Heswall Magazine April 2016

heswall magazine & district

April 2016

YOUR

FREE

LOCAL MAGAZINE Distributed to 16,000 homes and businesses

Heswall • Gayton • Pensby • Thingwall • Barnston • Brimstage • Irby • Thurstaston • Caldy • Thornton Hough

Cover image Dying Emba by Adam Keen

Welcome to the April 2016 edition of Heswall Magazine – a bi-monthly publication dedicated to Heswall and district.

The magazine is circulated free to homes in Heswall, Gayton, Pensby, Thingwall, Barnston, Brimstage, Irby, Thurstaston, Caldy and Thornton Hough. Additional copies are also available free of charge from Tesco, Heswall library and selected retailers, bars and other outlets. That’s a guaranteed circulation of 16,000 homes and businesses.

We welcome your views Please let us know what you would like to see featured. If you enjoy reading Heswall Magazine please let your family and friends know: if not, let us know.

Heswall Magazine welcomes contributions relevant to the local community from readers and we invite you to send your stories and photographs to us:* editor@heswallmagazine.co.uk or by post to: Jon Bion, Editor, Heswall Magazine, Whitfield Buildings, 188-200 Pensby Road, Heswall, Wirral CH60 7RJ. Telephone: 07796 945745 For all other enquiries, including advertising, info@heswallmagazine.co.uk or telephone Mike on 07584 064288 or Jon on 07796 945745. * Photographs and original material are submitted at the sender’s risk and must be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope if you wish them to be returned. The publishers will not accept responsibility for loss or damage.

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CONTENTS

Shopping in Heswall in the past Historic scenic times at Dale Farm Au revoir, Alison!

Memories of a Lifetime Past Wirral Rocks in May! Wine Column Whitfield Business Hub Heswall and District Business Association Pensby, the village that moved Gala Concert to celebrate Queen’s 90th Birthday Wirral Radio A History of Thingwall Recreation Centre One to One Heswall on Twitter Hair today, gone tomorrow!

A pair of tickets for Gala All Things Auctioneering Concert at St George’s Hall to celebrate Her Majesty The Architect’s Column The Queen’s 90th birthday Fitness Queen See page 28 Finding the Missing Peace

WIN

Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the magazine.

View previous magazines via our website www.heswallmagazine.co.uk

Shopping in Heswall in the past

By Jenny McRonald and Roger Lane

Lower village shops in 1950s

Until fairly recent times, the number and variety of shops in Heswall kept pace with the needs of the ever-growing population. We now live in a very different shopping era when so many shops have closed or been converted into restaurants or cafes, and the specialist shops have been largely replaced by supermarkets or online buying. We have grown dependent upon home freezers and fridges, but before these were commonplace there was a need to shop daily for fresh produce.

The greengrocers, grocers, butchers, dairies and fresh fish shops that could be found in abundance in Heswall have now all but disappeared, driven out by the popularity and convenience of ‘one-stop’ shopping in supermarkets. Only a few non-food shops have managed to survive for 50 plus years in Heswall. In this article we look back on some of the long-lost shops from the past which are now just fond memories, with apologies in advance for any favourites we have omitted.

The first shops in Heswall started in Village Road in the Lower Village.

As the Top Village developed following the availability of better links to Birkenhead, Chester and Liverpool, a nucleus of shops grew up at the crossroads where Telegraph Road and Pensby Road join.

The shops spread in all four directions from the crossroads from Poll Hill Road to the Catholic Church in a north to south direction and from Irby Road to the Mirror on The Mount from east to west. All the shops on the lower part of The Mount have now closed, and mostly converted in residential properties.

The first large supermarket started in Heswall when the Birkenhead and District Cooperative Society built a new large two-storey shop at the end of Castle Buildings near the crossroads in the 1950s, now the site of the Curve. The home department was on the first floor where the elevated car park could be accessed. Kwik Save later took over the Coop site, and it has now become several units with Taskers occupying most of the first floor.

Other large shops soon followed. The King’s Cinema became Lennons supermarket and later Gateway; it has now been divided two smaller shops.

At the end of the row of cottages opposite, Woolworths opened in the early 1960s, replacing a dairy. After Woolworths went into liquidation in 2009, its Heswall premises were taken over by Goulds, who moved from Castle Buildings. The first floor frontage of the remaining old cottages can still be seen above the rest of this row of shops.

Irwins had two branches of their grocery shops in Heswall. When they were taken over by Tesco in the 1960s they sold the branch in Deva Buildings (the parade of shops near the Catholic Church). The remaining branch in Pensby Road was redeveloped to become the largest supermarket of its time in Heswall. Many readers will remember the steep flight of steps up to the car park at the back. After the Children’s Hospital was closed in 1985, Tesco acquired the site and in 1989 the hospital was demolished to be redeveloped as a supermarket.

Of the few shops that have survived several decades, Gould’s initially opened in Castle Buildings in 1936. Cains, originally known as Cheadle, also opened in Castle Buildings in the 1950s. They still occupy the same shop, and have recently extended, adding a shoe shop next door. Marles, now called Ann Margaret, opened in Pensby Road, and is another of the very few businesses which have survived the test of time.

The first chemist in Heswall was possibly Schumackers, later called Maitlands, on The Mount. Other chemists in Heswall over the years have been Jones Chemists in Pensby Road, Tunley’s in Whitfield Buildings, Ambrose Lloyd next to the King’s cinema, Ryders at the

04 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

corner of Briar Drive, Tristrams in Village Road (known by several names since the 1960s, and now The Cooperative chemist) and Kayes in Castle Buildings.

Many tea rooms and cafes have come and gone and include The Spinning Wheel in Deva Buildings, Kelly’s Cafe at the crossroads, Esthers in Pensby Road, Athertons and Petries in Castle Buildings, Gerrards and Meakins in Telegraph Road, the Coach House in Milner Road. Athertons also had a cafe in Village Road, which was destroyed by a German bomb in 1941, and the Cooperative Pharmacy occupies the site now. There has been a huge increase in the number of both coffee shops and restaurants in Heswall, which have taken over many of the premises previously used by shops. The thriving restaurant culture in Heswall now is in stark contrast to the 70s, when it was hard to find anywhere to eat in the evenings.

Bakers included Kellys, Meakins and Reids in Pensby Road and, much earlier, Smallwoods and Brosters in Village Road. Many bakers made a daily delivery to homes in Heswall, Banks Bakery in Pensby being one of these.

Many greengrocers catered for the daily shop of fruit and vegetables, and the varieties offered depended upon the seasons as there was no air freighting of exotic or out of season produce. Readers may recall Garners in Whitfield Buildings, Stewarts in Whitfield Lane, Rathbones and Bowers in Pensby Road, Chapmans in Village Road, Choice, Daynors, Summertime and Waterworths in Telegraph Road and Rileys in Castle Buildings. This latter shop was known as the first self-service greengrocers in Heswall.

Grocers dealing in basic provisions were numerous and included Calverleys with branches in Whitfield buildings and Village Road, Naylors also in Village Road, Irwins in Pensby Road and Deva Buildings, The Maypole and Egertons in Pensby Road, and later Heals delicatessen and The Hamper in Castle Buildings.

Children have been catered for with sweets and toys – over the years we have seen Keighleys in Beacon Parade, Spencers in Pensby Road, Woolworths as well as various newsagents in the area for example Lloyds, Prescotts, Teece, Hitchens and Davenports, The Bon Bon, Armstrong, Whites, Stevensons, Steppe House and Milligans where a ‘two for a penny’ and ‘penny’ (old money) sweet jars were the most popular items in the shop for the youngsters.

Early in the 20th century small shops sprang up in farms and market gardens. Examples of these were Rutters Nursery in Telegraph Road (later Caldows), the florists All Seasons, and more recently William and Benjamin. Rose Brae nursery (now Rosebrae Court) run by the Martin family (and later the Smith) family sold blooms from their gardens before becoming an Interflora florist as was the case with All Seasons.

Other florists in the last few decades include Wirral Flowers, John Lucy, All Seasons and Earth. The White Farm where Highfields now stands also sold vegetables, as did Newbrooks Market Garden in Village Road.

Dairies like Thompson’s Beehive dairy now the site of Heswall Primary school in Whitfield Lane provided Heswall folk with milk. Other dairies included Henrys, Harkers, Ducketts, Ashfield farm, Daryl Creamery and Griffiths. A jug or bottle of your own was all you needed to purchase milk or cream. Herberts Dairy, previously in Downham Road South still operates a milk delivery in Heswall from another part of Wirral. Boots on Telegraph Road occupies the site of a past dairy.

Before the days of refrigerators, fresh meat was bought daily and several butchers shops complete with sawdust on the floor could be found in Heswall. They included Jones in Whitfield Buildings, Whiteheads, Woodwards and Davies further along Pensby Road, Whitbys in Telegraph Road and not forgetting Reddy’s, the oldest butchers, who had shops in Pensby Road and the Lydiate. Heals and Chapmans and later Masseys also provided meat, and now Masseys are the only remaining independent butchers in Heswall.

Fresh fish shops were also popular and included Firths in Whitfield Buildings, Tarbucks in Pensby Road and Ellis’s in Village Road. Early fish and chip shops were Firths in Whitfield Buildings, Loobys and later the Busy Bee in Milner Road (now Pisces), and Moores in Moor Lane.

Hardware shops were also much in demand, with Railtons in Pensby Road and by the Catholic Church, Ellisons in Pensby Road, Appletons in Telegraph Road and Charles Jones in Whitfield Buildings. HM Fox and Sons in Telegraph Road is sadly missed for their enormous stock of seemingly every item to be found in the hardware range.

Letting services to suit all types of landlords

Telegraph Road shops in 1950s

‘Make do and mend’ kept many drapers busy in Heswall, including The Pin Box, Daphne Davies, and the Wool Shop in Village Road.

McKenzie’s in Castle Buildings sold baby items as later did Babyneeds, originally in Telegraph Road, but for many years on The Mount.

Shoe repairers and dry-cleaners were more in demand in 20th century life than now and these services were provided by Brogdens, Sparks, Holbros, Johnsons, Rob Roy, Mister Minute and Pryde.

The electricity showrooms, now the Post Office, together with Strothers, later Rumbelows (premises now occupied by Iceland), Charles Jones and RW Jones provided Heswall with the latest electrical items; the latter was the shop to buy the new 45 records in the 1960s.

Fashions for ladies were found in such shops as Rejaines, Olive Escort, B A Smith, Bazaar Boutique, Ethnique, Ann Margaret, Gees, The Mirror and many others over the decades, while Cains, Couplands, Morris Edwards, Larry Adams, Denis Nicholls amongst others, catered for men. Local shoe shops were Butlers, Dodsons and Tylers.

Sportswise was a local sports shop. Furniture shops included Vaughan Needhams and TH Hawkins. Gift shops and kitchenware were provided

by Hugh Foulerton, Treen and Terracotta and Christophers.

We appreciate that every landlord is different so offer a truly flexible range of lettings options that’s right for you: • Simple Tenant Find • Rent Collection • Full Property Management For landlords looking for the reassurance of a fixed, regular income each and every month from their rental property we also have a solution for that too.

Nowadays large supermarkets can provide most of these items, making shopping much quicker and easier, but it has taken the personal touch out of the shopping experience and left us with fewer shops on the high street.

We would be pleased to hear of any memories people may have of shopping in the past.

If you are looking for a letting solution that is as unique as you are, talk to the Proper Property People.

Prepared by Roger Lane (roger.m.lane@btinternet.com or 0151 342 9269) and Jenny McRonald on behalf of the Heswall Society, which was established in 1953 “for the public benefit to conserve the heritage of the Parish of Heswall”. For more details of membership and activities please call Roger Lane or visit theheswallsociety.org.uk

Northwood Wirral

0151 348 4527

78 Telegraph Rd, Heswall, Wirral CH60 0AQ northwooduk.com

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 05

Say goodbye to cracked tiles that are out of stock, that chip in your bath you can’t ignore, or the pan burn on your otherwise beautiful worktop. We are used to living in a ‘throwaway’ society, but in many cases it may not be practical or affordable to simply replace these items – and replacement means additional cost to the environment.

