Heswall Magazine February 2016

heswall magazine & district

February 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 by Barbara Roberts

CONTENTS

Welcome to the February 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.

04 10 14 20 23 24 30 32 35 36 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46

The Railways come to Heswall Memories of a Lifetime Past Wine Column Dale Farm Murrayfield’s new Day Care Unit Heswall Society Membership Form Royal Dee Yacht Club Heswall & District Business Association Silverdale Medical Centre Thingwall Recreation Centre Arts Festival Encore Animal Magic Heswall on Twitter How well is your skin ageing?

All Things Auctioneering The Architect’s Column Finding the Missing Peace Fitness Queen

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

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

The Railways come to Heswall

By Roger Lane and Jenny McRonald

In these days of excellent roads and InterCity trains it is easy to forget the huge impact that the first railways had on the lives of the population.

Before the arrival of the railways, horse-drawn transport was the only option, apart from canals for moving both people and goods, which restricted the distances most people could travel. The industrialisation of Britain was greatly accelerated by the ability of steam-powered trains to move people and goods long distances quickly. The first commercial fully steam-powered railway was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830. The first railway on Wirral, the Chester to Birkenhead railway, started construction in May 1838 and was opened in September 1840, providing a link to the rapidly growing Birkenhead docks and the shipbuilding company established by Laird in 1824. Direct access to Manchester and London was possible via Chester and Warrington. It was a time of rapid amalgamation of many smaller railway companies as both the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway fought to get access to the lucrative route to Birkenhead and Liverpool. In 1860 both these companies made a combined takeover of the Birkenhead to Chester railway and ran it jointly under the name Birkenhead Railway until nationalisation of the railways in 1948.

In October 1866, a branch line was opened from Hooton on the Birkenhead Railway passing through Willaston, Little Neston and Great Neston, terminating in Parkgate. In April 1886, the line was further extended to West Kirby, where a new station was built adjacent to the one which had been built to service a separate West Kirby to Birkenhead line, opened in 1878. The rail track was single, but became double track around the new Heswall station to allow trains to pass.

Unlike the new station in Parkgate where the building and platforms were constructed of wood, here the platforms were fully paved and had substantial canopies. The buildings were brick except for the wooden signal box situated on the Hooton platform; when Mr Peacock was signalman this box was noted for its show of geraniums and ferns. This horticultural talent seemed to persist, as an elderly resident of Heswall has informed the authors that she remembers colourful flowerbeds and attractive hanging baskets.

A new road, appropriately called Station Road, was constructed from Village Road in Lower Heswall to provide access to the station, with a bridge constructed over the line just before the junction with Davenport Road. The ticket office was at the bridge level, with a steep flight of steps down to each platform. There was a large goods yard on the opposite side of Station Road, equipped with a crane and cattle holding

04 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

pens. The stationmaster had his own detached house, and a row of four terraced houses at the south-east end of the station were occupied by signalmen, porters and other railway workers. A further row of 12 terraced houses on the corner of Riverbank Road appeared not to be railway properties as they were occupied by a mix of labourers, fishermen and railway workers. All these houses, except for the larger terrace which has been redeveloped, still exist. Cabs would wait outside the station to take the more affluent commuters home, and a Mr Tinniswood kept two cabs and two horses in stables nearby in Village Road.

In 1899, the local newspaper reported that a large bloodhound had escaped and terrorised the station, occupying the signal box until evicted with a fusillade of brickbats, then proceeding to the station yard to imprison the local coal merchant in his office. It eventually tired of its antics and wandered off. More tragically there is a report that a boy was killed when crushed by a locomotive which he had been riding on without permission.

The arrival of the station provided a huge impetus to the development of Heswall. While most trains plied between Hooton and West Kirby, where further connections were possible, there were also direct trains to Birkenhead and onwards to Liverpool (by ferry and later by train when the Mersey rail Tunnel opened in 1886, and electrified in 1903).

A reliable commuting route to Liverpool encouraged residential development in Heswall for office workers wishing to flee the pollution and smog of Liverpool. The transport link also enabled hospitals and schools to open, together with hotels to service their visitors, and also to cater for day trippers from Liverpool coming to enjoy the beaches. The line was heavily used by school children at the schools along the line:

1947 timetable

Mostyn House, Calday Grammar and West Kirby Girls. The line became uneconomic after the First World War, and suffered further when Neston Colliery closed in 1927.The line finally closed to passenger traffic in September 1956. One of the last trains to use the route was the Royal Train taking the Queen and Prince Phillip to an event in New Brighton.

Many school children were lined up along the goods yard in Heswall to wave, but to their enormous disappointment the window blinds on the Royal Train were down. However, the schoolchildren waiting at Thurstaston were not to be disappointed and were able to wave to the Queen. Heswall Station continued in use until May 1962 for goods traffic, and the lines were lifted in 1964. The station with its extensive goods yards along Davenport Road were sold for housing development.

Riverbank Close now occupies the site of the station. The rapid pace of this redevelopment was unfortunate, as the rest of the track from Hooton to West Kirby was purchased to create Britain’s first country park which opened in 1973. Walkers now need to divert from the Wirral Way on to Davenport Road and Riverbank Road before they can rejoin the park beyond the original station site.

In 1885, authorisation was obtained to build a railway from Hawarden Bridge over the Dee to Bidston, to provide a link from Bidston Dock and Birkenhead to Shotton Steelworks, the coalfields of North Wales, and to Wrexham. By the time the railway opened in 1896, the operating company had restructured into the North Wales and Liverpool Joint Railway, and in 1923 became part of the London and North Eastern Railway before it was nationalised. The line is now referred to as the Borderlands Railway. The line passed over Brimstage Road, but originally no station was planned in Heswall, the nearest being Storeton. However, Heswall Council strongly lobbied for a second station in Heswall, which was opened on 1st May 1898 and called Heswall Hills station. Heswall Hills was the traditional name for the elevated heathland centred around Poll Hill, the highest point on the Wirral. The name is rather confusing as this second station is located on a flat plain well away from the sandstone ridge on which Poll Hill is located. This anomaly was corrected when the station was renamed simply ‘Heswall’ in 1973. There were frequent trains hauling iron ore from Bidston Dock to John Summers steelworks in Shotton, and

Heswall Station – 1899 OS Map

apparently the steam locomotives could be heard from five miles away as they struggled up the incline from Upton along Storeton Bank to Heswall. The last steam-hauled iron ore train ran in 1967 and the freight service on this line ended in 1980. There was an active goods and coal yard next to the station, but this was sold off in the 1960s and has been developed into Pullman Close and Brimstage Green.

The station at Storeton, later called Storeton for Barnston, closed to passenger traffic in 1951 and to goods traffic in 1964. The station has now completely vanished and the old station goods yard houses an architectural reclamation yard and associated businesses.

The elderly resident referred to earlier also told us that many of the maids to wealthy Heswall families came from Wrexham, and on their days out they all went to Wrexham, returning together to Heswall Hills Station and walking the last few miles home, hurrying to get back before 10pm when they had to report back in.

The Borderlands line is the only non-electrified railway on Wirral, operating a diesel service. There have been many proposals to electrify the line which would allow direct routes into Birkenhead and Liverpool, rather than the current need to change at Bidston. However, the cost of these schemes has so far proved too prohibitive to be progressed. We can only hope that with the ever-increasing popularity of railways some way will be found to realise this ambition in the future.

The authors drew from many published and web sources in preparing this article, but would particularly wish to acknowledge the book The Hooton to West Kirby Branch Line and the Wirral Way, published by Wirral Council and available at Thurstaston Nature Centre, where a plan of the original Heswall station is also displayed.

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

SEE PAGE 28 FOR HESWALL SOCIETY PROGRAMME AND MEMBERSHIP FORM.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 05

Safe Haven Counselling Wirral offers a calm and tranquil location where you can share any concerns or challenges you might be facing.

The one-to one counselling service with Dr Amanda Sives takes place in a purpose-built log cabin located in a quiet garden in Thingwall. It offers privacy and an intimate space in which to talk and be heard.

Amanda offers a professional confidential service. She is a trained person-centred therapist with a range of experience gained working across the North West.

If you would like to get in contact please email, call or visit the website.

Telephone: 07927 443916 Email: amanda@safehavencounselling.org.uk

Website: www.safehavencounselling.org.uk 06 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

Is it important to make a ‘clean break’?

How would you feel if your ex-spouse then seeks a share of your new-found wealth?

Jenniffer Brunt

Jenniffer Brunt, head of the Family Law team at Lees Solicitors, partner and trained collaborative lawyer, comments: We are all familiar with the phrase ‘make a clean break,’ but there is more to it than a state of mind or a change in circumstances. We are often asked if divorcing couples actually need a financial court order if they are not splitting any assets and don’t have any money.

Obtaining a financial court order, even when the parties have no finances to divide, is a crucial part of a divorce and will ensure that you are cut financially from your spouse, known as a ‘clean break.’

Imagine that you have been divorced, but did not want to get a final financial court order. You go your separate ways and start enjoying your new life. Then, one day, you have a large win or come into an inheritance but you did not cut your financial ties with your ex-spouse.

The truth is that without a final clean break order you will remain financially attached to your spouse. Whether it’s one, two years or ten years later, if you come into some money, such as a lottery win, inheritance or simply gain from your own hard work, if you do not have a clean break order your ex-spouse may be entitled to make their claim against your fortune. So, protect yourself now.

My team can offer fixed fees for the preparation of orders for couples who have already reached a financial agreement and are simply wishing to enter into an order by consent – known as a consent order.

These orders provide you with that important clean break.

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

What Lees Solicitors can do for you…

• Fixed fee options available • Free half-hour consultation available • Out of hours appointments from 5-7pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

• Heswall office open on a Saturday (book for an appointment) • Three local offices to choose from: – Heswall 0151 342 6273, – West Kirby 0151 625 9364, – Birkenhead 0151 647 9381 • Collaborative lawyers If you are in need of family law advice, contact our team to book an appointment or to chat through your options. Call us free from either a mobile or landline on 0800 387 927.

“The expertise, professionalism and compassion I was awarded, I feel would be difficult to equal.”

Lees Solicitors’ family law client

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 07

Continuing our serialisation of Geoff Andrews’ fascinating book, Memories of a Lifetime Past, about the life and times of Parkgate fishermen, Chris & Jim Peters Unknown to me, Chris and Alan had been watching us come to the mooring but seeing that we were ok, they left. Pat also watched us tie up, through binoculars, from Thurstaston Hill. The following weekend, Jack towed me up to Heswall with his big dinghy and outboard. There I got a friend to look at the engine. All that was wrong with it was the condenser in the magneto, I replaced it and it never gave me any trouble after that. Armed with the patchy net Chris made me, I soon paid off my loan to Chris and the bank. My boat and I are firmly established on the river now, and I’ve had her nearly 22 years (with a diesel engine of course).

Life continued as usual. I would report to Chris and Jim about my weekend shrimping trips. They liked to hear where I’d been, offering knowledge of places to try when the shrimps had been scarce, what state of tide to try at, etc., methods of cleaning, boiling and keeping the catch. “Try the brick flat run,” Chris said, “it was always good on Chester Cup Day, you’ll get a prawn or two.” “Where’s the brick flat run?” I asked. “Get the monument (West Kirby hill) on the middle island end and let go on the flood and steer for the chimneys at Flint (Courtalds). It’s a bit rough but you should be alright.” I tried it that weekend with half an hour’s flood running, I could feel the gear snagging on the bottom, but I kept going. Then all of a sudden I staggered forward, which happens when the boat is pulled up. I knocked it out of gear and started to retrieve the gear. It came off the fastener easy enough and when I emptied it on the deck, there were lots of Shanks (pink shrimps) in it.

