First Group to Raise Saver Bus Fares from Sunday 1st March

First Group Plc in Greater Manchester announced yesterday some price changes to saver tickets to come into effect on Sunday 1 March 2015. All other fares remain unchanged including all single tickets.

First's network-wide day ticket will increase by 20p, the week ticket by 50p and the month ticket by £2. Despite these increases, saver tickets remain cheaper than in 2012. For example the day ticket is 30p cheaper (£4.50 vs £4.20) and the week ticket is still more than 20% cheaper (£18 vs £14). Customers currently paying £50 for a month ticket can avoid any increase by switching to buying their month ticket via their mobile.

All other ticket prices are unchanged including single fares which have not increased since 2012. Other value for money tickets including the Young Persons 16-18 week ticket at £10 are also unchanged.

First explained that some rises were necessary to meet increasing costs of operation and to provide a solid business platform to drive further service improvement for customers in 2015. In the last 12 months alone First has invested over £12m* in new buses across Manchester as well as investing in initiatives such as mobile ticketing to improve service quality for customers together with training & development for staff. Plans are now also in place to introduce Wi-Fi on buses and real time information for customers on First buses in Manchester this Spring.

Ian Humphreys, Head of Commercial for First in Manchester said: "Despite having to absorb increasing costs, I'm very pleased that we've been able to hold the prices of most of our fares. It means that the majority of our customers will benefit by paying exactly the same for bus travel."

"However, most costs associated with operating buses are increasing and therefore we need to review our fares from time-to-time to take account of rising costs and ensure we can continue to invest in improving services for our customers in future. In 2014 we've introduced a number of improvements for customers including luxury buses, new cross-city routes and a range of fares and ticketing initiatives.

"These price changes will help support the extensive 7-day network of services offered across Manchester, many of which are largely dependent upon fares from customers to cover their operating costs.

"I appreciate nobody likes it when prices go up but we have worked hard to keep any increases to a minimum. The cost of travel on a First bus still represents excellent value-for-money, and customers can continue to enjoy unlimited travel across the network for less than £2** per day.

"Our aim in 2015 is to continue to give value-for-money to our customers and to build upon the customer growth we have delivered over the last two years."

Here are the details of the changes:

Annual Ticket
Online/by phone - Increases from £500 to £520

Monthly Ticket
Online/by phone/from TfGM Travelshops - Increases from £50 to £52
Using our mTicket App - Increases from £48 to £50

Weekly Ticket
Adult - Increases from £13.50 to £14
Child - Increases from £6.70 to £7

Day Ticket
Adult - Increases from £4 to £4.20
Child - Increases from £2 to £2.10
Group - Increases from £8.60 to £9

Night Ticket
Adult - Increases from £4 to £4.20

Special saver products
No changes to:
Rochdale Road Day/Week
SuperSaver
Quids in
Wilmslow Road Day/Week
Bolton 519 Week
Tameside Day

Single Tickets
No changes

*£12m in 61 new buses, services 41, 42 & 348/350
**Based on a month ticket at £52 across 4 weeks

Torchbearer Preview from Milnrow Band in Whitworth

Blackpool's Winter Garden's, the venue for the NW Regional Champs on 01/03.

Milnrow Band will be holding an open rehearsal on the Regional Championships set-work ‘The Torchbearer’ by Peter Graham, at Whitworth Community High School, Whitworth, Rochdale, OL12 8TS, on Thursday 26th February, starting at 8.00pm.

The band explain: “We will once again be throwing open the doors to our preparation ahead of this year’s North West Regional Championships on Sunday 1st March."

Audience members will get an insider view of the band's preparation of 'The Torchbearer' and a key insight in to the piece by Musical Director, Mark Bentham.

Car parking and entry are both free.

http://bit.ly/MBTorchbearerPreview

Milnrow Band at the NW Regional Championships Preview

Boarshurst Band Club was the venue for the North West Area Brass Band Championships Preview Evening which was held last Sunday evening.

