Out & About:

I have realised this week that I rather like January! Most people don’t really get going until this week so events and meetings have been minimal and on the whole, my time has been my own.

RedShift Update

This has given me plenty of opportunity to batten down the hatches and beaver away behind the scenes making the RedShift website much cleaner and easier to navigate, please do take a look at www.redshiftonline.org.

Our presenters are refreshed and enthusiastic about the new year and have embraced the #ListenOnline2018 campaign well. Our #WellbeingFornight theme came to an end on Sunday and we are now into our #HistoryCulture week, followed next week by #WildlifeNature week and crossing into February, we have #StorytellingTheatre week.

If you would like to be a guest on any of our 40+ community broadcasts then please call Helen on 01270 440 750 and she will arrange this for you. Incidentally, if you are ever listening, we would love to see you use the #ListenOnline2018 tag on your social media so we can give you a shout-out.

Nantwich Young Farmers' Panto

One event I did go to last week was of course the annual Nantwich Young Farmers Panto at Acton Village Hall and once again, it did not disappoint. This year we took along RedShift Radio presenter Paul Boniface who had interviewed Lady Chair, Becky Holman last week about the panto. He certainly enjoyed it (as you can see from this photo of Paul and some of the cast).

It has reminded me that I must find an old VHS machine so I can have a good old giggle at my fiance Michael-John from his Young Farmers panto days, some 30 years ago!

I have said this before, and will say it again, the Young Farmers is such a brilliant organisation, which although based around the farming communities, does welcome young people from non-farming backgrounds to get involved.

Events throughout the year are varied and include dinner-dances, debate competitions, quizzes, rallies, homecraft, sporting and farming competitions, and lots of socialising. It’s an organisation that builds confidence, skills and friendship in young people and absolutely puts them in good stead for their futures, whether it be in farming or not. To find out about Nantwich Young Farmers, take a look at their Facebook page or contact me on 01270 440 750 and I will pass you on to Becky and the team.  

Battle of Nantwich

Looking ahead to this weekend and you will find me in the Town Square in Nantwich between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm on Saturday selling tickets for the Battle of Nantwich. For the second year now, and thanks to our main sponsors Applewood Independent, we have produced pre-paid tickets which helps alleviate some of the congestion getting onto Mill Island for the Battle the following week (Saturday 27th January).

As a member of the Battle committee, we are all looking forward to another successful event. We met last week with some new volunteer recruits and are always keen to hear from more volunteers. We could do with some extra help between 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm on Mill Island to help with marshalling and clearing up. Please call me on 01270 440 750 if you'd like to volunteer.

We would also love help promoting the event by sharing both the Battle of Nantwich website www.battleofnantwich.co.uk and the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/battleofnantwich,or by popping into Nantwich Museum and taking a few posters or programmes to share about.

The day is once again packed with activities and entertainment. We kick-off on the RedShift Community Stage at 10.00 am with local performers, whilst over at the Museum there are exhibitions depicting the fashions during the English Civil War and a lovely display of local Cheshire art.

At 10 am the Civil War Tour leaves the Museum (£3 per person) and between 10.30 am and 11.30 am the Sealed Knot troops lead a Pike and Musketry demonstration. The popular Forlorne Hope will play 17th century music between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm.

Just a 10 minute walk away at St Mary’s Church Acton you can enjoy refreshments and tours of the actual battlefield which is situated in Acton. Nantwich St Mary’s will host their usual tours of the church and the bell ringers will be ringing a special ensemble as the troops arrive in town.

If you are a fan of historical novels then be sure to visit my Battle committee colleague David Wilson who will be signing copies of his new book (he writes under the name of DW Bradbridge) before taking part in the battle himself as a member of the Sealed Knot.

The Sealed Knot troops leave Malbank School and head into Town for around 1.00 pm where there is a short wreath-laying service and departure to Mill Island ready to do battle around 1.50 pm.

It promises to be another spectacular event in Nantwich's thriving calendar. Fingers crossed that the weather is good!

