Knowsley Online

Elizabethan Fayre takes Prescot back in time.

Strolling players and medieval craftspeople filled Prescot in a Spring Fayre with a difference.

The popular Elizabethan Fayre transported around a thousand visitors back to the 14^th century.

There were jugglers, harpists, craft stalls, donkeys and fairground rides at the event in and around Prescot Parish Church in Church Street.

This year it coincided with Prescot’s popular producers market which showcases the best produce from local farmers, bakeries and businesses.

The festival recreates the old May Fayres that were held in Prescot, during the era of the first Queen Elizabeth

“The Elizabethan Fayre is becoming a real crowd puller,” said Cllr Eddie Connor, Knowsley Council’s cabinet member for leisure community and culture.

“Prescot has a lot of history and the medieval fayres here attracted people from all over the country.

“This event gives people a chance to see what the town might have looked and felt like way back then.”

• The Prescot producers markets are held on the first Saturday of every month from 9am until 2pm around Eccleston Street.

A medieval street entertainer meets a youngster from Prescot at the town’s Elizabethan Fayre

Bob fixes it for colourful Lui

Bob the Builder fixed it for 3 year old Lui Parry Jones when he won a competition in Knowsley.

Lui went to see the popular TV character at Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park in Longview Drive, Huyton and got to meet his hero backstage.

He was one of ten children who’d won a colouring competition and got to meet Bob, Scoop, Muck, Dizzy, Rolly, Wendy and Spud.

Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park opened last year and offers all sorts of sports and leisure facilities, a wide range of classes and two swimming pools.

It also has a beauty and leisure spa, adult day care and a fully equipped theatre space. There’s lots of parking and a reception bar and café on the evening of performances.

Plan where you’ll watch the Olympic Flame in Knowsley!

The Olympic Flame comes to Knowsley on June 1 and it’ll be welcomed with a celebration event at Knowsley Safari Park.

There’s a day-long celebration to welcome the Flame at the Park, starting at 10am and a talent show for local groups.

To register for your FREE ticket, log onto the www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk website.

The Flame leaves the Safari Park and the relay begins again around 3.30pm at the Prescot end of Liverpool Road.

You can line the route and cheer on the torchbearers as they carry the Flame through Huyton into Liverpool.

This simple map will help you plan where you can watch this historic event.

If you’re not coming along to watch, it might be best to avoid the area between 2pm and 4.30pm as delays are expected.

For more information call Steve Gowland on 443 5208 or Jennifer Sweeney

on 443 2984 or log onto www.knowsley.gov.uk

Map of the route of the Olympic Flame through Knowsley on Friday June 1.

 

More for Your Money at This Year’s Prescot Festival

A Merseyside arts festival is promising added value for concertgoers this year.

The 10-day Prescot Festival will give locals more for their money when it gets underway next month. On 15 June’s opening night, as well as music from one of the North West’s top brass bands, audiences will get a barbecued hamburger or hot dog supplied by caterers who recently fed the Queen and Prince Philip.

An organ recital by the Metropolitan Cathedral’s Richard Lea on 17 June will be followed by cheese and wine, all included in the ticket price. An old-fashioned choc-ice treat awaits those who go to see the 2006 hit film The Queen on 19 June.

And as if a night of toe-tapping tunes from Liverpool folk band The Travelling People were not enough, guests at the St Paul’s Barn Dance on 22 June will also get a traditional Lancashire hot-pot supper for their £6 ticket.

Swap your bus pass for a bike!

Children in Knowsley who get free bus passes are being offered the chance to swap them for bikes.

The scheme’s aimed at pupils in Years 10 and 11 in secondary school and is the first of its kind on Merseyside.

It’s called “Bikes for Bus Passes” and gives pupils the chance to swap their Council funded bus pass for a new bike and cycling accessory pack.

Its run by Knowsley’s Road Safety and Travel Plan team who say it can improve the health and fitness of the child as well as increase their independence.

It gives them a free form of transport and fits in with the team’s overall aim of reducing the amount of traffic around schools.

