In Pictures: Heatons Bridge Car Boot Sale today - in the Sweltering Heat

 

The event today went off very well at Heatons Bridge, as the high temperatures hovered around 30C.

Please surf the following link for news of our forthcoming events...

https://southport-crafts-and-events.jimdosite.com/

ALDI’S WOODVALE BUILD AND OUR NATIVE TREES IN THE WAY OF THEIR ‘PROGRESS’ - UPDATED.

Above: a splendid old lime recently pictured this week that has existed along with other mature trees for decades on Sandbrook Way.

 Many residents understandably welcome the removal of the old  eyesore buildings on Sandbrook Road/Way.

For years the rotting buildings have given the entire area a downtrodden feel. Nevertheless, others have become increasingly concerned for the welfare of the lovey mature trees in the Sandbrook Way precinct that ALDI may view not as wildlife sanctuaries and a part of our local green heritage -  but just unwanted obstacles to be removed.

Above: a mature alder tree seen before its leaves appeared, on Sanbrook Way 

WORK 'AROUND' THE TREES AND INCORPORATE THEM INTO THE NEW LANDSCAPING TO BENEFIT THE AREA - INSTEAD OF TAKING THE LAZY 'CHAIN SAW' OPTION! 

Ecological concerns: Construction work will threaten mature trees and wildlife in this peaceful space that is set to become a possible noise - ridden, gridlocked, nightmare for some. Red squirrels (a legally protected species) have been spotted in the area. Foxes also run through the area (travelling from the adjacent Woodvale Woodland into local gardens, as do hedgehogs. 

https://pat-regan.blogspot.com/2026/03/aldi-ainsdale-right-store-wrong-place-or.html 

In summer bats hunt over the trees. Various birds species utilise the trees on Sandbrook Way for nesting and roosting.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a mandatory requirement in England's planning system that ensures new developments leave the natural environment in a measurably 'better' state than before, with a minimum 10% increase in biodiversity.

It worth remembering that modern property buyers often prioritise 'green infrastructure.' Removing mature trees lowers the curb appeal and thermal comfort of these units. Thoughtless felling trades long-term property value for a slightly easier construction phase. Trees are a real asset to profit margins rather than a pesky ecological obstacle to tractors.

By removing established trees, developers are creating a 'Biodiversity Deficit' that may cost significantly more to offset off-site under BNG (Biodiversity Net Gain) regulations than it would to simply integrate the existing canopy into the design. Most developers know that Off-site mitigation is expensive and logistically difficult.

In these times of advanced technology would it really be too hard for ALDI to work around our lovely trees and actually incorporate them into the new development landscape - rather than simply destroy them? 

Perhaps our local reps and councillors need to bear this in mind when the hammer finally drops on this new build. 

It is indeed great news that the area is finally being ungraded, yet 'not' at the convenience - driven sacrifice of our old natural Woodvale heritage.

Replacing the old eyesore buildings is a great step forward for Sandbrook Way, but true progress requires intelligent, responsible design.

Aldi has the financial backing and architectural talent to build a fantastic new store around our mature trees; it shouldn't be an either/or choice. We support regeneration, but we demand responsible design that respects our local environment. 

Hopefully, our ward councillors will ensure this application is called before the full Planning Committee so that tree retention and strict Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) measures are made a mandatory condition of the build. 

You can see the decades of care that have gone into preserving our local natural landscape via this following link about the origins of Woodvale Woodland, which is virtually across the road from the proposed ALDI build.

 https://woodvalewp.blogspot.com/2013/07/woodland-woodvale-project-wwp-3-july.html

 

ADDENDUM

ALDI frequently alters store designs to meet local planning conditions, including creating green buffer zones and retaining mature treelines. Here is one good example…

As just one example - the Walsall Store saw…

• Frontage Preservation: Aldi’s final design explicitly protected the existing mature trees along the main High Street frontage. THE COUNCIL FORCED THEM TO IMPLEMENT STRICT PROTECTION ZONES DURING CONSTRUCTION TO PREVENT HEAVY MACHINERY FROM DESTROYING THE ROOT SYSTEMS.

• Visual Screening Buffers: Rather than clear-felling the plot to maximize car parking spaces, Aldi had to maximize the retention of the existing tree cover and hedges along the site boundaries to maintain the area’s local green infrastructure.

• Enhancing the Understory: To satisfy the council's ecological requirements, Aldi integrated a native, species-rich shrub mix (such as Hazel, Holly, and Honeysuckle) underneath the retained tree canopy specifically to protect foraging habitats for local bats and wildlife.

