I took a light breakfast at my apartment before walking 20 minutes south towards The Docks. Here I wanted to visit the Museum of Liverpool, in order to expand my knowledge of this city. I knew that I would encounter other attractions in this area as well.
My instincts were correct. I the buildings around the docks were extremely impressive. I recognised the name “Cunard” as a company that still exists and spotted the famous cormorant “Liver Birds” atop the building of the same name.
The museum was very informative. The ground floor portrayed an excellent history of the docks that essentially gave rise to the city as a whole. Liverpool had been the Atlantic trade transport hub, with goods coming in from the Americas, and the Caribbean and out from the industrial heartlands of England. My studies long ago of the Industrial Revolution very much came alive with the picture of products being made in Manchester, transported out of Liverpool, and lifted by strong “dockers” on to a ship. In those times, worker’s rights, safety, contracts, etc. were very much not what they are today. Dockers would arrive in the morning looking for work, and if there was none would spend the day wandering the city with nothing to do. Their families would face hungry times, and potentially even the dreaded workhouse should these men fail to gain day-to-day employment. It must have been a very insecure existence.
This lifestyle ended in the mid 20th century with the invention of the standardised shipping crate. Many dockers were now replaced by one person with a crane, with goods loaded where they were made, and unloaded where they were destined. This led (as in many places) to mass unemployment, a large factor in the hard times , and sometimes negative reputation the city, and many others have seen since those times.
There had clearly been investment and revitalisation since then, but my excursion to Toxteth the previous day very much confirmed that there is still a struggling population. I wonder, as I wonder at home, how these situations could have been better handled by governments at the time.
Through the rest of the museum, I enjoyed an archeological history of the area, tracing the presence of “hunter gatherers” through the arrival of Anglo Saxons, and Vikings, to the Industrial Revolution and the present day.I also enjoyed a gallery of stories of Liverpudlians over the years, including many musicians I recognised. The Beatles did of course make a significant appearance but I also noted the presence of Pete Burns, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, amongst others. The sheer number of entertainers from this area is quite remarkable.
The drizzle from earlier had cleared up so I was able to take a more extended walk around the docks, taking in the statues of that most famous Beat Group, as well as many other exhibits and memorials.
I took rest in a cafe back in the centre of the city.
I then went on a location mission, one of my favourite ways to see a city. My aim was to find the location of the former “North End Music Stores” (“NEMS”), owned by the Epstien family of which Brian Epstein became manager of the Beatles. The store itself was demolished sometime in the 1990s, the footprint now occupied by a branch of “Next”. The location was found however, and while there is no blue plaque (and there should be), there is a statue of the man himself. It is also at the junction heading to the street where The Cavern is so it is wholly appropriate that Mr. Epstein be immortalised in bronze here. I waited for a German tour group to move on before making my aquaintance.
Brian Epstein was a very interesting character. He died of a drug overdose in 1967. He was much younger than I am now. Like many people at the time, he was repressing his sexuality publically. His friends (including The Beatles) knew well he was gay, and there have been legends surrounding his relationship with John Lennon in particular. His death remains shrouded in some mystery, variously attributed to an accidental overdose, or perhaps suicide.
I took a pint at “The Red Lion” before dinner at “Mowgli’s”. It was a fantastic meal including a take on a “chip butty”. I noted that this, along with many establishments was marketing “street. Food”. The small-plate-culture is very much a “thing” currently. This is no complaint as it’s a style of dining that works well for me in terms of gaining a varied culinary experience vs. not making oneself ill.
In a spur-of-the-moment decision, I decided to frequent a comedy club, something that surprisingly I think I have not done before.The host of the evening was one Chris Cairns, with comedians Dave Williams, and Paul Tonkinson. The latter, I did recognise and further research revealed he had once been part of the team on “The Big Breakfast”. The evening was very enjoyable, with many subjects discussion. The audience were targetted often, including myself when asked “Where in Scotland do you come from?”, to which my answer was “Fife”. The response was “How does it feel to be in a room where everyone has their own teeth?”. I’ll let you make your own judgement.
