We’ve quite clearly gone festival crazy in this issue. As well as the special Bram-

hall Festival pull-out, we report on plans for the Stockport Festival and the Old

Town Fringe Festival, both of which will run over the last weekend in August.

The thing with Festivals is the organisation. An endless, relentless obligation

to ensure every need is catered, and every eventuality covered and all parties

placated. It’s job that marries diplomacy with crisis management, except it’s

not a job because in the vast majority of cases people are subjecting them-

selves to all this for nothing other than a commitment to the greater good.

Then there are the dozens of people who chip in, attending meetings, heading

off to the cash and carry, manning the car parks. And then there are the festi-

val-goers, you. I’m pretty confident you haven’t been involved in planning any

of this, but those people mentioned earlier, they’re doing it for you.

So do the communities a favour and go to a couple of these events over the

summer. Even if it’s raining. Especially if it’s raining.

WELCOME

issue seven

4-5 News Stockport Festival plans unveiled

7 What’s On The best days out and about

8-9 Fashion The hat spectacular

10 Events Stockport’s first Fringe Festival

11 Bramhall Festival Special 3 Welcome

5 Previous Festivals

7 The Tea Party and the Picnic

8-9 Programme of event

11 Special offers

24-25 Bob Blakeley The Voice of Stockport

26-27 Allotments A glimpse over the hedges

31 Music The big new releases

3

Publishing Director Paul Taylor 07901 557788 paul@shoutmediauk.com

Editor Paul Day 07981 086684 paul.day@shoutmediauk.com

Photographer Matt McNulty 07757 287285 signol1000@ntlworld.com

Stockport Office 0161 244 9896

Wilmslow Office 01625 541106

www.stockportsource.com

@StockportSource

Stockport Source

news

Stockport Council is working with various exciting partners to organise a large scale 3-day festival in the town centre from

Friday 29th – Sunday 31st August.

The Stockport Summer Festival is all about ‘Food (Friday), Fashion (Saturday) and Fun (Sunday)’. We want to highlight the creative, cultural and retail offer we have in the town centre as well as the diverse, high quality, independent offer we have within the district centres by showcasing them all in one central location over the weekend.

Friday 29th AugustWe will be having a really high quality Foodie Friday offer up at Stockport Market Place from 5pm in the evening. We are working in partnership with The Blue Cat in Heaton Moor to source credible live musicians who will perform on an open air stage! This will be complimented by great artisan food traders and licenced drinks.

Saturday 30th AugustMersey Square will be transformed into a hub for all things Fash-ion! Debenhams will be leading the way by working with College fashion students to do live window dressing, something that hasn’t been done outside of London - so we really will be breaking new ground! We will have a professional stylist roaming the area pulling people from the crowds for a ’15 Minute Make-Over’ so if you fancy getting pampered for free make sure to come along and support the event! They will also be delivering fashion master-classes on how to Dress Well for Your Shape, Dress Well on a Budget, plus many more exciting, interactive activities. There will also be market stalls selling an array of beautifully crafted handmade hats, jewel-lery and clothing as well as gorgeous cosmetics.

We intend to create a visual spectacle by erecting a purpose built catwalk along the front of Mersey Square. A number of Stockport’s more innovative fashion retailers will be throwing their hat into the ring by contributing to our fashion show - it would be our own

take on The Clothes Show Live. At the same time we will be doing live, interactive public voting for the best outfit. Throughout the day there will be live and recorded music show-casing local talent and featuring sounds from our favourite artists.

Robinsons Visitor Centre will also be opening its doors to the public with a ‘Beer & Bar Tapas Festival’, some-thing which has been incredibly popular in the past so if you fancy sampling a range of ales, beers and gourmet food why not make your way up there before or after the cat-walk show?

Sunday 31st AugustSunday is all about Family Fun. Mersey Square will be filled with fun, interactive activities for the whole family and we will have live music on offer too. You can try your hand at crafts, taster sessions, give the climbing wall a go plus there are many more fun activities to choose from.