Magicman is an innovative service that specialises in repairing damage on many types of hard surfaces – wood, metal, uPVC, ceramic, laminate, stone, marble – on site in your home. Using specialist resins, lacquers and tools to create a permanent repair, this not a temporary cosmetic fix. Fixtures and fittings can be rectified with minimal cost when compared to the expense of replacement and can often be back in use within hours.

Your independent licensed operator for Wirral and West Cheshire is Martin Skitt – living locally means that your Magicman service is never far away and can respond quickly. All repairs carry a warranty, and if a repair cannot be undertaken, for whatever reason, there is no cost to the customer.

For a no obligation quote, upload damage photos at magicman.co.uk or call 0151 321 0021 to arrange a free site visit.

06 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

Can Mum or Dad still manage their own affairs?

What if that simple ‘forgetfulness’ is based on something more serious, such as dementia, and your Mum or Dad’s capacity to make decisions about paying bills or booking health appointments is fading fast?

What Lees Solicitors can do for you…

• We offer free half-hour appointments for anyone who wishes to find out more about our services

Maxine Phillips, paralegal within the Wills, Trusts & Estates team at Lees Solicitors’ Heswall office, answers some of the questions she is regularly asked by clients who are worried about their Mum or Dad’s mental capacity.

“I’m next of kin..., I live in the same house…, I know the people at the bank…, …so surely I can access their account?”

None of the above legally allows a child to help their parent to sort out bills or even collect their pension. The only sure way to access their bank account and help with these daily necessities is if Mum or Dad has made a lasting power of attorney for property and financial affairs appointing them as attorney.

“Dad doesn’t want to go into a nursing home and I promised…”

If your Dad makes a lasting power of attorney for health and welfare appointing you as his attorney and he does lose mental capacity, you can make decisions about his personal welfare based on his preferences.

“But what if Mum doesn’t have a lasting power of attorney?”

If your Mum still has mental capacity, then she can make a lasting power of attorney and choose the people who know and care about her to help her when the time comes.

• Heswall office is open on a Saturday (book for an appointment) • Three local offices to choose from: Maxine Phillips

However, if either parent has already lost mental capacity then you, or someone else, will have to make an application to the court to be appointed as their deputy. This process is more expensive and can be time consuming.

• Heswall 0151 342 6273 • West Kirby 0151 625 9364 • Birkenhead 0151 647 9381 • We offer free safe storage of any will

Tell your parents not to leave their affairs to chance

• We can register your will on Certainty’s national wills database

Ask them to make a lasting power of attorney to give all of you peace of mind and to ensure that their best interests are looked after.

Let Lees Solicitors make things a little easier for you and your family.

Contact our Wills, Trusts & Estates team to book an appointment or to chat through your requirements.

Call us free from either a mobile or landline on 0800 387 927.

If you would like to talk to one of our specialist advisors, please call us free on 0800 387 927 (now also free to call from mobiles) or email info@lees.co.uk, or visit our website www.lees.co.uk

“We received a friendly and professional service which was quick and clarified each step of the wills process.”

Lees client

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 07

Historic scenic times at Dale Farm Even today Dale Farm is a very attractive place – many people take their dogs onto the dales on a regular basis. As mentioned in one of my other pieces, in 2000 it was decided by the day centre at Dale Farm to redevelop the old middle field where the cows where when the McGraths were there. Part of the field was turned into a lovely sensory garden and on the 2nd May this year it will mark 15 years since it was officially opened by the Duchess of Gloucester.

Before 1988 there had been the former Cleaver Hospital that had been as many remember for people with TB and had open-air balconies for the fresh air. Today part of the building is still there and is in the process of being turned into a new nursing home.

There’s always been a lot of great countryside round Dale Farm and we treasure those lovely days when you can go for some brilliant walks to make you feel relaxed. All in all, the scenery of Dale Farm, and its surroundings and history, should be something to be proud of.

Next issue: Mark Kinnish tells us about The Barlows at Dale Farm Cameron family members in 1930s

Over the years, Dale Farm on the edge of Heswall Dales has always been a really scenic place to visit and still is even now. Back in the 1930s it was owned by the McGrath family and as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, in those days Dale Farm had a holiday chalet where people from all over would come for a couple of weeks during the summer months. The chalet brought extra income to the farm.

In one of the photos you can see the McGrath and Cameron families sitting in a field at Dale Farm. I’m sure you’ll already have spotted it, but if not, take another look as you can see one of the men holding up an apple over one of the heads of the family! Dale Farm had an orchard back then, which was between the lower field (now the lower meadow) and the farmyard. In those days, the farm had a sandstone cottage garden wall which I have been told was used for sharpening knives and other equipment.

In the other photo you can see two holidaymakers standing at the old gate which used to be the boundary of the farmhouse and holiday chalet. You can also see the top of the other bungalow – called Dale Cottage, it was built by George McGrath – Bob and Lena Callister rented it from the McGraths. This cottage is still there today and is the only original old building still left at Dale Farm other than the boot shed. The boot shed was originally the cowshed, but that was a much later building built round the 1950s. You can also see the orchard on the right in this photo. Another scenic part was the working garden, which was the piece of grass to the right of the ‘shippen’ (cattle shed) building on the third photo. You can see the working garden area is full of benches.

Children playing by the orchard

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Dale Farm in 1998

Introducing Remodel Renovations

The Remodel team are delighted to be back in Heswall Magazine to tell you all about our latest venture. After eight successful years designing and building beautiful bespoke gardens and driveways across the Wirral and beyond, we have created a new arm to the business in Remodel Renovations.

Early in 2015, we brought together a team of builders and tradespeople with vast experience in home renovation to bring our expansion plans to life.

Remodel has always been an innovative company – we keep up to date with the latest build methods and high-quality materials and we’ve continued this strategy for Remodel Renovations. We have applied the business model that has worked so well for Remodel Landscaping to our new venture to offer the very best to our clients. And to us, the very best means the best customer service, the best workmanship and the best materials.

So what can our clients expect? All the things we are already known for through our landscape construction projects will be the same for Remodel Renovations. We promise to: • Deal with telephone calls and enquiries clearly and promptly • Give clients best value at all times • Deliver construction projects on time and within agreed budgets • Innovate and identify the most effective building solutions

• Recruit the best staff and provide the best training for all our people • Acknowledge any problems, deal with them promptly and keep all parties informed of progress • Be presentable, smart and ready for work when we go on site • Keep disruption to a minimum, leaving the site tidy and safe at all times Our renovation team is achieving the same success and high standards set by our landscape construction division. We are working with some of the area’s best architects and structural engineers and building local business relationships that strengthen and add to the high standards we already set.

Look out for our teams working across the Wirral and feel free to take a look at our progress on our website, which has an up-to-date news page featuring the latest progress within the company. You can also watch our progress and interact with us on Twitter and Facebook.

If you have a home renovation project in mind and are looking for a local company to provide a high-end service, then please get in touch – we would love to help. Telephone Jason on 0151 648 6494 or 07896 216 163 or visit our website – www.remodelrenovations.co.uk

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 11

Au revoir, Alison!

Rob Jackson reports on the departure of Murrayfield Hospital’s iconic Director.

As well as the equipment, the services the hospital now offers are far more impressive. Facelifts have not been confined to bricks and mortar, as there’s now a wide range of cosmetic procedures available and there’s also bariatric surgery in-house. There’s so much more done in the way of staff training, too.

It doesn’t seem like six years since I reported on the new broom sweeping clean at Wirral’s private hospital. Yet it was February 2010 when I first went to see new Hospital Director Alison da Silva at Spire Murrayfield, and sadly it’s now my duty to report on the end of an era.

Remember 2010? We had a general election, ushering in the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition. The credit crunch was on everybody’s lips. The London Olympics were still two years away, while across the water England football boss Roy Hodgson was enjoying a brief managerial reign at Anfield.

Now back to Alison’s managerial reign. It’s been considerably more successful than Roy’s! So much so that before she headed along the M56 to take the helm at Spire’s Manchester facility for 12 months, we just had to spend some time together looking back over the past six years. And what a six years they’ve been!

Vital as these all are, however, even more important has been the ethos now running through the entire Murrayfield team, and the commitment to delivering world-class healthcare in Wirral. As Hospital Director, Alison has been instrumental here. As she tells me, the key is empowering people to do what they do best, and maintaining the right relationships with staff, consultants and patients alike. For evidence of how she’s succeeded, look at the hospital’s 99% patient satisfaction scores, or its zero rating for that scourge of today’s hospitals, the MRSA bug. Perhaps the most impressive statistic of all is that Murrayfield now treats 6,500 patients a year – up a massive one-third from 2010, and including both private and NHS patients.

Clearly, this is a tough act to follow. However, Alison is confident that new acting Hospital Director Julie Watkinson and the team are more than up to it – as we’ll relate in our next issue.

And why, I had to ask Alison, with all this going for her has she decided to call it a day? It seems there are a few reasons, ranging from corporate needs to personal ones, such as the stage she’s reached in her in her life and career and the imminent arrival of her first grandchild. That said, it seems there’s a strong chance that we’ll see Alison da Silva again in a new role before long. Which is why it’s a case of au revoir rather than goodbye.

And, of course, thanks for everything!

In the early days the situation was somewhat challenging.

The health service in general was in a state of flux. At Murrayfield no fewer than 60% of the senior management team were new, and in need of a bedding-in period. Many aspects of the hospital also needed updating, physically, clinically and administratively.

However, the good news was that a recent recruitment drive had been successful and the right people were now in place – not least Alison herself. What’s more, a £3.5 million investment by Spire was under way, the fruits of which would unfold throughout the period.

As I took a quick tour of the Holmwood Drive facility, the evidence of significant spending was all around me. Things have certainly changed for the better over the past few years.

There’s a bright new reception area. A lavish new day care unit. Upgraded theatres, plus state-of-the-art technology like MRI and CT scanners.

12 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

Alison (left) meets Prince Charles during her early career as a midwife

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Continuing our serialisation of Geoff Andrews’ fascinating book, Memories of a Lifetime Past, about the life and times of Parkgate fishermen, Chris & Jim Peters Jim looked after Marie till he wore himself out. The social worker, or was it the doctor, suggested she go into hospital, to give him a rest, this he reluctantly agreed to, but he visited her every day, so she might as well have been at home. Marie finally died in hospital at the age of 90, Jim was devastated.

It was very hard for us to see this gentle man, who had all his life worked very hard and hadn’t an enemy in the world, grieve so much.

They never had any children so he tumed to Joy for help, Joy would do all she could for him.

When I visited him I could see him deteriorate, week by week. I asked Chris, ”Shouldn’t he be in hospital?” “He’s got an appointment to see so and so.” They took him in and when we went to visit him, he upset us so much, by saying: “I hope I never come out.” He got his wish.

He passed away, after an operation, at the age of 87 on 18th October 1986. His funeral was at Neston Parish Church and it was full. He was laid to rest in Neston cemetery, with Marie. A big hole left in my life, and what Chris was thinking, of the loss of a good mate and brother, I could not tell, he kept his thoughts to himself. On one occasion he said to me: “I’Il never have a mate like our Jim.” Billy had to go into hospital for an operation, and was out of commission for months. When he finally got back to the fishing, he sent a salmon to the consultant who operated on him, as a token of his appreciation. We were very fond of Billy; he would do anything for you. Like the time I asked him to put me some new engine beds into my boat, to take a diesel engine. He willingly came from Neston to Thurstaston, did the job, and would take no payment.

He was a great outdoor man, starting out with Chris and Jim as a little lad, as I had done, he would go on fishing trips with them. Chris told me, one day they had Billy with them and he never used to say a word, telling him to stay in the cockpit, whilst they got the net in, they let the cod end go, but not before putting boards in the engine hatch, to stop the fish going in the bilges, then whoosh, there was Billy up to his knees in fish.

He was also a wild-fowler and punt gunner. I’ll not go into any details on punt gunning, because I don’t know very much about it, but I have read in a little book, called, Dee Wild-Fowler, The Last Professional, (Harold Gill 1883-1961), a little bit about it. These punt guns were basically, a double-seated canoe, with a fitting up forrard to take the barrel of a dam big gun. The bore would probably be two inch and the barrel length approximately four feet. The breech would take a special cartridge (handmade), which was like loading a shell. One had to know what one was doing, or serious accidents could occur. The skill, I believe, in using one of these contraptions, was getting near enough to use it. Like paddling up a creek in semi-darkness, lining it up, and letting go. I think the recoil used to propel the canoe about six yards backwards, and when the smoke had cleared, finding the quarry, if it hadn’t been blasted out of existence, or totally disintegrated. Billy knew the Dee marshes and tides, like the back of his hand. Those were the days, when there were thousands of ducks, of all types, breeding there.

