wirral

GIRLS from one of Merseyside's poorest areas will have a chance to attend a high-flying, former fee- paying school. Birkenhead High School for Girls became an academy in September 2009 and Wirral Council is making clear that now it is in the state sector there will be opportunities some families could not have dreamed of. A new business plan for the multi-million pound work on the site reveals the academy is to take on pupils from less affluent surrounding areas.  

WIRRAL comedian Liz Carr is bringing a brand new show to the city this weekend. Actress and comic Liz has combined her talents to create a new one-woman play, It Hasn't Happened Yet!, which she will be performing in Liverpool on Saturday night as part of DaDaFest 2009. A familiar face at the deaf and disabled arts festival, the Bebington-raised performer has taken part since the first event in 2001.  

CANCER Research UK is giving Wirral shoppers the chance to buy the women in their lives a place in next year's Race for Life. For the first time, pre-paid places are available online. They cover entry fee to next year's event in Birkenhead Park and come with a voucher code. Recipients will get advance notice so they can go online and secure their place in the event as soon as the Race for Life website goes live on January 11.  

A PILOT plans to charter a plane and fly more than 200 people to Germany as part of an ambitious fund-raising bid by a Merseyside school. Former RAF fighter pilot David Cullen is planning to take a Boeing 757 plane on a day trip to Cologne to help kick-start fundraising by West Kirby's Calday Grange grammar school for Alder Hey children's hospital. Mr Cullen's son Matthew, 14, was diagnosed with leukaemia and news of his illness prompted the massive fundraising bid by the school, which aims to raise £

We are getting the aircraft at cost and all the crew are volunteers, which is amazing.   -David Cullen

 

HUNDREDS of rail commuters were left stranded yesterday morning after rats chewed through power cables. The problem on Wirral's train lines became apparent just before 6am, according to Network Rail. But work to replace the cables left people struggling to get to work during the busy early rush hour. A spokesman for Network Rail blamed "rodent damage in two places to 650-volt track cables" for the delays.  

Straight from the Trader's meeting I went to the AGM of the Federation of Small Businesses. Neil Dutton is the Regional Organiser and I met with him earlier this year, he's responsible for the 1,500 members who run small businesses in Wirral. I also caught up with our candidate for the by-election in Moreton East and Saughall Massie, Steve Williams who is also a member.  

Generous golfers from the Veterans of Bidston Golf Club have chipped in to raise £450 to help children being treated at Arrowe Park Hospital. The donation to the hospital will be used to help fund a paediatric cardiac scanner – a vital piece of equipment that assesses heart function in small babies and children and which helps to save lives. Brian Nottingham, who was president of Bidston Vets during 2008/09, presented the money to Sandra Shannon, the Hospital Trust's associate director of operations f  

RAIL commuters travelling from West Kirby to Birkenhead have been left stranded this morning after rats chewed through two high-voltage cables. The damaged 650 volt cables were found on a stretch of track close to Leasowe Station shortly before 6am. As a result, there has been no power to Bidston signal box or the CCTV cameras at Hoylake and Meols.  

WIRRAL-BASED Smith and Sons will hold its final auction of 2009 on November 25 at the Village Hotel in Bromborough. The firm is offering 27 which will include a number of residential properties requiring refurbishment, all of which are priced to reflect current market conditions and the need for some improvement. The residential investments include four cottages close to Eastham Country Park, two with views over adjacent woodland.