While ALDI does not publish a running national tally of how many times they have altered plans, a review of planning application history reveals DOZENS OF INSTANCES ACROSS THE UK where community pressure, planning officers, or tree preservation groups forced ALDI to buckle and change their layouts to save mature trees.

When a community pushes back strongly enough, ALDI's property directors will reliably alter their plans to avoid costly committee delays or total rejections.

So, you see - they CAN protect mature trees if they really want and if the local COUNCIL do the 'right' thing, rather than allow them to destroy the trees!

Therefore, Woodvale/Ainsdale residents need to speak up NOW!

TELL THEM WHAT YOU THINK........... 

Direct Email Route: you can email your objection straight to the planning officers at planning.department@sefton.gov.uk Make sure to mention 'Sandbrook Way Aldi Application' in the subject line.

Direct to Aldi: You can also drop your layout feedback straight into the developer's inbox via their dedicated regional portal at Aldi Ainsdale Consultation or email them at North@consultation-online.co.uk

 

In Pictures: Early May Day Bank Holiday - Heatons Bridge Car Boot Sale

 


Fortunately, the day stayed dry for both stallholders and buyers during our busy Early May Day Bank Holiday event.

We also had the company of Woodlands Animal Sanctuary and their goats, Elsa and Olaf. 

Our next event at Heatons Bridge is on the Late Bank Holiday Monday, 25th May, weather permitting. 

https://southport-crafts-and-events.jimdosite.com/ 

IS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF IN LOCAL POLITICS?

 

As we head toward Thursday’s all-out election, it’s worth looking back at some local history that feels strangely familiar.

Many years ago, I shared a warning with our late MP, Ronnie Fearn, about certain fundamentalist groups trying to hollow out our local political parties from the inside to push their specific ideological agenda and mind control.

Ronnie took it seriously, he even thanked me for the "future ammunition."

Fast forward to 2026, and some of us are seeing those same patterns emerging again. The big grins, the community activism masks, and the sudden interest in our local wards from groups with a very specific, missionary fundamentalist background.

Are we seeing another attempt at a Fifth Column takeover? Are ordinary citizens being used as a front for something much more organised and ideological?

Democracy must always stand firm against rampant theocracy. It if fails to do so then we have a culture under the cost of a self-righteous priesthood.

Before you cast all three of your votes this week, have a look at this archived data from 2000. History has a habit of repeating itself - if we let it.

Read the archived data here:

https://pat-regan.blogspot.com/2022/02/sagafi-archived-data-2000-christian.html 

CAR BOOT SALE - HEATONS BRIDGE

 

Heatons Bridge Inn, 2 Heatons Bridge Road, 

Scarisbrick, L40 8JG.

Our next planned event is Bank Holiday Monday 4th May behind Heatons Bridge Inn. Starts 10am.

We need lots of sellers to turn up on the day at 9.30am and a hot food seller to book the pitch with us.

If you are fully registered and sell hot food please get in touch asap.

NB: Our website & Facebook page will be updated the day before, to say if it is going ahead due to weather conditions-please check!

Contact: 

cregan192@yahoo.com

WhatsApp 07548262061

More info: 

https://southport-crafts-and-events.jimdosite.com/ 

AS THE ELECTION AXE IS SHARPENED FOR STARMER’S MAY EXECUTION

Britain heads to the polls this May and Keir Starmer finds himself faltering, like a starving crow, over a previously brilliant UK/US special relationship that’s now in tatters and a domestic economy struggling under the yoke of Labour’s notorious diplomatic catastrophes.

Even a non-royalist can see the King did more for Britain in one dinner than the hapless Starmer has done in two years. Leadership should never be about Fabian-oriented spreadsheets or legalistic dithering; it should be about results.

For many, the Prime Minister’s legalistic approach to the Iran War has transformed from a point of principle into a national liability. By bottling out of offensive military cooperation with the Trump administration, Starmer has not only alienated our most vital security ally but has invited direct economic punishment upon the British people.

The most visible sign of this failure is the "Trump Tariff." The 10% baseline tax on British goods is widely viewed as a penalty fee for Starmer’s refusal to provide offensive military support to its old ally the USA.

For the small business owners and micro-exporters who have been forced to ditch their international sales, the PM's caution feels like a betrayal. While Starmer spends his time flicking through legal papers to avoid the perceived mistakes of Iraq, his critics argue he is ignoring the far more dangerous reality of a nuclear-armed Iran. 

