Three bus drivers from Burnley and Pendle have picked up special long service awards having been behind the wheel for a combined 120 years.
Munir Hussain and M. Z. Hussain, from Burnley, and Alex Pomponi, from Barrowford, have clocked up 40 years service each for Transdev and its predecessors.
The trio were joined by colleagues, family and friends at a celebration of service awards, which recognise the dedication of Transdev staff based at depots across east Lancashire.
Others collecting accolades on the night included Frank Atkinson, from Accrington, one of Northern England’s longest serving bus drivers at 45 years, and Michael Boyes, from Blackburn, who has also reached the 40 year milestone.
Transdev chief executive Alex Hornby, who presented the awards, said: “I’m extremely humbled by the remarkable passion and dedication shown by all of those who received their awards, both to our company and our customers, the people of Lancashire.
“Between all of those who received awards on the night, we calculated that in total they had achieved over 600 years of sterling service.
“That’s an incredible achievement, and we at Transdev are sincerely grateful for all they have done and continue to do for us and for Lancashire.”
Transdev operates buses based in Blackburn and Burnley across East Lancashire and beyond, including the X43 WitchWay Express between Skipton, Burnley and Manchester, and the X41 Red Express linking Blackburn, Accrington and Haslingden with Manchester.
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Three bus drivers from Burnley and Pendle have picked up special long service awards having been behind the wheel for a combined 120 years.


Burnley bus drivers celebrate over 100 years of service


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Can you match these stars to the year they switched on the Blackpool Illuminations?


Showbiz royalty Dame Barbara Windsor has been announced as this year’s guest of honour at the Illuminations Switch-On ceremony.


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The Clarets can't grumble with the start that they've made to their third campaign in the Premier League.
Most fans and so-called experts would have had Sean Dyche's side languishing in the depths of the top flight following defeat to Swansea City on the opening day.
Andre Gray tries to find a way through
The second tier champions were without a win in their first 10 top flight outings last time out but, following a calculatingly clinical win over Liverpool at Turf Moor, the Clarets head in to the first international break having got off the mark.
The visitors weren't as effective at Stamford Bridge as they had been against Jurgen Klopp's Reds but Chelsea were in imperious form to make it three wins from three.
Eden Hazard had lit up the European Championships in France over the summer prior to Belgium's shock exit to Wales in the quarter-final and the winger has carried those standards through to his domestic programme.
The Blues' number 10, along with Willian and Oscar, stretched the play beautifully to severely test the Clarets but it was wehn the 25-year-old cut infield that he looked the most threatening.
One misplaced pass by Andre Gray, which was cut out by Nemanja Matic, sent the former Lille man on his way and, after cutting inside past Michael Keane with the ball glued to his foot, he shaped a scintillating shot in to the bottom corner in the ninth minute.
Hazard had Tom Heaton beaten for a second time moments later when the ball landed at his feet at the far post but Ben Mee found himself in the right place at the right time to clear the effort off the line.
With the visitors penned in, and getting men behind the ball, they often struggled for an out ball which gave the hosts licence to continue applying the pressure.
And it was a former Claret that almost did the damage when Oscar's corner, headed clear by Keane, was steered goalwards by Gary Cahill only for his volley to take a nick on the way through and drop just wide of the upright.
Antonio Conte's side again threatened from a set-piece as skipper John Terry stole a yard from his marker to meet Oscar's corner but Heaton was well positioned to make a comfortable save.
The waves of attack kept on crashing against Burnley's defensive wall and it seemed just a matter of time before the home side broke through.
Diego Costa was denied by Heaton after Brazilian pair Willian and Oscar combined down the right hand side but, five minutes before the break, they finally had their reward.
Hazard and Costa were once again involved, working the ball from left to right, and it was Willian who worked the shooting space to lash the ball across Heaton and in to the far corner.
The away side did have the opportunity to half the arrears just before the interval but Scott Arfield, with just Terry for company, dragged a right-footed attempt wide of the far post after being fed by Gray.
Burnley's press was more intense in the second half, though the hosts dropped off slightly from their earlier energetic showing.
Willian bent a free-kick over the bar once Keane was booked for upending Costa on the edge of the box before Terry missed a guilt-edged opportunity from close range after Heaton palmed Hazard's stunning volley in to the defender's path.
There was no stopping Hazard and he went close again when shifting the ball on to his left boot on the edge of the box before fizzing an attempt just over the bar.
Mee took the ball off the toe of Costa as the Spaniard threatened to poke home once Heaton had made a stunning save to foil Hazard, who was imply unplayable at times.
The Blues, who moved top of the Premier League with victory, did make it three in the final minute when two substitutes combined. Pedro found space down the left and Moses turned his cross home at the far post after moving goal side of Aiden O'Neill.
Cesar Azpilicueta almost added another in stoppage time but Heaton produced an outstanding save low to his left to claw the ball off the line.
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Motorists experienced greater delays on the roads as journey times increased during the second quarter of 2016, according to data from the Department For Transport.
An average delay of nine seconds per mile on the strategic road network (SRN) was a 1.3 per cent increase on the figures for the year up to the end of March 2016.
Average speed on the SRN - the motorways and ‘A’ roads managed by Highways England - also fell. Between July 2015 and June 2016, the average speed was 59.2mph, a 0.2 per cent decrease on the previous figures.
The reliability of travel times on the SRN also fell, with 68 per cent more time needed to ensure on time arrival - a 2 per cent increase on the previous quarter.
The average delay on local ‘A’ roads in England in the year ending June 2016 saw a year-on-year increase of 3.8 per cent to 45.2 seconds per vehicle per mile, with average speed consequently down 1.5 per cent on the year ending June 2015.

Average road journey delay time increases


Motorists experienced greater delays on the roads as journey times increased during the second quarter of 2016, according to data from the Department For Transport.


Firefighters were called to a car blaze in the early hours of this morning (Sunday).


Police have said they are increasingly concerned for the welfare of a 13-year-old girl who has gone missing from Nelson.
Jessica Wallwork was last seen at approximately 8-45pm on Sunday (August 28th) when she left an address in Railway Street in the town.
Jessica Wallwork (s)
She has not made contact with friends or family since then, and is not answering her phone.
Anybody who has seen her, or has information about where she might be, is urged to contact police immediately.
Police have today issued two new photos of Jessica in the hope that somebody will recognise her or has seen her.
PC Fiona Hall, of Nelson Police, said: “Both we and Jessica’s family are extremely concerned about her and we would ask anybody who knows where she might be to get in touch.
“Similarly we would urge Jessica, if she sees this appeal, to get in touch and let us know she is safe.”
Jessica is described as white with shoulder-length, light brown hair. She was last seen wearing a blue hooded top with "LEC" on the front, light blue skinny jeans and a cream-coloured handbag. It’s possible she was wearing trainers.
Anybody with information should contact police on 101, quoting log number 955 of August 29th.
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Police have said they are increasingly concerned for the welfare of a 13-year-old girl who has gone missing from Nelson.


Police issue new photos of missing Nelson girl (13)


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This stunning photo of a horse on top of Spire Hill was sent in by Andrew Klavins.


Professional job availability in the North West’s temporary sector has increased by 14% year on year to July 2016 according to research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).
The data, provided by recruitment software company, Innovantage, revealed that despite a 7% dip in permanent vacancies, temporary vacancies saw rises across a number of key of professional sectors. The property and construction industry experienced a significant increase of 38% year on year, while demand for professionals in the manufacturing sector rose by 24% year on year.
Moya Rylands, Regional Director at APSCo said: “Despite a dip in permanent job availability, demand for professionals on a temporary basis remains decidedly strong across the North West, growing by 14% year on year to July.”
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Professional job availability in the North West’s temporary sector has increased by 14% year on year to July 2016 according to research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).


