Changes Afoot at Cringle Park

An eagle eyed local writes to tell us about developments at Cringle Park. The council have been working on water mains round the area near St Mary’s for a few months now and keen eyes have also spotted a few changes to the park on that side. After a bit of digging (not literally, silly, although I’m impressed at the lengths we will go to find out what’s happening out there) and enquiries to local councillors he’s unearthed the following plans for the park:



• The bowling green is to be removed and re-planted "as an arboretum with pathways and special stone".

• There will be "a Green Outdoor Gym for the local community if funding is successful".

• The disused pavilion is being turned into a boxing gym, to be opened in April.

• A third area will be a “stone feature”.



The area for the stone feature has some plans attached to it which refer to an “earth clock” in Burlington, Vermont – images of which can be found here and here.



Does anyone have any thoughts about the changing use of one of our biggest green spaces. Comment below or email lovelevenhulme@gmail.com.

Jewellery Making at Inspire

Here at LoveLevenshulme we think that Inspire is a gem (do you see what I did there?) and their proving it on Wednesday 2nd March by holding a beginners’ jewellery making workshop. The class is a chance to learn new techniques in a relaxed environment and go home with unique pieces made by you.


It’s a 5 week course, no previous experience is needed and all tools, beads and wires are provided as well as a step-by-step booklet at the end of the course. Classes start at 6.30pm and will last around an hour and a half.


The course costs £32.00 for all 5 lessons and a £5.00 deposit is needed to secure your place. For more information, call Tammy on 07507 540 043.

#Levytweetup TONIGHT

Just a quick reminder that the first #levytweetup of 2011 will take place tonight at POD from 8.00pm. 

Twitter users from Levenshulme are welcome, as are non-Twitter users (although Twitter nay-saying might not go down too well) and people from outside of Levenshulme who’ve got something Levy related to say. We’re an inclusive bunch and lots has happened since our last meet please drop by and say hi. 

For my sins (and busyness) this will be the first time I’ve been to POD in the evening since before Christmas so I can’t wait to see how they’re settling in to their evening opening hours.

Hashtag for event is, predictably, #levytweetup.

Levenshulme Baths Protests - Roundup 2

Two more events planned for this week in the ongoing campaign to save Levenshulme Baths:


Sign and Banner making workshop – Wednesday 23rd February - Inspire - 12.00noon-2.00pm

Sean Roache and Laurie Sage have offered to run a banner making workshop for the half-term holidays.


Save Levy Pool and Save Levenshulme Sure Start want you to come and be creative, have fun, make stuff about either or both services! All welcome! Big kids as well as little ones..


Beacon of Light Event – Saturday 26th February 2011 - Outside Levenshulme Baths - 5.30pm-8.30pm


Celebrate Levenshulme Pool as a Beacon of Light for the community with an Olympic theme.


The Olympics are marked with the lighting of the torch. Light up our baths and mark its role in our community and its potential for producing further Olympic stars.


You are invited to bring candles, torches or anything shiny to mark the importance of our pool. Lights can be brought from individuals, streets, churches, mosques residents groups – or any other groups.

***

As before the Facebook groups are very active so join them to find out more as it happens and if we’ve missed anything then let us know.

We’re also keen to include the Arcadia in these updates – does anyone know if they’ve got any planned protests or anything else that residents can help with? Get in touch using the comments below or email lovelevenshulme@gmail.com.

Levenshulme Street Market - Amended

Please note the date has now changed for this event. We'll still be there taking piccies, though. Do you know any traders at the Market who might want to have a quick chat? Comment below.

Exciting news from Manchester Markets who’ve been in touch to let us know that the first ever Levenshulme Street Market will be held on Friday 25th March. Details are a little wooly on exact location although it looks likely to be in the car park behind the station. Future markets will take place on the forth Friday of every month.

The market organisers promise that it will bring together the finest food producers and retailers that the area has to offer and, since they’re the team behind Manchester’s excellent Real Food market, I’ve have everything crossed that we’ll attract retailers of the same quality. Obviously the best way to do that and prove to them that there’s a market for the...err...market is to get down there and buy some goodies. I will be schlepping down the A6 in my lunch break to make a special trip and take some photos, see you there!

More information about trading at the markets can be found here.

