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The website about everything Luton!

Shout Luton is a free thinking independent guide to the town of Luton. It is not affiliated to any newspaper, magazine or web design company and is run as an open project for the benefit of our town, it's visitors and people who live here.

07/07/2008 Luton Veterans Day

Veterans

It was Veterans Day in St George's square today. There were displays by the Luton Sea Cadets, Harpenden Pipe band and the Vauxhall Male Voice Choir. Equipment on display included a cannon, fire engine and an armored transport vehicle.

23/06/2008 BBC Panorama find child labour working on Primark goods

Children were found finishing goods that were destined for Primark stores. Despite Primark's ethical policy the BBC crew found sequin and embroidery work done by subcontractors to Primark suppliers. Primark run a large store in the Luton Arndale center.

Article at BBC Website

22/06/2008 Fried Chicken outlet has roach infestation

A fried chicken fast food outlet in Luton was fined £2800 when a food control officers found a cockroach infestation in the kitchen.

Article at Luton Today

10/06/2008 Bedfordshire Police website hacked

Beds Hack

The Bedfordshire police website was down all day today after every page was replaced with an animated man carrying a Tunisian flag and an Arabic symbol.

06/06/2008 Urban Exploration of old Savoy

Right in the center of town the old Savoy Cinema has remained derelict for years. Have you ever wondered what's inside? Dust, asbestos and pigeon droppings everywhere. See these amazing images taken by an urban explorer!

Images on 28 Days Later

26/05/2008 Luton Carnival 2008 another washout

Carnival

Sadly although the carnival went ahead this year the weather certainly did not play along and again the event looked to be a dismal washout. However for the few people that did brave the elements they were rewarded with a vibrant although slightly soaked procession that were determined to make this years carnival happen!

25/05/2008 Are sell and rent back schemes a good idea?

There have been an increase of sell and rent-back leaflets posted lately where a company offers to buy your house and let it back to you. The link below suggests that there are potential pitfalls in these types of schemes. The leaflet we received was from a company that goes by many names, had no fixed address published and had the same customer reviews by different people!

Article at aboutproperty.co.uk

19/05/2008 Luton Arts festival

Arts Fest

There is a new Arts Festival in Luton. Called B:Fest it is a showcase of talent in the town. Local artists and students from the University are participating on various events from May 19th to 13 June.

See What's on at the festival today!

15/05/2008 English Heritage criticises Mall expansion

English Heritage has joined the Victorian Society in criticising the intended expansion of the Mall Arndale. They believe the overall design to be ill founded and recommend that a new strategy reusing the existing buildings be drawn up. They also said that the current proposal is repetitive, uses a limited range of components and has bland elevations. Broadway Malyan who are the architects behind the scheme may change their application in response.

link here

11/05/2008 Galaxy has a facelift

Galaxy

In the last few years the Galaxy Center has taken a few hard knocks - Brannigans has been closed for years now and recently even the Bingo hall shut it's doors. In a hope to bolster interest in the center a regeneration project is in progress inside and out and in a few months we can expect the center to take on a whole new look.

11/05/2008 Wheelwrights pub open again

Bucking the trend, the Wheelrights is open again and is back just as it was! The pub had closed in March and at the time it looked like it was gone for ever but on visiting the other day we were delighted to see it as busy as usual!

08/05/2008 Could hats come back in fashion?

Hats

There is a growing fashion trend that may just take a world tired of hoodies and Adidas tracksuits by storm. It is known as Steampunk and it's followers love everything old. Followers aspire to a Jules Verne/ HG Wells aesthetic. Leather, brass, shiny gauges, old technology adapted for modern purpose and of course hats all make the steampunk image.

16/03/2008 Hollywood style sign for Luton?

Everyone is familiar with the famous Hollywood sign on the Los Angeles hills, now it seems the council want a similar sign for Luton. However they can only afford the "N" so if you drive past the old Vauxhall site the gigantic "N" is visible but nobody knows when the "L" "U" "T" and "O" will arrive!

