Easter and Spring at Levenshulme Market

Easter and Spring activities at Levenshulme Market on 4th and 11th April. Prizes, special offers and free fun for kids.

  

Poetry Night at Al Waalis – Mushaira Tour 2015

Al Waalis Restaurant (at the end of  the station car park) is hosting comic poets Anwar Masood and Khalid Masood in a charity dinner on Saturday 11th April from 18.00.

The event is part of the Mushaira Tour 2015 organised by the UK Islamic Mission charity to raise money to promote education in rural Pakistan.

Tickets (£10, children under 5 free) can be booked HERE

  

2015 Elections Candidates

These are the candidates standing in the 2015 local and national elections.

Both Levenshulme and Gorton South are listed for the local elections because Levenshulme is covered by both wards and the Levenshulme ward alone does not include all of Levenshulme. You can find out which ward you are in for council elections HERE.

Levenshulme Ward, Manchester City Council

John Commons (Liberal Democrat Party)

Fiona Higgins  (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)

Khawar Iqbal (Conservative Party)

Basat Sheikh ((Labour Party)

Dick Venes (Green Party)

View the official candidate list HERE

Gorton South Ward, Manchester City Council

Dick Brown (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)

Bob Catterall (UK Independence Party)

Peter Cookson (Labour Party)

Andrew Hickey (Lineral Democrat Party)

Melvyn Newton (Green Party)

Timo Opesan (Conservative Party)

View the official candidate list HERE

Manchester Gorton Parliamentary Constituency

Mohammed Afzal (Conservative Party)

Laura Bannister (Green Party)

Cristian Chesha (Pirate Party UK)

Phil Eckersley (UK Independence Party)

Simon Hickman (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition)

Gerald Kaufman (Labour Party)

Dave Page (Liberal Democrat Party)


View the official candidate list HERE


NOTE

Levenshulme Community Association is an apolitical organisation. Any mention of candidates or elected representatives by the LCA is for information purposes and should not be taken to imply an endorsement of any individual or political party.

Levenshulme Market Finalist in BBC Food & Farming Awards 2015

Levenshulme Market is one of only three finalists in the prestigious BBC Food and Farming Awards 2015 market category.

The weekly market has been recognised for pioneering work as a social enterprise which helps to empower its community to take ownership of the high street in Levenshulme through its Market Fund, launched this year, as well as being providing a “diverse range of high quality traders, with a changing roster of 50 artisan traders, [including] a variety of fresh produce and street food” and developing the market into a quality destination for food and drink retailers that has changed the face of markets in Manchester.

Read the full story on the Levenshulme Market website HERE

The BBC press release announcing the 2015 finalists is available HERE



Photograph courtesy of Levenshulme Market

LCA Election Results and 2015-16 Priorities

The LCA AGM this afternoon included elections with the following results:

Officers

  • Peter Naughton (Chair)
  • Jeremy Hoad (Secretary)
  • Malcolm Cowen (Treasurer)

Core Group Members

  • Matthew Ball
  • Karen Broady
  • Lawrence Hennigan
  • Mark Lake
  • John Roby Brown

Sir Gerald Kaufman MP (LCA Honorary President) was generous in his praise of Levenshulme’s diversity, initiative and identity as a fantastic place to live and work. He was particularly impressed with the strength of the LCA and the many other community groups across Levenshulme. He stressed the importance of having active and engaged residents that form the basis of a cohesive and mutually supportive community.

The meeting identified key areas for the work of the LCA over the coming year including:

  • finding a future for the Levenshulme Library building;
  • increasing community engagement;
  • ensuring active community involvement in the development of the new Arcadia Leisure Centre;
  • sharing information both online and through distributed means to reach as many people as possible;
  • building on the larger LCA membership of the past year;
  • providing more events such as the very successful LCA Community Forum meetings;
  • providing information on community funding opportunities and sources;
  • enabling and supporting greater involvement in the LCA from currently less represented groups in line with LCA key aims of inclusiveness;
  • exploring how to improve access at Levenshulme Station;
  • strengthening, developing and promoting Levenshulme as a great place to live, work and play.

LCA Officers and the Core Group will develop these ideas into firm proposals and practical priorities for 2015-16.

