very limited and some charities are struggling to get by. At the same
time the need is growing. Those who are
rough sleeping die more easily in cold conditions, and the fact that people freeze to
death on the streets of a 21st Century western nation is horrific.
David is incredibly grateful for the help

which is being provided for both him and for

others in a similar situation. It really is
great to see so many people helping. Even
though sleeping rough is a huge problem
across England, many people like me will
have the chance to eat and be inside this
year for Christmas. Maybe next year I wont
be where I am now.
There is no denying homelessness is an
increasing problem in Manchester today, but
local charities are drastically working to
combat the problem - especially over winter.
Help is needed more than ever, and there
are still many opportunities to support charities and their numerous campaigns and
events which are constantly ongoing across
the city.
Log on to www.theboothcentre.org.uk,
www.coffee4craig.co.uk and www.mustardtree.org.uk to
view how you can help with their charity
work this winter.

It is part of the Helena Kennedy Foundation

and refers to Article 26 of the Universal Decalaration of Human Rights that education
should be available to all on equal basis. At a
fundraising event at the Ruby Lounge, Nick
Sagovsky a Trustee at Helena Kennedy
Foundation, said: What we have in this
country is a system where people are often
accepted
on a basis of merit, but they can only take up
their place if they can fund it.
"We are seeing young people coming from
asylum-seeking roots who are effectively
barred from higher education because they
can not fund it. We are trying to find a way
to overcome that barrier for these fabulous
young people."
After being approached by the organization,
the University of Salford offered full tuition
fee bursaries to three students a year, while

the University of Manchester extended an

existing support scheme, which caps asylum
seeker fees to home student rates, in order
to provide one
bursary.

s to get uni loan

BLOCKED: Asylum seekers denied

University funding

YOUNG people dont know how to

register, let alone vote, according
to a student Vice Principal at the
University of Salford.
This follows research for the Sunday Politics which suggested thousands of students have failed to
register to vote ahead of the General Election in May.
21-year-old Jasmine Pokuaa, VP
for Health and Social Care, believes
this is down to the fact that a lot of
students don't actually understand
the voting process.
A lot of them come to university
when they are 18 having never
been eligible to vote, so most of
them arent even aware of the fact
that they have to register first,"
mentioned Pokuaa.Subsequently
most of them don't even know that
the registration system has
changed, this is why Salford's Student Union is currently persuading
people to sign a written petition
which will make them more aware
of how to vote because we want as
many people registered to vote by
January. We all know what happened with Nick Cleggs pledge to
free education and thats why
younger people need a bigger voice
at elections, otherwise how else will
the government make policies that

are aimed at the younger generation?With less than five months to

go before a new government is
elected, local councils are exceptionally keen to address the issue of unregistered younger voters. This
underrepresented part of society
could significantly swing the results
on the night of Thursday 7 May
2015.This is why Salford City Council is using extensive methods of
communication, such as social
media, to raise awareness of the
new voter registration system.
However, Christopher Clarkson, a
Conservative councillor in Worsley,
believes younger voters are ultimately responsible for their own engagement with the political voting
process. Its up to young people to
make themselves aware of the system and get themselves registered,
Cllr Clarkson stated. The old registration system was simply untenable
and it was something both major
parties agreed upon.There is no
point sitting there feeling disenfranchised with politics when you have
the opportunity to change things by
registering to vote.
If the party manifestos dont appeal to younger generations, the depleting interest in politics from voters
aged 18-24 may well continue.

Ebola concern over

school visit to Gambia
CHEADLE Hulme School have gone ahead
with a planned visit to West Africa despite concerns from parents after the recent Ebola outbreak in the region.
Students are currently in The Gambia
which is situated 400 miles away from
the nearest country affected by the disease.
One parent was particularly concerned
with the proximity to the outbreak and
expressed his intent to remove his daughter from the trip if it went ahead.
The students who participate will take
part in charity work in The Gambia.
The school is responsible for rebuilding
and supporting a number of schools in
the region.

INAFRICA:Cheshire school pupils

visit students in Gambia

VAT reforms hit businesses

12 Quays Mail Friday, December 19, 2014

By Alice Knight
Business Reporter

CHANGES to European finance boundaries

and VAT reforms will force thousands of
small businesses to shut down.
From January 1st, 2015, changes to VAT
rules in the European Union are predicted to
kill hundreds of thousands of businesses
across the UK, as amendments are made
that force impossible administrative and financial burdens on small, digital sellers.
These rule changes amend the VAT
boundaries, and were created with large
companies such as Amazon and Apple in
mind. Instead of VAT being charged at the
place of supply (such as tax haven Luxembourg), VAT will soon be charged at the customers location. VAT is normally only
required from businesses earning 81K per
year, but from the New Year, anyone who
sells a digital product like an e-book or MP3
to a customer from another member state
(UK to France, for example) will now have to
pay VAT on all of their earnings in that financial year.
These changes were announced during
the summer, but many have only learned
about them in the past week. A protest page
has been set up online, with many stressed
and angry micro-business owners partaking
in Twitterstorms between Sunday and Tuesday and encouraged to continue, protesting
the law which is supposedly too far along
to change in time for 2015.
A lot of distress has been caused by the
administrative processes that now have to
be followed to not only register for VAT, but
to keep to the new procedures. Some have
said they will have to shut down because the
cost of registrations alone are more than
they even earn in a year, with some unable
to track customers and financial information
because they go through one button systems like Paypal. With proxy services and
masking browsers like TOR, it is also impossible to verify if IP addresses are genuine.
Another hole in the system is that a seller
can be prosecuted if the terms of business in
one country are interpreted differently to
another member state who decides to take
legal action. There is the VATMOSS (Mini
One Stop Shop), which in some countries
will do all of the calculations and pass them
on to the authorities for their businesses,
but the sign-up process has been judged as

COMEDYFINANCE: A cartoonists guide to the new EU rules on VAT

too complex for many to manage, if not entirely unachievable. It is also not available in
all locations.
The Head of Research and Financial Intelligence at the Greater Manchester Chamber
of Commerce, Christian Spence, said that the
changes did introduce a burden to small
businesses, It is an administrative load and
burden to small businesses, who should
seek advice from bureaus or directly contact
the HMRC who are in charge of all of the
changes. Prices may need to rise to match
VAT in the different countries, and [companies run by an individual/small number]
may find it difficult I suspect theyre
mostly on their own.

However, Spence did point out that this

only affects digital downloads, and that it
was all put in place to level the playing
field. He said: Its a balancing of things, and
it stops sellers being unfairly challenged,
where they might have lost money [because
of uneven taxes across the EU]. He did however, agree that more could have been done
in the run up to December, The government
did actually announce in June, but there is a
concern that the government does not communicate well, especially with small businesses who might miss these things,
especially when theyre the most affected
We would like for this to be better.
Spence stated that they would look into

the concerns raised during these online discussions and protests, and hopefully publish
their responses and more information after
the New Year. Meanwhile, European Commission Vice President Andrus Ansip is joining with campaigners to find answers to the
problems found, and hopefully find both
short and long-term solutions that will allow
these thousands of businesses to stay afloat
for good.
Join the campaign at
http://euvataction.org/ and join the discussion online with hastags #EUVAT, #EUVATMOSS and #EUVATMESS

Child poverty reaches all-time high

By Declan Fisher
Reporter

GREATER Manchester has long since been a

region known as one of the worst in the
country for poverty but the news that inflation in the UK hit a 12-year-low last month
offers hope to those in need.
In 2011, it was announced that Manchester was the city with the highest child
poverty ratings in the UK. It was said, over
25,000 of Greater Manchesters youngsters
were living in severe poverty. In 2013, the
Greater Manchester Poverty Commission
(GMPC) announced that 1 in 5 kids in Manchester were living in extreme poverty and
according to Manchester Food Poverty this
number now stands at 38%.
In October of this year, research by the
End Child Poverty campaign showed that
one in two children that live in socially deprived areas are living in poverty. The government is aiming to eradicate child poverty
in this country by 2020, but Save The Children estimate that by 2020 the number of
children living in poverty in the UK will have
topped 5 million.
The Child Poverty Action Groups (CPAG)
website states that child poverty blights

childhoods. This sentiment is echoed by the

charity Shelter, which claims that children in
unfit and overcrowded accommodation are
up to 10 times more likely to develop
meningitis and twice as likely to leave
school without GCSEs.
The CPAG says: explanations which put
poverty down to drug and alcohol dependency, family breakdown, poor parenting, or a
culture of worklessness are not supported
by the facts. Of those unlucky enough to be
living in poverty in Greater Manchester, who
is likely to feel the benefit of this financial
gain?
Melvyn Newton, hub leader of Manchesters Food Cycle charity, believes that government policies like the bedroom tax are
far more impactful than a slight reduction in
inflation.
He says ongoing impact of bedroom tax
means the poor are galloping toward greater
poverty and headline economic news is irrelevant to them. Newton lists frozen benefits, falling wages and zero-hour contracts as
some of the key problems that people on the
breadline in Manchester are facing.

.Despite the decrease in the level of inflation, he continues: we understand from our
conversations with colleagues who run food
banks that uptake is increasing. food banks
work for a small number of people, they are
accessible to a small number of people and
also called for more schemes to be set up for
people in need of money for basics like food.
It was announced earlier this week that London would have host its first Social Supermarket opened. The scheme will offer local
residents on income support the chance to
purchase food from supermarkets including
Tesco, Asda and Morrisons with a 70% discount.
Greater Manchesters Chamber of Economics released a statement this week which revealed that inflation is always and
everywhere an international phenomenon,
at least for the moment, until wages start to
rise that is. Good news for people on the
breadline is that, due largely to a reduction
in fuel costs; food prices are down 10% on
the previous report from the Chamber of
Economics.

