All Together NOW! September-October 2022

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Can YOU help? n All Together NOW! is a registered charity set up to provide a tip top news service for anyone whose life is affected by disability, long-term health condtions or age. n The charity – the only one of its kind in the UK – relies entirely on support from its sponsors, advertisers, subscriptions and donations.

NEWS

12 new vehicles to assist Euston rail users

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

BUGGY WONDERLAND

RELIABLE: One of the £200K fleet

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F YOU have taken the train to London in the past 20 years or so, you may well have made use of Euston Station’s trusty fleet of assistance buggies.

On average, 87,000 passengers who need help getting to and from their train rely on the vehicles at the West Coast main line’s southern terminus each year – that’s around 240 passengers every day.

It’s estimated the 10 vehicles have made 1,000,000 journeys between the main concourse and platforms.

And since the first four buggies were introduced in 2004 – a further six were added in 2010 – they have travelled further than to the moon!

Now, after 18 years of serious pulling power, Network Rail has retired the old vehicles for 12 new electric machines.

This £200,000 investment has not only boosted the fleet, but will also reduce maintenance costs and breakdowns.

Gareth Parry, Network Rail station manager at London Euston, said: “These new vehicles will be much more reliable, have a longer battery life and can continue to serve passengers for many more years to come.”

Passenger Assist allows people to request an assistance booking in advance so that train company staff will be on hand to help with things

like navigating a station, boarding a train, or arranging a ramp on and off a train.

n Since April 1, people can book assistance just two hours before their journey is due to start, at any time of the day and any day of the week. n The reduction in booking times comes after rail companies last year introduced a new app, Passenger Assistance by Transreport, which speeds up the process to request assistance. n You can also call for free on 0800 0223720 or text 60083. For textphone/minicom, dial 0845 60 50 600.

0151 230 0307

Editor: Tom Dowling 0151 230 0307

email: news@alltogethernow.org.uk

Editorial Support: Gerry Corner

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email: helen@alltogethernow.org.uk IT Support: Ken Almond Website: Pharos Design

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NEXT EDITION Monday November 7

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‘Put health first and legalise cannabis’

THE UK’s cannabis laws are not fit for purpose and mean we suffer higher crime and worse health outcomes than under a more liberal regime.

So say experts who believe Britain should take inspiration from countries like Uruguay, which operates a “health over profit” system.

The UK system – under which it’s illegal to possess, grow, distribute, or sell cannabis – has several drawbacks, says the Social Market Foundation.

Being sold on the black market means people consume stronger and more dangerous products; the market can be controlled by violent gangs; and it is a potential loss of Government revenue.

Safety

In the last decade, several countries have legalised or decriminalised cannabis – including Uruguay, Spain and the Netherlands.

In 2018, Canada fully legalised cannabis, and the government elected in Germany last year has promised to follow suit.

By contrast, the UK’s anti-cannabis approach has hardly shifted in over 50 years.

In Uruguay, cannabis can be bought from regulated pharmacies at heavily subsidised prices. The state controls production to ensure safety and quality.

Jake Shepherd, author of the report by the SMF, a thinktank drawing on a range of political views, said: “By learning from international examples, the UK can safeguard public health, reduce criminal activity and deliver economic gain – to ultimately benefit

BOUNCING BACK!

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

A WORLD where people affected by disability can enjoy OUR VISION the same life-enhancing opportunities as everyone else

Hello all

Many apologies for our late appearance this time round… but we’ve had a few nasty bugs in the system!

And I’m not talking about computer problems.

The bugs that stopped us in our tracks were the kind that affects us humans.

And when they attack an organisation as small as ours, well, you’ve got serious problems.

Thankfully, we’re on the mend. It’s now all systems go. And we hope you’ll agree that this issue has been worth the wait!

We’ve pieced together another vibrant edition that’s jampacked with news and features to help anyone affected by ill-health and disability – and especially the half a million people across the region who are not connected to the internet.

Since launching in 2005, All Together NOW! has become a trusted lifeline to so many of our vulnerable readers and their families.

It’s bright, it’s positive, and it’s absolutely FREE, thanks to

the generous and ongoing support we have received over the years from organisations such as the Steve Morgan Foundation and United Utilities.

We’ve also just been handed some very welcome donations from the UKH Foundation, The Rainford Trust and the Price Parry Charitable Trust.

We are immensely grateful for all the help we have been getting, but with print and production costs continually rising, the challenge we now face is finding more funding to keep your favourite newspaper alive and kicking.

As always, if you can help we’d be delighted to hear from you.

We’re now working on our forthcoming 100th – and Christmas – issue. It’s already looking like a real cracker, and will be available to pick up across the region from early November.

In the meantime, enjoy this issue, stay safe . . . and keep smiling! See you next time.

Liam takes the helm

TOM DOWLING, editor. Tel. 0151 230 0307 news@alltogethernow.org.uk

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HE Steve Morgan Foundation has appointed its first ever chief executive.

Liam Eaglestone, who comes from a pastoral background and has extensive experience in the education and third sector, said he felt “privileged” to be the first CEO in the 21-year history of the Foundation.

The 44-year-old, who lives in Anfield, Liverpool, said he wanted to build on the organisation’s reputation for changing lives.

He said: “I’ve seen first-hand the impact the Steve Morgan Foundation has on supporting entire communities and it’s a genuine honour to be appointed as CEO. “The relationship the Foundation has with the charities it works with goes far beyond the grants it provides and has been forged over many years.”

Earlier this year the Foundation announced a £50m donation to Diabetes UK and JDRF UK to transform the lives of people living with type 1 diabetes and lead the global race to a cure.

It’s a subject close to Mr Eaglestone’s

ALL CHANGE: Liam takes over from Jane

heart as both he and his 14-year-old son Jack have type 1 diabetes.

“I was diagnosed in my mid-30s but Jack was only six when he was diagnosed and

Council Approved Contractor & Suppliers Covering The Northwest

his blood sugar levels were very hard to control,” he said.

The father-of-four paid tribute to the team at the Steve Morgan Foundation, especially the director of regional grants Jane Harris.

“The Foundation’s values are shared by the entire team and Jane’s knowledge is second to none,” he said.

Philanthropist Steve Morgan said: “The Steve Morgan Foundation has become one of the UK’s leading individual philanthropic foundations.

“Under the leadership of Jane, we’ve gained a thorough understanding of the challenges facing people in our region and we will continue to support those individuals via the numerous charities we fund.

“However, we have even greater ambition. We are increasingly initiating and supporting larger scale initiatives, both regionally and nationally.

“Liam has the ideal skillset to realise our ambition. We are all incredibly excited for the future and the Foundation achieving ever greater things.”

Free Home Demonstrations

SALES, REPAIR & SERVICING OF ALL MOBILITY & DISABILITY PRODUCTS

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Housing plans: good news and bad news

LONG-AWAITED plans to improve accessibility standards on new homes have received a mixed reaction.

Ministers have pledged to introduce new rules that will require all new homes to have step-free access to all entrancelevel rooms, as well as facilities and other features that will make the homes more easily adaptable over time – unless where this is “impractical and unachievable”.

But the plans fall short of ensuring a minimum proportion of new homes are built to fully wheelchair-accessible standards.

Disabled housing association Habinteg said the announcement was a significant step towards tackling the UK’s acute and growing shortage of accessible homes, but regretted the failure to set new rules for a minimum proportion of homes built to wheelchair-accessible housing standards.

Holly Holder, co-chair of the Housing Made for Everyone (HoME) coalition, said: “Raising the standard of accessibility has the potential to change millions of lives but only if executed well.”

n Liverpool City Council is one of the few local authorities that has introduced strict rules on accessible housing, which were agreed in January.

This means all new homes in the city must be built to be more accessible and adaptable for those with mobility impairments, and 10% of them must be wheelchair-accessible and adaptable.

More taxi help on way

NEW laws will ensure disabled people receive the assistance they need and will not be charged over the odds when using taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs).

The new Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 is the most significant change to taxi accessibility legislation since the Equality Act was introduced 12 years ago.

Taxi and PHV drivers could now face fines of up to £1,000 if they fail to provide reasonable mobility assistance to disabled passengers taking a prebooked vehicle.

There will also be a duty for local authorities to publicly identify wheelchair-accessible vehicles in their fleets.

Call Us On:

01744 602602 Also At:

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Widnes Mobility Supercentre (Largest in Northwest) 62 Victoria Road, Widnes, Cheshire WA8 7RA

BIGGEST VICTIMS OF PRICES CRISIS

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NEWS

‘A job is about so much more than just money’

FEWER than one in 20 people with learning disabilities across the North West are in a job – and there is no sign of the employment gap with the wider population narrowing.

Across England, learning disabilities employment fell by 9% during the past year.

And some areas of England had no adults with learning disabilities in paid employment last year, according to the NHS’s latest Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework.

On average, only around one in 20 supported, working-age adults with a learning disability (5%) are now in paid employment in England.

Ash Higgs, director of MCG Healthcare, says: “For people with learning disabilities, losing a job – or being unable to find one – can severely dent confidence and deprive individuals of chances to make personal progress. It’s about much more than money.

“Our nurses see just how fulfilled some people with learning disabilities are by their jobs.”

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

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Brain tumour support

NATIONAL charity Brain Tumour Support has appointed a welfare benefits officer to advise people who are facing financial difficulties.

Tina Mitchell Skinner, the charity’s CEO, said: “One of the recurring issues people diagnosed with a brain tumour face is the devastating effect on their finances.

“Some people have to give up their careers completely, and many are unable to return to their previous role.

“These added financial pressures in tandem with the sharp rise in cost of living, and the complexities of the benefits system place an unbearable burden on many people.” n Brain Tumour Support: Tel. 01454 422701 n Email: support@braintumoursupport.co.uk .

Find YOUR local Carers Centre – p19

999 calls via BSL

PEOPLE can now make 999 calls using British Sign Language (BSL).

The new service, 999 BSL, lets deaf people make emergency calls using an app or website, connecting callers with a BSL interpreter.

It is free to use and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The system is the first time a 999 emergency service has been made available in BSL, though a similar process exists for the NHS 111 number.

To make a call with 999 BSL, users need to open the app or webpage, then press a red button that will connect them to an interpreter.

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Soaring bills hit disabled people hardest

SHOCK FIGURES: New statistics show 43% of disabled people cutting back on essesntials

HE brutal impact of the cost of living crisis on disabled people has been revealed.

New figures show rising prices are hitting disabled people in Britain harder than others.

Many people with a disability are being forced to take drastic action to stay afloat, even before further expected price rises this autumn, including steep increases in fuel costs.

The Office for National Statistics says 42% of disabled adults are spending less on food and other essentials, compared with 31% of non-disabled people, because of the rise in the cost-of-living.

Half of disabled people said they are buying less food, against 38% of non-disabled people.

Of those who pay energy bills, 13% of disabled people said it was already “very difficult” to pay them, and another 38% said it was “somewhat difficult”, compared with 6% and 29% of nondisabled bill-payers.

Almost half of disabled people (48%) are also cutting back on non-essential journeys in their own vehicle, against 40% of non-disabled people; and 55% are using less fuel in their home, compared with 50% of non-disabled people.

The report also says that 23% of disabled people have had to borrow more money or use more

credit than usual in the last month, compared to a year ago, against 17% of non-disabled people.

Asked if their household would be able to afford to pay an unexpected, but necessary, expense of £850, only 49% of disabled people said yes, compared with 64% of nondisabled people.

The analysis is based on answers from nearly 14,000 adults questioned between late March and mid-June.

The Disability Poverty Campaign Group is asking disabled people to write to their MPs to urge them to push for action to help disabled people survive surging energy bills.

Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK, one of the campaign group’s members, said: “The ONS findings yet again show that disabled people are being disproportionately hit by the costof-living crisis.

“It is truly shocking that 42% of disabled people are cutting back on food and essential expenditure, compared with 31% of non-disabled people.

“The Disability Poverty Campaign Group is calling on Government to urgently increase benefits in line with inflation, provide targeted support to disabled people to meet rising energy costs, and stop care charges and other deductions being taken from benefits.”

Unkept vows let cruelty continue

IT’S time to move beyond “plans on a page” and end the scandal of people with learning disabilities and autism being locked away.

That’s the message from leading charities who gave a cautious welcome to the Government’s “action plan” to move thousands of people out of mental health hospitals.

The Government announcement comes a decade after it first promised children and adults in inpatient units would be helped back into their local communities by June 2014.

It was in 2012 that the BBC’s Panorama programme exposed the abuse of people with learning disabilities at Winterbourne View, a privately run-specialist hospital.

Human rights breaches, abuse scandals and trauma people have experienced in many of these settings are well documented through police investigations, and regulatory inspections.

Locked away

Recommendations for change have also come from Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Care Quality Commission.

Responding to the action plan, Mencap’s head of policy Dan Scorer said: “There are still over 2,000 people with a learning disability and/or autism locked away in in-patient mental health hospitals, with the average length of stay over five years.

“This long-awaited plan is a step towards delivering on the unfulfilled promises made by Governments over more than a decade ago.

“However, only by investing in the community support and housing needed will we be able to close in-patient hospital beds and stop a new generation of people from becoming trapped in these places.” n Learning Disability Helpline: 0808 808 1111

Connecting with 250,000 people across the region . . .

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Spaniel pal Jerry is my dream dog

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M

EET the five dogs honoured by vets charity PDSA for their outstanding service to people in difficult situations.

Eight-year-old cocker spaniel Jerry provides around the clock assistance to his owner Mark Lanchberry.

Mark, 60, suffered life-changing injuries in 2008, while serving with the British Army.

PTSD Assistance Dog Jerry is trained to wake Mark if he is having nightmares so he can control his anxiety attacks, take clothes to the washing machine, switch lights on and off, and fetch medication.

Other incredible canines receiving the prestigious PDSA Order of Merit were: n Police Dog (PD) Dexter, a three-

OLIVER: Justice

CLIVE: Alert

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

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New dementia service to help Cheshire families

year-old black Labrador who supports the mental health and wellbeing of Metropolitan Police officers and staff. n Medical Alert Assistance Dog Clive, who has helped to transform his owner’s life following an Addison’s disease diagnosis. n Search and Rescue Dog Zak, a recently retired Border Collie who has attended over 300 searches, helping to find and rescue vulnerable missing people. n Also honoured was Oliver, a trailblazing six-year-old Labrador who supports victims of crime as Europe’s first Justice Facility Dog. PDSA vet nurse Nina Downing said: “The PDSA Order of Merit is a fitting tribute to each dog’s distinguished career, and they are all thoroughly deserving recipients.”

