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A Merseyside poem could be the £1,000 winner

A poem about Southport, Formby or Liverpool, in fact any area could win £1,000 in a free poetry competition.  Entry is completely free and anyone, young or old, can have a go; beginners too! All you have to do is send a poem about Southport or another town in your circulation area to:- "Local Poem" by email or post to:- United Press Ltd, Admail 3735, London, EC1B 1JB.  The best poem will win £1,000 cash and you can send up to 3 entries, which must be no more than 25 lines (each blank line counts as one line) and 160 words each. "It can even be about something or someone from the poet's home area. We find that poems written from personal observation and experience are the most heartfelt and expressive, so we're expecting some great entries from your readers. The contest is designed to encourage ordinary people to write poetry, to both express themselves and be more creative.  Last year's winner was Poppy Turner from Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire who read her poem out on an episode of the BBC's Countryfile and previous winners came from Leicester, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Bristol, Oxford, Stafford, Rotherham and Greater Manchester. Maybe this year the £1,000 will go to a poet from Southport or a neighbouring town. Winning poems have been about a river, a tower, a local character, village life and local history."  explained a United Press spokesman.  The closing date is 31 December 2015.

Spice up your winter with Salsa!

AFTER last year's success Movema are back with the ever popular Latin Dance classes! Lead by professional dancer Sheetal Maru, each class teaches a mixture of Salsa and Latin dance styles including Bachata, Salsa, Merengue and maybe even Reggaeton, you'll have to be there to find out!  Trained in performance and choreography, Sheetal has also recently performed with Bollywood Stars at the 'Bollywood Showdown 2015' at the 02 Arena London with Europe's most elite Bollywood Dance Crew, BollyFlex; and recently starred in Muller Yoghurt's most recent advertisement filmed at Babelsberg Studios, Berlin.

Sheetal says:- "This year's Latin themed World Dance Classes are going to bring everyone together in such a unique way. My job will be focussed on really encouraging and bringing out the best in everyone. It's going to be a great atmosphere with a fun workout and a chance to meet new people and improve your confidence."

Classes are fun, relaxed and for everyone. No need to bring a partner, you will meet new friends and have plenty of laughs with the group.  At the end of the course participants can take part in a performance at the Movema Christmas Party, on the 10 December 2015, at Toxteth TV. To learn the dance moves, come along to the classes every Thursday, from 6.30 to 7.30pm, at MDI Studios.  Movema provides classes throughout the year, and Salsa runs as part of the World Dance community programme. The project gives participants the chance to learn techniques and routines from specific countries or cultures in a fun and engaging atmosphere and the opportunity to perform at local festivals and events if they wish. After Latin you can try Chinese Fusion classes to tie in with Chinese New Year 2016!  For more information go to:- Movema.Co.UK.