Help for
kids this
Christmas
LAST year, over the December period, the NSPCC carried out over
23,000 counselling sessions and
over 1,600 young people who
were feeling suicidal and lonely,
contacted the NSPCCs ChildLine
helpline.
Christmas can be a lonely time
of year for some children and the
NSPCC are there to help.
With over 40 contact centres
across the UK, the NSPCC are
open all day every day in the hope
they try to make a difference to
someones life.
It is important that children
dont feel like theyre being neglected and that there is always
someone on hand to talk to them.
Sandra Robinson, a team manager from the NSPCCs helpline,
explained how important the
NSPCCs presence is for those in
need over Christmas, For children who might be bothered or
worried about something they can
contact ChildLine and they can
speak to somebody about what
they are concerned about.
On Christmas day, we have people sitting here waiting to take
your call so if you have any concerns or if you are someone who
has a concern for a child, whether
its your own or somebody elses,
dont sit and worry, give us a
call.
If youre feeling distressed and
lonely this Christmas, you can
contact ChildLine on 0808 1111.

BBC is
committed
to stay at
MediaCity

THE move of the BBC studios to

Salford Quays in 2011 created a
buzz of divided opinion on its impact.
Three years on, the studios are
now comfortably settled and
Quays News spoke to the BBCs
Chief Sports writer, Phil McNulty
on how the transition has gone.
It has been a flagship move for
the BBC and also a great boost to
the economy and profile in the
north.
I know many of my colleagues
on the journalistic circuit who
were working on local newspapers in the north have had the opportunity to secure jobs at the
BBC. That would never have been
available to them had the BBC remained in London.
As well as opportunities for
local journalists, Phil believes the
presence of the BBC has helped
boost development and the transition will continue to provide
more opportunities.The BBC is
totally committed to Media City,
Salford and the north having
made the move and there is no
reason at all to see why that
should ever decrease. It was a
huge financial and logistical commitment and promises to continue that.

SHELLSHOCK: The
truth behind WWI

Friday, December 19, 2014 QuaysMail 13

MEMORIES: An exhibition explaining the terrors of World War One

By Joe Harker
News Reporter

MANCHESTER Central Library hosted an

event commemorating the struggles of soldiers with shell-shock and other disabilities
in World War One on Wednesday, December 17.
This was done in combination with their
ongoing display in their Archives+ centre,
which shares the stories of soldiers who
have suffered from physical or mental disability as a result of the war.
In addition, it also holds the records of
Manchester soldiers and their injuries.
This display was put together by Manchester City Councils disabled staff as
part of UK Disability History Month; another display was also set up at the Peoples History Museum.
Dr Ana Carden-Coyne, Senior Lecturer
in War and Conflict at the University of
Manchester gave the presentation on the
effects of shell-shock and disability.
She highlighted the Governments failure
to provide proper care and support for veterans, drawing parallels with the treatment
of soldiers today.
She said: When soldiers returned from

3D printing
at MoSI

THE Museum of Science

and Industry has welcomed
a new exhibition detailing
the rise of 3D printing.
Printing pills and reconstructing body parts are
some of the latest medical
innovations.
The engineering industry
could also be revolutionised thanks to 3D printing. There are already 3D
printed parts used in cars
but at the moment there
arent any 3D printed
planes.
Due to the mass media
attention surrounding 3D
printing, debating its uses
but also it abuses. The
printing of usable firearms
has sparked fear into the
public knowing anyone can
create a deadly weapon.
Some people also question whether its right to be
able to play God, by reproducing human organs
and body parts from
scratch.
The exhibit will be open
daily until 19th April 2015.

war and were wounded they didnt get the

pension they were entitled to. The Government found ways to lower their rates and
over time reduced it even more.
Soldiers in France, Germany and the
USA all got better treatment and help than
the British soldiers.
Her presentation highlighted the different
attitudes shown to certain kinds of disabled soldiers, with blind and facially disfigured veterans being amongst the most
shunned.
Blind soldiers were portrayed as childlike and helpless, it was demeaning to
them and there wasnt much they could
do. There were a lot of Victorian attitudes
still going around, mentioned CardenCoyne.
King George regularly visited disabled
soldiers but he was never photographed
with the facially scarred ones. They were
treated as lower class citizens and ignored
by most people.
Lorna Young, Co-Chair of the Councils
Disabled Staff, helped organise the event.
She remarked: Disability History Month

has a new theme every year. This years

theme was war: finding the links between
the First World War and disability.
Understanding and explaining it: that is
our aim. What we are trying to do is tell the
stories of that time in a broad sense but
also show individual struggles.
The archive also contains a number of
poignant poems from Siegfried Sassoon
and Wilfred Owen, who avoided the heroic
portrayals of a jingoism-fuelled war.
The exhibit is part of a wider push for a
better understanding of mental health,
Lorna Young said: Some conditions such
as shell-shock were really not well understood at all at the start of the war. It was
described as lunacy and people thought
they were just cowards.
Youd have situations where men were
shot for cowardice when they had significant mental health conditions.
The exhibit at the Archive+ area of the library will be running until the January 5,
2015 and is open to all members of the
public to use and examine.

Nuclear power.
He said: We can offer a career-defining
challenge, to help lay the foundations of the
UKs nuclear future.
My message to those thinking about their
next move is simple: come see what NuGen
can offer and be inspired.
NuGen are working alongside the Environment Agency to ensure the constructions
does not cause significant damage to the
surrounding area or disrupt the decommissioning of Sellafield.
Geo-physical monitoring of the site has already been completed and drilling is to
begin throughout 2015.
The head office will be based on London
road in the city-centre and will house the
company for the foreseeable future.

Contact @QUAYSNEWS for any comments

on this story on Twitter and check out our
website www.quaysnews.net for further information on the big move.

Nuclear companys 70bn

move to Manchester 2015
By Joe Harker
NewsReporter

UK Nuclear company, NuGen will relocate to

Manchester in the New Year.
The move is part of new plans to construct three new reactors in the North West.
The reactors will be built by the Sellafield
site and is currently undergoing decommissioning at a cost of 70bn to the taxpayer.
The first reactor is planned to open in
2024 with the intention of the other 2 to be
working by 2026.
The reactors will generate 3.4 Gigawatts
of energy per day and create between
14,000 and 21,000 jobs for the area.
If successful, it will be Europes largest
new nuclear construction plan.
Chief Executive, Sandy Rupprecht, believes that the future energy in the UK lies in

Chase the wind

and light the night

14 Quays Mail Friday, December 19, 2014

Manchesters
fashion icons
By Alice King
Entertainment Editor

By Rebecca Bretherton
Entertainment Editor

O
Noel Gallaghers Pretty Green

AFTER the announcement

earlier this month that Liam
Gallagher would be opening
his second Pretty Green Manchester store, weve delved
into the world of design and
rediscovered the fashion talent that Manchester has offered the wider world.

N Wednesday 17, December

dancers from the University of
Salford performed an improvised piece within the Aeolian Light Exhibit by, Squidsoup during its soft
opening before it opened to the public
the following day. Here we look at how
this piece came to be and what is in
store for the future at Squidsoup.

The Past

Squidsoup were founded in 1997 and consists of four main members, Anthony Rowe,
Gaz Bushell, Chris Bennewith and Liam Birtles. They specialise in creating mixed reality experiences with the aim of bringing the
virtual and digital world in to the physical
realm. One of these early examples was the
use of projection mapping, which projects
interactive life like images onto objects.
They wanted to create digital art that had
volume and presence in the physical world

rather than just a flat projection.

The early version and idea behind todays
Aeolian light began in 2007 with the exploration of the technical possibilities. During
their research they discovered a similar
project in Zurich, a geometric model called a
Nova Grid comprised of 25,000 LED lights
suspended in the air. They lent one unit to
Squidsoup so they could experiment with it.
Squidsoups first exhibit using this idea
was for the V&A Museum as part of a Cold
War exhibit; it was called the Stealth Project
and was a game of tic tack toe. This however
was like the one in Zurich, an object but
their aim was to create an environment.
An early version titled Surface was prototyped in China with loosely suspended small
lights, only people couldnt go inside it, the
lights had sharp edges and open circuits.
The next time out they created Submergence which was shown in Oslo, Bristol and
Germany amongst others. This time their
aim of movement within physical space was
made a reality.

The Present

Next came Aeolian Light after six years of re-

Pretty Green

Pretty Green opened five years ago,

the brand now has 15 stores with
plans for a total of 25-30 more over
the next two years. Pretty Green has
introduced Mod fashion to yet another generation, resulting in profits
of 10.9 million in 2013. The current
Manchester store is located at the
top of King Street opposite Browns
restaurant, but rumours have spread
that a Trafford Centre Pretty Green
store could be coming very soon.

Vivienne Westwood

The Derbyshire born designer has

dominated the mid-market, bringing
Punk and New Wave fashion into
the mainstream since 1971. Famous
fans include The Sex Pistols, Gwen
Stefani and Pharrell Williams, who
has become something of a promoter for the Westwood Buffalo hat,
which even has its own Twitter account. She somehow manages to
mix sophisticated cuts with edgy
prints and detailing to create a
unique style that cannot be replicated.

Zeynep Kartal

Learning how to sew at the age of

10, Kartal is something of a Queen
at designing bespoke items. After 20
years working in the industry, she
has covered all aspects of fashion,
having careers in all departments
from fashion marketing to production. This knowledge has led to the
success of the Zeynep Kartal brand
which aims to encourage women to
feel confident in their appearance
with elegant designs. New ranges
include a leather jacket collection
and childrens clothing line called
Little Ladies.

