Shift Happens

Hello everyone.

Congratulations for finding the official HVA "Shift Happens" blog.

I hope that you found the event to be useful and thought provoking.

Wearing both my HAM and HVA hats, I found the event both enjoyable and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the debate upstairs as delegates discussed the potential implications for Halton's Third Sector if the Global Citizens or Tribal Politics scenarios come true.

It's so rare that we get a couple of hours to talk about the future (as everyone is always so busy). No doubt a series of small fires broke out at HAM whilst Pete and I were away.

Even if you thought the event was awful, please leave a comment here. We welcome all feedback.

If you can't think of anything else to say, perhaps you'd like to leave a comment regarding the buffet at lunch. I thought it was pretty magnificent.

It was really great to meet and chat with you all yesterday.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Matthew

What's in a Name?

So, here we are in the middle of holiday season and it’s the time all of those who live in Halton get that dreaded question...

It came to me on the second day of our holiday, I was sat at the bar (for the first time, honest) with a lovely couple from Leeds and a guy from Canada, when they asked it…

”So where do you live?”

“Oh I live in Halton.”

“Oh right, that’s in Greater Merseyside isn’t it” they say. NOT!

Lets face it, no one has a clue were Halton is, and because of this none of us ever say we live there. Sometimes we say Runcorn, or Widnes, and you might get a 60% success rate of people knowing it. My guess is, like me, you go for the banker, “oh I live just outside of Liverpool.” “Ahh, the Beatles, Steven Gerrard,” they say and off we go.

So the question is: why do we continue to try and use this false identity of Halton? I am pretty sure we are the only Borough in the country totally split by a natural boundary. For centuries, rivers have been used to map the end of areas and the beginning of new ones. Even our Mersey was the boundary of Cheshire and Lancashire. Am I the only one who thinks it is strange we use a natural boundary and barrier as a focal point, meant to unite us?

Did you know Halton was in the Doomsday Book? Halton Village situated close to Shopping City (Oops, sorry, “Halton Lea”) which was handy for the Normans' shopping day. Yes, Halton is a historic village, with attractions such as Halton Castle and Norton Priory, not to mention one of the oldest houses in Cheshire. Should we not leave this historic identity alone? Does it really need the rest of Runcorn and Widnes dragging into it?

I am proud to live in Runcorn, I don’t care what you say about it. I have visited many places and, believe me, there are a lot worse places to live. I also know lots of Widnes people who are proud to live in Widnes. Do you know any one proud to live in Halton? I dare to presume that the majority of people who want us to use the name Halton don’t live here, they work here - and I don’t remember being asked if I want to be in Greater Merseyside, do you?

So what’s wrong with being Runcorn and Widnes, what’s wrong with being in Cheshire? Since becoming Halton, we have been dumped in Greater Merseyside by many statutory agencies and in my opinion it has not helped. The rest of Merseyside does not want us, we don’t bring big money from Europe, we are just that little outpost they forgot and have to figure out what to do with in their latest bids.

So please can we have our identity back? I want to go away and for people to know where I am from, I want to put Runcorn and Widnes firmly back on the map, in Cheshire and for us all to be proud of our towns and heritage.

What do you think?

Do you like being in Halton? Would you like Halton North and Halton South? Do you think we're over-reacting? Do you think this is a lot of fuss about nothing?

By Adam