A few personal of photos taken by or of Paul Edwards. Some photos have been included in articles, some have never been published before, apologies for varying quality. You will also notice a few photos were taken by other people of me.

7 files, last one added on Dec 22, 2009

This was a video made by Community Reporters about the Wells Centre in Clayton, Manchester. They wanted to show the kinds of things people can do at the centre.

To view the finished video visit http://peoplesvoicemedia.co.uk/case-studies/whats-wells-centre

3 files, last one added on Jun 10, 2009

Today was a bit special, as a community reporter I got to visit the BBC along with fellow community reporters, and take a look behind the scenes of the Northwest Tonight program featuring presenters Gordon Burns and Ranvir Singh. This is part of a partnership between Peoples Voice Media and the BBC who are supporting the Community Reporters programme, there will be another couple of visits next week where we will cover an introduction to journalism.

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Today the Community Reporters were in Exchange Square, Manchester, videos created by Community Reporters were being displayed on the big screen for all to see. It gave the public a chance to see how ordinary people from very different communities tackled reporting in their neighbourhoods.

4 files, last one added on Jun 10, 2009

The East Manchester Festival was held at the Grange as part of Refugee Week, the event was on a wet saturday afternoon. The day was well attended and spirits were high even though the weather tried to dampen them. Some events had to be cancelled due to the weather but it did not seem to put people off.

14 files, last one added on Jun 10, 2009

This was a really fun day and a well attended event organised by Eastlands Homes for it's customers, the aim was to gather feedback on how well they may be doing regarding the services they provide. It also provided an opportunity to bring communities together on a day that was full of fun things to do, there was a wonderful atmosphere, very relaxed, and all credit should go to the staff from Eastlands Homes who made it a day to remember.

The theme for this years event tied in with the United Nations International Year of Languages and the National Year of Reading, and activities were based around this theme.

43 files, last one added on Jun 10, 2009

Urbanathlon is an adventure race through East Manchester over 5k, this included 13 urban obstacles along the way. It starts at Sportcity and ends in Philips Park.

Start - Regional Athletics Stadium
Obstacles List

1 - B Of The Bang 2 - Stairway To Heaven 3 – Original Source 4 – Hill Street Blues 5 – Straw Mountain 6 – Fallen Tree 7 – Death Valley 8 – Salmon Run 9 – The Moguls 10 – The Pit 11 - Shelobs Lair 12 - Great Escape 13 – Alley Scramble 14 – Final Frontier

Finish – Philips Park

73 files, last one added on Jul 24, 2009

This event was held at St Brigid’s RC primary School in Beswick in 2005, hoping to follow on from the success of the previous one held in Clayton, it did not quite live up to expectations. I only have a few photos from that event, not great quality. Moonchester, Manchester City Mascot and Fred the Red, Manchester United's Mascot also joined in the fun.

3 files, last one added on Jun 10, 2009

Guerrilla Busking
Unheard, Unseen, Unauthorised

Event 15th May 2009

For Futuresonic 2009, Single Cell Collective present an eclectic series of impromptu musical performances in secret locations around Manchester City Centre.

Over 20 Manchester musicians hit the city centre streets, playing an eclectic series of impromptu gigs in a variety of secret, unauthorised locations, from the very public to the very hidden. Organised by local music collective Single Cell, and taking place as part of the Futuresonic 2009 festival, the gigs, running from midday until 8pm, will feature a diverse range of artists who volunteered their services such as Aidan Jolly, Billtone, Craig Winterburn, Dave Birchall, Dave Leach, Dominic Berry (poet), HoneyFeet, Hot Bone, John Fairhurst, John Robb, Julie E Gordon, Leonie Higgins, Lunar Coup, Mike Garry (poet), Mind on Fire Collective, Phil Davies, Tom Kerswill, TG Elias, Ben Mellor, The Spokes, Tanante and more, representing everything from african drumming to heavy metal and acoustic folk and Poetry.

“Asylum seekers appealing decisions made by refugee courts are left without benefits or the ability to earn a living. These busking performances are taking place without permission in marginalised locations or hidden in very public places, mirroring the status of these destitute refugees.”

All proceeds from the gigs will go to destitute refugee campaigns and all acts are playing free of charge.

