12 Evening Post, Tuesday, February 23, 2010 lep.co.

uk

Mum braves Medal for

head shave Afghan
A BAMBER Bridge mum is undergoing a
sponsored head-shave to raise money for a
run-down school in India.
Wendy Yates, of Langden Crescent, set up
a craft group at Bamber Bridge Methodist
Worship and Community Centre and sells
hand crafted cards, jewellery, cross stitch and
knitted products to help raise money for a
school in Nagercoil, in Tamil Nadu region.
Now, she and three others are planning a
trip to the school to see first-hand how the
money is used, and Wendy is doing a charity
head-shave to raise even more funds.
The mum of three has raised £400 to supply
craft materials, pens, pencils, notebooks, jig-
saws and dominos for the children.
Wendy is having her head shaved on March
6 at 10am during a fund raising coffee morn-
ing at the church on Station Road, which also
includes a tombola, raffle, and bric-a-brac.
Mexican’s flats plan
FOUR new shops could take the place of a
Preston nightclub if planning permission is
granted. The home of DB Mex Restaurant
and Club at 21 and 21a Cannon Street could
become the site of four retail units. Tricord
Estates Ltd of Langdale Road, Leyland has
applied for planning permission.
war nurse
A CHARGE nurse from Royal
Preston Hospital has been pre-
sented with a medal of service
following a three-month tour
of duty in Afghanistan.
Chris Ellis, 36, who works in
the critical care unit at Royal
Preston Hospital,was based at
Camp Bastion and cared for
trauma and emergency pa-
tients who had been injured in
the conflict.
He took part in a staff-shar-
ing programme between the
Royal College of Nursing and
the Ministry of Defence to
allow NHS staff to gain experi-
ence of caring for patients in
Afghanistan.
Stuart Heys, chairman of
Lancashire Teaching Hospi-
tals NHS Trust, presented him
with his medal.
MAGIC IN THE AIR:
Anastacia Simon (left)
and Sarah Duxbury
Chris said: “Witnessing (right) who are on their
medical care in Afghanistan
was a life changing experience.
way to Lancashire’s
“Most of the patients under
first fairy festival
our care had severe trauma in-
juries resulting from explo- Picture supplied by
sions and gunshot wounds.” Studio Lotus

A lot of airy
fairy funsense
at this festival
by Chris Visser
chris.visser@lep.co.uk previous stories
round to reveal her head in a bas-
ket and shrieks with laughter.
Emma Heslewood, keeper of

LITTLE girls love their lep.co.uk history at Preston’s Harris Muse-

magic and mystery.
Now, Lancashire’s legendary
little folk will be celebrated
with their own fairy festival.
The county is to host its first
“faerie ball and market” featuring
a festival of all that is fairy and
commemorating Lancashire’s
unique link to the mystical crea-
tures.
Organiser Sarah Duxbury, who
has also set up her own internet
store selling fairy wings, said: “I
have always had a love of fairies
and have fantastic memories as a
child of spending time with the
‘fae’.
“The fascination I have with
fairies has led me to amazing
things.
“It started with my ‘faerie wing
shoppe’ where my aim is to make
realistic wings and create some-
thing that makes people feel magi-
cal, to Lancashire’s first fairy ball
and market.
“So many amazing fairy events
● Preston museum fairy exhibition
● A rune with a view for fairies
happen outside Lancashire that I
thought it was about time the
fairies came to this region for a
fun night of entertainment, live
music, food and best of all, the
dressing up.”
Aidan Turner-Bishop, chairman
of the Preston and South Ribble
Civic Trust, said Lancashire had
strong links with fairies.
He said: “There are more be-
lievers about than you think, as I
discovered when I did my folklore
research.
“I have come across posies of
flowers and ‘cloutie’ wishing rags
and ribbons tied to some of the
better-known local fairy sites.
“Modern fairy belief is on the
fringes of new age paganism.”
He recalled some “sinister”
local fairy stories which include
the legendary “Boggart of Lon-
gridge” who looks like a harmless
old woman from behind, but turns
um, said: “Fairy folklore is firmly
associated with the Lancashire
cotton industry.
“There is a great item in the mu-
seum collection that illustrates
this.
“We have a book called ‘Con-
cerning Cotton’ which includes a
chapter on Horrockses cotton
manufacturers in Preston. Each
page is decorated with fairy im-
agery.”
The fairy ball is due to take
place at the Crofters Hotel in
Cabus, near Garstang, on May 1.
American Anastacia Simon,
who will be travelling to the ball,
said: “To me, fairies are keepers
of the woodlands, dancers in
mushroom rings and creatures
definitely not to be underestimat-
ed. I also believe in dragons,
ghosts, elementals and in whatev-
er lives underneath my bed.”
The market is free, with tickets
for the evening ball priced £20.
Visit www.thefaeriewing-
shoppe.co.uk for more details.