🌟 A Day of Game-Changers

Hi Wirral Community, this is a Day 2 blog that could have happened today or last year. I like to keep a bit of mystery in my stories to save a little of our privacy, and it helps me mould the story with imagination sometimes — things like the nicknames that I use.

I create anonymity and paint a little picture of the person by just creativity and not a government name! A nickname we choose ourselves can sometimes describe us better than “Jo”.

🧢 The One Stop Men & Expedition Arrive

Today’s story has 3 nicknames — called The One Stop Men, which we have heard about how amazing they are in previous stories.

And an amazingly well-mannered man I have had the pleasure of meeting about 3 years ago, from both living in the same community and just starting talking by chance. So now if we see each other in the road and have spare time, we will probably talk ’bout how hot it is or how the litter is getting worse in the area.

My community stranger will be called Expedition!

💬 Meet 3DM: The Wise Ladies of the Pathway

The last of the nicknames goes to a few ladies I have met on our local pathways over the last 3 years, and every time I do, they always have a little bit of advice for me — and that’s where we will start today’s story.

But first let me introduce you to the 3 truly indestructible ladies called 3DM — as in 3 amazing ladies and DM as they always have a direct message for me.

From day one they have never judged me, and we have always shown care to each other’s words : )

☁️ A Cloudy Start (Window Cleaner Code)

The big thing I have taken from 3DM is their time for everyone — they only have 24 hours in a day, the same as us. Many times I have seen 3DM on a community pathway (and you probably have if you live on the Wirral) trying to help the community in any way they can — all done in their spare time.

The morning started very cloudy but high white cloud — Thats window cleaner code for: “It’s not raining today, and a nice day to work in the summer with less heat ha”

So I decided to go and start another patch in Rock Ferry Gardens for the next little display there, and what a community day it turned out to be : )

🚰 The Pirate Vessel & A Game-Changing Idea

It started with the great One Stop Man as the representative from Wirral Borough Council — and his lightbulb moment with a water vessel!

I have been using the tap around the back of the building and it takes a few minutes each journey — and that’s when the One Stop Man said he has sorted a vessel for me to transfer the water.

My immediate thought was: “Sounds like a pirate ship but I love a challenge.”

When I got around the back, there was this perfect half-size 20th century pirate ship vessel — so I rolled it around to the gardens and watered the plants with a lot less time walking the plank to and through : )

Thanks One Stop Man — you started a day of ideas with a game changer.

🧠 A Rock-Solid Brainstorm with Expedition

The second idea came from brainstorming with Expedition! Expedition has a very well-trained mind, and I have had many conversations with him ’bout all sorts.

The idea we were working on was a story I wrote on my first site, called “A Little Rock Ferry Rock” — where basically imagine if every community member in Rock Ferry had time to paint a rock in Rock Ferry and take it to the flower gardens to be used as borders for the pathways.

Imagine that for a community image of unity : )

That’s when Expedition said he knows a guy who would have lots and lots of these size rocks — and all local stone from Rock Ferry. “Same grade anyway,” as it was sandstone.

It turns out I might know the guy who he was talking about — so that’s to be continued ; )

Thanks Expedition for taking your time to look after my tools today and chatting with me — never mind brainstorming and seeing the brighter things to come. #WeMakeBright

👮‍♀️ A Tribute to Edith Smith (And A Bit of Bard)

And that brings me onto the last of today’s characters — but with an amazing twist that gave me goosebumps — literally. I can’t believe this happened.

As soon as I did a little research on Edith Smith from Birkenhead, I knew I had to tell lots of community members about how amazing she is and do my impersonation of her rounding up the men in Birkenhead all in straight lines — being the first ever lady to arrest a man!

She must have been a strong-minded lady to have taken this role on — and also relish in the fact of being the first ever lady to do this role — and this was in our streets of Birkenhead.

Some could say Edith is as much of a leader as the suffragettes in ladies have rights movement : )

📣 How I Told 3DM About Wirral’s History

If I think I will write about a community member in my story, I will tell them that I make stories with Google and maybe one day the story could get seen worldwide in every country by billions — and that’s how I take over Google, by beating them at their own game — but fairly, and of course butter — I mean better stories, because it’s only our Wirral stories that we make!

