|
COULD LIVERPOOL MUM TAKE UK TITLE?
A 27 year old volunteer and
teaching student from Liverpool has been named the North West
finalist in this year’s Eurocamp Lone Parent of the Year Award.
After being told by a health visitor that she would never be able to
go to college or university after having a baby on her own, Bryony
Scratcher became more determined than ever to reach higher
education.
Having obtained funding for an access course, Bryony spent a year
juggling her part time studies with looking after her son Joseph
(now 3). The hard work paid off and Bryony is now studying to become
a teacher at Liverpool John Moore’s University.
Throughout the time she has been studying, Bryony has also thrown
herself into volunteer work, co-running her local mother and toddler
group, helping out with a Brownie pack and lending a hand at a
middle school. As if this were not enough, Bryony also looked after
her Grandmother, who passed away last year.
On receiving the news of her nomination, Bryony was shocked, but
pleased:- “I am surprised as I had no idea my mum had put me
forward, but it’s great to have some positive feed back on what I’ve
been doing. Being a lone parent doesn’t have to be all doom and
gloom and I’ve tried to make the best of my situation, for my sake
and that of my son.
Both my mum and my grandmother were real inspirations to me in this
as they both brought up children by themselves as my dad worked away
in the oil industry and my grandfather was a musician on the QE2.
I’ve always just thought, if they can do it, why not me?”
Bryony has reached the final 11 out of the hundreds of entries to
the competition, and will now go head-to-head with other lone
parents from across the UK in a national public online vote oth the
Eurocamp website. for the title of Eurocamp Lone Parent of the Year
2006.
Bryony and Joseph have already won a family photo shoot. Now Bryony
has the chance to become the Eurocamp Lone Parent of the Year 2006
and win a family holiday worth £2,500.
To view all 11 finalists and to vote for the winner of the Eurocamp
Lone Parent of the Year 2006, go to
www.eurocampaward.co.uk.
Voting will close 31 May and winners will be announced in June 2006.
Now in its third year, Eurocamp’s Lone Parent of the Year Award is
run in conjunction with the charity One Parent Families and designed
to celebrate the achievements of lone parents.
Last year’s Eurocamp Lone Parent of the Year was Paul Potter from
Fishguard in Wales.
Fact File:- Eurocamp... Eurocamp is the leading tour
operator for European holidays in mobile homes and tents, offering
more than 150 holiday parcs in stunning locations across 12 European
countries and islands.
One Parent Families... One Parent Families believes it can build a
fairer society for all families, in which lone parents and their
children are not disadvantaged and do not suffer from poverty,
isolation or social exclusion. Its core policy and advice service
work focuses on tackling the poverty and eliminating the social
stigma that faces so many lone parents and their children. One
Parent Families Lone Parent Helpline provides free confidential
information to lone parents and is open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday by
calling 0800 018 5025 or through our Lone Parent Helpdesk at
oneparentfamilies.org.uk
Child Exploitation and Online Protection
NCH, the children's charity
response to the launch of the Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre.
John Carr, NCH's New Technology Adviser says:- "NCH welcomes
this important initiative that promises to help keep children safe
online both in the UK and across the world. We are particularly
pleased to see industry, law enforcement, and children's charities
working together in this highly innovative way to ensure appropriate
safeguards are in place to help protect our children from harm."
Fact File:- NCH is one of the UK's leading children's charities,
working in partnership to run nearly 500 projects for more than
140,000 of the UK's most vulnerable children, young people and their
families. For further information visit
www.nch.org.uk
|
MUSEUM OF LIVERPOOL GETS THE GO AHEAD
THE Northwest Regional
Development Agency today announced a grant of £32.7m to support the
development of the Museum of Liverpool. This news, which follows a
successful planning application in December, means the museum now
has the green light to proceed.
The Museum of Liverpool, with a budget of £65m, will be one of the
world’s leading city history museums reflecting Liverpool’s global
significance through its unique geography, history and culture.
Building on the incredible success of the Museum of Liverpool Life,
the new museum which will be located on Liverpool’s famous
waterfront, will provide a showcase for social history and popular
culture. The museum will draw on National Museums Liverpool’s vast
wealth of collections, many of which have never been on public
display. As a vital part of the legacy of 2008, when Liverpool
becomes European Capital of Culture, it will express Liverpool's
confidence as a great 21st century European city.
David Fleming, Director of National Museums Liverpool says that:-
"The Northwest Regional Development Agency decision means this
new museum is now in business and Liverpool is about to get one of
the world’s best museums right in the heart of the city. It will
attract people from far and wide and will be a brilliant learning
and recreational resource for local people.
There are still hurdles to overcome but this museum is becoming a
reality. Work on site will begin in the autumn and the building is
due for completion in 2008.”
To enable building works the current Museum of Liverpool Life will
close on 4 June 2006. A programme of special events for the public
has been planned for the museum’s closing weeks, giving visitors a
last chance to see some of the most popular exhibits and take part
in exciting events and activities.
In the run up to the new museum opening two major exhibitions about
Liverpool will be staged at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. In 2007
a large scale exhibition will explore Liverpool’s history over the
last 800 years, told through the lives of ordinary people, the
famous and the infamous. A major multi-sensory, exhibition in 2008
will celebrate Liverpool as the capital of pop and rock, exploring
Liverpool’s popular music heritage from 1945 to the present.
There are plans to take the Museum of Liverpool on the road with a
series of displays of our collections in shops and venues around the
city later this year.
Fact file:- The new museum will provide 5,000 square
metres of exhibition space and will be unique in its approach to
display, featuring flexible spaces that regularly change showing
more of the collections than ever before. The museum will focus on
four main themes:- Port City, Global City, My Liverpool and
Expressive City.
As visitors enter the building they will find Port City, a gallery
that will exploring Liverpool’s role as a port city and the
development of its architecture, infrastructure, people and
commerce. This will follow the story of the industrial revolution
and will feature Lion, a 1838 steam locomotive as its centrepiece.
The main gallery will explore stories about the people living and
working underneath the rails of the Overhead Railway, or the
Dockers’ Umbrella, and will feature an original third class Overhead
Railway carriage, suspended above the gallery at its working height.
Also located on the ground floor, Global City will explore Liverpool
as a world city. The main attraction will be the 200 capacity
Liverpool Theatre featuring an unmissable show experience created by
Liverpool film makers, writers and artists, using local voices to
tell the blockbuster story of Liverpool’s history.
Plans for the first floor include the History Hub, a resource centre
housing over 10,000 objects from the NML collections. Featuring an
interactive zone, the Hub will offer highlights from the collections
and an opportunity to explore stories and objects in depth. Aimed at
everyone from children to academics, this will be a one-stop shop
for exploring Liverpool and Merseyside’s archaeology and social
history.
On the second floor visitors will find People’s City. This gallery
will explore the city and its people through themes such as housing
and health, opportunity and deprivation, social reform, religion and
trade unionism. The centrepiece will be the model of the proposed
Liverpool Catholic Cathedral by world-famous architect Edwin Lutyens
which was never built.
In Expressive City visitors will be able to discover the unique and
creative character of Liverpool. The gallery will explore why this
city has produced such an amazing roll call of writers, performers,
comedians and sportsmen. The gallery includes some unique Beatles
objects, including the original stage on which John Lennon’s band
the Quarrymen played in 1957. A special immersive experience in the
gallery captures the excitement, passion and intensity of football
in Merseyside through the fans’ eyes. The story of the history of
the clubs will investigate how they have become such a cornerstone
of the city’s identity.
The new museum visitors will give visitors breathtaking views of the
city and river. |