WhoDaresWears

WhoDaresWears is an independent
clothing brand, founded in 2008. The
brand is inspired by the subcultures
of the nineties, particularly grunge
and skate cultures, however it is
suitable for all age groups. Its timeless designs and graphic-heavy tees
are getting a re-vamp, ready for the
new year. Keep checking www.whodareswears.com for exclusive new
items.

search, it is the largest they have created at

12 meters square consisting of around
12,000 individual points of light. The project
was inspired by a visit to the Quays and its
notoriously windy environment. The name
came from Aeolus; the Greek God of wind,
Anthony Rowe says it is homage to both the
area and the Greek god
Earlier versions of this light project reacted to sound and movement however the
Aeolian Light project exhibited at the Quays
visualises the wind as an illuminating and
chaotic force and human presence within
the piece causes a disturbance which then
also becomes visualised.
Submergence used Kinect sensors made
for the X-box to track the human movement
however these dont work outdoors and also
dont have the range they needed so they instead used a SICK sensor which tracks people underneath the lights i.e. their feet. In
order to make the wind visualised into the
piece a wind sensor is used to track its
strength and direction.

The Future

So whats next for Squidsoup?

During a talk held on Thursday 18, December at the University of Salford Anthony
Rowe mentioned they hope to
create work that utilises bioluminescence. For those unsure
of what this means, remember
the James Cameron film
Avatar? Picture the scenery
and landscape that comes to
life at night that is bioluminescence. This comes from bacteria. Ironically one of these can
come from squid, which he
mentions isnt the reason for
their name.
The Aeolian Light exhibit
which was exclusively commissioned for The Quays is located at the plaza between the
Lowry and the Lowry Outlet
Mall from 18, December 2015
to 7, January 2015 from 10am
to 10:30pm.
For more information about
the project visit:
www.quaysculture.com
And for information about
Squidsoup and their projects
the show visit: www.squidsoup.org

The e

Exclusive: Manchester sta

The public explore the lights as press shots are taken before

By Robert Bhamber
Entertainment Editor

WITH the likes of the Comedy Store on

Deansgate Locks, as well as the Frog and
Bucket on Oldham Street and the XS
Malarkey show every Tuesday at The
Pub/Zoo, Manchester has no shortage of
circuit comedy venues, much to the delight
of local stand-up Phil Ellis.
The comic, whose show Funz and
Gamez won the Fosters panel prize this
year at the Edinburgh comedy awards, is
full of praise for the citys comedy scene.
I think that the Manchester comedy
scene has a very good history; some of
the very best performers have come
through here, like Steve Coogan, Johnny
Vegas and Jason Manford. John Bishop,
as well, did his first ever gig at the Frog
and Bucket, said Ellis.
I think theres a lot of little gigs set up
now as well, some of them are trying to do
alternative nights and offer something dif-

ferent to the bigger venues which is a

good thing. Id say a year and a half to two
years ago it wasnt like that.
Theres a lot of acts, and an awful lot of
open spots, so its a good scene here

TV exposure

Stand-up comedy has seen a remarkable

rise in popularity in recent years, with the
likes of Bishop, Michael McIntyre and Jack
Whitehall becoming household names.
Shows like Live at the Apollo have given
stand-up more mainstream TV exposure
than ever before, although this hasnt necessarily had a positive effect on the club
scene.
I think its had a negative effect if anything, because what people see on TV
isnt necessarily the same as whats happening on the circuit; it just reflects what
the TV people want, explained Ellis.
Theres a lot of good acts on TV, Im not

slagging them off at all, I just dont think it

has the diversity of the club scene. Its not
that these people arent good, its just
there are some really exciting things going
happening on the circuit that will get ignored.
And now people show up to a gig expecting the type of observational, mainstream comedy theyve seen on TV and
theyre surprised when its not the same.
It can be good and bad I suppose;
theres a lot more people going to clubs
but theyre not going there with an open
mind, theyre going there with a pre-set
idea based on TV stand-up. So its a double-edge sword really.
Salford born comedian Manford has set
about tackling this problem in the last year,
launching a brand of comedy nights under
his name, played at local venues across
the country and featuring circuit comedians that he has personally selected to
showcase.

One

Friday, December 19, 2014 Quays Mail 15

ethereal world of the Aeolian Light exhibit upclose before its offcially switched on and ready to interact with the wind and public alike

and-up hails citys comedy scene

e of the dancers surrounded in blue light as it tracks her movements

Ellis hosts a gig at the Frog and Bucket, Image Credit - Lancashire One

University of Salford dancers perform and improvised piece

Its good to see that he is putting something back into the circuit, Ellis commented.
He noticed a few things were going
wrong, in certain clubs and certain franchises, and hes trying to rectify that by
running nights with his name on so to
speak. Its early days, but Im sure if they
do well hell open more and more, which
can only be a good thing.
People like Jason spent a lot of time on
the circuit, so he appreciates what its like.
The comedy scene has sort of come full
circle in a way, people got more interested
in stand-up because of the rise in comedians on TV, therefore more clubs opened
up. But now that initial boom has tailed off,
a lot of people have lost interest and the
demand for those clubs just isnt there.
Some have started to struggle, with people not getting paid and such so credit to
Jason for trying to get something sorted
and making it work.

Frog and Bucket

Ellis is a regular performer at the Frog and

Bucket in Manchester, often hosting gigs
at the club.
I love the venue, its the place that gave
me my first full week, they took a lot of
chances on me. I think its a great club to
play, especially on a Friday and Saturday
night. It can get very lively, but I like that as
well, Id rather it be that way than flat, you
can have too polite of an audience sometimes.
Beat the Frog is always interesting,
with eight new acts doing open mic spots.
They can vary from the great, to the mental, to the absolutely awful and thats what
makes it so interesting. Sometimes you
get someone so bad, and I know this
sounds cruel, but they need to be gonged
off and then other nights you see someone
and think, hang on, theyre actually good.
Its an excellent way of finding talent.

25 Years in Springfield
16 Quays Mail Friday, December 19, 2014

By Liam McCallion
Reporter

EVERYONE grows up with a favourite childhood program. Whether it be The Looney

Tunes or Sesame Street, we simply cant resist watching the program we loved so much
when we were young, even when we reach
adulthood. The only problem with this is
that we usually end up watching the repeats.
While its always good fun to relive the
greatest moments this can, however, sometimes lead to eventual boredom as the entertainment factor soon starts to fade. Some
shows have managed to escape this monotonous paradigm, though, and The Simpsons,
who celebrated their 25th anniversary on
Wednesday, are a fine example of this.
Matt Groenings characters have never been
short of a few gags and that is what has
made the show such a great success in the
present day. So just to celebrate Springfields
silver milestone, heres its top five funniest
moments.

2. Prank calls at Moes Tavern

Prank calling is comedy genius, no matter

how many times you do it, hence why The
Simpsons have used this practical joke on
numerous occasions. Bart was the obvious

known for having a short temper. In a long

history of crank calls, the best one has to be
Im looking for
a friend of mine, last name Jass, first
name Hew. For anyone who hasnt seen this
one, its the call in which Bart is finally

4. Homers imaginary chainsaw

When your house has been broken into by a

blood-thirsty mob and youve just barricaded your bedroom door but theyre still
coming through, what do you? I know! Pretend you have a chainsaw and make a rasping whirr to scare them off. This awkwardly
didnt work for Homer, though, as the mob
rapidly realised his amateurish impression
of a mechanical power-driven cutting tool.
Again Doh!

1. The greediness of Homer

Homer is commonly known for having eyes

bigger than his belly fact. Not a moment
goes by when the plant worker isnt salivating over the thought of refreshments, so it
was only natural that hed try to satisfy his
craving by sticking his arm into a vending
machine in the
hope that he could con himself a free drink.
His wittiness backfired, however, when he
foolishly got his arm stuck in the vender. In
such a crisis you obviously need some
chocolate to calm yourself down. That doesnt mean you have to stick your second arm
in another machine though, and thats just
what Homer did. Doh!

5. Martins showdown with the bullies

Stars of the show, The Simpsons celeberate 25 years on the air

character to utilise in this continuous line of
hoaxes, due to his mischievous personality,
while Moe Szyslak was rightfully selected to
be the unfortunate victim as he is well-

Manchester band raise

10,00 for new tour bus

The Mouse Outfit perform as they succeed with new tour bus endeavour

By Emily Rodgers
Reporter

AFTER setting up a donations page with

a target of 10,000, The Mouse Outfit has
surpassed the amount ahead of their European tour next year.
The nine-piece hip hop band has struggled financially to tour across the country
for gigs. The total amount pledged is currently at 11,011 and counting.
Their plea reads We need a van to tour
the UK and Europe in 2015. Our second
album will be released soon and we want
to take our show to a town near you.
Loyal fans have been pledging for over a
week, and were determined to help them
reach the target. One generous fan, Joe
Hopkins commented on the page I've
pledged 100, if I increase it to 125
could I get the sweatshirt? after the band
decided to offer merchandise in exchange
for donations.
We're fans of a band called The Monophonics and we saw that they had done
something similar to fund a tour bus. I
think crowd funding is an option that
many bands and artists are considering
due to the limited money now available in

We all know that slow kid from class. The

one who constantly had his finger up his
nose while eating paint. That is Ralph down
to a T. During a private session with Principal Skinnner, Ralph boasts his one brain cell
by correctly spelling the word cat, unbelievable I know. Just when it seems hes had an
intellectual breakthrough, Ralph then makes
a serious
doodoo when he praises himself soon after
by saying, Im learnding. Its a good job the
program is based in a floating timeline as he
probably needs another 25 years of development in second grade.

record sales.
Dr.Syntax, who tours with the group, featured in a promotional video, explaining
what the money is for and their appreciation for the fans.
There are three core members of the
band (Chini, Pitch and Defty) so we're not
in a situation where we split costs nine
ways unfortunately but the money will go
towards a 9 person vehicle said the band.
3 days before the deadline the band was
1,000 away from their target, and failure
to reach it would mean they would receive
none of the pledges.
If the pledge is over 100, the reward is
two VIP gig tickets, dinner, meeting the
band, after party, a t-shirt, a CD, signed
photos and stickers, of which seven fans
have won. If the pledge is 250 or more
you are also invited for tea at band-members Chinis house, amongst many other
things.
Our fan base has really grown dramatically over the last year or so. We've been
overwhelmed by the response The band
went on to say We can't wait to get back
on the road and tour our second album,
which is due out in February 2015.

caught out as who should answer the

phone other than Hew Jass.

