Holocaust Exhibition Opens In Liverpool Town Hall

An exhibition opened today in the Hall Of Remembrance inside Liverpool Town Hall as part of events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

The display was opened by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Roz Gladden.  The 3 day event is staged by Fathers House, a Christian congregation based in Deeside who question members of the public about their recollection and understanding of the Holocaust.

Lord Mayor, Councillor Roz Gladden, said: “Holocaust Memorial Day is not only a time to remember those millions who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides but is also a call to action for the present.

“We all have a responsibility over related issues such as hate crime and prejudice to ensure they have no place in our society.

“The events we are putting on will be moving and poignant and encourage us all to help to build a safer future for ourselves and future generations.”

Pastor Mike Fryer from Fathers House said: “Before the early 1990s, the Holocaust was not a subject schools taught to their students and therefore there are those in our society who don’t really understand the suffering of those six million Jews murdered during the Second World War.”

Liverpool Councillor Jeremy Wolfson, a member of the city’s Jewish community, said: This exhibition gives us an opportunity to reflect on the Holocaust and raise awareness of not only what happened but to try and ensure that the attitudes which led to it are not repeated.”

For photo’s see the link below:-

French Honour for British War Heroes

Six war veterans received the highest decoration from the French government – the National Order of the Legion of Honour in a ceremony in Liverpool Town Hall earlier.

The award is being presented to the Liverpool men for their bravery and role in liberating France in 1944. The medals have been distributed via the French Embassy in London, and were presented by Honorary Consul of France, Mr Philip Daniel, on behalf of the President of the Republic of France.

                   Receiving the award will be:

·         Capt. Tim Fitzgerald, 3^rd Battalion, The Irish Guards

·         Kingsman Bernard Cross, 5^th Battalion, The Liverpool King’s Regiment

·         Rifleman Desmond James Ryan, 2^nd Battalion, The Royal Ulster Rifles

·         Pte Michael Crumby, 8^th Irish Battalion, The Liverpool King’s Regiment

·         Gunner Richard Stanley Hughes, Royal Regiment of Artillery

·         Leading Aircraftman Stephen Conyngham, Royal Air Force

The medals were presented Mr Philip Daniel, the Honorary Consul Of France.  The ceremony was also attended by Liverpool Lord Mayor, Cllr Roz Gladden, husband consort Cllr Roy Gladden, the High Sheriff of Merseyside Mr Jim Davies OBE DL, the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside Dame Lorna E F Muirhead, DCVO DBE SRN SCM CstJ FRCOG FRCM and Mr Ronald Muirhead ,Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council Mr Ged Fitzgerald and Rector of Liverpool Parish Church Revd Dr Crispin Pailing.

The ceremony was hosted by Toastmaster Chirs Caroe.

For pictures of the ceremony follow the link below:-

For video of the event click on the link below also:-

Right Rev’d James Jones Receives Freedom Of The City Of Liverpool

The Right Rev’d James Jones KBE (68) received the city’s highest civic honour in a ceremony in Liverpool Town Hall, Council Chambers earlier.

The Rev’d who received a Knighthood in the New Years Honours List was presented with the award for his work as chair of the Hillsborough Independent Panel who’s report led to the quashing of the verdicts and criminal proceedings against some of those involved in the cover up. The award was also presented for this pastoral duties and challenging poverty in Liverpool

Lord Mayor of Liverpool Councillor Roz Gladden, said: “Bishop James has been a towering figure in Liverpool life for almost two decades, championing the city and speaking up on behalf of those with no voice. We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his work leading the Church of England in the city and latterly chairing the Hillsborough Independent Panel which shed light on what really happened during and after the disaster.”

“It is right and proper that we convey and formally record our thanks for his incredible passion, commitment and loyalty to the city by awarding him the Freedom of Liverpool.”

Bishop James said: “Receiving the Freedom of the City underlines the honour that it has been to serve the people of Liverpool, especially the families of the 96 and the survivors. The city has never wavered in its support of them and to become a freeman of this city is a permanent reminder to me of the way the families have fought and been vindicated in their struggle for truth, justice and accountability.”