Chris’s local knowledge, not only of the river, but local government as well, was quite unique. Some of his ideas he had for Parkgate and Neston’s sewage system, roads and waterfronts, at the time he was flooded out, along with Jim and Ethel, were quite feasible.

He was always interested in what was going on in the district and a football fanatic, having played for Tranmere in his younger days.

Though in their eighties, both he and Annie had remarkable memories. I felt I had to write down some of the stories told me before I forgot them. Pat would listen to Annie, talking of her family days in Birkenhead before she met Chris. Of being in service, at a house in Hamilton Square, then to Willaston where she first met 10 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

Chris when she was out on a shopping expedition to Parkgate, then to Earle Drive Neston.

Chris also used to own and race greyhounds – how he found the time to train them, I don’t know. On Saturday afternoon visits to Parkgate, his friend Eddy Jones, a local farmworker, would be chatting to him about the races, as he was a keen greyhound man as well. I believe they would go to St Helens to the races, but mostly to Chester. Chris had one called Mr Jinks and I would scan the Sunday papers at home, to see if it had won.

I asked Chris, if the big sandbank, known as “the lump”, always been there. He said “Aye, but a gutter used to run behind it – we called it the primus gutter. There’s a boat called The Primus buried in the lump and my dad went slummying on it one day and the tide came and trapped him and the punt under it, frightened to death, he had to sink it to get it out, then bail it out on the bank and swore he’d never go back.”

Moving on a year or two, Pat and I took to visiting Chris and Jim on a Thursday evening. Sometimes they wouldn’t be in, as they were out fishing, sometimes they were just arriving back home, with a fish or two if they were lucky.

I would get orders for some of the salmon from the chaps at work.

“So next time you get a 9lb fish, or next time you get a 12lb fish etc, let me know,” they’d say and they would have Joy give me a ring if a fish was available.

By this time Joy and Alan had a family, two girls, Helen and Christine, or was it three, had little Kay been born? It wasn’t long before the storm clouds started to gather over our little world.

Marie, Jim’s wife, became poorly and Jim was grounded, so to speak. He was quite devoted to his wife and cared for her every need. Chris was attending hospital to have a pacemaker fitted, which, when working, gave him a new lease of life. Chris and .lim’s brothers, Albert and Henry, both retired fishermen, had died. Aunt Ethel, Chris and Jim’s sister, was also very poorly and it fell to me to take her little dog Sally to be put down. I felt awful, as there was nothing the matter with it. Aunt Ethel died shortly after, in June 1980 aged 78 years and her cottage, on the end, sold.

In the salmon season, which was from March lst till August 31st, Chris would take Alan as a mate. They would start around May and work it in with Alan’s own work. When Alan wasn’t available, I would go, or Billy and Job, so it was, with the salmon fishing. Jim felt quite out of it, although he continued to knit spare parts for the big draft net, throughout the winter, as well as looking after Marie.

The licences kept going up in cost every year, in leaps and bounds. The catches were getting less and less due to the poaching and to top it all, Billy started to be ill, shortly after he left the ironworks. Billy Alan and Job all came out of work, as the steel industry went into decline. Billy and Alan, along with many others who worked at Summers steelworks, were made redundant. Job, I think, had retired from Shell.

I think Chris kept the licence going, to help them out, shrimping in the winter, fishing in the summer.

Are you worried about your tree?

Has your tree outgrown its situation? Are you concerned about the condition of your tree? Is it blocking daylight or do you keep meaning to give it some TLC, but just not got round to it? If so, Wirral Tree Services would like to offer some fundamental advice on types of tree pruning available.

TYPES OF TREE PRUNING Arborists and tree surgeons tend to classify pruning according to where the crown branches are removed from. Whatever type of pruning you are considering, you should remember that trees need their leaves in order to produce food – never remove more than 30% of the live foliage from a tree at once. If the tree is less than perfectly healthy, you should remove less than this. Here are some of most common types of pruning.

1. CROWN LIFTING

3. CROWN REDUCTION

Crown lifting involves removing the lower branches in the crown. This is often done to provide clearance over paths or roads for example, or sometimes to allow more light to pass beneath the crown. On the other hand, lower branches tend to be bigger so the wounds are larger, which can have an adverse effect on the health of the tree. Crown lifting often has limited impact on the amenity of a tree, because it does not change the more visible higher parts of the crown – the ‘amenity’ value of a tree is the way it contributes to its surroundings in the way it looks and the way it impacts on the environment.

Lower branches have an important role to play in dampening the sway of a tree in high winds so you should avoid leaving a clear stem that is more than one third of the tree’s total height.

2. CROWN THINNING

Crown reduction is the reduction in overall size of the crown by shortening branches, cutting back to a suitable growth point. Crown reduction is usually used where a tree has outgrown the space it stands in and can often result in large wounds at the branch ends, which may start to decay. It should be seen as a last resort.

When carrying out a crown reduction, branches should be cut back to suitable side branches and a flowing branch line maintained, reflecting the natural shape of the tree. Poorly executed crown reduction is known as ‘topping’ and is very bad practice.

Crown reduction should not be carried out on trees with a pyramidal shape, such as many conifers and birches.

4. POLLARDING

Crown thinning involves the selective removal of branches throughout the crown, such that the overall shape of the crown is not significantly changed.

Crown thinning increases light penetration and air circulation throughout the crown.

It is important to work throughout the crown, including its outer edges and focus on removing small diameter branches. Removing too many branches from the centre of the crown can result in a tree with poor structure with few points that can be pruned back to in the future. It can also result in long, thin branches that have little foliage in their lower parts to dampen swaying, putting extra stress on the tree in high winds.

The term Pollarding is often misused. Pollarding is really a maintenance regime begun when a tree is young and repeated at frequent intervals throughout the tree’s life. All the branches are removed back to a framework of secondary branches off the main stem.

Regrowth since the last pollard is then removed back to the ‘knuckles’ at regular intervals. Branches removed are all of relatively small diameter. This is a management technique traditionally used on willows to provide a constant supply of small diameter poles, much like coppicing hazel but above ground, out of reach of grazing livestock.

The term is often misused to refer to the removing of all branches from a mature tree (as in our picture). This is a very poor practice leaving large wounds and a tree with no foliage with which to produce food. It causes considerable stress to the tree.

We are committed to customer satisfaction, reliability and long-term working relationships with our customers. All staff are trained to the latest modern standards and our duty of care to the preservation of trees is utmost.

What We Do All aspects of tree surgery Hedge, pruning and shaping Wirral Tree Services are a Heswall-based tree surgery and garden maintenance specialist offering professional but cost-effective workmanship to the residential and commercial sectors.

LOGS FOR SALE

Garden maintenance Tree inspection and free advice Hedgerow management Garden and ground clearance All staff trained to minimum Level 3 Diploma in Forestry & Arboriculture (NPTC Level 3)

Prices from £39 (per cubic metre/ton bag)

Telephone: 0845 862 0801 or 07444 507 204

Email: info@wirraltreeservices.co.uk • Website: www.wirraltreeservices.co.uk HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 11

The Lawnmower Company Ltd

The Lawnmower Company Ltd is a family-run business based on the Wirral and we are your local garden machinery experts.

We have been serving customers in the Wirral area for over 60 years, providing garden machinery sales, sharpening, servicing and repairs. Alongside this, we run a successful ground maintenance division for clients across the North West.

Stocking one of the most extensive ranges of new and second-hand machinery on the Wirral and Merseyside, we sell our products at highly competitive prices along with a full manufacturer’s warranty.

Our wide range of garden machinery includes lawnmowers, garden tractors, chainsaws, brushcutters and hedge trimmers. As a factoryapproved sales centre for Mountfield, Countax, Cobra, Hayter, Toro, Ariens, Aspen Fuel, Echo, Husqvarna, Flymo, Bosch, Efco, Wolf, Lawnflite, Mantis, we can provide expert sales and service advice.

Whatever your garden needs, our sales staff are expertly trained to offer clear and impartial advice on the equipment most suited to your requirements.

12 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

If you have a garden machinery problem then we can provide a solution. We also provide expert servicing, repairs and spares parts for all leading makes of garden machinery.

Our grounds maintenance team provide a first-class personal service to all our clients, and you’ll find our prices competitive.

We offer the following grounds management services such as Lawn Maintenance, Hard Surface Weed Control (NPTC Qualified), Hedges, Cleansing, Pressure Washing, Shrubs and Trees. Our current client base varies from small individual companies through to facilities management companies with whom we manage large-scale maintenance programmes throughout the North West.

Customer service is our top priority and it is extremely important to us that all of our customers are getting the right product for the right job. Come to visit us in our showrooms or alternatively call us for expert advice on 0151 609 0652.

The Olive Tree is a lifestyle boutique where you will find inspiration for your home as well as perfect gifts for friends and relations. We pride ourselves on our customer service and are always happy to offer help and advice.

Interiors and Gifts An eclectic collection of unique and stylish home furnishings with lighting, interiors and accessories to enhance your home. The Olive Tree has a wide selection of jewellery, toiletries, candles and fragrances for both ladies and gentlemen which are complemented by an extensive choice of cards to suit all occasions.

Baby Boutique We are proud stockists of Sarah Louise, Emile et Rose and Frugi.

We also offer an expansive collection of children’s accessories including blankets, soft toys, books and much more.

Pre-School Orange Tree Toys, Jellycat, Little Dog, Rufus Rabbit, Hape and Marbel are just a few of the names that can be discovered in our pre-school section.

Our stock includes an extensive collection of traditional toys, pull alongs, push alongs, educational aids, playtents and construction themed toys together with a diverse range of clothing from birth to the age of five years.

Founded in 2009 and based in Brimstage Courtyard, our wide range of beautifully made children’s clothing, home furnishings, gifts, cards, Christening, Communion and special occasion wear have been carefully selected from the UK and Europe, for that special purchase or a unique gift for friends and relatives.

No 2 Brimstage Courtyard, Brimstage Lane, Brimstage, Wirral. CH63 6JA. Telephone: 0151 342 9393 E-mail:enquiries@flowersbytheolivetree.co.uk

www.flowersbytheolivetree.co.uk

Christening and Communion The Olive Tree carries a beautiful array of Christening attire.

Full length and ballerina style Christening dresses together with a delightful selection of rompers and suits with matching hats in various colours. To complement, we offer shawls, bibs, tights and shoes.

Our wide range of stunning Communion dresses, veils, tiaras, jewellery and tights comes with an excellent gifting service. We are trained in the preparation of ceremonial occasions, have full changing facilities, and will endeavour to help these precious times off to an excellent start.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 13

TONY’S BARBER SHOP EST. 1970

Modern and Traditional Gents Barbers

W NE COLUMN

By Graham Simpson, Whitmore & White

Well, we’ve had the hustle and bustle and general festive merriment that was Christmas and now we are into 2016. We’d like to say a massive thank you to every one of our customers for giving us a Christmas to remember here at Whitmore & White!

We are now heading into February and the wet and windy December of 2015 seems a long time ago, albeit replaced by, well, typical winter weather I suppose. So what wines will we be drinking to help keep the chill out? Below is a selection of six of our best ‘winter warmers’ to put a rosy glow on your cheeks.

Casa Silva ‘Angostura’ Chardonnay (£12.95) Let’s start with a white. “A white!?” I hear you cry. “In winter? Surely that’s not a warming wine?” Well this one is, I can assure you. It’s a full-bodied Chilean Chardonnay, with buttery oak and gallons of tropical fruit notes. Devilishly delicious and great with roast chicken.

Weltevrede ‘Cigarbox’ Shiraz (£10.95) This is a wine that does exactly what it says on the tin (well, bottle to be precise). It’s a rich and ripe South African red wine, with toasty oak and notes of, yes, you guessed it, cigar boxes. Perfect with a big hearty beef casserole or vegetarian chilli.

