Previous stories: 1 - 15 August 2007
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FESTIVAL WATCH
24/8/07: The holiday season brings with it festivals for all tastes: here's a few to look forward to over the next fortnight:
Continental Market: This Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday to Monday the Continental Market comes to Morecambe’s Festival Market. Come and sample the delights of the mainland at Morecambe’s first ever continental market with traders from as far away as France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Holland and Poland.
Freestage: Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 August see Freestage Live 2007 on from 1pm – late at Morecambe Dome & The Waterfront Bar. This event is now in its 12th year and stands as one of the best places to showcase new and unique live music. The event has free admission, is open to all age groups, and all genres of live music. The driving force behind the event is original music. Enjoy! Full band listings and schedule in our what’s on guide.
See also www.myspace.com/freestagelive
Soul Festival 2007: All this week the Lancaster Soul 2007 Festival has been happening at venues all around Lancaster & Morecambe. It culminates this Sunday 26 August with a free all day festival from 12noon – 10pm in Williamson Park, Lancaster. With Marvin Ruffi (Detroit), Yolanda Charles, Mamayo (London), Como Vez, Blue Juice & Laura T. plus Stuff Like That, Get Carter and DJ support.
Sunday night sees a Northern Soul all-nighter from 9pm-6am at The Carleton in Morecambe. It will act as a 'soundtrack to your life' if you did the Northern thing back in the day. For more information visit www.goldsoul.co.uk Tel; 0784-1197874. More Soul festival gigs in Lancaster & Morecambe are listed in our what’s on guide.
Marsh Community Festival: Marsh Community Centre and the Marsh Age Link are once again holding a range of activities for children, young people and families. The events will take place on Saturday 1 September at the Marsh Community Centre 12pm till 11pm and Sunday 2 September at the St Thomas More Church from 3pm onwards. For further details, please call the Marsh Community Centre on 01524 843300.
See also:
Morecambe Heritage Gala Weekend 2007
Heritage Open Days
There's a massive amount of other stuff going on - the area feels ablaze with creativity and fun right now - and you can find out all the details in our What's On guide. Enjoy!

GET IT LOUD + VOTE FOR IT
24/8/07: Lancaster Library’s Stewart Parsons set up the ‘Get it Loud in Libraries’ project over a year ago offering nights of outstanding live music in Lancaster Library. A series of sellout gigs culminating in the recent performance by juvenile New York punksters ‘Tiny Masters of the Universe’ has led to the project being shortlisted in the finals of the national ‘I Love Libraries’ award. If they win they get a £2000 prize which Stewart reckons will come in very handy indeed for some decent sound equipment. In order to win though, you have to vote for them. And the mad thing is, as Debbie Young of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council confimed to us, anyone can vote as often as they like. So please, please, go to
www.lovelibraries.co.uk/lovelibrariesaward/index.php
and vote loads. Or at least once. It only takes a few seconds, honest, you don’t have to register or anything. It’s a great project.
And you can read George Appleton’s review of the Tiny Masters gig on Virtual-Lancaster here.
Further accolades to Lancaster Library for their latest display – ‘Books To Avoid’. The librarians’ choice of the most boring, ill-written books in their stock. ‘Like watching grass grow’ was one comment. It’s bizarrely attractive. What’s wrong with me?

HOMELESSNESS: DON’T DUCK THE ISSUE
24/8/07: Paddling in the wake of last year's successful Duck Race, on 20 October Don't Duck the Issue are aiming to coax a flock of competent, neoprene clad swimmers into the welcoming waters of Windermere. Against the stunning backdrop of Lakeland in its full Autumn glory, the plucky crew will retrieve 120 XXL sized Rubber Ducks from a pontoon 750 meters out from the shore of the Lakeside YMCA National Outdoor Centre (www.ymcalakeside.co.uk).
The effort has the twin objectives of raising money for the ongoing accommodation project in Lancaster and raising awareness of homelessness as a burning community issue. The 120 ducks represent the 120 young people currently known to be dealing with homelessness in the Lancaster area. Participants are encouraged to raise sponsorships and donations on a per duck basis.
So the call is out for participants and supporters to come along and get involved in this ducking! Teams and individuals from businesses, schools, colleges and organisations are invited to enter and help show the city’s vulnerable homeless youth that they’re not friendless after all. You can find out more / sign up at http://cooleimages.com/duckrace/?q=node/1.
The team at Lakeside will be providing participants with changing and showering facilities, safety cover, help with wetsuit hire, accommodation (for those wishing to make a weekend of it) and most importantly… Hot Chocolate.
Organisers will be putting the fun into fundraising with a few Duck related surprises on the shore and those up for the quack will have a great time in inspiring surroundings. Find out more at http://cooleimages.com/duckrace/?q=node/1.

