MARTYN MOXON believes the pain of Yorkshire’s defeat in the final of the 2012 T20 competition can help spur them on to go one better this time.
Yorkshire lost by 10 runs to Hampshire in the final at Cardiff on their only previous appearance at Finals Day.
Yorkshire's Azeem Rafiq
They have waited a long time to erase the memory of that setback, and director of cricket Moxon feels it will drive the players on at Edgbaston today.
“It was tough losing that final, and it whetted the appetite to try and win the tournament in the future,” said Moxon.
READ MORE - David Willey is aiming to give Yorkshire the edge
READ MORE - Lyth’s knock the spark for Yorkshire’s white-ball momentum, says Lees
READ MORE - Andrew Gale: Lord’s showdown is looming and we’re really beginning to hit our straps
READ MORE - Chris Waters: Leg-spinner Adil Rashid in danger of becoming a wasted talent
“Clearly it’s taken longer than we would have liked to get back there, and I think it’s a great opportunity for us, given the team that we’ve got on paper, to go one step further and hopefully win the competition.
“With our England players available, we’ve got a very good team, but clearly it’s about what happens on the day.
“T20, in particular, is all about how you perform on the day, and there’s four good teams involved, each of which is capable of winning it.”
Yorkshire take on Durham in the second semi-final at 2.30pm. Notts and Northants meet in the first semi at 11am, with the final taking place at 6.45pm.
“Durham are a very good team,” said Moxon.
“They’ve got match-winners in the likes of Ben Stokes and Mark Wood.
“We’ve got to be at our very best and, if we are, we can certainly beat them and hopefully go all the way and win the thing.
“The T20 is something we haven’t won before, so it’s important to us, and it would be nice to get that monkey off our backs.”
That Yorkshire even have a chance of erasing the memory of 2012 is a minor miracle given that they were bottom of the North Group at the halfway stage.
Yorkshire won only one of their opening seven games before winning six of their last seven to reach the quarter-finals.
“T20 is all about finding a method and I think that we’ve found it,” said Moxon.
“It’s taken hard work and, to a certain extent, failure for us to find it, because clearly the things that we were doing at the start of the competition weren’t working.
“From a batting point of view, we’ve worked on the areas in which we’re trying to strike the ball. They’re much better areas now.
“We’d found ourselves getting into trouble by playing too square of the wicket, so, as a consequence, we are hitting the ball a lot straighter now.
“It’s probably taken too long to change and rectify, but that’s been the biggest thing as far as the batting is concerned.
“Bowling-wise, having the skills that are required, the change-ups, and having the ability to bowl the change-ups (different deliveries) that are needed at various times in the innings, we’ve got better at that as well.
“As for our fielding, I think that’s been outstanding generally.”
Moxon was particularly pleased with Yorkshire’s fielding when Glamorgan were clinically beaten by 90 runs in the quarter-final in Cardiff.
David Willey laid the platform with a swashbuckling 79, proving again why Yorkshire were so keen to sign him last winter to improve their white-ball cricket, and the bowlers did the rest in a fine team performance.
“We brought our A-game to the quarter-final,” said Moxon.
“We were outstanding in the field, as good as you can get, and the ruthless way we went about our business was superb.
“David Willey set the tone with the bat, and we signed him precisely because we wanted to improve our one-day form immediately.
“Long-term he can have an impact in red-ball cricket too, but he’s made a big difference to our T20 side.”
Another player who has made a big difference is Azeem Rafiq, the off-spinner who returned to the club in mid-season after almost two years out of the professional game.
It is no coincidence that Yorkshire’s T20 resurgence can be traced back to Rafiq’s arrival.
“It has been a team effort to get to Finals Day, but Rafiq has done exceptionally well and he’s a great competitor,” said Moxon.
“He creates a buzz in the field as well as bringing his bowling skill, and he’s been a big factor in our improvement.
“Bottom line is, we’ve worked really hard to try to find the right method in T20.
“There’s been a lot of frustrations along the way, a lot of disappointments, and hopefully the lads can get some silverware now to show for their hard work.”
Twenty20 Finals Day build-up: Page 7

T20 Finals Day: Yorkshire inspired by their past failures


MARTYN MOXON believes the pain of Yorkshire’s defeat in the final of the 2012 T20 competition can help spur them on to go one better this time.


TWENTY-four hours after announcing that he had been ruled out of the one-day series against Pakistan through injury, England yesterday announced that David Willey, the Yorkshire all-rounder, is to rejoin the national squad after all.
In a statement on Sunday, the England and Wales Cricket Board said that an X-ray to Willey’s left hand, his bowling hand, had “not excluded a significant injury”, casting doubt on his participation for the rest of the season considering that the summer has only a month or so to run.
But a second scan yesterday revealed that there is no fracture to the hand that Willey injured when he was struck by a fierce return drive from Mark Stoneman, the Durham batsman, during NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday.
It is now being suggested that Willey could even feature in the second one-day international at Lord’s on Saturday, with the five-match series starting in Southampton tomorrow.
Jake Ball, the Nottinghamshire seamer who was called up to replace Willey, will stay with the national squad and therefore be unavailable for the County Championship game against Yorkshire at Scarborough, which starts this morning.
Stuart Broad, the England pace bowler, has also been withdrawn from Notts’ squad for the fixture at North Marine Road pending a scan on his left ankle.
Both second-placed Yorkshire and bottom club Notts are depleted due to injuries and international calls as they each look to bounce back from losing in the T20 semi-finals.
Alex Lees, the Yorkshire one-day captain, said that there was no time to dwell on that setback as the county champions seek a win that would significantly strengthen their hopes of a hat-trick of titles.
“We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves because there’s some big games coming up in the next five or six weeks, starting with Notts,” said Lees.
“It’s a massive game against a team who have struggled for form this year, and if we can play our brand of cricket, I’m sure that we’ll put pressure on them over the four days.”
Lees said Yorkshire are relishing the chance to get Saturday’s disappointment out of their system.
“The opportunity to get back up and running in a different competition with a win, and so soon after the disappointment of Saturday, is a great incentive,” he said. “We need to show the character that this group has become renowned for in recent years.”

Second scan clears Willey for action as Yorkshire get ready for Notts


TWENTY-four hours after announcing that he had been ruled out of the one-day series against Pakistan through injury, England yesterday announced that David Willey, the Yorkshire all-rounder, is to rejoin the national squad after all.


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
4 x Tickets for the 11am SLIMEFEST concert on Saturday 3rd September 2016
4 x Wristbands for Blackpool Pleasure Beach for Saturday 3rd September 2016
2 x Exclusive official SLIMEFEST Hype® Bag (kids only)
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:
Q: Which Britain’s Got Talent judge is performing at Nickelodeon’s SLIMEFEST?
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


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.


