Bop Local comes to Ramsbottom Civic Hall on Saturday 11th February

Since its first monthly club night took place at Chorlton Irish Club, Manchester in June 2010, Bop Local has been a roaring success. Its name is a take on the slogan ‘shop local’ from the award-winning Unicorn wholefood supermarket in Chorlton, Manchester. The initial concept of Bop Local was to create a club night that would be aimed at people who like to go out to socialise and dance to music, yet don’t want the inconvenience and cost of going into the city centre for their entertainment. It was important that this should be a monthly event ~ in any one particular area ~ especially since many of the potential customers could be family people who needed babysitters. One of the straplines used for Bop Local is, ‘bringing the dancefloor to your doorstep’ which pretty much sums things up.

The main resident Bop Local DJ is Phil Beckett, who was behind the hugely successful Rock and Roll Bar in Manchester, which ran for 12 years. Phil regularly DJed at the Hacienda in its heyday; The Millennium Party for Ian Brown and – more recently – Funkademia and Moho Live, plus he was the main radio presenter and Head of Music at 96.2 The Revolution for four years. Phil’s music policy for Bop Local is right across the board ~ anything from dance classics to the current crop of underground tunes with some old favourites thrown in for good measure. Each month at Bop Local there is also a guest DJ to keeps things fresh and interesting for us all. These have included: Terry Christian (TV presenter/writer/broadcaster); Mike Joyce (The Smiths/BBC 6 Music), Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets/XFM); Graeme Hawley (Coronation Street’s John Stape); Jeff Hordley (Emmerdale’s Cain Dingle); Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order/The Hacienda); Tim Cocker & Jim Salveson (XFM breakfast show team), Simon Rimmer (TV chef)…

Aside from its monthly residencies at Chorlton Irish Club and The Moor Suite in Heaton Moor, we have started to branch out to a couple of other venues. To date, we have been to: The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire; The Albert Club in Didsbury; plus we also put on Bop Local events at two festivals in September 2011 ~ Rochdale’s Feel Good Festival and also the Ramsbottom Festival. So we are very pleased to be returning to Ramsbottom on Saturday 11th February at the Civic Hall. Phil Beckett’s special guest DJ for the night will be local resident, Graeme Hawley.

The evening will start at 8.30pm and finish at 1am. Tickets will be £6 in advance via boplocal.com or you will be able to buy them at The Chocolate Cafe, Ramsbottom: http://www.chocolate-cafe.co.uk

www.boplocal.com
twitter: @boplocal
facebook: Bop Local Group

Ramsbottom Festival Release Limited Early Bird Tickets

The Ramsbottom Festival is releasing a limited allocation of early bird tickets for the Festival next year on 1 December at the Festival Comedy Club in Ramsbottom Civic Hall and online at www.ramsbottomfestival.com

Two tickets are available, an individual ticket costing just £40 and a family ticket at only £90 that will admit two adults and up to three children. The tickets will be valid for the whole weekend, Friday to Sunday.

A limited allocation will go on sale on 1 December online at www.ramsbottomfestival.com and will be available until 31 December or until the allocation is purchased.

Last year the Festival was a great success welcoming over 5,000 people to the area and featuring artists such as The Waterboys, Guillemots, Badly Drawn Boy, Cherry Ghost and Young Knives amongst others.

Artists for 14 – 16 September 2012 will be announced in early February along with full festival pricing structures.
David Agnew, Festival Director comments, “We’re building on the success of last year with some amazing acts showing interest in appearing at one of the country’s most exciting new festivals. The early bird offer is an opportunity to grab a bargain before main acts are announced but safe in the knowledge that 2012 will retain all the magic and quality of our first festival”

Tickets for the event are on sale from 1 December from the Festival Comedy Club. Tickets will be available after the event until midnight on 31 December at www.ramsbottomfestival.com

Image courtesy of Hayden Rydings

Building on the success of The Met’s sell out monthly comedy club in Bury, the new Ramsbottom club will feature the cream of comedy talent.

The December Comedy Club will feature top Irish comedian Michael Redmond, best known for playing the lightning-hit Father Stone in cult nineties comedy, Father Ted. Over his long career has also appeared on a number of stand-up TV shows, including BBC2′s Comedy Nation, LWT’s Friday Night Live, BBC One’s The Stand Up Show and Clive Anderson Talks Back.

