Castle ?

It’s clear now that Covid isn’t going away and will be there for the foreseeable future. It and other infections I have to try and avoid for J’s sake.

But avoiding people in any circumstance isn’t an option long term, especially when meetings move from on-line to face to face. That was one of the challenges this morning where I found myself giving a presentation to a Committee I was appointed to last November. So it was on with the FFP2 mask, taking it off only when I was speaking. Windows were open, so hopefully ventilation worked well.

The building is Leasowe Castle, close to the northern shore of the Wirral peninsula, and now a hotel. It’s a real mish-mash of a building. At its core is a “standing”, an octagonal tower stand for watching horse races built by Fernando, 5th Earl of Derby, in 1593. Soon after four square gabled attachments were added on the diagonals. Much later another storey was added to the tower, and all sorts of additions were made to the building in the 19th century and later, including a taller tower. The Earls of Derby relinquished the building a long time ago.

The Stanley’s, Earls of Derby since 1485, have always been major players in the area. The family seat is at Knowsley Hall, the Queen used to stay there when she visited the area - no doubt talking horses with the current Earl Derby, who also has a stud at Newmarket.

We are a really modern country, evidenced by the current shenanigans going on in the UK’s governing party. The “bring back Boris” campaign is gearing up big time. Can the madness get any worse ?