Draco wrote:
Mmmh! I don't know how to say this without offending the regular inhabitants of Old Runcorn. Runcorn New Town is an embarrassment to Old Runcorn.
...... Is "Runcorn New Town" still there? I accidently drove into it once many years ago and soon retreated. I never went back.
The concrete monstrosity is hardly appealing......is it? Looks like a Prison.
An overspill from Liverpool, it dumped the worst of society upon an unsuspecting populace in the 50's and 60's. An open prison in anyones language......
OK, now I DON'T know the details........................but! I know of Runcorn "new Town" and the "scallies" there.
Give it a wide berth...........
Murdishaw .. alas! It is part of Runcorn "New" Town. Jess (one of the Swiss) once taught in that area whilst training here. She said it was one hard reality shock as she had to motivate the "switched off" to leanr Maths and French. She said her German teaching experience was a lot better as this was offered to the "brighter kids" at the school shge had a Teaching practice in.
Yes... we know of the area. One of the Swiss ended up "lost" on the Expressway once. He was trying to find Speke Hall and use its "shuttle" to the Lennon/McCartney childhood homes. He never managed to find them
His verdict? One of the worst designed road set ups he's ever come across in his life
But that aside. Asked Jess about this as she said she once supervised what are now known as Year 8 kids on a cross-curricular with Physics/Humanities/Geography and Maths to obseerve traffic volume and speed in the area. Nothing "sinister" here. This was pre-scam. She says she took them to the bridge over the M56 here. This would be the bridge those little boys used to cross originally. The objective was to try to measure traffic volumes as part of some project to assess "geographic importance of the area and why it was attractive to local business". Anyway - from the horse's mouth - even back then - Jess thought something could easily stray onto the carriageway from the ase design on the East-bound side.
Yes Draco... Jess thought the town one ugly blot on the landscape and thought the flats at what was known as "Shoppo-City" looked like something from a really bad Australian soap set... or old style Dr Who/Crossroads with the wobbly bits
She now teaches in inner city Liverpool. She sometimes drives through this area "out of nostalgia" and says it still makes her shudder.
But of the children she taught there? She says "not shiny academics" - rough diamonds and despite their cheeky Scouser manner - she actually liked them as genuine salt of the earth type people - who may err a little towards the "wide boy" type - but were still decent folk who would genuinely try to be helpful.
As for these boys.. I understand the 7 year old was new to the area and the other was only 6 years. I think they crossed the road over the bridge and must have got lost.. perhaps panicking as darkness fell. I feel so sorry for the families in this case from the press reports.
I have posted before .. in the early days of this forum - that I do not have the stomach in some incidents. I have heaved my stomach contents (but in a bag so as not to contaminate any evidence. I know my weaknesses
)
In the past - I have had to knock on doors to tell parents/wives/husbands/siblings/partners that.. their beloved.. er.. sadly passed away in an incident or had been taken to hospital. Occasionally, the bereaved have cried on my shoulders and I admit that I do feel for their grief. I know what it feels like. After all - when the Swiss relatives lost their two family members that way and when young Wildy was an "almost" - the shock waves were very deep. My condolences to these parents. I cannot suggest much towards preventing another such tragedy other than ensuring the fencing around this stretch is more secure than it appears to be at present.
Kids? You can supervise to some extent - but I am certain the grieving parents never imagined these boys would stray that far - nor get disorientated in the dark with such tragic outcome. Not "bad" parenting and they must never think this of themselves either. I am sure they have the "if only.. " thoughts all the same. Counselling will help and I hope they will seek and receive the right kind of help here.
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on the M56. Has "safetyman" suggested this yet?
) . Nowadays parents strap children into pushchairs in order to restrain them. I would never tolerate a push chair. Once I could walk i never wanted to ride!