Meet a witch on a dangerous mission, a fabulous fantasy queen and a cast of colourful picture book stars in a glittering array of new titles from Macmillan Children’s Books.
Age 9 plus:
Fire Witch by Matt Ralphs
English history, thrilling adventure and a bewitching heroine…
Matt Ralphs is back with Fire Witch, the red-hot sequel to Fire Girl, and our fiery, fearless witch Hazel must gather her wits and steel her nerves to join her enemies and try to save her mother.
Packed with intrigue, danger, nail-biting tension and flashes of rib-tickling humour, these page-turning stories featuring an extraordinary girl are addictive reading for young fans of fantasy, drama and… witches!
The Civil War in England is over, Oliver Cromwell rules the land and a new battle is raging… between the people and the witches. Twelve-year-old HazelHooper is no ordinary girl. She is a Fire Witch, she can wield and manipulate flame and she is getting stronger all the time. But she is also angry because her mother Hecate had to sacrifice herself to the demon world in order to stop a demonic invasion. Hazel must fight on alone and she is determined to get her back, whatever the cost.
Her only chance to find Hecate is to seek advice from brilliant demonologist Nicolas Murrell, the Order of Witch Hunters’ most prized prisoner, and the man who summoned the demon responsible for Hecate’s fate. With only Bramley, her grumpy dormouse familiar for company, Hazel must disguise herself as a boy and infiltrate the black heart of the Order of Witch Hunters to speak to Murrell before he is executed. But can he be trusted? Will Murrell reveal to his captors that their newest apprentice is actually… a witch?
Ralphs has always been fascinated by witches, ghosts and anything that sends a shiver down his spine and this magical series is the perfect creation of his high-flying, super scary imagination.
A world of supernatural in the midst of terrifying real history…
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 10 plus:
The Hunting of the Princes by Peter F. Hamilton
Also dabbling in the wondrous world of fantasy is Peter F.Hamilton, the UK’s bestselling adult science fiction author, who was inspired to write for a younger audience by his own two children.
The Hunting of the Princes is the second book in his original and gripping Queen of Dreams trilogy which began with The Secret Throne and has all the hallmarks of a memorable modern classic.
Sprinkled with atmospheric black and white illustrations by Rohan Eason, this gorgeous fantasy series is a vivid, magical adventure featuring amazing kingdoms, daring quests and deadly menace.
Taggie Paganuzzi has had a busy year in the beautiful old market town of Stamford in Lincolnshire. Her mum was a Third Realm sorceress and now Taggie has inherited her family’s magical powers. From finding out she is the queen-to-be of a magical realm to learning to use her magic skills and discovering that the King of Night wants her dead, there have been a lot of ‘firsts.’
Assassins have been targeting royal heirs throughout the magical realms and now someone has tried to kill Taggie whilst she was cycling back to her home. Everyone thinks the King of Night’s army, the Karrak invaders, are responsible and that war is inevitable. But Taggie has found out two very interesting facts. Firstly, that the Karraks come from a cold, dark universe and cannot abide warmth and light. And secondly, that there was once a gate to this universe, now lost in the mists of time. If Taggie and her friends can find the gate, perhaps they can also stop the war? But to do that, they need to find a Karrak willing to take their side…
Hamilton conjures up a thrilling alternative world in which good must overcome evil, children are pitted against powerful enemies and a fantastic cast of amazing animal characters add to all the fun and fantasy. Don’t miss it!
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
Flying Lemurs by Zehra Hicks
This funny, reassuring story about overcoming fears and discovering hidden talents is the latest inspirational book from Macmillan’s new imprint for young children, Two Hoots.
A zingy, zany tale bursting with high-octane energy and an adorable cast of high-flying animals, this gorgeous circus-themed odyssey comes from talented author and illustrator Zehra Hicks whose speciality is telling stories through pictures.
Everyone in the lemur family is good at jumping, a talent which comes in handy as they are all circus performers. Mum is a brilliant trapeze artist, Dad’s trampoline routine is absolutely huge and Grandma’s speciality is being shot from a cannon.
Unfortunately little Lemur is not so good at jumping… in fact, he’s not even a fan of heights. He just can’t jump, no matter how hard he tries. But there are other things that Lemur is good at – throwing custard pies, skateboarding and playing the tambourine – so maybe with a bit of practice, he can become the best circus performer of them all!
Hicks ramps up the visual and verbal drama of this fun and warm-hearted story with her multi-textured illustrations, painted here by using bamboo and a bold palette of colours. Having fun, accepting life’s triumphs and disasters, and discovering the importance of family love all come under the spotlight in a sparkling and inspirational picture book.
(Two Hoots, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
More People to Love Me by Mo O’Hara and Ada Grey
Modern families come in all shapes and sizes… and sometimes they are extra super-sized!
Mo O’Hara, author of the popular My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series, delivers the perfect picture book for the step family generation in this moving story about a little girl with so many branches to her family tree that she runs out of space to draw them all.
Asked by her teacher to draw her family tree, the little girl just doesn’t know where to start. She’s got her mum and dad, her sister Cee Cee, her stepdad David and her stepmum Sharon. And then there are her mum’s new baby twins, her step brother Michael and no one must forget about Happy the tortoise. But the tree is starting to get rather crowded because there are all the grandparents to fit in as well. There’s only one thing for it, the family tree is going to have to grow!O’Hara was inspired to write by her own children’s positive experiences of being part of an extended family and felt that this was
rarely depicted in picture books. The result is a warm and moving tale about one little girl and her family that keeps on growing.
The gentle, reassuring and playful story is complemented by Ada Grey’s charming illustrations, reinforcing the message that every family is different and the bigger the family, the more people there are to love… and to love you back!
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley
Nobody’s perfect… and sometimes being imperfectly different makes you special!
Author and illustrator Jools Bentley plays with traditional expectations in this cute and clever story about a little princess who falls for the only toy in the shop that doesn’t have a name.
Princess Flo has pocket money to spend so she heads off to Fluffley’s Fine Toys, the best toy shop in town. Everybody there has been working very hard to prepare for her visit – so hard, in fact, that one of the cuddly toys has ended up as a strange mix of a hippo, panda and mouse. The shop’s owner Miss Fluffey is eager to show Princess Flo the cuddly teddies, cute kittens and perky penguins, all perfect for a royal princess. But to everyone’s horror, Princess Flo spots the strange looking toy. The part hippo, part panda and part mouse is a total and utter mistake! But Flo loves this toy being different, seeing something unique and special in the strange animal. All he needs now is a name… Hippopandamouse!
Wise, witty and wonderfully warm-hearted, the tale of The Hippopandamouse is a beautiful, big-hearted story, gorgeously illustrated and simply perfect for little princesses everywhere.
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
Prince Ribbit by Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene
Hop, skip and jump into this brilliant new picture book from top team Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene.
Well-loved fairy tale, The Frog Prince, gets a dashing, daring makeover as ever popular author Emmett and talented illustrator Bernatene put a devilishly clever twist in the not-so-handsome frog’s tail.
One day, Princess Martha and her sisters, Princess Lucinda and Princess Arabella, are listening to the story of The Frog Prince. Lucinda and Arabella love romantic tales and their happily-ever-after endings, but Martha isn’t so sure. She prefers facts to fairy tales, and likes real frogs more than enchanted ones, and besides, clever Martha knows that not everything written in books is true.
Unknown to the sisters, a clever little frog is listening to the story and it sparks a bright idea. If he can convince the gullible princesses that he is actually a prince, perhaps he could start getting some royal treatment of his own. So is Prince Ribbit really a handsome prince, or just a plain, ordinary frog?
There’s only one way to find out… pucker up princesses, it’s time for true love’s kiss!
Emmett works his own brand of fairy tale magic as he transforms a classic tale into a feast of smiles and smoochy surprises while Bernatene’s stunning and superbly detailed illustrations provide a feast of colour and fun.
A picture book that all the family can enjoy…
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
Dear Zoo Drawing and Colouring Book by Rod Campbell
Rod Campbell, creator of the classic, much-loved Dear Zoo books, has been a trusted name in early learning for over 30 years and he’s back with this inspirational first drawing and colouring book.
Dear Zoo, an ingeniously simple, lift-the-flap book with touches of gentle humour, introduces pre-school children to the wonder and variety of wild animals, and now a new generation can join in all the fun and draw their very own zoo full of amazing creatures.
There are 32 pages of drawing, colouring and doodling featuring all the animals from the original story. At the top of each page, little ones are told what to draw and given a helping hand with many of the pictures already started.
Packed full of simple activities that are perfectly pitched for pre-schoolers, the book’s large, square, extra thick pages can be peeled off the pad, stuck to walls at home or even put in a frame if they are special mini-masterpieces.
Draw bananas for the naughty monkey, give the fierce lion big sharp teeth, design a bowl for a frisky puppy or give a camel a big smile. The Dear ZooDrawing and Colouring Book is the ideal first lesson for budding young artists and dedicated toddler doodlers.
(Macmillan, paperback, £5.99)

