Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral Now and Then The Future of Birkenhead Town

what pub was it pp

Quite right PP, and june why would I think you were having a dig.

Tony it was The Grapes,it changed to The Old Colonial.
Was a great pub,it had a great mixture of different people from every walk of life,i still miss the banter to this day.

no Bert i never meant you honest ,you have never done that .I was refering to people who always seem to have a dig ,they know who they are .To be honest i`m past caring i thought i would just say what i felt about people in birkenhead no problem Bert

Thats OK June, I'll keep buying the pegs.

Thanks Bert

This is part of my post on Dan's photo thread, i thought I would add it here with a bit more (if that is OK with the Mod's, if not please remove). On our way to Arrowe Park we passed Woodchurch Estate, from what I remember(42 years ago) it was open and spacious, but what was there but a great big ASDA warehouse. So much for keeping open space and a village feeling that the Estate was designed for. I am sorry but I could not find any redeeming features in Birkenhead itself(apart from Birkenhead Park as mentioned below from an Australian) and some unredeeming features outside, as mentioned above. I will probably never come home again(as I am 63 and 12,000 miles away) so I was dissappointed to see the place in such a bad case of lack of identity.

I know things change but not always for the better. Where has Charing Cross gone? Now nothing more than a few sets of traffic lights. Oxton rd has lost all it character and I wont even mention Borough Rd from Singleton Avenue down. From Singleton Ave down it was the most depressing site I have ever seen. But Birkenhead Park and Arrowe Park looked magnificent. Even my wife said the best part of the trip was the walk through Birkenhead Park. Oh well.
Also we spent a night in Liverpool on the way North and I wanted to take my wife on the ferry, however the ferry did not start until 10am so we had to go to Secombe instead what a dissapointment, sob sob.
Sorry if I have offended anybody with comments above.

The ASDA is on the site of the old co-op laundry. The housing estate layout itself has been very little touched. The often near full car park of Asda shows the high level of demand for the store.

As for the rest of Birkenhead, sadly the council loves knocking things down and allowing development in a random manner.

It frustrates me when I've had planning permission problems with a window sill being a few inches different from what the council wanted. Yet at the same time, large random buildings have been built totally out of character and position with the surroundings.


I won't even start on the ferries except to say at least they are in profit unlike the tunnels, trains and buses.

I think to many years in the OZ sun has played havoc with Jollys RAM, either that or he has spent to many years on walkabout in the bush living off crocodile meat
I don't ever remember Borough Rd being a delightful thoroughfare, in fact it has more greenery and trees now than it ever had. What town comparable to Birkenhead hasn't got its Borough Rd. Perhaps my RAM is not what it should be, my memory of the road from the 50s through to present day is not one of architectural beauty, apart from the odd building, but more of grotty shops and houses whose landlords thought their only responsibility was to collect rents.

As for the roundabout at Charring Cross, perhaps it did look more pleasing to the eye but unfortunately because of the volume of traffic it had to go, and we all know as car owners, quicker and safer passage takes precedence over anything considered more pleasing to the eye.

its amazing reading these letters how anybody has lived in birkenhead since the 1940s.keep on knocking.

I have lived away from Birkenhead for nearly 20 years now. I miss living on the Wirral. It will always be home.
Eventually when my husband and I retire,I really want to come back.
Can't tell you how homesick I still get.
Lyn.

Actually I think the ferries make a loss but are subsidised by the tunnels. The buses and Merseyrail do make a profit. This profit though is basically subsidised by taxpayers. The profit of course going to the shareholders and not back into the infrastructure due to privatisation. Another legacy of Thatcher/Major!

How dare those wicked shareholders get a return on their investments? They should invest their own money in an industry, for nothing, right?
Yep, great idea, that'll attract loadsamoney!

I'm not saying they're wicked. Just that buses and trains should be run in the public sector. British Rail and the PTE/Municipal bus companies were far more efficient and cheaper than the current private companies.

OK fair point - I certainly don't agree either, with any private-sector business ever being subsidized (or in any way funded) by taxes - just look at the "Solyndra" mess, here in the US!
However I can't ever agree that state-run anything is ever more efficient (and certainly not cheaper...!)
Anyhow I better stop there as I'm conscious that this is getting rather off-topic... cheers!