We are grateful to the support and hard work of the many groups that we collaborate with in Levenshulme and look forward to another positive and productive year for the benefit of all Levenshulme residents.


Manchester Communities Together Event

This year Manchester Communities Together will showcase the diversity of local opportunities and inspire you with new ways to get involved in your local neighbourhood.

Attendance is limited so please reserve your place for this interesting event by Thursday 19 March.

To register email:    community.engagement@manchester.gov.uk

with your name, telephone number, the details of friends coming with you, accessibility considerations and express your interest in one or more of our workshops.

Find out more HERE

2015 Election: Pirate Party Candidate Launch Meeting

A launch meeting for Cristian Chesa who is standing as a parliamentary candidate for Manchester Gorton will be held at 18.00 on Monday 16th March at the Klondyke (1 Burnage Range).

Cristian is standing as a candidate for the Pirate Party UK.

This is an opportunity to meet Cristian, ask questions and take part in a policy workshop that will help decide “…what you would like to see go into the a Pirate Party crowd-sourced manifesto for 2015.”

Register for the policy workshop HERE

Find out about the Pirate Party HERE



NOTE: Levenshulme Community Association does not endorse or promote any political party or political organisation. Membership of the LCA is not available to any political parties or groups. Any information provided is for information only.

An Evening With Acclaimed Levenshulme Artist Daniel Pitts

Fred’s Ale House on Stockport Road will be hosting an evening with Daniel Pitts, acclaimed local artist, on Friday 20th March from 18.00-21.00.



Nelly Globe

Nelly Globe is a Levenshulme based charitable organisation that aims to develop creative projects and work in partnership with individuals and organisations on a local, national and international level. Nelly Globe has recently undertaken a project with the Stroke Association, described below.


Nelly Globe website HERE


Dave Hulston’s blog HERE and facebook page HERE


 

Salford stroke survivors tell their story through sculpture

 

Stroke survivors from Salford have created a unique piece of art to convey their individual experiences of stroke, after attending workshops organised by the Stroke Association and Nelly Globe.

 

The group of ten stroke survivors and carers took part in weekly workshops at St John’s Church Hall in Pendlebury for eight weeks, from Monday 12 January.Organised by the Stroke Association, the workshops were led by Nelly Globe, acharity which works with people in recovery from trauma, through art lead projects to encourage positive life changes.

 

Each week, the group explored different techniques, including word association, photography and art skills. They chose to transform a disused wheelchair into a piece of abstract art, to represent their individual lives and experience of stroke. The finished sculpture will be displayed in an exhibition at Salford Royal Hospital to celebrate Action on Stroke Month in May 2015.

 

Dave HulstonCreative Director at Nelly Globe, said: “The wheelchair is a metaphor for reinvention, to express how much a stroke can change lives in an instant. At the beginning of the sessions, people were a little apprehensive but as the weeks went on, we’ve seen the group really embrace the project and evolve together, alongside the sculpture. There has been a lot of emotion each week and we’re thrilled with the final results.

 

Wesley Boardman, 36 from Swintontook part in the projectHe was just 31 when he had a stroke in 2009 and was told he would never walk, talk or swallow again. After being fed through a PEG feeding tube for more than three years, with sheer determination Wesley is now able to eat meals again, cycles and attends the gym three times a week. However, the stroke has left him with difficulties with his balance, mobility, speech and hearing.

 

Wesley said: “I’ve always been interested in art in the more traditional sense, such as painting and drawing, but these workshops have helped me see things in a different way. When I had my stroke, I expected to be back to normal in a couple of weeks but it’s been a long road to recovery. Working alongside the group has helped us express the challenges we faced during our stroke journeys.”

 

Joanne Myers, Communication Support Coordinator at the Stroke Association said: “The group has not only given people the opportunity to learn new skills, it has also encouraged social interaction and helped to build confidence. We see sheer courage and determination many stroke survivors, like Wesley, show in coping with the loss of many things we take for granted, such as being able to say what we are feeling or walk on our own. This project has enabled the group members to express themselves in new and very powerful ways.”

 

The Stroke Association provides an Information, Advice and Support Service and Communication Support in Salford, in partnership with Salford City Council and Salford Clinical Commissioning Group.

