We’ve had plenty of news to bring you from Preston over the past week.

In a week where a Prestonian raised funds for Baby Beat by climbing Ben Nevis and with Covid-19 vaccinations ramping up across the region, there have been lots of fascinating stories.

Here are five you may have missed.

Brothers raise over £5,000 in memory of their late grandad for Rosemere Cancer Foundation 

Brothers Ryan and Liam Banks have recently completed the National Three Peaks to raise over £5,000 for Rosemere Cancer Foundation in memory of their beloved grandad.

Not only did the duo make all three ascents starting with Mount Snowdon followed by Scafell Pike and then finally Ben Nevis, they also cycled the distance in between.

It took the pair just 67 hours in total to complete the challenge despite some unexpectedly bad weather conditions.

Read the full story here

Ampitheatre in Fulwood returning to use for Preston’s College

Preston’s College are all set to perform the hit musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The performance will be done in the college’s unique open air theatre space – the amphitheatre.

The amphitheatre was built at the College in 1987 and has recently undergone renovation work carried out by the College’s construction learners to get it show-ready. They have even helped to build the sets.

The show is based on the Victor Hugo novel and includes songs from the Disney film with music from Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

Read the full story here

Prestonian rekindles her love for music and lands gig as Beat 103’s breakfast show host 

A 32-year-old from Penwortham is hoping to help other people with their mental health through hosting a popular radio show.

Jadie Swales-Barnes, a local radio host, has spoken about how she spent most of her life in dark and low places, and she thought she’d never recover.

That is, until her love of music managed to get her back on track when station manager of Beat 103, based at Preston’s Guild Hall, Leroy Allen, took a chance on her and hired her as the host of the breakfast show.

Read the full story here

Callon man using music and TikTok to spread mental health awareness

A Preston man who says singing changed his life is using music to spread mental health awareness.

Aaron David Whittle started singing online in 2018 when a Facebook video of him performing on a bus went viral, gaining over one million views.

He now posts regularly to social media platforms including TikTok, where he has 55,000 followers and over 563,000 total likes.

Read the full story here

Grimsargh Village Hall has been transformed inside and out

Major work has recently been completed on Grimsargh Village Hall which has transformed the look of the hall inside and out.

The project involved ‘overplating’ the corrugated tin roof with slate effect Metrotile, and at the same time the insulation was brought up to modern specification, thus saving energy and costs.

The internal ceiling tiles in the main hall have also been replaced. The village hall used local suppliers as that is one of their policies, and so this project met that criteria.

Read the full story here

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