Lake july

Issue 15 • July/August 2015

The local interest magazine for West Kirby, Hoylake, Meols and Caldy

Food, Glorious Food! • Welshot Photographic Academy • Tranmere Rovers – What does the future hold?

Welcome to the fifteenth issue of The Lake, the local interest magazine for West Kirby, Hoylake, Meols and Caldy.

We would like to thank our readers for your kind comments and to encourage you to keep writing to us with your thoughts and stories.

We’d also like to thank our advertisers without whom this magazine wouldn’t be possible – we are extremely grateful to them for their continuing support.

Published by: Wirral Advertising Media Ltd, Royal Standard House, 334 New Chester Road, Rock Ferry, Wirral CH42 1LE.

The Lake provides local interest and historical stories on a bi-monthly basis and we hope you enjoy it. Please get in touch if there is anything you want to see in future issues, or if you have any stories or pictures of your own that you want to share.

Contacts: Editor Jonathan Bion 07796 945745 jon@lakemagazine.co.uk

Contact the Editor by email: jon@lakemagazine.co.uk Or by post to: Jon Bion, Editor, The Lake, Royal Standard House, 334 New Chester Road, Rock Ferry, Wirral CH42 1LE. Telephone 07796 945745.

Sales Director Alan Strange 07788 510868 alan@lakemagazine.co.uk

Our team has years of experience in design, production and distribution.

The magazine is delivered door-to-door to 12,500 homes and businesses in the area and copies are available from various outlets.

If you feel that advertising in The Lake would benefit your business, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you. Please contact Alan Strange on 07788 510868 or email: alan@lakemagazine.co.uk www.lakemagazine.co.uk Cover image: Bucket and Spade by Derek Buick – Welshot Photographic Academy.

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.

Accounts accounts@lakemagazine.co.uk Delivered free to 12,500 homes and businesses in West Kirby, Hoylake, Meols and Caldy For distribution queries please call 0151 644 9475

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published, Wirral Advertising Media can accept no responsibility for the veracity of the claims made by advertisers. Any views expressed in The Lake are not necessarily the views of the publisher.

CONTENTS 04 Appeal Uncovers WW1 Letters

20 Without Fear of Wind or Vertigo

08 West Kirby Sailing Club

22 Food, Glorious Food!

What can Whitfield Business Hub do for your business?

See page 9

24 Welshot Photographic Academy 31 10th BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K 32 Williamson Art Gallery 33 Time to say: “Eye love you”

10 Tranmere Rovers – What does the future hold?

34 Beating Interview Nerves

14 Following in Grandfather’s Footsteps

35 Shorelines

16 RMS Lusitania – Local Casualties

36 All Things Auctioneering

18 Peregrinations from Afar

38 Fitness Queen

04 The Lake

Appeal Uncovers WW1 Letters Continuing the article from the last issue by Heather Chapman The Research Group have completed a Blackburn family tree and when the group made contact with the family (who are scattered across the UK and overseas), we were able to exchange information.

The family had discovered that Mabel, the eldest daughter of William and Jane Elizabeth Blackburn, moved to Shanghai, China, and married William John Blaylock Carter in 1900. Their child, Marjory Mabel, was orphaned when both her parents died in 1907.

Mabel was adopted by a wealthy couple who renamed her Peggy.

Peggy had a most interesting life. She was a prisoner of war in WW11 and shortly after the war married Prince Abkhazi of Russia.

The couple moved to Canada and founded the famous international Abkhazi Gardens.

Gray Blackburn survived WW1 and died during active service in WW11. Jim survived WW1 and lived in the family home at 7 Riversdale Road, West Kirby, until his death in 1978.

The Blackburn letters and memorabilia will be on display at the West Kirby Museum, St Bridget’s Centre, West Kirby, on Heritage Day, Saturday 5th September from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Lady Anthea Johnston, a relative of the family, will be travelling from Scotland to meet the West Kirby Museum Research Group. This was a splendid result in our quest to find out about our West Kirby casualties, both for Eric’s relatives and the Research Group.

Gray Blackburn and friend – Cambs Regiment

The Blackburn letters were found in a skip in Heswall during the 1980s and donated to West Kirby Museum. The letters tell the story of a soldier writing home during WW1 and give an insight into the life of his West Kirby family.

William Blackburn was born in Keswick, Cumberland, and moved to Liverpool. He was a shipping agent. He married Jane Elizabeth Hughes in 1869 and the couple had nine children. Mrs Blackburn died shortly after giving birth to Jim Blackburn in 1888. William then married Elizabeth Ann Gray in 1892 and had two sons, Eric and Gray. The majority of the letters were from Gray to his mother during the war. There is only one letter from Eric in the bundle.

Eric was a casualty of WW1 and died at St Omer, France, on March 24 1915. During Gray’s war service he found the burial place of Eric and paid a Frenchman to tend the grave. There is also a letter from Jim Blackburn to his stepmother, showing the great affection he had for her.

Princess Peggy Abkhazi

The Blackburn family lived at 9 Devonshire Road, West Kirby. The family were no strangers to tragedy; William’s first wife died in 1888 and two of William’s sons by this marriage, Frederick and Harry, died in 1901 and 1908 respectively. William died in 1913 and left his family in comfortable financial circumstances.

When war broke out Jim, Eric and Gray all enlisted. Mrs Blackburn and her stepdaughters, Ida, Emily and Agnes, ran the family home and were active members of The Red Cross on the West Kirby Home Front. Gray’s letters are very explicit. He talks of the atrocities of war when poisonous gas was first used and the horrors of the trenches. He wrote home to ask for money for a watch and for lighter clothes to be sent to him during the summer months. Gray’s sister, Agnes, was assigned the duty of sewing badges onto his uniform. When Agnes enquired about joining the nursing corps, Gray was supportive, but anxious about who would organise the family finances.

Abkhazi Garden

06 The Lake

Wirral Open Studios Tour

The local interest magazine for West Kirby, Hoylake, Meols and Caldy

Could advertising with us help your business?

The Wirral Open Studios weekend was again a great success with an estimated 4,000 visits to 46 artists’ studios spread over the Wirral.

After a gloomy weather forecast the weekend turned out to be warm and sunny and this brought out the crowds, not only to see and buy the wonderful art and crafts on display but also visit the many cafes and bars of the Wirral and take in the wonderful scenery.

Pictured here, the Deputy Mayor Pat Hackett and Deputy Mayoress Elaine Hackett visiting the studio of artists Helen Bennett and by coincidence, the artist also called Elaine Hackett!

We distribute 12,500 magazines to homes and businesses in the area.

For advertising contact alan@lakemagazine.co.uk or telephone Alan Strange on 07788 510868.

Solar Update

June also saw the inaugural Formula E race in London, when vehicles with the same performance as traditional Formula 1 cars competed, with one major difference – zero carbon emissions.

It really has been a month of firsts, as the world starts to fully wake up to the potential for solar.

Perhaps most impressively, Solar Impulse 2 broke the world record for solar flight, both in terms of duration and distance. The solar-powered plane flew non-stop for over 80 hours, and covered more than 5,660km, as part of its attempt to complete the first round the world solar flight. Tony Edwards, from local installation company, Natural Energy Sources, explains: “The plane’s wings are covered by the same solar cell technology that we install on people’s homes, which is also the same as the cells deployed on satellites – all convert daylight into energy. During the day, the cells power the propellers, with surplus energy being stored in batteries – which then power the plane during the night. This is the same concept that we talked about for domestic property in previous editions of The Lake.”

Both of these events helped highlight the power of solar. The main focus for the solar industry is, however, to help move countries away from reliance on fossil fuels. Tony adds: “The success that the UK is having with solar was highlight on 3rd July, when 15% of the UK’s electricity was generated from solar.”

The only disappointing news is the increasing uncertainty around the Government’s financial support for solar technology. Tony explains: “There is already a scheme in place which, once a quarter, reviews how much solar has been deployed and, if certain targets have been hit, reduces the level of support for new installations from that point.

This has led to reductions being effected in May and July this year, with a further cut to be introduced for installations after 30 September.

There is also a real threat that the Government will remove the subsidies for new installations altogether at some point during the next 12 months.”

The message therefore is clear – get paid for going green while you can!

08 The Lake

West Kirby Sailing Club Latest News

By Steve Jardine June was a busy and successful month for West Kirby Sailing Club with the full range of training programmes offered getting into full swing.

West Kirby Sailing Club is proud to be part of the national Onboard programme which sets out to introduce sailing as a sport for young people aged 8-18. Twenty-four youngsters have just completed training programme and all have learnt new skills while having great fun too. Our team of instructors have guided each sailor through the ten-week programme with clear session goals and logging of progression.

The club also runs an Optimist squared for 26 signed-up youngsters, all under the age of 16. The Optimist is a perfect training boat to introduce the sport of sailing. It can be sailed by absolute beginners, yet it skilled and trained hands, is equally capable at competing in 800+ boat European championships.

To complement this summer training, the club provides training for its youth Cadet class through the autumn and winter months. This race-focused training provided the foundation for our competitive sailors to travel and compete across the country to spread the good word of the West Kirby sailing experience.

Sailing is not just for the youngsters and the club buzzes every Monday evening when over 40 adults are down at the lake to enjoy gentle introductory sessions to the sport. The club has just taken delivery of two new training boats, funded from a Sport England Development grant, and these are being put to good use to support the development of the new sailors. Many of the sailors are parents who have seen the enjoyment their children are having and they also want to get in on the action.

Sailing is a sport with everything, from a relaxing leisure experience to high adrenaline, high-performance sport and support. An added important benefit is that sailing helps youngsters to develop a wide range of life skills, including confidence and independence, as well as being a fantastic outdoor activity to do with friends and family while being active and keeping fit.

The competitive element is also catered for and the club has just run a regional race training session for the Feva class, the national junior two-person boat. From these first training stepping stones, the youngsters can go on to join in with national training programmes to develop and demonstrate their racing expertise at all the top national and European events that run through the summer.

Should you wish to get involved or wish to support or partner the development of our training programmes at WKSC then we’d be keen to hear from you. The best first point of contact would be through an email to training@wksc.org Happy sailing

Image by Suzanne Haller

10 The Lake

Tranmere Rovers What does the future hold?

