They’re still filming the forthcoming crime drama Blood down at Red Rocks and I was told by one of the crew that tomorrow (Friday 16th) is supposed to be the last day. So if you want to try and spot Paul Bettany, Mark Strong or Brian Cox then you might want to get down to Red Rocks in the morning (though I didn’t see anyone today).

I’d spotted the rigging pictured below from the bottom of Kings Gap but couldn’t make out what it was …so I popped down for a nose! The “stage” was located in the grounds of Red Rocks Nursing Home. And having spotted some other on-location activity I suspect I might have spoiled the plot line for myself a little! It’s been still and overcast pretty much all week – ideal conditions perhaps for a murky thriller?

And here’s the view from over the top of the sandstone wall:

Following on from the shops news of last week, here are some additional items:

Chef

The chip shop at the end of The Row will see the current operators move to a new venue in New Brighton. It’s presumed that somebody else will take over the Hoylake premises.

Little Deli

Sarah Johnson will be opening a new delicatessen in the small shop next to the laundrette (42a Market St). She will be calling it The Little Deli, stocking a large range of locally produced cheese, meats, preserves, chutneys, bread & eggs along with international favourites such as salami, parma hams, olives and more. There will be a takeaway service too. Opening early April.

Cupcake Cafe

New cafe next to the car park at Holy Trinity School is now open.

Hoylake Holistics

RASA has opened a new centre in Hoylake in the former premises of Ambience. This is what they say about the new centre:

Hoylake Holistics is a Rape Crisis Centre with a difference. We know how hard it is to ask for help after sexual violence—whether that violence is current, recent or a long time ago. With Hoylake Holistics, RASA is bringing the service to the women and girls of West Wirral who may need our help and support. But Hoylake Holistics is so much more than just a Rape Crisis Centre.

With a shop stocked with incense, cones, crystals, candles, dream catchers, handmade toys, greetings cards and scarves and many other fancy gifts and a fully equipped Holistic Therapy Room where experienced and qualified therapists offer Reiki, Aromatherapy, Indian Head Massage, Crystal Healing and much more, you will feel safe and secure in our women only space. Whether you want to talk to our counsellors and support workers or whether you just want to take out an hour or so for yourself, Hoylake Holistics is waiting to meet you.

Hoylake Social Club

The Social Club in Trinity Road has a new website and can also be found on facebook.

New Hoylake Town Square

Plans for a £1.2m revamp of the area around The Quadrant and Hoylake Station are to be discussed this week by Wirral Council. Further detail in the Wirral Globe here and additional background here. What do you think? Have your say in the comments below.

You might have missed your chance by now but keep an eye out for film crews and actors in Hoylake, West Kirby and elsewhere on Wirral.

I saw the car above in Morrison’s car park (picture source) being towed along at Kings Gap last week and there have also been film crews down at the end of Stanley Road.

The film, entitled Blood, stars Paul Bettany (pictured), Brian Cox and Mark Strong and is a thriller charting the moral collapse of a police family. Two cop brothers, smothered by the shadow of their former police chief father, must investigate a crime they themselves have committed. It’s due for release next year.

I know that they were filming in New Brighton over the weekend so you might still be in with a chance of seeing the actors and crew.

If you’ve missed the item about Hoylake becoming a Mary Portas Town Team then you might want to read that news first. Here are some items of Hoylake shops and business news for you:

Kristy’s Surprise

The cards and gifts shop located at the Meols end of Hoylake is now under new ownership.

Bradshaw Farnham Lea

Bradshaw Farnham Lea (BFL – website) have taken the decision to merge their Hoylake branch with the one in West Kirby from 1st March. BFL say that this will offer vendors a wider audience at West Kirby, which they believe will improve the prospects of selling properties in the Hoylake and Meols area. Having started their business in Hoylake in 2003 BFL aim to retain their presence in Hoylake, possibly as a lettings and financial services office.

Smooth Coffee

The new Smooth Coffee Lounge has now opened in the old bank building next to Wetherspoons. The Grade II Listed building used to be a Barclays Bank and was last used as Jolley & Co estate agents. Have you been yet – what do you think?

El Grecko

The El Grecko Greek restaurant opposite the Punch Bowl and next to Meat & Mingle has closed. I have to say that the venue never looked busy on the odd times I’ve walked past of an evening.