Kids Films at Inspire

Whoops! A little bit late on this one but we got there in the end (and you only missed High School Musical, which I would imagine most parents would be grateful for). Inspire will be showing children’s films all this week for half term. Showings on Wednesday and Friday will be at 10:00am and Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00pm and are as follows:

Tuesday 22nd February - Ice Age 3
Wednesday 23rd February - Shrek Forever After
Thursday 24th February - Harry Potter No.6
Friday 25th February - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

No need to book, just turn up! Prices are 50p per child.

Beginners Art Classes - Inspire

Yet more interesting and exciting classes at Inspire - this time for anyone interested in exploring their creative side with a bit of painting.

The classes are being run by the lovely Emily Pitts, who runs the Inspire craft fairs (along with many other creative enterprises - as someone said to me the other day "that woman is a creativity machine").

Emily has been painting for over 15 years and creates a variety of artworks using acrylic paints on canvas. At her home-based studio she runs small art classes for beginner painters and creates her own work. In the past Emily has worked with groups of young people as a Youth Worker and she has a degree in Architecture.

The classes are for anyone who has an interest in painting - including experienced painters who'd like to try out using acrylics and those who've never picked up a brush before, the aim is to have fun in a relaxed atmosphere.

The classes start this Friday, 25th February and will run for 5 weeks initially. Classes run from 10.30am and should last around 90 minutes, and cost £5.00 (£3.50 concessions) per class, which includes all materials (paints, brushes, paper, card, canvas). Payment is required a week in advance so payments would be:

Friday 25th Feb £10.00/£12.00 with materials (£7.00 concession/£9.00 with materials)
Friday 4th March £5.00/£6.00 with materials (£3.50 concession/£4.50 with materials)
Friday 11th March £5.00/£6.00 with materials (£3.50 concession/£4.50 with materials)
Friday 18th March £5.00/£6.00 with materials (£3.50 concession/£4.50 with materials)
Friday 25th March -

To book, drop into Inspire or contact Emily at hello@emilypitts.com or 07870 360213.

Levenshulme Salon - Call for Launch Submissions.

Last week I had the fortune of meeting up with Annabel Vernon, who presents the fortnightly Levenshulme Salon show on Sundays between 9.00pm and 11.00pm on ALL FM. She’s been a volunteer presenter at the station since March 2009, after taking part in a Radio course, and took Levenshulme Salon show on air as a solo project in September last year. She’s now setting up some companion real-life salons and is looking for Levy collaborators.

The Levenshulme Salon is based on the idea of the 18th and 19th century model of the literary salon and shares similar aims to ours here at LoveLevenshulme - as Annabel puts it - to bring the creative community of Levenshulme together towards a primary aim of regenerating the area. The salon will meet regularly and allow Levenshulme’s small traders, clubs, arts societies, artists and acts to network, share ideas and be inspired to develop their own creative projects through collaboration and cooperation.

The salons will be launched at the Klondyke Club on Saturday 19th March with an evening of evening will feature the local bands, poetry, comedy and art which will also be raising money for ALL FM. Tickets are £5.00 and are available from POD, The Blue Bell, the Klodyke and online. We’ll have more details on the exact timings and lineup nearer the time but in the mean time the Levenshulme Salon needs your help! On the night of the launch they will be presenting a video montage from local artists and they want YOUR submissions. The deadline for electronic submissions is Saturday 26th February - contact Annabel for the exact details on how to submit. For even more info, visit the Salon’s Facebook page.

Levenshulme Market Fair - The Details

I wrote a bit last week about the upcoming Levenshulme Market Fair (not to be confused with the Street Market on 25th March. Honestly, no markets for ages and then two come along at once) with the promise to write more soo. Luckily the lovely Emily Pitts has furnished me with a few more details now so here goes:

The idea evolved from a collaborative approach to bringing people into Inspire and creating a place that is owned by the community. Having run a craft fair in Whalley Range before Christmas, Emily felt there was scope for Inspire to become a venue for a monthly event. Staff at Inspire and the Bubble Cafe were already thinking along the same lines, so heads were brought together and the Market Fair is now a reality. Emily said: 'The fair will be a real celebration of what Levenshulme and Manchester has to offer. We've worked to bring together high quality produce and goods and it's going to be a great success. The venue is amazing - a testament to partnership working.' Louise Penfold, Manager of the Bubble Cafe, which is a Community Interest Company, is thrilled to be involved in the partnership: 'We're enjoying being a part of Inspire and bringing locally sourced home-cooked food to the people here. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than mooching around lovely craft stalls with a cup of tea and a home-made chocolate brownie'.

