Strawberry Field

While Miss Flum went off to meet friends we took ourselves to the Big City of Liverpool to indulge our nostalgia for the Beatles.

Parking close to the Waterfront, we cut through Albert Dock, past many souvenir emporia, without a backward glance so intent were we on finding the statue of the Fab Four.

However (there's always a 'however') we had reckoned without the forthcoming celebration - not the Coronation but the Eurovision Song Contest, for which the BBC (and possibly other culprits) had sealed off the statue with massive hoarding - had we stayed until 3pm we would have had access, we were told, as at 11am, we pointed our lenses through gaps in the hoarding at the famous heads. We could still see the Liver Birds stop their towers, see extra. The excellent museum cafe provided solace in a coffee cup before we moved on.

Strawberry Field is a very well-known composition by John Lennon, based on his childhood when playing in the grounds of the old house and the entrance gates feature in many a photographic album but they are in fact replicas, my photo is of the originals which are displayed, without the graffiti'd gateposts, in the grounds. Today Strawberry Field is a modern building, still run by the Salvation Army who amongst other things, provide start-up courses for disadvantaged people - they also run an astonishing automated system of sorting and recycling fabric, though not on this site.

After an excellent lunch in the cafe we wandered round the garden, where a new bandstand has been erected. Resembling a drum, it contains all the high-tech a modern band could wish for.

Then we drove across the Mersey for a walk in Moore nature reserve, fortunate to be occupying a hide with a sound roof during a cloudburst - the waterfowl were less than impressed.

Now ensconced in our Travel Lodge, mentally repacking to go our separate ways tomorrow.