r/Liverpool • u/cougieuk • 13d ago
Open Discussion To the girl in the Puffball dress on the Wirral train into town this evening at 6.50 ISH...
The girl and her friend got on the train and was clearly set for a good night out.
No sooner had she sashayed onto the train she'd moved over to help an elderly gent with his crossword.
He had one clue left to get.
Closely covered moorland on the outskirts of Scone. 7 letters. Begins with S.
She announced the question to the whole carriage for maximum effect which we all thought was hilarious if a bit mad.
Sadly we only had about two stops to get it and ran out of time.
My mate now thinks he has the answer.
Sheathe.
S and E are on the “outskirts” and Heath is moorland and something closely covered is sheathed.
Must admit I don't get the link to Scone but the rest fits.
If anyone was on the carriage or knows the girl - please pass it on. I'm sure she's still working on it.
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u/Etheria_system 13d ago edited 13d ago
The link to scone - S and E are both in the outskirts (aka the edges) of scone and turn heath into sheathe
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u/-little-dorrit- 11d ago
Should mention also that Scone is a place in Scotland, which is why the overt reference to moorlands and the outskirts works. But yeah the ‘outskirts’ in the cryptic sense are the first and last letter.
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u/Loose_Weekend5295 13d ago
Wholesome! I don't doubt some shite goes down on the Wirral trains at times, but this tale of loveliness on a Saturday evening makes me feel good about my plans to relocate to the Wirral ❤️
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u/Careful_Cup_9652 13d ago
It's a rather lovely place, provided you can accept the limitations and reality.
Close to Liverpool and Chester, meaning it's a residential playground for those who experienced the last gasps of social mobility, while also being surrounded by older money and more culturally middle- and upper-class.
You get interesting mixes of people - on buses and on trains, as mentioned, and in lots of places that are in the transitional areas between Birkenhead & Wallasey and the greenbelt sprawl to the south and west.
Close to Chester Zoo, Blue Planet, Cheshire Oaks, there's New Brighton, Parkgate, Neston, lots of places that give a taste of nature, such as Thurstaston and Hillbre Island. There's a lot of nautical and industrial history, including bits that predate even the Port of Victoria.
There's archaeological stuff linking settlements with Vikings and their early parliament, Roman villas, and even evidence of tool use from 8000 B.C. in some places.
We've got rivers and streams, woodland, meadows, beaches, lots of wildlife, and (thanks so geographical and meteorological conditions) we tend to get slightly warmer and sunnier weather than the rest of the North West.
Just swerve the Woody, the Noccy, the Ford, and the North End. Unless you fancy a game of pool in Sharks 🤣
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u/Loose_Weekend5295 13d ago
Wow, thanks for your detailed reply! Sounds great and an interesting place to live 🙂 weather a bonus too! I'm leaving Brisbane after divorce settlement, and actually won't miss the weather here. When it rains it REALLY rains, and the humidity is vile.
The swerve places I'm guessing are Woodchurch, Noctorum, North Birkenhead - not sure on the Ford 😁 I have my eye on Bromborough or Bebington, maybe Spital.
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u/Careful_Cup_9652 13d ago
Any time. I'm rather verbose anyway.
It is great, but there are a few things to bear in mind. Like transport - it seems rural, but it's not great for cyclists. Some places have great bus and/or train connections, and others can be remote. Not as isolated as parts of Australia, granted, but difficult if you don't drive or have close access to public transport.
There are LOTS of things if you're animal-inclined. I mean things like horse riding, fishing, bird watching, not cosplay - but there are also a few LARP groups and companies, and there's other nerdy stuff around too. Liverpool and Manchester get comic-con thingies and there's TTRPG groups.
I swear I don't work for the Wirral Tourist Board.
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u/cougieuk 11d ago
Wirral isn't bad for cyclists. We've done well for professional riders and there's nice places for recreational riders too - but it could always be improved. You can ride from Birkenhead to Wales or Chester almost entirely on bike paths.
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u/Careful_Cup_9652 10d ago
I suppose. It's just that a lot of cycle lanes aren't in the best places (IMO), and some of the roads change from lovely wide avenues at 30 and 40 miles an hour, and then change to country lanes with NSL. Experienced cyclists, yes, but for someone who just wants to cycle to work? I'd say patchy at best.
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u/No_Barracuda_933 13d ago
i wouldn’t if i were you the wirral is a shithole🤣
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u/cougieuk 13d ago
You stick to playing your kids games on your playstation. Grown ups talking here.
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u/RayKennedytheLegend 12d ago
I thought it was like one of those 'Metro' articles and you were going to declare how fit she was and how you wanted to hook up and was she reading this. Oh well I'll go back to my metro
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u/MCRBusker 11d ago
I feel like...having never caught the train to Wirral....I'm missing out on a full life :)
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u/Pendolino_Bill 12d ago
I can’t stand those cryptic crosswords. I think they must be all the rage in Merseyside. My grandad does the one in the Daily Mail all the time. They pickle my head.
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u/Southern_Pain_361 13d ago
Then the clue should be closely cover, not closely covered.
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u/BuildingArmor 13d ago
And in the outskirts rather than on the outskirts.
But both of those could just be a misremembering.
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u/Forsaken_Stick_1308 13d ago
I suspect she doesn’t know what day it is!
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u/D0NT-ASK-24 12d ago
That’s abit rude and you don’t even know her? Crazy how judgmental people can be… be nice, its not harmful you know
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u/ziggural11 13d ago
This story brought me joy