Events at the Gujurat Hindu Society

One of the most beautiful buildings constructed in the last decade in Preston has to be the Gujurat Hindu Society Temple, with its magnificent and intricately carved marble dome.

Inside there are a whole host of activities going on.

Tomorrow, there will be a 'Health Mela', an event with over 80 stalls promoting different aspects of health, everyone with health needs is welcome, which basically means everyone.

Other events include:

HOLISTIC LIVING COURSE - 30th March 2009

INDIAN VEGETARIAN COOKERY CLASSES - Starting soon - Register immediately.

Exercise Sessions for all - Every Thursday 5.00pm to 7.00pm - FREE

Hair & Beauty classes every Monday - 6.00pm to 8.00pm - FREE

Yoga for all starting from Feb 9th - 6.30pm to 7.30pm

Bhagavad Gita classes - Every Wednesday

Yoga for elderly - every Tuesday 1.00pm to 3.00pm - FREE

Computer Classes -Every Monday & Wednesday - 6.30 - 8.30pm

Registrations open for Sewing , Hair & Beauty, Aerobics, Holistic, Harmonium, Classical dance, Tabla, Gujarati Classes for Adults

Contact Activity Officer Ms.Dipti Thakkar for Registrations on 01772 -253912

You can find out much more about the Gujurati Hindu Society at their website: http://www.ghspreston.co.uk/index.html

Down by the River

Arguably one of the best things about living in Broadgate is the view.

No matter where you turn, especially when walking down by the river, there’s usually some gorgeous setting that captures the eye. Like these, for example.
Arguably one of the best things about living in Broadgate is the view.

No matter where you turn, especially when walking down by the river, there’s usually some gorgeous setting that captures the eye. Like these, for example.

Damo Suzuki sets Broadgate Alight

Ex-CAN rock star Damo Suzuki played the New Continental last night, with backing from the Three Dimensional Tanx. I was there to see it, and I met my old friend WB there. He's emailed me this review of the gig, he seems to have enjoyed it even more than me:

Hi River,
great to hook up with you again after all this time. I wrote this as soon as I came down from the Damo Suzuki gig, I wonder if it's the kind of thing you'd like to put up on the 'Broadgate Is Great' blog?

Damo Suzuki and the Three Dimensional Tanx played a blistering gig at the New Continental last night. Noone would believe that they had never played together before.

The night began with a gaunt, bespectacled guy creating ambient sound with his electric guitar, looping it artfully to create layer after layer of texture, emotion and power. I found myself gradually, imperceptibly, drawn into his vibe - a cool spacy mellow harmonic playground for the mind. I felt the audience applause was not adequate for the skill and musical instinct displayed by this guy, had his work been enhanced by video images or polychromatic lighting effects I guess more people would have understood the journey he was taking. I wish I knew his name, he's one to look out for in the future.

Then the great legend Suzuki took to the stage. Like a long haired Japanese Napoleon, his charisma instantly grabbed hold of the audience like a bailiff grabbing an old man's throat. 3D Tanx started laying down a sound rocking muscal platform that Damo quickly began to build on.

The musical alchemy took hold within minutes, dark insatiable beats began to take the audience to dangerous psychic places, a thrusting thrumming rhythm that for whole periods of time began to make the whole room vibrate in harmony with the universe. The 60's time traveller opened a pathway back to 68, and the souls of the greats, Janis, Jim, Jimi could be heard mingling their voices into Damo's sideways thrusting lyric.

The audience twisted and flickered like flames, consumed in a cosmic moment where we were locked into experimental infinities, as the boundaries of music, space and time were pushed back, ever so slightly.

Before it even seemed to have begun, the night was over. Slowly we came back to reality, the coolest and most beautiful people in Preston, gathered together in one performance space, each knowing we had witnessed and experienced something that would leave an indelible mark on our essential selves until the heat death of the cosmos.

WB

Wow! Loads more great gigs coming up at the New Continental - it's making the Broadgate the place that everyone wants to be.

Batman in Broadgate?

The man behind a slew of well-known comic books and graphic novels comes to Broadgate next week to deliver a talk at The New Continental.