By Ryan Ferguson Tranmere Rovers suffered a second successive relegation in May, slipping into the Conference after 94 unbroken years in the Football League. It was undoubtedly the darkest day in the Superwhites’ 131-year history, and many fans are understandably worried about the future of Wirral’s pre-eminent sports team.

In one respect, Tranmere will lose plenty of money on the back of this demotion, and the Conference is notoriously difficult to navigate. Yet, in Mark and Nicola Palios, the club finally has owners with a transparent vision for the future and the passion and wherewithal to make it reality. Thus, Rovers find themselves in a unique, confusing and generally disconcerting position, filled with potential positives but equally fraught with danger.

Amid all the uncertainty, fans should find solace in the work already undertaken by ownership to set Tranmere back on the road to prosperity. “Today is devastating,” said Mark Palios upon the club’s relegation, “but tomorrow needn’t be disastrous.”

Indeed, the owners worked swiftly to substantiate that belief, appointing 44-year-old Gary Brabin as their next manager, and quickly authorising a complete overhaul of a depleted squad.

Gary Brabin

A former boss of Cambridge and Luton, Brabin is young but experienced, local but fresh, and progressive but well-connected.

Hopefully, he can bring a rejuvenated outlook to Prenton Park, which has also undergone extensive renovation this summer, with improved disabled access and refurbished suites joining a new scoreboard and enhanced sound system in making for a more fan-friendly arena.

However, all this good work will be wasted if, on the field, Tranmere are incapable of performing. Mark and Nicola Palios are doing sterling work, but it is cast against a thankless backdrop of ignominy following

the largest failure ever to befall Tranmere Rovers. For the first time since 1920, the club will play in the non-league this season, so it would be wrong to conclude that the future is full of roses and champagne. The Conference will introduce a raft of new challenges to Tranmere – challenges the club has never faced before. Accordingly, the hope for tomorrow is tempered by the reality of today.

For instance, Rovers will see many of their revenue streams tighten or disappear entirely in the forthcoming months and years. Most notably, the annual £240,000 in solidarity payments from the Premier League to Football League clubs will be lost immediately, placing Tranmere in greater peril from the exorbitant £5.1bn television rights deal that attracts fans to larger clubs at the expense of local minnows.

And whereas each Football League club receives up to £400,000 per year from a central fund of TV and sponsorship income, Rovers will now only gain half of that bounty in the form of a one-year “parachute” payment, which will disappear entirely if the club fails to win immediate promotion from the Conference.

Tranmere hope to combat such a tough financial climate by producing younger and cheaper homegrown players, and complementing them with a core of prime-age veterans who have extensive experience of non-league football. In this regard, the ongoing plans to build a new training hub, known as Solar Campus, are crucial to Rovers’ long-term health.

Tranmere hope the new facility, to be built on Leasowe Road, will smooth the path between youth academy and first team, with state-of-the-art pitches and gymnasiums enriching the club’s overall preparation for games.

However, Rovers’ decision to revitalise a once-revered youth system comes at a difficult time for small academies. The FA’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), aimed at improving the flow of quality players to the National Team, effectively allows larger clubs to cherry-pick the best young talent from around the country for minimal compensation fees. Depending on efficiency, each academy is placed within one of four categories, with each band possessing greater privileges with regard to signing youth players. For rich Premier League juggernauts, that’s great.

But, for category three clubs like Tranmere, such a system is at best elitist and, at worst, a legitimate threat to their continued existence.

In times gone by, Rovers developed terrific players such as Clint Hill, Jason Koumas and Iain Hume, but, under the current regulations, Liverpool or Everton could conceivably prise those gems away at the age of ten for as little as £3,000.

Essentially, Tranmere Rovers are now fishing with a small rod, placed beneath two giant nets, and are forced to survive on occasional spills and fish swimming under the radar. Obviously, that isn’t an ideal recipe for success.

Moreover, relegation into the Conference has placed Rovers’ academy in further jeopardy, because the club could soon lose vast swathes of its funding. Currently, each Football League club receives an annual handout from the pool of Premier League revenue to help cover the cost of running a youth academy. Tranmere will receive their usual share of the EPPP money this year, but, should they fail to return immediately to the Football League, that bounty is halved after 12 months, and then removed entirely after 24.

The Lake 11

Thus, it becomes quite clear that a swift promotion is absolutely imperative for Tranmere. However, this would require an almost abnormal turnaround, for a club that hasn’t gained promotion from any league in 24 years, and which has lost 60 league matches in the past 28 months.

Furthermore, the Conference is no walkover. In fact, it’s arguably the most competitive of all the English leagues, with 24 teams desperately pursuing one automatic promotion place. No club since Darlington in 1990 has won the Conference title in the season immediately following relegation from the Fourth Division. Additionally, since 2004/05, only two clubs have rebounded by any means at the first hurdle, meaning that, of the last 22 clubs to find themselves in Tranmere’s present situation, 91% have failed to achieve an instant return to the Football League.

Typically, teams suffer a culture shock in their first Conference season, struggling with general delusions of grandeur and the adaptation to a more rugged style of play.

For instance, since automatic relegation from the Football League was introduced in 1986/87, relegated teams have, on average, finished eighth and accumulated just 61 points in their maiden non-league season. By contrast, over the last nine Conference seasons, the eventual champions have averaged 98 points.

Clearly, there is plenty of work to be done to bridge that traditional gap.

As you can see, the future is complicated for Tranmere Rovers. Bright times are clearly on the horizon, but any feel-good factor is restricted by the club lurking in the Fifth Division for the very first time.

Loyal fans wonder whether it is better to

have visionary owners in the Conference, or conservative management in League One? Ultimately, only time will tell. In the current climate of uncertainty and confusion, all Tranmere can do is win on the field, exorcise the losing culture which has permeated Prenton Park, and restore pride to one of the grand old clubs of English football.

12 The Lake

Hundreds attend Official Opening of Memorial Footpath

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On Saturday 9th May 2015, despite an unseasonally cold May morning, hundreds attended a celebration and commemoration event in West Kirby when the recently upgraded memorial footpath on Grange Hill was officially opened, by Cllr David Elderton after a blessing by Father Kelly and an address by Cllr Jeff Green who paid tribute to all involved.

The provision of a footpath suitable for use by disabled veterans had been an aim of the original War Memorial Appeal Committee when they elected to have the district’s memorial erected on top of Grange Hill. From this prominence it could be seen from most of the villages that formed the urban district of Hoylake. Happily, in January 2015 after a fundraising drive that was massively supported by the local community and businesses plus support from Love Wirral and Community grants provided by Wirral Council, the Memorial ‘All Ability Memorial Pathway’ was completed and people with restricted mobility are now able to visit and also take in the magnificent views the hilltop affords.

The official opening was preceded by a short Thanksgiving Service to commemorate the 70th anniversary of VE day. Many local residents were there, along with standard bearers from the associations of the Liverpool King’s Regiment, Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and the 22nd Cheshire Regiment, as well local Naval and Air Cadets and Girl Guide units. Wreaths were laid by Col. Amlôt (Deputy Lord Lieutenant Merseyside), and Capt Hugh Daglish RN Col. Amlôt also took the salute by Cadets, Guides and veterans.

The final act of the day was carried out by Cllr Geoffrey Watt who unveiled a new noticeboard that will provide information on the men and women whose names are recorded on this Grade 11 listed War Memorial and on the wildlife of Grange Hill to improve the resident and visitor experience of Grange Hill.

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Jill’s Cookshop is filled with quality cookware, bakeware and utensils plus some fun items. Browse to your heart’s content amongst all the latest product ranges, or get some advice from Jill, who has spent many years in the catering business.

Cook like a Professional We stock most of the equipment used by celebrity chefs on your favourite television shows and if we don’t have it in stock, we can try and order it for you.

Call: 0151 632 1177 visit: www.jillscookshop.co.uk

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The local interest magazine for West Kirby, Hoylake, Meols and Caldy

Please let us know how we can help promote you or your events/causes Contact our Editor By email: jon@lakemagazine.co.uk By post: The Editor, The Lake, Royal Standard House, 334 New Chester Road, Rock Ferry, Wirral CH42 1LE Telephone 07796 945745.

14 The Lake

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Following in Grandfather’s Footsteps

1935 – Dick Temple centre middle row

Dick’s wife, Lilian, was one of the first ASA qualified swimming instructors in Wirral, passing her examinations in 1954. She taught many children to swim at West Kirby Baths.

Dick and Lilian had three children, Russ, Ray and Heather. The entire family were active members of West Kirby Swimming Club and daughter Heather taught school swimming lessons at Ellesmere Port.

Heather, Ray and his wife Ann also taught adult swimming lessons at Calday Pool.

Hayley at Great Scottish Swim 2014

No – we don’t have webbed feet, but swimming certainly runs in the Temple family.

In 1980 an article appeared in the Hoylake News and Advertiser titled “Meet the swimming Temples”. It outlined the swimming career of Dick Temple, a former swimming champion and member of West Kirby Swimming Club. Dick regularly competed in open water competitions, including the nine-mile swim from Eastham to New Brighton in 1935.

How different open water swimming is 80 years on. Dick Temple’s swimming equipment was just a costume and towel, with a little goose grease rubbed on the body to keep out the cold. In modern open water competitions a wet suit is compulsory and swimmers wear caps and goggles. They have numbers painted on their hands and wear electronic timing chips around their ankles to record their time.

The swimming interest lived on. Heather was Team Manager of Hoylake Swimming Club for many years, leading the Speedo team to the prestigious Premier Division in 1993. She also taught school swimming lessons at Europa Pools.

Dick Temple passed away in 1975. He would be so proud of his granddaughter, Hayley Pennington (nee Chapman). Hayley was a former competitive swimmer with Hoylake Swimming Club and is a qualified primary school teacher. She has been teaching swimming for 23 years and has recently started her own swim school, www.hayleysswimmingschool.co.uk Hayley began open water swimming last August when she competed in the Great Scottish Swim at Loch Lomond. She has just competed in the Great Eastern Swim at Suffolk in June. This month, she and three of her enthusiastic teachers, Eve, Claudia and Ellie, will be competing in the Great Manchester Swim in Salford Dock as part of The Business Challenge. They are competing in the name of Hayley’s Swimming School and raising funds for Claire House Children’s Hospice.

The Lake 15

Tabitha Jade Crowned Future Music’s Songwriting Competition Winner!

