National Trust site Tatton Park is still unable to fully reopen following a night of ‘chaos’ when Storm Arwen ripped through the region.
The popular attraction has been left without external power, forcing it to close its restaurants and shops, and scale back its One Snowy Night festive event.
Tatton Park in Knutsford was fully closed on Saturday and had to cancel its first day of Father Christmas meets.
The park has been able to gradually reopen some areas since then.
We are open today but with limited facilities. We have an ongoing power cut which means we can't open shops or restaurants. Gardens and Farm will be open for festivities…see our website for more details… pic.twitter.com/hyTxRXz2cm
“Teams have been busy clearing up and repairing damage but an external power cut means we still have no mains power. Our electrical supplier, Scottish Power, are working on this, but it’s a changing situation by the hour and sadly out of our control.”
The parkland is now open again, as are the toilet facilities in the Stableyard, though the restaurants and shops remain closed.
Visitors are advised to book their parking in advance online or bring cash, as the power outage has left Tatton Park without tills.
One Snowy Night is going ahead but with no food and drink on offer – refunds are available.
Featured image: Facebook – Tatton Park
Cheshire
Rare baby tree kangaroo born at Chester Zoo for the first time in nearly 100 years
Emily Sergeant
A rare baby tree kangaroo has been born at Chester Zoo for the first time ever, and conservationists are hailing it a “real celebration”.
Just weeks after one of the world’s rarest chimpanzees was born at the UK’s biggest charity zoo, a tiny new endangered Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo has now been born for the first time in the zoo’s 91-year history, and the remarkable moment it peeked out from its mum Kitawa’s pouch has been caught on camera.
With only two zoos in the UK caring for the species, the birth of the new joey is being called “a real celebration” for Chester Zoo’s conservation breeding programme.
The programme is working to protect highly-threatened species from extinction.
Native to the mountainous rainforests of Papua New Guinea, and much smaller than the well-known Australian kangaroo species, the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is a tree-dwelling marsupial that uses its strong limbs for climbing and tails for balance.
Sadly though, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the species as endangered in the wild, as it’s under threat from hunting and habitat destruction.
The species has also lost more than half of its population in the last 30 years.
Rare baby tree kangaroo born at Chester Zoo for the first time in nearly 100 years / Credit: Chester Zoo
In a bid to discover more about the elusive creatures, conservationists at Chester Zoo have decided to document the growth of the joey using a special endoscope camera.
The camera will be carefully placed into Kitawa’s pouch every few weeks.
Experts say the data collected could help tree kangaroos, as well as other similar threatened species found in South East Asia, and their plight in the wild.
“Kitawa’s joey is the first Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo to ever be born at Chester Zoo in its 91 year-long history, so it’s a real celebratory moment for the team and our efforts to protect this highly endangered species,” said David White, Team Manager at Chester Zoo.
“The new baby will soon emerge from the pouch fully and begin hopping around and learning to climb trees, under the watchful eye of mum
“That’s when we’ll be able to determine if it’s male or female and give the youngster a fitting name.”
Conservationists at the zoo say the birth is a “real celebration” for the endangered species / Credit: Chester Zoo
Giving a little more insight into the zoo’s conservation breeding programme and how important the joey’s birth is, David added: “With little being known about these shy and elusive creatures, small mammal experts at our conservation zoo are in a unique position to be able to capture and document the whole process around the development of Kitawa’s joey.
“These observations could be useful to help inform better conservation action for this wonderful, but sadly endangered species, in the wild.”
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
Cheshire
Bluedot festival reveals 2023 line-up, including Grace Jones, Roisin Murphy and Pavement
Daisy Jackson
One of the country’s best-loved festivals has revealed its line-up for 2023, with Bluedot welcoming headline performances from the likes of Grace Jones and Roisin Murphy.
The popular music and science event, which takes place every July at the beautiful Jodrell Bank Observatory, will also include a UK exclusive from Pavement.
The multi-award-winning Bluedot has announced its first wave of artists for its 2023 festival, featuring Leftfield, Young Fathers, Django Django, Brett Morgen, Annie Mac, Chris Lintott, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Tinariwen and many more.
This year’s massive line-up of global music talent will perform in front of the iconic backdrop of the 76-metre-wide Lovell Telescope, which last year was lit up with projections as a huge digital artwork for the first time.