Ben Mee hailed one of the best defensive performances that’s he’s been a part of after the Clarets shut Liverpool out at Turf Moor.
The Reds had scored four times against Arsenal at the Emirates on the opening weekend of the campaign but failed to find a way through a resilient Burnley back line as the home side registered an impressive 2-0 win.
Despite Sean Dyche’s side having just 19% possession - the lowest total by a winning side in the Premier League since Opta began recording the statistic in the 2003-04 season - they limited Liverpool to just five shots on target.
“It was a classic performance,” he said. “We found it tough to get out and keep the ball but we have two lads up top who have produced for us.
“We defended well and for the amount of possession that they had we’ve been so comfortable.
They haven’t really threatened us too much aside from a few chances from outside the box. They’re a great team so it was nice to get a clean sheet against a quality opponent.”
Mee added: “That’s been one of the best - with the partnership with Keano and the back five in general. The whole team dug in and the distances were really good.
“It wasn’t the plan, we never like to do that, we always like to press and do it as much as we can. It just kind of worked out like that.
“They had a lot of bodies in midfield and we were struggling to get hold of the ball. On days like that you have to dig in and defend well. We defended well as a unit and as a team.
“They kept getting the ball out wide but any crosses that came in we dealt with them. We were pleased with that. Everyone has worked hard.
“We defended everything that came our way. We were so compact and organised. It’s testament to us that they didn’t really create any proper goalscoring opportunities.
“We’ve got belief in the squad, we’re a good side, we’ve got lads who can score goals and we know that we can keep clean sheets. To get a win against a side like and keep a clean sheet is massive.”

Mee proud of defensive display in Liverpool win


Ben Mee hailed one of the best defensive performances that’s he’s been a part of after the Clarets shut Liverpool out at Turf Moor.


Hardship in the fells of 1930s County Durham and intrigue at a Second World War munitions factory are just two compelling new books from Quercus this September.
Nobody’s Child by Elizabeth Gill
Two traveller sisters from the wild countryside of County Durham face hardship, hunger and an uncertain future when they lose their parents and their home.
Consumed with grief and surrounded by hostility, can the teenagers survive the tough times ahead in 1930s England and hold tight to the family ties that bind them together?
Elizabeth Gill, author of over 30 books set in and around her native Tyneside, works her storytelling magic in a moving and gritty family saga of adversity and hope and love and loyalty that will delight her army of devoted fans.
On Christmas Day in 1930, Kath and Ella Watson are living with their parents in an empty house close to Castle Bank Colliery on snow-covered Durham Fell tops. They have been forced to take shelter there from their travellers’ wagon because their mother is gravely ill.
Kath is seventeen and her father believes she should have married long ago, particularly as she has been courted by the likes of rich traveller Will Hern. But Kath has seen the chaotic life of traveller women with babies, forced to raise their youngsters inside a cramped wagon.
Their mother Rose wants a better life for her two daughters but when she dies on Christmas Day morning, their father is overcome by grief and sets fire to the family’s wooden wagon, reducing it to a heap of ashes.
When the police arrive to tell them that not only has their father died in an accident after riding off on his horse but also that they must leave the house where they have been sheltering, the two sisters are left bereft and virtually penniless.
With winter closing in around them, and facing the hostility of locals who are suspicious of Gypsies, the girls strike out to find their way in a harsh landscape which sets them on a collision course with the wealthy Banks family of nearby Golden Hill Hall, local farmer Jake Sutherland and Will Hern, the man who would still have Kath as his wife.
Using her trademark warmth, experience and wisdom, Gill captures the essence of the hardy folk of the north-east in a story brimming with drama, romance, rich period detail and vivid characters.
Written from the heart and with a seductive sense of time and place, Nobody’s Child is the perfect read for autumn nights…
(Quercus, hardback, £19.99)
The Factory Girls by Rosie Archer
Friends in need, flying bombs and explosive revelations… it’s time to head back to the adventures and misadventures of Gosport’s ‘canary girls.’
The real-life munitions workers at Priddy’s Hard, the Royal Navy Armament Depot in Hampshire, who helped to arm the Allies’ D-Day invasion fleet, are the inspiration behind this compelling series from Gosport author Rosie Archer.
In the follow-up to The Munitions Girls and The Canary Girls, Archer sweeps us away again to England in 1944 and into the hearts and minds of the women who packed shells and bullets with sulphurous chemicals that made their skin and hair turn yellow.
Archer pays tribute to the dangerous and dirty work undertaken by the 2,500 women at the factory during the Second World War in stories that prove no matter how hard the times, despite bombing, short rations, cruel men and unwanted pregnancy, friendship will pull you through.
In autumn of 1944, V-1 flying bombs, known as doodlebugs, are the latest threat to war-battered Gosport. And at Priddy’s Hard munitions factory, Em Earle is about to suffer a threat to her livelihood that comes from much nearer home.
Meanwhile, local crook and black marketeer Samuel Golden is back and up to his old tricks as he tries to find ways to exploit the hardships of local people for his own gain.
As well as Samuel’s unwanted attentions, Em has to deal with some huge revelations from within her own family. Her daughter Lizzie is pregnant, and a strange woman has turned up on Em’s doorstep claiming to be her sister.
Em is excited but cannot help feeling wary. Could this woman be too good to be true? Once again it will be up to the girls from the bomb factory to rally round and support one of their own.
The triumphs and disasters of this entertaining, close-knit group of friends spring to life in a nostalgic story packed with drama, tension, passion and the grim realities of life in wartime England.
Archer has her finger firmly on the pulse of the munitions workers… their hardships, their struggles and the determination to win wars in both their personal lives and on the bigger stage.
Romance with a gritty edge…
(Quercus, paperback, £6.99)

Book reviews: Cosy up with two family sagas from Quercus Books


Hardship in the fells of 1930s County Durham and intrigue at a Second World War munitions factory are just two compelling new books from Quercus this September.


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Helen Cottam captured these wild flowers growing in Burnley Wood.


A recruitment firm has been named the best company in the UK for work-life balance.
Financial recruiter Goodman Masson took first place in the list by jobs site Glassdoor, based on reviews submitted to its website by current and former staff.
The company, which is based in London and also has offices in Dusseldorf, was praised by staff for its “huge investment” in staff benefits and “great” parties twice a year.
“The attention paid to the wellbeing of staff is at a level rarely matched elsewhere,” said an anonymous employee working in the London office.
In second place was technology firm Cisco Systems, and in third place was insurer HomeServe.
West Midlands-based HomeServe, which employs 1,200 people at its headquarters in Walsall and has 2.1 million customers in the UK, was commended for its attitude towards the treatment of its staff.
“The salary is very competitive and you are rewarded very generously for your hard work and just for carrying out your role. The company has a great framework for career progression and is always looking to promote people internally for job roles,” said a water supply engineer working at the firm.
Greg Reed, chief marketing officer at HomeServe, said: “We believe if you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers. This means creating a culture where people genuinely enjoy coming to work every day because they feel what they do really makes a difference in our customers’ lives.”
Temping firm LOLA and Screwfix completed the top five. Other companies in the top 20 included Apple, American Express Lloyds Banking Group, Unilever and John Lewis.
Google is known for its plush offices, but doesn’t make the top 20 companies for work-life balance. Its new London office has sleep pods so workers can take a nap, although perhaps this is an indication of long hours.
For a company to have been considered, at least 50 work-life balance ratings must have been submitted by UK-based employees in the past year.
The top 20 companies for work-life balance:
1. Goodman Masson
2. Cisco Systems
3. HomeServe UK
4. LOLA Staffing
5. Screwfix
6. American Express
7. BP
8. Peninsula Business Services
9. ARM Holdings
10. Unilever
11.Thomson Reuters
12. Kantar Worldpanel
13. Atkins
14. Téléfonica
15. Credit Suisse
16. Rolls-Royce
17. John Lewis
18. Waitrose
19. Lloyds Banking Group
20. Apple
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A recruitment firm has been named the best company in the UK for work-life balance.


Revealed: The top UK companies for work-life balance


Steve Robinson took this photo of a Star Wars decorated narrow boat he spotted at the Canal Festival this weekend.


Clarets boss Sean Dyche is expected to make changes for tonight's first competitive visit to Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup.
But whatever team he puts out, Dyche is not taking the competition lightly, despite the financial pressure to stay in the Premier League.
A trip to Chelsea follows on Saturday, and Dyche said: "I've been there a number of times, we've played there a couple of pre-seasons, I know John (Coleman) pretty well, his team's always work hard and want to win, and he's got a good appetite for it.
"He's done a fantastic job.
"Our players are savvy enough to know you don't just turn up anywhere expecting to win, my teams don't take things lightly.
"If things don't go well for you, it's not because they haven't focused or prepared, we want to win the game and go through.
"Every cup tie is a proper cup tie to me, but the locality and everything adds to it, there's more of an edge to it with it being at Accrington and we look forward to it.
"Theres only one winner in terms of priorities, but that's nothing to do with grandeur or non-grandeur of cups, it's the reality of economics at a football club.
"The Premier League is so financially powerful, but that's been there for a while.
"The cups are important, I went to a semi-final with a minnow club.
"You still have a job to do, to make sure you're right and have a team that can win.
"You have the odd case where it looks like a super young side where you're not sure on that one, but that's not happened that often down the years.
"If you're a Premier League club, you have to think your squad is capable of taking on the challenge in certain fixtures, and I think ours is capable of taking on this challenge.
"So if I choose the use the squad, it will be to win, not for any other reason."

