Forums Forums Active Threads

Most history topics have topped out, there is very little history that hasn't been covered before.

Thousands of UK forums have died out for various reasons and the upcoming legislation* will be a major threat to the remaining ones. Social media has taken over but its all here-and-now, I can't get back to some replies I made yesterday on FB. You can't beat a forum for archiving community led information and it is very sad they are being lost. Even search engines are dumping more and more old information so if its on the internet you have no way of finding it if its years old.

*Online Safety Act 2023

It looks as if there's a big NATO exercise coming up :

https://defensescoop.com/2025/03/24/nato-ramstein-flag-2025-exercise-plans/#:~:text=When%20it%20unfolds%20between%20March%2031%20and,Royal%20Air%20Force%20Netherlands%27%20Leeuwarden%20Air%20Base.

Military personnel from more than 15 nations in the NATO alliance are getting set to conduct a series of complex training missions that mirror realistic, contemporary combat scenarios and confront emerging adversarial threats, according to two senior officials overseeing the massive, upcoming Ramstein Flag 2025 exercise.

When it unfolds between March 31 and April 11, the event will span 12 allied operational air bases and incorporate more than 90 fighter jets and support aircraft from across NATO’s arsenal.

Haha... I'll ask him !

Looks like the Queens Royal has been saved from demolition and is in advanced stages of refurbishment. From what I can tell, it appears to have been taken over by an established restaurant/hotel chain.

Timeless Elegance and Comfort:

AnItalian bedroom Italian bedroom is the perfect blend of sophistication, luxury, and comfort. Known for its exquisite craftsmanship and elegant designs, it brings a touch of timeless beauty to any home. Featuring premium materials such as solid wood, genuine leather, and plush fabrics, Italian bedroom furniture offers both durability and style.

Elegant Designs with Luxurious Details
Italian bedrooms are renowned for their ornate bedframes, often crafted with intricate carvings, tufted headboards, or sleek, modern silhouettes. The use of rich color palettes—such as cream, gold, and deep brown—creates a warm and inviting ambiance. Decorative accents, including chandeliers, mirrors, and plush rugs, add to the sophisticated charm.

Superior Comfort and Functionality
Italian bedrooms prioritize comfort and functionality. With plush bedding, high-quality mattresses, and soft textiles, they create a cozy retreat. The furniture pieces, including nightstands, dressers, and wardrobes, offer practical storage while enhancing the room’s aesthetic.

Transform Your Space with Italian Elegance
An Italian bedroom is more than just a sleeping space—it’s a luxurious sanctuary. Whether you prefer a classic, ornate style or a sleek, contemporary look, investing in Italian bedroom furniture brings timeless elegance and refined comfort to your home.

Good to see this again, long gone as did Belle Vue, apparently there are still about ten tracks around the country, not sure I'd be interested any longer like I was back in the day.

A nice little history lesson,

I inherited some photos from my late uncle recently and will share some here. These were titled 'Wirral Festival of sport 1971' and show some motorcycle racing round the dips in New brighton. Scanned from slides.

Absolutely brilliant, thank you so much!

Never in a month of Sundays would it dawn on me that you could do such a thing as to look up things like that, I just always assumed once it had been and gone, that was it.

It would seem it was quite well known, have now seen a few folk writing into crash magazine saying how they had bought games and things from the shop way back when!

I would have been working in Fads in 1987/88 before moving to Max Spielmann in 89. Was only there for the one summer season but the money was great for the time, well over a £150 a week and as there was no minimum wage back then made sense to leave Fads which even though was permanent, what I’d earn from Max Speilmann as a summer temp for 8 weeks was equivalent to 8 months at Fads!

Sadly (but quite happily) my idea of banking the money and buying myself some time went straight into Microsnips till!

Once the summer of 89 was over, my time in Liscard had come to an end as I had a mate who worked in Moreton who told me about a job their so never really got much chance to visit Liscard once I was working full time in and around Moreton.

Once I’d left Liscard, I’d visit Birkenhead probably weekly and my new “local” computer shop was at the top of Charing cross in Birkenhead. I always remember every time I’d turn the corner to go down the escalator to the platform in Liverpool Central Station seeing a big lite up advertisement of the inside of the shop! God what I would do to be able to see that once again!

Thank you so much for taking the time to post the link, sadly I’d didn’t work for me. Did you notice if the link I posted worked? I’m not sure if it’s this site? I get the feeling things that should be easy to do are made to be as difficult as possible.

I remember it well. It did suffer some damage during the blitz.

Remember these flats very well during the 1980s.

Sadly a friend took her life in the 80s from the heights, Angie Morris. Her Mum used to live in Bermuda Road and Angie used to work in Ye Olde Meadowbrook shop for Jace the owner. Was gutted when I found out she has died from jumping from the heights. God love her.