When I first got to know him, he had given up all the wild-fowling and had graduated to trammeling for fish, off Thurstaston and Caldy. Then onto trawling, for shrimps and salmon fishing at Sandycroft.

He enjoyed a smoke, and telling yams he had picked up on the river. he would take Chris on days out in his car, to look at something or other. Many a time I would call on Chris and Billy would be sitting there, by the fire opposite Chris, talking and drinking tea, Annie provided.

One morning I had the luck to go shrimping with Billy and Alan in the Esk, up the Mostyn sluices. There were about eight of our boats from the Wirral side, this particular morning and about four Welsh boats.

We were steaming back for another haul along with Nimmy Jones and Button, in the Shrimp Girl, and on passing one of the Welsh men fairly close, he shouted to Nimmy, “Haven’t got any bloody shrimps over on your side.” To which Nimmy replied, quick as a flash: “Aye, but we’re catching all yours first.”

After letting go the net, we were occupied cleaning and riddling, when I noticed this boat coming down out of the mist. She was fairly big, with an ‘A’ frame, as she came closer, there was something very familiar about her. As she rounded up, to let go, I could see she was the Ethel, this was the first time I had seen her for ages. It came as quite a shock to see a foreigner working her, and an ugly tripod where a mast should be and Sam Mealor had taken out the great Russell Newbury diesel, which had powered the Ethel all those years, and installed a self starting Lister.

Some time earlier, Billy had bought the Esk, from Chris, and regularly worked it with Alan, and sometimes Job, but a reoccurrence of his illness prompted Billy to sell her, and it went to the Isle of Man (minus its engine).

He lived down Marshlands Road, Neston, in a beautiful bungalow he built some years earlier, for his wife Jan and their four children, Stephen, George, Daisy and later, Jamie. Times became very trying for the Ashbrook family. In the space of a few months, Bill and Alan lost their mother and elder sister, Betty. They used to go with Annie (Chris’s wife) on holidays and coach trips. Betty was a lovely, generous and hard working person, sometime I would meet her down at Chris and Annie’s house and she maintained that I made the best cup of tea. She lost her husband a few years earlier; their son, Billy still lives in their bungalow, also down Marshlands Road.

By this time Bill had been in and out of hospital, again, and finding time on his hands, bought fibre glass boat hulls from Conwy. George, Alan and Bill started to make a shrimper out of one, for George. The boats were 20 feet long and eight feet wide, with a draught of two feet six inches, ideal for the job. It was finished and George started to work it from Caldy.

Alan also completed his Conwy hull and, with Chris’s advice, had fitted her out to his requirements. I often worked alongside him in Welshgirl, at weekends. Bill bought another Conwy hull to fill in his time, but halfway through the project he fell poorly again, and after a month or two of suffering, passed away on 29th June 1988, aged 56.

The little church at the top of the colliery lane, as they called Marshlands Road, was full of friends and relations, wanting to pay their respects to a man who had touched their lives, in one way or another. I was thankful he was out of his suffering, but deeply regretted the loss of a young man who had so much to offer and was so much influenced by Chris and Jim. he was laid to rest not far from Jim, in Neston cemetery.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 15

Wirral Rocks in May! Wirral Hospice St John’s is organising a major fundraising event which will take place in May. Rick Parfitt added: “We always thought we’d see a red light when it was time to stop. The show hurts now, physically. It’s hard to maintain that level of energy and without that it’s not really a Quo show. So we don’t feel we should continue.

“This is definitely the end of our lives on the road with the electric set. Life won’t be the same for us – or many of the fans – but we can’t go on at this pace anymore.”

Frontmen Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt will be joined by bandmates Andy Bown, John ‘Rhino’ Edwards and Leon Cave as they plug in and bring their thunderous electric live show to Wirral for the last time, packed with hits, new and old, taken from an unbelievable back catalogue stretching back to 1967.

If you have never seen Status Quo before, this is your last-ever chance to see them on Wirral!

‘Wirral Rocks’ will take place at Tranmere Rovers Stadium, Prenton Park, over two nights. Tranmere Rovers has kindly provided the ground at no charge. The event will raise money for the Hospice’s special care and support of patients and their families.

The artists performing are:

Friday 20th May 2016 – Will Young Brit Award winner Will Young is coming to the Wirral on Friday 20th May 2016 to open the first night of Wirral Rocks at Prenton Park, Birkenhead. The incredibly talented singer-songwriter and former Pop Idol winner has sold over eight million albums worldwide and will be performing his well-known hits like Leave Right Now, Evergreen, Jealousy, All Time Love and Light My Fire.

Saturday 21st May 2016 – Status Quo Status Quo are coming to the Wirral on Saturday May 21st to perform one of their last-ever, full-on electric sets. The Quo have announced that that they will be hanging up their electric guitars at the end of 2016 and pulling the plug on their electric set for good.

Speaking about the decision to call it a day, Francis Rossi said: “We’ve talked about it for some time and have decided that it’s time for us to hang up the electrics. It’s getting harder and harder for us to play those shows.

“It’s 30 years since we last said we were stopping, but this is a final decision. It doesn’t mean we won’t do other things, perhaps the odd special, but we’re agreed that the moment has come.

There’s more to come from us in the years ahead, but we won’t tour the electric set ever again.”

16 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

John Pentland, Wirral Hospice St John’s Finance Director, said: “We are delighted to be bringing this major event to Wirral. It costs around £3.5m a year for us to provide free care to Wirral residents and their families. Almost half of our costs are met by NHS grants, but each year we need to raise around £1.8m to continue our work. By attending Wirral Rocks, you will not only be having a great night out, but you will be supporting a fantastic cause as all the money we raise will be put towards our running costs.”

Tickets are already selling fast for both days, so don’t delay buying yours! You can get them from the Wirral Rocks website, www.wirralrocks.com or from ticketmaster on 0844 844 0444 Tickets are £35 for Will Young and £35.50 for Status Quo, both are subject to booking fees and postage.

For more information visit www.wirralrocks.com www.facebook.com/wirralrocks or www.twitter.com/wirralrocks

W NE COLUMN

By Graham Simpson, Whitmore & White

Take The Road Less Travelled!

All of us (yes even me!) get bogged down with buying the same wines over and over whenever we visit our merry local wine merchant, so I thought I’d take you through half a dozen wines which I think are a welcome break to the norm. None of these wines will break the bank and are miles more interesting than anything you’ll find in larger outlets.

Vermentino di Sardegna £11.50 A stunning white wine made using the Vermentino grape grown on the Italian island of Sardinia. Crisp and fresh with crunchy green apple notes, zingy acidity and a floral element on the palate.

Cousino Macul Isidora Sauvignon Gris £9.95 Chile really does offer up some fantastic wines. This Sauvignon Gris is a hybrid grape (made by crossing Sauvignon Blanc with Pinot Gris), but has been grown in Chile for over 130 years. The wine is dry and aromatic with honeysuckle, peach and green apple notes and a fresh balanced acidity.

Willunga 100 Tempranillo £11.95 Tempranillo is the grape used to make Rioja. And it does do very well.

This wine is from McLaren Vale in South Australia. It is lush and ripe and ever-so fruity with a deep background of raspberry compote.

So delicious you’ll want another bottle.

Simonsig Chenin Blanc £10.50 Outside of the Loire Valley where Chenin Blanc has entrenched itself in folklore, South Africa has become the grape’s second home. Simonsig who are based in Stellenbosch have come up with an absolute belter of a wine with this beauty. Honeyed with notes of beeswax and lanolin.

Aging for a wee while on its lees lends the wine body that belies its price.

Liberty School Pinot Noir £19.95 With Burgundy and New Zealand taking all the plaudits for Pinot Noir at the moment, countries like Chile and the United States always seem like afterthoughts and either too cheap (Chile) or too expensive (USA).

However, there are some excellently priced Pinots from California if you are willing to look a little deeper. This one from Liberty School is ripe and fulsome with raspberry, mulberry and rhubarb notes but none of the “jammy” overripe notes seen in lesser wines.

Crozes Hermitage La Chapelle de Guinchan £15.95 In the age of New World Shiraz, which can be delightful when made correctly and not over-extracted, it is refreshing to come across a Syrah (the French name for Shiraz) which is a completely different style.

Earthy black fruit, pepper and oak notes meld with crunchy tannins on the palate. Very much a food wine – save this for a roast rib of beef.

Heswall Autos reopened its doors under the proud new ownership of Jake Gunner on March 1st. Being Heswall born and bred, Jake is delighted to be carrying on the well-established name of Heswall Autos.

Jake was educated at Calday Grange Grammar and after leaving school went on to pursue a career that would involve his long-standing passion for cars. Having been fortunate to work with a great team at a garage in West Kirby, Jake gained valuable experience working on vehicles of various makes and ages. It is this experience, and particularly his passion, that he now brings to his own garage.

Heswall Autos offers servicing, diagnostics, repairs and MOT preparation, but with a close network of contacts Jake is able to help with all aspects of vehicle maintenance and repair.

The garage is located in the small lane off Daryl Road (near the Pensby Road end) – very handy for dropping your car off, catching a bus to work and collecting the car on the way home – or even dropping the car off before walking into the village for a coffee in one of the many excellent coffee shops. For those customers who would find it useful to have their car collected and returned, Jake is happy to offer this by prior arrangement.

So for a friendly, personal experience, please call 0151 342 8566 or email heswallautos@outlook.com or just pop in.

Heswall Autos is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm and Saturday 9.00am to 12.00pm.

18 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

So there you have them – six wines to explore if you’re looking for something different! For tasting events our calendar is online at www.whitmoreandwhite.co.uk/events. And don’t forget Tasting Hour runs every Saturday from 11-12 in the shop, where you can sample different food and drink every week. Keep an eye on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for Tasting Hour news!

Until next time, drink well!

Graham

TONY’S BARBER SHOP EST. 1970

Modern and Traditional Gents Barbers

ALL WELCOME

Tony’s Barbers shop supports the charity Checkemlads.

242A Telegraph Road, Heswall CH60 7SG

OPEN TUESDAY – SATURDAY

Outdoor sessions are based on Royal Marines Commandos training.

Our most popular class is the Commando Circuit. This class utilises a variety of bodyweight exercises, equipment and weights, which are incorporated into a circuit-style boot camp. The benefits of training in the great outdoors is proven to burn more calories, improve mental wellbeing and not forgetting develop grit and determination which can be drawn upon in everyday life. We offer a beginners and advanced version to suit the needs of every individual.

Commando conditioning is our newest outdoor class which is comprised of trail running and body weight exercises. This takes place at a different location around the Wirral, advertised on Twitter and Facebook. The idea behind the class is based on endurance and aims to push yourself to the absolute limit in an environment that will both challenge and excite.

Our indoor classes include a non-contact boxing circuit based on Ricki Hatton’s Boxing Academy. Unlike boxercise this uses real boxing techniques. It’s a great class for confidence building, coordination and shifting the calories.

We also run the famous Insanity workout. It is a High Intensity Interval workout which pushes your body to the limit. But don’t be put off by the name ‘Insanity’... Why is it insane? Because of the insane results you can achieve! Anyone can do this work out as we offer modified exercises to suit all levels.

Commando Ab Blast is our newest indoor class and is designed to attack your core muscles like no other class.

PiYo is a high-intensity class that is a kinder and gentler routine than the ‘Push to your limits of exertion’ routine of the Insanity workout. By combing the muscle-sculpting, core-firming benefits of Pilates with the strength and flexibility of flowing yoga movements PiYo promises all the gain with none of the pain.

Don’t be put off by the fact that the Instructors are ex-Royal Marines Commandos, that just means that we have excellent experience in designing exercise programmes for all levels of fitness.

Classes are held at Pensby Sports Complex (Irby Rd, CH61 6XN), Irby Village Hall (71 Thingwall Rd, CH61 3UB) and Hoylake Beach. See the website for more details.