Dyche expected to make changes for Stanley


Clarets boss Sean Dyche is expected to make changes for tonight


With GCSE Results Day finally upon us, hundreds of thousands of teenagers across the country will be weighing up their options for the future.
Although A-levels remain the traditional educational route after GCSEs, they are not the only option. More and more students are turning towards apprenticeships and further education as real alternatives.
Many of the teenagers picking up their results have already been in education for the best part of 12 years.
But, these days teenagers, up to the age of 18, are legally required to stay in education, training or get a job with accredited training, something the government calls 'raising the age of participation'.
Being in further education or training doesn’t mean teenagers have to stay in the same school. There are lots of options.
So, for those students who didn’t do so well in their GCSEs, or don’t find the prospect of another two years at school studying A-levels appealing, here are our top three options for life after GCSEs.
Do an apprenticeship
Apprenticeships have had some mixed press. The quality and rates of pay have been in the news, but there are lots fabulous apprenticeship opportunities out there and lots of organisations who can help, and offer you the right information; checkout The Student Room’s new Apprenticeship Hub it’s full of accurate and up-to-date information and it can even help to dispel some of those apprenticeship myths.
We found a fabulous apprenticeship scheme with national company, Be Wiser Insurance - they offer a starting salary of £14,000. There are other companies doing similar, so do your homework.
Do a traineeship
Not quite ready for an apprenticeship? Need to work on your skills? Don’t worry there are lots of opportunities for you to complete a traineeship – Have a look at what a company like EDF Energy can offer you.
Go to your local college
There are two types of college – 6th Form college and Further Education college. 6th Form Colleges are mostly geared up for students between 16 and 18 years old, and tend to concentrate on academic education. Further Education colleges are generally much bigger than 6th Form colleges and offer a wider range of subjects, including vocational education (Btecs and NVQs), and they’re not just for teenagers. Further Education colleges offer adult education and higher education too.
The GOV.UK website can help you find more information about courses offered by schools and colleges in your area if you’re between 14-19.
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With GCSE Results Day finally upon us, hundreds of thousands of teenagers across the country will be weighing up their options for the future.


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Clarets striker Hennings returns to Germany


Rouwen Clarets striker Rouwen Hennings has joined Bundesliga 2 side Fortuna Dusseldorf on loan until the end of the season.


The first major highway scheme of improvements to boost access to employment areas and future housing sites along the M65 corridor between Blackburn and Colne has been completed.
The £12.1m. programme of work to junctions and nearby local roads from Junction 7 at Accrington to Junction 13 at Barrowford is known as the Hyndburn-Burnley-Pendle Growth Corridor.
The programme is part of the £250m. Growth Deal secured from government by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.
Lancashire County Council has now completed the first road scheme to reduce congestion and improve access to employment areas near Junction 12 at Brierfield.
The £900,000 scheme supports the expansion of the Lomeshaye site, as well as Riverside Business Park and the £32m. transformation of Brierfield Mill into Northlight.
Graham Cowley, chairman of the LEP’s Growth Deal Management Board, said: “As part of our strategic vision for the Hyndburn-Burnley-Pendle Growth Corridor, the LEP is investing in improving connectivity along the M65 and surrounding roads along with the creation of new employment sites and a number of housing schemes. I’m pleased to see this part of the plan completed.
“The growth corridor project is one of a series of major, strategic investments in infrastructure that are a key part of the LEP’s ambitious programme to transform Lancashire’s economy, drive growth and create thousands of jobs and homes over the next decade.”
Similar improvements are currently underway at M65 Junctions 7 and 13, with all work due for completion during 2018.
Schemes to improve facilities at Burnley’s Rosegrove and Manchester Road railway stations have also been part of the Growth Corridor programme.
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The first major highway scheme of improvements to boost access to employment areas and future housing sites along the M65 corridor between Blackburn and Colne has been completed.


Drive to boost business links on right road


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The M6 southbound was blocked in Lancashire this afternoon after a “serious” traffic accident in which a teenage male was hit by a vehicle.
The North West air ambulance was called to the scene between junction 28 at Leyland and junction 27 at Standish
Picture and video supplied by Jack
Police closed all three lanes.
The road was blocked and queuing traffic was reported at 2pm.
Motorists were warned to expect delays on the M6 and on surrounding routes.
Police said this afternoon the motorway would remain closed for “several hours”.
The northbound carriageway was briefly closed but was reopened about 2.30pm.
Lancashire police said: “The M6 has been closed southbound at J28 following an incident.
“We are advising motorists to avoid the area and use alternative routes.”
The “serious” incident happened on the M6 southbound close to Charnock Richard Services.
Police were called at approximately 1.45pm to reports a pedestrian had been involved in a collision with a vehicle. The pedestrian is critically injured.
Chief Insp Damian Kitchen, of Lancashire Police, said: “We recognise the disruption this is causing and are working hard to re-open the road as soon as possible.
“However, at this time of day, delays through rush hour and beyond are inevitable.
“Please plan either alternate routes or delay your journey. Surrounding roads and towns are also likely to become congested.”
The motorway was finally reopened at about 5.30pm.

UPDATED: M6 reopens in Lancashire after pedestrian hit by vehicle


The M6 southbound was blocked in Lancashire this afternoon after a “serious” traffic accident in which a teenage male was hit by a vehicle.


Parents are being reminded that it is not too early to start thinking about school travel arrangements for the next academic year.
Any parent who has received a letter and application form about transport for pupils transferring to secondary school in September 2016, who may be entitled to help, should return their completed application as soon as possible.
As soon as the completed form is received, Lancashire County Council will try to issue a new pass so that it is received in time for the start of the new school term.
Anyone who thinks their child may be entitled to help with travel costs when they start secondary school, and who has not received an application form, should contact the School Transport Line on 0300 123 6738.
Any sixth form pupil who has previously travelled on a school bus contracted by the county council may be able to continue to do this, as long as there are seats available, by purchasing a travel season ticket.
Primary school pupils in years 1 to 6 and secondary school students in years 8 to 11, who received help with transport last year and whose circumstances have not changed, will receive their passes shortly in August.
Pupils attending secondary schools and moving into the sixth form are not entitled to transport assistance.
Children who use taxi transport provided by the county council to primary and secondary schools will no longer receive a pass for these journeys. Parents will be informed of new transport arrangements by letter.
Transport costs on school buses funded by the county council have increased from September 2016. The revised costs are:
Journeys up to 3 miles – Single fare £1.40; return fare £2.70; annual season ticket £410. Journeys between 3 and 8 miles – Single fare £2; return fare £3.70; annual season ticket £562. Journeys over 8 miles – Single fare £2.50; return fare £4.70; annual season ticket £714.
Parents are reminded to make sure that their children have sufficient money to cover the cost of the return journey from home to school.
More information is available at www.lancashire.gov.uk/schools or by calling 0300 123 6738.
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Parents are being reminded that it is not too early to start thinking about school travel arrangements for the next academic year.


