Trans-Atlantic win for
woman who loves the sea
by David Skentelbery
A WARRINGTON woman who fell in love with the sea when she learned to sail a dinghy at the age of 11 has won the first leg of the Global Challenge round the world yacht race.
Jane Topham, 29, now faces the task of raising ?5,000 for Save the Children – the price of her “ticket” to take part in the race.
Back home in Stockton Heath after 33 days at sea, she said: “I just can’t believe I’ve won a trans-Atlantic race. It was absolutely amazing – the experience of a lifetime.”
Jane, head of communications at Barclays Bank, fought off a challenge from 74,000 other work colleagues to gain a place on the Barclays Adventurer, one of 12 40-tonne yachts taking part in the round-the-world race.
The Global Challenge race is held every four years when 12 identical yachts with amateur crews sail around the world “the wrong way” – against the prevailing winds and tides.
Jane was one of a crew of 15 aboard Barclays Adventurer when the race started from Portsmouth.
Princess Anne, patron of Save the Children, was there to see them set sail.
Said Jane: “Each yacht is identical so it is down to the skipper and crew. Each has a professional skipper but the rest are amateurs.
“It really was the adventure of a lifetime. We had a superb skipper and a great crew, but even so it was incredible to win.
“I learned to sail dinghies when I was ll – a pupil at Bridgewater High School in Warrington – and I think that helped me. When you are 11 and dumped alone in a dinghy in the Menai Straits you have to learn how to cope with whatever the weather brings you.”
Barclays Adventurer was first of the 12 yachts to reach Buenos Aires after a journey of 3,600 miles during which it endured winds of 57 knots and 50-foot waves.
On arrival the crew enjoyed a well-deserved beer and burger before flying back to Britain.
Jane said: “I wish I could have stayed with the boat for the next five legs of the race.”
Now she has to raise ?5,000 – and is looking for donations from local firms and planning to organise a raffle.
The race takes in Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town and Boston before ending in Portsmouth in July.
Cabinet minister visits
town’s fair trade stall
by David Skentelbery
CABINET minister and chief secretary to the Treasury, Paul Boateng made a brief visit to Warrington, during which he dropped in on the “Fair 4 All” fair trade stall on Warrington Market.
He visited Warrington at the invitation of Helen Southworth, MP for Warrington South.
Paul Boateng has responsibility for International Development Funding and as such was lobbied by a group of local fair trade supporters including the Christian Aid Area Co-ordinator, and representatives of Cafod, Warrington churches of various denominations and Warrington Borough Council.
He was presented with a bundle of 175 “I Vote for Trade Justice” postcards completed by Warringtion residents during the last week and raising various issues regarding Fair Trade and Third World Debt cancellation.
Warrington has recently registered its desire to become a Fair Trade town with the Fairtrade Foundation and a Steering Group has been formed to head up the campaign. Members of the group were present to meet the Minister.
Mr Boateng made several purchases from the stall before leaving.
Jackie Hancock, one of the founders of the Fair 4 All stall, said: “We were delighted Mr Boateng came to see us. He was very positive about the fair trade movement and indicated that the Government has a number of initiatives in the pipeline, particularly some which will help
African countries.”
Secret of long
life – being happy
by Gary Skentelbery
BEING happy, tee-total and a non-smoker is the secret to long life according to Mary Marston who celebrated her 100th birthday with a special party at Undercliffe House, Appleton, near Warrington.
Mary, who was born in Birmingham but moved to Warrington 73 years ago with her late husband Edward, celebrated with fellow residents and her daughter Joy Cowpar, who lives with her at Undercliffe House.
The mother of three, who has five grand children and nine great grand children, worked in a doctor’s surgery as a dispenser before moving to Warrington when her husband was company secretary at the Richmond Gas Company.
They lived on Hill Top Road, Grappenhall and Warren Drive, Appleton, before Mary moved into Undercliffe House after being widowed in 1996.
She was President of the Young Womens Christian Association (YWCA) and was still a regular at Hillcliffe Baptist Church until recently. She was also a member of Warrington Inner Wheel Club.
“I think the secret to a long life is being happy,” said Mary. “I had a happy family with no problems. I am also tee-total and a non-smoker.”
When she was younger she used to love travelling the world and her favourite country to visit was Switzerland.
“Blue bin” calendars
will help recycling
by staff reporter
CALENDARS detailing next year’s collection dates for the kerbside recycling scheme have started appearing on “blue bins” across Warrington.
They are being stuck to the underside of the bins’ lids by borough council waste management staff on collection days.
Kerbside Recycling takes place once every five weeks and households will have two opportunities to receive their calendar – so it is important that they put their bins out for collection regardless of the quantity of paper inside.
Peter Hyde, waste minimisation and recycling officer at the council, said: “The calendars detail collection dates from January 2005 to December 2005.
“They are a great way of helping people across the borough with their commendable efforts to recycle, making the process of remembering collection days easier – you just need to lift up the lid for the next emptying date.”
The Kerbside Recycling scheme has enjoyed enormous success since it was fully rolled out in the borough earlier this year.
Between 1 April and 9 November 2,087 tonnes of paper was recycled.
Coun Terry O’Neil, executive board member for environment and regeneration, said: “It is vital that recycling becomes a part of our every day lives.
“The kerbside recycling scheme is a major part of the council’s aim to aid waste minimisation and encourage recycling.
“We are very pleased with the positive response and support from the public for the scheme and we want this success and commitment to continue into the future.”
Reshaping local
tourism industry
by John Hendon
A STRATEGY has been unveiled to reshape the tourism industry in Cheshire and Warrington.
The strategy – the first of its kind – has been produced by the Cheshire and Warrington Tourism Board, in association with its key public and private sector stakeholders, to kickstart a new era of success for an industry that is seen as vital to the sub-region’s future economic prosperity.
The blueprint presents a 10-year vision to increase visitor spending to ?1.5 billion a year by 2015, sustaining 27,000 jobs.
CWTB chief executive Chris Brown said: “It’s clear that over the next 10 years, tourism in our region faces a number of considerable challenges but with our superb array of product, some really exciting opportunities exist.
“To exploit those opportunities, we need to raise the bar on our tourism-related aspirations, deliver visitor expectations more effectively and work together in a much more focused way to build the industry. The targets are ambitious but achievable, if we all work together.”
Mr Brown said Cheshire and Warrington had a tremendous range of tourism experiences on offer but too many potential visitors just didn’t know about them. The area had become too dependent on low-yield day visits and this had to be addressed.
“Cheshire’s very positive brand image needs to be reflected
in every aspect of the visitor experience, from planning and booking the trip, through to the visit itself and even to the journey home,” he said.