Community News: Can You Help? Nantwich Museum Weeks Information About Whitesmith's Tools

Nantwich Museum has a collection of whitesmith's tools, used for forging objects out of tin, pewter and other light metals. 

Tin ware was being produced from early in the seventeenth century and in Cheshire there were whitesmiths/tinsmiths in Crewe, Weaverham and doubtless elsewhere.

Between 1835 and 1883 there were up to six braziers, tinplate workers and whitesmiths working in Nantwich. They would have made a variety of everyday objects including cutlery, candle holders and water pitchers.

Unfortunately, the museum has no record of who donated the tools or where they were used and is seeking any information about them, local families or businesses who were involved in the trade.

Anyone with information is requested to contact Nantwich Museum:

01270 627104
enquiries@nantwichmuseum.org.uk 
www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk
facebook.com/nantwich.museumoffical
twitter.com/NantwichMuseum

Out & About: Listen Up, #ListenOnline2018 is here!

Put your hand up if you received a Google Home or Alexa speaker for Christmas? If you don’t know what I am on about, then let me explain.  I bought two for my fiance and they are ace (one was only £35). Suddenly it makes listening to RedShift so much easier! We just walk into the kitchen, or upstairs landing (where we have the Mini speaker) and say “OK Google, play RedShift Radio” and within a few seconds, RedShift is broadcasting loud and clear around the house.

Of course, I am already an avid listener of RedShift, however the “old fashioned” way of pairing my
phone to a speaker, or opening my laptop to listen was indeed a bit clunky, compared to the genius
simplicity (and not to mention affordability) of these nifty new speakers that very simply link to your
wifi.  

So, armed with our new technology and a massively shameless plug for our broadcast output,
please let me take a few minutes to tell you about our #ListenOnline2018 campaign which is well underway.

#ListenOnline2018

#ListenOnline2018 is our pledge to provide our community with 365 days of engaging, uplifting and
informative community broadcasting. Every single day, week, month or weekend has been allocated
a theme and our volunteer presenters have been encouraged to observe these themes when booking
their guests and producing their shows.

The first few themes of the year are as follows: 1 - 15th Jan is our #WellbeingFortnight, closely
followed by #HistoryWeek, then #NatureWeek. Please note the #hashtags… If you type them into
Facebook or Twitter along with #ListenOnline2018, you will be able to see all the subjects we have
discussed and guests we have interviewed.

So far during our #WellbeingFortnight we have interviewed Katy Brownbill from the NHS CCG about childhood obesity, Nicola Marshall from FoodFit UK, Sarah Lewis from the Healthy Lifestyle
Show, Ali Wheeler from Feel Good, Ben Selby from Right at Home and Gill Jefferies from Feeling Great Nutrition.

During the remainder of this week we have Pamela Adams from Kane Funeral Services and Kate
Carney from You In Mind talking about mental health, Lisa Webb from Canine Thinking talking
about canine wellbeing, Heather Crawford from Earth Sensei discussing Energy training and
advance Hypobirthing and Karen Rogers from Fit For Life Mum encouraging mums to get back their mojo!

If you missed any of these interviews you can catch them all via our Listen Again service found on
our homepage at www.redshiftonline.org and on our #ListenOnline2018 page where you will find links to every guest and their interview.

You can also book to be a guest by emailing Helen Gregory on helen@redshiftonline.org or calling
01270 440 750 and leaving your contact details for her to call you back.

Looking ahead to February and our theme is #LoveYourCommunity month so we welcome anyone with a passion for getting involved or helping their community.

Community MeetUps

Our Community MeetUps begin next Thursday (18 January, 4.30 - 6pm) with our “Kick-Start 2018 MeetUp” at Cafe Cortado on Beam Heath Way where we have four of our Hub members located, each of whom will showcase what they do. If you would like to come along for refreshments and to find out about Watts Mortgages, JG Creative, Feeling Great Nutrition and even have a go on the JJ Studios Power Plates, then please call 01270 440 750 or email hello@redshiftonline to book.

