North Parade resurfacing
Short notice, but North Parade from Kings Gap to (presumably) Hoyle Road is being resurfaced starting Wednesday 11 May, from 7am. If you park your car on the promenade it’ll need to be moved and access to the road will obviously be restricted. It is not clear how long the works are going to take. Leave a comment if you have more information about the works.
Possible dog poisoning on beach
There are reports that a dog has died, possibly as a result of consuming a spilt chemical on the beach. It appears that a local family were walking their dog on the shore by the lifeboat station where it licked a blue/black material that was spilt on the sand next to rocks behind the model boating lake. A few hours later the dog became unwell and has since died. The police taped off the area of sand while environmental health officers removed the spilt material which will now be tested. There is no suggestion that the material was deliberatley discarded on the sand and it may well have come from a cannister washed ashore during a recent high tide.
Flies
Over the weekend there were swarms of flies along the promenade. Presumably the sheer numbers are related to the dry and warm weather during April – does anybody have any additional information?
Local elections
Gerry Ellis successfully retained the Hoylake and Meols ward in the local council elections held last Thursday. The Conservative councillor had a majority of 1,583 and the voting turnout was 48.80%. The BBC reports the police are investigating a case of voting irregularity that was encountered at the polling station at Holy Trinity School in Market Street.
Seve Ballesteros
The charismatic golfer Seve Ballesteros lost his battle with cancer over the weekend. Ballesteros won five major championships between 1979 and 1988, the British Open three times, and The Masters twice. He made his last competitive British Open appearance in 2006 at The Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, accompanied by his 15-year old son Baldomero who caddied for him.
Sunday 5th June is the day for this year’s Big Lunch. Ferndale Road is having one. So is Cable road. Are there any others happening?
St. Mark’s Fly
The large black flies that are reported here are commonly known as St. Mark’s Fly, (Bibio marci). They commonly appear around about St. Mark’s Day on 25th April, hence their name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibio_marci
They are pretty much an annual feature, though their numbers probably vary from year to year. I think you notice them particularly if you just happen to be out and about when they emerge. As we have had such a nice spell of weather over the last few weeks, they have probably been noticed more than usual this year as more people are out enjoying the sunshine.
Keith Hatton
Hi Keith
Thanks for naming them! I’m guessing we’re seeing far more of them this year.
John
Hi John,
Yes, we are certainly seeing a good few this year. I became aware of these flies at quite an early age as I can remember my mum telling me about a time before I was born, when she had taken my elder brother for a picnic on the beach, only to have to abandon the outing because of the ‘plague of horrible big black flies’.
Though big and ugly they are harmless, a bit like me!
Keith
‘Helpmates’ are leafleting again for a so called Charity clothing collection. It is no such thing. It is a scam and nothing to do with charity.
Gerry, were I live we get about two ‘charity’ envelopes and bags a week.
One recently was collecting for a Forces charity that provides thing for troops in hospital but from the collection, the charity will receive £70 per TON of clothing.
Better giving it to local charity shops