This morning ( Thursday 6th May 2010 ) I clutched my polling cards in hand and drove to the local polling station to cast my votes for the Parliamentary Election and the Local Government Elections. Having marked my crosses and with thoughts of the people who had fought over the years for rights to vote in this country and across the globe I set off to meet with a group of writers at Woodside Ferry.
It was Jensen who had talked to me about the group, Out on a Limb project. Their aims are to write about Rock Ferry, Tranmere, various places on The Wirral really and I had been invited along by Jenn and Elaine to see what they were up to.
I parked at Hamilton Square and walked down past an empty pub (not an unusual site these days ). It had a strange tower and the etched sign running along the tops of the windows declared the slogan “Birkenhead Brewery Co Ltd Pier Hotel”. Wondering how long ago Birkenhead had seen a brewery I crossed the tramway, which has been modernised in recent years and runs on a regular basis from the ferry terminal to the Tram Museum around the corner.
Approaching Woodside my mind floated back over the years to when it used to be a hectic terminus for most bus connections on the Wirral. I must have been through it thousands of times and was a frequent ferry user in the days before the incessant use of Gerry and The Pacemakers, Ferry Across The Mersey song. I couldn’t help but think how incongruous the U-boat exhibition would appear to my Grandad or even my Dad. Perhaps I am wrong but I imagined both of them protesting about the disgrace of spending so much money on what was to them “memories of the enemy”. For me it resonates loudly about the sheer waste of human lives and the indignities of political systems which laud war as an achievement.
Meeting with the guys in the group at Home, the cafe at the ferry terminal, was enchanting and I felt immediately , well …at home. For an hour we sat with coffee and friendly humourous chat and then we set off on the river explorer ferry ride to Liverpool, Seacombe and back to Birkenhead. Jenn apparently thought we were meeting in Liverpool and she picked up the ferry from the pier head.
After a pleasant but chilly river tour we all headed off for Rock Park, a conservation area in Rock Ferry, meeting up at the Tranmere oil terminal.
Parking the car we were greeted with industrial dereliction, another closed down pub and the more alive and kicking, Royal Mersey Yacht Club. Apparently there are plans afoot to regenerate the area around the Yacht Club and King Harald of Norway paid a visit just two days ago. Amazing stuff to think of royalty just half a mile from where I live, popping in to such a derelict area.
Myrtle Corner 
Hi Rob
I can’t believe I got mixed up about what side of the Mersey we were meeting on… at least I made it in the end!
I really like the way you structured this blog post like a journey – a lot of the draft stories from the other participants are journeys, and we’re working on geolocating them on google maps. That’s something you could do very easily with this diary piece, or with your finished story if you want to.
Thanks for joining us, and see you on Thursday!
Hi Rob,
This is a great diary entry – I can see you’re a seasoned blogger! I especially like how you’ve woven in some of your memories of these places, such as when you used to take the ferry. As someone who’s only lived on the Wirral for 18 months, I’ve found out a lot about the place through this project! It’s a shame you couldn’t make it last week, but looking forward to seeing you on Thursday.
Elaine
hi I realllylike the way you talk about the past and link it to our adventures on may 6th.I found it compelling reading , i find it strange we all more or less liveon the wirral but have such different viewpoints about it ,.HOPE you can make it tomorrow!!!!
Hi Rob
thanks for coming to the workshop today and reading your story – I think it was really great you came ready prepared to share it with the group.
I know we chatted a little bit about diary entries for this part of your blog, but there are more hints about that on the http://www.outonalimb.net site and on the hand-out that I gave you.
I know everyone works differently but it’s an important part of the project that the diary element of your blog captures what it was like to make the story.
Here are some questions for you – maybe you can write about them in a blog post so everyone can get an insight into your creative process?
1. How much of the story is autobiographical and how much of it is made up? What do you think the difference is in technique for autobiographical writing and fictional writing?
2. Do you think writing about places has an effect on how other people view the place? Has writing about this place had an effect on how you view the place? Why do you think this is?
3. What is your writing process like? Do you write with a pen first and type it up, or right onto your computer? Tell us about the secrets of your writing process!
4. How do you know when a story is finished?
5. How is working on a collaborative project different to writing on your own? Have you had to make compromises in order to stick to the brief for the project?
These are just food for thought! Look forward to reading your replies on this blog, and looking forward to seeing you at the launch of the project.