RIP Brian Jacques

By Tony Higginson

We have sad news. One of Liverpool's finest exports Brian Jacques has passed away at the age of only 71.

He grew up in a very normal part of Liverpool and was a hardworking docker and union man, he developed a wonderful show on local radio that engrossed us all each sunday morning as he recounted his Wavertree chronicles and this led to him becoming a hugely popular bestselling multinational author, he wrote the awesome fantasy series Redwall and for 20 years topped the charts here and in the US where he was massive selling 21 million books.

He last year took part in Sefton Celebrates writing and we also had him help in Capital of Culture Year when he received his homnnourary doctorate. The Tv series was very popular as still are his books.

Lots of us will miss him but we can still read him.

Formby Pool's a big hit for bookworms

By Tony Higginson


Formby Pool's fire Book Exchange Club is on Friday 28th January.

They have a fab time as folks can bring along books and swap them about and the do a buffet and tea/coffee for just £3.50.

You do need to book in advance for the catering so ring Heather on 879366 or novembertales@yahoo.co.uk

it runs 12-2pm at the Pool Cafe Space.

Formby Library launches local history talks

By Helen Savage, Formby Library


We have launched a series of monthly Local and Family History talks which will take place on 2nd Tuesday of the month at 2pm in Formby Library.

The next is on Tuesday 8th February when Joan Rimmer will be talking about ' The Village that was Formby' and then on Tuesday 8th March David Guiver from Liverpool and Lancashire Family History Society will talk on Halsall Church and using Family History Internet Sources.

Both events are free but places are limited so booking is essential by calling the library on 01704 874177. If you need any further information please contact myself or Sue Smith at Formby Library.

Remembering the author of Babe

By Tony Higginson


SADLY, as you may be aware, best-selling children's author Dick King-Smith
died last week at the age of 88.

The writer, who often featured animals in his works, was one of the UK's most
prolific, penning more than 100 books since 1978.

Omnibombulator , Harriet's Hare and The Adventurous Snail were among his many
other titles.

His first book, The Fox Busters, was published in 1978, when King-Smith was
already in his 50s.

He went on to sell more than 15 million copies of his works worldwide,
winning numerous awards.

The Sheep Pig, filmed in 1995 as Babe, told of a pig who learns to herd sheep !

Another of his books, The Queen's Nose, was adapted into a BBC TV series that
ran for seven series from 1995 to 2003.

King-Smith was made an OBE in December 2009, an honour his agent said he had
been "delighted" to receive.

He wrote with warmth and wit and his love of animals shone through.

Let's remember him like we do Dahl.

The snow arrived too early for Formby

By Tony Higginson

IT seems that too many people wished for a White Christmas and it came early.

It certainly looked nice, but was sadly treacherous under foot, wheel and even on the web…lots of monitors will have whited out with all the snowy pictures flooding Facebook etc.

In Formby we have like many other areas had not enough clearing of the roads and pavements, whilst many folks have ventured on foot to struggle with their shopping they will have risked fractures and slips galore.

The other thing is the share price of salt and grit will have exceeded the national debt of small European countries soon.

Do I sound like a scrooge? Maybe…well we do a fine line in Dickens and there is a renaissance in reinventing Victoriana recently. Jon Mayhew with his Mortlock one of the biggest successes of 2010 soon has a sequel with Demon Collector, one of my favourite books already in 2011 and we aren’t quite there yet.

He takes a fresh look at the underbelly of society and adds drama galore with his reworking of the fall of grace of the demons of yore. Edgy Taylor is a hero to be regaled from now on and Jon is destined for major fame and as he lives so local aren’t we lucky!

Philip Reeve continues to amaze readers with is Mortal Engines series which now has two monumental sequels in Fever Crumb and Web of Air, truly a revelatory writer for the new age of the past.

I am hoping that all the local clubs and societies will provide details of their future plans so that we can tell all and make sure you all get to know what goes on in Formby.

For us the big news is the evening with Andy McNab at Treetops on Thurs 27th Jan at 7.30pm. Tickets are flying out and this looks like a sell out waiting to happen. And as Rotary have designated Help for Heroes as the charity to benefit then we look like having a great start to 2011.

Curtis Jobling who created Bob the Builder and Frankenstein’s Cat is due to visit a school or two soon and having been lucky to read his new book Wereworld- Rise of the Wolf, I can assure you this is a must read for scare fans of 11+ and adults too, as the thing with good kids books is they are so much more immediate than any adult thriller.

I am hoping to get updates from Formby Civic Society and the local arts scene, but in the first instance check out Formby Live on Facebook as James will keep us all upto date with plans. We will be having a Valentine’s pie and pastry tasting with Tom Bridge so keep eyeing the news.

Sad news now though, the Village Deli have had to close their retail outlet in Formby, where they plan to continue doing catering and hopefully may do orders for hampers and turkeys etc, I will find out and let you all know.