Book reviews: History, fantasy and animal magic with Macmillan


Meet a witch on a dangerous mission, a fabulous fantasy queen and a cast of colourful picture book stars in a glittering array of new titles from Macmillan Children’s Books.


Sobering political reality trumps blood-saturated fiction in the third instalment of James DeMonaco’s horror series, set in a dystopian America which has legalised murder for 12 hours every March to sate the population’s bloodlust and reduce crime levels for the rest of the year.
The original film, released in 2013, was a guilty pleasure fusing nail-biting tension with explosions of shocking violence.
A gruesome follow-up, The Purge Anarchy, fell short of expectations and now The Purge: Election Year polls a similarly lukewarm response by attempting to skewer the American political establishment.
Unfortunately, the real-life horror show of the 2016 race for the White House - a contest dripping with bile and intolerance - is far more disturbing than anything writer-director DeMonaco can conjure on screen for his beleaguered characters as they attempt to survive another night of wanton slaughter.
A potentially delicious subplot - the influx of murder tourists, who travel to America on Purge night to commit unspeakable crimes that are forbidden in their own countries - is undernourished and goes nowhere.
Eighteen years after her entire family was slaughtered on Purge night, Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) is poised to narrowly win the 2022 Presidential election by campaigning on a promise to end the annual cull.
Her rival, Minister Edwidge Owens (Kyle Secor), is a firm believer in the Purge and has the full backing of the New Founding Fathers (NFF), the shadowy political hierarchy led by Caleb Warrens (Raymond J Barry).
These men and women in tailored suits are distressed by the possibility of Roan winning over the electorate and they plot to eliminate her.
“We are going to use this year’s Purge to do some spring cleaning gentlemen!” snarls Warrens, who masterminds a scheme to undermine the security measures put in place by the Senator’s trusted bodyguard and protector, Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo).
Meanwhile, as the 7pm siren to signal the start of the Purge approaches, hard-working shop owner Joe Dickson (Mykelti Williamson) and his assistant Marcos (Joseph Julian Soria) have an ill-fated run-in with two thieving schoolgirls (Brittany Mirabile, Juani Feliz) that they might regret when the blood-letting begins in earnest.
The Purge: Election Year is one hack ‘n’ slash too far for DeMonaco’s neat premise.
Plotting is flimsy and characters are thinly sketched, so we don’t have a strong emotional attachment to them.
Williamson provides comic relief to dissipate tension, almost putting a bullet in the head of one friend, who creeps up on him.
“Good Lord! It’s Purge night. You don’t sneak up on black people!” he shrieks.
Fans of earlier films will get their kicks from the gory set pieces but the lack of new ideas and directorial verve is palpable.
It’s time for a complete reshuffle behind the cameras.
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Sobering political reality trumps blood-saturated fiction in the third instalment of James DeMonaco’s horror series, set in a dystopian America which has legalised murder for 12 hours every March to sate the population’s bloodlust and reduce crime levels for the rest of the year.


The Purge: Election Year - One hack ‘n’ slash too far


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Which of these TV game shows would you most like to see return?


The Crystal Maze is set to return to our TV screens and that got us thinking - which other game show would you like to see back on TV?


It is never a good start for any performance when ‘technical difficulties’ delay the start, particularly for half an hour in a particularly humid, packed theatre on an August Bank holiday Monday night.
And it was clear when curtains finally came up just after 8pm, that the enforced delays had left several of the cast as well the audience a tad discombobulated.
Sister Act. Directed and Choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood
Nerves were apparent in the opening scenes but as the the cast got into their stride the audience went along for the ride, making for a memorable performance by a truly talented cast.
Alexandra Burke of X Factor fame was perfectly cast as the outrageous singer on the run Deloris van Cartier, making the role made famous by Whoopi Goldberg her own, and once again proving she has the vocal chops to shine on stage following her extremely successful run in the Bodyguard.
There is no doubt that she and the other nuns are the stars of this piece, juggling Craig Revel-Horwood’s (of Strictly fame’s) witty choreography, with some roof-raising and memorable numbers.
Sarah Goggin’s performance as Sister Mary Robert constantly drew the eye and raised the roof with her remarkable voice..
Sister Act. Directed and Choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood
But set pieces and solos by the male cast members, gave the production a depth and context that set up the exhilarating ensemble numbers.
Under Revel-Horwood’s direction, the comic acting and singing by Aaron Lee Lambert, Ricky Rojas, Sandy Grigelis, Jon Robyns andSamuel Morgan-Grahame has the audience sniggering and laughing out loud.
All the music was produced live by the cast and small band, meaning some characters were singing, dancing, acting and playing a variety of wind and string instruments. There was so much going on it was difficult to know where to look on stage ( in a good way).
If I was being super critical I would say this approach left a slight disconnect between some of the scenes, possibly due to the multi-role playing and hard-working cast being tasked with moving scenery and performing simultaneously.
But like all good productions the niggles seem to melt away as the performance progressed.
The audience were on their feet for a well-deserved standing ovation at the end as the production ended on an extremely enjoyable high note.
Sister Act is on at Manchester Palace Theatre until September 3.