Plans are evolving at pace - keep up to date with the Stockport Summer Festival programme by visiting www.stockport.gov.uk/events

STOCKPORT FESTIVAL DETAILS ANNOUNCED

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EXHIBITIONS

Until 26 October 2014Saints & Sinners Paintings from the John Benjamin Smith CollectionStockport Story, SK1 1ESThis exhibition explores virtue and vice as depicted in the John Benjamin Smith Collection, gifted to Stockport in 1879. Iconic religious scenes, stories of martyrdom and vistas of classical ruins provide an interesting back-drop to the story of the man behind the collection. Smith was an MP for Stockport for over 20 years and one of the founding fathers of Stockport’s Museums. He collected these paint-ings during his grand tour of Italy.Suitable for all ages. Free admissionContact: 0161 218 1460

Until May 2015.Making Headway - The ExhibitionAmazing exhibition of a brand new collection of coture hats created with inspiration from Stockport museum collections by the best up and coming millinery talens in the country!For the very first time at Hat Works all the hats in the show are for sale, which presents visitors with the op-portunity to buy a unique couture hat by a future millinery star, inspired by Stockport.Suitable for all ages Hat Works, Wellington Road South, Stockport SK3 0EUAdmission free10:00 - 17:00

EVENTS

Every WednesdayTea DanceRefreshments available as well as a charity raffle. Come and enjoy an af-ternoon in the magnificent Town Hall ballroom with all your favourite dance songs. New dancers and group parties always welcome. (Groups of over 6 people please contact 0161 474 3451)Town Hall Ballroom £2.4013:30 - 16:00

Every WednesdayBlitz Jive ClassesIt’s easy to learn with a friendly mix of teaching and freestyle sessions.

Beginners class: 7.30pm. Intermediate class: 8.45pm. Dancing until 10.30pm.No partner required. Bar openStockport Town Hall BallroomTickets and info: 079 6318 4578£7.0019:30 - 22:30

Saturday 21st - Sunday 22nd JuneHeadlander Festival75 acts and 80 hours of music across four marquees on a 15 acre site. Loads of family-orientated activities With headliners Stoosh e on Saturday and Toploader on Sunday. info: www.headlanderfestival.co.ukStockport Rugby ClubHeadlands Road, Bramhall

Saturday 21st JuneComedy Night with Justin MoorhouseA comedy night on behalf of Stockport County Supporters’ Co-op, also featuring Mike Newall and compere Mike Wilkinsoninfo: 07768 165165.Edgeley Park SK3 9DD£15 + booking fee7.30pm

Friday 27th JuneFoodie FridayFood and entertainment in and around the Market Hall6pm-9pm

Saturday 28th JuneJimmy CarrFunny Business is Jimmy’s brand new stand up show. Come for the witty and inci-sive musings on the human condition. Stockport Plaza Theatre

Sunday 29th JuneMojo Bravo present: Chris Turner’sEdinburgh Fringe comedy previewArchaeologist digs hip hop. After four sell-out runs with Fringe favourites Racing Minds (Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised), 1 million+ views on YouTube and sold out

tours to Australia and India, BBC New Comedy Award finalist Chris presents his debut solo show.Seven Miles Out, 20 Market Place, Stockport Old Town£67.45pm - 9.45pm

Friday 4th- Sunday 6th JulyBramhall FestivalSee this issue’s 12 page special Festival guide for more details.