15/03/2008 Leagrave crane blamed for UFO invasion

Destroy all Humans

A crane on the Elm Trees estate has been blamed for a spate of UFO reports in the area. The crane has two bright red warning lights on the top and has led a few Lutonians to believe that we have been invaded by little green men. (image from the excellent Playstation game - Destroy all Humans)

15/03/2008 Happy St Patrick's Day!

St Patrick

Don's miss the festival, it starts at 11am on Saturday 15th. There will be a procession through the center of town and then an afternoon of entertainment at Market Hill and in the Arndale! St Patrick's day itself falls on Monday 17th. UPDATE: See the image library on the side for photos of the day!

29/02/2008 Car park to be demolished

With all the talk about demolishing Victorian buildings at least there is some good news. One of the classic eyesores is to be demolished - the ugly bus car park next to the train station. Doors close on the 29th Feb and the area will be used for the Gateway Project - a new office, residential and shopping development which should enhance this part of town.

28/02/2008 Bedfordshire Police reject gay Facebook user

Operation Nogay

Inspector Chris Dreyfus was to start as Chief Inspector at the force but was then refused because of his Facebook page. His page depicted his gay lifestyle which did not seem to appeal to the organisation who ironically have the "Stonewall Diversity Champions" logo in prominent display on their website. ShoutLuton wonder why the police are trolling facebook profiles in the first place? If you have a Facebook account it might be wise to close the profile to prying eyes!

24/02/2008 Strathmore goes 70's chic

Walk past the refurbished Brassarie/Lounge at the Menzies Strathmore hotel opposite the Arndale and you will think you have travelled back in time to the 70's. Looking like a set from the "Life on Mars" TV series the lounge brings back the charm of plywood tables, large round sofas and geometric carpets. Not to mention the fishing pole lamp stands!

22/02/2008 Boom boom vote

After totaling up the votes for our boom boom opinion poll it seems that 32% of you don't mind loud bass audio systems booming around our town. However the majority of you 68% said - yes please ban them!

18/02/2008 Happy Valentine from Bedfordshire Police!

Operation Turnip

Shoutluton are always amazed at how Bedfordshire police operate. Their latest stunt is to send all bail dodgers a valentine card asking then to please turn up in court. It must be fascinating to be a fly-on-the-wall at police think tank meetings because if these are the ideas that get through we can just imagine the bizarre ones that don't. Apparently there are over 500 bail dodgers still at large!

09/02/2008 Stop the decimation of Victorian Luton

The Victorian Society have slammed the decision for the Mall Arndale to expand into Bute Street. The plan will result in complete destruction of Cheapside and the demolition of three listed buildings. The society says that it is shocking to see a scheme that treats the demolition of nationally significant buildings so lightly.

Read the full story at their website

14/02/2008 Luton Beer Festival

Luton Beer Festival

Don't miss the Luton Beer Festival this month. It will taking place at the Hightown Sports and Arts Centre from Thursday 14th February to Saturday 16th. There will be 80 real ales and a bar devoted to Celtic Beers! Find out more at their website below:

www.sbedscamra.org.uk

02/02/2008 Luton blogger speaks out on Youtube, may seek asylum in the USA

The blogger who calls himself Lionheart has appeared on Youtube in an interview. It turns out he is in the USA not the Middle East as previously reported. He says he will be put under arrest as soon as he returns to the UK as his blog contains content that the police believe could stir up religious hatred. He also mentions that he may seek asylum in the USA. The series of three videos appeared on Youtube on Friday.

31/01/2008 Goodbye Woolworths

Woolworths Sinks

It's the end of the line for Woolworths in the Arndale. The store will be leaving Luton in March after almost 40 years in the town. This is yet another high street store to leave the Mall. Last year we saw Currys and Jessops leave. ShoutLuton can only hope that the large space left won't be filled by another one of those boombastic no name clothing stores!

30/01/2008 Holocaust service disrupted

Protest

Protesters disrupted a service to mark the Holocaust Memorial Day in Luton over the weekend. In the picture above a megaphone is pointed at the Town Hall where the service was taking place.