REVIEW: Sister Act at Manchester Palace Theatre


It is never a good start for any performance when ‘technical difficulties’ delay the start, particularly for half an hour in a particularly humid, packed theatre on an August Bank holiday Monday night.


A LANCASHIRE car dealership is leading the way in the industry by switching staff to a four-day working week.
After a three-month trial, the after-sales department at the Chorley Group in Preston has changed its shift patterns.
It is understood this is the first dealer group to implement such radical changes and address the work-life balance.
The firm also says it improves the service for customers.
Managing director Pauline Turner said: “I believe we are the first dealer group to do this.
“Preston started a three-month trial at the beginning of June. Although staff were initially apprehensive, after one month they requested we made it permanent.”
The new shift patterns mean staff work an extra two hours a day – equating to an additional 46.5 days less a year – and benefit from a three-day break.
The shift changes will now be rolled out at Wigan with a view to rolling it out to the other dealerships in Burnley, Blackpool, and Chorley by the end of the year.
Pauline said: “This change offers a range of benefits to both the business, the staff and the customers. The longer opening hours mean it is more convenient for customers to book in their vehicles. For staff, they spend less time travelling to and from work and the reduced number of days mean they have more family time at home.”
Pauline said the changes also meant that technicians could be more productive, provide a quicker turnaround of vehicles for customers, and provide better holiday cover. There was also less congestion on site.
The change in shift patterns also enables the master technicians to be able to spend more time coaching Level 3 apprentices at the Preston dealership.
The award-winning family-run Chorley Group is one of the biggest volume Nissan dealers in Europe. Pauline was promoted to the role of Managing Director last year.
She now heads up day-to-day operations at the group, which employs 230 people across its five sites in Burnley, Preston, Chorley, Wigan and Blackpool.

Driving change at top Lancashire car group


A LANCASHIRE car dealership is leading the way in the industry by switching staff to a four-day working week.


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Firefighters in call to blazing motorcycle


A motorbike was discovered ablaze in a rear alley in Preston early on Saturday morning.


After months of rumours, Apple has all but confirmed that the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be officially unveiled on 7 September.
The tech giant has confirmed plans for a major media event in San Francisco next Wednesday where it is expected to take the wraps off the newest version of its groundbreaking mobile.
A second-generation iWatch is also expected to be revealed at the event.
Rumours around the iPhone 7’s specifications have been flying around for months. It is expected to be slimmer and lighter than the current iPhone 6S and there is a suggestion it could be waterproof.
Leaked photos also suggest it could do away completely with a headphone jack, replacing the traditional tangle of white wires with wireless Bluetooth-connected headphones.
There is also speculation that the larger 7 Plus will come with a dual-camera system.
It is likely to get a full HD 1080p edge-to-edge screen and a larger battery to keep users online for longer and address criticisms about the longevity of the iPhone 6.
Speculation about processing power has ranged from a dual-core processor like the 6S up to an unlikely hex-core but RAM is expected to remain at 2GB. Whatever the hardware, it’s likely to come with iOS 10 and the variety of functionality upgrades that brings with it.
Pricing is expected to follow Apple’s trend of keeping the cost of new handsets stable so the iPhone 7 will cost around £539 but that’s likely to come with 32GB of storage, a jump over its predecessor’s 16GB.

iPhone 7 launch date confirmed - and it’s soon


After months of rumours, Apple has all but confirmed that the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be officially unveiled on 7 September.


The English Beat - starring original songwriter and lead-singer of The Beat, Dave Wakeling - have announced their UK tour heading to 53 Degrees in Preston on Thursday September 22nd.
Dave Wakeling – the songwriter and lead-singer of The Beat - returns to the UK this September for a full UK tour, where he will be showcasing new material due for release in 2017.
The singer, songwriter and guitarist behind the biggest 1980’s 2-Tone Band, The Beat, known in the US as The English Beat, Dave Wakeling is the consummate showman, touring the world with an all-star line-up, performing all the hits of The Beat, General Public and a host of new songs.
The English Beat will play an extensive run of UK dates including shows in Liverpool, Newcastle, Cardiff, and London, and Dave’s hometown and the birthplace of many Beat lyrics and classics, Birmingham.
The band has been busy in the studio working on their first new album in 30 years, due for release in February 2017, titled ‘Here We Go Love’.
With a unique energy, pure melody, passion and politics, it’s impossible to forget the genius of UK Top 10 singles, ‘Mirror in the Bathroom’, ‘Hands Off She’s Mine’ and ‘Too Nice To Talk To’, before The Beat disbanded in 1983.
“I am very excited to be coming back to the UK to play shows and to get to introduce the songs from our upcoming new album. We have been in summer training, with shows with ub40, b52’s, culture club and train, and the band is in tip top form and ready to rock, steady!” Dave Wakeling.
SEPTEMBER TOUR DATES:
Friday 16th September – Concorde 2, Brighton
Saturday 17th September – Skabour Festival, Folkstone
Sunday 18th September – The Forum, Tunbridge Wells www.twforum.co.uk
Tuesday 20th September – Fibbers, York
Wednesday 21st September – The Magnet, Liverpool
Thursday 22nd September – 53 Degrees, Preston
Friday 23rd September – Robin 2, Wolverhampton
Saturday 24th September – The Windsor, Fife
Sunday 25th September – Volunteer Hall, Galashiels
Tuesday 27th September – Think Tank, Newcastle
Wednesday 28th September – Trades Club, Hebden Bridge http://thetradesclub.com
Thursday 29th September – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Friday 30th September – Crauford Arms, Milton Keynes
OCTOBER TOUR DATES:
Saturday 1st October – Birmingham O2 Institute, Birmingham
Monday 3rd October – Ruby Lounge, Manchester
Tuesday 4th October – Komedia, Bath
Wednesday 5th October – Rescue Room, Nottingham
Friday 7th October – The Zone Night Club, Redruth http://broadbeat.co.uk
Saturday 8th October – The Garage, London

Dave Wakeling’s The English Beat skanking their way to 53 Degrees


The English Beat - starring original songwriter and lead-singer of The Beat, Dave Wakeling - have announced their UK tour heading to 53 Degrees in Preston on Thursday September 22nd.


