Magical Mystery Tour

Hey everyone!

So I didn't get the best night of sleep of my life last night, but such is life in a £20 a night hostel room! I went to sleep at 10pm and so did a Thai guy in my room who was up here watching Everton play Man U yesterday. At 11 a group of English lads (six of) came into the room and it took them a full two minutes to realise people were sleeping. They were so loud! And to make matters worse, as the bathroom smelled one of the, sprayed deodorant everywhere. So by the time they left I was having coughing fits that lasted for an hour. One of them came back and I explained, asking if they couldn't spray anymore. He apologised profusely and was actually really nice. He said he would make sure they were quieter when they returned. And they were, but I still woke up. At least it was at 5.30 so I had had a good chunk of sleep. Went back to sleep again until 8 and I gave up and checked out. 

Walked to Albert Dock and ate some food I bought yesterday. Then at 9.45 I went to the meeting point of my 'Magical Mystery Tour' and we began. The next two hours were spent on the bus hopping on and off with commentary from our guide and bursts of Beatles music. 

Our guide told us that in between 1957-58 the Quarrymen (Lennon's original band) had 20 members. In the years 1959-60, The Beatles formed and were named so to be a tribute to Buddy Holly's backup band ('The Crickets') and because they played beat music. I'm not going to repeat anything I've said yesterday so if you feel anything is missing, read back over yesterday. An interesting fact I hadn't considered is that The Beatles career as a group really only lasted about seven years! But here we are 45 years after they split still talking about them!

Our first of four stops on the tour was in an area called 'The Dingle', where Ringo Star was born on the 7th of July 1940. Throughout his childhood he experienced two terrible illnesses; first peritonitis which saw him nearly die three times, then tuberculosis. This saw him spend a lot of time in hospital as a kid and he played drums in the hospital band. We saw the house Ringo was born in, and the second house he lived in. He was originally a member of 'Rory Storm and the Hurricanes' but when Brian Epstein kicked Pete Best out of The Beatles in 1962 Ringo became a member of The Beatles. 

We passed Sefton Park which is where John Lennon's parents met, and The Beatles used to play here! Right nearby we then stopped at Penny Lane. We got pictures with the signs, which have been bolted to the wall as they were being stolen so often. We also saw the bank, barber shop and the shelter in the roundabout mentioned in the song lyrics!

The guide told us that Paul and George both lived in an area 8 miles south of Liverpool, and also both attended a school called the Liverpool Institute for Boys. This meant they both had to catch the bus one hour each way every school day, so hence why they became friends on the bus! We then went past the 

We stopped at the birth house of George Harrison and our guide explained the bins in the city are purple because Everton are blue and Liverpool are red, so they mixed the two. These two teams despise each other - glad I wasn't here during derby weekend!

We saw the Epstein family home and then the St Peters churchyard where Paul and John were introduced by John's friend Ivan who was then in the Quarrymen. In the graveyard there is an Eleanor Rigby grave. We drove past so I didn't find it, but I did glance an Alfred Rigby!

We then got out at Strawberry Field. This was an area behind John Lennon's aunt Mimi and uncle George's house he used to explore as a child and teen, a bit like a wonder land! We saw the big red gates and I loved their contrast with the green leaves. Autumn is showing more and more all the time here, there are lovely coloured leaves all around. John lived half his life with his aunt and uncle. I missed our guide's explanation but he spent some of his childhood and teen years living with them, and then one day his mum came to visit and was struck and killed by a car. The property now belongs to the National Trust and was a gift from Yoko Ono, it has one of those blue plaques they put on a house 20 years after someone famous dies to say they lived there.  

Our last stop where we got out was Paul McCartney's childhood home, also a National Trust property. Apparently Paul finds it strange people gather outside this house and when he returns to Liverpool he will often drive past to have a laugh at the people gathered out front. 

We passed Liverpool Cathedral which apparently is the fifth largest in the world. In 1953 Paul tried out for the choir here but was told his voice wasn't good enough - joke is on them now!!

Our tour ended at 12 noon and I really enjoyed it. Having learned all the information yesterday it was great seeing significant places from earlier in their lives and adding to the knowledge I gained yesterday. 

I did something courageous after the tour. I went straight down into the depths of the cavern club, bought myself a pint of cider and sat by myself. I used to find this mortifying but now I just do it and don't care. And I'm so glad I did!! I spent an hour and a half down there and had such a fabulous time. It was fairly full and there was a guy called Tim Shaw playing. He played lots of Beatles songs and also some Neil Diamond, Buddy Holly etc. I sat there singing along (loudly too! Who cares! I'll never see these people again!) to such hits as 'Help!', 'Yellow Submarine', 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'Imagine'. It was great, and the acoustics were awesome. Had such a good time except for some tall idiots standing right in front of me. I chatted to some English ladies who were nice, and when the performer asked where people were from I shouted 'AUSTRALIA!!!' so he did a round of 'Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi oi oi!' for the whole club haha. It was magic down there, you really could imagine the Fab Four up there doing their thing. 

After an extremely enjoyable 1.5 hours I ascended from the Cavern Club and went to the St James Beacon (AKA the Radio City tower). Even though it was cloudy I still had a great view. I could see lots of the buildings I've passed over the last two days and some more including Anfield - home of Liverpool FC. I went back down and went to St George's Hall, on the way enjoying a marching band randomly marching through the streets! 

I went inside St George's Hall but the Great Hall was closed due to HP filming. Instead I saw jail cells and courtrooms. St George's Hall's courtroom was used to house the Crown Court of Liverpool from 1851 to 1984. There were lots of stories about people and their trials. I read too that between 1787 and 1868 162,000 prisoners were transported to Australia. 

The train back was an uneventful 2.5 hours except for the rugby scores! I couldn't arch but I listened to the radio when I had reception and kept up with scores. We literally beat Scotland in the last 40 seconds so we've made it through to next week's quarter final against Argentina by the skin of our teeth!!! Now I'm back at the flat and hoping to get some work tmro. I'm booked in Tuesday - Thursday but not tmro or Friday so far. 

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox