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Wirral Matters, Spring 2008

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Wirral Matters, Spring 2008 That, of course, would be equally appropriate for Wirral, since it was the monks of Birkenhead Priory Spring 2008 who founded the Mersey ferry service 900 years ago and opened a main gate. And what an opportunity that provides! If the feature is approved and constructed, a competition could be organised on the lines of ‘Get Me WIRRAL MATTERS Alan Brack Reports out of Here …I’m a Celebrity’. The subtle difference NEWS FROM THE WIRRAL SOCIETY - FOUNDED 1928 would be that Wirral people would vote for the four THE WIRRAL COMMITTEE OF THE CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT RURAL ENGLAND(CPRE) Who’s for the boat? distinguished Wirralians they would like to see as the We’ve all heard by now about ‘The Magic Boat’, the boat’s crew - a sort of ‘Get Me into There …I’m A President: Professor John Tarn OBE DL FRIBA FRSA FRHistS FSA feature which Wirral Council proposes should be Wirral Celebrity!’. erected on a traffic roundabout on the A41 and which There’s plenty of scope. From Emma Hamilton to sailors' church, 'St. Nicks', had its share of tragedy. for various reasons has come in for a lot of stick. Daniel Craig there is a long list of Wirral folk who have 'Georgian Liverpool' After 50 years of structural reports, but no action, the What’s its purpose? Will it be such an eye-bulging earned recognition in one way or another – the likes of an illustrated talk by David Brazendale. bell tower collapsed in 1810, killing 25 children. feature that travel companies will organise tours for William Hesketh Lever, William Laird and his son John, David took us on a fascinating tour, based on the very Take a walk round the Capital of Culture using David's people to see it at first hand? Are people attracted to Dixie Dean, Frank Field, F.E. Smith (Lord Birkenhead), first Liverpool guidebook of 1795, inherited from his new book - 'Georgian Liverpool', published by Blackpool (or even Paris) by its tower? Do people Rod Tann, Sir Ian Botham, Lottie Dodd, June Lancelyn grandfather. Palatine Books at £7.95 travel up to Northumbria just to see The Angel of the Green, Thomas Brassey, Selwyn Lloyd, Rafael The Liverpool of the late eighteenth century was a North? Or, for that matter, to the iron birds at Hoylake? Benitez, Glenda Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorn … to bustling place, full of new developments including the Moreover, why is the Council so bent on honouring name but a few. first commercial wet dock in the world, needed for the Unexpected Green Spaces by ND an invasion by hostile forces? As we all know, the bigger ocean-going ships. Trade was booming. The On the corner of Balls Road and Oxton Road, Wirral Peninsula, down the centuries, has had to put Petitions, Petitions, Petitions Tower of Liverpool, where keen traders picked up Birkenhead, diagonally opposite the ruined church, up with invasions by hordes of wild Welshmen, savage signals by semaphore via Bidston Hill, is still buildings have been demolished and a wealth of wild Are petitions ever ‘fit for purpose’? Do they ever Saxons, ruthless Romans, noxious Normans and remembered, as the current Tower Buildings occupy flowers, grasses and the inevitable buddleia have achieve what the organisers hope for? Small villainous Vikings, all of whom have left their mark the same site. Go searching on Bidston Hill and you made a wonderful temporary meadow. changes may be granted here and there as a result of upon the place in one way or another. might spot the socket holes for the signal equipment in A short suburban footpath in Bebington,The Highcroft, reams of scrawled protesting signatures but a The Council, however, has chosen to commemorate the rock. from Heath Road to Highcroft Avenue is bordered by complete volte face is rare. For all that, petitioning the intrusions by the Vikings, a race with a terrible Building upheavals were on the go, not unlike the many mature trees and old gardens including the remains a popular outlet for protesting reputation. They invaded Wirral after being kicked out current reshaping pangs of Liverpool. As today, there green space of the Disabled Centre. If you peep and generally letting off steam at some outrageous of Ireland and were nothing less than were rural coast walks and views to enjoy and Bootle through the hedge here you can see contemporary plan. And at the time of writing there are nine (at least) was recommended for sea bathing. Near the top of sculptures of birds and flowers. Along the path I petitions underway in the Wirral Peninsula for one Duke Street you could look down into a quarry 'The spotted birch, fir, rowan, eucalyptus, ash, poplar, reason or another. Chief among them is in New Delph' and there was a windmill where LIPA