Reminder about school travel arrangements


From poet John Keats to Prince Charles, and from life-changing scientists to prize-winning authors, some of the world’s most famous people have relied on ‘bedders’ to see them through their toughest student days at Cambridge.
In her fascinating account of just some of the hundreds of working-class women who have looked after the students of Cambridge University, Catherine Seymour, whose grandmother and great-grandmother were bedders, reveals their secret lives, heartaches and joy.
For centuries, the university’s bedders – the equivalent at Oxford is a ‘scout’ – have cleaned, tidied, made beds, dispensed advice and physical aid, and offered a reassuring maternal presence to generations of nervous, lonely students.
Bedders still look after today’s Cambridge students but the work they do, and the young people they care for, have changed over the last decades.
Until the 1980s, bedders carried buckets of coal up the stairs to light fires in the rooms of the fellows as well as dusting, tidying, taking away rubbish and, in some colleges, making the students’ breakfasts.
It was hard work but it came with privileges and offered an experience unlike other jobs available to working-class women. Some of the bedders had previously worked in shops or as waitresses, cleaners, factory hands and other low-paid manual jobs.
The college offered them family-friendly hours, starting work early but allowing them to get home in time for lunch and to make an evening meal for their children. Often bedders would pay neighbours to look after their pre-school youngsters.
In the first half of the 20th century, some of the upper class (male) students saw their bedders as simply servants but for many others, these women who instructed them on everything from dressing properly to combing their hair, were the only warm, motherly presence in an otherwise cold, paternalistic environment.
In turn, many bedders enjoyed their glimpse into a world they knew little about and during her research Seymour discovered that the women appreciated the genuine return of affection from students who often left gifts for them at Christmas, term ends and after graduation.
And for some of the bedders who got to know their students well, graduation was almost like watching their own children leave home.
In these unique, vivid and often moving stories, inspired by the accounts of bedders from the 1920s to the 1960s, we meet women who endured the Second World War and then had to contend with poverty, ill health and bereavement.
For 16-year-old Joyce, who lived in one of the poorest streets in Cambridge, the college building where she was about to start work represented privilege, wealth, a life she would never live. What she never expected was to find herself mothering, chastising and sometimes even covering up for ‘her boys.’
These hard-working women loved, lost and loved again. But their friendships gave them strength, and their work gave them happiness, and even a lasting connection with their charges, some of whom would go on to run the country.
As much a social history as the individual stories of the bedders, The Staircase Girls is a memorable and eye-opening glimpse into the remarkable lives of a very special group of women.
(Pan, paperback, £7.99)

Book review: The Staircase Girls by Catherine Seymour


From poet John Keats to Prince Charles, and from life-changing scientists to prize-winning authors, some of the world’s most famous people have relied on ‘bedders’ to see them through their toughest student days at Cambridge.


Samantha Culshaw has shared this fantastic photo of her dog Dobby taking a dip to cool off in Gisburn.


Record signing Steven Defour claimed that he couldn’t have dreamed for a better debut after the Clarets beat Liverpool 2-0 at Turf Moor.
Following David Jones’s departure to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, the £7.5m capture from RSC Anderlecht went straight in to boss Sean Dyche’s XI for the visit of the Europa League finalists.
And the 28-year-old made an instant impression, driving through the heart of the Reds midfield to tee up last season’s leading scorer Andre Gray for the second goal in the 37th minute.
“It was really amazing, I couldn’t have dreamed any better,” he said. “A win against Liverpool at home with the amazing fans was all that I hoped for.
“Liverpool is a big team. Last week they won against Arsenal and for us to win now feels very good.
“Of course it was important to get this win. We lost last week and having two losses at home, it starts to get difficult.
“It’s not the end of the world, but it gets difficult. To get the three points today, it was important.”
It was a baptism of fire for Defour on a physically demanding afternoon against Jurgen Klopp’s men but the Belgium international, who was replaced by fellow summer signing Johann Berg Gudmundsson in the second half, is adamant that he’ll soon acclimatise to the pace of the Premier League.
“Yes, it was physically demanding because we were only two in midfield and Firmino was coming into the midfield, Sturridge came inside, so it was really demanding,” he said.
“Also, we couldn’t keep the ball long enough to rest a little bit, but that’s the Premier League and I have to adapt it.
“I am fit and I will have to improve again and again because it feels quick.”
Defour added: “In Belgium it’s slower. Here it goes from one side (of the pitch) to the other really fast, in Belgium there is more resting.
“But I have played Champions League and I have played international level, so it’s similar - but I have to do it every week now.
“I have to adapt and then my physical (condition) will go up automatically.”
Meanwhile, the midfielder is looking forward to linking up with Gray every week with the hope that his own experience and the striker’s goals can keep the Clarets in the top flight.
“It’s good to have someone fast in front of me so I can get a good pass to him, which happened today,” he said.
“I hope we can see a lot of that in the next weeks.
“We have a lot of games ahead of us and we’re looking game after game.
“I think I can bring my experience and the ability to keep the ball in the team, trying to be as good as I can.
“I hope we stay in the Premier League - that’s the big goal.”

Defour gets his dream debut with Turf triumph


Record signing Steven Defour claimed that he couldn’t have dreamed for a better debut after the Clarets beat Liverpool 2-0 at Turf Moor.


The printing presses have long since fallen silent and the final reporters have now filed out of Bull Street, but memories of the Burnley Express in bygone days remain imprinted in the minds of many who plied their trade in the historic newspaper office.
Local lad and respected photographer Eddy Rawlinson has reflected on his fledgling early days in Bull Street, before his remarkable 70 year career took flight to the national press.
A young Eddy Rawlinson at work in Bull Street
Eddy, who still lives in Cliviger, went on to have a successful career on the northern picture desk of the Daily Mirror, but it was those early years at the Express, during the dark days of the Second World War, that he remembers with fondness.
It is a story of colourful characters, hot metal and even hotter flashbulbs during a period of the industry long since consigned to the history pages.
For a bright-eyed teenage Eddy it was a wonderful exciting first step on his own life story, but one tinged with sadness as the town’s newspaper revealed which of its sons would not be returning from war, as Eddy recalls:
“In 1943 when I climbed the rickety stairs of the Burnley Express building in Bull Street to start work as a junior photographer and engraver, Britain was in the middle of the Second World War.
I was to hold a flashgun full of magnesium powder and strike the flint... Photographer Eddy Rawlinson
“It meant as a 14 year old I would be taking over from a worker who had left to join the armed forces and assisting Mr Fred Simcock ARPS.
“He was nearing retirement age and the newpaper’s only photographer who also had to make his pictures into metal blocks for printing on the rotary press.
“Previously I had been a ‘printer’s devil’ working for three months at a local print shop learning the art of print.
“My old job meant going in at 7am to get the fire going and finishing work at 5-30 in the evening for a five and a half day week. My Burnley Express work sounded real cushy with a 9am start until I was told I would have to assist Mr Simcock that very Monday evening at a function starting at 8pm.
“I was to hold a flashgun full of magnesium powder and strike the flint when he took the lens cap off his camera, Tommy Steel’s song ‘What a Picture’ comes to mind.
“Flashbulbs were in short supply through the foil being needed in the war effort. That was the start of my first day in a career which was to extend over 70 years of working for the media.
“The Burnley Express was not only a family newspaper, it also had been a family owned newspaper 10 years before I joined until the Brotherton family sold out to a national newspaper company.
“That family spirit still remained within its workforce. When the Burnley Express was taken over by the Preston based Burnley News in 1933 they moved out of St James’s Row across into Bull Street, the Burnley News had no means of printing in Burnley and the ‘Bladder’ as many older people referred to th’Express became a national concern.
“Promotions were made within the Burnley Express staff and Richard (Dick) Hart became general manager of the Burnley operation.
“On joining my editor was Ted Parkinson who left the company shortly after to make a name for himself in the BBC and he was succeeded as editor by Clifford Harman.
“Still remembered today, Gerry Bradley had been a photographer on the News and became an Express reporter returning to taking pictures for the Express when the war ended.
“Jerry Mulholland, a genial Irishman, was the chief reporter. His son Brendan became a reporter working for the Daily Mail and was national news himself by going to prison for refusing to give his source of information in the Vassall, Russian Spy Tribunal.
“Several of the reporters wrote their copy with fountain pens, others bashed away at typewriters. Copy ended up on the top floor of the building where six linotype operators tapped out the reporters’ stories and set advertisements into hot metal.
“Publishing days were on a Wednesday and Saturday with many editions finding their way throughout the world to lads and lasses from Burnley who were serving in the Forces.
“A weekly feature in the Wednesday edition was ‘Serving in HM Forces’ where relatives of serving men and women were asked to send in photographs of their loved ones who had gone to war. My job was to copy the pictures and make them all the same size and then put them into strips of eight.
“Every Wednesday a strip of eight pictures appeared in the Wednesday edition giving details of the person and then filed for further reference. Many were to appear again in the paper under such headings as ‘Killed in Action’, ‘Missing’, and ‘Prisoner of War’, my cousin appeared under one of those headings when he went down with his ship, HMS Galatea.
“Covering assignments was by bus, although in the Brotherton days the Express did have its own van and in 1946 a former wartime ambulance appeared on Bull Street and the editorial department had its own wheels complete with a yellow Burnley Express livery.
“Presenting bus tickets to the accountant claiming for journeys travelled from the office to an assignment comes to mind.
“Apart from taking photographs and making blocks very early on a Saturday morning I and another junior loaded up the office handcart and took bundles of papers across to the bus station.
“There we put the copies of the Express on buses for the outlying districts where our rival, the privately owned Nelson Leader, circulated.
“Our other opposition with a six man team was the Northern Daily Telegraph, with its office across the road on Manchester Road.
“Many a time late on a Friday night when the press began to roll and the compositors work was done they would have to walk home as the bus services had finished running, all part of their job to earn more in wages than that of an ordinary working man.
“While waiting for the all clear several of the men would wander down the side of the office and enjoy a pint or two in the Masons or next door in the Bay Horse pub.
“Visiting the Big Window across the road from the office made it too conspicuous as the General Manager’s office overlooked Bull Street.
“On returning after National Service I was told by the manager they had taken on another photographer, David Seddon, to join Gerry Bradley and I was to become an engraver – that didn’t go down well for I loved photography.
“I was determined to leave and 1953 I was given a job as staff photographer on the Manchester Evening News, which didn’t please Mr Hart at all. Looking back they probably were the best years in my newspaper life although I enjoyed my national newspaper days.
“Those Burnley Express years in Bull Street should never be lost from the history books of Burnley...maybe someone should write a book of those good old days in Bull Street.”

