Community News: #SpringCommunityExpo18, the big RedShift Quiz plus Crewe Gang Show & a DriveMe Supercar Review

Liz Gives a WI Talk

Last week I was invited to give a talk about RedShift to the Haughton Faddiley & District Women’s Institute who meet at the Goodwill Hall on the second Tuesday of each month. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the ladies and finding out about their club.

#SpringCommunityExpo18

We have been putting the finishing touches to the schedule for our Spring Community Expo at Rookery Hall on Thursday 19 April. We’ve introduced a later start and finish (11.30 am - 5.30pm) which will hopefully allow for people to work in the morning and then join us in the afternoon for a few hours.

Also new this time are our panel discussions, one called “Commercial and Community: Working Together” and the other called “Business Essentials” which will help anyone starting up, or already in business. We have our usual Speed Networking, Exhibitors and Keynote Speakers. The event is sponsored by Hibberts Solicitors and Rookery Hall who are once again providing a super buffet lunch. Delegate tickets are just £15 and available from our website under the RedShift Events section.

RedShift Annual Quiz: Fri 23 March

Our Annual Quiz THIS FRIDAY is at Nantwich Town FC. We are raising funds to buy ourselves some new football commentary kit and run training course for new commentators over the summer. As always, our fabulous quiz master Paul Boniface has put together a super quiz with our signature “live” music round. We have space for four more teams, so please call 01270 440 750 if you would like to join us.

I spent the latter half of the week down in Surrey visiting old haunts and catching up with friends ahead of my wedding in May, so as I have been away, I thought I would ask a couple of RedShifters to share with me some of their local “Out and About” activities this week.

Crewe Gang Show

Firstly, Kelly-Ann Davies, our Wellbeing Weekly presenter and longtime volunteer who has been very involved with the Crewe Gang Show and local Scouts for a number of years. Here’s what Kell had to say about the impending 80th anniversary of this vibrant, dynamic and creative showcase of local young talent ...

“From 2 - 5 May, over 100 children, teens and adults take to the Lyceum Theatre to stage the fabulously entertaining Crewe Gang Show.

 supercar, blast, 

The cast of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Leaders  is a polished and professional show with lots of laughs, and a few tears. There will be well-known songs, brilliantly choreographed dances and hilarious sketches.

The Gang Show is a nationally recognised Scouting event and Crewe has had its own Gang show since 1938. It is produced, promoted and performed completely by volunteers - just as Scouting is - and dozens of people have given their time to create something memorable for audiences and the youngsters involved.

It really is something special to be part of ‘The Gang’ and you can see this on the faces of the performers. Support from the community for this very special 80th Anniversary is encouraged in the form of sponsorship, raffle prizes and above all, audience participation! Please do book your seats by contacting the Crewe Lyceum Box Office on 01270 368 242 or book online via crewelyceum.co.uk.”

Review: DriveMe SuperCar BlastOur second contributor this week is 12 year old presenter of Musical Monday, Daniel Achterhuis

Dan Achterhuis presenting at RedShift

who is not only carving himself a career in radio broadcasting with his cousin Ben Davies, but also as a supercar driver or commentator. Here’s Dan's report on his DriveMe Supercar Blast.

“After winning a Facebook competition with DriveMe, yesterday I finally got a chance to drive six sensational supercars!

As I arrived, I could hear the aggressive roar of the engines and see the mile-long circuit infested with dream supercars. One of DriveMe’s flagship cars and my dream car is the Lamborghini Huracán!

I got to drive it and WOW does it go fast! Much to my parents' horror, I got up to 90mph in falling snow! While I was in the very-American Mustang, snow started to fall fast, but I still managed to get up to 70mph and I’m still alive to tell the tale! All in all, the day was a dream come true and I can recommend DriveMe to any Automotive Enthusiast …

So there we have it, I never would imagine myself being able to give a review of a SuperCar drive in my Out and About! Thank you very much to Kell and Dan for your contributions this week.

This article first appeared in The Chronicle on Wednesday 21st March 2018. If you would like to get in touch with RedShift, please call 01270 440 750 or email hello@redshiftonline.org.

Out & About: It's All About RedShift Radio's #BigBroadcast This Week!