HOMELESSNESS: SLEEPING LIKE A DOG...
24/8/07: This coming Sunday 26 August trustees, staff, volunteers and clients from Lancaster Homeless Action will be holding a sponsored sleep-out from 8pm on Lancaster Town hall steps to raise funds and awareness of the plight of local homeless people in an area without any night shelter and precious little in the way of assistance for those who find themselves without a roof. You can read more about Lancaster & District Homeless Action at www.ldhas.org.uk. If you’d like to sponsor a sleeper you can phone 01524 842008 or turn up on the night.

KIDS: STAY UP LATE WITH THE BATS!
24/8/07: Ever wondered what bats do at night when you’re in bed, what they eat, where they live and how do they see in the dark?
On Wednesday August 29 the Council parks department is teaming up with the Wildlife Trust for the Great Nocturnal Walk.
It will be held in Happy Mount Park in Morecambe from 8.30pm to 10pm. The event is aimed at children over eight years of age and anyone with a general interest in the conservation of bats and nocturnal animals.
Sound monitoring equipment will be provided to enable you to listen to their activity during the night and the Wildlife Trust’s bat expert leading the walk can answer any questions you may have (as long as they're about bats:).
You can pay for your place(s) on this activity (£2 per child) at Morecambe Town Hall, Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4pm or contact cultural services directly at Morecambe Town Hall on 01524 582836 for more information.

SANDFEST ROCKS!
24/8/07: Following on from the fabulous Kite Festival, the first ever Morecambe Bay Sandcastle Festival kicked off last week with teams battling it out for the prestigious honour of being the first ever winner of the Super Sandcastle Building Competition.
Traditional castles vied with more ambitious efforts such as a scale model of the Winter Gardens.
Coun June Ashworth, cabinet member with responsibility for tourism in Morecambe, said: “It was wonderful to see so many families taking advantage of Morecambe’s new sandy beaches."
Sandy beaches were brought back to Morecambe earlier this year when thousands of tons of sand were imported into the resort as part of the final part of the sea defence scheme. (Another whole load of sand was brought in last Autumn - just in time for the winter tides....)
Despite variable weather 40 participants took part in Sunday’s competition. The children’s section was particularly well represented with 10 teams.
The eventual winner was the ‘Dillards’ team of Lewis Evans and his daughters who produced an architecturally inspired rendition of a castle on a hill.
They received gift vouchers as their prize while the winner of the adult section, the ‘Dodgy Builders’ team of Stuart Angus and Kate Ross, won £100 for their sculpture of the Winter Gardens facade.
Many more visitors decided to do their own crazy thang and spontaneously built castles all over the beach whilst others enjoyed entertainment from the 1920s bathing belles, Inner State Theatre Company’s ‘Seaside Sunshine’ show of music and theatrical nonsense, and local puppeteer, Martin Scott Price, and the ‘Firm but Fair Lifeguards’.

THE NAME'S BOND - JANE BOND
24/8/07: The Dukes is calling for volunteers to appear as SAS members in the forthcoming production of Jane Bond presented by LipService.
Secret agent Bond is about to stage a new mission and needs help to carry out the new orders sent from MI5.
So if you are physically fit, interested in donning a balaclava and appearing onstage as an extra, then Bond… yes… Jane Bond needs you between September 27 and October 6. Performances are during the evening with a matinee on October 6.
The SAS members will be required to appear briefly on stage after the interval and will not be required to speak.
There will be a fifteen minute rehearsal before each show and each volunteer will receive their ticket to the play for free..
Jane Bond: Blonde and dangerous is the new pacey pastiche from that hilarious comedy duo, LipService, who brought you Withering Looks, Very Little Women and Horror for Wimps.
In the play, Jane takes 007’s place because MI5 have had their funding cut and can only afford second rate agents which is why Jane need volunteers to help.
She also has to juggle her role as a supermum with her role as Commander Jane Bond, fighting the forces of evil armed only with her clutch bag and a lipstick which doubles as a pop up helicopter.
If you are interested in being a volunteer SAS member then please contact the Dukes Box Office on 0845 344 0644 and leave your name, age and the performances you are able to attend and a member of Dukes Staff will call you back.
Jane Bond is suitable for family audiences.

