April 2018 by Local Living

LOCAL

April 2018 Issue 12

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BUMPER CLASSIFIED SECTION PAGES 12 - 15

Welcome to the April issue of Local Living Hello and welcome to the April issue! I can’t quite believe we are on issue 12 already! A full, quite eventful year has passed. I just wanted to offer a quick thank you for all the lovely advertisers and people involved in submitting some amazing articles. Also a huge thank you goes out to all the lovely readers. Some great feedback has been sent in over the last twelve months. I always love hearing what you think and, if you have anything you think might be worth a mention, please feel free to get in touch in the future. With the impending Royal Wedding next month there is a ‘Wedding Special’ on pages 4 & 5 with a few hints on getting organised for your big day. Along with, as always, some local businesses who may be able to help. Slimming World’s ’Biggest Losers’ all feature on page 7. They all look amazing I think you’ll agree! May is the next issue and is Local Living’s 1st Birthday. With that will come some great articles and, if now is the time for you to place an advert, some great prices! Please email contact@localliving.online or call 07507071411 to book your space now. Have a fantastic Easter!

Tracy Leach, Editor

My pick of the month… In Keeping with the Easter theme I LOVE these beautiful keepsake bunnies from Sew Precious. All made with your own fabrics. Have a look at the full range of products at facebook.com/Sew-Precious or www.sewprecious.co.uk

Sisters Lucie and Kay Farmer donate a hair raising amount to the Little Princess Trust Golborne High School student Lucie Farmer, 12, and her younger sister, Lowton West Primary school pupil Kay, six, both had 12 inches of their hair cut off on Friday to donate to the charity, Little Princess Trust. The charity make wigs for children and children up to the age of 24 who are bald due to chemotherapy treatment. They have also raised an amazing £1,435 through their justgiving Page. Amazing considering their original target was £200. Hairdresser Suzanne Leeder cut the girls’ hair at Salon V on Railway Road in Leigh. They were delighted with their new hairstyles. As was mum Elaine.

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Wedding Planning Tips ... With the Royal Wedding next month there certainly seems to be a sense of ‘wedding fever’ in the air. Here at Local Living we love a good wedding so we thought we would give you a few pointers to help when organising your big day. You will also find a selection of a few of our local businesses that can help you along the way. When you first start on the road to wedding planning it can feel a little bit of a minefield. Hopefully these tips will make it a little less daunting.

This is also a good time to decide who you want to play key roles such as the best man and bridesmaids. They will play an important role not only on the day of the wedding but also in the planning so consider how supportive they can be when choosing them.

Getting Started….

So you’ve had the proposal, you’ve accepted and now you’re officially engaged, what next? Well, before you start choosing the honeymoon there are some questions you both need to sit down and answer before you get carried away.

What kind wedding do you want?

A big white wedding with all the traditional trimmings, a fairground in the forest or even at the top of table mountain? Do you see yourselves wanting a good old knees up or a laid back get together with close friends and family? Think about the kind of feeling or vibe you want for your day. Also consider the type of ceremony whether you want a church wedding, a civil ceremony or, for complete freedom, to be married by an independent celebrant. It’s your wedding, don’t be swayed by what others think and/or want; it’s your day and you want it to be a reflection of you as a couple.

Who to invite?

Make a provisional guest list as soon as you can, there’s no point looking for venues if you don’t know rough number. Split into groups, family, friends- school, university, work, and within each group list in importance. Realistically you want to share your day with people that mean the most to you both so don’t feel like you need to invite everyone you’ve ever met. (Grouping will also help if you eventually decide to do a seating plan.)

When to marry? Is there a time of year that holds a special significance? An anniversary of an important or do a favourite season? Your wedding budget may have a big effect on when you get married. If you have to save you will need to give yourself long enough. If the budget’s tight you may also want to consider getting married out of season (not in the summer or think about a mid week wedding). Unless you’re having an intimate wedding or are willing to be flexible with dates you should ideally give yourselves at least a year to plan the wedding.

Where to marry?

Do you want to marry close to where you both live now? Or perhaps you’ve always imagined returning to where you grew up to marry? You may even want to consider a destination wedding; by making a holiday of it you’ll get to spend a lot more time with your nearest and dearest and your honeymoon to boot.

What’s really important? Decide together what aspects of your wedding will have the most importance. Do you want the food & drink to be at the top of your list? Maybe you met at a concert and entertainment is key. If it helps, make a big list of all the things you think should be at your wedding then number it by importance to you both and don’t be afraid to cross some things out completely. By knowing your priorities it helps you decide where you want to spend time and money on when planning your wedding.

