Wirral Life June 2017 | Page 7

W NEWS L SUMMER SOIREES AND BBQ’S ON THE MENU AT BAY TREE EVENTS WIRRAL SCHOOL’S POIGNANT TRIBUTE TO OLD BOY WILFRED OWEN DISCOVERED Merseyside based TV Chef, Michelle O’Dwyer is putting the sizzle into summer as her multi-service venture, Bay Tree Events launches its new menu just in time for party season. A special edition of a Wirral school magazine celebrating its famous old boy, War poet Wilfred Owen, has been discovered. Whether you’re planning a casual get together or a formal event like a wedding or christening, Michelle and the Bay Tree Events team can fire up your BBQ, prepare a mouth-watering paella party or even put together a simple buffet, so you can sit back and enjoy the day. Michelle, who has catered high end events such as the Australian Cricket Team and the Bank of New York is focused on delivering great tasting feasts to the North West and she’s not stopping there. Following on from the success of her TV show, The Food Life, which aired on Made in Liverpool, Michelle’s reputation for creating delicious and affordable dishes has now spread nationwide and demand for her teaching services has rocketed. As well as providing top-quality catering services, Michelle also runs a series of cookery classes across the region where she’s able to pass on her extensive knowledge to her students. Teaching not only confidence in the kitchen but also the skills required to learn and create brand-new recipes and explore world cuisine has been a highlight for Michelle. She said: “I really enjoy encouraging people to be creative and confident with food, but most of all, my classes are about simply having fun whilst cooking.” To secure your place on Michelle’s next cookery class, starting 1st July 2017, visit www.baytree-events.com or call Michelle on 07960 220 229. Produced over half a century ago by pupils of The Birkenhead Institute, it contains original poems by the boys from the viewpoint of the mid-1960s, some 47 years after the great war poet composed his iconic verse. Owen attended the Institute from 1900 to 1907. He often cited his education in Birkenhead as the seed of his early attempts at verse. The poems contributed to the special edition of the school’s monthly magazine entitled The Advisor, strongly reflect Wilfred’s own anti-war stance, whilst movingly reflecting the loss of men’s lives in wars following WW1, which was described at the time to be ‘the war to end all wars’. Owen’s sentiments in his classic Futility are reflected at the time by a young pupil in his poem The Pity Of War in the lines, “But why the need for war? It settles nought, Just cemeteries from fields where men fought.” Dramatically, exactly a century ago this month, Wilfred Owen was diagnosed with shellshock and sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh, where he met his own poetic hero Siegfried Sassoon, who assisted Wilfred with his greatest poems, including Anthem For Doomed Youth and Dulce Et Decorum Est. The very rare school magazine has been donated to The Wilfred Owen Story Museum by the family of a former master at the school at the time of its publication. To view more, visit The Wilfred Owen Story, 34 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, CH41 6AE. Open Tuesday to Friday – 11am to 2pm Admission is Free. For more information, call 07539 371925. wirrallife.com 7