WHEN IT COMES TO THE CRUNCH CITY BOYS CAN’T DO THE MATHS – IT’S OFFICIAL

RESEARCH by Whizz.com, the UK’s leading online maths tutoring service, found that Londoners are struggling to recite even their basic times tables.  In a poll of 1,000 people, 1 in 20 capital city dwellers admitted to not even being able to work out any times tables.  This may not sound like a lot but when you do the maths – it’s 6 times more than the national average.  And when it comes to the battle of the sexes, men are the worst culprits, with more than twice as many males than females admitting they can’t do multiplication.

“People think of London as being the financial hub of the country and it’s frankly worrying that so many of its habitants struggle with basic sums,” said Richard Marett, CEO of www.whizz.com.

Top of the class are people in the East of England, with 71% claiming to be able to recite their times tables quickly and accurately. 

“This is great news for people in places like Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  But it seems people in London have got a lot of catching up to do in the numbers game.”  said Richard Marett.

Previous research revealed the average adult in the UK has the same maths ability as a child aged 10 and a half.

“It’s no wonder Britain is in such a complicated state financially.  People are forgetting their times tables as soon as they leave school.”  said Marett. 

TOP OF THE CLASS – how the regions fared

1.  East England
2.  Scotland
3.  South-west England
4.  North-east England
5.  Wales
6.  West Midlands
7.  East Midlands
8.  South-east England
9.  North-west England
10.  Yorkshire and the Humber
11.  London

Peter Brown Craven Minor JFL
Match Reports Week Ending 7 December 2008

Under 15 - League leaders Forefield Rangers and second placed Formby A both won today but Town Green, with games in hand are putting the pressure on the top two.

Town Green 7-1 Southport Trinity - A match which Town Green took control of and never let go. From the start an early attack whistled past the post before Mike Dailey opened the scoring.

Soon after Peter Armitage ghosted through the midfield to hit home.

Jak Gray scored the third and a corner ball found James Edgar to hit in and finish the half four goals to the good.  After the break Peter Armitage scored again with a goal very similar to his first. Mike Dailey scored his second before Trinity got a late consolation goal.

To finish the match Dale Slater broke free to slot beyond the keeper.

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

FOR some office and antics go together like turkey and tinsel but for employers festive frolics can leave a hangover well into the New Year. And so it is that Christmas parties are becoming a legal minefield - with some employers ditching the Christmas bash altogether this year.

As the party season gets underway Mark Dale, an expert in employment law at the Liverpool office of DLA Piper, warns how party pitfalls can land employers in serious trouble:- “The work life balance is becoming increasingly blurred but by law, businesses can be held responsible for their employees' behaviour - even at events held outside of normal working hours.

If employees overstep the line this Christmas, be it sexually harassing a fellow employee to becoming abusive when under the influence of alcohol, then businesses could be found liable.”

But what if you don’t want to make like the Grinch and cancel Christmas?  According to Mark there are ways to protect yourself without dampening your employees' festive cheer.

“Employers should set out clear policies so they can demonstrate they have taken appropriate steps to prevent any wrongdoing. It’s important to point out that equal opportunities policies guarding against discrimination still apply. It’s also worth reminding employees that as the party is technically a work activity, normal disciplinary procedures will follow.” added Mark.

If you do manage to get through the evening without lewd comments and inappropriate use of the photocopier then there is still the morning after the night before to consider.

Mark said that:- “Inform staff of how lenient you will be if they come into work with a hangover, arrive late or fail to turn up. Finally, if employees do fall ill after the excesses of the night before it’s worth checking social networking sites as it’s surprising how many people boast about taking a day off!”

Is the spirit and fun of Christmas now being lost by a claims culture? Are we now going to far or not far enough? Email us your views to news24@southportreporter.com.

New Virgin Trains’ timetable brings faster journeys for Lancaster, Preston, Wigan and Warrington

FASTER journey times feature in the new Virgin Trains’ timetable from Sunday, 14 December, details of which were announced Monday, 8 December 2008.

Journey times for most trains to London Euston from Lancaster, Preston, Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay will be cut by more than 20 minutes.

Faster journeys to London will include typical schedules of 2h 34 from Lancaster, 2h 14 from Preston, 2h 03 from Wigan North Western and 1h 52 from Warrington Bank Quay. The fastest train of the day from Preston will be timed to London in 2h 08.

Schedules will also be faster to Glasgow and Edinburgh, including times such as 2h 20 from Preston to Glasgow Central and 2h 44 from Wigan North Western to Edinburgh. A few minutes will also be trimmed from timings to Birmingham New Street.

Tony Collins, Virgin Rail Group’s CEO, said:- “The new West Coast timetable represents a huge opportunity for the industry following the £9bn upgrade by Network Rail. More seats and dramatically reduced journey times are huge wins for passengers but quite rightly we will all be judged on how well this railway will perform. The successful running of Europe’s busiest main line railway is going to be a huge challenge for the train operators and Network Rail and, during the first few months as the timetable beds in, passengers’ expectations may not always be fulfilled. I believe however that within six months we shall have a railway of which the nation can truly be proud.”

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), said:- “The West Coast Mainline is a strategic link within the Northwest's public transport system and these improvements will bring significant business and tourism benefits.

An efficient public transport system is vital for achieving and securing economic growth, and this is excellent news for the whole Northwest region."

Summary of principal changes

Lancaster, Preston, Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay to London Euston

* Hourly trains mainly 23 minutes faster than today’s equivalents, non-stop south of Warrington (today’s equivalents usually have three intermediate stops south of Warrington – in future passengers will use Birmingham trains to Crewe).

* Typical departure times at xx:38 from Lancaster, xx:58 from Preston, xx:09 from Wigan North Western and xx:20 from Warrington Bank Quay for most of the day.

* In addition to this pattern, non-stop trains from Preston at 13:53 and 15:53 to London in 2h 10 and 2h 08 respectively, the latter five minutes faster than today’s best.

* The last train back from London to Preston will leave Euston at 21:10, 24 minutes later than now, also serving Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western.

To Birmingham New Street

* Trains will operate hourly to Birmingham New Street, generally leaving Preston at xx:17, Wigan North Western at xx:28 and Warrington Bank Quay at xx:39, calling at Crewe and Wolverhampton. The majority will also serve Lancaster, leaving there at xx:57 minutes (most hours).

* These trains will have much better connections than now with CrossCountry Trains for stations to the South West and South Coast (in many cases it will be more convenient to change at Wolverhampton than Birmingham New Street).

To Scotland

* Trains will operate hourly from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, Crewe, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle, with the destination alternating between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

* Trains will operate hourly from London to Warrington, Wigan and Preston, almost all serving Lancaster, the majority continuing to Carlisle and Glasgow Central.

* Most of these trains from Birmingham (generally leaving New Street at xx:20) and London Euston (leaving Euston at xx:30) will also call at Oxenholme Lake District or Penrith North Lakes.

Cheapest fares reduced

To celebrate the start of the new timetable, prices of the cheapest Advance tickets have been slashed from 14 December 2008.

Single fares to London from Preston and Lancaster are reduced from £16.50 to £10.50, and from Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay from £13.00 to £8.00.

Fares to Birmingham New Street are reduced from £9.50 to £4.50 (Preston and Lancaster), and from £8.50 to £4.00 (Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay).

These prices are not being increased in January 2009.

More information:-

Route guides can be viewed or downloaded at virgintrains.com and free printed copies of the guides are available at any station served by Virgin Trains.

Individual journey details for travel from 14 December 2008 can be checked by visiting nationalrail.co.uk or by calling 08457 48 49 50.