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161 - Grand_Pier
Jul 28, 2008 | 7:18AM
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161 - The Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare
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Fire rips through the Grand Pier
The Pier at Birnbeck (opened in 1867) was a long way from the centre of town. Railway excursionists only went to the nearest beach, which was off the end of Regent Street. Ideas to build a pier here were announced in 1880 but various schemes fell through. In 1893 the idea got as far as an Act of Parliament. Ultimately, the scheme was passed and £200,000 subscribed, mainly from local and South Wales shareholders.
The pier, 1½ miles long, was intended to serve two purposes: for shipping at all tides at the far end and for entertainment near the shore. In the event it proved useless for sea-going traffic and revenue from that source never existed. Of the two piers at Weston-super-Mare it is the more viable, despite the disappearance of trams and the virtual cessation of excursion trains and steamer traffic, because of its central position.
Fire has devastated the historic Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare. The blaze, which began shortly before 7am today, ravaged the pavilion at the seaward end of the partly-wooden structure.
Smoke billowed over the Bristol Channel and was visible from south Wales.
It is thought a small fire began in the west tower of the pavilion. It spread quickly, destroying the building within two hours. There were no reported injuries.
Kevin Pearson, the chief officer of Avon fire and rescue service, said the fire's cause was unknown but there were deep-fat fryers installed in the area where it was thought to have started.
It would not be safe to enter and examine the wreckage until later today, he said. Six fire engines and 80 fire-fighters battled the flames at their height. Embers are still being dampened down.
Emergency workers are concerned about the risk of gaming machines exploding and shooting coins through the air because of the intense heat.
A cordon has been set up as a precaution. Structural engineers are to investigate whether the cast-iron girders that support the pier have been damaged beyond rebuilding.
Andrew Horler, the resort's mayor, said the blaze had hit its 104-year-old "heartbeat". "I really, really hope it can be rebuilt - it's pure devastation for the town," he said. "It provides jobs and is a massive tourist attraction. It is the very heartbeat of this town. I really hope someone is able to rebuild it."
Business people said that without the pier, tourism would suffer. "It is part of our identity, and it would really affect trade if we were to lose it," said Dee Williams, the deputy manager of a seafront hotel.
Anthony Wills, an expert from the National Piers Society, predicted the pier would only be rebuilt in a "very truncated" form. "It would cost a fortune.
Unless a miracle happens, I really can't see it being reinstated even if there's a big insurance payout." Brother-and-sister entrepreneurs Michelle and Kerry Michael bought the pier in February, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on new facilities including a £500,000 indoor go-kart track. A spokesman said Kerry Michael was "absolutely devastated" and had cut short a holiday in Spain to help his sister deal with the disaster.
The pier has been hit by fire once before, when a 2,000-seat pavilion for opera, music hall and ballet was destroyed in 1930.
The attraction reopened three years later, complete with the pavilion that was destroyed today. The Edwardian-era pier was given Grade II listed status in 1974 and is one of two in the town.
The other, the 1867 Birnbeck, which links the mainland to an island, is derelict, although there are plans to restore it.
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160-The Tall Ships' Races 2008
Jul 18, 2008 | 2:07PM
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160 -
The Tall Ships' Races 2008
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Welcome to one of the largest gatherings of tall
ships you will see anywhere in Europe this year.
Over 70 sailing vessels will fill Liverpool's quaysides and docks - one of the
world's greatest ports and most famous rivers - The Mersey. The visiting
fleet will be berthed in the city's Wellington and Albert docks.
From the moment the ships start to arrive, crews
and visitors from around the globe will experience an unrivalled welcome in
a city famous for knowing how to enjoy itself.
There will be plenty of opportunities to climb aboard and find out more
about the realities of life at sea as well as music, performers and displays
to enjoy.
Over three days from July 18th - 20th, the start of the Tall Ships Race 2008 will provide
everyone with hundreds of opportunities to be amazed, amused and educated
but most of all to have a great time. On the 21st July the ships will
parade of sail where they begin their journey to Norway.
