Welcome to “Sunday Snippets” a weekly feature from birkenhead.news. It is a round-up of important local news stories from the last seven days. Click or tap on each story to read the full article.
Evening opening returns at central libraries
Wirral’s libraries will be trialling new extended opening hours across most branches from Monday 3 April 2023.
The four central libraries at Bebington, Birkenhead, Wallasey, and West Kirby will be open until 7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Six community libraries will also have extended hours to include opening on four weekdays, plus every Saturday morning.
Local history talks put the spotlight on Wirral
Cammel Laird’s Shipyard, Birkenhead Priory, The Great War, and Wirral Country Park are just some of the subjects for a series of fascinating historical talks about Wirral taking place over the forthcoming weeks at Williamson Art Gallery and various libraries around Wirral.
Dr Stephen Roberts, Director of Wirral Archaeology, will be delivering a number of the talks. He said, “The need to study history has never been greater – particularly so for the people of Wirral.
“I invite all the residents of this remarkable peninsula to be challenged, fascinated, educated and empowered by the study of its history.”
Son of Tranmere Rovers’ first black player visits Prenton Park
The son of Tranmere Rovers’ first black player, Obidinma Onyeali, visited Prenton Park from Nigeria in order to visit all the places his Dad, Elkanah Onyeali, played football.
During Black History Month in October 2022, Obidinma’s foundation, Elkanah Onyeali Care Foundation, teamed up with Tranmere Rovers to bring football to the world of Nigeria.
During his time at Tranmere, Onyeali netted nine goals in his 16 appearances for Rovers during the 1960s, before moving to Holywell and Prescot Cables.
Join birkenhead.news on Facebook
Keep up to date with all the latest Wirral news by liking our Facebook page.
Wallasey dancer to perform in West End theatre takeover
A rising star from Wallasey is set to take the West End by storm as she performs in front of an audience of top talent scouts and industry influencers at London’s Leicester Square Theatre.
Tia Lothian (18), who is tipped for future success as a professional dancer, is one of the high-flying final year students at Liverpool Theatre School who will take over the West End theatre for a graduation showcase on Thursday 23 March.
The talented former Weatherhead High School student, who has been dancing since she was three years old, trained at Hylton Bromley Dance School before landing a place at the prestigious Liverpool Theatre School whose alumni can be seen in hit shows such as SIX, Frozen the Musical, Blood Brothers and Wicked.
The 19-year-old hoping to become Wirral’s youngest ever female councillor
A daughter of a long-standing Seacombe councillor is hoping to follow in her father’s footsteps at the upcoming local elections.
Kaitlin Stuart, 19, could be the youngest woman ever elected to Wirral Council, but she already has years of campaigning under her belt, thanks to her dad Paul, who has represented Seacombe for Labour since 2016.
“I joined the Labour Party when I turned 16, although have been helping out for many years before that,” she says. “My parents are very involved in the local community. My mum and dad are foster parents, and I have been involved in fostering events for the local authority for as long as I can remember.
Calday Grange Grammar School performs Peter Pan for mayor and local primary schools
Calday Grange Grammar School’s Drama Department had the privilege of performing their interpretation of the classic tale, Peter Pan, for the Mayor of Wirral on Tuesday 21st March, at the Floral Pavilion Theatre in New Brighton.
The school also gave away 1300 tickets to local primary schools, providing a unique opportunity for younger audiences to experience the magic of live theatre.
The West Kirby school’s production of Peter Pan, which has been adapted and directed by ex-head of English, Mr Randall Lewton, had been in the works for months, with students and teachers working tirelessly to bring the story of Peter, Wendy, and the Lost Boys to life.
Art exhibition providing insight into disabilities and autism a great success
Happy Times Activities and The Open Door Charity hosted an art exhibition at Bloom Building, Birkenhead last weekend.
The creative project LENS was designed and created to provide insight into disabilities and autism, with the aim of challenging perceptions around these big and important subjects.
The event did this by using a selection of art, videos, and even a song, all inspired and produced by the participants and team at Happy Times Activities in Moreton.
Wallasey residents rally in support of refugees and asylum seekers
On Friday evening (17 March) more than 100 people rallied outside the Grove House Hotel in Wallasey to send an unambiguous message that the refugees and asylum seekers being accommodated there are welcome in Wallasey.
Participants included local residents, church groups, and charities, with further support from unions including FBU, UCU, Unison Merseytravel/LCRCA, Unison (Wirral), CWU, and Unite (Bebington No.1), NEU, Wirral TUC, and NW TUC.
