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Extreme Cuppa:- ActionAid wants your mug shots
WE
Brits are famous for taking time out for a cuppa - no matter what's
going on around us. ActionAid, as part of its annual
fundraiser for tea and coffee farmers in the developing world, plans
to put this theory to the test.
The charity wants readers to send it photos of themselves having a
cuppa in extreme and unlikely situations. The best mug shot
will win a top of the range digital camera.
How about a cuppa in a swanky nightclub while everyone around you is
quaffing champagne, or on the Oxford Street pavement during rush
hour?
You can submit your entries
online
or by texting the picture with the word ‘cuppa’ to 60300.
Entries go up on the Tea and Coffee Break website where you can also
find how you can make a difference to the lives of tea and coffee
farmers in the developing world.
Andy John, ActionAid Tea and Coffee Break spokesperson, said:-
“Throughout the world the farmers who pick most of the tea and
coffee we drink face low wages and appalling working conditions.
Posing for a picture while drinking a cuppa in a sauna or during a
game of football is guaranteed to turn some heads. But by entering
the competition and donating to Tea and Coffee Break 2007 you will
also be helping poor farmers work their way out of a genuinely
extreme situation.”
Kids have say on play
YOUNGSTERS are helping design a brand new playground.
The new play area being built in Stanley Park will be one of the
largest in the city and local kids, residents and businesses have
been consulted on what facilities they would like to see in the
park. Pupils from Hope Valley and Anfield Junior schools were
shown 3 designs and asked to choose which one they like best and
would be more likely to use.
The winning design not only consists of slides, swings, roundabouts
and see-saws, but also features The Matrix which is a monster
climbing frame. It is the first of its kind to be installed in the
UK and thanks to its height and complexity, will appeal to older
children.
Liverpool city council’s executive member for the environment,
Councillor Berni Turner, said:- “We’re investing a huge amount
of money in this area and it was important to make sure we got the
layout just right. It made sense to consult with the children and
families who use the area. The top-of-the-range equipment
we’re will give greater access for children with disabilities.
The city council is committed to investing in our green spaces, and
this means making them as child friendly as possible. We
want to do as much as we can to encourage youngsters to turn off
their television and get out into their local playground because we
know that not only will it benefit them physically but it gives them
the opportunity to interact with other children and develop their
social skills.”
The city council has invested £160,000 in the playground which will
replace the existing play area. It will cater for children up
to the age of 14, with separate defined areas for infant and junior
users, and will be open by the end of March 2007. |
Kids charter city’s history
800 years
after King John, Liverpool has a new charter - thanks to a group of
schoolchildren. The next generation of Liverpudlians have
devised a charter for the future to mark a major exhibition on a
fascinating, historical paper trail which celebrates the city's
landmark anniversary.
7-year-old pupils from Matthew Arnold Primary School, Toxteth, will
present the Lord Mayor, Councillor Joan Lang, with their charter to
help get the city’s 800th birthday ‘Charters Exhibition’
underway at Central Library. Marking the 800th anniversary of
the grant of Letters Patent by King John in 1207, the exhibition
will give local people, tourists, historians, schools and community
groups the chance to join Liverpool’s birthday celebrations and
delve into the city’s fascinating past.
It will provide
everyone with a rare opportunity to view the original 1207 Letters
Patent from King John - the foundation for Liverpool’s astonishing
growth from a humble hamlet to a major port and one of the world’s
great cities. And it will feature the 23 key royal charters
granted to the City of Liverpool from medieval times onwards,
including the 1229 Charter from King Henry III, which remained the
governing charter until the 17th century; the 1797 Grant of Arms
which officially confirmed the city’s coat of arms; and the 1880
Charter from Queen Victoria which conferred city status on
Liverpool.
The Lord Mayor, Councillor Joan Lang, said:- “It’s a wonderful
honour to be Lord Mayor of this great city in the year it celebrates
its 800th birthday. Liverpool is a city like no other, with a story
that is unique, powerful and truly fascinating – and the charters
exhibition will share this story with thousands of people. I’m
delighted that the children, who are the future of this city, are
presenting a new city charter. I can’t wait to see it!”
As part of their 800th birthday lessons, the year-2 Matthew Arnold
pupils decided they wanted to create their own version of the
original King John Letters Patent. King John obtained
possession of Liverpool from Henry Fitzwarin in exchange for other
land on 23 August 1207. 5 days later he issued the so-called 'charter'
at Winchester. It is in fact a form of deed called Letters Patent,
an open letter or proclamation, inviting settlers to come to
Liverpool and promising certain privileges as an inducement.
While King John’s Letters Patent aimed to attract 150 ‘good and
true men’ into the city, the youngsters’ charter aims to attract
‘paramedics, builders, doctors, nurses, police and teachers’.
And while King John offered ‘liberties and free customs’
to
those who came, the youngsters offer simply ‘friends, food,
schools, flowers and healthy lives!’ The pupils’ framed
Charter has been produced on parchment paper and sealed with wax and
ribbon.
Council Leader Warren Bradley said:- “This collection will
give people from inside and outside Liverpool a great opportunity to
view the city charters which provided a foundation for the dramatic
growth of the city. It’s a fantastic exhibition, and an important
part of our anniversary celebrations.”
The exhibition, which will be open until 30 June 2007 in the Central
Library’s Picton Reading Room, also includes medieval deeds and 18th
and 19th century maps. And people will be able to view bank
notes from the 1790s, the city’s first directory, dated 1766 and
material from the 700th birthday celebrations in 1907.
Liverpool Record Office Manager, David Stoker, said:-
“Liverpool’s meteoric rise from humble hamlet to a major port and
city is a fascinating tale. The exhibiton unlocks some of the
extensive collections held in our archives for everyone to see.” |