Saturday's entertainment includes paint balling, a
climbing wall, local jazz and brass bands including the Longridge Band's
Youth Band Competition, an historic photographic walkabout, willow weaving
workshops, tropical animals, the Ribble Steam Railway and a Viking
encampment with a 15-foot Viking boat.
Parade of Sail
Monday 21 July
2pm - 4pm
Vessels will depart from Albert Dock ready to form up for the parade from
11.30am on Monday 21 July.
Liverpool's sail trainees will be at the head of the parade on Stavros S
Niarchos, right behind HMS Argyll.
Please note that the Ships at Wellington Dock will be closed to the public
on Monday 21st July.
The final Parade of Sail is on Monday July 21st at 2pm and lasts about
one and a quarter hours. The best viewing points for the parade on the
Liverpool side are from the Britannia Pub, northwards along Riverside Drive,
Riverside Walk/Kings Parade, Kings Dock/Albert Dock; Princes Parade north of
Pier Head (although Royal Navy ships including RFA Lyme Bay berthed at the
new Cruise Liner Terminal landing stage could obscure views) Wirral side
viewing from Woodside Ferry, Birkenhead, New Brighton/Wallasey Promenade.
The veteran excursion ship m/v Balmoral, of Waverley Excursions, and the
Mersey Ferries will offer Parade viewing cruises
Tall ships are divided into the following categories:
* CLASS A - all square rigged vessels and all other vessels over 40m length overall (LOA)
* CLASS B - Traditional rigged vessels with a LOA of less than 40m and with a length a waterline length (LWL) of at least 9.14m
* CLASS C - Modern rigged vessels with a LOA of less than 40m and with a LWL of at least 9.14, not carrying spinnaker-like sails
* CLASS D - modern rigged vessels with a LOA of less than 40m and with a LWL of at least 9.14m carrying spinnaker-like sails
Square rigged vessels (Class A) are defined as those vessels whose sail plan is ship, barque, barquentine, brig or brigantine
Traditional rigged vessels (Class B) are defined as those vessels whose sail plan has a predominance of gaff sails
Modern rigged vessels (Classes C and D) are defined as those vessels whose sail plan has a predominance of Bermudan sails
Length overall (LOA) is the length between the forward end of the STEM post and the after end of the STERN post. It does not include the bowsprit, pulpit or any other extension at the bow or stern.
Class A
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Statsraad Lehmkuhl
Norway
Statsraad Lehmkuhl is a three-masted steel barque, built in 1914 in Bremerhaven, Germany as a training ship. In 1978, she was donated to the Stiftelsen Seilskipet Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation which now owns and operates the ship.
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Shabab Oman
Oman
Shabab Oman is now a barquentine, but was launched in 1971 as a topsail schooner called Captain Scott. In 1979,
she was transferred to the Omani Navy and her name converted into Arabic. Shabab Oman is recognised by the red dagger and crossed swords, the national symbol of Oman, on her topsails. |
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Royalist
UK
Royalist was built in 1971 by Groves and Gutteridge in Cowes, Isle of Wight to a design by Colin Mudie.Royalist is owned and operated by the Sea Cadet Association and the ship provides about 800 cadets with berths a year.
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Roald Amunsden
Germany
Roald Amundsen was built in 1952 in Roblau/Elbe for the former GDR's National People's Army.In 1992, the boat builder Detlev L ll and his friends from the society "Learn to Live on Sailing Ships" turned her into a brigantine as part of a programme to alleviate unemployment.
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Pogoria
Poland
Pogoria was built in 1980 for the Iron Shackle Fraternity - a marine educational project which was conceived and founded by Captain Adam Jasser in 1971.
The current owner and operator of Pogoria is the Sail Training Association Poland. She is 154 feet long overall with accommodation for up to 50 crew and students.
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Lord Nelson
UK
Named after the British Admiral, LORD NELSON was launched in 1985 and is one of two specifically designed vessels run by the Jubilee Sailing Trust in Southampton for able-bodied and physically disabled people to share the adventure and experience of tall ship sailing.