Earlier this year Future Music launched a brand new songwriting competition to find the best songwriters in the UK and it has found its first winners! Joining a long line of Future Music competition winners, Tabitha Jade from Caldy has been crowned the winner of the national songwriting competition at Dingwalls in London.

Tabitha Jade, who is 14 years old, and younger sister Eliza Mai were crowned champion in front of a capacity crowd and a prestigious music industry judging panel at the world-renowned music venue Dingwalls in Camden, London. Her original song called Kicking You Out won over the judges to see her awarded the winner of the Under-16s age category.

The national songwriting competition is brought to you by Future Music - the company behind the discovery of artists such as Lucy Spraggan and Luke Friend who have had chart success this year; Jacob Banks; Warner Music’s Birdy; Union J’s Jaymi Hensley and Jahmene Douglas, both of whom are now signed to Sony Music.

After impressing the judging panel at the auditions, Tabitha Jade went on to perform in the songwriting competition live regional showcase to make it to the national Grand Final.

The judging panel for the Grand Final included record label representatives from Sony and Universal, as well representatives from music management companies, recording studios and professional songwriters.

In June, Tabitha Jade was the youngest performer to ever play at Liverpool’s Sound City, and has built a growing fan base with her live gigs. She regularly plays at the legendary Cavern in Liverpool, Telfords Warehouse in Chester, Paloma West Kirby, and will soon to be playing at The Courtyard in Heswall.

16 The Lake

RMS Lusitania Local Casualties

By Heather Chapman There were 14 unfortunate victims of the RMS Lusitania atrocity with connections to the West Kirby and Hoylake district. Even though they were all casualties of war, none of them are listed on the West Kirby War Memorial on Grange Hill.

Robert Walter Bird (known as Walter) 1882-1915

Percy Thornton Jackson gravestone

Walter Bird was the son of Captain Henry Bird and born in Hoylake in 1882. The Bird family were a well-known Hoylake fishing family. Walter served his apprenticeship as a butcher with Mr Burgess of Market Street, Hoylake. He continued his career at a butcher’s shop in Waterloo where he met and married his wife in 1904. He secured employment with Cunard, became a Chief Butcher and was known as the ‘Commodore Butcher of the Fleet’. He lived with his wife and four young children in Waterloo near Liverpool.

Percy Thornton Jackson 1882-1915

Walter went down with the ship and was last seen throwing deckchairs overboard to assist as buoyancy aids. His body was never found. Walter was mourned by his wife and young children and also by many friends and family in Hoylake. His wife was pregnant with their fifth child, Margaret, who never got to know her father. Walter is remembered on the Waterloo War Memorial and the Tower Hill Memorial in London. Walter’s relative, stewardess May Bird, was a survivor.

Very little is known about William Jones Junior. He was born in West Kirby and baptised at St Bridget’s Church in 1858, the son of William Senior and Mary Jones.

William Jones Senior was a gardener. The family moved to Liverpool. William Junior married Margaret Elizabeth Jones (nee Clegg) and lived at Litherland, Liverpool.

Blanche Gregory Chalmers 1869-1915 Blanche Gregory Chalmers was the proprietor of a confectioner’s shop, at 88 Banks Road. In 1911 she was living with her family above the shop. She married gold dealer, Adam Chalmers, in 1913 and lived in Canada. She was returning to West Kirby for a holiday with her friend, fellow passenger and another casualty, Miss Emily Shaw.

Percy Jackson was the son of Captain William Kendall Jackson, a retired ship owner, who was living in Park Road, West Kirby, at the 1901 census. Percy married Mary Emily McKerrow in 1909 and they had a son, Alyster, born in 1911. Percy was a metal merchant, returning from a business trip in the West Indies. Percy is remembered on the Jackson family gravestone in Holy Trinity churchyard, Hoylake.

William Jones Junior 1858-1915

Ralph Troupe Moodie 1870-1915 Ralph and his twin sister, Flora Center Moodie, were born at Rock Ferry in 1870.

Their father, Edwin Ramsay Moodie was the principal officer of the Board of Trade of the Liverpool District. Ralph frequently travelled to America on business. He lived with his mother in Morpeth Road, Hoylake.

Miss Emily Shaw 1882-1915 Emily was returning to West Kirby after living abroad for 12 months. Her parents, George Henry and Jane Shaw (nee Garlick) lived at 23 North Road, West Kirby. She had intended to travel two weeks earlier but delayed her journey so that she could travel with her friend, Mrs Blanche Chalmers.

Mrs George Washington Stephens

John Harrison Chatham Stephens 1913-1915.

John was the son of Francis Chattam Stephens (who was wounded at Ypres and transferred to a London hospital). John was only 18 months old and travelling to England with his grandmother to be reunited with his parents in London.

Thomas Henry Williams Junior 1880-1915 Thomas Henry Williams Junior was the son of Thomas Henry Williams Senior of ‘Cartref’, Birkenhead Road, Meols. Thomas Henry Junior was a cotton salesman and a first-class passenger on the RMS Lusitania.

He was returning from Texas to be married.

There is a window in St John’s Church, Meols, dedicated to his memory.

Mrs Annie Williams 1878-1915 and her four children, Albert, Ethel, Florrie and David.

Mrs Annie Williams and her six children were returning to England to make their home in Hoylake. Her husband, John, had travelled ahead to secure employment and he was staying with his sister, Mrs Forster, and family at Hoylake. The two eldest children survived, but Annie and the four youngest children all lost their lives.

Mrs Frances Ramsay Stephens 1851-1915 Frances was the widow of George Washington Stephens, who was formerly married to her late sister. She was travelling to England with her infant grandson. Her daughter, Elizabeth, was married to John Wedderburn Wilson and the couple lived in Caldy. The body of Mrs Stephens was twice claimed by the same German submarine. Her remains were embarked on the Hesperian in September 1915. The U-20 torpedoed and sank the ship, claiming her body again.

TH Williams window in St John’s Church, Meols

The Lake 17

Lees Solicitors supporting the Hillbark Players

Lees Solicitors were the proud sponsors of the Hillbark Players for their production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The Hillbark Players have been entertaining the Wirral for over 50 years with Much Ado being their 25th production. The open-air performances took place at a purpose-built 450-seat theatre within Royden Park each night from Monday 23rd June to Friday 26th June, with two further performances on Saturday 27th June.

There was also a matinee performance on Sunday 22nd June in support of Age UK Wirral.

The 45-strong cast and crew put on fantastic performances all week for delighted audiences, many of whom have been regularly enjoying this biannual firm fixture in the cultural life of the Wirral.

Joanna Kingston-Davies, Chief Executive of Lees Solicitors, commented: “We were delighted to support the Hillbark Players for this year’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. Lees has been based on the Wirral for over 125 years and we are always looking to help groups that bring our community together. The Hillbark Players productions are fantastic events and this year was no exception with a tremendous turn out in a spectacular setting. Everyone at Lees would like to thank the very talented cast and team for a magical experience - we are already looking forward to 2017.”

Desdemona Postlethwaite Antiques & Collectables

The Hillbark Players are always looking for people to become involved, from performing, behind the scenes, as part of the Production Team or even on the Committee. To find out more, visit the Hillbark Players’ website www.hillbarkplayers.co.uk

91 Banks Road, West Kirby CH48 0RB @lakewirral

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18 The Lake

1899 Opening of West Kirby Lake

Peregrinations from Afar The third in a series of short articles

by Rastus on West Kirby, looks at Newspaper Jottings from the past.

West Kirby Marine Lake – The Opening Ceremony The big day – 21 October 1899 (Trafalgar Day) finally arrives and West Kirby is blessed with fine autumn weather: “The sister watering and residential places of Hoylake and West Kirby were the scenes of great rejoicing on Saturday, when the rapid and highly satisfactory construction of the joint promenade was crowned by the formal opening of the Marine Lake West Kirby. Favoured by the finest of autumn weather and the coincidence of Trafalgar Day.” The success could never be doubted and is so eloquently reported: “The ceremony partook of a combined gala and patriotic character, which produced a degree of success exceeding the sanguine anticipations of all concerned in the public inauguration of works that both as regards inception and execution reflect great credit on the whole district. A line of streamers led the stranger from the West Kirby railway station through a rising neighbourhood to the part of the new promenade now fringed by the lake and where representatives, not only of the whole of Wirral, but of Liverpool, together with not a few other populous centres on the Lancashire side, soon gathered.”

The dignitaries arrived and were led to the raised speaker’s platform:

Now was the time for Speeches, Presentations and Votes of Thanks:

“An admirably compiled programme was placed in their hands and carried out excellently. The speaker’s platform accommodated the few gentlemen who had to take the leading part in the opening ceremony, and around were members of the Liverpool City Council, The Liverpool City Bench of Magistrates, the Birkenhead Town Council, the Wallasey Urban District Council, and the members and staff of the Hoylake and West Kirby Urban District Council”.

“Mr G. Wall, J.P., as Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of the District Council, said he had been desired to call upon Alderman A.T. Salvidge J.P., (Chairman of the Council) to declare the lake open to the public and to present a testimonial-address in album form to engineer, Mr G. Foster.”

Everybody was present, so let the show commence: “All present – the line of spectators along the promenade and partly round the lake stretching for about three-fourths of a mile – commenced the proceedings by singing the National Anthem, led by the Tranmere Gleam Silver Prize Band, conducted by Mr William Sedden. The West Kirby Brass Band (conductor Mr Moir Brow), was also engaged and occupied a stand at the north end of the lake.”

The Chairman’s Official dinner – unbounded enthusiasm and a happy Chairman: “The dinner given by the Chairman after the opening of the lake was a very interesting affair. The toasts were many and popular, and were interspersed with patriotic music, songs and speeches, which aroused unbounded enthusiasm, the Chairman being in the happiest vein.”

