I got this press release yesterday - am posting below as I bet there will be loads of people interested in these tickets
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BBC Sports Personality of the Year is coming to the Echo Arena on Sunday 14 December and it has been announced today that tickets will be going on sale at 9am on Wednesday 29 October.
For only the third time in its 55 year history, the awards will take place from outside of London and this is the first time the event will be held at the Echo Arena, Liverpool (the European City of Culture), with the show being live on air from 7-9pm on BBC One and Radio 5 Live . The show will be presented by Sue Barker and Gary Lineker. Once the ten nominees are announced, the public will then be asked to vote for who they think should be Sports Personality on the night (14 December). People will be able to phone in to vote. Voting details will be announced soon.
This year's show will be the biggest ever with around 8,000 people in attendance. Tickets will be £30 each (plus a booking fee).
The awards, which honour the biggest names from across the world of sport, will also be attended by professional sportsmen and women. 2008 has been an extraordinary sporting year: golds galore at the Olympic and Paralympic Games; Lewis Hamilton once again competing for the F1 Drivers' World Championship; another Welsh Grand Slam in the Six Nations; a fantastic European Championships despite the lack of a home nations team; a break through year for Andy Murray; and Manchester United completed the prestigious Premiership and Champions League double . The event will be attended by almost all of this year's Olympic and Paralympic heroes, former winners of the main award and many of biggest names from the world of sport.
Tim Banfield, Echo Arena General Manager commented "We are thrilled to be welcoming the BBC to Liverpool for Sports Personality of the Year. Liverpool has an amazing sporting history and it seems fitting to be hosting the awards here. We have had a fantastic Capital of Culture Year and to have what is undoubtedly one of the highest profile events in the sporting calendar in the city is just the icing on the cake. There is no doubt that this is going to be a hot ticket!"
Roger Mosey, Director, BBC Sport said: "This is the first time Sports Personality Of The Year has been held in the north of England and we're hoping that people from all over the north and beyond will take the chance to attend the show live. It's a tremendous cast list and a great experience for the audience in the venue, and we hope this year will be a classic."
Tickets for BBC Sports Personality of the Year go on sale on Wednesday 29 October at 9am.
To book tickets log on to www.accliverpool or call the Echo Arena Box Office on 0844 561 7672
ckets
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Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Garston waste site information
I am not sure that everyone is aware of this so this post is really to remind people that the deadline for sending in comments/objections re this planning application is 17th November.
I will keep on posting on this subject. Previous posts will either be further down this page or in the earlier pages on this site. The three Lib Dem Councillors for Cressington ward are all actively opposing the application.
And a reminder that the website set up by a local resident to help people campaign against the plans can be found here.
I will keep on posting on this subject. Previous posts will either be further down this page or in the earlier pages on this site. The three Lib Dem Councillors for Cressington ward are all actively opposing the application.
And a reminder that the website set up by a local resident to help people campaign against the plans can be found here.
Local Democracy Week event
Last night I went along to help with an event organised by and for young people as part of Local Democracy Week. Using rooms in the Town Hall, there were "table debates " on subjects ranging from bullying through to fundraising. I was one of the councillors (along with Labour's Richard McLinden) on the table debating disability awareness and disability issues.
It was a good opportunity to get a lot of views from the young people, some of whom were wheelchair users or who had other disabilities.
We talked about hidden disabilities and the reasons why disabled people appeared behind other groups in terms of realising their rights.
The young people also had some issues. Chief among these were transport problems, and in particular taxis and taxi drivers. It seems some taxi drivers either don't deal properly with wheelchair users or are just plain rude. I have to say this bears out my experience during the few months I was using a wheelchair - but I would have hoped things had moved on a bit since then.
In the case of one incident I asked the people involved to e mail me with the details so that I could pass them on to the Council's licensing staff.
It was a good opportunity to get a lot of views from the young people, some of whom were wheelchair users or who had other disabilities.
We talked about hidden disabilities and the reasons why disabled people appeared behind other groups in terms of realising their rights.
The young people also had some issues. Chief among these were transport problems, and in particular taxis and taxi drivers. It seems some taxi drivers either don't deal properly with wheelchair users or are just plain rude. I have to say this bears out my experience during the few months I was using a wheelchair - but I would have hoped things had moved on a bit since then.
In the case of one incident I asked the people involved to e mail me with the details so that I could pass them on to the Council's licensing staff.
Not sure what that noise is....
