The Wigan Courier Newspaper :: Wigan's Good News Paper

WIGAN CULTURAL PARTNERSHIP
Presents
A NIGHT WITH THE BANDS
Monday evening March 29th @ The Swinley Club, Centre of Wigan
from 7-00pm to approx 10-30pm
“Come and listen to some of Wigan’s freshest young talent playing live......” says Wigan Cultural Partnership Chair Mark Ashley. The evening Hosted by Chris Skoyles of Wigan Children and Young Persons Services Department ( The Linc)
FREE raffle with CD prizes
FREE music poster to takeaway
Tickets just £2-00 on the door, or tickets available from Wigan Courier office in advance.

Bands pencilled in include:
Colour Me Blind
Chaos Theory
Short Notice
Facing Paige
+ special guest appearence by 'Wild' Wayne Mawdesley (Britain's Got Talent)

Refreshments on sale - no smoking venue
The Swinley, Coppull Lane, Wigan WN1 2LQ

The February meeting of the Wigan Family & Local History Society proved to be a great success with more than forty people in attendance.

The huge increase in attendance followed a publicity campaign by the Society assisted by the Courier and others. Also moving back to a more central part of town to hold our meetings has played a significant part. We are very grateful to the Management and Staff at the Bowling Green Hotel for the use of their excellent function room.

Chairman Keith Guest introduced Alex Miller who is the Borough Archivist. Alex then set about explaining just what was held at the Borough Archives. He had also brought along some source documents, rent books from the 1800’s, school attendance records and the like. Alex then went on to demonstrate that with the aid of documents like these not only could you trace your ancestors but you could gain an all important insight into their daily lives. A variety of questions were fired from the audience and fielded expertly by Alex, who was then thanked by the Chairman and received a round of applause as a mark of appreciation.

The Chairman then outlined the Society’s vision for the future. We need to move with the times and to harness technology. To this end the Website will be re-vamped and become interactive. Members will be able to access the site and indicate their preferred topics etc. It is also our intention to embark on more field trips to bodies like the General Records Office at Southport, Lancashire Records Office at Preston and not forgetting Wigan History Shop.

The next meeting takes place on Monday the 15th March in the Bowling Green Hotel 7.30 for 8pm. We have an excellent speaker in Peter Watson he is one of Wigan Society’s favourite speakers. His subject next month will be Medicine and Magic the social history and customs and practice associated with disease health and ill health.

Local Master Chef, Brian Mellor, is set to cook up a storm of salad at this year’s Wigan Food and Drink Festival.
The award-winning chef will host Hazeldene’s Outdoor Market Kitchen Theatre, which takes place at 11.30am on Saturday 13th March at Wigan’s biggest culinary festival.
Hazeldene, the leading UK freshly prepared salad supplier, is sponsoring the event and with the support of Brian, will help festival goers ‘put more flavour on their plates’ and learn how to be a little more creative with all things salad. As well as gaining some top advice from Brian, attendees can look forward to demonstrations, tastings and giveaways.
Simon Ball, Hazeldene’s managing director, was delighted to announce Brian’s involvement. He said: “At Hazeldene, freshness is in everything we do, it’s in our roots, from plant to plate, to guarantee ‘best in class’ salad varieties that provide new and enticing flavours, colours, textures for consumers to enjoy in bagged salads, sandwiches, wraps, salad bowls and stir-frys.
“Brian’s approach is a perfect fit with ours, having been recommended by a friend as being honest, friendly, very professional, highly engaging and passionate during demonstrations. As a keen supporter of locally sourced produce, Brian understands the importance of such relationships, something that we share, value and are extremely proud of with local suppliers, seed houses and growers, to provide a seamless link from plant to plate.
“We’re thrilled to have him on board at our Outdoor Market Kitchen Theatre and are looking forward to seeing his creativity with Hazeldene’s produce through the three differing salad recipes he will be demonstrating on the day. We are expecting the demo to not only be informative but entertaining – something that is not to be missed! So, make sure you, your family and friends come along and taste the flavoursome dishes on offer!”
Brian, the former Executive Chef at Granada TV and Head Chef at BBC is no stranger to the kitchen, having ten years of experience of demonstrations under his hat. He currently runs a busy cookery school in Wirral, which offers the perfect opportunity, even for beginners, to learn about the freshest of food.
In between classes, Brian is the chairman of judges for the North West Young Chef Competition, as well as sitting on the judging panel for the Northern Chef of the year. He is also well established amongst celebrity TV chefs, having worked with ‘I’m a Celebrity’ king of the jungle Gino D’Acampo and TV presenter Simon Rimmer.
Pleased to be teaming up with Hazeldene at this year’s Wigan Food & Drink Festival, Brian commented: “Ever since a young age, I’ve always loved cooking so I’m really looking forward to being able to share my passion and enthusiasm for all things culinary with people from Wigan and beyond. As an active supporter of the gastronomic scene in the North West and involvement in the annual young chef competition, it will be great to be back in town to show off my skills!”
“Chefs love ‘funky’ leaves, shoots and cresses and this chef is no exception, so I’m really into what Hazeldene does. Whether it’s as a side, main on within a wrap, salad can really liven up a meal and it’s healthy too, so you can’t go wrong!”
Hazeldene’s Outdoor Market Kitchen takes place on Saturday 13th March at 11.30am until 1pm. A full festival programme is available from Wigan Tourist Information Centre (contact 01942 825677 or go to www.wlct.org/foodanddrink. For more information on Hazeldene, log on to www.hazeldene.co.uk.

Wigan’s hugely popular Food and Drink Festival is nearly upon us, and here at the Courier we can’t wait to get stuck in!
Fans of real ale will be able to raise a glass to mark the start of the ten day culinary celebration on Thursday as the 23rd Wigan CAMRA Beer Festival launches the event.
But that’s just for starters!
Culinary whizz and TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson will be cooking up a storm in Wigan Outdoor Market as part of a Love Food Hate Waste demonstration before heading to the grand Grade II listed manor house, Haigh Hall on the evening of March 10 for a special “Dinner With AWT”.
Wine expert Jilly Goolden is also hosting an evening at Haigh Hall on March 12 while Faisal Ali Choudhury will be hoping to set a new World Record by cooking up a massive batch of fish curry at The Royal Saffron, Lowton.
Those with a sweet tooth should head to Wigan town centre on March 12 and 13 for a special Sweet Tooth Fair and throughout the festival Wigan Outdoor Market will host a “Kitchen Theatre” where TV celebrities, young chefs and local chefs take part in demonstrations while passers-by can help themselves to nibbles and samples.
Fifteen of the borough’s eateries, bistros and brasseries make up this year’s Fine Food Trail offering special menus and festival treats, while more than 50,000 people are expected to enjoy Wigan’s marvelous munch of March.
The full events programme and ticket information is available from Wigan Tourist Information Centre 01942 825 677 and at www.wlct.org/foodanddrink .

Beer isn't just for Blokes, or by Blokes, says the owner of the Crown Hotel in Worthington, Dan Prince.
And to prove it Dan has organised his first ever ‘FemALE’ Real Ale Festival from Thursday 11th March to Sunday 14th March, which is of course Mothers' Day...
"We want to explode the myth that beer, beards, and beer goggles are the only connection," Dan told the Courier,"
We’re the brewery tap for Patsy, owner & award winning brewers of Prospect in Standish. She’s promised
us a barrel of the new “120” - a tribute to the late Beth Slevin.
"We’re also looking further afield for other Brewsters, great beers, and maybe one or two silly beers inspired by a love of all things female...."
Dan can be contacted on 01257 421354 or dan@thecrownatworthington.co.uk