People from Formby have spoken about their daily life living in the Merseyside town often known for its association with the rich and famous.
Formby isn't just for the high-rollers and the footballers. True - its Victoria Road, which leads down to the Pinewoods is packed full of famous faces and has housed some of Liverpool's biggest names, but move away from there and you get another picture entirely.
This week the ECHO visited Formby town centre, which presents an interesting mix of property and wealth management storefronts, trendy places to eat and many, many charity shops. It's not far off from any other town centre, but we were there to get a feel for what life is like as a "normal" person in a town inhabited by household names and some of Merseyside's richest.
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The visit began with a visit to the Formby Luncheon Club on the recommendation of a kind lady called Barbara just off the train from Liverpool. Barbara herself said she had moved to the town recently to be closer to her daughter, a doctor who works in Southport, and said she liked it so far.
After arriving at the Luncheon Club we found it bustling as almost 50 people were about to sit down to lunch. Speaking to the ECHO, Fiona Wood, 54, who helps run the club, said: "I've been here for five years but the club has been going since 1965.
"It's a hive of activity in a sense that there's always a lot of people."
The club provides a vital service in the community, bringing older people together who otherwise might go without essential company, as well as providing them hearty lunch multiple days every week. Fiona said: "It's a lifeline for them and we have a good laugh and some banter and provide them with a great lunch.
"Friendships grow a lot here. We even had a couple who met here and got married - Bill and Berry.
"They came here at the same time and struck up a friendship, that led to them getting married.
"I need to help people. The thought of people being on their own is horrible.
"I think of them like my mum, I wouldn't want to see her on her own or isolated at all so we just try and look after them.
"But we have to rely on donations and community grants from people. The overheads are always a concern."
Club members Jean and Roy Allan, 85 and 87, have been in Formby for 60 years, and remember when the town was more of "little village." They said they would be "lost" if they moved elsewhere.
Jean said: "We've been here 60 years now. It's changed alot from being a little village. It's now grown into more of a town.
"Back then you had people still riding horses and houses with thatches roofs.
"We still enjoy living here. If we had to move anywhere else we'd be lost.
"There's always something to do, like we play boules in summer. But there's 100s of groups to do things with."
Another mainstay of the town centre, just down the road from the Luncheon Club, is Broughs Butchers.
Rob Powell owned the shop for around 30 years and said that despite the fact "trade has always been good," people are being "sucked" away from the town centre by large supermarkets setting up shop bordering areas.
He told the ECHO: "We've been here 30 years. I live in Formby, its a nice place and you're never far from anywhere.
"It's one of the few villages that's left that's still quite busy, but it could do with being busier still.
"Trade has always been good for us in Formby, but we're getting the bigger supermarkets building on the outskirts now so they're sucking trade away from the village.
"It's just getting harder and harder all the time. We need more shops, that's a definite - more everyday shops people use.
"It's all about getting people to come here and keeping them here.
"We wouldn't have a problem with competition, but the supermarkets are crippling us and they're no cheaper than we are.
"It will dwindle eventually if nothing is done and then you'll have people saying 'do you remember when?' We've got a fantastic village here but it needs supporting."
A town with such heritage can often alienate the younger people who live there as it finds itself tailored to a more mature population. Is that the case with Formby?
Meg Cairns, 19, from bar Lux37, said: "I feel that if you asked people younger than us they would probably say they wanted more from the town."
Colleague Izzy Raiks, 22, agreed, saying: "It was when I turned 18 that I stopped noticing that as much, when I was able to go out more. It's much more noticeable when you're younger."
Both Izzy and Meg said they would want to move away from the town in the future. Though said it wasn't the town "pushing them away" as much as other places "drawing" them in.
Meg said: "It's a great place to work as a whole. People are really nice but sometimes you get a handful of privileged types.
"I feel like it's finally getting back to what it used to be. About six years ago there was nothing and there would be would be no one in town.
"There was nothing before. But now it's more active and there's a mix of places for people to go.
"I think Liverpool so nearby is good too. Then you have Formby beach and the pine woods.
"My family came at Christmas and they were shocked as how much there is here."
Izzy added: "But at the end of the day it is still a small town. I think it's more just people our age need something more."
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