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.
Hoylake RNLI and Sailing Club to return for annual Boxing Day Tug O’War
Volunteers from Hoylake RNLI lifeboat crew are looking forward to taking on a team from Hoylake Sailing Club this Boxing Day in the annual Slater Trophy Tug O’War.
The competition is expected to make a welcome return at midday on Sunday 26 December after Wirral Council gave its approval for the local festive tradition to take place.
This year the Tug o’War will be held on the grassed area next to Hoylake RNLI lifeboat station on North Parade while a scientific study of Hoylake Beach continues.
Merseyside Police supporting food banks this Christmas
Merseyside Police officers and staff are supporting food banks across the County this Christmas.
It is estimated that 1 in 5 people in the UK live below the poverty line, and in the last year over 10,000 people have been fed in crisis, according to The Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest foodbank network.
The collection has been coordinated by the force’s Community Engagement Unit and our Local Policing Teams, and the food and items collected will be delivered to food banks and charities in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral, who are working hard to provide support to local people in crisis.
Wallasey and District Sunday Football League round-up, 19 December
Suspected Covid-19 reports caused the loss many fixtures but the top two teams in the Mike O’Sullivan Garages First Division fought out an exciting game that resulted in victory for JASGA FC over Wallasey Wanderers and now extend their lead at the top to six points.
A very even first half saw JASGA leading 1-0 thanks to Stuart Speed, but in the second half they punished Wanderers for defensive mistakes and ran out 4-0 winners as Speed completed his hattrick and Josh Malone added the extra.
Trident increased their lead at the top of the Moreton Alarms Supplies Second Division due to a 4-1 success over Park Royal in which Tyler Ward bagged a brace and both Sam Bonner and Tom Mulryan netted singles, as Peter Humphries claimed the only reply. This keeps them five points ahead of second-place Primrose FC who claimed double figures against Bromborough Athletic. On target were Declan Pearce-4, Adam Walker-2, Mark Cullimore-2, James Broadbent-2, Connor Francom, Alex Broadbent and Lee Pickles in this 13-0 success.
Tree planting celebrates Interfaith Week
A tree has been planted at Birkenhead Central Library to celebrate the recent Interfaith Week that took place there during November.
Interfaith Week was an opportunity to strengthen good interfaith relations at all levels and increase awareness of faith communities in the UK, improving understanding between people of all faiths and none.
As part of the exhibition at Birkenhead Central Library, tree saplings donated by Wirral Council, were given away for visitors to plant at home. Wirral Deen Centre Patron, Pauline Cocker said, “Our local Primary Schools demonstrated their understanding of interfaith and stewardship of our planet by designing badges that combined religion with COP 26.”
Local schools come together to create a virtual nativity
This Christmas, primary and secondary schools from within Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust have filmed a modern-day take on the nativity for their local communities.
St John Plessington Catholic College in Bebington, St Mary’s Catholic College in Wallasey, Our Lady of Pity RC Primary School in Greasby, St Bernard’s RC Primary School in Ellesmere Port and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Oxton, are all proudly part of the Trust and worked together to create this unique film.
Laurie Smith, director of music at the Trust, was the creative lead on the project and ensured the story reflected the recent unprecedented times and incorporated the essential work of food banks and key workers.
Houlihan’s Birkenhead Sunday Association Football League round-up, 19 December
Match of the day in The Houlihan’s Birkenhead Sunday Association Football League Premier Division was blown wide open with up to 8 clubs that have a chance of winning the beautiful blue ribbon trophy that is sponsored by the Atherton Family in memory of Ryan ‘’Gigsy’’ Atherton.
Current holders and preseason favourites Dock AFC found themselves 4-0 down after 42 minutes to Rivacre FC. Jay Harvey, a Joe Foster (Penalty), Jake Hully and Joe Brandon all finding the net but a strike from Kieran Hamm right on halftime gave Dock some hope for a better second half.
