20th Prescot Festival set for landmark opening weekend

AUDIENCES are preparing for dazzling orchestral and choral performances as the opening weekend of the 2024 Prescot Festival approaches.

The landmark 20th Annual Prescot Festival of Music & the Arts began on:- Friday, 21 June 2024, with a return visit from festival favourites South Liverpool Orchestra, conducted by Festival Founder and Artistic Director Dr Robert Howard, in a concert of well-known orchestral:- 'lollipops.' The Opening Night audience in the 400 year old, Grade I listed Prescot Parish Church will also enjoy Festival birthday cake to mark the occasion.

After such a celebratory start, day 2 continues with the 100 strong Prescot Festival Chorus, a:- 'Come & Sing' choir that has been gathering annually since 2007. Their performance of Fauré's Requiem, a much loved choral work, will be followed by a second half that features the magnificent Liverpool Cathedral Choir in a range of repertoire, including:- Coronation classics such as Parry's I Was Glad.

On Sunday, Liverpool Bach Collective will sing the music of JS Bach in the majestic surrounds of Prescot's Roman Catholic Church (Our Lady Immaculate & St Joseph's), providing a traditional service of Evensong, followed by Cantata 29, with its ceremonial ensemble that includes:- strings, winds, organ. trumpets and timpani. The music will be directed by Philip Duffy, who was Master of Music at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral since its opening in 1966 until 1996, and director of music for the famous papal visit to Liverpool by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

The festival then continues through to:- Sunday, 30 June 2024, ending with a Last Night of the Proms-style Finale featuring Maghull Wind Orchestra directed by Phil Shotton, after a 10-day programme that includes:- classic film Chariots of Fire, afternoon opera excerpts, School choirs and instrumentalists, a one-act one-woman play, a brass band, historian Ken Pye, a barn dance with live ceilidh band, and much more.

"We're confident that this year's special 20th festival, which also includes:- musical and dramatic performances at Prescot's Shakespeare North Playhouse, will provide the most fitting and thrilling fanfare possible for this new era in Prescot's cultural life. And with so much local talent on show it's a great opportunity to celebrate 20 highly successful years of this local, grassroots and volunteer run Festival." said artistic director Dr Robert Howard.

The 20th Annual Prescot Festival of Music & the Arts takes place, until to:- Sunday, 30 June 2024, in the historic Lancashire Town of Prescot, Merseyside. The full schedule is online at:- PrescotFestival.Co.UK, and tickets are on sale via the website or in person (cash only) from:- Poco Bar & Cafe, located at:- 30 Eccleston Street, Prescot, L34 5QJ.

Used coffee cups are NOT litter insist some rail users as train operators probes 'the science of littering'

THE cleanliness of trains across the country is a topic often in the spotlight, with operators battling to keep their carriages clean for the thousands of people who step aboard every day. But a research project led by the train operator Northern has opened-up a debate about what actually constitutes littering.

According to some respondents to a study of nearly 2,000 regular rail users, used coffee cups left on trains are not considered to be litter. But do you agree?

Faring worse in people's opinions were:- strong smelling food, which people said impacts their perception of whether or not an environment is clean, even if the food in question is fresh and being eaten by another passenger.

Interestingly, those who admitted to littering say they do feel guilty about it; particularly the impact on other passengers; which leaves train operators with hope that habits can be changed and people can be encouraged to take their rubbish away with them.

Each year, the train presentation team at Northern carries out 695,000:- 'carriage cleans.'

Some of that cleaning is to be expected given the natural wear and tear of thousands of people using the trains every day. However, an excess of litter is just one example of an avoidable issue that takes up time the team could otherwise spend on more important measures, like:- 'touch point' cleans.

In November 2022, Northern released a video highlighting the monumental task its team of 500 train presentation operatives have to keep its fleet of 345 trains clean and tidy.

A year later, they started using a new chemical free cleaning product called Clean Zero to cut down on the use of chemicals and reduce plastic waste. And now, this research project is the latest measure Northern has taken to improve the customer experience on board its trains.

Northern collaborated with South Western Railway and Cowry Consulting on the project and has been nominated for a Railway Innovation Award for their efforts.

Jack Commandeur, Engineering Director at Northern, said:- "We're always looking for ways to better understand our customers' wants and needs. This project has been an interesting one and shows how a seemingly 'open and shut' topic actually has some fascinating behavioural science going on beneath the surface."

With the results of the research now in, Northern and South Western Railway are investigating potential interventions they can trial to help combat the issue and encourage customers to take their rubbish away with them.

The results of any trials will be shared with other train operators to ensure the widest possible benefit for rail users.

The Railway Innovation Awards celebrate the achievements of organisations and individuals who are pushing the rail industry forward by developing innovative ideas.

Northern, South Western Railway and Cowry Consulting have been nominated in the Passenger Experience category and will find out if they have won the award at a special ceremony in:- London, on:- Friday, 21 June 2024.

For more information, visit:- ModernRailways.Com.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.

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