3. Ralph Wiggum tries to act smart

There is no greater satisfaction than beating

your childhood bully and Martin Prince
knows full well how that feels. Having put
up with a lifetime of torment from Nelson
Muntz. at school, the chubby fourth grade
student one day decided that enough was
enough although his decision may have
been influenced by the fact that Springfield
was on the verge of destruction. Nevertheless the comedy in seeing the goody twoshoes pupil whacking his tormentors over
the head with a 6x4 was truly hilarious.

Youre hired! The Apprentice Final

THIS Sunday the tenth series of The
Apprentice comes to a close. A decade
of boardroom brutality and brash business meets its end.
Now Lord Sugar faces the task of deciding whether Bianca Millers hosiery
business has legs or whether Mark
Wrights web-based proposition
should net a hefty investment.
Looking back, its been a long,
arduous task of whittling down
the wheat from the chaff as we
sit fourteen episodes deep into
the series. So which of this
years two finalists are seemingly on their way to securing that
all important quarter of a million
pounds?
Its worth noting,

Film preview:
Cake

THERE are a variety of things that spring

to mind when looking into Anistons former
roles, and serious is rarely one of them;
weve seen her as a nymphomaniac in
Horrible Bosses 1&2, a dog lover and
hater at the same time in Marley & Me and
that other role everyone seems to forget
about. What was it? Oh yeah, Rachel
Green in Friends.
Patrick Tobins Cake however, looks to
create another version of her in our minds,
a welcome change we think.
Cake is the story of a woman (Jen) who
suffers from severe injuries and scars following a car accident. After the suicide of a
woman from her chronic pain support
group (Anna Kendrick), she becomes fascinated by her life eventually leading her to
find the widower and face her own
demons.
Cake is nominated for a Golden Globe
but has already suffered a mixed reaction

these two have already done battle during the process. In week 7, Bianca
reigned supreme over Mark in New
York City as a rival project manager.
She has also found herself brought
back to the boardroom on only one occasion, back in week 5, compared
to Mark who has been summoned the boardroom twice.
Throughout the process
Bianca has excelled where
Mark hasnt, but stand-out
performance of the series
has to go to Mr Wright
when in the country show
task he almost single-handedly scooped a huge
30,115 on the back of
several hot tub sales.

with some praising Aniston for stepping

out of her typecast whilst others believe
the character to be a bit much to shallow.
The film did however receive a standing
ovation at its premier at the Toronto Film
Festival.
Despite former opinions of Aniston, the
unexpected character change is intriguing
and we will definitely be checking out
Cake following its release in late January.

Jennifer Anniston in character for Cake

Fun at Winter
Wonderland
Time for some fun, as families enjoy the return of Winter Wonderland

By Jamie Carnie
Reporter

FOLLOWING the success of last years Winter Wonderland, the UKs largest indoor funfair returns to Manchester for a second year
to spread the festive cheer.
Hosted at Trafford Parks Event City, Winter Wonderland held a special preview on
Friday 12th December with 1,500 free tickets worth almost 30,000 being given out to
charities whose work benefits disadvantaged children and families. Winter Wonderland officially opened to the public on 13th
December.
The huge event boasts a myriad of rides,
stalls, shows, food and drink outlets and
other attractions which include a daily live
show from The Sooty Show, a Christmas Circus which seats over 700 people and meet
and greets with Santa Claus.

Tammy Silcock, founder and organiser of

the event came up with the idea 18 months
ago: Theres not that many places to go at
Christmas and people expect value for
money these days, so I thought if you could
do something where you take the children
and they can go on anything they wanted to
go on without keeping asking for money. I
thought it would be quite a good concept.
Families pay for tickets then are able to
visit any of the rides and attractions for free
in the 8,000 square meter venue.
A number of volunteers including a couple
of elves on stilts were helping out at the
event. Staying in character, the appointed
head elf said: Weve got our own little German bar going on here for the adults who
are getting a bit too stressed with the kids
going manic on them!
Winter Wonderland is open until 4th January. Visit the website for more information.

Festive fun as Winter Wonderland returns to Manchester

Top 5 Christmas gifts

CHRISTMAS shoppers across Greater

Manchester are searching high and
low for this seasons best buys but
Tesco stores, have all the gifts you
need.

1.Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male 75ml

+ 75ml shower gel
Fragrances are a must have for every
Christmas shopper and this classy
Eau de Toilette and shower gel set is
the perfect gift. The set has been reduced from 45 to 30.

2.HP Chrome book 11 S5250

Gadgets are always popular at Christmas and Tesco have a fantastic offer
on this Samsung Exynos 5250 Dual
Core 1.7GHz chrome book. Originally
202, its been reduced to 175.

3.Disneys Frozen Princess Anna

Disneys hit movie, Frozen, is every

childs favourite film. Tesco have their

very own Frozen gifts and this

Princess Anna ice-skating figure is
a great Christmas-themed addition.
Pick up one of these for only 28.99

4.Kettler Cross M Cross-Trainer

Elliptical

If your partners new year resolution

is to keep fit, then purchase one of
Tescos biggest Christmas offers
a Kettler cross-trainer. With manual
tension adjustment and eight resistance levels, its terrific value for
your money. Its been reduced from
399.99 to 259 making it a musthave this December.

5.PlayStation 4 console

This PlayStation 4 offer is a great

Christmas bargain. The console,
which includes a Dualshock wireless controller and Blu-ray technology, is reduced to just 309, saving
you 20 this Christmas.

Friday, December 19, 2014 Quays Mail 17

How much would 12

days of Christmas cost?
By Daniel McLaughlin
Reporter

WHAT is the true cost of Christmas?

Family? Friends? Love? The story of
the little baby Jesus? According to the
PNC Bank in America, it is around
$27,673.22.
The Christmas Price Index measures the cost of the festive carol, The
Twelve Days of Christmas, year on
year with the price raising 1% from
2013.
Quays Mail has done its own calculations, and figured out how much the
12 days would cost in the UK.
The most expensive addition would
be the seven swans swimming, with a

value of 500 each from UKWaterFowl.com.

The eight maids a-milking are all on
minimum wage of 6.50 an hour, and
the musicians the pipers and the
drummers were all private hire.
The Lords rejected a proposal to
have a joint catering service with MPs
in fear of the quality of champagne
not being as good, the Guardian revealed at the beginning of the month.
They dont come cheap with their
300 daily allowance being taken into
account.
The infamous partridge in a pear
tree costs 75 for the bird, and 30
for the tree.
The UK Christmas Price Index total
is 15,607 for 2014.

Hidden Gems of the

Northern Quarter
By Tamsin Dyson
Reporter

THE crowds, the mad rush, the websites

crashing, everything you want sold out
we can all agree that last minute Christmas shopping is unbearable. So, why not
escape from the bedlam of the high street
stores in the Arndale step in to the quiet
area of the Northern Quarter. Full of little
independent shops, it offers the perfect
quirky and unique Christmas gifts for
everyone, without the hassle of tackling
crowds.

Manchester Craft & Design

Centre

We think that creative gifts bring the

biggest smiles. says Kate Day, Director of
Manchester
Craft & Design Centre.
Nestled right
in the heart
of the Northern Quarter
with 18 boutique studios
to choose
from itll be
hard not to
find the perfect gift here. From clothing to
ceramics, furniture to jewellery and paintings, photography, lighting and textiles all
produced by 30 talented designers, theres
gifts to suit everyone and even a caf to
relax in after. In keeping with the festivities
the Limited Edition Christmas Bell by This
is Pewter for 22 is the ideal gift.

Flowellery

When looking for an unusual gift, Afflecks

is the ideal place to go. With three floors

Me&Yu

Nestled
on the
third floor
of Afflecks,
Me&Yu
has been
making
hand
drawn illustrated
clothes
and unique and vintage jewellery since
2003. Hand made and vintage renewal
jewellery are the ideal gift for someone
who loves quirky accessories and if you
want to spend a bit more, each t-shirt is
hand screen-printed which makes them
truly unique. A perfect gift for a fashion
lover are the Vintage Button Earrings for
3.50

Junk Shop

This is
for the
female
fashion
lover in
your life.
Shopping
for
clothes
for someone else
is always
tricky by Junk provides unique handmade
items and one off vintage pieces that
everyone will love. As well as three instore designers with a passion for sustainable fashion, Junk also has a vast range
of quirky vintage-esque jewellery that will
add a contemporary style to any look. Our
favourite item for the festive season is the
art nouveau reindeer necklace for 14.

Fred Aldous

jam packed with 60 unique shops, theres

definitely something for everyone. At Flowellery on the first floor, youll find Teodora's
and Dimitars polymer clay and wire jewellery designs. From personalised pieces
to cute quirky rings and novelty earrings,
these will make the perfect gift for the jewellery lover in your life. For a jewellery enthusiast are these quirky and novelty rings
for 5 or 2 for 8.

If youre shopping for a crafty enthusiast

then Fred Aldous
is the place for
you. Dating back
to 1886 when the
cotton trade was in
high demand in
Manchester, Fred
Aldous has 128
years of expertise in handicrafts and sells
a range of art supplies, textiles and craft
books.
A great gift for a craft lover is the small
Chinese 2 Brush Painting Set for 16.50

Top 5 food bargains

this Christmas
18 Quays Mail Friday, December 19, 2014

real show-stopper. The pack includes; a mini

French brie with soft mould, a medium fat
Dutch Edam, medium Cheddar cheese, Red
Leicester, full-fat veined Blue Stilton, Austrian Smoke flavoured cheese with butter
and Wensleydale cheese with sweetened
dried cranberries. Delicious!

4. Selection of alcoholic beers, lagers

and ciders 2 for 18 from Sainsburys

Sit back and relax with one of a wide selection of bottled or canned lager and cider
from Sainsburys. You can pick up 2 crates
for only 18 including; Becks, Fosters, Stella
Artois, Magners cider and Strongbow. If you
want something a bit special, hop along to
Waitrose where they have a great selection
of festive wines and champagnes and you
can save up to a third on every purchase.

