HALTON NEWSLETTER ______

July 2021

Widnes Library

(Photo courtesy of Chris Lewis (Halton u3a Secretary)

Message from the Chair ______

When you read this we will have passed Freedom Day and be taking steps back to life BC (Before Covid). In common with many of you Chris and I will be proceeding with caution. Much as we would prefer real freedom, we know from experience in our family that you can get Covid twice and being double vaccinated does not give 100% protection. However humans are social beings and not meant to live in isolation. We have started travelling and it will not surprise you to know that trains were involved.

On Thursday, 8th July 2021 we travelled to and the following day took a nostalgic trip behind a steam engine to Weymouth. Careful planning allowed us to meet family and friends we have not seen for nearly two years over the course of a long weekend. On Saturday, 17th July 2021, we treated ourselves to travelling on a reconstruction of the Blue Pullman, a luxury journey to Cardiff. It was not a steam engine but it still managed to break down for two hours in the middle of nowhere on the return journey. This meant we arrived in two minutes after the last train left for . Despite having paid a large amount of money for the day, the attitude of the train management was 'that is your problem'. Luckily for us we had kind friends on the train who had left their car in Crewe. They drove us home before going back to . That really was a case of true friendship going the extra mile.

I would hope that members of Halton u3a are not surprised by this kindness because while we are not a big club or have many learned groups, I hope and believe that we are a friendly and welcoming bunch who live and laugh with each other, form friendships and hopefully learn something along the way. While some of the outdoor activities have restarted we are not anticipating many indoor meetings until the AGM in September, assuming that more rules are not imposed by then.

July Presentation - African Safari - Roy Page, Halton u3a member ______

At our July meeting Roy Page gave a very entertaining account of adventures on safari in South Africa in 2018. He and his wife joined a group visiting three different reserves. His talk was illustrated by fantastic photographs of the animals they saw showing so much detail it appeared as if he was right next to them. They then travelled to Cape Town to continue their holiday.

Liverpool Riots 40 years ago Recollections and Reflections of an Inner- City Probation Officer Part 2 - What happened later - Bob Roach, Halton u3a member ______

The Government, with Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister, responded to the riots by nominating Michael Heseltine, the Secretary of State for the Environment, as ‘Minister for Merseyside’, to investigate and recommend how to proceed.

I understand that, when on his first journey by train to , it was his first view of that made him realise the extent of industrial decay ‘up north’. Until the train crossed the railway bridge from , the view had been largely rural. Suddenly, on the left, was the view of West Bank Dock! The image of that view is from a somewhat earlier era - by 1981, much of the industry had gone but, with no land reclamation having been done, the view would still have been grim. Even now, after expensive reclamation and now dominated by Stobart distribution businesses, it isn’t a location for a rather leisurely ramble!

Heseltine met local politicians (with their varied stances), many local organisations, etc. There were already people in and around Liverpool with a wish to improve things and ideas about what was needed. Heseltine’s intervention enabled such ideas to be funded and coordinated. Bishops Sheppard and Worlock with their message of ‘reconciliation’ were influential. Heseltine also encouraged representatives of financial institutions to get involved. He later reported that he wanted to ‘enhance the flow of private capital into urban opportunities’.

Heseltine’s ‘It Took a Riot’ report described the severity of the Merseyside economic and social problems. He said, ‘It is in my judgement our inescapable duty to respond to the problems of the main urban areas with urgency and resource. … I cannot stress too clearly that my conclusions and proposals are not based on my fear of further riots. They are based on my belief that the conditions and prospects in the city are not compatible with the traditions of social justice and national evenhandedness on which our party prides itself.’

This was presented to a Cabinet in which, in contrast, some were urging a policy of ‘managed decline’ but Heseltine was given the support to pursue his proposals.

This led to the setting up of up the Merseyside Task Force, a combination of civil servants and managers from industry, local authorities and other relevant bodies. Various other bodies were also set up, e.g. Merseyside Development Corporation.

What Came from This? a) Albert Dock Named after Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, and opened by him in 1846, it was sturdily built to store valuable cargoes such as cotton, tea, silk, tobacco, ivory and sugar. Although it had been granted Grade 1 Listed Status in 1951, by the 1980s it had been unused as a dock for decades and would probably have been demolished by then but for how costly it would have been to do that. In response to Heseltine’s approach, private sector developers took on the task of renovating it.

The result was that it became an attractive place to visit, as well as the great setting, with the Maritime and the International Slavery Museums, the Tate Gallery and the Beatles Story. In 1984 the Cutty Shark Tall Ship Race started from the Mersey, attracting a vast number of visitors. In 1988 the Albert Dock was officially re-opened by the Prince of Wales, the great- great-great-grandson of Prince Albert. Granada TV was based there for a time, with Richard and Judy and Fred’s floating weather map!!