That’s my cheeky disclaimer.

So when I told 3DM that I released 7 stories about outstanding Wirral ladies and men, that’s when I told our treasures about Edith — and also Lottie Dod #BebingtonStar.

There I was — cheeky window cleaner — outside the local library with 3 very distinguished and respected ladies in the community, and I was acting the community bard.

Telling them what I think Edith would have been like and acting at the same time — with arms open wide like I had bricks under each armpit, and walking from side to side saying:

“Right men, get in line — I have been waiting for this!”

Ha. Double ha. Because this must have happened.

🎭 The Bard Returns (With WiFi)

Some of this bard stuff I really like from years gone past, and the rise of fake news gives an open spot for the old bard to make a new appearance!

Face-to-face information with subjectivity — and maybe a cheeky limerick to try and lighten the story : )

That’s when I looked at 3DM — and all 3 were giggling along — so I knew they liked my stories.

That’s when they started to tell me some stories of their own — of great ladies from community who have changed history for the better.

This is when 3DM gave me goosebumps — because 2 of the ladies got their phones out and started to find some very relevant information on the internet that suited our conversation — dramatically overperforming my bard appearance ha.

📱 Tech, Goosebumps & the Internet of Things

I said: “Ladies, you do not know how much this means to me, what you just done.” And I showed them my goosebumps!

To their surprise I said: “I love modern technology used for good — like our now — to transfer information. But it can be frowned upon by some, with just cause, if we have been brought up in a world without phones or internet.”

I want to get my phone out in some meetings and show my website to everyone straight away — but I understand the digital divide that’s happening with my community.

And sometimes tech can be seen like a horror film — same emotion.

I understand the importance of face-to-face values in this new modern technology of automated answer machines, for instance — or no face-to-face help desk anymore.

So yeah — there’s me hiding my phone, with 2 cheeky ladies now trying to persuade me with their Internet of Things hehe.

🧓 Wisdom, YouTube & CCTV

But this was a story of game changers — because here we had 3DM brought up in a world with only 1 channel OR No Telly at all !!! Imagine that hey that’s hard to believe now #FreeFoodHousing — and now we have millions of channels alone on YouTube!

But it was the ladies who were showing me the tech — which was all done under CCTV footage from the local library : )

🌺 The Flower Bed Finale

After my momentous meeting with our community heroes, I managed to get the new flower bed ready — as you can see from the pictures — and done another proud clean-up of our local Rock Ferry Flower Gardens.

Ready to cheekily ask big business to participate with some dry plants for the flower bed.

I love imagination — and it’s also known as the “tether.”

So let our tether just think…

If the whole Wirral helped Rock Ferry with a painted rock for the borders — then we would have all our amazing Wirral community coming together for Rock Ferry Flower Gardens.

Little things can ripple — big things get heard. : )

🎭 “The Bard of Rock Ferry” – A 7-Verse Limerick

There once was a lad with a mop,
Who danced down the street with a hop.
He cleaned as he spoke,
Told tales of a bloke,
And watered his plants non-stop.

The council man hatched a bold plan,
“Let’s get you a pirate ship, man!”
A vessel rolled round,
With no one to drown —
Now Oavo’s a nautical fan.

Expidition was smart and well-read,
He painted big pictures instead.
He said with a grin,
“Let’s border the bin
With pebbles of sandstone, not lead!”

Then 3DM came into view,
With wisdom and kindness times two (times three).
They each had a phone,
And Googled unknown —
Out-facting the bard like pros do!

Outside the old lib’ry they met,
And Edith was centre of bet.
With arms stretched out wide,
And bricks in each side,
Oavo gave orders — “Not yet!”

Then came the cheekiest part —
A Wi-Fi based digital fart.
“Tech’s like a ghost!”
Said the bard, not a boast —
While ladies were Googling art.

So here’s to the day full of fun,
Where community shone like the sun.
With pirates and plants,
And whispering chants —
Oavo’s cheek had a hell of a run!