This dropped into my inbox yesterday and it looks quite interesting. Barclays Live has launched a dance competition and will be stopping off at various regions around the UK. On September 4th they’re coming to Piccadilly Gardens.

The competition is open to anyone who thinks they’ve got what it takes to become Britain’s next dancing superstar, be it as an individual, duo, group or troupe. Here’s what you have to do. Email Barclays Live at info@barclayslive.co.uk with either a link to a YouTube video of you / your dance troupe or send the video as an attachment. You should also include your name, phone number and postcode. The closing date for entries is August 29th.

The top ten entries will be put through to live auditions, which will take place on Saturday 4 September on a stage at Piccadilly Gardens. These contestants will perform in front of a celebrity panel of judges including Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole, as well as an audience made up of Manchester’s great and good.

The top five acts will then be subject to a public vote to decide the winner via the Barclays Live website.

To give you an idea of what happens on the day, take a look at this video shot on July 31st in Leicester Square.

The winner will come away with £1,000, plus VIP tickets to see Brendan Cole in action.

The Barclays Live auditions will form part of a day-long programme of events, including a dance master class by Brendan Cole and performances by a variety of fantastic dance acts.

Note: Children under the age or 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

For further details visit the Barclays Live website at www.barclayslive.co.uk.

We went for a walk this afternoon. It’s surprising the things you see when you look a little harder. These beautiful patterned tiles are at the entrance of Levenshulme Antiques Village. This was the site of the old council offices.

Next door is the old Lancashire Constabulary – now offices.

Happy August Break!

It’s the Manchester Blog Awards tonight. Judging from today’s Twitter posts it’s shaping up to be a fun event. The venue has changed this year and the festivities will be taking place at the newly rennovated Band on the Wall. It all kicks off at 7 o’clock with music and readings from Manchester bloggers and Jenn Ashworth – winner of last year’s Best Writing on a Blog award and author of A Kind of Intimacy.

I was absolutely thrilled to hear that Lady Levenshulme has been shortlisted for the Best Personal Blog award. Had I not been at work at the time I would have done a little dance. Okay, so I did a little dance. But in the privacy of the ladies’ loo. And then later when I got home.

Do take a look at the shortlist. There are some very talented bloggers on there. And good luck to everyone tonight.

We went along to the Book Market on Saturday. I have to say that at first glance I was a bit disappointed. It was tiny. There were only a few independent publishers and a couple of magazine stalls. Two stalls were taken up with fast food. Not the greatest choice next to books and art. Can’t say I would’ve been too pleased to have my stock smelling of hot dogs. All in all I felt it was a bit of a wasted opportunity.

That said, the stalls that were there were excellent and true to form we came back with books, magazines and, unexpectedly, two library memberships. The stall holders were friendly and obviously knew their stuff. I managed to snag a copy of the new Corridor 8 magazine and a copy of Transmission. Oh and a book of short stories called Ideas Above Our Station from Route. It was worth going just for those.

It got me thinking about a festival or exhibition for Manchester bloggers. Not quite sure how that would work. Hmmmm . . . .

Now that’s an intriguing opener to a press release.  The rock star physicist is Brian Cox, formerly of D:Ream fame and currently splitting his time between experimental physics in Manchester and the CERN labs in Geneva. Along with co-writer Jeff Forshaw, who like Brian is one of the youngest professors in the UK, he has written a book entitled ‘Why Does E=mc2? (and why should we care?)‘. The book launch has been organised by Blackwell bookshop and will take place on July 7th at the Museum Of Science And Industry.

Launch organiser Ian Carrington commented, ‘The book makes physics accessible for non-scientific people like me. It should be a fascinating talk by two award-winning young professors. I’m excited because this book is totally in keeping with the spirit of Manchester Science Festival: making science living, breathing fun for everyone.’

A couple of the last year’s MLF events overlapped with the Science Festival and I have to say that I enjoyed them very much. And I think I would fall into the category of non-scientific people.

Details:

What: Book Launch | Why Does E=mc2? (and why should we care?)
Where: Cardwell Auditorium at the Museum of Science and Industry (Liverpool Road, Castlefield, Manchester M3 4FP)
When: Tuesday July 7th 7.15 – 9.15pm
Cost: £1, redeemable against one copy of the book on the night
More Info: Blackwell University Bookshop, Precinct Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester (telephone 0161 274 3331)

Like many people, I was surprised at the number of recent job losses at the MEN.  I understand that if there’s no money in the pot, there’s no money.   Newspapers have been hit hard by the recession and also by the way in which people now access news online. I first read about the cuts on Twitter, not in a newspaper. But a number of areas of the newspaper have clearly suffered, presumably as a result of these cuts.  Just what is going on with the South Manchester Reporter? I was reading a copy the other day from a few weeks back and spotted a number of errors in the first few pages. These were not small mistakes. They were glaring typos and omissions. Come on. Is this where traditional print media is going?

Read Sarah Hartley’s blog post on her leaving the MEN at. http://sarahhartley.wordpress.com/2009/05/01/its-goodbye-to-the-manchester-evening-news.

Read Louise Bolotin’s account of a recent NUJ meeting at Manchester Town Hall.  http://louisebolotin.com/2009/03/28/local-news-local-action