Curtain falls on Wallasey Arts Council after 37 years

Jun 24 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Wallasey News

Curtain falls on Wallasey Arts Council after 37 years

THE curtain has fallen on Wirral’s last Arts Council after 37 years.

Wallasey Arts Council (WAC) was one of five formed in the borough in 1972 by Keith Diggle, chairman of the now-defunct Merseyside Arts Association.

Famous for the unmissable fluorescent posters advertising its events at the Grosvenor Ballroom, over the years the organisation has attracted big names from the world of music to Wallasey.

American pianist Ann Schein made several appearances after chairman Noel Ormerod heard her playing on BBC radio, while Julian Lloyd Webber was another star guest.

Monthly events were organised on a shoestring budget of £2,000 a year from Wirral Council.

But with Mr Ormerod, 77, deciding to call it a day after 34 years and no-one willing to take over, a proud Wallasey tradition has been consigned to history.

Grandfather-of-one Mr Ormerod, who took over as chairman in 1975, said: “There have been so many highlights and everyone, as far as I can tell, is very upset that we’re finishing.

“But we’ve done very, very well and I suppose the story of Wallasey Arts Council, certainly in the last ten years, is the story of my musical taste.

“I seem to have managed to put on things that people have liked.”

Regular events included a Christmas concert by the Wallasey Choir and a spring concert by the Great Sutton Male Voice Choir.

More than 100 people attended Wallasey Arts Council’s final event for the 150th anniversary of St Hilary’s Church, which featured the Wirral Viennese Players.

Mr Ormerod, a former Mersey Docks and Harbour worker, said: “It could have been a sackcloth and ashes job but I introduced the music and tried to keep it as light as possible.”

The other Arts Councils set up by Merseyside Arts were in Hoylake, Heswall, Birkenhead and Bebington.

l What are your memories of Wallasey Arts Council? Send them to Memories, Wirral News, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool L69 3EB or e-mail lornahughes@wirralnews.co.uk