Contact details tom@commandoxfit.co.uk 07818 481680 www.commandoxfitengland.co.uk Twitter @commando_XFIT Facebook commandoxfitengland

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 19

Help Matt raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Trust A local man from Heswall has taken it upon himself to complete ten events spread over the year to help raise as much awareness and money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Matt Strange, 30, who suffers with cystic fibrosis, is a keen runner and general fitness fanatic. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease caused by a faulty gene. This gene controls the movement of salt and water in and out of your cells, so the lungs and digestive system become clogged with mucus, making it hard to breathe and digest food. There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis. Each week five babies are born with cystic fibrosis, and two people die.

The average life expectancy ranges from 30-35 years, so training and keeping fit is an essential part of trying to defy the odds, something that Matt is very focused on.

Matt told Heswall Magazine: “Living with cystic fibrosis has taught me a few things – firstly, live every day like it is your last and secondly, push your body to the limits,” which is exactly what he intends to do throughout this year.

Matt has set himself a target of £2,000 to raise before the end of December, and has raised around £350 from two events. He has already completed the Liverpool Half Marathon and Chain Runner (a six-mile obstacle course) both of which are tough events for any normal person, let alone somebody suffering with cystic fibrosis.

If you would like to sponsor Matt and help spread more awareness and help him reach his target, you can do so at the following https://www.justgiving.com/MattTeamCF or you can sponsor by texting MSCF85 £5 (or any amount) to 70070

Clubs clean up

As part of a recent weekend camp, 5th Heswall (Methodist) Cubs spent a morning removing large amounts of litter from the verges of Target Lane and Broad Lane in Lower Heswall. They removed two large bags full of cans, plastic bottles and various other litter which has improved the experience of access to the shore.

The 5th Heswall Scout Group has been offering fun and learning to many local young people in its Beaver, Cub and Scout sections since starting up in 1981.

Apart from helping young people to explore new and exciting challenges to help them develop in the modern world, scouting aims to increase awareness of other people and to serve the community. Scouting welcomes boys and girls aged between six and 18 years and there are a number of local groups. Further information can be obtained on the internet by searching Merseyside Scouts West Wirral Section.

20 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

We’re ever so grateful!

Well, we can barely believe it, but it’s already been almost three months since we became the proud new owners of Earth Flowers, yet similarly we struggle to remember life beforehand!

We’d just about managed a ‘Nice to meet you’ before Valentine’s Day was upon us, followed especially quickly this year by Mother’s Day and then Easter, which also marked the beginning of one HUGE wedding season for 2016! It’s actually an absolute pleasure to write this as it allows me a brief moment of reflection over the last few months. We’re overwhelmed with pride and happiness for the whole team. The Earth Angels work so hard and with such dedication and an obvious passion for what we do. I’ve been incredibly lucky to make new friends who also happen to be my cherished colleagues.

We’re so incredibly grateful for the well wishes and support from all of our Heswall neighbours. I’ve also personally enjoyed becoming a customer to many local businesses where the sense of community is so apparent – all business owners share an equal passion and drive not only for their specialist sectors, but for the ongoing fabulousness of this beautiful town.

Local residents have been equally wonderful with their welcome, not a day has passed without meeting a friendly face with a warm wish for our future.

I think it’s only fair that I express my gratitude for your ongoing loyalty by introducing exclusive rewards cards, and so these will be available in store very soon.

A wise person once said to me: “Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

The realisation that for me this has come true, makes me an exceptionally happy girl! Even my eight-year-old daughter has now decided she’d like to follow in my footsteps with her debut piece available to see on our Facebook page!

Much love Earth’s Angels

Caldy Village Gardens

The Caldy Village Gardens will be opening again from 2pm until 5pm on Sunday May 22nd in support of North West Cancer Research. ln order to give visitors more time to see the gardens and to spend less time queueing for tea and cakes this year, we are altering the catering arrangements as an experiment, offering self-service drinks at several sites around the village, instead of our usual waitress service.

The ticket price will not include the cost of any refreshments, beverages will be paid for at the point of sale. Tickets will be available in May from various local shops. Linghams Book Shop in Heswall, A I Roberts Butchers, Hintons Butchers and LeBizz Gift Shop in West Kirby have kindly agreed to stock tickets for us. Maps will be supplied to advance ticket holders on their arrival in the village, and there will also be the opportunity to buy tickets and maps on the day.

Further information can be found on the National Directory of Village Open Gardens www.opengardens.co.uk or by emailing simonsfield@btjnternet.co.uk

22 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

Alan D Scoffield

Established 1972

Heating Engineers Ltd

“Feel the warmth of our service”

Thinking of a new fire?

Not sure which one?

What type?

Electric or gas?

Will it fit?

How much will it cost to run?

Then why not visit our newly refurbished showroom in West Kirby where you can view our comprehensive display of all the latest electric and gas fires. Perhaps a stove is your preferred choice, whether gas, electric or solid fuel.

We are a registered Valor centre and display fires that are only available from a Valor showroom, including the Valor Dimension electric range with realistic flame picture and remote control. We are also stockists for the traditional Kohlangaz range of fires which come with a unique five-year guarantee. In order to help you make the right choice, we offer a free survey to establish that your choice of fire is appropriate.

The name Alan D Scoffield has always been synonymous with quality heating installations and maintenance and we are members of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers. Those same high standards and attention to detail are present in our venture into bathroom installations. You can view our display of showers, with both digital and wall-mounted thermostatic models on show. We would be pleased to quote for our new bathroom or plumbing requirements.

Our showroom is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you.

Alan D Scoffield Managing Director

Office and Showroom: 107 Banks Road, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 0RB Tel: 0151 625 2933 (2 lines) • Email: info@alandscoffield.co.uk • Website: www.alandscoffield.co.uk

24 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 25

Pensby, the village that moved

By Greg Dawson

Originally, Pensby was believed to be a Welsh-speaking Celtic settlement situated on the high ground between what today are Kylemore Drive and Irby Road. The Celtic word ‘Pen’, meaning ‘head or top’ was probably picked up by the Anglo-Saxon settlers and used to identify the area. In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Anglo-Saxons allowed Vikings to settle in Wirral. Viking village names often end in ‘by’, meaning farmstead or settlement. The Vikings who farmed the hilltop area known as Pen must have added the ‘by’, creating the name ‘Pensby’ which means farmstead on the hilltop.

Pensby was originally part of the Manor of Barnston. We know that in 1066 Barnston (Bernestone) was held by two Anglo-Norse thanes, Ravenswart and Leofgeat, and was made up of two manors. In 1086, Barnston (including Pensby) was held by the Norman William Fitz Nigel, Constable of Chester; it was inhabited by five families and valued at 10 shillings. Later documents tell us that in 1261, Madoc de Pensby and his wife Matilda held lands in the area, which was spelt in several different ways, including Pennesby and Peneiby. When Wirral was one of the King’s hunting forests, laws against people hunting the King’s deer were strictly enforced. The people of Wirral had to have their dogs “lawed” or “humbled”, to slow them down and prevent them from catching the King’s deer. To law a dog meant to mutilate one paw and to humble a dog was to pull out all its claws. The Court of Wirral Forest recorded many cases of “Pleas of Venison”, which were offences against the King’s deer. In one such case in 1284, foresters found a dead female fawn on the bounds of Pensby and Barnston (now Pensby Road). As a result, the draught beasts of Pensby and Barnston were driven to Chester Castle and bailed until the next forest court. Then, the two townships gave five shillings pledge for the fawn since they could not find the “evildoers”.

Over the centuries, the Manor of Pensby and its pastures were owned and rented by many people, including the Earl of Derby, Roland Stanley of Hooton, and the Diocese of Chester Cathedral. By the 1660s, Pensby had become the property of the Gleggs of Gayton. Pensby Hall, which had been built in a commanding position on high ground at the bottom of Pensby Hall Lane, was rebuilt by William Glegg. His initials ‘W.E.G.’ and the date 1668 can be seen over the door. Workers and servants lived in and around the hall in outbuildings and cottages. This was the original hamlet of Pensby. During the 1700s, only about 20 people lived in Pensby, which was the smallest township in the area, covering 335 acres and roughly triangular in shape. The base of the triangle was a borderline drawn roughly from what is now the junction of Pensby Road and Cornelius Drive, across country to Irby Road near to its junction with Somerset Road. The two sides of the triangle were formed by what are now Pensby Road and Irby Road, with the apex being where these two roads now meet. Years ago, Pensby Road separated Pensby from Barnston and Irby Road separated Pensby from Heswall.

In 1786, there were three properties in Pensby. They were Pensby Hall, Elms Farm and a small farm run by the Smith family. Pensby Hall Farm was rented from the Gleggs by a number of families over the years, including the Hancocks and the Lambs who ran other farms in the area. During the 1920s, Pensby Hall ceased to be a working farm and became a gentleman’s residence. In those days the only lighting in Heswall was from a few gas street lamps. In 1924, it was decided to lay electricity cables to Heswall and use the former farm buildings of Pensby Hall as an electricity station. The old shippen and outbuildings

Pensby Road in 1938 – Pensby’s first block of shops

26 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

were used to house a generator and various electrical equipment and looked after by Len Ireland, who lived in the old ploughman’s cottage.

Cable trenches were dug by Arthur Youd and his men to Tower Road North, the first road in Heswall to receive electricity. Today, Pensby Hall is still a private residence, its former outbuildings are terraced cottages, but the ploughman’s cottage has been demolished. Elms Farm stood on Pensby Road between what is now the Pensby Hotel and Antons Road. It was a very old farm originally called Lower Pensby Farm and over the years it was run by several families including the Hancocks and the Brosters. The last farmer at Elms Farm was Matthew Trotter.

During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Fred and Hilda Trotter ran a home made ice-cream parlour, now the premises of R.H. Services, between Pensby Bargain Booze and the petrol station. Their son, Gibby, once managed the Basset Hound pub. Elms Farm became Brown Brothers builders yard and then Roberts & Sloss before eventually being demolished. Today, the Holy Family Catholic Church stands on the site.

(An old footpath runs from Irby to Cornelius Drive – the sign opposite Irby Village car park still says to ‘Lower Pensby’). The third property in Pensby in 1786 was Smith’s farm. situated on Pensby Road opposite Gills Lane where the block of shops are now. From late Victorian days, the property was a smallholding and market garden, run for over 30 years by Mrs Mary Lawton who had also lived in Scotland and Irby. At one time the village bobby lodged at her house and she had the police emblem over her door. The property eventually passed down to her granddaughter, Mrs Emily Herd, who died there. The cottage, buildings and greenhouses were pulled down in the late 1950s and the block of shops and service road were built. There was already Pownall’s grocers and newsagents close by, now Dads & Lads barbershop. Shatwells paint shop was demolished and the Kwick Save Supermarket was built, later named Lo-Cost, then Spar, and now the Co-op. Before that, the largest shop in Pensby was the old Co-op, which is now Motor World. Shops were also built along Ridgewood Drive and on Irby Road.

In 1811, Higher Pensby consisted of Pensby Hall and Farm, and Lower Pensby was made up of Elms Farm and the former Smith’s farmhouse which had been divided into two semi-detached cottages opposite Gills Lane. The combined population was 27 (ten males and 17 females).

During the 1870s, the Glegg family sold the 335-acre township of Pensby for £18,000 to Mills and Fletcher of Birkenhead, who then sold the land off in small portions to various individuals. In 1880, a rough lane called New Road was built from opposite Gills Lane to link Pensby Road to Irby Road. Along this lane, Oat Hay Farm was built, which was Pensby’s fifth house. The first occupants of this 60-acre farm were Liverpool-born Joseph Fisher and his wife Mary, nee Hughes, a farmer’s daughter from Barnston. Joseph was a bootmaker by trade and also a Wesleyan preacher. Because the Fishers were the only family living in the lane, people nicknamed it Fishers Lane, which it was later officially named.

In 1930, Mr Pemberton, a seafarer, bought Oat Hay Farm and 35 acres of land. Mr Pemberton’s sons grew crops and kept a large number of pigs; they also had butchers shops. Mrs Pemberton found that the farmhouse was haunted and certain members of the family would not stay there alone. The ghost was seen by a number of people over the years in and about the farm, in Fishers Lane and Pensby Wood.