FAMILIES across Cheshire are benefiting from the appointment of fulltime dementia nurses.

It comes after a successful pilot scheme in which a specialist nurse and memory assessment support service helped more than 700 families in Neston and Ellesmere Port.

Four Admiral Nurses and one memory assessment nurse will work in hospitals, GP practices and local community services across the county providing clinical, emotional and practical support to enable people to live more positively with dementia.

The service, which will improve diagnosis rates and post diagnostic support, is being provided by Dementia Resource Community in partnership with Dementia UK, the specialist dementia nurse charity.

Clinical Lead and Admiral Nurse Cathrina Moor, who founded Dementia Resource Community, said: “We are delighted to be working with local community mental health teams and Dementia UK to provide this vital service to people across Cheshire.”

Bob Cochrane, from Dementia UK, said: “We are so pleased to be rolling out further Admiral Nurse services to those families who are urgently in need of this support.” n DRC: Tel. 0151 353 2043 www.dementiaresourcecommunity.co.uk

COMING SOON . . . OUR ONE HUNDREDTH ISSUE ZAK: Search

DEXTER: Police

JERRY: Mark’s faithful assitant and friend perfect pal

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

6

TV favourites in line for equality awards

TV presenters Ade Adepitan and Jo Whiiley are among those shortlisted for the inaugural Scope Disability Equality Awards.

There is recognition too for actor Ruth Madeley, comedian Rosie Jones – and for businesses such as HSBC who are developing products and services with accessibility in mind.

Changemakers having ADE: Honoured impact in the media are also honoured with Strictly Come Dancing and the Oscar-winning film CODA shortlisted in the Media Moment category.

James Taylor, executive director for impact at Scope, said: “The awards shine a spotlight on the outstanding work being carried out by so many disabled people, allies and organisations, all of whom are championing disability equality and bringing about change across the UK.” The winners will be announced on Thursday October 27 at Twickenham Stadium in London, as well as being live streamed.

Your paper gives me hope

All Together NOW! gives me hope for the future. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

– John Woodward, Marsh Green, Wigan

Covid jobs’ blow

THE pandemic has dealt a “huge blow” to the job prospects of older workers.

More over-50s left work during the coronavirus crisis and are now classed as “inactive” than any other age group, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Pensions and retirement expert Helen Morrissey said: “Keeping older workers in the workplace has huge benefits for the employers who gain from their experience, as well as for the workers themselves who can top up their pension planning while enjoying the social aspects of work.

“But many people are essentially compelled to leave by caring responsibilities or because they feel unable to get another role.”

Ms Morrisey, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, added: “The pandemic has shown a more flexible approach to work can be successful and could play a vital role in keeping older workers employed.”

Marathon a day in 7 continents – all on a hand bike

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‘It’s vital to push your boundaries’

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AST year, All Together NOW! reported on the fantastic achievements of five injured and wounded veterans who kayaked from Land’s End to John-O-Groats.

heatstroke in Dubai just days later.

The Challenge starts in Antarctica on October 25.

Then it’s off to Cape Town, Africa; Perth, Australia; Dubai, Asia; Madrid, Europe; Fortaleza, Brazil, South The team included ex-army America and ending on October reservist 32-years-old Darren 31 in Miami, North America.

Edwards, who was paralysed Darren is aiming to raise from the chest while rock £100,000 for the Armed Forces climbing at World’s End, near Para-Snowboard Team Llangollen in 2016.

(AFPST), an independent Now, Darren is set to become charity that uses the power of the first ever wheelchair-user to para-snowsport to accelerate attempt the 777 World the recovery of wounded, Marathon Challenge – a feat injured and sick military which sees participants personnel and veterans.

EXCITED: Darren is fist wheelchair-user to attempt Challenge complete seven marathons in Donations will entirely fund 50 UK seven days across seven “I am a little nervous, too. It is an enormous athletes to compete in the 2023 International continents. challenge, and demands a high level of Competition hosted by AFPST, which unites Darren said: “I am so excited to be a part of fitness and determination. Add into that, that I military personnel and veterans from across the Challenge. Most importantly, I am excited am essentially a guinea pig – as no other the globe. to show that anything is possible. individual with a spinal cord injury has EVER “In my opinion, it is vital that we all push our attempted anything of this stature.” n You can follow his journey, including own boundaries, both physically and Due to his paralysis, Darren is unable to his training at: mentally, regardless of the challenges we all regulate his body temperature, which puts www.darrenedwards.org.uk. face in life. him at extra risk of frostbite in Antarctica, and

To advertise, contact . . .

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www.alltogethernow.org.uk

www.stevemorganfoundation.org.uk Tel 01928 706555

stevemorganfoundation

Changing lives – that’s what we do

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HE Steve Morgan Foundation has been changing people’s lives for more than 21 years, ever since it was founded by entrepreneur Steve Morgan CBE in 2001.

The philanthropist has committed assets of £300m and the Foundation has funded everything from the purpose-built Maggie’s Wirral, cuttingedge research into type 1 diabetes, as well as helping charities struggling with the impact of Covid-19.

However, one of the biggest changes the Foundation has consistently made to the lives of

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

Steve Morgan Foundation

@stevemorganfdn

individuals and their families has been through the Enable Fund.

The Enable Fund supports people of all ages in financial hardship, who are in need of specialised equipment, including mobility aids, wheelchairs, buggies, wheelchairs and trikes.

The list also includes sleep systems, car seats, sensory equipment and communication aids.

Mr Morgan explained: “The Enable Fund was set up to support people to do the things most of us take for granted.

“It helps them to lead more fulfilling lives.”

POWER to the people!

New chair lets Lewis whiz around the zoo

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RIPS to Chester Zoo have become a lot more fun for 16-years-old Lewis Murphy, thanks to the Steve Morgan Foundation.

A new power-assisted wheelchair means Lewis can now whiz around the zoo with ease.

Lewis said: “I like the rhinos – and I really like the wheelchair. The old POWER RANGER: Lewis in his new wheelchair wheelchair used to hurt my back.”

As well as having Down’s syndrome, Lewis has a range of conditions including a curvature of the spine, learning difficulties and a sleep problem.

Lewis lives in Prenton, Birkenhead, with his aunt and uncle Donna and Robert Kelly, who both have mobility issues.

Donna said: “The original wheelchair was too heavy and we struggled to push him.

“Lewis was becoming quite isolated. He used to ask us to take him out and about but we just couldn’t push the wheelchair very far.”

MEET the team at TAPE Community Music He was assessed for a powerand Films, who have made – and starred in – assisted wheelchair, but his family some top, awareness-raising films for couldn’t afford the near £2,000 price Transport for Wales, the Department for tag.

Works and Pensions and North Wales The Steve Morgan Foundation Learning. stepped in to contribute £1,635 A Steve Morgan Foundation grant is helping the towards the cost.

Colwyn Bay-based charity to continue providing Donna said: “Lewis is a lot happier It’s made a huge difference and has allowed him to do more.”

Here’s a team with plenty to sing about

RIGHT: Eve on her new trike

unique training and volunteering opportunities in creative arts for people with mental health issues and complex needs.

Weekly workshops support up to 150 people to engage in film making, audio production, music, photography, podcasting and creative writing.

Chief officer Neil Dunsire said: “Thanks to the funding from the Steve Morgan Foundation, we can continue our life-changing work until at least 2025.”

Enable grants info .... Contact: enable@stevemorganfoundation.org.uk

or

EVE BENNETT has been given a new lease of life, thanks to a battery-powered trike, paid for by the Steve Morgan Foundation.

The eight-year-old, from Heswall, Wirral, outgrew her previous trike and therapists recommended a Tomcat trike and battery power pack, which kicks in when Eve starts to tire.

But Eve’s parents couldn’t afford the £4,500 price tag, so the Steve Morgan Foundation stepped in to pay the first £4,000 as part of their Enable Fund.

Mum Lucy said: “The new battery-powered trike means we can cycle as a family and stay out for longer. It has given Eve more independence and means she can go to her gran’s house.

“We’re very grateful to the Steve Morgan Foundation. This will last her into adulthood.”

hello@stevemorganfoundation.org.uk

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Ministers are all talk – unlike the buses!

NEWS

Tesco’s ‘exciting’ plans for staff with sight loss

TESCO has been recognised as a Visibly Better Employer by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

The charity’s quality standard encourages employers to provide more opportunities for blind and partially sighted people.

Marie Clarkson, RNIB’s project co-ordinator, said: “The employment rate of blind and partially sighted people is unacceptably low, with 11,000 currently looking for work in the UK.” Toni McKay, Tesco Head of Diversity and Inclusion, said: “We recognise that people with sight loss face many barriers to success at work, and with RNIB’s help are excited to change that for our existing and future colleagues.” n RNIB Helpline: Tel. 0303 123 9999

Something

to be proud of

I LOVE the way All Together NOW! gives help and support to people with all kinds of disabilities. It’s something to be proud of. It’s interesting, informative and FREE to anyone who needs it.

Mrs D Grant, Booker Avenue, Liverpool

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

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Bring in vital technology for blind people NOW, Government told

ELL into the 21st Century, it doesn’t seem unreasonable that a blind person should catch a bus safe in the knowledge that they will reach their destination.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps and his then accesibility minister Nusrat Ghani said so three years ago.

Mr Shapps insisted then: “It’s unacceptable that people still feel they cannot travel by bus because of a lack of basic route and destination information.”

The ministers were announcing £2m of funding for bus operators to bring in audio visual announcements on their vehicles.

But campaigners haven revealed that not a penny of that money has been spent, and are now calling on the Government to take immediate action.

Sight Loss Councils say a lack of progress in implementing technology to announce routes, destinations and stops is cutting off a “vital lifeline” to more than two million blind and partially sighted people in the UK. The Bus Services Act 2017 introduced a range of measures to improve bus services, including a requirement to bring in audio visual technology.

The £2m funding was made available in 2019 as part of the Government’s National Bus Strategy, and was later boosted by another £1.5m.

However, information obtained by Sight Loss Councils under the Freedom of Information Act shows that, to date, the money remains untouched.

Mike Bell, Sight Loss Councils’ head of campaigns, said: “Buses are a vital way for blind and partially sighted people to get

Disabled people leading change CHARITY SPOTLIGHT

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ISABILITY Rights UK is the largest national charity led by, run by, and working for disabled people.

It works with Disabled People’s Organisations and Government across the UK to influence regional and national change for better rights, benefits, quality of life and economic opportunities for disabled people.

DR UK’s distinctive position means it can put concerns strongly and directly to government, infrastructure and service providers, and care regulators. It was strongly involved in lobbying the major supermarkets to provide priority shopping and online delivery slots for disabled customers.

It continues to provide vital information to disabled people across the country through its helplines, news updates and factsheets.

Unique services, such as its Student Helpline, provide information about how to access support at university. It also partners with various grass roots organisations in the North West to run projects enabling disabled people to participate in sport and physical activity.

Naturally, the charity’s resources were stretched during the Covid-19 pandemic and donations are very welcome at

www.justgiving.com/disabilityrightsuk

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Everything you need to know

THE Disability Rights Handbook provides in-depth, comprehensive guidance on the benefits system, explains how social care operates around the UK and includes information about other services and resources for disabled people.

And it’s full of tools and tactics to help you make a successful claim.

Written in plain English by benefits specialists and legally referenced, it’s the only user-friendly benefits guide designed for both claimants and advisers.

Fully updated for 2022/23 and easy to find your way around, it has the answers you need, to claim what you’re entitled to, or challenge an unsuccessful application for benefits or social care. n Reduced price copies of the Handbook for individuals are available online at www.disabilityrightsuk.org/shop or by calling 020 3687 0790.

around freely and independently, but many feel excluded from bus travel because of a lack of accessible information.

“At present there is inconsistency within and between bus companies.

“Some routes are fitted with audio visual technology but on many buses in the same area, passengers who are visually impaired have no assistance at all.

“Despite the warm words, the pace of change on this has been too slow.

“Five years on from creating powers to require bus companies to implement audio visual announcements, the Government has not used them.

“Nearly three years after announcing funding to improve the rollout of audio-visual announcements, not a penny has been spent

“It is just not good enough!”

Genuine Radar NKS Key Get priority access to accessible public toilets

If you have a health condition or disability, finding an accessible toilet that’s clean, tidy and available for you to use can be a challenge.

And they’re often kept locked.

l The Radar key gives you access to over 9,000 locked disabled public toilets around the UK.

l Disability Rights UK manages the Radar NKS Scheme and relies on key sales to maintain it. l Don’t risk buying a cheap copy that may not work.

l All keys manufactured and guaranteed by the makers of the Radar locks themselves Genuine Radar Key £5.00 including P&P Available from: www.disabilityrightsuk.org/shop Alternatively call 020 3687 0790

You can also send a £5 cheque made payable to ‘Disability Rights UK’

Disability Rights UK, Plexal, 14 East Bay Lane, Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 3BS

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

All Together NOW!

9

Save water, save energy, save money!

Saving water is good for the environment and your bank balance too. Being careful not to waste water will not only reduce your water bill (if you have a meter) but will reduce your energy bills too.

That’s because around 16% of your gas and electricity bill pays to heat water for things such as baths, showers, cleaning, washing machines and dishwashers.

By making small changes to how you use water you could easily save more than £130 a year on your energy bills! And with gas and electricity bills set to rise even further, these savings will be even higher in the coming months. Here’s some tips to get you started….

Spend less time in the shower Keeping your shower time to just 4 minutes could saved! save a typical household £70 a year on their energy bills.

£70

You can save around £28 a year on your energy bill just by skipping one wash a week for a year and using your washing machine on a 30-degree cycle saved! instead of higher temperatures.

Kettles are one of the saved! most used appliances in the kitchen, so avoid RYHULJOOLQJ WKH NHWWOH DQG VDYH yourself around £11 a year on your electricity bill.

Fill your dishwasher

£14

£12

saved!

Support when you need it most :H FDQ DOO EHQHLJW IURP D ELW of extra help at some stage in our lives. This could be due to age, ill health, disability, mental health SUREOHPV LJQDQFLDO ZRUULHV RU language barriers.

