A free exhibition celebratingchildren’s books including The Gurffalo, Zog, Stick Man and Room on the Broomis coming to Salford in time for the summer holidays.
The major new exhibit, which will celebrate author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler’s award-winning partnership, will open at The Lowry arts centre this summer.
Entitled Julia and Axel – Thirty Years of Favourite Stories, it will bring to life some of the best-loved characters in contemporary children’s fiction.
Kicking off in July before running through to the end of the year, those heading down can look forward to exploring an interactive “Storybook room”, as well as discovering snippets from the animated reimaginings of The Gruffalo, Zog and Snail and the Whale.
The exhibit will also explore how Julia and Axel have collaborated over the years to create some of the most beloved characters in modern children’s fiction.
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From the terrible tusks and terrible claws of the Gruffalo to the Witch, her cat, and her very tall hat, and Stick Man on his journey home to the ‘family tree’, the pair’s eccentric characters have captured the hearts and minds of children around the world.
The exhibition will open on Saturday 22 July at The Lowry and run to Monday 1 January 2024, giving families plenty of opportunities to visit over the course of the year.
Julia Donaldson says: “I am delighted that we are working in partnership with The Lowry on this exhibition and that they are celebrating 30 years of Axel and me working together. It is exciting to be able to share some ‘behind the scenes’ secrets with our young readers and to show what happens before a finished book is in their hands.
“I hope that it will help them to feel creative and to start writing and illustrating their own stories, so that we have new picture-book creators in the future.”
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Axel Scheffler says: “I find it hard to believe that it is 30 years since Julia Donaldson and I did our first picture book together with A Squash and a Squeeze. So much has happened since then and many children have now enjoyed our stories over the years.
“I am very pleased that The Lowry is hosting this special celebratory exhibition and that it will give families the chance to discover more about my illustrations and Julia’s writing.”
Michael Simpson, Director of Visual Arts at The Lowry, says: “This is a unique celebration of the creative partnership of Julia and Axel, whose stories and pictures are loved by children and grown-ups alike. We want every family to think of The Lowry as the place to go for a great day out.”
UK comedy legend Al Murray is playing two Greater Manchester shows this year
Danny Jones
British comedy legend Al Murray is back on the live comedy circuit and bringing his latest stand-up routine to Greater Manchester for two dates this year.
Two years on from his last show Gig For Victory, ‘The Pub Landlord’ himself is back out on stage with new material and the Al Murray: Guv Island tour, with the first of his two dates local to Manchester starting this month.
Kicking off his return to 0161 in Stockport at the stunning Plaza Theatre on Saturday, April 20, the 55-year-old comic will be here before you know it.
Although there’ll be a few more sets performed relatively nearby, including Buxton and Warrington, his second Greater Manchester date at the legendary Lowry Theatre in Salford Quays won’t come around until 20 October – but looking at the reviews, it sure to be worth the wait.
Murray has already left a great legacy playing the role of the exaggerated English publican, but the comedian and Oxford University alumnus has always been one of the sharpest on the stand-up scene.
Having secured veteran status long ago, where many experienced acts might be accused of phoning it in on occasion this far into their careers, it’s great to see the Buckinghamshire-born funny man still putting out a quality two-hours plus (including an interval) of jokes.
Receiving fours and fives pretty much across the board, Al Murray isn’t just a household name across the UK but still a very bloody good stand-up.
Said to toy with the modern British population and PC culture, insisting it’s “lost its way” and is now seeking a “life partner/mentor/inspiration”, the description for Guv Island issues the following warning: “No timewasters, tedious show-offs or offend-o-trons”.
Tickets for both his Greater Manchester shows are on sale now and given that the former takes place this weekend at 7:30pm, you might want to be quick about getting one.
You can grab your seats for Al Murray’s show at the Stockport Plaza HERE or for his night at The Lowry this October HERE.
Featured Images — Press Images/Al Murray (via Instagram)
Salford
Work begins on dozens of new ‘affordable’ homes in Salford as part of £2.5bn regeneration
Emily Sergeant
Work is now underway on dozens of new ‘affordable’ homes in Salford as part of multi-billion pound regeneration scheme.
The exciting new development called Willohaus – which was granted planning permission by Salford City Council last summer – forms part of the wider £2.5 billion Crescent Salford regeneration, and is a partnership between Salford City Council, the University of Salford, and ECF (formerly The English Cities Fund).
100 “high-quality, sustainable, and affordable” one and two-bedroomed homes are set to be built on a disused carpark on Peru Street in the heart of Salford as part of the scheme.
The apartments have been designed to provide a “comfortable environment” for residents, as Passivhaus buildings can apparently reduce energy bills by up to 90%, when compared to traditional housing stock.
This essentially means residents can reduce their fuel bills, all while cutting carbon footprints too.
Work has begun on dozens of new ‘affordable’ homes in Salford / Credit: ECF North West
The Willohaus site is situated in the historic civic district of Salford, which has been undergoing extensive regeneration in recent years.
It was once a key industrial area for the city, and back in the 1800s, the site was home to a public bath house.
The construction of Willohaus follows the similar development of Passivhaus-standard homes, Greenhaus, situated nearby – which completed last month, and is made up of 96 affordable new homes in total.
Joe Stockton, who is the Senior Development Manager for ECF, said Willohaus will be an “upscale” on Greenhaus.
The Willohaus site is situated in the historic civic district of Salford / Credit: ECF North West
He explained: “Following our success delivering low-energy, Passivhaus-standard homes at nearby Greenhaus, we are now looking to upscale what has previously been done on a relatively small-scale, and make sustainable homes accessible and affordable for a wider range of customers.
“We’re looking forward to working with our partners to create a vibrant and well-connected neighbourhood at Crescent Salford, starting with our Willohaus community.”
Willohaus will also be the first Passivhaus-certified development to benefit from funding through the new ‘trailblazer’ devolution protocols, which have seen Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) given greater powers and funding to enable more “truly affordable net-zero homes” via the UK Government’s Affordable Homes Programme.
Tom Stannard, who is the CEO of Salford City Council, added: “It is such great news to see works starting on another eco-friendly development in our city.
Georgina Pellant -
24th April 2023 