Well-known local artist Laurie Pink is just one of the esteemed stall holders who will be at the Fair selling gifts, drawings and badges - starting at only £1.00. The event is free and everyone is welcome. There will be things for all the family including badge-making and drawing for children.

If you'd like more information you can find out more by ringing Emily on 07870 360213 or checking out the website.

Olde Levenshulme

Another bit of lunch time Levy love for you all - this time a collection of photos from Manchester City Council's local image collection of the area. There are some amazing photos here, can you spot your house?

Levenshulme Baths Protests - Roundup

Wow, what a week it's been in Levyland, eh? The protests on Saturday against the closure of Levenshulme baths attracted over 500 people and we've been all over the local and national press. Fantastic work, one and all. At the moment the situation is still grim, though, and we need to keep up the momentum. Thankfully, there are loads of people in Levenshulme doing their utmost to save the baths and they're organising a great range of events to keep us in the news.

Now, LoveLevenshulme isn't a political blog, we've always been clear on that. It is, however, a community blog. We post details of community events and, given the events of the last few weeks, it is inevitable that some of those events will be related to the political situation and we can't - and wouldn't want to - ignore them. With that in mind we hereby present the first of our new weekly community events roundups. Naturally, this week is mostly about the baths but there are some other elements and we welcome any suggestions you might have - email lovelevenshulme@gmail.com with confirmed events.

Wednesday 16th February - City Council Executive Meeting
At 9.30am today Levenshulme residents will be meeting at the fountain at the town hall in advance of the meeting at 10.00am. They will be presenting childrens art on the theme "why we love to swim" and are appealing for anyone to come along, bring banners and make some noise. If you're in town or can get there, please go along and lend your support.

Wednesday 16th February - Campaign Update Meeting
This is an action meeting and will enable people to form and work together in subgroups of interest: eg. business plan, building for events, letter writing, fact finding - whatever interests them - relaxed, open and democratic. Meet at the Blue Bell at 7.30pm.

Saturday 19th February - Swim-In Through the Ages at Levy Pool
Press will be invited to watch the residents of Levenshulme converge on the pool to show their love for it. Wear costumes (or dress one up with a slash or a badge) from past, present or future decades or be a spectator. Drop-in between 12.00noon and 3.00 pm.


Sunday 20th February - Swimming Against The Tide
A family fun event with live music and poetry from Claire Mooney, Zacc Rogers, Beryl Cowen and Shimeon, being held at M19 Bar from 4.00pm (doors open 3.00pm). Entry is free although a donation would be great as all funds raised will go towards the campaign. There will also be poster making and activities for children. All artists are local and performing for free.

Facebook
There are a few groups floating around on Facebook, so let me know if I've missed any here:
Save Levenshulme Baths
Friends of Levenshulme
Save Levenshulme SureStart
Save The Arcadia

Friday Night Disco 2

The second installment of Friday Night Disco takes place on Friday (18th February 2011) at the Klondyke Club on Burnage Grange, just off Albert Road, with Pip, Guy and Lisa & Gary Campbell playing Punk, Funk, Rock and House from 8.00pm till late to lush lighting and effects.
Tickets costing just £3 on the door and all proceeds go towards the restoration of the Klondyke Ballroom. The Klondyke is hosting more and more nights like this and money that goes towards its restoration helps to attract outsiders to interesting evenings of music and comedy in Levenshulme so, as the organisers so succinctly put it, a good turn out would be “skill, maybe ace”. For more info, check out their Facebook page.

(in case you were wondering, we missed Friday Night Disco 1, sorry about that)

Meetings at Inspire

Inspire will be formally launching their meeting and training space packages at an Open Event on Wednesday 16th February from 4.00pm to 7.00pm.

We’ve covered Inspire’s creative side quite extensively here on LoveLevenshulme but we’re as keen as they are for the centre to attract businesses so they can keep investing in the community, so if you know someone who’s looking to book a unique meeting, training or events space please invite them along.