Dock did rally round in the second half with a second effort from Kieran Hamm then it was the turn of Adam Bagley to get the third followed by a superb goal from Cameron McGregor to bring the scores level at 4-4.
Funding boost will see hundreds of new trees planted in Wirral
Wirral has been successful with a second bid for funding from the Urban Tree Challenge Fund which will see nearly 1,000 new trees planted across the borough.
A total of £367,645 has been secured from the fund, which will allow 959 new standard trees in Wirral by the end of March 2023.
These trees will provide a range of benefits to our communities, including flood risk mitigation as well as improving wellbeing and delivering aesthetic improvements in our neighbourhoods. It will also be integral to Wirral reaching ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2041.
Tap or click to like birkenhead.news on Facebook
Tap or click to follow birkenhead.news on Twitter Bromborough fashion house donates £5,000 to Young Women’s Trust charity
On Wednesday 22 December 2021, Oh Polly alongside sister company Bo+Tee donated £5,000 to the Young Women’s Trust charity.
The Bromborough based global fashion house and activewear brand are well known for their frequent participation in charitable events. This year alone they have donated to over 10 charities, including their most recent contribution to Glasgow Women’s Aid in celebration of Giving Tuesday.
One young woman, Meg, said, “I feel like ‘Young Women’s Trust’ has given me roots that have enabled me to grow and blossom. Using the free Work It Out support service was like the icing on the cake in terms of feeling like the world was not so scary.”
Festive season bus, rail, tunnels, and ferry services announced
A round up of transport information is now available, with Merseytravel confirming that it will be running its annual, special network of free bus services on Christmas Day between around 12 noon and 6pm, covering most hospital routes.
The Mersey Tunnels Tolls will also be free, as usual, between 10pm on Christmas Eve and 6am on Boxing Day.
Travellers are being urged to plan ahead and check timetables, so they don’t get caught out as some services finish earlier than usual at this time of year, particularly on Christmas Eve.
How to recycle this Christmas and New Year
Householders in the Liverpool City Region are being asked to recycle right this Christmas and New Year – but to take care when visiting Recycling Centres and continue to follow the national COVID-19 guidance.
Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and its contractor Veolia are reminding local people that the region’s 14 Household Waste Recycling Centres are open most days – except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day – from 8.00am until 5.00pm during winter.
Many items are accepted at Recycling Centres such as cans, cardboard, garden waste (including real Christmas trees), glass jars and bottles, paper, large plastics, scrap metal (including metal artificial trees), textiles, toys and white goods. All the Centres accept electrical items, don’t forget to remove any batteries and recycle them separately.
From bin collections to libraries – everything you need to know about council services over the festive period
Wirral Council has confirmed details of festive opening hours for key services.
Many council staff will take annual leave between Christmas and New Year, meaning that some services won’t be available at that time. Many services can still be requested through the council website, but may not receive attention until 4 January 2022.
Care home keeps residents entertained, Christmas style
The team at Bebington Care Home has been working hard to keep spirits in the care home up by spreading the Christmas cheer to its residents this festive season.
The team have had a full program of events and activities to keep residents engaged and entertained. This week they had a big musical guest visit Bebington Care Home, Nathan Eve, a professional solo acoustic guitarist.
Nathan displayed his wizardry with his acoustic guitar and performed a truly entertaining set which wowed the residents and had them singing along.
Wirral communities rally to slow the spread of COVID this Christmas
The armed forces, community groups, GP surgeries, market stallholders and leisure centre staff have come together to reduce the spread of Omicron in Wirral, this week.
The Community Connectors, from local charity Involve Northwest, have been getting the word out on vaccinations in Birkenhead Market and the Pyramids Shopping Centre, while vaccination sites such as The Oval in Bebington, have been supported by military assistance to meet the demand for jabs.
In a bid to Keep Wirral Well, new vaccination walk-in clinics have popped up alongside permanent NHS vaccination centres as part of the big, pre-Christmas vaccination push, this week.
Why not follow birkenhead.news on Facebook and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to news@birkenhead.news
Latest news