A Taste for Tall Ships

Enjoy the Tall Ships ’taster’ weekend this Saturday and Sunday at the Canada and Albert Docks. Visitors will be able to board The Iris (Holland), Bessie Ellen (UK), Eye of the Wind (Norway) and Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Ramsey. You can also take advantage of the great weather forecast to see the vessels from the Mersey; Mersey Ferries will be offering cruises with commentary, departing Seacombe at 12.15pm and Pier Head at 12.30pm. The cruises last 3 hours, £10 adults and £5 children. Call 0151 330 1444 for tickets. Free buses have been laid on from Paradise Street to Canada Doc where one of the Royal Navy’s largest vessels, HMS Albion, will be docked, while A-Class Tall Ship The Artemis will be at the Albert Dock.

Film competition – see the winning entries

The winning entries to the Liverpool48 film-making competition are in. You can view 10meg files of all the entries on the Liverpool48 website here. And there's more going on to showcase local film makers tomorrow, Tuesday 27th June, at FACT's Liverpool Film Night. It's only £4.00 in and starts at 7.30pm.

Tropical Medicine centre gets financial boost

The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is to get £250,000 for a new centre, adding to the £28 million already received from Bill Gates to fund the search for a malaria vaccine.

The additional money comes from Business Liverpool. The new centre will conduct research into drugs for the world's deadliest diseases and is due for completion in 2007.

Merseytram still alive?

The Daily Post today reveals that plans for a Liverpool-based tram service may not be completely dead after funding was withdrawn last year. Merseytravel today launches a five-year, £200 million regional transport strategy which in part says the Line One tram is key to regeneration of the Liverpool-Kirkby corridor particularly if Everton FC settles on Kirkby for a new stadium. The strategy includes a scheme to improve links to the port, airport and to Southport to help grow it as a tourist destination. The strategy puts pedestrians, cyclists and public transport at the top of its agenda, to 2011.

Film and TV production in Liverpool trebles

North West Vision, the region's screen agency, organised 240 filming days between January and end-March, up from 74 last year, while the number of productions trebled to 61 from 21 in the first quarter. The Merseyside economy has benefited by more than £5 million so far and another £5 million-worth of projects are in pre-production up to the middle of the summer, according to North West Vision. Council leader Warren Bradley commented on the "unprecedented interest" in the city as a location for both TV series and full feature films and welcomed its impact on the economy and jobs. Among the productions filmed or in pre-production for 2006:

Across the Universe, a feature starring Bono, Eddie Izzard and Joe Cocker, is a romantic 1960s musical told through Beatles songs by Columbia Pictures. It's the largest production ever shot in Liverpool and features 150 extras. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it's due for release in November.

Lilies, a prime-time BBC drama series set in Liverpool's 1920s docklands  

Casualty 1906, another BBC drama centred on the A&E ward in the former Liverpool Infirmary

Ruby in the Smoke, a BBC period drama based on Philip Pullman's novel and starring Billie Piper, Robert Glenister and Julie Walters.

And there are more. All of which is great news for the city in the run up to 2008 and beyond. So look out for a star appearing near you soon.

Refugees and the media – a forum

Writing on the Wall (Wow) together with Refugee Action will be hosting a Question Time-style forum on the issue of how the media influences the lives of refugees in the UK. Part of Refugee Week, the forum will take place June 21st at Blackburne House, Blackburne Place, Liverpool L8 7PE, from 6-8.30pm. The expert panel will consist of the following writers and media professionals:

Mahdi Hussein – exiled Iraqi poet

Gordon Hurd – exiled journalist from Cameroon

Nicolette Muzazi – radio broadcaster from Burundi, now Liverpool resident

Chris Walker – Liverpool Echo Managing Editor

Roger Philips – Radio Merseyside broadcaster

A short film, Putting Down Roots, will also be shown, produced by the Liverpool-based Family Refugee Support Project.

For more details,

email: info@writingonthewall.org.uk or lee@refugee-action.org.uk

phone: 0151-707-4313 or 0151-702-6307

Liverpool South Parkway transport hub opens

Joining together Allerton and Garston rail stations and including a taxi rank, free park and ride, booking and passenger information point and a high-frequency  shuttle bus service to the UK's fastest-growing airport, Liverpool John Lennon. The £32 million Liverpool South Parkway interchange opened its doors yesterday (Sunday). The building itself is eco-friendly and has won awards and plaudits for its design. It features a roof made from 2.3 tonnes of recycled aluminium and harvests rainwater with the aim of saving 700,000 litres of mains water each year. According to the BBC, Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said: "Liverpool South Parkway is the most modern station in Europe and will be a great asset to the people of Merseyside and beyond, linking them to the airport and job opportunities." Take a photo tour of South Parkway.

Summer pops

From Friday June 30th to Sunday July 23rd music fans can enjoy a great selection of big-name bands at Liverpool's Summer Pops festival. Acts include The Who, A-Ha, Bryan Adams and Sugababes. The list of confirmed acts:

Friday June 30th- Best of Australian Pink Floyd Show- Part 1

Saturday July 1 – Oscar Peterson

Sunday July 2 – Pet Shop Boys

Monday July 3 – Whitesnake

Tuesday July 4 – Deacon Blue

Wednesday July 5 – The Who (SOLD OUT)

Thursday July 6 – The Who (SOLD OUT)

Friday July 7 – James Brown

Saturday July 8 – New Order

Monday July 10 – Simple Minds

Tuesday July 11 – Corinne Bailey Rae

Wednesday July 12 – Jeff Beck/Buddy Guy

Thursday July 13 – The Darkness

Friday July 14 – Ronan Keating

Sunday July 16 – A-Ha

Monday July 17 – Westlife

Tuesday July 18 – Simply Red

Thursday July 20 – Sugababes

Friday July 21 – Il Divo

Saturday July 22 – Best of Australian Pink Floyd Show – Part 2

Sunday July 23 – Bryan Adams

For more details and to order tickets, call 0870 151 4000.

Liverpool’s five-star luxury waterfront hotel

The first images of a proposed £130 million scheme to build a five-star hotel complex next to the Pier Head were released last night. An eight-storey hotel will form the centrepiece of the development at Princes Dock, where the new cruise liner terminal – given the go-ahead by Deputy PM John Prescott in May – will afford breathtaking views for guests of its 224 rooms. The exciting development includes the extension of the Leeds-Liverpool canal running beneath an illuminated culvert beneath the hotel, in addition to a suite of adjoining buildings offering apartments, more guest rooms, spa, illuminated plaza and commercial space. The proposal is a joint development between Lead Asset Strategies and architect John Lyall. According to icLiverpool, Lyall said: "The development at New World Square has to take on board the attributes of stature, dignity and excitement without dominating the Three Graces or the Liverpool skyline." He said he believes the development delivers. A period of consultation with heritage groups and other stakeholders will now take place. Lead Asset Strategies' chairman, Raj Basu, commented: "This is one of Europe's most exciting and sensitive development sites and we have been determined to to deliver an international quality scheme that fulfils the city's ambitions." It is hoped a reasonable quick consultation will see the development open before the end of 2008. The developer has worked with Mersey Docks and English Heritage on the proposals, but the final say rests with Liverpool City Council.   

Lord Mayor’s Parade this weekend

This year's Liverpool Lord Mayor's Parade will take place this weekend. Get down to Pall Mall for 1pm on Saturday to catch it from the start. More details.