Sunday Snippets 25 April 2021

Welcome to “Sunday Snippets” a weekly feature from birkenhead.news. It is a round-up of our most popular good news stories from the last seven days. Click on each story to read the full article.

Wirral Met’s golden ticket to a career in fine-dining

The Art School and Wirral Met College are collaborating to provide four young people with a unique opportunity to start an exciting career in the fine-dining industry.

Launching this May, the 10 week Pre-Apprenticeship Programme is designed to help young people aged 16 to 24 gain the critical skills needed to progress onto an apprenticeship or full-time employment.

The lucky trainees selected will gain valuable industry experience at The Art School’s prestigious restaurant located in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter. There are four positions available, from pastry and hot kitchen chefs, to front of house.

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Inspectors impressed with COVID procedures at Arrowe Park Hospital

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report following a focused inspection of acute services at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust looking at infection prevention and control (IPC).

Inspectors visited Arrowe Park Hospital in February where they observed IPC measures and spoke with staff and patients. Inspectors visited wards 11, 22 and 33, as well as the emergency department, acute medicine unit, urgent medical assessment centre and the discharge hospitality centre. They also observed public areas and staff rooms to check social distancing practices were being followed.

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As thousands respond to Birkenhead 2040 consultation, there is still time to have your say

Thousands of people are getting involved in the discussion about the future of Birkenhead.

Last month Wirral Council released the detailed consultation documents outlining the vision for ensuring the town has a thriving, sustainable future.

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Curious cat who fell 40ft into River Mersey at Birkenhead is rescued by RSPCA and fire service

A cat that had fallen 40ft into the River Mersey had to be rescued by the RSPCA and fire service water team – and was then returned to his grateful owner.

A member of the public spotted the cat perched on a small piece of concrete in the river at Priory Wharf near Woodside Ferry Terminal, Birkenhead on Tuesday 13 April and alerted the RSPCA.

Animal rescuer, Inspector Leanne Cragg was sent to the scene and could see the frightened cat on a small wall in the river.

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Brownfield only building policy: Wirral’s Local Plan to save treasured greenbelt

Wirral’s Labour-led council has developed a masterplan to stop development on precious greenbelt sites. The blueprint will see all development focused on brownfield sites, investing in areas such as Birkenhead, rather than prized green spaces. 

The brownfield sites will be transformed to provide much-needed housing, leisure, employment, education and transport facilities. By concentrating development on these sites, it will mean there will be no need for building on greenbelt land. 

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Floral Pavilion set to reopen with dazzling programme of performances

In March 2020, the Floral Pavilion Theatre and Conference Centre in New Brighton closed its doors as part of the fight against the pandemic. “We didn’t know then what a difficult and challenging year lay ahead and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support and patience during these difficult times.”, a spokesperson said.

Thanks to this support, the Floral Pavilion is now busy planning its reopening in line with the latest government guidance. The 2021 / 2022 programme launches in June and is packed full of unmissable shows.

The opening show is ‘Judy & Lisa’ on Friday 4 June 2021, with performances at 2:30pm & 7:30pm
Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli are portrayed by West End stars Emma Dears and Helen Sheals. This dazzling production tells the turbulent tale of Hollywoods biggest stars against the backdrop of their infamous 1964 London Palladium concert.

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Blue Violet River: Augmented reality fairy-tale experience comes to Mersey Ferries

Abandon Normal Devices (AND) create groundbreaking projects which challenge the definitions of art and moving image with a distinct emphasis on creative enquiry and provocations.

AND Festival is the UK’s first roaming festival of cinema, art, and digital culture. It is an international catalyst for partners and artists to explore different contexts and curatorial models.

As part of AND’s post-COVID programme, Australian artist Anita Fontaine has produced an augmented reality fantasy future fairytale set on the Mersey Ferries running between Seacombe, Liverpool and Woodside at Birkenhead.

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Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner elections: Who will you vote for this May?

Merseyside will elect a new Police and Crime Commissioner on 6 May 2021. Jane Kennedy, who is the current PCC for Merseyside announced in 2019 that she would not be standing for re-election.

Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) are elected representatives with responsibility for policing in each police area in England and Wales. Each police area (with the exception of Greater London and Greater Manchester, where the directly elected mayor is the policing authority instead) elects a commissioner every four years.

The elections for PCCs was due to take place in 2020, but were postponed until 6 May 2021, due to COVID-19. In the 2016 PCC election, Merseyside had a turnout of 302,253, representing 30.2% of the voting population. Jane Kennedy was reelected taking 186,661 votes, representing 61.8% of those who voted.

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Appeal to find recipient of misdelivered 90th birthday card

When Katherine Wilson checked her post today, she discovered that she had an envelope that was addressed to her house, but the name of the recipient doesn’t live there.

This, in itself, is not an unusual occurrence. However, when she had a look at the back of the envelope, there was a personal message to the postie delivering the card. The message said, “Please Mr Postman, give this man a big smile from us – He is 90 years young today!”

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Children’s centres looking forward to welcoming back families

Wirral’s children’s centres are looking forward to taking steps in getting their much-loved face to face groups restarted with a selection resuming from Monday 19th April, in line with the government’s roadmap.

The first steps in getting back through the doors will see centres re-introducing a limited number of baby and toddler groups across Seacombe, Birkenhead and Brombrough.

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Wirral hospitals honoured with High Sheriff’s award

Wirral University Teaching Hospital has received an award from The High Sheriff of Merseyside. Staff at Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge received the honour in recognition of their work in the community since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The High Sheriff, who is the Queen’s judicial representative on Merseyside, praised the efforts of staff across the whole team.

The High Sheriff Award also recognises the appreciation of the residents and people of the community of the County for activity and contribution in enhancing the life of the community.

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Wirral Met Students visit Wirral Waters construction site

A selection of Wirral Met College’s construction students gained valuable insight into a new project in Wirral Waters with Peel L&P and GMI Construction Group.

Level 3 students developed their knowledge this week during a site visit to Hythe, a new development within the Four Bridges Neighbourhood of Wirral Waters in the docklands between Birkenhead and Wallasey. Located next door to the College’s Wirral Waters construction campus, Hythe will be a new sustainable office building and is due to complete in late 2021.

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Wirral Head wins UK Leadership in Education Award

The Principal at Birkenhead Sixth Form College has been honoured with a national award recognising his outstanding leadership in the education sector.

Mike Kilbride (pictured with college dog, Teddy) won the ‘UK Leadership Award’ at the Educate North Awards at the virtually held ceremony on Thursday evening, marking his significant achievements in leading the College on a complete journey of transformation, not least being rated as outstanding in all areas by Ofsted.

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Tranmere’s Danny Lloyd awarded PFA Community Player of the Year 2020/21

Midfielder Danny Lloyd has been awarded this year’s PFA Community Champion for all his works towards Tranmere Rovers in the Community this season.

Lloyd has been a prominent face in the community this year as he supported the Club’s, You vs Train campaign, and #SWA2 programme competitions.

The popular number 35 has also personally reached out to a young fan who is bravely battling cancer to offer his support. Lloyd has also sent out a care package full of toys and a signed t-shirt.

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Lady Lever Art Gallery: Curator’s thoughts on Augustus John exhibition

Picture by Gareth Jones

As soon as government restrictions are lifted, National Museums Liverpool will reopen the doors of Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, with a brand-new exhibition. The Last Bohemian: Augustus John will showcase around 40 works by one of Britain’s most iconic and controversial artists. The exhibition will include 18 loans from across the north west and National Museum Wales and will run until 30 August 2021.

John moved to Liverpool in 1901 to teach at the Liverpool School of Architecture and Applied Art (part of today’s University of Liverpool). The exhibition explores his time in the city, which greatly influenced his life and career and is where he made his first etchings.

Exhibition Curator, Alex Patterson said: “I really hope our visitors will enjoy the local aspect of this exhibition. Augustus John absolutely loved Liverpool and spent a lot of his life in the city.

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