Michael will be joined by top Canadian comedian Wes Zaharuk, described as ‘Tommy Cooper on acid’, One Like Fish (“Promises to shock” – Sunday Times) and Chris Roche (“Best act of the night, totally ripped the roof off”- The Guardian).

Tickets for the event are £8 with all proceeds going towards The Ramsbottom Festival in 2012. Tickets are available from The Met www.themet.biz or by calling 0161 761 2216. Tickets will also be on sale from A&L Music in Ramsbottom.
Start Time: 20:00
Date: 2011-12-01
End Time: 23:30

The Met is organising a monthly Ramsbottom Comedy Club starting on Thursday 1 December at 8pm to be held at Ramsbottom Civic Hall.

Building on the success of The Met’s sell out monthly comedy club in Bury, the new Ramsbottom club will feature the cream of comedy talent.

The December Comedy Club will feature top Irish comedian Michael Redmond, best known for playing the lightning-hit Father Stone in cult nineties comedy, Father Ted. Over his long career has also appeared on a number of stand-up TV shows, including BBC2′s Comedy Nation, LWT’s Friday Night Live, BBC One’s The Stand Up Show and Clive Anderson Talks Back.

Michael will be joined by top Canadian comedian Wes Zaharuk, described as ‘Tommy Cooper on acid’, One Like Fish (“Promises to shock” – Sunday Times) and Chris Roche (“Best act of the night, totally ripped the roof off”- The Guardian).

Tickets for the event are £8 with all proceeds going towards The Ramsbottom Festival in 2012. Tickets are available from The Met www.themet.biz or by calling 0161 761 2216. Tickets will also be on sale from A&L Music in Ramsbottom.

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 4 (Andy Dawson 45, 76, Lee Gaskell 70, 81) SQUIRES GATE 0

The Rams soared to the top of the League with this victory, but it was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests. Indeed, with half-time approaching and the score goal-less, it was the visitors who would have felt more comfortable, for they edged the first period, until as moment of madness altered the course of the game.

Twice in the opening ten minutes, the Rams were relieved to see two efforts from the visitors cleared off the line. Despite their lowly position, the men from the Fylde coast held the upper hand for much of the first half, and an excellent cross from Horn narrowly missed the head of the on-rushing Shelmerdine, before Harries turned in from the left wing only to see his low drive deflected past the far post. On another occasion a quickly taken free-kick found Shelmerdine on the right, but he was unlucky to see his shot cannon into the side netting.

The visitors looked the more likely to open the scoring, although the home side were not willing to let them have it all their own way. A Lee Gaskell free-kick was held low down by Beesley in the Gate goal as a couple of Ramsbottom forwards charged forward, and Phil Dean had a couple of long range efforts narrowly clear the crossbar.

The game changed as half-time approached. An off-the-ball incident saw the Rams Mark Ayres booked whilst the visitors Bartlett received a straight red card. Within a couple of minutes, and with the referee looking at his watch, the Rams snatched an unlikely lead. A corner was not cleared and Jon Robinson neatly set up Andy Dawson who rifled home from 15 yards.

The second half saw the home side begin to take the initiative. A good early move saw Bernard Morley strike just wide of the post, and a fine drive from Mark Drew saw the keeper make a good save. But the visitors were still very much in the game. A McKenna free-kick deflected for a corner, whilst a poor back header from Ian Flannery caused problems in the area, but the visiting forward was unable to capitalise.

Gradually the home side began to take control. Robinson should have done better with a one-on-one with the keeper, before Drew saw a free-kick take a wicked deflection but strike a defender on the line. With 20 minutes to go, the Rams finally gave themselves some breathing space. A long defensive clearance fell kindly for Lee Gaskell. He chased the ball down, and as the keeper came flying out of his goal, the young striker delicately chipped the ball over him and into the unguarded net. Six minutes later, and it was “game over”. Morley was very unlucky to see his backward header superbly touched over by Beesley, but from the resultant corner, Dawson found space in the box to firmly head home from six yards out.