He was reputed to have looked exactly like the Spaniard in the Sandimans Port advert, dressed in a black cloak and hat. Ken Pemberton farmed at Oat Hay Farm until 1972 when it was sold and later demolished to make way for the building of Paltridge Way. From the 1880s onward Pensby began to grow, slowly but surely. During the 1880s the cottages of a new hamlet, called Newtown were built in Marlfield Lane, Gills Lane and Pensby Road, down to what is now Fender Way. Newtown was, and is considered to be part of Pensby, but in those days, the Gills Lane side of Pensby Road was under the jurisdiction of Barnston. In about 1890, a large house called Rowan Tree House was built at the junction of Irby Road and Fishers Lane. In about 1910, Rowan Tree House was turned into Thistlefield Convalescent Home. It was known locally as the ‘fever hospital’. Years ago children were sent there from Clatterbridge Hospital to rest after having treatment for various illnesses such as TB and diphtheria. Eventually the name of the home was changed to Pensby Children’s Wing. In the mid 1970s, the patients were transferred to Cleaver Hospital in Heswall and it was later demolished. Today the houses of Copeland Close stand on the site. Another house built on Irby Road during the 1890s was Highfield House. At first it was a gentleman’s residence, then Mrs Noble bought the property and turned it to market

Pensby Hall 1995. In 1687 it belonged to Lord of the Manor, William Glegg

garden and farm called Highfield Dairy Farm. In 1935, Ernie Duncan, who managed the farm for Mrs Noble, bought it and ran the farm and milk round until he retired in the 1950s, after which the fields were sold for building. Ernie had two sons, Billy and Ronny. Billy worked for Heswall Council. Ronny worked for Shallcross’s at Hall Farm, Thurstaston, then for many years for Heswall Council driving the gully sucker. He was a good friend of mine and best man at my wedding, sadly dying of throat cancer. Highfield farmhouse is now a private dwelling, number 128 Irby Road, and stands opposite Pensby Girls School, which was built in 1954.

On Pensby Road, between Fishers Lane and Laurelhurst Avenue, there was once a market garden called Laurelhurst. The house was built in the 1890s, and had an adjoining cottage where Mrs Weston ran a kindergarten in the 1920s. In 1928, Mrs Weston left and my Dad’s sister Jane moved in with her husband David Evans, a gardener and former soldier who had been badly gassed in the Great War. They had three sons, Geoff, Dennis and Frank. During the Second World War, Geoff served a full six years in the army. Denis served in the Royal Marines and was captured in Crete. Frank worked on Totty’s farm in Heswall Lower Village and married farmer’s daughter Betty Totty (in his old age he was the ‘lollypop man’ at Whitfield Lane School). After the war, Geoff returned to his job on the Crossville Buses and became an inspector. He lived opposite Laurelhurst, at 374 Pensby Road.

Laurelhurst was demolished and in the early 1960s, Penway Motors was built. Today, the Texaco Service Station stands on the site. Also, in about 1890, another large house called The Orchard was built on Pensby Road, between what is now Laurelhurst Avenue and Marks Way. It was a large gentleman’s residence with a tied cottage, stables, outbuildings, greenhouses and an orchard to the rear. Liverpool businessman Edward Danger lived there about 20 years from about 1905. When his coachman left, Mr Danger hired Jane ‘Jinny’ Smith who lived at number 400 Pensby Road; she was very good with horses.

Every morning, Jinny would be seen driving Mr Danger’s coach and horses from Pensby, along Gills Lane, down Barnston Dale, up past the Fox and Hounds and along Storeton Lane to Storeton Station where Mr Danger caught a train and travelled to his office in Liverpool. In the evening Jinny would collect Mr Danger and return him to Pensby, always

with dogs (a Dalmatian and a Scotty) trotting underneath the coach. Mr and Mrs Danger were a very kind couple and well liked by the locals.

Storeton Station was closed to passengers in 1951 and to goods in 1964. In later years the coachman’s cottage became home to the village ‘bobby’, Mr Winstanly. After he moved out, local man Jim Burns moved in from number 402 Pensby Road. Jim Burns was one of the few people who saw the Pensby rat plague. One night in 1921 thousands of rats swarmed out of a field where Laurelhurst Avenue is today. They covered Pensby Road from side to side for quite a distance, like a black moving carpet, squeaking and scurrying along the road before entering a field where Belmont Drive now is and making off towards Barnston.

The coachman’s cottage was eventually demolished and Pensby Library was built on the site. The Orchard became a private nursing home, the name has now been changed to Pensby Hall, not to be confused with the Manor house Pensby Hall, in Pensby Hall Lane.

The 1891 census records 51 people living in the whole of Pensby. In 1912 there were 17 dwellings in Pensby (11 in Higher Pensby and six in Lower Pensby) but there were now 32 in Newtown on the Barnston side of Pensby Road. In 1921 there were still only 92 Pensby residents, but by 1931 the population had rocketed to 784. Rosemead Avenue, Ashlea Road, Greenbank Drive and Ridgewood Drive etc., were built, and Pensby’s first block of shops was built on Pensby Road. On the Irby Road side of Pensby, the houses of Somerset Road, Bridgenorth and Devonshire Road were built. Higher Pensby saw Berwyn Drive, Hawthorn Drive, Hillfield Drive and Pensall Drive etc., constructed. Down the middle of Pensby, houses were built along Fishers Lane and Pensby Road and in 1937 the Pensby Hotel, Pensby’s first and only pub was built, sadly now empty and awaiting its fate. During the war, on Monday 29th July 1940, the first bombs of the Merseyside blitz were badly aimed and fell on Wirral – some landing in Pensby. An old house called Old Wood (now 210 Irby Road) standing in a field next to Somerset Road and then home to the Greenfield family, had the roof blown off and number 12 Somerset Road, home of the Whiteley family was also badly damaged. Luckily, Mrs Whiteley’s sister, Mrs Pemberton, had the butchers shop in Irby Village and allowed the Whiteley family to move into the flat above the shop. Also in 1940, Pensby Home Guard was formed; they often trained in the Greenbank Drive schoolyard. Just as in the Great War, young men from Pensby and Barnston served our country in the Second World War and sadly, 21 young men from the parish were killed between 1939-45.

During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, more large housing developments went ahead all over Pensby. In 1974, much of Wirral became part of Merseyside and the official boundary between Heswall and Pensby was changed from Irby Road to Kylemore Drive. Mr Dean, the owner of Pensby Hall, bemoaned the fact that his Pensby Hall was now in Heswall. As the green fields disappeared under bricks and mortar, Pensby changed from a village to a small town. Of the original 335-acre township of Pensby, apart from the playing fields and woods in Fishers Lane, only one farm field survives, that of Old Wood, number 210 Irby Road, the house bombed during the War. This property on the Irby side of Somerset Road, is where Pensby ends and Irby begins. Today, most people regard the Fishers Lane/Pensby Road area with its shops, playing fields and car parks as the heart of Pensby. What is left of the original settlement of Pensby is a mile away in Pensby Hall Lane, now in Heswall.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 27

OUR SUCCESS IS BASED ON THREE IMPORTANT FACTORS

Our comprehensive knowledge of the motor parts industry coupled with the widest possible range from the best suppliers mean that we can guarantee a price that is always competitive.

PRODUCT RANGE

SERVICE

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Win a pair of Gala Concert tickets A special afternoon concert to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday is to be held in the City of Liverpool’s jewel in the crown, The Great Hall in St Georges Hall on Sunday 15th May 2016. The city celebrated the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, Golden Jubilee, Diamond Jubilee and now we celebrate the birthday of the longest reigning monarch in British history.

Along with the rest of the Commonwealth, Liverpool will be celebrating this great achievement by holding this very special Gala Concert in the magnificent Great Hall. The spectacular programme includes song, music and dance from the nine decades, performed by some of the region’s greatest performers, including Northop Silver Band, Haydock Male Voice Choir, classical soloist Stephanie Guidera, and some up and coming young dancers and singing talent. Songs to be performed will include ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ and come from the Jazz era and World War Two along with the best music from West End shows, and such stars as The Beatles, Elton John and many others.

You will thrill to the sound of the Great Organ, one of the largest in Europe and be blown away by a spectacular finale – the concert promises to be a wonderful afternoon of joy and celebration.

Tickets are priced at £15 each and can be purchased from TicketQuarter.

The concert is free to anyone who turns 90 years of age in 2016 on production of ID. For further information, please visit www.stgeorgesliverpool.co.uk Heswall Magazine has four pairs of tickets up for grabs. For your chance to win a pair of tickets, answer the following question:

In what year was the Queen’s Silver Jubilee?

Send your answer by email to: jon@heswallmagazine.co.uk or by post to: Ticket Competition, Heswall Magazine, Whitfield Business Hub, 184-200 Pensby Rd, Heswall, Wirral CH60 7RJ. Closing date Friday 6th May 2016. Remember to include your full address and contact number.

28 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

Welcome back Bobby Bobby Ablewhite, who many will recognise as the former manager of The Ravenscroft, has returned to Heswall to run the Johnny Pye with his wife Pauline.

Since leaving The Ravenscroft, Bobby and Pauline have run pubs around Merseyside – in Bebington and Liverpool – and more recently in Doncaster.

But when Marston’s offered them the chance to return to Heswall it was an opportunity they couldn’t turn down.

The couple have big plans for the pub. New menus will shortly be introduced and they will be serving breakfast from 10am.

Bobby told Heswall Magazine: “I am delighted to be back in Heswall and look forward to welcoming customers old and new to the Johnny Pye. I have signed a five-year contract with the brewery and want to dispel local rumours that the pub is being sold to Waitrose. We are looking at starting quiz nights and hope to organise football and darts teams and maybe a golf society.”

To add to their plans for the future, Bobby said: “We will be introducing live music on Sunday evenings, so I would love to speak to any local artists interested in performing.”

One of their first tasks will be organising the popular beer festival over the May Bank Holiday, which will showcase a tremendous range of cask ales and also sees a weekend full of music. If you would like to speak to Bobby about sponsorship opportunities, then call in any time for a chat.

Carrying on from his previous time in Heswall, Bobby is keen to use ‘The Pye’ to raise money for local charities, and would welcome charities that would like to use the venue to promote their event.

Welcome back to Heswall Bobby and Pauline.

Wirral Radio was renamed and rebranded in June 2014. Since then we have built up a growing listenership and a loyal client base. We have a wide range of clients, including local, national and international brands and their testimonials tell us we’re producing good results for them.

We know what makes the people of Wirral and its organisations tick, and we’re here to help them all. Broadcasting high-quality information, as well as local and national news, we reach people, communities, commercial businesses, public and third sector organisations, in and around the Wirral Peninsula and beyond. Our aim is to enhance the standing and well-being of people throughout the area, while providing a mix of music, personality and news they can relate to.

Wirral Radio is also a not-for-profit organisation. By offering a professional and committed advertising/sponsorship/promotion service, we work in and for Wirral’s business community. Any surplus revenue we make each year is ploughed back into initiatives which help grow the skills and knowledge of Wirral citizens.

30 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

We also work alongside an organisation that delivers alternative provision education. And as well as room and studio hire, we offer in-house training. To further support local children in crisis we are about to launch the Wirral Kids project. The money we raise will stay right here in Wirral and be used to fund vital work with children and young people.

If you would like to know more about us, call 0151 637 3790.

Or why not come along and see us. Visitors always welcome.

Remember to join John, Bev and Ian on the Wirral Radio Breakfast Show. Weekdays 7am till 10am.

Wirral Radio, Wirral Media Centre, Twickenham Drive, Leasowe Wirral, CH46 1PF. Website: www.wirralradio.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @wirralradio921 & @wirralbreaky Find us on Facebook too – www.facebook.com/wirralradio #wearewirral

Besser’s electric radiators Electric heating from Germany is the best in the world. This has never been in question. Like all things German, Besser’s electric radiators are synonymous with quality and efficiency. They are purpose-built for the coldest winter climates by the most experienced engineers using a mixture of traditional, proven techniques and materials and state-of-the-art facilities and testing methods.

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@heswallmagazine HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 31

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Heswall Horticultural Society has changed its name to

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Rediscover the pleasure of entertaining your guests with a private chef in your own home.

