LOCAL CHIPPIES BATTLE IT OUT TO BE THE BEST IN TOWN

9 FISH and chip shops across Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire are on the road to success as they batter it out to be announced the best in their area in the 2005 National Fish & Chip Shop of the Year Competition.

The top 9 shortlisted shops are:-

* Green Island Chippy, Congleton
* Foster's Fish & Chips, Alderley Edge
* Ann's Plaice, Congleton
* Davisons, Crewe
* The Friary, Stockport
* Winsford Cross Fish Bar, Winsford
* Taylors Fish & Chips, Stockport
* Harpers, Southport
* Jacksons Supper Bar, Wilmslow

The shops are awaiting a visit from a mystery judge who will score each of them on factors including the quality of their fish and chips, customer service and hygiene. The top shop in Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire and the 18 other competition areas will then be announced in September.

A further round of in-depth judging will determine the top 10 shops in the country in October. The grand finale will be held at the Tower Thistle Hotel in London on
1 February 2006, where the overall winner will be unveiled by Brian Turner, restaurateur and celebrity chef.

Andy Gray, project manager for the competition said:- "The judging is well underway and already we are seeing an excellent calibre of entrants. It's going to be a tricky decision as the shops all work very hard to keep their standards so high."

Fish and chips is the UK's number one take-away with over 261 million meals sold every year. Organised by the Seafish Industry Authority (Seafish) the awards are now in their 18th year.

It is the most highly sought after accolade in the fish and chip world and aims to recognise the hard work and quality of the industry.

THIS WILL BE THE DAY

PLAQUE to be unveiled marking the site of The Beatles first recording. A little known landmark in the history of The Beatles will be launched onto Liverpool's tourist map with the unveiling of a plaque in Kensington.

A community-inspired commemorative plaque has been installed by Kensington Regeneration at the site of the Percy Philips recording studio in Kensington - where the Quarry Men, who later became The Beatles, made their first recording. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison produced their version of Buddy Holly's "That'll be The Day" in the Kensington studio, in July 1958.

The plaque has been installed as part of a project to commemorate historical events in the area. The unveiling takes place on Friday 26 August during Liverpool's International Beatles Week Festival and will be attended by John Lennon's half sister Julia Baird. The plaque will be unveiled by BBC Radio Merseyside presenter Billy Butler, who was born in Kensington.

The Quarry Men were a little known group when they first walked into the recording studio at 38, Kensington in July 1958. But the rest, as they say, is history. The Kensington recording is featured within the Beatles Anthology Volume 1, which was released in 1995. Many other local artists also recorded at the studio between 1955 and 1969 including Billy Fury, The Merseybeats, The Remo Four and Ken Dodd.

Local BBC historian Frank Carlyle who has delivered a series of Kensington Heritage Workshops, said:- "This is a fantastic development for Kensington; the Beatles are recognised across the world as being synonymous with our great city and this new initiative puts the Kensington community on the tourist map for Liverpool."

The plaque is the first in a series of community inspired unveilings funded by Kensington Regeneration, aimed at raising awareness of key historical and cultural events in the Kensington area. Other historical events to be highlighted include a visit by Fredrick Franklin the world famous dance choreographer and a tour by Buffalo Bill and Indians to Tournament Hall in Edge Lane which was seen by nearly 250,000 people in 1896.

The Quarry Men recorded "That'll be the Day" on 14 July 1958 and as they did not have enough money to pay for the disc John was unable to take a copy home for his mother. The Quarry Men's version is believed to be the world's rarest recording.

In March 1959, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison saw Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall ­ and were inspired to change the name of their band to The Beatles as they thought The Crickets was a great name for a band.