Hello and welcome to TFI it’s that time of the week when we all begin making plans for the weekend. As usual here at DLIB we aim to ease you into Friday night with our weekly roundup of business news from the past 7 days. Work this week began on the derelict ‘Garden Festival’ site, with plans to restore it 26 years after it was originally opened. We also have news from some of Downtown’s members, and we honour the legendary Frank Hornby, after news that Meccano is to become a Hollywood Blockbuster. We have all the standard features, including ‘Hot in the City’, our events guide and the ever popular ‘Who Are Yer?’ Enjoy the latest TFI, have a great weekend and don't do anything Frank wouldn't do...

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Work began this week on Liverpool’s derelict Garden Festival site.

Developer Langtree began work on the site, the first time work has taken place on the derelict site in 13 years.

The £3.7m restoration begins almost 26 years after the International Garden Festival first opened to huge public acclaim in 1984.

After accessing the 70 acres of land construction will restore the Oriental gardens, returning them to public use.

Also revamped will be the lakes and waterways, the Moon Wall will be rebuilt, two pagodas restored and the landscaping of woodland trails carried out.

A new pedestrian access will create links with Otterspool Promenade together with a new parking and public transport facilities.

Hill Dickinson, the Liverpool-headquartered law firm with offices in Manchester and Chester, has been named National Law Firm of the Year at the 2010 Legal Business Awards. The firm was recognised for positive client feedback, improved performance and its merger with Middleton Potts. Tony Wilson, senior partner at Hill Dickinson, said the merger improved its “presence in the commodities sector and added further weight to its global reputation for shipping and transport work”.

Databax are now offering a fully managed VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony service which can replace or enhance your existing telephone system with minimal capital expenditure. This is a flexible and scalable alternative to a traditional premise based voice system (private automatic branch exchange – PABX).

Benefits include lower call charges, short term contracts, unlimited growth of your telephone network, and internal calls across multiple locations and remote working using soft phone technology.

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Exciting development plans in Liverpool’s vibrant Ropewalks area have been unveiled by Liverpool based SNOW architects.

SNOW architects have received planning approval for a 102 bedroom hotel situated within the Ropewalks area of the city centre fronting Duke Street and Parr Street.

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Low-cost airline Easyjet has launched a new service from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to the Isle of Man. The company will start the service, which will operate six times a week, on 21 May and said it expected up to 70,000 passengers to use the service in its first year of operation. It will use its new Airbus 319 aircraft, which seat 156 passengers. Commercial manager Trevor Spinks said: “As the UK's largest airline, it is a logical step to extend our services from Liverpool and connect the island with the North West where there are such strong business and family links.”

News emerged this week that one of Liverpool’s most famous exports ‘Meccano’ is to be turned into a 3D Hollywood Film.

And what better way to celebrate this news than bestowing the ‘Man of the Week’ title on the inventor Frank Hornby.

A massive game of Trivial Pursuit.

Men Vs Women. The battles of the sexes.

Your side needs you!

Plus get a question right or wrong and be rewarded with a rather amusing video clip.

www.trivialpursuitexperiment.com

March is a bumper month for the Playhouse. Three shows in particular grab my fancy. “Morecambe” runs at the Playhouse from the 8^th to the 13^th March and tells the tale of all time favourite comedian, Eric Morecambe. Jimmy Carr rates this one man show and Jimmy Golding’s performance as “A classic"

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IL FORNO WINE EVENING

Il Forno are delighted to announce that their first wine evening for 2010 will be held on Tuesday 9  March. This exclusive evening will be held in association with Enotria, one of the UK’s leading wine importers, and will be hosted by Roberta Urso, of the renowned ‘Settesoli’ winery in Sicily.

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Downtown Liverpool in Business (DLIB) is to host a head-to-head debate between Liverpool City Council Leader Councillor, Liberal Democrat Warren Bradley, and opposition Leader, Labour Councillor Joe Anderson in the run up to next May’s Local elections.

The event will take place on Thursday 25th February, at the BT Convention Centre and will also be broadcast by radio station City Talk FM. The audience will be made up of business leaders from across the city.

Hosted by Jim Hancock: Former political editor with Granada and BBC Northwest.

Date: Thursday 25th February
Time: 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Venue: BT Convention Centre

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THERE'S ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT

You could own a piece of history……

Framed Liverpool and Everton home shirts signed by all of the first team squads.

You have until the end of February to enter your bid. The highest bid entered for either shirt, wins.

CLICK HERE to place your bid

A must for all Evertonians

Join Everton Legends for what promises to be a spectacular event at the BT Convention Centre at the Arena with 16 members of the squad in attendance.

Pat Van den Hauwe is flying in from Cape Town and “Inchy” is coming in from Dallas.

The chances of getting all 16 together again are remote so it is an unbelievable opportunity not to be missed.

The £100 plus vat tickets include a Champagne reception, 3 course meal and wine with dinner.

The VIP tickets are £180 plus vat and include the above plus access to a separate bar area with the players and complimentary drinks throughout the evening.

Contact Carl Bradshaw via Carl.Bradshaw@evertonfc.com or on 07891 522 892.

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Name: Louise Houlder

Company: Henshaws Society for Blind People

Position: Communications Manager

Red or Blue: Neither

Brown or Cameron: Rather not say

Favourite Liverpool Bar/Restaurant: Meet - best Steak in the city

What’s your Tipple: Brandy

Favourite Liverpool Band: The Fab Four

Top Tune: Bring it on Home, Sam Cooke

Favourite Book: What’s So Amazing About Grace

Favourite Movie: Into the Wild

Who would play you in a film: Kathy Burke

Favourite TV Programme: The Big Questions

Most visited website: www.henshaws.org.uk - because I edit it!

Celebrity Crush: Jim Caviezel

Interesting Fact about you: I’ve got a bizarre sleep disorder

Why Downtown: It’s a super way to get Henshaws known, so we can raise more cash for blind people in Liverpool