Sunday 6th JulyVintage FairVintage and second hand ladies and gents clothing and accessories, home-ware, tea cake and refreshments. In aid

of the charity Independent Options.The Centre, 57 Chester Road, Hazel GroveAdmission £1 - U12s free11am - 4pm

Saturday 12th JulyNorth Cheshire Family History Soci-ety HelpdeskA Family History help desk. Including internet access, CD-ROMs, and expert advice with North Cheshire Family History Society.FreeStockport Local Heritage Library, Wellington Road South SK1 3RS9:30am - 12:30pm

Sunday 13th JulyThe Vintage VillageThe July event has been themed “The Toggery Fair” by way of trib-ute to the legendary Stockport clothes shop of that name.Stockport Market Hall10.00am - 4.00pm

Sunday 13th JulyWorld Cup FinalBrazil8.00pm

Saturday 19th JulyStepping Hill Open DayEntertainment, behind-the-scene tours, interactive stands, and a brilliant range of activities.Come along for free mini health checks, a tour of our operating theatres, the chance to take a walk through a giant colon, pedal your way to a smoothie and much more.With entertainment from a host of local performers the open day offers fun for the whole family.FREE10am - 2pm

Friday 29th- Sunday 31st AugustStockport FestivalSee page 5 for more details.

Friday 29th- Sunday 31st AugustStockport Fringe FestivalSee page 10 for more details.

what’s onJUNE - JULY

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Every Saturday, 5th July - 23rd August.Pastel Painting WorkshopsStockport based pastel artist Paul Pigram (an example of his work is pictured here) will be running a series of Summer Workshops , guiding students through the process and techniques of the medium. The work-shops are suitable for both beginners and experienced artists and will run for a full day, including breaks for coffee and lunch (not supplied). The workshops will be limited to 10/12 people to ensure one to one tuition. All materials will be supplied for the day including pastel card and Unison pastels.Stockport Art Gallery, Wellington Road, SK3 8ABcontact: paulpigram@aol.comtel: 07909 333 929£3510am - 4pm

HEADLINERS

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fashion

Hat Works Museum brought hatting home to Stockport with last month’s Making Headway Catwalk Show

A new collection of 30 couture fashion hats, created by 13 of the UK’s best emerging millinery talents, was showcased at a Paris style fashion show hosted at St. Mary’s

Church in Stockport Market Place.

The recently restored parish church was transformed with a jaw-dropping architectural installation created by students from Manchester School of Architecture supported by the Office for Subversive Architecture. From 10,000 paper hats suspended from an enor-mous fishing net, the students fashioned a dramatic, unique and stunning backdrop for the show.

An audience of 500 people enjoyed a fabulous cut-ting edge fashion spectacle which could have rivalled the runways of London, Milan and Paris. People were blown away with the quality the designs not to men-tion the innovative dressing of the church. The proj-ect is ‘making headway’ in bringing hatting home and making Stockport a hub for creativity and innovative design.

Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of Stockport Coun-cil, said: “Projects such as Making Headway really showcases the wealth of creative talent in the North West, and what is possible when the heritage of one of Stockport’s oldest industries is combined with an innovative vision for the future. We are fortunate to have been able to collaborate with high quality part-ners and the result is this stunning catwalk event and a forthcoming exhibition.”

Participating milliner Margaret Woodliff-Wright add-ed: “’Making Headway’ provided a unique opportuni-ty to combine creative and professional experiences. The programme has been instrumental in creating a melting pot of ideas and opportunities, developing, deepening and enhancing our millinery expertise”.

Laura Sanderson, Senior Lecturer and Head of Year 01 at Manchester School of Architecture, said: “Architec-ture is not something which should only be created in the studio; it is a live thing to be celebrated in the city. To have the opportunity to work with such an ex-

citing client and within such a beautiful building is an opportunity for the students involved to create real projects for real people.”

Participating milliners were selected through open competition to take part in a professional develop-ment programme resulting in the creation of two new designer collections of hats.

For those not able to catch the catwalk shows, the hats will be shown in Making Headway - The Exhibi-tion which is now open at Stockport Council’s Hat Works. For the first time all the hats on show are for sale providing visitors with a unique opportunity to purchase a handcrafted hat by an emerging millinery talent.

Participating milliners are Beth Simpson of Lady Go Red, Francisco Rico, Jane Bailey, Marina Walger, Vic-toria Shearing, Marie Thornton, Sue Wood, Margaret Woodliff-Wright, Marie Halewood, Melanie Lewiston, Kate Jones, Sue Carter and Rhian Kempadoo.

