Liverpool, my old friend

Tuesday, 12 November, 2019

I went to Liverpool. That city and I go back a way. I first went there as a starstruck Beatles fan. (And that’s a whole other story – of becoming a fan.) I wasn’t, as my parents suspected, going to see the Beatles though. I should have hated that city since on arrival my friend, also called Janice, had her backpack stolen with all her money.  So now we had to share my money. (It’s also possible that it was I whose stuff was stolen and we shared her money – memories are odd like that.) I’ll save talking about my adventures for another time but I grew to love that city. I met a girl in the line up for the Cavern my first night there. Anne and I are still friends. And on subsequent visits I met another girl, Elsa.  Elsa and I still speak often.

A few months ago, she contacted me to let me know she and her husband, Kenny, were having a fiftieth wedding anniversary at the Cavern. A few shaky days where I thought I couldn’t go and then suddenly the tickets and hotel were all booked.

We expected two days of rain but off we went. The journey was easy and the walk to the hotel fast. I wasn’t sure what to expect from our room but it turned out to be quite lovely. There was a large bed and bathroom and then down a step to a living room area. The hotel used to be part of the Bank of Wales building next door so there’s a masculine feel to everything but we were comfortable.



We wandered around a little, had a less-than-satisfying lunch, then back to the hotel before leaving for the Cavern. We were really close to it. If we went through an alley opposite the hotel we were actually right on Mathew street where the Cavern is. It’s like my feet lead me there. But it all looks so different and there are tourist things everywhere, statues of Beatles at street level and higher up on the buildings like angels or gargoyles looking down at the crowds.





It’s so clean there now, though. It used to be dirty and feel dangerous and you’d often see rats, even swarms of them, moving from warehouse cellar to warehouse cellar looking for food. No rats in sight now. I’d like to say it’s a cool area but it’s succumbed to tourists’ whims. Neon lights everywhere, souvenir shops, mediocre places to eat, tour groups…

The new Cavern is much bigger than the old/original, and the stairs are much less steep, going down several landings deep underground – this used to be just two turns of some very steep stairs and I’d always fear falling down them. In this new space, the first room you land in is the same as the original Cavern. a low-ceilinged, brick arched space with a side section for dancing. You could almost be back fifty years but this is a sanitised version.


New Cavern Club
The new Cavern Club, echoing the old. The centre area has the iconic stage and audience area and the area to the left looks the same but it’s for dancing. Beatles Tribute Bands play here.

It’s not raunchy, and the smell of disinfectant and scouse (the Liverpool stew that gives the people their name) is gone.  Now there’s a smart bar and lots of neon, and posters everywhere, and framed photos of bands who played on the original stage. If you walk along the long bar you see an old red phone box. Keep going and you’re in the Live Lounge where Elsa and Kenny were having their party. Everyone knew about it – Elsa and Kenny’s bash? yeah down there, this way… My ears are immediately familiar with the accent, although Krish tells me he doesn’t understand everything and ‘Why do they want to talk like that?’ Hmm, they just do!

It’s damn loud in the lounge too. The ceilings are low and here it’s not brick anymore. There are lots of displays and memorabilia, and it’s set up like a cabaret – lots of low tables and benches and there were none left to sit on. The place was packed. It’s actually quite amusing to go to these things. Most people are my/Elsa’s age. They look like elderly people but they’re taking in the music and it’s like someone peeled the years away. Everyone knows everyone. There’s laughing, too much alcohol, and there’s mingling and catching up. There’s an elevated area with more seating and another bar, and the toilets – I like going down there towards the toilets since there are some amazing photos of the Beatles and my favourite one, of Brian Epstein. They all look so young. I looked at one of John Lennon and was totally surprised to re-realise he was only 40 when he died. He lived a lot of life in those forty years. And there’s a lovely one of George, my (and Elsa’s) favourite Beatle. Although she, of course, knew him and has personal memories and it’s so very sad.
My goal was to watch two acts – the Hideaways, who were my favourite Liverpool band, and Beryl Marsden who never quite became famous, although you’ll find her on YouTube, and who sings the great old Cavern faves.
A favourite moment – Elsa and Freda (Kelly, the Beatles Fan Club secretary) jiving (Cavern style) at the front soon after we arrived and Judd announcing, There’s two original Cavern girls right there! And so they are, although not quite original since the club would have opened when they were only ten. Nevertheless, I’m always impressed by Elsa’s energy. I give it a good go but…

Things were running late. After one song by the Hideaways Krish said he had to leave, that he couldn’t can’t handle the crowd and the noise and the standing – I understood and was prepared for this – but the second song came on, Judd’s harmonica (they call it a gob iron in Liverpool) came out and Krish stayed till their set came to an end. They are all old men now, with much less hair, much more body fat, and their faces aren’t recognizable, but if you listen to their music, it’s like the years fall away. It’s all standard Liverpool 60s fare – old blues, soul – and they are having fun with it. Judd is centre-stage, sloppily dressed, looking messy, rotund, and yet the women still seek him out – you can see them. After Krish left, I looked around. Freda didn’t seem to know me this time and I was OK with that. I had a few words with Kenny and a few more with Elsa and I stayed to watch Beryl. Her voice is still strong and confident and she sings her songs as she has for decades – I know (I know) you don’t love me no more…. you really have to shake yourself that it’s now, 2019, Beryl is looking a bit frail, with thinner hair and that jawline is gone, but she’s still Beryl.



