A Cellarful of Noise

My Dear Fellow,

Our final day in Liverpool. It was great. The hotel we stayed at - the Pullman Liverpool - was tremendous. And you know, I find that the stories of Liverpool being a friendly city are true. Everyone was lovely. I found it hard to believe they actually do have those accents though. I imagined that when our backs are turned they speak to each other in perfect BBC English, "So Jeremy, as I was saying..." 

Then a tourist shows up and it's all -  "Alright our Tups! Howzit goin' like?"

The last thing Shetland Dad wanted to do was go to The Cavern. For him, it's like a pilgrimage. The sixties were his heyday (he actually said, "Hello" to Ringo during the height of Beatlemania). So it was important to visit hallowed ground, even if the original Cavern was knocked down in the 1980's (and then subsequently rebuilt).

Of course, organising my family is never easy. We are always all heading in different directions at once, one of us will be hungry, another one will be putting her face on, a third will have lost his keys and someone always needs a wee. This drives Shetland Dad and Er Indoors bonkers. They are ultra-punctual and always need a plan. I noted that, by day 3, Shetland Dad was clearly factoring in the uselessness of my family and allowing 60 to 90 minutes lead time before we attempted anything.

For example, Tups and the girls were supposed to meet us at the hotel at 11 o'clock. No 11:30. Actually, the girls were still putting their faces on and they hadn't eaten yet. Shall we just meet at The Cavern at 12.30?

So the dads, Er Indoors and I made our own way there. No Tups. So we knocked about, looking at all the memorabilia and enjoying the vibe of being in the venue where the world's most famous band first...

- I'm sorry. I'm being told this is NOT The Cavern. 

"Yer daft beggars," said Tups. "I knew you'd go to the wrong place."

It turns out we were sitting in The Cavern PUB, not the Cavern CLUB. We kind of wondered where the famous stage was.

So we walked two doors down where Tups & the nieces were waiting for us. 

The picture above is the classic view of the stage under the arched ceiling. A bloke was playing acoustic guitar and running through Beatles' classics. He did a pretty passable "A Day In The Life" which is no mean feat considering he'd forgotten to pack an orchestra.

It was pretty hot & stuffy down there. I think this is what they call "atmosphere" and you COULD almost imagine Brian Epstein walking into that sticky atmosphere and standing next to walls soaked with the combined sweat of the patrons and going "Ewww! Can we go somewhere cooler and get a beer?"

That was MY reaction anyway. History is history, but I needed a drink.

After drinks we all split up again and it was time for home. I felt pretty worn out from our weekend but it had definitely been worth it. Now that I've been home 24 hours I'm staring to wonder about when we can do it all over again. I'm an idiot like that sometimes.

El P.