Alderman A. T. Salvidge J.P. – Chairman West Kirby and Hoylake Urban District Council gave the keynote speech pointing out he thought that the £30,000 was well spent and would be “returned tenfold”. He also said that the lake would give future prosperity to Hoylake and West Kirby. How right he was – but he quite naturally underestimated the value and prosperity. If he and his councillors could see the fruits of their endeavours now, I know they would be proud. Let’s keep up the good work and nurture and protect this wonderful legacy: “Alderman Salvidge, in performing the double ceremony, said anyone who that day visited the district after a two years’ absence would agree that the council and its engineer could both look with pride upon the work which had been accomplished in the comparatively short [?] period (Applause). It was not until July 23rd 1897 that a Royal assent was given to the Improvement Act, but within five days of that date the Improvement Committee under the excellent chairmanship of Mr

The Lake 19 entrance. By this arrangement facility will be given for the keeping of electric, steam and oil launches and fair-sized light-draughts sailing boats, and trips can be taken to Chester, Mostyn, Rhyl etc. The council further contemplates the erection of boathouses and dressing rooms and other conveniences. These will be erected on piers over the lake.”

Marine Lake celebrations

Richard Bird, were at work and by the middle of October the contracts were entered into, the material began to arrive, and operations were commenced. Within the two years specified, almost to a day, the works had been finished. The total cost was 30,000 pounds. That was more than half a year’s assessable value of the district, but there was no one present who regretted the expenditure, and he had reason to believe that the taxpayer [?] who contributed so largely thought the money could not have been more profitably invested. In such a seaside district as this they must not lose sight of the fact that the frontage was the chief attraction, though they might add parks and gardens afterwards. He opined that the money spent would be returned tenfold, and he claimed for the council and the engineer that they had displayed both courage and prudence in the inception and completion of the works. Personally he freely admitted that someone more distinguished than himself might have fittingly performed the opening ceremony, but no one could be found with more enthusiasm for the future prosperity of Hoylake and West Kirby (Loud applause).”

Mr Roderick Williams (Law Clerk to the District Council) gave the next speech: “Mr Roderick Williams (Law Clerk to the District Council) read the address presented to Mr G Foster (the Project Engineer), which recited his able service and stated the confidence of the council in leaving him to carry out the works by day labour had been abundantly justified.”

Mr Roderick Williams went on to say: “The present position of a seat in Parliament was due to the votes of working men and the efforts of their Chairman that evening, whose support be publicly acknowledged.

He proceeded to pay a high tribute to Mr. Arthur Balfour thoroughly trusted at this crisis.”

There were toasts to the obvious success: “The remaining toasts were – ‘Success to the Marine Lake’ and the ‘Hoylake Sailing Club’ and their cordial reception accentuated the enthusiasm which had characterised the day.”

An ‘Illuminated’ address was given and an official tour of the lake prior to the festivities. Mention was made of the proposed lake at Hoylake (is it still proposed?) and a paddling pool for children. Obviously Weever Fish had not been ‘invented’ then and don’t seem to have been a problem until the West Kirby Swimming Pool was closed in the late 1960s. Amazing!

“Mr. George Wall J.P. presided and presented an illuminated address to Mr. Thomas Foster, surveyor to the Council, congratulating him upon his successful completion of the promenade and lake. The members of the Council, with Mr Tom Davies, the commodore, then made a tour of the lake in the steam yacht Kingfisher, and afterwards, at about three o’clock, the aquatic festival was proceeded with. This consisted of swimming, rowing, sailing and steam yacht races, which created much interest, though there was neither Shamrock nor Columbia present.

The marine lake is certainly a noble piece of work. The lake itself is about three-quarters of a mile long by 150 yards wide, and is a respectable piece of water only to be eclipsed by the proposed lake in view for the Hoylake shore. It is five feet deep at one end, and shoals off at the north to a few inches, so that children may paddle in safety. In the evening Alderman Salvidge entertained the members of the District Council, the Regatta Committee, and others at dinner at the Town Hall, Hoylake.”

The current layout of the Marine Lake and its future were openly discussed: “The West Kirby Marine Lake is approximately 1,100 yards long and 150 yards wide. At present there is a varying depth of five feet at the extreme north end, gradually decreasing to about four feet at half its length, after which there is a further shoaling where it is quite shoal [shallow?].

There are one or two shoals or patches throughout the area, which will be removed as soon as possible. The lake will be available for sailing boats, model yachts, rowing and bathing, the council have under consideration a scheme for providing locks in order that launches and other vessels of light draught may enter at all times when there is water to float them up to the lock

I wonder if our current council even know about these visions for the lake – locks, launches, day-trips to Chester and North Wales and the erection of buildings on piers over the lake. I doubt it! The West Kirby Marine Lake seems to be an expensive embarrassment and the need for regular maintenance and renovation is obvious. Even public conveniences are disappearing and the façade of the much loved and treasured West Kirby Swimming Baths has hardly been touched since the baths closed some 40 years ago. It is not only an eyesore for locals and visitors – even a cheap coat of whitewash would help to remember those good old days!

Even though money was tight in the early 1900s, our Council realised the value of continuous maintenance of this wonderful asset: “And the Council decided to postpone its erection for the year. They have decided, however, to spend the small sum of 150 pounds on improving the walk round the lake, but it is very doubtful whether the work will be sufficient to keep the water from wetting the pedestrians’ feet as they take their morning walk.”

A general foreman was appointed to oversee all activities on the lake and monitor and supervise maintenance and hygiene: “The Urban Council have done a very proper and wise thing in appointing Mr George Cook, the lake foreman, as general foreman in the surveyor’s department for a more practical and able man perhaps it would be difficult to find, and the efficient manner in which he has performed his duties as foreman during the construction of the promenade and lake, justify some appreciation by the Council of his service.”

To succinctly conclude, the Hoylake and West Kirby Urban District Council of 1899 can be justly proud and indeed was, at that time a national leader to be very much envied: “And the event was one of great importance, for the construction of the Marine Lake is an important experiment, which, if successful, may lead to future great works at seaside health resorts.”

Next Peregrination – West Kirby Marine Lake – The Joys of the Promenade.

20 The Lake

Local Wildlife Without Fear of Wind or Vertigo

By Matt Thomas

I have heard people say that they take part in various extreme sports because of the thrill they get from the speed they achieve, height they reach or view they get from there, despite the potential risk of serious injury. In the adrenaline-soaked moment of the bungee jump/surfing a huge wave etc., they feel most alive.

I have also met several people of a more timid disposition. Some totally risk-averse with a kind of ‘wrap-you-up-in-cottonwool’ mentality.

I would class myself as falling between these two metaphorical stools. I am not about to take up sky-diving or white water rafting, but I do like the occasional frisson of risk in my life, a whiff of adrenaline rather than a gush to add a little colour to life.

I have walked up to vast seabird colonies on wave-battered precipitous cliffs and while I’m happy to take a look over the edge to the distant water below, I wouldn’t tie a rope to myself and jump off for a thrill.

I suppose mild peril is enough for me.

Birdwatching on the Dee is not a particularly hazardous pastime. Often the scene that greets me is one of mesmeric tranquillity.

On this occasion, despite it being the start of summer, a strong and gusty wind is whipping in across Liverpool Bay from a slightly south westerly direction. The turbulent air hits the boulder clay cliffs creating an updraft that makes the cliff top path at Thurstaston a mildly perilous place to be.

It is here that I am perched, being buffeted by the aforementioned winds on a gloriously sunny afternoon. I have a plan that involves this gusty wind. My original idea was to photograph butterflies on the lush meadows between the cliffs and the Wirral Way, but that plan was literally blown away so instead I am looking for Kestrels. These birds use the updrafts to hang over the sloping cliffs and search for food on the sun-baked clay beneath. I don’t have to wait for long until one arrives, way off to my left.

I reel off a few shots before the handsome male zips away towards Heswall Fields. I don’t follow, the clifftop there is on private land and trespassing is a little too perilous for me. A few minutes later a female comes in, closer this time. The wind is getting stronger all the time – the gusts feel like slaps across my face. It is not easy to stand still enough for photography on the exposed clifftop. The buffeting and the white noise of the wind is quite disorientating. The Kestrel is showing no signs of struggling with the roiling air. Its head remains perfectly still, eyes fixed on a spot on the slope. The bird makes minute adjustments to the angle of wings, tail and body to maintain focus on its prey.

On the path I am quite safe; the only things at risk here are the voles the Kestrel has its sights set on.

But here comes my penchant for mild peril.

I can ‘see’ a better picture in my head than the ones I am getting from the path, but to get them will be a little hazardous.

I figure that if I edge further out on the cliff I might be able to get a few close ups of the hunting Kestrel. This is not recommended! (You certainly shouldn’t try this and truth be told I was never in any real danger of falling and thus endangering myself or people who would have to assist me in the event of a spill.)

I edge out on the cracked clay cliffs; I can see plenty of fissures that look like they could widen or crumble at any moment, but if I could get a little further out...

After a few minutes I am still there and the cliff hasn’t given way, my confidence grows. I lean slightly into the wind, it takes some of my weight and I get a little whiff of adrenaline. A gust whooshes then dies and my lean nearly stalls into a fall. A flash

of adrenaline, a spike of fear. I reach out and grasp a handful of desiccated grasses, their roots still strong enough to arrest my downward motion. That’s enough danger for me; I have plenty of pictures to choose from, any more would be greedy, plus the camera wouldn’t react to well to a tumble down the cliff.

The Kestrel continues to ride the air currents without fear of wind or vertigo. I wander down to the beach via the steps at Tinker’s Dell and she is still hovering over the same stretch of cliff. I wander up to her and watch as she patrols up and down, up and down. All this looking up through the viewfinder is making my neck a little sore so I decide to lie down on the sand.

As I get a few more pictures it occurs to me a passer-by might well interpret my prone position as the result of a head over heels trip down the cliff. However, a glance around the shore reassures me that I am the only person on the beach.

The wind blows sand into my ears, it stings my cheeks and gets tangled into my hair.

Still the Kestrel is unmoved, her tail making more tiny adjustments to keep her steady through the gale.

As usual my concept of time has disappeared, it’s just me and the Kestrel.

The only indication that I should think about wrapping up this photography session comes when I notice the sun is slipping towards the Welsh hills and I get a pang of hunger, it is way past teatime.

I leave the Kestrel to its hunt and head home with memory cards humming with a haul of pictures and a mind full of memories of another great afternoon with wildlife and camera along the muddy banks of the Dee... www.fromthemuddybanksofthedee.com

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22 The Lake

Food, Glorious Food!

Local Eateries

By Robert Foster Who doesn’t love eating out? Foodie culture is booming as chefs across the country continue to up their game.

Whenever I turn on the television I’m greeted by gourmets turning out all sorts of exotic and inspiring dishes.