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.


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.


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.


Based on an article in Rolling Stone magazine and a subsequent book, War Dogs heavily dramatizes the true story of two enterprising twentysomethings, who became multi-millionaires as arms dealers to the US military.
Director Todd Phillips, mastermind of The Hangover films, and co-writer Jason Smilovic don’t let the truth get in the way of spinning an entertaining yarn.
They embellish the jaw-dropping rags-to-riches narrative with a hare-brained chase through the notorious Triangle of Death to the south of Baghdad, and some fizzing one-liners, which are used as chapter headings to bookmark each stage of the journey.
Miles Teller and Jonah Hill, who garnered numerous awards for their eye-catching work in Whiplash and The Wolf Of Wall Street respectively, are an incendiary double-act.
They clamber over various obstacles thrown in their characters’ paths and brazenly wisecrack in the face of death.
Phillips’ film opens with TV news footage from the war in Iraq in 2008.
Miles Teller as David Packouz
“I see 17,000 dollars,” explains massage therapist David Packouz (Teller). “That’s what it costs to outfit an American soldier.”
Narrating his own extraordinary story, David introduces us to his wife Iz (Ana de Armas), with whom he hopes to raise a family by selling bed sheets to local care homes.
His get-rich-quick scheme flops and David is reluctant to tell his spouse that the boxes of bedding cluttering up their apartment are not their golden ticket to a brighter future.
At this low ebb, David meets his friend Efraim Diveroli (Hill), who has discovered a website which lists contracts that the US military needs to be fulfilled.
Jonah Hill as Efraim Diveroli
“When life kicked me, I stayed down. But Efraim? He kicked back,” gushes David, who agrees to become a partner in this shadowy yet highly lucrative business.
The buddies tender for a massive munitions contract with the help of infamous dealer Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper) and underbid by 53 million dollars.
David travels to Albania to fulfil the contract, aided by his driver Bashkim (JB Blanc), who knows which palms to grease.
When David questions the morality of the business, which he keeps secret from Iz, Efraim immediately hits back.
“This isn’t about being pro-war,” he counsels David. “It’s about being pro-money.”
Bolstered by strong performances from the two leads, War Dogs is an engrossing and frequently uproarious comedy of errors.
Phillips and Smilovic’s script short changes the supporting characters: Iz exists solely to prick David’s conscience with her fleeting words of wisdom.
However, they do they craft some big laughs like when the buddies visit a weapons expo in Las Vegas and David pithily describes the event as “Comic-Con with grenades”.
War - what is it good for?
It’s very good for lining the pockets of the greedy and the enterprising.
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Based on an article in Rolling Stone magazine and a subsequent book, War Dogs heavily dramatizes the true story of two enterprising twentysomethings, who became multi-millionaires as arms dealers to the US military.


War Dogs: An engrossing and frequently uproarious comedy of errors


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.


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


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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Super Saturday: Rio 2016 day eight highlights


Watch our round-up from day eight at Rio 2016.


Here is a list of fun events coming up this weekend.
FREE AND PAID: Blackpool Illuminations Switch On and Slimefest, September 2 to 4
Dame Barbara Windsor will switch the lights on at the Tower Festival Headland on Friday, following a party led by Ashley Banjo, and dance group Diversity. Other stars include The Vamps, Fleur East, Fatman Scoop and Club MTV. Free entry by wristband only. Celebrations continue across the weekend, as Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely host Nickelodeon’s first UK Slimfest at the Empress Ballroom. Tickets, at £27.50, available from http://www.visitblackpool.com/slime. Slimfest also features a free outdoor experience including character appearances and family activities on the Tower Festival Headland.
PAID: Survival Skills and Crafty Creative, Preston, September 2 to 4
As part of Brockholes Nature Reserve’s Wild Families series, it hosts Survival Skills on Friday September 2, from 2pm until 4pm. Participants will camouflage up before heading out to follow a tracking trail and have a go at shelter building, fire lighting and cooking. Tickets are from £5. Family ticket is £18. On Saturday and Sunday, there are drop-in craft sessions from 10am until 4pm. Entry is £3.Located off M6, junction 31.
FREE AND PAID: Morecambe Vintage By the Sea Festival, September 3 and 4
A celebration of 20th century design, fashion, vehicles and entertainment on the Prom, with a flypast by a Lancaster Bomber; a Spitfire; and a Hurricane as part of an RAF Battle of Britain Memorial. There will be a Routemaster Bus Bar and vintage car show, a Vintage Roadshow, live music, wandering street performance, and workshops. Visit http://www.vintagefestival.co.uk.
FREE AND PAID: Tractor Road Run, Chipping, Sunday September 4
Families are invited to gather around Chipping to watch as an entourage of tractors drive around the village.
Tractors will set off from Green Lane Showground at 10am.
It costs £15 to enter a tractor, including a two-course lunch.
Spectators can stand and watch for free.
All money raised will go towards Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
PAID: Blackburn and East Lancs Model Railway Exhibition, September 3 and 4
A Model Railway Exhibition will be held at Hyndburn Leisure Centre, Henry Street, Accrington, from 10am until 5pm.
There will be layouts in various scales, specialist traders and demonstrators from across the UK and refreshments are available. Adult entry is £7, with children free. Parking is also free. The exhibition is organised by Blackburn and East Lancs Model Railway Society.
FREE AND PAID: Wigan 10k, September 4
Wigan’s annual 10k race, organised by charity Joining Jack, starts at 10am at the town centre. There will be live entertainment, a European Market, and a fun fair. Starsailor frontman James Walsh will close the music festival. Meanwhile, the day before, there is a Fun Run for children at Robin Park, from 11am until 5pm. Free entry. For registration times visit http://www.wiganeventsguide.com/event/wigan-fun-runs/
PAID: Proms in the Park, Wigan, Saturday September 3
Families are invited to bring a picnic and something to sit on whilst enjoying an evening with music at Mesnes Park, Wigan.
Gates open at 6pm and the musical concert starts at 7.45pm.
The event ends at 10pm.
Tickets are £10 for adults, £7 for children and concessions.
A family ticket is £28.
PAID: HAPPA Grand Open Day, Saturday September 3
Families are invited to Horse and Pony Protection Association’s annual open day extravaganza at Shores Hey Farm, off Halifax Road, Briercliffe, Burnley, from noon until 4pm.
There will be stalls, games, cake, scarecrow and produce competitions, horse riding displays and live music. There will also be handling sessions from Cooper’s Critters. Admission is £1 per person.
FREE: Parbold Street Festival, September 3 to 4
A total of 14 venues throughout the village offer a showcase in arts, education, entertainment and music, from noon on Saturday. There will be music from local bands and singers on the Big Stage by the Railway pub; a market place with more than 40 stalls; barges dressed in lights for the Festival of Light; a duck race; theatre; fairground; Kids Zone; workshops; horse demonstrations; and family fun.
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Here is a list of fun events coming up this weekend.