The team will be there giving tours of their facilities, which include:

• Training and function rooms for small private meetings up to 70-delegate conferences
• Access to ample parking
• On-site catering
• Free Wifi
• Top quality AV equipment

In case you need any more information about Inspire:

Levenshulme Inspire is a dynamic partnership committed to improving the local area through community activity, creativity, enterprise and fun. The Inspire Centre is a £3.5m transformation of the United Reformed Church in Levenshulme into a state-of-the-art community and business centre. They are a social enterprise which receives no on-going core funding so they rely on room bookings in order to operate. Any profit is reinvested in the building and community activities for older people, young people, asylum seekers, refugees and people with mental health issues.

For more information call the team on 0161 850 5717 to discuss requirements or pop along to the open day.

Martial Arts Fest!

Levenshulme families are getting active and...defensive with two sessions of martial arts at Inspire led by Tae Kwon Do instructor Chloe Worral.

The first is a beginners session for families, being held on Monday 21st February from 2.00pm - 4.00pm. The classes cost £3.00 each and are suitable for anyone over the age of 6.

Then on Saturday 26th February from 12.00noon - 2.00pm it's the ladies' time. Grab your handbag (not literally, you sillys) for a self defence class designed to make you street confident and improve your physical fitness. The class will cost £5.00 (£3.50 concessions).

For both classes contact Inspire to book your place on 0161 850 5717.

Levenshulme Bazaar

Now, don't be angry, but I'm afraid we missed something. Rubbish, eh? I promise it won't happen again.

Anyway, on Saturday 22nd January, Inspire hosted their first ever Market Bazaar. The day played host to all manner of local crafters, foodies, makers, artists, fashionistas and creatives and we'll put more pictures up here as soon as we have them.

The event was a roaring success and will run on the 3rd Saturday of every month, meaning the next one will be on Saturday 19th February 2011 from 12.00noon - 4.00pm and they're looking for stall holders. If you're local and independent and make things or want to start all you need to do is complete this form.

Please pass on the love to other creatives and makers who may be interested too.

#levytweetup Time Again!

The first #levytweetup (meeting for users of the social media site Twitter in Levenshulme) of 2011 will take place on Thursday 24th February from 7.30pm.

As you may or may not already know, POD's application for a weekday evening licence has been slightly delayed and at the moment it's unclear whether they will be open to sell alcohol by that time. If they are then we will move there from our traditional home of The Bluebell. We'll confirm in the run up to the event, along with details of other exciting changes.

In the mean time look here and here for reports on previous #levytweetups.

EDIT: POD have now had their licence approved for the evenings so we will be there from 7.30pm. See you there!

SHED

While trawling the interwebz for Levenshulme news (seriously, that's what I do of a Friday night) I came across an intriguing mention of a project called SHED, based at the Tonbridge Road allotments site. A bit more digging revealed that the project has been running for a few years now as an art gallery and community exhibition space and was inaugurated for the Manchester International Arts’ Garden of Delights festival, when they showed 10 exhibitions in 3 days. Since then they've hosted work from from Longsight based artist Annette Ebanks, Gemma Lacey and ArtYarn amongst others.


Their next exhibition will be from MerzMan and is coming up in April and we'll post more details when we have them but in the mean time Pool Arts, the group who run the space, are open to submissions from local artists. They're without funding but are happy to provide the space and help out with publicity. More details can be found here. We're really keen to get more art happening in Levenshulme this year so if you're interested get in touch with us too and we'll see what we can do to help.

Afrocats - One forThe Kids at Inspire

Does you child love Glee?* Do they want to express themselves with dance and song? Inspire are running classes for any children who'd like to have a go at getting moving and singing .

The classes are known as Afrocats and are running every Tuesday and Wednesday at 4.30pm. They cost £5.00 per child, with a £1.50 discount for any siblings you bring along. Call Mags on 07834 083 437 to book a place and start moving.

*I have a secret interest (obsession) in Glee. I am 30 years old.

WAAAAA! Stop Press!

So much going on here in Levenshulme I nearly forgot to remind you all that tonight is Levenshulme Film Club. They're showing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the 2009 Swedish crime thriller film adaptation of the novel of the same name .

The doors and the cafe at Inspire will be open from 7.00pm and the showing will start at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £4.50 and, although I'm sure this isn't an official movement, I'm pretty sure I saw the attendees from the last showing in The Bluebell afterwards, so you might get a trip to the pub thrown into the bargain. Maybe a chance to start discussing ideas for tomorrow's meeting about the future of the baths and Arcadia? Please do go along if you can make it - LFC is a fantastic enterprise and needs all our support.