Luckily for enthusiastic eaters like myself, this passion for food has filtered down to the masses. Now the proverbial man in the street can enjoy all sorts of wonderful food in the high quality cafés and restaurants that have now become the norm.

Wirral is spoilt for choice with top-notch places to eat, offering dozens of venues which exceed expectations when it comes to good grub. Never needing an excuse to overindulge or to sample new menus, I decided there would be no better way to explore the local food scene than by embarking on day-long tour of my

favourite foodie haunts. An entire day spent eating and drinking may daunt some, but luckily my friends share my voracious appetite, so I rounded up some pals and we set off to eat our way around Wirral.

Our challenge began last Saturday morning in the heart of West Kirby and we gathered at the Sweet Pea Café to plan the day’s eating. It’s a laid-back, bohemian retreat and I could think of no better venue for our first coffee of the day. It may only be small but it certainly doesn’t lack atmosphere, and we all loved the local artwork that adorns the walls. It may sound clichéd, but this place really is a hidden gem and the friendly staff are the icing on the cake. So after a round of coffees and having forged a rough itinerary, we headed off for the first of many meals.

Breakfast immediately split the group.

Liam and Jay have hollow legs and the idea of pacing themselves never crossed their minds; it was Full English or nothing.

Carolyn and Fay wanted a more leisurely approach, seeking something lighter and more refined. I knew exactly the place to keep everyone happy and we went straight to Hardy’s Kitchen on Banks Road. It’s

light, airy and modern and the breakfasts are second to none. The boys got their early morning banquet and the rest of us enjoyed whipped duck eggs and bacon.

The service was perfect and so was the food – we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day.

After a stroll round the marine lake, elevenses were next and it was clear we all wanted cake. Having already visited two contemporary cafés the decision was made to find something a little more traditional, so we headed to The Tee Room. The uninitiated may be taken aback by the golfing theme within this Banks Road café, but we all agreed it’s a fitting tribute to Wirral’s position as a world leader in the sport. Décor aside, The Tee Room knows its stuff when it comes to cake and it’s clear exactly why it proves so popular with locals. I couldn’t resist a cheeky scone with jam, cream and a pot of tea, and I could have easily eaten a second if it weren’t for what I knew was in store.

The Lake 23 As evening approached, thoughts turned to our final meal of the day. Hoylake has so many fantastic restaurants that we struggled to reach a consensus. I was keen on Julian’s, a wonderful yet often overlooked restaurant, and Jay was keen on the intriguingly named Meat and Mingle.

As is the case for many, we turned to the trusty internet and allowed TripAdvisor to make the decision for us.

A small brasserie called Maluca came out on top, so we headed down and were extremely pleased with what we found. It has an intimate yet relaxed atmosphere and is the perfect place for friends to meet. It’s classy without being formal and the food was adventurous and tasty without being pretentious. The French Onion Soup blew us away, as did the pork fillet. The puddings were also on the money. The menu isn’t extensive, but it covers a wide variety and there’s an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients. I challenge anyone to eat in Maluca and not be impressed.

Lunchtime loomed and to my surprise our group was still not full. Still, we decided not to push our luck and agreed something light was in order to avoid peaking too early.

Alcohol was also mentioned, so after a lap of the marine lake we headed to The Wro. As always it was booming, but we found a table in the sunshine and tucked into cold beer and cocktails while we waited for our fresh paninis, which all slipped down a treat. A venue as busy as The Wro needs to be run with military precision and they proved that by turning out our food much quicker than expected.

With paninis devoured we decided upon a change of scene and burned some spare calories by taking a walk to Hoylake. The mid-afternoon sunshine took its toll as we crossed the dunes on our way to Red Rocks, so cold refreshments were called

for. The vote was unanimous – we were heading to the Yog Bar! It’s been the talk of the town for some time now and if you visit you’ll know why. It’s run by two local sisters and they’re clearly onto a winner, offering a simple and healthy alternative to ice cream which you can adorn with a range of healthy and not so healthy toppings.

Parents looking for a summer holiday treat for the children need look no further than here, as both kids and adults will love it.

So far, so good. Everyone remained surprisingly enthusiastic but tactics had to change if we were to succeed. Bending the original rules slightly, we headed to The Ship and shared a packet of pork scratchings as we enjoyed a couple more leisurely drinks. It may not have been Michelin starred, but sometimes you can’t beat the simple things in life!

Food and good times go hand in hand.

Eating is more than a necessity – it brings families together and provides an experience that friends can share. I couldn’t spend every Saturday binge-eating my way around the finest restaurants Wirral has to offer, but it was certainly a pleasurable experience. Most of all it proved that with the high standards being set, each café, bar and restaurant has to go above and beyond to provide the top-notch experiences that customers now demand.

24 The Lake

The idea was to visit a place that we had all been many times before – but to look through our camera viewfinder with a fresh pair of eyes, as if we were seeing a place for the first time and not the oh-so familiar one with preconceived ideas and expectations.

This is something that I think that we should all do, whether we are photographers or not. Instead of walking blindly from building to building, shop to shop, from car park to our final destination – I think we all, sometimes, just need to stop and look at what is happening around us – watch the comings and the goings of people going about their daily activities. Look, I mean really ‘look’ at the buildings and their features and wonder what secrets and stories they could tell if they could speak words.

That was the idea behind the Welshot Photographic Academy Evening – Our annual visit to New Brighton – fish & chips included.

Each delegate was given a list of things they had to photograph – some easy to locate and find, some not so, which took a little more digging and looking to find hidden treasures, not to mention the added complication of trying to capture it in the camera in a unique way.

Then they had to photograph each subject in a way that was a little bit different and not the normal viewpoint. Delegates also had the added task of having to capture the daily comings and goings of this seaside town, those that maybe lived here or maybe, like us, had escaped the hustle and bustle of the city to take time to smell the fresh air, eat fish and chips and just to wander in the evening’s setting sun.

Yes, we got the normal everyday photos – it’s very hard not to capture a beautiful setting sun behind an iconic lighthouse or a fort, we had a 20-minute lesson by Academy Member Gaynor Roberts who was having a bit of a challenge of her own that night – to teach Welshoters how to use filters to create long exposures in a seaside environment – and then it was back to the challenge of capturing the lighthouse, fort and the sea defences in a unique, inspiring and creative way.

The weather was kind – no rain, but it was windy, though this didn’t deter us from capturing the setting sun and we did manage to get a whole new set of images from a location that we had all visited many times before.

Welshot Photographic Academy meets in a variety of venues. We help everyone from enthusiast hobbyists to seasoned professionals to get the best from their camera – for more information on what we do, take a look at www.welshotimaging.co.uk Images by Lee Iggulden, Derek Buick and Gill McGow

The Lake 25

26 The Lake

The 12th Rotary Art Exhibition The Rotary Club of North Wirral are holding their 12th Rotary Art Exhibition at Carr Farm Garden Centre, Meols, from Tuesday 11th to Sunday 16th August 2015.

It is an opportunity for us to engage with the community and to enable local artists to sell their work whilst raising money for a range of charities, both local and international. The event starts with a Preview Party on the evening of Monday 10th August when Members of the Rotary Club, artists and the public gather at the Garden Centre to peruse the exhibits, enjoy a meal and a glass of wine. Tickets are required for this evening, but for the remainder of the week there is free admission to the exhibition.

Ever since JMW Turner painted sunsets on the River Dee, local artists have found inspiration from the special quality of light, flora, fauna, seascapes of the Wirral Peninsula and Dee Estuary, and the ancient villages in our area. Last year, 118 artists exhibited a total of 454 paintings and drawings in a variety of media and of varying styles, all of which were available for sale. Seventy-four paintings were sold and the exhibition raised ÂŁ3,800 for charities.

It was a pleasure to chat to the artists and discover the lengths to which they went in order to produce their works of art. For example, a painting entitled Seed Heads was brought to fruition by the artist first sowing fennel seeds and rearing the plants from these seeds before painting them. Pupils from St Bridget’s School West Kirby also exhibited their artwork and it appears that there are many budding artists amongst them.

The Lake 27

The Bowen Technique coming from other areas, an example of why Bowen will often set off reactions in areas that haven’t been treated.

How many treatments will I need to have?

What is the Bowen Technique?

The Bowen Technique is a remedial therapy tool. It is used by therapists mainly to help people who are in pain or discomfort for one reason or another. This is a gentle therapy that works over the soft tissue of the client and features lots of rests in between moves to allow the body to start working with the information. Developed by Tom Bowen, many valid forms of his work exist in the world today.

There are no guarantees here because everyone responds differently but, on average, the number of treatments required for, say, a stiff neck or back is around three.

Some problems need more treatments and some even fewer, but what won’t happen is that you will be required to have a long course of treatment, only to find that it hasn’t helped. Although there are never any promises, you should in most cases start to see change fairly quickly.

To learn more about Bowen Therapy or for further details contact Nicholas Tobin Cert. ECBS on 0151 342 8087 or visit: www.wirralbowentherapy.co.uk

ARE YOU IN PAIN OR SUFFERING WITH HAYFEVER?

How does it work?

There have been many theories put forward in the past relating to why Bowen works and there are many people who, conversely, believe that we don’t need to know. They may have a point, but these days there is much more that we can understand and acceptance from the medical community and wider use of the technique by health professionals will come from a better understanding of what happens during a Bowen treatment.

Recently the concept of the way in which the brain reacts to neural stimulus has been looked at in more detail and is the subject of ongoing research by ECBS. The brain emits in the region of 600,000 signals per second, all of which both send out signals and in turn receive information from the body. A muscular movement for example begins from the primary motor cortex at the front of the brain and is sent, via the spinal cord, to the arm or leg where it is translated into movement. In order to gauge this, however, the brain needs to receive a signal telling it what is happening and what to do next and this it does via the parietal lobe of the brain.

The effect is a kind of looping circuit travelling at massive speeds, sending and receiving information. A Bowen move which is a series of gentle rolling moves, followed by breaks at certain intervals, interferes with this signal and creates another set of parameters for the brain to examine. Once the brain starts to reorder the signals it is also able to reinterpret the information

93%

Problems Potentially Addressed Include Back • Neck Pain • Sciatica Whiplash • Knee • Ankle Foot Problems Sports Injuries Sports Maintenance Hayfever • Asthma Bronchial Complaints Indigestion • Crohn’s • IBS Bladder Control Pregnancy Mother and Baby Fertility Infant Colic • PMT • Tilted Pelvis Sleep • Stress Health Maintenance Stroke • Cancer Blood Pressure • Arthritis

OF PEOPLE SURVEYED BENEFITED FROM BOWEN THERAPY

The Bowen Technique is a gentle, subtle and relaxing hands on treatment.

