Formby gets ready for the 2018 Christmas Lights Switch On...

Baby and Child Remembrance Service at Ormskirk Hospital

ON Wednesday, 5 December 2018, the annual baby and child memorial service will take place at Ormskirk District General Hospital. All who have experienced loss, whether recently or in the past are invited. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in this non-denominational service of carols, Christmas music and readings. Music will be provided by the Salvation Army Band. Refreshments will be provided from 6pm and the service begins at 6.30pm, in the baby garden at Ormskirk Hospital. The service will last for approximately 20 minutes. There will be an opportunity to record names of loved ones on a Christmas bauble, and place these on the tree during the service. Visitors will be able to take a bauble, with their loved ones name, home after the service to hang on their own Christmas tree. One staff member also makes personal candles for families to take home as a keepsake. For more information please contact Martin or Jan on:- 01704 704639.

Hospital Chaplain Martin Abrams will be leading the service and he explains:- "This is the 5th year that Southport and Ormskirk Hospital has offered support in this way, to families remembering lost loved ones at Christmas. The run up to Christmas can be a fun exciting time, but for many it can heighten a sense of loss, grief and isolation. We hope that this short, informal service will be supportive to anyone who has lost a baby or child, not just recently, but anytime in the past. We know many some people appreciate coming every year, and some many years after a loss. Anyone who would find the service comforting is welcome to come."

During December there will also be an opportunity for people to record the name of a loved 1; of any age; on the trees of remembrance in the prayer rooms, at Ormskirk and Southport Hospitals.  The Trust started using trees of remembrance 4 years ago, giving people an opportunity to remember loved ones by recording their name and placing it on the Christmas tree in the prayer rooms. In 2017 approximately 200 names were registered across the 2 sites.

Waterfront car park demolition underway

WORK started on Thursday, 21 November 2018, to demolish the multi storey Liverpool Waterfront Car Park which was destroyed by fire on New Year's Eve. The process of removing the 1st vehicles from the 7 storey car park, which has almost 1,200 vehicles inside; of which over 1,000 are completely burnt out, will also begin. It is anticipated that the majority of the demolition will be complete before Christmas and prior to the 1st anniversary of the fire.

The demolition follows an agreement with insurance companies and liaison with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) including the process and the procedure for the removal of the vehicles not burnt out. These vehicles will be taken to a secure compound and the relevant insurance companies will be liaising with the owners regarding the removal of any belongings from these vehicles. Many of these vehicles will have suffered water, heat and smoke damage during the blaze, which at its height had 21 fire appliances tackling it, protecting the surrounding buildings.

No vehicles could be removed prior to the demolition process commencing due to safety concerns regarding the fragile nature of the building. Mersey Fire and Rescue Service recently concluded that temperatures during the blaze reached over 1,000 degree Celsius, far higher than the previous estimate of 600 degrees, which has caused extreme internal damage to the integrity of the structure. Safety has been of paramount concern regarding the planning of demolition and the engineers have discussed all matters with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

During the 1st 5 months following the fire, there were detailed discussions with insurers of both the building and vehicles alongside a series of detailed structural assessments and reports. More recently, a series of enabling works have been completed to ensure the site continues to operate and is open for business during the demolition process.

Planning permission for a new, 9 floor car park for 1,650 vehicles at Monarch's Quay was recently approved. The new car park at ACC Liverpool will be fitted with CCTV, electric vehicle charging points, sprinkler system, 15 motorcycle spaces and 50 cycle spaces. It will also have 100 disabled parking bays and fully accessible fire evacuation lifts.

A series of highway changes are also being proposed to improve access into and out of the new car park, especially after sell out events.