Barry Ellams from the Chronicle with fundraiser Briar Hulme

We are now a week into our #BigBroadcast on RedShift Radio. This means that we have added six hours of live programming to our schedule. I am thoroughly enjoying my stint as a breakfast show presenter: I am even coping with the earlier start to my day, although perhaps not firing on all cylinders until my first brew during a long song!

Nantwich Police

We launched the Big Broadcast with our first guest, PC Matt Stonier from Nantwich Police who gave us an insight as to what’s happening behind the scenes with some of the recent crimes such as the car vandalism on Birchin Lane. PC Stonier also spoke about the great projects he and some of his team are involved in with our local schools, such as youth mentoring and supporting their residentials.

Chronicle Newspaper

I enjoyed very much welcoming the Deputy Editor of the Chronicle, Barry Ellams into the studio on Wednesday morning. Barry talked about the local Crewe and Nantwich headlines and each Wednesday at 9am you can hear Barry or Andrew from the Chronicle.

Fundraiser Briar Hulme 

Briar Hulme was one of my most inspiring guests of the week, Briar, aged 19, is raising funds to send six young women from an African refugee to university. Briar met these women during a two-month volunteering trip to Tanzania last year and she spoke passionately of her drive and ambition to help these young women carve themselves a better and brighter future. If you can make a small donation towards her £8,000 target then I know Briar would be over the moon. Her fundraising page is called Education To Empower on the www.gofundme.com website.

Hope House

On Thursday I was invited to host the Hope House Kids Ladies' Lunch at the Grosvenor in Chester. This was a super event, organised by the Hope House team, sponsored by Conwy based company CareLink and supported by Mococo jewellery from Chester and Tarporley-based Si Belle Boutique from Tarporley.

Highfields Academy ... Aided by Staffordshire University!

I was very tempted to bunk off work for the afternoon and have a relaxing wander round Chester but I had to dash back for the new group of Junior School Run children, this time from Highfields Academy. I needn’t have worried though. With Producer Steve and our two Staffordshire University students here on work experience, they were in good hands and I arrived four minutes into the show to find Joe and Libby in complete control of four very chatty year 6s.

Listen Live and Listen Again

Please do give RedShift a listen this week and let us know what you think. I am on air weekday mornings from 8-10am and we now have live shows right through until 10pm each day. You can ask your Smart Speaker such as Amazon Echo (Alexa) or Google to "play RedShift Radio" or you can find us on your mobile by downloading the TuneIn app or on your computer by going to www.redshiftonline.org/player.

I must say a big THANK YOU to Helen Gregory who has booked over 70 guests for our Big Broadcast and Steve Bebe who, despite doing an extra eight hours of presenting himself each week in March, is keeping up to date with uploading our shows so you can listen at your convenience.

Please visit www.redshiftonline.org/listenagain to find the links to all our broadcasts and keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter to find out about upcoming guests.

RedShift Annual Quiz

Now, if I forget to mention our REDSHIFT QUIZ again, I will get lynched! Join us for our “8 Rounds for £8” annual quiz. On Friday 23 March we will be at Nantwich Town Football Club from 7 pm with our unique quiz that includes a special “live” music round. To book your tickets, please follow the link on www.redshiftonline.org/redshiftevents.

Easter Weekend in Nantwich

Looking ahead to Easter Weekend, we are delighted to be supporting The Studio in Nantwich with their charity nights in aid of the Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity Dementia Appeal. It’s Electro 80s on Thursday 29th March - always a great night for 80s fans!

I am especially looking forward to letting my hair down on Friday 30th March for the Gin & Jive night, again at The Studio, with two of my favourite local bands; Baxter and VaVoom … and I think I will indulge in a sprinkling of gin!

On Bank Holiday Monday, its the Acoustic Gin Festival from 11am at Residence. I will see you there!

Community News: Redesigning Adult & Older People’s Specialist Mental Health Services in Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal

Have your say on proposed changes to local mental health services

Tuesday 6 March – Tuesday 29 May 2018.

There are approximately 7,000 adults and older people from a population of 480,000 across Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal who receive care and support from specialist mental health services. Of these approximately 350 people per year require an inpatient stay at the Millbrook Unit in Macclesfield, meaning that 95 per cent of care is already provided in the community.

Local NHS partners are proposing a redesign of these services for a number of reasons. User and carer feedback, along with recent audit recommendations and inspections, told the partners that some things in these services work well but that other things need to change for the better.