What’s your budget? This is really the most important area to consider as you start wedding planning. How much money can you afford to spend and how much do you want to spend on your wedding? How can you keep track of your expenditure and stop your budget from spiralling out of control?

Do some research

Asking how much a wedding costs is similar to questioning how long a piece of string is. It depends on a number of factors, including style, location and date. Once you’ve decided on these, you can start looking into the cost. Ignore the average prices magazines give you. Focus on suppliers in your chosen location to build your own list of prices. By researching these costs you will then have a realistic idea of what you can get for your money.

What’s your wedding going to cost?

Having done your research you can start thinking about how much to spend. This is when prioritising is important so you can source and book early. As a rough guide, allocate 40-50% of your budget for your reception (including venue, food and drinks), leaving the rest to cover everything else.

Who’s paying?

Be realistic, look at your finances and work out how much you can afford. The start of married life is not the time to be getting into debt. Are there any family members who want to help?

Get Organised

First priority is to set up a spreadsheet where you can list everything you need, especially easily forgotten things like postage for invitations, alteration costs for dresses and so on, and allocate an estimated spend. Don’t forget to amend this as you go along. Finally, whatever your budget is there will always be areas (and friends and family) where, with a little time and some creativity, you can make great savings. Most of all enjoy it!

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Golborne teenager hailed a hero for helping to save a man's life: Recently through social media, teenagers have been given bad press, I want to change your opinion on this because today I had the honour of meeting a local hero - Nathan Kenyon, here is his storyâ€Ś Nathan and three other friends, Kalib Walters, Connor O'Hara and James Barnabas were walking over junction 9 bridge of the M62 when they noticed a man leaning over the bridge and was obviously suicidal. They showed no hesitation in coming to the aid of the man who was in a very distressed state, Nathan stated " we knew he wasn't ok, Kalib and I put ourselves between the man and the bridge, we kept talking to him about football whilst all the time, step by step we were moving him away from the edge until the police arrived" Following this, all 4 boys went home and thought nothing of it because they thought it was the normal and right thing to do, Nathan stated " it was just instinct and something we hope any other human being would do" After a social media appeal, the boys were tracked down and presented with Good Citizens Citation by Inspector Hannah Friends who described them as " pillars of the community" for their outstanding assistance, bravery and selflessness during the incident. Story by Kirsty McMillan

April is one the busiest months in the gardening calendar. Seeds need sowing, seedlings transplanting, shrubs need pruning, the lawn is likely to be in full growth, so too are weeds. And yet, here in the northwest, hard frosts can occur on clear, still nights. So the first thing to remember is NOT to plant out anything that might get hit by a late frost: many bedding and hanging basket plants. Buy them by all means, provided you can keep them in a frost-free conservatory or greenhouse, but wait until the very end of the month or early May before putting them out.

Spring bulbs are often in full flower in April, though snowdrops and crocuses have usually faded. What you do with those you have grown in pots is up to you, for new bulbs of tulips and hyacinths for containers give a better display than old ones. You could plant them in the garden and do what you should do with those already in your flower beds: cut off the faded flower , sprinkle some bone meal around them and let the leaves build up the bulbs for next spring. Many shrubs flower in spring: forsythia, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas, magnolias and so on. If you want to prune these, do so immediately after flowering, for they will bear flowers on this coming season’s growth. But beware that magnolias don’t like being pruned very much and are usually slow to recover.

The lawn will now be growing well and this is a good time to give it a feed and, if necessary, get rid of lawn weeds (though some of us enjoy seeing daisies and white clover flowers in the short grass). ‘Weed-and-feed’ fertiliser with feed the grass and kill the weeds, whereas ‘Spring and Summer’ fertiliser will replace the nutrients that the mower takes away.

If you have a greenhouse and some form of heating that prevents the temperature inside falling too low should there be a late frost (I use a paraffin heater) this is the month to get in the tomato, aubergine and pepper plants. Use growbags by all means, but many find it better to grow in deeper tubs that make watering much easier. When it comes to tomatoes, forget the old varieties like Moneymaker. Try Shirley for a basic variety, Black Russian for a great tasting variety, Sweet Aperitif for a lovely cherry tomato and Marmande for a big tomato that, fried with smoked back bacon makes a great bacon-barm. Later in the summer I’ll suggest ways of enjoying any excesses from the greenhouse. This is the month to sow or plant many vegetables it the garden or allotment: potatoes, garden peas and broad beans, onion and leek seedlings and roots like beetroot,

parsnips and carrots. A tip on beetroot and parsnips: these are slow to germinate and the easiest way is to put a piece of kitchen paper on an old plate, dampen the paper and sow the seeds on it. Cover with another piece of damp paper. Keep the paper damp and watch out for the first signs of a white root appearing. Now sow the parsnips and beetroot in the ground and the roots will rapidly lengthen in the soil and leafs pop up. If you want a change: grow some scorzonera and chard. I’ll say more on them next month. Malcolm Greenhalgh Newton-le-Willows Gardeners’ Association Sales and Advice Hut off Rob Lane, Newton is open Saturday and Sunday mornings, 10.30-12 noon. Lots of plants for sale in April, inc. hanging basket and tomato. New members welcome.