Around 20 anti-refugee protesters turned up from outside the Wallasey area. These protestors were heard shouting “Sink the boats!”, aimed at the refugee residents of the hotel.
Two Wirral railway stations recognised in awards ceremony
Two Merseyrail stations have been recognised in a prestigious regional rail industry award ceremony.
Hoylake station scooped the prize for best station in Wirral, while Meols station secured the In Bloom Award at the Cheshire Best Kept Stations Awards.
West Kirby, another Merseyrail station, was also acknowledged with a Highly Commended place in the In Bloom category.
Plans for £10m Green Automotive Hub at Eastham
Peel Ports Group has announced plans for a new £10million Green Automotive Hub at Eastham to help power sustainable vehicle manufacturing ambitions.
Located on Queen Elizabeth II Dock at Eastham, within Peel Port’s Mersey cluster, the project is said to facilitate a greener end-to-end maritime logistics service in the North West.
The hub, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, will sit on a 9.5-acre site on the River Mersey, adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal.
Former Wirral Green councillor says ‘Vote Labour’
Steve Hayes, a former Green Party councillor in Wirral, has issued a letter urging people not to repeat the mistake he made by voting for the Greens this May.
In the letter, Hayes says he initially joined the Greens after being swayed by their promises on the climate emergency.
However, he said that as a Wirral councillor, he witnessed first-hand the damage caused by the Conservative government’s cuts to the area and saw the Green Party playing political games instead of working cooperatively.
Birkenhead cinema to live stream Eurovision final
One of the world’s biggest entertainment events, the Eurovision Song Contest, is heading to the big screen for the very first time as Vue Birkenhead joins venues across the UK in screening the grand final live on Saturday, 13 May.
As the celebrations in Liverpool come to a head, fans who were unable to secure tickets for the live show will still be able to come together and join in the festivities from the best seat in the house, just across the Mersey in Vue Birkenhead, with tickets available from Monday 27 March.
The show will celebrate last year’s winner Ukraine, who won with the band Kalush Orchestra’s song ‘Stefania’ but will be hosted in the UK due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine
College production of Grease hits the high notes
Birkenhead Sixth Form College’s Spring production of Grease went down a storm with audiences across two nights, as students put their acting, singing, dancing and musicianship skills under the spotlight.
With a cast selected from all year groups within College, and a band of student musicians to accompany them, the hard work in preparation for the Spring spectacular paid off with dividends as fellow students, staff and visiting friends and family enjoyed an all-singing, all-dancing musical with slicked back hair and polka dots.
Seb Reynolds and Olivia Clark led the ensemble as central characters Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson, serenading each other with such classics as ‘Summer Lovin’’ and ‘You’re The One That I Want’, while other iconic songs were performed during the story of summer romance by the rest of the cast as the T-Birds and Pink Ladies.
Warriors Athletic Club shines at English Schools Cross Country Championships
Warriors Athletic Club had another busy weekend with runners competing at the English Schools Cross Country Championships for Merseyside.
Some of the older runners were selected to run for the County Schools at Wollaton Park in Nottingham. It was a very tough course but the athletes ran extremely well and represented their County with pride.
In particular, Meg Hoshiko was 19th in the Inter Girls race, and Isla Pastor was 17th in the Junior Girls.
Tranmere Rovers sack Micky Mellon
Tranmere Rovers have relieved Manager Micky Mellon of his first team duties.
Chairman Mark Palios said, “From both a personal and a Club perspective this hasn’t been an easy decision. Micky has a special place in the hearts of Tranmere fans thanks to the back-to-back promotions in 2018 and 2019.
“Since he returned to the Club in 2021 after a year in Scotland, we haven’t managed to achieve the success we both wanted and I reluctantly came to the conclusion that a change was needed as we start recruitment preparations for next season.”
Tranmere held to draw at Colchester
League Two strugglers, Colchester managed to salvage a point against Tranmere with a penalty from Noah Chilvers in the second half, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
It will, however, be a game more remembered more the number of yellow cards issued with Carl Boyeson reaching for yellow a total of 13 times, eight of which were for Tranmere players.
Joel Mumbongo and Harvey Saunders teamed up to make a strong start for Rovers, with Saunders taking a low shot inside the box that was saved.
Wirral Police weekly news round-up
This is the birkenhead.news weekly round-up of police activity in and around Wirral during the previous seven days.
What’s On? Guide
Visit our “What’s On?” guide for Wirral and the surrounding areas in the coming weeks.
Why not follow birkenhead.news on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to news@birkenhead.news
Sign up for our FREE newsletter using this form:
Facebook comments