Last September, the city council awarded the Freedom of the City posthumously to the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the disaster, as well as to Professor Phil Scraton, who led the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s research team, and Kenny and Marina Dalglish, who represented the football club so magnificently at the time. Due to his work commitments as advisor on Hillsborough to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, Bishop James was unable to attend that ceremony.

For pics please visit the link below:-

Cilla Black Statue Unveiled In Mathew St, Liverpool

A new statue of Cilla Black was unveiled yesterday outside the original entrance to The Cavern Club in Liverpool, where Cilla once worked and later sang at.  Cilla died after a fall at her Spanish Villa in Augiust 2015 aged 72.

The bronze sculptor created and designed by artists Emma Rodgers and Andy Edwards and was cast at Castle Fine Arts Foundry in Liverpool and was commissioned by her three sons.

The ceremony coincided with the 60th anniversary of the world famous club, and on the same day a plaque was presented to the remaining members of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in the Cavern and a brick was placed in the Cavern Wall Of Fame by Irish musician Gilbert O’Sullivan.

The ceremony was attended by hundreds of fans and well wishers.  Guests include her three sons, Jack, Ben and Robert, local DJ Pete Price, Lord Mayor, Cllr Roz Gladden and consort Cllr Roy Gladden amongst others.

Unveiling the statue, Robert Willis said his mother “never really appreciated getting old but now she will be forever young”.

He told onlookers: “We were overwhelmed by the incredible support after our mother died from the country but also, and especially, from the people of this great city.

“It was incredibly comforting and it moved us deeply and gave us hope at a time when we didn’t have much hope.

“It was something that none of us will ever forget.”

He said the local-made sculpture was not only a memorial to his mother but donating it to Liverpool was “a small gesture of gratitude and thanks to the people of this wonderful city”.

“It’s based on a sixties design, the dress is chequered and it enabled us to put little stories like photos and lyrics hidden in there for people to check out.

“I’m just incredibly relieved that it turned out as well as it did. We are so happy with it, and I hope people enjoy it. And they did get the legs right, she had great legs! And also the nose – it’s the post-nosejob nose which she would have insisted on!”

For pics and video of the event, click on the links below:-

 

Photo’s :-

Rory Storm And The Hurricanes New Plaque To Be Unveiled At Cavern Club, Liverpool

Skiffle / Rock N Roll band Rory Storm And The Hurricanes are to be honoured with a new plaque in commemoration of their contribution to music.

Rory Storm was born Alan Ernest Caldwell 7th Jan 1938 in Liverpool.  Storm had a prolific stutter but it never effected his singing.

Originally calling themselves the Raving Texans, they changed their name to Rory Storm & the Hurricanes in 1959, taking on Ringo Starr as their drummer the same year. As the lead vocalist, Storm was known as an excellent showman, climbing up pillars to balconies. They were by some estimations the most popular band in the embryonic Liverpool rock scene as the 1960s began; they even managed to appear on the same bill as Gene Vincent in a 1960 concert at Liverpool Stadium, which was the biggest rock show that had ever taken place in the city up to that time.

In early 1962, Starr left the group for a while to play in Tony Sheridan’s band in Hamburg, but had rejoined the Hurricanes that summer, when they were playing at Butlin’s holiday camp in Skegness. He had become friendly with the Beatles during the Hamburg stints, and on a few occasions had sat in with them on drums. In mid-August 1962, he was asked by the Beatles to replace Pete Best, an invitation he of course accepted; he was a better drummer than Best and, just as importantly, far more compatible personality-wise with the Beatles’ attitude and sense of humor. Starr was replaced by Gibson Kemp, later to play in Paddy, Klaus, and Gibson, and to marry Astrid Kirschherr, who had been engaged to original Beatles’ bassist Stu Sutcliffe before Sutcliffe’s death in early 1962. Incidentally, Paul McCartney of the Beatles was the boyfriend of Rory Storm’s sister, Iris Caldwell, for a while around this time.