This apparent slug-like dithering has allowed the US to move on, leaving the UK isolated and economically exposed. Starmer’s habitual and many policy U-turns has left him even more gutless, after the sea for criticism he has attracted in the UK.

Despite this, the Labour leadership and their minions, often dismissed by opponents as a coterie of out-of-touch Marxist ideologists, continues to beg on the doorstep for the public’s support.

The frustration and disgust among voters stem from a sense that the government is more interested in creeping socialism and domestic Fabian tinkering than in securing the nation’s borders or its global trade routes.

Now, the May Election Axe looms over Starmer’s ever-faithful, grinning, automatons who plead for ‘your’ vote on the doorstep. His record-breaking unpopularity is no longer just about policy; it’s about a fundamental lack of public trust in a feeble leader who the majority feel has sacrificed Britain’s prosperity, pride and security on the altar of legalistic cowardice.

King of the Greenwood - The Roe Deer of Ainsdale

A bright morning and a spot of stealthy bird watching and photography in the Ainsdale pinewoods produced a lovely unexpected surprise. 

Deep within a patch of mixed trees a dark, slowly moving, silhouette grabbed my attention. I instinctively froze and a pair of big eyes stared back at me from the undergrowth. 

Quite unfazed, the roe buck carried on munching, seeming to almost dismiss my presence. The piece of pine branch, wedged like a green crown between his antlers, gave the entire image a more sacred or mythological countenance. 

Moving very slowly, I manged to get off a few shots and a brief video clip before he wandered off into the shady woods. 

Ainsdale has some amazing wildlife with legally protected species like the Sand lizard and Natterjack toad. 

However, the wonderful deer population require trees and undergrowth for food and shelter, meaning that questionable officialised so-called eco-plans to remove dense areas of  undergrowth and tree lines, allegedly for protected species, can only harm the deer and many other species. 

Mankind likes to interfere with nature, yet we usually find out that ultimately wildlife is often best left to balance itself out 'without' short-sighted and destructive human meddling.  

NB. Several days later I was lucky enough to get another series of shots of another roe buck - not certain however if it was the same deer or not... 

More: 

https://bds.org.uk/ 

THE GOLDEN COWARD: Pope Bob’s 2,000-Year Suicide Pact

 

Waking Up from the Delusion of the Monstrous Mind-Controllers

We are witnessing the ultimate historical fraud. While the world faces the no-brainer reality of a nuclear-armed Iran, we are being lectured on "morality" by a blook-soaked, mind-control, institution that has proven for centuries that children are never safe in their hands.

Pope Bob (Robert Prevost) calls our survival "unjust" and "unbelievably stupid." This is the ultimate act of duplicity. He wasn't chosen by any free person; he was installed behind closed doors by a group of deluded bible-bashers to push a 2,000-year-old scam. 

Some of us do not recognise the authority of an unelected relic who hides behind Vatican's  walls and heritage gold, while trying to force a suicide pact on the rest of us.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS RIGHT TO ATTACK THIS GOSPEL-PUSHING DIMWIT 

Donald Trump is 100% correct to call out this "weak on crime" disaster for foreign policy. When Pope Bob tries to use his ancient lies to stop the necessary blockade of a terrorist state, he isn't speaking for God, he’s acting as a shield for a nuclear threat. 

Trump’s direct attacks on this gospel-pushing dimwit are a necessary reality check. You do not let messianic, end-of-time, Abrahamic delusions dictate whether our civilisation survives or not.

The Perv Priest Defender Behind the Mask

The truth, as always, lies within the opposite. 

The Chicago Friary Scandal: While leading the Augustinians, Bob allowed an accused predator priest to live half a block from a Catholic elementary school without warning a single parent.

The McGrath Cover-up: Bob oversaw a high school president accused of raping a student, eventually paying a $2 million settlement while other deluded bible-bashers kept Bob's name clean.

The Peru Disappearing Act: Survivors claim Bob stalled investigations into priest-pimps and even invited an accused abuser to his own birthday party.

See also:

Revealed at last - the most Disgusting Religious Scandal of the twenty-first century which has undermined the Church and any trust the public had in the people who lead it.

https://saff.nfshost.com/ryanmurphy.htm 

The Ultimate Inversion: Evil Acting as Good

How can a "perv priest defender" whose organization has shelled out over $5 billion (including the record $1.5 billion in L.A. just this year) tell us how to handle global security?

The Suicide Pact: Bob’s "peace" rhetoric is a death sentence. Their end-time biblical narrative welcomes the fire, provided they keep their power and gold until the very end.