Goodbye Elle

Finally, I dedicate this weeks article to Elle Morris, the sweet, funny and inspiring 11 year old from

Elle Morris

Nantwich who very sadly passed away this week following complications after a double-lung transplant.

I was privileged to get to know Elle, her mum and sister a couple of years ago when we hosted the Doggy Day Out in aid of Elle’s Wishes, a campaign set up to help Elle and her family enjoy lots of great experiences and create great memories. My most sincere condolences go to Becky and Cara and all of Elle’s family and close friends who fought a very brave battle to fix Elle and to make sure she fulfilled some huge ambitions in her short years.

The Siege and Battle of Nantwich Commemorated at Nantwich Museum

Events leading to the Battle of Nantwich in January 1644 are the subject of a new exhibition in the Your Space Gallery at Nantwich Museum entitled: "The Siege & Battle of Nantwich".  

Running from Tuesday 9 January until Saturday 24 February, the exhibition explores how the siege of the town by Royalist soldiers developed in 1643 leading to the battle which took place on 25 January 1644. 

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to follow the course of the battle, view various armaments, elements of uniforms and other items of the time.

Included in the events is a talk at 3.00 pm on Wednesday 24 January by Brian Cole, a researcher at the museum entitled "Nantwich Surrounded: A Walled Garrisoned Town". Tickets are available from the museum £3.50 per person (£2.50 Museum members).

The battle will be commemorated in the town on Saturday 27 January. Events at the museum on the day begin at 10.00 am with a Civil War Walk with another following at 12.00 pm (£3.00 per person, £2.50 Museum members). 

A Musketry and, for the first time this year a Pike Demonstration, led by members of the Sealed Knot takes place from 10.30 am to 11.30 am followed by seventeenth century music from local group "Forlorne Hope" from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm.

Visitors can find out more about the Civil War by viewing the museum's permanent display where they can see an original copy of the letter describing the battle from the victors Sir Thomas Fairfax and William Brereton to General Monroe.

A model illustrating the battle will be on display in the Joseph Heler Room upstairs whilst a visit to the museum shop will provide an opportunity to purchase items relevant to the battle including eight new Research Booklets.

"The English Civil War Re-enacted" booklet by Keith Lawrence is particularly relevant to Holly Holy Day explaining the uniforms and equipment of the Civil War soldiers which will be seen in the town.

Entry to the museum and exhibition is free. For further information contact: Nantwich Museum on enquiries@nantwichmuseum.org.uk or telephone 01270 627104

www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk
www.facebook.com/nantwich.museumoffical
twitter.com/NantwichMuseum

Limehouse Lizzy returns to Nantwich

Nantwich Civic Hall is to welcome back the sensational Limehouse Lizzy on Friday 19th January.

Limehouse Lizzy has been named officially as one of the hardest working acts in the UK, alongside some of the country's biggest and most popular performers. 

The band was accredited for its live shows by the Performing Rights Society, and received the award from PRS Chairman and Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter Guy Fletcher OBE (Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Tom Jones).

Renowned for an action-packed pyrotechnic-fuelled explosion of a show, Limehouse Lizzy continues to keep alive the spirit of Celtic rock icon Philip Lynott and his band Thin Lizzy, dominating stages worldwide. 

The band has also added to their set a tribute to the late Gary Moore (ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist and world renowned solo artist) who sadly passed away last year.

Attention to detail, playful audience interaction and that all important X-factor that leaves you with the feeling of witnessing the real thing have led to Limehouse Lizzy's performances being described as “beyond tribute”, by both audience and critics alike.

Following the enormous success of their "Live & Dangerous” and "Dedication” tours, the band embarked upon the “Into the Limelight” tour to tie in with an appearance on an episode of BBC2’s ‘Arena’ documentary series of the same name.

The tour travelled as far as a headline slot at a rock festival in Greece, and the Virgin Atlantic Music festival in Barbados. The band appeared alongside diverse world music acts, and played a Thin Lizzy set representing the Celtic rock genre.

Expect more of the Celtic influenced tracks like ”Whisky in the Jar” and “Black Rose”, amongst the usual razzamatazz and classic tracks “The Boys are Back in Town”, “Sarah” and many others we’ve come to expect from one of the most highly rated acts on the circuit.

Tickets are just £12 and available from Nantwich Civic Hall, by calling 01270 628633 or online at www.nantwichtowncouncil.gov.uk.

Out & About: The Second Part of Liz's Look Back Over 2017

Big Day Out

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I do hope you had a peaceful and happy one. As I am actually writing this just before Christmas I'm hopeful that I will have had a peaceful and happy one too! While you read this I am probably dragging myself to the gym as the official 16-week countdown to our wedding will have began – yikes!

Skoolszfest

So, leading on from last week's review of 2017 and we are skipping into July with our crazy month. Starting off with the first weekend and I attended not one, but three events with the RedShift RoadShow; Skoolzfest in Nantwich, VolFest in Congleton and the Manchester Bombing fundraiser at Nantwich Town FC.

We celebrated my dear Grandpa's 95th birthday closely followed by my 40th with a super 80s-themed party in our garden which was topped off by the announcement from Michael-John that we had got engaged a couple of days previously. What a whirlwind of loveliness July was! I had so many kind and thoughtful gifts (mostly gin related!) and cards for my birthday and then another flurry of cards for our engagement. I certainly felt very special indeed!

Each July we provide the PA kit for the Aqueduct Marina Open Day, always a lovely family day out. We were also the lucky recipients of a grant from Baker Wynne and Wilson as part of their Community Pledge for our youth activities and I am delighted to say we enjoyed listening to John Baker being interviewed/grilled by Ben and Dan, two of our young presenters. They present Musical Monday which is a fantastic, fun-filled show, broadcast every Monday between 5 pm and 6 pm.  Take a listen to Part 2 of their Christmas Special, featuring John Baker: mixcloud.com/RedShiftRadio/musical-mondays-with-ben-dan-181217.

July of course is Nantwich Show and with Michael-John as the Chairman and me

RedShift Community Garden
at Nantwich Show

organising the RedShift Community Garden on Show day and the Big Day Out (see photo top) which takes place on the Sunday after the show, we are like ships that pass in the night during that month, ensuring that our events are planned and executed to the best of our ability. Thankfully, despite the weather being pretty grotty, both events went ahead but both saw a dip in income as attendance was down.

Richmond Village Dog Show

August involved some more #ClimbKili2017 training, this time all on the flat and involving a few drinks with our 18 mile pub crawl. August also saw the Richmond Village Dog Show, another walk up Snowdon and a rather wet Willaston Social Club fun day in aid of the Royal British Legion. 

My August highlight has to be the launch of our Back to the Future inter-generational project, which saw a group of 13 over 70s and 9 under 20 year olds, all enjoying afternoon tea and a quiz whilst getting to know each other. This project continues in 2018 so please call 01270 440 750 if you would like to join.

The #ClimbKili2017 Team

September was another big month: our much anticipated and trained for walk up Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in Africa. 14 walkers departed and thankfully 14 walkers returned having had the experience of a lifetime. Thank you so much to each and every walker who took part to help raise nearly £20,000 which was split between our youth activities at RedShift, the Wingate Centre, CRY for Matthew and the Dementia Care Appeal at Mid Cheshire Hospitals.

October was thankfully fairly quiet allowing me to fully recover from Kilimanjaro whilst November included hosting two firework displays and the Chamber Business Awards and even an attempt at wedding dress shopping.

