Author: darren

Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s pantomime has been entertaining the people of Oldham and the North West for generations and has become famous for its pitch-perfect mix of traditional pantomime with a modern twist.

This year’s panto Cinderella has already garnered a string of four and five star reviews. It has all the ingredients you need for a magical experience – music and songs, slapstick and a sprinkling of fairy dust, all played out by a cast of professional actors and a team of very talented young dancers in the chorus.

I photographed two shows and I can highly recommend Cinderella for all ages. Very very funny and highly entertaining!!

PDM Scaffolding asked me to photograph a complex project at Browns Bar and Brasserie in Manchester city centre this week.

PDM Scaffolding are a team of three scaffolders with over 40 years experience in the scaffolding industry. They have been working on many types of scaffolding jobs from simple scaffolding to highly technical scaffolding.

Operating across the whole of the Greater Manchester region they have erected scaffolding in the city centre, worked on scaffolding for churches, designed and erected complex systems for those projects that require that extra expertise.  They have erected scaffolding for those windows that are in the hard to reach places but really could do with a clean!

There really isn’t a job type they haven’t already worked on.

If you have one please let them know as they love working on those bizarre and interesting jobs.

PDM Scaffolding are fully qualified, polite, professional and always strive for customer satisfaction. If you’re looking for a scaffolding specialist who does that little extra then please look no further than PDM Scaffolders.

http://www.pdm-scaffolding.co.uk/

Troop of Tommies silhouettes stand in silent tribute at this morning’s launch of the 11 Days of Remembrance at Portland Basin, Ashton. #TamesideRemembers #WW1centenary

Las Iguanas recently re-opened its restaurant in Liverpool after a refurbishment….

‘We live for food, and to bring food alive – with an irresistible bolt of Latin American energy. We rise at the crack of dawn to unload boxes of top-quality, fresh British produce. Then our chefs add carefully sourced ingredients from around the world, to conjure delicious, authentic South American food, made with passion, love and lots of Latin magic. Our food pulses with its exotic 16th Century roots – a mouth-watering confusion of native Latin American Indian, Spanish, Portuguese and African influences. Las Iguanas is an adventure. You’ll discover new tastes, and fall in love with new favourites – and feel the warmth and welcome of South America’.

Our ethos is refreshingly simple. We want to bring authentic South America to every table, every day – in a place that lives and breathes Latin. We use the freshest food, and the highest quality ingredients. We source from the best possible places – and try to be GM free. We’ve been with some of our suppliers for many years, and proudly support native South American businesses, like our coffee supplier, Daterra (who are Rainforest Alliance certified), and our cachaça partners, Magnifica, who grow our very own organic sugar cane – mixed only with local spring water during distillation.

VWORP…… an independent celebration of Dr Who took place today at The Printworks in Manchester.

A trio of past Doctors attended…. Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Paul McGann, to give autographs, have photographs taken with fans and take part in Q&A sessions.

Lots of other companions, monsters, writers, directors, producers and crew made appearances throughout the day.

THE Professional Oldham business networking group held a gin-tasting night at Gallery Oldham, with a local gin company and Handelsbanken.

The tasting event featured a talk from Paul Sheerin of Defiance Gin, based in Lees, Oldham.

Visitors had a chance to see a British Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition at Gallery Oldham – along with its rooftop garden and panoramic views across Oldham towards Saddleworth.

Suzanne Wright of Pearson Solicitors & Financial Advisers welcomed guests and spoke about Professional Oldham’s growth over the past two years, recalling its debut wine tasting night which took place at the nearby Naked Bean Café in the summer of 2016.

Handelsbanken Oldham branch manager Scott Parkinson then gave a speech about the bank’s work in the borough and introduced colleagues Chris Ainsworth, Wendy Mawdsley and Nicola Mitchell. The Oldham branch of Handelsbanken opened at Salmon Fields Business Village in 2015. Since then, its staff have become regular attendees at Oldham business and charity events. Earlier this year, Handeslbanken organised a quiz for businesses which raised £1,500 for Mahdlo Youth Zone in Oldham.

Paul Sheerin, of Defiance Gin, offered a number of different gins to taste, with different ‘botanicals’ for flavour. These included one flavoured with British strawberries and another Italian gin served with grapefruit.  His own Defiance Gin is made in small batches with ‘botanicals’ gathered across the north of England – Lancashire, Yorkshire – and Scotland.

For news and photos of Professional Oldham over the past two years, see Oldham Business Edge magazine, the Oldham Chronicle Online and The Oldham Times, and Darren Robinson Photography.