Eddy’s memories of hot metal and fountain pens at wartime Express


The printing presses have long since fallen silent and the final reporters have now filed out of Bull Street, but memories of the Burnley Express in bygone days remain imprinted in the minds of many who plied their trade in the historic newspaper office.


Sean Dyche doesn't intend to go to Chelsea and try and win with 19% possession, as against Liverpool. But if that's how things work out at Stamford Bridge, so be it!
Since Opta stats began in 2003, no team has won a Premier League game with such a small share of the ball, though the only statistic that counted against the Reds was the Clarets scoring 100% of the goals.
Dyche has long been of the opinion that pressing is the new passing, and he feels Burnley's transitions - the ability to move from defence to attack, and vice versa - will be crucial to their success in the top flight this season.
Looking back at the win over Liverpool, he said: "We have different stats, ours was 28% possession, but the main stat is the scoreline.
"The difference is teams are now playing more football away from the goal, a lot of possession and not always looking to penetrate, or trying to penetrate by keeping the ball and making the opposition lose their shape, or come out of their shape.
"You've got to know when to press, that's the secret.
"We pressed well for the first goal, and the second with the breakaway.
"The knowledge base is when to press, and how to work on transition.
"I said three years ago transition is the future of football, not because I had a crystal ball, but I felt that was how the game was going, how quickly you can turn attack into defence, defence to attack.
"Reforming your shape to defend, breaking from your shape to attack.
"I spoke many times about that need for transition – but obviously, I’m Sean Dyche!"
https://mobile.twitter.com/mrSheqiri/status/768154010322923520/video/1
There is thought behind the pressing, not just running around closing the opposition down like headless chicken, and though Burnley choose the ideal moment to press, their running stats remain as high as ever: "Their physical stats were really strong against Liverpool. We were actually pressing, but if you come out of shape too early those top players will pick you off. Not all teams will do that to you, but some of them will because they have so much talent.
"The two boxes are where it’s all happening, because loads of teams can do well in the middle bit. I think Leicester were a shining example of that. They were superb at defending their own box and clinical at the other end."
Burnley now know they can keep a top opponent at arm's length and retain a threat, which appears an improvement on two seasons ago: "That’s learning, and developing as a group. And experience of course. Some of our players are still here from the last time. We’re finding different ways to win
– we did that last season. And it’s not just about what we ask them to do. It’s about using their own game knowledge.
"Each game plays out differently, and you’ve got to be flexibly-minded. During a game is
where your trust in the players comes in, if you need to alter the shape depending on how the game’s going.
"At half time of course you can tell them what you see is happening, but it’s up to them to change things as they’re playing too. We do have some obvious tactical options, but player knowledge is an important thing and I thought they did that very well last season.
"It’s important to know how to play a game like (Liverpool). We were 2-0 up pretty early, so do you go for three, four or five, against Liverpool? I don’t think you do.
"So at half time the directive was quite clear – we defend with the right shape, the right mind, which
includes the ability to attack, particularly on the counter. And four or five times in the second half we were inches away from getting another opening.
"Each game changes, and we’ve learned that as a team, and as a staff."


Clarets boss Sean Dyche insists Andre Gray "has moved on a long way in his life" after the striker was forced to apologise for a series of historical homophobic tweets.
After Gray scored his first Premier League goal against Liverpool on Saturday, a number of offensive messages from his Twitter account were brought to light.
Gray made a statement offering an apology that night, saying: "The tweets were posted four years ago when I was a completely different person to the man I am now. I was at a very different point in my life back then - one that I've worked hard to move on from."
Dyche has spoken to the player, and is satisfied his apology was genuine and sincere: "We spoke on Saturday evening and he made it clear to me what he wanted to do, and how he wanted to conduct his statement.
"It was authentic to him and very clear.
"He has moved on a long way in his life.
"This was a reminder, four years ago, he's a different person now.
"A lot has gone on his life to get to where he's got to, and I think he made that clear.
"I think, I hope, people will realise it was authentic, because it was."
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Clarets boss Sean Dyche insists Andre Gray "has moved on a long way in his life" after the striker was forced to apologise for a series of historical homophobic tweets.


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Bill Smith has shared this lovely photo he took of The Atom in Wycoller.


Clarets boss Sean Dyche admits he may have to “shuffle his pack” to bring in the players he wants ahead of transfer deadline day.
Dyche allowed striker Rouwen Hennings to return to Germany on a season-long loan on Monday, linking up with Fortuna Düsseldorf, while midfielder David Jones left for Sheffield Wednesday hours after Steven Defour arrived as the club’s record signing.
There could be more wheeling and dealing ahead of the 11 p.m. cut off point on Wednesday
Burnley have been chasing central midfield options all summer, with that area in particular in need of strengthening, and that remains the case, despite the signing of Defour, while the need for a different option up front is also pressing, with Chris Long and Daniel Agyei also allowed to go out on loan over the past fortnight.
Ashley Barnes is close to fitness after a hamstring problem suffered in pre-season, and young forward Ntumba Massanka made the bench in the 1-0 EFL Cup defeat at Accrington Stanley on Wednesday night.
I understand a move to Patrick Bamford, of tomorrow’s Premier League opponents Chelsea, is an option, though speculation linking former Claret Jay Rodriguez with a loan move is wide of the mark – and, in any case, a loan fee and his wages would be prohibitive. Hull City appears his likely destination.
Dyche said:”There’s plans to bring people in, whether it’s a forward or other areas.
“We want to bring as much strength as we can into the building.
“We’re fractionally closer (to bringing players in).
“The desire to strengthen is all over the pitch, wherever we can.
“We’re not in a position to cherry pick, we have to work in the market the best we can, and if that means shuffling our pack, then we’ll have to do that. But we are active in the market, we want depth, but not too many - some squads are huge and they narrow it down to the 25, but we want a real tight-knit group who can perform and push each other.”
And he explained the decision to allow Hennings to move on: “I thought Rouwen’s chances of playing this year were limited, and at his age, he needs to be playing football.
“He hadn’t featured a lot in pre-season, into the season, so we wish him well.
“A very good professional, but he wants to play.
“Juke is back fit and going well, Barnesy is on the cusp of fitness, and we like the group. Longy has also gone out but he’s a different one, a cross between first team and development.
“Dan Agyei as well, a young man earning his spurs.”
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Clarets boss Sean Dyche admits he may have to “shuffle his pack” to bring in the players he wants ahead of transfer deadline day.


