Music producer Simon Webbe opens L’OCCITANE, Meadowhall

Simon Webbe joins shoppers at the new L’OCCITANE store, Meadowhall, Sheffield

L’OCCITANE, the Provencal beauty company, opens its first boutique in Meadowhall, Sheffieldl on the 20^th August.

The Meadowhall L’OCCITANE boutique will offer residents and shoppers a taste of Provence, with all the sights and scents of the Mediterranean – Lavender, Verbena, Olive, Grape, Immortelle, Shea Butter, Almond, Cherry Blossom and Rose combined into a wonderful variety of product ranges.

To celebrate the grand opening, L’OCCITANE invited music producer and West End star of Sister Act, Simon Webbe to officially open the boutique.

Simon Webbe opens the new L’OCCITANE store at Meadowhall, Sheffield.

“When L’Occitane approached me to open the new Meadowhall store, I immediately said yes. I’ve been a fan of the products for many years and particularly, the charity work The Foundation does around the world to support the visually impaired and the economic empowerment of women in countries such as Burkino Faso.”, says Simon Webbe.

Cusworth Music Festival

Abba tribute band Twice as Nice 'tune up' for the forthcoming Cusworth Music Festival on the 29th August 2010

Glam Rockers at Cusworth Hall

This month, Cusworth Hall will welcome 70s Glam Rockers, The Sweet who will headline the new Cusworth Music Festival.

The festival will take place on Sunday 29^th August from 12 to 11pm with an outdoor stage hosting bands playing a mix of blues, rock, indie and pop. The event has been organised by 4 local residents to raise money for local cancer charity The Aurora Centre.

Councillor Cynthia Ransome, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Regulatory/Customer Services said, “Cusworth is an ideal venue for events like this. I wish the event organisers the best of luck with the event and I hope it helps to raise lots of money for the Aurora Centre.”

Other bands performing at the music extravaganza are Ed Blaney’s “Ultimate Bowie”, Screaming Eagles (Graham Oliver and Paul Johnson from Saxon), Stafford Galli, Doncaster’s rising stars The Wallbirds, classic rock cover band Whizzkid, UV Pop, Retention Method and ABBA tribute act Twice as Nice.

Food and drink will be available on the day, plus camping at £5.00 per tent, as well as fun fair rides to ensure a great atmosphere and a fantastic day out. The day is being supported by Sine FM 102.6 with tickets available online through www.themusicweek.co.uk also from Cusworth Hall, Doncaster Tourist Information Centre, The Dome and the Civic Theatre at just £10 each.

For more information contact: Trish Wood

Telephone:            07738838022

Email:                    trish.wood@doncaster.gov.uk

Facebook:             http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128068560554730

From my archive………….Colin McRae the 1995 World Rally Champion

Colin McRae and co driver Derek Ringer driving a Subaru Impreza flat out over a 'yump' at Chatsworth House on their way to victory in the 1995 Network Q RAC Rally.

Colin McRae and co driver Derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza) celebrate victory in the 1995 Network Q RAC Rally.

I always used to look forward to an often cold and wet week in mid November, the week of the RAC Rally!

My favourite rally driver for photographs had to be Colin McRae. He was so exciting to see, always driving hard on whichever rally and whatever type of stage he was on be it loose forest gravel or grippy tarmac. Colin would always give it his best, sometimes, and often in his early driving years, disastrously!

I caught the top photo of Colin flying through the Chatsworth House stage on the first day of the 1995 Network Q RAC Rally. Colin, with Derek Ringer in the co-driver’s seat, started the rally on equal points in the World Rally Championship with Subaru team-mate Carlos Sainz. Colin was at his best, fully focused on winning this rally and with it the WRC Championship. Colin stunned everyone right from the start. Spurred on by a partisan local crowd and one of the biggest ever seen on the RAC Colin outpaced Carlos on nearly every stage to win the rally and become the first British and youngest ever World Rally Champion.

Colin continued to entertain the crowds on the world scene with works drives for Citroen, Ford, Skoda and of course Subaru until his untimely death in 2007 in an helicopter crash.

From my archive……….Mid Air Collision between RAF jet fighter and light aircraft

On the 22nd January 1999 whilst riding her horse around the field’s of Mattersey in North Notts my sister in law heard a loud bang and looked up to witness the aftermath of an RAF Tornado jet colliding with a Cessna light aircraft. Wreckage was strewn around a large area of the countryside which also fell dangerously close to the village and the local Primary School. Four people lost their lives in the aircraft but luckily no one was hurt on the ground!

I had a very early call on this and got to the scene within 45 minutes of the accident. This was pre digital camera day’s so everything was shot on film, processed and scanned for transmission to the newspapers using some ‘very slow’ technology!

Here’s how The Independent reported the accident

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/four-killed-as-raf-jet-hits-plane-1075366.html

More images at:  www.shaunflanneryphotography.com

Cyclists Funeral

Veteran pedal biker Bob Waddington make his final journey with his coffin hitched to a trailer at the side of a tandem.

Friends from Doncaster Wheelers volunteered to pedal their former club secretary and president – who was 89 – to the town’s crematorium in time for the funeral service at 2 pm.

Around 20 members of the club escorted the tandem and rode the last three miles to the crem in a convoy.

Club official Trevor Siddons – who was aboard the tandem – said the send off “is just what that Bob would have wanted.”

Trevor, 65, said: “I’ve never heard of anything like this before, but the Co-op are provided the tandem, and there was a lot of us there to see Bob on his way.

“He’d been virtually everywhere on his bike in his younger days. He thought nothing of pedalling 70 or 80 miles to the coast and back.

“He rode all the way from Doncaster to Blackpool one day in the 70s, and then came back, stopping off for a sleep on Saddleworth Moor on the way back.

“He was riding his bike almost to the end. He’d go shopping on it virtually every day, and you wouldn’t see Bob without it.

“If there was a funeral he’d turn up on his bike…it was part of him so I’d know really appreciate going to the crematorium on the back of the tandem.”

Bob joined the Wheelers in 1946 after serving in the RAF.

The former office worker, who was a widow, leaves a daughter Diane.

View images at:  http://shaunflannery.photoshelter.com/gallery/Cycle-Funeral/G0000JQPxVtxa3jQ