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Good morning, Warrington. Mike here. This is The Warrington Scoop.

Next time you're walking through Bank Park, take a proper look at those Golden Gates outside the Town Hall, because they weren't built for Warrington at all. Coalbrookdale's ironworks cast them for the 1862 International Exhibition with an eye on Queen Victoria's Sandringham estate, but her courtiers steered her away before she ever saw them, all because a statue of Oliver Cromwell was clearly visible right behind them. Nobody else fancied such an enormous pair of gates, so local iron magnate and councillor Frederick Monks snapped them up for the town, ceremoniously opening them with a golden key on Warrington Walking Day, 28th June 1895.

Grab your favourite brew, and let's start. ☕

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We went down to check out Bari C Marsh's one-man exhibition at The Gateway on Sankey Street earlier this week. We've actually crossed paths with Bari before, at a market where he was selling his prints, and he's a lovely guy, properly passionate about what he does.

Bari was born in Widnes in 1943 and went on to study design at Staffordshire University. He later became Head of Design and Technology at The Grange Grammar School in Hartford. Since retiring 20 years ago he's kept himself busy teaching art classes and running groups working in pen and ink and watercolour.

For this exhibition he's put together over 100 original pen and ink drawings, most of them scenes from Warrington and further afield across the Northwest. Every single one is a one-off, hand drawn, not a print, so what you see hanging up is the only copy that will ever exist.

Drawings are £25 each and the exhibition runs until Friday 2nd October, so there's just over a week left to get down and see it for yourself.

We think this deserves way more attention than it's had, and we'd love to help him sell a few more before the show ends. Support local where you can.

Check out the video we posted on Facebook to see some of the drawings up close.

🌉 Another week, another Warrington meme for you, this time it's about the eternal joy of waiting for the swing bridges to open back up 🤣

🎄 St. Rocco's Hospice is calling on schools, nurseries and youth groups across Warrington to sign up for the Elf & Reindeer Run 2026. It's free to enter, kids can run, walk, skip or dance any distance throughout December, and last year over 5,500 children raised more than £26,000 for the hospice. Sign up at https://www.stroccos.org.uk/events-campaigns/elf-run

🎭 Warrington Youth Zone's young performers are bringing Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical JR to the stage on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October. Tickets are £5 for adults, £3 for under 18s and £1 for under 7s,

🎵 Warrington's own Paul Van Doodson has released his debut single, I Can't Go To Hell, a synth-driven, anthemic track produced with Dave Warwick (Rick Astley's former manager) and Steve Millington. It's out now on all major streaming platforms, watch the trailer here.

💙 Warrington's Dylan McCloskey has launched a petition calling for specialist suicide prevention support for young people to be restored, following the closure of Warrington-based PAPYRUS and HOPELINE247. It's already picked up nearly 500 signatures, sign it here.

🚜 Something a bit different to put in the diary. The Culcheth Arms is holding a Tractor Fest on Sunday 11th October, 12pm to 4pm, with vintage tractors, bouncy castles, face painting and live music, and it's free to get in. Croft Tractor Club are supporting it too, so there should be plenty to look at as well as plenty to keep the kids busy.

Did you ever used to go to Club Casi back in the early 2000’s? It was a rock bar, and had such a great atmosphere back in the day. Tonight (Friday 25th September) Warrington's Asylum Club Night is bringing back Club Casi at Brickhaus on Barbauld Street. The old Mersey Street venue that housed Casi closed back in 2013, but its rock and metal legacy lives on through Asylum, and the two are joining forces for a reunion complete with throwback photos on the screens and DJ sets from the era. Doors are at 10pm, tickets are £4 online or on the door.

Grab tickets here or check out the Facebook event for more.

This week's pick is on Weaste Lane in Thelwall, a three-bedroom mews property originally part of the historic Highfield Estate, built back in 1870, on the market for £450,000 with no onward chain.

Inside there's a striking vaulted-ceiling kitchen and dining room, a cosy lounge with a fitted log burner, and a conservatory looking out over the garden, plus a loft room that would make a great home office. The rear garden backs straight onto open countryside and Green Belt, giving far-reaching views without leaving town, and there's solar panels on the roof too.

View it here on Rightmove.

This month's Dog of the Month comes from Cheshire Dogs Home, and it's Bruce, a big-hearted lad with an even bigger love of toys, who's sadly had no interest yet and would love to find his forever family.

After a long stay in kennels, Bruce is more than ready for his forever home. Could you be the one to throw his ball endlessly? Find out more about adopting from Cheshire Dogs Home here.

🎅 Santa's Rotary float sets off on Monday 30th November, beginning a busy schedule of visits across Lymm. He'll spend his first three nights in Thelwall before heading to the Booths Hill area in December, worth an early mention so people know when to expect him. (Warrington Worldwide)

🏅 Belong Warrington has been re-accredited with the Gold Standards Framework for its end-of-life care, having first achieved the accreditation back in 2018. The assessment praised the dementia specialist care village's consistently outstanding approach. (Warrington Worldwide)

🌍 Warrington is celebrating 20 years as a Fairtrade borough, marked as part of this year's Fairtrade Fortnight, running until 4th October. Over the past two decades the town's Fairtrade movement has organised hundreds of events and campaigns. (Warrington Worldwide)

After that Golden Gates story earlier, a few of you are probably now itching to guess anything royal or gate-related, so fair warning, that is not the word. As always, it is loosely related to Warrington, so have a proper think before you burn a guess on the obvious one. Reply and let me know how you got on, as I do read all the replies.

There is a clue at the bottom of this email for you if you need it.

Click here to play

Thanks for reading The Warrington Scoop today.

If you found this useful, please share it with someone who always gets in the wrong lane at Bridge Foot.

Catch you on Monday

Mike

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