British Invasion Pt.2 - Beatlemania!

...So...after witnessing Ade and friends in their natural habitat (the pub!!) and having ourselves a right fine knees-up on Saturday....Sunday,my last day in Ade's fine company,was time for a trip to Liverpool and immersion in The Fabs,The Lads,THE BEATLES!!!

I must admit...when I was planning my trip I was warned away from Liverpool with "too touristy",etc....well,im SO glad Ade suggested it and we took the tour...it was...well...FAB!

For some reason I dont have my pic of Ringo's boyhood home....its in the dirt-poor area...in fact we were told the whole rows of flats are set to be destroyed,except for Ringo's block!....anyway,here's the pub near there that was used for Ringo's "Sentimental Journey" and George's modest boyhood home

Of course,John's place,Mendips,is quite a step up....very nice home of Aunt Mimi...we were told Yoko bought it and donated it to The National Trust so it can be preserved...so there's one for Yoko,who'da thought!?

....and onto Paul's....of special interest since right inside there,John and Paul wrote many of the Beatles early hits....wow!!

We saw the "shelter in the middle of the roundabout" on Penny Lane,which has the firehouse and the barber shop!....and of course Strawberry Fields....which is right around the corner from John's place...and you can imagine little John running out of his house,onto the property and letting his imagination run wild among the trees....where he must be high or low......

The tour ended at the "Cavern"...its not the real Cavern unfortunately....BUT....the original front of the original Cavern is still there,so you can imagine the lads lugging their stuff into those early gigs,and Brian Epstein going through this very doorway to change their lives forever!

There was much more...these are just a sampling....
And a word about our driver and guide,Tony....great guy and he seemed genuinely engaged in the tour...not just rote recital,he added stuff like "this isnt part of the tour,but Cynthia Powell (later Johns first wife) lived right over there in those flats...since John didnt have a place of his own yet,its very probable Julian was conceived at that very address...not that there's a plaque there or anything!"....haha!....great to make your aquaintance,Tony!

The Merseyside itself is quite beautiful...and since none of my american friends will know who the hell he is,the statue is Billy Fury....

So after bumming around some shops and the fake Cavern,we were on our way....

Ive been a Beatles fan since I was 8 or 9....My mom took me to see "Beatlemania" the play in 1977,the same year my Aunt Vickie bought me my first Beatles book "The Beatles Forever"....so we're talkin near 40 years,folks!....twas a great day!!!

and I'll leave ya with one arcane fact I picked up....we passed a school where John and George both went,though they didnt know each other yet.....the street it was on was called "Dovedale"....then it hit me!
(from the song "Glass Onion") - "tryin to make a Dovedale joint,yeah!"....ha!,never knew what John was saying there....mystery solved!....

YEAH YEAH YEAH!!

next installment - Off To Scotland!