Top 10 things to do in Lancashire at the weekend


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.


I’ve only just got back from my summer holidays, but it seems autumn is already here. Soon we will not be able to walk along a pavement without having to battle our way through a pile of mouldy old leaves, hoping something nasty isn’t hidden beneath.
How do we know this? By watching TV. The signs the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness has arrived are there. The X Factor ‘X’ is upon us, like some civilisation-ending asteroid of hyperbole about to create a crater of mediocrity on the national psyche.
Strictly Come Dancing’s annual sequinathon is also about to start, the celebs and Ed Balls already practising their rictus grins and desperate, ‘vote for me’ hand signals.
And the main TV channels are all pushing the new series of returning favourites and hoped-for hits, all of which we are expected to embrace as televisual hot water bottles as the nights draw in.
The BBC is first out of the blocks, with August not yet over. The first of their ‘major new dramas’ – all the BBC’s new dramas are major, it seems – is One of Us (BBC1, Tuesdays, 9pm).
At first glance, this is not comforting autumn viewing. A young pair of newlyweds, expecting their first child, are murdered, the families left to deal with the emotional fallout.
Then the killer pitches up in their hometown, a remote Highland fastness, and after a conveniently wild and stormy night, ends up dead in a barn.
It’s aiming for gritty and modern, there’s snot involved when people cry – which they do, a lot, and the famously mucus-y Juliet Stevenson stars – but by the end, when we’re left with a kind of locked room mystery, no shortage of suspects, and the police on their way, it’s all got a bit Agatha Christie, and what could be more comforting than that?
Well, the Great British Bake-Off (BBC1, Wednesdays, 8pm), that’s what. If you want something warm and snuggly this autumn, climb under the John Lewis 24-tog paisley comfort blanket of the Bake-Off with Mel, Sue, Paul, Mary and the 11 remaining contestants, and don’t get out until Christmas.
Play Mel and Sue innuendo bingo, guess whose Genoese sponge will collapse and marvel at Candice’s purple lipstick.
It’s what autumn nights were made for.


I’ve only just got back from my summer holidays, but it seems autumn is already here. Soon we will not be able to walk along a pavement without having to battle our way through a pile of mouldy old leaves, hoping something nasty isn’t hidden beneath.


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.


American rapper RZA elegantly sums up the fleeting nature of fame during his cameo appearance in Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone’s musical mockumentary.
“The higher you get, the harder you fall. Ask any coconut,” sermonizes the hip-hop superstar.
These words of wisdom are aimed at sweet, yet corruptible, Conner Friel (Andy Samberg), who sells out his childhood pals to land a solo record deal and secure his moment in the social media spotlight.
Part cautionary tale, part buddy comedy, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping gleefully lampoons music documentaries, including Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, by offering a fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the life of an icon as he prepares to launch his second album.
Schaffer and Taccone festoon their tongue-in-cheek expose with real-life music industry figures, plus colourful supporting performances including Justin Timberlake as a singing chef, who juliennes carrots with pride.
Thus Simon Cowell offers his glowing assessment of Conner - “I think he’s incredible. He’s the real deal!” - and the likes of Mariah Carey, Usher, Carrie Underwood and 50 Cent wax lyrical about his impact on their careers.
Andy Samberg as Conner4Real
For the first 40 minutes, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is hysterical, but then like the preened and polished subject, the film loses its way.
Conner and childhood buddies Lawrence Dunn (Schaffer) and Owen Bouchard (Taccone) achieved considerable success as the trio The Style Boyz.
However, it was clear to everyone in the cutthroat music business that Conner was the glittering star in the firmament.
He went solo and The Style Boyz disbanded.
Lawrence turned his back on celebrity to settle on a farm in Big Timber, Colorado, while Owen remained in the background as Conner’s DJ.
Following the rousing success of Conner’s debut LP entitled Thriller, Also, a documentary film crew shadows the pop icon in the days leading up to the release of the follow-up album, ConnQuest.
Flanked by an entourage including his manager Harry Duggins (Tim Meadows), acid-tongued publicist Paula Klein (Sarah Silverman) and “a guy who kicks him in the nuts so he remembers where he came from”, Conner feebly shoulders the mounting pressure flanked by actress girlfriend, Ashley Wednesday (Imogen Poots).
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is half of one of the best comedies of the year.
Opening scenes are a hoot.
“It’s like a tricycle. When you take away one of the wheels, what have you got?” scoffs Lawrence when someone suggests The Style Boyz could fracture.
Note-perfect music videos include Equal Rights featuring P!nk, which promotes same sex relationships, while Conner punctuates each line of the chorus with a defiant, “I’m not gay”.
Sadly, the filmmakers run out of ideas for a lacklustre second half and introduce outlandish new characters to sustain our interest.
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American rapper RZA elegantly sums up the fleeting nature of fame during his cameo appearance in Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone’s musical mockumentary.


Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping - Half of one of the best comedies of the year


Wednesday's Top Clip: zero gravity phone case


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Japan's industrial output unchanged in July, outlook firm


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -4-


Wakayama shooting suspect arrested after half-day standoff with police


Another powerful typhoon may hit Japan early next week


Tokyo Metro to conduct parcel-delivery test


Dollar hits 2-week high vs. yen on U.S., Japan policy divergence


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -7-


Tibetan nuns commit suicide to protest demolitions: report


M4.9 quake hits Kumamoto in southwestern Japan


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -3-


Tokyo stocks rise modestly on weak yen after Fed official comment


Kerry arrives in Bangladesh for talks on investment and security


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -8-


Wakayama shooting suspect dies after turning gun on self in standoff


India, Myanmar ink pacts on road links, renewable energy


Japan's key bond yield rises ahead of 10-year bond auction


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URGENT: Japan, S. Korea agree to resume currency swap deal


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -2-


Tokyo stocks open lower as investors lock in gains


URGENT: 9 bodies found near nursing home in northeastern Japan following typhoon


Japan's oil imports fall 8.5% in July, 1st drop in 4 months


Fed's Yellen sees growing case for interest rate hike


Baseball: Central League standings (Aug. 30)


