Barmitzvah at St Annes Hebrew Congregation on Shabbat was Asher Berman-Thomas, of Lancaster.

It was not the first public performance for Asher, the son of Marc and Wyona Berman-Thomas.

For three years, he has delivered a presentation at Blackpool’s Holocaust Memorial Day on the life of his maternal great- grandmother Tanya Taube-Rosenthal, who survived the Latvian Rumbula Massacre and went on to emigrate to South Africa and then practise as a dentist in Israel.

Present at the celebrations was Asher’s elder brother Kane, 21, who made the Blackpool Holocaust presentations before his brother.

A pupil at Central Lancaster High School, Asher enjoys playing rugby and tennis.

Mother Wyona described the Shabbat celebrations as especially “emotional” because it was the final barmitzvah for synagogue minister Rabbi David Braunold before he retires from St Annes Hebrew Congregation at the end of the month.

Glasgow-born Rabbi Braunold went to St Annes last year with the closure of Blackpool Hebrew Congregation where he had officiated for 26 years.

Rabbi Braunold and his wife Helen are to move to Manchester.

Web date led to love

LANCASTER was the choice of wedding venue for bride Samantha Lunn who fell in love with the area when she studied at university there.

The daughter of Melvin and Ruth Lunn of St Annes, Samantha heads languages at St Mary’s College, Preston.

She married Sam Broom, also of Preston but formerly of Peterborough, at the Lancaster House Hotel. The ceremony was conducted by Rabbi David Braunold, of St Annes Hebrew Congregation.

Although they lived near each other, the couple met through Internet dating.

Sam, a Web designer, is the son of Alan and Francine Broom of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Best men were Simon Trammer and Mark Baker. Bridesmaids were sister of the groom Jenny Broom, sister of the bride Naomi Lunn, Nicola Knott and Maura Bunn.

The couple are initially settling in Preston, but hope to move to Manchester.

Dietician bride’s recipe for happiness

Tara Belluso and Robert Chernick were married at Styal Lodge, Wilmslow, by Rabbi Haim Shalom of the Menorah (Cheshire Reform) Synagogue.

Tara is a dietician who runs a weight management service for the NHS while Robert is an osteopath.

The best man was Robert’s brother-in-law Ben Taxman and bridesmaids were Gemma Irvine and Emily Virdee.