Organised by the band club, this now annual local event, provides an insight into the test pieces to be played at the Area Championships in the Winter Gardens Blackpool on Sunday 1st March. Four local bands were invited to represent their respective sections and demonstrate to a packed and appreciative audience how far along the 'road to perfection' weeks of rehearsals had taken them.

'Mock Adjudication' was provided by David Horsfield, executive member of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators (ABBA) and he provided constructive criticism and advice after each performance.

Milnrow Band (under the baton of Mark Bentham) was first on stage and commenced with a couple of warm up pieces. First was the march 'The Thin Red Line' by Kenneth J Alford. First published in 1925 the march was in memory of a defence by the 93rd Highlanders (The Argylls) at the battle of Balaclava. This was followed by a short sample of the late Eric Ball's music before the band launched into the Championship Section set test piece 'The Torchbearer', variations based on themes from the music of Eric Ball and composed in his style by Peter Graham. An entertaining and well balanced performance.

Sale Brass then took to the stage with Joshua Hughes at the helm and commenced with the march '

Goldcrest'. Composed by the well respected Salvationist the late James Anderson, this bright march is more suited to the 'festival' rather than the 'processional'. The fourth section test piece 'An English Pastorale' by Dean Jones was then given an airing by the Sale band . Comprising of four sections depicting autumn, spring, summer and winter in, various rural settings, this music though perhaps not overly technically demanding has its pitfalls and nevertheless is musically pleasing to the listener.

Greenfield Band, were representatives of the third section and under MD Tom Haslam we were treated to a well rehearsed 'Evolution, Five States of Change' by Philip Sparke. Comprising of five movements depicting emotional cyclic relationships between the five elements of life, meditation, anger, fear, sorrow and joy - the music evolves organically, each movement evolving from the musical elements at the end of the previous one.

Delph Band (2nd Section) under the direction of Phil Goodwin was last band to perform and opened up with Eric Ball's 'Star Lake' (named after the Salvation Army retreat in Bloomingdale New Jersey), followed by the hymn tune 'Abide With Me'. The band's test piece 'Variations on Maccabeus' by Salvationist Kevin Norbury followed, based on a theme 'See,The Conquering Hero Comes' from Handel's oratorio Judas Maccabeus. The item features four varying styles, first scherzando, then comes the emotional core of the piece followed by the lightness of a Viennese waltz. Then the final section with it's declamatory unisons and an accelerando which will require a lot of rehearsals by bands in order for it to sound natural.

In his final summing up David Horsfield said he appreciated the hard work which had been put in by the bands to reach the standard exhibited, and hoped that his remarks would be helpful to the directors and their bands in achieving satisfactory results at Blackpool on the 1st March.

Thanks were accorded to Mr Horsfield for his services and to the bands, and the audience for their participation. Finally the Boarshurst Band and Boarshurst Club must be thanked for once again organising the event and for their generous support and sponsorship of Brass Banding in the North West.

Ken Watts - President

Milnrow Band

Cheeki Monkeys BIG Baby & Children's Market comes to Milnrow

Cheeki Monkeys BIG Baby & Children's Market comes to Butterworth Hall, Milnrow this Sunday (1st March). Running between 10am and 12pm, the market provides large savings on quality, gently used babies' and children’s toys, clothes and equipment..

The events provide a place for local families to make money while recycling unwanted items. Also on offer are homemade tasty treats, handmade and unique crafts and a way for parents to find out more from local businesses with a family focus.

For further information join the event on Facebook. http://bit.ly/CheekiMonkeysButterworthHall

Milnrow Juniors FC 15/16 Club Kit to be Sponsored by Cowell-Norford

Photo credit: Milnrow Juniors FC & EV2 Sportswear

Milnrow Juniors FC have unveiled their new club kit for the 2015/16 season, the kits will be sponsored by local estate agents Cowell-Norford.

The kit, now provided by EV2 Sportswear, is said to be more robust than previous kits due to the use of sublimation printing, which should mean no more sponsor logos or player numbers peeling off. They can also be washed at very high temperatures without worry of shrinking, colour run or fading and will last much longer than standard football kits.

www.milnrowjuniors.net

RKT Trust Goes to the Races

The RKT Trust will be hosting a free 'Race Night' evening at Milnrow Cricket Club on Saturday 21st March. Doors and bar open at 7pm with the first race at 7:45pm.

