This week's golf news!

Serpentine Swim Applicants only!

Amazingly Golf was still available at Mytton Fold this weekend, with 5 hardy swimmers/golfers managing to complete a round of Golf. Not surprisingly the scores were not going to break records, but great credit goes to all players that took part. Gary Aldred took 1st, Richard Graves 2nd and Peter main coming 3rd, special mention to David Bolton, Mike Chatburn and Gary Davies for also venturing out in the rain.

The winter pairs final appears to be any 4 from 5 depending on the last possible qualifying round on Saturday 27th, with only 5 points separating them. The final is to be played on Sunday 28th with 2nd in the table out with 3rd in the table at 9:00 and 1st in the table out with 4th in the table at 9:10.

The Mail on Sunday competition 2nd round draw has pitched Mytton Fold Men's team against Clitheroe, at home, this is the second time in three years our two clubs have been drawn together, Mytton Fold Ladies have been drawn against Nelson GC, both ties to be played by the 13th March.

While playing last Sunday, Tinky Winky (John Berry), smashed a drive off the 5th Tee, hitting the first tree on the left, ricocheting across the course stopping just short of the pond on the 2nd. Amazingly, his second shot, his trusty 3 wood, finds the green, with the telly tubby managing a par!! All witnessed by Ladies Captain and Ladies Captain Elect, Tarja Wilson and Brenda Griffith.

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Lancashire leads in English Tourism

Four winners from the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2015 have beaten strong competition from across the country to represent Lancashire, in the prestigious Visit England Awards for Excellence 2016. These awards are taking place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Tuesday 8th March.

The finalists include: Browsholme Hall, Clitheroe in the Sustainable Tourism category, The Catford Inn, Little Eccleston in the Tourism Pub category, La Locanda, Gisburn in the Taste of England category and Morecambe Bay Cycle Way in the Tourism Experience Category.

Ruth Connor, Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire commenting on the news said: ''It's a proud day for Lancashire tourism as we hear that four of our Lancashire Tourism Award winners will be returning to the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, this time as finalists in the national Visit England Awards for Excellence. Lancashire is renowned for authentic, world class food and drink so, we're thrilled to see La Locanda and The Catford Inn going forward in the Taste of England and Tourism Pub categories. Our love of the great outdoors and respect for the environment will also be superbly represented by the Morecambe Bay Cycle Way and Browsholme Hall, finalists in the Tourism Experience and Sustainable Tourism categories.

Lancashire leads the way with more finalists than any other North West destination, our heartfelt congratulations to each of them and their teams for achieving the highest level of industry recognition, and for continuing to make Lancashire a place where life feels good.''

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Half -term fun this February

The Mall Blackburn have a jam packed half-term planned for this February with crafts for Mother's Day, a Chinese lantern parade and fairy tales for all ages.

From Monday 15th to Friday 19th February, free crafts sessions will be held in Victoria Court between 10am and 4pm.

There's even a special prince and princess taking up residence in The Mall on Monday and Tuesday and they will be helping children to make fairy wands and crowns.

Craft classes dedicated to making Chinese Lanterns will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, while Friday will be spent helping the little ones get ready for Mother's Day, with card and basket making classes.

Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, said: ''With the first school holiday of the year already upon us we wanted to give parents the chance to get the kids out and about to enjoy some free fun.
Our craft sessions are always really popular so we are looking forward to seeing lots of children having a great time.''

Blackpool Zoo also have plenty of family fun planned for this half-term!

There will be chances to fly a barn owl, feed one of the zoo's majestic giraffes and meet a family of Californian sealions to name but a few of the daily animal encounters you could get involved with from Saturday 13th to Sunday 21st February.

A jam packed programme of talks are also happening throughout the week along with a Valentines zoo trail for those loved-up couples.

There's lots of extra's you could enjoy, if you like to plan ahead, such as fence feeding a tiger and tickling a tapir. These are available all year round and can be booked at the zoo's reception.

Jude Rothwell, Marketing and PR Co-ordinator at Blackpool Zoo, said: ''There really is something for everyone this February half-term here at Blackpool Zoo.
Our daily animal encounters are always popular and as they can only be booked on the day, we kindly ask those who are interested to get here early to avoid disappointment.
It's set to be a wild week and we're very much looking forward to welcoming our visitors through the zoo's gates!''

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This Week's Golf News

Weather or not!

