Entries invited for Mottram Horse Show Whaley author finds love in the apocalypse

By John Pasiecznik

HORSE riders and owners are invited to enter the 昀rst Mottram Horse Show to be staged for several years - and at its new venue.

Founded in 1904, Mottram and District Agricultural Society has been holding agricultural shows for well over 100 years. The last Mottram Agricultural Show took place in 2016 but because of the pandemic, bad weather, and a lack of volunteers, the popular show hasn’t been staged since then.

The 2023 Mottram Horse Show takes place from 9.00am on Sunday 20 August at the new permanent venue at Apple Street Showground, o昀 Mottram Old Road (A560) SK14 3AT. The ground is a lot 昀atter than the former showground, there is more space and ample parking for horse boxes. A water supply has been put in and a new track will be in place to cater for show trac.

Karen Wood, one of the event organisers, invites all horse riders and owners to enter the 51 di昀erent classes in four rings, for horses and ponies, in a range of skills in horse riding, ridden and in-hand ‘showing,’ as well as fun classes and young handler classes.

There will be a Supreme Ridden Championship and a Supreme in-hand Championship to be contested at the end of the day, each with prizes of £50 and £25 for the Supreme Champions and runners-up.

Karen told The Review: “The new look Mottram Horse Show is back albeit smaller this year and not open to the general public. However, we would like as many horse riders and owners as possible to enter over 50 classes. We would like to thank all the sponsors without whom this year’s show would not have been possible.”

“Mottram Agricultural Society hope to grow the event to a full agricultural show in 2024, which will be open to the public as in previous years,” Karen added.

To book online, go to https:// mottram.lite.events

For more information about the show search for Mottram Horse Show 2023 on Facebook, or email Karen at leevale@hotmail.co.uk or phone her on 07586 343438.

By Amanda Barton AWARD-WINNING Whaley

Welliver

Bridgebased author Melissa is celebrating the launch of her second novel for young adults, My Love Life and the Apocalypse.

Set in New York in the future, the book is about part-human bot Echo discovering love when he meets Pandora. With the rest of the human population sitting out the end of the world in suspended animation, Pandora’s the only human to wake up after her spacepod crash lands on earth. They explore the deserted city streets, searching for answers that maintenance robots, left to look after shops, libraries, and museums, can’t provide.

Described as an original, uplifting blend of romance, humour, and science 昀ction, with plenty of twists and turns, the book is aimed at readers aged 14+ who enjoyed Adam Silvera’s ‘They Both Die at the End’. Melissa began writing the novel “as a form of escapism,” during the 2020 Covid lockdown: “I wanted to include homage to my favourite TV shows and movies, most of which were cancelled or halted in production, and create a story I could step in to. Echo, my lonely part-bot, is obsessed with vintage TV reruns. I needed a plot for my characters and setting, and thought about fairy tales, especially Sleeping Beauty. I worked out why humans would be asleep for 100 years in a futuristic setting, due to cryogenically freezing themselves to avoid climate catastrophe, and from there it sort of took o昀. I wrote the 昀rst draft in just four weeks.”

Published by Chicken House, the book is available in paperback and as an e-book from bookshops and online retailers.

Melissa is available for workshops and talks, and o昀ers mentoring and editorial servicesfor information and to sign up to her newsletter visit www. melissawelliver.com or 昀nd Melissa on Twitter @melliver