Show that you are attending by joining their event on Facebook. http://bit.ly/RKTTrustRaceNight

The RKT Trust Fund was established in early 2013 following the tragic death of Ryan Taylor in October 2012. Ryan was an extremely popular young man loved by family and his many friends and it is these people who have got together to found The RKT Trust Fund.

The aim of the fund is to raise money for young people’s charities and projects within the North West.

The Ladybarn Pub to Close

The Ladybarn pub is due to close its doors to the public tomorrow, Sunday 22nd February, after being sold by Auction.

There has been a pub on the Harbour Lane site since the early 1900s when the Lancashire stone farm house and barn were converted. JW Lees bought the pub in 2008 when they renamed it 'The Wishing Well' but subsequently reverted back to the current Ladybarn name when locals didn't take to the name change.

It is still unclear what will happen to the pub and at the time of writing JW Lees have not made comment.

Milnrow Band Opens Up For 2015.

Milnrow Band, under Musical Director Mark Bentham, commenced its season of concerts for 2015 at Boarshurst Band Club on Sunday, and from the rousing first item, 'Enter the Galaxies', by Paul Lovatt Cooper, to the final curtain call offering, an arrangement of 'Deep Harmony', the band was in fine form and gave its usual impeccable performance.

Introduced and welcomed by Boarshurst Club's Janet Payne, the band settled in to entertain the audience with a complete and brand new programme chosen by MD Mark Bentham to give a new and fresh impetus and approach for 2015.

After the first item, the overture 'A Morning Noon and Night' (in Vienna) followed. One of composer Franz Von Suppe's earliest works it kept up the pace.

This was followed by a beautiful solo rendering on soprano cornet by Kenny Pain of 'On with the Motley', from Leon Cavallo's Italian opera Pagliacci, and arranged for brass band by Ray Farr. This item expresses the heartbreak of a clown and the original opera premiered in 1892.

Kenneth J Alford's (alias Frederick Joseph Ricketts 1891-1945) march 'The Thin Red Line' preceded the second solo item 'Slavische Fantasie' (composed by Carl Hohne) which featured the immaculate and dexterous playing of Mick Morris on Euphonium.

We were then treated to a little used musical offering titled 'Five and Threes' a jovial composition by the late John Golland, originally written and scored for the James Shepherd Versatile Brass, and spotlighting individual section soloists.

To complete the first half, the band gave its first public performance of the North West Regional Championships test piece 'The Torchbearer', by Peter Graham, which will see the band in competition with other top class bands from the North West Region at the Winter Gardens Blackpool on Sunday 1 March.

Milnrow Band at the Royal Albert Hall in 2013.

After a short interval the band launched into an unannounced quick fire item, the title of which had the more mature of the audience wondering, although they did realise it was the introductory music for the BBC's 'Dick Barton Special Agent' back in the late 1940s and 1950s. The title was announced, and of course it was 'Devil's Galop', since used by the BBC in later radio productions.

Natalie Beer on Flugel Horn chose the lovely Scottish traditional piece 'My Ain Folk' with which to beguile the audience and received well earned applause from the knowledgeable crowd.

Film Music was then highlighted, as the audience intently listened to the themes from 'Harry Potter' and then 'Superman' (arranged by Ray Farr), both from the pen of John Williams. Born in 1932 the prolific Williams has composed for many of the block buster movies associated with producer Steven Spielberg.

Between the two aforementioned items, Gordon Clarke took centre stage with his EEb Tuba and wowed us with his version of the exacting 'Largo Al Factotum' from Rossini's Opera 'Barber of Seville', which was followed by a full band version of 'Scarborough Fair', to complete this well received first concert of 2015.

Janet Payne thanked the band and soloists for putting on a "brilliant concert" and stressed the importance of "good support playing behind each soloist".

Report courtesy of Ken Watts, President of Milnrow Band.