Through the proposed redesign NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS South Cheshire CCG, NHS Vale Royal CCG and Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust want to:

• provide new services so that there is better access for people to help keep them well and active in the community
• provide much greater choice of services for those in, or at risk of, crisis;
• support people with dementia and those who care for them to stay in their own surroundings

Service users and their carers have shared their thoughts; describing that they “deserve to thrive, not just survive”, that they want responsive community services available 24/7 and they do not want to be admitted to hospital unless it is absolutely necessary.

For these reasons, the local NHS partners as mentioned above have developed a set of proposals that puts early intervention and prevention at the heart of adult and older people’s specialist mental health services and, if introduced, will provide:

• An improved community mental health service that helps people get better more quickly and prevents hospital admissions
• A 24-hour crisis support service for people who are acutely unwell
• A dementia outreach service that visits people in their own homes
• An improved experience for people who need hospital care.

Have Your Say

You can #JoinTheConversation and have your say on the proposals put forward by local NHS partners in many ways:

• By completing the online questionnaire available by clicking here
• By attending one of the six public events where you can have your say
• By telephoning freephone number 0808 169 1189 if you need help completing the survey or require a paper copy.

Alongside the main consultation document there are a number of supporting documents - held on the NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG website that people can read for further information about the case for change and proposals for the redesign for adult and older people's specialist mental health services.

Please call 0808 169 1189 if you require this information in another language or an alternative format such as large print, braille or audio.

Social Media – Suggested Tweets

Local NHS partners have launched their Consultation on Adult & Older People’s Mental Health Services in Cheshire. Have your say here www.easterncheshireccg.nhs.uk

#JoinTheConversation

Help our partners to improve adult and older people’s mental health services in Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal. They’re holding several events so you can have your say. Find out more here www.easterncheshireccg.nhs.uk #JoinTheConversation

If you want to tell us your views about mental health services for adults in Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal please fill out our local NHS partners’ survey or call freephone 0808 169 1189 #JoinTheConversation

Our local NHS partners have launched a public consultation on adult and older people’s specialist mental health services. To find out more about what this means for service provision in Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal visit www.easterncheshireccg.nhs.uk #JoinTheConversation

What’s most important to think about when delivering adult specialist mental health services in Cheshire? We want to know your views. Complete the survey here #JoinTheConversation

Community News: Nantwich Museum's Spring Quiz Night

Nantwich Museum's Spring Quiz Night in aid of museum funds will take place at 7.00 pm Sunday 15 April at Crewe Vagrants Sports Club, Willaston, CW5 7EP.

Always an enjoyable evening, the quiz will be overseen as usual by museum volunteer and popular quiz master, Wyn Jones and will include a raffle.

Entry is by ticket only which costs £5.00 per person (including refreshments) and are available from the museum.

Teams of four are ideal but not essential and could be made up on the night.

For tickets and further information contact Nantwich Museum:
01270 627104
enquiries@nantwichmuseum.org.uk 
www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk
www.facebook.com/nantwich.museumoffical
twitter.com/NantwichMuseum

Community News: Hibberts’ Long Serving Solicitor Completes Her Last Case

Hibberts Solicitors are celebrating the illustrious career of Alison Dolphin as she retires from the firm after 37 years.

On 29^th March property matters expert, Alison is completing her final case before closing the file on her legacy with Hibberts.

Formerly a partner and head of the Whitchurch office, Alison has a unique history with the firm. She is the fourth-generation solicitor from her family with her father, great aunt and great grandfather all prominent solicitors in previous branches of the firm. Her great grandfather owned was then called Henry Williams & Co. Her great aunt, Edith Williams then took over and became the first ever female solicitor in Shropshire.

Alison commented: “I am proud of my heritage with the firm and it’s been excellent working alongside my father, John Roberts, for most of my working life, in the place that I was born which I think is quite rare for most people.”

Alison, who began her career in family law has helped hundreds with their conveyancing needs and is now, after a long and successful career, focusing on relaxing, travelling and as a keen runner, improving her personal best time.

Managing Partner, Stewart Bailey commented: “Alison has been a huge asset to the firm and her wonderful history with it is extraordinary. She will be greatly missed by the firm and by our clients, many of whom she has represented for 2 generations. She has great plans for her retirement and we wish her all the very best in this new chapter in her life.”

For information about the excellent team at Hibberts Solicitors log on to www.hibberts.com.