Bryan Talbot, creator of well-known comic books such as The Adventures of Luther Arkwright (currently being adapted for a big screen release rumoured for 2010), will be appearing as part of the Continental’s on going series of “and talks on controversial, topical and fascinating subjects”, to speak about his work, with a particular focus on his Eisner Award-winning One Bad Rat graphic novel.

The writer and artist first broke into the world of comic books in the late sixties and since then has gone on to produce work for notable series such as Judge Dredd, Hellblazer and of course, everyone’s favourite black-clad vigilante, Batman.

o Bryan Talbot appears at The New Continental, South Meadow Lane on Saturday March 28th at 8pm. Entry is £3.

For more on Bryan Talbot, visit http://www.bryan-talbot.com/
For more on The New Continental visit http://www.newcontinental.net/

Preston Writer hits the web

Preston writer Jenn Ashworth has been featured on Waterstone's website as a 'new voice for 2009': http://www.wbqonline.com/feature.do?featureid=255

Jenn is the author of 'A Kind of Intimacy', in the article she recounts how she slowly found the narrative voice of the novel's main character:

I wanted Annie to tell her story in her own words – the ‘I’ in the novel is insistent, self absorbed and trembling with self-righteousness and indignation. The things she does are unusual and yes, sometimes frightening, but she has a sense of humour, she’s worried about her blind spots, and she’d like to settle down with someone she can talk to without misunderstanding. Isn’t that, in her words, ‘the same as anyone else wants’?

Jenn will be one of the key figures at 'Word Soup' on the 21st April, at the New Continental, the emerging hub of the literary, poetic, technological, gastronomic, theatrical and real ale appreciating communities of Preston.

Discuss the Preston Tunnel Project at the Central Area Forum

A huge tunnel project that will improve storm water overflow discharges into the River Ribble from the Preston and Penwortham area will be one of the key topics under discussion at the 'Central Area Forum' which will be meeting at 7.00pm on Tuesday 24th March at the St Walburge's Parish Centre.

The Multi Million pound project is being undertaken to comply with the European Water Framework Directive, and will help improve local bathing and shellfish waters within the Ribble Estuary and along the Fylde Coast.

Construction work is planned to commence in the autumn of 2009.

At the meeting, the public will be able to quiz representatives of United Utilities who will provide an overview of the project. The ambitious project includes approximately 30,000 cubic metres of storm water storage, several tunnel shafts, a new pumping station and over 5 kilometres of pipeline to transfer waste water at Clifton Marsh Water Treatment Works.

Here's how the Lancashire Evening Post recently covered this project: http://www.lep.co.uk/news/114m-water-pipe-project-to.4952233.jp

Other subjects under discussion at the meeting will be the erection of a new police communication mast at Lancaster Road North, Ethics and Standards and the Role of Local Councillors, a chance to talk to a Neighbourhood Services representative from Preston City Council about street cleansing, recycling and grounds maintenance, Local Policing, and a chance to ask any questions to the various Councillors, County Councillors, PCT reps, the police and other organisations that usually attend these meetings.

If you want more information about the forum, a copy of the agenda, or if you can't attend but want to ask a question, the guy you need is Nigel Heckford, the area forum manager. He can be contacted at the Town Hall on 01772 906372, or by emailing n.heckford@preston@preston.gov.uk

Writers and Readers Flock To Broadgate

Broadgate is rapidly becoming Preston's throbbing cultural hub - not only is it the venue of the first ever Preston Tweetup, it's also going to be the site of Preston Writing Network's first ever event "Word Soup".

This will take place on the 21st April at the New Continental in Broadgate.

It will showcase a writer's open mic, plus Sally Cook, Socrates Adams-Florou, and 3 North-West published writers - Preston's own Jenn Ashworth (A Kind of Intimacy), Chris Killen (The Bird Room), and cult novelist Steven Hall (The Raw Shark Texts). With a musical interlude and a literary short film. See http://www.prestonwritingnetwork.blogspot.com/

Those who prefer to read rather than write will be interested in the New Continental's book club - the next meeting is on the 6th April in the snug - book in advance with the new continental: info@newcontinental.net