I told Elsa I had to leave and she was shocked I would leave without watching Kenny’s band. Oh, you HAVE to stay to watch Kenny’s band at least.  So I stayed for two songs but. after I left, I felt bad for not staying even though I’d been standing for hours,  and my ears were starting to ring and echo a bit too much for comfort.

Elsa watching The Kirbys, Kenny's Band
Elsa watching The Kirbys, Kenny’s Band

Krish and I had a rest and then set out for a restaurant he wanted to go to across town – 15 min walk. We had a lamb tajine which was quite lovely. The appetiser and dessert were mediocre. We almost always share a meal.

Mr Cenzone on Dale Street
Mr Cenzone on Bold Street
The old with the new
The old with the new
Lamb tajine (with dates stuffed with walnuts) at the Kasbah
Lamb tajine (with dates stuffed with walnuts) at the Kasbah

Walking up to Bold Street is weird.  It’s always been a nice area for eating. It’s on the way to the huge cathedral – the fifth-largest cathedral in the world and the longest. Liverpool outside the very centre and before you hit the near suburbs doesn’t seem that different, just cleaner. but the core of the city is gone. The streets are pedestrianised and, even though they’re lined with all the familiar franchise stores, they still have the same name. So you see the name of the street and there’s no recognition of what it was once. Those new streets have just appropriated the old names as if someone erased everything except the street signs. It feels odd. Bold Street is trendier and has a real road but it looks pretty much the same as it always has. There are mostly independent shops and places to eat.

A touch of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Liverpool
A touch of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Liverpool
Maggie May's, famous for scouse
Maggie May’s, famous for scouse. We had some there once and Krish hated it. It wasn’t such a good one!

There had been a big football match that day so the street and the side streets and cafes were packed with loud celebrating fans. They had the game on even in the Cavern – the music was punctuated with loud yells and celebration as the home team were winning. When we left the restaurant I’d meant to photograph the people having fun but the rain was steady and getting heavier. The next day we explored in the drizzly rain. What a great city it is. It’s small but the architecture is so interesting and it feels like a big community and more than just a place to live. We headed for Chinatown, Europe’s oldest, and found a restaurant for congee and a few things – it turned out to be the same one we ate in last time. We thought later about why it was the same one and actually there’s a good reason. It’s just outside the Chinatown gates, which is so large and impressive. It’s just one short street but during the day it’s completely dead. Nothing is open. so there’s no choice but to head to the ones outside the gate and there we were.

Congee, hot and sour soup, doughnut, salt and pepper squid
Congee, hot and sour soup, doughnut, salt and pepper squid –
Liverpool's splendid Chinatown gate
Liverpool’s splendid Chinatown gate – large entrance to a small street
Gorgeous door of the Chinese Freemasons building
Gorgeous door of the Chinese Freemasons building

We had a lovely lunch and were sad that London has no such lovely Chinese places. We did some unexpected shopping – not much, we explored the back streets, and I took a lot of photos when it wasn’t raining so much. We had to shelter a few times but my legs and feet were aching so that was fine with me.

Christmas tree in the Liverpool One complex
Christmas tree in the Liverpool One complex
A blustery wet day in the city
A blustery wet day in the city
The architecture for this building was lovely - 12 Hanover Street
12 Hanover Street – grade II listed building (1889) enclosed in a newer building. Gorgeous!
The Jacaranda
The Jacaranda – a 50s coffee bar that became a Beatles haunt. Legendary club.
Cheery mural on a dull day
Cheery mural on a dull day
Actually left in the newer Liverpool One complex
On College Lane, actually left in the newer Liverpool One complex

We headed over to the Walker Art Gallery with our cases. It was now windy, cold and raining. As always, I visited the beautiful Pre-Raphaelite paintings for about a half hour. As the art gallery closed we went for a cup of tea in the hotel attached to the station. It was a lovely warm break.


The train ride home was a bit awful. we had seats facing backwards and the carriages were packed so nowhere to switch. The train was very late to leave the station and then not far into the journey stopped in the middle of the dark nowhere for quite a while longer. We were more than an hour late, the train was crowded and hot. I wondered if I’d get home without being ill. just as we finally got into London they made an announcement that we’d be compensated for half an hour delay since we were just 58 minutes late (two short of an hour’s compensation) and I still have to object to that, when I have time. but our bus came and we got home and in bed by about 1am….exhausted!

Following are some photos taken on my walk – only a slice of Liverpool but I hope they show the spirit of the place.  The weather wasn’t kind and neither were my knees so the dock area, the art school area, and the Liver building (and so much more) were skipped this time. I’d like to come back for longer and explore some more. Liverpool has a big place in my heart. Check the next page for pictures, if you can.

Superlambanana - a Liverpool standard
Superlambanana – a Liverpool standard, and different ones throughout the city
Liverpool bus in the centre
Liverpool bus in the centre
The name of this shopping quarter escapes me
The name of this shopping quarter escapes me
Albert's Schenke German restaurant
Albert’s Schenke German restaurant, Hanover Street
Converted warehouses in amongst the new builds
Converted warehouses in amongst the new builds
No shop yet? Paint one!
No shop yet? Paint one!
Long view of Dale Street
Long view of Bold Street
Should be more famous than the Cavern. The Blue Angel on Seel Street
Should be more famous than the Cavern. The Blue Angel on Seel Street. The Beatles auditioned here, and so many legendary acts have played inside
Long view of deserted Chinatown
Long view of deserted Chinatown
Shopping in the rain at Liverpool One
Shopping in the rain at Liverpool One
Courtyard
Courtyard
Goodbye to Liverpool
Goodbye to Liverpool. Taken from the Walker towards the Liverpool Empire and Lime Street Station