You've been Tango'd

I really think this blog should be read in the style of David Attenborough.

We were in the Merseyside suburb of Birkenhead last night witnessing an annual ritual performed by the species Homo Sapiens. They were frequenting the local watering holes in numbers rarely seen at other times of the year as they prepared for their mating dance later in the evening.

The explanation for this increase in activity can be attributed to the fact that the last Friday in January is the first pay day since Christmas and the New Year, and consequently the frustrations and stifled emotions of Homo Sapiens can be released. It is a rare sight, and one we were privileged to witness so unexpectedly

To prepare themselves for this particular activity, the female of the species has her own particular ritual which sees her make herself suitably conspicuous to her potential mate. This she achieves by burying herself in a habitat know as the tanning studio. In here females administer to each other coverings and lotions which are selected from a range of colours within the orange range of the light spectrum. Products easily obtained in the Merseyside area.

Belisha Beacon seems to be this years preferred shade, that should make them flash their wears at the right moment.

That's another fine mess you gotten me into

We went to our first wedding of the year at the weekend and a mighty fine do it was too, well from what I can remember. The wedding was that of the best friend of our eldest daughter who we have known for years. Kate was marrying Gareth and it was a bit like an Emelia Fox and Jamie Carragher look alike wedding.


I have to say the venue was fit for OK! or Hello! though. One does not associate Liverpool with stately homes, but nestled in the countryside just outside Kirkby, a right, rough part of town, lies Knowlsey Hall, the ancestral home of the Earl of Derby. It is a fabulous place with lakes and gardens designed by Capability Brown, and an interior in part re-styled by Adams. We were lucky enough to stay in one of the nine bedrooms in the house and so have a chance to wander round a bit.


The Derby family owned a large tract of land in the North West, and the Isle of Man at various stages in their history, but they are best known for their sporting interests and political adventures, with horse racing being the foremost association with them these days.


An early Earl, when Governor of Canada, presented the Stanley Cup as the premium ice-hockey trophy, and the Derby and the Oaks are both named after aspects of the family. Portraits of horses, most by Lynwood Palmer, litter the walls of the house, with their most recent favourite, Ouija Board, featuring prominently.


The Knowlsey safari park forms part of the estate which is surrounded by 9.5 miles of sandstone wall, but sadly bisected by the M57 these days, and much of their revenue comes from the agriculture, shooting and wedding markets, however, the place seemed pretty unspoilt as far as I could see and if it helps to preserve the heritage that's fine by me.

Home alone

Just off the North West coast of the Wirral peninsula is a set of islands referred to as Hilbre islands. They are accessible at low tide and are a regular tourist attraction. There is a colony of seals, several privately owned cottages, and a research station on the three pieces of land

Hilbre Island is the largest island of the group , that sit at the mouth of the River Dee estuary.
Situated 2 miles from the coast at West Kirby it is the smallest inhabited island off the coast of the British mainland, or at least it was.

The island sits at the end of the group of three, the other two smaller islands being called Little Eye and Middle Eye.

Hilbre also hosts a ten foot solar powered lighthouse, operated by Trinity House, a few other out buildings and did have one inhabited house lived in by the R.S.P.B warden who looked after the islands for the present owners.

Its history goes back to the Bronze age, but during the late 1700's until the mid 1800's it was a place of commerce, hosting a customs house and Inn. In 1856 it was bought by Liverpool Docks, and remained with them until 1945, when a local council took it over and used it as a telegraph post. In 1974 the borough council took it over, using it as a tourist retreat for walkers and bird spotters.

Due to it's large bird population, seal invasion and it's own endemic species of Field Vole, the island became of significant interest to nature lovers, and was bought by the R.S.P.B in 1983.
This then lead to it being cited as a Site of Special Scientific Interest ( S.S.S.I ) in 2001.

The problem now is that the current warden has retired, or given up their monastic existence, and the island is now without a permanent and resident warden.

Now you would think this an ideal get away from it all sort of job, but then consider, no electricity, no running water and open to the full blast of the Irish Sea as well as being cut off from the mainland 12 to 14 hours a day. The list of applicants is not a long one!

What's for tea tonight dear? Seal soup again, with gull eggs and cockles?

Unlucky for some

I notice that there is talk of the introduction of a new sign of the Zodiac, Ophiuchus, which would bring the total number to 13. I am not sure the fanatics who run their lives by the star signs would be overly excited about being star sign number 13. They would be forever cursing their luck, be faced with a raft of glasses each half empty, and searching out black cats to try to maintain the equilibrium.

Now Ophiuchus, the serpent slayer, has been known about for centuries, so I do wonder if it was a slow news day that pushed its discovery into the limelight, or whether some mad American journalist was having a bad day.

Imagine being down on yourself and deciding it was all in your stars. Guess what the answer is, lets create a new Zodiac sign and move into a more compatible astrological plane. That will also mess with the head of any partner who is trying to work out somebodies compatibility characteristics.

Now Ophiuchus is not entering the charts at number 13, oh no, they sneak in at number 12 pushing Sagittarius down to 13, happy Christmas to them then.

Now on a personal note I am Pisces, a female water sign. I have an addictive personality, am a dreamer and eccentric with some creativity thrown in, well at least I was. Now, I am a male air sign, Aquarius, aloof, scatterbrained and a know it all.

We, actually, if you read ten definitions of each birth sign on the web, you would be pretty much anyone and anything you wished to be. It all in the stars you know.

2011 - food heaven

It really is frustrating trying to find sensible constructive comments about restaurants by searching on the Web. One is never sure whether the owner is posting, or whether you only get to hear about the one or two bad experiences, and rarely about the good times.

A lot of basic information seems to be missing as well. Can you park, is it on a bus route, and if so, which one? What are the staff like? Is it a 'regulars' place and do they make you feel like one? Is it child and dog friendly, and should, therefore, be avoided by the dinkies and grey pounders amongst us?

So, I am going to try to be a restaurant critic for the Wirral, and see if I can produce a useful web site based on my experience of restaurants, take-aways and pub grub. I am not a foodie, or a wino, so don't expect specialist comment on there. It's really about whether I like somewhere and more important whether it likes me.

I could start with a few reviews of the regular outlets I use , but I won't. I am going to slip those into the Blog as it starts to get established. So watch this link, I will try to do a unit a week, and see whether I develop a following and see some of the comments I get.

If people do not like what I say or have a different view of a place, it could get lively, bring on the starters!!!!