MY LIFE, MY WORDS

A small exhibition explores the lives and experiences of people from Liverpool’s Black communities and their relationships with the ever-changing city.

My Life, My Words 2 February 2009 to July 2009 features the lives and experiences of three senior community members told through videos and images.

The video and images that will be shown are:-

Hulbert Priddie, born in 1930, who came to Liverpool in 1955 from Trinidad and Tobago.

Stella Wilke was born in 1942 and was originally from Guyana. Mrs Wilke moved to Liverpool with her two eldest children in 1962 – her husband had come the previous year.

Rudolf Murray was born in 1933 and came from Barbados. He sailed to Liverpool as a merchant seaman in 1952.

My Life, My Words has six images portraying aspects of their lives. There is a touch screen on which visitors can listen to their oral histories on the following four topics: First impressions of Liverpool, Working, Living in Liverpool and How Liverpool has changed.

Angela Robinson, curator of transatlantic slavery, says:- “This revealing exhibition is another opportunity for the International Slavery Museum to engage with the community.

It helps the museum, which opened in 2007, to develop closer links with Liverpool’s Black communities – telling their history in relation to the city and the legacies of transatlantic slavery.”

The exhibition will be held in the International Slavery Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool and it will be FREE admission. Opening times every day will be from 10am to 5pm. If you require more information then please do ring 0151 478 4499 or visit the museum's website www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.

 DIGITAL BRITAIN REPORT FALLS SHORT ON RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDING NEXT GENERATION BROADBAND

FOLLOWING the release of the Digital Britain report, Thinkbroadband.com questions whether Lord Carter’s recommendations are actually going to bring real hope to the 30% of UK households that to date have not seen the full benefits of a competitive broadband market.

Andrew Ferguson, editor of Thinkbroadband.com commented that:- “Many had expectations that the report would provide a clear way forward, but we are left with promises of more watching and assessing, which is frustrating for the million’s of UK households who are currently missing out of the full capabilities of broadband.”

With next generation Broadband being the hot topic for broadband Britain, the report seems to be backing a fibre to the curb (FTTC) solution at a cost of around £5bn. However Ferguson highlights that:- “The report falls short of recommending how funds should be made available to ensure a true future proof fibre network is rolled out. The Universal Service Obligation (USO) looks set to be delivered by a mixture of first generation broadband solutions, and 2Mbps by 2012 while a step up from dial-up, is going to very quickly be outpaced by applications and changes in internet usage. As people embrace a digital content culture, we will be increasingly looking at homes with multiple devices using the broadband connection, which is when 10Mbps and faster connections come into their own.

If the report is intended to nudge the industry in the right direction without public investment is very much a double edged sword. Parts of the UK will have 50Mbps in 2009, and some 40% of homes by 2012 will have the choice of 50Mbps from Virgin Media and similar speeds from BT, but the question still stands as to how far the firms will go and whether their current investment plans can be carried out during a recession. This report was an opportunity to ensure the UK had a clear path towards a future proof e-economy, but with the current proposals we are going to have campaigns every four or five years to resolve broadband speed/coverage issues.”

Let us know what your connection speeds are today and where you live by emailing us to news24@southportreporter.com and also let us know what you think of Lord Carter's recommendations.