People who are interested in taking part in the scheme, should contact Knowsley’s School Transport Team on 0151 443 2500.

Join in the fun at this year’s KHT Community Day

Families can enjoy a fun-packed day of dancing, music and entertainment at this year’s Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) Community Day.

Once again the event will be held at King George V playing field, Longview Drive, Huyton, with plenty of activities for all the family including a climbing wall, fairground rides, face painting, petting zoo, entertainment from KCC Live and fantastic performances from some of Knowsley’s best dancers, martial artists and singers –  and it's all free.

There will also be fairground rides, jugglers, a football tournament and basketball coaching, and various information stalls with a chance to consult with KHT and its partners and learn more about new lettings system Property Pool Plus.

£0.48m Invested in Knowsley’s coalfield communities

The North West Coalfield Communities Regeneration Programme (NWCCRP) has invested £0.48m over the past 7 years in the targeted coalfield communities of Cronton and Whiston, Knowsley.  The programme was supported through the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Coalfield Regeneration Trust (CRT).

The programme delivered a package of support aimed at addressing and reducing high levels of worklessness and developing a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship within coalfield communities. 

Young people aged 18 to 24 from Cronton and Whiston took part in 6-12 month work placements in environmental teams operated by Groundworks Merseyside and partners. They carried out work including tree planting, clearing shrubs, developing allotments, and reinvigorating football pitches.

We want your views – street lighting work in Kirkby Central

Knowsley Council is working with Tay Valley Lighting (TVL) to carry out a multi-million pound revamp of the borough’s street lighting.

Work is nearing completion in Prescot West and Halewood South and the team will then move into Kirkby Central next month, contributing to the wider £200 million regeneration of the town centre.

Members of the community in the Kirkby Central area are invited to attend a consultation event being held on Wednesday, 23 May at Southdene Community and Youth Centre on Broad Lane, Simonswood, Kirkby.  Representatives from both Knowsley Council and TVL will be on-hand to answer any questions residents may have regarding the work that will be taking place.

Free family fun

Knowsley families enjoyed a series of free, fun days to celebrate Spring at the River Alt Resource Centre.

They were provided by the council’s Family First service, which gives support to people with children from birth to 18.

There were all sorts of games and activities for parents and their children and there was the chance for the families to enjoy time together and to meet others. 

The Family First team laid on egg hunts, quizzes, competitions, egg decorating, spring planting, face painting and art and craft activities, supported by the Aspire Trust.

Aspire is working with Family First to involve  parents in positive activities.

The events were held over two days and 24 families took part.

They said they enjoyed the chance to spend some quality time with each other and appreciated the fact that the activities were free as days out for families can be expensive.

Knowsley’s Family First Service offers support across the borough.

To find out more, call  0151 443 4071 or 4056.

Pictureed: Free fun days run by Knowsley’s Family First Service at the River Alt Resource Centre.

 

 

Fostering changed my life

A Knowsley carer says fostering is the best thing she’s ever done and wants more people to try it.

Joanne’s 43 and has been fostering babies and toddlers for three years and loves every minute.

It’s Foster Care Fortnight from May 14 to 27 and she’s calling on other people to give it a go.

“It’s just amazing,” she said. “I can’t think of anything better to do.

“I love working with the children and making a difference.

“I try to do all I can to make the child I’m looking after happy and to develop.

“If, after that, it’s possible for them to go back home, that’s wonderful or if they go for adoption, that’s wonderful too.”

The foster mum knew from an early age that she’d never be able to have children of her own, but always had a strong maternal instinct.

She first applied to become a foster mum when she was 40.

“I wanted to get all of my partying days out of the way first!

“The application process is thorough which is important as becoming a foster parent is a tremendous responsibility.

“I had to write an account of my own life and I loved that! It made me realise how lovely my own childhood had been and all the more determined to help other children.”

She’s had lots of support from social workers in Knowsley and an experienced foster carer acted as her mentor in the first year.