Only run your dishwasher when it is full to reduce the saved! amount of water you use.

Reducing your dishwasher use by one run per week for a year could save you £14 a year on your electricity bill.

Registering for Priority Services is free and it PHDQV \RX ZLOO EHQHLJW from additional services to support your particular needs.

Services include:

Washed away

• Braille, large print, ‘talking’ bills and text relay service

Fix leaky loos

£28

Some of us might enjoy a long soak in the bath, but swapping just one bath a week with a 4-minute shower could save you £12 a year on your energy bills.

£11

Remember, you’re paying for all the hot water you use so a great way to stop your money going down the plughole is to have a bowl in your kitchen sink for washing up and use a plug in the bathroom sink when shaving or washing.

Careful with your washing

Swap your bath for a shower

Just boil what you need

Modern push button toilets can waste an incredible amount of water without you even knowing – as much as 400 litres of water every single day, that’s a staggering 1,600 brews! Visit unitedutilities.com/ leakyloo to see how to check if your toilet cistern is faulty.

• A dedicated team to listen and help

• Knock and wait service if you have mobility needs • Nominate a carer, family member or friend to speak to us on your behalf • Additional support if you have a medical need for water • Protection from bogus callers with a password protection scheme • Notice of interruptions to your water supply • Translation services

Register at: unitedutilities.com/ priorityservices or call: 0345 672 2888.

For hints and tips on saving water in the home visit: unitedutilities.com/savewater

10 All Together NOW!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Shop around, Motability tells customers

Used Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

3

*

years free

Over 70 vehicles in stock

MOTABILITY customers are experiencing lengthy delays, shortages, and steep rises in advance payments as they try to replace their ageing vehicles through the disabled people’s car scheme.

A Motability Operations spokesperson said: “We understand our customers’ frustrations with this global motoring industry situation and share their concern about the delays in receiving their new vehicles.

“Our main priority remains keeping our customers mobile, and we are extending leases on existing vehicles wherever we need to.

“If a customer is impacted by delays or changes in the specification of their vehicle, we are working with our manufacturer and dealer partners to ensure we can offer customers a viable alternative.”

She said customers should start looking for their new car as soon as possible and to speak to a few different dealers before placing an order.

Existing customers can place their next order three months before the end of their lease, which may speed up the delivery times for their chosen vehicle, she said.

She added: “If a customer is unable to find anything suitable for their needs before the end of their current lease, we will automatically extend their existing lease for six months to allow more time.”

UK’s leading wheelchair accessible vehicle supplier

0800 587 9627 alliedmobility.com/used

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Awareness courses for badge offenders

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

A

NEW approach to dealing with those who abuse the Blue Badge parking scheme is proving a big success.

One council decided to go its own way and treat culprits the same way as many drivers who are caught speeding – using education rather than punishment to discourage reoffending.

It’s gone so well that other local authorities are considering doing the same.

If widely adopted, the strategy could make big inroads into reducing abuse of the Blue Badge scheme, which allows some people with disabilities to park nearer to their destination Still using prosecutions, when necessary, for people who are persistent offenders, alter badges or are using a deceased person’s badge. East Sussex County Council, also use a Local Resolution Order (LRO) for first time offenders committing minor offences.

A sort of speed awareness course for Blue Badge misuse, offenders can opt to take the LRO

instead of being

prosecuted. If so, they have to pay a £100 administration fee and attend the awareness course.

The course features an impactful video highlighting how important Blue Badge parking is to disabled people and features case studies of real disabled people living in East Sussex.

It goes on to highlight how people abusing the scheme affects the availability of suitable parking for Blue Badge holders and what consequences this has on their lives.

The council estimate they lose roughly £150k in

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All Together NOW!

parking revenue because people abusing the scheme should be paying to park – money that could be spent supporting disabled people in other ways.

Afterwards, Mark Jobling, East Sussex’s Blue Badge Investigations Officer, leads a discussion with the offenders.

A letter is also sent to the Blue Badge holder warning them not to let others use the badge.

The council carry out roughly 100-150 LROs every year and rarely see re-offending once a person has gone through this process.

Mr Jobling said: “After the success we have had since introducing this scheme, we have been asked about it by various other counties and hopefully they too will successfully adopt this process.”

Heidi Turner, from Disabled Motoring UK, said: “It seems like an excellent way of policing the scheme and protecting its integrity for genuine users.

“We would like to see more local authorities

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12 All Together NOW!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Bigger wheelchairs lead to big re-think

A

S wheelchairs and scooters become bigger and more sophisticated, so the problem of finding space on a bus or train is becoming more difficult.

spaces and toilets that are too small, Spaces are and with insufficient height clearance in taxis and private hire vehicles. too small The Government may need to consider updating the wheelchair on buses, standard to allow more disabled people to use transport, the report trains adds.

Accessible Transport Minister Wendy and taxis Morton told MPs the research would

That’s the conclusion of a Government study into the socalled “wheelchair standard”, which is meant to ensure enough space for disabled people when using transport.

In fact, the research revealed that only just over half of all mobility aid users in the country are now covered by the standard.

The report – ordered by the Department for Transport – says equipment is becoming bigger and heavier as disabled people expect “increased functionality and range”, and this trend is expected to continue over the next 10 years.

This is causing problems with on-vehicle

Lifehouse Liverpool, 0151 709 0121

be used to determine the design of future vehicles and transport infrastructure to meet mobility aid users’ needs. n A separate Government study into the use of wheelchair-accessible taxis and private hire vehicles found disabled people expressed a strong preference for travelling by this rather than any other form of transport.

They said planning and booking wheelchairaccessible taxis and private hire vehicles was an essential part of their life, and that the limited availability of these services impacted on their ability to travel spontaneously.

rhs.org.uk/bridgewater

Festival of Flavours BOOK NOW

Fri 30 Sep – Sun 2 Oct Join us for a 3-day food spectacular with flavours from all around the world. With tips on how to grow the tastiest ingredients, and cook-ups from global chefs.

Your visit supports our work as a charity

RHS Garden Bridgewater

Occupation Road, Worsely, Manchester M28 2LJ

Tel. 0161 503 6100

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

All Together NOW!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

HOW PLANTS GOT THEIR NAMES . . .

ARTHUR Tysilio Johnson had a feeling for nature, a discerning eye – and luck.

A schoolmaster in North Wales, he gardened for the first half of the 20th century on two acres beside a tumbling stream in the Conwy Valley. He chose plants to suit the conditions and, many years ahead of his time, sought outstanding ground-cover plants instead of using weedkiller.

While following his other hobby of angling, he noticed exceptional forms of wild flowers and brought them into cultivation, including several which are

named after him: an unusually red strain of musk flower, Mimulus guttatus ‘A.T. Johnson’, a ceanothus, a broom and a geranium all named ‘A.T. Johnson’, the heather ‘Arthur Johnson’ and the famous geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue.’

He was perpetual motion when gardening and, not long before his death in 1956, he observed: “Never an autumn passes without, on my taking away the garden seats, the Lady of the Garden (his wife), reminds me that they have never been sat on.”

. . . Arthur Johnson

Have you got the bug . . ?

WEED-FREE: Geranium Johnson’s Blue makes good ground cover

M

ANY people instinctively reach for a spray gun as soon as they see an insect or a creepy-crawly.

But in the garden there are many more good bugs than bad ones so it’s best to go easy on the trigger finger.

Good bugs are those that either pollinate flowers or prey on other creatures which harm plants, such as slugs, snails and aphids. Among the good guys are: Bees – all kinds from honey bees (dark or light brown) to bumble bees (large, fat and hairy) are major pollinators of fruits and BAD BUG: Brussels sprout plant eaten vegetables such as peas and beans. butterfly caterpillars.

Butterflies – colourful kinds like the peacock and red long feelers admiral are pollinators protruding from the but two are not – see head. bad bugs below.

Hoverflies – also Ladybirds – both red prey on aphids. and yellow kinds, which Most species are consume greenfly and striped in black, other aphids. brown or yellow. They hover apparently Beetles – medium and large black beetles motionless and could be mistaken for small (including the “devil’s coach horse” with its wasps but wasps do not hover and turned-up, scorpion-like tail). They tuck into hoverflies cannot sting. soil pests.

Spiders – they may not appeal to Lacewings – another greenfly-eater. They everyone but eat a wide range of bad bugs. are an inch or so long and have large, Wasps – yes, wasps, which catch insect transparent wings, a bright green body and

by cabbage white

GOOD BUG: A peacock butterfly feasts on buddleia nectar

pests to feed their young in spring though can become a nuisance later in the year when they attack ripening fruit.

Bad bugs include ants, greenfly, blackfly, two butterflies, the cabbage white and the large white, whose caterpillars decimate cabbages and Brussels sprouts.

Other offenders include click beetle, a slim brown beetle (the parent of wireworms); a bad pest of root vegetables; flea beetle, a tiny black one which attacks seedlings; and a real horror, the vine weevil, a dark grey, 1cm long, leaf-eating beetle producing small white grubs with brown heads which destroy

the roots of strawberry and many flowers, especially those in containers.

At ground level, black beetles are good bugs, scurrying about in search of slow weevil and flea beetle grubs. In the soil, yellow or brown centipedes prey on several root eaters, including the similar, but much slower, millipede.

The soil also contains a creature without which there would be very little else living on Earth, the earthworm.

The various species – there are 28 in Britain alone – aerate the soil and improve its texture.

TOP PRIZE FOR BRIDGEWATER GARDEN

AWARD: Bridgewater. Picture: RHS/Chris Gorman

A MAJOR European award has been won by the Royal Horticultural Society’s Bridgewater garden at Worsley, Manchester.

The garden came first in the Design or Concept of a Contemporary Park or Garden category, beating finalists from Italy and the Czech Republic.

The 154-acre garden, completed last year, includes a restored 11-acre walled garden and a Chinese-style streamside garden.

Other plans for Bridgewater include a Blue Peter garden and an arboretum.

n Bridgewater Garden is staging a Festival of Flavours from Friday, September 30, to Sunday, October 2. n The weekend features a wide range of vegetables, including many unusual ones, recipes from across the globe, live cookery demonstrations, and world food stalls. n Mobility scooters and wheelchairs can be hired. n Admission must be pre-booked.

Tel. 0161 503 6100

13

All Together NOW!

14

Now this IS a relief!

‘New loos are life-changing’

A

DAY at the seaside or even just a trip to the shops is set to be transformed from a potential nightmare into a pleasure for thousands of people.

More than 500 life-enhancing Changing Places toilets – specialised facilities for severely disabled people – are to be built across England.

Forty-seven facilities are planned for the North West, including 15 in Merseyside and Cheshire.

The £23.5million investment will see toilets built in public parks and open spaces, tourist attractions including historic properties, seaside resorts and zoos, cathedrals, museums, theatres and galleries, shopping centres, libraries and public CHANGING Places buildings. toilets, costing Robert Burley, around £30-40K, are from Muscular earmarked for: Dystrophy UK, the Liverpool, 4; Wirral, charity that has campaigned for the 3; Sefton, 3; Halton,3; Cheshire facilities, said: East, 1; Cheshire “This is lifeWest, 1; Manchester, changing news for 6; Salford, 3; thousands of Stockport, 3; people and Tameside, 3; families.”

Oldham, 3; Wigan, 4; In England, there Blackpool, 4; are currently just Blackburn, 1; Bury, 3; over 1,300 Preston, 2. registered Changing Places toilets – larger accessible toilets for people who cannot use standard accessible facilities, with equipment such as hoists, curtains, adult-sized changing benches, and space for carers.

The new Changing Places toilets will bring the total to 1,813.

Accessibility consultant Sarah Rennie, 36, has a muscle wasting condition, cannot walk and is a wheelchair user. She is supported by a personal assistant to use a hoist and access facilities in Changing Places toilets.

She said: “Changing Places toilets offer me – and my assistant – a safe and dignified alternative. It’s such a relief to know that there will be more of these throughout England which gives me a better chance to find a loo I can use and go about my day like everyone else.”

SURFING FO SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

IAN BENNETT, from The Wave Project, explains how this unique UK charity ensures people with disabilities can surf side by side with friends and family.

“I feel like I’m on an equal footing when I’m in the water and on a board…I feel free and like everyone else who’s out there in the ocean.”

“I like surfing, it’s cool and fun. Other people are doing it around me, and I’m doing it at the same time. It makes me feel like I’m one of them” . . .

These are words from keen surfers who have taken part in our uique surf therapy project.

Like the 5,000 other surfers who have joined our volunteers in the water since 2010, they’ve enjoyed the opportunity to build their confidence, self-esteem and resilience.

But there’s one key difference.

These surfers all have a physical disability

Riding the waves with help from a unique charity

www.alltogeth

that makes standing up on a board and surfing unassisted impossible.

Over the past five years, The Wave Project has seen a growing demand for surfing from people with a wide range of disabilities – from visual impairments and hip problems to cerebral palsy and people who have experienced strokes.

Last year, we supported 60 individual surfers using our adaptive equipment, and have worked with a range of different

groups – from Tarka Otter Wheelchair Basketball Team to the Devon Stroke Association.

This has been possible by ensuring our volunteers and instructors have the necessary skills, training and specialist equipment to deliver safe and enjoyable su sessions from our Adaptive Surfing Hub in Croyde, North Devon.

Eventually, this will also be the case at more and more of our projects across the U

opening doors . . . broade

OR EVERYONE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

hernow.org.uk

urf

UK.

Our specialist equipment includes beach wheelchairs, a large seated board and prone boards with handles to allow for a greater sense of independent surfing, as well as wetsuits with zips in the arms and legs to make changing easier and more comfortable.

But it’s not a one-size fits all approach.

Disability presents in many forms, and our aim is to ensure people with as many different types of disability are able to come surfing. n Ian Bennett is Adaptive Surf Lead at The Wave Project. Contact him at: ianb@waveproject.co.uk n Tel. 01637 820830 n Check out the film,Victory of Determination at www.waveproject.co.uk/adaptive-surfing

ening minds

It began with George . . .

T

HE charity’s adaptive surfing story really started when we met a very special young man named George, writes IAN BENNETT.

George was 10 at the time and had lived with severe quadriplegic cerebral palsy since birth. He is also visually impaired, has suffered from epilepsy from birth and has delayed learning issues.

Life can be tough for George: he’s spent much of his young years in and out of hospital and is unable to walk unaided.