The Jubilee Sailing Trust has been in operation for around three decades and in that time has taken over 25,000 people to sea including 10,000 people with physical disabilities and 5,000 wheelchair users.
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Eendracht
Netherlands
Eendracht is owned and operated by the Dutch Foundation and National Society "Het Zeilend Zeeschip"
As a 55m (excluding bowsprit) three masted schooner, Eendracht replaced her smaller predecessor Johann Smidt and was commissioned by H. M. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 29 August 1989. She is a regular participant in The Tall Ships' Races.
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Sedov
Launched in Kiel in 1921, Sedov is the four masted sail training barque of the University of Murmansk. She is used to train young cadets to become officers, mechanics and radio specialists.
Sedov can accommodate up to 320 people including 75 crew members. Training takes place during a journey of 3 to 4 months along European coasts and includes cultural and economic exchanges with the ports being visited.
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159 - Welcome to Preston
Jul 03, 2008 | 3:54AM
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159 - Welcome to Preston England's newest city!
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PRESTON'S Riversway Festival returns this weekend with a whole host of new attractions, promising to make this year's shipping spectacle better than ever before.
Organised by Preston City Council and Ribble Link Cruise, the free-to-attend annual maritime festival takes place at Preston Docklands from Friday 4 until Sunday 6 July, with up to 8,000 people expected to attend.
Brand new for 2008 is a thrilling dragon boat race from the British Dragon Boat Association National League, whose 400 competitors have chosen to race on Preston's Albert Edward Dock as it is the largest inland dock in Europe.
This year's festival also celebrates 60 years of Preston's Twinning with Almelo in Holland, one of the city's four twin town partners in Europe. All boaters will wave orange flags to mark the special occasion.
Following the arrival of over 50 boaters from around the country on Friday, the weekend's festivities of displays, demonstrations and interactive opportunities include activities for the entire family to enjoy.
Saturday's entertainment includes paint balling, a climbing wall, local jazz and brass bands including the Longridge Band's Youth Band Competition, an historic photographic walkabout, willow weaving workshops, tropical animals, the Ribble Steam Railway and a Viking encampment with a 15-foot Viking boat.
Friday 4th July - Sunday 6th July 2008.
The Riversway Festival is a spectacular weekend of fun and entertainment for all the family and plans are already underway for a fabulous event in 2008
The Ribble Link Cruise Event draws people from all over the country - indeed the world!
Our furthest visitors to date came all the way over from New Zealand (however there was a plane involved!). - whether you're 2000 miles or 2 miles away, everyone is welcome!
This year sees the City Celebrating 60 Years of Twinning with Almelo in Holland and we look forward to welcoming our Dutch friends for the festivities - which include displays, demonstrations, paint balling and climbing wall, craft stalls . . . the list is endless
Riversway Marina is the largest inland dock in Europe and has mooring for up to 75 boats during the festive weekend - but book early to ensure you don't miss out!
Riversway Festival - 4th, 5th, 6th July 2008
Maritime Celebration:
Celebrations start on the Friday evening for the many boaters that have made the journey to Preston. Activities for the general public are taking place on Saturday and Sunday.
Attractions:
The event will be centred around the Main Stage and Marquee, on the far side of the docks, near the swing bridge (boats entrance to dock)
Event Programme:
Friday 4th July
7.00pm-11.00pm Entertainment for visiting boaters in the marquee.
Saturday 5th July
112.00pm Event opens with boaters from around the country entering the marina.
12.50pm RNLI Lifeboat, Her Majesty the Queen, enters the marina.
1.00pm Longridge Brass Band presents The Youth Celebration of Music on the stage.
2.15pm & 3.00pm Performances from the Lazy River Jazz Band on the stage.
3.00pm-8.00pm Hourly jet ski performances on the marina from Freestyle Jet Ski Champion, Dan Ashcroft.
3.45pm & 4.45pm Performances from Preston Concert Band on the stage.
5.45pm & 6.30pm Performances from sea shanty duo, Trim Rig & A Doxy.
