18th June 2021. AKA England vs Scotland at the Euros Day. I really wanted to catch the big fixture in a city. Usually my city of choice would be Manchester, but today the destination was Liverpool.
When I was younger I moved to Salford and so aligned myself with Manchester, whilst a group of my friends moved to Liverpool. Since then we have never agreed on which city is best. I challenged one of those friends to show me the good bits of her city.
I waited for Becca near St John’s and I smelled a smell I honestly have not smelled since Thailand. Like drains mixed with bins. Memmmmmorieeees!
The first place Becca led me was Liverpool One. It’s basically the Arndale Centre with the roof stolen.
Next, she took me to the Waterfront and let me buy an ice cream.
And it wasn’t so unreasonably priced!
The Waterfront AKA Maritime Mercantile City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site – at least for now – and includes a lot of Liverpool’s best known landmarks, most famously, the Royal Liver Building.
James May once made a good point on Top Gear when he asked why it’s pronounced with a long ‘i’ when the city’s name features a short ‘i’. Still can’t find an answer.
Some of you may not know (cos scousers never mention it) that The Beatles all originate from Liverpool. The statue is modelled on that famous Fab Four photograph of them walking through London – though I’ve just noticed Paul and George are the wrong way round…
I don’t think Manchester will be throwing up a statue of Oasis any time soon. Or the Smiths. Bloody Morrissey…
On the Waterfront you’ll find the Museum of Liverpool which is free to enter. However, cos of bloody covid, you have to book in advance. I yearn for the days where you don’t have to plan your days by booking everything in advance. Instead, Becca and I headed to Albert Dock for some food.
The Albert Dock features Tate Liverpool, a must for all artsy people. I’ve been before and spent most of my time drawing pictures with crayons in the kiddy section. Like the Museum, you have to book ahead, so I settled for just marvelling at this strange rainbow boulder sculpture that looked like a mushroom.
We witnessed Abbie Jones on the water filming a feature on moon jellyfish for BBC North West Tonight. Sadly, the cameras did not capture us waving.
I bought myself a very expensive chip bap from Docklands Fish & Chips whilst Becca ordered this monstrosity.
It looked like Shrek had shat on her dinner. The smell coming off it was actually making me heave a little. Mushy peas and I do not go together. As I write this, my stomach is genuinely turning a little. Let’s move on.
I fancied a pint and asked Becca to show me a glorious pub. She led me down a dodgy alley.
On Campbell Square we sat down at The Bridewell pub and talked about life.
They do a lovely pilsener here called Warsteiner. I recommend it. Becca meanwhile sank some amaretto and cokes. All prep for the big fixture tonight!
Our original plan for the day was to take an open-top bus tour of the city. Like proper tourists. But Becca said we could save money and visit most sites on foot. We had checked off some of Liverpool’s most famous landmarks but there was one glaring omission that Becca thought we ought to right. So we jumped on a regular bus.
On the journey we passed the Queen Victoria Monument and Matthew Street.
Ohhh we’ve all had plenty of night outs down there…
We alighted at our final landmark of the day.
As a City fan, I found the place a little too red. Becca, the Liverpool fan, was loving it.
We entered the club shop and I asked Becca where the current Premier League trophy was – before remembering it was in east Manchester…
Joking aside, I took the opportunity to pay my respects to the Hillsborough Memorial.
I read some of the tributes. It was nice to see football shirts from other clubs. I hate Liverpool FC, obviously, but you can’t help but grudgingly admire the passion the fans have for their football club.
And that’s the last time I say something nice about the red half of Merseyside.
Anyway, it was time to get to the pub. We found seats in McCooley’s on Matthew Street and settled in to watch England vs Scotland. There were a few groups of Scots in the bar and the atmosphere was intense. We were all ready for an amazing, exciting game.
Fast forward 90 minutes and the game ended 0-0. At least the Scots were happy…
Becca and I left with the rest of the England fans a little deflated. Nevertheless, the atmosphere had been mostly exciting and the day had been enjoyable! I bid Becca farewell and made my way to Lime Street Station where I remembered why I disliked using the railway to get home – my Crewe train was running late.
I had nothing to do for nearly an hour but watch the sky dim over the Liverpool skyline.
And that’s that for my day out in Liverpool, and there was so much I didn’t get to see, like The Beatles Story, Goodison Park, burning cars and The Cavern – and I wouldn’t mind visiting The Tate again… I suppose this means a sequel blog is in order! Until next time, Scouseland.
Oh btw. It’s coming home.
#VidOnTour 