Clarets boss Dyche could shuffle pack before deadline


Andre Gray admitted he always believed he could score goals at Premier League level after getting off the mark against Liverpool.
Just over two years ago, Gray was in non-league, playing in the Conference with Luton Town.
The 25-year-old’s rise has been likened to Jamie Vardy, and, having netted 25 goals to help the Clarets to the Championship title last season, Gray found the net in only his second outing in the top flight.
Some of the gloss was taken off his achievement after a series of homophobic tweets from 2012 surfaced later that night, but he said: “I always felt I could score at this level.
“I only got a couple of half chances last week, but it felt good to open my account against a really good side.
“I know we’ll make chances and it’s just a question of showing the right composure.
“I enjoyed the goal, but I think if this had been a Championship game I might have expected to come away with a hat-trick.
“I’ve just got to believe in myself.
“There were a couple of times when I probably tried to take an extra touch instead of carrying on driving, but it’s part of the learning curve.”
Gray left the ground with Liverpool and England striker Daniel Sturridge’s shirt, and he smiled: “Yeah, it’s been a big day. He’s someone I’ve watched at this level for a few years and it’s still a bit surreal to be playing against guys like that week in week out.
“But we showed that if we’re prepared to work really hard we can have an impact as long as we take every chance that comes.
“We had a great run last season but we come into every game as underdogs now and we have to give 150%.”
While Gray is up and running, the Clarets claimed ther first win in style, having had to wait 10 games two seasons ago at this level: “For me, getting off the mark in the Premier League is a massive achievement. We got off to a great start – we had a game plan from watching tapes of them throughout the week where they play it out from the back.
“We tried to cut that out and I thought we managed to do that quite well.
“The first goal was a bit of dog eat dog. That pressing game is how they play, and we tend to play quite similar.
“It was just a question of who could do it better, and I guess it was us.
“It was massive for us to get that first win so early.
“I felt we deserved something last week, and when you look at this fixture you think it’s not the easiest game to bounce back from a defeat against Swansea.
“But I think we proved we are ready for this league.
“It doesn’t get any easier – we’ve got Chelsea next week, and we know how tough it is going to be.
“It will be like that all season. But we’ve got a lot of heart and desire to do well and stay in this league.
“The win takes a bit of pressure off us because the lads took quite a while to get the first win last time they were in this league.”

Confident Gray delighted to get first Premier goal


Andre Gray admitted he always believed he could score goals at Premier League level after getting off the mark against Liverpool.


We’ve teamed up with Nickelodeon to give you the chance to attend the first-ever UK SLIMEFEST in Blackpool on Saturday September 3rd.
Featuring performances from Alesha Dixon, Conor Maynard, Diversity, The Tide and appearances from Nickelodeon stars Jack Griffo and Kira Kosarin, it’s set to be the slimiest music concert of the Summer.
Slimefest 2016
We’re giving away a VIP family prize package which includes:
4 x General Admission Switch On wristbands on Friday 2nd September 2016
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4 x Wristbands for Blackpool Pleasure Beach for Saturday 3rd September 2016
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1 x Apple iPad mini 2 7.9” 16gb
Or if you want to guarantee your ticket to the coolest kids’ event of the year, we have an exclusive 2for1 SLIMEFEST ticket offer for you. Just visit nick.co.uk/slimefest and enter FEST02 to get your exclusive 2for1 discount.
All you have to do to have the chance to win this fantastic prize is answer the following question:
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Email your answer with Slimefest in the subject field, adding your name, address and daytime telephone number to competitions@lep.co.uk to arrive by midnight August 31st. Standard competition rules apply, entries merged across JP north west titles.
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We’ve teamed up with Nickelodeon to give you the chance to attend the first-ever UK SLIMEFEST in Blackpool on Saturday  September 3rd.


Win tickets to Nickelodeon's Slimefest and Illuminations Switch On


The carpet of litter to Finsley Gate Wharf is shrouded in vegetation. As artist Stephen Turner said, nature is “reclaiming” the area. Perhaps we should too.
But instead of seeking to control and transcend nature, Stephen’s work with The Exbury Egg and Super Slow Way is reconnecting people to both the area and each other, as well as helping us to find our place beside it as an equal, not a usurper.
CANALSIDE: Children exploring The Exbury Egg, taken by Samantha Walsh. (s)
Eco-friendly
Stephen once lived in this egg, floating along the canal.
Now it’s anchored in the old boatyard of Finsley Gate Wharf, set against musty cottages and slabs of concrete. But then there is a froth of green: trees and plants spilling over.
A registered boat, it’s entirely eco-friendly. It has a bed, a shower, a heater and a paraffin stove. Life in this house is governed by nature: having no electricity, Stephen woke and slept according to the rolls of the sun.
Stephen Turner making quills out of feathers, taken by Samantha Walsh. (s)
It may have been stripped-back but the man’s talent and foresight are anything but. Pieces of wood drifting along the canal have been melded into a chair; ash from the stove amassed into drawing pastels; acorns boiled down into ink; and blackberries have been mushed into dye. In fact, the entire egg is made of recycled material.
“It’s about,” Stephen said, “getting over the idea of ‘waste.’ When you welcome people and help them to feel like a place is theirs, they start to care about it - and they take responsibility.”
Oneness
Everything is connected, he believes - and equal too.
EXBURY EGG: One of Stephen Turner's pupils in fishing, taken by Samantha Walsh. (s)
“There is beauty here,” he said. “It’s a matter of thinking positively.”
Stephen pointed to around 20 plastic bags, which could entangle birds, on the canal.
“No other species has the capacity to harm like we do. And we do it thoughtlessly”.
Believing it vital to understand the role of all things, he’s been teaching residents to fish - even maggots are essential.
EXBURY EGG: Fishing lessons on the canal, taken by Samantha Walsh. (s)
“We’re on a level with everything else but the problem is we think we’re above it. We use and abuse for short-term interests but this creates more problems.”
It’s why he hosted a “nature safari” examining the site’s common wildlife.
“Life’s not all about the rare and the special,” Stephen added.
It’s something we can apply to our relationships, to the habit of putting people in “leagues” determined by random things we’re born with like wealth, intelligence and beauty.
Resident reception
“People have shown they care about the area and want to pass information on. They wouldn’t let us cancel our night-watch despite the bad weather.
EXBURY EGG: One of Stephen Turner's pupils in fishing, taken by Samantha Walsh. (s)
“Traditions could be made here, creating a cycle of connecting.”
Ruth Shorrock, Community Coordinator for Super Slow Way, said: “Residents know the site’s history. They’re taking their ownership back and setting the seeds of connection.
“And when the families were fishing, youngsters were happy to do it for hours.”
It’s removed from the stereotype of society: people hunched over their mobiles; hours spent surfing the web; families eating in separate rooms.
As Ruth added, “We’re not geared up to live the way we do.”
Lessons in mindfulness
Super Slow Way works to refresh people’s attitude to fast-paced living.
“As a society,” Stephen said, “we want to do everything quickly, have a short attention span and make things shallow.
“We have short-term thinking but if we took things more slowly, we’d be able to understand them better. Thinking ahead is a way to slow down and make things that last”.
“We could then invest them with greater meaning. After I’d made the ink I began writing letters to offer something personal, a one-off. The time spent gives them more presence.”
There’s also the benefits to one’s mental health. The instantaneousness of Facebook connects strangers from all walks of life and technology frees up time for passions; but the “more, more, more” mind-frame that often comes with them can lead to obsessions, dissatisfaction and unhealthy competition.
Life is a matter of balance, taking “the best of the new”, Stephen said, and mixing it “with the best of the old.”
Instant access can boil up addictions: a need to be forever admired, in control or front-running. We care about the glossy print, forgetting the joy of writing our stories.
Nature’s cycles remind us life carries on. It withers and regrows after fruition - yet we limit ourselves by living like the fruit is the be-all-and-end-all.
Nature transcends our control, presenting uncertainty. It teaches us to move with life, not against it; and to see the bigger picture.
“When we connect to it,” Stephen said, “we learn to enjoy the uncertainty of life - it becomes a thrill.”
Events
Tonight: moth-watch, 9pm - midnight; Thursday, 5-30 - 6-30pm: open meeting. Monday, 11am: blackberry pick (meet in the boatyard) to make jam for an auction raising money for Burnley Wood Community Centre. Sunday, October 16th: full-moon viewing with food and haiku-writing; binoculars provided. Daily, 5 - 6pm: egg open to the public.
Book on the moth-watch at Burnley Wood Community Centre. Spaces are limited.
For more details visit www.superslowway.org.uk
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The carpet of litter to Finsley Gate Wharf is shrouded in vegetation. As artist Stephen Turner said, nature is “reclaiming” the area. Perhaps we should too.