 

The Stroke Association is the UK’s leading stroke charity which campaigns to improve stroke care; supports people to make the best recovery they can; and funds ground-breaking research to change the lives of people affected by stroke. For more information about stroke, ring the Helpline on 0303 30 33 100 or visit www.stroke.org.uk

 

Notes

• A stroke is a brain attack which happens when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, caused by a clot or bleeding in the brain. There are around 152,000 strokes in the UK every year and it is the leading cause of severe adult disability. There are over 1.2 million people in the UK living with the effects of stroke. 
• Stroke Association is a charity. We believe in life after stroke and together we can conquer stroke. We work directly with stroke survivors and their families and carers, with health and social care professionals and with scientists and researchers. We campaign to improve stroke care and support people to make the best recovery they can. We fund research to develop new treatments and ways of preventing stroke. The Stroke Helpline (0303 303 3100) provides information and support on stroke. More information can be found at www.stroke.org.uk












Levenshulme Market Fund 2015 Results

In a packed meeting at the Klondyke this evening voting took place for the Levenshulme Market Fund 2015. The following bids were funded to the amount shown. This means that everyone who bid for funding received funding as the LCDC bid was withdrawn. £15,000 was available for distribution.

Congratulations to all the successful bids and everyone who put in so much hard work for them. And well done to Levenshulme Market for their first fund reinvesting in Levenshulme.

Levenshulme Market is registered as a Community Interest Company. This is the first distribution of operating profits to community projects that are focussed on enabling local people to start up on the market or to existing local businesses to develop and revitalise Levenshulme High Street and its retail and business offer.

Levenshulme Market itself has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years and went weekly from March to December last year. In 2015 Levenshulme Market Company will also start running markets at Manchester University and in the Northern Quarter.

Find out more about Levenshulme Market HERE

Winning proposals and amounts

Byrne the Cake Brewery – £610.56

David Foulger is a Levenshulme resident who has been perfecting his brewing in his home environment for six months and is now approaching the stage where he is ready to start trading on the market, thus launching Levenshulme’s own artisan brewery and helping gain more attention for Levenshulme’s independent traders and producers. David will use the money, if awarded, to buy equipment that will allow him to brew on a larger scale with a shorter time scale and less chance of spoilage.




Decourcey Designs – £760.00

Sharlene Decourcey is fourth generation Levenshulme and started her business trading in the Antiques Village a year ago. She would like to develop her skills, expand into market trading and build her business by undertaking further  training in upholstery, buying tools for her work and producing branded clothes, banners and business cards.



Indulge Dessert Café Expansion – £1400.00

Indulge is the only dessert cafe within the Levenshulme stretch of Stockport Road and they are keen to build their business by expanding their product range (to include pancakes, frozen yoghurt, slushies and professional coffees), increase their profile and visibility and make physical improvements to the shop. The funds they are applying for would be used to repaint the shop shutters and improve the signage, change the layout to improve service and maximise customer seating during busy periods, add customer toilet facilities, deliver a leaflet campaign in the area and purchase machines for making coffee, pancakes and frozen yoghurt.



Levenshulme Contemporary Art Centre – £2210.00

The LCAC Shop will be a temporary, non-profit making hub of radical thinking for the Levenshulme community. It will open for two weeks during the Manchester International Festival (2nd-19th July 2015), with the aim of helping to seed the development of a future independent fringe festival. The Shop will function as an open social space, the aim of which is to create the possibility of imagining a new locality. It will serve coffee, sell radical texts and work/prints by local artists, and host free public talks, including connecting participants with other radically-minded individuals across the world via video-conferencing. It will be open to the public at varied times, including late nights for post-work discussions. The group are bidding for funds to run the shop, including rental and fittings, marketing and promotion of the space and paying/reimbursing visiting speakers and artists.



Lily and Daisy Flower Company – £890.00

The Lily and Daisy Flower Company will be based in Levenshulme as a market stall and local delivery service, operating by bike and selling only flowers sourced locally in season and from indoor growing operations in England and the Netherlands at other times, with the aim of being carbon neutral within two years of starting business. Melvyn Newton, who runs the Lily and Daisy Flower Company is bidding for funds for a bike trailer, a street trading licence, insurance and branding.