66 files, last one added on May 29, 2009

This years East Manchester Festival took place at the Grange in Beswick, Manchester, the event which is now in its 5th year is now a regular annual festivity for the community. Despite the weather's attempts to spoil the event, it was still a good day for the people who braved the rain early on, after a few showers things started to hot up and everyone was getting into party mode.

Did you go, this is what you missed out on.

AllFM radio had a world music and dance tent, despite technical difficulties with sound some of singers were extremely professional in the way they carried on regardless. The artists singing was of a high standard this year and most enjoyable, and Unity Radio FM who go down well at any event brought the Graffiti Bus, there was also local groups performing including the Brownies, Eastlands Stars Cheeerleading and drum group Bloco Novo, there was also Arts and craft, Face-painting, Storytelling, Planting Workshops, Bike Right with bikes workshops, Music Workshops, Henna Tattoos, Head & Shoulder Massage, lots of Information stalls, Sports and Games as well, oh and balloons galore and freebies. If I have forgotten anyone then my apologies, but I could not be everywhere, while outside I was missing some good things going on inside, and vice versa.

A big thank you to everyone who joined in the spirit of things, and for putting up with me and my camera.

The event was funded by New East Manchester and organised in partnership with a host of partners including Marim, 4CT and Zest.

Hope you had lots of fun, now sit back and enjoy a small video I put together.

Visit http://www.pauledwards.org.uk/community/eventsfestivals/146-east-manchester-festival-2009 to get more info and watch the video.

24 files, last one added on Jun 21, 2009

What a day with a fantastic turnout of cyclists on the streets of Manchester for the Skyride, it all started in Albert Square and journeyed through Manchester to the National Cycling Centre (Velodrome). It was a day to get on your bike and enjoy a traffic free ride, and also ride with some of the biggest names in track cycling. This was a partnership between Sky and the British Cyling Team that aims to get as many people on bikes, whether its just for fun, fitness or to aim to become good enough to join the newly formed Team Sky which will take on the best riders in the world at the Tour De France next year. Following the successes of the British Cyling Team at the Beijing Olympics and British riders like Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins in the Tour De France, aspirations will be high that we can lay down a foundation for future success by getting more people to take up cycling or improve the skills they already have, who knows you could be the next Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Mark Cavendish or Nicole Cook.

The day was not just about riding your bike, help was on hand to improve bike handling skills, keeping fit, what to wear to be seen and stay safe. For many though it was about having fun and participating in Manchesters first Skyride, meeting new friends or riding in family groups. Professional BMX riders and Mountain bike tricksters were showing off their skills, there was also sprint challenges, areas where younger riders could improve their skills and lots of help and information.

The event was extremely well organized, more are planned in places up and the down the country, there will also be Skyride local, which are made up of smaller groups of cylists, going over different distances and routes, so even if you cannot get to the bigger events there may still be a Skyride Local near you.

On a negative note, while the Skyride was a success it did have an impact on other events in the area, at Philips Park there was the Urbanathlon ending with Party in the Park including Seeds of the East. I did notice crowds seemed down on last year, and perhaps holding the Skyride as a seperate event may benefit these other events. Anyone coming in a car would have difficulty getting to these other events, the knock-on effect of the event also impacted on taxis and buses, roads in and around Manchester were blocked and this meant extra distance travelling which meant higher costs.

21 files, last one added on Aug 03, 2009

This years Party in the Park which included Seeds of the East was a bit of a let down for me, there was just too much going on. Let me explain, we had the Skyride, Urbanathlon, Party in the Party which included Seeds of the East. I struggled to get near Philips Park because all roads were blocked off to make way for the Skyride. The Skyride should have been a seperate event on another day because of the sheer numbers involved and the need to block roads, and I think it overshadowed the other events.

Right thats my moaning out of the way, back to Party in the Park (Seeds of the East), which will be the main event I am going to concentrate on. Putting aside the fact that attendance seemed lower than last year, it was pretty much the same layout. Some of the attractions and stalls were a bit spread out and thin on the ground, I noticed a few familiar faces missing from this years event. The Seeds of the East which is about growing your own food, eating healthy, there was lots for youngsters to do. Best for me was the BBC Breathing Places stall, a fun area with lots of exciting ideas, freebies, creative things for youngsters to do. Entertainment came in the form of Jelly (Puppet) from CBeebies, we had storytelling, bird boxes and even insects were catered for where you could buld a little home for them aaahh. How many mums cringed at the very idea of bringing the little beasties into the house, still a lot of fun. I used to have a caterpillar in a little box when I was a lot younger and a ant farm.

more on this story at http://www.pauledwards.org.uk/community/eventsfestivals/153-party-in-the-park-2009

48 files, last one added on Aug 05, 2009

Every year Eastlands Homes hold's a Fun and Feedback Day for it's Tenants, it is a way of giving something back to it's customers and gathering feedback on how well it is doing. Customer involvement is vital to the success of Eastlands Homes, so far they have lived up their promises, and now there are even more ways for customers to be actively involved in changing how services are delivered.

