Half an hour in Rock Ferry

You may have heard Duffy's debut album, Rockferry. That is, Duffy's double platinum debut album, Rockferry. It's named after a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral, where Duffy's father grew up. Contrary to playground rumours, Duffy's father is not Shakin' Stevens (disappointing, I know...).

Rock Ferry (place) is two separate words: will the council rename it in honour of pop history? Probably not. Just think of all the road signs they'd have to change. Today I popped onto Merseyrail's Wirral Line to Rock Ferry (place) to discover if it has any resemblance to Rockferry (album). And here's what I found:

Rock Ferry station, with crumbling community mural in background. 'People (blank) litter on the floor... Why is the world not clean anymore?' Oh dear.

Empty shops.They were advertising for staff, if you're interested.

A boarded up pub.

A big Lidl.

Conclusion: Rock Ferry needs some investment. And it didn't inspire Rockferry. It's just a nice-sounding album title.