7.15pm Performances from Longridge Brass Band.
10.00pm Firework display
Throughout Saturday there will also be various art and craft stalls, willow-weaving workshops, touch pools and even a mobile zoo as well as a Viking encampment and a variety of food from noodles to a hog roast.
Sunday 6th July
110.00am- 4.00pm British Dragon Boat Association races on the marina.
There will also be various art and craft stalls, a Viking encampment and re-enactments and a variety of food stalls.
Celebrating the fantastic waterborne traditions of this powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution, the Riversway Festival turns the clocks back, pre-1981 when the Preston docks closed for business. Now part of a major rejuvenation scheme, Riversway has become a great place to go for all the family.
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158 - The Royal Visit to Preston 2008
Jun 27, 2008 | 11:46PM
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158 - The Royal Visit to Preston 2008
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Well-wishers took cover from the rain at Preston Railway station to welcome the Queen to Lancashire.
The weather seemed to keep some Royal fans away as dozens of onlookers, rail staff and children clutching posies waited at Platform Three.
The eight carriage royal train pulled into the platform at 10.03am and her Majesty emerged wearing a lilac suit and hat. She was greeted by dignitaries including the mayor of Preston John Swindells and the county's chief constable Steve Finnigan.
Army cadets from Lancashire and Greater Manchester performed a guard of honour for the monarch who is visiting the county on her own.
Beverley Palfrey, 37, from Penwortham, said: "We have come to see the Queen because we little girl wanted to. We are quite excited. I found out about it last week when it was in the paper. It is nice for the Queen to come to Preston.
"I saw her in 2002 when my eldest daughter was able to give a Posey to her when she came to unveil a plaque at the station."
Her daughters Megan, nine, and Holly, six, both pupils at St Teresa's Primary n Penwortham presented the Queen with Carnations.
Holly said: "It was exciting. I gave her the flowers and did a curtsey."
Megan said: "I gave the flowers to the Queen and she said 'thank you' and I said 'you're welcome'. It was fun."
The Queen was led up a ramp of the station where she was by a cortege which took her to Singleton's Dairy in Longridge.
Published Date:
26 June 2008
By Melanie Wallwork
Beaming schoolchildren from Longridge High lined the road as the Queen rolled into a famous Lancashire cheese factory.
Singleton's Dairy Limited, singled out because of its success in making locally produced cheese reach markets in countries from the Lebanon to Korea, was the first stop on Her Majesty's first visit to Preston in six years.
Bill Riding, who jointly runs the firm with sister Tilly Carefoot, gave the Queen a guided tour of the factory to explain the process, before Her Majesty met the sales team, dairy farmers and other local dignitaries.
Mr Riding said: "I am so proud and honoured that she chose to come... And she said she would never look at Sage Derby in quite the same way again."
Mrs Carefoot, said she was "overcome by emotion but held it together".
She said: "She is so charming, and she asked such pertinent questions. We talked a lot about international trade and she was very interested to discover just how far flung our cheeses are."
"I am very proud to share this with my staff without everybody we couldn't have got this award."
The younger family members Jessica, 16, and Rebecca Riding, 14 and Olivia Carefoot, 16, presented the Queen with a basket of cheeses while Jack Carefoot, Mrs Carefoot's eldest son, told the Queen about his studies.
21-year-old Jack a "massive royalist" who plans to go to Sandhurst on finishing his Law degree in Preston said: "I think they are so important for the country. And they set us apart from other countries. It is a great honour for the firm and to meet her personally."
William Slinger, a dairy farmer from Pendleton which is one a 30 supplying Bowland Fresh Milk to the Longridge cheese company, admits that Singleton's has helped keep many local dairy farms in business.
He said: "(The Queen) was very supportive of what we do. She was very interested to know the area we supply milk from and also how many farmers are involved."
Singleton's is the only business in the county to have won the Queen's award for enterprise twice, in 2001 and 2005.
Published Date:
26 June 2008
By Josie Hill
Shoes polished, guests invited and parade ready - everything was in place for the Queen's visit to Fulwood Barracks, Preston, on Thursday.