Professional Oldham is a non-profit making networking group for local businesses. It is run by a volunteer steering group with Suzanne Wright of Pearson Solicitors & Financial Advisers, Bridget Batty of Limetree PR, Stephanie Doherty and Helan Graham, both of Caremark Oldham; Robbie MacDonald of Oldham Business Edge magazine and Cornerstone Design & Marketing; and Dr Kershaw’s Hospice.

Failsworth Sports Centre hosted the Failsworth Junior Triathlon on Saturday.

Supported by British Triathlon and organised by Oldham Community Leisure, this was the second year the event was staged and attracted dozens of children between the ages of 8 and 14.

Event 1 was open to 8-10s with a 50m swim, an 800m cycle ride and a 400m run.

Event 2 was open to 11-14s with a 200m swim, a 2K cycle ride and finishing with a 1200m run.

Well done to everyone involved..!!

Healthwatch Oldham held its Forum in Alexandra Park last Saturday.  Dozens of families enjoyed lots of activities including a fancy dress fun run.

Healthwatch is the new independent “consumer champion” for health and social care. It has been set up to help people all over the country who use services to have a powerful influence in how services are run, as well as to help people to make informed choices about the health and social care options open to them.

Healthwatch operates on two levels:

Healthwatch England gives a national voice to the issues identified by your local Healthwatch. It uses the evidence gathered from across the country to highlight major issues and seek change in the policy, regulation and delivery of health and social care services. For more information, visit www.healthwatch.co.uk

Local Healthwatch operates in the same areas as each local council. It will take the experiences of local people and use them to influence local services.

Healthwatch Oldham is independently governed by an appointed governance board, made up of ‘lay people’

Oldham Council has contracted Action Together to support the establishment of Healthwatch Oldham and its governance arrangements; and to provide the influencing and signposting functions.

Last week I was asked by the Association of Technical Lightning and Access Specialists (ATLAS) to photograph one of their members Delta International from Oldham. They were preparing a 98m steel chimney for painting at a chemical plant.

The Association of Technical Lightning & Access Specialists (ATLAS) has been representing the leading players in the lightning protection and specialist access sector since 1946. At the forefront of all industry developments, ATLAS is committed to improving working practices, technical excellence and the skills of the workforce to provide the highest quality service to the industry’s clients.

Delta International is an engineering company dedicated to the design, inspection, modification, maintenance and demolition of chimneys, cooling towers, flare stacks, process columns, pipe work, tanks, vessels and other tall industrial structures. Their site personnel are specially trained operatives and have developed specialist equipment and methods for working at height and in situations where access is awkward or difficult for conventional procedures.

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to do an industrial photography shoot on the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

I was working for the Association of Technical Lightning and Access Specialists (ATLAS) and photographing one of their members Stone Technical Services from Darlington. They were preparing one of the bell towers for removal of the bells for restoration.

The following is taken from St Paul’s Cathedral’s website…..

After nearly 140 years of service the 12 bells of St Paul’s are due to have the most major restoration in their history.

Following the traditional New Year peal, the final time they rang this year, the bells will be removed from the north west tower later in January and taken to the foundry of John Taylor & Co in Loughborough, where they were cast in 1878. There they will be cleaned to remove a thick layer of grime and fitted with new moving parts to improve their performance. 

During the bells’ restoration, the timber bellframe will be strengthened to preserve it for many more years. The ringing room, where the ringers operate, will be fitted with better lighting and the historic records of the peals that have been rung at significant moments in history will be restored. New records will be added to the ringing room walls for the peals rung for the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees and the three Olympic and Paralympic Marathons in 2012.

This will only be the third time in their history that the bells have been silent for any length of time, the previous occasions being the two World Wars and a period from 1925 to 1930 when the Cathedral itself was closed for major building works. However, the towers will not be entirely silent, as the clock bells, including Great Tom, in the south west tower will continue to sound, as will the original service bell which dates from 1700.

The work has been made possible by generous donations from the Corporation of London and the seven livery companies who originally gave the bells, bellringing charities, individual ringers including the Cathedral’s own company and other donors.

It is hoped that the bells will be back in operation in time for their 140th birthday on 1st November 2018. With routine maintenance the bells should then be good for another 140 years.

The Reverend Canon Michael Hampel, Precentor of St Paul’s, said, ‘The call to worship of bells is a sound that threads itself through the history of western Christianity and is part of the fabric of the British nation. This exciting project will ensure that the bells of St Paul’s continue to signal the Church’s presence to the City and to the World.’