The Jesus Myth: The Gospel is a manmade tool for monstrous mind control, used to fleece trusting minds who haven't quite been able to think outside the well-indoctrinated faith box.

The holy mask has slipped. It’s time to tax the Vatican, strip their diplomatic immunity, and face the reality that strength, not Abrahamic lies, is the only thing that keeps us safe. We must never let a cowardly relic of a 2,000-year-old scam gamble with our survival.

The fire is real. Pope Bob’s "holy" interference is the match.

THE CALL FOR A SECULAR RECKONING - FOLLOW THE GOLD, EXPOSE THE LIES...

If dear old Pope Bob wants to talk about "idolatry of money," let's take a peep at his own ledger. 

The Vatican is currently facing staggering allegations of using a "skeleton key" for money laundering, masking the identities of recipients in bank transfers to hide where the Church’s billions are actually going.

While the deluded bible bashers claim they are transparent, they still refuse true independent secular oversight. They admit to a €631 million pension shortfall and massive budget deficits, yet they maintain over 5,400 luxury real estate holdings in cities like London and Paris.

Notable Historical Scandals

Banco Ambrosiano Collapse (1982): One of the most famous scandals involved the collapse of Italy’s largest private bank, where the Vatican Bank (IOR) was the main shareholder. The chairman, Roberto Calvi, known as "God's Banker," was found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in London. The Vatican eventually paid a $244 million settlement to creditors without admitting legal wrongdoing.

Nazi Gold & Loot (WWII): Investigations have highlighted that during World War II, the Vatican received significant "church tax" from Hitler's Reich and was accused of laundering money and gold looted from victims of the Nazi regime.

The London Property Scandal: In 2023, high-ranking official Cardinal Angelo Becciu was convicted of embezzlement and fraud related to a failed €350 million investment in a luxury London apartment building. The deal reportedly cost the Vatican over €100 million in losses.

The Demand for Sovereign Accountability

Many of us do not recognise their holy immunity. It is time for a full secular audit by international authorities, not their hand-picked prelates. 

There must be a removal of diplomatic immunity: No more biased hiding behind sovereign state status to avoid child abuse lawsuits or financial fraud investigations. This is biased, as it allows the Church to evade accountability for human rights abuses, particularly sexual abuse, by shielding it from civil and criminal lawsuits in foreign courts. 

Tax the Vatican: If they want to play in global politics and influence economic structures with new stock indices, they should pay like every other corporation.

Freeze the Assets: Until every child abuse victim is paid and every pervert  priest skeleton is out of the cupboard, their gold should be frozen by secular courts. 

Pope Bob is right about one thing, "war is always a defeat", but the greatest defeat is a world that allows monstrous mind-controllers to use ancient manmade scriptural lies to protect their blood-soaked gold, while they gamble with our survival.

The Silent Enablers of the Sacred Scam

The most sickening part of this inverted reality is the vocal outrage from ground level, faith-box, Catholics who can find the guts to call President Trump disrespectful but amazingly lose their voices when it comes to the perverted monsters overseeing their own pews. 

In a nutshell – the well-indoctrinated Faithfull are dismayed by a hard military campaign to put down a tyrannical regime, which may eventually threaten us with fundamentalist-based nuke Armageddon, yet they offer a deafening silence regarding the $1.5 billion recently paid out in Los Angeles to muzzle the victims of their Holy Fathers. It’s not difficult to see where the real problem is here! 

They claim to follow a Gospel of Peace, but they are the silent financiers of a corrupt religious  institution that protects Pope Bob’s pervert priesthood, while he tries to sabotage our survival by inadvertently shielding a terror - based regime. 

By attacking the only leader willing to call out this gospel-pushing dimwit for what he really is, the faithful sheep prove they don’t care about true morality or our basic survival , they only care about keeping their deluded faith base doctrine intact, while we all face the fire.

More...

https://pat-regan.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-great-lie-that-still-resides.html 

Green Revolution or Industrial Assault on Our Countryside?

 

The so-called 'Green Revolution' is an Industrial Assault on Our Countryside

Greenpeace is currently peddling a "Renewable Revolution," claiming that carpet-bombing the UK with wind and solar is the "only way" to energy independence. They call it clean and cheap. However,  if you look beneath the marketing spin, their plan is full of holes that will wreck the British landscape and devastate our wildlife. 

