Building Faith and Friendship to Foster a Supportive Catholic Community
Building Faith and Friendship to Foster a Supportive Catholic Community
Sid Moy organised a short walk based on the Ship Inn, Haskayne for September 23rd and nearly a dozen joined him and Phil. It was a pleasant day if a little damp under foot! Everything went very well and we arrived back at the Ship for lunch at 13.00. We were joined by some non-walkers bringing us to a total of 17. Lunch was most enjoyable! Here are a few pictures of the lunch:
Twenty plus brothers and wives enjoyed a great Circle weekend in the Lakes. Some pictures of the hotel and views from the terrace. An excellent weekend – great walk round the lake, enjoyable quiz in the evening and great company. Thanks to John and Norma Lumb for organising an excellent weekend. They even organised superb weather.
The Circle had a superb day for their walk through the Lancashire countryside led by Sid and Phil and well supported by both the Circle and other Circles or at least Liverpool 4! Our Membership Secretary’s two dogs provided a distraction for some especially when one of them, the female, Roxy took a mud bath to cool off. Most of the walkers went off for lunch at the Stanley Arms in Aughton although the dogs and Steve Marston-Yim’s lads (who did a great job looking after the dogs), Leo, Noah and Chay – hope I’ve spelt that right! – had to leave. The lads went off to swimming, or some of them. The lunch was enjoyed by all and we look forward to the next walk which is scheduled for August and will be around Parbold led by Ian Robinson. Thank you Sid and Phil!
Here they come up the hill!
At the parting of the ways!
A party of twenty brothers and wives attended the Spirit of Christmas concert at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Saturday 21st December. It was a most enjoyable evening with John Suchet from Classic FM as the Narrator, Ian Tracey conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Simon Emery conducting the Youth Choir and special guests from Norway, Mari and Hakon Samueslsen, on the violin and cello respectively.
There was a mixture of traditional and new music and carols, with the ever popular and unusual rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Everyone joined in the community singing. Music from Vivaldi, Rutter , Walters and Greig. In fact you may have hear a voice or two you recognised, if you listened to Classic FM at 5pm on Christmas day since the performance was recorded live for this programme.
This has been a regular event over the past ten years and it is hoped to repeat it again next year.
Steve Jones is a member of the Circle and managing director of Fairbanks Environmental, who were crowned Business of the Year at a lavish annual awards evening held in Blackpool on the 20th September organised by the Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. They were presented with the award by TV presenter Eamonn Holmes in front of 900 guests in the famous Tower Ballrooms. Known as the ‘Be Inspired Business Awards’ – the BIBAs is seen as the largest business event of its type in Lancashire.
This caps an extraordinary 12 months for the data management specialists from Skelmersdale. Where a global contract from Shell led to over 85 new jobs being created, which doubled the size of the organisation in a short period of time. Their commitment to recruitment, quality, training and development was not only recognised by their BIBAs award but has also helped them to achieve a Best Companies Accreditation and the top ‘Gold’ award from Investors in People.
Steve Jones said “This award is a recognition for the fantastic group of people that we work alongside on a daily basis. We are delighted to have been chosen amongst all of the other outstanding businesses in our region and the level of competition we faced makes us value this accolade all the more”.
Bob Conlin added “We are acutely aware of the challenging trading conditions facing our industry sector, for us as a service provider as well as for our customers, but thanks to the hard work, talent and commitment of our people we have been able to not only grow the business significantly but also give a career start to over 100 graduates in the last 18 months .”
“Business of the Year is an award that acknowledges outstanding performance in the global marketplace and I would like to congratulate Fairbanks their superb achievement. They should be praised because they are shining examples of what can be achieved, particularly in these difficult and challenging times, by people with a real aspiration to improve their business and significantly contribute to the local economy”. Babs Murphy, Chief Executive of the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, 24th September 2013
Whilst most of the Circle went to The Spirit of Christmas, there was a presence at this children’s concert. It was good fun – noisy and atmospheric with Santa Claus and elves, and reindeer outside the Philharmonic. The usual songs appeared and there were, of course, plenty to sing along with – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is comin’ to town and of course White Christmas and Jingle Bell Rock. We all had a bright and cheerful time and look forward to doing it again next Christmas!