Levenshulme Baths Meeting Update

Mindful of Levenshulme residents who are unable to make the meeting tomorrow at 5.00pm, Friends of Levenshulme have announced that, in addition to the main meeting, there will be a short summary of the issues raised afterwards. Late arrivals are welcome at any time but there will be a summing up and chance to get views from anyone who couldn't make the main meeting at 6.00pm.

The meeting will still take place at Inspire and all are welcome, please pass this information on to anyone you know who might be able to attend.

Park Walk - POSTPONED

POSTPONED

Owing to a rather pessimistic weather forecast the walk has been postponed to a later date, sorry folks, more soon.

Phew! Amid all the excitement of yesterday I almost forgot to remind you that Kath from Parklover is coming to visit us for a walk round our green spaces this Sunday.

Thanks for all your lovely suggestions. We're going to meet Kath at 2.00pm at the Clare Road/Davenhill Road gates to Cringle Fields. From there we'll take a quick stroll around Cringle Park, then skip up the railway line and explore Highfield Country Park. Be sure to join us and if you have any good tips for things to look out for then comment below.

Save Levenshulme Leisure

First of all, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who showed up at the baths today. About 150 people were there and it was a really impressive and vocal crowd. I spoke briefly to the news crew afterwards and they said we made for a very television friendly crowd (well, we're a very pretty bunch) and the footage has so far been shown on the BBC News channel, BBC1 and the regional news. An ITV crew were there too so keep an eye out later tonight.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind day so I thought I'd take this opportunity to sum up what's been announced and what happens next.

The Situation
This morning, as part of the reduced Local Government Settlement from central government funds, Manchester City Council announced that they intend to close Levenshulme Swimming Pool (including the gym and other public rooms). They are also reviewing essential spending earmarked for Arcadia Leisure Centre., meaning it is unlikely now that the work at Arcadia will now go ahead and consequently the centre will close. This will leave Levenshulme with NO public sports and leisure facilities. Residents have campaigned for the last two years to improve the swimming pool and last year the council spent over £250,000 on updating the facilities. All that work will be for nothing if the pool complex is closed. The Arcadia Leisure Centre is widely used by community groups and sports teams including Manchester Roller Hockey and the Manchester Roller Derby teams. Both facilities are vital to Levenshulme and the health of its residents.

Meeting
Friends of Levenshulme have called a meeting which will take place this Friday, 11th February at Inspire at 5.00pm. Please come along and help them co-ordinate our efforts and hear what we can do next.

Protest
There will be a protest march on Saturday, 12th February against the closure of the baths. The crowd will assemble outside Tescos at 12.00noon and walk down to the baths. Again, please go along and lend your voice, support and signatures to the petition.

The organizers of last nights protest have created a Facebook page for the campaign - they will post any updates, changes and additional information there. We'll post anything we hear here - please be sure to spread the news to your neighbours and help stop this from happening to the place where we live.

Levenshulme Photographers - Ed Sprake

The success of our innaugual Photo Competition for last year's Levenshulme Festival drew my attention to the impressive amount of accomplished photographers we have here in M19 and I thought this might be a good opportunity to showcase some of the entrants. First up, then, is Ed Sprake, whose picture of St Mary's was singled out for its use of light and framing.

Ed is an amateur photographer who captures anything and everything that interests him, although he has a tendency to gravitate towards photography with an aspect of human nature involved, be that gig and music photography, weddings and events, street photography or subjects that show the influence of humanity on the local environment.

While having had a digital point and shoot for a good many years, he first started getting interested in photography as a hobby in late 2007 and bought his first DSLR shortly afterwards. Since then, he has been fortunate enough to have the chance to photograph events including The Portico Prize For Literature 2010 Awards Dinner, some of his musical influences though gig photography, currently has a photograph on display in Terminal 1 of Manchester Airport and has one of his photographs as the background image for FlatOut Records label boss and musician in his own right, Peo de Pitte.

You can find Ed on the web at http://flavors.me/edsprake and a selection of his photography on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/edsprake and he's currently in the process of confirming his first joint exhibition in Manchester in April.

