On Thursday I went to the Floral Pavilion to attend the 20th Annual ‘Volunteering Wirral’ Long Service Awards Ceremony. It was good to see that as there were so many recipients, there had to be 2 seperate ceremonies. The afternoon was hosted by Steve Mowbray, the Manager of Volunteering Wirral, with the awards being presented by the Mayor of Wirral, Cllr. Moira McLaughlin.
The awards consisted of ’100 hours certificates’, Bronze medallions for 3 years service, Silver for 5 years service and Gold for 10 years. There were nine presentations of Platinum medallions which is for over 20 years service. One of the Platinum recipients was of special interest to me as it was my mum, Margaret Harrison who has run the Wirral Deaf Blind Group for over 20 years.
Three guest speakers interspersed the awards by giving short talks. They were Jan Griffin from Working Life, Alison Bell of Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology, and Kathy Wootton from Wirral CAB. All were interesting and very enlightening. Entertainment was provided by Bernie Fawcett, keyboard and vocals, who kindly donated his fee again to Clatterbridge Hospital Cancer Research Fund.
After the full Council Meeting at the Town Hall on Monday which was quite heated, it was a pleasure to attend a few Christmas events this week. Above was the scene on Tuesday when most of the pupils from Foxfield School went to Moreton Baptist Church for a carol service conducted by the pastor, Andy Frith. The children were in high spirits and sang through every song. On the piano was one of my Town Hall colleagues, Cllr. Wendy Clements. Many of the Baptist Church congregation were involved, helping the children and serving refreshments after the service.
Wednesday morning saw another Carol Service for the Children of Foxfield at Moreton Methodist Church. This service was performed by the pupils and their parents also attended.
After the excellent service by the children, Headteacher Andre Baird, and the minister of the Church, Rev. Arnold Dixon gave speeches and thanked the pupils.
On Thursday I called in on the Foxfield School Christmas Panto. This is a pantomime performed by the staff for the pupils. This showed off some acting and musical talents including the Foxfield Band. Another good afternoon, with the children literally singing and dancing in the aisles.
Last night with Cllr. Chris Blakeley I went to the switch on of the Christmas Light Display in Amberley Close, Moreton. This is the 8th year that the George and Williams families have produced a magnificent spectacle. Many residents turned out to support the switch on. The proceeds from the lights go to Claire House Childrens Hospice, and last night we were honoured that the lights were switched on by Claire House’s very own Claire Bear.
Mrs Williams told me that she was also doing more fundraising this year by holding raffles at the Grange Pub. Over the Christmas period there will be a raffle for signed football shirts, and customers can help the charity by buying lots of tickets.
If you are on the area take time to call at the Close and see the lights and more importantly please donate to Claire House.
The George and Williams Families with Claire Bear
Today in front of a crowd of about 100 the Moreton Christmas Lights were again turned on. The event was once again organised by Moreton resident Angela Pouncey with help from her family and friends. The afternoon started about 3.00 in the Coach & Horses Pub where there was a disco, kindly provided by Mark of ‘XL Nights Disco’, who kept many children (and adults) entertained. There were drinks, a massive buffet and a draw.
At 5.00 the crowd from the pub went outside and joined others in the road for the switch on. Merseyside Police were in attendance for road safety, closing the service road for the event. The lights were switched on by celebrity Hairdresser, Herbert of Liverpool. He was a big hit with the crowd and had time to chat to many of the ladies who wanted to talk “hair”. Cllr. Chris Blakeley didn’t seem interested in the hair talk!
All in all a great afternoon that will hopefully assist Moreton traders with the lead up to Christmas and help by making the town look so festive. A big thanks to Angela Pouncey, The Coach & Horses, Merseyside Police and the traders and residents who have donated to the event.