 The Bird Choppers Reality

Greenpeace talks about "nature-friendly" energy, but they ignore the thousands of birds—including rare raptors and protected seabirds—that are killed every year by spinning turbine blades. Projects like the massive Berwick Bank offshore farm are being pushed through despite warnings from the RSPB that they could decimate colonies of Kittiwakes and Puffins. These aren't just "windmills"; for our bird populations, they are giant, high-speed meat grinders. In the UK, wind turbines are estimated to kill between 10,000 and 100,000 birds annually. This broad range reflects the difficulty of tracking fatalities, particularly at sea, where carcasses are quickly lost or scavenged. 

Key Figures and Risks

National Estimates: Independent research and government-cited studies put the annual death toll at 9,600 to 106,000 birds.

Berwick Bank Crisis: The RSPB warns that this single proposed offshore wind farm could kill thousands of seabirds every year. In its first year alone, it is predicted to kill approximately:

2,808 Guillemots

815 Kittiwakes

261 Gannets

154 Razorbills

66 Puffins

Rare Species: Critics highlight that while the total numbers might be lower than other causes of bird death (i.e. domestic cats and cars, etc), turbines disproportionately impact slow-breeding raptors like Golden Eagles and White-tailed Eagles, which cannot easily recover their populations from even small numbers of deaths.

The Great Pylon Plague

To make their revolution work, the government needs to build more electricity infrastructure in the next six years than we’ve seen in the last thirty. This means a pylon plague, hundreds of miles of 50-metre-high steel towers cutting through the Scottish Highlands, East Anglia, and our most cherished rural valleys. It’s not a green plan; it’s the harsh industrialisation of the lovely British countryside.

Food Security vs. Glass Fields

Greenpeace wants to "double down" on solar, which increasingly means covering thousands of acres of prime agricultural land in black glass. In a world of global instability, we are trading our ability to feed ourselves for weather-dependent power that doesn't even work when the sun goes down in the winter.

The Independence Illusion

They claim this frees us from "instability abroad." Nonsense. We are simply trading a dependency on Norwegian gas for a total dependency on Chinese minerals. You can't build a turbine or a battery without lithium, cobalt, and rare earths, the supply chains of which are controlled by foreign powers.

The "Constraint" Scandal: Paying to Waste Power

While our bills skyrocket, the government is currently paying wind farm operators billions of pounds in "constraint payments." Because our old-fashioned grid can't handle the surges on windy days, we literally pay these companies to switch their turbines off. 

The 2025 Bill: In 2025 alone, the UK spent approximately £1.5 billion on "constraint" costs. This includes roughly £380 million paid directly to wind farm owners to sit idle, plus over £1 billion to fire up gas plants closer to cities to replace that lost power.

The "Broken System": Critics, including major energy suppliers, have labelled this a "racket". It's estimated that in some months, over half of the wind energy generated in northern Scotland is simply discarded.

Future Costs: Without radical reform, these wasteful payments are projected to soar to £8 billion a year by 2030. 

We are scarring our landscape for a system so broken it pays people not to produce power, while households still pay some of the highest energy bills in Europe. 

The Bottom Line

This "Greenpeace Revolution" isn't about the environment; it’s about a radical overhaul that ignores the local people who actually live in the landscape. It’s expensive, it’s unreliable, and it’s an ecological disaster for our birds and rural heritage. It’s time to pull the plug on this nonsense.

Conclusion: Genuine Conservation or Eco-Vandalism?

In essence, Greenpeace’s true agenda reveals a worldview where the global climate is deemed more important than our local heritage. They no longer see the UK as a collection of precious views and vital habitats that preserve our wildlife. Instead, they view our countryside as a "resource-rich" zone to be mercilessly harvested for unreliable wind and sun, at any cost to the British landscape.

This isn't conservation; it is wanton eco-vandalism. It is time to stop sacrificing our birds, our fields, and our horizons to satisfy a radical political ideology.

More... 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/help-save-our-seabirds-and-stop-the-worlds-deadliest-windfarm 

https://www.carbonbrief.org/bird-death-and-wind-turbines-a-look-at-the-evidence/ 

https://stopthepylons.co.uk/ 

https://www.bordertelegraph.com/news/24900725.protest-groups-form-alliance-pylons-project-borders/ 

https://www.netzerowatch.com/all-news/demands-for-more-subsidy-expose-the-illusion-of-falling-wind-power-costs 

In Pictures: Car Boot Sale - Heaton's Bridge, 6 April 2026

Despite recent winds and rain, thanks to Storm Dave, the event went well today. The sunsine arrived in adundance after a cold morning start. 

 

More... 

https://southport-crafts-and-events.jimdosite.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057567694876#