I asked Ed why he chose this paricular image to showcase his love for Levenshulme: "The local church is often the hub of the local community. In Levenshulme I had a few churches to choose from, but St Mary's has the interesting statue on the front which is lit up at night, and while I'm not personally a member of any religion, I've also been to a couple of community events such as the Levenshulme allotment show that they have hosted. Getting a good quality photo at night retaining detail in the statue of St. Mary while still showing the rest of the structure proved to be somewhat tricky so the final result is actually five separate exposures blended together post capture to recreate a similar scene to what you can see with the naked eye."

I'll be posting more of these features on our local photographers over the next few months so if you know anyone with skills behind the lens or an interesting Levy-related photography tale to tell do get in touch.

Levenshulme Swimming Pool

The driving philosophy of lovelevenshulme is to be positive about the place we live in. Helen and myself decided that we would not write anything negative. So if you want this to remain a purely positive blog then please look away now!!

Levenshulme Swimming Pool and Arcadia Leisure Centre are being cut by Manchester City Council. My family and I are regular users of the swimming pool and the kids love it so obviously I am a little disappointed.

Please read the following from Friends of Levenshulme -

This news will have the most awful repercussions for our community and we will have to work together to prevent this from going ahead. We can only make a difference, together. Meet on Friday at 5 p.m. at Levenshulme Inspire in the cafe area to discuss a plan of action. Meanwhile, urgently invite your contacts to the Facebook group 'Fight for Levenshulme Baths' to keep up to date and show support.

Arcadia
The Arcadia is the most fantastic community resource where Levenshulmers of all ages come together to rollerskate. The facility urgently requires a few repairs to the roof which has leaked since it was installed. It also requires a cafe area as there is currently no space to sit or for children to pick up a cheap snack. The Arcadia will be applying for planning permission to add some space to the building to accommodate a much needed cafe area.

1 Minute of your time required! Please reply to this message saying that you support the repairs and planning permission that our very own Arcadia requires urgently.

POD Open Late Night Weekdays

Good news for some people, dangerous news for others...POD have now had their licence approved to sell their delicious range of organic wines and beers on weekday evenings. They'll also be selling their usual range of stomach lining goodies and I am told they've got some new regular evening events lined up to entertain us too.

New opening hours are as follows:

Monday: 8.00am - 11pm
Tuesday: 7.30am - 11pm
Wednesday: 7.30am - 11pm
Thursday: 7.30am - 11pm
Friday: 8.00am - Midnight (Woop Woop!)
Saturday: 8.30am - Midnight (and another Woop Woop!)
Sunday: 9.00am - 11pm

A Bit of Lunchtime Reading

A little bit of lunchtime reading for you Levy Lovers - a nice review of POD and a delve into Levenshulme history from the MEN, courtesy of Neil Rowland. Does your street get a mention?

Yet more Chorlton comparisons, I note...

Wonderbrawl!

Did you know that Manchester Roller Derby are based in Levenshulme? Did you? I actually did but I've been very lax in writing about it. However, since they're due to play their first ever home game this weekend I thought it was time to rectify the situation. Well, and their #11 Kate Push sent me a nice email to remind me.

The game is being played at Manchester Academy 1 this Sunday - 6th February 2011. Doors open at 2pm and first game will be at 3.00pm. Tickets cost £8 in advance from See Tickets and NME.com and a limited number will be available on the door.

The day will be a double-header and has been named ‘Wonderbrawl’ in homage to one of our better-known exports . Roller derby is a fast-paced, full-contact sport played on quad roller skates. It has seen an influx of interest since the release of Drew Barrymore’s skating flick Whip It, which hit cinemas in the UK last April.

Birmingham Blitz Dames take on the Tiger Bay Brawlers in the first bout of the day, which will culminate in Manchester Roller Derby going up against Hot Wheels RollerDerby in an uncompromising fight for victory.

And if you're interested in seeing the team here in Levenshulme, they skate twice weekly at The Arcadia Leisure Centre.

Levenshulme Book Club

POD will be hosting Levenshulme's first public book group on Monday 7th February at 7.00pm. They write:

“Levy lovelies are invited to the first meeting of the POD book club. The first book for ready readers with be Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach."

On Chesil Beach is a slim novel and the prose is spare. It's ambition is small too – the main story takes place over the course of one night. Don't let the book's scale fool you though – Edward and Florence's entire lives are contained in it's pages.