Liverpool’s Liver Birds (Bertie and Bella!)
Merseyside is of course home to Liverpool, but it also includes surrounding areas like the Mersey River and the Wirral. And also has a few pretty seaside resorts. Across the river, Birkenhead was known for its shipyards that build navy ships and ocean liners. It was here that England’s first public park opened too. It even inspired the design of New York’s Central Park.
If out walking, always follow the Countryside Code to keep all creatures safe.
The Liver Building used to be England’s tallest until 1951, and is now Grade-1 listed (so no-one can knock it down). It’s also home to England’s largest clock face (bigger than London’s Big Ben).
The two liver birds (Bertie and Bella) are based on cormorants, and look inland and towards the sea, to keep people safe. It’s said that when they fly off, the city will no longer exist!
Bertie looks over the city and Bella looks out over the River Mersey. And while Bertie is there to ensure sailors return home safely, Bella apparently watches to see if they are spending their wages wisely!
Did you know that Charles Dickens was once a Liverpool policeman?
The Calderstones is ‘Liverpool’s Stonehenge’, a circle of six standing stones (a Neolithic burial chamber) that dates back 5000 years.
The strong Irish immigrant population of England’s most Catholic city gives rise to a ferry that can take passengers to the Emerald Isle. It is much longer than the notoriously bumpy trip from Holyhead in North Wales. And longer too at 8 hours (191 nautical miles – 220 human miles!)
Liverpool Needs More Dog-Friendly Spaces
Due to previous altercations with people who have not trained their dogs properly, Liverpool Council has strong rules on where dogs are allowed. This has not gone down well with people who have to now take longer trips, to find dog-friendly spaces to run and play.
Read about humane dog training.
Kitty’s Community Launderette
Most towns still have the odd launderette, which saves you having to buy a washing machine. Kitty’s Launderette (Liverpool) was named after an Irish immigrant who pioneered the washhouse movement, back in the day when most people had no laundry facilities.
This affordable community (non-profit) launderette offers a community space for tea and chat, plus an eco-dry-cleaning service. It also offers affordable clothing repairs/alterations. It evens washes kits for local football teams (the city has two quite good ones!)
Liverpool: Birthplace of the Beatles!
Of course, we can’t talk of Liverpool, without mentioning The Beatles (that remain one of the world’s biggest bands, decades after they split).
John Lennon (murdered at just 40) grew up in Strawberry Fields, and his partnerships with Paul McCartney and George Harrison (who wrote Something) lives on long after his death.
Ringo Starr is widely regarded as one of the best ever drummers (some universities teach his methods). Yet he almost died as a child and was left with such severe food allergies, that he has never eaten onion, garlic or spices. He has never even tasted a curry!
Why Do Liverpudlians Boycott The Sun?
Football is at the heart of Liverpool, with two teams regularly competing at the top of the leagues. Read our post on greener football.
The two teams (Liverpool FC and Everton) have loyal fan bases. In 1989, the Hillsborough disaster (when 97 people were killed and many more injured in a football stadium crash) led to a city boycott of The Sun newspaper that falsely wrote that some fans had stolen from victims, urinated on dead bodies and beaten up a PC giving a victim CPR.
Despite a later apology, hardly anyone in the city buys the paper (Boris Johnson while editing The Spectator also had to apologise, after approving an article that falsely claimed that drunken fans were partly to blame).
The newspaper was asked to publish its apology with similar ‘We lied’ massive headlines as they did when publishing ‘The Truth’ (which wasn’t). The paper refused, and even today, many newsagents refusing to stock the paper. Even the council voted to ask shops to sell selling it, and most supermarkets don’t carry copies.
One campaigner wrote ‘There is no excuse for buying or reading The Sun. No matter what competitions they are running. Even if it is the only paper left in the shop. Saying you bought it to get some tokens to help your daughter’s school to buy a new computer, is not going to get you off the hook.
