Tourism Strategy Released

"An action plan to help the British tourism industry achieve its potential as part of Britain’s growth strategy has been unveiled by Tourism Minister John Penrose.

The strategy aims to exploit the opportunities of next year’s Olympics and Diamond Jubilee to help attract an extra four million overseas visitors over the next four years, bringing in an extra £2 billion of spending and creating thousands of jobs.

Proposals include simplifying the process of getting tourist visas, helping to improve staff skills in the tourism sector and consulting on whether to lengthen the tourism season by moving the May Day bank holiday."

Read more on the DCMS website

Howard Raynor to be remembered at the Bridgewater Hall

Howard Raynor and his extraordinary life will be celebrated at the Bridgewater Hall on Friday April 1st at 11am. Friends, colleagues and family will join together to remember Howard in the venue where he made his name in the city he loved.

During the first 5 years of World Class Service, so many of you will have got to know Howard, either directly or through one of our many projects. The celebration at the Hall is open to anyone who would like to join us to remember him.

If you would like to attend, please get in touch

Manchester Core Strategy 2012-27 available now

The Core Strategy is the key document in Manchester's Local Development Framework and covers a period of 15 years from 2012 to 2027. It describes Manchester today and outlines the council's vision for Manchester in 2027 along with the planning policies which will be used to deliver that vision.

You can view and comment on it here

QED. Manchester. Question. Explore. Discover.

QED comes to Manchester in February. We spoke to Dr. Janis Bennion, a neuroscientist from the University of Manchester to find out exactly what QED is.

If this all sounds very cerebral, don't worry. It certainly will be but it sounds like it will a lot of fun too. Dr. Janis Bennion explains.

What is the QED conference and how did it come to be?

QED, or Question. Explore. Discover. is a two-day science and skepticism event, being held in Manchester in February next year. It'll be a huge amount of fun; we've put a lot into bringing interesting, inspiring, and entertaining speakers from all sorts of backgrounds to Manchester to talk about their passions. From Jon Ronson (pictured) discussing new material from his upcoming book, to BBC favourie Jim Alkhalili and even Eugenie Scott, over from the USA to talk about her battle against creationism in the science classroom. At the same time, we still want to keep it accessible and fun for everyone, so there'll be lots of mingling, and a breakout room for panel sessions and workshops. For those unfamiliar with the term, skepticism is a questioning attitude, and 'skeptics' need claims to be well supported by evidence. If you're interested in critical thinking, and love the role science plays in understanding the world around us, helping to explain the 'unexplainable', this is for you!

QED came about from a discussion between two non-profit organisations; our 'Greater Manchester Skeptics' and 'The Merseyside Skeptics'. We'd enjoyed having support from each other or the monthly events we put on, and we agreed that something like this was certainly lacking from the North West. Despite it being a rather daunting task for small fry like us, we decided that we could make it happen as a collaborative effort.

There's a whole weekend full of great speakers and sessions. Are there any particular guests or events about which you are particularly excited?

It's hard to know where to begin with this, but since I got interested in skepticism after listening to 'The Skeptics Guide to the Universe' podcast, I have to admit that I'm thrilled that SGU host Steve Novella (pictured) will be speaking at QED... Actually I can't quite believe it! On the other hand, as a scientist interested in science communication, you can't help but be floored by the magnificent Eugenie Scott. If you're not sure- just go and find her on youtube- you'll be in awe too! Okay, I'm going to have to be careful here because I could easily go through the whole list and tell you why I think they're amazing...but then, that's kind of the point!

Manchester has got so many close links with science and progressive thinking. Is that why you chose to hold the QED conference here?

When we got together to talk about QED for the first time, we discussed possible locations for the event. The North West in general is a fantastic place for science these days, with fantastic Universities all over the place, and great 'buzzing' cities. Ultimately, we chose Manchester for the event because it had pretty much everything we were looking for- great venues, for the event itself and the fringe events we were planning, fantastic transport links- both for our speakers and for those wishing to attend the event from outside the area. There's also great bars and restaurants for those wanting to venture into the city.

Getting back to the science part of your question; Manchester is certainly a great place for a science and rational thinking event. We have great universities, but also- and often more relevant to people in the city day-to-day- we have great opportunities for people to get together and discuss issues, and learn new things in groups scattered across the city. We're organising some outreach activities around QED as fringe events with groups like these, and also with the Manchester Museum. It's really wonderful how approachable all these groups have been. I'm certainly learning a lot about Manchester as we progress with QED, and I really like what I see.

Thanks to Dr. Janis Bennion. For more information, visit www.qedcon.org

Last Minute Christmas ideas for Mancunians

It's getting late now so here's some last minute christmas ideas:

You could, of course, buy everyone socks or an Xbox but you could support the local economy and give some truly brilliant gifts at the same time. We think that's a good way to go so we're putting together a list of gift ideas with a difference which support Manchester businesses and celebrate everything that's good about this fine city of ours.

