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Walk Under The Mersey Is A Massive Success
THE walk under
the Mersey went fantastically well on Sunday, 19 July 2009, even if
was not to time. The event was run, not only to raise cash for the
local Claire House, but also to celebrate the tunnel's 75 years of
operation. It was back in 18 July 1934 that the tunnel was opened by
King George V, after almost nine years of work to complete it. At
the time it was one of the great engineering triumphs of the era. It
was also Britain's biggest single municipal enterprise ever. Even
though the weather outside was wet, it did not stop thousands of
people taking part in this second opportunity to walk thorough the
tunnel. And yes, it was dry inside the Mersey Tunnel. Also attending
were two veterans who helped build the Queensway Tunnel, Jack Green
and Victor Chinn. On top of that, attending this Sunday were several
people who took part in the first walk through the tunnel back in
1934. Starting the celebrations was a fantastic display of veteran
cars and trucks, including 2 steam powered vintage vehicles. Then
the local Liverpool Samba Band played as Keith Chegwin and Michael
Starke and guests entertained on a large articulated trailer stage.
Well most of the time Keith was on stage, but he did get itchy feet
at times and descended to join the walkers as they started the walk.
Several waves of walkers passed through, with hundreds of people in
each group. This was a massive undertaking and it was so good to see
every one having a fantastic time and to witness such a high
standard of organization by all involved. Well done to all who
turned out and took part at this historic event. Let's hope it will
not be the last time it happens. Now, we will let the photos tell
you the rest of the story. Also just to note we will be adding
some video footage onto Southport.TV, with in the next week, shot by
our Editor on his mobile phone, as he walked through with the first
group to go through the tunnel!
Click on
here to
see our photographic report.
£1.1m fund to give new entrepreneurs a flying start
A new training
programme aimed at developing the entrepreneurial skills of
unemployed and workless adults in Merseyside has been launched by
the Learning and Skills Council Greater Merseyside (LSC). The
Enterprise Routeway programme is funded by the LSC and is delivered
through Liverpool-based training provider Train 2000. It offers a
customised programme of skills support with clear progression paths
that will support unemployed and workless people wanting to start
their own business. The practical support ranges from
confidence building to business planning programmes and is designed
to lead participants into other targeted business start-up support
such as the New Entrepreneur Scholarships and the Local Enterprise
Growth Initiative (LEGI). Helen France, director of area at
the LSC said:- “This is important funding which goes to the
heart of our remit of ensuring that everybody has access to the
funding they need to enhance their existing skills and to develop
new ones. Long term unemployment is a real problem as the more time
that people remain out of work the more difficult it becomes for
them to find meaningful employment. This is particularly true for
disadvantaged and vulnerable groups which this funding is primarily
targeted at. A number of people are already benefiting from this
funding so we would urge anyone thinking of starting their own
business to take full advantage of the support that is available to
them now.” The funding runs until December 2010 and
people wishing to engage with the programme should contact Train
2000 on:- 0800 587 0383.
The funding is available to people across the Merseyside area and in
various personal circumstances, including:-
· Long term unemployed people
· Lone parents
· Women returners to the labour market
· Black and Minority Ethnic groups
· Learners with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities
· Ex offenders
· People in receipt of benefits
· Homeless people
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