A Christmas with a difference......

LIVERPOOL people are being invited to enjoy a very special Polish Christmas.  A new initiative, Merseyside Polonia, is celebrating the start of the festive season with a Christmas event aimed at bringing together the city’s Polish population and the wider community.

Set up by local charity, Yellow House, and supported by the city council, Merseyside Polonia is a monthly event which gives everyone the chance to enjoy Polish culture and form new friendships with people of different cultural backgrounds. 

Launched in October, Merseyside Polonia is proving to be a massive success. A big hit in the community, the initiative has also grabbed the attention of the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, who invited the team to visit him in the Polish Embassy in London and tell him more about their work. The meeting was even covered on Polish national television.

Further emphasising the impact Merseyside Polonia has already had on the community, the Christmas event will be attended by 2 very prestigious guests – Polish Consul General Piotr Nowotniak and Vice Consul Szymon Bialek.

Project co-ordinator, Gosia McKane, said:- “We have been amazed by the response to Merseyside Polonia so far. We launched it to establish friendships between people of different cultural backgrounds, give the Polish community a voice and open up our history, heritage and culture to the whole city.  To have received such fantastic feedback from the Polish and wider community, and to have been invited to meet the Prime Minister of Poland to tell him all about the project has exceeded all our expectations!  We want as many people as possible, from all the city’s communities, to come to our latest event to make new friends and discover more about the magic of a traditional Polish Christmas!”

Liverpool City Council Leader, Councillor Warren Bradley said:- “It’s great news that a cultural project developed here in Liverpool has been praised by the Polish Prime Minister.  We’re delighted to be supporting Merseyside Polonia, which is playing an important part in uniting communities, empowering local people and celebrating diversity. I’d urge everyone to support this event, get a taste of Polish culture and enjoy a Christmas celebration with a difference.”

Merseyside Polonia features monthly events at community venues across the city, which give people the opportunity to get to know Liverpool’s Polish community better. The showing of new Polish films with English subtitles, the chance to try Polish food, and photo exhibitions and stories are opening up Poland’s heritage, history and culture for everyone.  The events also give people the chance to develop new ideas and projects, discuss community issues and share information about local services.

There has been a major influx of Polish people moving to the UK since Poland joined the EU in 2004, and Liverpool’s Polish community is the fastest growing in the city. Merseyside Polonia has been developed to help the community engage fully with Liverpool life, as well as helping to tackle misconceptions that the community is ‘taking our jobs.’

Feedback from the Polish and wider community about Merseyside Polonia so far includes:- “This is just what I have been waiting and looking for in this city”; “Good opportunity to meet people from the Polish community and learn about food and movies”; and “There was a positive atmosphere and a feeling of friendship.”

For more information about Merseyside Polonia, or to get involved, please call Gosia McKane on 07531 723006 or 0151 260 2996.

You can also email or visit www.merseysidepolonia.com.

Liverpool Gears Up for Fantastic Festive fun

FLYING in the face of the Credit Crunch, Liverpool City Council’s markets partner, Geraud Markets Liverpool Limited, has announced a bumper turnout for the 2008 Liverpool Christmas Market.

Stalls are being touched up and tinsel dusted off in preparation for the event which takes place in Williamson Square and Tarleton Street from Friday 5 December and continuing until Sunday 21 December 2008.

The market will open at 10.00am each day and close at 6.00pm, except for Sundays when the market is set to close at 4.00pm, and Thursdays when the market will close at 8.00pm to allow shoppers to take full advantage of the late night shopping experience within the city’s retail sector.

Over 45 traders will be attending the event offering a whole host of goodies that will add that extra sparkle for Christmas including toys, arts and crafts, silver jewellery, Olives and speciality feta cheeses, Russian crafts, pashminas, Childrens fashion and much much more.

Along with the traders will be a licensed bar on site offering German Mulled Wine, (Gluwein), German Brathurst Sausages and a selection of delicious German cuisine, French Crepes, Paella and an Oriental Noodle Bar.

The event takes place as part of a package of markets during the run up to Christmas which also includes the Christmas Fair at Croxteth Hall and Farmers’ Markets around the city towards Christmas. Geraud Markets Liverpool Ltd are particularly looking forward to the Hope Street Christmas Farmers Market where shoppers can buy their Christmas meats and last minute gifts. This will take place on Sunday 21 December from 10am until around 3:30pm.

The Christmas Market will be formally opened by Councillor Bernie Turner at 11:00am on Friday, 5 December 2008.

Councillor Bernie Turner of Liverpool City Council said:- “The Christmas Markets have been a real success in recent years and I am sure this year’s will be just as popular. We are bringing different types of markets to the city to give people a real choice in their shopping. The market will have many stalls offering goods that you won’t be able to buy elsewhere in the city.”

New No Smoking signs to remind people we are smokefree!

SOUTHPORT & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust has installed new signs to remind people that the grounds of its Hospitals are smokefree. It is now nearly three years since the Trust became smokefree, including all buildings and surrounding grounds.

We are grateful to everyone who has helped to protect the health of our patients, visitors and staff and make the hospital a more pleasant environment by refraining from smoking on the hospital sites.

However, there are still some who either do not realise the grounds are smokefree or who choose to ignore the fact. The Trust has installed these new signs around the grounds to remind people of the fact that we are smokefree and again ask people to consider others when on our sites.

Anyone wanting help in stopping smoking should contact the Smoking Cessation Specialist Nurses for advice on:-

NHS Sefton - 0151 475 4207 or NHS Central Lancashire - 01695 598416