Wirral Heritage Open Days

Today I helped out at The Parish Church of St Elisabeth the New Martyr’s Heritage Open day.

 The church, which has recently taken over Rake Lane Chapel has gone from Strength to Strength over the past few months. Father Micheal is keen to open the chapel to the public as much as possible. It was great to see so many residents learning about the history of the Russian Orthodox church and appreciating the hard work that Father Micheal and his parishioners have put into the chapel.

I was joined by the chairman of the Friends of Rake Lane Group, Mark Joynson,  who like me had been desperate to find a use for the derelict chapel.

Wirral Heritage Open Days

From Thursday 10th September to Sunday 13th September there will be a number of Open Days organised to celebrate local buildings with significant historic value.

In Liscard there will be an open day at the Rake Lane Cemetery Chapel, now the Parish Church of St Elisabeth the New Martyr, which will be opened on Saturday 12th September from 1pm – 5:30pm and again on Sunday 13th September from 1pm – 4pm. On Sunday 13 there will also be a guided walk through the Cemetery beginning at 1:30pm and 2:30pm.

Wallasey Memorial Church on Manor Road will also be open to visitors on Saturday 12th September from 12 – 4pm. You can see the full programme of events by clicking here.

Goodies and Gubbins

Myself and Shel from Egremont Community Voice with our newly bought bunches of wild flowers

Today Wirral Environment Centre on Falkland Road held a ‘Goodies and Gubbins’ event and open day. I attended along with James, Leah and Denis Knowles. The centre provides training on recycling and sustainability and aims to promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.

At the event we took the opportunity to stock up on veg grown in local allotments and I even had a very relaxing foot massage!

Apollo Court

Leah, Kathleen, James and I in Kathleen's new apartment.

I originally suggested that Wirral Partnership Homes should look at purchasing the new development at the site of the former cinema when it was decided that residents should move out of Charter House and Mersey Court. Its great that these plans have finally come to fruition and I was pleased to go along to the official opening of Apollo Court with Leah and James.

We spent time having a look around the apartments and the residents seem delighted with their new home. It was good to have a chat with some familiar faces and to introduce ourselves as councillors to those people who have moved from outside Liscard ward. I’m sure they will all be very happy at Apollo Court – there is already a great community atmosphere about the place.

Door Knocking In Egremont

Oliver Adam, Tony Cox, Simon Mountney, Tony Pritchard, Myself, Lesley Rennie, Karen Hayes, Paul Hayes, Kate Wood and Chris Blakeley

This evening the team were out in force knocking on doors in Greenwood Lane and the surrounding areas. As usual we had a very welcoming response and most people were keen to tell us they can’t wait to cast their ballots at the General and Local elections and get rid of this useless government and labour led council.

A Tesco in Liscard?

It was disappointing to see Rosebys close its shop in Liscard recently, leaving another big retail space vacant in the centre of Liscard. However it looks like Tesco are looking to place one of its Tesco Express stores on the site, you can view the plans and comment on them here. Please have your comments in by 20th August.

Welcome to the Blog World

Denis Knowles, Conservative Councillor for Seacombe and Poulton has launched a brand new blog to update residents about what issues he is tackling on their behalf. You can access the site at www.seacombe.info and I will also add him as a link. Happy Blogging Denis!

Knocking On Doors in Egremont

Last night we were out in Egremont.  We had a number of issues come up which I am currently dealing with; including yet more instances of fly tipping, litter and graffiti as well as drainage problems on one road.

The team were out and about in Rudgrave Square, Rudgrave Mews, Charlotte Rd, Lea Rd and Trafalgar Rd. Many thanks to Cllrs Lesley Rennie, Simon Mountney, Denis Knowles and Anne Lavin, Tony Cox and Marg Kalil for helping out.

Under and Over

Paul Hayes, Myself and Denis Knowles at the Starting Line

This morning I took part in the Under and Over event organised to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Queensway Tunnel.

Liverpool / Wirral Boarder inside the Tunnel

Joining me in the walk were colleagues Cllrs Tom Anderson, Jeff Green, Gerry Ellis, Sheila Clarke, Cherry Povall, Paul Hayes and Denis Knowles along with Conservative Parliamentarty Candidates Jeff Clarke (Wirral South), Esther Mcvey (Wirral West) and Andrew Gilbert (Birkenhead). Unfortunately Leah couldn’t take part as she was volunteering at the Leasowe Fun Run and Big Lunch, but we did also see Cllr Sue Taylor stewarding inside the Tunnel and gave her a wave as we marched past!

It took us around 45 minutes to complete the walk and on the whole we managed to keep together, although Cllr Gerry Ellis and Denis Knowles seemed to steam ahead! It was a great experience and I’m glad to have taken part. We got a medal at the end of the walk as a memento for the day and I noticed some people even brought along medals from when the Tunnel opened all those years ago.

The event was in aid of Claire House, a fantastic cause, and judging by the amount of people who attended they should be looking at receiving a big cheque at the end of the day.

Paul Hayes, Jeff Clarke, Cherie Povall, Myself, Esther Mcvey, Tom Anderson and Sheila Clarke at the finishing line with our medals!

Church of St Elisabeth The New Martyr

 

Fr Paul Blesses The New Church

 This morning I, along with Leah, James and Cllrs Ian Lewis and Paul Hayes, went along to the first service held in Rake Lane Cemetery’s Chapel by Fr Paul and his Russian Orthodox congregation.

James, myself and Fr Paul

The Chapel was blessed and officially turned into the Church of St Elisabeth, the New Martyr. The liturgy was beautiful and although we were standing for most of it I was mesmerised by the singing and chanting. Orthodox services are certainly different from the Roman Catholic Mass I usually attend but it is certainly fascinating to watch; I would encourage as many people as possible to pop along for one of their Sunday services, beginning at 9.30am, Fr Paul operates an open door policy and you will be most welcome.

After the service we had a ‘bring and share luch’ with the opportunity to get to know members of the congregation. It was at this point that we discovered James went to school with Fr Paul’s daughter’s fiancé, Andy, and the couple look set to be the first couple to marry in the church next July. Small world!

The whole congregation seemed delighted to be in their new home and I’m equally delighted that they have put this wonderful building back in use once again.