DAVID DICKINSON OPENS SOUTHPORT FLOWER SHOW

IT has been announced that BBC Bargain Hunt presenter David Dickinson will open this year's Southport Flower Show on Thursday 18 August 2005. With his "cheap as chips" catchphrase, he will no doubt prove a popular choice. His award-winning daytime television programme attracts huge viewing figures and his recent appearances on Heartbeat and The Keith Barret Show have added to the fan base. 

David, who lives in a beautiful converted barn in the Cheshire countryside said:- "I am delighted to be opening Southport Flower Show and meeting the people from around the region. I love spending time in the garden and my wife and I enjoy great barbeques with family and friends. However, my hectic work schedule means that I don't spend as much time in it as I would like, although my wife is a keen gardener." 

The flamboyant TV personality is about to host a brand new 6 part TV series for BBC1 called 'Dealing With Dickinson' which begins on 17 July at 8pm. In it, David mentors 6 people from different social backgrounds, some of whom have no previous knowledge of antiques, and teaches them everything they need to know about the world of antiques and collectibles. David risks £50,000 of his own money on the assumption that the group will be able to profit from the stock they choose to buy and sell at this year's biggest antiques sale at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham

David admits his favourite flower is the rose, and he will no doubt be on the lookout for bargains at this year's Southport Flower Show, which is bigger than ever with more gardens on display, a new family entertainment area and a wide choice of attractions under cover. A flexible ticketing system allows people to purchase tickets in advance at a discounted rate and use them on any one of the four days of the Show.

For more information or for tickets telephone 0870 44 44 226 or visit your local northwest tourist information centre.

Pupils from Christ the King Primary School in Wirral come close to victory in England Schools FA Cup

FOOTBALL heroes from Christ the King Primary School in Wirral came close to victory this weekend in the Under 11s Sainsbury's ESFA Cup, finishing 3rd overall out of over 4,000 competing schools. The budding young football stars fought a great battle in the Boys 7-a-side finals of the tournament, which took place in Keele, Staffordshire this Saturday 18 June. The team came 2nd in their qualifying league, but were eventually defeated 3 to 2 by Greatstone Primary School from Kent in the semi-finals.

All at the football finals, players and parents had an enjoyable time. The scorching weather made it a great day out for everybody, especially as Sainsbury's laid on refreshments to keep everybody going throughout the day. For most it was their first taster of professional football, and with national heroes like David Beckham and Michael Owen having started off their careers playing in the Under 11s ESFA Cup, we'll have to look out for players from Christ the King playing in the Premiership in years to come! 

After the finals, the team was awarded with a trophy and plaques by Justin King, Chief Executive of Sainsbury's, and Steve Abson, Chairman of the ESFA, along with a goody bag from Sainsbury's for each player including a full football kit and kit bag. 

Celebrate the tradition of Warrington Walking Day

Unfortunately some traffic delays may be experienced as some 4,000 people, who are expected to take part, make their way into the town centre. However, delays will be kept to a minimum and we ask for people to be patient. As usual, the procession will begin at the Town Hall. However, to allow walking groups to avoid peak hour traffic on main roads into the town centre, the start of the procession will be at 10.30am. The inner town centre will effectively be closed to all traffic from 9.00am until approximately 12.30pm.

Research reveals businesses throw £5.8bn into the waste paper bin every year

AS much as 2.7% of annual turnover is lost through paper wastage. Local businesses throw away 34 million reams of office printer paper every year - enough to stretch from Manchester or Liverpool to New York - and back again Paper consumption has risen 40% over the past 10 years, and Canon urges businesses to adopt double side printing and document management best practices to reduce waste 

Canon, a leading provider of digital imaging technology, today urged North West businesses to adopt simple methods to minimise paper wastage, in an attempt to reduce environmental damage as well as protect company profits.

In a research project combining resources from a number of environmental agencies and government departments as well as its own data, Canon found that local businesses throw away more than 34 million reams of office printer/copier paper every year. North West businesses waste so many reams of white office paper that, if they were piled on top of each other, it would only take an hour's waste to reach the top of Blackpool Tower. But white office paper is only part of the problem, figures from Envirowise suggest the total cost of wasted paper can be as much of 2.7% of a company's annual turnover - costing North West businesses more than £5.8bn annually.

Across the whole of the UK, business throws away a total of more than 4.6m tonnes of paper each year. This is enough to fill the bowl of the new Wembley Stadium more than five times or, when laid end-to-end in reams, stretch 360,000km - almost the whole way to the moon.

"It's difficult to comprehend the sheer volumes of paper that are wasted by businesses in the North West each year," says Steve Lowndes, Canon Business Centre Manage for the North West. "Even if we consider just the office printer and copier paper that's wasted locally every year, laid end-to-end, the reams represented by this waste would stretch more than 10,200 km, that's almost the distance between Manchester or Liverpool and New York and then back again."

Canon's research estimates that white printer/copier paper can represent around 20% of all the paper wasted by business and that every single employee wastes as much as 16 reams of this paper each year. This equates to 150 A4 sheets per employee every week, or 30 sheets per employee every single working day.

"Quite simply, local businesses are throwing hundreds and thousands of pounds into the waste paper bin every day," adds Lowndes. "But it doesn't need to be this way. By adopting double-sided prints as standard default on all their printing and copying devices, companies not only help the environment but can also reduce their paper consumption by up to half, resulting in enormous cost savings. It really is that easy to make a difference."

Canon is also urging businesses to adopt simple print management strategies in addition to double-side printing. By implementing document workflow processes, companies can reduce the amount of printed output further through integrated scanning, filing and document retrieval that can be tailored to their individual requirements. 

In addition to reducing paper consumption, companies and consumers can further limit their impact on the environment through responsible recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). This is the fastest growing waste stream in the European Union, accounting for 14kg per capita, 6.5 million tonnes a year and growing by 8% per annum.

Canon has joined forces with the influential RSA, Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, to launch an environmental awareness initiative highlighting the growing problem of WEEE across Europe. The WEEE Man, an imposing seven metre high, 3 tonne human figure made from household electrical waste, was on show at London's City Hall on the South Bank during May and has now moved to the Eden Project, Cornwall for the summer. Designed to represent the amount of electronic waste that one person in the UK is likely to produce in their lifetime, it is a stark interpretation of the throw away society we are part of and underlines Canon's commitment to such a valuable issue.

Top tips for recycling paper in the office

When buying printers, photocopiers and fax machines, choose ones with options for 2-sided printing and ensure that printer drivers are set to double-sided print as default. 

Training is essential. Educate employees on different ways to manage their document workflow - Canon offers a range of solutions designed to improve document workflow efficiency and limit the amount of unnecessary printing. 
Set up a recycling scheme for scrap paper. Make sure recycling bins are close to people's desks, so it's easier to recycle paper than throw it away. 

Re-use envelopes for internal circulation and, if possible, with a sticker for external mail.

Re-use paper printed on one side for note paper or printing drafts and reuse padded envelopes where presentation quality envelopes aren't needed. 

Strongly Sefton and other authorities still do not offer free paper collection for businesses. Sefton does not and as far as we can tell, has no intention of offering a paper collection service, paid or none paid for businesses.

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