St Bridget’s Community Centre Appeal
Appeal latest £ 237,000
The First Tuesday Lectures 2008
Using Modern Genetics with Old Surnames to Excavate Wirral’s Viking Past – a
lecture by Professor Stephen Harding : 5th February - this lecture is the first in
our First Tuesday series of five lectures.
Professor Harding has been instrumental in raising awareness amongst Wirral
folk of our Viking ancestry, including a number of startling historical
revelations. With visitors from Scandinavia and North America coming to
Wirral to investigate further their own Viking heritage, Professor Harding pulls
together the many strands of the Wirral Viking saga.
Venue : St Bridget’s Community Centre, 7.30, tickets £5 on the door, or from
Pipe Dreams in Banks Road.
A 1000 Years of History - St Bridget’s Parish
A First Tuesday Lecture – by Elizabeth Davey:4thMarch
Elizabeth Davey of the Civic Society looks at 1000 years of ecclesiastical and
community life in the parish of St Bridget’s.
There will also be a display of very early bibles, including our own Breeches
Bible.
Venue : St Bridget’s Community Centre, 7.30, tickets £5 on the door, or from
Pipe Dreams in Banks Road.
The History and Future of Birkenhead Park
A First Tuesday Lecture – by Professor Robert Lee : Ist April
As the inspiration for Central Park, New York, Birkenhead Park has a significant
historical legacy – and is a leader in the renaissance of urban parks. Professor
Robert Lee, of Friends of Birkenhead Park, looks at the past , present and
future of the world’s first urban park.
Venue : St Bridget’s Community Centre, 7-30, tickets £5 on the door. Or from
Pipe Dreams in Banks Road..
Wirral, How It Was and How It Is
A First Tuesday Lecture – by Rod Tann : Tuesday 6th May
Rod Tann, chairman of the Wirral Society, looks at how Wirral has developed
over the last 200 years with a particular emphasis on environmental issues and
the part planning – or lack of it – has played in the process.
Venue : Westbourne Hall, 7-30, tickets £5 on the door or from Pipe Dreams in
Banks Road.
Of Men and Mountains : The Story of Two Wirral Heroes
A First Tuesday Lecture – by Julie Summers : Tuesday 3rd June
Two men, Sandy Irvine and Philip Toosey were born two years apart in the
same area of Birkenhead at the beginning of the twentieth century. Both
became legends, albeit accidentally, and both were deeply proud of theirWirral
roots. In 1923 Sandy Irvine was chosen to be the youngest member of the 1924
British Everest expedition and tragically he perished alongside George Mallory
on the final ascent towards the summit. They were lost but the mystery of
whether they climbed to the top of the highest mountain on earth remains an
unanswered question. Philip Toosey’s role as the senior British officer at the
bridge camp on the infamous Death Railway (the Thailand Burma Railway) in
the Second World War was fictionalised and immortalised by Alec Guiness in
his role as the brittle tempered, bone headed Colonel Nicholson in the 1957
Hollywood film, Bridge on the River Kwai. Julie Summers has written best
selling biographies of both men and in this illustrated talk she looks at the
personalities behind the well known stories and brings to life the two Wirral
heroes.
Venue : St Bridget’s Community Centre, 7-30, tickets £5 on the door or from
Pipe Dreams in Banks Road.
The Welsh Presence on the Wirral
A First Tuesday Lecture – by Rev. Dr. Ben Rees :Tuesday 1st July
The Welsh as a migrant community have been on Wirral since the Middle Ages,
and Professor Dr D Ben Rees of Liverpool will analyse the presence, influence
and contribution of the Welsh in Wallasey, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port,
Hoylake and West Kirby. It will be a power point presentation and Professor
Rees, an author of eight books on the Welsh of Merseyside, will bring a
selection of books of interest with him.
Venue: St Bridget’s Community Centre, 7-30, tickets £5 on the door or from
Pipe Dreams in Banks Road.