Vinaceous ‘Raconteur’ Cabernet Sauvignon (£14.95)

Established in Liverpool in the 1920s, Tony’s Barber Shop is now run by the 5th generation family member, Brendan.

They continue to offer the traditional crafts of gent’s hairdressing. Tony’s barber shop is one of Heswalls’ iconic businesses with its unique relaxed vibe.

Brendan and his staff offer haircuts for men and children of all ages including toddlers for their first haircuts.

Men

Traditional Haircuts Modern Styled Cuts • Beard Trimming Wet Shaves • Cut-Throat Shaves

Children

Winters wouldn’t be complete without a big Aussie red. This one is from Western Australia and more specifically Margaret River. The wine is lushly ripe with blackcurrant, chocolate and mint notes. Try this one with shoulder of lamb or aubergines cooked in a simple ragu sauce.

Cien-y-Pico Doble Pasta Tintorera (£12.95) A bit of a mouthful, in more ways than one. All you need to know about this fantastic Southern Spanish red is that it is made using grapes harvested from 100-year-old Garnacha (Grenache) vines and if you are a Chateauneuf-du-Pape person, then this is right up your street, but at half the price. Full-bodied, with notes of black fruit and wild herbs. Perfect with hearty sausage dishes.

The Predator Old Vines Zinfandel (£17.95) Back by popular demand, we thought this wine had been and gone, but thankfully its UK distributor saved it from a vinous wasteland and we now have it back in store to the grateful cheers of its growing band of supporters. The epitome of smooth and smoky, this is an absolutely perfect wine to have with a big, juicy rib-eye steak.

Zenato ‘Ripassa’ Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore (£19.95)

Traditional Haircuts Modern, Stylish Haircuts

A huge Italian wine. This is the closest to its big brother, the Amarone, I think we will ever get a Ripasso wine. Rich, ripe and succulent with heart-warming black cherry and redcurrant fruit, smooth tannins and an almost infinitesimal finish. This needs a rich cheese, such as mature Cheddar or Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Toddlers

Pop in and check these wines out. We have plenty of wines to choose from, so if none of the above floats your boat, just tell us what your style is and we will be more than happy to help.

Baby First Cuts • Toddler Cuts Tony’s Barbers shop supports the charity Checkemlads.

242A Telegraph Road, Heswall CH60 7SG

Telephone: 0151 342 4777 www.tonysbarbersheswall.co.uk

Tony’s Barbers – more than just a haircut!

14 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

Until next time, drink well but drink responsibly. Graham.

Refreshingly different, Munros is an independent menswear shop catering for the discerning customer

237 Grange Rd, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 2PH Tel: 0151 666 2876 • Email: bespokemunro@yahoo.co.uk

www.bespokemunro.com Munros, which was originally Ian Munro Gentleman’s Outfitters, started in Dorking in 1956. Jock Munro named his shop after his son, Ian Munro, with current owner John Pratt joining the business in 1970. John has always considered Jock his mentor and has strived to maintain Jock’s original standards of excellent customer service, quality and panache.

John purchased the business in 1997 and shortly afterwards opened another store in West Sussex with his wife Jane.

In November 2015, John and Jane opened a new store in Birkenhead after deciding that retirement was too quiet! The old Pykes Jewellers shop proved the perfect location and is popular with the local community.

The new manager, Miriam Hamilton, comes with four years’ experience with another well-known menswear brand and continues the personal care, advice and styling John has always been known for. We are able to cater for all ages, sizes and requirements from a first suit to bespoke tailoring as well as a wedding hire service.

16 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

My name is Katey and I’m delighted to introduce myself.

It is with unimaginable pride and immeasurable happiness that we can finally announce we are the ecstatic new owners of Earth Flowers Ltd. We have to offer great thanks to former proprietor Anne Good for raising this beautiful business and we are very lucky to continue this legacy with Earth’s own fabulous florists Linda Cleary and Danielle Storton. Between the three of us, we have 45 years’ floristry experience.

We shall be continuing to nurture this beautiful florists which has been established since 1997 and we all wish Anne the happiest of retirements.

When I began my floristry journey, I quickly became aware of Anne Good and Earth along with its wonderful reputation and the standard of work quickly became my aspiration. When I saw this opportunity was up for grabs, I was excited by the possibilities. After months of hard work, I officially became the new owner on the 20th January.

It has been fifteen years since I started floristry and four years since I opened my own business, Blue Orchid – a wedding boutique which sits proudly on Market Street in Hoylake. Blue Orchid is home to some of Merseyside’s most sought-after wedding suppliers – Cheryl Carden of Pink Sherbet Stationery Designs, Sandy and Dave Smith of PixSmith’s Photography, Sue Gates of Bella’s Cake Pantry, Stephanie and Jennifer of The Wirral Wedding House, Anne Murphy Origami specialist and of course ourselves! It is with the wonderful support and belief of these colleagues who have quickly become friends and of course all of my wonderful family that we have had the courage to take this leap.

I am overwhelmed with the love and support of all of Earth’s customers too, many of whom I’ve been lucky enough to meet over this past week.

Huge gratitude goes Linda and Danielle who have welcomed me to Earth with open arms and introduced me to all of the loyal customers and neighbours in Heswall. I look forward to working many more years alongside these girls continuing to focus all our efforts on providing the most beautiful flowers of the best quality to lots of happy customers.

Richmond Boys Club Football Team Brian Chegwin who now lives in Ventura, California, USA, has sent us this photograph from 1955.

Brian explains: “I recently came across this photograph and thought that you may want to include it in one of your future issues. It was taken in 1955 and shows the trophy-winning Richmond Boys Club football team from Heswall, of which I was a member. As you can imagine we were quite proud of ourselves at the time.

I read your magazine online and will be interested to see if any of your readers recognize any of the team from what is 60 years ago?

Players back row L to R: David Steel, Colin Parry, Glyn McClarnon, Robin McKenna, Norman Rourke, Bobby Wilson, Mr Tommy Oxton.

Front row L to R. David Oxton, Barry Johnson, John Clarkson, Brian Chegwin (myself) and Chas Jones.

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HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 17

Dr ZA Parker BSc BChD

Pensby Dental is a small and personal independent practice that offers a standard of care that will exceed all your expectations.

Dr Joe Parker and his team pride themselves on providing a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and prompt professional service and are particularly experienced with helping anxious patients.

As well as providing routine family dentistry that includes prevention, hygiene and restorative care, Dr Parker also offers invisible braces, teeth whitening, cosmetic dentistry, and dental implants including zygoma implants. Hygiene appointments are available as regularly as you want them – in fact it is now no longer a requirement to see the dentist first (or even to be a regular Pensby Dental patient).

Free consultations are also available with Dr Parker to chat through any dental issues you may have, be they large or small.

So if 2016 is the year you are going to improve, whiten or straighten your smile, give Gill a call on 0151 648 5098.

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67 Ridgewood Drive, Pensby, Wirral CH61 8RF 18 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

LOVE YOUR KITCHEN, LOVE THE PLANET Peter Brett, the owner of Oliver Green Kitchens, 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.

This good reputation has recently helped us to be appointed the retailer for the whole of the North West to provide Puustelli kitchens – in particular, the ecologically designed Miinus range made in Finland predominantly from bio-composite. So we can now offer all the traditional kitchens and the option of a Puustelli Miinus kitchen.

NEW SHOWROOM NOW OPEN The Glass Room, Oaktree Court, Mill Lane, Ness CH64 8TP

Telephone Peter: 07745 451001 Email: peter@olivergreenkitchens.co.uk Website: www.olivergreenkitchens.co.uk

Mark Kinnish tells readers about George McGrath at Dale Farm and the changes since he’s been gone. used as an office for Dan the Ranger), and a holiday bungalow for people during the summer months. The holiday cottage is no longer there as it was demolished in 2007 to make room for a new building to be used as a dining room for the day centre.

Margaret McGrath died in 1923 and George died in 1949. Their son, Bill, bought it in 1950 along with his sister Edith and they kept the farm until 1973 when it went to auction and was bought by the Council. Today the farm is a horticultural adult day centre for adults of Wirral with learning difficulties.

Since the McGraths have been gone, there have been many changes but, as a lot of people who remember the old farm will know, if you look very carefully you can still get that feeling of the old farm and the McGraths back then. The farm is still doing great and will continue to do so, but we should all remember the history and the McGraths who did so much – their legacy will always remain. *Mark’s latest book Dale Farm – The History and Now* is now on sale at Just Gents barbershop in Irby village and at Dale Farm in the Farm Shop. Price £4.00

George and Margaret McGrath

George McGrath was born in County Cavan in Ireland (now part of Southern Ireland). His first job was working as a labourer at Hillsborough, the house of the Marchioness of County Down. But before George moved to Heswall, he progressed in his career and became a section gardener. It was after this that he moved to Great Britain and came to live in Heswall. And while he lived in Heswall, he met and married Margaret Price sometime in the late 1800s.

They decided then to move down to Nailsea, near Bristol. In 1896 their daughter Edith was born while they were living there. Round 1902, they decided not to carry on living there because Margaret wasn’t in the best of health and, as her family were in Heswall, it made more sense to move back up.

During that time, Dale Farm in Oldfield Road was empty. Robert Barlow was then the owner, having taken over from his uncle James Barlow who had died a couple of years before. Robert by then had moved out and let the farm out to the Goodwin family (mentioned in my new book Dale Farm – The History and Now*).

Robert had moved to a bungalow down in the Lower Village, but died sometime after.

By 1902, the Goodwins had moved out and the McGraths moved in as tenants. It was a dairy farm, so there were quite a number of animals at the farm. On the 5th August 1920, George became the new owner when he bought Dale Farm at auction. After he had bought it he felt they needed more money to keep the farm going, so he decided to build a holiday let (also mentioned in my new book). He built two bungalows – one at the old entrance to the farm as a long-term rental property (which is still there today, but now 20 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

Margaret McGrath and son Bill at the Farmhouse around 100 years ago

Heating Maintenance & Breakdown Services Your Central heating boiler is a most efficient appliance. With its supply of constant hot water and its comfort giving warmth, it is classed as a friendly member of the household. Like any member of the household its repays care and attention with years of loyalty, efficiency and safety.

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Shop Where the Professionals Shop!

Customers on the Wirral are particularly well served

by Bromborough Paints, as branches in Bromborough, Birkenhead, Chester and Liverpool ensure easy access to the most comprehensive range of paints and wallcoverings in the area.

Founded in 1948 and a family owned business, Bromborough Paints is the preferred choice of the professional painter and decorator. Over the past 68 years, the business has gone from strength to strength, expanding to 15 branches across the North West (from Shrewsbury in Shropshire, to Kendal in Cumbria) and staying true to its core values – selling quality products at the best prices, underpinned by top quality service and advice.

At the Bromborough showroom we stock more than 20,000 products under one roof, including all the major paint brands such as Dulux and Crown as well as designer paints from Farrow & Ball, Conran and Earthborn. We can also match paints to virtually any colour sample provided, via our Dulux and Crown advanced s pectrophotometer mixing machines.

Our 65-foot-long book bar holds more than 300 wallpaper pattern books, (including designer brands such as Cole & Son, Farrow & Ball, Harlequin, Osborne & Little and Sanderson) and there are over

22 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

1,000 wallpaper patterns held in stock, available to buy and hang the same day!

Venture upstairs at our Bromborough branch to our coffee shop, Café Kava, providing a truly unique coffee experience in a relaxing cafe environment.