Monday 9th May “Wild Flower Gardening” by Ray Bailey

Bespoke menu design, event catering and private cookery lessons for small parties also available.

Monday 6th June Social Evening Celebrating the Queens 90th Birthday with a “street” party

Over 15 years’ experience as a Ballymaloe trained private chef.

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chaletchef@live.co.uk 32 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

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Osteoporosis Annual Medical Update Friday 22nd April 2016, 1.30pm–4.30pm at the Village Hotel, Bromborough CH62 4UE. Entry fee £3.00 on the door to help towards cost of room hire and refreshemnts.

Speaker Dr E. George Consultant Rheumatologist at Wirral Hospital Trust

For further information, please contact Wirral Osteoporosis Group, Tel: 0151 645 1999

Photography Exhibition New Heswall Care Home to create over 50 local jobs

‘Lest we forget’ – Martin Eaves

In May, Heswall Photographic Society will be holding their Annual Exhibition of Prints at Ness Gardens.

This popular event will run for six days, from the 11th to the 16th of May, and entry is free to view the wide selection of excellent images.

Members of the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite image and meet with members of this local Photography Club.

Last year over 700 people attended the event and after all the votes were counted, the Society was pleased to announce ‘Lest we forget’ by Martin Eves to be the overall winner in the People’s Choice contest.

For more information about Heswall Photographic Society, check out their website www.heswallphotosoc.co.uk

As the result of a £5.5m investment, over 50 new full and part-time jobs are coming to the area with the opening of a brand new care home on Oldfield Road.

Situated in the heart of Heswall on the grounds of the former hospital, the 55-bedroom Hazelwell Care Home is set to open late spring 2016. The home will offer first-rate Residential, Nursing and Respite Care in state-of-the-art surroundings with leisure facilities that include cinema room and library, as well as a rooftop spa and terrace with views over the River Dee. The Hazelwell combines modern design and technology with the highest levels of care and comfort for residents, with additional premium facilities including an onsite chef, fine dining, piano bar, café, chauffeur-driven Mercedes and a varied activities schedule.

The new facility will be managed by Wirral born and bred Liza Millington, a fully qualified nurse with over 30 years’ experience. Liza coincidentally began her career as State Enrolled Nurse, before studying to become a Registered General Nurse. She has managed several care homes prior to joining the team at The Hazelwell, all of which have benefitted from her vast experience and immaculate attention to detail.

Commenting on the jobs being created, Liza says: “We are very excited about the opening of Hazelwell Care Home and will be offering a new experience in care with our all-inclusive living concept. As part of our planning, we are in the process of putting the right people and the right teams in place to welcome our residents into their new home.

We believe this opportunity will be ideally suited to those interested in a career in care – or who are looking for a rewarding career move and ask potential applicants to visit our website for more information.”

She adds; “There are many advantages to group living and we hope that members of the community consider Hazelwell as an option. We will be holding open days in the coming months to show people around our beautiful new home!”

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 33

LOVE YOUR KITCHEN, LOVE THE PLANET Peter Brett, the owner of Oliver Green Kitchens Ltd, has over 20 years’ experience designing kitchens. Oliver Green is an independent company and has been trading since 2009. The excellent kitchens and service we provide has helped us grow because our customers recommend us to friends and family.

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Part two of A History of Thingwall Recreation Centre – a personal memoir by the late Frank Nicholson It is time to return to the parent association, i.e. Thingwall Bowling and Social Club, who, to channel and control the energies and enthusiasm of the members, set up committees to consider ways and means, and for Ground and Building development. I think it will be advisable here to introduce my readers to some of the personalities who were leading this enterprise.

Some can be identified on the pictures of the ARP wardens and the Bowling Team, and they are Tom Bailey, W. J. E. Jones, a retired schoolmaster, of Holmwood Avenue, and affectionately known as ‘Schoolmaster’ Jones. Bob Wilson, the builder of Bamsdale Avenue, and the ‘Gentleman’ of Thingwall, our own Jack Robbins. To these must be added Jack Walton of Sparks Lane, W.D. (Bill) Parsons also of Sparks Lane, R.O. (Bob) Bethune, R.J. (Dickie) Evans, both of Barnsdale Avenue and Eric Sorby of Bamston Road. Tom Bailey was the very first Chairman, but only for some months, before leaving the district. His successor was Jack Walton, who was soon followed by Dickie Evans, who gave several years of service, proving to be an excellent Chairman and leader. He, by the way, was manager of Irving Little and Co. the paint manufacturers, which of course reveals the source of the ‘Irving Little Cup’ which is played for each year by the men’s Bowls Section.

He was ably supported by Eric Sorby, a blunt Yorkshire man, and maths teacher at Birkenhead Institute, who filled the post of Secretary.

Bob Bethune was Treasurer for many years, a very amiable and friendly man. Mr Les Hipkin of Barnsdale Avenue, was a very enthusiastic and inspirational Committee member, who applied his energy to many varied Centre activities, Bowls, Social, Dramatics, and was always ready to accept responsibilities. One more man must take his place among this group of people, and that is Mr Norman Jones, the prime mover in the establishment of a Dramatic Section in 1946, soon to be well known as ‘The Thingwall Players’. At that time Norman lived at 37 Barnsdale Avenue, but later moved to ‘Quarry House’, which had, been his parents’ home. I well remember attending an investigatory meeting at 31 Barnsdale Avenue, the home of John and Betty Roberts, who were soon to move to Burton to live. I joined the Drama Section myself, not so much from an interest in drama, but as a means to overcome shyness, and it worked. Of course, with no home of their own, they had to present their plays elsewhere, and for a few years the venue was Irby Village Hall. The very first play they presented was called Painted Sparrows, and those of my readers who know me now may find it hard to believe, but I played the juvenile lead at the ripe old age of 32, and my leading lady was Ethel Newby, daughter of Mrs Ethel Newby – first lady bowler.

There followed Once Bitten Twice Shy, Murder Out Of Time, Bametts’ Folly and many others, all at Irby Hall. They did in the early 1950s manage to stage some productions in their own Hall, but had to return to Irby while the middle section (Main Hall) was completed. They finally settled down in their own home in 1957, with The Late Edwina Black.

Social activities in the early years had to take place away from home, dances at Birkenhead Town Hall, Hot Pot Suppers at The Scout Hut at the top of Sparks Lane, a wooden shack in those days. Whist was played from very early days by a small group taking turns about in each other’s homes, once a week. Of course the most important activity had to be the levelling of the site and the procuring and erection of a building, all to be undertaken by voluntary labour. Bill Parsons was an Inspector in the Building Surveyors Department of Birkenhead Corporation, which enabled him to negotiate for bomb damage rubble to be dumped on our site, the local authority being only too glad to find dump sites.

Some idea of the scale of this task will be indicated when I reveal that it was estimated that, in all, 10,000 tons of demolition material were used to level off the site. Due to the coarse and varied nature of this material, random dumping could not be permitted, and because we were all at work in daytime we had to adopt a system of notices for the tipping lorry drivers to ensure that they dumped their loads where we

36 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

required them. Of course it went wrong now and again, which created much hard work and some swearing. Bill Parsons was the ‘Gaffer’ and I was honoured to be his assistant, during this period.

Meanwhile, while our bodies were involved with the graft, our minds were on the location and acquisition of a suitable building, which we had already decided was to be only temporary, and it had to be within our means. Bill Parsons was able to contact the War Department who wished to dispose of old service camp buildings, and we eventually bought what was known as an ‘Army Elephant’, so named because of its semicircular cross section, giving it generally the appearance of a long elephant back. This was situated at an RAF camp, by Saughall Massie Road, between China Farm Lane and Pump Lane; I think we paid £80 for this building, which was quite big. I well remember the dismantling and collection of this hut, a Whit weekend with beautiful weather. The carrier we used in those days was a man called Ivor Poole from Whitehouse Lane, and he mucked in with us as well. Most of the nuts were rusted onto the hook bolts which fastened the corrugated sheets to the steel framework, so Ivor ran me back home to collect oxyacetylene burning equipment I possessed in those days, and we soon had the building down. It required a few trips to transport it all to our own site, but we managed it all in the one weekend. I know we all enjoyed it and returned home on the final trip like conquering heroes; all we were short of was the Brass Band. But after all that, this building never did get erected. We were later informed by the War Department of a Nissen Hut that we could have, at no charge; they thought we had already paid enough. This hut was at Upton Army Camp, where Champion Plugs now stands.

We concentrated then on that part of the site which was intended for the hut to stand on. We were given permission to collect now redundant wartime roadblocks from various places. I remember a party of us going off with Ivor Poole and his wagon to collect some of these from the top end of Lever Causeway, Prenton, arriving with some planks and a stout rope. The rope anchored behind the driver’s cab and ran out over the rear end of the wagon, between two stiff planks so placed as to form a ramp. Each roadblock was rolled over the rope to the foot of the ramp, the rope passed back over the block to two stalwarts on the wagon.

With much pushing and rolling, and even more grunting, each block was coaxed up onto the wagon, the rope assisting with the upward rolling and serving as an effective brake when needed, combined with wooden chocks. Hard work I can tell you; I am sure many of present day members will remember seeing some of those blocks in the ditch formed between the car park and the back fences of the Sparks Lane houses. These blocks were set out to plan over the building site, set so that their tops established a level to which the site was up filled and consolidated, so stabilising the area over which a concrete raft was laid.

The Nissen hut was erected there on, drains laid, water and electricity services laid on. Sundry repairs were carried out, broken glass replaced; remember this was a second-hand wooden hut that had been subjected to much rough usage. Painting and decorating was done and there you are! We had a home at last. The official opening took place on 15th May 1948. From here on the Nissen hut became known as The Pavilion; we always preferred the nicer sounding names in Thingwall.

For instance, in 1948 the Thingwall Bowling and Social Club was later renamed Thingwall Recreation Centre, not Thingwall Community Centre, but I’ll explain that later.

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Thingwall’s best kept secret As you may have read in our recent serialisation of the book by Frank Nicholson, Thingwall Recreation Centre in Sparks Lane (entrance opposite Nurse Road), was instigated just after World War Two by returning solders who wanted a place to relax and meet friends. It started as a Nissen hut and over the years has been altered and improved out of all recognition.

There is a large hall, which has recently been refurbished, and is available for booking, and a conservatory which is used by an art group on Thursday mornings and whist players on Monday and Saturday evenings.

Line dancing takes place on Monday and Thursday evenings in the hall, as well as Karate on Sunday mornings and Tae Kwan Do on Monday evenings. For the more athletic, Badminton is on the agenda for Wednesday evenings at 8pm.

Babies are catered for with a Jo Jingles music class Tuesday 10.45am, and a Zumba class for Mums the same day at 5.30pm.

For the more cerebral there is Bridge on Wednesday evenings and Chess on Fridays. lf the thought of all this activity is making you thirsty there is a cosy bar with a ladies darts team playing there on Tuesday evenings, also a quiz night every other Thursday. Once a month there is an entertainer on Saturday.

In addition to this there are two Crown Bowling greens, used by the men and the ladies in the summer. To keep the bowlers out of mischief in the winter, short mat bowls is played on Monday, Tuesday and Friday afternoons starting at 1pm. There is an adult tap dancing class on Friday mornings at 10am, and a well established Dance school for youngsters on Saturdays.

An annual membership fee of £18.00 is payable each August and a small amount is charged for activities.

If you would like to know more, please phone the Secretary on 648 6720 or 648 1144 to book the hall.

We hope to see you soon.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 37

A midwifery service founded on the Wirral in 2011 is leading the way in offering pregnant women a free, personalised midwife service commissioned by Wirral CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group).

One to One Midwives provides NHS-affiliated maternity services which specialise in the case-loading model – this is where a woman has the support of one named midwife during pregnancy and after the birth of a baby, and during labour if a home birth has been chosen.

The organisation is commissioned by local CCGs in the north-west region and is insured and regulated in the same way as other NHS providers.

Joanne Parkington

One to One (North West) Ltd clinical director and founder Joanne Parkington said: “One midwife, one woman, one relationship – this is the very heart of what One to One provides.

We believe passionately that personalised care should be the right of every woman – to ensure a future generation of confident parents and healthier babies.”