.. I joined a choir at work yesterday. I haven't read music properly for years but luckily I hadn't entirely forgotten what all those dots and lines stand for. Someone told me that singing is a particularly good way of avoiding stress. I don't know about that but it was certainly good fun.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Garston Hospital
Over the Summer the Liverpool PCT ran a consultation about changes to the health service in Garston. There were two main strands to this. One was about the organisation of GP surgeries with a move towards grouping them so that there would be fewer locations but more on offer at the locations that remained or were created. The second strand was about Garston hospital becoming more of a centre with more services on offer.
You can see straight away that everyone would be in favour of more health services in Garston village all in the same place at the hospital which is near the station and bus routes and shops.
The problem here is that what is now at risk is a local landmark.
Colleagues and I had a briefing with a representative from the PCT very recently and the feedback from the consultation was that there was virtually no opposition shown to the potential loss of the building. Given the way the questions were worded, I am not surprised. They were, for the most part, about services rather than buildings. But I am pretty sure there will be major resistance to the loss of a landmark like this - particularly because it is on a hill. The PCT is saying that using the existing building will not work and there will need to be a new "landmark building" created. But I wonder if in fact it would be possible to keep some of the exterior despite making internal changes and extending.
The next step, and it is the step which will actually demonstrate if there is opposition, will be for the health service to put together a planning application which would go to the Council planning committee. This may be some way off in the future.
As someone who walks past the building on the way to work I must admit I am rather fond of it and wouldn't want to see the exterior go (although anyone who has been inside like I have will know that major changes are needed to bring it up to date).
You can see straight away that everyone would be in favour of more health services in Garston village all in the same place at the hospital which is near the station and bus routes and shops.
The problem here is that what is now at risk is a local landmark.
Colleagues and I had a briefing with a representative from the PCT very recently and the feedback from the consultation was that there was virtually no opposition shown to the potential loss of the building. Given the way the questions were worded, I am not surprised. They were, for the most part, about services rather than buildings. But I am pretty sure there will be major resistance to the loss of a landmark like this - particularly because it is on a hill. The PCT is saying that using the existing building will not work and there will need to be a new "landmark building" created. But I wonder if in fact it would be possible to keep some of the exterior despite making internal changes and extending.
The next step, and it is the step which will actually demonstrate if there is opposition, will be for the health service to put together a planning application which would go to the Council planning committee. This may be some way off in the future.
As someone who walks past the building on the way to work I must admit I am rather fond of it and wouldn't want to see the exterior go (although anyone who has been inside like I have will know that major changes are needed to bring it up to date).
Friday, 10 October 2008
Operation Black Vote event
Today the mentees from the Operation Black Vote Scheme were together, with organisers, for a day which was a sort of mix of training and sharing experiences.
In the morning I was there to speak a little about the council structure (to be honest I left a lot of that to the officer there) and the nuts and bolts of actually being a councillor. In the afternoon I was back on a panel to explain about how political parties carry out their selections.
What was actually most interesting though, was hearing about the experiences the mentees have had so far, and what conclusions they have drawn as well as their changing thoughts and impressions. Well done to Operation Black Vote for coming up with the scheme.
I am working on plans for another, broader, mentoring scheme for other groups who may be under represented or disenfranchised for one reason or another - and I am going to use the learning from this scheme to help shape that.
In the morning I was there to speak a little about the council structure (to be honest I left a lot of that to the officer there) and the nuts and bolts of actually being a councillor. In the afternoon I was back on a panel to explain about how political parties carry out their selections.
What was actually most interesting though, was hearing about the experiences the mentees have had so far, and what conclusions they have drawn as well as their changing thoughts and impressions. Well done to Operation Black Vote for coming up with the scheme.
I am working on plans for another, broader, mentoring scheme for other groups who may be under represented or disenfranchised for one reason or another - and I am going to use the learning from this scheme to help shape that.
My first board recommendation
The City Council's Executive Board ( cabinet in shorthand) meets formally once a fortnight to make key decisions. These are usually based on recommendations which come from one or more of the Executive Members. Today I had my first recommendation - creation of and participation in the "Liverpool Commission". The Commission is being set up as an independent panel to hold an enquiry into various aspects of governance and involvement (like youth engagement, barriers to entry for potential councillors etc). It will spend around six or seven months working on this and then issue a report and recommendations. The recommendations are likely to be in two categories - things the council can do without the need for any legislation, and things the council can lobby for at national level. The Commission is being chaired by Professor Michael Brown. There are three independent members, two members with "parliamentary experience" and two local councillors. I am one of the local councillors - after being elected as the Lib Dem rep by the Council Group.
Over time I am hoping the Commission will be able to involve as many local people and groups as possible - perhaps by turning up to speak or perhaps by sending material in.
Over time I am hoping the Commission will be able to involve as many local people and groups as possible - perhaps by turning up to speak or perhaps by sending material in.
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