Dr. Paul Sherrard - Cllr. Steve Williams - Laura Hill
Last Thursday I was delighted to be invited to a presentation event at Moreton Dental Care on Hoylake Road. The subject was a Mission to Uganda which had taken place this summer. The trip was undertaken by the practice principal Dr. Paul Sherrard and nurse Laura Hill. The charity mission was to offer dentistry in remote villages that did not have any of their own services.
The evening was a photographic presentation to about 20 people, with narration from Dr. Sherrard and Laura. It was an eye-opening experience highlighting the terrible conditions that these people, particularly the children, live in. Many villagers had never seen a dentist, or even met a white person before. Most had to walk about 3 miles to collect unfresh water!
The team travelled between villages, sometimes up to 4 hours on unmade roads. Sometimes the ‘patients’ had queued for hours for their appointment. Paul and Laura were part of a team which included other doctors and a nurse who dealt with varying medical problems. They extracted over 1000 teeth without electric or running water. The photos were exceptional, vividly depicting the appalling conditions. It certainly put into perspective, how we often berate our own National Health Service!
All this was organised through the New Hope charity, further details at www.newhope.co.uk
It was refreshing to see so much good work done by Moreton’s local dental staff, and many of their patients for assisting in the funding of the trip. I am sure all their efforts were hugely appreciated.
I am pleased that one of Moreton’s closed shops was re-opened last Tuesday with a new business. Ina and Paul are the owners of the new business “PANCAKES ETC”. I called in on Wednesday and they are pleased that local residents are quickly finding out about them, calling in for a bite, a drink and a natter.
The shop is at 217 Hoylake Road next door but one to LloydsTSB. I hope the business does well and attracts other businesses to come to Moreton and fill some of our empty shops. I will do my best to try each flavour of pancake!
Yesterday I attended the Dedication Service at the new War Memorial in Hamilton Sqaure. The memorial commemorates servicemen and women who have been awarded the Victoria or George Cross, local people killed during World War II and those who have been killed in other conflicts since.
The service was led by the Mayor of Wirral, Cllr Moira McLoughlin. Many people attended including past Mayors of Wirral, Frank Field MP, the Mayor of Chester, and many wirral residents including families of those who have recently been killed at war.
Vodafone and Telefonica have today contacted me with a pre-planning application for a mobile phone mast. The mast would be sited on the pavement outside Tesco Express, Hoylake Road, Moreton, near to the junction with Millhouse Lane. The mast would be an 11.8 meter monopole housing one set of three antennas, with capacity for another set of three antennas at the top of the structure.
Councillors Chris Blakeley, Simon Mountney and myself would like to hear any thoughts that you have regarding this, in order for us to try and represent your views. Please contact us with your feelings regarding this matter.
You may recall Vodafone had made aplication for a mobile telephone mast to be erected at the junction of Hoylake Road and Holt Avenue. This had been refused by Wirral Borough Council, but then Vodafone had appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.
I have today been informed that the appeal has been dismissed. If you wish to see full details of the decision then the Appeal Reference No. is APP/W4325/A/11/2153398. Their site is http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/index.htm
On Monday I attended the first anniversary of the launch of “Cosy Homes” at the Town Hall. So far 11,800 homes have benefitted from this service.
The Warmer Wirral “Cosy Homes” scheme is currently offering free loft & cavity wall insulation (subject to technical survey and a maximum grant) to all Wirral home owners and private rented tenants. This offer is part of a project funded by Wirral Council and British Gas. The project is managed by local environmental charity Energy Projects Plus. All residents in Wirral are eligible regardless of income, age or status.
A third of the heat lost in an uninsulated home goes through the walls, and another quarter through the roof. By properly insulating your home, you can expect to save £150 a year if you currently have no loft insulation and £115 a year if you don’t have cavity wall insulation.
To ensure you don’t lose your share of the funds, please telephone the Energy Saving Trust advice centre on freephone 0800 512 012 to book a technical survey or you can register online at
www.wirral.gov.uk/freeinsulation and you will receive a call back.