5. Range of crisps, nuts and chocolates Variety of great offers from

Tesco, ASDA and Sainsburys

CHEESE: the staple post Christmas meal and Boxing Day treat for all the family

By Emma Sanders
Sports Editor

THIS Christmas, supermarkets across

Greater Manchester have some fantastic
food offers that shoppers can indulge in
from Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburys and Waitrose.
Heres a compilation of some of the best offers available this year;

1.Whole, undressed 1kg salmon side

HALF PRICE was 24 now 12 from
Tesco

Tesco have spoilt shoppers with the choice

of a wide range of fish centrepieces and this
whole salmon side, now half-price, is the
pick of the bunch. Serving six to eight people, the salmon, sourced from Scotland and
Norway, is delicious baked whole and served
with a rich hollandaise sauce. Its a great alternative to the meat selections.

2.Selection of party bites 2 for 4

on selected Chosen by You items
from ASDA

If youre hosting the Boxing Day or Christmas Eve party, ASDA is the only place you
need to go. Their Chosen by You selected
range is fantastic and offers a wide variety
of delicious, finger-licking treats. From mini
Margherita pizzas to breaded prawns and
sausage rolls to garlic mushrooms, theres
enough selection to feed the entire party
and leave you with the leftovers.

THE CHAIN restaurant Wagamama is asking customers to take part in the campaign
#wagamamawishes to raise money for the
charity UK Youth.
The festive campaign began on the 1st
of December and promises to grant a
wish every day until Christmas and donate
50p to the charity for every wish made.
UK Youth currently helps over 693,000
young people across the country, to develop life-skills and gain confidence
through various programmes and events
throughout the year.
Wagamama customers are asked to create an origami star using a template provided when they visit the restaurant, write
their Christmas wish on the back of the
star and post the image to social media
with the hashtag #wagamawishes.
Each day one person will be selected at
random and have their wish granted.
Sophie Betts, the Global Campaign Man-

THE North American Aerospace

Defense Command is ready to
track Santas Christmas journey
as he delivers presents to good
girls and boys across the world.
The NORAD Tracks Santa website, has launched a mobile version this year, including a holiday
countdown, games and daily activities.
Also new this year, the website
features Santas elves in the
North Pole Village. NORAD Tracks
Santa is introducing a new elf and
asking the public to help choose
the perfect name for him.
Starting at 12.01am on Christmas eve, website visitors can
watch Santa make preparations
for his flight while Santa Cams
will stream videos on the website
as Santa makes his way over various locations.
NORAD Tracks Santa is a truly
global experience, delighting families everywhere after a slightly
unconventional start back in
1955.
In the USA a local media advertisement directed children to call
Santa direct only the number
was misprinted and rang through
to the Crew Commander on duty
at the Continental Air Defense
Command Operations Center instead. Thus begun the tradition,
which NORAD carried on since it
was created in 1958.

Meat feast for Christmas

3. 7 cheese selection pack (590g)

HALF PRICE was 8 now 4 from
Tesco

Once again, Tesco have proven to be one of

the hottest supermarkets this Christmas and
their half-price cheese selection pack is a

Wagamamas make a wish

By Sofia Rewilak
Reporter

Enjoy Christmas by treating yourself to a

range of snacks, all on offer in supermarkets
around Greater Manchester. Pick up tubes of
Pringles for only 1 in all flavours from
Tesco and add a selection of nuts from ASDA
in their 2 for 5 offer on pecan nuts, hazelnuts, mixed nuts and brazil nuts. Finally,
grab yourself a box of luxurious Elizabeth
Shaw fine dark chocolates, filled with classic
spirits and liquors from Sainsburys for 4.

Help track
Santa with
NORAD

ager at Wagamama has said the campaign is raising awareness for a charity
that works tirelessly throughout the year
to help young people.
We are pleased to be lending a helping
hand with our 2014 festive campaign by
donating money to the cause whilst also
making some of our diners' wishes come
true!"
In a statement on the UK Youth website,
Communications Manager Jo BirchPhaure, said: wishing on a star is a beautiful way to make someone's dream come
true and it will enable UK Youth to help
young people struggling this Christmas.

Customers make their own wishing stars

Tis the season of feasting, Reds True Barbeque feed the homeless
By Jayna Patel
Reporter

MANCHESTERS Reds True Barbeque

restaurant is spreading the seasonal spirit
of goodwill by hiding Gift of Meat discount
cards to raise money for homeless charities in 12 Days of Christmas Giving.
The companys branches in Leeds,
Headingly and Manchester have hidden
freebie cards worth up to 3500 in secret
locations that are revealed online at 12pm
each day. With the idea being if someone
is generous to you, you pay the generosity
forward, True Barbeque have promised to
match every pound that is donated to their
Just Giving pages by people who find the
cards, under their campaign #RedsPayItForward.
The mighty meaty eatery has already received the highest number of donations
from Manchester out of the three cities,
with the city having raised 160 that will be
doubled by True Barbeque. While lucky
finders of the discount cards can tuck into
a free meal at the restaurant, Manchesters homeless will feel the festive cheer

with funds going to Manchester based

charity, Mustard Tree, who aid the homeless and marginalised. So far an impressive 640 has been raised between the
three cities and will be doubled by the
restaurant chain when match-funded.
Scott Munro, co-founder of Reds True
Barbeque, said: "This idea gives our believers not only the best Christmas present
ever meat, but also the opportunity to
experience that great feeling when you
give to others; its win-win. The Mustard
Tree is a fantastically worthwhile charity so
lets see how much Christmas cheer Manchester can spread!
One anonymous charitable donator said:
A very generous thing to do at this time of
year when most companies just look for
ways to get more money from their customers! Very happy to pay it forward!, on
the Manchester Just Giving page, as they
pledged 40.
Its not too late to find gift cards over the
next two days simply visit
http://truebarbecue.com/manchester/12d
ays/ or to donate visit : https://www.justgiving.com/Reds-True-Barbecue1/ .

Mayhem
Monday at
the shops

MAYHEM Monday officially starts

next week and is said to be the
peak period of where more than
one third of families will take to
the supermarkets to get the bulk
of their Christmas food shopping
done.
Supermarkets are prepared for
the mad rush that is said to be a
repeat of Black Friday which
caused havoc across Manchester
earlier this year with one-off bargains.
However, even the days surrounding the newly named Mayhem Monday, supermarkets
across Manchester have experienced a rapid increase of shoppers visiting their stores.
Lucy Cranshaw, counter manager at Tesco in East Didsbury explained how she has noticed a
huge difference in the business
compared to last week.
She said, I havent stopped
since I started work this morning.
Today has been really busy. Tesco
are doing a salmon deal for 5 instead of 13 so we will be getting
through approximately four boxes
of salmon today.
Shoppers have also noticed the
store getting busier with car parking spaces being difficult to find
and long queues at the checkouts.
Margaret Clarke, 80, East Didsbury said, Its gradually going to
get worse from now on. Its definitely got busier today and its
only the middle of the day on a
Monday.
Even though the Mayhem is just
beginning for Lucy she adds,
Tesco have set up a Christmas
working arrangement which
means most staff members will
contribute to a few extra hours to
help out in the lead up to Christmas. On an average day I usually
have three staff members at the
fish counter, but today I have two
extra so that the work load is
lessoned.

Drive-in
cinema at
Christmas

FROM 19, December to Christmas

Eve, Old Trafford football ground
will transform into a spectacular
drive-in cinema experience especially for Christmas complete with
the worlds largest outdoor LED
screen.
Featuring classics such as Its A
Wonderful Life to modern
comedic favoruite Elf, its sure to
have something all the family can
enjoy.
For those of you brave enough,
who havent yet been driven mad
by a year of Frozen mania, especially for your Disney Prince or
Princess, three showings of
Frozen the sing-along edition.
(Ear plugs not included.)
Prices are 26 per car with no
limit to the amount of people per
car, though dont forget to abide
by the traffic laws!
Theres something fit for all the
family young and old. For more
information visit: www.christmasmovies.co.uk

6 books perfect for

the festive season

Friday, December 19, 2014 Quays Mail 19

The Hogfather is this world. This leads to

the Grim Reaper taking over as the title
character and various misadventures take
place which only Terry Pratchett could
write.
The tooth fairy also features in the book, as
if you needed another reason to give it a
read. The novel gives a very different and interesting spin on Christmas and is an enormously enjoyable and original novel.

The Father Christmas Letter

Merry Grinch-mas, one of the most famous Christmas tales ever

By Joe Garrett
Reporter

THIS Christmas, after the food, drinks and

arguments with obscure family members
are out the way, most people will want to
lounge out in front of the TV and take in
some festive entertainment. Why not make a
change this year and pick up a good book instead? We count down some festive reads
that you can indulge in this year.

adults can enjoy the novel too, plus its an

easy read with lots of pictures. Its safe to
say that How the Grinch Who stole Christmas is a book that the whole family can
enjoy.

The Polar Express

A Christmas Carol

Lets start
with a classic. Everyone knows
the story of
Ebenezer
Scrooge
and his
journey of
redemption
but I doubt
that most
people
know it
through the
original
text.
A Christmas Carol
maybe the most re-told story of the past 200
years with seemingly a new rendition appearing in popular culture every year.
Charles Dickens source material is followed
very closely by all renditions, although no
Muppets appeared in the original. Nowadays, not many people have read the novella
published in 1843 but it may be the greatest
Christmas story ever told. We highly recommend you pick it up this year.