stands willow, guelder-rose and hazel. Brighton which has been almost in a constant state of nowadays. A natural spring was bottled and deemed to petition for years as one regeneration plan after the be good for eye complaints. other has been fiercely argued and split the populace. During the 1775 sailors riot the cry went up 'Shoot the Now their famous domed Roman Catholic church of goose!' as cannon were fired at the Liverbird SS Peter and Paul is under threat and has given cause weathervane on the Town Hall. for another opposing petition. David introduced us to characters of the day. In Eastham, a petition has been mounted against a Philanthropist Brian Blundell was owner-captain of the plan for the building of integrated waste treatment and Mulberry - his journal is kept in the Lancashire Records power generating plant in Hooton Park on the very Office in Preston. Felicia Hemans, a popular novelist edge of the Eastham Village Conservation Area on a and poet was considered by some to be better than greenfield site close to the Green Belt. Dickens. John Bellingham, after being under arrest in The long campaign to have the Mersey Tunnel tolls Archangel, Russia, later came to Liverpool. He is abolished has met with no success. But now that the illegal immigrants. In describing them, past historians infamous now for shooting the Prime Minister, Scottish Assembly has scrapped tolls on the Clyde have used words like ‘ravaging’ and ‘laying waste’ and Spencer Perceval. Bridge and the Skye Bridge and has promised that the ‘ransacking,’ but modern historians tend to take a You might have wanted to steer clear of the bottom of tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges will also be abolished different view. They claim the Vikings were just the Parliament Street where the Oil House produced a the situation has changed. A petition has been raised. opposite – a clever and compassionate people who strong smell of melting whale blubber. Certainly you But, at long last, a ray of hope peeps through the brought nothing but good to the Peninsula – so would avoid a certain local parrot, so good at imitations clouds of doubt and futility. Just after Christmas, the perhaps an excuse can be found for marking their long that he lured an unwary horse into the dock. The Government issued a consultation paper which stay here. proposes that local authorities should be forced to The chosen design is for a banana-shaped Viking CONTENTS respond to any petition signed by one percent of the boat perched on four tall stilts. There is, it seems, a 1 Georgian Liverpool; Unexpected Green Spaces electorate or 250 names. similar commemorative feature in a seaside resort in 2 A whole page of Wirralness - Tree Wardens; There was no mention of what the Government County Kerry. ‘The Swan’ Hunter Cartoon; Fair; Contacts should do with petitions presented to Downing Street. It is smaller than the Wirral one will be and another 3 Green Belt Success - The Chairman Writes; A small stand of ash trees by Heath Road/Abbots Drive, difference is that the Irish boat is carrying four sitting CPRE; MBE; The Puzzle Box +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Bebington show all the autumn colours from purples to figures, said to be monks. 4 Alan Brack Reports acid yellow. WIRRAL MATTERS 4 WIRRAL MATTERS 1 Wirral Tree Wardens Christmas Meet GREEN BELT SUCCESS Bill Bryson heads up the CPRE ANNUAL FEE REMINDER FOR MEMBERS The Chairman Writes £7 is due on January 1st each year. is a good time to catch up with those who work hard Please send the enclosed form to the on planting, education and organising; this time in a more relaxed mode with shared edibles. The work of environmental pressure groups such Membership Secretary. The new WIRRAL On show, Janet Thorning's images of trees in as ours can so often be dispiriting and SOCIETY leaflet is enclosed for you to use Burnham Beeches (old woods near Slough), disappointing. Decisions and actions are taken by or pass on to anyone who is interested. Gwersyllt Rynys (near Betws y Coed) and locally in various Authorities which, whilst usually being Royden Park; Mary Hartley's prints of her paintings technically correct, can sometimes seem to lack of specific Wirral trees in their surrounding and good judgement. Doubtless the pressures on local Conflict in New Brighton Judith Railton's photos and videos of Bebington decision makers, such as staff time and trees over 4 seasons of one year. As well as future government financial penalties, should a decision Bill has been involved with various projects, including projects and plantings, conversations turned to be challenged at Planning Appeal, understandably Autumn visits to Cheshire, since becoming the high composting, global warming and buzzards returning make Authorities err on the side of caution.
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