Football fever
set to sweep town
by Gary Skentelbery
WORLD Cup fever is set to sweep Warrington as the town searches for its very own elite England team.
Local people who have England namesakes are being given a unique opportunity of being a football star and receiving celebrity status.
The WarringtonTown Centre Partnership is searching for its own team from Warrington, to appear as the faces of its new campaign: “Our Warrington, Our World Cup”.
As part of the forthcoming Warrington Festival of Football, the “Our Warrington, Our World Cup” campaign has been designed to bring the whole town together to celebrate this year’s World Cup. The people of Warrington will be the stars of the campaign, featuring on posters and billboards around the town centre, as well as in adverts in the local press, all dressed in the England kit.
Any one who shares the same surname as one of England’s football heroes could become a local celebrity. The search is on for men and women of all shapes, sizes and age, from toddlers to grandparents! It’s your Warrington and the chosen squad will represent the people of the town.
Although Sven has yet to confirm his official line-up, there’s every likelihood that some familiar faces will be displaying their talents in this year’s World Cup. So, if you share a surname with one of the following players: Beckham, Campbell, Carrick, Cole, Crouch, Ferdinand, Gerrard, James, Lampard, Neville, Owen, Robinson and Rooney you could be the star of “Our Warrington, Our World Cup”:
However, if you are lucky enough to share your surname with a football legend of yesteryear, such as Moore, Hurst, Gascoigne or Lineker, you too could become a local celebrity.
The selected squad will experience the footballer’s lifestyle for a day, starting with a chauffer driven limo/hummer collecting them from home and whisking them off to a press conference, to experience life in front of the lens, followed by a champagne reception at Warrington’s Olive Press. To add glitz and glamour, the squad will be pampered and preened by a team of stylists before striking a pose in a high-profile photo-shoot.
To enter, simply send your name, address, telephone number and a recent photograph to: ‘”Our Warrington, Our World Cup”, Golden Square Management Suite, 27 Old Market Place, Warrington, WA1 1QB or email [email protected] Alternatively, pop into the Golden Square Management Suite and someone will be on hand to take your details and your photograph.
The Festival of Football will be launching on Saturday May 27 and football fever will sweep across Warrington’s town centre every Saturday for the following five weeks.
Michael Hancock, chairman of the Town Centre Partnership, commented: “The ‘Our Warrington, Our World Cup’ campaign has been designed to bring together the whole of Warrington to celebrate this year’s World Cup. We intend to make the people of Warrington the stars of this campaign and so we are keen to hear from those who share the same surname as our England team players.
“Football is something that unites people and we see the Festival of Football, along with the ‘Our Warrington, Our World Cup’ as a great opportunity for the community to come together, and a great opportunity for businesses in the Town Centre to get involved in the activities.”
The “Our Warrington, Our World Cup'” squad will be unveiled on Friday May 12 at a special press conference.
warrington-worldwide is an official partner of the campaign and a full list of activities will be promoted on the site – watch this space!
Peace centre hosts
One World Day
by staff reporter
MORE than 60 people are expected to join an event to mark One World Day being held at Warrington Peace Centre today (Thursday).
Events start at 10.30am with an address by Colin Parry, (pictured)who tragically lost his son Tim in the 1993 IRA bombing of Warrington town centre.
During the day discussions will focus on themes such as fairness, equality, inclusion and participation.
The event, organised jointly with The British Council, will be attended by 30 British Council international scholars from across the globe.
There will be a series of workshops delivered by the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Trust and The British Red Cross. There will also be displays featuring The British Council, Children for Peace, The Red Cross and The International Voluntary Service.
Vicar and curate are
flushed with success!
by David Skentelbery
THE Rev Elaine Chegwin Hall and the Rev Kath Williamson are flushed with success after raising more than ?2,000 for a good cause – by sitting on the toilet all day.
It was an April Fool’s Day joke with a difference and it enabled the vicar and her curate to raise the money towards the cost of a ?200,000 community meeting room at St Cross Church, Appleton Thorn, Warrington.
The pair spent a whole day sitting on two toilets outside the church – joined for a time by the Bishop of Birkenhead, the Right Rev David Urquart.
Rev Williamson said: “Appleton Thorn currently has a shortage of community meeting places for local events. The village hall is great, but is booked to capacity and cannot provide for the demand in the area – as we have shown by means of a questionnaire.
“St Cross Church has a portion of unused land which the church is willing to make available, to provide a community meeting room with a small kitchen area and disabled toilets.
“We need to raise ?200,000 for this project and are in the process of applying to some of the environmental funding bodies and the lottery fund. However, we need to raise additional money to supplement what we hope to be granted from funding bodies.”
Rev Williamson said the fund-raising committee had been given two new toilets for the building – but as it hadn’t been built yet it was decided to use them to raise awareness and funds.
The sponsored toilet sit proved a huge success, with many local firms and individuals contributing to the fund.