Mayor Joe Anderson said:- "Establishing a series of plans and procedures to dismantle the existing car park has been a hugely complex and detailed piece of work which has prioritised the safety of people. We have been in a constant dialogue with insurers and have been carrying out a robust set of enabling works that will ensure we can minimise disruption to the site during the demolition.  An incredible amount of hard work has gone in to coming up with a temporary facility to enable ACC Liverpool to continue functioning as normal but also designing and submitting plans for a new car park. We must not forget that it has been a traumatic process for those whose cars were inside and have had to go through the process of negotiating an insurance claim. The new car park will be built to latest specifications and will give ACC Liverpool a facility that will more than meet its growing needs."

The new car park will be built in front of Exhibition Centre Liverpool, by contractor Willmott Dixon, which recently built Victoria Street Car Park, alongside a hub for a new fruit, vegetable and flower market, in Gillmoss. Work is planned for completion by summer 2020. As a temporary measure the Council is also erecting a 4 floor, 550 space car park, on site, to support events within the waterfront venues. This will be completed and ready for operation in December 2018.  Once demolished, the previous car park site will be levelled and made safe before being incorporated into a wider masterplan for Kings Dock.

Holocaust poetry competition launched

PEOPLE are being invited to write poems which will be read out at Liverpool's Holocaust Memorial Day service in January 2019. The theme for this year's Holocaust Memorial Day is:- 'Torn from Home,' to mark the 25th Anniversary of the start of the genocide, in Rwanda, in 1994.  There are 3 categories: children at primary School, young people at secondary School and adults aged 19+. 1 from each category will be chosen to be read out, at Liverpool's Civic Service for Holocaust Memorial Day, that took place in Liverpool Town Hall, on Friday, 25 January 2018.

Lord Mayor, Councillor Christine Banks; who has written her own poem for the event; said:- "It is vital that on Holocaust Memorial Day we not only remember the millions who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, but also remember the impact that hate crime and prejudice is still having on people from all walks of life to this day. Our young people are talented, articulate and eloquent, and I look forward to reading their powerful and thought-provoking submissions."

A selection of the poems entered will be included in an anthology that will be presented to entrants, Schools and libraries in the City.

Liverpool City Council's lead on Holocaust Memorial Day, Councillor Jeremy Wolfson, a member of the City's Jewish community, said:- "The poetry competition gives our young people an opportunity to reflect on the Holocaust and raise awareness of not only what happened but also to help make sure there is no repeat of it.  I am sure with the 'Torn From Home' theme we will receive some very emotive poems. It's fantastic that we have a new category this year for adults, building on last years' competition. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the Holocaust and subsequent genocides and raise awareness of not only what happened but to try and ensure that the attitudes which led to them are not repeated. So get submitting those poems, please tell your friends and colleagues, and good luck."

Poems should be submitted to: Jeff Dunn c/o Liverpool Town Hall, High Street, Liverpool, L2 3SW or send via email, by 11 January 2019...  Please remember to include your postal address and email address.

Lord Mayor's poem – Torn from Home...

Armenia … Bosnia … Cambodia … Darfur … Rwanda … And the Holocaust
All declared, by the United Nations, as …
Acts of Genocide …

And yet … today …
As we walk in the park
As we talk to our friends
As we listen to the rising lark
As we follow the latest trends
As we go about our daily lives
There are Conflicts, which could be declared as ...
Acts of Genocides ...

Burma, a land of Buddhism …
Which teaches a life of Peace, and No Killing or Injuring,
Exploded into the destruction of the Rohingya in Myanmar
And 300,000 people were Torn from Home
And every day … the refugees are too full of fear to return

The Yemen has been a conflict zone since 2014
And 3m people have been Torn from Home
And every day … 13m people are suffering famine

In Syria, there has been a civil war since 2011
7.6m internally displaced … and 5.1m refugees …
Have been Torn from Home
and every day … more homes are being reduced to rubble

The war in Afghanistan started in 2001.
And during the years of turmoil,
2.5m refugees have been Torn from Home
And every day … the war still rages

The Toll of the displaced intones with inhumanity

Every refugee is a person
Every refugee is a life
Many are babies … toddlers … children … teenagers …
Who … through no fault of their own …
Have been … Torn from Home