His mother reached out to The Wave Project – she wanted to get George surfing, saying: “All of George’s friends surf, it’s part of what everybody does around here.”

All Together NOW!

At the time, few facilities existed to give people with disabilities the option of surfing, but we were determined to try our best.

In his first session, George laid on his front on a large foam board and went into the water. It wasn’t a great start; George didn’t feel stable and it was clear we needed to rethink the design of the board itself.

We eventually invested in an adaptive surfboard which meant that George was able to sit upright in a much more comfortable position. He loved it.

George is now 14 and one our most dedicated surfers. At the end of a session, he always asks for “more waves”.

We reach people who are DIGITALLY EXCLUDED

For details of cost-effective advertising and sponsorship opportunities, call Helen McLoughlin 0151 929 3912 or 07511 839397

15

16

All Together NOW!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

SHOPMOBILITY

n ALTRINCHAM . Tel 0161 929 1714 n ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE. Tel 0161 339 9500 n BARROW. Tel 01229 434039 n BIRKENHEAD. Tel 0151 647 6162 n BLACKBURN AND DARWEN. Tel 01254 690566 or 07757 502217 n BLACKPOOL. Tel 01253 349427 n BOLTON. Tel 01204 392946 n CARLISLE. Tel 01228 631564 n CHESTER. Tel 01244 312626 n CHORLEY. Tel 01257 260 888 n COLWYN BAY. Tel 01492 533822 n CREWE. Tel 01270 580 031 n ELLESMERE PORT. Tel 0151 355 1420 n KENDAL. Tel 01539 740 933 n LEIGH, Wigan.

Tel 01942 777 985 n LIVERPOOL. Tel 0151 707 0877 n MANCHESTER Trafford Centre. Tel 0161 747 2684 n MANCHESTER Arndale Centre. Tel 0161 839 4060 n NELSON. Tel 01282 692 502 n NORTHWICH, Vale Royal Tel 01606 288820 n OSWESTRY. Tel 01691 656882 n PENRITH. Tel 01768 895 438 n PRESTON. Tel 01772 204 667 n RHYL. Tel 01745 350665 n ROCHDALE. Tel 01706 865 986 n RUNCORN, Halton Lea Tel 01928 710144 n SHREWSBURY. Tel 01743 236900 SKELMERSDALE. Tel 01695 550066 n ST HELENS. Tel 01744 613 388 n STOCKPORT. Tel 0161 666 1100 n WARRINGTON. Tel 01925 240064 n WARRINGTON. Birchwood Tel 01925 822 411 WIDNES: 0151 511 8833 n WIGAN. Tel 01942 776 070 n WINSFORD Tel 01606 557550 n WREXHAM. Tel 01978 312390 MIDLANDS n BIRMINGHAM. Snow Hill Railway Station. Tel 0121 236 8980. Level 2, Centre Car Park, Bullring. Tel 0121 616 2942 n STAFFORD. Tel 01785 619456 n STOKE ON TRENT. Tel 01782 233333 n SUTTON COLDFIELD. Tel 0121 355 1112 n TAMWORTH. Tel, 01827

FOOD EMERGENCY NO STIGMA: British Restaurants were a nationwide communal dining scheme

W

ARTIME measures are needed to tackle the worsening food poverty crisis, the Government has been warned.

unfortunate, almost Dickensian, stigma attached to using them.

“You have to present as the ‘deserving poor’. I find that extremely uncomfortable, particularly when you see working people are using food An expert in food history is calling for banks. the return of “British Restaurants” – a “I can’t help but contrast the nationwide communal dining scheme situation now to what we had during introduced during the First World War – wartime and afterwards where Britain to tackle what he says is now a had a vast network of British “national emergency”.

Restaurants that were subsidised by While the UK is not at war, the cost of the Government and which played a living crisis is deep enough to demand a CALL: Prof Evans key role in feeding the nation. new “emergency feeding” response, “Yes, you had to pay for the food. says Bryce Evans, a history professor But it was very cheap, cooked for you, at Liverpool University. prepared on site, and had to be at He says reintroducing the least half-way nutritious.

Government subsidised scheme, which “It was a great way to address food ended in the 1960s, would remove the and fuel poverty. Make no mistake, stigma of going to food banks. we’re facing a national emergency Prof Evans said: “Food banks are which I don’t think has truly bitten yet.” doing a crucial job and there are some Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, fantastic people who volunteer at them. I’m is a leading proponent of the “Right to Food” certainly not trying to be disparaging about food movement. On community kitchens, he says: banks.

“Government should fund dining clubs and meals“But with the basic food bank model, those who on-wheels services for the elderly and vulnerable, use them are already ‘defeated’ before they go school holiday meals for those most in need and there. Many food banks require a referral in order cookery clubs for the wider community.” to be able to access them and it means there’s an

‘Bring back wartime measures’

HELP AT THE END OF A PHONE

n ANGLESEY: TARAN Tel 01407 721933 n BLACKPOOL Disability Information and Support.

Tel 01253 472 202.

Textphone 01253 476 450 n CHESHIRE CIL Tel 01606 331853 n CHESTER Dial House Tel 01244 345655 n DENBIGHSHIRE Tel 01745 354445 n ELLESMERE PORT DICE Tel 0151 355 1420

n HALTON Disability Service Tel 01928 717222 n KNOWSLEY DISABILITY CONCERN. 0151 480 4090 n LANCASTER DISC Tel 01524 34411 n LIVERPOOL Association of Disabled People. 0151 263 8366. Text 0151 260 4076. n ACSIL (Amputees and Carers), Tel, 0151 261 1166 n THE BRAIN CHARITY Tel 0151 298 2999

n MANCHESTER (GTR) Coalition of Disabled People Tel 0161-273 5154 n MOLD Flintshire Disability Tel 01352 755546 n NELSON: Pendle Pakistan Welfare Association.

Tel 01282 603 616 n PRESTON DISC: Tel 01772 558 863.

Text 01772 204 787 n RHYL Tel 01745 350665 n STOCKPORT: Disability

SIR: With the loss of podcaster and campaigner Deborah James, who lived with cancer for six years, it is not surprising that death is at the front of many people’s minds.

At Maggie’s we have more than 25 years’ experience of supporting people to live with cancer and have become experts in helping people to cope with death – whether that be the prospect of their own or of someone they love.

Recently, we hosted a webinar on Grief and Bereavement in the Workplace, where we shared our knowledge to help companies better support their employees and colleagues.

Afterwards, more than 80% of attendees said they felt better able to support work colleagues with grief and bereavement.

I am delighted our expertise, born from a desire to support people living with cancer, can now be used more widely.

This couldn’t happen without the generosity of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, through Postcode Care Trust, whose support has meant Maggie’s has received £20m since 2008.

Dame Laura Lee, DBE, Maggie’s Chief Executive

HELPLINES

Disability Rights UK

n Personal Budgets Tel. 0330 995 0404 personalbudgets@ disabilityrightsuk.org n Disabled Students Helpline Tel. 0330 995 0414 students@disabilityright suk.org

n Scope’s Disabilty Information and Advice Line (DIAL) Freephone 0808 800 3333

Stockport. 0161 480 7248 n WARRINGTON Disability Partnership. 01925 240064 n WIRRAL WIRED Tel 0151 670 1500 n WEST LANCS HELPLINE Freefone 0800 220676 n ST HELENS DASH Tel 01744 453053 MIDLANDS n BIRMINGHAM Disability Resource Centre Tel 0121 789 7365

n Disabled People’s Network Solihull Tel 0121 788 1544 n STOKE: Disability Solutions Tel 01782 683800 n WOLVERHAMPTON Elder and Disabled Group Tel 01902 448552 n WEST MIDS Amputee

Group. 07891 794733; 07585 958322; 07557 228154

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

All Together NOW!

CARERS’ CENTRES

LOVING MEMORIES: Rob and his late mum.

Kath. The inheritance she left has helped Rob to publish a new children’s book with some very positive messages

MUM’S THE WORD R OB Martin was only six years old when he lost his severely disabled teenage sister Pauline.

She had lived with multiple conditions and spent much of her life in hospital.

Her death had a huge impact on the rest of the family, including Rob and middle sister Carol.

Half a century later, still affected by the tragedy, an inheritance from his mother allowed Rob the chance to honour them both and spread an important message about kindness, fun, laughter and love.

Rob used the money his mum left him to publish a children’s book. Joe and Dusty Save The World tells the tale of a young disabled boy called Joe and his trusty sidekick and support dog, Dusty, an English bull terrier.

Rob found an illustrator – Margit van der Zwan – to bring his dynamic duo to life and the result has already attracted the attention of some high-profile fans. Actor and activist Julie Hesmondhalgh and Sarah Gordy, a TV and stage actor who has Down’s Syndrome,

VISUAL PROBLEMS n ACCRINGTON Tel 01254 233332 n BARROW Tel 01229 820698 n BIRMINGHAM Action for Blind Tel 0121 665 4200 n BLACKBURN Tel 0125 554143 n BLACKPOOL: N-Vision Tel 01253 362696 n BURY Tel 0161 763 7014 n BURNLEY Tel 01282 438507

have both written forewords for it.

In the picturebook, written entirely in rhyme, best friends Joe and Dusty are abducted by aliens who are set on blowing up planet earth.

But thanks to Joe’s unwavering devotion to his dog and his infectious love of music and dancing, he changes the minds of his extraterrestrial captors.

Freelance copywriter and marketing consultant Rob, who grew up in Wirral, says the book’s importance, is that it focuses not on its disabled hero’s challenges, but on how Joe’s differences are in fact strengths.

Strengths

Only weeks after its publication, the book’s themes came even closer to home as Rob was found to have autism.

“Suddenly everything started to make sense,” he said. “Even I could spot that I shared many traits in common with Joe, and when I asked my sister and my husband if they had ever suspected I was autistic, they both said that they had.”

Rob said publishing Joe and Dusty felt like

the best way to honour the memory of his mum and sister and to get a handle on his understanding of himself as an autistic man.

He added: “Joe and Dusty is a book about a young boy who just happens to be disabled. I deliberately don’t name Joe’s disability because it is not a book about what he finds difficult or can’t do. The story’s happy ending relies entirely upon Joe’s strengths.

“Whilst it’s a book about space and aliens, the underlying message is about celebrating people for their differences.”

Julie, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, and who recently set up fundraising group 500 Acts of Kindness, said: “What a beautiful idea this is to put a child with learning differences and his dog companion at the centre of the action.”

Sarah said: “Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. We need different people to make the world better in lots of different ways.” n You can buy a copy of Joe & Dusty from £9.99 at joeanddustybooks.com

HELP AT THE END OF A PHONE

n CARLISLE: Action for Blind People Tel 01228 595121 n CHESHIRE & N WALES: Vision Support. Tel 01244 381515 n CUMBRIA (West) Tel 01946 592474 n CUMBRIA (Sth Lakeland) Tel 01539 726613 n GUIDE DOGS Tel 0118 983 5555 n HENSHAW’S 0161 872 234 or 0151 708 7055

n LIVERPOOL: Bradbury Fields.Tel 0151 221 0888: Action for Bind Tel 0151 298 3222 n MANCHESTER: Action for Blind Tel 0161 787 9252 n PRESTON: Action for Blind People Tel 01772 320550 n OLDHAM Tel 0161 682 8019 n ROSSENDALE Tel 01706 873256 n SIGHTLINE (North West)

Tel 0800 587 2252 n WIGAN Tel 01942 242891 n WIRRAL Tel 0151 652 8877 HEARING ISSUES n BIRMINGHAM Institute for Deaf Tel 0121 246 6101 n CHESHIRE Deaf Society Tel 01606 47831 n CUMBRIA Deaf Society Tel 01228 606434 n LANCASHIRE (EAST) Deaf Society Tel 01282 839180

n MANCHESTER Deaf Centre. Tel 0161 273 3415 Genie Networks.

Tel 0161 941 4549.

Text 18001 0161 941 4549 n MERSEYSIDE Society for Deaf Tel 0151 228 0888 n SOUTHPORT Centre for the Deaf Tel 01704 537001 n ST HELENS: Deafness Resource Centre Tel 01744 23887 n WOLVERHAMPTON Centre for Deaf Tel 01902

n ACCRINGTON Tel 01254 387 444 n BLACKBURN with DARWEN Tel 01254 688 www.bwdcarers.org n BLACKPOOL Blackpool Borough Council, Tel 01253 477 716 nCUMBRIA Carlisle.

Tel 01228 542 156 Penrith.

Tel 01768 890 280 Barrow-in-Furness.

Tel 01229 822 822 Kendal.

Tel 01539 732 927 Whitehaven, Tel 01946 592 223 n CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON Helpline:0300 102 0008 n KNOWSLEY Tel 0151 549 1412 n LANCASTER Tel 01524 66475 nLIVERPOOL Tel 0151 705 2307 n MANCHESTER Tel 0161 835 2995 n MORECAMBE Tel 01524 833456 n PRESTON Tel 01772 200173 n RUNCORN Tel 01928 580182 n WIDNES Tel 0151 257 9673 n SALFORD Tel 0161 833 0217 n SEFTON Tel 0151 288 6060 n ST HELENS Tel 01744 675 615 n STOCKPORT Tel 0161 442 0442 n WARRINGTON (WIRED) Tel 01925 633 492 n WEST LANCS Tel 01695 711243 n WIGAN & LEIGH Tel 01942 705959 / 486923 MIDLANDS n BIRMINGHAM Tel 0121 675 8000 n SOLIHULL Tel 0121 788 1143 n WALSALL Tel 01922 610 810 NORTH WALES n ANGLESEY Tel 01248 722828 n BANGOR Tel 01248 370 797 n CONWY Tel 01492 533714 n DENBIGHSHIRE: NEWCIS, Tel: 0845 603 3187 nDOLGELLAU Tel 01341 421167 n FLINTSHIRE: NEWCIS, Tel: 01352 751436 n WREXHAM CARERS SERVICE

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All Together NOW!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

MEDICAL NOTES

20,000 demand the right to live

‘Big changes needed to prevent two-tier NHS’

THE NHS will collapse without radical and unpopular changes, a former health minister has claimed.

Those changes would include reducing the number of hospitals, setting up treatment hubs run by the private sector, and transferring power and funding to local councils, says Lord Warner, who served under Labour PM Tony Blair.