Soldiers, army cadets and officers have been practising for over two weeks and are set for the presentation of the Duke of Lancaster regiment's new colours.
Around 600 soldiers from the 1st, 2nd and 4th Battalions were descending on the Watling Street barracks for the big event.
Her Majesty was also visiting Singleton's Dairy on Preston Road in Longridge for a tour of the family-run business, which has twice been awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise.
Thousands of well-wishers were expected to turn out to greet the Queen on her arrival at Preston Railway Station, in Longridge and outside the barracks.
She was last in Preston six years ago when she awarded it city status.
Published Date:
26 June 2008 By Melanie Wallwork
Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of Preston to welcome the Queen on her first visit to the city since 2002.
Her Majesty will arrive at Preston Railway Station at around 10am on Thursday June 26 where people will be able to watch her depart the Royal train.
Jane Cole, from Virgin Trains, said: "They can stand on platform four behind the barriers and the Queen will get off the train on platform three. But they need to be there at 9.30am at the latest or they might not get on the platform."
Then the Queen will go to Singleton's Dairy in Longridge, for 10.30am, where pupils from Longridge High School will line the driveway.
She will be given a tour and meet staff at the dairy and is then expected to arrive at Fulwood Barracks at 11.45am where The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment will be the first of the new infantry regiments to be presented with new colours.
Capt Jon Gilbody said: "It's a massive occasion, not just for us but for the families.
"The colours are flags but they are more significant than that – the presentation of them only happens every 25 to 35 years.
"They can't be moved around without an armed escort and they take a long time to make.
"Once the colours retire, they go into the regimental museum and are priceless."
Due to the scale of the event, it is closed to the public, but onlookers are expected to gather outside for the Queen's first visit to the barracks since 1979.
After the parade and presentation of colours, Her Majesty will have lunch with senior officers and selected soldiers before meeting various groups of people. An official photograph will be taken and the Queen is expected to depart at around 3pm.
Coverage of The Queen's visit to Preston
by Lancashire Evening Post.
Sorry All I didn't get to take any Photo myself.
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157 - Women queue to see unusual urinals
Mar 29, 2008 | 12:28PM
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157 - Women queue to see unusual urinals
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A new-look £13m garden centre in Lancashire has opened - and the men's toilets could prove to be one of its biggest attractions.
As well as the usual pots, plants and gifts, the popular Barton Grange complex on the A6 at Brock houses the UK's only flower-shaped urinals – shipped all the way from San Francisco in the States.
The toilets were one of the biggest draws when the centre opened its doors on Wednesday, with a queue of women waiting to have a peek inside the gents.
Guy Topping, managing director, said: "My wife Carol designed all the interior decor of the toilets and we imported the urinals.
"But we are finding we're getting more ladies in the gents at the moment."
The 52-acre site at the foot of the Trough of Bowland is two-and-a-half miles north of the old site and is likely to attract thousands of visitors on busy days
16/1 odds for sinking boats
Bookmakers are offering odds of 16/1 that one of the boats will sink during the 154th Boat race - and 125/1 that both will sink. Oxford and Cambridge could be battling a strong crosswind as well as each other when they go head to head on the River Thames on Saturday. Gusts of up to 45mph are expected around 5.15pm when crews set off from Putney towards the finish line at Mortlake. Paul Mott, a forecaster with MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "There will be a brisk southerly wind, gusts of up to 40-45mph at time. That will make conditions quite testing for the race. "At times there will be a crosswind for the rowers."
The 154th University boat race
takes place on the River Thames
- but will they sink?
Oxford win the 2008 Boat Race comfortably.
The winning time was the slowest since 1947.
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Chief's Help website
Remember to check my Website New items are added most weeks.
Please feel free to sign the Guest-book I'd love to see you there.
All the codes are for you to use.
Update on my Wife.
My wife had a gullstones removed with an endoscopy all went well
Now she has to wait for keyhole surgery to remove her gullblader.
Derick.
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