MORECAMBE KEEN ON BEACHCOMBER MARINA PROJECT

23/8/07: Ian Hughes's idea for a marina resort attraction for Morecambe won a place in the final of a British Urban Regeneration Association Pier for the 21st Century' competition. It is one of just four short-listed entries in the non-professional category of the prestige competition organised by the Government-backed Seaside Network. And since he unveiled his idea in the Citizen last week Morecambrians have been getting very excited about the idea. Which certainly looks like it might be rather jolly.
Some salty readers reckon they have spotted a problem however. How do you sail your yacht into this marina? The artist’s impression shows a landlocked harbour – but Ian assures us that there is a lock system included in the plan which not only allows for access but also would prevent the basin draining completely at low tide.
He adds what Urban Splash, currently working on the Midland Hotel, have constantly stressed - that any regeneration idea can only fully succeed if politicians and public come together to sort out some of Morecambe's run down areas.
As far as politicians go, he may be left waiting at the altar, however. The council’s planning committee has recently approved an application for a porn shop in Queen St, close to the resort’s main retail area –consistent with its decisions over the last year to refuse to guarantee a redevelopment loan for the Winter Gardens – and approve a lapdancing club for the resort instead.
The local press do their bit for careers advice by celebrating almost exclusively the achievements of very young local women who find themselves in the finals of competitions run by magazines whose readers generally keep a tissue handy, their photos having been submitted by solicitous boyfriends.
And in the recent link road public inquiry Lancashire County Council launched a blistering attack on Lancaster & Morecambe College, denying vehemently that this educational resource had any bearing on Morecambe’s economic prospects, and arguing that the best thing for all would be to drive a multi-lane highway right through it.
Judging from the Ofsted reports on the local County Council-run schools they are certainly consistent throughout in their approach.
And still, rather than develop a coherent social housing planning strategy, the City Council promotes the West End as a sink area for all the district’s vulnerable and displaced people.
If Morecambrians want regeneration, they’re going to have to fight for it, which means stopping falling out with each other, putting aside the tissues and using their energies to find a plan they can unite over.
Schools (and school buildings) fit for purpose, decent and safe social housing and an end to sleazy institutionalised support for sexual exploitation might be a good place to begin. And a pretty little marina set against the spectacular Bay scenery. Why not?

BEACH CLEANERS SHIFT 15.5 TONNES OF RUBBISH

23/8/07: Over 2000 volunteers have cleared a hefty 15.5 tonnes of rubbish from local beaches since Morecambe Bay partnership started organising Beach Cleans, Beach care officer Helen Annan tells us. "More and more people are recognising that a clean beach benefits everyone - local residents and visitors as well as wildlife - and we would like to thank all who have taken part.”
Morecambe Gas Fields proprietors Hydrocarbon Resources Limited sponsored a beach clean at Half Moon Bay, Heysham on Thursday last week. Forty volunteers from the local community and from HR's parent company Centrica Energy braved the rain and cleared 129 kg of litter, including wheels, fishing crates, plastic bottles and dozens of cotton bud sticks. Eeugh.  The Morecambe Gas Fields produce up to 7% of the UK's peak gas demand. Mike Leckie, Operations Support Manager for Centrica, who also provided T-shirts, said "Centrica has a strong commitment to the environment and is keen to support initiatives which help to preserve it." And you can help them out there by working out ways to use less gas too.
If you fancy a go at Beach Cleaning, the next one is at Hest Bank on 15 September, 10am, meet in the level crossing car park. After that there's one at Holgates caravan park, Silverdale on 22 Sep, 10am. They're a friendly crowd and the scenery's fabulous. For more info contact Helen Annan Tel: 01539 740430. Mobile: 07875 845693. Email:
beach@morecambebay.org.uk or see www.morecambebay.org.uk