The service is free to all NHS patients and delivers an enhanced safe and supportive maternity service in the heart of local communities. Mothers and midwives work in partnership throughout the entire pregnancy and post-natal period to achieve a positive birth experience. Mothers benefit from high-quality, one-to-one care, while midwives have the opportunity to practice the art and science of their profession in its purest sense.

One to One believes that midwives should be based in the community so that women know who they are, where they are, and that they can contact a One to One midwife at any time of the day or night. One to One’s philosophy is entrenched in the normality of birth and promotes home birth as a real choice option for all low-risk women, while supporting those who want or need a hospital birth or support.

38 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

Natalie Atkinson

Wirral mum Natalie Atkinson used One to One for her second pregnancy. Natalie said: “I decided to use One to One midwives after a complicated first pregnancy and a miscarriage because although the NHS consultant care I received was amazing, I found it was difficult to deal with a different NHS midwife every time I was seen. I was allocated my midwife, Naomi, when I self-referred at five weeks pregnant; I was very impressed you could refer that early. Despite my complicated history, my One to One midwife took my pregnancy on its own merits as it was completely normal and I was allowed a home birth. It was also so great to be able to contact Naomi by phone or text whenever I had a , which I feel helped with my worrying and the usual stress every pregnant woman feels. I had my baby girl at 38 weeks and five days at home after a 22-hour labour. Midwives Naomi and Sarah were just amazing; they did not take over – both my husband and mother felt like part of the team. It was a beautiful experience for which I am very grateful. I would definitely use One to One again if I had another baby, and recommend them to all my friends.”

From a professional point of view, One to One believes that all midwives should be empowered to provide safe, evidenced-based care in a nurturing environment which will enhance their midwifery skills and provide them with the opportunity to practice autonomously within their NMC Rules.

Midwives are the true guardians of normal birth and One to One truly believe that when midwives are empowered, they are more able to empower the women and families under their care. Wirral midwife Naomi Poole said: “I love working alongside such passionate midwives who all share the same philosophy of care and practising true autonomy as a midwife. That philosophy is to support women and their families, putting them at the heart of their pregnancy journey and allowing them to make truly informed choices by sharing evidence-based information. I love that I am able to support women whatever their birth choices may be, and I get job satisfaction from witnessing the excellent outcomes for mothers and babies who are able to access this model of care.”

A career as a One to One midwife will provide professionals with the opportunity to work in a caseloading model of care: providing care for a defined caseload of women from preconception throughout their whole

pregnancy journey will give professionals the ability to be a ‘care navigator’ in the truest sense. Staff will retain fully accountability for ensuring that women under their care have access to a wide range of services, whatever their needs. The One to One model is entrenched in the social model of care and promotes and prevents, rather than having to react and treat. Different team models provide midwives with the ability to be present at the birth of their women, but also ensures that midwives can be confident and supported in achieving a work-life balance that fits in with their family commitments.

One to One is a complete cultural change from existing maternity service provision in two ways: 1. For women: It places women and their families in the very centre of the care model, ensuring that the service is tailored around individual needs, not the needs of the organisation. A flexible, quality service where women work together with their midwife to plan their antenatal, birth and post-natal journey without bureaucratic restraints.

2. For midwives: Working in a social model of midwifery through caseloading, midwifery in the purest sense. The company offers midwives the opportunity to work autonomously in a flexible model where they plan their work through diary management in partnership with their women.

The opportunity to access a very comprehensive education programme delivered both internally and externally, including: Hypnobirthing, The Exam of the Newborn, and Mentorship. Midwives will become confident and competent in providing care in early pregnancy and in antenatal triage – ensuring continuity of carer in all-risk situations.

One to One encourages originality and innovation and celebrates success and rewards achievement. Staff working for One to One will be given the opportunity to reach their full potential as a midwife.

The company is looking to expand its midwifery team and wishes to recruit midwives who share its ethos of care and wish to further their career in a forwardthinking organisation in an empowered and accountable way.

To find out more about working for One to One, visit www.onetoonemidwives.org. To find out more about the service, or to refer yourself, visit the website or the Facebook page, Facebook.com/OnetoOneMidwives, call 0330 3309121, or ask your GP to refer you.

Concerto Performance As part of Heswall Arts Festival, internationally famous celebrity pianist Stephen Hough gave his only concerto performance in the North West this season on 21st February. Stephen was born in Heswall and has been Patron of the Arts Festival since its inception nearly six years ago.

The concert was in St George’s Hall and many Heswall residents travelled to Liverpool for this unique afternoon.

Stephen gave an outstanding performance of the Liszt Piano Concerto No 1 and was accompanied throughout by L’Orchestra dell’Arte conducted by Edward Peak. In total contrast to the fireworks of Liszt, Stephen gave a calm and peaceful encore of Dvorak’s Songs My Mother Taught Me. The orchestra, who were in splendid form on this very special occasion, also played works by Schubert and Mendelssohn.

The concert formed part of a Sunday Matinee series, ‘The Fab Four’ (four concertos, four soloists and four symphonies), in St George’s Hall where Dell’Arte is the Orchestra in Residence. The next concert on Sunday 10th April saw Austrian violinist Wolfgang David playing the wonderful Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

Edward Peak, Conductor and Director of L’Orchestra dell’Arte; Stephen Hough, CBE concert pianist, Dr Valerie Warr, FRSA, Manager of L’Orchestra dell’Arte and Director of Heswall Arts Festival, Cees Parmentier, Hon Sec. of Heswall Arts Festival.

Open garden in Heswall

The owners of Inglewood will be opening their garden in Heswall on Saturday 14th May and Sunday 15th May. This is the eighth year they have taken part in the National Gardens Scheme and last year they had over 250 visitors and raised £2,200 for charity.

Inglewood is a beautiful half-acre garden with stream, large koi pond, ‘beach’ with grasses, wildlife pond and bog area.It is brimming with shrubs, bulbs, acers, conifers, rhododendrons, herbaceous plants and a new hosta border. Interesting features include a handcart, antique mangle, wood carvings, bug hotel and Indian dog gates leading to a secret garden. There is lots of seating to enjoy delicious cakes sold by Wirral Hospice volunteers. The garden is open from 1.30 – 4.30pm, admission is £4 (children free) and it can be found in Birchmere, Heswall CH60 6TN.

Castle Singers Concert Come and join with us to help raise some much needed cash to help Mencap. They do a great job helping those with mental problems and their families to cope with what life throws at them.

The Castle Singers are dedicating their Spring Concert to this worthy cause but we can’t do it without the help of an audience.

The concert will take place on Friday 22nd April 2016 at Heswall Hall, Telegraph Road, Heswall CH60 0AF at 7.45pm (Doors 7.15pm).

Tickets are £8 and can be obtained by ringing 342 4226 or 666 1829 or from choir members.

Celebrate success as Heswall becomes Wirral After five years of hard work developing Heswall Arts Festival into a fortnight of fantastic events and activities, we hope you will all feel very proud that we are now to become The Wirral Arts Festival.

Wirral Council recognises the quality of the cultural offerings we have made and the tourism benefits that the Festival has attracted, and has now asked to work with us to promote the Festival as part of the Wirral Cultural Strategy Plan. At the same time, Wirral Radio have happily agreed to work in partnership with us as we develop and evolve together into The Wirral Arts Festival.

For 2016, the main changes will be to our visual appearance, logos and colours, and a new website. As part of Festival 2015 we very successfully trialled some performances in Liverpool, Bebington and Southport to assess audience crossover. This year will be handled similarly with a few events held outside Heswall. When we get to 2017 it is expected that other parts of Wirral will generate their own happenings in Festival fortnight, but under the banner of Wirral Arts Festival and its team of organisers. This will help us to become even stronger in terms of attracting quality artistes, additional venues and a larger community involvement as both audience and performers.

Wirral will be working alongside the Culture Liverpool programme to give mutual benefits for residents and tourists alike.

This is a very exciting moment for the Festival and we are ready to welcome the ideas, suggestions and involvement of many more people across Wirral into the organisation. Please do get in touch via info@heswallfestival.com, reception@wirralradio.co.uk or call 07867 528034.

To celebrate our presence in Wirral we are planning to be United in Song in St Saviour’s Church, Oxton on Sunday evening 9th October 2016. We hope that as many people and choirs as possible will fill the church and join the organ and orchestra to sing and to hear some great hymns and music. Do contact us if you know of a choir who would like to be involved and maybe help lead the singing.

Mice wanted Do you have any little mice in your house?

(People don’t normally want little mice, but we do!) Yes? Then bring them along to join our Church Mice!

Church Mice is for under 5s and their parents/grandparents, family or carers.

It’s held at Heswall Methodist Church, (opposite Police Station by M&S).

Every Friday morning during termtime at 9.45am for an hour where the children and their carers have a great fun time together.

Come and help ‘find our own little mice’ and put them back in their mouse house!

Then join in Craft time where carers help children with their craft. This is followed by storytime where everyone sits on the floor at the front of Church to listen to a story together.

After our Church Mice Prayer, tea, coffee, juice and toast are served and everyone is most welcome. Come along and see what makes this children’s activity so very special.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 39

40 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

Hair today, gone tomorrow!

This can be a reality “Unwanted facial hair is just that, so don’t live with it!” says Tracey Locke, lead clinician at Serenity Clinic Ltd. While electrolysis is still the only procedure that can state the word ‘permanent’, there are other hair reduction and removal techniques available. Just remember a patch test and consultation are required for some treatments.

IPL: Intense Pulse Light is a quick solution to treat unwanted facial hair. This treatment is very targeted and, therefore, ideal for permanently reducing coarse terminal hairs.

Laser: This burst onto the scene in the 1990s and there are now many different versions on the market (some more effective than others). It can produce good results, but there is some controversy over whether it actually stimulates growth in certain individuals.

Electrolysis/Diathermy: Using short-wave diathermy this is the most widely used method, providing excellent results quickly. It takes an average 12 sessions to regulate growth. it is still the only method of hair removal that can state the word ‘permanent’.

Permanent hair removal has been around for decades. In fact, galvanic electrolysis was first used in 1875 by Missouri-based ophthalmologist Dr Charles Michel to remove an ingrowing eyelash. In 1924, Henri Bordier invented short-wave diathermy (epilation) and until the late 1990s this was the only progressive method of hair removal available.

The most common places that facial hair appears are to either side of the mid-chin and around the outer edges of the lip.

Hair growth in these areas is typically hormonally stimulated consisting of – in most cases – thick hairs called ‘terminal’ hairs. This type of hair is deeply rooted, with a rapid regrowth.

Unfortunately, most start to pluck these hairs when they first appear. Don’t! This just encourages blood supply, in essence ‘feeding’ them and enabling hair to grow stronger.

Fortunately for us ladies, facial hair doesn’t just appear all at once. It tends to start with the odd one and increases over a long period of time. Most people will start by plucking ‘rogue’ hairs every week or so, but then ‘hey presto’ – before you know it, you’re plucking every day. By this stage, hair growth is well established. What’s more, as some hairs can go into a resting stage for up to three months, what you see is only the tip of the iceberg. But, it doesn’t have to get to this stage.

Just a short 10-minute electrolysis appointment with a registered and licensed electrologist (you can check registration with the local authority) could stop this from happening.

Most of us lead busy lives with the demands of work, home, looking after our adorable children/grandchildren, so we often put off doing things for ourselves – such as tackling those unwanted hairs. So, if you’re plucking or shaving get some professional advice and a lasting solution.

Blend Diathermy (electrolysis) using galvanic current to produce a chemical reaction in the skin: Most electrologists will offer both diathermy and blend diathermy methods and will recommend the treatment best suited to your needs.

Ultrasound: Developed in 1996, it uses sound waves and static energy to damage/destroy the hair at its root. Good for downy or fine hairs.

Alkaline wash: Ideal for ‘vellus’ (fine downy) hair that tends to grow over larger areas of the face. This is not a permanent answer, but can slow the rate of regrowth over time. It can also be used with other hair removal treatments.

Threading: Using a knot in cotton this method of removal has been used for centuries, gaining popularity here approximately 10 years ago. This is not a permanent or long-term answer to unwanted hair; however, it’s quick and gentler than waxing.

Again, it can also be used in conjunction with other methods of removal.

Waxing: Typically using a blend of beeswax and resins to produce a slightly viscose liquid, hot or warm wax can be used on the face. It works best on the brow and upper lip area, producing better results than plucking and lasts up to six weeks. It is more aggressive on the skin than threading, so not suitable for very sensitive skins.