Using only the best freshly ground espresso beans, our friendly baristas will create lattes, cappuccinos and much more to satisfy even the most passionate coffee lover. Café Kava also serves a range of light refreshments, such as freshly made sandwiches, toasties, wraps and mouth-watering cakes.

So, whether you wish access to the broadest range of wallpapers and paints from the largest independent decorators merchant in the North West or just want to relax and enjoy a freshly made coffee, we invite you to shop where the professionals shop and take advantage of our comprehensive product range, competitive pricing, friendly staff and expert advice.

To find out more about Bromborough Paints, visit www.bromboroughpaints.co.uk or call 0151 3341237. You can even follow us on Twitter and Facebook for latest the news and updates.

Beauty that’s more than skin deep Rob Jackson checks out the next move for Sarah White Laser & Aesthetics – to Murrayfield Hospital!

A brief stroll down a typical high street will tell you that the UK’s aesthetics industry is booming. However, as is often the case, the regulatory industry is struggling to keep up. So how can you have the treatment you want in a risk-free, medically sound environment, from fully qualified nurse practitioners, doctors and therapists? As I found out recently Sarah White Laser & Aesthetics and Murrayfield Hospital now offer a very exciting solution.

First of all I have to point out that Sarah White herself, who looks the best possible advertisement for her own treatments, is not your average aesthetic practitioner. Far from it! Sarah is an Advanced Medical Nurse Practitioner and Trainer with over 20 years medical experience. Sarah is fully registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and is a member of the Royal College of Nursing and is professionally trained to the highest standard. What’s more, over the years Sarah’s practice has built an enviable client base through the best form of advertising possible – word of mouth recommendation from satisfied clients. It’s not unusual for patients to jet in from as far afield as Dubai and Miami, as well as more familiar locations from all over the North West.

That satisfaction rating is poised to rise even further now that Sarah White is moving to the next level and opening a brand new surgery at Spire Murrayfield, Wirral’s own private hospital. The fact that the development is a very welcome one for both partners speaks volumes about the professional quality of the treatment available. Indeed, I was reliably informed that the accreditation procedures have been as rigorous as they are for the hospital’s own consultants. The field may be cosmetic, but the professionalism could not be deeper.

As well as impressive qualifications, great experience and an enviable client base, is there anything else Sarah White Laser & Aesthetics could offer prospective customers, I ventured?

There is, and it can be summed up in a single word – passion.

By listening to clients concerns and building a solid relationship they safely aim to achieve the best possible results ensuring that you are in the safest hands. Sarah and her team of Dr Fiona McRae, fully qualified therapists and reception team are nothing if not dedicated to delivering the best, most cutting-edge procedures the industry has developed worldwide. If there’s a conference on safety and beauty, literally anywhere in the world, it’s pretty likely Sarah White will be there. Indeed, they see it as their mission to check out the very latest procedures from London, Paris and New York, and make them available right here on Wirral.

So what treatment can patients expect? There’s a wide range on offer at Sarah White Laser & Aesthetics including Soprano Ice laser hair removal, skin tightening, wrinkle relaxing injections, dermal filler and medical grade skin peels using SkinCeuticals and Neostrata, with Elemis Skin Care products and Spa treatments which will be readily available. What surprised me was that one of the fastest growing markets is men. Whether it’s removing hair where it’s not wanted, or restoring it where it is, it seems that we guys have shed any inhibitions that we might once have had!

And does all this choice, quality and professionalism come at a premium price, I ask? Not at all! Prices at Sarah White are extremely competitive. Indeed, there’s an initial ten-minute consultation that’s entirely free of charge. Nor is there ever any pressure – you’re left to take your time, and make sure you’re getting exactly what you want.

It’s all about helping you feel better in your own skin – literally.

Altogether, Sarah White at Murrayfield is set to prove a great asset to the area. The new surgery is due to open within the month, while laser treatments are already available. I’ve scheduled my next visit already, so watch this space!

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 23

All in a day’s work!

Rob Jackson discovers how Murrayfield’s new Day Care Unit is transforming healthcare on Wirral Most important of all, however, was the ambience of the unit.

Everything is geared to making the experience as pleasant, convenient and stress-free as possible for patients. For example, the three operating theatres are now just a few feet away, through the unit’s new private door. This means there’s no need to parade through corridors in your theatre gown. Similarly, toilets are close at hand. While if a Consultant needs to see his or her patient in a hurry, they’re just the other side of the door.

Everything is on a more friendly, human scale. For people who may be feeling a little anxious or vulnerable, it can makes all the difference. Even visitors are now well catered for, with a dedicated visitors’ room complete with television.

It may not have been making the headlines, but one of the most important trends in healthcare in recent years has been the dramatic rise of day care treatment. Just a few years ago, operations such as hernias or gall bladders could have meant several nights in hospital. Today? They can be done in an afternoon! You can be admitted in the morning, receive your treatment and be wrapped up warm at home before teatime.

How good is that?

It’s certainly good news for patients in the Wirral, not least because of a very important recent event at Thingwall’s Spire Murrayfield Hospital. On January 18th the hospital’s brand new Day Care Unit opened. It means local patients can now look forward to faster and more convenient treatment for a panoramic range of conditions from colonoscopies to cosmetic surgery.

A £330,000 investment Altogether, the investment in new day care facilities has cost a cool £330,000, and comes hot on the heels of similar investments at Murrayfield in recent years. It says much about how important the Wirral facility is to Spire Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest healthcare providers. It’s also a sign of Spire’s continuing commitment to delivering a world class service, at the cutting edge of healthcare technology. What’s more, in this day and age it’s also interesting to note that the project, which was delivered by Quest Interiors, came in on time and to budget – even with changes to the original specification.

I went along to the opening day for myself last week, and Matron and Head of Clinical Services Julie Watkinson was understandably proud to show me round the new facility. First impressions were that it’s a major step forward from the previous version. Second impressions confirmed it. Where before there were just eleven beds, now there are seventeen. Where there were blank walls, now every one of the self-contained bedrooms has its own TV. Where before there was dull-looking carpet, now there’s smart laminate flooring, which not only looks brighter but also contributes to infection prevention.

24 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

What struck me as a particularly ingenious feature is the way the new Day Care Unit deals with the controversial issue of mixed wards. And it’s simple - there aren’t any! So how that can work? Well, there are two separate areas, one with ten beds, the other seven. On any given day, Julie Watkinson and her team assess the level of demand for care and allocate the patients accordingly. There is no possibility of a lady being allocated to the gentlemen’s ward, or vice versa.

Day in, day out In keeping with the trends in healthcare outlined, around 70% of treatment at Murrayfield is now day care rather than in-patient.

Indeed, now that the new Day Care Unit is open, radically increasing the number of beds available, catering for any further changes. Given the busy lives so many of us lead these days this can only be a benefit, meaning more time with your family and less time off work.

Surgeon’s Mercy Mission Ali Juma, a well-respected and well-known top plastic surgeon who usually works at the Spire Murrayfield Hospital has just spent eight days in Jordan on a mercy mission to rebuild the shattered bodies and lives of Syrian refugees.

Indeed, the average stay for day case surgery has now come down to just two and a half hours, while even the maximum likely is only five hours. The list of procedures now covered by day care is lengthening all the time, too. For example, ‘day care’ now includes: Diagnostics such as gastroscopies whereby a thin, flexible tube called an endoscope looks inside the oesophagus (food pipe), using a camera and light to check symptoms and confirm diagnoses.

Orthopaedic procedures treating conditions such as CTS or carpal tunnel syndrome, a very common condition causing tingling sensations, numbness and pain in the hands and fingers.

Cosmetic procedures such as mini-facelifts and blepharoplasties, an operation to correct disfigurations of the eyelids.

We’re listening On my previous visits to Murrayfield, it has been impressed upon me how committed Hospital Director Alison da Silva and her management team are to listening to patients, and acting on their feedback when appropriate. No way is this one of those institutions that rest on their laurels!

In this case, ‘the survey said’ that the existing day care facilities were starting to look a bit tired, and in need of a facelift. Now, this is hardly surprising, given the extent to which they’re used these days with the growing need for day care. However, in an organisation like Spire Healthcare this was never going to be used as an excuse for inertia. As mentioned, the group has a total commitment to delivering world class healthcare, and a major element of that is the patient experience. Increasingly, this means the day care patient experience. And, as well as the quality of treatment and clinical facilities available, this means the physical environment itself and the atmosphere it generates.

Today, Murrayfield’s new Day Care Unit is totally fit-for-purpose, up-to-date - and designed to remain so for some time. Now that the facility is firmly in place, Julie Watkinson, her staff and Murrayfield Consultants are rolling up their proverbial sleeves and focusing on making sure that the patient care remains world class as well. I’m sure they’ll succeed.

They have fled their own country to live in camps in Jordan where Ali and a team of international plastic surgeons, sponsored by the American-based charity LEAP Global Missions, have been treating them at a charity hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman.

Ali, 53, who has more than 23 years’ experience in plastic surgery, said: “We treated people with various types of injuries, from bomb injuries, explosions, shrapnel, gunshots and even from domestic injuries. It was a wonderful experience, but a very humbling one.

“These people are homeless, penniless, they’ve lost friends and family, but they’re still proud and they were so grateful to us.

“One patient we treated was a 10 month old boy with 15 per cent scalds which had not been treated for three months, but we were able to do skin grafts on a large portion of the scald. The first dressing showed 100 per cent graft take. He needs further treatment, this will be carried out soon.”

Ali, and the LEAP surgeons, who were mainly American, were joined by a team from Turkey for part of the time they were there and also worked alongside local hospital staff.

They worked every day treating people who were from refugee camps 45 miles from Amman and who were living in difficult conditions with rain and extremely cold temperatures.

Ali, who lives in Aigburth and is married with two young children, added: “I will definitely return. I have discussed this with my wife and she is very supportive. I would like to go out there when the opportunity arises and I’m sure Spire Murrayfield will continue to support me in this as well.

“It’s very satisfying and gratifying to be out there doing something which I have been trained to do. The emotional side kicks in but so does the professional side.

“The little kids break your heart, they all break your heart.You see people younger than me who look older than me because they have had so much stress in their lives.

“They’re fighting and killing each other out there, however, what matters most is preserving life and limb. We’ve kept in touch with the surgeons there. They’re very capable and well trained and are doing very well with limited resources and I would like to do something to support them in future.”

Ali trained in London and in Merseyside, and worked in the NHS for 27 years, the last 12 years as a consultant plastic surgeon, before becoming fully private in his practice at Murrayfield.

He found out about LEAP Global Missions and decided to get involved and the trip to Jordan was his first for the charity, which provides free specialised surgical services to people in need across the world. In nearly a quarter of a century the charity has been in operation, it has delivered more than 9,000 free surgeries in 21 countries.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 25

Remaining events of 2015-2016 Programme

Summer visits to be announced in Spring Newsletter.

Tuesday February 16th – Heswall Hall 8pm

Meetings normally include an update by the Chairman on matters of current interest to the Society. Please bring a friend – visitors are welcome. Tea, coffee and biscuits are usually served before talks, and at the AGM between the formal business and the speaker.

“History of Liverpool Botanical Gardens 1802-1916” by Steve Lyus Tuesday March 22nd – Heswall Hall 8pm AGM followed by “Turnpikes to Motorways”

by Gavin Hunter 26 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

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Contact Mike on 07584 064288 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 27

Coffee mornings held by Heswall Soroptimists

Heswall Soroptimists have taken advantage of the Government initiative UK Aid Match scheme by organising coffee mornings to raise funds for WaterAid and Mary’s Meals. As part of the scheme, the Government pledges to match public donations to charities which focus on poverty reduction in developing countries The work undertaken by Water Aid is familiar to most people, but Mary’s Meals is less well known. The motto of this Scottish based charity is ‘Feed Our Future’ and its focus is to address the problem of the 59 million children in the World who do not attend school and the many more who go hungry each day. They base their work in schools in developing countries by providing every child who attends with a nutritious meal. Often, this is the only meal a child will receive that day, and so far, Mary’s Meals is feeding over a million children each school day.