How The Grinch stole Christmas

Dr. Seuss was no stranger to writing some of

the most hilariously bizarre childrens books
in his time as a writer and The Grinch is no
exception. The 1957 publication follows The
Grinch, a bitter, cave dwelling creature, in
his attempts to steal Christmas from the residents of Whoville. Its a childrens book but

Written by Lord of The Rings author JRR

Tolkien, The Father Christmas Letters are a
series of letters written and illustrated by
Tolkien himself. The book took him over 20
years to complete and it is suggested that elements of the story inspired his later works
such as The Hobbit and The Lord of The
Rings trilogy of books. The story has fantasy
elements and is told from the point of view
of Father Christmas and his elvish secretary.
The book was published after Tolkien died
and gives a great insight into the early works
of this fantastic author. Fans of Tolkien will
love this book.

The Snowman
The Polar Express is probably best known
for being the critically acclaimed film starring Tom Hanks in 2004, but did you know
that it was based on a 1985 childrens book?
The book follows a group of children who
get taken on a wild adventure by a mysterious steam train and its peculiar crew.
If youve seen the film, you will know the
crazy ride that the children get taken on but
Chris Van Allsburgs book takes you there in
greater detail and lets your imagination run
wild!

The Hogfather

The Hogfather is Terry

Pratchetts
crack at a
Christmas
novel and he
doesnt disappoint.
Set in the expansive
world of Discworld, the
book follows
an attempt to
assassinate
Father
Christmas,
known as

The Snowman has been a classic source of

Christmas entertainment in the UK for
years. The Cartoon is shown pretty much
every year and is famous for not having any
dialogue. This follows the book very
closely as it doesnt have any words, just pictures.
However, the book has a slightly different
plot to the animated film, making this a
must-read for any fan. A word of warning
though, the book doesnt have were walking in the air as an added CD.

Stockport ex-soldier plays

his part in Game of Truce

20 Quays Mail Friday, December 19, 2014

CHANGEOFCAREER: Yeo in the army and in action for Lincoln

By Eleanor Thomason
Sports Reporter

AN ex-soldier from Stockport says he felt honoured to be part of Wednesdays Game of

Truce match in Aldershot.
40 year-old Simon Yeo was among a squad
of current and ex-servicemen to be invited
by the British Army to take on their German
counterparts to honour the 1914 Christmas
Truce and the game of football which reportedly took place in no mans land during
a festive ceasefire.
Yeo played alongside some big wigs including former Imps teammate Matt
Carmichael, ex-Manchester City striker Lee
Bradbury and Norwich City first team coach
Gary Holt to name but a few.
The British Army won 1-0, with Lance

corporal Calum Wilkinson netting the winner in the first half in front of an excited
crowd of 2547, which included England legend Sir Bobby Charlton and FA Chairman
Greg Dyke.
Yeo toured Bosnia and Northern Ireland
in his five years as a foot soldier with the
22nd (Cheshire) Regiment before he started
firing shots of a different kind when he pursued a career in football.
The journeyman scored over 150 goals in
a 14-year career with the likes of Peterborough United, Lincoln City and Hyde United.
Four years after retiring as a professional
footballer, Yeo says it was humbling to be
part of such a special event.
Im quite overwhelmed shall we say. This
football match actually happened on the
front line in 1914 so for me to be invited to

LINE-UP: The teams pose for photos before kick off

play in a game which represents that is very
honouring.
They want to let people know that this
match happened between two countries
that were fighting each other. For me its
pretty special and represents all the people
that actually died and gave the ultimate sacrifice.
As it is home to the British Army, Aldershot was the obvious choice of venue to host
the event, and Anita Jack, press officer for
Ministry of Defence reflected on the success.
She said: As we mark 100 years since the

start of WW1 and with the festive season

well under way, there is no better accolade
than to remember the legendary Game of
Truce.
We were delighted that both the British
Army and German Army Football Teams
came together to mark this momentous occasion.
The event was part of a whole week of remembrance activities across the country,
with all funds raised being donated to the
Royal British Legion and the German Militarys equivalent charity.

What next for Amir Khan following Las Vegas victory?

By Luke Betts
Sports Reporter

FOLLOWING Amir Khans emphatic victory against Devon Alexander, the doors
have now been opened for some exciting
fights in 2015 for the Bolton competitor.
But at 28 years-old and with ambitions to
reclaim a world title, what is the most beneficial move for Khan?
Speculation has grown around three potential match-ups next year including Floyd
Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and fellow
Brit Kell Brook.
Since his fight on Saturday, Khan has already dismissed a bust-up with Yorkshire
man Kell Brook, claiming his sole focus is
to take down undefeated WBA and WBC
world champion Floyd Mayweather.
However, if Khan lost against Mayweather, would that be the end of his career?
During his career, Khan has already
notched three defeats, and by adding a
fourth he may be overlooked compared to
younger fighters for title shots in the future.
In contradiction to this, if Khan were to
shock the world and break Mayweathers
47-fight win streak, then he would undoubtedly be hailed for his efforts.
As such a dominant figure in the sport, it
is Mayweather who holds all the cards and
he has already turned down a fight between the two in the past.

A meeting with Mayweather?

Before exploring Khans other options, we

need to pose the biggest question; would

Khan beat Mayweather?
The man himself certainly thinks so.
Time and time again, the former world
champion has reiterated that style makes
fights, with the idea that Khans blistering
pace along with his improved defensive
skills, will cause too many problems for
Mayweather.
He has a point. At 37 years-old the
money man understandably doesnt possess the same knockout power and natural speed that he relied on earlier in his
career. Instead, the modern Mayweather
relies on his sublime defensive skill, often
seeing out wins on points decisions.
You only have to cast your mind back to
the last two fights against Marcos Maidana
to recognise the way Mayweather now
coasts through fights, something youd expect a fighter like Khan not to allow to happen.

Showdown with Pacquiao?

In terms of Mayweathers career however,

the only thing he has left to prove is his
worth over Manny Pacquiao. Even if he
did avoid a fight against Khan, you have to
wonder whether anyone but Khan would
have a lasting disappointment.
The likelihood of this fight in reality is
slim. In recent reports Pacquiao himself is
pushing for the Mayweather fight, and if
that goes ahead it will surely be the stars
last big fight. Rumours are already being
circulated bout between the two could
occur on May 2nd.

Brook fight?

A disgruntled Khan
then must observe the
options around him,
with Kell Brook assuming the obvious choice.
The pair have shared
an intense rivalry since
their amateur days and
it would be a fight that
British fans would jump
to see. In August,
Brook won the IBF Welterweight world title
against Shawn Porter
and has a career
record of 33 unbeaten
victories.
Both fighters have
contrasting styles.
Whilst Khan is highly
effective on the offense,
Brook relies heavily on
his counter-attacking
skills.
Possible options also
include Timothy
Bradley and Robert
KHAN: Emerged victorious against Alexander in Las Vegas
Guerrero if Khan wants Credit: Chamber of Fear
to mark himself as a
spect Brook by shrugging him off even fursolid member of the Welterweight division.
ther. Brook is the IBF world champion and
Its easy to understand why Khan wants
has credibility of his own to compete with
to fight Mayweather, but he mustnt beat
Khans.
about the bush for too long. The reality is,
In the peak of his career, Khan needs a
if the match isnt competed soon, it will
title shot sooner rather than later, so why
never happen.
cancel out the opportunity?
Khan must also be careful not to disre-

Phoenix
prepare
for double
header

MANCHESTER Phoenix Ice

Hockey Club will look to build on
their 7-0 thrashing of Bracknell
Bees as they face Peterborough
Phantoms and Milton Keynes
Lightning in a double header this
weekend.
First, the Phoenix travel to Peterborough to tackle the Phantoms at Planet Ice on Saturday
evening. The hosts are second in
the division, so should provide a
stern challenge for seventh
placed Phoenix.
Tony Hands men then head
back home in order to welcome
Milton Keynes Lightning to the Altair Altrincham Ice Dome on Sunday. The visitors are currently one
place and one point above the
Phoenix in the league, although
they have played two games
more.
The Phoenix should head into
these fixtures full of confidence
after their 7-0 win over Bracknell
Bees in their last outing.
Frantisek Bakrlik and Robin
Kovar both scored twice in the
game, with Hand, James Archer
and Luke Boothroyd also getting
on the scoreboard.

Giants
face trip
to league
leaders

Salford face crucial

top of the table clash

Friday, December 19, 2014 Quays Mail 21

GETTINGREADY: Salford training ahead of their crucial match against Northwich

By Will Moorcroft
Sports Reporter

IT may be a time when people have relieved

some of the christmas stress if they have finished their shopping, and most importantly
the turkey is bought.
But that tension will soon enough return
for fans of both Salford City and Northwich
Victoria when the two meet at Valley Road
on Saturday afternoon; kick off is at 3pm.
It is a crucial six-pointer if ever there was
one; Salford, just a point behind Vics and
with a game in hand, could go top in time for
Christmas, or alternatively Vics could open
up an early present - a four point gap.
Just to add to the spice, there is now an
added factor that could class this as a derby,
with Vics playing their games down the road
at Flixtons Valley Road, but that is trivial in
light of the possible outcomes of the match.
For Salford it is a complete contrast to last
weeks opposition, Padiham, who sit bottom
of the table, as Vics are on an incredible
league run, that has seen them lose just two
league matches since the start of October.
The Ammies form has picked up again
after the October/November blip, and they
are now unbeaten in their last four league

games, while re-discovering their fluid style

that they started so well with.
But Saturday will be their first real test
since re-establishing some consistency, and
manager Phil Power said it will be key going
forward in the coming weeks:
I said to the lads before, lets start off
with the first one [against Padiham] to give
us a bit of confidence going into these games
which are going to be tough.
Just the amount of games is tough, but
also obviously were playing a few of the
teams, Droylsden, Northwich, Harrogate,
who are near the top.
Were almost halfway through now, we
know we can give a lot more than weve
given already, so if we can at least do what
weve done at the start of the season and
show a bit more consistency, I think we will
be in with a good shout [of finishing top].
Were yet to see any snow this Christmas
period, but if there is a fall overnight, the
heat going into this game should melt it and
keep the fixture on.