In 2004, several parts of the old Liverpool Docks, including Albert Dock were granted the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Status. However, because of development plans in other parts of the docks, this status is now under threat. b) International Garden Festival of 1984 As the site chosen for this event was derelict and badly polluted, it required major reclamation before preparations for the Festival could begin - but what a great event it was!! Opened by the Queen, there were numerous themed gardens and special features, possibly the favourite being a model of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine that had been made by Cammell Laird apprentices, now at Liverpool Airport. The Japanese Garden with its pagoda was popular. There was a narrow-gauge railway within the park to provide transport - I recall the smell of smoke from a coal burning engine drifting across the area. There was a comprehensive entertainment programme as well.

As a family, we had numerous summer evenings there. Apparently, there were 3.5 million visitors during the summer. Unfortunately, the speedy setting-up of the event didn’t include much thinking about what to do with the site after the Festival. c) Cleaning up the Mersey In the 1970s the Mersey was probably the most polluted river in Europe, with untreated sewerage and industrial waste being released into it all the way from Stockport to the mouth of the river. One report said, ‘today the river is an affront to the standards a civilised society should demand’. The problem was well known but, such was the scale of the problem, it would be vastly expensive and require co- operation from industry, local authorities and water companies to do anything about it.

Heseltine’s approach of seeking the cooperation of a wide range of organisations triggered the setting up of the clean-up of the Mersey Basin Campaign. It took decades to complete and cost billions of pounds, but has resulted in a major improvement in water quality, e.g. much less risk of illness after taking part in water sports.

Comments and / or further information on this topic would be welcomed.

Runcorn Stations - Alec Hough, Treasurer, Halton u3a ______

The has had twenty passenger railway stations over the years, of which only four remain operational, Runcorn, Widnes, Hough Green and Runcorn East. The first railway to arrive in the present Borough was the St Helens to Runcorn Gap line which opened in 1833 to carry coal from St Helens to a new dock on the Mersey for shipment to Liverpool and beyond. Widnes as a town did not then exist and the area near the Mersey (now Spike Island) was known as Runcorn Gap. A passenger station was opened at Runcorn Gap in 1833 but was closed in 1852 and replaced by a bigger station (also called Runcorn Gap but later renamed Widnes). There were also stations (opened at various later dates) at Ann Street, Appleton and Farnworth. Farnworth station was later renamed Farnworth and Bold to avoid confusion with another Farnworth station on the to Liverpool Central line. All of the stations in Halton on the St Helens to Runcorn Gap line had closed by 1951 and the line was taken up in 1981. The next line to arrive in the present Borough was the Grand Junction Railway from Birmingham to Newton (via Warrington) which opened in 1837 with stations at and Moore. This line is still in use as part of the West Coast mainline but the two stations closed in the 1940s.

After that the Birkenhead, and Joint Railway built the line from to Warrington with only one station in the Borough, Daresbury, which opened in 1850 (this station was actually in Moore but was named Daresbury to avoid confusion with the Grand Junction’s Moore station in the same village). After a serious collision in the Sutton Tunnel in 1851, two new stations were added at the ends of the tunnel, Halton and Norton, both of which opened in 1852. This line is still in use but all three stations closed in 1952. Halton station, which is now a private house near to the Holiday Inn, was first named Runcorn, then Runcorn Road and finally Halton. Runcorn East station was opened on this line in the 1980s not very far from the site of Norton station.

In the early 1850s, The St Helens and Runcorn Gap Company opened a line from Garston to Warrington, with a station at Ditton Mill and a new Runcorn Gap station (renamed Widnes in 1864). Ditton Mill closed in 1869 when Ditton Junction opened and Widnes closed in 1870 when Widnes South opened. This line is still in existence and until recently was used to carry coal to Fiddlers Ferry.

Next came the LNWR’s Weaver Junction to Ditton Junction Line in 1869 crossing the Mersey at Runcorn on the Ethelfleda viaduct with stations opening at Sutton Weaver, Runcorn and Ditton Junction. Sutton Weaver closed in 1931 but Ditton Junction remained open until 1994.

In about 1870 the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Company opened a very short deviation line in Widnes to improve rail traffic flows which led to Widnes South station opening to replace Widnes station. Widnes South station closed for passenger services in 1962. Cheshire Lines’ route from Manchester to Liverpool Central opened in the 1870s with stations at Hough Green and Farnworth, both of which are still in use. Farnworth was first renamed Widnes North in 1959, renamed again as Widnes in 1968 and is reputed to be where Paul Simon wrote “Homeward Bound”: I’m sitting in the railway station, got a ticket to my destination....