Yet this wasn’t the end of Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, although their position on top of the Merseybeat hierarchy was rapidly sliding, not just in light of the Beatles’ meteoric rise to international stardom, but also as numerous other Liverpool bands scaled the British and then American charts. In the meantime Storm couldn’t even get a record deal, although he and his band did record three tracks for the mid-1963 compilations This Is Mersey Beat Vol. 1 and This Is Mersey Beat Vol. 2. The British independent label that had issued these compilations also put out a single of two of these numbers, “Dr. Feelgood” and “I Can Tell,” in late 1963. These, however, illustrated at least part of the problems Rory Storm & the Hurricanes had in competing with other British groups by this time: their repertoire consisting wholly of covers of early American rock tunes and popular standards (on the compilations they had also done “Beautiful Dreamer”), and Storm’s high-pitched, nervously quavering voice lacked power and presence.

Yet Rory Storm & the Hurricanes did have one last shot on disc, putting out a single, “America”/”Since You Broke My Heart,” in late 1964. Interestingly, this was issued on Parlophone, the Beatles’ label, and produced by Brian Epstein, in his one and only venture into record production; in addition, Ringo Starr was at the session and added some miscellaneous percussion and backing vocals. Whether Epstein and Starr got involved with this single because they felt bad about Starr’s defection from the group and Storm’s failure to follow the Beatles into stardom is unknown, but in any case the record didn’t do well.

Storm’s band was quite instable and went through numerous lineup shuffles in the post-Starr years. In addition to not writing any of their own material, they suffered a further handicap: Storm apparently was uninterested in even learning new covers, playing much the same stuff in the mid-’60s as they had several years earlier. Rory Storm & the Hurricanes finally broke up in 1967. Rory Storm later became a disc jockey, but died under mysterious circumstances in September 1972. He was found dead in his house after combining alcohol with sleeping pills. His mother was also found dead in the home, leading to speculation that the pair had decided to commit suicide together. However another story goes that after being unable to sleep Storm had some sleeping pills, but not enough to kill him (proven after toxicology tests).  In the morning his mum found him dead and distraught with grief overdosed shortly afterwards. Some stories state his mum died of a heart attack later the same day. Some say he was down on his luck and had intended to kill himself with an overdose of whisky and pills. In any case his life was tragically cut short at the age of 34.

The original line up for the group was :-

Alan Caldwell – Vocals

Charles (Ty) O’Brien – Lead Guitar

Johnny (Guitar) Byrne – Rhythm Guitar

Wally Eymond (Lou Walters) – Bass Guitar

Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) – Drums

Ex Hurricanes Lou Walters, Jimmy Tushingham and Vince Earle, along with Iris Caldwell (Rory Storms sister) appeared on stage in the world famous Cavern Club to receive a plaque which was put temporarily on the wall next to the stage.  Ex Roadie “Jamo” spoke along with Iris Caldwell after receiving the award.

For pics please visit the link below:

For more information about Rory and The Hurricanes please visit the Wikipedia link below:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Storm

 

Go-Ahead For New Victoria St Car Park Approved

A new multi pound car park in the heart of Liverpool City Ctr has been approved today at a planning committee meeting in the Town Hall.

The current street entry car park which has a 122 capacity, with no disabled bays will be replaced by a multi storey car park with 5 levels, with a capacity of approx 333 spaces, including 15 motorcycle bays, 28 cycle bays,  14 accessible bays and 3 electric vehicle charging bays. Adjoing the facility will be a 3 storey building which has been designed for restaurant / bar facilities.

The current entrance on Victoria St will be replaced with an entrance on Crosshall St and an exit on the opposite side in Sir Thomas Street.

The new complex will be owned and run by Liverpool City Council and is expected to be completed in November 2017.

The plans include planting 90 new trees in the area to replace the ones which will be removed during the construction.

Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “Victoria Street is a vital artery in Liverpool’s retail core and a high quality car park will provide a huge boost for surrounding businesses such as the Metquarter.
 
