North West & North Midlands news
News from your region
To celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight the Co-operative invites you to sample a great range of Fairtrade wines from our award winning selection.
This informal wine tasting evening will also give you the opportunity to find out more about The Co-operative group and how we are making a difference in local and global communities.
Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To complete your booking please ring the North West and North Midlands Membership team on 0161 246 2226/2345 or email us at membership.northwest@co-operative.coop.
Events are taking place on the following dates:
Monday 22 February - 7pm, The Simpson Memorial Hall, Moston Lane, Moston, Manchester, M40 9NB
Tuesday 23 February - 7pm, New Life Church, Danesford Community Centre, West Road, Congleton, CW12 4EY
Thursday 25 February - 7pm, St Bartholomew's Church, The Rectory, Albert Road, Colne, BB8 0AE
Monday 1 March - 7pm, The Prince of Wales Britannia Hotel, Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1JS *FULLY BOOKED*
Tuesday 2 March - 7pm, Cheadle Guild Hall, Tape Street, Cheadle, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST10 1BG
Wednesday 3 March - 7pm, Reddish Vale Technology College, Reddish Vale Road, Reddish, Stockport, SK5 7HD
Thursday 11 March - 7pm, Gaskell Hall, Emesgate Lane, Silverdale, Carnforth, LA5 0RA
Chorlton's Big Green Festival
The Manchester Area Committee are proud to be supporting this years Chorlton Big Green Festival.
Saturday 27 March, 2010 - 11am-11pm
Chorlton's Big Green Festival is a green get-together that takes place every year in the sunny suburbs of south Manchester.
The free event launched in 2009, with an estimated 4,000 people joining in the first-ever festivities. This year, the celebration of all things eco and ethical promises to be even bigger and better, with various fringe events planned in the run-up to the all-day Big Green Festival on Saturday 27 March including a stand promoting the Co-operative.
The idea behind Chorlton's Big Green Festival is to offer people the chance to sample sustainability in fun and friendly surroundings. The festival puts environmental issues centre stage with a vibrant and varied programme of live entertainment, activities and workshops, and festival-goers are encouraged to get involved with swapshops, a bike parade and a huge ceilidh. There's also plenty of tasty, responsibly sourced food and drink to boost those green energy levels and plug our "growing locally" theme!
To find out more about the festival and an up to date programme of activities please visit our website: http://greenchorlton.org.uk/news.php (opens in new window).
Shrewsbury Fairtrade Wine Evening
26 February 2010 from 19:30 to 22:30
The Shropshire Fairtrade Coalition with be hosting a Co-operative Fairtrade wine tasting event at The Prince Rupert Hotel, Shrewsbury on Friday 26 February, at 7:30 pm, supported by the North Midlands Area Committee of the Co-operative Group. With a selection of Co-operative Fairtrade wines available to taste on the night, The Prince Rupert Hotel is central, and easily accessible from the railway and bus stations, and Shrewsbury itself is as near a central location as anywhere in Shropshire.
This event also coincides with the arrival in Shrewsbury of Ray Gill who is walking from Garstang to Bridgnorth, where he lives, during the fortnight, via as many Fairtrade towns as possible.
Shrewsbury hopes to launch its campaign for Fairtrade Town status during Fairtrade Fortnight this year, and will welcome Ray as guest of honour.
Local wine expert, Geoff Leigh will lead the evening, Geoff leads a number of wine tasting courses for local colleges in Shropshire. Over the evening you will have the opportunity to taste six wines, two white, a rose, and three red.
A collection will be held on the evening for Haiti, and a Fairtrade raffle with proceeds to Traidcraft Exchange, the charitable arm of Traidcraft. Entry is strictly by ticket only, tickets are available through Ken Pattison of the Shropshire Fairtrade Coalition only.
Venue: Prince Rupert Hotel, Butcher Row, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1UQ. Website: http://www.prince-rupert-hotel.co.uk/
Contact: Ken Pattison
E-mail: kenandjo@pattisonfamily.co.uk
Phone: 01743 232670
On Saturday 6 December, over 2500 Co-operative Members utilised subsidised train and coach travel to join the 50,000 strong march through London for The Wave – the largest demonstration on climate change seen in the UK. Promoted as a family event, The Wave aimed to bring families together to demand action on climate change.
One family from the North West travelled down to London and met up with family members from London, Brighton and Devon forming a 16 strong group, marching around London dressed in blue to represent a wave.
“This was my first demonstration and it was really exciting” explained Poppy from Manchester. “We have learnt about climate change in school and I wanted to go to London so that people know that young people care about our environment. The journey on the train was fun and I got to meet up with all my family, sing songs and paint our faces! I hope that we can go on more demonstrations in the future”
The Co-operative remains committed to tackling the issue of climate change and continues to support a wide range of community projects such as walking buses and Green Energy 4 Schools helping local people to make a difference. To find out more about the different campaigns the Co-operative is involved with please go to www.co-operative.coop/ethicsinaction
Poppy and her family attended the Wave Climate Change March with 2,500 Co-operative members in London during December 2009
To support the Somerfield store re-launches in the North West of England, the Regional Membership Team hosted eight Product tasting events for new Co-operative customers during November and December.
Over 350 people attended these action packed events and were able to sample products from our Fairtrade, Truly Irresistible and Grown By Us ranges including some of our delicious Truly Irresistible Pork and Caramelised Onion Sausages. Attendees also had the opportunity to find out more about their new Co-operative store, our approach to responsible retailing and our community support schemes.
Hopefully the customers that have attended these events will have a deeper understanding of what the Co-operative is all about and go on to become loyal Co-operative customers and members.
Feedback from customers has been extremely positive and we look forward to working closely with the businesses in the North West and North Midlands Region in 2010.
The past few weeks has seen a number of Co-operative Christmas concerts taking place across the North West and North Midlands Region. Concerts have been held in Bolton, Manchester and Crewe attracting over 800 members, customers and their families.
The Bolton Family Christmas was held at the Theatre Church. Over 200 members, customers and family attended the event and were treated to performances by the Milnrow Co-operative Brass Band and the Diamond Vocal Harmony Group. Father Christmas also visited with selection boxes for the all the younger children. Over £250 was by raised the raffle for the RNID- The Co-operative Group’s Charity of the Year.
Over 400 members, customers and their families attended the Manchester Family Christmas concert at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. The Milnrow Co-operative Brass Band and the Reddish Vale School Samba Band provided the entertainment and were their performances were thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. Father Christmas made a special appearance with presents for all the younger children.
The Crewe Christmas Concert was held at Dane Bank Theatre. The concert attracted over 200 Co-operative members who were treated to performances from the Co-operative Crewe Band and the Crewe Youth Wind Band. Over £200 was raised by the raffle in aid of the RNID.
Contact details for theThe Co-operative NWNM Members’ Groups and NWNM Supported Groups in the North West and North Midlands Region can be found here.
Co-operative Members’ Groups exist to develop pro-active member participation in the Co-operative through offering a range of events, activities and opportunities for Co-operative members and the local community.
Supported Groups (including Woodcraft Folk, Co-operative Women’s Guild and National Guild of Co-operators) receive a grant from the Society to support their activities.
If you wish to find out more about a group in your area, please use the contact details provided.
Find out about our change the world regional events
For further information on events or activities near you, please contact your Regional Office below:-
The Co-operative Group
North West Region
Membership Department
5th Floor
New Century House
Corporation Street
Manchester
M60 4ES
Tel: 0161 246 2345/0161 246 2226
Email: membership.northwest@co-operative.coop