“Elaine and I were ensconced – decently robed – on the toilets outside the church all day,” said Rev Williamson.
“Of course, we had ‘seating cover’ for the few times when we needed to avail ourselves of correctly plumbed facilities!”
Picture, the Rev Chegwin Hall (left) and the Rev Williamson during their sponsored toilet sit.
Man beaten up for
his mobile phone
by David Skentelbery
A MAN was attacked and robbed of his mobile ?phone as he walked along a rear alley at Latchford, Warrington.
He suffered a bloodied nose and a swelling below an eye after be punched in the face by a complete stranger.
The attack took place at the rear of Powell Street.
Police say the attacker was about 6ft 4 inches tall, aged 25-30 and of medium build. He had fair skin, a thin, bony face and dark hair. He was wearing a navy blue track suit and scruffy white trainers.
Anyone who witnessed the attack or believes they may have information for the police should call 01244 613833.
Conference tackles
domestic child abuse
by Lesley Wilkinson
THE difficult issue of domestic abuse on children is being tackled at a conference at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, today (Thursday).
It follows a recent national report suggesting that exposure to violence or trauma before the age of five can alter the developing brain.
Local charity, The Relationships Centre, which provides support to those affected by unhealthy relationships, is hosting the conference “Every Child Matters: The Effects of Domestic Abuse”
It coincides with the launch of a “What’s Up Junior” range of resources, created after the charity received funding from BBC’s Children-in-Need. It targets youngsters who have witnessed or experienced domestic abuse.
The books and accompanying guide for professionals help youngsters who have suffered the effects of domestic violence to learn coping strateg
ies and to work through their problems.
Pam Arnold, director of services said: “Within our client group, nine out of 10 incidents occur with a child under the age of 16 within the home. The impact can be far reaching and manifest itself in a number of ways, by creating these resources we hope to provide the statutory sector and other agencies to assist children and parents to come to terms with these issues and successfully move on with their lives and future relationships.”
The Institute for Public Policy Research report recommends that police resources should be more heavily targeted on the most disadvantaged communities and on reducing the crimes that most seriously affect people’s lives, such as domestic violence and repeat victimisation.
School in outdoor
adventure contest
by staff reporter
YOUNGSTERS from a Warrington school are taking part in the heats of a national competition at a country park in Wigan today (Thursday).
William Beamont High School will be competing in the regional heat of the 2006 Kielder Challenge at Haigh Hall.
It is a national outdoor adventure competition and more than 270 teams are competing in heats throughout the country.
During the day-long test pupils will attempt a series of problem solving and team-building tasks designed to encourage them to work together.
The 12 highest scoring teams from the heats take part in the final at Kielder Forest in Northumberland in September.
Volunteers wanted to
spend time “in custody”
by Lesley Wilkinson
POLICE are seeking 40 volunteers to spend time ?in custody? to ensure conditions are up to standard.
Cheshire Police Authority wants new custody visitors to join its Custody Visiting Scheme.
They will make unannounced visits to the three new purpose-built custody suites located in Chester, Middlewich and Runcorn. They will observe and comment on the conditions under which prisoners are detained and report on the rules governing their welfare.
The scheme allows members of the public to carry out an independent and impartial check on the way the police carry out their duties in the custody suites.
Police authority chairman Peter Nurse said: “This invaluable scheme enables members of the public to participate in a valuable service on behalf of the police.
“I would encourage anyone who has a couple of hours to spare each month and is interested in community volunteering and criminal justice, to consider applying to become a custody visitor.?
Potential visitors should be over 18 and live in Cheshire, Halton or Warrington. They should be willing to make a minimum of eight visits a year with another visitor. Each visit lasts between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on the number of detainees.
Further details and an application form are available from the authority on 01244 614004 or online at www.cheshirepa.police.uk The closing date for applications is May 14.
Horse trials: The
course is looking good
by John Hendon
FINAL plans are being made for the Arley Horse Trials and Country Fair at Arley Hall during the May Bank Holiday weekend, May 27 and 28.
Horse trial director Eric Ransome said: “The course is looking good, with several new jumps. We have constructed another water feature too which means that the horses will be jumping into and out of water twice.”
Arley will also feature the Quattro Pre Novice Regional Final, which expects to have more than 400 horses competing over two days.
Country Fair director Helen Glover has been busy organising special arenas, trade stands, PDSA fun dog show, rare breeds, laser and clay shooting.
There will also be a food hall, craft and gift marquee and a Visit Cheshire display featuring the county’s top tourist attractions. Other attractions include a jousting competition and displays on wildlife.
Man threatened
to jump in river
by staff reporter
POLICE and rescue crews were called to Bridge Foot, Warrington, when a man threatened to jump into the River Mersey.
The rescue boat from Warrington Fire Station was on stand-by at the scene near Marshall’s Gardens.
But police officers talked to the man and persuaded him not to jump.
He was taken to hospital for a check-up.