Coffee mornings were held in the homes of Anne Mckillop’s, Sue Donovan (helped by Judith Cooke) and President Jean Schroeder.

Raffles, tombola and nearly new stalls were among the many activities organised at each event and fellow Soroptimists, family members, friends, neighbours, young and old attended these very enjoyable occasions. Altogether, the coffee mornings raised £1,073 for Mary’s Meals and £500 for WaterAid, and, of course, when matched pound for pound by the Government, this will result in substantial sums for these most worthy charities.

Heswall Council School

“The ghostly figure of Nora MacDermott, who looked like a fine summer mist to an observer’s eye, watched from amongst the trees. This had been her home, still was her home, as her spirit would dwell in the four walls of this cottage for eternity.”

Set in Irby, Beggarman’s Cottage tells the story of Nora, a poor Irish girl in the 19th century who was destined to live as the dutiful wife to a domineering husband. Unable to speak much English and without her own money, she remained unhappily in Beggarman’s Cottage, so-called by later generations as it becomes a place of shelter for the homeless.

In the spring of 1967, Alison takes refuge in the cottage from her similarly abusive husband who spends his money on alcohol and refuses to allow his wife to work. Nora watches on, bound to the dilapidated cottage, as Alison begins to take steps to free herself and her young son Connor from her husband Graham’s control Vivienne Dockerty vividly recreates the landscape of her own childhood on the Wirral and crafts a spooky tale that will satisfy fans of ghost stories and historical fiction alike.

About Vivienne Dockerty Vivienne has written seven books – Innocence Lost, A Woman Undefeated, Dreams Can Come True, Ping Pong Poms and Shattered Dreams, A Distant Dream and Her Heart’s Desire – four of which were based on her family. Vivienne was born on the Wirral in 1947. She divides her time between the UK and Australia, where she lives with her husband of 40 years, daughter and two grandchildren.

Pat Lawton has sent us this photograph which she believes is of children at the Council School in Heswall. Do you recognise yourself, or a friend or relative?

28 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

@heswallmagazine

‘I’m a teacher get me out of here!’

The Heswall Primary School PTA were raising money for the school and children paid to vote for teachers to take part in a competition using only their mouths to find sprouts, etc!

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HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 29

Royal Dee Yacht Club celebrates 200th anniversary

1847 Racing Cutters of The Royal Dee Yacht Club rounding the buoy by Henry Melling, Commodore

In 2015, Royal Dee Yacht Club – one of the oldest yacht clubs in the UK, with a rich history of racing and events – celebrated its 200th anniversary.

The club, whose membership is invitation only, continues to operate without a clubhouse, with meetings staged at hotels, other yacht clubs and members’ houses. In the past, meetings have been held at the Trinity House on Hilbre Island, The Hop Pole Inn in Chester, and Mostyn Arms at Parkgate.

The anniversary of the 135-member club coincides with the bicentenary of another distinguished body, the Royal Yacht Squadron.

The Royal Dee was founded in 1815 by a small group of yachtsmen on Hilbre Island in the Dee Estuary. The aim was to promote yacht racing and the sport of sailing – still the main focus of the club today.

The club went on to be granted Royal Patronage on November 1st 1847. An edition of The Chester Chronicle, published four days later on November 5th, recorded: “The Dee Yacht Club has now the right to assume the prefix of ‘Royal’, as our Most Gracious Majesty the Queen Victoria has honoured this infant association of nautical amateurs by becoming the Patroness.”

In 1927, Royal Warrants were withdrawn for all yacht clubs but reinstated in 1985. By an oversight at the Admiralty, The Royal Dee Yacht Club was omitted from the list. After a campaign by member Captain Richard Yeoward, a replacement warrant was issued in 1997 and this was celebrated at our Trafalgar Day Dinner.

The Club Flag was originally a white burgee with red anchor and the uniform was: • Waistcoat and Trousers, blue or white, according to the season; • Short blue Pea Jacket with anchor buttons; • Black Neckerchief and black Skull Cap with badge (red anchor on buff ground); • Blue Surtout or blue dress Coat for dinner (club officers – Commodore, Vice Commodore, Secretary and Treasurer – were distinguished by having Gold Tassels to their caps and initials of office in gold thread).

When the club was given Royal patronage in 1847, it received a warrant for its own defaced Blue Ensign of The Sovereign’s Fleet in the form of ‘A crown over a wolf’s head erased, lower half gules’ and the burgee, blue with a crown over a wolf’s head as the ensign.

The Royal Dee Yacht Club organised a regatta in 1830 at Parkgate on the River Dee, which was then a bigger port than Liverpool. For those familiar with the area today, it may be hard to believe as marshes now spread almost across to Wales, leaving just a channel, but at the time there was plenty of water.

During many of its earlier years the club held its regattas at Hilbre Island; however, in more recent times it has been involved in the Menai Strait Regattas. The Menai Strait Regatta is a hugely important part of the annual programme and the club provides a number of trophies which represent much of its history.

30 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

In the late 1960s, The Royal Dee helped to establish Irish Sea Offshore racing with the Royal Ocean Racing Club and The Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association (ISORA). The club still supports ISORA and provides some prestigious trophies – the impressive Wolf’s Head Trophy presented by David Pearson, a past Commodore, is the overall winner’s trophy.

The Royal Dee Irish Sea Offshore Championship 2015, a new event and part of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, is run with the assistance of The National Yacht Club. This year The Lyver Trophy Race from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire, which was run in association with Liverpool Yacht Club and RORC, formed part of the series. It was followed by offshore day races, with the courses planned to ensure that the daily prize-giving was well attended. The club also participates in team racing, organising a Keel Boat event sailed in J80s at Plas Menai in the autumn and has entered a team in the last two Wilson Trophies at West Kirby Sailing Club with great success.

Cocktail party and dinner at Plas Cadnant

Celebrations during 2015 have included a cocktail party and dinner held in the lovely surroundings of Plas Cadnant on the Menai Strait, and a cocktail party held in The National Yacht Club during the Dun Laoghaire Royal Dee Offshore Championship.

The main celebration, the Bicentenary Dinner, was staged in September in the Long Room at Eaton Park, the Duke of Westminster’s estate near Chester. Members and guests were welcomed to the stunning surroundings by the 18th Century Ensemble, a string quartet dressed in period costume playing music from 1815 on baroque instruments. Pre-dinner drinks were served in the historic long room with all of the club’s silver trophies displayed. Dinner was served in the appropriately named Wolf Room with catering by the Michelin starred chef from the Grosvenor Hotel, Chester.

All members will receive a specially commissioned silver label badge featuring the Wolf’s Head presented at the dinner to commemorate the bicentennial year.

Bicentenary Dinner held at Eaton Park.

Club officers: Charlie Jones, Rear Commodore; Derek Matthews, Commodore; Catherine Hartley Hon Secretary; Callum Edge, Vice Commodore; Chris Bird, Hon Treasurer.

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Owner, Norma prides herself on the personal service she provides, including home consultations, where she can advise clients on fabric choice and curtain design. She is able to offer a complete service, including fitting, and dressing. Her shop is located at Claremont Farm Courtyard, Bebington, where customers have the opportunity to browse an extensive range of the latest international fabrics, poles and curtain supplies.

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Royal Dee Offshore Championship start at Dun Laoghaire

Commodores from Royal Mersey and Royal Anglesey, the Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and the Commodore of the Royal Alfred from Dun Laoghaire were guests.

Members and guests while celebrating took the time to reflect on what the Royal Dee Yacht Club does and has achieved both |historically and to the present day. Our purpose has always been to promote yacht racing and support sailing in the North West of England, Wales and Ireland. Membership of the Royal Dee continues to be by invitation only. Members may also be drawn from other yacht clubs resulting in the club being non-partisan. Those invited to join may have achieved something special during their yachting life, they may contribute much to the pastime of yachting or are just outstanding sailors. It is hoped that each member who accepts the invitation will bring to the club their own particular skill set which will assist the club to achieve its aims. Over the years, our members have included world champions, circumnavigators, designers, international race officers, umpires, commodores, boatbuilders and coaches, to name but a few.

One such member was Richard Yeoward, a Past and Honorary Commodore; who sadly, two days after the dinner, crossed the bar.

He was an Honorary Life Member of the RYA and was presented a

RYA Lifetime Commitment Award by Princess Anne, a Patron of the Association of Wrens, an Upper Freeman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators, a member of the Royal Institute of Navigation, a Life Governor of the RNLI, and a Freeman of the City of London.

Richard, a very accomplished yachtsman, shared his knowledge in various ways. An expert on flag etiquette he wrote a book on the subject which can be downloaded from the club’s website, he started and ran the Rhosneigr Boat Owners Association teaching generations to sail on Anglesey. He ran RYA courses from his home and wrote papers for the RYA. The final celebration of RDYC’s bicentenary year was a walk from West Kirby, two miles across the sands at low tide, to Hilbre Island.

The venue, the Mersey Canoe Clubhouse on the island, was chosen as being an appropriate meeting place as it was where RDYC was founded. Members were accompanied by the Commodores of both clubs and treated to early cocktails and nibbles in the Canoe Club’s splendid ‘time capsule’ clubhouse. There was much admiration for the historic photographs and memorabilia, and especially the wooden canoes kept in a store in the undercroft.

Members at Hilbre Island

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 31

Heswall & District Business Association would like to thank the following businesses and organisations for their generous donations to this year’s new Heswall Christmas Lights, along with all those who gave to the collection tins.

The Exchange (£500), Heswall Hall (£500), Jones & Chapman (£500), Round Table (£500), Whitfield Business Hub £250, 107 Dining Room (£200), Revitalaser (£200), Rubens Coffee Shop (£200), Gusto (£200), Hallmark (£200), Parish of Heswall (£200), Principal Pets (£100), Tony’s Barbers (£100), Northwood (£100), Cain of Heswall (£100), Harris Opticians (£100), Gelato UK (£100), Stonebridge Stewart (£100), Gee & Watson (£100), Shack Architecture (£100), Merilyn Phillips (£100), Fonehouse (£100), Mr Snips (£100), Christopher Boynton (£100), Campion Solicitors (£100), Linghams (£100), Whitmore & White (£100), Heswall Society (£100), Bluemoon & Dee Fine Arts (£75), Sue Huntington (£75), Renaissance (£75), Andrew Collinge (£75), Kitchen Design (£75), Goulds (£75), Maison by Emma Jane (£75), Vapour Amour (£75), Taskers (£50), Nova (£50), Heswall Coffee House (£50), Apparel (£50)

Thanks also to the staff at Tesco Heswall for their fundraising efforts raising £300, Martin Brassey for sorting out the lights on the new frames and all the volunteers who helped raise the marquee for the Christmas Market.

32 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

Silverdale Medical Centre Appointments Silverdale may be a traditional family practice, but they are fully up to date when it comes to technology. They offer online services for appointments, prescription requests and patient medical information.

Surgeries are held every morning and afternoon from Monday to Friday. There are 50% pre-bookable appointments available for each doctor, each week, with 50% available on a same-day basis to comply with national standards.

Carers

Dr Thomas Hennessy, Dr Lesley Williams, Dr Alison Williams and Dr Rachael Winters

Silverdale Medical Centre is a family-run GP surgery that has been treating the residents of Heswall and the surrounding districts since the beginning of the century. The practice has patients from many families who have been under their care for several generations, and the team are delighted to encourage this continuity of care while also welcoming new patients.

