AFTER spending some time at the Spirit of Bolton event I just wanted to thank Bolton Interfaith Forum for putting on another fantastic event celebrating the diverse range of culture and faith across the town.

The way in which everyone involved pulled together to show the importance of community and fostering friendships should be an example to us all. From the Asian Elder's self defence workshops to the Swaminarayan Gadi Pipe Band. All the dancers and drummers could not fail to brighten up what was a pretty miserable day weather wise.

It was also great to see that the peace and friendship theme seems to have rubbed off on some of our councillors, with faces from both the Lib Dem and Tory camps joining the mayor to visit stalls and chat with those people who had put so much effort in to making this a really special event.

I also took the opportunity to visit the All Souls Heritage Centre open day on Sunday. Andrew, Amy and the team there had put on a fantastic community event to raise money for Bolton Hospice. It was amazing to see so many people from such a diverse mix of cultures coming together for a common purpose. And all this happening just a stone's throw away from the disgusting sight of the UKIP/BNP supporting North West Infidels anti-Islam protest that took place exactly a year earlier.

It's great to see that 12 months on and the community is as strong as ever. A community that have seen child poverty rates increase to over 42% and racist mobs shipped in at the tax payers' expense, continues to come together as one and show the Spirit of Bolton is alive and well in Halliwell — even if the council seem to have all but abandoned them.

Kev Walsh

Bolton Liberal Democrats