St Chad's is one of the last remaining great beauty spots in Kirkby; the Church
itself is a magnificent building, though there has been some vandalism
over the years. In particular it would be nice to restore the old War
memorial to those local lads who died defeating fascism. St Chad's is
a nice place, the old Graveyard is pretty stunning, BUT as usual, this
website has to report on some the not so nice aspects.
Vandals attack Carvings days after being put up.
St Chad's (renamed as Millennium green but still called 'The Chad' by locals),
recently saw 3 brilliant wood carvings being placed along the path from Northwood
by Centre 63 to Tower Hill and Mill Farm. The 3 carvings are of a Viking Longboat,
two ears of corn and a church. These carvings have taken numerous untold hours
to carve out from old logs or even an entire length of solid trunk.
This painstaking craftsmanship is being done in a work unit by the
Keylink studio. Many people have commented on the great work which
could be seen as you walk past. I myself witnessed (from a distance)
a massive trunk being carved out to form the shape of a Viking ship
over the course of a few months. This is one of the 3 carvings which
presumably were commissioned by the Council or other bodies. The
idea is a good one; the carvings are pieces of art and labours
of love for the man who created them. However, only days after
being situated in St Chad's, the vandals have already targeted
the carvings by trying to burn the head off the Viking ship
and also by scrawling with markers pens on all 3 carvings.
You can view the graffiti in the gallery - maybe you recognise
the names and can inform their parents. The kids should be
made to clean the damage if caught.
Minority Rule.
Luckily the damage from the graffiti can be removed and some sanding
done to restore the burned head of the Viking Longboat which is actually
a bench which can seat 3 or 4 people. The damage is clearly visible and
people walking past were commenting on the way the vandals were targeting
things which were put there for us all. As usual the minority mess things
up for the majority.
Mosaics being vandalised.
Other vandalism included damage to the mosaics which are by each
carving, the mosaics have been there a while and the kids have begun
to pick away causing damage. If left unchecked, the mosaics will be
tore up and, sad to say, the carvings will be set alight and destroyed
bit by bit. There is evidence of this in Roughwood Woods where a great
looking log seat, with animals carved all over it, was gradually destroyed.
Girls of 11 or 12 drink and smash bottles - 2.00pm Sunday Afternoon
Whilst I was taking photographs, I noticed a group of 4 girls
smashing bottles right next to a bin, I presumed the plastic bag
they had full of bottles was beer, it generally is, and more and
more young girls are actually walking around thinking they are 'cool'
tanked up on a few bottles and acting 'laddish'. This was happening in
broad - daylight, generally I would go over and tell them off - but I
took a photo instead to capture this moment. Ultimately we need Park
Wardens to cover the area -they can keep an eye on things and have the
use of a digital camera so we can build a gallery of shame of those
who think they can mess up our environment and our lives. These
girls need a good clip round the ear - possibly drunk aged approx 12! - If I had
even told them off I could have been up on a charge- that's how
messed up the legal system is in this Country. If it would have
been a group of 4 lads - they may have decided to kick me to
the floor - who would stop them? - How long would a 999 call
take to get results? Likely as not the Police could scrape me
off the ground when they turned up or nick me if I had defended
myself successfully. Having had to phone 999 on a couple of
occasions- even the cops would admit that they are under
strength and are struggling to contain crime.
Below - despite being 2 foot away from a bin one of these girls
decided to smash bottles, likely beer bottles - you can see them running
towards the rest of the bottles which will doubtless be smashed or threw
away. Years ago girls tended to stop lads doing stupid things - now they
are just as bad if not worse.
What do YOU think should be done to stop the vandalism and crime?
You can view the Photos soon I took of the Carvings in the latest
Kirkby Times Gallery addition. I will try to interview the bloke who
carved them and maybe photograph him at work if permission is given.
We must make sure more of these magnificent carvings are commissioned as long as the cost is fair;
we must stop the minority from destroying what little beauty is here and build
on what we have. This means ditching the deadwood of Knowsley Council
who are a bad example to these young kids, the kids vandalism is
nothing compared to Knowsley Councils environmental vandalism on a grand scale
