Playing guitar before bedtime

Quick bit of guitar practise before bedtime!

School hockey tournament!

I'd been selected to represent the school at the local school's hockey tournament at Marden Bridge today! It was good fun although the Year 4s were being a bit nasty to us. We won the last game we played, and I scored a goal so we ended on a high!

Down in the Ouseburn Tunnel!

We're going underground today, under the city of Newcastle upon Tyne into the old Victorian tunnels at Ouseburn. It was very exciting; I was provided with a hard hat and a torch, and off we went!

It's very cold down there. These tunnels were used to transport coal from (for those who know Newcastle) the Town Moor down to the river, in the mid-1800s. They were also used as air-raid shelters during WW2.

Very interesting!

Lori's Xmas Trip # 2 : Liverpool!

Lori's second Christmas adventure began early on Monday morning as we headed to catch the train to Liverpool! After the short train journey, we arrived just in time for a lovely Mexican meal at Wahaca before we checked in to the hotel. Then the adventures could begin!

"Ooooh, dirty Maggie Mae they have taken her away -

and she'll never walk down Lime Street any more!"

Us, walking down Lime Street :-D

McCartney's Bar (Daddy said Paul might be working there tonight)

- and the local BBC station, right over the road from our hotel!

We started on a tour of somewhat lesser known Beatles reference points - walking up the road from the hotel to the Jacaranda Club, where (in 1960, as the Silver Beetles) they played around a dozen times before being whisked away to Hamburg. I found a plectrum on the floor outside and I'm certain it probably used to be John Lennon's.

A couple of streets away we found the house where Brian Epstein (Beatles manager) was born. A lovely street and a massive house. I guess people weren't always born in hospitals in those days.

Past the Metropolitan Cathedral and along Hope Street we came to Liverpool Art College, where John Lennon went after leaving school.

And just round the corner was an old pub that Daddy thought it'd be nice go to, called Ye Cracke. John Lennon used to drink here, and it was here he first started going out with his first wife, Cynthia.

Mummy & Daddy insisted on standing on the steps, like John & his friend in 1958.

And away we went back to the hotel for a bite to eat and a well earned rest! Here's me skipping back down Upper Duke Street, past the largest cathedral in the UK!

The next day we headed to the Albert Dock (where mummy's favourite programme, "Richard & Judy" used to be filmed) to catch the Magical Mystery Tour bus!

Not before a magical unicorn waffle though!

So off we went on a truly magical tour. We went on a guided tour of Liverpool and saw all the houses where the Beatles lived when they were little, Strawberry Field, Penny Lane and much more, before ending the tour at Mathew Street - home of the Cavern Club.

The house in Arnold Grove where George Harrison grew up!

At Strawberry Field & Penny Lane!

And, below, John Lennon's childhood home.

Outside Paul's childhood home!

On Mathew Street, inside the Cavern. And outside, bumping into an old friend :-)

Stopped for a chat with another Eleanor we came across.

Went up to the top of the Radio City Tower - the views are amazing. 

Bit unsettling how you can feel it swaying in the wind!

The Liver Building, River Mersey and beyond, from the top of the tower.

Met some old friends at Pierhead! They didn't say much.

In the shadows of the Liver Building

Great mural (and hot chocolate!) inside the Fab 4 cafe.

On the last day we escaped from the rain & freezing wind to enjoy The Beatles Story. It was interesting to follow the story of the band from their youth, early days of the band through to when they were famous. Lots of great things to see, read & listen to!

Abbey Road, and how the studio floor would have looked during a recording session.

Sgt Pepper costumes, and a mock up of the album cover how it would have been photographed

We walked back from the Albert Dock back to grab a bite to eat but there was just time for a quick trip back to Mathew Street to see Cilla, before we headed up to Slater Street to have a hot chocolate in the Jacaranda Club!

A fab city, and a fab trip! Thanks Liverpool! x