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events

10

In terms of fulfilling their remit, a Fringe Festival is bang on the money for the Portas Delivery Group. It’s different, it

focusses attention on the Old Town and it is culturally significant. Much of what is printed here reflects the ambition of the project rather than confirmed details. It’s clear that a lot of balls are still in the air, a lot of people are being spoken to and a lot of new ideas considered. But it’s happen-ing.

THE BEGINNINGS“We did the Seven Miles Out Arts Festival two years ago and, in a way, that has led to this. It’s an event which is attached to the Old Town brand and we want to do it in a way that people can get behind. The aim is to provide an eclectic, colour-

ful mix of cultural activity which will attract communities from the boroughs into the Old Town, people who don’t currently engage with Stockport. To show them that there is an emerging commu-nity here.“

FRIDAY 29TH AUGUST - MUSIC“It’s a Foodie Friday and in Seven Miles Out we’ll have some tradi-tional Irish music from the likes of Andy Dinan (twice All-Ireland fiddle champion). They’ll be playing in the corner and maybe in the courtyard there’ll be a bit of dancing and some spoken work poetry to compliment the music. The idea is that we’ll book high quality acts and they’ll play here, then go to the Arden Arms, go to The Bakers, go to The Market Hall... rotate around the venues.“We’ll also be running some workshops such as the Vegetable Orchestra and the Bling Workshop which we’ve done before. We’re starting some free weekly photography workshops and people on that course will be sent out to document Stockport: the shops, the people, the events... and the idea is that we exhibit all the pictures in here during the Festival.”

SATURDAY 30TH AUGUST - ART“.Saturday is mostly about public art : we’re hoping to section off part of the market as a village green, with Astroturf and a white picket fence and we’re trying to get a big mural painted on a wall down on Mealhouse Brow.. Whether that involves painting

it over the three days of The Fringe or unveiling it on the Saturday has yet to be decided. We’ve got permission from the landlord to do it so it’s just a case of working out the artwork. We’re also think-ing of commissioning another 20 or so Sellotape men from Brin Morris and distributing them around the town. It would be fun for families to try and find them all.“There are other sites around the Underbanks that we are also look-ing at for murals. There’s an artist in Marple called Tracy McGuin-ness-Kelly who has done a lot of work with local schools, so we’re thinking about ways we can involved children in making a mural of Stockport, reflecting how they see the town. We’ve got the budget for a number of them, it’s just a matter of how we move it forward.“We’ll also have a film screening in here on the Saturday night and hopefully the courtyard will be usable by then.”

SUNDAY 31ST AUGUST - PERFORMANCE“Sunday is the Festival of Markets in which we want to showcase all the specialist markets inside in the Market Hall: The Teenage Mar-ket, Vintage Village, The Handmade Market, The Book & Record Fair. Outside the Market Hall it’s the Festival of Dance and Street Theatre - Morris men, Irish dancers, clog dancers and urban gypsies as well as local dance groups. One of the first acts we booked were Pif-Paf from Sheffield it’s brilliant interactive street theatre that is perfect for kids. We’re looking at a lot of interactive activities like this that will bring families in.”

OLD TOWN TO HOST FRINGE FESTIVAL

In the same week as plans for the Stockport Festival were announced, The Portas Delivery Group revealed plans for a parallel ‘Fringe’ event to take place over the same weekend at the end of August, but based across The Old Town .

Although still in its early planning stages, we spoke to Joe Barratt at Seven Miles Out about the group’s ideas for the event

One of the extraordinary contraptions that Pif-Paf will be bringing to The Fringe Festival

Amaranth are pleased to support Bramhall festival.

Visit us for advice from our team of natural health experts and complementary therapists.