Unless these changes are made, rising demand will mean the NHS will be unable to provide services to all patients, ushering in a two-tier health system that no longer provides free universal care, the crossbench peer says in a report for the Social Market Foundation.

In his paper for the think tank, he urges politicians of all parties to have an honest conversation with voters about the urgent need for sweeping change to save the NHS from decline and failure.

The paper – The NHS: decline and fall, or resurrection – argues that politicians must be much braver in making major changes to the way the country structures and delivers health and care services.

Therapists needed

OCCUPATIONAL therapists are seeing a huge increase in demand for their services.

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists say there has been a 82% increase in requests for occupational therapy-led rehabilitation services over the last six months alone.

Karin Orman, RCOT Director of Practice and Innovation, said: “Social care leaders need to invest more in rehabilitation services and drive the recruitment of more occupational therapists as a matter of urgency.”

Keep city polio free

PARENTS of young children are being urged to check their polio vaccines are up to date, after evidence of the disease was detected in sewage samples in London.

The risk to the general public is extremely low, and although no cases have been detected in Liverpool, lower rates of uptake for the polio vaccine increase the risk of local outbreaks.

In 2003, the UK was declared polio free due to high levels of vaccine coverage, but in the last few years, the uptake of childhood immunisations including polio-containing vaccines has fallen.

Uptake of the baby immunisations has always been high in Liverpool, but due to Covid-19, uptake of the routine 6-in-1 vaccine for babies fell to 88% in 2020/21, down 7% from 2017/18, and lower than the national average of 92%, while early figures for 2021/22 show a fall to around 85%.

LIFE CHANGERS HOPEFUL: Marchers deliver petition

P

EOPLE living with the rare genetic condition Pompe disease can now beneft from a new treatment – avalglucosidase alfa – that’s available from the NHS.

The new drug, also known as Nexviazym, is one of ten treatments for muscle-wasting diseases that have been approved or are currently being appraised for use on the NHS in just six years.

Rob Burley, director of care at Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: “This is a remarkable advancement in such a short amount of time. Just three years ago there was only one treatment available for one group of people living with a muscle-wasting condition and one more going through the treatment appraisal process.”

Baroness Thomas of Winchester is a trustee of MDUK and lives with late-onset Pompe disease. She said: “Pompe disease has a huge impact on my life; I now use an electric wheelchair, and a ventilator at night and for a few hours during the day.

“Speech is difficult and I eat very little, relying on an overnight food supplement through a percutaneous endoscopic (PEG), a procedure in which a flexible feeding tube is placed through the abdominal wall and into the stomach.

“I am delighted that some people will now have access to this new treatment and the opportunity to have a different experience from my own.”

‘Finley finally able to be a 9-year-old boy’ FINLEY Davies, 9, lives with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and was one of the first children to benefit from these life-changing treatments.

Finley has been receiving Risdiplam, allowing him to enjoy being a little boy for the first time in his life.

“It’s incredible to think that there are a range of treatments available for SMA when there was nothing at all for years,” said Rosie.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE: Finley Davies

“He is finally able to live the life of a nine-year-old schoolboy and we are able to live without so much sadness and worry,” she added. Thanks to the treatment “ Finley now has much more strength and independence. He can now use a powered wheelchair that wouldn’t have been possible without the treatment.”

. . . reaching people who are digitally excluded . . .

TWENTY thousand voices cannot be ignored.

That’s the hope of campaigners demanding urgent action on a form of cancer killing 11 women a day.

An open letter to the Government, containing more than 20,000 signatures, highlights the crisis in awareness of ovarian cancer, which means many women are dying whose lives might otherwise have been saved by early treatment.

Campaigners from charity Target Ovarian Cancer backed up the letter by marching to 10 Downing Street, and calling for dedicated ovarian cancer symptom awareness campaigns across the UK. It comes after research by the charity revealed four out of five women could not name the key symptom of ovarian cancer – persistent bloating.

Target Ovarian Cancer’s chief executive, Annwen Jones, said: “It’s extremely sobering to see over 20,000 people come together to demand that the Government take immediate action to save lives. Twenty thousand voices cannot be ignored.”

As there is no current effective screening process for ovarian cancer, knowing the symptoms – persistent bloating, abdominal pain, feeling full quickly, and needing to wee more urgently – is essential to survival and early diagnosis.

Della Ogunleye, 60, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2019, said: “We need greater awareness of symptoms now. By standing together our voices will be louder.” n Target Ovarian Cancer Support Line: Tel. 020 792 35475

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

All Together NOW!

MEDICAL NOTES

Stroke patients denied ‘miracle treatment’

HORSE POWER Lessons we can learn from our equine friends

H

By EMMA HUTCHISON

UMANS are flawed. We get things wrong. There are days when it seems nothing will come right.

But if we keep trying, we can rediscover our rhythm.

The same with horses, each can have an off day. Here are five lessons we can learn from our four-legged friends.

1. PRACTICE

Horses love consistency, they value the stuff you do every day. It’s the same with your mental health. If you get stuck in negative stories – telling yourself you are not good enough, that everything will end in disaster – then a beautiful daily practice is to learn to turn those stories around.

Find your one good thing, and write that down. Tell yourself you are enough. Do it again and again, every day, until your brain believes it.

Small shifts in perspective, done over and over, can have huge results; this is what you do with a horse. You don’t have to turn your old, negative stories upside down, just tweak them. Acknowledge the the pain, then find one hopeful thing and focus on that.

2. BE IN THE MOMENT

There is a boatload of research showing the extraordinary power meditation can have on mental health. Meditation is hard, doing it well may be a life’s work. But you can start simply by practising being present, in the

contact . . .

moment. Horses do this naturally, so model it for us. At moments through the day, catch your racing monkey mind, bring it gently back to the present. Feel your senses: the air on your face, the sound of your breathing. All that matters is in that moment.

At HorseBack UK we often start courses with a meditation, based on this profound but simple idea of being present. If you can make that a habit, you will start to see changes.

3. HONESTY

Horses adore honesty. So does your brain.

Denying feelings of anxiety, shame and grief makes them worse. A lovely thing is to step into difficult emotions. Honestly say, yes, I do feel vulnerable, or hopeless. Sit with those feelings instead of fighting them. Then, see what you can do with them. Write them down, share them with a trusted friend, take them to a mental health professional.

The more these feelings are felt and released, the less power they have.

4. MOVEMENT

When horses get stuck in the sympathetic nervous system, which is the fight, flight and freeze part of the brain, sometimes the best thing you can do is invite them to move.

Liberty work is great for this: you can offer your horse a chance to dance jangled emotions out on the ground, until they come back to a place of stillness.

It’s not so different with humans. We can think our way out of some emotions, but some get stuck in the body. If you feel

trapped in negative thought loops, try dancing them out. Shake them out of your arms. Stomp them out of your feet.

You literally reset your body when you do this, letting the nervous system move from its threat state to its rest state.

5. TODAY

A great principle in horsemanship is working with the horse you have that day. Just because your dazzling steed could do perfect transitions last week, does not mean it can this week.

Horses have moods and emotions like us.

At HorseBack we ask our horses: ‘What do you need from us today?’

Do the same with yourself. Your anxiety, or low mood, or difficulty connecting with others might have improved, and you are getting that lovely sense of light at the end of the tunnel, then the next day, you feel all that progress has disappeared.

It’s easy then to feel like giving up, just as one might when a horse regresses.

But if you say, ‘I’m working with the person I am today,’ then you can take a gentler, more hopeful approach.

Use small steps to move forward again, building helpful mental habits, doing your daily practices.

n EMMA HUTCHISON is co-founder of award-winning charity HorseBack UK, which uses horsemanship and the outdoors to deliver personal development programmes. Tel. 01339 880487 www.horseback.org.uk

helen@alltogethernow.org.uk

MORE than 47,000 stroke patients are missing out every year on a miracle treatment, say the Stroke Association.

The procedure, called mechanical thrombectomy, involves using a stent to manually remove large stroke-causing blood clots from the brain via a catheter inserted into the patient’s groin.

The treatment vastly reduces disability and can cut hospital stays by months, with some patients being able to leave the next day.

But thrombectomy rates vary across the country. Almost 8% of stroke patients receive thrombectomy in London, compared to 0-3% in other parts of the country.

Despite stroke striking at any time and urgent treatment being critical, only a quarter of thrombectomy centres operate 24/7 services. Almost half only operate Monday to Friday, during office hours.

The Stroke Association’s Saving Brains report calls for a 24/7 thrombectomy service, which could cost up to £400m.

But treating all suitable strokes with thrombectomy would save the NHS £73m a year.

Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said: “Thrombectomy is a miracle treatment that pulls patients back from near-death and alleviates the worst effects of stroke.

“It’s shocking that so many patients are missing out and being saddled with unnecessary disability..”

She added: “Thrombectomy saves brains, saves money and changes lives; now is the time for real action, so that nobody has to live with avoidable disability ever again.” n Stroke Helpline: 0303 3033 100

Krill oil for over-65s

A NEW study has found that krill oil supplements can help strengthen the muscles of healthy people over 65.

Research found four grams of a krill oil supplement taken daily for six months showed “clinically significant” increases in muscle function and size, including thigh muscle and grip strength.

Krill oil is extracted from tiny shrimplike shellfish in the Antarctic and can be taken in capsules. It contains the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which previous studies have shown are important nutrients for the body as it ages.

Dr Stuart Gray, from the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, which led the study, said: “This is yet another strong indication that the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are important nutrients as we age.”

Tel. 07511 839937

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All Together NOW!

Until Oct 1: Mrs Doubtfire. Opera House, Manchester.

Sep 6-11: Twopence to Cross the Mersey.

Floral Pavilion, New Brighton. Adapted from Helen Forrester’s million-selling autobiography. Stunning period drama set in the early 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression.

Sep 6-10: The Osmonds. Empire, Liverpool.

The official story from Jay Osmond about the five brothers from Utah who were pushed into the spotlight as children and went on to create smash hits decade after decade.

Sep 8: The Illegal Eagles. Theatre Royal, St Helens. Tribute show.

Sep 9-Oct 22: Joanne McNally: The Prosecco Express. Playhouse, Liverpool.

Due to a relentless ageing process, Joanne is suddenly in her late thirties with no husband, no kids, no pension and no plan. She is full of questions: if she doesn’t birth anything, who will be obligated to watch her die so she doesn’t have to do it alone?

Sep 9: The Simon & Garfunkel Story.

Theatre Royal, St Helens. Tribute show.

Sep 9: The Illegal Eagles. Lyceum, Crewe.

Tribute show.

Sep 10: Rumours of Fleetwood Mac. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Sep 10: Drunk Women Solving Crime.

Everyman, Liverpool.

Sep 10: ELO Again. Lyceum, Crewe. Tribute show.

Sep 13-24: Dreamgirls. Palace Theatre, Manchester.

Sep 13: Day At Night – The Doris Day Songbook. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Sep 14: Melanie C in Conversation.

Everyman, Liverpool. Sporty Spice, Melanie tells her story.

Sep 14: Twopence To Cross The Mersey.

Pavilion, Rhyl.

Sep 15-17: When Darkness Falls. Grand Theatre, Blackpool. Spine-chilling ghost story.

Sep 15-17: The Haunting of Blaine Manor.

Lyceum, Crewe. England, 1953. Renowned American parapsychologist Doctor Roy Earle is invited to attend a seance in what is said to be the most haunted building in England.

Sep 15: The Voice of the Moody Blues – Justin Hayward. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Sep 15: The Johnny Cash Roadshow. The Brindley, Runcorn. Tribute show starring Clive John.

Sep 15: One Night of Elvis – Lee “Memphis” King. Empire, Liverpool.

Sep 16: The Mersey Beatles. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton. Tribute show.

Sep 16: Ray Quinn – King of Swing. Theatre Royal, St Helens. Celebrating the music of the Rat Pack and others.

Sep 16: The King of Reggae – The Man – The Music. Playhouse, Liverpool. The story of Bob Marley.

Sep 16: The George Michael Legacy. The Brindley, Runcorn. Tribute show starring Wayne Dilks.

Sep 16: David Essex. Venue Cymru, Llandudno. The 70s pop idol who just keeps on writing, producing and performing is back on tour.

Sep 17-Oct 15: The Book Thief. Octagon, Bolton. New musical based on Markus Zusak’s best-selling novel set in 1930s Germany. BSL Oct 3; Audio described Oct 4; Captioned Oct 10

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

BOX OFFICE CONTACTS

BLACKPOOL Grand Theatre: 01253 290190 BOLTON Octagon: 01204 520661 CHESTER Storyhouse: 01244 409 113 CREWE Lyceum: 01270 368 242 LIVERPOOL Empire: 08444 999 999 Everyman & Playhouse: 0151 709 4776 Philharmonic Hall: 0151 709 3789 Royal Court: 0870 787 1866 Unity 0151 709 4988 LLANDUDNO Venue Cymru: 01492 872000 MOLD: Theatr Clwyd: 0845 3303565

MANCHESTER Opera House: 0870 401 9000 Palace: 0870 401 3000 SALFORD The Lowry: 0843 208 6000 Access line: 0333 320 2838 NEW BRIGHTON Floral Pavilion: 0151 666 0000 RHYL: Pavilion: 01745 330 000 RUNCORN The Brindley: 0151 907 8360 ST HELENS: Theatre Royal: 01744 756000 STOKE: Regent Theatre: 0844 871 7627 CHESTER: Storyhouse: 01244 409 113

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Miss Marple to the rescue?

AGATHA Christie’s Miss Marple, confined to a chair after an accident, is wondering if life has passed her by. But when there’s a vicious murder she must unravel a web of lies, tragedy and danger.

Oct 17-22: The Mirror Crack’d. Theatr Clwyd.

Audio described Oct 19; Captioned Oct 20.

David at the seaside

TIME TO BOOK

Sep 17: You Are My Sunshine. Unity, Liverpool. What is means to be a young carer, the complexities of family and the resilience of the human spirit.

Sep 17: Emma Kenny’s The Serial Killer Next Door. Theatre Royal, St Helens.

Sep 17: Dara O Briain: So, Where Were We? Empire, Liverpool.

Sep 18: The Music of Lord of the Rings and Beyond. Empire, Liverpool.

Manchester Concert Orchestra .

Sep 18: The Illegal Eagles. Venue Cymru, Llandudno. Tribute show.