Luton Today have the full story here

24/01/2008 Carnival Arts Centre

Amazing video from co2show promotions with 3D views of the Carnival Arts centre to open this year in Luton!

24/01/2008 Open Day talk - fostering

The National Fostering Agency will be giving an open talk about fostering to members of the public. The event takes place on Thursday Jan 24th at the Park Town Community Center in Bailey Street. For more info call 01582 482957

National Fostering Agency

19/01/2008 Thinking of the future

Think

Luton council are creating a new publicity campaign for the town. The "Think" promotion is targeted at businesses to advertise the towns commercial potential. Just in the last year quite a few things have changed there is Silverjet that provides business class air travel. The Eurostar is now at St Pancras station. Stately home - Luton Hoo golf and spa hotel is open for business.

link

13/01/2008 Christian blogger to be arrested

According to Luton on Sunday a blogger from Luton who has travelled to the Middle East has discovered that the police are after him. His opinions have attracted the attention of the Bedfordshire police and he is to be arrested on his return because of the content of his blog. The police claim that the blog called Lionheartuk can "Stir up Racial Hatred by displaying written material".

27/12/2007 The Mall Arndale becomes a thundering nightmare

There have been a few stores in the Arndale that have decided that the best way to pull in punters is by playing very loud bass music. One is the Profile Pink store and the other is the unbranded store next to Wilkinsons. Shoutluton believes this can be annoying to some people so if you are affected by this let us know. Shoutluton has also noticed an increase of "no name" clear out stores in the mall and question the malls expansion in the light of them not being able to fill present spaces with quality outlets.

"unbranded stores look terrible and give a bad impression of our shopping centre." - shoutluton reader

Feedback Form

24/08/2007 Mall declines as another shop leaves.

After 10 years of trading Zanart has decided to leave the Mall Arndale. The Art and framing shop has a new branch in Hitchin and will focus their efforts there. According to Lutontoday the shop said "The Arndale centre is in decline. it is depressing and uninviting for shoppers". Shoutluton agree that with the increases in un-let units and low quality clear out stores the Mall really needs a rethink. It seems ironic that there are plans to expand into Cheapside when the existing shops can not be filled.

Adding your site

Shout! was created to catalogue sites on the web relating to Luton and to encourage Lutonians to put more content on the web. So if you want to appear listed on this site just create a web page and email me the URL. There is no charge or sponsorship on this site.

If you have any Luton info that you would like added to this site or would like your organization mentioned: just email it to the following address: (The only stipulation is that any content or images sent must be copyright free, this site is not copyright and I would like to keep it that way!).

Write to us here:
ShoutLuton Media
c/o Flat 5 Cardigan Mews
Cardigan Street
Luton
LU1 1RN


This project has now expired to contact me please visit the site below:

Shaun Wallin

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About this site

This site has been optimized for 800X600 pixel screens and larger (640X480 screens will not display the side panels without scrolling however full navigation is still possible without these). The site is also designed to print on A4 printers without any truncation of the main body text. Most browsers are supported. The site has been tested on Mozilla,Safari and IE, browsers must have .css and .png capability at least. These pages were created using WEBepigenetics (software development using the genetic principles of DNA and XML Epigenes). Most of the images and text are in the public domain (however there are images on this site from other sources so check with me first before using any, some pages are also provided under the GNU Free Documentation License in these cases a link to the license will appear at the bottom of the page. Be aware that people featured in photographs may also object to it's use even though a photo is in the public domain). I provide no guarantee about the relevance and or accuracy of anything in this site. Tools used: Perl, Gimp, and Mac OsX.

As far as possible I have avoided dynamic content (i.e vector animation and client side scripting) so the site is mostly static pages to make it as accessible as possible. If you have any problems accessing any part of this site please let me know. Shoutluton do not check web logs to see who visits the site the only valued feedback are emails received!

All sites listed are checked beforehand but due to the dynamic nature of the Web, Shout Luton! is not responsible for the content of external sites.


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