Singapore reports 1st locally transmitted Zika infection


Tokyo stocks open higher on weak yen following Fed official comment


Japan announces $30 billion investment in Africa as TICAD begins


Tokyo stocks slip as investors lock in gains


Baseball: Marines beat Hawks pen, snap 5-game losing streak


Baseball: Pacific League standings (Aug. 28)


Tokyo stocks surge on yen's fall following Fed officials' comments


Japanese volunteer group receives Magsaysay Award in Philippines


Health ministry seeks ban on smoking in indoor public spaces


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Death toll rises to 278 in M6.2 quake in central Italy


BOJ to steadily promote monetary easing: policymaker


Zika spreading fast in Singapore with 41 confirmed cases reported


Baseball: Pacific League standings (Aug. 30)


Girl's body found in river in Nagano, central Japan


Baseball: Carp roll over BayStars in march toward pennant


Many municipalities in Japan say foreign students need language aid


Unveiling ceremony held in Seoul for "comfort women" memorial


Thai, Cambodian foreign ministers discuss trade, rail links


Court rules no obligation to sign NHK contract for cellphone TV owner


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -4-


Japan's defense chief plans to visit U.S. in mid-September: source


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -4-


Baseball: Yabuta steps up as Carp inch closer to pennant


Baseball: Japanese baseball linescores (Aug. 31)


Sumo: Tokitenku accepts retirement due to cancer battle


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Main events scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 30


Golf: Japan's Matsuyama and Ishikawa to play at World Cup of Golf


Soccer: Den Haag's Havenaar nets 3rd of season, misses penalty in draw


Typhoon Lionrock hits northeastern, northern Japan


Japan, Africa vow to fight terrorism, stress rule-based order at sea


Japan's key bond yield falls in morning on firm U.S. Treasury market


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -8-


Soccer: Asano determined to make success of loan move to Stuttgart


Swimming: Olympic women's 200 breast champ Kaneto 4th in 100 at World Cup


Japan to share safety costs for aid workers in development projects


Mastermind of Dhaka terror attack killed in raid


IMF launches Japan-funded project to improve financial data in Africa


Gov't finds M'bishi Motors exaggerated fuel economy in more models


Tennis: Osaka takes down 28th seed in U.S. Open, while Doi, Nishioka fall


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -7-


Japan's 3 major banks seeking business expansion in Africa


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Baseball: Central League standings (Aug. 28)


Jamaat leader Mir Quasem to be hanged for war crimes


Japan's housing starts rise 8.9% in July


Japan, U.S. blast N. Korea's submarine missile launch


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -6-


Japan eyes prioritizing economic cooperation amid isles row with Russia


Sumo: Kisenosato gears up for 4th crack at brass ring


Soccer: Tanaka returns bent on saving Grampus from relegation


Abe, Obama likely to meet on sidelines of Laos meetings


Main events scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 28


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -5-


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -9-


Main events scheduled for Aug. 29-Sept. 4


Dollar hits 1-month high in 103 yen zone on U.S. rate hike signs


N. Korea, S. China Sea to grab attention at Obama-Xi talks


Baseball: Seattle's Aoki set for spell back in minors


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LDP to mull change of spousal tax break to "motivate" women to work


Another powerful typhoon may hit Japan early next week


M'bishi jet returns to airport after leaving for U.S. due to defects


Myanmar military, ethnic rebels to join peace conference from Wed.


Dollar rises to lower 102 yen zone on U.S.-Japan policy divergence


Suspect in fatal shooting in Wakayama found but gets away


Japan's GPIF logs 5.23 tril. yen investment loss in April-June


An extraordinary session of Japan's Diet is set to be convened Sept. 26 following an agreement between the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a top party official said Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters at party headquarters in Tokyo, LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai said the party has settled on the date with the office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The extra session follows the LDP's strong showing in July's House of Councillors election on a platform of stepped-up economic policy. The election brought Abe's goal of amending the Japanese Constitution closer after pro-amendment lawmakers achieved a supermajority legally required to kick-start the process.

Extraordinary Diet session to be convened Sept. 26: LDP official


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -9-


Japan pays 1 bil. yen to S. Korean comfort women fund


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -2-


Baseball: Pacific League standings (Aug. 27)


Baseball: Mariners send Aoki down, call Lee up


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -3-


Chilean Navy sailing ship makes port call in Tokyo


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Baseball: Yanagita again powers Hawks past Marines


Baseball: Fighters slugger Otani throws bullpen, ready to pitch


Baseball: Japanese baseball linescores (Aug. 27)


M'bishi jet returns to airport after leaving for U.S. due to defects


U.S. military funded laser technology research at Osaka University


Main events scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1


U.S. to deploy Navy Ospreys in Japan possibly from 2021


Main events scheduled for Monday, Aug. 29


Philippine gov't, communist rebels agree on ceasefire, amnesty call


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -6-


Baseball: Matsuzaka makes progress on farm


Nikkei soars 2% as yen weakens on Fed officials' comments


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -8-


Soccer: Late Goya strike earns Gamba draw in 1st leg of League Cup q'finals


Dollar stays firm near 103 yen line after upbeat U.S. data


Boxing: Taguchi defends WBA title, Kono loses war and belt


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Soccer: Muto nets for Mainz in opening loss to Kagawa's Dortmund


Baseball: Pacific League standings (Aug. 26)


Powerful Typhoon Lionrock approaching eastern Japan


Japan bar association expresses opposition to conspiracy bill


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -7-


A-Bomb Dome fragments to be given to dome designer in Czech Republic


Baseball: Central League standings (Aug. 27)


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -5-


Nikkei ends at 3-week high on yen's drop after Fed official's comment


Tennis: Nishikori back in business at U.S. Open


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -2-


Sports: Sports schedule for Wednesday, Aug. 31


Baseball: Yanks win after strong effort from Tanaka


Explosion at Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan leaves one dead: reports


July output falls for Toyota, Nissan but up for Honda


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -9-


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Soccer: Arsenal loans Asano out to Stuttgart


Main events scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 31


Baseball: Japanese baseball linescores (Aug. 30)


Dollar rises above 102 yen line as traders eye early U.S. rate hike


Mastermind of Dhaka terror attack killed


Tennis: Nishikori to face Becker in U.S. Open 1st rd


Soccer: Nagatomo, Makino replaced for World Cup q'fiers with injury


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -3-


U.S. hails Abe's tax decision as part of G-20 action for recovery


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -6-


Fresh Japan troop mission in S. Sudan to be conducted in limited area


Baseball: WBC final round returns to Dodger Stadium


Japan's key bond yield falls on smooth 2-yr bond auction results


Kerry lauds deepened U.S.-India ties, sees scope for expansion


Officers referred to prosecutors over secret installment of cameras


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -7-


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Baseball: Yabuta steps up as Carp inch closer to pennant


M5.2 quake hits Kumamoto in southwestern Japan


Japan's defense chief eyes visit to S. Sudan in mid-Sept.