The final line to be built was a loop through Widnes from Hough Green and back to rejoin the Cheshire Lines tracks on the east side of Widnes. Widnes Central opened on this loop in 1879 and Tanhouse Lane was added in 1890. Both stations closed in 1964 and the track was later removed.

It’s interesting to note that five of these stations, Runcorn Gap, Widnes, Ann Street, Widnes South and Widnes Central were all within a short distance of one another in central Widnes and all have now gone. In contrast central Runcorn has only ever had one station which is still there although the buildings were moved a few yards south when the station was rebuilt in the 1970s. The Comic - Mike Seabrook ______

The Eagle was a revolutionary British children’s comic, first published in 1950. It ran until 1963 and then in a re-launched format from 1982 to 1994. I can remember getting my first copy, and it took over from the Beano, etc. as the comic to have.

It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Birkdale, Lancashire (born in Preston). Morris edited a parish magazine called the Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating its message effectively to young people. Simultaneously disillusioned with contemporary children’s literature, he and Anvil artist Frank Hampson (Southport School of Art) created a dummy comic based on Christian values. Morris proposed the idea to several Fleet Street publishers with little success, until Hulton Press took it on. Following a huge publicity campaign, the first issue of the Eagle was released in April 1950. Revolutionary in its presentation and content, it was enormously successful and the first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front page was its most recognisable story, , Pilot of the Future, created by Hampson with meticulous attention to detail. Other popular stories included Riders of the Range and PC 49.

The Eagle was more than just a comic and contained news and sport sections and centrepiece educational cutaway diagrams of ships, aircraft and other sorts of machinery. The back page was always devoted to telling the life story of a historical figure, such as Winston Churchill, in comic strip form. It’s a little-known fact that Captain Pugwash first set sail in Southport aboard the Black Pig, taking on his arch enemy Cut -Throat Jake, the pirate captain of the Flying Dutchman. Hampson based Captain Pugwash’s uniform on his own school rugby shirt. Captain Pugwash was a short-lived feature in the Eagle, lasting only 18 episodes before going on to a stellar career in the BBC animation. He was replaced in the Eagle with the bumbling special agent Harris Tweed, a favourite that ran for the next twelve years. I hope that this has jolted memories of those far off days.

What did you do in ‘Lockdown’ Grandma? - Jean Lewis, Halton u3a Vice Chairman ______

Well my dears, I’d moved into a tiny bungalow with no back garden, from a big house with a huge garden where I grew all my own fruit and vegetables. Oh dear what shall I do? I am in prison! So, I took a deep breath and had a think. First, I bought a little greenhouse and put it in the corner of the yard where the sun shone. Next, I telephoned the nice builder who built my kitchen extension. He remembered all the tea and cakes I fed him and he was very willing to build me some raised beds in the yard. I bought sweet peppers for my tea and scraped out the seeds, they were the frst thing I sowed in my greenhouse.

By mid-April I was growing peas, beans, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and lots of salad stuf from the old packets of seeds donated by friends. Some of the seeds were over four years old but they all grew, it was very exciting. I hoed and watered and kept popping to the front garden to wave at all the strangers who passed on the way to the Post Ofce to return the parcels they’d got from Amazon. It has been great fun and there I say, I’ve enjoyed ‘Lockdown’. Since then we’ve had a second and third ‘Lockdown’ and with the seasons changing as they do I’m sowing and planting and weeding and chatting to all the neighbours who pass on their way to the Post Ofce - and now I know their names!

Gardening Corner - Photo shots from Halton u3a members’ gardens ______

As we have all spent more time in our gardens during lockdown, we are inviting members to send in photographs of their garden to share with other members. Please send your photos to Chris Lewis, Halton u3a Secretary. Maureen’s Chandon Beauty rose

Pat’s wonky carrots Maureen’s lovely clematis

Maureen’s garden

Jean’s frst crop of the season

Group report ______

The groups that regularly meet online via Zoom continue to do so with healthy numbers of participants.

• iPad Group - It is hoped that face to face meetings will restart in September, with meetings taking place at Bold Heath Garden Centre cafe, previously Wyvale Garden Centre. This is to be confirmed. In the meantime, the group continues to enjoy the weekly quiz via Zoom.

• Ukulele Group - The group has now had their final practice session before their summer break. They will reconvene early in September. They really enjoyed the garage sessions and they’ve certainly made progress.

• Reading Group - The group met to review ‘The Woman in the White Kimono’ by Ana Johns, a dark tale about pregnancy and the treatment of women in Japan, the general consensus being that it was a good read.