Team News

Northwich will be without forward Josh

Amis, who is unavailable due to work com-

mitments, not because he has transferred to

Ashton United as was reported following an
administrative mix-up last weekend.
Scott Harries and Jamie Matthews havent
trained this week due to illness, but could
still be available for selection at the weekend, while midfielder Stuart Cook is available again after returning from Andorra
where he was on Futsal duty for England.
Salford will be without suspended forwards Gareth Seddon and Danny Webber, so
James Kirby could start up front after scoring from the bench last weekend, flanked by
joint top-scorer Sam Madeley and Matt
Chadwick.
They also have new signings Tom Buckley,
Saqiq El-Fitouri and James Thorne eligible
to play.
Right-back El-Fitouri and striker Thorne
are both products of Manchester Citys
youth academy, while Buckley has joined
from Colwyn Bay where he has scored five
goals in 19 appearances since signing in the
summer.
Provisional Squads

Northwich Victoria: Deasy (c), Smith; Smalley, Ali, Clarke, Henry, Meadowcroft; Cook,
Summerskill, Roddy, Dixon, Harries; Sanogo,
Sherratt, Bennett, Burnett, Abadaki, Gorman, Matthews.
Salford City: Lloyd-Weston, Cook; Edgehill,
Lynch (c), Linwood, Neville, Walters, Coo, ElFitouri, Moss; Andrews, Rother, Dunn, Buckley, Osemwegie, Platt; Madeley, Kirby,
Chadwick, Thorne.

RESPECT: Salford hold minutes silence

for murdered cab drive Alan Henning

Arrests made after boxer Crollas attack

AWAY TRIP: Giants head to
Newcastle to face league leaders

MANCHESTER Giants will be

looking to halt their run of three
consecutive defeats when they
travel up north to take on the
Newcastle Eagles on Saturday.
The Giants have lost to Bristol
Flyers, London Lions and
Worcester Wolves recently, with
the latter winning 85-80 after a
hard-fought game last Friday.
Coach Jeff Jones will, therefore,
want to see an improved performance against Newcastle, but
bringing the points back to Manchester certainly wont be easy.
Newcastle Eagles currently sit
two points clear at the top of the
league and have won each of their
last 15 games in all competitions.
The Giants, meanwhile, are seventh in the table with 12 points,
half the amount of their opponents this weekend.

By Dan Whelan
Sports Reporter

POLICE have made two arrests following the

assault of Manchester boxer Anthony Crolla.
A 17 year-old male has been arrested on
suspicion of burglary, assault and possession with intent to supply drugs and a 46
year-old woman has also been arrested in
relation to the incident which has left
Crollas career hanging in the balance.
Crolla was rushed to hospital from his
home in Chadderton on Tuesday evening
having sustained a fractured skull and a broken ankle whilst attempting to apprehend
two thieves as they fled his next door neighbours house.
The fighters trainer, Joe Gallagher, confirmed that Crolla had suffered the head injury having been hit over the head with a
concrete slab.
The next-door neighbours were being
burgled, and the burglars came into his garden. He gave chase and apprehended one of
them, Gallagher said.
The other one lifted a slab of concrete
and hit him with it, and he fell and broke his
ankle, he added.
The boxer, originally from New Moston,

had been training for a January match-up

against WBA World Lightweight Champion
Richard Abril but the bout, scheduled to be
held in Manchester, has been postponed due
to the severity of Crollas injuries.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said: "Unfortunately the 23rd January fight is off but our
concerns right now are with Ant and his
family.
I'm devastated for him. He has been
training for six weeks for this and has a shot
at the world title in his home town, he
added.
You ask anyone in boxing and I doubt you
will find a nicer kid than Ant. I'm absolutely
gutted for him, said Hearn.
The 28 year-old, has since undergone surgery to insert a plate into his broken ankle
and received 12 stitches in a head wound as
police continue to investigate the incident.
With Crollas world title fight postponed
indefinitely, the question remains as to
whether the boxer will ever recover sufficiently to return to the ring.
Boxing is his life, but it plays second fiddle at the moment, Gallagher said.
He added: We were so grateful for the
world title opportunity, but that's gone.
"Whether they can reschedule it, whether
he'll get the opportunity again and whether

he can even ever fight again remains to be

seen, but first we have to concentrate on
getting Anthony back to full health."
The boxer remains in a stable condition at
Royal Oldham Hospital.

Crolla: Attacked at his home

Credit: Crollas official Twitter page

Giles - Sustainability the

key to our future success
22 Quays Mail Friday, December 19, 2014

both bat and ball last season lead to a call up

for the England Lions, and he hasnt given up
on a full international call-up just yet.

You cannot help but

learn off what he
knows and so far hes
been really good

COACH: Tom Smith watches over his

pupils at Walkden High School

GIVINGBACK: The squad gives a coaching session to year eight pupils

Continued from back page

It would be great to go up. Thats got to

be our first aim, to get back into the first division, but overall its about building over a
period something really successful and sustainable, putting good structures in place,
getting the best out of the players and having good culture which eventually will lead
to success consistently on the field, said
Giles.
The danger you always slip into is a
quick fix, to get guys in next year who can
purely win us next year and then you fall
apart. Weve got to be building long-term.
Giles and the majority of the Lancashire
playing squad were at Walkden High School

as part of a Sporting Foundations for Life

project, funded by Sport England, aimed at
increasing the number of 14-25 year olds
who take part in sport on a weekly basis.

Weve got to be
building long-term.

Howard Shore, a Senior Project Activator

for the Lancashire CCC Foundation and the
organiser of the day, believes it is crucial for
the club to give something back to the community.
I see it as very important. The idea of the
foundation is to inspire communities to do
cricket so its using the power of cricket to

get young people specifically for my project

taking part in cricket and sport in general.
It is something the professional game can
give back to communities to show that
whilst people might not be able to play at
the top level in the professional sport, they
should still be inspired through commitment to wanting to achieve their best.
Lancashires player of the season Tom
Smith was at the event, and he is enjoying
life under Giles so far.
Hes come in with some different ideas,
hes had great success at Warwickshire and
hes coached England so hes got a lot of
credit behind him and you cannot help but
learn off what he knows and so far hes been
really good, said Smith.
Promotion is key. Ashley has spoken in
the week about creating a legacy at Lancashire, and building the teams success. So
if we dont get promoted next year we can
work on building the team for the future.
Smiths impressive performances with

Never say never. As long as I am playing

for Lancashire and performing for Lancashire theres always going to be a chance.
First of all I need to get on the pitch for Lancashire and do well there.
Lancashire will begin life back in Division
Two of the County Championship against
Derbyshire at the County Ground on April
22nd.

BOWLINGPRACTICE: Steven Croft

shares his expertise with a pupil

England ODI squad to present a selection headache

By Matt Farr
Sports Reporter

Guaranteed a place

Three players believed to be set in the

stone for a squad place are Joe Root,
James Taylor and Jos Buttler. The latter is
Englands best wicket-keeping option, not
to mention his ability with the bat; while
Taylor, and particularly Root, were the best
batsmen in Sri Lanka.
Root scored 367 runs from his seven innings, including two fifties and one hundred. Even though they won just two
games, when England needed someone
to dig-in, Root was their man. Meanwhile,
Taylor, who was recalled to the side for the
fourth ODI after a lengthy international absence, also excelled. With scores of 90
and 68 in his first two games, the Nottinghamshire-man no doubt frustrated the
England selectors, who received criticism
for not picking him sooner.
Unfortunately, the entire selection process
is being overshadowed by the continued
captaincy debate. Alastair Cook was
named as ODI captain following the 2011
World Cup, but his latest displays have left much still to
be desired.
Whilst his own form remains a problematic issue, a
major concern will also be
his win-ratio. From 70
games as captain, Cook has
won just 36 games, losing
31. To make things worse,
he has just one fifty in 22 innings, and it has been twoand-a-half years since his
last hundred.
Although he is determined
to remain in charge in the
UNCERTAINTY: The future of Cook is a hot topic
50-over format, Cook has adCredit: Flickr/Creative Commons
mitted he can have no comWITH England set to announce their
squad for the upcoming ODI tri-series
against India and Australia on Saturday,
there will be a lot of faces hoping for one
last chance to impress.
The tri-series will be Englands final
chance to assess their side and gameplan
ahead of the World Cup in February. They
named a 30-man provisional squad for the
tournament earlier this month, and must
cut it to just 15 by 7 January.
Its safe to say that if they miss out on a
place in Saturdays squad, its unlikely
theyll be picked for the World Cup. This is
the last chance for a number of players to
stake their claim.
After suffering a 5-2 series defeat to Sri
Lanka, there arent many guaranteed
places. It is expected England will take a
similar squad to Australia for the tri-series
as they did to Sri Lanka; but some personnel changes are expected here and there.

plaints if he is removed from

the role. Following the disappointment in Sri Lanka, headcoach Peter Moores has
revealed he will review the
role over the coming weeks,
and a final decision will be
made well-ahead of the
World Cup.
But while there has been
all this focus on Cook, the
performances of another of
Englands key players have
slipped under the radar. Eoin
Morgan, often branded The
Finisher for his ability to fin- JOS BUTTLER: One of two Lancashire options
ish and innings, has endured
a torrid time recently. From the seven
overall he took 6-47 in Englands fifth
games, he averaged just 12.85, with just
ODI victory, and proved to be handy with
two scores of over 10.
the bat.
That said, England simply cannot afford
Looking at some of the top sides in this
to leave him behind. He may be hopeformat, they bat a long way down; not neclessly out of form, but on his day he can
essarily all-rounders, but bowlers who are
be a match-winner. Perhaps dropping him
capable of picking up a bat and doing
from the side for a game or two would be a some damage.
more feasible approach; but he must be
Perhaps England could consider this apkept around.
proach in future.

