Ground breaking Life Rooms service opens within secure services

A Church and charity has launched a community garden which includes a fruit and vegetable growing area whose produce will be donated to a local food bank. The Salvation Army in Southport has redeveloped disused land at the back of its Church and community Centre, located on Shakespeare Street, to create a community garden, complete with fruit and vegetable growing area, and will donate fresh produce to the Trussell Trust food bank supporting members of the Southport community struggling with the rising costs of living.

As the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables remain at an all time high, The Salvation Army has used its fruit and vegetable patch to grow lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, radishes and sweetcorn. The fresh produce is placed in food parcels alongside key food bank staples such as pasta, rice and tinned meat to people in need of support.

Kathryn Casserley, community manager at The Salvation Army in Southport said:- "The way our fruit and vegetable patch is set up, we can grow fresh produce every month of the year and it is important for us to provide fresh locally-grown food to people who need support and if we can help to stock the food bank that we work in partnership with at the same time, even better! We see 1st-hand the impact that the rise in the cost of living has had on individuals and families and food banks are rightly geared up to offer non-perishable food, but we believe that everyone should have access to fresh food and wanted to put those thoughts into action, making not only a difference to the variety in the food parcels, but to people's lives too."

With ambitious plans for the community garden taking shape, its redevelopment will includes:- a relaxation and reflection area, a woodland area complete with firepit and a grassed area for family picnics. While the work is underway, people who don't have access to a garden are welcome to drop in and use the spaces available.

Kathryn added:- "Our community garden is a different way to help people integrate into the area in which they live whilst also bringing about positive wellbeing through enjoying the outdoors. We know that not everyone has access to outdoor space and with the School holidays almost upon us, some families will struggle to get their children playing safely outdoors."

The community garden is open for drop in, from:- Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, and can be accessed either through the car park or via the community café within the community Centre and children must be supervised at all times.

The Salvation Army is funding the work to the community garden and has a Just Giving Page, dedicated specifically to its work within Southport, and whilst donations of all sizes are welcomed, people are encouraged to donate only what they can afford.
 

"We'll show you, we CAN draw and paint!"

ALTHOUGH their backgrounds vary from teaching and nursing to education law, finance and catering, these 10 artists all have 2 things in common: they have all discovered that they really 'CAN' draw and paint and they are all exhibiting their artwork in public for the 1st time.

The group are members of Southport professional artist and mentor, Angela Birchall's:- "You CAN draw and paint Academy" and attend her weekly tutored group in Scarisbrick Village Hall. In these sessions they all work on whatever artwork they choose in whatever medium they prefer with Angela circulating offering advice, guidance, encouragement and tuition from her 48 years experience as an artist and teacher.

During August they are having an exhibition at the ArtHouse Gallery in Southport. The work on display clearly shows the flexibility of the tutored group format as paintings and drawings range from flowers to landscapes, with racehorses, Royal Ascot, a lion and a lobster in between. These are depicted in acrylics, watercolours, pencil and pastel.

As Angela explains:- "The format of the tutored group allows everyone to explore favourite subjects or brand new ones, in a medium with which they are familiar or to try out a totally new 1, and to work at a pace that suits each person. They can experiment and develop their individual creativity always knowing that I'm there as a safety net for them if needs be. I absolutely love tutoring this group; the creative energy and the wonderful support and encouragement that they give each other is incredible. I am so proud of them stepping up to the plate and taking part in their 1st public exhibition."

Although a few had never painted before, most remembered how much they enjoyed art at School, but had neither the time nor the opportunity to develop their art into their adult lives until they saw adverts for Angela's classes. Now they are following in Angela's own footsteps as earlier in the year she successfully held her own solo exhibition at the ArtHouse gallery.

Val Warmsley said she could see what she wanted to paint, but couldn't translate the painting she saw in her head onto paper. "Since starting in Angela's classes I have learned so much, and feel that it's not just my skills that have increased a thousand fold, but my confidence too. I feel I am producing work that goes way, way beyond what I was capable of not even a year ago."

Sandra Morrison who says she finds the process to be:- "relaxing and totally absorbing" recently provided artwork for her son's wedding, creating table decorations with landscapes depicting the couple's favourite venues around the world.

Wendy Dixon, who particularly loves pencil drawing, explained:- "Due to a demanding career it is only recently that I have been able to seriously make time to develop these skills and I am loving every minute."

Alan Proffitt was always aware of a family history of artistic talent, but did not have the time to see how he matched up to them. "Since joining the classes my interest has been rekindled and I learned how to work in watercolours and now enjoy acrylics. I started off with landscapes and have moved on to painting animals and characters."

Bev Waugh remembered how much she enjoyed drawing and painting as a child so started again last year, adding:- "Creating art gives me time to do something different from the day to day routines and it's always interesting to see how it turns out."

Jackie Horner also used to enjoy art at School and after retiring from nursing decided to take it up as a hobby:- "I find it both rewarding and relaxing. I enjoy the classes so much, meeting other people and having a very helpful, patient teacher."

Christine Charnock had never painted before, not even at School, when she started classes 18 months ago. Now she says:- "It's a place to relax and learn; my favourite subjects are landscapes and I like to use watercolour or acrylic paints."

Jayne Duckworth is another who had never tried drawing or painting until she started classes 2 years ago. "So far I have worked in watercolours, acrylic, pencil and pastels but my favourite medium has to be acrylic, and using mainly just the 3 primary colours plus black and white is absolutely fascinating. Learning to mix my own colours is something I would never believed possible 2 years ago! I love every minute of the art classes and am so proud to be submitting a few examples of my latest projects."

Marie Ward's background was in education law so she says:- "I saw art classes as a means of allowing my mind to drift & wander. I enjoy experimenting with colour and developing visual expressions of my thoughts."

Patricia Goudie's casual interest in art was interrupted by illness that has meant having to retrain herself to use her left hand, but she's now getting back to painting and says:- "The tutored classes are ideal for my needs. I'm gathering confidence and knowledge all the time. Watercolour is my preferred medium, but I am also enjoying pastels after recently learning how to use them."

The "You CAN draw and paint Academy" group exhibition takes place in the:- ArtHouse Gallery, Eastbank Street, Southport, from:- Tuesday, 8 August to Saturday, 19 August 2023.