Pop in over the festival weekend to enjoy:

• Free samples and goodies of your favourite skincare brands Caudalie and REN from our lucky dip

• Samples of green juices, protein shakes and healthy snacks and a chance to chat to our Nutritional Therapist

• 25% off selected products from the NEOM organics range

• 25% off selected FitFlop shoes

19 Bramhall Lane South SK7 1AL 0161 439 9856www.amaranth-wellbeing.com

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Looking for a new image for the Summer? Well get down to Ryan Jake’s in Bramhall

Ryan Jake is a stylish modern salon situated in the heart of bustling Bramhall village. Established for over 19 years, they pride themselves on maintaining their exceptionalreputation by providing a premium service to all of their clients.

The team at Ryan Jake are an energetic,fun loving group of people who all share a passion for hair, working hard to ensure client satisfaction and offering new and innovative techniques in hairdressing. They are on handto advise on all aspects of haircare, realising the client’s needs from the initial consultation throughto managing your style at home.

Ryan Jake specialise in wedding packages and party hair and with the late night appointments they offer they can always fit you in!

Ryan Jake offer male and children hair cuts.

styleISABELLA BRIDALHaving opened on Little Underbank last April, Isabella

Bridal are celebrating a year of supplying wedding gowns to the beautiful brides of Stockport and beyond. Owner Maggie is from a fashion background

and, after graduating, worked for a bridal company for three years, during which time she researched the bridal gown market in depth.

That notwithstanding, when Maggie came to get married herself, she encountered the sort the problems that Isabella Bridal has set out to overcome, “We struggled. A lot of the dresses I liked were so expensive and very few places could turn one round in the three months we had until the wedding.”

And so the idea was formed that the Maggie should open her own shop, supported by husband Joe who runs the company’s website. Despite living in Manchester they searched long and hard before settling on Stockport.

Maggie decided to concentrate specifically on providing dresses for the bride although they do offer a small, imaginative range of bridesmaid dresses too. The most important part was ensuring that the dresses she was offering were well designed and reason-ably priced.

Whereas most bridal boutiques will offer a range of stock samples, order the nearest size then alter it to fit the bride, Isabella Bridal offer a range of samples which they have designed

themselves. When the prospective bride finds a style she likes, the dress will then be made specifically to her measurements, incorporating any changes the bride might want to incorpo-rate.

As Maggie explains “Our wedding dresses will be made to fit your shape and curves exclusively. This will ensure that the proportions of the dress will be correct and no detail will be lost in alterations.”

The style of the dresses reflect the style of the boutique itself: simple, elegant and contemporary, aimed at the younger customer who will probably appreci-ate the relatively modest price range of £499 to £899.

The pair are aware that wedding dresses can be bought for £200-£300 online and have dealt with brides who initially went down that route: “we’ve had people come in here having bought one and they just don’t want to wear it, the quality really isn’t there.”

Maggie has also eased the time pressure on get-ting yourself fixed up with a dress. Eight to ten weeks is the standard delivery time but if you’re willing to pay a bit more you could have it in four.

The consultation process is taken seriously - a bridal lounge is provided for the private use of the customer and their family. Maggie goes out of her way to advise the bride that they should bring up to three people with them, to make the pro-cess more relaxed.

Isabella Bridal 36 Little Underbank, Stockport, SK1 1JT0161 477 3967 www.isabellabridal.co.uk

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It was an eventful week in Bob Blakeley’s life. On the Saturday the BBC broadcast the episode of The Voice in which he performed Cry Me A River but failed to get any of the judges to turn around, At 6am on Sunday he was back at his job at Kerry Foods and on Thursday he was a guest on BBC1s Breakfast programme, on which impresario Mike Batt made an offer to manage him live on air. Bob’s emotional reaction struck a chord with the millions of people who felt he had deserved to progress further in the talent show. That was back in January but as of now, Bob is a full time singer and his debut album “Performance” has been released.

talking point

This must be all be a bit surreal...It’s off the scale. You just cannot imagine. You never think you’re going to realise a dream but when it happens it’s like stepping into another world. The dream is happening.