On 81 minutes a through ball found Mickey Morrison in the right hand side of the box. As the keeper came out, he neatly flicked it past him, and Gaskell was on hand to tap home from close range to give the score-line a rather flattering look. Gaskell had a couple of chances in the dying minutes to have claimed a hat-trick, but it wasn’t to be, and to be fair, any more goals would have been a travesty for the men from the Fylde.

Not the best performance of the season, but the 4-0 score-line and the elevation to the summit proved more important.

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED:
Shenton, Smalley, Dean, Ayres (Spencer 45mins), Dawson, Flannery, Morrison, Morley, Robinson (Sharples 73 mins), Gaskell, Grimes (Drew 53 mins)
Subs not used: Pickup, Pilkington

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES:
TUE 8th NOVEMBER – NWCFL Premier Division (H) v Padiham 19:45
SAT 12th NOVEMBER – NWCFL Premier Division (A) v Runcorn Linnets 15:00

CLUB NEWS:
Mayor of Bury, Cllr Yvonne Cresswell was the guest of honour against Squires Gate. She was presented to both teams before kick-off, and she presented the newly formed Supporters Club’s inaugural Player-of-the-Month award. The October winner was Phil Dean.

The Bury Beer Festival returns to The Met and real ale bar Malt on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 November, featuring over 100 different cask ales, an exciting mix of live entertainment and a fine helping of scrumptious cuisine.

Bury Beer Festival takes a traditional approach, putting the focus on locally brewed beers from Bury and the surrounding areas. Confirmed so far for this year’s festival are Outstanding Brewery, Greenmill Brewery, Irwell Brewery, Brightside Brewery and Layden Brewery. The festival will also feature a Malt Bar, Automatic Bar and a Ramsbottom Festival Bar, which will feature Elbow’s beer, Build a Rocket Boys! Made by Robinsons Brewery.

The Met welcomed over 2,000 visitors to last year’s Beer Festival who chose 2010’s Beer of the Festival as Copper Plate by Irwell Brewery, who also made their festival debut at The Met that weekend.

Bury Beer Festival runs from 12noon – midnight on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 November. Entrance is £2 on Friday afternoon (before 5pm) and £4 on Friday evening (after 5pm) and Saturday. CAMRA members with a valid membership card are permitted half-price entry.
The Met offers a VIP Beer Festival experience which features skip the queue entry, £10 worth of beer vouchers, a limited edition festival glass, a Festival Programme, food vouchers and much more. We also offer a company package, which offers food, booze and promotion for only £100!

For more information about Bury Beer Festival or to book your VIP or sponsorship package please phone The Met on 0161 761 2216 or go online at www.burybeerfestival.co.uk

OLDHAM BORO 2 RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 3 (Joel Pilkington 59, 80, Mark Sharples 84)

A much-changed Ramsbottom United team struggled to overcome lower league Oldham Boro on a badly-lit, rutted surface which hindered their usual passing game. mThe visitors had to come from behind on two occasions before a trio of late substitutions finally turned the game round in their favour.

Whiteside had already gone close for the home side before Oldham took the lead on 18 minutes. A low angled drive by Coyne from just inside the penalty area found the bottom corner to shake up the Rams. Three minutes later, the scores were almost level when a fine low cross from Shane Birtles was inches away from Mickey Saunders at the far post. Within a minute Birtles thought he had notched the equaliser. He beat the advancing keeper to the ball and poked it home only to see the linesman’s flag up for a team-mate straying offside.

Knowles came close to doubling the score, whilst at the other end Robert Grimes saw his fierce drive diverted for a corner. Mickey Morrison almost sealed a good move but saw his effort sail inches wide, whilst Mark Drew’s free-kick was easily dealt with by Fleming in the home goal.

Three minutes into the second half saw Morrison again frustrated as Fleming turned away his close range shot before the visitors finally gained a foothold. On 59 minutes, the ball fell invitingly for Joel Pilkington on the edge of the box and he fired home an unstoppable volley that bulged the back of the net. It didn’t take the home side long to regain the initiative. On 67 minutes a cross from the right found Coyne in acres of space 15 yards out, and he confidently fired home. mIt needed Pilkington to again bring the Rams back into the game, when he rifled home from the edge of the box with 12 minutes to go. At this point, after a disjointed performance, the game had swung back to the visitors, and the winning goal came just four minutes later when Dominic Smalley and Mark Sharples combined well on the right. Sharples tried his luck with an angled effort which eventually finished up in the back of the net via the post and a deflection off the keeper. Sharples then saw his chip just clear the bar, before a 25 yard drive from Lee Gaskell bounced back into play off the post.