Sep 18: Patsy Cline & Friends 90th Anniversary Show. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Sep 18: The Wonder of Stevie. Lyceum, Crewe. Tribute show.

Sep 20-24. Girl From The North Country. The Lowry, Salford. Conor McPherson boldly reimagines the legendary songs of Bob Dylan.

Sep 20: The Pundits. Empire, Liverpool. Jeff Stelling is joined by Paul Merson, Matt Le Tissier, Phil Thompson and Charlie Nicholas.

Sep 21-24: Twopence To Cross the Mersey. Lyceum, Crewe.

Sep 21: The Official RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series Three Tour. Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

To advertise, contact . . .

ACTOR, musician, composer, poet and bestselling author . . . David Essex has done it all.

Now he’s back on tour with a new show that combines many of his old hit songs – and some surprises.

Sep 16: David Essex. Venue Cymru,

Sep 22-24: 9 to 5: The Musical. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Sep 22-24: The Producers. Theatre Royal, St Helens. New Mel Brooks’ Musical.

Adult content.

Sep 22: Tim Peake: My Journey to Space. Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Fasten your seatbelts.

Sep 22: You Win Again – Celebrating the Music of the Bee Gees. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Sep 22: Mania – The Abba Tribute. Empire, Liverpool.

Sep 23-Oct 15: The Famous Five. Theatr Clwyd. Join Enid Blyton’s Famous Five for a daring musical adventure.

Sep 23-29: The Scousetrap. Royal Court, Liverpool. Liverpool 1940.

Hitler’s plans to bomb the city are reaching fever pitch and time is running out for everyone.

Sep 23: The Dreamboys. Empire, Liverpool.

Sep 23: The Mersey Beatles. Pavilion, Rhyl.

Tribute show.

Sep 23: The Billy Joel Songbook starring Elio Pace. Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Sep 24: Pauline Daniels: Get Me Before

The Crematorium Does. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Sep 24: The Chicago Blues Brothers – A Night at the Movies. Empire, Liverpool.

Sep 24: Court and Spark – The Joni Mitchell Songbook. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Tribute show.

Sep 25: A Beautiful Noise – Celebrating the Music of Neil Diamond. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Sep 25: The Drifters. Theatre Royal, St Helens. The legendary group are back on tour.

Sep 27-Oct 8: A Billion Times I Love You. Everyman, Liverpool. Rollercoaster ride through the backchat and bust-ups, kisses and cleaning products that underscore one couple’s hunt for queer romantic bliss.

Sep 27-Oct 1: Twopence to Cross the Mersey. Theatre Royal, St Helens.

Sep 27-Oct 1: Saturday Night Fever. Palace Theatre, Manchester. Set to the soundtrack of the Bee Gees, the story of Tony Manero who embarks on a reckless yet thrilling road to dancing success.

Sep 27-Oct 1: Mamma Mia! Venue Cymru, Llandudno. The smash hit musical .

Sep 27-Oct 1: Blood Brothers. Regent Theatre, Stoke.

helen@alltogethernow.org.uk

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

Scaffold are back T

HEY’RE BACK – and can’t wait to say Thank U Very Much for the past 60 years!

That’s right, The Scaffold are reuniting for a very special double gig at the place where it all started for them – the Everyman, Liverpool.

Roger McGough, John Gorman and Mike “McGear” McCartney (who’s now All Together NOW!’s first patron!) went on to present their distinctive mix of comedy and poetry to packed theatres both around the UK and across the world.

They became staples on peaktime TV and they produced a string of unforgettable hit records including Thank U Very Much, Lily the Pink and Liverpool Lou. Now they’re ready to share some amazing and hilarious stories, sketches, poems, photographs and songs. n Two shows are planned for October 29 – 2pm and 7,30pm

YOUR SEATS

Sep 28-Oct 1: English National Ballet – Swan Lake. Empire, Liverpool.

Sep 28: The Manfreds. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Paul Jones joined by Tom McGuinness, Rob Townsend, Mike Gorman, Marcus Cliffe and Simon Currie.

Sep 29: The Mersey Beatles. The Brindley, Runcorn. Tribute show.

Sep 30-Oct 15: The Time Traveller’s Wife.

Storyhouse, Chester. World premiere of a heartracing theatrical journey like no other.

Sep 30: Rob Lambert – A Celebration of the Songs and Music of George Michael.

Pavilion, Rhyl.

Sep 30: Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years. Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Sep 30: The Ultimate Classic Rock Show.

Lyceum, Crewe.

Oct 1: Jayde Adams – Men, I Can Save You. Unity, Liverpool.

Oct 1: Simon & Garfunkel – Through the Years. Lyceum, Crewe.

Oct 1: Lost in Music – One Night at the Disco. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Oct 2: What’s Love Got To Do With It: Tribute to Tina Turner. Empire, Liverpool.

Oct 3: Michael Palin – From North Korea into Iraq. The Lowry, Salford.

BACK ON STAGE: The Scaffold reflecting on 60 memorable years

Oct 3: Gilbert O’Sulivan. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Oct 4-8: An Inspector Calls. Regent Theatre, Stoke. JB Priestley’s classic thriller. Touch tour Oct 6.

Oct 4-15: Bat Out Of Hell. Empire, Liverpool.

Bringing to life the legendary rock ‘n’ roll anthems of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf.

Oct 4-8: Othello. Playhouse, Liverpool. Frantic Assembly presents its award-winning take on Shakespeare’s tragedy of paranoia, sex and murder.

Oct 4-8: Gary Barlow – A Different Stage. The Lowry, Salford. Gary narrates the journey of his life.

Oct 4-6: Twopence to Cross the Mersey.

Grand Theatre, Blackpool.

Oct 4-5: The Official RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series Three Tour. Opera House, Manchester.

Oct 4: Lindsey Buckingham. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Oct 5-8: Swan Lake. Palace Theatre, Manchester. English National Ballet.

Oct 5: Ralph McTell. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Fifty years of folk classics.

Oct 5: Sleeping Beauty. Pavilion, Rhyl. Crown Ballet’s adaptation of the classic story of love and innocence, mystery and magic set to

Tchaikovsky’s sublime score.

Oct 6: What’s Love Got To Do With It? Venue Cymru, Llandudno. Tribute to Tina Turner.

Oct 6: Queenz – The Show with BALLS! Floral Pavilion, New Brighton. Tribute show.

Oct 7: Carole – The Music of Carole King.

Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Oct 7: Mack The Knife – The Songs of Bobby Darin. Theatre Royal, St Helens. Tribute show.

Oct 7: An Evening with Liverpool Legends.

Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Oct 7: The Greatest Love of All. Pavilion, Rhyl. Whitney Houston tribute show starring Belinda Davies.

Oct 8: 10cc in Concert. Pavilion, Rhyl.

Oct 8: Ray Quinn – King of Swing. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton. Featuring all the greatest hits of Sammy Davis Jnr, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra.

Oct 9: Buddy Holly and The Cricketers.

Octagon, Bolton. Tribute show.

Oct 11-15: Beautiful: The Carole King Muscal. Palace Theatre, Manchester. Inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom.

Oct 9: The Elvis Years: The Story of the King. Venue Cymru, Llandudno. Tribute show.

Oct 9: The Billy Joel Albums Show starring Elio Pace. The Lowry, Salford.

. . . reaching people who are digitally excluded . . .

All Together NOW!

Oct 10: An Audience with Wayne Sleep.

Grand Theatre, Blackpool.

Oct 11-15: The Color Purple. The Lowry, Salford. Musical celebrating life, love and the strength to stand up for who you are and what you believe in.

Oct 11-15: The Importance of Being Earnest.

Playhouse, Liverpool. Oscar Wilde’s classic satire.

Oct 11: Newton Faulkner – Feels Like Home Tour. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Oct 11: The Greatest Love of All. Theatre Royal, St Helens. The music of Whitney Houston.

Oct 12-16: Shrek the Musical. Lyceum, Crewe.

Oct 12-13: La Boheme. Venue Cymru, Llandudno. Welsh National Opera.

Oct 12: Clinton Baptiste vs Ramone.

Theatre Royal, St Helens.

Oct 12: Sue Barker Live – Calling the Shots. The Lowry, Salford.

Oct 13: The Christians. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Oct 13: Someone Like You – The Adele Songbook. Floral Pavilion. Tribute show.

Oct 13: Anything for Love – The Meat Loaf Story. Pavilion, Rhyl. Steve Steinman performs Meat Loaf’s greatest hits.

Oct 14: Beauty and the Beast Ballet. Grand Theatre, Blackpool.

Oct 14: Endless Love – The Music of Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross.

Oct 14: The World Famous Elvis Show.

Pavilion, Rhyl. Tribute show starring Chris Connor.

Oct 14: The Makropulos Affair. Venue Cymru, Llandudno. Prepare to be engrossed in one of opera’s most thrilling mysteries as the enigmatic diva Emilia searches Europe for a recipe for eternal youth.

Oct 15: Scott of the Antarctic: Flim with Live Orchestra. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpoool.

Oct 15: Migrations. Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Welsh National Opera’s new opera explores the highs and lows of migration.

Oct 15: Awareness. Unity, Liverpool. Reluctant autistic influencer Aurora’s whole life has been shared online as part of her and her mother Emma’s social media. But she is now concerned about the impact of having her most vulnerable moments on the internet will have on her future.

Oct 15: ShwaddyWaddy – Let’s Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Oct 15: The Magic of Vienna – The Glorious Music of Strauss and More. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Oct 16: The Proclaimers. The Lowry, Salford.

Oct 16: The ELO Show. The Lowry, Salford.

Tribute show.

Oct 17-22: The Mirror Crack’d. Theatr Clwyd.

Audio described Oct 19; Captioned Oct 20.

Oct 17-22: Strictly Ballroom – The Musical.

Empire, Liverpool. Starring Kevin Clifton and BBC’s Eastenders’ Maisie Smith.

Oct 17: Dirty Dusting. Lyceum, Crewe. Gladys, Olive and Elsie are three “vintage style” cleaning ladies. When threatened with redundancy they chance on an unconventional way of earning some extra cash…

Oct 17: An Evening with Michael Portillo. The Brindley, Runcorn.

Oct 17: An Evening with Graham Norton.

Storyhouse, Chester.

Oct 18-29: Jersey Boys. Opera House, Manchester.

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

21

22

All Together NOW! n Continued from Page 21

Oct 18-22: Blood Brothers. The Lowry, Salford.

Oct 18-22: Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Grand Theatre, Blackpool.

Oct 18: Buddy Holly and the Cricketers.

Lyceum, Crewe. Tribute show.

Oct 20-Nov 5: Brief Encounter. Octagon, Bolton. Noel Coward’s timeless classic tale.

Laura and Alec are married – but not to each other. A chance meeting at a railway station hurls them into a whirlwind romance that threatens to blow their worlds apart. Captioned Oct 25; BSL Nov 1; Audio described Nov 2 Oct 20: The Roy Orbison Story. Lyceum, Crewe. Tribute show.

Oct 20-22: Deep Blue. Everyman, Liverpool.

Comedy. The parks are full of families, the pubs are full of mates, but it’s in the aisles of Tesco where Riley lights up.

Oct 21: Fastlove. Lyceum, Crewe. Direct from the West End, the sensational celebration of the music of George Michael.

Oct 21-30: Sleeping Beauty – October Panto.

Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Oct 21: Calling Planet Earth. Pavilion, Rhyl.

Oct 21: Divas. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Oct 21: Puss In Boots. Theatr Colwyn.

Oct 21: Sue Barker Live: Calling The Shots.

Storyhouse, Chester.

Oct 21: Dreamboys. Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Oct 23: The Australian Pink Floyd. Regent Theatre, Stoke.

Oct 24-29: Strictly Ballroom – The Musical.

Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Oct 24: Swan Lake. Lyceum, Crewe. Crown Ballet.

Oct 25-29: The Smartest Giant in Town.

Playhouse, Liverpool.

Oct 25-29: The Lavender Hill Mob. Theatr Clwyd.

New adaptation of the classic Ealing comedy.

Audio described Oct 26; Captioned Oct 27.

Oct 25: Saturday Night Fever. Regent Theatre, Stoke. Musical set to the Bee Gees music.

Oct 25: Dracula’s Guest. Lyceum, Crewe.

Spooky stuff in Victorian England.

Oct 25: Wind in the Willows. Lyceum, Crewe.

Oct 26-29: Calendar Girls. The Brindley, Runcorn. Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s musical .

Oct 26: Steptoe & Son. Lyceum, Crewe. Based on the original TV sitcom scripts.

Oct 27-Feb 19: The Lion King.

Palace Theatre, Manchester.

Oct 27: The Invisible Man. Theatr Colwyn. It is Wales, 1933. The Invisible Man starring Claude Rains is terrifying cinema audiences worldwide.

Oct 28: Endless Love. Pavilion, Rhyl. The music of Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross.

Oct 28: Murder Mystery – The Body Snatchers: Halloween Special. Everyman, Liverpool. Crime solving fictional story based on the dark history of the body snatchers of Liverpool linked to the Everyman.

Oct 29: An Audience with the Scaffold.

Everyman, Liverpool. John Gorman, Roger McGough and Mike “McGear” McCartney are reuniting for an exclusive show.

Oct 29: Filla Crack’s Halloween Drag Cabaret.

Everyman, Liverpool.

Oct 30: Elkie Brooks. Grand Theatre, Blackpool.

Oct 30: Freedom – The Music of George Michael. Venue Cymru, Llandudno.

Oct 31-Nov 5: The Shawshank Redemption.

The Lowry, Salford. Audio described and Touch tour Nov 3; BSL Nov 4.

Nov 1-5: Sherlock Holmes and The Valley of Fear. Grand Theatre, Blackpool.

Nov 2: Whitney: Queen of the Night. Venue Cymru, Llandudno. Trubute show.

Nov 3: Foster and Allen. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

Nov 4: Brown Girls Do It Too. Playhouse,

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

ARIES (March 21-April 20)

Sending messages and making connections puts you at the front of the line. The Full Moon on the 10th invites you to take some time off to rest, reflect, and refresh; taking a break will attract an unexpected moneymaking opportunity. Be gentle with a colleague on the 16th, and you’ll build a bridge to a more productive relationship.