I assume you’ve always wanted to be a singerYes, I’m the youngest of four and I’ve got a brother who’s a professional so there was always music around the house, guitars playing, mouth organs, singing... and I grew up listening to The Kinks, The Stones, The Beatles, things like that.

You were on the Voice in January but it was filmed last yearYes, in September.

So you went on, the judges had their backs to you and you sang Cry Me A River. But they didn’t turn round. I have to say, you took it very well.That was from the heart. I think a lot of contestants who go on there don’t realise what a great achievement it is just to get on that stage. And I’ve idolised Tom Jones since my teens so just to sing in front of him was a dream for me.

So if they had all turned round you would have gone with Tom Jones?Defintely, without a doubt.

When the recording had finished did the judges give you any advice off-screen?Not at all. If you don’t get through you’re ushered out of the building quite quickly actually, but the staff there were so nice. They treat you really well.

In some way you’re probably glad now that they didn’t turn round because the story moved forward and you went on breakfast TV and Mike Batt made you that offer...Yes, funnily enough I’d spoken to Mike about different things the day before but he never mentioned what he was about to do. So I go onto breakfast TV and I’m sat there and Mike Batt comes on the screen.

You responded quite emotionallyI couldn’t help myself, it was like a door opening for me and tears started to flow. I went down to see him at his house in London that very day and started to discuss things.

What made you enter the competition?I didn’t, my daughter Joanne enterred me for the competition unknown to me. She just gave me a letter one day and said “there’s your audition date”

So the album is out now, Cry Me A River is on it obviously but you’ve also done a version of Abracadabra and Life On Mars - that’s different, but it worksYes, I don’t know of any other artist who’s done a version of it. There’s one track on there called Just One Smile. When we recorded it it was late in the day and I’d been up since five that moring and it was about half ten at night - you don’t realise what hard work it is - it’s not physically tiring but it’s mentaly tiring - and I just couldn’t get that track. There was one note I couldn’t get and it was driving me up the wall so I told Mike I was going to leave it to the next morning and ‘bang’ I got it straight away.

So lots of things have changed for you but you mentioned before we started the interview that you were playing darts at the Star & Garter last night, so some things stay the same?You see a lot of artists going off the rails but it’s not in my nature to do that. No-body knows what’s in the future but I’m a pretty down to earth guy and I don’t think you can get along without good people and friends and I like to keep my friends close.

So are you Stockport born and Bred?I was born in Benchill in Wythenshawe but moved to Stockport when I was 11 but I love Stockport and I know this area very well. There used to be a chippy on Hillgate called Fiddlers and my father used to work at a factory across the road called Herbert Parks and he was working that Sunday when the aircraft came down. I’ve even sung in the Waterloo pub over there.

Perhaps you’ll be singing at the PLAZA one day?Ha, yes, in fact I was at the PLAZA the other night to watch a Bee Gees tribute act and I said to the wife, wouldn’t it be amazing if I could get on here and she said “it’ll happen”

You’re a grandad now so how are you coping with all the social media side of the business, because I see you’ve got a Twitter account nowOh, that’s all controlled by Joanne, I leave it to her.

BOB BLAKELEY

• interview by Paul Willett at Imagine FM

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GROW YOUR OWN

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gardening

To the vast majority of us, allotments are a faintly mysterious concept that we occassionally glmpse over a hedge, a relic of past times, a noble

but dated British tradition. But to more than 1350 Stockport residents, spread across 34 allotment sites, they represent a hobby that borders on a way of life, generating a vast sup-ply of food, herbs and flowers, a social environ-ment and some not-insignificant exercise. The BBC’s Allotment Challenge, which ran for six weeks, finishing in May, has refocussed this horticultural oddity in the nation’s conscious-ness but what do we really know about these mysterious enclaves scattered throughout our urban areas? We went to meet Richard King, Chair of Allotments Stockport - whose own plot is at the Torkington Park site in Hazel Grove - to find out more.

