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 London 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 Crewe two minutes after the last train left for Warrington. 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 Sandbach. 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 Liverpool, it was his first view of Widnes that made him realise the extent of industrial decay ‘up north’. Until the train crossed the railway bridge from Runcorn, 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 Borough of Halton 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 Manchester 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 Preston Brook and Moore.