Liverpool welcomes HMS Liverpool

CELEBRATIONS are in place to welcome home HMS Liverpool for her first visit official voyage to the city in 3 years.  The Type 42 Destroyer is set to sail into her Liverpool home on Thursday, 24 February 2011 and the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Hazel Williams, will officially welcome them to the port when they sail in at 9am.

To mark the special homecoming the crew will exercise their right to march through the streets of Liverpool on Friday 25 February 2011 at midday.

Following a service at Our Lady and St Nicholas’ Church, the 180 strong crew will be led by Commanding Officer, Commander Colin Williams, and an official Royal Navy band. They will march up Chapel Street, along Tithebarn Street, Moorfields, Dale Street and ending in Exchange Flags. The crew will be marching with bayonets fixed, drums beating and Colours flying – something they are allowed to do after they received the Freedom Right of Entry in 1983.

After saluting Liverpool’s Lord Mayor, the crew will take part in a civic reception at the Town Hall where their work onboard the famous vessel and their links with the city will be celebrated.

Councillor Hazel Williams said:- “This is a momentous event in our civic calendar and it’s an honour to be Lord Mayor when this iconic ship makes her first official visit to the city in 3 years.  HMS Liverpool is a proud symbol of the city all over the world, and it’s fantastic we can thank the ship and its crew, past and present, for the essential work they do. Liverpool is a world renowned maritime city and this unmissable homecoming, set against the backdrop of our World Heritage waterfront, will be a truly fantastic sight.”

During the visit, the ship, which will be docked alongside the Cruise Liner Terminal, will be open to the public on Saturday, 26 February to Sunday, 27 February 2011, from 12 to 4pm. Thousands are expected to take the unique opportunity to go onboard the ship which is the ship’s first major visit to the city in 3 years.

Commander Colin Williams, said:- “I am very proud to be bringing HMS Liverpool to her spiritual home on the Mersey. There is great anticipation among the crew for this visit and I know that everyone is really looking forward not only to welcoming visitors on board, but also enjoying the warm hospitality which we always receive in Liverpool.  And we will, of course, be honoured to parade through the streets of the city on Friday – it will be a very special day for all involved and we thoroughly appreciate the welcome being organised by the Lord Mayor.”

The ship will depart the city on Monday, 28 February 2011 at 1pm GMT. 

Did you know?

HMS Liverpool was built in Birkenhead by Cammell Laird.    Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. and is the seventh ship to bear the name. HMS Liverpool was launched on 25 September 1980, by Lady Strathcona, wife of the then Minister of State for Defence. She has been involved in many operations including combating drug smuggling in the South Atlantic. Until it’s decommissioned in 2012, she will be part of Navy training exercises off the Scottish coast and in the Mediterranean.

UK MEN TURNING INTO A NATION OF MUMMY’S BOYS

UK men are turning into a nation of mummy’s boys as a survey reveals that 79% of people questioned have returned to live with their parents at some point. Surprisingly, mothers are more welcoming to their adult sons than their daughters as they are more likely to pay rent, pitch in with the housework and take their parents advice on their career and love life.  The survey looking at ‘flying the nest’ was conducted by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment to mark the DVD release of Cyrus.

Parents are 3 times more likely to allow their boomerang sons to keep moving in and out of home than their daughters who are seen as lazier and less likely to contribute. In Fox’s latest DVD release, lead character Cyrus has no qualms in manipulating his mum for his own gain and when she enters into a new relationship he will go to any length to make sure he is the only man in her life!

The survey showed that 58% of mums can easily be wrapped around their sons little fingers and admit that they spoil them compared to only 35% spoiling their daughters. Sons are more likely to have their dinner cooked for them every night, have their washing and ironing done and receive a personal taxi service.

Sons also receive more cash gifts, with 43% of parents admitting to dipping into their savings to help them out. However, although boys ask for cash more often girls ultimately borrow more; £624.18 and £689.61 on average respectively during their time at home.

Despite boys seemingly coming out on top, the survey did reveal that parents were more likely to worry that their sons would never move out and that they weren’t independent enough.

Psychiatrist, Avie Luthra commented on the results:- “It’s not surprising how much boys seem to get away with compared to girls when it comes to their parents; boys traditionally are often treated very differently to their female siblings. When watching Cyrus you would think that his family situation was far from normal, but clearly more and more adult children are living with their parents. Kids who boomerang back and forth to their parents every time something goes wrong can have a real effect on a couples’ relationship, be that a new relationship or a long term one. ”

The Queensway Tunnel will be closed next week end

THE Queensway Tunnel will be closed next from 6pm Friday 25 February 2011 until 6.30am on Monday, 28 February 2011, for remedial repairs to the road drains at the Birkenhead entrance.  A Merseytravel spokesperson said:- ”The initial problem was caused by the extremely cold winter conditions and while we have effected emergency overnight repairs we need a longer period to allow the concrete bedding, on which the cast iron drains sit, to set.  We apologise for any disruption these closures have caused, but we are doing all that we can to minimise disruption whilst ensuring the safety of Tunnel Users and our staff while protecting the Tunnel fabric. Kingsway will be fully open during the period that Queensway is closed we ask that Tunnel users plan their journey accordingly.”