The Exbury Egg is teaching us to reclaim peace through nature


John Binns has sent this photo he took from the Weaver


Here is a list of highly rated coffee shops in the county.
Dahlia's Kitchen, Blackpool
Woodchats
Dahlia’s Kitchen, in Cropper Road, is a coffee shop, ice cream parlour, licenced restaurant and farm shop all rolled into one.
It has a big range of home made cakes, snacks and local produce. It also provides outside catering for weddings, birthdays and corporate events.
Dahlia’s is renowned for its themed entertainment evenings, where diners can enjoy a three-course meal.
There is outdoor seating and a small play area for the children.
Open seven days a week.
Woodchats Coffee Shop, Chorley
Located in Clifford Street, Woodchats Coffee Shop is a popular haunt, with a large selection of home made cakes, soups, sandwiches and snacks.
It also sells unique home made gifts and provides outside catering for parties and events.
Exchange Coffee Company, Clitheroe and Blackburn
Exchange Coffee Company is a coffee roaster and tea merchant, with branches in Clitheroe and Blackburn, in Lancashire, as well as Skipton and Todmorden in Yorkshire.
It has a wholesale roasting warehouse in Blackburn, supplying coffees, teas and all associated products across the country.
The coffee shops also have a daily specials menu, serving hot and cold food. Other drinks on offer include milkshakes and juices.
The company also sells homewares and quirky gifts.
The View, Morecambe
The View, in Marine Road Central, is a cafe with a musical twist. It has a cult following for music enthusiasts, as diners can enjoy a cup of coffee and snacks, whilst browsing through its eclectic range of vintage records, CDs and vinyls.
It also stocks a variety of memorabilia, including clothes, retro gifts and souvenirs.
Not forgetting its status as a cafe and coffee shop, it also has a changing daily specials menu, as well as hot drinks and soft beverages.
How The Other Half Live, Preston
Moved from its original location in Blackpool Road to Winckley Street, Preston, How the Other Half Live is a small coffee shop with a boutique gift store.
The shop has a small selection of coffee and cakes on offer whilst customers browse around the shop.


Here is a list of highly rated coffee shops in the county.


Burnley are set to smash their club record transfer, with Derby County midfielder Jeff Hendrick currently undergoing a medical.
The 24-year-old flew in from Ireland last night, where he has been on international duty with Martin O'Neill's Republic squad, and is going through a two-part medical before flying back to Ireland for their friendly with Oman tonight.
A deal worth £10m-plus tops the £7.4m paid to Anderlecht for Steven Defour two weeks ago and tops the £7m Leeds United paid Derby for Seth Johnson.
Hendrick becomes the fifth most expensive Irishman in history.
The paperwork is all sorted and once the results of his medical are in, everything will be lodged and the deal done before the 11 p.m. deadline tonight.
* Like our new Burnley FC dedicated Facebook page for all the latest news and happenings from Turf Moor *
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Burnley are set to smash their club record transfer, with Derby County midfielder Jeff Hendrick currently undergoing a medical.


It was only appropriate that I rocked up to Manchester’s Opera House on a classic English sunny afternoon, the city almost horizontal in the longed-for heat.
Within sight of the theatre was mayhem as theatre-goers and a smattering of celebrities packed into the press night showing of multiple Olivier award-winning Sunny Afternoon, the latest musical to land in the city and one with a buzz we haven’t seen in a while.
This is a very British musical, but is much more than a showcase for 60s legends The Kinks and a celebration of Britishness, it is a reminder of how stupendous their musical, societal and political legacy actually is - and what’s more it’s a great night out.
If you think you are not really a fan of the Kinks, you probably are really.
The band’s raw, powerful and riotous sounds and lyrics are the backdrop to more than one generation and though germinated in the 60s moved across the 70s, 80s, 90s and are just as resonant now.
This genius of this production, already a hit in London and now on tour, is that Kinks frontman Ray Davies and his team, who created the story, have sought out some extraordinarily talented musicians to recreate that authentic Kinks sounds and tell the tale of the band’s explosion on to the music scene.
The cast play and sing their own music with remarkable power, with only a few supporting musicians on stage.
Hits such as ‘You’ve really got me’, ‘Dedicated follower of fashion’, ‘Waterloo Sunset’ and the eponymous ‘Sunny Afternoon’ are belted out by the remarkable former Jethro Tull band member Ryan O’Donnell (as Ray Davies) Mark Newnham (Dave Davies), Garmon Rhys (bassist Pete Quaife) and Andrew Gall (as drummer Mick Avory), with the support of a small powerful cast with a special mention for talented Lisa Wright, as Ray’s wife Rasa.
It’s also easy to forget Davies penned tunes for other artists and elements of this discography are included in this show, namely ‘Stop your sobbing’ and ‘I go to sleep’ which were both recorded by Davies’ one time squeeze Chrissie Hynde (of Pretenders fame).
Also on the playlist is my favourite ‘Lola’ which has been recorded since by multiple artists - it is also a little known fact that Davies had to alter the song from Coca Cola to Cherry Cola in the British version of the song to appease the staid BBC re a commercial reference.
The scene where the band stab holes in their amplifiers to crate their unique sounds, explains why it is quite so loud.
Signs stuck to theatre walls to warn of this fact in advance.
But the show starts low-key as it introduces the Davies brothers and their family and the early development of The Kinks, the storylines focusing on emotional highs and lows with the constant battle between artists and management.
More importantly it chronicles the socialist-leaning Kinks v. the system, their battles with the taxman and the rude and unfair realities of the music business and 60s exploitative business in general.
It was also fantastic to see the man himself Ray Davies not just in attendance on this special night but making an appearance on stage with his guitar at the age of 72. A real honour to be there.
A fantastic and entertaining night exploring the euphoric highs and lows of a band and of Britain in the grip of rapid change. It resonates and not just amongst the Kinks’ most loyal fan base.
As I made my way out of the historic theatre, I could hear a deep choral bass emanating from the confines of the men’s bathroom, which was quickly accompanied by a sing along from the queue.
I will now be humming it ‘All day and all of the night’..
*Runs until August 27

Review: Sunny Afternoon at Manchester Opera House


It was only appropriate that I rocked up to Manchester’s Opera House on a classic English sunny afternoon, the city almost horizontal in the longed-for heat.


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Chelsea are the hosts as the Clarets look to record their first league victory at Stamford Bridge since 1971.


Trapped in a marriage to an abusive, violent police officer, battered wife Joanna West has no one to turn to… until a stranger offering help walks into her life.
For the first time in years, Joanna and her young daughter have the chance to flee, but can you ever really escape from a brutal, vengeful husband?
Moved and inspired by the testaments of abused wives, former journalist Tamara Dietrich tackles the scourge of domestic violence head on in a highly original and powerfully imagined debut novel which melds menace with paranormal magic.
The Hummingbird’s Cage, a hard-hitting, page-turning thriller with an intriguingly soft middle, almost defies genre as Dietrich weaves seamlessly between gut-wrenching cruelty and spiritual sublimity in a tale of hope, despair and redemption.
Everyone in Wheeler, New Mexico, thinks that Joanna West leads the perfect life. She is married to Jim, the dashing deputy sheriff of McGill County, and has a beautiful seven-year-old daughter, Laurel.
But the truth is that Joanna is married to a monster who regularly beats her, subjects her to verbal and mental abuse and has isolated her from the people who live around her. Once upon a time she would have challenged him but now every time Joanna cries, ‘more of me washes away.’
Ten years ago, Joanna was swept off her feet by handsome Jim, her head turned by his uniform and ‘bad-boy grin’ but now she is trapped in a violent marriage and, with a young child to care for, escape seems impossible.
But then Bernadette, Jim’s feisty biker chick ex-girlfriend, turns up with an escape route. On the run, Joanna and Laurel stumble upon Morro, a charming and magical village that seems to exist out of time and place.
Farmer Olin Farnsworth and his wife Jessie offer her sanctuary and soon, between the comfort of her new home and blossoming friendships, Joanna’s soul begins to heal, easing the wounds of a decade of abuse.
But her past – and her husband – aren’t so easy to escape. Unwilling to live in fear any longer, Joanna must summon a strength she never knew she had to fight back and forge a new life for her daughter and herself....
Dietrich delivers a clever and compelling first novel, conjuring up a mysterious but idyllic town suspended somewhere between reality and fantasy, and juxtaposing this haven of peace with the terrifying threats that lie behind and beyond.
To read The Hummingbird’s Cage is to experience high emotion and high drama and to understand the visceral realities of domestic violence, but there is also the opportunity to marvel at the power of love and hope, and to rejoice at the human capacity to reach out and find redemption.
A heartbreaking tale written with insight, beauty and honesty…
(Orion, paperback, £7.99)

Book review: The Hummingbird’s Cage by Tamara Dietrich


Trapped in a marriage to an abusive, violent police officer, battered wife Joanna West has no one to turn to… until a stranger offering help walks into her life.


