BBC Radio Manchester presenter at St Andrew's, Dearnley

St Andrew's, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge

Allan Beswick, BBC Radio Manchester's well-known presenter, will be in the hot seat at St Andrew's, the parish church of Dearnley and Smithy Bridge, when he hosts a Questions and Answers session in church on Friday night, October 26, starting at 8pm.

We expect Allan's first visit to St Andrew's to be eagerly anticipated and well attended. We will not be selling tickets, but we will be taking donations to Wider Welcome on the door with a suggested minimum of £5.

Anyone who might not be familiar with Allan and his style of broadcasting can tune in to BBC Radio Manchester each weekday between 6am and 9am to hear him trying to brighten the dawn gloom with his popular presentation of 'Beswick At Breakfast'.

Alternatively, go to the church website at www.standrewsdearnley.co.uk; click on to 'news', then 'general news', then 'future fund-raisers' and follow the links to Beswick's biography and 'Beswick at Breakfast'.

It's normally Allan doing the interviewing and asking the searching questions, but the roles will be reversed here so get your questions ready now for one of the most experienced operators on local radio.

Beswick, as he is more usually known, has a reputation for a ready wit, coupled with the skill of asking the questions that others do not and an impudent charm that often disguises his incisiveness. He can be funny, inquisitive, explanatory, wise, silly and mischievous in turn.

His daily ambition, often achieved thanks to an excellent production team, is to present an interesting programme. His lifetime ambition is to 'outlive the lot of them'.

He has had a variety of jobs, including apprentice electrician, soldier, psychiatric nurse, bus driver, driving instructor and Citizens Advice bureau manager. It was that job that led him into local radio.

He became a phone-in legal advisor on Radio City in Liverpool, and he was on his way. He later worked for Radio Carlisle, Metro Radio, Red Rose Radio and for a station in Melbourne, Australia before joining Radio Manchester in 1987.

He has also done a number of documentary series for Radio 4, he used to be a regular presenter on 5 Live and he has contributed UK based features for broadcast in Australia.

His television work has included slots on Sky, BBC 1's Heaven and Earth, North-West Tonight and other occasional feature programmes.

Fair Trade Christmas cards will be available soon. A poster in the parish room illustrates the range of cards available so please sign, with your requirements, as soon as possible and before November 5.

We have our usual services this coming Sunday, October 21, Eucharist at 8am, Sung Eucharist at 10am and Holy Baptism at noon.