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The
Lesbian and Gay Foundation set to be Smoke Free
THE Lesbian
and Gay Foundation (LGF) is proud to announce England’s first ever
LGB stop smoking service ahead of the national public smoking ban
which comes into force on 1 July 2007.
It is a sad fact that lesbian gay and bisexual people are more
likely to be smokers than the rest of the population but less likely
to access stop smoking services for fear of homophobia. This new
service is designed with the community in mind and completely free
to attend.
The LGF wants to support all LGB people in the North West as recent
research suggests that they are less likely to give up smoking than
heterosexuals.
Michael Nastari, co-ordinating the Stop-Smoking Project on behalf of
the charity says:- “The LGF offers a safe, non-judgmental
environment for LGB people to make a positive difference to their
health and the health of others. We recognise it is difficult enough
trying to give up smoking without having to deal with homophobia as
well. This service is for LGB people to meet and support each other
whilst making positive changes to their health.”
He added:- “Giving up any habit can be hard to do. Giving up
an addiction to nicotine is not going to be a walk in the park. So
why do it alone? Why not have the support of others who are all
trying to do the same thing? This could simply be by giving up with
a friend or maybe attending our stop smoking group. Alternatively,
why not have a one to one chat with our advisor so you can plan how
you are going to succeed? You can even pick up a prescription for
patches or gum whilst you are there.”
This initiative is just one of a number of ways that the Lesbian and
Gay Foundation is working to serve the health needs of the North
West's LGB community.
For further information on this free service please visit
www.lgf.org.uk.
100th anniversary of a local steam locomotives
ON Sunday 1 July 2007 we will be
celebrating the 100th anniversary of one of our steam locomotives,
Utrillas.
Utrillas is one of a pair of locomotives which were rescued by two
of our members after they had come to the end of their working lives
at the Utrillas coal mines at Zaragoza, Spain. Utrillas and
Montalban are both 0-4-0 tank locomotives originally built by the
German company Orenstein & Koppel.
They were brought to
the West Lancashire Light Railway in 1984. Both were fitted with new
boilers and then slowly and painstakingly restored by their new
owners.
Please do come and help us to celebrate the 100th anniversary of
Utrillas, built in 1907.
Utrillas and one
other will be in steam, hauling passenger trains all afternoon (12
noon until 5.00).
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Terminal Pontoons Towed into Place
A CRUCIAL
stage in the building of Liverpool’s new cruise liner terminal –
which will bring the world’s biggest liners back to the Mersey - is
set to take place.
Pontoons for the terminal will be towed from Canada Dock, where they
have been constructed, to Princes Dock. There they will be attached
to piles which have been sunk into the river bed.
The pontoons will be attached to tugs in four sections and moved
into place.
The timing of the towing work is dependent on tidal and weather
conditions but is taking place between 23 June 2007 and 28 June
2007.
Council leader Warren Bradley said:- “This latest move brings
home the fact that the cruise liner terminal is becoming a reality.
It is a vitally important development not only for the city but for
the region and will have a huge impact on our future as a world
city. Liverpool is an outward-looking, vibrant dynamic city which is
attracting more and more visitors.
Already the confirmed bookings will bring in many thousands of
passengers and we are still getting a huge amount of interest and
enquiries from cruise companies all over the world. And, of course,
we will have the QE11 at the official launch of the facility in
September.
It has been very encouraging that it is largely local workers who
are being used on this scheme.”
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the Northwest Regional
Development Agency (NWDA), said:- “More than 25 cruises are
expected to be tying up in Liverpool each year by 2009 and that will
bring a new influx of tourists for the region’s outstanding tourist
attractions while providing a boost to the economy.
With Capital of Culture fast approaching for Liverpool, the addition
of a cruise liner facility will ensure that the infrastructure is in
place to secure the city as an international destination for the
future.”
The first liners are due to berth at the new terminal in September.
The new terminal involves creating an extension connected to the
existing landing stage at Princes Dock, allowing cruise ships of up
to 350-metres in length to berth. This means that the biggest liners
in the world will be able to visit the Mersey on a regular basis.
Balfour Beatty is the main contractor for the scheme.
The pontoons for the extension have been constructed in Canada Dock
by Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd and their Birkenhead based
subcontractor GCL (Gormley Construction Ltd). About 90 workers
created the 250 metre long reinforced concrete structures which will
form the new landing stage.
The Cruise Liner facility is being developed by a partnership
between the City Council, Mersey Docks & Harbour Co, Peel Holdings,
Northwest Regional Development Agency, Liverpool Vision, City Focus,
Government Office North West and the Mersey Waterfront Regional
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