Already announced are the BBC Concert Orchestra and Max Richter for Bluedot 2023, which will take place between 20 and 23 July.
Bluedot 2022. Credit: Supplied
Saturday will be headlined by lo-fi pioneers Pavement with their only UK performance of 2023. The group headlined Primavera last year before embarking on a completely sold-out UK tour that took in four nights at London’s Roundhouse.
The legendary Grace Jones will be taking to the Bluedot stage performing songs from her six-decade-long pop career, including hits like Slave To The Rhythm and Pull Up To The Bumper. Bluedot will be her only northern show of the summer.
Róisín Murphy will make history with her first-ever festival headline slot, calling on her lengthy career which began as one half of Moloko – the defacto queen of electropop has since delivered five solo albums, mesmerised audiences across clubland and is now set to open the weekend, with a cosmic dance party to usher in a new era following the success of her Roisin Machine album and tour.
Bluedot 2022. Credit: Scott SaltBluedot 2023 line up poster
Electronic music legends and multiple Mercury Prize-nominees Leftfield returned last month with the critically acclaimed This Is What We Do, featuring Lemn Sissay and Fontaines DC’s Grian Chatten. They’ll take a headline slot in Bluedot’s Orbit arena.
Also announced are Mercury prize winners Young Fathers, art rockers Django Django, feted post-punk four piece Dry Cleaning, Malian desert blues pioneers Tinariwen and experimental rockers Black Country, New Road, plus a Sunday Closing Party headlined by the iconic Annie Mac.
Nubya Garcia, Georgia, Max Cooper (3D AV), David Holmes, Beak>, Gwenno, Teleman, CMAT, Lava La Rue, Big Joanie, Skinny Pelembe, Scalping, Westerman, Belief, Pictish Trail, Divorce, Madmadmad and Radiophonic Workshop also join the first wave of the festival’s music line-up.
A huge part of Bluedot – which takes place at a UNESCO World Heritage Site – every year is its science programme, and this year that will include BBC Sky at Night’s Chris Lintott and Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Brainiac Live and renowned climate change researcher and author Mike Berners-Lee, whose How Bad Are Bananas? was named by The Independent as one of its ten recommended “best books to help you live more sustainably”.
Bluedot 2022. Credit: Tom MartinBluedot 2022. Credit: Scott SaltBluedot 2022. Credit: Lucas SinclairBluedot 2022. Credit: Scott Salt
UK Space Agency’s Libby Jackson OBE and The Open University’s Professor of Planetary and Space Science Monica Grady CBE will also return to the festival. The full science bill will be revealed in the coming weeks.
On the comedy and culture side of things, festival-goers can expect a David Bowie special edition of Adam Buxton’s Bug!, a screening and in-conversation with Moonage Daydream director, writer and producer Brett Morgan and an afternoon with White Rabbit Books featuring talks with Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, Lias Saoudi of Fat White Family, and 90’s icon Miki Berenyi, whose book Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me From Success was named Rough Trade’s book of the year for 2022.
Bluedot is a family-friendly festival, and kids will be entertained by the likes of Our Kids Social Silent Disco, Pop-Up Puppet Cinema and the ever popular Jedi Lightsaber Training.
Food and drink in the VIP Village will be curated by Manchester-based food charity Eatwell, featuring some brands including Dishoom, Caroline Martins, Where the Light Gets In, Another Hand and more.
Festival director Ben Robinson said: “As we announce the line-up for the 6th edition of bluedot it’s with great pride in the team behind the show. From day one the festival has been ambitious in its programming and mission. Looking at the scale of iconic talent, breadth of genres & one off moments it really has matured into a very special vent. Thanks to everyone who’s continued to support the idea of bluedot, we look forward to gathering together again beneath the telescope with you all.”
bluedot was recently named Line-Up Of The Year at the UK Festival Awards, and Festival of the Year at the Live Awards, and has hosted headline performances from the likes of Bjork, Kraftwerk 3-D, New Order, The Chemical Brothers, Mogwai, Pixies, The Flaming Lips, Underworld and Jean-Michel Jarre, plus high-profile talks from Tim Peake, Brian Cox, Helen Sharman, Alice Roberts and Richard Dawkins and an array of groundbreaking arts and family experiences.
Tickets for bluedot 2023 go on sale 10am Friday 27th January.
Daisy Jackson -
30th November 2021 