My god, I remember seeing that advert for the computer shop every time I walked around the corner to get on the elevator to go down to the platform and the Nestle Dairy Crunch vending machine on the wall just as you went around the corner onto the platform!

Brilliant!! Thanks for sharing the link, had a brief read on my lunch and looking forward to getting a chance to sit down and properly have a good read! What a great book and can’t wait to learn more about Walli’s and the fair!

It seems that the 'regeneration' of New Ferry involves it's one asset as a local shopping centre - adequate free parking - being sacrificed for more housing.

The Woodhead street car park, which is well used, is to be surrounded with cramped houses leaving a patch of grass the size of a postage stamp in the centre. This is labelled 'Community Meadow' in the plans. Evidently there is a wit amongst them. There is no parking there whatsoever. Anyone wanting to visit any of the shops there will be forced to use the local streets, those near the centre seem to be primarily used by local garages as their private car park.

Far from regenerating New Ferry, it will spell its death knell - at least as a shopping centre.

Their one aim seems to be to increase the housing density of the eastern side of the peninsula to unbearable levels, rather than to upset the residents of the western side with any new housing where there is far more room for it.

They are on the planning website

A small summery https://newferryonline.org.uk/regeneration-plans

We used to have a reasonably good planning portal, then the Government appear to have tried to make a national one, then the Council came up with this one. Although it has improved slightly over the last year or so, it is still pretty much unusable.

A while ago I was checking out one in Chestnut Grove, I knew it was on the system but the search point blank refused to find it under Chestnut Grove. Once found it was addressed as Chestnut Grove so I have no idea why the search failed, another hour of my life wasted.

Some of the larger projects have masses of documents which are untitled without preview and you have to download them all one-by-one to view them.

Loads of historic records that were digital in the past have now been replaced with a small summary.

That's the trouble with having one company as the contractor for all IT, everything is a compromise and little common sense, the contract is signed and you get what you are given.

Thanks for that Derek.

I was well-acquainted with Scouse plural Yous though discouraged on the west side of the then-based Wirral part of Cheshire.

But the Neston-derived Yuse was most certainly used in the singular form.

That fact is established. What I was after was how Heswall got the monica "Yowler" and why. But as been said already; just a derogative term.

I was a pupil at Galtres School from 1949 to 1956, when I went on to Birkenhead School. We did indeed wear purple caps and blazers, with a grey owl as badge. The building was a rambling Victorian house which was rather depressing, but the outside play area was wonderful: a small wood, a playing field at the bottom of a deep slope, and the foundations of a demolished building, which acted as an outdoor stage for school entertainments. I received a good education, and most of the teachers were pleasant. I particularly liked Mrs Patterson and a young temporary teacher, Mrs Ditchfield. I was, however, terrified of Mrs Benson, the headmistress, who could frequently be seen walking around with a cane under her arm, which she would frequently use. I and two friends were caned for playing at snowballs after school. I used to dread school: my grandchildren are far happier in their schooling.

For a while in my twenties, I went out with the daughter of one of my Galtres teachers. She had the bright idea of arranging a reunion with Mrs Benson. Within thirty seconds of the commencement of our meeting, Mrs Benson had started to tell me off.

I wonder what happened to them all. Is Mrs Ditchfield still alive?

Been up for nearly two months. Is nobody moderating the forum anymore?

The old Littlewoods building overlooking Wavertree park by Edge lane has recently had the clock tower demolished. Although it is a listed building, that doesn't stop it being one of the ugliest buildings in the city and I would be delighted if the whole place was razed to the ground, but it appears the clock tower will be rebuilt and the whole mausoleum will once again dominate the Park and the Botanic gardens it overlooks.

It seems the whole place will be turned into a massive Film Studio. To this I have no objection, but why does it have to be restored to its former ill-proportioned ugly form?

I suspect the only reason the place got listed was because of Littlewoods having been a major employer in Liverpool and the family remained powerful, but it has no merit as far as I can see. Moreover building a replica, which is what's planned, is hardly preservation. It is utterly pointless, and the city has been denied the possibility of a new building that fits the Landscape better doesn't look like a memorial building for a deposed and hated Dictator

Thank you Bert

The Z Battery (rocket projector battery) downhill from the WT station would have had a gun laying radar, whether this would have been near the rocket battery or tagged onto the wireless telegraphy station I have no idea but I'd suspect not as one was army and one was navy and it was a bit further than the usual distance from the battery.

Although rockets sound more modern and effective than guns, it was the other way around, once the radars improved the AA guns made the rocket batteries redundant. Both were very scary for aircrews.

Anyone got drawer(s) from an Eastham kitchen circa 1984?

Seems a better use than more bloody blocks of flats.

We'll have to see if the money is forthcoming to support this splendid vision.