“The scale of the investment and creation of a new leisure attraction will also help accelerate the regeneration that is beginning to take place there.
 
“The current car park is not fit for purpose – offering no bays for blue badge holders, cyclist or motor cyclists. Many of the bays have also been distorted by the root system of the current trees and I’m delighted this car park will pave the way for a much more extensive and much needed planting scheme in this part of the city centre.”

Designed by Willmott Dixon, construction is expected to begin late Feb 2017.

Muhammed Ali Statue, Liverpool

A bronze statue of the greatest boxer, Muhammed Ali has been put on display in Liverpool.

The Statue cast in the Castle Fine Arts Foundry, is on display at the McKeown Rice Exhibition Space on Jamaica St, Liverpool.

The statue was created by Andrew Edwards and appropriately called “The Greatest”

The boxer who died earlier in in June 2016, once said “You ain’t no fool if you from Liverpool”.

For pictures please click on the link below:-

 

Merseyside Transport Trust (MTT) Special Running Day 31-12-16

Today the Merseyside Transport Trust ran a low key open day to mark the end of the Overhead Railway Service, and also to mark the start of the New Number 1 bus route which replaced the route.

Buses A36 and A267 provided the transport for people to travel on. Meeting at a central point in Mann Island, the buses then went to Dingle Station and then went the route to Seaforth Station.  The buses stopped a few times to get photo’s along the route, including outside the Florence Institute on Mill St and also also the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse on Great Howard St.

The day was free of charge (as usual) for people to ride the buses, but donations and change were optional at the end.

For pictures of the day please visit the link below:-

Plaque Unveiled At Liverpool Town Hall For 80th Anniversary Of Spanish Civil War

A plaque to mark the 80^th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War and act as a tribute to those from Merseyside who supported the anti-fascist cause has been unveiled at Liverpool Town Hall.

Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Malcolm Kennedy unveiled the plaque at a ceremony in the ground floor of the Town Hall.  In March the installation was given cross party support at a full Council Meeting.

The plaque recognises the part taken by Liverpool Activist’s including, The Merseyside Spanish Aid Committee who took donations on the docks and factories and  Merseyside Left Theatre who staged plays about Spain, organising counter demonstrations against Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (‘Madrid today, Merseyside tomorrow’) It also acknowledge’s  ;ocal firms like Crawford’s, Bibby’s and Lever Brothers who donated and shipped significant amounts of money and food.

It also recognises the estimated 200 Merseysiders who voluntarily travelled to Spain to fight in the International Brigades, with at least 30 of them losing their lives. They were all working class men aged between 17 and 60.

The inscription reads:

“To mark the 80^th Anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (Guerra Civil).

“Plaque instated on 19^th December 2016 by Liverpool City Council, in recognition of the heroic Merseysiders who stood up to fascism through their part in the Spanish Civil War.

“Of particular note are those who, despite a ban by the British Government, took part in the International Brigades. Some of whom never returned.

“Their contribution and sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

Councillor Kennedy said: “The Spanish Civil War was an incredibly brutal chapter of history and it’s overwhelming to think that ordinary, working class men from Merseyside wanted to make a stand against the fascist dictatorship of General Franco.

“For many of our local heroes it was a mission they had to undertake in secret, and it’s sad to think that nearly a quarter of them lost their lives fighting for what they believe in.

“I’m am extremely proud to be unveiling this plaque on behalf of the city and it can be a constant reminder of the sacrifices made in the name of freedom.”

For pictures of the event please visit the link below:-

Aleppo Protest, Lime St Station

Protestors gathered earlier near the entrance to Liverpool’s Lime St Station to protest against the atrocities currently ongoing in the Syrian city.  Protestors chanted and had a few speakers to give more information to the attended people.  Local MP Stephen Twigg also attended and showed his support for the cause.  The protest lasted about an hour, and was very peaceful.

For photo’s please visit the link below:-

For short video clips of the protest please visit:-