This years event was bigger and better, it was held at Belle Vue Leisure Centre, Longsight. Transport was provided free of charge for anyone wanting to come to the event, pickup points in all areas were available although this was limited because of the vastness of the area now covered by Eastlands Homes, a knock effect of the recent stock transfer.

A variety of stalls provided a wealth of Help and Information for customers, with Eastlands staff on hand to answer any questions, stalls included were


Eastlands Financial Inclusion Team, Eastlands Rents Team, Working Links, Work Solutions, Loan Shark Team (Just a stall), JHP Employability, Money Mentors, Manchester Credit Union, Not Just A Bump, JobCentre Plus, The Generation Project Advocacy Service, Gorton Library, MEAP (Aids & Adaptations), Skills Solutions, Skills for Life, Experienced Volunteering, Manchester Dogs Home, Dyslexia Stall, Scout Movement, Connexions, Macmillan Cancer Support, Eastlands Customer Involvement, ESOL (Barnados), East Manchester Academy, Manchester Sports and Leisure Trust.

Now to the fun stuff, and there was lots of it, so here goes.

Connaught Contractors (Hook a Duck), Sambangra (drumming), Raptor Experience (birds of prey), Climbing Wall, Te-Sheng-Do (Karate Kickboxing), Nigel Cooke (caricaturist), Poultry Management, David Beckham (look-a-like), Moonchester (Manchester City Mascot), Clowns, Mystic Debbie (Debbie Teece), Flower Arranging, Hanging Baskets, Bingo, Box fit Class, Sponge Throwing, Childrens Games, Kwik Cricket, Penalty Shootout, Face Painting, Sumo suit wrestling, Arts and Craft Stall, Wallpaper Hanging demonstration, Street dancing, Talent Contest, Dancing and Music courtesy of an excellent DJ (Danny), Balloons, etc, etc. And did I mention lots of freebies and handouts.

Emergency and Essential services were also in attendance including Greater Manchester County Fire Service, Greater Manchester Police and PCSO's and Neighbourhood Wardens, first aid provided by St John's Ambulance, there was also food available in the shape of Harts Hot Tempatations and McMullans Ice Cream, sorry if I forgot anyone.

read the full story here at http://www.pauledwards.org.uk/community/eventsfestivals/154-eastlands-homes-fun-and-feedback-day-2009

104 files, last one added on Aug 19, 2009

Description to come, be patient, and watch for some videos of the event.

100 files, last one added on Aug 27, 2009

Eastlands Homes and Northwards Housing attended this years LGBT Festival known as the Manchester Pride which was very much a carnival atmosphere. The Manchester Pride is Manchester’s annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) festival.

113 files, last one added on Sep 03, 2009

The original article Let's Have an Entertainment Complex like Belle Vue inspired this gallery.

As a child growing up in an environment like East Manchester, Belle Vue provided a welcome change, people would look forward to the weekends activities. Belle Vue was for many years a premier attraction, it had everything, a Zoo, Amusement Park, Dance Halls, Bars, Speedway, Stock Car, Boxing, Wrestling, Greyhounds, Bowling, Exhibitions, Concerts, Circus, etc. What a fantastic place, and in Manchester, all it needed was sand, and you would not have needed to go to Blackpool or anywhere else.

visit Belle Vue Revisited for more about the history and pictures, this website will certainly bring memories flooding back for many of you. A few Videos of Belle Vue can be found here. And access the Belle Vue archives at Chetham's library

Today the only surviving remnants of Belle Vue are the Greyhounds and Official Speedway and the Unofficial Speedway

Photos belong to Joseph McGarraghy and his personal gallery can be found here Joseph McGarraghy gallery at Flickr

13 files, last one added on Jan 22, 2009