Safe for people of all ages; promotes healing, pain relief and recovery of energy.

3 or 4 treatments at weekly intervals usually achieve lasting relief Treatment costs £35 for an individual session or £90 in advance for a series of three.

Contact Nicholas Tobin Cert. ECBS www.wirralbowentherapy.co.uk

0151 342 8087

28 The Lake

Jenny Schwarz with past president Simon Johnson

Blooming Great Tea New President of Party held in Hoylake West Wirral Rotary for Marie Curie Rowe Fitted Interiors from Hoylake held a Blooming Great Tea Party to raise funds for Marie Curie on Saturday 27th June. The event took place at their Kitchen Showroom on Market Street and included cupcake decorating for the children, tea, coffee, cakes and muffins, along with a raffle with some great prizes generously donated by local businesses.

Rowe Fitted Interiors raised over £500 and all the money raised from the Blooming Great Tea Party will help Marie Curie Nurses to provide more free care to people living with a terminal illness in their own homes and in the Marie Curie Hospices.

Carrina and Steven said: “We had a fantastic time enjoying our favourite treats while knowing that every cup of tea and slice of cake will help Marie Curie Nurses provide more free care to terminally ill people. Guests enjoyed a cup of tea, cakes and Earl Grey muffins while children took part in some fun cupcake decorating.”

Rowe Fitted Interiors’s tea party is one of many that took place across the country between June 20th-29th as part of the Blooming Great Tea Party campaign.

Visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/teatime or keep up to date on social media via #BloomingGreat

Members of the Rotary Club of West Wirral were delighted by the installation on Wednesday 24th June of their first lady President, Jenny Schwarz. This year’s theme in Rotary is ‘Be a gift to the world’. With her background and experience, Jenny readily fits into this mould.

Jenny, who was brought up in Wallasey, trained as a physicist at Birmingham University and taught for the whole of her subsequent career at Wirral Grammar School for Girls, retiring in 2007. Her work with young people has shown no bounds, engendered by the combination of her experience in education with Rotary membership.

She has used this to help young people, often severely disadvantaged ones, both at home and abroad. For example she has visited India ten times at her own expense, most recently earlier this year, to help in the Rotary-sponsored aim of eliminating polio from our planet. This has involved help with the vaccination of children under the age of five years to prevent the reintroduction of the disease. In recent times she has fostered young writer and young musician competitions, taken part in providing mock job interviews for 16-year-olds, collaborated closely with the formation of a club for 12 to 18-year-olds with learning difficulties, helped renovate a hospital in Tanzania and helped raise funds for Rotary’s ‘End polio now’ campaign. The list is formidable and is a measure of Jenny’s outstanding contributions in society both here and abroad.

Fortune shines on the West Wirral Rotary Club in having this most able woman as their 29th President.

Jenny Schwarz and her council members

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30 The Lake

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The Lake 31

10th BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K

Sue and Jim Beisty from Australia (image by Paul Francis Cooper)

A record number of runners pulled on their running shoes on Sunday 7th June for the 10th annual race which takes participants through the Mersey Tunnel.

Organisers BTR Liverpool closed the entries at 3,200 runners, the biggest number of entries to date since the event was brought back in 2006 at the request of the Mersey Tunnels.

Numbers for the BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K have continued to grow, and this is the first year the event has sold out.

Runners gathered in Blackstock Street, in Liverpool city centre, before making their way into the Kingsway Wallasey Tunnel to run underneath the River Mersey – the most challenging and unique part of the race. This is the only time runners can actually run underneath the River Mersey.

After emerging from the tunnel, the runners made their way along the picturesque Wirral waterfront from Seacombe, past the Fort Perch Rock landmark and Marine Lake, before arriving at the finish area on Ian Fraser Walk in New Brighton.

The overall winner was Taurus Ely from Salford Harriers in 32:35 (chip time) – who has now won the BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K for three successive years. The first female finisher was Kirsty Longley from Liverpool Pembroke Sefton Harriers in 37:58 (chip time).

The race attracted runners from across the country, as well as others who travelled from Scotland and Ireland to participate. But the furthest journey was made from Australia by Jim and Sue Beisty, aged 81 and 76.

The couple completed the race and were delighted to collect their commemorative medals and T-shirts. Jim’s time was 1:29:43 and Sue finished in 1:40:28.

Originally from Bootle, the couple are visiting the UK for six weeks, visiting family and friends in Liverpool and Wirral. During their trip, Jim has met up with friends in the running community he has made over social media and has also taken part in the Princes and Croxteth Parkruns and the Liverpool Running Club Walton Park 5 Mile.

It was a special day for Janet Quarry from Birkenhead – she chose to celebrate her 60th birthday by taking part in the race with her daughter Lauren. Janet’s time was 1:13:25 – and she has taken part in all 10 BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K events.

BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing and delivering headline race events in Liverpool City Region and recently won the title of Event Of The Year at the Wirral Tourism Awards 2015 for the Wirral Half Marathon/10K. BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell said: “Each year we think the Tunnel 10K cannot get any better – but it really does. It’s such a unique event and the runners really do embrace the challenge of the Kingsway Tunnel.

“When we brought the event back in 2006 at the request of Mersey Tunnels as a BTR race, we had no idea it would grow each year and become so popular. This year we had to close entries at 3,200, which is the biggest field in the history of the Mersey Tunnel 10K. We had a fantastic mix of newcomers, charity and club runners, and those who had travelled some considerable distance to take part and experience the atmosphere.

“Seeing the runners emerge from the tunnel is a wonderful sight, as are the fantastic backdrops of Wirral and Liverpool in the distance across the River Mersey. The final straight after Fort Perch Rock at Marine Point is perfect for spectators and the runners enjoy the applause as they cross the finish line, it works tremendously well.

The BTR Mersey Tunnel 10K race is the latest event in a year-long joint fundraising partnership between BTR Liverpool and its five official charities.

The BTR Footsteps Fundraisers initiative will bring the charities together to benefit financially through BTR’s key race events over a 12-month period by encouraging participants to fundraise and support them.

The five BTR Footsteps Fundraisers official charities are Radio City’s Cash For Kids, Claire House Children’s Hospice, Everton in the Community, Jospice, and Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Visit www.everydayhero.co.uk/event/supportbtrfootsteps for details.

Male winner Taurus Ely with Race Director Alan Rothwell (image by Paul Francis Cooper)

32 The Lake

Williamson Art Gallery Waterloo Lives Visitors to the gallery have the chance to discover more about the Battle of Waterloo, as it hosts a series of free Waterloo Lives exhibitions until 25th October, in collaboration with the National Army Museum.

While the National Army Museum’s main site at Chelsea is closed for refurbishment, objects from its collection are making guest appearances at selected museums across the country. The exhibitions will feature original weapons, uniforms, medals and paintings from the time of the battle.

Events at the Williamson in July and August include our supporting charity, the Friends of the Williamson’s weekly Summer Serenade programme with a concert each Sunday in Gallery Four. The concerts are organised by cellist Gethyn Jones of Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra and has a very loyal following. The concerts are free and usually last around an hour. Donations are welcomed.

The remaining programme includes: 19th July: Elgar’s String Quartet performed by the Ensemble of St Luke’s.

26th July: Zwolfton, young contemporary music ensemble led by saxophonist Claude Pietersen.

2nd August: tbc 9th August: tbc 16th August: Perri and Neil, voice and guitar, standards and own compositions.

23rd August: Tom Verity, clarinet recital performing music by composers from North-West England.

30th August: Heather Heighway, soprano recital.

Peter Philip Exhibition On exhibition in the gallery until the 30th August 2015 will be a Retrospective Exhibition of work by Peter Philip. Peter is a Liverpool-based representational painter working mainly in oils but he has produced many large-scale drawings of animals in his ‘Bestiary’ series, turning some studies into smaller etchings. He is twice a past prize-winner in the Wirral Spring Exhibition and exhibits regularly around the North West of England.

The exhibition will show a wide range of work from all periods of his artistic career and will include drawings, watercolours, prints and oils. In recent years, he has been especially drawn to classical paintings which he re-envisages with contemporary figures in the same positions but the modern setting leads to a very different interpretation of the subject.

Colin Simpson, Principal Museums Officer at the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum said of the summer exhibitions: “We recently exhibited, for the 20th year running, the works of the up and coming new graduates of Wirral Met College and it is equally important to show artwork with a regional contemporary focus from mid to late career artists. These exhibitions, which have grown to be a specialism of the Williamson, represent the sheer commitment of the artists to their work over a long period and we are thrilled to celebrate their achievements and the fact that they are still working to a very high standard.”

Colin Simpson, Curator of the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead, said: “We have had our large painting of the Battle of Waterloo on display for years and it is great to have an opportunity to tell the story of the men who are shown in the painting and put it into context. The National Army Museum loans are of the real objects shown in the painting and we are also showing alongside items from the Williamson’s collection that have not been seen for many years.”

The National Army Museum, in partnership with the Waterloo 200 Charity, Culture 24 and the Heritage Lottery Fund, has also recently launched Waterloo200.org as a central website for all Waterloo commemorative events this year. The website features an online gallery of 200 unique Waterloo artefacts, including the Duke of Wellington’s boots, an eagle standard captured in the battle and the original blood-stained saw used to amputate the Earl of Uxbridge’s leg.

The Waterloo Lives activities are part of a nationwide programme of commemorative activities and events produced by the National Army Museum to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle. The programme will include entertaining and informative performances, film screenings and a nationwide quiz, all with the aim of bringing the legendary battle to life by connecting audiences with the impact of the battle on the individual, the community and society. More information on the programme can be found at www.waterloo200.org/WaterlooLives The Battle of Waterloo was waged on a sodden field in Belgium on 18 June 1815 when the Duke of Wellington and his forces halted the advance of the French Army. Significant for many reasons, not least because it saw the end of Napoleon’s reign and heralded a long period of peace across Europe, the battle also marked an important stage in the development of the British Army because of the recognition each soldier received.