MORECAMBE HERITAGE GALA WEEKEND
23/8/07: Morecambe’s 2007 Heritage Gala will again recreate the period atmosphere and seaside entertainments enjoyed by millions in the resort’s heyday.  This year the event takes place over a full weekend, Saturday & Sunday, 8th & 9th September.
Regular features, such as RAF Battle of Britain aircraft displays and the Bradford to Morecambe Historic Vehicle Rally, will be complemented by a packed programme of traditional seaside fun & frolics, music and daredevil antics.  The hugely spectacular free fireworks show, launched from the resort’s Stone Jetty, at 8.30pm on Sunday night, will again bring proceedings to a close.
On the Saturday, entertainments will be focussed at the front of The Platform and Visitor Information Centre, on Marine Road Central.  Entertainments will include The Pierrotters; a magician and illusionist; the Perfect Little Puppet Theatre, featuring Punch & Judy and a fantastic sculpture in sand, by artist Andrew Baynes – a now familiar and popular feature at Morecambe events.
Across  the way, at the promenade’s Dome venue, Duggie Chapman will present two performances of his ‘Thanks for the Memory!  Music Hall to Variety’ show.  There will also be an ‘Eric’s Morecambe’ guided walk at teatime.  All these entertainments are free and most continue on the Sunday.  The Saturday celebrations conclude at The Platform, with living Lancashire Legends, The Oldham Tinkers and Bernard Wrigley.
Sunday morning starts with the arrival in town of 160 or so vehicles, forming the 2007 Bradford to Morecambe Historic Vehicle Rally.  They will be found, lining the promenade, southwards from the Midland Hotel.  Another historic vehicle, ‘Florence’, Morecambe’s own classic coach, built in 1948, will provide a special express service linking The Platform and Happy Mount Park.
Sunday also sees the establishment of the Grand Variety Theatre on the promenade Arena.  The Pierrotters transfer their performances to here and are joined by The Great Artizani, with his daredevil dexterity and slackrope walking.  World record holder escapologist, David Straightjacket, completes the bill, with a show likely to include lying on a bed of nails, double sword swallowing and other amazing feats.
In mid-afternoon a Spitfire and Dakota, of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, will give short solo displays.  Eyes will also turn skyward, at 8.30pm, when the celebration of the seaside finishes with a breathtaking fireworks finale.
The Morecambe Heritage Gala is organised by Lancaster City Council’s Cultural Services.  A free programme and more details will be available at the beginning of September from Morecambe Visitor Centre, tel. (01524) 582808.

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS IN SEPTEMBER
23/8/07: Thursday 5 - Sunday 9 September is the Heritage Open Days 'Weekend' when buildings of historic significance throughout the country will open their doors to the public with tours, talks and special themed events all free of charge. Lancaster Castle, St Peter's Cathedral and the Chapterhouse at Cockersands are just three of the venues and with more being added all the time we are constantly having to update. So check out our what's on guide for details or contact the Lancaster Tourist Information Office.

THE COASTAL ART TRAIL

23/8/07: The Coastal Art Trail 'Along the Coast' is on now until the 31 August and includes open studios and events from Heysham to Silverdale. You can view artists' work at various venues from working studios in Mona House, to private studios and libraries.
For a printable PDF version of the studio trail leaflet, with information about participating artists and venue opening times, please click here.
Leaflets / details also available from Qsand at 1 Deansgate, Morecame or email: qsandgroup@hotmail.com or
phone: Gerry 01524 851283 or Jane 01524 417417.
See www.qsand.org.uk.

TSLM ‘GIMME FIVE’ PRIZE DRAW RESULTS

23/8/07: To mark the end of the five week Heysham M6 Link road Public Inquiry, on Friday 10 August, local transport campaign group TSLM (Transport Solutions for Lancaster & Morecambe) held a prize draw at ‘Broadoak’ Torrisholme, it was the culmination of several months of intensive fundraising around the district.
TSLM supporters together with other objectors to the massive road scheme, gathered to draw the names of the five winners in TSLM’s ‘Gimme five’ prize draw.
Nick Barratt, Sports Centre Manager for Lancaster and Morecambe College, drew A.C. Baines from Morecambe as the winner of a dinner for two at the Colleges Coulson Restaurant.
Derek Sumner, Proprietor of ‘Broadoak’ drew A.Arkwright from Torrisholme, as the winner of a Voucher for goods from ‘Broadoak’.
Two girls in ‘Highwayman’ costumes representing TSLM drew Mr. Tom Morohey from Sale in Cheshire as the winner of a Painting by Priscilla Jones, courtesy of ‘The Edge Gallery’.
Andrew Davies representing Torrisholme Cricket Club drew J. Gorthorpe from Keighley as the winner of a garden design donated by ‘Carpe Diem Gardens’.
Geraldine Smith MP drew Mrs. Birchall from Oldham as the winner of a sitting for a personal Portrait Sketch.
James Seddon of TSLM said, "Well done to all the winners and many thanks to everyone who took part in the Prize draw.
"All monies raised in TSLM’s fundraising campaign have been used towards the provision of legal and technical support for TSLM at the Public Inquiry.
"TSLM presented ‘a full and convincing case’ to the Inquiry, details of which can be found on its website at www.heyshamm6link.info."
Picture: Geraldine Smith MP & Cllrs Evelyn Archer & Chris Coates
join transport campaign supporters for the
TSLM 'Gimme 5' prize draw.

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