People can enjoy the 2022 World Cup in miniature this November and December, with a unique Subbuteo tournament!

THE event is being held at the new Shot and Chaser micro pub in Southport town centre, and will feature a Subbuteo World Champion and a Sky Sports commentator. Subbuteo is an iconic tabletop football game where players flick miniature players with their fingers which is enjoying a new resurgence in popularity after coming back into fashion. Shot and Chaser owner Martin Gabriel said:- "We have been open for four weeks now, and things are going really well! We are looking forward to staging our Subbuteo World Cup and would love people to get involved, whether through playing or coming down to support! With the World Cup being on, lots of pubs are showing games on the big screen. We thought we would celebrate the tournament in a different way for people to enjoy! We can go to a maximum of 32 teams, and will play the games every Wednesday night between:- 7pm and 10pm, forming a league. We will provide all the teams and all the equipment needed. We will do a live draw so people know which teams they are going to be. People can sign up as 1 of the teams and play in the tournament, or they can get involved by coming down and cheering on, and having a really good laugh! Subbuteo is enjoying a real resurgence at the moment, there is real interest in it again. "I am 53 and we have had lots of interest from people my age, who enjoyed playing it when we were younger, but lots of younger people are coming down too. Subbuteo is gaining a new generation of followers. It's very nostalgic. It's a good little game, everyone loves it. We will have Subbuteo World Champion Brian Daley, from Prescott, coming down to join us. During the final, on 7 December 2022, Rob Palmer, a good friend of mine who is a football commentator and sports broadcaster on Sky Sports, ESPN and other outlets around the world, will be doing live commentary for us! We want Shot and Chaser to become well known for our events. We are staging a Comedy Bingo night later this year and have more ideas we are working on."

Shot and Chaser opened on Wesley Street, a street famous for its range of local, independent businesses, in October 2022. The popular micro pub sells craft beers, whisky chasers, gin and wine, and is dog friendly. It is owned by Martin Gabriel and Zoe Murphy. Martin said:- "We have 8 children between us, 2 dogs, a cat and a hamster! We both have hectic day jobs and created Shot and Chaser as a space for local people with local products supplied from local Hospitality businesses and local independent breweries. We have made it the sort of place that we would like to visit in our down time. It is very warm and welcoming. There are lots of great, quirky local businesses along Wesley Street, and we really fit into that."

Southport pub gains top 5 star hygiene rating

THE Willow Grove, in Southport, has gained the top rating for its levels of hygiene in the Council's Scores on the Doors programme. The pub, in Lord Street, was awarded a 5 star rating by the Council's inspectors. Scores on the Doors aims to highlight hygiene standards in pubs, restaurants, take always and clubs across the borough. Inspectors judge outlets on how hygienic and well-managed the food preparation at the premises is and each business is benchmarked against the same criteria namely: hygiene, structural and confidence in management.

The pub's Manager, Daniel Mercer, said:- "We are delighted that we have gained the top rating and I'm sure our customers will welcome the news too. Standards of hygiene at the pub are of paramount importance. All of the staff work hard to ensure that the pub offers its customers the highest levels of hygiene at all time and we are delighted that our efforts have been recognised with the 5 star rating."

Stagecoach leads UK Bus Awards, scooping 20 awards

BRITAIN'S biggest bus operator, Stagecoach, is leading the industry and has picked up more awards than any other business at the 2022 UK Bus Awards in London. The company's performance saw it pick up a total of:- 20 awards; 7 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze.

Stagecoach scooped the top:- 'gold award' for supporting the environment, contributing to safer driving, services to the community, top express coach operator and top national bus depot.

2 Stagecoach employees also won the top:- 'gold' award for 'Engineer of the Year' won by Jamie Stockton from Stagecoach Manchester and:- 'unsung hero' won by Lesley Hester, who is operations manager at Stagecoach Manchester's Sharston Depot.

The awards were presented on 15 November 2022, at Troxy, in London, hosted by BBC Presenter Jane Hill.

Carla Stockton-Jones, UK Managing Director for Stagecoach said:- "At such a challenging time for our customers and the bus sector, it's great to see the fantastic recognition for the hard work of Stagecoach Bus teams around the country. We have a fantastic team of committed people who are proud to serve their customers and local communities and these awards reflect this hard work and professionalism for everyone in the Stagecoach family. It is great to have such a range of award wins, recognising all the hard work our people do from work in the community, to engineering, supporting the environment and culture change as well as being recognised as top shire operators and top national bus depots. A huge congratulations to all of this year's UK Bus Award winners."

The full list of Stagecoach awards is:-

► Culture change - Stagecoach London, Safety Strategy Forum winning bronze.

► Young manager of the year - Ben Houghton from Stagecoach London won bronze and Zachary McAskill won Silver.

► Supporting the environment- Stagecoach East for its Big Switch Off campaign, winning gold.

► The ROSCO award for contribution to safer driving- Stagecoach London winning bronze for its Safety Strategy Forum and Stagecoach East and Volvo Bus winning gold for Intelligent Speed Assistance.

► Leader of the year - Joel Mitchell from Stagecoach South East winning silver.

► Top shire operator - Stagecoach East Scotland winning silver.

► London bus garage of the year - Stagecoach London's Bow garage winning silver.

► Bus and the community - Stagecoach East Scotland's:- 'Sams Wellbeing on wheels' winning bronze and Stagecoach South East winning gold for:- 'The Friendship Bus.'

► Top express coach operation - Stagecoach Oxford Tube winning gold.

► Engineer of the year- Craig Mills from Stagecoach London winning silver and Jamie Stockton from Stagecoach Manchester winning gold.

► Unsung heroes - Lesley Hester, Operations Manager from Stagecoach Manchester winning gold with commendations for Glenn Oldman (Stagecoach London), Louise Sills and James Third (Stagecoach South East).

► Buses for pleasure - Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire winning bronze for:- 'Explore the Lakes by Bus'

► Top national bus depot - Stagecoach East Scotland's St Andrews Depot won bronze, Stagecoach North Scotland's Portree depot winning silver and Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire's Barrow depot winning gold.

► Top national bus driver - Gurnam Singh from Stagecoach West winning bronze.

Sign up for the Penguin Parade in Lancashire and help Marie Curie support more families this winter

MARIE Curie is calling on Primary Schools, Nurseries, and Playgroups, in Lancashire, are being to sign up to its cutest fundraising event in the calendar, the Penguin Parade. Local children can take part in a sponsored walk, with a special Penelope the Penguin plush toy, while raising money for families affected by terminal illness. Launched in 2021, 140 different groups across the UK took part and Marie Curie is hoping even more young fundraisers will sign up in 2022. As well as receiving Penelope, the Penguin, there are also ideas for fun activities to do in the classroom and to take home.

Gina Hopwood, Marie Curie Community Fundraiser in Lancashire said:- "Schools taking part in a Penguin Parade this winter can expect to have lots of fun as well as helping us provide vital care tor those living with a terminal illness, caring for a loved one at the end of life, or those that are bereaved. £25 will help pay to support someone who's grieving for an hour and £180 allows a nurse to provide expert care and emotional support for a full nine-hour shift so someone living with a terminal illness can get expert care. We're hoping young supporters in Lancashire will enjoy stretching their legs and going for a little waddle to raise money so we can continue to provide our care and help people in their local community."

For more information on Penguin Parade and to sign up visit:- MarieCurie.Org.UK or contact your local Community Fundraiser, Gina on:- 07515135425.