A hardy few battled through the wet and windy weather (again) to take part in this weeks winter competition. Hats off again to the ground staff for keeping the course open in such awful weather. Winning with a creditable 31 points was Dave Clegg (9), one point ahead of Mick Kelbie (11) who recorded 30 points. Third place went to Winter series leader Gary Aldred on 29 points. In the doubles Phil Ryan (15) and musical partner Peter Fox (14) reached 37 points to win from Wayne Iverson (4) and John Welch (14), with 36 points.

Big changes to the winter pairs table, as the majority have now recorded 9 scores and started to drop their lowest score from the best 9 total (Pairs results show later record the last 8 rounds) - 3 more weeks to go before the big final for the top 4.

Quiz and Pre-Season Get Together

There was an excellent turn-out for this year's Pre-Season Quiz Night with a total of 14 teams competing for the coveted title of Quiz Champions. Previous winners, DACT took an early look an early lead and, despite a couple of lower scoring rounds, came out on top at the end of the night with 75 points, 7 points clear of their closest contenders, Captain's Choice. The wooden spoon went to Two Men and Birdies for the third year. Frank Havard and Tony Wilson did a magnificent job as Quiz-masters and Ann Almond kept a close eye on the scoreboard, tallying up the rounds. Both Captains would like to thank all those who supported the event either through raffle donations or attending on the night. In total, £325 was raised for Anxiety UK.

 

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British Yorkshire Pudding Day

British Yorkshire Pudding Day is the first Sunday in February each year - this year it's Sunday 7th February 2016.

The Yorkshire pudding is a traditional British dish which is enjoyed by most Britons at least once in their lives. Although its name would suggest it was created in the North-east of England, its ancestry isn't really known, but it has become a firm favourite across the UK.
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is one of the most famous of British meals, however, many people in the UK eat Yorkshire puddings with other meats such as chicken, pork and turkey to name but a few. Its safe to say the Yorkshire pudding is here to stay.

No-one really knows how far back the recipe goes, as some form of batter or dripping pudding as it was originally named, has been enjoyed for centuries.
Originally, it was flatter than today's version, and was cooked in a tin underneath meat which was being roasted over a fire, this allowed it to catch all the drippings from the meat.
It was often served before the meat with some gravy to part-fill the stomach so that less meat would be needed. If there wasn't sufficient meat to go around, children were often fed Yorkshire pudding and gravy as their main meal.

The name change to Yorkshire Pudding took place in 1747. Hannah Glasse wrote a cookery book called 'The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple' and she is credited for having changed the name.

Yorkshire puddings were traditionally made in a large tin, today many prefer individual-sized puddings, which are made in special 4-hole tins. In Northern England, some pubs serve individual puddings with onion gravy as a light snack.

 
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Blackburn's festival and events programme

Blackburn has an exciting calendar of family-friendly festivals and events planned across the town centre in 2016, thanks to Blackburn BID. These festivals and events will be funded by local businesses and will complement events which are being held by Blackburn Council, Blackburn Cathedral, The Mall and Blackburn Market.

Saturday 25th June will see a flower theme take over the streets with a day filled with family activities and the return of 'Countryside comes to Town' featuring CBeebies favourite, Mr Bloom. This event was a finalist in last year's Lancashire Tourism awards and attracted over 76,000 visitors to the town. This year will also feature a pop up farm yard, travelling insect circus museum, 30 foot sleeping pig, the BID summer bash, and an evening programme of home grown talent. The event will be officially opened by The Great British Bake Off winner, Nadiya Hussain.

Blackburn Cathedral Flower Festival runs from 23rd - 26th June, and main sponsor the BID are hosting a Friday night twilight event. 'The Secret Garden' will include a licenced bar and live music where visitors will be able to enjoy cocktails, wine and speciality beers amongst stunning floral displays.

The Easter trail around the shops will be launched by Plucky the Hen, and takes place between 12th March and 1st April, when a dozen 3 foot giant chocolate eggs will be hidden across Blackburn with a series of clues. The star prize will be an edible 3 foot jewel-encrusted golden egg and £500 worth of shopping vouchers to spend in town centre businesses.

Saturday 23rd April is St George's Day, and visitors will be invited to follow the dragons trail to see live street theatre and musical performances with human size puppet actors from different internationally acclaimed production companies. 'Here Be Dragons' includes shows in The Mall, Blackburn Market and on the Cathedral grounds, and feature a visit by the Thwaites Shire Horses, the distribution of roses by the Royal Society of St George, clog dancing, a town crier, roundabouts, rides and street food stalls.

