A Siamese cat from West Kirby had a brush with death after swallowing a pile of its owner’s hair bobbles.

Marley’s owners hadn’t even noticed he’d been eating the bands until he fell ill but X-rays revealed the three-year-old feline had a huge mass, over 30, in his stomach.

Staff at @acornvetcentre in West Kirby decided the best thing to do was to operate.

But they were shocked to find a mound of hair ties taking up “around 80%” of Marley’s stomach, which were thought to have built up over “quite some time.”

Marley’s owner, Helen Unitt, said the hair accessories have since been hidden away and she and husband Pete now keeping a close eye on their bobble-chomping cat.

She said: “The first time we noticed something was wrong with Marley was when he started vomiting.

“Initially we weren’t overly concerned until it got really bad and we noticed he’d vomited a piece of rubber.

“We got an emergency appointment as we were very worried and we were really grateful that Marley was seen very quickly.

Vet Nick Whieldon carried out the surgery on Marley, and said: “We could feel that Marley’s stomach was almost entirely full of material and when we opened it up we found he’d eaten a lot of hair bobbles.

“It was a very unusual case, I’ve never seen an animal consume so many.

“Thankfully we acted before any of them made their way through his intestines as foreign bodies such as string, bobbles and the ribbon you see on birthday presents that cats often like, can concertina and cause linear tears and lacerations which can be extremely dangerous.

“Luckily Marley has recovered very well but we’d like to warn pet owners not to leave items such as this lying around.”

Owner Helen confessed that the bobbles belonged to her, after “leaving them lying around without thinking”, but now she’s making sure they are out of reach of Marley’s claws – and jaws!

“I’ve gone through the entire house removing any stray bobbles or anything that looks remotely elastic or string-like because I don’t want a repeat of that,”she said.

“You don’t realise how something so harmless could be so catastrophic.” ...

A wine specialist from West Kirby has been signed up to be the new wine ambassador at Liverpool’s only authentic Iberian bar.

Laura Griffiths, who operates wine and language service Lingo Vino and is a familiar face to customers at Majestic on Grange Road, is to join BoBo on Castle Street to lead its new wine club helping people to master the art of choosing delicious, unusual and affordable wines.

Laura, a qualified Spanish and French tutor with top wine qualifications and extensive experience, also spends several months of the year touring vineyards, especially in Spain, sampling the best new wines coming to market.

She said: “It can be a daunting task ordering a bottle of wine for your table and we want to make this far more enjoyable for everyone, because wine tasting is a really exhilarating adventure.

“At our tastings we want our guests to understand the language of wine and have some guaranteed fun that will make everyone feel like they are actually in Spain or Portugal while introducing them to some exhilarating new wines.”

BoBo says its philosophy is to make wine as comprehensible as possible and to move away from the perception of wine bars as being full of difficult to pronounce wines that feel elitist and uncomfortable to be in.

Steven Burgess of Lucky Penny Group, which operates BoBo, said: “We are really excited to bring Laura on board, she will be a great addition to our team and she shares our desire and experience to make wine fun and approachable. Her expertise and bubbly personality are a perfect match for what we are trying to do.”

BoBo’s next Wine Club is on Thursday, July 7th at 7pm featuring a welcome glass of sparkling wine, six wines from across Spain, Portugal and beyond, light nibbles and what they describe as “something special” at the end. It lasts around two hours and costs £30 per person. ...

A cottage owned by Kingsmead School in Hoylake is set to be turned into overnight respite accommodation for up to four children with life-limiting conditions.

Meadway Cottage on Carlton Lane was formerly used by boarders at the private school, which closed its doors in 2020 due to financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The seven bedroom property has been rented by Birkenhead based AJ and Friends for day care since August 2021.

Now the community interest company has submitted documents to Wirral Council outlining plans to use it for overnight accommodation for young people that have complex or multiple medical conditions.

Each bedroom will have specialist lighting, offering a mini sensory room experience for the young people, who will be aged up to 18.

Facilities also include a sensory room and a playroom for play, music and crafts.

In the paperwork, the organisation says: “We plan to run the short breaks provision overnight care Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for the first 12 months of registration…after this time frame we would plan to offer further nights, eventually offering 7 days a week overnight setting for children to attend for short breaks stays.”

A statement from AJ and Friends Chief Executive Officer, Beverley Williams, adds: “The respite primary care givers receive will support them to refuel, recharge, spend time with sibling children & allow a break for the prevention of carer burn out – this helps to reduce the risk of placement breakdown, reduces the amount of time a child may spend in hospital settings & prolongs life ultimately.”

A supporting letter from Kingsmead School’s bursar, Tina Evans, says no decision has been made about the future of the other sites owned by the school. She writes that they are “under review”, with the school still trading and the building and grounds continuing to be maintained. ...

Hoylake’s library and municipal golf course are a step closer to being saved.

They were both earmarked for closure as part of £27 million of council budget cuts.

The golf course shut in April, and funding for the library is only in place until November.

Council officials are recommending that expressions of interest received from organisations wanting to take them over are progressed to the next stage.

As previously reported by West Kirby Today, @thelifetreewirral – based at Quirky Cafe where it runs a number of services supporting people who are struggling – wants to use the library to host book clubs and story time sessions, as well as being a base for community groups and events. A cafe is also proposed.

Meanwhile, a plan submitted by @rlgchoylake for the municipal course is also set to move to the business planning stage.

The club already uses the site as a practice course for the Open Golf Championship, which returns to Hoylake in 2023.

Their idea is for a course of up to nine holes, and a driving range which would be available to grass roots golfers and elite players alike.

They also want to create wildlife habitats and nature trails accessible to the local community.

The club house would be used for a golf shop and food and drinks. ...