Liverpool businesses are rallying to support young lifesavers from across Europe to ensure they have a fantastic and memorable time in the Capital of Culture when they descend upon the city for the Red Cross’s prestigious First Aid Convention Europe - FACE 08 - which is being held here next month.

The fundraising initiative is being backed by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is encouraging member organisations to sponsor the visiting delegations from 30 European countries. The FACE event has two distinct elements; a major conference at the city’s stunning BT Convention Centre and a competition where international teams will be awarded points based on their ability to deal with a series of simulated disasters being staged in Sefton and Greenbank parks.

Liverpool Chamber Chief Executive Jack Stopforth explained why the Chamber was getting involved in supporting the event.

“It is a great privilege for Liverpool to be staging this event this year. The Red Cross are first on the scene at every international disaster and FACE 08 is a hugely important gathering for delegates to come together to share the latest techniques and best practice and hone their life saving skills. All the delegates and participants are volunteers and they are all paying their own way to get here. The organisers want all our European guests to experience authentic scouse hospitality and get the very best from their visit. That’s why we are encouraging local businesses to sponsor a visiting country and help pay for the hospitality programme.”

Merseyside Red Cross Operations Director John Sutherland, is proud to be hosting the event and determined to ensure that it lives up to the highly successful events held in Limerick and Assisi in recent years.

“I am delighted that our guests will be seeing Liverpool in this fantastic year and will be experiencing the outstanding facilities at the Convention Centre. We have put together a number of activities and events to make their stay as memorable as possible including a ride on a Mersey ferry to see Liverpool’s world famous waterfront. I am delighted that The Chamber of Commerce has stepped forward with this initiative to help cover the costs of this hospitality programme. I am sure that Liverpool’s big-hearted business community will respond with typical generosity.”
For £1000, the sponsors will get an advert in the FACE 08 program, a chance to attend the competition to cheer on their team, as well as free exhibition opportunity at the conference which will be attended by 1500 UK and European delegates.

Face 08 is taking place between Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd June. On Friday June 20th the teams will proudly parade into the Echo Arena wearing their country’s colours, hoping to claim one of the trophies.

For further information about FACE 08 or if you’d like to sponsor a team then please contact Julie Shannon or Chris Bogin at October Communications on 0151 236 2323 or email julieshannon@octobercomms.co.uk or ChrisBogin@octobercomms.co.uk

Train times for passengers travelling from and to Chester and Ellesmere Port change and Merseyrail is running more 6-car trains to increase capacity. The changes are a result of Merseyrail’s improvement plan to create a more robust and reliable service on the Chester line based on passenger feed back.

The new service pattern means that Merseyrail trains from Chester now depart on the hour and on the half hour (at ‘00 and ‘30) towards Liverpool throughout the day. Departures from Ellesmere Port to Liverpool are at ‘19 and ‘49 minutes past the hour throughout the day.

During the morning and evening peaks additional trains will run from Chester and Ellesmere Port creating a 4 trains per hour service for commuters to/from Liverpool during the peaks. This is unchanged from the current frequencies during the peaks.

The changes create more recovery time during the morning and evening peaks leading to better punctuality and reliability of the service. This announcement coincides with the re-opening of the front entrance of James Street Station after an intense programme of refurbishment.

In response to growing numbers of passengers and in partnership with Merseytravel, more of the trains from Chester in the morning peak and to Chester in the evening peak will consist of 6-cars. This also applies to Saturdays when many Chester services will be formed of 6-car trains.

Bart Schmeink, Merseyrail’s Managing Director said: “Passengers on the Chester line have given us a loud and clear message. And I agree with them; I want their trains to be as punctual and reliable as the rest of the Merseyrail network. Together with Merseytravel we have been able to respond quickly. The changes won’t just benefit Chester; they will also benefit all passengers travelling from and to South Wirral stations as there will be more 6-car trains for them as a result”.

Over a week after the devastating earthquake measuring a massive 7.9 on the Richter scale in Sichuan province, China and the rest of the world, are still coming to terms with the magnitude of this tragedy.

• An estimated 71,000 thousand have been killed, buried or remain unaccounted for.
• 5,000,000 are now homeless and in need of support.
• 220,000 have been injured, many of them children.
• The devastation zone measures an area of approximately 100,000 square kilometres (40,000 square miles) — an area roughly three quarters the size of England. Entire towns in mountainous Sichuan province were flattened in Monday’s quake, and have subsequently been hit by further aftershocks and landslides, making the ongoing search for any remaining survivors impossible.

With rescue operations across Sichuan continuing, providing accommodation and medicine to those lucky to survive is now critical.

Tents, medicines & equipment are in short supply and are urgently needed. We appeal to the business community in the UK to help in supporting the effort to collect donated and purchased tents and medicines for China’s earthquake zones. The Chinese Embassy and Consulate General will help in making arrangements at the China end to ensure a speedy delivery to the Earthquake area.

Please contact ChinaLink (0151 227 1233 email: chinalink@liverpoolchamber.org.uk if you are able to help in one or more of the following areas:

1. Donation of tents (family size / unused in original package)
2. Donation of medicines & other equipment (see the list below)
3. Offer of discounted supply of tents and medicines
4. Donation of cash (we will use these to purchase discounted supply of tents and medicine)
5. Offer of airfreight the tents and medicines to China

Any enquiry should be directed to Dr. Kegang Wu, Director of ChinaLink / Chief China Adviser, British Chambers of Commerce on kegang.wu@britishchambers.org.uk / 07974753528

This document and the list of medicines and equipment is also available at www.chinalink.org.uk

This appeal is supported by:

• The Consulate General, The Peoples’ Republic of China in Manchester
• The British Chambers of Commerce
• ChinaLink
• Liverpool Chamber of Commerce & Industry
• Susino (UK) Ltd.

Click ‘more’ for the full list of medicines and equipment needed.

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