Whether you’re newly arrived in Lancaster or already a resident of our thriving metropolis, the newest, latest and greatest Blue Map v4 of Lancaster is a brilliant resource for anyone looking for some of its hidden gems of alternative culture. The map is now available for download at http://tofubandits.org.uk/guide

This is the fourth version of the blue map since the first one back in 1995, and it has been fully updated for 2008. Changes this year include a few additions, and sadly the removal of a couple more of the Charity Shops since the map’s creators received information from Animal Aid that both Scope and Help the Aged fund testing on animals (in addition to British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research etc etc). This reduces the number of vivisection-free charity shops in Lancaster to Barnardo’s, Oxfam, the Children’s Society, the Samaritans and Cancer Care/St John’s Hospice. (If you are avoiding animal-cruelty related charities it is worth taking note that although the local Cancer Care does not appear to fund animal testing, other branches do).

As always, the work is @nti-copywrite, so people should feel free to use the map for whatever you want, and more importantly to copy, modify and distribute it to all who may find it useful!

• The map is also available from www.virtual-lancaster.net/community/lancastermap08.pdf (PDF)