Originally located in Daryl Road, the practice moved to its current, more central location on Mount Avenue in 1960s.

Silverdale is proud to have an enthusiastic, innovative and friendly team who work collectively to provide patients with a high standard of care which is patient-focused, accessible and responsive. They constantly review and improve existing services while developing new ones. Furthermore, the team pride themselves on running a practice that not only cares for patients, but is also aware of the vital role played by carers and seeks to support them by holding carers meetings and signposting support networks once a month.

The medical centre consists of four doctors: Thomas Hennessy, Alison Williams, Lesley Williams and Rachael Winters. Dr Hennessy started at the practice in the 1980s, and has been a partner for the last 38 years. Last year, two sisters, Alison and Lesley Williams, joined Silverdale and have become partners within the practice.

Dr Winters is the most recent recruit to the organisation, joining in March 2015, and is hoping to become a partner this March. All our doctors cover the full range of general practice in this non-limited partnership. This is actually the first time ever the practice has ever had four GPs and this has allowed us to support even more people.

The doctors are ably assisted by two practice nurses, a community nurse, a health care assistant and a dedicated reception team.

Completing the team at Silverdale is Practice Manager Alexander Hennessy who has been in charge of the practice for the last year.

Alex told Heswall Magazine: “It is an honour to keep this as a family-orientated practice. I have been here for nine years. I’m actually the youngest practice manager on the Wirral, and Alex quite possibly in the UK. While working here I Hennessy have been studying towards Open University Degree in Business and Leadership Management Honours d edicating half my time to work and weekends studying. I am a determined, self-motivated and driven character who focuses on working hard to gain positive results which has reflected on the achievement within our recent CQC inspection and is something I am extremely proud of.”

The Quality Care Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Their recent inspection of Silverdale saw the practice awarded a ‘good’ rating in all categories.

Carers provide help and support to a family member, friend or neighbour who cannot manage on their own, due to physical or mental illness, disability, substance misuse or frailty due to old age.

Carers can be any age and many carers do not see themselves as carers for various reasons.

The team at Silverdale Medical Centre offers support and assistance to carers. Alex says: “We feel it is very important for carers to have an opportunity to come together and connect with one another. As part of our scheme we are introducing a new ‘carers club’ which will be held monthly.”

If you care for someone, please register with the practice by collecting and completing a ‘Do You Care for Someone?’ leaflet from reception. You will then be provided with a Carers Information Pack to help you support your own health and wellbeing. Your own details will remain confidential within your GP records and will not be shared with other agencies.

Patient Participation Group The Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a collection of practice patients who meet up with the aim of discussing and evaluating the surgery and decide what could be improved or let the team know what is working well from a patient’s perspective. The group works closely with the practice manager and partners to ensure that patients’ concerns and wishes are known.

Charity Silverdale Medical Centre team also do a lot of charity work. Most recently they joined forces with Macmillan Nurses and are holding regular competitions to raise money. The plan is to do this quarterly to continue to raise funds – last month they raised £280.

If you require any further information about Silverdale Medical Centre, take a look at the surgery website at www.silverdalemedicalcentre.nhs.uk, or contact Alex on 0151 342 6128.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 35

Over coming issues we will be serialising A History of Thingwall Recreation Centre – a personal memoir by the late Frank Nicholson

Preface by Peter Smeaton, Editor Thingwall Recreation Centre emerged as one result of the surge of national relief following the end of WW2. The idea of a Bowls Club took root in a group of ARP wardens, about to be disbanded in 1944, who valued the camaraderie established during more difficult times and sought to maintain this spirit through the formation of a sports club.

Among the first group of members was a young man, Frank Nicholson, in his late twenties. Frank, a keen bowler, quickly became immersed in what for him was to be a lifelong commitment to the institution. He and his then colleagues could hardly have hoped that from their hopeful vision would grow the well established Centre which is now taken for granted in the heart of Wirral.

We are lucky that Frank took both sporting and administrative roles over a long period during the development of the Centre – these provided him with a unique insight into how a Local Recreation Centre can grow, what difficulties were faced, and how they were overcome. It is quite staggering to read his account of the way a derelict patch of land was steadily transformed into its present state, by sheer grit and determination and the astonishing foresight and optimism which made the intense physical work achievable.

Internal and external problems are touched upon; he describes personalities, but kindly; and outlines, with discretion the occasional outbursts of emotion which he recognises as arising from different peoples’ ideas on how the Centre should develop. But running through his narrative is the sense of his own deep commitment to the Centre and to the people who use and administer it.

This short memoir is a testament primarily to the people who worked assiduously over many years to build a local Recreation Centre which is an outstanding legacy to their efforts.

But we are especially grateful to Frank himself, not only for his own personal role in the development of the Centre, but for having the courage to commit his memories to paper as unique record of public spirited activities stretching over two generations.

Introduction Someone ought to write the history of this club. How many times have I heard that said? Then finally it was said to me by my wife; and who do you think can or will do that? I asked, after all there aren’t many left who could. There followed a discussion of the possibilities, and they did indeed seem pitifully few. The likeliest candidate, we agreed, was Mr Jack Robbins, a member from the 36 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

very first inaugural meeting, and a man with very good memory.

But Jack was not very well, and would be unable to undertake the task, even if he was so inclined. What about you, you could do it, you were in almost as early as Jack. She said. Oh no! I replied, I’m not sure that I would want to get involved with that, it’s a very big undertaking. And so it went on, but the fact that I am writing this shows that I lost the argument. I usually do with her...

The first task of course was to gather in as much information as I could, and then sort and study the archives of the centre, such as they are. I was very kindly given access to past Minute Books of the deliberations of successive Management Councils, which I hoped would take me right back to the beginning. This, alas, was not to be so, the records pre-1964 do not seem to be in existence now.

Another difficulty was the fact that I left this district in 1953, not returning until 1963, although I did not completely lose touch. My wife maintained her membership throughout this time, attending whist on Monday evenings, and of course we visited friends from time to time. I did however find sundry documents, notes, photographs etc, which have helped me through this period, but most helpful of all, were the many discussions and informative chats that I had with Jack Robbins, who also provided me with some additions for the archives.

The earliest Minute Books for the Bowls section came into my hands and provided me with some valuable information. I must say that extracting useful and interesting information from Minute Books is no easy task, and I was surprised at the amount of time that such an exercise consumes. Nevertheless they are invaluable for providing the signposts and milestones of the journey through the past. Naming personalities in a record such as this must necessarily prove difficult; it was impossible to mention all those people who contributed so much to the development of the Centre over the years, and no offence is intended to those I have not mentioned. My primary interest was in the activators, the leaders and the catalysts, but of course, some of those in supporting roles have inevitably found their way onto the pages.

As to the variability of information sources for different periods, there may be some patchiness of style in the overall history. I have endeavoured not to give a blow by blow, boring account, but to write it as I would tell it to you in a conversation. And of course I have striven to be impartial, and that is not always easy.

If, to some, I seem to have fallen short in this regard, I trust that they will forgive me; to err is human, and for that reason I entitled this record A History of Thingwall Recreation Centre not The History etc.

How did the club start?

Just like any other baby, it was conceived before it was born. When the Thingwall section of the Air Raid Wardens Service was stood down by the Government in 1944, a number of these men, loathe to sever the comradeship that had evolved between them during the long dark nights of the War, discussed the possibility of establishing a club in the district. This was to be a Bowling and Social Club, for which they aspired to a green of their own, and hopefully, a modest Pavilion. To this end, an inaugural meeting was called, held, I believe, in the home of W. D. Parsons of 41 Sparks Lane, and The Thingwall Bowling and Social Club was duly established in October 1944.

This modest objective was not to satisfy for very long. The approach of the War’s end seemed to awake the community, rather as though they were arousing from hibernation, and it seized upon this outlet for its pent up energies. Many people wished to join, and notably, both sexes. A sign of times to come. They raised their sights, and a much more grandiose aim was envisaged; a Village Hall with many varied activities - but I’m moving ahead much too fast.

Back to the Bowling Club; they got to their feet first, as demonstrated by the reproduction of Jack Robbins’ membership card, playing friendly games initially with other warden groups. They

This photograph was taken from the rear garden of No. 50 Barnsdale Avenue across the ground which was the site upon which the bowling greens were constructed. This was taken during the war and No. 50 Barnsdale Avenue was then the home of Jack Robbins’ mother. The footpath leading up to Jack’s rear garden was worn by Jack on his frequent visits to his mother.

This photograph clearly reveals the shallow valley formation of the site. By the way, the footpath approximates quite well to the position and line of a particularly tricky mark on the lower green.

Group of local ARP Wardens taken in 1942

were meanwhile investigating possible sites for a green of their own, while until that happy day they had a Home green at Arrowe Park.

They tried for two possible sites, one near the corner on land in Pensby Road, opposite Whaley Lane and the other on Vyner land on the south-east corner at Thingwall corner, but to no avail – one was too expensive and the other not available.

Now one of the Founding Fathers was R. V. (Bob) Wilson, of 2 Barnsdale Avenue, a director of the Sefron Building Co Ltd who owned the land upon which the Centre now stands. Bob was responsible for the building of the houses in Barnsdale Avenue; I refer, of course, to the pre-war houses, which they had built to the permissible density for those times and which left the Centre’s site as surplus. It was not by any means an attractive plot of land, and indeed it did not look very promising as the site of a bowling green; a rough shallow valley housing a stream, which had been culverted.

Nevertheless, Bob Wilson offered this land at a price of £100, a lot of money then, considering the work that would have to be done.

A brilliant little answer to the financial problem was found, some ground was sold to each of five houses in Sparks Lane for a total sum of £80, leaving the club to find £20 for the rest. That is why today you find that five of the houses that back onto the Bowling Green have extra long gardens. The remaining three houses with normal gardens back onto the car park. The community was much

smaller in those days, as can be judged by the number of post war houses which have since been built in the area, but the growth of membership, the optimism and the enthusiasm made it possible to contemplate the enormous amount of voluntary work that would be required to level off this land. I myself joined in Spring 1945, and as a member of the initially small task force, I well remember our first job, which was to clear an access from the site to Sparks Lane.

The concrete drive you now see, is a great contrast to the jungle which confronted us then, including an oak tree, and there was no money for bulldozers those days.

By now the Executive Committee of Thingwall Bowling and Social club had recognised the need for the formation of separate sections to cater for the activities of the various interests that were already being envisaged. In December 1945 the Bowls Section was formed, and adopted for themselves the title “Thingwall Bowling Club”. I found it very interesting to note that at their inaugural meeting there was a lady present, Ethel Newby, from Pensby Road, near Thingwall Corner. ln 1946, the first handicap list for the club carried the names of twenty six men plus Mrs. E. Newby, so it is clear that women were in from the start. One might say that Mrs Newby was the “Mrs Pankhurst” of Thingwall Bowling Club, although I never did hear of her being chained to any railings. During that year more ladies joined and a mixed foursomes competition was arranged for the end of the season. In 1946 they joined the Heswall and District Amateur Bowling League, and obtained use of No 4 green at Arrowe Park where they remained until 1951.

The first Thingwall Bowling Team pictured at their tempory venue on Arrowe Park circa 1947

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 37

Heswall Arts Festival 2015: Encore

Stephen Hough CBE, international concert pianist and Patron of our Festival is coming to play for us on Sunday 21st February in the beautiful Concert Room of St George’s Hall, Liverpool.

Born in Heswall, Stephen grew up in Thelwall, perhaps not realising then that he would become a great collector of air miles as well as a world-leading, distinguished classical pianist. Indeed, prior to his date with us he will be performing in Miami, Montreal, Dartmouth, San Francisco, Poznan and London. After Liverpool he will be playing some fifteen concerts in America before leaving for a two-month tour of Australia, New Zealand and the Far East. Jet lag is clearly not too much of a hazard for him.

