Saturday 10th August 2019

And here we are in Liverpool.

A full day of exploring and meeting friends ahead, though we did feel like crap, as the noise outside was teletless most of the night, shouting, dog barking in the room was so darn hot.

We thought we would run out steam later. Time would tell on that.

But first, a shower and breakfast.

In the room there was a kettle, coffee pod machine and toaster, and a selection of teas and a single coffee pod. But we thought we would go out to find some breakfast.

Now, I had no idea where in the city the room was. I got the impression it was somewhere out in the suburbs, but as I could see one of the Liver Birds atop the Liver Building, I thought we were close to the waterfront and old docks.

And once outside, and a walk to the main road at the bottom of the street showed me that we were on the very same street I had walked up some 13 months before during my four hour visit. And that just down the street was indeed the Pierhead and the Three Graces, and Albert Dock and lots of places to eat.

Again, it was grey with the promise of rain in the not too distant future.

We walk past lots of closed bars and restaurants. One place was open for coffee, but there was a queue. We walk on and across the main road, beside the Liver and Cunard Buildings, then down the waterside to the Albert Dock.

Restaurants were closed, or not yet open, so we walk on, and although the streetfood London bus was closed, we did find a fine place in one of the warehouses that was open, and very welcoming.

We order a smoothie, coffee and a medium breakfast. All around the walls were shots of the city a century ago, much of which was all gone now.

Breakfast came and we ate and drank our fill. In fact I had a second coffee.

We were here, at the Dock, to visit Tate Liverpool, to attend an exhibition. Keith Haring is not a well known artist, but he was at the cutting edge of alternative art in New York at the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s, alongside what became hip hop. I had seen an article in The Face magazine, must have been in 1981, and I stored his work in my mind all this time.

What I didn't realise was that he worked in video too, so seeing those works, alongside the partings and other 3D works was very interesting, as was the book that accompanies the exhibition.

We had arrived dead on ten, and so we had the place pretty much to ourselves, which was very nice indeed.

After we had done that, and walked down, we found a bench to sit on to wait for two friends who were coming to show us around the city. Magnus lives in the city, and is a member of GWUK on Flickr, as is Janet. I was told by Magnus that another GWUKer was coming, and one of the two people I thought it might be was Janet.

So, clever me.

Anyway, I texted Magnus, giving him our location, and they came to meet us.

Its always hard to meet someone for the first time in person, and yet you have known them online for years. So, we shook hands and said warm greetings.

And then the plan: where to go, and in what order?

That done, we set off for a short walk round the area landward of the Pierhead, before flagging a taxi down to take us to the Anglican cathedral.

By now rain was coing down fairly hard, so we rush from the taxi to the porch. And inside.

The Cathedral was built and completed in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is huge. I mean Koln cathedral huge. The largest Anglican church in the world, I believe.

Its scale presses on everything, you can't process how large everything is, from the height to the roof, or the six stroy organ, which was given a run out in a concert as we walked about. So the sounds vibrated in our chests.

A service was just ending in the Lady Chapel. We go down once the congregation leaves, so we can marvel at the wonderful roof and window.

I mean we could have stayed an hour, two, ten and not seen it all.

Would we like to have lunch in a fine pub? Not just any pub, but the Philharmonic, which is grade II* listed, but seems to have grade I listed toilets.

Who am I to argue?

We walk down neat rows of Georgian terraced houses, still the place where the Liverpudlian medical industry is centred, but a steep road to the Philharmonic hall, nad to the left was the pub.

We get the last free table, and Janet says she would pay.

We were not hungry, so Jools and I share nachos, Magnus also has them, and Janet has soup.

And we took in the delights of the pub, all marble, carved wood and mosaics.

Just wonderful.

And the beer was good too.

From there we walked along the street to the Catholic Cathedral. Finished in the 1960s, it is a wonderful building, round, for the most part. BUt we got soaked walking there, so was a relief to get inside. I wiped my camera lens and got snapping.

The church was once going to be larger that St Peter's in Rome, but the money ran out. The crypt for that was built, but we did not have time to visit that, and you had to pay and photography is not allowed.

So, we walk to catch a bus to take us back into the city.

At least the rain had stopped, but the wind had got up and was nearly gale force.

From the bus station we walked through one of the malls to Central Station, to catch a train out of the city, under the Mersey to the Wirral.

Magnus has invited us for dinner at his home in West Kirby, which was at the end of the line.

We were cold and footsore, so did not look round the town much, instead walked to his house for a brew, as his wife, Linda, finished preparations for dinner.

Linda brought us smoked salmon, followed by beef with vegetables and cheesy mash. Lovely. And very hearty.

We talk long and wonderful it was too.

But outside darkness fell, and we had to catch the train back into the city, and the journey was half an hour.

So we said our goodbyes, and Jools and I along with Janet walked back to the station to catch the train at ten.

The train rattled and shook its way back across the Wirral, then down under the river, screeching through the tunnels, back to the very station we wanted, and after going up two flights of escalators, we were back at the lobby of the block we were staying at.

Up the in the lift, and into the room, very tired.

I put in earplugs, and soon was sound asleep, the part carried on outside, but I heard little.