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Mersey Maritime
Medley
A WAVE of events will wash
over Liverpool's iconic waterfront in May and June as it plays host
to three special maritime weekends.
Liverpool on the Waterfront starts in May when the city will be the
national focus for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the
Atlantic commemorations. Working in partnership with the Royal Navy
and the Merchant Navy, from the 24 – 28 May activities will take
place at the waterfront and in the city centre including a cathedral
service, veterans parade, a special band concert by Her Majesty's
Royal Marines at the Philharmonic Hall, a 40s themed party at St
George's Hall, a fly past and a James Bond-style display involving
the Royal Marines and Liverpool's own Motor Tug Brocklebank.
Bomb disposal displays will also take place during the event along
with exhibitions from the army, air force and the navy.
Around 25 warships will arrive in the city from countries including
Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States, and some
vessels will be open to visitors during their visit. There will be a
co-ordinated departure of all the vessels on Tuesday 28 May.
The following weekend (31 May-2 June) will be a birthday celebration
marking 25 years since the completion of the regeneration of the
Albert Dock and the opening of Tate Liverpool. To celebrate
Liverpool's most visited free tourist attraction turning 25 this
year, everyone is invited to join in Albert Dock's 25th birthday
weekend of family fun and entertainment, which will feature the very
best of the much loved attraction. And their birthday present to
Liverpool is a free day out for the children.
During the 3 days there will be a host of free family activities,
Beatles Story will have free family workshops and kids go free with
a paying adult to see the world class attraction. Tate Liverpool is
drawing on the silver anniversary and kids can get creative in a
workshop from 27 May. Merseyside Maritime Museum's free event
programme will entertain any little sailors, while PanAm and Blue
Bar and Grill will be doing kids eat free.
All the latest information will be updated on:-
albertdock.com.
The final weekend sees the return of the hugely popular Music on the
Waterfront weekend. From 7-9 June live music will take over the Pier
Head as a mix of home grown talent and household names perform on
the outdoor stage in front of the Liver Buildings. Once again the
city council is working in partnership with Smooth Radio who last
year brought acts ranging from Russell Watson and Paul Carrack to
Jocelyn Brown.
This weekend will also see the return of the River Festival with
Tall Ships and historic vessels lining the waterfront along with
other special activities including street theatre and shanty music.
There is also an exciting Red Bull event planned to take place in
the Albert Dock. Keep checking:-
redbull.co.uk for more information.
The full programme for each of the events will be announced in the
next few months.
Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for culture and tourism,
Councillor Wendy Simon, said:- "There's something for everyone
with these fantastic three, free weekends.
From commemorating war heroes and seeing the city's waterfront at
its best as it hosts a magnificent fleet of vessels, right though to
getting people of all ages together to celebrate the 25th birthday
of one of the city's most popular tourist attractions and seeing a
series of stars bring the Pier Head alive with fantastic music. We are a city renowned for
putting on high-calibre, free events, but there's always something
even more special when they are focused around our stunning
waterfront, and we're sure tens of thousands will make the most of
all the activities on offer. And to have 3 consecutive weekend
events will be a much needed boost to our local economy with hotels,
bars, restaurants, shops and tourist attractions all benefiting from
the huge numbers of people descending on the city." |
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Merseyside has
high educational under-achievement
2 out of 3 areas of
Merseyside have a greater percentage of residents without
educational qualifications than the national average, the University
and College Union (UCU) has found. The union's analysis, shows
that 10 of Merseyside's 15 parliamentary constituencies have a
higher percentage of people with no qualifications than the national
average for England, Wales and Scotland (10.7%).
The city's top hotspots for educational underachievement, Liverpool
Walton and Liverpool West Derby, are both in the top 10 of
lowest-achieving parliamentary constituencies in Britain. In both
areas, at least 1 in 5 working-age residents has no qualifications.
In Liverpool Walton, 23.5% of residents aged 16-64 years old have no
qualifications. It ranks seventh out of 632 constituencies in
England, Wales and Scotland for people without qualifications. In
Liverpool West Derby, 23.4% of residents have no qualifications. It
ranks eighth out of 632 constituencies. At the other end of
the scale, in Sefton Central, just 4.9% of residents have no
qualifications and in Wirral South, just 6.8%.
UCU ranked the 632 parliamentary constituencies in England, Scotland
and Wales according to the percentage of working-age people (16-64
years old) who have no qualifications. The analysis coincides with
the launch of a new campaign to promote the knowledge economy and
its contribution to the country.
The contrasts are extreme. In 96 constituencies, 15% or more of
working-age residents have no qualifications. In some places such as
Glasgow North East, Birmingham Hodge Hill, Glasgow East and
Wolverhampton North East this rises to 1 in 4.
Of the 50 constituencies with the highest percentage of people with
no qualifications, the West Midlands, the North of England, Scotland
and Wales account for 80% (40) of them. By contrast, of the 50
constituencies with the highest percentage of people with at least
one qualification, 44 are in the South of England. Yet there are
pockets of under-achievement within every region.
The union pointed to evidence from the IPPR which showed the
substantial benefit to the economy of funding people to improve
their education* and described the analysis as a wakeup call for
politicians of all parties to ensure that everyone has access to the
opportunities that education provides.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, public spending on education as a proportion of GDP is
lower in the UK than in many of our competitor countries and is
significantly lower at both pre-primary and tertiary levels.
UCU regional official, Martyn Moss said:- "Beyond the city
centre's waterfront tourist attractions, designer shops and
restaurants, Liverpool has a widespread culture of educational
under-achievement. Walton and West Derby may be the worst-hit areas
with one in four unqualified, but across Merseyside, people are more
likely to have no qualifications than in many other parts of
Britain. We know it is the knowledge economy that will drive
economic growth, enhance social mobility and enable our country to
compete globally. Yet politicians all too often seem to see cutting
off access for young and old to educational opportunities as an easy
target. Given the opportunity, everyone can benefit from education."
More information on the knowledge economy campaign can be found at:-
knowledgeeconomy.org.uk.
NEXT OF KIN RE-APPEAL - JOHN POLARTY, ALSO
KNOWN AS JOHN PILKINGTON
MERSEYSIDE Police are
re-appealing on behalf of Sefton Coroner's office for help in
tracing the next of kin of John Polarty. Mr Polarty was found dead
at his address in Summers Road, Bootle on 9 January 2013 in non-suspicous
circumstances. Following an initial appeal, it has emerged that Mr
Polarty has previously been known as John Pilkington (he changed his
surname by deed polll approximately 10 years ago) and had lived in
Bootle most of his adult life. The Coroners office continues to
appeal for help in tracing the 68 year old's next of kin or anyone
who knows who they are. Call:- 0151 777 3481. |