If any of us fancied the idea of running an allotment, how easily could we get one? It varies. After the big boom of about four years ago we had a waiting list of 40 for Torkington Park and the turnover was only one a year. But several of those people were on other waiting lists too and others moved away and of course they don’t tell us, so we’ve started check-ing on people every year to see if they’re still interested. My plot was originally my parents and they had to wait four years for it. They’d look over the wall and see plots all overgrown but as long as people were paying their rent, that didn’t matter. Now, with the associations having been formed, it’s much easier to have people removed if they are not cultivating properly. Our waiting list is down to about four or five now.

How big is the average plot?A full-sized plot, which is called a standard plot, is 300 square yards. That was considered to be the right size if you wanted to feed a family of four to six throughout the year and people would grow a mix of things which would see them through the year. Of course times have changed and nowadays people will grow partly for the larder and partly for fruit, which is more

popular than it used to be.And how much does an allotment cost?In Stockport there are three levels of rent. The most expensive sites have a water supply and are not liable to flooding but there’s not a huge difference between the price bands and in comparison with local authorities around the district, Stockport is pretty cheap, we pay around 17p per square yard at Torkington Park. It costs more if you want to keep poultry.

Poultry?Yes, but the site needs a special licence for that. A few sites also have bees and there are rules about that too. The person keeping them has to have been on a training course, they have to be sited so that the normal activity of bees around the hive won’t impact on neighbours. But it’s encouraged. We need bees.

Is the allotment world populated exclusive-ly by the retired ?Probably about half are over 50 but we have young couples with children. We’ve got one little guy who loves weeding and he’s got a tiny little plot of his own on his parents’ allotment. What we’ve done at Torkington is sub-divided some of the standard plots into smaller ones because a couple with one or two kids cannot manage a full plot if they’re working. Which is why we have 26 full size plots but 40 members. That’s another thing that’s helped bring the queue down. We also have ‘Starter Plots’ of 80 or 100 square yards and if someone comes along who hasn’t done this sort of thing before, we give them six months to get it going.

So it’s quite time-consuming, how much time do you spend on your plot?I’m fortunate because I live very close so I can pop out and do half an hour but on average I probably spend an hour a day through the year. It’s probably not enough to just do it at weekends, the odd evening is probably needed too.

What sort of things do people like growing?I’ve got about 90 different things growing in

mine. Strawberries, redcurrants, blueberries. I grow climbing beans, French, runner. French dwarf beans, potatoes of course: main crop, first earlies and second earlies, several variet-ies of courgettes - I’m trialing some climbing courgettes for Which Magazine - cucumbers, tomatoes if you can get them in before the blight. I also grow flowers - loads of gladioli and dahlias and I’ve got a tub of herbs. We have quite a few people who are totally organic, and won’t use any form of chemicals. There are also some people who only grow heritage vegeta-bles, those that were in use up to, say the end of the Second World War.

Do most allotment owners also have a gar-den at home?I’d say the average person with a plot, doesn’t have space to grow vegetables at home. Quite a lot of new houses have gardens so small you can’t do anything with them except grow some flowers. It’s a community thing too, we’ve got one plot which was run by CASU, the associa-tion for recovering alcoholics and they’ve now moved to a huge plot at Woodbank Park. [The charity Independent Options also have a plot at Chester Road which was seriously damaged by arsonists recently]

I imagine it’s a very social hobby?Oh yes, it can take you half an hour to get to your plot because of having to stop to talk to people. The Stockport Association were also at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park last year where we were highly commended for our dis-play of heritage flowers, herbs and plants. We’re back there this year with a theme of “Rainbow 5-a-Day” which will feature some very colourful edibles. We’ve currently got about 40 people all growing things for it, hoping they’ll be ready in time.

Okay you’ve convinced us. Where do we sign up?If you’re interested it’s worth contacting the council and getting in touch with a couple of sites. A lot of them have open days so pop down to one of those.

There are over 330,000 allotment plots in the UK and demand continues to exceed supply but to many of us they are are still a mystery. Stockport Source decides to dig a bit deeper.

