LIVERPOOL

Liverpool doesn't currently have its' own city flag. Rather, it is included in the county flag for Merseyside:

However, people in Liverpool have ben campaigning for their own city flag, and several designs have been put forward. My personal preference would be for the one below:

It's a clever design, which gives equal ranking to the colours of Liverpool FC and Everton, sharing the Liver Bird emblem of the city.

Liverpool is another city that deserves its' own page. It has been inextricably involved in British history and culture since time immemorial

In recent years, it has undergone some remarkable modernisation and regeneration. Unfortunately, this has left the main shopping area seeming no different from other cities and towns. I regret the loss of Lewis's department store. We went in there just before it closed its' doors, mostly because I wanted to see inside the wonderful Art Deco building that housed it, and it is sad to see such an old family-run firm gone.

One thing that did amuse me however, is the new shopping mall, just across the road from the docks, which is unimaginatively called 'Liverpool One'. Now, as we all know, Liverpool has fierce rivalry between its two football teams, a red Liverpool FC and a blue Everton. 

The latter has a shop within the Liverpool One complex, which, as they already have a first shop at their ground, is called Everton Two. 

Think about their postal address for this new shop.....................................if you haven't got it, it's Everton Two, Liverpool One....................  

However, the regeneration of the waterfront, particularly around the Albert Dock, is excellent. As well as the new Arena for events (what imaginative person thought up THAT name?), there's the new Museum of Liverpool. We thought we'd poke around in there for an hour or so, and ended up being in there for over 4 hours! We'd done the Museum of Slavery and the Maritime Museum last time we were in Liverpool, so didn't expect much more of interest to come from this new collection.

How wrong we were! It gives a fascinating insight into past ways of life in Liverpool's heyday, as well as feature areas dedicated to the cities' more famous sons and daughters. You can't escape the Beatles. From the Beatles Story at Albert Dock, to the Cavern Club in Matthews Street, they are everywhere. And rightly so. They are, after all, the most important group in the history of popular music. But, down by the docks, between Albert Dock and the new museum, is a statue of Billy Fury.

Long one of my all-time favourite singers, he is much neglected in my opinion. It was good to see him featured in the Museum.

Actually, there are several impressive sculptures in and around Liverpool. There's a brilliant one of Bessie Braddock at Lime Street Station, and this beautiful dockyard horse down by the docks (Don't mind my little mascot sitting on him)

Oh, and did I mention the plethora of SuperLambBananas? If you've never heard of them, or seen them, they are everywhere in Liverpool. There was only one, when we first went there, now.....oh dear..........

 Liverpool..........well, there's the River Mersey, the Docks, and...oh yes, the Beatles.
Actually, there's more to Liverpool than that. Whilst it has become very run down over the years, it benefitted greatly from being the European City of Culture, and there's a lot of rejuvenation going on. There are parts of the city that are becoming quite nice now. On the other hand, there is that yellow lamb thing....
However, Liverpool is important enough, in the words of the song 'If you want a cathedral, we've got one to spare.
Actually, it quite amused me to find that the two cathedrals stand one either end of Hope Street. So not quite 'abandon hope, all ye who enter here'

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral is Britain's biggest Cathedral and the 5th largest in Europe. It's also new(-ish), being completed in 1978

The Roman Catholic cathedral is also a modern edifice (completed in 1967), and although its' official name is the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, the locals call it 'St. Paddy's Wigwam'. You can see why ......

This is Albert Dock, full of shops, nice little bistros, a museum, and the Tate Gallery. Built in the 1840s, it was a bang up-to-date answer to the ever-increasing number of ships sailing up the Mersey and unloading their cargo to be carted to warehouses in the city. 

The new, multi-storied warehouses surrounding the dock enabled ships to be unloaded and their cargos stored on site, saving time, and freeing up traffic in the city. It also cut down opportunities for theft, and enabled customs officials to keep an eye on what was happening.

One of a well-known chain of budget travel hotels has taken over one of the bonded warehouses, and manages to incorporate a lot of the warehouse features, such as the huge iron doors that separated areas. We've stayed there often, and the unplastered, plain brick walls in the bedrooms seem  little odd at first, until you remember what the building once was.

The Royal Liver Building, with its' strange mythical birds on top is probably Liverpool's most famous landmark. It was the world's first multi-story building to be made in reinforced concrete (but granite-faced).We had a taxi driver, who loved his city, take us on a quick tour of the landmarks, and he told us, he once had a lady in the cab who wanted to know how the Liver Birds got up there. Quick as a flash, he told her that originally there were these eggs..................

The domed building in front is the Port of Liverpool Building, the headquarters of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.

These two buildings, plus the Cunard Building, are known as 'The Three Graces'

This is the modern-day Cavern Club. It actually lies across the road from the original building, which was demolished in 1973. Mathew Street was lined with warehouses, and the Cavern Club opened in the cellars of one of these in 1957.

This impressive Art Deco building, is actually one of the ventilation shafts for the Mersey Tunnel. George's Dock Building is a Grade II listed building, located at the Pier Head on the city's waterfront. It is part of Liverpool's former UNESCO designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City. It was built in the 1930s in the Art Deco style, to the designs of architect Herbert Rowse, chief architect of the Queensway tunnel, and is the most ambitious of the six buildings built to provide ventilation for the 2.1 mile long road tunnel under the River Mersey. 

The pub where the Beatles used to drink. It lies within what has become known as the Cavern Quarter.

This bronze statue of John Lennon shows him leaning against the wall of the building that originally housed the Cavern Club. The bricks on the wall behind him are inscribed with the names of all the singers and groups who appeared at the club over the years.

Liverpool being European City of Culture really helped with the regeneration of the old disused dockside areas. As well as pleasant walks, conservation of historically important buildings, and the gorgeous new Museum of Liverpool, there is also this new entertainment and sports venue, cleverly called 'The Arena' 

The ferry leaving port for Ireland..............

And more importantly (all together now) 'Ferry Cross The Mersey'.............