The National Army Museum’s Battle of Waterloo activities are part of the Museum’s Building for the Future project. which will see a radical transformation of the Museum’s offer. The project is being carried out thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), whose support has enabled the Museum to go on the road during its closure period, taking projects such as the ‘Waterloo Lives’ on tour.

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Time to say: “Eye love you” It’s said the eyes are the windows to the soul. Some research claims up to 93% of communication is non-verbal and much of this is conducted through eye contact. So, if we spend so much time reading people’s eyes, why do we neglect them when it comes to how we look? Tracey Locke, lead clinician at Serenity Clinic Ltd, thinks it’s time we all said “Eye love you”.

There are few (ladies particularly, but more and more men, too) who haven’t had a facial. But when was the last time you heard someone say they were going for an ‘eye-cial’? I’d imagine never, as the word doesn’t exist. But, the eye area is very often the first to show the signs of ageing and not just with lines and wrinkles. Sagging brows, drooping lids, dark circles, bags and puffiness make us look older in the one area that people concentrate on the most.

From simple, instant ways to give you a ‘lift’ to advanced non-surgical treatments for more permanent results, you can prevent and even reverse the signs of ageing around the eyes: Sunglasses: Particularly at this time of year. Large sunglasses will protect the delicate skin around the eyes and also, importantly, stop you squinting - which causes lines and wrinkles to appear.

Eye cream: Don’t just slap your moisturizer on. It’s well worth investing in a decent eye cream. You don’t put hand cream on your face so why put face cream on your eyes? Different skin has different needs.

Your therapist should be able to advise you on the most effective for your specific needs.

Lashes: As we age, hormonal changes can lead to a loss or thinning of lashes. Lash tinting and perming can help (also if you are fair), but for an instant ‘eye lift’ opt for semi-permanent individual lashes.

These produce a natural, but highly effective look. Longer lashes make your eyes look larger and the result is that you look younger and more awake. Make sure you (or your therapist) don’t go over the top though as the ‘drag queen’ look is an instant ager. Semi-permanent eyeliner will also add definition and make eyes appear bigger and your face more youthful, plus there’s the added advantage of no smudging.

Brows: Our brows droop as we get older and this can be a real giveaway in terms of ageing. But you don’t have to go under the knife to achieve the effects of a brow lift. Tinting and shaping can help, but for really impressive results try a more comprehensive approach such as HD Brows. This involves up to seven different techniques – including threading, tinting and shaping - to create highly defined brows to suit your individual face shape and complexion.

For a longer lasting solution to lift and enhance brows, semi-permanent make-up produces outstanding results and means you can throw away that brow pencil for good. Just ensure you find a technician who has up-to-date equipment that can produce real hair stroke effects. The ‘marker pen’ look will only age you more.

Lines: Crow’s feet or laughter lines around the eyes are one of the first signs of visible ageing, but, there are many ways to address them through non-surgical means. Eye-specific advanced facials, CACI, micro-current lifting, light therapy, micro-needling, Mesotherapy and dermal fillers significantly improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles around the eyes. They can also be improved by reducing other signs such as sagging and loose skin on the upper and lower eyelids as outlined below.

Lids: As we age we produce less collagen and elastin, which unfortunately means that everything heads southwards and this includes our eyelids. Upper lids tend to become loose and droop while fatty deposits that have slipped accumulate in our lower lids and under-eye area. This causes bags, puffiness and dark circles to form (these are not just signs of tiredness) and can really age your entire face. Eye-specific micro-current treatments work well, as do the right injectables but this is where advanced medical-grade skin tightening such as Venus Freeze comes to the fore. This non-surgical lift tightens skin, reduces bags, puffiness, lines and dark circles to address all the major signs of ageing problems in the eye area, safely and without pain.

Our eyes are arguably the most defining feature we have. We look into people’s eyes to see if they’re happy, sad, honest, worried, etc.

Unfortunately, as they are so expressive, they are also the one area that gives away our age (if we let it). So with so much focus on them isn’t it time to give them more attention in terms of anti-ageing?

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

34 The Lake

Career Guidance Beating Interview Nerves

By Susanne Christian Whatever age you are, interviews can be a scary business. There are not many of us who don’t get nervous at the prospect of an interview. Whether you’re going for your first part-time weekend job, returning to work after a break or seeking a more senior job to further your career, that interview stands between you and what you’ve applied for.

A certain level of interview nerves is to be expected, but it’s a pity to let nerves get the better of you and spoil your performance.

Preparation is key. What can you do to prepare for an interview?

1. Do your homework • Research the company – what are they saying about themselves on their website?

• Just as importantly, what are others saying about them? Look on the review sites.

• If it’s a business which doesn’t deal with the public, Google them and see if there has been any comment (good or bad) in the media.

A common interview question is ‘What do you know about the company?’ You’ll feel much happier if you can say something like ‘I know you are a family firm established in the 1930s’ or ‘Last year you had your highest ever turnover’, rather than sitting there feeling uncomfortable because you don’t know what to say.

2. Plan your journey

• ‘What can you bring to the job?’

• Make sure you know where you’re going on the day. Look carefully at the letter or email inviting you to the interview.

The interview might be at Head Office, rather than at the branch where you’ll be working.

A similar question. They want to know how you will be an asset to the company. So tell them a bit about your experience, but mainly about your achievements. ‘I was top salesperson for three of the last four quarters’ or ‘I delivered a £100k project six weeks early’ or even ‘I reduced the customer query turnaround from 48 to 24 hours’.

• Make sure you know how you’re going to get there. If it’s a very unfamiliar journey, you may want to have a dry run to check the timings • If you’re going by car, check the parking.

Phone the company – they may let you use a parking space. If you have to use a car park or the street, take cash for the ticket machine. You don’t want to be late for the interview while you try to get change – or sit through the interview worrying that you’re picking up a parking ticket. That certainly won’t help your nerves.

If you’ve not worked before, use another example: ‘Our fundraising team raised £1,000 this term’ or ‘We came top in an Enterprise competition – our company made £5,000.’ That’s what they want to hear – how will you make money for the company or help it work more efficiently.

It’s not boasting; it’s telling them about what you can do.

Remember – if you don’t tell them, no one else will!

3. Prepare your answers

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?’

You can’t possibly guess all the questions you’ll be asked. But there are some common questions interviewers often ask.

Having your answers prepared for those most likely questions might help you deal with the more unexpected questions.

Again, keep it job-related. This is no time to tell them about your weakness for chocolate or cute kittens. Don’t boast, be honest – but not too honest! Pick a weakness which the employer will see as a strength such as ‘I don’t like to leave a task until it’s finished’ or ‘I have very high standards for myself and my team’.

We’ve already covered ‘What do you know about the company?’ What else?

• ‘Tell me about yourself’ The interviewer wants to know about you in relation to the job. So, tell them about your relevant experience and how it links to this job. Make sure everything you tell them relates to the position you’re being interviewed for. You may have an interesting hobby or have just come back from a great holiday, but unless it’s relevant, keep it to yourself.

Whatever you do, don’t say you have no weaknesses. They’ll never believe you – no one’s perfect!

Want help conquering your nerves in interviews? Ask the expert. I am a fully qualified careers adviser and I’ve have coached adults and young people for all stages of the application process – from CV to application to assessment to interview.

Get in touch if you want to discuss how I can help.

See more about me at www.susannechristian.co.uk

What previous clients have said about Susanne: ‘Great insight into what potential employers are looking for’ ‘Very helpful advice on how to market myself positively’ ‘Susanne’s approach instils total confidence in her clients’

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Shorelines

Thanks to John Thompson for sending us these pictures of some ducks taking a rest on Station Road in Hoylake

By Stephen G Baker Do you like a bit of privacy? I felt sorry for a famous footballer the other week when I saw him, his wife and little one (no clues as to who it was for the sake of privacy) trying to fish for crabs on the Wirral. They did well to remain unobserved for so long. Their backs were to the people who were strolling along the promenade, the buggy was facing the sea, a packet of chips was on the back of the buggy and the only clue of any wealth was the pack of Tesco’s Finest pancetta. They were quietly fishing for crabs when someone spotted them. You can imagine what happened next; people were queuing up for a photograph or an autograph and the peace was shattered. It wasn’t long until ‘the Mrs’ decided that it was time to go and they moved on.

Who were they? Guessing who the famous couple were would be irrelevant and it’s not the point of the story. The point is that you can’t remain hidden for ever! If you are in the public eye, you are recognisable and you will be spotted no matter how well you hide yourself away.

What about ordinary folk like you and me? Does anybody notice or even care what we do? Can I assure you someone does. Many of you hopefully have good neighbours and a good family – if you have both you are privileged! People who care for you and look out for you! There are many kind and caring people in the world and though they may not be aware of it they try to live the teaching of Jesus - ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Matthew 22:39). It’s a tall order and none of us do it to perfection, but it’s good to try.

Do you feel that no one is looking out for you? Grasp this fact – God is interested in your life! The Bible states that in the happy times of life he fills ‘our hearts with food and gladness’ (Acts 14:17) and in the sad times he offers to be with us ‘through the valley of the shadow of death’ (Psalm 23:4). I would not attempt to explain the complexities of life’s sadness in this short piece but I must assure you that the tragedies of life are not what God wants for humanity.

Sin, evil and all the wrong that comes with them are the result of our choices and the consequences of these choices last for generations. Most of can see in our own family history that wrong words and actions have had a long-term negative effect. God sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

He rose from the dead to assure us that forgiveness is available to those will accept it.

There is hope of better things now and in eternity! www.findingthemissingpeace.blogspot.co.uk www.seekthetruth.org.uk

@lakewirral

36 The Lake

All Things Auctioneering

by John Bathurst Crane

May I begin this edition by saying a big ‘thank you’ to all the readers who have contacted me and invited me to their homes to chat about their items, some extremely valuable and others not so, but nevertheless all interesting and worth seeing. Naturally not all the items are necessarily for sale, but it is always an enjoyable experience to see fascinating and sometimes beautiful objects over a cup of tea. Keep the phone calls coming.

And these light evenings allow me to explore some lovely hidden-away gardens in locations generally not seen by the public.