Sunday 21st February is, therefore, a date not to be missed as it is his only concerto performance in the North West this season, and we are delighted that it is associated with Heswall Arts Festival.

Stephen is also a composer, a recording artist for Hyperion, an avid writer and a painter. As if this wasn’t enough, he finds time to work as a Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music and he holds the International Chair of Piano Studies at his alma mater, the Royal Northern College of Music. Two other passions are his collection of hats and a love of Catholicism. He converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of 18 in the teeth of family opposition.

He says he was attracted initially by the music of The Dream of Gerontius (text by Cardinal Newman) and a Mass he heard in Buckfast Abbey. His words are: “Catholicism makes intellectual sense; it is about reality. We aren’t meant to live like angels. I find it quite a flexible, accepting religion.”

The Franz Liszt Concerto No 1 is his choice for our concert. It is perhaps a fitting match for Stephen since both are technically gifted pianists, composers, writers and Roman Catholics. He believes he shares a playing style with his Hungarian predecessor.

“The ideal was not to be pouring with sweat at the piano, it was to be like a sleek racehorse. The style prides a certain kind of elegance and virtuosity.”

Orchestra dell’Arte with conductor Edward Peak will accompany the concerto and also play works by Schubert, Overture in the Italian Style, and Mendelssohn, the Italian Symphony. The concert begins at 3pm and tickets are £15 from www.ticketquarter.co.uk or telephone 07867 528034.

The concert is one of the St George’s Matinee series entitled ‘The Fab Four’, which includes the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in April and a visit from Sacha Rattle, son of Liverpudlian Sir Simon Rattle in May. Sacha is a clarinettist and will perform Weber’s Concerto No 2.

Full information is available on www.dellarte.co.uk 38 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

Make 2016 the year you challenge yourself to support Maggie’s Merseyside at the Clatterbridge

New Year is the perfect time to set yourself a challenge, plan an experience to look forward to and at the same time raise money for Maggie’s, the charity which provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends.

Kathy Wright and Holly Smith (pictured), staff members at Maggie’s Merseyside at the Clatterbridge, have pledged to get fit and have set themselves the target of running the Chester Half Marathon, which takes place on Sunday 15th May. There is a wide range of challenges you can take part in for Maggie’s, with something to suit every level of fitness and adventure, at home and abroad. You could follow in Kathy’s and Holly’s footsteps and take on the Chester Half Marathon, or maybe the Wirral Coastal Walk or Liverpool Marathon. Or you can choose from organised expeditions to far-flung destinations such as the Great Wall of China or Mount Kilimanjaro. To browse events and challenges and to find out more go to: www.maggiescentres.org/challenge.

Kathy Wright Centre Head at Maggie’s Merseyside said: “Last year, Maggie’s Merseyside welcomed 9,500 people affected by cancer and their family and friends. They were able to find the support they needed to help them cope with living with cancer, whether that meant seeking practical advice on anything from benefits to healthy eating, taking part in stress management or relaxation classes, spending time one-to-one with a psychologist or just having a cup of tea at our big kitchen table with people who understand what you’re going through without you having to explain.

“Maggie’s relies entirely on voluntary donations, so by taking on a sponsored challenge, you can help us to make sure that Maggie’s support is available to everyone who needs it across Merseyside and Cheshire this year, next year and in the years to come.”

Holly Smith, fundraiser at Maggie’s, said: “I started with Maggie’s just before Christmas and like many of us this January was looking for a challenge to help me get fit. The perfect motivation for getting my trainers on is seeing the invaluable support the centre provides for people affected by cancer, and wanting to raise funds to ensure we can continue to provide this specialist support. There are some brilliant events taking place across Merseyside and Cheshire throughout the year, so if a half marathon isn’t for you just get in touch for other ways to get fit and get involved.”

Built in the grounds of Clatterbridge Hospital Maggie’s Merseyside is a warm and welcoming place, with qualified professionals on hand to offer an evidence-based core programme of support that has been shown to improve physical and emotional wellbeing.

The centre relies on voluntary donations and aims is to make the biggest difference possible to people living with cancer and their family and friends.

To find out more about Maggie’s call 0151 334 4301 or visit www.maggiescentres.org/our-centres/maggies-merseyside/

2 Broadway Higher Bebington CH63 5NH

152 Wallasey Road Liscard CH44 2AF

8 Rocky Lane Heswall CH60 0BY

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Tel: 348 4083

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ANIMAL MAGIC! An insight into the veterinary world...

Many unfortunate owners will know that having an operation to mend their poor pet’s broken bones is often only the start of helping them through a long period of recuperation. As vets and nurses we do our best to help owners negotiate the many difficulties through these times, mainly by providing practical tips and advice. This is the story of Bobble, one of my own cats, who certainly provided me with a personal insight into the trials and tribulations of recuperative care.

Three years ago, I had returned from a weekend veterinary meeting to be unexpectedly presented with ‘Bobble’. This little teenage hooligan had stolen my wife’s heart while I’d been away and was now firmly settling in. Tired after a long journey (and slightly concerned at our ever-growing feline family), I went for a short nap, but within minutes found Bobble tightly curled up, on my lap and purring away loudly. This then became her trademark behaviour whenever I lay down, along with an obsession for chasing and retrieving hair bobbles – hence her given name!

One September day I was climbing the stairs after lunch, when I noticed that Bobble was having extreme difficulty trying to follow me up. With growing dread, I suddenly realised that her awkward gait was characteristic of a fractured pelvis and that she had most likely been hit by a car. Emergency treatment at the Broadway Practice in Bebington was followed by x-rays and the confirmation of a pelvis broken in three places. The operation was complicated, but we eventually managed to get a perfect pelvic alignment with a contoured metal plate held in place by six screws. Now poor Bobble

just needed strict rest for the next six weeks.

We installed a collapsible puppy cage about the size of a washing machine into our bedroom which gave her just enough space for a cushion, litter tray and feeding bowls.

High levels of sedation-inducing painkillers meant she behaved very well for the first few days.

Then the boredom set in.

Frustration at her confinement soon turned to rebellion. Food and water bowls were regularly turned over and pills spat out. We strongly suspected the litter tray was being missed on purpose, as soon as she learnt that ‘cage-chaos’ earned her a few precious minutes of freedom, while things were being put right.

The water-torture effect of constant, slow, repetitive miaowing through the night was tough for us all.

In time, Bobble was allowed to spend short periods on the hallowed lap, which she obviously loved, although being returned to the cage afterwards would often induce violent complaint. All hair accessories were naturally banned from the bedroom, as the mere sight of an actual bobble was more than Bobble could bear!

Eventually she grew stronger and was confined to the bedroom instead of the cage. A new frustration then developed around attempting to escape into the hall and beyond. Around this time the habit of destroying toilet rolls was started, which certainly seemed to have a therapeutic effect.

Bobble made a full recovery and is once more back into the flow of feline mainstream life. Now, when clients talk about their own cage-resting cat problems, I know EXACTLY what they are going through. Thanks Bobble!

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 39

40 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

How well is your skin ageing?

You can achieve incredible results in your 20s, 40s or 70s (and every age in between).

Tracey Locke, lead clinician at Serenity Clinic Ltd, has some great advice.

Your skin changes and has very different requirements at different stages of life, due to genetic disposition, lifestyle and so on. The good news is, if you take an ’age-specific’ approach to your skin, the results will be literally ‘written all over your face’. I can’t promise you’ll look when 25 when you’re 55 (unfortunately Photoshop doesn’t work on real people), but here are some pointers.

20s: Protect and prevent Your skin should be regenerating at a good rate. The mitochondria (the batteries in our cells) should be working efficiently, producing big fat baby cells to give you a glowing complexion. Unfortunately, not all of us are so lucky and you may have the odd spot or acne outbreak. The key is be gentle and don’t overstimulate the skin.

Focus on: Simple and effective cleansers such as micellar water or gentle antioxidant-rich face washes. A gentler and specific AHA cleanser could be used on a problem skin. Moisturiser is a must – even if your skin is oilier moisturising shouldn’t exacerbate the problem and it’s needed to balance the skin. I recommend a barrier repair treatment moisturiser that does what it says on the label (provides a barrier). SPF 30 to 50 all year and a sun hat will pay dividends as you age.

Treatments: Gentle skin-boosting treatments with a cocktail of antioxidants and hydration. No-needle mesotherapy.

Microdermabrasion. Specialist facials to address problems such as acne scarring or outbreaks.

30s: Spot the signs For most, this is one of the busiest (and often most tiring) decades due to work, etc., and this all affects your skin. There’s another factor to consider, too: hormones, which can cause problems, for example, ‘pregnancy mask’, pigmentation and facial red veins. This is also the decade when you’re most likely to notice your skin starting to age and show fine lines and dark circles.

Focus on: A simple but effective homecare regime to increase cellular turnover and break down intercellular bonds. If you think of the skin as a brick wall, the intercellular bond – made up of secretions from our skin – is the mortar that sets, sticking down dead skin and slowing cell production. Larger pores, pigmentation and generally duller skin will also appear, but these are easily rectified. Use AHAs or BHAs and you’ll start to notice a difference, within two weeks in most cases.

Treatments: Facials with AHAs and BHAs, Vitamins A and C, hyaluronic acid, peptides. Improve tone and texture with non-surgical micro-currents (which specific micro-current treatment depends on individual muscle tone and skin condition).

Baby muscle relaxing injections work really well on the forehead.

The Comcit™ three-in-one facial includes microdermabrasion, micro-channelling, vitamin infusion, lifting and hydrating.

Combination treatments are key from age 30 onwards.

40s: Stop lines in their tracks This is when you’ll see loss of volume, sagging skin, more visible lines, pigmentation (caused by sun damage) and red veins. But there are many things you can do to improve it.

Focus on: Homecare treatments that work on cellular turnover as the skin can become dull due to cornification (build-up of the dead epidermis). Large pores become more visible. Lines and wrinkles.

The ‘footprints’ of ageing, i.e. pigmentation and old scarring, which become more prominent in your 40s.

Treatments: PRP plasma-rich platelet facials (known as the ‘Dracula facial’) with micro-channelling, using your own blood plasma to stimulate collagen, tighten, plump and refine the skin.

Non-surgical face lifting works well on muscle tone – I find the Baxendale Wave works better on this age group and above, combining eye treatments for sagging lids and dark circles (great for men, too). IPL or laser treatments for rejuvenation and red veins.

Dermal fillers and injectables for specific areas of concern (discuss this with a qualified practitioner).

50s and up: Give yourself a lift Sadly everything tends to start to sag a little more as the skin loses elasticity. This can result in drooping eyelids and the onset of the dreaded crêpe neck. Wrinkles become more prominent as skin loosens and age spots are far more likely to appear/multiply. But, all is not lost!

Focus on: Boosting collagen, antioxidants, hyaluronic acid, vitamins A, C and E, AHAs and AHBs. Addressing pigmentation.

Lifting/toning the face, eyes and neck. Add peptides and stem cells into your homecare treatments.

Treatments: Venus Freeze Facial to address loose skin, drooping eyes, etc. This produces new collagen cells known as fibroblasts. Skin tightening to address sagging skin, jowls and neck. Advanced facials and peels to reduce hyper-pigmentation and age spots as well as lines and wrinkles. Light therapy to improve texture and skin tone.

Semi-permanent make-up to combat thinning lips and brows and redefine the face. Dermal fillers and injectables.