Looking at bowlers

As for the bowlers, England did well in Sri

Lanka given they were missing two strike
bowlers, not to mention the form of Sri
Lankas veterans.
Fortunately, both James Anderson and
Stuart Broad are set to return from their respective injuries in time for the World Cup;
but that does mean someone will get left
behind.
The talents of Chris Woakes cannot be
overlooked. Every bowler was put to the
sword at some stage on the tour, but
Woakes was perhaps one of the strongest

Squad Annoucement

The selectors certainly have a lot to think

about, they are in a difficult position right
now.
They will certainly have an idea who will
be included in Englands ODI team, but
with the World Cup less than two months
away, it would be time to take a number of
risks.
For some of the 30-man preliminary
squad, It may be too soon. But for others,
theres a strong case. Only time will tell.
The squad announcement for the tri-series will be made around 11am tomorrow.

Friday, December 19, 2014 Quays Mail 23

Youngster Pozo may be handed City start

Experts
predictions
BBC
SPORTS
chief football
writer Phil
McNulty
gives us his
predictions
for this
weekends
games:

Aston Villa 1-3 MANUNITED

MANCITY 3-0 Crystal Palace

Also in
action this
weekend...

HOMECOMFORTS: Manchester City are back at the Etihad after two consecutive home games against Leicester and Roma

Continued from back page

Team News

City face a striker crisis with Sergio Aguero

definitely out of the game with a knee ligament injury and Stevan Jovetic and Edin
Dzeko also sidelined through hamstring and
calf problems respectively.

BOLTON travel to Millwall on

Friday night looking to move

eight points clear of the relegation zone. Neil Lennons side will
be feeling positive on the back of
their second consecutive goalless
draw making them unbeaten in
their last six games. A win for
Bolton will move them up to 14th
in the table before the Saturday
afternoon fixtures commence,
while defeat would leave them
close to the bottom four.

OLDHAM take on the League

One high-flyers MK Dons on Saturday on the back of an embarrassing 4-0 home defeat to
strugglers Yeovil Town forcing the
Latics manager, Lee Johnson, to
comment on Twitter, It was an
awful performance. I can only
humbly apologise." The Dons,
four points behind first placed
Bristol City with a game in hand,
are unbeaten in the last 10 games
and havent lost since the end of
September.

ROCHDALE host the team

directly below them, Notts
County, in a League One clash on
Saturday afternoon. Dale come
into the game on the back of two
straight 4-1 victories against
Colchester United and FA Cup opponents, Aldershot Town. County
head into the game looking for
their first win in four league
games with Shaun Derrys team
humbled 3-0 at home to Swindon
last time out. A win for Rochdale
would increase their grip on a
play-off place whilst a win for
Notts County could see them
move into the play-off places
ahead of Dale.

BURY take on struggling York

City at Gigg Lane on Saturday
and look to avoid a fifth straight
league defeat. The Shakers head
into the game on the back of a 2-1
away defeat to Oxford United. A
win for York will move them four
points above the relegation zone,
providing Carlisle United lose.

defender was forced off with after a recurrence of a hamstring injury against Leicester
last weekend.
Palace are without injured strike duo
Kevin Doyle and Marouanne Chamakh, as
well as defender Adrian Mariappa.
Impressive wing duo Wilfried Zaha and
Yannick Bolasie are likely to start for
Warnocks side.

Reds look to extend good Villa Park record

Continued from back page

BOLTON: Unbeaten in their last six

City boss Manuel Pellegrini confirmed this

news in his post-match press conference last
week, We are without Aguero, Dzeko and
Jovetic for more than a couple of weeks.
This leaves City with no recognised striker
which means The Chilean may hand 18year-old Spaniard Jos ngel Pozo a start.
Blues Captain Vincent Kompany is also expected to miss out against Palace after the

United are currently eight points behind

leaders Chelsea and five behind Manchester
City but are top of the form table in the Premier League, and recent victories have led to
pundits and United players, including captain Rooney claiming United are not yet out
of the title race.
It will be Louis Van Gaals first visit to
Villa Park with United and he will hope to
carry on their tradition of winning against
Villa. United are unbeaten in the Premier
League against Villa away from home since
1995, a game they lost 3-1. United have won
12 of the last 18 games in the league at Villa
Park.
The last meeting between the two sides
ended with United running out 4-1 winners
at Old Trafford thanks to a double from
Rooney, and goals from Mata and Javier Hernandez. United also won at Villa Park last
season, a game they won 3-0 with Danny
Welbeck bagging a brace, and Tom Cleverley,

currently on loan at Villa, also scoring. Villa

were one of six teams United managed to do
the double over last year.
The last time Villa beat United was in December 2009 when Gabby Agbonlahor
scored the only goal to give Villa a shock 1-0
win at Old Trafford.

Team News

United expect to have Angel Di Maria fit

again after a recent hamstring injury but
may not play him so he is fresh for the upcoming hectic Christmas schedule.
Central defender Marcos Rojo is expected
to miss out once again along with Luke
Shaw, and also long-term absentee Daley
Blind. Radamel Falcao could also be handed
a start by Van Gaal.
Villa will definitely be without the injured
Ashley Westwood and also Alan Hutton, and
ex-red Kieran Richardson who are both suspended. Tom Cleverley, on loan from United,
will also miss out as he is ineligible.

ROONEY: Bagged a brace against Villa

at Old Trafford in their last meeting

that many job opportunities will become

available to the local community.
The club is offering people the chance to
loan money through a new scheme which
will see potential investors gain their cash
back in 4 years. This is including interest if
they choose to have it.
The new stadium did have a small funding
gap of 200,000 but the club has already
raised 125,000 of that.

Andy praised the work of the members of

the club saying that they were essential to
the raising of the cash, adding that it would
have been impossible without them.
FC United may have to wait just another
couple of months to have a place of their
own but if the club keeps on the trajectory
they have in recent years, they may have to
add a few more seats by the time their 20th
anniversary comes around.

FCUniteds stadium close to completition

By Joe Garrett
Sports Reporter

FCUNITED of Manchester are drawing ever

nearer to finally having a stadium of their
own that coincidentally coincides with the
clubs 10th anniversary.
The new stadium was originally meant to
be opened this month but had to be delayed
slightly. They now hope to be in their new
home by February 2015.
Press and Communications Officer at FC
United of Manchester Andy Walker stated
that the new stadium is a significant step
for the club.
He said Some People thought that FC
United were just going to be a flash in the
pan. Well its been a decade and were still
here and going from strength to strength.
The new stadium signifies this.
The new stadium is located in Moston and
the club cant wait to have a home of their
own which they can use to help the community.
Andy said Having a home, training
ground and a base in the community is
something that weve looked forward to for
a while.
North Manchester is in dying need of development. We aim to provide the community with leisure and sporting facilities as
well as quality football at an affordable
ticket price.
He also outlined the economic and educational benefits of the new ground saying

UNDERCONSTRUCTION: FC Uniteds new stadium should be open by February

Inside:
The latest on FC
Uniteds stadium

City looking
to increase
seven game
winning run

By Will Smith
Sports Reporter

ANCHESTER CITY host Crystal

Palace on Saturday afternoon looking to extend their number of consecutive wins to eight in all competitions.
The Blues head into the game unbeaten in
the league since the end of October when
they lost 2-1 away at West Ham United. In
their last game City claimed a hard-fought
three points when they beat struggling
Leicester City by a solitary goal at the King
Power Stadium.
A Frank Lampard strike midway through
the first half was enough to give City the
win, and was the veteran midfielders sixth
goal for City.
The win for City meant they kept the pressure on table-toppers Chelsea and the gap
between the sides remained at three points.
Neil Warnocks Crystal Palace team travel
up north to the Etihad in poor form with
only one win in their last five games although they have drawn three of those
games.
Their last win came against Liverpool at
Selhurst Park when goals from Dwight
Gayle, Joe Ledley and Mile Jedinak cancelled
out Rickie Lamberts early opener.
Sixteenth placed Palace drew their last
game, a 1-1 home draw against Stoke City

which was their second consecutive stalemate having drawn 0-0 with Tottenham Hotspur in their previous game.
In the reverse fixture last season Citys 20 win at Selhurst Park saw them launch
themselves back into title contention following Liverpools defeat to Chelsea the same
day. Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure scored the
goals that day as Liverpools grip on the Premier League trophy began to loosen.
In the corresponding fixture City again
ran out when Dzekos 50th goal for the club
clinched all three points for Pellegrinis men.
A win by a margin of four goals or more
and a Chelsea loss can see City top the
league at Christmas. The team that has
topped the league at Christmas has won the
league in three of the last five years.
If Palace claimed a surprise scalp of the
champions they could move up to 14th position. However, if they lose and Burnley and
Queens Park Rangers both win, the Eagles
could see themselves in the bottom three
come Christmas Day.
With a two-legged tie against Barcelona to
look forward to in February, Manchester
City will be determined to continue their recent good run of form but, without a host of
regular starters including top scorer Sergio
Aguero, Palace will fancy their chances of an
upset on Saturday.
Turn to page 23 for team news

United
head
to Villa
Park
See page 23

MANCHESTER UNITED will

travel to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon looking to increase the pressure on the top
two in the Barclays Premier
League.
United head to Villa Park in
fantastic form having won
their last six games in a row
with the latest a 3-0 victory
against fierce rivals Liverpool.
Goals from Wayne Rooney,
Juan Mata and Robin Van Persie helped give the reds victory but they also had
goalkeeper David De Gea to
thank for the win against the
Merseysiders.
Turn to page 23 for more

Quays Mail Exclusive

Lancashire coach Giles

plans for the long-term
By Jack Gordon Brown
Sports Reporter

LONGTERMPLANS: Giles during a coaching session at Walkden high school

LANCASHIRES new cricket director and

head coach Ashley Giles is targeting longterm consistency at the club after two relegations and one promotion in three seasons.
Giles was appointed director and head
coach of Lancashire County Cricket Club

back in October.
Speaking at Walkden High School during a
coaching session with Year eight pupils,
Giles said that while promotion back to Division one is the goal next season, the club
must look to lay the foundations for a successful future.
Continued on page 22