The minstrel known as sonofwebcore
First of all – an apology (especially to swawilg, who I know will be disappointed). My attempts at filming sonofwebcore’s singing and playing by the Mersey – and Chris7572’s additions – failed miserably. My excuse is that I have a new camera and I hadn’t practised using the video function beforehand…but the film I made on my phone didn’t work either, so perhaps it was a Liver bird jinx of some kind.
A Liver bird looking disapproving
The cheapest train was an early one, and it got me to Liverpool soon after 8, so I had time for breakfast and a mooch round the Albert Dock – it was my first visit to Liverpool. On the dockside was a character I recognised from back in the day.
Billy Fury, with flowers at his feet
It was a gorgeous day and the river was calm
and beautiful, so I could see why lovers had come there to attach their locks (just as they do in Paris).
Lovelocks
George arrived with his guitar and showed me his lists; I was delighted to see that Steve Earle’s Justice In Ontario had been A-listed, and to celebrate that (because we both like it) George started his set with And The Rain Came Down. Ali turned up next and then Chris – who had brought his own guitar.
Two minstrels and a groupie
What a thoroughly enjoyable musical experience it was! There were lots of favourites.
(All along the) Watchtower
During George’s set we had seen the Snowdrop, the ferry decorated by Peter Blake, go backwards and forwards
The Snowdrop
and at the end of the set George suggested that we go for a ferry trip, so we all climbed abord the Snowdrop and off we went
Nobody fell in
listening to George’s entertaining and informative commentary, even though this was drowned out from time to time by the much louder (and far less interesting) official commentary, not to mention frequent – but mercifully brief – bursts of Ferry Cross The Mersey over the PA. Way to milk it, ferry company!
Waterfront
Ali and Chris aboard the Snowdrop
sonofwebcore ignores Gerry and the Pacemakers
After the boat ride George took us into the Port of Liverpool building (formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Office) so that we could look at the beautiful dome from the inside
Under the dome
after which, feeling peckish, we went along to the Tate for lunch, passing a few more boats on the way
The Zebu outside Tate Liverpool
and feeling that or Social CD topic, Ships And Ports, had been well chosen. Lunch over, George departed to get some shopping done, while the rest of us went to see the Jackson Pollock exhibition – it’s called Blind Spots. Turned out I was the only big Pollock fan among our number and so, after a while, Ali and Chris made their excuses and pushed off: I stayed on for a bit looking at the drips and blobs, and when eventually I came down into the foyer I found that the Tate had lit up their Christmas chandelier.
Tate foyer
As I was on my own by then I don’t know whether anyone else succumbed – but I found it impossible to resist the lure of the Commer ice cream van.
Vintage ice cream
What a brilliant social! Thanks to Ali and Chris for coming along, and thanks most of all to George for his songs and stories. Let’s do it again soon!
A great write-up and a great day, thanks tfd. Sorry I’m not a bigger fan of Jackson Pollock but I’m proud to have been the oldest groupie in town!
Forgot to say – click on the photos to make them big!
Thanks for the visual record, tfd. Probably just as well there’s no audio evidence!
I didn’t realise Ali was a groupie……!
You never know who you’ll meet online.
No plaster casting, then?
Also, I’m uploading the social CDs into the RR box.
Oh, fab!
By the way, that shot of the ice-cream van has Chris and Ali in it – that’s because I took it at lunchtime when I was still resisiting the idea of ice cream…
I resisted. Blame the sinusitis, can’t taste anything!
What a lovely travelogue. Made me adoptedhomesick
It’s changed a bit since I left, that was 60 odd years ago so it’s not unexpected but it does come as a bit of a surprise. I lived there from about ’51 to ’54, worked at the Dunlop in Speke. First picture I’ve seen of Chris, he’s been in hiding; looks more
civilized than I expected. The Snowdrop reminds me of some of the camouflage designs the Royal Navy were messing with in WW2. Sounds like a wonderful get-together, wish I’d been there.
GF you would have liked this: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/dazzle-ship/
Thank you for the back-handed compliment, gf (I think) but I was spotted on the Spill back in 2012: http://thespillblog.co.uk/2012/02/27/it-was-a-cold-and-stormy-night-the-woods-were-deep-and-dark-somewhere-in-the-distance-a-lone-beaver-howled/
I only get to Liverpool occasionally and I was quite taken aback by the number of new buildings along the river that seem to have sprung up almost overnight. I think the slabs of modernity diminish the power and grace of the old waterfront (particularly the convention centres) but, as webby pointed out, the increase in visitors and economic activity they brought to the city has mitigated its decline as a port.
Don’t know how I missed that one Chris but you looked equally civilized back then. Agreed re. the ‘new’ buildings and the effect on the waterfront; I saw a film some years ago that featured a wide shot of the waterfront of Shanghai, I almost fell out of my chair, it looked like a dead copy of Liverpool. Suspect they’ve added a few new ones since also.
As Duke said, ‘Things aint what they used to be’.
Thanks for posting the fruits of our great day together, TFD. Love the pics and the words. Linda particularly liked your shot of me avoiding Gerry. Said you were glad to see the back of me.
Chris is a fine guitarist, and you all were great company.
We very much enjoyed listening to you both play. A lovely day!
Tasty trip. How were the Pollocks? Did they live up to expectations?
Yes – they were a set of works from 1951-3 known as the Black paintings, mostly in black and white. I specially liked a group that were done on Japanese paper – a friend had given JP a pile of this paper, which is very absorbent, and he’d done the first painting with the paper still in a stack and then found that some of the paint had leaked through to the sheet below and the one below that – so he’d embellished a few of them, but some he’d left as they were. I loved those. Bought the catalogue, read it on the train going home!
I only read this now, a bit late it seems but what a great article tfd, don’t worry about the filming bit, this is more than enough for me. Thanks again, Chris
thanks for posting .. it’s been a couple of years since my last trip, and it reminded me to start organising another