A full list of Stockport’s Allotment sites with contact can be found on the Stockport Council website at: http://tinyurl.com/q8d8lt9Alltoments Stockport’s webite can be found at: www.allotmentsstockport.org

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The Best of the Rest

June 9th Passenger – Heart’s On FireThe Pierces - KingsJennifer Lopez – First Love

June 16th George Azra - Budapest

June 23rd Foster The Prople – Best FriendDuck Sauce - NRG

June 30th Royksopp & Robyn – Do It Again

Imagine FM’s breakfast show host Paul Willett looks at the big releases for June.

Arctic Monkeys – Snap Out Of It(Single) – 9th JuneFollowing their multiple wins at this year’s BRIT and NME Awards, Arctic Monkeys announce the release of new single ‘Snap Out Of It’ on June 9th, which is sure to cross over to new audienc-es. Snap Out Of It’ is taken from Arctic Monkeys’ fifth No.1 album, AM which was released last September. Arctic Monkeys will be back to the UK in May to perform their biggest ever shows in the capital - two dates at London’s Finsbury Park on Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th of May and at various festivals over the summer in-cluding T in the Park, Reading & Leeds Festivals.

Ella Henderson - Ghost(Single) – 9th JuneElla Henderson marks her arrival with the release of her assured debut single, Ghost through Syco Music. The epic song showcases Ella’s soaring voice, which belies her teenage years. Ghost is a song Ella co-wrote with Ryan Tedder, who was recently named Billboard’s songwriter of the year for his work with the likes of Beyoncé and Adele. The collaboration came about after Ryan heard Ella’s voice on a Drake cover and said “It took listening to her sing half of a cover song to convince me she has an insanely bright future.” The pair started work on Ghost in a writ-ing session in London and finished it when Ella flew to his hometown of Denver in January. The stunning video for Ghost, filmed on a night-time shoot in New Orleans, sees Ella performing around the historic city as a dark narrative un-folds. Ghost, has been eagerly anticipated since Ella first came to the attention of the public as a contestant on the X Factor. Despite leaving the show early, her breathtaking performances drew attention from global megastars from Adele to Cher, who were all captivated by her voice. The two-year wait for her debut single, unheard of for someone discovered on a reality show, has allowed Ella to develop as a songwriter and artist.

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Kings Of Leon – Don’t Matter(Single) – 16th JuneKings Of Leon’s brand new single ‘Don’t Matter’ is from their latest album, Mechanical Bull. The 2014 MECHANICAL BULL TOUR is in support of Kings of Leon’s 6th album, Mechanical Bull, which was released on September 23 on Columbia Records and debuted at #1 in the UK, which makes it the fourth consecutive Kings of Leon record to do so and #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. The album has been hailed by music critics worldwide, with the NY Times saying that with Mechanical Bull, “anthemic is the goal and anthemic is the end result,” and Entertainment Weekly claiming the album finds the band “recapturing the white-lightning-in-a-bottle spark.”

James – Moving On(Single) – 2nd JuneSince forming in 1982, James are, without doubt, one of Britain’s most influential indie bands, enjoying a prestigious career that spans over 30 years. Their classic hits include ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’, ‘Laid’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ amongst their 20 top 40 UK singles. They have released 12 studio albums and have sold over 12 million albums worldwide. After the success of set up single ‘Frozen Britain’ from their new album ‘La Petit Mort’ James are set to release lead track ‘Moving On’. Taken from ‘La Pe-tite Mort’, the first new full length James album in six years and produced by Max Dingel (Killers. Muse, White Lies) ‘Moving On’ is classic James, marrying pop sensibilities with a serious subtext. ‘La Petite Mort’ was recorded in the wake of Tim Booth losing his mother and best friend in quick succession and understandably many of the songs deal with mortality, hence the album title. However, ‘La Petite Mort’, is an incredibly uplift-ing record. The band have been announced as headliners for Summer in the City, July 11th, Camp Bestival, August 1st.

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