December is always a lovely month, starting as ever with the Weston Christmas Lights in

aid of the Donna Louise Hospice and our Christmas Community Hub drinks at Residence in Nantwich. The RedShift PA kit was put to good use at the Richmond Village Traditional Christmas Market, the Tatton Yule Yomp and the rescheduled Hope House Santa Dash in Nantwich. Finally, my father-in-law's donkeys Betty and Anne had three trips out to put a smile on the faces of people at the Wingate Centre, St Mary's Church in Nantwich and on Christmas Eve, St Margaret's Church in Wrenbury.

In addition to the myriad events attended on behalf of RedShift, I have also trained 16 new presenters and work experience students, interviewed 43 people on the radio and been to 38 aerobic classes (60 is the target for next year!) ... oh, and I have climbed nearly 6,000 metres to the top of Africa! I think that deserves a large G&T! 

This article appeared in Crewe Chronicle on 27th December 2017.  Please look out for my "Out and About" page each week in the Crewe Chronicle. For more information about any of the items in this article, please email us here at RedShift or call us on 01270 440 750. 

Nantwich Museum Announces 2018 Exhibition Programme

Nantwich Museum has announced its exhibition programme for 2018 featuring a wide range of art and historical subjects.

Exhibitions in the Millennium Gallery

Until 20 Jan 24 January – 14 April 18 April – 14 July 18 July – 13 October 17 October – 5 January

Nantwich Civic Society at 50 Aspects of Cheshire by the Cheshire Artists Network (CAN) A Life in Colour by David Jewkes Welsh Row by the Nantwich Museum Research Group 2018 Nantwich Camera Club Photographic Exhibition

Exhibitions in the Your Space Gallery

Until 6 Jan 9 January – 24 February 27 February – 14 April 17 April – 2 June 5 June – 21 July 24 July – 1 September 4 September – 27 October 30 October – 8 December

Kaleidoscope 3 by Gordon Lancaster The Siege & Battle of Nantwich by Keith Lawrence The Face of Nantwich by Cath Kelly Rotary Club’s Childrens’ Art and Handwriting Competition Nantwich Buildings by Simon Bowler Pathways by Trisha James British Wildlife around Nantwich by Cath Kelly Representation of the People by David Morgan

Entrance to the museum and exhibitions is free but small charges are made for some special events.

As arrangements can change, visitors are advised to check details before travelling to the museum in order to avoid disappointment.

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

RedShift to Host Community Stage as Roundheads Take on Cavaliers in Battle

Community Radio and Events organisation RedShift will once again be hosting the main stage in Nantwich Town Square on Saturday 27th January, as the troops prepare to re-enact the Battle of Nantwich.

The Battle was a key event during the first English Civil War in 1644, when a Parliamentarian army under Thomas “Black Tom” Fairfax defeated the besieging Royalist force of Lord Byron.

With a packed programme beginning at 10.00 am, the town square will be at the heart of the action during the morning, with various musicians joining compère Paul Boniface on stage. Also on and around the town square there will be the Domesday Morris Dancers, street entertainers and Plough Witches weaving their way through the crowd. A hog roast will be available and for the first time this year, Joseph Heler’s will be selling special Holly Holy Day cheeses.

Nantwich Museum will be hosting a Civil War tour at 10.00 am followed by a musketry demonstration by the Sealed Knot at 10.30 am and 17th century music from Forlorne Hope at 11.30 am.

Organised by the King’s Guard of the Sealed Knot, the Battle re-enactment has been an annual event in Nantwich for more than 40 years.  The armies will march from Malbank School and down Welsh Row, arriving in the town centre at 1.00 pm.  After a wreath laying ceremony at the war memorial, they will head down Mill Street at 1.30 pm and onto Mill Island for a spectacular battle display featuring muskets, pike and cannon at approximately 1.45 pm.

Anyone interested in volunteering as a steward for the event should visit www.battleofnantwich.org/volunteer.

For more information about Holly Holy Day, please visit www.battleofnantwich.org.

For further information about RedShift, visit www.redshiftonline.org, follow our Facebook page, see us on Twitter @RedShiftRadioUK or join our online Facebook Community Hub