At any age use SPF 30 to 50 every day (reapplied regularly) and a hat in the summer months is a must for anti-ageing Serenity Clinic Ltd, 162 Banks Road, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 0RH T: 0151 625 6256 www.serenity-clinic.co.uk HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 41

All Things Auctioneering

by John Bathurst Crane Are these examples art? Are the originators artists? Can they draw and apply paint to canvas to delight the eye? If it is not art, then what is it? Is it manufactured absurdism created to tempt and beguile those seeking novelty in their lives to part with large sums of money and then having to justify their choice for many years to come

Self Portrait with Nude by Dame Laura Knight

I sometimes have a problem with fine art, as pictures seem to me to be a very clear case of clever deception. Less weight and smaller tins for the same price in the supermarket may be considered to be a form of deception, and it keeps us grumbling.

With pictures we accept that ‘deception’ willingly with no questions whatsoever and no grumbles. We choose to believe that a flat, two-dimensional surface is really threedimensional and that pictures have ‘depth’ as revealed in the offing and horizon in maritime pictures and the far distant hills in landscapes.

I suppose it all arose in 1415 in Florence when the architect Filippo Brunelleschi made a painting of the Baptistry in Florence using his recently discovered system of converging parallel lines on the horizon. The artist Masaccio further developed the technique of perspective, which has remained little unchanged for several centuries.

I think pictures are additional windows in a room, so perspective and distant views to horizons of your favourite views of Devon or Hilbre Island, for example, are extremely important and can continue to delight the eye for decades.

Room interiors are still popular subjects as well – ‘a visual enquiry into the private world of another person’ is a nice way to describe them, especially if the subjects are not sitting for a formal portrait group. When travelling on the top deck of an omnibus there are few who can resist the temptation to gaze into electric light-filled sitting rooms with undrawn curtains… Pictures of interiors on your wall enable you to do exactly the same.

Now, what do you make of conceptual art?

An unmade bed, a pile of builder’s common bricks, a taut piece of string with knots tied along its length, a darkened black box into which you place your gloved hands to imagine the shape of the nothingness contained therein, or a electrically illuminated neon sign at the west end of a well-known religious establishment in Liverpool (which was put there on ‘loan’ for a few months – a new location has not been forthcoming).

I will leave you to ponder on these thoughts and come to your own conclusions – I have mine!

I was in Hoylake recently visiting a client who had been recommended to us. I discovered a c1900 postcard depicting the coastal village of Staithes on the north-east coast of Britain near Whitby. Staithes is important for its artist colony from c1895 to c1920. Many villages across Europe and America attracted communities of aspiring artists who fled the lure of bright city lights. Laura Knight, with her husband Harold, spent time at Staithes before moving to Newlyn and subsequently becoming one of the greatest painters of the 20th century.

Staithes by Charles Gregory

The Nuremberg Trial by Dame Laura Knight

The Staithes School were plein-air artists who found freedom away from the urban bustle; the movement was generally successful.

Almost too successful – lacking sufficient space they held exhibitions in Whitby and so were taken under the umbrella of the Yorkshire Artists Association, perhaps losing some identity in the process.

There were about 80 artist colonies in Europe in the 19th century, including St Ives, Newlyn, Glasgow, Liverpool, Ahrenshoop, Givenchy, Katwijk and Dachau, to name just a few. Many attracted international artists for the exchange of techniques and style.

42 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

It is often a bit difficult to find somewhere to go during these winter months when the snowdrops and crocuses are pushing their way up through the sweeping lawns of Wirral and Liverpool. However, I recently rediscovered Sudley House in Liverpool near Mossley Hill Church.

This sandstone property was built in 1823 by Nicholas Robinson, a former Lord Mayor of Liverpool. In 1883 the property was acquired

by George Holt, whereupon he set about developing his private art collection. He did this most successfully with the assistance of a handful of London art dealers, mainly Agnews who are now in St James’s Place (where I was recently visiting another dealer to look at two portraits by the Irish-born painter Sir John Lavery one of which was a portrait depicting the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova).

The entrance hall of Sudley House houses a wonderful portrait by Sir John Everett Millais entitled ‘Vanessa’. Vanessa was a friend of Johnathon Swift, though several years his junior. Swift had two close friends in his life: Vanessa and Emma. The painting of Vanessa depicts her dressed in sombre clothes decorated with black beads and her

eyes gazing downwards. The portrait of Emma is much more lively with bright colours and red beads, she is looking directly at the artist with a brightness of countenance. I will leave you to guess the reason.

Lake Maggiore by James Baker Pyne

A painting to brighten up a winter’s day is one depicting Lake Maggiore by James Baker Pyne. He was a self-taught artist of the c18th Bristol School, who later moved to London where he was greatly influenced by JMW Turner. The Sudley collection which is one of the finest personal collections in the country was bequeathed to Liverpool by Emma Holt in 1945.

Cato Crane’s Auction Rooms in Liverpool continues to be extremely busy with many of our clients living in Wirral and disposing of family collections. Our first internet auction in January saw higher prices than expected, with silver and jewellery and pictures all exceeding guide prices.

Antique walking sticks seem to be rocketing in price at the moment – perhaps in anticipation of a long winter ahead and snow and ice underfoot…

Oriental china continues to be popular. Care needs to be taken with objects that can prove to be extremely valuable these days. The strong Chinese market may not continue for ever, of course, as the stock market falls, so now may be the time to sell.

Fine c18th Chinese Vase

Marks to look out for

Fine quality furniture is doing very well, but mediocre quality has a long way to go before it picks up again. There does seem to be the need for the mass market to reify that all mid-20th furniture is great. It is very popular at the moment, with high prices, but fine antiques will stand the test of time in my view.

We are approaching a busy period now with many estate properties to remove. One estate in North Wales has a collection of bicycles powered by Autocycle motors c1950. That’s my style – 300 miles to the gallon!

I still have a few slots for talks in Wirral this year if you phone me soon. Wirral Radio and Radio Clatterbridge continue to want me on their programmes for 2016! My first talk of the year has been given – this was to South Wirral Rotary Club at the Glegg Arms. They do wonderful and supportive charity work and new members are very welcome.

Not all clients wish their items to be sold by auction; therefore, we can offer alternative methods by using contacts in London and the experience of 40 years in the business. Also, not all clients want their personal matters discussed or known to others and we have a gentle way of visiting people to discuss their requirements.

We also operate under the name of 5CountiesValuationCompany and John Crane Fine Art, which advises on the best method of the disposal of the finest objects such as pictures, silver, jewellery, bronzes and early books.

Roll on March when my ‘Welsh Odyssey’ starts again. I will get home one day maybe.

Hiraeth and all that! But, for now, happy hunting and discoveries.

Please contact me at Chester on 01244 680055, at Liverpool on 0151 709 5559, at Wirral on 0151 342 2321, or on mobile at 07836 209995. You are most welcome to phone for home visits anytime.

HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 43

44 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

Finding the Missing Peace

HAVE YOU PROTECTED YOUR ASSETS WITH THE ‘RIGHT’ WILL? We can ensure that your loved ones inherit the maximum possible.

By Stephen G Baker The current trend of naming storms really amuses me. So far this winter we’ve been hit by Storms Abigail, Barney, Desmond, Eva and Frank. Now Gertrude is here. Storm Desmond landed in the UK in early December and will likely go down as one of the most devastating storms to ever hit the North West, with its effects still being felt long after the winds had subsided. Now it is the turn of Storm Gertrude, bringing – at the time of writing – at least one red weather warning and leaving thousands without power across Scotland and Ireland.

In 2015 the Met Office and its Irish counterpart Met Eireann launched a project to name severe winter storms, much in the same way that hurricanes are named. The official statement said “Working together it is hoped that naming winter storms will help raise public awareness of severe weather and ensure greater public safety.” Storms are never good news! They devastate and damage: you never expect to come out the other side of a storm in better condition than you entered it.

The Bible uses the imagery of a storm to explain various ideas. In Job 21:17,18 the picture of a storm is used to explain how severely God views wickedness and evil. It says ‘God distributes sorrows in his anger. They (the wicked) are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carries away.’ Wickedness in the Bible covers a spectrum of behaviour all of which actively disagrees with what God, in his Word, says is right.

Most of us face storms in life from time to time. These are hard and tough experiences. God is keenly interested and indeed involved in the storms we face, even if we are not aware of his presence. Once when Jesus’ disciples faced a weather storm they discovered Jesus sleeping in the boat - he was not frightened as he faced the trauma’s of life! They shouted at Jesus - ‘Do you not care that we perish?’

Little did they realise he how deeply he was interested! That day he rose from sleep and did the impossible – he calmed the storm. Jesus still does that in individual lives today. That is, if we ask!

As I close, let me point you to two beautiful passages of scripture.

In Isaiah 25:4 God states, among other things, that he is ‘a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat’. Again in the same book, Isaiah 32:2 we are told ‘a man shall be a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest’. The truth is that ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ and on this basis he is the one who can protect us in the storms of this life and from the storm of God’s judgement in the next life.

The question is will we take advantage of his protection?

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

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HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016 45

2. Everyday Goals Examples: Play football with your children or grandchildren in the park without feeling tired or out of breath. Find the stairs at work easy rather than dying when you reach the top.

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.

Struggling to stick to your New Year’s goals?

As the New Year enthusiasm starts to dwindle and old habits start to creep back in, it’s a good time to look at the goals you set in January to refocus.

Setting a goal is a great way to start a new regime to give yourself a plan to start working on, but have you taken the time to make your goal ‘specific’ or ‘measurable’?

From talking with clients, I find we get the best results with those who are really clear about what they want to achieve!

Setting measurable goals is key to getting results. People who just want to ‘lose weight’ or ‘get fit’ tend to plod along doing random bits of exercise and bits of ‘healthy eating’ which leaves them dipping in and out of success on the scales.

Setting goals that don’t specifically focus on weight loss can actually help you reach your desired fat-loss goal. It’s true! For example, if you focus on getting stronger, you will hopefully gain a little lean muscle mass, which will speed up your metabolism and help you lose more weight.

Take part in a fitness class that’s a real challenge to keep up with, then keep going until you can do it with ease. Fit into your old clothes that are sitting in your wardrobe full of dust, because you’re determined not to buy new ones and you want to get back to that size.

These are the type of things I love to hear from clients as they notice the progress they’ve made since they started with my help.

3. Health and Wellness Goals Improving health just makes us feel better day to day and makes a massive difference to how you feel. Examples: Reduce your blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, etc.

The great thing about setting goals that are measurable health markers is just that – they’re measurable. They are easy to measure, and it’s very clear when you have made improvements to your numbers.

Just like any training regime, make sure you mix it up by choosing a different goal every 6 to 8 weeks.

Fitness Queen News Coming soon: Fitness and Spa Day in Liverpool city centre. We have a new venue for our wellness day which consists of two exercise classes, relaxing in the hot tubs with refreshments, spa treatment and a healthy two-course meal in luxury surroundings.

Contact us for more information.

You don’t have to be super-focused on the scales to be successful in dropping the pounds. Setting other goals can be even more motivating – and just as effective!

Here are three of my favourite types of goals that often lead to weight loss and better health (without focusing on the scales).

1. Performance Goals Examples: Improve your 3K time, perform your first unassisted pull-up, do 10 push-ups on your knees or toes, etc.

Performance goals are the best way to stay motivated all year. Not only are these positive goals (looking at what you can do), as opposed to a negative goal (I can’t eat cake!), but everyone has a performance goal that they can set and accomplish – no matter what they weigh. It could be as simple as walking up a steep hill without stopping and then progressing to doing it in a faster time.

The good thing is, once you’ve reached your goal, it’s easy to set another, slightly more ambitious goal.

When your goal is weight loss, once you’ve hit your goal, what’s next? Where do you do from there? Back to old habits? This is when you will find an excuse to go back to your old ways because you just hit your weight loss goal!

46 HESWALL MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2016

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