Love Levenshulme www.lovelevenshulme.org – £5000.00

Love Levenshulme is a digital and high street community asset. It was first created as an online map in 2014 and resident Pauline Johnson is seeking funds to develop it as a resource that will support local businesses, improve our trading environment, expand as a “live learning facility” and promote Levenshulme as a visitor destination. It’s a consumer facing, trader focused online resource and high street brand. The funds, if allocated, will be used to develop the site itself, to support engagement activity with traders and to launch a pop-up high street “hub” for the site, allowing business owners, residents and visitors to make their own contribution to its workings.



Samosa Shack – £1000.00

Samosa Shack is the brain child of Levenshulme resident Kamini Patel, who would like to develop an artisan food stall where he can sell Gujarati cuisine – particularly samosas, which will be made to order while customers wait.  He has applied for the fund to cover the costs of buying the equipment associated with setting up an outdoor hot food business as well as branding and design work to make his stall attractive to customers.



Thairish Café – Facelift – £2370.00

Levenshulme institution Thairish Café (previously Isis) are applying for funds to make their business an even more desirable destination on the high street and the interior will be a more welcoming and cleaner environment for customers. They would use the money, if awarded, to update the front of the cafe by cleaning and painting the outside area – meaning they will be more attractive to customers, particularly those coming to and from the market. They would also like to refurbish their customer toilet, making it a safer and cleaner environment, and to resurface the floor of the café.


Woolly Mammoth – £750.00

Woolly Mammoth is brings together locally sourced UK wool and vegetarian food with a focus on promoting positive mental health and well being.  The social enterprise, run by Levenshulme resident Charlotte Dillon and business partner Rachel Hall, will launch with a series of pop-up events at Levenshulme Market, with a view to eventually move to a shop space in Levenshulme. They will use the funds, if awarded, to cover the costs of buying equipment to cook their food, starter stock and branding.



All photographs courtesy of Jeremy Hoad.

Manchester Irish Festival 2015 Launch

The Manchester Irish Festival 2015 launches at 20.00 at Fred’s Ale House on Stockport Road on Friday 6th March.

Further information is available HERE


Free Piano Available From Stockport FLAG

Stockport FLAG, an advice & guidance charity in Stockport, has been asked if they can re-home an upright piano.

The owner would like to donate it to a charity or other good cause rather than have it taken away to landfill. It’s in good condition, but requires tuning and will need collection from Heaton Moor (there are also some steps to negotiate).

If you know of an organisation or community group who could make good use of it, and are able to pick it up, just contact FLAG on 0161 474 1042 and they will put you in touch.

Hard Rain Poetry Evening

Another Hard Rain Poetry evening hits Levenshulme at Thairish on Stockport Road on Monday 30th March.

18.00-20.00 Poetry & creative writing workshop (Jolivia Gaston & Shamshad Khan)

20.00-22.00 Reading by Jolivia Gaston and open mic session

Hard Rain Poetry is a voluntary community project that encourages local creative expression. 

Meetings are FREE and open to everyone.

Levenshulme Players Present Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh

Do you like Demis Roussos?

Levenshulme Players will be performing Abigail’s Party on 24th and 25th April at the Klondyke on Burnage Range.

Tickets are £3.50 – £5.50 available on the door or by phoning 0161 225 4674.

£22m Boost For Cycling In Manchester

Manchester is one of eight cities to benefit from investment in cycling infrastructure from the government. The Department for a transport has confirmed Manchester has been awarded £22m from the total funding of £115m. This follows an investment of £20m in 2013.

Further details are available from Transport for Greater Manchester HERE

An article from the Manchester Evening News is available HERE

Information on the Greater Manchester Cycling Strategy is available HERE

Levenshulme Community Association AGM 14th March 2015

The Annual General Meeting of the Levenshulme Community Association will take place at 14.15 on Saturday 14th March at Levenshulme Library on Cromwell Grove.

The AGM will receive annual reports and hold elections to the posts of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and the ordinary positions on the LCA Core Group.

There will also be time for discussion of regular business.

Further information will follow.

Levenshulme Market Re-launch Weekend

Levenshulme Market kicks off again on Saturday 7th March closely followed by a voting event for the Market Fund 2015 on Sunday 8th March. See the poster below for information including the theme of each market through the year.