I have often thought about how different Merseyside might be if our forefathers had decided to build bridges rather than tunnels across the River Mersey. I believe bridges unite in ways that tunnels cannot. Our offices in Walker House (Liverpool) and Hamilton Square (Birkenhead) are directly opposite one another on opposite sides of the Mersey that, if it were not for a couple of buildings, would be in direct line of sight. However, psychologically speaking, they seem miles apart. The best way of travelling between the two is most definitely by ferry, but time constraints usually dictate descending to Merseyrail and the darkness of the tunnels. 

The River Mersey has been a barrier for centuries; the Wirral still has Chester postcodes and is in the Chester Diocese for Anglican Church purposes. The first road tunnel did not open until 1934 and the fast-flowing water made it difficult to cross even by ferry until the industrial age. It is no wonder that the mindset of separation between both sides of the river still persists. Today Hamilton Square is becoming less occupied as companies in the financial and professional sectors are moving to the bustling city centre of Liverpool. 

Birkenhead is a mixed community, but it does house some of the most deprived areas in the UK. When Frank Field wrote to Meghan and Harry and asked them to visit his constituency to experience some good news stories coming out of this hard pressed area he was 'absolutely thrilled'. His invitation is typical of a man who has never been afraid to promote the constituency that he has proudly served for many years.

I first met Frank in the late 1970s when I was working in Toxteth as a young lawyer, I was on the front line in a very deprived area of Liverpool. Frank was Chair of the Child Poverty Action Group working in welfare rights and he came to the Rialto Centre and to our offices, soon after in 1979 he was elected MP for Birkenhead. His mission to help the poorest in society has been the Hallmark of his political career, especially in his work in reforming welfare payments. I remember being shocked by some of the cases I dealt with at the time for clients from the Birkenhead area; one involved a deprived family where incest was the norm over many generations. Needless to say, social services took a dim view of this way of being a family and the courts became involved in a highly complex situation. 

Despite some of the social and economical problems, Birkenhead is a major legal centre with a number of entrepreneurial law firms doing bulk legal work. We have been working in Hamilton Square for more than 125 years providing legal services to local clients and businesses as well as specialist legal services to victims of medical accidents all over England and Wales. We make a major positive difference to the lives of our clients with the work that we do there - I believe that we share much of the same ethos that drives the charitable work of Frank Field and the Royals. 

So, thank you Meghan and Harry for accepting Frank's invitation. Today we welcome them to Hamilton Square to visit the Wilfred Owen Memorial in Hamilton Park right outside our office. After that they are going to see the work of Tomorrow's Women Wirral, a charity committed to reducing female imprisonment and offending, and finally The Hive Wirral Youth Zone which helps young people with disabilities. There is no doubt that their visit will boost the spirits of those involved in the ongoing work to better the lives of people in Birkenhead and that is the very meaning of our ethos #MAPD!