There is a lot said about Liverpool, not all of it good. Liverpool has had quite a turbulent history which has been very much shaped by its geographical location. For hundreds of years it has been the gateway to anything that lies to the west of Britain by sea. This is pretty much Ireland and America. This is because of the size and depth of the River Mersey, allowing access to ever bigger ships trading all manor of goods with the America's. But this location has also had another affect. Liverpool is not a place that you need to pass through to get to somewhere else in the country, in fact if you are travelling up or down the west of England you have to make a conscious effort to get to Liverpool, turning off the main route. What this means is that if you are in Liverpool, you are there intentionally.

We are all influenced by our surroundings and being fairly isolated from your land based neighbours, but having an amazing array of international visitors has a substantial generational affect on local community and society. It is this mix which has shaped Liverpool people into what they are today, unique. People often talk about the Scouse sense of humour, this is something that has developed over hundreds of years of having to communicate with the vast array of cultures Scousers have found in their city, humour is a great leveller, seeing the funny side of something that may feel alien to you can often diffuse a potentially explosive situation. We also have developed the ability to take control of situations very quickly, again this often causes our counterparts to think better of escalation of a situation and the result is the same as with humour, diffusion of a difficult situation.

All of these factors and more besides give us our uniqueness and also a few more things. Firstly we have an amazing and varied history and an incredible sense of pride both in our city as a whole and our own local area's. There is much of the heritage of this great city that has been documented over time, but there is also an amazing amount that has not. These are stories that get passed from generation to generation. Unfortunately, these stories are often lost over time, often when our older generations pass away. It is this unique history that one person, Val Price, has taken it upon herself to try and preserve, for generations to come. Turn the page to see what Val is doing and how you can get involved, if you've got Pride in Liverpool.....

Val Price is a lady on a mission. After retiring from Marks and Spencer in 2005 Val wasn't ready to sit back and twiddle her thumbs. She had been running a group called Val's Adventures for a number of years, which was for mainly single people to get together and go away on holidays and trips. A few of the singles actually ended up couples, although it wasn't a dating agency. Then in 2008 Val got the opportunity to get involved with the Capital of Culture programme, which she grasped. During this time Val met and worked with so many people who inspired her and also had such fantastic knowledge about Liverpool. After the year long event Val decided that something more could be done to continue the feeling of pride that people felt during the Capital of Culture year.

Val set up Pride in Liverpool as a not for profit company. The idea is for local people to get involved and go and speak to others in their area, or to research and find out about some of the history of a building, or just the area itself, or maybe key members of the local community. This information will then be put up on the Pride in Liverpool web site for everyone to see, therefore providing a legacy of information about all of the areas around Liverpool for generations to come. It is through this sort of knowledge that communities are able to feel this sense of pride and when we feel proud of something, we defend and protect it. We have all heard the expression, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone", well Val Price and Pride in Liverpool are helping communities around the region realise just what they have before it is lost forever.

It's very easy to get involved. All you have to do is contact the Pride in Liverpool team and they will come out and see you, give you some background info which may help with the subject you are studying and help you get additional support by way of local road shows. Various members of the Pride in Liverpool team will be able to offer expert advice in all aspects of your project. The projects will run from March although you can get involved at any time and run to mid June. The reason for the projects to finish in June is so they are done for the Pride in Liverpool exhibition that is to be held in St Georges Hall from 5th July for 1 week. All of the projects will be exhibited there in the centre of the Great Hall and the exhibition will be open for the general public to come and see.

So what are you waiting for? Have a look at the Pride in Liverpool web site on www.prideinliverpool.org.uk and get in touch. You could be responsible for leaving a fantastic legacy for generations to come, all you need is Pride in Liverpool.

pictures by Colin's Photography

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