As October gets under way, don’t let your larger-than-life personality intimidate your best friend, romantic partner, or business colleague. On the 8th, the Full Moon allows you to shine at an important social gathering; this is a great time to make career connections. A loving message reaches your ears on the 17th, giving you a new lease on life. Striking a balance between your private and public lives will be challenging on the 19th.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21)

Beware of accepting an offer that seems too good to be true and don’t mix friendship with finance. Beginning on the 9th, you have an opportunity to perfect a creative project, romantic relationship, or both; get specific about what you want in these areas. The Full Moon on the 10th brings a satisfying end to a career challenge; you’ll be much more independent at work after this fateful day. Family relations become a lot easier in October. A nice windfall could be on the way.

The Full Moon on the 9th is perfect for attending a big social gathering. Booking a pleasure trip is possible on the 13th. Go after your heart’s desire on the 18th. On the 25th, the Solar Eclipse inspires you to start a health regimen or begin a spiritual renewal routine. .

CANCER (June 22-July 23) Beware of talking down to a helpful person even if you have superior knowledge and experience. Starting on the 9th, you must make some adjustments to your domestic routines to accommodate a relative or neighbour. The Full Moon on the 10th finds you signing a contract or returning from a trip, allowing you to focus more fully on an elusive dream. October sees a relative being jealous of your success; don’t let their petty remarks undermine your enthusiasm. On the 9th, the Full Moon marks an exciting milestone. Heading away to a private hideaway with a loved one is likely on the 17th. Don’t let your family interfere with your personal life on the 19th; it’s crucial to establish and maintain firm boundaries.

LEO (July 24-August 23)

Taking a long-distance trip with a friend will be lots of fun. Starting on the 9th, be wary about signing contracts or making big purchases; treat the next few weeks as an opportunity to research your options. The Full Moon on the 10th seems to be a beautifully passionate day; pour your energy into the people and things you love.

you know the truth, you’ll feel more optimistic about the future. A passionate discussion with a friend in October paves the way to an exciting creative project. Beware of revealing secrets on the 19th, or some close relationships could be permanently affected. The Solar Eclipse on the 25th highlights your star power; use your magnetism to promote your agenda. The 27th begins a heightened romance and creativity period.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23-December 21)

TAURUS (April 21-May 21)

Go after a moneymaking opportunity that allows you to work independently. The Full Moon on the 10th is ideal for attending a party; people will be drawn to you like moths to a flame. Resist the temptation to buy someone’s affection on the 16th; it just won’t work. You’ll receive a beautiful gift on the 19th; this will be a delightful surprise.

October’s Full Moon on the 9th finds you retreating from public view, taking some time to rest and reflex. A significant career award arrives on the 11th, allowing you to revel in your accomplishments. If you’ve been looking for a job, the 22nd is ideal for sending out resumes, posting a professional profile, and contacting prospective clients.

You’ll attract admirers like moths to a flame on the 23rd.

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

RUSSELL GRANT CALLING . . .

October’s Full Moon brings the successful conclusion to a legal matter, allowing you to focus more fully on a close relationship. Your sunny outlook attracts an attentive admirer like a magnet on the 11th; this relationship has the potential to last a lifetime. Let a friend introduce you to an exciting hobby, sport, or artistic medium. Your best friend, romantic partner, or business colleague will offer valuable practical support on the 22nd.

VIRGO (August 24-September 23)

Your natural charisma is evident to everybody; use it to lure a worthy admirer into your web of intrigue. On the 10th, the Full Moon prompts your best friend or romantic partner to lavish you with love; prepare for a lovely surprise. An unexpected chance to take a dream trip falls into your lap. As October starts it will be much easier to command the attention and respect you deserve. The 6th is perfect for showing off your creative talent; don’t be surprised if an admirer approaches as a result. The Full Moon on the 9th marks an exciting turning point in an intimate relationship. Don’t make any expensive impulse purchases on the 11th; keep your money safe in the bank.

LIBRA (September 24-October 23)

You will spend most of your time away from the spotlight, focusing on solitary pursuits that make you happy. Beginning on the 9th, you’ll have difficulty getting your point across; be patient and persistent when discussing your needs and concerns. The Full Moon on the 10th marks an exciting turning point with a health regimen. An embarrassing secret comes to light on the 16th. October is the perfect time to enjoy your home life; spend time close to family.

The Full Moon on the 9th causes a close friend to champion your talent and expert knowledge. Your charm, wit, and intelligence attract an accomplished admirer on the 13th; this could be the beginning of a serious romance.

SCORPIO (October 24-November 22) The Full Moon on the 10th marks an exciting turning point in a romance; you’ll get much closer to your partner after this fateful day. A surprising alliance helps you to realise a cherished dream. Be totally honest with a friend; your candour will break down the walls between you. On the 25th, the New Moon brings a startling secret to light. Once

Don’t take an emotional or financial risk – you will be disappointed. The Full Moon on the 10th finds you making rewarding changes to your home life. A surprising offer falls in your lap, making you smile from ear to ear. Striking a healthy balance between your personal and professional lives will be challenging on the 16th.

October’s Full Moon on the 9th marks a beautiful turning point in your life. A manipulative relative will try to interfere with a personal relationship; draw a firm boundary. Being pursued by an attentive admirer feels terrific on the 17th. Financial limitations on the 19th keep you from pursuing a cherished dream. Stalled professional talks resume on the 22nd; be slow and steady in these discussions.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 20)

Starting on the 9th, you will have a chance to expand your horizons through travel, study, or both. The Full Moon on the 10th brings surprising news about a creative project or romantic relationship; go out and celebrate. On the 18th, you’ll be asked to share your expertise with some enthusiastic beginners; what starts as a minor assignment will turn into a permanent position. As October unfolds it becomes much easier to assert your authority, allowing you to move forward with a significant personal project. On the 9th, the Full Moon is perfect for buying or selling property; this deal will put you in a much more secure financial position.

AQUARIUS (January 21-February19)

Your love life sizzles with excitement starting. It will be difficult nailing down travel plans and business deals beginning on the 9th; stay calm and persist until you get the sales you want. On the 10th, the Full Moon could bring a nice windfall. October’s Full Moon on the 9th finds you acquiring knowledge about a subject that has always fascinated you, causing accomplished people to look at you with respect. Your calm, relaxed demeanour paves the way for an excellent opportunity. Avoid a legal battle like the plague on the 19th. It becomes much easier to promote your personal agenda on the 22nd; don’t let anyone talk you out of your dreams.

PISCES (February 20-March20)

The Full Moon on the 10th urges you to put your needs first; taking a spur-of-themoment trip is high on your priorities. Be realistic about your expectations of a business or romantic partner on the 16th, or a big argument could erupt. It won’t be possible to buy happiness; it’s better to look within for the fulfilment you desire. There are exciting things to come in October. On the 9th, the Full Moon attracts a windfall that gives you a more significant measure of freedom. Don’t let relatives dictate how you lead your life on the 11th; take command of your destiny. Starting on the 22nd, you will be able to get the privacy and rest you crave. The Solar Eclipse on the 25th paves the way to a travel or study opportunity that expands your horizons.

2 50, 000

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

READERS . . . BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

All Together NOW!

23

“WE’VE advertised in All Together NOW! for the past 14 years – and haven't missed a single issue. It's a fantastic publication that does a brilliant job of presenting disability interests and issues in a positive and inclusive manner. We get a great respons to our advertising – and the team is always great to deal with.”

– Donald Pow, MD, Allied Mobility

“WE HAD a brilliant response to your article about our Atrial Fibrillation Ambassador programme – and lots of people phoned us to find out how they could become an AF Ambassador. Thanks to All Together NOW! many more people with an irregular heart rhythm will now be detected, get the right medication and this will prevent them from having strokes.”

— NHS Innovation Agency

“WE HAVE proudly advertised in All Together NOW! for over 12 years. It is an excellent newspaper, with endless, interesting and helpful facts for all readers.

We have always received great responses to our advertisements.

The newspaper is freely available to so many people throughout the North West and is appreciated by so many.

Heather Maddox, A-Line Mobility

“All Together NOW! is a valuable link to hundreds of thousands of disabled people. We have used this free charity newspaper to promote the services of our mobility shops and the annual Disability Awareness Day and know that it is reaching huge numbers of people who otherwise would go uniformed.”

— Dave Thompson Warrington Disability Partnership

REACHING PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ONLINE . . .

More than a newspaper – the key to independence

All Together NOW! has been a real help to us. We’ve been involved with the paper since its launch in 2004 and always get a great response to our adverts. Here’s wishing the paper every success — Steve Curran, co-director, DaVinci Mobility “OF ALL the marketing that United Utilities puts into the community, nothing generates as much feedback and response as All Together NOW! It is a great platform that’s helping us to get our messages to our vulnerable customers.”

— Louise Beardmore, Customer Services Director United Utilities

facebook.com/ AllTogetherNews/

@ATNnews

You can benefit from our in-paper and online audiences with cost-effective advertising and sponsorship.

Your advertisement will be

250,000

local, seen by and highly relevant readers – don't let your business miss out on our huge audience!

Contact me now

Helen McLoughlin Tel 0151 929 3912 07511 839397 helen@alltogethernow.org.uk

“WE HAVE supported All Together NOW! for the past 14 years and are proud to be one of the charity’s main sponsors – recognition for the way in which the newspaper helps bring together so many people and organisations. There is no doubting the importance of this excellent publication. All Together NOW! makes a unique contribution to improving the quality of life of disabled people and their families. We are delighted with the huge progress the paper has made, and we know from the number of telephone calls we receive from people who have read the paper that distribution is on the increase and is reaching the right audience.”

— Steve Morgan CBE, chairman Steve Morgan

www.alltogethernow.org.uk Registered Charity: 1106387

All Together NOW!

24

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

The Accumulator Quiz

STARSPOT CROSSWORD Can you find the celebrity name hidden in this Starspot Crossword? Complete the crossword in the normal way then make a note of the letters contained in all the squares which are marked with shaded stars. These letters will make an anagram of the name you are looking for.

1

2

3

8

4

★

5

5

6

7

9

★

★

9

10

10

11

11

12

14 16

17

★

18 19 19

23

13

15

★

21

13

★

22

25

23

★

27

26

24

24

28

25 29

★ 30

★ ★

31

★

ACROSS

DOWN

1.

6.

8.

9.

10.

11.

13.

14.

16.

18.

19.

21.

22.

23.

27.

28.

30.

31.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

10.

11.

12.

14.

15.

17.

20.

24.

25.

26.

29.

Male of good birth (9) Hat (3) Punter (7) Circular frame (5) Neat (4) Drop suddenly (3) Record (4) Additional payment (5) Calculate (6) Regular beat (6) Furze (5) Part of speech (4) Feel sorrow (3) Revolve (4) Speak (5) Holy place (7) Unspecified quantity (3) Underskirt (9)

Joke (3) Wanderer (5) Soothe (4) Border (6) Tailed amphibian (4) Dispenser (7) Constable (9) Poisonous spider (9) Giver (5) Money-bag (5) Marsh (3) Female pronoun (3) Nation (7) Reddish-brown (6) Paved terrace (5) Stumble (4) Against (4) Encountered (3)

Each question has four possible answers and is worth from one to 15 points. Circle your chosen answers and keep a record of your points total. Maximum total points 120.

QUESTION 1 – for 1 point: According to the nursery rhyme, who killed Cock Robin?

QUESTION 10 – for 10 points: Which bird of prey specialises in catching fish?

A B C D

A B C D

The cat The fly The owl The sparrow

QUESTION 2 – for 2 points: Which book was a major influence on the ideas of Lord Baden-Powell in developing the Scout movement?

A B

20

C D

100 120 144 188

Tiswas Wizbit Rugrats Animadness

QUESTION 5 – for 5 points: Who won the best British group award at the 2013 Brit Awards?

A B C D

7 3 4 1 6 5

A B C D

Magician Paul Daniels. See Question 4

QUESTION 4 – for 4 points: Which children’s TV show was hosted by Paul Daniels?

A B C D

Calvi The Nile Tenerife Trafalgar

QUESTION 12 – for 12 points: Who replaced Michael Gove as Education Secretary in 2014?

alt-J Mumford & Sons One Direction Muse

QUESTION 7 – for 7 points: Where in London is the Chamber of Horrors?

A B C D

Madame Tussaud’s The Tower of London The London Dungeon The Houses of Parliament

QUESTION 13 – for 13 points: Which professional snooker player, born in Northern Ireland, has the nickname ‘Pistol’?

A B C D

Stuart Bingham Ken Doherty Mark Allen Shaun Murphy

QUESTION 14 – for 14 points: Which Russian novelist wrote Crime and Punishment?

QUESTION 8 – for 8 points: In which movie did Clint Eastwood have the famous line: “Go ahead, make my day.”?

A B C D

Justine Greening Jeremy Hunt Nicky Morgan Sajid Javid

A B C D

Sudden Impact Dirty Harry A Fistful of Dollars Magnum Force

Ivan Turgenev Fyodor Dostoyevsky Maxim Gorky Leo Tolstoy

QUESTION 6 – for 6 points: From which continent did the turkey originate?

QUESTION 9 – for 9 points: What type of circus performer is a funambulist?

QUESTION 15 – for 15 points: Which club did Manchester United play in the only FA Cup final to have been contested between two ‘Uniteds’?

A B C D

A B C D

A B C D

North America South America Asia Australasia

Lion tamer Clown Tightrope-walker Acrobat

Newcastle United Leeds United West Ham United Sheffield United

KAKURO

THERE is just one simple rule in Sudoku. Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9, and so must each 3 x 3 box. This is a logic puzzle, and you should not have to guess.

DIFFICULT

5 8 7 3 4 5 2 6 8 9 2 4 1 7 3 4 8 3 4 6 8 4 2 4 6 5

A B C D

QUESTION 3 – for 3 points: How many items comprise a gross?

A B C D

Buzzard Merlin Kite Osprey

QUESTION 11 – for 11 points: During which battle did Nelson lose his eye?

The Jungle Book Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management Little Women The Swiss Family Robinson

SUDOKU

EASY

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

9 6 4

1 1 5

5 3

8

3

4 9 6 1 9 3

6 8 2 2 4 8

2 5

FILL in the blank squares in the grid with numbers so that each horizontal or vertical line adds up to the total given in the box either to the left or above it.

Horizontal totals are given in the top right corners of the shaded boxes; vertical totals in the bottom left corners.

You can use the numbers 1 to 9, but may not use the same number more than once in any run. The number may be used again, however, in the same row or column but as part of another run.

