2008 Flora London Marathon Places Now Available!

THE ballot for the 2008 London Marathon opened earlier this month and the British Red Cross is looking for runners from the Merseyside area to take part and raise vital funds for the organisation.

Over 46,000 runners will take part in the 26 mile run on 13 April 2008, taking in sights like Big Ben, Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace. Many runners will be fulfilling a lifetime's ambition and competing along side athletes, celebrities, and fun-runners, while, for many more, this is the largest charity event they will ever take part in.

Local Red Cross fundraiser, Jo Allott, explained that:- "it is really hard to get a place in the world's best known marathon, but at the Red Cross we have a number of guaranteed 'gold bond' places available and we'd like to see as many runners as possible raising funds for both our local work and our work overseas."

In recent weeks The Red Cross has responded in all UK flood affected areas supporting emergency services, and providing emergency goods and bedding to those evacuated from their homes. In Asia the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is providing emergency relief to all the affected countries. Volunteers are delivering food, water and basic healthcare to thousands of families who have lost everything in the floods.

For a Flora London marathon application form contact your local Red Cross fundraiser on 0161 888 8915 or text/phone 07710 733 196 or email.

NEW CONTROLTOWER ANNOUNCED

MANCHESTER Airport is to get a new £8 million Air Traffic Control tower.

Architects from around across the north west, UK and European Union, have been invited to put their names forward to be considered for the opportunity to design the new control tower.

The new structure will be built on the airfield to allow the air traffic controllers even better views of both runways and is expected to be more than 50 metres tall making it the highest structure at the Airport.

In the first stage of the process, the project to build a new tower has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union inviting architects to show an expression of interest in the scheme. A project team from the airport will now narrow down the field of applicants and choose a design and construction firm to lead the development.

The new tower will be home to the Air Traffic Control team at Manchester Airport, which is provided by NATS, the company that operates air traffic control services throughout the UK. It will be fitted with state of the art air traffic control management systems to help the air traffic controllers manage current and future capacity.

Manchester Airport's Director of Operations, Andrew Holl, said:- "The current control tower has served the airport well since it was built over 45 years ago.

However, we do need to build a new tower with the latest technology and closer to both our runways to cope with increased numbers of flights in and out of Manchester and this is the start of a process to find the right design and the right experts to do that for us."

The new control tower is expected to be open for use towards the end of 2009.

The Ship, Southport

FRIDAY night at the Ship on Eastbank Street was Karaoke.  We popped a long a took a few shots of this fun night.

Osteoporosis sufferers denied diagnosis and treatment says new report

THE National Osteoporosis Society today welcomed new research published by The Information Centre for Health and Social Care into osteoporosis and falls.

The research concludes that osteoporosis and falls should be incorporated into the performance measures that drive General Practice. Currently neither is included, though osteoporosis is being considered for inclusion in a review of the indicators currently being conducted by the Department of Health.

The research has found that very few women or men are referred to the bone density scanners that would diagnose them as having osteoporosis, opening the door to treatment.

Only one in ten women who have broken a bone, due to bone fragility, has been referred for a DXA1 bone scan. For men the figure is one in fifty, again despite them already having broken a bone through fragility.

With the startling statistic that one in two women and one in five men over the age of 50 will break a bone mainly due to osteoporosis, this leaves hundreds of thousands of people without the treatment they need.

Even when people have been properly diagnosed, the research found that 1 in 4 older women who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and who have broken a bone still do not receive appropriate drug treatment.

Nick Rijke, Public and External Affairs Director, National Osteoporosis Society says:- "This report underlines the need for osteoporosis to be included within the Quality Outcomes Framework that provides performance incentives to GPs. Sadly far too many people who are at risk of osteoporosis are not referred to diagnostic services, such as bone density scanners and therefore don't get the treatment they need."

The National Osteoporosis Society continues to lobby for osteoporosis to be included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), the system for rewarding GPs financially for the quality of care they deliver. The Society is also campaigning for a wider range of drug treatments to be made available to patients.

NOS is the only UK charity dedicated to improving the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.Freshers and landlords alerted to new housing laws

As thousands of students across the UK start hunting for homes for their new university lives, experts are advising property landlords not to fall foul of the law.

Property law experts say too many landlords and student tenants are still confused about the Governement's housing deposit scheme, which was introduced in April this year.

The new Tenant Deposit Scheme regulates the handling of housing deposits during an agreed tenancy.

Mike Hymanson, head of property law at national law firm Lewis Hymanson Small, explains:- "The new scheme acts as a safety net for students and landlords as it helps reduce improper deductions from deposits and the non-payment of rents. In addition, the scheme also offers a resolution mechanism for when difficulties arise."

The scheme is run by the independent, not-for-profit company, The Dispute Service. The company handles housing deposits and requires legitimate reasons from landlords for any deductions to be made. Deposits can be revoked if a student tenant fails to pay every month's rent and if a dispute arises at the end of tenancy, it is handled by the Independent Complaints Examiner. If there is no dispute, deposits are prompty returned to students.

Hymanson adds:- "Freshers landing at university for the first time must check their landlord is taking part in this scheme and landlords must ensure they comply. Greedy landlords and rent dodging students should become a thing of the past now this scheme has been introduced."

What should students do?

At the beginning of a new tenancy agreement, students should pay their deposits to the landlord or letting agent as usual. Within 14 days, the landlord or agent is required to provide students with details about how their deposit is protected including:-

- The contact details of the tenancy deposit scheme

- The contact details of the landlord or agent

- How to apply for the release of the deposit

- Information explaining the purpose of the deposit

- What to do if there is a dispute about the deposit

If students don't receive this information, they should ask their landlord or agent the simple question, "how is my deposit protected?"

Safeguarding deposits

Student tenants have a responsibility to leave the property in the same condition that it was let to them, allowing for reasonable wear and tear. When signing tenancy agreements, it is a good idea for students to make sure that they:-

- Keep a detailed list of contents (furniture and fittings)

- Record the condition of the property and its contents (photographs are a good idea)

- Check the circumstances in which landlords or agents could have a claim on the deposit