LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT IN MEMORY OF DAD
CALLING ALL THE HEROES!
SHAFTESBURY YOUTH CLUB CREATE WALL MURAL
W L NEWS
LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT IN MEMORY OF DAD
CALLING ALL THE HEROES!
Wirral Council is calling for your nominations for the Wirral Award 2017!
Recipients will be treated to a civic reception at Wallasey Town Hall, and join a small but distinguished band of people who have been recognised with this civic honour- which rewards going the extra mile for others. They are looking for individuals or organisations living or working in Wirral who have made an outstanding achievement over the previous 12 months, or have given distinguished service to the borough( over a period of 20 years or more, less in exceptional circumstances). Mayor of Wirral, Cllr Ann McLachlan, will present the awards. She said:‘ Our award holders are from various fields of public life and have included volunteers, community workers and people from the world of sport and the arts. If you’ ve ever heard yourself thinking that someone you know deserved an award for the good works they do, now is the time to nominate them.’ You have until December 8, 2017, to make your nomination at: www. wirral. gov. uk / awards.
Ten thousand beautiful lights will be switched on in memory of loved ones at Wirral Hospice St John’ s this December. This special event is an opportunity for our local community to come together to sponsor a light and remember their loved ones.
The switch-on will take place in the Hospice gardens on Sunday 3rd December from 4.30pm. The names of those remembered will feature in the books of honour on display in the hospice chapel. Each name sponsored will receive a Light up a Life card and there is an opportunity to buy a Light up a Life star as a keepsake tree decoration. This year the lights will be switched on by eight-year-old Sam Bryson whose dad died at Wirral Hospice St John’ s in 2015. Sam was six and his sister Florence was just two when their dad Roger died from bowel cancer aged 48. The children spent a lot of time visiting their dad at the hospice and were always made to feel welcome and cared for; their father was an in-patient for almost three months. Periods of stability meant he was able to live at the family home in Hoylake for a few weeks at a time. Roger was a news journalist who worked for the BBC in Liverpool, and was a former news editor of The Liverpool Daily Post. Roger was hospitalised in May 2013 with essential thrombocythemia – a blood disorder that caused a series of blood clots, resulting in complications and emergency bowel surgery. He returned to work nearly 18 months later, but developed further problems and was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer in April 2015. He moved to Wirral Hospice St John’ s days later. The family have since moved from Wirral to Julia’ s hometown in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, but visit Hoylake often. Roger’ s family – his mum was 91 this year and lives in Moreton with his sister Jehane, and his brother Pete and sister-inlaw Glenys live in Irby. Julia Bryson writes a blog called Rainbeaubelle( rainbeaubelle. com) and documents their journey online. Writing about her husband’ s cancer diagnosis, his move to the hospice and eventually his death helped her to get through the experience and connect with others in a similar position. It has also served to give people an insight into life at a hospice and how the hospice can benefit not only the patient but also the whole family. Last year’ s campaign helped to raise almost £ 90,000 towards running costs and patient care. To sponsor a light, call 0151 343 0778 or visit www. wirralhospice. org
SHAFTESBURY YOUTH CLUB CREATE WALL MURAL
Shaftesbury Youth Club, in collaboration with The Wilfred Owen Story, has created a wall mural within the grounds of the Shaftesbury’ s Memorial Garden, which depicts a WW1 battlefield scene and is inspired by lines from Wilfred Owen’ s poem‘ The Next War’.
The mural completes the works to commemorate the young people who were members of the youth club, and who gave their lives in the“ Great War”, many of whom are featured in the club’ s iconic commemorative‘ Golden Book’. The mural was painted by Rebecca Grindley, who is the resident artist with the Wilfred Owen Story, based on Argyle Street, Birkenhead. Rebecca, who studied at Goldsmiths Art College in London, says,“ It has been an honour to contribute to the club’ s memorial garden. Wilfred lived just a short distance away and would have known the field. It seemed fitting to illustrate his poem, as Owen was aghast at the senseless loss of youth in the war. The poem I chose was one of only 5 published while Wilfred was alive, and was actually written in July 1917, so it is exactly 100 years since he proclaimed‘ Death was never an enemy of ours!.” Members of the public can visit the Garden by arrangement, please ring the club on 0151 608 7165. wirrallife. com 9