Japan gov't to submit revised conspiracy bill citing terrorist threat


Ethnic rebels, military join government for Myanmar peace conference


Swimming: Rio gold medalist Kaneto bags World Cup victory


Dollar stays in mid-100 yen awaiting Yellen speech


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -5-


Islamic State's external operations leader killed in Syria: reports


Mastermind of Dhaka terror attack killed: local media


5 Cambodian youth interns in Japan repatriated


Chinese general netted for disciplinary violations: report


Japan's key bond yield rises in morning amid choppy trading


Wakayama shooting suspect in standoff with police near crime scene


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -5-


Dollar surges to upper 101 yen in N.Y. on Fed officials' remarks


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Japan, S. Korea to resume currency swap deal


Western Japan city in Nara sets fresh "flowing noodle" record


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -8-


FEATURE: Women entrepreneurs in Japan tap online services for advice, funding


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -9-


Dollar hits 3-week high vs. yen on U.S., Japan policy divergence


URGENT: Japan, Africa vow to fight terrorism, maintain maritime security


Soccer: Muto ready to make mark for Japan after lengthy injury absence


Nikkei ends at 3-week high on yen's drop after Fed official's comment


Typhoon Lionrock to make landfall in northeast Japan


Tokyo stocks rise modestly on weak yen after Fed official comment


Nepal bans Indian couple from mountains for faking Mt. Everest climb


Malaysia foils IS terror attacks with arrest of 3 suspects


Japan, S. Korea finance chiefs to confirm economic cooperation


Tokyo stocks end touch higher in morning on yen's depreciation


Ethnic rebels, military join government for Myanmar peace conference


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Putin's Japan visit set for December, aide says


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -3-


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -2-


Trilateral talks on Afghanistan to restart at U.N. next month: Kerry


Baseball: Central League standings (Aug. 31)


Baseball: Central League standings (Aug. 26)


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -6-


Baseball: Yanagita again powers Hawks past Marines


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -7-


Soccer: Japan coach confident despite pell-mell buildup for UAE clash


URGENT: Japan's jobless rate falls to 3.0% in July


12 former "comfort women" sue S. Korean gov't for compensation


Dollar change hands in upper 101 yen range in early Tokyo deals


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -4-


Tokyo stocks open sharply higher on weak yen after Fed chief speech


Gov't to revise sales tax distribution to overcome disparity


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Golf: Uehara becomes 4th with 2 aces at U.S. LPGA tour event


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -5-


Maehara to run in Democratic Party leadership race


Baseball: Marines beat Hawks pen, snap 5-game losing streak


Sumo: Rankings for the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament


JTB, Panasonic, Yamato eye luggage transport service for tourists


U.S. marine arrested over attempt to enter woman's house in Okinawa


Baseball: Japanese baseball linescores (Aug. 26)


Int'l panel discusses fishing limit of bluefin tuna


Wakayama shooting suspect in standoff with police near crime scene


Soseki Museum in London to shut 1 year ahead of plan after Brexit vote


Canada to join China-backed Asian infrastructure bank


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -2-


New minister Yamamoto pressured securities watchdog in 2012: reports


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -6-


Golf: Ai Miyazato, Yokomine 5 shots back in Calgary


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Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -8-


Nikkei soars 2% as yen weakens on Fed officials' comments


Soccer: Oliveira bags hat-trick as Reysol romp past Frontale


Tokyo stocks slip as investors lock in gains


Boxing: Taguchi, Kono hoping longer reach helps in title defenses


State funeral held for victims of M6.2 quake in central Italy


Japan vows to cooperate in developing strategic port in Kenya


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -3-


A new passenger jet being developed by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. aborted its flight to the United States for a second consecutive day on Sunday due to an issue with its air-conditioning system.
The Mitsubishi Regional Jet, which has been mired in a series of development delays, left Nagoya in central Japan at around 1 p.m. for its first stop in Hokkaido, the country's northernmost main island. But it turned back about two hours later, according to Mitsubishi Aircraft, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
Mitsubishi Aircraft said it had not been decided when the regional jet would make the U.S.-bound flight as the company needs to pin down the cause of the trouble in the air-conditioning system.

Mitsubishi Regional Jet flight to U.S. aborted for 2nd time


Japanese man returns to Hokkaido after questioning on Russia-held isle


Nikkei ends at 3-week low on weak Japan data, Fed chair speech looms


Foreign Ministry seeks more funds for protection of citizens abroad


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -4-


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -4-


Myanmar president arrives in India for 4-day visit


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Portugal's Gueterres holds lead in 3rd poll for next U.N. chief


Yokohama hoping to host African development confab in 2019


Dollar trades in upper 102 yen range in early Tokyo deals


Japan, S. Korea to resume currency swap deal


Gov't watching markets closely, ready to respond to yen rise: Suga


Baseball: Japanese baseball linescores (Aug. 28)


Japan's key bond yield rises on U.S. rate hike hopes


Baseball: Marines beat Hawks pen, snap 5-game losing streak


FEATURE: World Series-winning manager Manuel eager for NPB return


URGENT: Japan's industrial output unchanged in July


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -7-


Dollar inches up to 102 yen zone as traders eye early U.S. rate hike


Japan's key bond yield rises on strong U.S. Treasury market


Many municipalities in Japan say foreign students need language aid


Kerry offers U.S. counterterrorism expertise to Bangladesh


Japan, S. Korea, China agree to hold "Cultural City Summit" in 2017


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Japan, China, other nations agree to curb chub mackerel catches


Photo exhibition chronicles a century of Japanese news photos


JX, TonenGeneral finalize integration deal to form JXTG Holdings


Suspect placed on wanted list over fatal shooting in Wakayama


Sports: Sports schedule for Thursday, Sept. 1


Japan's key bond yield rises in morning following Fed chair's speech


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -8-


Tokyo Stock Exchange: morning price list -9-


Baseball: Yanagita, Wada put Hawks back into 1st place


Dollar trades around 102 yen line in early Tokyo deals


Iran deploys Russian-supplied air defense system near nuclear facility


Japan to set up public-private forum to bolster ties with Africa


Baseball: Pacific League standings (Aug. 31)


Tokyo Stock Exchange: closing price list -9-


Japan, Russia diplomats prepare leaders' meeting next month


N. Korea executes deputy premier for education: S. Korea