• Bowling Group - Sadly, the beautifully manicured bowling green at the Ball pub, where the group played pre-Covid, has grown into a bumpy meadow and, with the addition of several picnic tables, is now a beer garden. Any information about an available green would be very welcome please.

• Photography Group - They met recently at Rivendell Garden Centre in Widnes to review images from their Walton Gardens trip. They have lots of pictures of flowers and peacocks. Also this month the group will embark on a coach trip to Bakewell, Derbyshire, which hopefully will offer rich pickings image-wise.

• Bridge Group - It is hoped that the Bridge Group will recommence face to face meetings as soon as possible and it has been confirmed that their normal venue, Ditton Community Centre, has a spacious Covid-safe room with ventilation which has been reserved for the group.

• Rather Leisurely Walkers - With the (generally) good weather and long hours of daylight of recent weeks, we have done the following walks:

An evening walk starting from the Catalyst car park, we walked around Spike Island and then along the West Bank riverside. There were great views of the river, the bridges and the location of where the Transporter bridge started from. We then returned along Mersey Road passing the house where Victoria Cross winner Thomas Wilkinson lived - an amazing story!

Ten members had a morning walk through Sutton Manor Country Park and up to the Dream Statue, followed by a stroll along a country lane and then a pleasant field path back to the car park. The latter was new to everyone! This was followed by refreshments sat outside in the sunshine at Bold Heath Garden Centre.

Starting from near the Eight Towers pub, we walked through Barrow’s Green and Sunny Bank Parks before heading to The Bongs, but a different part of it to what we have done before! People find ‘The Bongs’ an interesting name. Although this was all within Widnes, few on the walk had any idea that these places existed!

Geoff Dutton led eleven members around Runcorn Hill Park, explaining all about the quarrying industry that used to go on there. After seeing the cliff face where the quarrying took place, they then took the safe route to the top of the cliff with views out over the Mersey. A great location for a shortish and interesting walk, followed by refreshments sat outside at Exposito’s café.

Pex Hill and Cronton – yes, again, because it is a great walk. It is also a flexible route, with several of the group of fifteen choosing to leave after the first circle of the figure of eight and the others carrying on to do the full route.

Starting from Halton , Geoff Dutton led a walk around the perimeter of the castle and then through Halton Village. Another location with great views and a range of listed buildings in the village, it makes for a great heritage walk.

• Science is for Everyone - In recent meetings we have continued with the series on ‘The Science History of Food’, at every session finding something ‘to get our teeth into!’ We have now considered the Anglo-Saxon era when Widnes was part of Northumbria and Runcorn was in Mercia - ‘Mersey’ means ‘boundary river’. But then William the Conqueror came along and imposed the Feudal System, establishing Barons in both Runcorn and Widnes. If you were a peasant, you had strips of land (owned by the local aristocrat) to grow your food - mainly root vegetables. Food was grown and consumed locally. The 1300s wasn’t a good time to be around, with the Great Famine, the pre- vaccination Black Death and the Peasants Revolt! in the late 1700s and in the 1800s there were major developments in transport that enabled food to be moved around, e.g. bananas and meat brought from distant places. But there was also the Irish Potato Famine that, when food was being exported to , resulted in the death and emigration of a vast number of people - some coming to the chemical industry in Runcorn and Widnes.

After twelve months of fortnightly Zoom meetings, we are now taking a break until September. If the group agrees when we re-start we will cover the use of synthetic fertiliser on which the world’s population is now very dependent for food. We will then look at the introduction of pesticides (remember DDT?) and weed killers, e.g. Paraquat that was developed and (initially) manufactured in Widnes.

Newcomers welcome.

We are hoping to start a Gardening Group soon. If you are interested in joining can you please contact our Secretary, Chris Lewis.

Next Zoom Meeting and Coffee Catch up ______

The next Zoom General Meeting will be at 2.00pm on Thursday, 12th August 2021. The speaker is Jimmy Unsworth, Divisional Manager, Waste and Environmental, Halton Borough Council.

We are hoping by September we will be back doing face to face meetings in the Masonic Hall, Widnes. September’s meeting will be the AGM; further details will follow at a later date.

We are anxious to get a reasonable audience of say 40 to 50 members for these events to make it worthwhile for the considerable time it takes to put together.

We are also having a coffee catch up at 2.00pm on Thursday, 26th August 2021, details to follow. Just a reminder that we need a volunteer to start the meeting with a topic for discussion.

If any members would like to give a presentation at a future event, or would like to contribute a short article to the newsletter, please contact our Secretary , Chris Lewis.

Deadline for the August edition of the newsletter is Friday, 20th August 2021. Please do not leave items until the last minute.

Further information and contact details can be found on the Halton u3a website at www.u3asites.org.uk/halton