Shisha Bars In Preston

City Council vs. Shisha Cafes. Is it all about the money?

The obstacles Shisha bars in Preston have to face are more about the financial loss the city might have to deal with instead of, what was previously thought, respecting the smoking ban in closed areas, according to the British Heart Foundation representative.

The organisation states that the City Council must be resentful to the Shisha cafes because of the Duty of Health which promotion is extremely pricy and also essential in every community.

The real reason for not wanting to promote such places is because “promotion of health is just way too expensive” says Caroline Holton from the Cardiac and Stroke Network, who also works for the BHF.

“It’s easier and cheaper to ban such places from opening instead of having to promote the health issues tangential to smoking water pipes”, adds Caroline.

The authorities know how low the public´s awareness of Shisha’s effects on health is, especially among younger people who repetitively say it does no harm.

This means more money would have to be spent on advertising side effects of smoking water pipes.

“The problem is that those places are made to look like restaurants; nice and cosy. And that sends out a wrong message”, again worries Mrs. Holton.

Popular opinion is that the water used to smoke the pipe absorbs all the chemicals but the truth is that it only absorbs a little, according to the NHS Foundation Trust.

What is more, the Lancashire Evening Post warns that one Shisha session equals up to 200 cigarettes but many people think it is actually healthy to smoke water pipe because of its fruity taste.

“I work with young people especially within the Asian community and it scares me that those young boys find smoking fashionable and perfectly healthy”, admits Caroline.

 

 

But every story has another side. Preston Shisha Bars hit back arguing about the freedom of choice and the legality of Shisha places. Some of them go an extra mile to satisfy the Council but nothing seems to be good enough.

“We are really trying to work with the authorities but they are pushing it too hard”, complains Targk Salgm, the manager of Shesha Garden, off Church Street.

He also claims that his place is for all those people who don not want to go clubbing and abuse alcohol.

 

“The council does so little against binge drinking and it is a lot more harmful than smoking and can also cost a life” Mr. Salgm points out.

At the same time, there have been concerns about the safety around Shisha Bars in Preston which are mostly popular within the Asian community, especially the youngsters.

“I have nothing against smoking but those new places concern me as I live just next to one of them and it makes me feel a little anxious especially since when  I have been whistled and shouted at twice while passing by”, says Nicola, 23, a student from Lancaster University who lives in Preston city centre.

This outlines and juxtaposes Mr. Salgm's words as he says he only allows people in who respect each other and who show they can behave appropriately.

He also refers his Shesha Garden to “family business” which raises Mrs. Caroline Holton’s eyebrows as she disagrees that any family should smoke tobacco together.

Here, you can find all the Shisha Bars which already exist or are soon to open in Preston

View Shisha Cafes in Preston, Central Lancashire in a larger map

The Christmas Lights Switch On

 

This year´s Lights Switch on welcomed hundreds!

Hundreds of People gathered together in Preston City Centre  last night to switch on the Christmas Lights and enjoy numerous concerts organised by the City Council.

Despite the cold weather Preston´s Flag market welcomed people of all ages wanting to participate in the popular event which is already the city´s tradition.

Everyone patiently waited for all the performers and the final big Switch On which was originally planned for 6.30pm but ended up running fifteen minutes late.

“I come here every year and I must say I never get bored of it” says Mike, 33, from Garstang Road.

The programme this year was extremely interesting including a multi-million selling tenor Russell Watson who was the last to perform and Matt Cardle, widely known X-Factor winner who despite the winter cold made it to Preston and sounded amazing as always.

He later apologised for his bad throat and the impact it had on his vocals. He also said he didn´t want to let anyone down.

Video Skills Test

As mentioned in the video, the ability to speak foreign languages becomes incrisingly important. Language skills in the United Kingdom are poorer than those of other european countries. The purpose of this video is to show how diverse Britain is by interviewing people who come from other than British bacgrounds but live and/or study and/or work here, in the UK.

Map Skills Test

Lancashire Evening Post four chosen articles.

The stories were taken from Thursday November 15th's edition of Lancashire Evening Post with the "where" element storng enough to easily place the sories on a google map created by me (Aqueduct Street, Preston; Stanifield Lane, Leyland; Winckley Square, Preston; Collins Road, Bamberbridge)




View Lancashire Evening Post map skill test in a larger map

Audio Skills Test

The topic of Scotland´s independence is recently one of the most popular in England as it means that Scotland might no longer be part of the Kingdom. I wanted to know  Preston´s view on the referendum which is going to take place in 2014. I have asked people of different ages and genders whether they think Scotlant should be an independent country and also if the 16 and 17-year-olds should have the right to vote.
I have asked:
Ellie, 28
Sara, 35
John, 67
Elliot, 19

Images Skills Test

Images Skills Test

This is one of my assignments for Multimedia Journalism module. The photograph represents the Preston North End football club based in Preston, Central Lancashire. It has been cropped and resized for the purposes of this assignment. The requirements were as follow:
1. The oryginal picture
2. The thumbnail, 100 x 100 pixel
3. 400 x 300 pixel in jpg format. I have removed a part of the left side of my picture which was unnecessary and did not add anything interesting to the whole.
4.  200 x 500 pixel in jpg format. I have chosen the sign of the football club to be included in the picture to make  its massage straightforward.

Data Skills Test