A narrow Escape On Crosby Beach

OUR pictures show the stately coming of Queen Mary 2 to the river Mersey, on 15 September 2011, from the moments leading up to her turn near Formby Point to her entry of the port past Perch Rock. Note the changes in the shore line as she proceeds! How quickly the tide swept in rapidly engulfing Antony Gormley’s Iron Men, but also catching up with some of the QM - watching crowd, who had descended to the beach for a closer view. The Life Guards were very vigilant and warned of the imminent dangers, but despite this the bow wave of Queen Mary accelerated the sweep of the tide and caught retreating spectators in a pincer movement. Fortunately, on this occasion, all were very near the slipway and managed to get ashore with little more than wet feet. The power of the water as it surged in and the extremely rapid filling of very deep gullies, however, was very evident and frightening to behold. It illustrates well the vagaries and treacherous nature of this coast, the need for vigilance, and for local knowledge at a time of crisis. It provides a powerful argument for a rethink on the closure of Crosby Coast Guard Station. At a time of the scandal of new, expensive and unwanted Regional Fire Service control centres, why dabble with the equally unwelcome reorganisation of the Coastguard services, thus inviting a potential further fiasco? If you want to help the campaign to try and stop the closure, please go to saveliverpoolcoastguard.org and also spread the word about the website. The online petition is also a good way to show your support and to sign it click here. Any comments from our readers, please let us know by email our newsroom via:-news24@southportreporter.com.

Remember to always check behind you for hidden channels when on the beach and check the tide times!

 UK Weather Forecast Not Looking Good

THE long-range forecast the UK shows snow on the cards for October, but will it snow?  The snow and bad weather chaos which blighted the UK back at the end of 2010 and the start of  2011, could be the end for many businesses, should the same thing happen again. A bad winter could spell disaster for the economy and with the threat of strike action looming; many business leaders are increasingly getting worried. But if snow does hit, will we see another national emergency? Do you think any strike action should be cancelled if we have snow? Do you our readers think we have got things sorted now? Transport networks have already been told to prepare for another year of Arctic temperatures and snow. We would love to know your thoughts on this? If we have frozen homes again, could the NHS cope? Also, it is not just us humans who would be hard hit this year, as Wildlife experts say it could be a disaster for wildlife, as millions of the young birds and animals have starved or drowned during the droughts, storms and floods throughout the UK and the worry is that an early winter will bring more problems for many of them. Lack of funding for wildlife projects will see any bad weather putting a massive strain on them and as a result it if feared that many projects will be unable to cope. Again do you think we should be worried? Email your views to:- news24@southportreporter.com and let us know what you think?

Queen Mary 2 Visits Liverpool & Ends The 2011 River Festival
Photographs and report by L Trollope.

WHAT a contrast in weather between the visit of the Cunard line Queen Elizabeth last week and the arrival of her stable mate, Queen Mary 2, on Thursday, 15 September 2011. Her visit marked the end of the Mersey River Festival. She came in from Cobh, in Ireland, to warm, balmy conditions which drew the crowds in their hundreds, on both sides of the river. Queen Mary 2 is the flagship of Cunard, much longer and taller than both the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, and the only one of the three to be a true liner; deep draughted and with a reinforced hull especially designed to counter all the North Atlantic has to offer. Her impressive presence at the Cruise Terminal meant that the ferry services between Liverpool and Birkenhead had to be suspended, but boats plied between Birkenhead and Seacombe and afforded grandstand views of the liner, plus an interesting commentary.

It was whilst perusing QM2 from the ferry that our attention was drawn to the cruise ship, Countess of the Seas; herself an ex-Cunarder; emerging from her less than elegant berth, from behind great heaps of tortured metal, the oft dubbed Bootle Alps. The contrast between the 2 venues was so marked and highlighted the pressing need for a turnaround facility for these visitors, as our photos show.   Sadly civic leaders in Southampton, are furious saying we are cash in and it is them who have been the hub for cruises from Britain for decades so we can't have any cruises starting and ending in Liverpool! 

For many in Liverpool it is nice to see the return of our heritage, as Cunard was bourn in Liverpool, so for now the big baby antics down South have largely gone unnoticed up here.  Sadly though, Southampton has handed in a petition with over 10,000 signatures to Downing Street, demanding that a ban on the Liverpool as a "turnaround port" remain in place.  So this issue has popped up in National news and will go now for some time.  So what do readers think about that?  Email us at:- news24@southportreporter.com with your views?

 Having graced our port for the day, the Queen Mary was a grand sight with all her lights ablaze as she prepared to set sail for next port of call of her Round the British Isles cruise, Greenock, in Scotland; and from thence to Edinburgh, and home to Southampton: A reverse of Queen Elizabeth’s itinerary. But before she departed, a firework display provided entertainment for passengers and landlubbers alike, set off from a barge, mid river, they lit up the river most colourfully. Meanwhile, interesting facts about previous and present Queens were projected onto the wall of the Cunard Building. Queen Mary 2 made her stately way out, emitting a very satisfyingly deep and sonorous boom as she did so, evoking many memories in the not so young of the folk on the Pier Head!

To see last weeks Mersey River Festival coverage, click on here!  Also to see more in this shots of the festival from Saturday, 10 September and the Sunday, 11 September 2011, click on here.

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