MEDIUM 14

12

22

9

24

12

11 23

21 18 9

15

22

29

9 11

9

18 3 15 10

12

Telephone dialling pads combine several letters on one key. Here we have encoded several sets of words or items by using numbers rather than letters. Then we have divided them into groups of three characters and run all the names one after another to make your task a little more difficult. Can you crack the codes?

EACH number in our Cross Code grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. You have three letters in the control grid to start you off.

Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters should go in the missing squares.

As you get the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and control grid. Check off the alphabetical list of letters as you identify them.

0

5

3 DEF

4 GHI

5 JKL

6 MNO

7 PQRS

8 TUV

9 WXYZ

2. mythology 639 773 871 776 638 438 712 363 271 527 661 224 455 371 259 836 637 872 144 776 598 871 435 361 734 278 716 272 477 871 493 721 227 726 372

4. chocolate bars 352 531 894 919 477 213 834 315 481 528 162 771 266 781 846 316 881 764 253 771 894 751 742 642 127 862 443 126 868 913 246 196 754 315 466

5. dinosaurs 276 686 728 787 187 423 728 677 127 224 467 287 871 897 266 672 878 717 368 223 728 677 178 346 728 787 183 562 472 786 715 378 623 728 677

SPOT CHECK

Starting from the central shaded letter, move one letter at a time (up, down, right or left, but not diagonally) to find 15 evergreen trees.

Can you place the six dominoes (right) into the grid below in such a way that the number of spots in all four rows across and all four rows down totals 11?

L

R

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P

S W E

C

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S

Y

A

B

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C O

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A

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U

U J

P I

C M E

S L

N O

E

D

A

L

E

A

B

R

Z

P

Y

6. parts of the body 352 691 844 441 432 313 271 863 142 631 265 531 746 853 371 563 313 668 163 251 276 166 731 225 316 688 413 931 243 781 244 613 464 371 534

T

E

N O

V

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D

F

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Y

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A

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N O G

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F

L

E M O

P

L

K

D

5

6

FESCUE

L

L

In which year did all three of these significant historical events take place?

Y

L

A

1. The Royal Navy launches its largest ever battleship, HMS Dreadnought.

K M Y

1) A narrowleaved grass, some varieties of which are valuable for pasture or fodder;

F

O MAKE A DATE

L

–––––

SKIN

N M

O C

N

T

U

S

C

TRADE

–––––

JACK

O

A

K

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U

LIBERTY

––––

TENT

H E O C R K TRANSFORMER

DAY

–––––

GRAIN

4

B

E

SPRING

HOUSE

3

Here is an unusual word with three definitions, only one of which is correct. Can you identify the right definition?

C

R W

I

WORD WIZARD

2

A

––––

–––

3. French cities 627 734 553 716 268 371 868 568 731 727 471 596 614 736 625 316 753 267 134 566 153 142 873 125 376 668 133 772 631 226 637 127 378 162 629

prehistoric animals and

PATHWORDS

FLAT

DEAD

RACK

2 ABC

figures from Greek

1. types of trousers 532 671 758 713 687 716 837 255 712 673 714 477 837 712 446 671 752 257 138 642 733 715 634 787 713 527 371 242 771 754 172 687 127 332 437

1

MISSING LINK Each pair of words has a missing word between them that acts as a link to both (e.g. FRONT – DOOR – MAT). The initial letters of the six answers (reading downwards) will spell out a unit of currency.

1 []’–

Spaces and any punctuation marks are represented by 1.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

$

25

DIALLING CODES

CROSS CODE

All Together NOW!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

www.alltogethernow.org.uk

2) A flat ruler with a widened end once used for punishment in schools;

2. Cunard launches its new liner Lusitania, which becomes the world’s largest vessel afloat.

3) A woollen yarn of two or more strands used in hand knitting.

3. London Underground opens the Bakerloo Line, linking Baker Street and Waterloo.

Add the given letter to the first word to make a new word.

Clue: Solemnity inspired by adding to sauce.

WAS IT? a) 1886; b) 1891; c) 1896; d) 1901; e) 1906.

_____ +IT=____IT_

ALL THE ANSWERS Pathwords: cypress; Douglas fir; holly; monkey puzzle; olive; Norway spruce; yew; Scots pine; juniper; laburnum; Cedar of Lebanon; hemlock; lemon; cork oak; eucalyptus.

2 7 3 4 1 6 5 8 9

4 9 8 2 5 3 1 7 6

5 6 1 8 7 9 2 4 3

8 3 6 1 2 4 7 9 5

SUDOKU EASY

1 4 5 7 9 8 3 6 2

7 2 9 3 6 5 4 1 8

3 1 7 9 8 2 6 5 4

6 8 4 5 3 1 9 2 7

9 5 2 6 4 7 8 3 1

8 4 5 1 7 3 9 6 2

3 2 9 6 4 5 7 1 8

6 1 7 2 8 9 5 3 4

1 5 4 7 9 8 6 2 3

6 * $

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CROSS CODE

9 3 8 5 2 6 4 7 1

7 6 2 4 3 1 8 5 9

SUDOKU DIFFICULT

2 7 3 8 6 4 1 9 5

5 8 6 9 1 2 3 4 7

4 9 1 3 5 7 2 8 6

2

10 15 9 29

6

2

9

7

15

9

18 21 24

4

5

8

9 14

12

4 1 5 3 2 7

8

1

2

3 18

8

9

6

6

1

23

2

11

KAKURO MEDIUM

9

11

9

22

5

1 9

8 22

3 9 12

3 8 1 12

Accumulator Quiz 1 – D; 2 – A; 3 – C; 4 – B; 5 – B; 6 – A; 7 – A; 8 – A; 9 – C; 10 – D; 11 – A; 12 – C; 13 – C; 14 – B; 15 – A. Starspot Crossword Across – 1 Gentleman; 6 Cap; 8 Gambler; 9 Wheel; 10 Tidy; 11 Dip; 13 Disc; 14 Bonus; 16 Reckon; 18 Rhythm; 19 Gorse; 21 Noun; 22 Rue; 23 Spin; 27 Utter; 28 Sanctum; 30 Any; 31 Petticoat.

Down – 1 Gag; 2 Nomad; 3 Lull; 4 Margin; 5 Newt; 6 Chemist; 7 Policeman; 10 Tarantula; 11 Donor; 12 Purse; 14 Bog; 15 She; 17 Country; 20 Russet; 24 Patio; 25 Trip; 26 Anti; 29 Met. Star Name: KEELEY HAWES

Word Wizard No 1 is correct. Fescue is a narrowleaved grass.

Dialling Codes 1. jeans; plus fours; overalls; cords; hipsters; chinos; slacks; dungarees; jodhpurs; flares; chaps; ski pants; breeches.

2. Odysseus; Prometheus; Aeneas; Jason; Achilles; Clytemnestra; Hippolytus; Helen; Pegasus; Narcissus; Hydra; Cassandra.

3. Marseilles; Nantes; Toulouse; Paris; Lyon; Grenoble; Orléans; Dijon; Le Havre; Clermont-Ferrand; Cannes; Brest; Nancy.

4. Flake; Twix; Wispa; Fudge; Kit Kat; Mars; Boost; Time Out; Snickers; Twirl; Picnic; Crunchie;

Bounty; Daim; Yorkie; Lion.

5. brontosaurus; triceratops; brachiosaurus; tyrannosaurus; pentaceratops; stegosaurus; velociraptor; leptoceratops.

6. elbow; thigh; head; ear; toe; hand; ankle; shoulder; knee; foot; neck; arm; nose; calf; mouth; eye; chest; chin; finger; leg.

Spot Check A = 3; B = 1; C = 2; D = 6; E = 4; F = 5.

Missing Link roof; onion; union; bell; light; end.

Currency: rouble.

Make a Date The year was 1906.

Transformer Gravy + IT = Gravity.

Portraits Weddings Commercial Print sales Tuitian Picture Framing Photo Restoration Studio Hire.

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LEFT: Storeton Quarries before they were filled in BELOW: Chirotherium footprints, left, and footprints at Formby

Triassic

Merseyside!

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HERE are few traces now of Merseyside before the Ice Age, but there are some . . .

Prehistoric human footprints have been seen on the beach at Formby for a very long time, but recent high tides and stormy conditions on the Mersey have revealed some on Crosby shore too.

These can be seen as two parallel sets of tracks running for a length of around five metres.

Probably dating from around 4,000 to 6,000 years ago they are believed to have been made by three people, probably male, who each stood at around six feet tall.

What look like cattle hoof marks and tracks of other animals and birds, have also been exposed on our local, north western coastlines. A monitoring process is now in place, keeping a lookout for more ancient prints.

However, some of our most fascinating prehistoric remains have been found in the ancient quarries at Storeton, Wirral.

These quarries are now disused and overgrown with woodlands, but it was the Romans who first excavated here, almost 2,000 years ago. They needed stone for their local buildings, and perhaps also for the road that they cut and

KEN PYE is the Managing Director of Discover Liverpool, His latest book, Liverpool Murders and Misdemeanours, is available in all good bookshops or from Ken directly – see contact details at bottom of page. n TICKETS are also on sale for Ken’s show – Curious Christmas Stories and Traditions – at the Gladstone Theatre, Port Sunlight on Sunday 4 December. Call 0151 643 8757 to book your seats.

that ran all the way from Meols to Chester, which they called “Deva”.

The Storeton quarries were used well into the 20th century, when a tramway built in the 19th century was still being used to transport stone throughout the area, and to the docks at Bromborough Pool.

It was in the Victorian era quarrymen began to find fossilised animal tracks in the stone slabs they were cutting, later identified as the prehistoric creature, chirotherium.

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ABOVE: Chirotherium. LEFT: Hynchosaurus.

BELOW: Human footprints on the Crosby shore

These slabs are now on display in the World Museum Liverpool.

In the Triassic Period – which was the start of the Age of the Reptiles around 250 million years ago – prehistoric Merseyside was prowled by this creature, whose name means “hand beast” because of the five-fingered shape of its fossilised footprints.

Chirotherium measured about two metres long; stood around one metre tall; and had a slim body and a long tail. A life-size model is also on display in the World Museum.

But there was also rhyncosaurus, which means “snouted lizard”. This creature was a herbivore, and it had a long, hooked beak for grubbing up roots It had powerful jaws and strong teeth for tearing down and chewing tough plants They were also large – about one metre high and two metres long, and were obviously heavy enough to make deep impressions in the mud through which they plodded.

Unfortunately for rhyncosaurus, it was the main food supply of chirotherium!

Incidentally, Storeton Quarry was one of the areas that were filled in with spoil from the excavation of the Queensway Tunnel in the 1920s. It is now a nature reserve, popular with ramblers.

So, it is clear that the Merseyside region has ANCIENT STONES: Route of the been of great historical importance from the very earliest times.

Roman road through Wirral

Ken Pye – 0151 427 2717

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022

Jack teams up with Special Olympics

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NGLAND and Manchester City star Jack Grealish has signed for a new team – to fight for a cause close to his heart.

The country’s most expensive ever footballer has joined forces with Special Olympics GB, which provides year-round sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Grealish, 26, has committed himself to a long-term role with the nationwide charity, vowing to use his status to create opportunities for Britain’s 1.5 million people with learning disabilities.

The popular 26-year-old Premier League ace’s sister, Holly, has cerebral palsy. The two are close and he has described Holly as “my best friend”.

After becoming a principal ambassador for Special Olympics GB, the £100 million player said: “I’ve been thinking for some time about how I can best use the platform football has given me to create a positive change, and it had to be something really close to my heart.

“Special Olympics GB is such an important organisation, playing a

huge role in tackling the lack of inclusion for hundreds of thousands of kids in the UK with intellectual disabilities.

“Nobody should be excluded from opportunities, and I can’t stand bullying or discrimination!

“In my new role with Special Olympics GB, I’m proud to stand side-by-side with all the children, young people and adults living with intellectual disabilities, and the incredible families who support them.

“I hope that everyone in Great Britain gets behind Special Olympics GB and its incredible athletes and volunteers.”

An intellectual disability is defined as a “significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills, with a reduced ability to cope independently, which started before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development”.

Paul Richardson, chair of Special Olympics GB, said: “The fact that Jack’s made the choice to align his brand with Special Olympics GB is testament to the importance of the work we are committed to doing and the ambitious growth plans ahead.”

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NOT GOOD ENOUGH

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UNDREDS of disabled football fans have described how they are subjected to verbal abuse and cruel songs and chants while following their team away from home.

To make matters worse, many fans with disabilities report being seated away from fellow supporters, having a poor view of the game, and difficulty even buying tickets.

Supporters also raised concerns about poor levels of staff disability awareness, inaccessible public transport, and general access barriers at stadiums.

The bad experiences were related by supporters in a survey by the Level Playing Field charity, which represents disabled sports fans in England and Wales.

LPF chief Tony Taylor said: “The ability to watch a football game without blocked sightlines and fear of abuse or judgment is a basic expectation not being met.”

The survey results showed the matchday experience for away games was significantly poorer than for home matches.

Of more than 600 disabled fans who

SIGNING: Grealish backing Special Olympics GB

‘Clubs must stop shocking abuse of disabled fans’

responded to the survey, 43% said they had been subjected to some form of abuse or negative attitudes at an away game in the last five years.

More than a quarter said they had been subjected to verbal abuse, while about one in six had been the target of disabilityrelated offensive songs, chants or gestures.

LPF said the survey findings were “clearly unacceptable”, and that clubs had a legal duty under the Equality Act to ensure there is a “clear process for disabled fans to report abuse, and that these reports are dealt with swiftly and appropriately”.

Mr Taylor said clubs had taken “significant steps” in recent years to improve things for disabled fan, but the survey showed there

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was “still much work to be done”.

The English Football League, which represents clubs in the second, third and fourth football tiers, does not yet compile figures on how many fans have been banned by clubs for discriminatory abuse, but it said it plans to start as part of a new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy.

An EFL spokesperson said: “Where reports of discrimination are made or abuse is witnessed by match day staff, the appropriate action will be taken which could include criminal prosecution and a ban.”

The Premier League – which represents the top tier of English football – declined to comment on the experiences of away fans, and was also unable to say how many bans had been applied for disability-related abuse.

But a Premier League spokesperson said that all its clubs had “undertaken substantial work to improve disabled access for home and visiting fans”, which was “a priority for the league”.

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