If you are pregnant, have an autoimmune condition or a pacemaker, some of these treatments will not be suitable for you. Professionals will be able to offer different treatments and advise you on individual requirements and treatment plans.

Serenity Clinic Ltd, 162 Banks Road, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 0RH T: 0151 625 6256 www.serenity-clinic.co.uk HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 41

All Things Auctioneering

by John Bathurst Crane “Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

This statement was made by William Morris speaking to the Birmingham Society of Arts on 19th February in 1880. It is a well-known quote but has stood the test of time and it is always worth repeating, even after 136 years.

Taxidermic specimens

William Morris

I was recently with a learned academic acquaintance for the purpose of appraising his picture collection, which contained works bought over his lifetime. “Why do people buy paintings, do you think?” I enquired of him.

“They are a narrative of one’s life,” was the reply. Maybe the same may be said of book collections and private libraries. They may enable the peruser who casually with limited time, or in detail at leisure, turn the pages to catch a fleeting glimpse into the soul and raison d’être of their temporary owners, as all assemblers of collections must surely be.

All works of art, whether great or miniscule, costly or not so, must I think represent that which we admire and are available to us within our means. Better a modestly sized, aesthetically pleasing antique print of high-quality on our walls than an exorbitantly expensive piece of daubed ‘originality’ by some well-known ‘here-today but forgottenin-30 years’ ‘personality manufacturer’ of such works. Beautiful objects by their very nature must always be evidence of good taste and a refined (in the true sense of the word) thought process.

It is sadly the case these days that very high-quality works of art are expensive, and most of us do not have the time or finances to have private museums and galleries at home.

However, with care and a good eye, objects that attract only a modest investment can give enormous pleasure and delight the heart for decades. The secret is that to take time and choose carefully and consult those with experience before parting with large – or even modest – amounts of hard-earned money.

Recently I found myself in Shropshire to visit a collector who was changing his style of living.

I had been invited to look at some modern, but high-quality pictures he had bought but

42 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

Rare Carlo Bugatti chair

now required an auction selling service. While at the property I was invited to comment on a pair of decorative chairs. I recognised their distinctive style as being the work of Carlo Bugatti. They were exhibited in Paris in the early 20th century and when the Queen of Italy saw them she remarked: “I do love your Moresque style, Mr Bugatti.” His reply was “Your Highness, This style is all MINE!” The chairs are overlaid with copper, have pewter decoration inlaid into the ebonised walnut, and are upholstered with velum. These rare chairs seldom come onto the market in auction. A Bugatti desk made over £100,000 a few years ago. Single chairs come on to the market very occasionally, but pairs hardly ever. At the time of writing the auction has not taken place, but we are expecting to do well for the vendor who bought them because he liked beautiful objects.

Auction prices this year seem to be holding up particularly well and the internet system of advertising our auctions and using three bidding sites at auctions with three operators bidding for clients worldwide can produce remarkable results if used efficiently.

Examples of taxidermy such as pretty Victorian wild birds contained beneath glass domes may not be everyone’s cup of tea on the sideboard, but they have become very popular again and the one illustrated made over £1,100 in our last auction. I always say that cameos are old-fashioned and not desirable these days, but one we were offered last month had such fine carving and quality that it made nearly £500. An oil on canvas painting from a local estate by the artist Terrick Williams made nearly £3,000 for a delighted Wirral vendor.

Fine Cameo

High quality makes high desirability and thence high prices at auction. The psychology of bidding at auction is an interesting subject and I might discuss this in a future article.

Following every auction we send items out to about 20 different countries. Our couriers collect and wrap professionally and arrange all the shipping and transportation – in the main without mishap!

An old client of mine telephoned to say that he had been bequeathed a still-life painting by the artist Jan Davidszoon de Heem (Utrecht and Antwerp 1606-1683). This was exciting news for us as the picture would surely be worth several hundreds of thousands of pounds… I was to find out that it was a Victorian furnishing copy of mediocre quality

Jan Davidsz de Heem copy

– the ‘masterpiece’ looked fine from about 15 feet away but really did nothing for the narrative of the former or present owner’s life!

It was worth maybe £150 at most.

Art Deco figure

Already this year I have given eight talks about ‘All Things Auctioneering’ to groups of people in the North West. I was in Southport a couple of weeks ago talking to a group of 40 people from the NADFAS organisation where a very nice example of a 1930s figure was brought in for me to see; these have not lost their popularity, especially this one which is in fine condition.

The Probus club which meets at Heswall Golf Club was another destination for an after-lunch presentation. A few days later I discovered a photograph taken at the clubhouse door of the secretary in 1948, Mr C Ross. Does anyone remember him? The Heswall Golf Club has a common link with India Buildings and Martins Bank Buildings in Water Street in Liverpool, the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, flats in Camden Street in Birkenhead and the Woodchurch Estate. They are all great creations of civic athleticism combined with functionality for everyone to enjoy and appreciate – creations of great architectural merit. They all were designed by the same architect, Herbert James Rowse, who was born in Liverpool in 1887 and died in Puddington in Wirral in 1963 leaving these great memorials for our benefit.

At Liverpool Business Fair

Heswall Golf Club 1948

Along with a fortnightly programme on Wirral Radio with Adam Siddorn and a monthly programme on Radio Clatterbridge with Steve Evans, this is what I’ve been up to this year so far – many interesting discoveries uncovered and more to write in further issues, space permitting.

If you have pictures and objects and furniture at home that you are considering putting into auction or selling in London, it may be well worth your while to invite me to appraise them as we do have many long-established and reliable contacts in the capital for the finest items.

One final piece of advice... it doesn’t matter how beautiful you might think an object is that you see while out and about or how wonderful it might look with your current decor... forget what William Morris said and please leave enough money in your pocket for your bus fare home!

Thank you for reading and happy collecting to you all.

CatoCrane.co.uk & 5CountiesvaluationCompany.co.uk) 0151 709 5559 for Liverpool 01244 680055 for Wirral and Chester or telephone me direct on 07836 209995.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 43

44 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

DON’T BE CAUGHT NAPPING!!

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The sad fact is that 94% of over 65s have not!

The over 65s are now rapidly approaching a staggering 25% (that’s 15 million) of the UK population, and it is an age at which we should be thinking of protecting ourselves and our families by putting lasting powers of attorney and wills in place.

Around 65% of over 65s do not have wills; however, a staggering 94% have not put lasting powers of attorney in place! In fact just over one million lasting powers of attorney have been registered, since their inception in 2007, covering all age groups. Generally, despite there having been many press reports of horror stories, many people still seem unaware of the necessity to draw up lasting powers of attorney.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 states that should you have some form of incapacity (permanent or temporary) which prevents you from looking after your day-to-day affairs – then you must have attorneys in place. If you have a registered lasting power of attorney in place, then all is well and those attorneys can act immediately, without further fuss.

If you have such an incapacity with no power of attorney in place then there is an extremely onerous, complex and very expensive procedure for your family or close friends to undertake. This involves making application to the Court of Protection by family or friends. This complex process can take over six months and costs can easily exceed £2,000, with no guarantees of success!

Should you have no family or friends able or willing to undertake the rigours of such an application, then indeed there is a much worse case scenario that can occur. The court has the power to immediately appoint attorneys for you, called deputies. These deputies will take full control of your finances and divert your pensions to themselves.

Your bank account will be closed and cheque books, bank and credit cards cancelled.

Your appointed deputies can be a solicitor, an accountant and even the County Council official and this worst case scenario is when it becomes wickedly expensive. They will charge £800 per year before they do anything and they charge for every single transaction they undertake on your behalf. Costs and charges can easily exceed £3,000 per year. There is even a final ‘winding up’ fee of £290 when you die. You have been warned!

This article was compiled by Mike Barnes of Wirral Estate Planning based in Birkenhead. Wirral Estate Planning specialise in wills, trusts, lasting powers of attorney and probate. Mike can be contacted on 0845 052 2757 (standard rate) and would be pleased to offer you a free consultation in the comfort of your own home. Please see their advert above.

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We all know that many thousands of homes have to be sold each year to pay for long-term care home fees. Such fees are always burdensome and could easily exceed £700 per week.

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HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016 45

Finding the Missing Peace

Our Heswall Lifestyle column is brought to you by local Personal Trainer and Fitness Queen founder, Hayley Lundy. Our column aims to educate, motivate and inspire our readers to keep active and lead a healthy lifestyle.

By Stephen G Baker A recent survey concluded that Britons are more likely to believe in ghosts and karma than a Creator. It’s probably important to note, however, that ‘Christian’ is a cultural identification for many. Last year, YouGov found that only 55 per cent of self-identified Christians believe a God exists.

In fact it would seem that in British society a trend of ‘christianophobia’ is rising. Christianity is accused of some amazing things. A couple of years ago, in a large circulation regional newspaper in England, Christianity was accused of being the source of the ‘tide of disrespect engulfing us’. Is this really an honest assessment?

It’s often said that small changes make big differences, so here I’m nudging you towards adding a healthy drink to your daily routine and drinking lemon water in the morning...

Lemon water can help boost your health and well-being. I’d advise drinking it first thing in the morning with a large glass of water to help rehydrate your body, and give your liver a boost.

The impact of Christianity on the world is indisputable! Following the principles Jesus taught produced social reform, improved education, the development of science and medicine and influenced literature and philosophy!

The consequences of failing to follow the teachings of Jesus will be catastrophic both for society and the individual! The Bible teaches that Jesus will return to earth one day to judge the world righteously, Acts 17:31. All wrong will be judged; sadly unbelief in God, and his Son Jesus, is one of those wrongs that will qualify.

Lemon juice can damage the enamel on your teeth, so it’s advised to dilute with warm water or fully clean teeth after drinking.

Personally, some mornings I might have half a squeezed lemon with avocado – at other times I drink it neat, but most of the time I squeeze lemon juice into warm water.

This may seem harsh, but essentially unbelief is the worst crime of all because of what it leads to.

Here are the health benefits of drinking warm lemon water and the reasons why you should give it a try:

God is life therefore unbelief leaves you with death.

• Lemon is an excellent and rich source of vitamin C • It helps to maintain the pH levels in the body • It aids digestion as it encourages the production of bile • It is also a great source of potassium, calcium, phosphorus

Ultimately unbelief leads to all the depravity that we readily accept is wrong and harmful. Thankfully today we all have the opportunity to ‘believe in the Lord Jesus Christ’. In that day it will be too late.

and magnesium

• It helps reduce pain and inflammation in joints • It strengthens the liver by providing energy to the liver enzymes • It helps improve the appearance of the skin • Aids in the production of digestive juices Packed with all this goodness, why not make a point of beginning your day with a glass of warm lemon water – but remember to brush your teeth and rinse well if you drink it neat!

Subscribe to my newsletter at www.thefitnessqueen.co.uk for hints, tips and guidance on being a healthier version of yourself!

Once you are subscribed, you will also get access to my workout clips showing you how to improve muscle tone and definition.

Website: www.thefitnessqueen.co.uk Email: hayley@thefitnessqueen.co.uk Call us on: 07576 794 101 Twitter: @fitnessqueenuk 46 HESWALL MAGAZINE • APRIL 2016

God is light therefore unbelief leaves you in moral darkness.

God is truth therefore unbelief leaves you with all that is false.

God is holy therefore unbelief leaves you with sins unforgiven.

In closing I want to pass on a ‘Global Warning’, (excuse the pun)! This is not about the effect of the mismanagement of our planet and its resources, important though that is, but about an issue which has a longer lasting effect. This planet will come to the end of its life cycle one day, see 2 Peter 3. However, our souls will never die! The warning is that if we do not actively get back to God then we will find that we are, on death, forever at a distance from God and all that God is i.e. love, justice, peace, etc.

How can we come to God? The answer is in seeking the Lord while he may be found, repenting of our sin (turning away from it) and placing our personal trust in Jesus Christ.

The scripture teaches - ‘Christ died for our sins ... and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day’ 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

The solution is to ‘repent and believe the gospel,’ Mark 1:15 May you come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour as a result of considering these thoughts from the Bible.

www.findingthemissingpeace.blogspot.co.uk www.seekthetruth.org.uk

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