BodyCore Pilates

Local owner Amanda Fryer-Harris is investing in improvements to her Pilates studio (website) in the old Fire House building in Albert Road. By the way, I’m still after really old photos of this lovely old building …someone, somewhere must have one?

Runners Sports / Hoylake Wines / Jessies Yard

The specialist running shoes and kit shop is currently for sale – details. The off-licence that opened in the former Threshers shop is also for sale. Shop/office premises are also available at 80 Market Street – a Hoylake building with plenty of history.

Cutlery Drawer

CutleryDrawer.co.uk is a new retailer of traditional and modern kitchenware, bakeware and cookware. Offering brands such as OXO Good Grips, ColourWorks and Master Class, the Hoylake-based business is currently an online-only store. Disclosure: It also happens to be a new project of mine! Facebook likes would be jolly decent of you.

Royal Hilbre Hotel & Spa

The hotel and spa project on Meols Drive that has been mothballed for some time due to financing issues has seen some minor activity recently. The site hoardings were removed the other week and have since been replaced and the signage has also been put back up. I am waiting for an update from the site manager and will update you in due course.

Retail specialist Mary Portas (pictured) is no stranger to Hoylake as she featured the 3 Sisters green grocers in one her television shows a couple of years ago. She could return to Market Street again if Hoylake Village Life (HVL) are successful in their attempt to secure a place for Hoylake as one of the 12 Town Teams that Portas is looking to work with. Here’s what HVL have to say about the project:

The Government has recently announced the ‘Portas Pilot Prospectus’ – an invitation for 12 deserving communities to form a ‘Town Team’ to make a real difference to their town centres by bringing them back to life. This follows the recent independent review of the high street carried out by Mary Portas who has made, in all, 28 recommendations, chief of which is to set up ‘Town Teams’ and pilot these across the country.

So what is a ‘Town Team’? It is a representative group of enthusiastic local people who would work together in partnership on behalf of the whole community to make a real difference to their town and bring it back to life. This would involve local groups, local businesses, retailers, landlords and the local authority all collaborating to devise an agreed  common plan to make improvements and deliver much needed vitality and charm to the high street. The prize for the successful ‘Town Teams’ is to gain the expertise of Mary Portas and her team and the backing of the government to take their plan forward as well as a share of the £1 million made available to implement this pilot scheme.

The ‘Portas Pilot’ was only announced on 4 February and time is short so this letter is to invite you to express your support ‘in principle’ for an application to be submitted for and on behalf of the whole community of Hoylake.  Because of the work already undertaken and in the pipeline through its ‘Vision’ neighbourhood planning initiative, we believe that HVL is well placed to respond to this welcome scheme. Of course, there is no guarantee of success but, with the very apparent support of all the people of Hoylake, we stand as good a chance as any other town of presenting a persuasive case. We have already sought and secured the support of our MP, Esther McVey as well as local Councillors Eddie Boult, Gerry Ellis and John Hale. However, the prospectus requires us to demonstrate the widest possible support for the application.

This is an unusual if not unique opportunity for us to do something positive for the town we all enjoy but which we know could be even better so we very much hope that you are persuaded to show your support by contacting us by email, write to us at 6 Market Street, Hoylake CH47 2AE, or phone Rosie Saville on 0151 632 5910 as we need to name supporting businesses and organisations in the application.

The quickest way to respond with an expression of support is by clicking HERE.

It will help if you tell us very briefly whether you are a resident, or whether you represent a business or organisation.

Yep, that’s the Tardis at Red Rocks and yes, Dr Who is coming to Hoylake!

Here’s a date that many kids (of all ages) will want to circle on the kitchen calendar: Saturday, 28th July, 2012 – otherwise known as Who In Hoylake.

I spotted details of this interesting event so I contacted the event organisers. Fans Like Us is a Wirral-based Dr Who fan group and promote Dr Who convention events. Here’s what they say about Who in Hoylake, along with venue and ticket details:

From the team who brought you six sell-out events at the Cavern and the Fab Cafe…

We bring you our first event in our home town – Who at Hoylake!

Who at Hoylake is an event celebrating all things Who, past, present and otherwise timey-wimey. As always, this will be an entertaining and fun event, once again at a world-class venue – Jack Rabbit Slim’s in Hoylake.

Guests confirmed to date (subject to work commitments) include:

6th Doctor COLIN BAKER (pictured) – a firm Fans Like Us favourite. He’s not just a pretty face; Colin’s sharp mind and razor wit make him an unmissable guest.