MLSgardenservices

QUALITY LANDSCAPING GARDEN MAINTENANCE LAWN CARE AND JET WASHING

01942 731302 / 07927960281 MLSgardenservices

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Monday & Thursday Cheeky monkeys playgroup Age 0-4 years. Term time only 9-15 to 11-15 at Golborne sports club

Wednesday 10:30 Coffee morning St Thomas Church. Thursday 8:30 - 12. Coffee and chat at Lowton St Maryâ€™s, Newton Road.

Thursday Lowton and Golborne art group meets every Thursday at Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club from 10 till 4 and enjoy not only the freedom to express their artistic talents but also engage socially with other members with similar interests.

Second and fourth Friday of the month Knit and natter held in St Lukeâ€™s church on Slag Lane. 2-4pm. Lots of chatting and cup of tea and a biscuit 50p towards costs.

Fourth Wednesday of the month Golborne & District Townswomen s' Guild meet at Northfield Court, Lowton Rd. Golborne from 7pm. - 9pm. We provide speakers, and social activities. Please contact Avril on 01942 726 033 for further details.

First Thursday of the month Due to the adverse weather conditions and taking into consideration the safety of their members ,Lowton WI regretfully made the decision to cancel their March meeting. The next meeting will take place on Thursday 5th April at All Saint's Social Centre in Golborne at 7.15 pm. Visitors are always welcome. For further details please contact Lin Hayes on 01942 207764.

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NATIONAL PET MONTH 1 APRIL - 7 MAY 2018 Thousands of people up and down the UK will be celebrating life with their pets, spreading the word on responsible pet ownership or raising money for their favourite charity in fun-filled events. National Pet Month is a registered charity, unique in bringing together animal welfare charities, professional bodies, pet businesses, schools, youth groups and pet lovers. The trustees are National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) and Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA). Key aims are:  Promote responsible pet ownership  Raise awareness of mutual benefits of living with pets  Increase awareness of the role of pet care specialists  Raise awareness of the value of working and assistance companion animals

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ARCHITECT SERVICES

SEMI RETIRED (GLAZIER)

Lowton based architect for your property conversion designs including submission to local authorities for planning and building regulation consideration. Excellent service with quality drawings at competitive prices. Ring Gavin Pinion at Goldcrest Design Services Ltd on 01942 729832 or 07958102874

Still enjoys hard work, very experienced in all areas. Enjoys especially replacing misted up double glazed units. We can clean / refresh your UPVC windows of doors you’ll find my prices very reasonable and my services extraordinary. For a free quote call same day or evening. 07413 917964. You have my 100% guarantee on both works. What could be fairer?

DRIVING LESSONS

Progress Driving School. Friendly, professional tuition in Lowton and Golborne. Lessons just £24 per hour, or £210 for a block booking of 10 hours. Call or text Tony Melling, DVSA Approved Driving Instructor, on 07989587576 or visit www.progress -drivingschool.com

INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL GAS SUPPLIES

Local company that provides Industrial Gas for all solutions. Welding gas, propane, butane, commercial refrigerant gas and domestic. We have an extensive range of consumables available for collection at the trade counter and we can deliver 90% of our stock within 48 hours. PLEASE QUOTE LOCAL LIVING WHEN YOU CALL. Gas UK on 0800 133 7490 or to email: oders@gascylindersuk.co.uk and visit our website www.gas-uk.co.uk

ROOFING

Time served roofer. (25 yrs. exp). All roofing and gutter repairs - from a broken tile to a full re roof. Insurance work undertaken, special rates for OAP’s. Call Alan on 01942 576183 or 07930 110031 for a free estimate

UPHOLSTERY DESIGNS

Atlas Upholstery Design Services. Specialist in the re-upholstery of Settees, Easy Chairs, Dining Chairs etc. Headboards recovered and made to order. Spring repairs etc. Do you need new foam cushion? Pubs, Clubs, Caravans recovered etc. 40 years In the trade. Workmanship guaranteed. Free Estimates. Call David on 01942 729978. www.atlasupholstery.co.uk