The final whistle blew with a relieved Rams just happy to progress to the next round, but all-in-all it was a disappointing performance which saw the visitors thankful for the introduction of new blood to wrestle the initiative from the home team which had looked likely to spring a surprise.

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED:
Threlkeld, Birtles (Smalley 62mins), Callaghan (Gaskell 62mins), Drew, Ayres, Berrisford, Sharples, Pilkington, Saunders (Pickup 78mins), Morrison, Grimes
Subs not used: Dawson, Mack

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES:
TUE 1st NOVEMBER – NWCFL Premier Division (A) v Atherton LR 19:45 (unless Atherton draw in League Cup against Squires Gate)
SAT 5th NOVEMBER – NWCFL Premier Division (H) v Squires Gate 15:00

Local businesses stepped up to the mark with both donations and practical help. Higher Access on Cuba Industrial Estate installed a huge banner down the side of the church tower, Orbis Solicitors offered to sponsor the appeal leaflet and Tiddlywinks Day Nursery turned up on the day both to sell cupcakes and to go out into the town handing out flyers to promote the event. Various other businesses provided raffle prizes and still others have approached the committee to see what they can do to help.

Local organisations such as GM Police and Fire Services came along plus charities Sue Ryder Care, The MS Society and The Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

In the Memorial gardens, entertainment was provided by local bands Remote Control Universe and Disfunktional as well a children’s choir from Peel Brow Primary School. Indoors alongside various stalls and refreshments, the Ramsbottom and Edenfield Team Ministry Puppets packed the aisles for their show and the afternoon was wrapped up by Intermission, a choir from St. Andrew’s, another church from the team of which St Paul’s is a member.

MP David Nuttall and Councillors Barry Theckston and Dorothy Gunther were on hand to witness the official launch by the Mayor of Bury and Granada TV’s Tony Morris. The Mayor, Yvonne Creswell spoke of the history of the church from its beginning in a school building funded by local mill owners the Ashton Brothers. Tony Morris remarked on how much he loved living in the town and how he always looked out for the welcoming floodlights illuminating the church when he returned home from reading the late night news. Both stressed the importance of preserving one of the town’s most famous landmarks. The announcement of the launch was then greeted by a peel of bells from the endangered tower.

The organisers are still counting the financial benefits of the day but were delighted by the level of interest from across the community. There may be a long way still to go to raise the full £10,000 but, if the level of support so far is any indication, people in the town have clearly heard the message and want to play their part.

Anyone wanting to offer assistance can do so by contacting appeal committee member Joyce Wild on 01204 886047 or 07840 831145. Anyone wanting to make a donation can send a cheque (payable to St John and St Paul PCC) to Aspire For Ramsbottom, 1 Vernon Road, Greenmount, Bury BL8 4DD.

Article written by Alan Lumsden

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 4 (Lee Gaskell 3, Kieron Pickup 52, 66, Phil Dean 81) COLNE 0

The Rams met Colne for the third time this season, and after two tight league games when both sides won on opposing territory, third time round saw United triumph in some style. The strength in depth of the Rams squad was evident, as a number of changes left the home side with a bench full of quality players who would probably walk into any other side in this league.

The squad rotation system certainly worked on an afternoon more suited to cricket than football, and after a first half that the home side shaded, the second period belonged entirely to the Rams, as they progressed to round two of a competition which culminates in a trip to Wembley. They did it with four goals of superb quality, and thoroughly deserved to make progress in front of another encouraging crowd at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium.

It took just 2 minutes and 4 seconds for the men in blue to get their noses in front. A back pass to the keeper saw the enterprising Lee Gaskell harry the custodian, and as he attempted to clear the ball it merely struck the winger, and as it bounced on the left hand side of the area, Gaskell reacted quickest to loft the ball over the keeper from a tight angle. Although a defender raced back to hack the ball away, the linesman indicated that it had crossed the line, and the Rams could not have asked for a better start.