MARK STRICKSON – a fantastic guest. Mark’s work and family life take him away from the UK most of the year, so it’s no exaggeration to say this appearance is a Fans Like Us exclusive.

LOUISE JAMESON – a much-loved stage and television actress. Louise is making her Fans Like Us debut, and we trust you’ll welcome her with open arms!

SOPHIE ALDRED – local girl Sophie makes a return to her homeland to be with her people.

TERRY MOLLOY – the most evil genius the galaxy has ever seen, intent on spreading race war to the farthest sectors of the universe. He once played Davros, you know.

CHRIS JURY – as if being in Dr Who were not enough, Chris was also a star of TV’s Lovejoy. These days he works behind the camera, and this is a rare convention appearance.

And the wonderful COLIN SPAUL, actor, raconteur and all-round great bloke

The day will be MC’d by JOHN COOPER, veteran stand-up and inveterate Dr Who fan!

And these are just the guests we’ve already confirmed. Look to the website below for our updated guest list.

We guarantee, you will be in for a great day, with panels, signings, dealers and so much more, and you won’t miss a thing.

Tickets are a snip at a mere £25:

• for the full day
• to meet the guests
• for personal signings

No hidden costs; if you got a ticket, all you pay for is the merch you take away.

In addition, children under 12 will be allowed in free as long as they’re accompanied by a paying adult.

Tickets are available on the website, further information and updates will be available at our Facebook group, Who At Hoylake, or Twitter

Here’s an important press release from The Parade, Hoylake Community Centre:

The first part of the major exterior renovation of the Parade, Hoylake Community Centre has now commenced with the complete roof replacement. The [Wirral Council] Asset Transfer scheme is transferring this building to the Community.

The new charitable company, formed from the Joint Management Committee which has run the building for over 20 years, has secured finance from a charitable fund for the replacement of the slate roof, new drains and car park.

The work will take several months to complete but will result in a wonderful facility for local people.

Vaughan Williams, Chairman of the JMC said:

“It is hard for us to believe that we have come from fighting for the very survival of this wonderful building to the position where we are now confidently looking to its being here for the next 100 years. Nearly £2m has been spent over the years in creating this fantastic facility for the use of all local people for recreation, education and entertainment. The original committee and the new board are all unpaid volunteers and I am very proud of what they have achieved for the local community.”

History

The Edwardian building on the promenade was opened as a school in 1909 and was saved from demolition by local groups over 20 years ago. It is now a thriving and well used hub for the Community hosting Food Fairs, Film Nights and many classes and is a Centre for Dance and Music. All rooms and halls available for hire by the Community.

For further information contact the Centre Manager Gill Norris on 632 2889 or hoylake.parade@hotmail.co.uk

Merseyside Police is appealing for information following a confrontational burglary in Hoylake on Monday, 9 January.
At about 10.25pm five males entered a house on Dovedale Road armed with a sword. The males confronted the residents of the property and demanded cash. The males then left the property with an amount of cash and a mobile phone from one of the residents.

Although uninjured the residents have been left very shaken following the incident.

The offenders are described as being aged in their late teens or early twenties of proportionate build with local accents. All five males were wearing dark coloured clothing and had their faces covered. One of the males was wearing a grey charcoal tracksuit with the bottoms tucked into black socks.

Enquiries are ongoing and CCTV is being examined from the scene.

Detective Sergeant Mark Watson, said: “We are appealing to anyone who may have seen males acting suspiciously near to this address around this time to contact us with any information they may have.

“We are determined to catch those responsible for this offence. I would urge any members of the public with information regarding this incident to contact us. High visibility patrols have been stepped up in the area following the incident.

“We will not tolerate this kind of crime on Merseyside and urge anyone who may know these men, or may have any information, to call us so we can put them before the courts and bring them to justice.”

Anyone who may have information about either incident or the offenders is asked to contact Merseyside Police on 0151 777 2265 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast an item about localism and Hoylake last night in their World Tonight programme. You can listen to the broadcast on iplayer  - fast forward to approximately 38/39 mins.

You’ll here comments from local business owners and community volunteers. There are differences of opinion on how Hoylake can be improved for residents, businesses and visitors. Do have a listen and see what you think.

Constructive comments (only please) are always welcome here of course so feel free to have your say if you’d like. Just use the comment box below. Comments from new commentators are held for moderation to avoid the relentless spammers.