Police chiefs in Lancashire have launched a drive to recruit more trained armed officers to respond to serious incidents.
The constabulary has advertised vacancies for a number of Armed Response Vehicle officers.
Trained officers from other forces throughout England and Wales have been invited to apply.
Last month, it was reported that 1,500 more armed officers are to be deployed on Britain’s streets, following the extremist attacks in Paris and Nice earlier this year.
Eighty-four people died when a lorry was driven into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice in July.
Already, 600 new armed officers have been trained by the country’s biggest force, London’s Metropolitan Police, to tackle the terror threat. The officers were introduced in the capital earlier this month.
A Lancashire police spokesman said: “We constantly review intelligence to assess what the threat is to Lancashire and to ensure that we have adequate firearms coverage so that we are able to quickly respond to any part of the county in order to mitigate that threat.”
Lancashire has its own specialised firearms unit based at locations around the county.
In the past, the force has at any one time had nine armed officers on patrol.
The standard issue weapon is the Glock SLP while officers are also armed with the Heckler and Koch G36 carbine.
Tasers are carried by armed response officers, as well as officers from the operations support unit and appropriately trained local officers.
Successful applicants must hold a firearms fitness test certificate and a firearms medical certificate alongside other qualifications.
The Police Federation of England and Wales raised concerns about the time it would take to recruit 1,500 new armed officers.
Steve White, chairman of the Federation, warned it may take up to two years.
He said: “When you’re recruiting 1,500 it’s going to take a lot of time. You’ve got to find the resources, the facilities and the people.”
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Police chiefs in Lancashire have launched a drive to recruit more trained armed officers to respond to serious incidents.


Burnley have completed the signing of Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford on a season-long loan.
The 22-year-old signs at Turf Moor following a temporary spell with Norwich City last season, where he made seven appearances.
Prior to that, he also spent a brief period on loan at Crystal Palace where he made six Premier League appearances for the Eagles.
In the 2014/15 campaign, Bamford scored 17 times in 38 Sky Bet Championship games and went on to be named the divisional Player of the Year.
That season included a notable strike against Manchester City for the highly-rated forward as Boro won 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup.
Born in Nottingham, the former Forest academy man has represented England up to U21 level and narrowly missed out on Gareth Southgate’s 2015 European Championship squad through injury.
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Burnley have completed the signing of Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford on a season-long loan.


Bamford signs for Clarets on season-long loan


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Ticketing arrangements for Clarets’ Premier League fixture against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium have today been confirmed.


As the pound continues to go in the dollars favour 42% of Americans say they are more likely to visit the UK for a holiday, according to new data* from Hotels.com™.
London topped the list of destinations Americans would most like to visit (88%), with Cambridge (41%) and Liverpool (39%) closely vying for second place for statesiders looking for a cultural fix. The unexpected winner, however, was Grimsby with more respondents keen on visiting the northern fishing town than the majestic Snowdonia.
The Royal Family still has huge appeal for visitors from the States with Buckingham Palace the attraction they'd most like to visit (76%) with the home of the crown jewels (the Tower of London, 65%) and royal wedding venue, Westminster Abbey, (52%) also in the top five attractions. Finishing off the royal fever, Kate Middleton was the number one celebrity Americans would most like to meet, closely followed by Her Majesty the Queen. In a girl power worthy line up, the top five famous faces respondents would most like to meet were all women:
1.Kate Middleton (46%)
2.The Queen (45%)
3.JK Rowling (31%)
4.Adele (30%)
5.Kate Winslet (27%)
It seems Britain's culinary kudos isn't as poor as it once was with 68% of Americans keen to try the cornerstone British cuisine – the humble fish and chips. However, sweet treats rounded out the top five with apple crumble (44%), cream tea (43%) and a traditional afternoon tea (39%) just behind a full English (48%).
When quizzed on their perceptions of Britain as a nation many stereotypes rung true with a third of Americans believing Brits loved their pubs and that it always rains (only during a great British summer of course). Yet it seems Americans love our chit chat, as almost three quarters state their favourite thing about Brits is our accents and over a third love our sense of humour.
Simon Matthews, Senior PR Manager of Hotels.com Brand comments, “The fact that some Americans want to visit Grimsby on their next trip proves they must be really savvy about where to get the best British grub, as we all know Grimsby is famous for its Fish and Chips! The rising interest from our American cousins is likely more to do with the strong dollar than the draw of our culinary delights, however it would be a welcome boom for the UK travel industry.”
*2,000 adults from the U.S. were polled by One Poll, commissioned by Hotels.com in July 2016

Americans flock to the UK thanks to Kate Middleton and Fish & Chips


As the pound continues to go in the dollars favour 42% of Americans say they are more likely to visit the UK for a holiday, according to new data* from Hotels.com™.


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2006 Sencholai massacre victims commemorated in Jaffna


Nashik Road: Six railway trains will be run from newly constructed platform no. 4 at Nashik Road railway station from September 10. Member of railway advisory committee Raj Phokne followed up the matter regularly with MP Hemant Godse for platform no. 4 to be put into use.
MP Godse contacted railway administration and demanded that the new platform, which was constructed during Simhastha Kumbh Mela, be put to use.
Kamayani express, Howrah express, Tadoba express, Varanasi express, Darbhanga express and four other express trains will be run from this platform from September 10.


click image Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious Follow
click image Victor
click image cigarette
Thehas disqualified two proposed November ballot initiatives aimed at reining in the oil and gas industry.In addition to not having enough valid signatures to qualify, one of the measures, Initiative 78, contained several “potentially forged signatures,” according to the Secretary of State’s Office. The questionable petitions have been sent to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for further investigation.All of this year’s citizen-driven ballot measures need 98,492 valid signatures from voters to qualify for the ballot.Initiative 75 aimed to give local governments the authority to regulate oil and gas development, a power largely reserved to the state currently. Initiative 78 would have created mandatory setbacks for oil and gas development of 2,500 feet from occupied structures or “areas of special concern.”The backers of the two failed initiatives have 30 days from the date of rejection of their petitions to appeal the decision in Denver District Court.The other seven citizen-driven initiatives that turned in petitions were approved for the November ballot. They are:- ColoradoCare would amend the state Constitution to bring a tax-funded health insurance system to Colorado. Everyone not already covered under federal insurance like Medicare would be eligible for coverage, which would include copays for certain services but no deductibles. ColoradoCare would replace private insurance for Coloradans, though those who still want to purchase private insurance (while also paying the tax), would be free to do so. An independent analysis by Colorado Health Institute estimates that ColoradoCare would bring in $36 billion in its first year and cover 4.4 million people . It would be run by a board of directors and would likely go into effect in 2019, after a preliminary period where it would charge a tax of .09 percent. When running, it would be funded mainly by a 10 percent income tax, two-thirds of which would be paid by employers, and one-third of which would be paid by employees. The self-employed would pay the full 10 percent tax.Additionally, ColoradoCare would seek waivers to gain access to federal and state funds that currently flow into the health care system, including Medicaid dollars. There has been widespread bickering over the impacts of Amendment 69, with conservative leaders — and many liberals as well — opposing the ballot question — This Constitutional amendment would raise the minimum wage from $8.31 an hour to $12 by 2020.— As the title suggests, this change to the Colorado Revised Statutes would allow a terminally ill, mentally-competent adult to obtain a life-ending prescription. The patient would need to be within six months of death, and would self-administer the lethal dose. There are protections written into the law to ensure the patient is mentally sound, and is freely choosing to die.— Interestingly, this Constitutional amendment aims to make it harder to amend the Constitution in the future. First, it would require more signatures to place a measure on the ballot, setting that figure at “at least two percent of the registered electors who reside in each state senate district for the amendment to be placed on the ballot.”Once on the ballot, the amendment would need to be approved by 55 percent of the votes cast rather than a simple majority.— Try not to get confused by these two initiatives aimed at changing the Colorado Revised Statutes. Initiative 98 would allow unaffiliated voters to vote in a primary without joining a political party. However, the initiative gives political parties a loophole that would still allow them to exclude unaffiliated voters. The parties would be able to forgo a primary election and select all their candidates through an assembly or convention, so long as 75 percent of the party’s state central committee agreed to the move.Initiative 140, on the other hand, would create a primary election for presidential candidates in Colorado, to be held before the end of March. Unaffiliated voters could participate in the election.— Initiative 143 would amend the state Constitution to triple the taxes on a pack of cigarettes (taxes would go from 84 cents per pack to $2.59 per pack). Taxes on other tobacco would increase 22 percent. The money collected by the taxes would be used for a variety of programs including smoking cessation, medical research, mental health funding and other causes.

Seven initiatives make state ballot, two fail


The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office has disqualified two proposed November ballot initiatives aimed at reining in the oil and gas industry. In addition to not...