We are finding that many solicitors, estate agents and estate executors are using our appraisal services and are appreciating our experience gained over 30 years in the world of auctioneering. It is a serious undertaking we have in Wirral and Liverpool – not the light-hearted, lightweight approach you sometimes see on the TV. Often we have to give advice in times of crisis in people’s lives, and a gentle touch and support is often required. Parting with items that have been familiar for perhaps a lifetime can be extremely painful. All of us at Cato Crane take a kindly approach to everyone we encounter during the working week and we find that this manner of conduct works well for our clients.

So, what has happened during my ‘Antiques Odyssey’ since I last wrote?

C18th Architect’s Desk

to see. These desks are quite rare with only a handful coming on to the market internationally each year. The last one I discovered was 30 years ago and made a great deal of money at auction.

in our business that two or three rare objects of similar type and design will be discovered in the same week and then we will not see similar items again for many years. There was also a period when oriental storage jars were converted into teapots for the export market. I came across several during one year, but haven’t seen any for quite a time. These can be recognised by not having a lip in the lid, and the lid is ‘tethered’ to the handle by a silver chain; they have generally had silver handles and pouring spouts added.

These are not desperately valuable, but it is nice to know what they are when discovered.

Knowledge for knowledge’s sake makes the work interesting. Business is not all about making money, as many people new to our industry might like to think. It is neither smart nor to be admired.

Liberty Silver Buttons

African Seat 1

Amber Beads £4,800

Our last online antiques auction produced some good results for vendors. A string of 25 yellow amber beads made £4,800, and a set of six enamelled hollow silver buttons by the designer Archibald Knox and retailed by Libertys in London made over £1,000, despite showing a fair amount of wear and damage. The silver section of the auction did well, with many pieces around the £500 to £1,000 mark. Furniture prices are firming up nicely again as the American economy strengthens. Good pictures always sell well, provided the artists are known and the colours match current decor.

A visit to a property in West Kirby produced a fine antique architect’s desk c1760. It still had its retractable candlestick holders, which was good

African Seat 2

Two intricately carved chairs turned up within a week of each other, both brought home from tours of Africa. They both have the same construction, but are stylistically quite different.

Perhaps the original owners were on the same cruise? We will never know! It does often occur

Dresser Sold in 1999

I have discovered several antique Welsh Dressers recently and was minded to dig out of the archives an advertising flyer we produced in 1999. A small Conway Valley dresser made £17,800 in one of our Liverpool auctions. Why so much? It was small, just 5ft 6in wide, and very pretty, rare and untouched. It took the person who bought it over a year to feed it with wax and colourants to achieve its original patina, but well worth the effort. Many dressers are now sold without the plate rack as they are not fashionable at the moment. If you buy a dresser, make sure you retain the plate rack as they will be back in fashion one day.

Good jewellery is still bringing good prices; I have illustrated an C18th gold brooch set with rubies and diamonds which has been consigned for auction with us and should make £2,000 to £3,000, despite it being the summer. Good items from private vendors sell well at any time of the year.

I recently read the Bassett-Lowke handbook for 1947. Bassett-Lowke manufactured serious models, which were as authentic as possible to the original full size operating locomotives. The firm was mostly known for their ‘O gauge’ model trains, but they did make 15in gauge and supplied the first ‘ride-on’ locomotive for the Rhyl miniature railway. The first locomotive was supplied the railway in 1909 with the mile-long track opening to the public in 1911. It is

The Lake 37

We have heard on the news recently of a new piano designed by Daniel Barenboim the famous conductor and pianist. The new piano has straight strings all parallel and not overlapping as they did in the early C19th. Only two have been made by Chris Maene the Belgian maker so the chances of owning one are probably quite slim but great sound and design. It is based on the piano once played on by Franz Liszt two hundred years ago.

There is nothing wrong with the 1884 designed model D Steinway. The new design is just a different sound and gives more control but looks identical and of course it is called the ‘Barenboim’.

wheelbarrows were designed by James Dyson of vacuum cleaner fame – they were manufactured in the UK for only a short period from 1974.

Sadly, the one illustrated is falling apart and I need a replacement. PLEASE, PLEASE, phone me if you know of one lurking at the back of a garage somewhere in leafy Wirral. I have a feeling that it might be easier to acquire a Barenboim grand pianoforte…

Gold Diamond and Amethyst Brooch

considered to be the first in the country and is still running today. Bassett-Lowke also supplied the locomotives for the extensive first model railway on the Duke of Westminster’s Eaton Hall Estate near Chester. This particular model railway necessitated the buildings of bridges and permission to cross public roads; not a small feat of engineering. The Fairbourne railway extends to a round trip of four and a half miles on a 121/2in gauge. It is my view that some of the models manufactured by Bassett-Lowke look more streamlined than the originals, as seen in the illustration of the locomotive ‘Princess Elizabeth’ shown above the Bassett-Lowke model of the same engine. Prices in the auction rooms for model railways, including Hornby models made in Liverpool, are rocketing at the moment as there is a new wave of collectors coming through the ranks.

St Bride’s Church

Dyson Ballbarrow

Princess Elizabeth with model below

I’ve been searching for a classic wheelbarrow, which for obvious reasons is known as a Ballbarrow because the wheel is replaced by a ball. It’s a great design that doesn’t leave ruts in lawns. In my few bits of spare time each year, I care for a period garden set out in 1969 in the wilds of the mountains in Snowdonia. It seems to rain a lot in the Welsh mountains and Ballbarrows are great in the mud… Great design lasts well and these

Finally, an antique Liverpool church – St Bride’s church, fronting on to Percy Street in Liverpool, was designed by Samuel Rowland and consecrated on 29th December 1830. This church is still holds services every Sunday, but is now also home to the Liverpool Cathedral Hope food bank. More than 15,000 food parcels have been distributed in the last two years. Most recipients are truly needy, especially refugees who have fled from religious or political persecution. So, to all food bank volunteers in Wirral and Liverpool, thank you and keep up the good work – it is greatly appreciated. Donations of food or financial gifts are very, very welcome.

Come and visit our auction rooms, or if you would like me to give a talk to groups of people interested in art and antiques you can call me on 0151 342 2321. Follow me on Twitter @catocrane or see our website www.catocrane.co.uk.

Our Liverpool office number is 0151 709 5559 for home appraisal visits and a cup of tea!

More antique adventures next issue…

38 The Lake any. Your body want to replace this supposed lost energy with food, so you get hungry. The longer you are stressed the more cortisol is released, so the hungrier you get.

By this point your brain is looking to release chemicals that make you happy and, therefore, reduce tension. Unfortunately for your waistline, the best foods for releasing these hormones are the high fat, high salt and high sugar foods that we all know are no good for us.

Zara Wylie, Head Trainer at Fitness Queen Arrowe Park and West Kirby has transformed her own body shape using the Fitness Queen programme and is now helping others do the same. She launched Fitness Queen Arrowe Park in September and members have seen some amazing results.

And if that wasn’t enough, your body produces less testosterone.

Although women have naturally lower levels than men, testosterone is vital for building lean muscle. Less muscle means a lower metabolism so all that wonderful fatty food that you have been feasting on is burnt off much slower.

Don’t panic – by following some simple tips you can help lower your stress levels and get back into that favourite summer dress in no time!

1. Exercise Using your muscles tricks your body into thinking that you are escaping from the source of the stress and so flushes the cortisol out of your body quicker. Exercise also releases endorphins – the ‘happy hormone’ – to help relieve the impact of stress. If you can’t make it to the gym, even a quick stroll around the block will help.

Is stress the reason for those few extra pounds?

2. Don’t Diet

For every one of us, stress has become an everyday occurrence that we have to face. But is stress the thing to blame for those couple of extra pounds that seem to have crept on since last summer? Head Fitness Coach at Fitness Queen Arrowe Park and West Kirby talks through how stress impacts your body and ways of overcoming it.

Following a strict diet is hard on both your mind and body. If you suddenly deprive yourself of the foods that you normally eat, your body will start craving them – therefore testing your willpower and raising your stress levels. Instead, follow the 80/20 rule where you eat a healthy balanced diet 80% of the time and allow yourself the occasional treat.

Your body’s response

3. Get Some Sleep

Your body responds to all forms of stress in the same way.

Firstly you get a burst of adrenaline (our caveman ‘fight or flee’ response), but at the same time you get a surge of cortisol which basically tells your body that you need to replenish energy that you would have used fighting or fleeing, even if you haven’t used

Your body perceives sleep deprivation as a major source of stress. The amount of sleep you need varies from person to person, but it is recommended you get between 7 and 9 hours per night. Even just a few nights of good solid sleep is enough to rebalance your body

FITNESS QUEEN OF THE MONTH Congratulations to Gillian Carswell from Fitness Queen Arrowe Park who is our Queen of the Month. Gillian is so determined and always pushes herself beyond her comfort zone. Well done Gillian!

If you would like help with your shape-up goals, why not join our results-driven shape-up programme? Sessions currently run in Arrowe Park, Heswall and West Kirby. Our years of success as trainers means we know exactly what it takes to get great results. We always manage to have a giggle, but are serious about transforming our members’ bodies.

We 100% guarantee results in just 21 days! Places are limited, so why not contact us to book your place?

Did you know we are now offering free nutritional workshops that you can attend plus free nutritional training for fitness professionals? Please contact for more info.

Gillian Carswell

Call: 07702844984 • Email: zara.wylie@gmail.com • Web: www.wirralfitness.info

OUR SUCCESS IS BASED ON THREE IMPORTANT FACTORS Product Range We select our products and suppliers very carefully on the basis of quality, range, price and reputation.

For over 40 years Jim Barrow Motor Factors have been providing high quality car parts to local garages.

Formed in 1970 by Jim Barrow Snr to provide a high-quality service based on strong personal relationships, the company still reflects these values in day-to-day operations.

Our success led us relocate to new 5,000 sq ft premises close to the motorway network, allowing us to stock an even larger range of parts and ensure a fast service.

Staff Our team of well-trained and motivated employees is dedicated to ensuring that our customers enjoy the best possible service.

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

Service We know that speed and accuracy of delivery are important, that is why we have invested in a delivery fleet that provides a fast same day FREE delivery service.

jim barrow TELEPHONE 0151 609 0609 8 Durley Park Close, North CheshireTrading Estate, Wirral CH43 3DE

www.jimbarrow.co.uk