Community News: Nantwich Camera Club Special Event Lecture "Another Day At The Office"

Nantwich Camera Club will be hosting another "special" photographic lecture at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 27th March at their meeting room in Regents Park, London Road, Nantwich, CW5 6LW 

John Gardner, a professional photographer, from Wakefield, Yorkshire will present his talk "Another Day at the Office".

His projects are diverse with both studio and location photography, including industrial work, architectural, commercial, products, weddings, fashion, portraits, proms/events, pets and
corporate images.

Ever since childhood he has been passionate about wildlife, particularly birds, travelling far and wide to capture natural history and landscape images. He regularly lectures to photographic and natural history societies. 

"Another Day at the Office" draws upon his wide range of photographic activities providing
an insight into his wildlife work and commercial ventures. His website for commercial work is johngardnerphotography.com and for natural history wildscenes.com.

Members of the public in general and other local societies with photographic interests are very welcome to attend, for which there is an entrance fee of £5, payable at the door. It would be helpful, though not essential, for those wishing to attend to book via
nantwichcameraclub@hotmail.co.uk.

Out & About: Interviewing Laura Smith MP at UTC and RedShift's #BigBroadcast

It’s been more “In and Around” than “Out and About” this week: I have enjoyed staying close to home and studio, avoiding the grotty weather and thanking my lucky stars that I have not had to do much travelling in the snow this week.

I did venture to the Crewe Engineering & Design UTC to interview MP Laura Smith during her visit to the University Technical College. It was also my first tour of the full site since the final phase of the build and what an incredible facility it is.

Having an education establishment here in Crewe that offers such a broad range specialist STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) training opportunities with industry standard equipment is quite remarkable.

The UTC has harnessed very strong links with local and national organisations such as Bentley Motors, Air Products, Arriva Trains and Siemens, all providing ongoing support and training to students with a specific desire to follow a career in STEM subjects.

You can hear my interview with Laura Smith and the students on Friday morning between 9-10am as part of #SunnySideUp, our new breakfast show hosted by yours truly and Jasper my trusty companion.

#BigBroadcast

On Monday we began our #BigBroadcast which is a 28-day trial of full time broadcast output (8am - 11pm everyday) until 31 March. As an internet station we have always respected the fact that listening to us has not been as easy as if we were on traditional FM radio.

Now however, with the arrival of wifi speakers, wifi in some new cars and mobile apps supporting our streaming, tuning into your local community radio online really has never been easier.

We are trying really hard to reach out to our community and ask you to give us a listen and give us feedback that will help us to keep improving. Already for this month's #BigBroadcast we have over 70 guests booked in and four key themes. Our theme until Sunday is #ApprenticeshipWeek, followed by #LocalMusic week, then #LocalSport week and March wraps up with #HomeGarden week.

I should mention perhaps, for those who may not use or know about social media, my use of #hashtags is relevant to the way we promote and discuss our programmes and themes in the online world.

On my #SunnySideUp show I will be joined by various RedShift presenters all ready and able to teach me a thing or two about music (I am rubbish at remembering names of songs or bands!)

I am also looking forward to having guests Barry Ellams and Andrew Cain from the Chronicle join me every Wednesday between 9am and 10am to talk exclusively about the news they have published.

Following SunnySideUp each morning, Helen Gregory will host a #FeelGoodDaily show from 11-midday. Helen will be keeping listeners motivated with great music and interviews with people from our community, as well as tips and tricks for feeling the best you can every single day.

Steve Bebe will steam into another new show, an extension to his #WhatsHappening show that he usually presents on a Tuesday, which now becomes a daily programme between 12pm and 2pm.

With the usual programmes and varying guests and themes, I feel confident that we appeal to lots of people in our community, so please give us a listen and let me know what you think. My email is hello@redshiftonline.org and phone number is 01270 440 750 if you would like to get in touch and share your views.

RedShift Annual Quiz

Finally, our Annual RedShift Quiz takes place on Friday 23 March at Nantwich Town Football Club. We are proud of our unique style of quiz that includes food and a LIVE music round for just £8 per person.

To enter your team, please visit redshiftonline.org/redshiftevents and click on the QUIZ link. This year we are raising funds to run another Football Commentators' course and replace equipment so we can train more commentators to support the club with home and away commentary.

Final mention this week has to go to my sister Poppy Philiben to wish her happy birthday and my Mum to wish her Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday!