Tickets on sale now for the Big Model and Hobby Show 2022

THE Gauge 1 Model Railway Association are pleased to announce that the next Big Model and Hobby Show will take place on 6 August 2022, at the world famous Aintree Racecourse. The event will be held within the Princess Royal Exhibition Hall, from 10am to 4pm. The event will be packed full of exhibition stands for a wide range of hobby groups, interactive displays and also lots of model displays!

This new location offers extremely good free car parking, as well as food and drink facilities being available within the hall. Public transport access to the show site is also extremely good, thanks to Aintree Station being outside the Racecourse, with frequent service to and from Liverpool on the Merseyrail Ormskirk Line.

The historic showground is also located near the end of 2 motorways the M57 from the South and M58 from the North, with directions to the Racecourse fully signposted. Tickets are now on sale below, and on the Show's website:- ModelAndHobbyShow.Com website, along with up to date information.

**Local NHS Trust says it's:- "Time to Talk" about mental health!**

LOCAL NHS Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) is supporting this year's national:- 'Time to Talk' day to raise awareness of issues around mental health. This annual event is an attempt to provoke a national conversation around mental health and also enables people to feel more comfortable discussing how they are feeling. Above all else, it encourages people to be mindful of their own wellbeing as well as that of others. In 2022, the national campaign is being organised by national charity, Rethink Mental Health, in association with the Mind Mental health charity and the Co-Operative Group. CWP Director of Nursing, Therapies, and Patient Partnership, Gary Flockhart said:- "At CWP we always encourage people to have conversations around their mental health and 'Time to Talk' day is 1 of those opportunities to really highlight this. We know that the past couple of years have been tremendously challenging for all of us and some people may be experiencing some challenges for the first time. The important thing is to know that you are not alone and that a wide range of compassionate, safe and effective support is available."

According to the Mind mental health charity, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in any given year. If you feel like you need support, it is important to reach out for help, to prevent yourself from feeling worse. There is a wide range of support options available, both NHS services and those provided by the 3rd sector, for local people to access. For more information, please visit:- CWP.NHS.UK and you can find the right support for you. Gary continues:- "We hope through initiatives like:- 'Time to Talk Day' that we can reduce the stigma around mental health, a stigma that I do feel is being reduced year by year as understanding increases. When accessing CWP services all people are treated as individuals and we endeavour to provide compassionate, person centred care to all those who reach out for support. We understand that the first step is the hardest step, but we are here to help. There will be a range of activity online to support the awareness campaign nationally. It will encourage the creation of supportive communities by people having conversations with family, friends, or colleagues about mental health. We all have mental health, by talking about it we can support ourselves and others. Please check out Twitter for more information."

Bill Esterson MP accuses Government of failing to act on ventilation in Schools

BILL Esterson MP questioned the Government's response to the issue of ventilation in Schools during Education Questions in Parliament. Mr Esterson, MP for Sefton Central, said the Government was warned about the risk to pupils of inadequate ventilation but failed to act to provide the necessary air purification systems. Mr Esterson suggested the lack of proper ventilation had contributed to missed School days for thousands of pupils who had contracted Covid, in School.

Mr Esterson asked in the Commons, on Monday, 31 January 2021:- "SAGE advised the Government to improve ventilation in Schools in May 2020. They warned the Government to prepare for winter in July 2020. Over 10 million days of in-person teaching were lost last term. Over 400,000 children were out of School with Covid last week. A quarter of Schools face teacher absences of 15% or more. Air cleaning devices are more than 18 months late and are being offered to fewer than 1 in 30 classrooms. Why did ministers ignore the advice about the importance of ventilation in Schools for so long?"

Education Minister Robin Walker MP responded:- "The Government has consistently guided ventilation is an important part of the measures to take against Covid. But what we have done is actually have a world leading programme of rolling out first of all CO2 monitors so we can identify where the classrooms were that needed extra support in this respect, roughly 3 per cent of classrooms came back as needing the extra support and the Secretary of State confirmed last week that every single School that meets the criteria and has applied for those will get them paid for by the DfE so this is a successful response to absolutely ensure that Schools have the support that they need."

Mr Esterson said following the exchange:- "Pupils have been sitting in their coats while windows have had to be wide open throughout winter, because the Government has done too little to provide the air cleaning systems Schools need. This is despite warnings from as long ago as May 2020 by their own advisers. It's no wonder so many children and staff have been off School even recently and of course the more children who have Covid, the more the virus spreads across the community. Children need to be in School and have missed way too much education already. The lack of investment in this area by the Conservatives is shocking and has surely led to many children falling ill and possibly passing the virus to vulnerable family members and others. The failure to support Schools with adequate ventilation is yet another example of where the Government has got the big calls badly wrong during the Pandemic."