Mersey Basin Campaign Blog

Quotes from George

Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pseudonym George Orwell wrote some interesting books, yes we all know about Animal Farm and 1984 his most famous novels!

In 1936 he was commissioned to write an account of poverty among the working class in depressed areas of the north of England. He toured Lancashire and Yorkshire and wrote 'The Road to Wigan Pier'.

Below are some quotes from the book, which I found lurking in a folder on my computer. I like them and I hope you do too!

“… but even water, when it gets north of a certain latitude, ceases to be H²O and becomes something mystically superior.”

                                                George Orwell: “The Road to Wigan Pier” 1937

“I remember a winter afternoon in the dreadful environs of Wigan.  All round was the lunar landscape of slag-heaps, and to the north, through the passes, as it were, between the mountains of slag, you could see the factory chimneys sending out their plumes of smoke.  The canal path was a mixture of cinders and frozen mud, criss-crossed by the imprints of innumerable clogs, and all round, as far as the slag-heaps in the distance, stretched the ‘flashes’ – pools of stagnant water that has seeped into the hollows caused by the subsidence of ancient pits.  It was horribly cold.  The ‘flashes’ were covered with ice the colour of raw umber, the bargemen were muffled to the eyes in sacks, the lock gates wore beards of ice.  It seemed a world from which vegetation had been banished; nothing existed except smoke, shale, ice, mud, ashes and foul water.  But even Wigan is beautiful compared with Sheffield.”

                                                            George Orwell: “The Road to Wigan Pier” 1937

Nantwich Riverside Project - 1 Year On

The Nantwich Riverside Project was originally set in motion by Lucy Burton of the Mersey Basin Campaign and Officers at Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council.  The project has now reached the end of its first year.  Please see attached summary report for all the wonderful goings on in 2006.

Now it's onward and upward for 2007....

Download summary_report_2006_mbc_blog.pdf

The Weaver in Winter - Courtesy of John Austin, Riverside Concern.

mad as a hatter

Colin McPherson, photographer on Mersey: The river that changed the world is in Stockport this afternoon, making another leg of his journey along the river. Thanks to Louise Murphy from Stockport Council, Colin's discovered that he can walk along the riverbanks from Stockport town centre, all the way along to Mersey Vale Nature Park at Heaton Mersey. Hopefully he'll be able to spot lots of wildlife along the way, not to mention getting up close and personal with the river from the vantage point of the canoe access steps in the park. Keep you fingers crossed that the rains holds off for the day!

Support your Local Biodiversity Record Centre

There is an uncertain future regarding the level of funding of Local Biodiversity Record Centres and if you would like to support future funding of LRCs a petition to the Prime Minister has been set up on the 10 Downing Street website.

Take a look at the petition, and if you would like to show your support please sign it.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/LRC-Funding/

Pass this message onto anyone who you think will be interested or at least willing to take a look

Can you help the Godwit Patrol?

A round-the-clock nest protection operation is ready to swing into action this spring when one of the UK’s rarest birds returns to nest on the Ribble Estuary, but more volunteers are needed.

Black-tailed godwits are a tall elegant wading bird whose numbers are threatened across Europe, due to loss of its natural nesting habitat and persecution by egg collectors.

Less than 60 pairs of the long-legged wading birds breed in the whole of the UK and the two pairs on the Ribble are the only ones to nest in the North West.

When the birds return the RSPB and Fylde Bird Club will mount a 24-hour guard on the nests.

If you can help please go along to the Ribble Discovery Centre, Fairhaven Lake, St Annes at 7pm on Thursday 5 April 2007.  Alternatively, contact Carol Coupe on 01995 642251 or e-mail [email protected].

World Water Day 2007

'Coping with Water Scarcity' is the theme for World Water Day 2007, which is celebrated each year on 22 March. This year's theme highlights the increasing significance of water scarcity worldwide and the need for increased integration and cooperation to ensure sustainable, efficient and equitable management of scarce water resources, both at international and local levels.

Please visit the UN Water web site, and the UN Water for Life Decade web site for the latest information on UN freshwater programmes.  How can you help?

Do you know a local hero?

Nationwide Building Society have developed the Awards for Voluntary Endeavour with charity partners including the Heritage Lottery Fund, and are celebrating the tenth year of the awards this year.

Entry is open to anyone under and over 18, whose voluntary work or community activity has made a significant contribution to their community. This can include work for charities, community groups or other organisations providing a valuable community service.

The deadline for nominations is 30th April 2007.

Click here for more information and a nomination form.

a sense of porpoise....

Just a quick post to tell you about an email we've received from Susan, who spotted a porpoise swimming in the Mersey around 4pm on Sunday afternoon, just off Eastham Ferry. If anyone else sees anything interesting, let us know on [email protected]

motown on the mersey

A great documentary was aired on Radio 2 last night - 'Motown on the Mersey' examined the history of Liverpool's Mardi Gras club, which influenced the 1970s Northern Soul scene, and explored the links between the Mardi Gras and 1960s soul music. You can listen to the programme here. If you're interested in Liverpool's musical heritage and links to soul music, look out for Anthony H. Wilson's chapter, 'An industry of revoutions' in the forthcoming book 'Mersey: The river that changed the world', to be published by Bluecoat Press in November 2007.

a wild and woolly day by the mersey

Well, last Thursday was an exciting day in the life of 'Mersey: The river that changed the world'. First up, Colin and I headed to the outer reaches of the waterfront in Liverpool to meet Mary Kendrick, former Acting Conservator of the Mersey. Here's an article explaining what the job entails. It was blowing a gale at Prince's Parade, beyond the Isle of Man ferry terminal, so we were glad to be able to get in the warm at the Mersey Partnership's office and do our interview. Once that was done, we braved the wind and ventured out to the waterfront. Poor Mary was almost blown over as Colin photographed her, but he got an excellent shot, right in front of the drilling platform for the new cruise ship terminal.

In the afternoon, I headed back into town and met with BBC Radio Merseyside. We've agreed that they'll be featuring a series of short features about the Mersey people, which will be aired on their Drivetime show in early 2008. This is all fantastic news for the project, but I have a lot of editing ahead of me now!