Within a minute they almost doubled the lead as Phil Dean’s dangerous low cross evaded his on-rushing team-mates. Andy Dawson was desperately unlucky to see his header from a Mark Drew free-kick sail inches wide, before Scott in the visitor’s goal had to be alert to deny Dean. Bernard Morley sailed down the left and put in a tantalising cross that was diverted for a corner, which Ian Flannery was close to converting. Scott then made the save of the game when another Drew free kick fell invitingly for Dominic Smalley who struck a fierce drive from ten yards out which the keeper did well to palm over.

Morley was just wide from 25 yards with the keeper out of his goal, and as the half-time break approached, a high cross from Smalley had the keeper back-pedalling and relieved as the ball clipped the top of the bar. Colne had a fair amount of the ball in midfield, but rarely looked like breaching the home defence, and the 1-0 half-time lead was no more than the Rams deserved.

The second half belonged almost exclusively to the home side. After 52 minutes a neat flick from Gaskell sent Keiron Pickup through on goal and he unleashed an unstoppable low drive past the advancing keeper to double the lead. At the other end, the Rams had a let-off when a perfect cross from Crocken evaded the lunging Boyle and Moore just feet from an empty goal. The action soon returned to the other end, and Pickup found himself through again, but this time his control let him down as he weakly poked the ball wide.

In a rare attack, the visitor’s Cockett found himself in space but his effort sailed just over. Another Drew free-kick then found Gaskell at the far side of the box but he drove into the side netting. However, just moments later, after 66 minutes, Pickup settled the contest with a beauty of a goal.
Gaskell played the ball sideways to him some 25 yards out. He skipped round a defender before hammering home a superb drive that sailed over the keeper but under the bar to give the home side an unassailable 3-0 lead. At this point, Ramsbottom were playing some of their best football of the season, and looked in complete control.

Colne, to their credit never gave up. Boyle saw his shot deflected for a corner by Mark Ayres, from which Cruz tested Grant Shenton in the home goal from 20 yards. Boyle then raced into the area but put his effort over the bar, and Maduka wasted a good chance when an errant ball gave him an opportunity but he fired well wide. Pickup should have grabbed his hat-trick on 79 minutes when he rounded the keeper but agonisingly fired over, however 2 minutes later, Phil Dean completed the rout. He gathered the ball 25 yards out, looked up and placed a terrific drive that had goal written all over it the moment it left his boot, into the top corner.

So, a very satisfying performance from the Rams against a side that arrived at the HWRS in good form, but who could have no argument about the outcome. The home side were simply too good for them much to the delight of the home faithful.

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED:
Shenton, Smalley, Dean, Ayres, Dawson, Flannery, Morrison (Sharples 75mins), Drew, Pickup, Morley (Pilkington 42mins), Gaskell (Robinson 68mins).
Subs not used: Spencer, Moore

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES:
FRI 28th OCTOBER – NWCFL Challenge Cup 2nd Round (A) v Oldham Boro 19:45
TUES 1st NOVEMBER – NWCFL Premier Division (A) v Atherton LR 19:45

At this years star studded Manchester Food & Drink Award ceremony at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester the Chocolate Café from Ramsbottom scooped the award of ‘Best Coffee Shop or Casual Dining Venue’.

The awards provide a benchmark for excellence in the hospitality industry & the award cements The Chocolate Café’s, & Ramsbottom’s reputation as a premier food & drink destination. Indeed the award comes just weeks after the BBC’s Olive Magazine named Ramsbottom as the 7th best place for foodies in the UK.

Says Chocolate Café owner Paul Morris “I am delighted at the receiving the award and thrilled for our young team here who all work incredibly hard to make sure we consistently deliver a great customer experience. We have a fantastic array of independent businesses here in Ramsbottom and we love being part of a high street which is not dominated by the usual national chains.”
The award marks an incredible first three years for Paul, his wife Emma & their young team, which has seen The Chocolate Café grow into a premium national chocolate brand whose locally made products are sold through retail outlets nationwide. The company is currently considering plans to build a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the area complete with an interactive chocolate themed visitor attraction.

The Chocolate Café is situated on the corner of Bolton Street & Carr Street in the centre of Ramsbottom. You can view their menu online at www.chocolate-cafe.co.uk or call 01706 822828 for a reservation.