Sunday 9th October is Steam Sunday. Local specialists, Heritage Painting bring together a convoy of enthusiasts from across the county, who showcase their personal collection of steam powered vehicles from the workshops in Darwen to Blackburn town centre.

BID Manager, Harriet Roberts who is organising the events explained, ''The festival programme is part of a five year business plan to market the town and attract new visitors by animating the spaces with high quality, vibrant events. We're keen to move people around the town to experience some of the independent specialist shops a stone's throw away from the main centre. There is also a will to extend the daytime events into the evening by experimenting with twilight activities to encourage dwell time beyond 5pm.''

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This week's golf round-up!

John P Stirs Up a Storm!

Saturday saw a small break in the rain which favoured the low handicap players in the gale force winds but despite recording the lowest gross of 68 John Berry (8) was relegated to third place in the individual medal competition; John Parkinson (10) recording a net 59 to take the honours; tied on nett 60 along with John Berry was playing partner Tony Cross (12) who chipped in twice for birdies to take second spot. John did however take a share of the two's on the first and recorded another two birdies on his card. His downfall was the seventeenth where it took him seven shots to complete the hole after successfully finding the fairway with his drive.

In the doubles, early starters Wayne Iverson (4) along with John Welch (14) again recorded a creditable 37 points. Phil Ryan (15) and Peter Fox (14) recorded 34 points as did Paul Clegg and John Whittaker.

2016 Women's Daily Mail Foursomes Competition

The draw for the first round of the 2016 women's Daily Mail Foursomes competition has been completed and Mytton Fold Golf Club has been given a bye through to the second round. The first round matches are due to be played by Sunday 20th March. The club will be sent details of the second round draw shortly after that.

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The real taste of Lancashire

Lancashire has so much more to offer than hotpot and black pudding - even though they are delicious. Is a county of taste and is home to some of the nation's finest food producers, chefs and traditional brewers. It is famed far and wide for its traditional produce and dishes, here's some to get those taste bud tingling.....

Lancashire Cheeses: Most are familiar with the tangy crumbly Lancs, but there are also tasty and creamy varieties of this premier food produce. It's made from the milk of cows raised on rich pastures of the county and the art of cheese-making in Lancashire goes back centuries. Today's cheese-makers can all be found in and around the Forest of Bowland and many are family businesses stretching back three or four generations, meaning the art of cheese-making has passed down through time.

Lancashire Hotpot: A dish which has warmed the hearts and filled the stomachs of Lancastrians for generations. It is named after the brown dish used to slowly bake in the oven. The main ingredients are neck of lamb, onions and potatoes, which come together to produce a steaming, savoury delight. It is best served with pickled red cabbage. Hotpot suppers are still popular at many social events around the county.

Lancashire Black Pudding: Dating back from Roman times, Lancashire black pudding has become a popular delicacy, pudding makers guard their secret recipes closely. Competition is fierce and awards for pudding making highly prized. Black pudding can be found on many menus throughout Lancashire - often as a starter and on the plate of any self-respecting English breakfast.

Goosnargh Chicken: The picturesque village of Goosnargh sits on the edge of the Ribble Valley. For 30 years local farmers Johnson and Swarbrick have been producing their top quality, corn-fed poultry, which can be found at many eateries throughout Lancashire.

Morecambe Bay Shrimps: Another historic Lancashire dish which is great as a starter for any meal. The brown shrimps are harvested by the hardy fishermen of Morecambe Bay, who brave its wild and treacherous sands for the world's finest seafood. The shrimps are then potted to create a buttery, full-flavoured dish that's as breathtaking as the spectacular coastline it comes from.

Sarsaparilla: Once a very popular non-alcoholic drink, similar to root-beer is brewed to a secret recipe. The teetotal movement has its origins in Lancashire and Sarsaparilla was served in temperance bars across the county. The last one still exists in Rawtenstall.

Pendle Witches Brew: Created in honour of the famous Lancashire witches of Pendle Hill by a local brewer - Moorhouses. This hand-pumped beer has a touch of magic and is served in pubs across the county.

Lancaster Bomber: Created in Blackburn by independent brewers Daniel Thwaites, is a real winner with its chestnut-coloured, full-flavoured beer. It shot to fame in 2015 when Lancashire cricket legend Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff endorsed it during the Ashes series.

There are many award-winning rural restaurants to enjoy throughout Lancashire, you'll soon come across an historic inn or majestic country hotel serving up great food. They pride themselves on using the finest, local ingredients to create delicious, home-cooked dishes.

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