One for nature lovers (tickets to a World Premiere)

The ideal last minute Christmas presents is tickets. You can buy as many as you like for as many people as you like and not have to worry about postage or fighting through the crowds. What better then than tickets to a World Premiere of a stunning new concert?

Manchester-based World Class Service Ltd have teamed up with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the world's best Natural History film makers to make this stunning new live concert experience. The World Premier is in Liverpool on January 8th. There's a matinee at 2.30pm (as well as one at 7.30pm) so it's easy to get to and from Liverpool and makes for an excellent family outing or even a Hot (cold) date.

Experience the mighty RLPO playing the likes of Sibelius, Beethoven and Bach set to the most stunning footage of the Polar regions.



For tickets, visit www.polarconcert.com

Something for your Science-obsessed friends

The QED conference is a brand new 2 day celebration of all that's true and interesting in Manchester in February. Speakers include Jon Ronson of "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and Simon Singh who decided to try to bring about Libel Reform in the UK.

Tickets are £99 for the whole weekend of talks and activities. Not your average Christmas present but that's not what this list is about. Imagine the joy on the face of your sceptical friend on Christmas morning...and the pub conversations you'll be having for weeks after the event...

Not to mention the fact that any profits go to Sense About Science and The National Autistic Society

Something for the film buff

Manchester's Cornerhouse is something for us Mancunians to be proud of and the recent announcement of the alliance with The Library Theatre brings together two greats of the Manchester arts scene. For the film lover on your present list, there can be little better than membership of the Cornerhouse. For £25, you get exclusive offers and discounts and the chance to experience simply brilliant opportunities like having a Q&A with Chris Morris


A handmade gift, made right here in Manchester

Manchester Craft Centre is home to all sorts of independant, creative people. It's in the Northern Quarter and is the place to be if you want an individual, beautiful, hand-made gift. Jewellery, art, scultptures etc. Take a break from the high street shops and find something out of the ordinary for someone you love's stocking.

We'll keep looking for more and updating the list so keep checking back.

Over a thousand people use the Manchester10 iphone app

The free Manchester10 iPhone app is no stranger to regular visitors to this blog and it is growing in popularity and usage across the city. Over a thousand people now use the app regularly to give them quick look at what's happening in Manchester.

On any given night or day, Manchester is packed to the brim with a wide variety of special events, restaurants, concerts, places to have a drink etc. etc. etc. To produce a website to cover it all is tantamount to trying to create a Death Star. Great fun, obviously, but ultimately all too cumbersome. That's why we produce the Top Ten Things to do in Manchester and make it available for free on this blog and to iPhone users.

The iPhone version is updated throughout the week and the blog version is updated on a Monday. Nobody pays to be on the list. The only way events, places and things are listed is by being outstanding.

Thanks to everyone who uses and enjoys the list. It's a labour of love for us. This is our city and we're simply pinpointing 10 great things to do in it each week.

The Library Theatre has a new home

This looks like fantastic news to us so here's the press release in full:

Plans have now been confirmed for the Library Theatre Company’s new home and we are delighted to announce our brilliant and exciting new opportunity.

From 2014 a brand new building situated at the top of First Street*, will be The Library Theatre’s permanent base.

And it won’t just be a theatre. Cornerhouse are looking for a new home too and our two organisations will be working in partnership in this new world-class arts facility.

The building will boast a 500 seat-theatre, up to five cinemas, 600 sq m of contemporary gallery space, an education space and informal and outdoor performance spaces as well as an impressive café and state-of-the-art back of house facilities. It will enable LTC and Cornerhouse to work collaboratively, creating a major cross-artform production centre and ‘arts factory’.

Investigations into the refurbishment of the Theatre Royal, (the original proposal for the LTC’s relocation), and further architectural work have proved that it would not be possible for the building to match the ambitions of the company.

The relocation to the new cultural facility will allow The Library Theatre Company to enrich the theatre programme and extend and broaden the community and education offer.

Chris Honer, Artistic Director of the Library Theatre Company, said: “This is terrific news for Manchester audiences and the Library Theatre Company. It will enable the company to develop and expand its work and achieve its aspirations. The artistic potential of the collaboration with Cornerhouse is immense.”

Dave Moutrey, director and chief executive of Cornerhouse, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to create a unique, audience-focused centre for the arts and we are thrilled to be at the heart of it. We’re looking forward to collaborating with the Library Theatre Company to make the best use of our skills and resources to develop a financially sustainable artistic and social hub, that secures Manchester’s position as a leading destination on the UK’s cultural map.”

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure for Manchester City Council said “These are extraordinarily exciting proposals which will create a world-class new cultural attraction. Combining the undoubted strengths and growing audiences of the Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company will allow the two companies to expand and flourish.”