Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Liverpool Weekend (Day Three) – Steve Departs at the Walker Art Gallery

It was the end of the weekend for Steve, as he had to go and board a train back to Norwich given that he needed to back by the end of Sunday. We tried to support the Walker Art Gallery, which is free to enter, by visiting their cafe but the whole arrangement was just a little sub-optimal. The cafe’s web-site advertises that they have hot food from 11:30, but at the cafe the signage said hot food started at 12:00 and the menus on the table said that hot food started from 11:00. It transpired that they were all wrong and hot food started at before 11:00, but it was all too late when we realised as everyone had already ordered cakes and coffee. Well, I hadn’t, I had a Cornetto and tap water as I’m not very decadent.

Anyway, the Cornetto was delicious (and apparently the cakes were also entirely acceptable) and the staff were helpful. But it is always sad to see someone leaving, although after Steve had gone then Susan, Bev and I managed to get talking about death for thirty minutes so that really cheered everyone up. With that, it was time to explore the rest of the Walker Art Gallery, a fine institution and I was only slightly worried that I had to cope with Bev for a day without Steve’s sensible interventions.

It all means that some of the party didn’t get their Traditional Scouse with pickled red cabbage and a bread roll, but maybe we’ll all return soon enough.

September 24, 2023
Streets of Norwich – Old Mint Yard

Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated September 2023]

This yard is located off of Fishergate, and I hadn’t paid much attention to it until reading that it was likely the home of Norwich’s mint in medieval times, which produced this coin.

There’s not much left in this yard area now, just a car park. There’s very little information about the yard on-line, although in 1900, Mr H.O. Greengrass of Norwich charged £69 10s to make the old yard up as part of improvements schemes across Norwich.

September 22, 2023
Streets of Norwich – Watts Court

Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated in September 2023]

Watts Court connects Chapelfield and Bethel Street, running parallel with Ninham’s Court. It’s likely named after John Langley Watts, a former Mayor of Norwich and whose memorial is still in situ inside All Saints’ Church, Westlegate.

The Chapelfield end of the court, which isn’t the most decadent entrance…. And I mention this because at the other end, on Bethel Street, there was until the Second World War a rather lovely original Tudor surround to the court, unfortunately, lost in 1942 in the Blitz. George Plunkett, reliable as ever, has a photo of this entrance that he took in 1935. There’s nothing there now, the buildings here have been removed and not replaced.

Photos of the court along its length, there are traces of history in the old wall, but unfortunately, most of interest has been lost.

One resident in 1849 was John Shenfield, who lived at number 42, but his business as a chair maker and lodging house keeper must have encountered problems as he was declared an insolvent debtor. This process meant that he had to attend the Guildhall to discuss his financial matters with the court. An insolvent debtor was different from a bankrupt, it wasn’t until 1861 that insolvent debtors could apply to become a bankrupt. It would have been a worrying moment for John Shenfield, as insolvent debtors could be kept indefinitely in a debtors’ prison.

September 22, 2023
Liverpool Weekend (Day Three) – Limestone Stela of Ni-ankh-tet at World Museum

I had to Google what a ‘stela’ was and after I insisted to Google that I hadn’t just mis-spelt ‘stella’ (which is a drink I’d never search for) it informed me that it was a stone slab which was erected as a monument. The museum’s description is:

“Slab stela of Ni-ankh-tet, royal acquaintance, director/controller of scribes connected with petitions (or iah?) and scribe of reversion offerings of about late 3rd Dynasty or early 4th Dynasty. Sunk and raised relief with a combination of vertical and horizontal inscriptions. The deceased is seated before a table of offerings. With his right hand he reaches out towards the table of bread loaves, while with his left he grasps the shoulder knot of his garment in his clenched fist. At the top right side is a register list of linen of various fineness. The bottom part of the stela is broken away.”

As this isn’t going to be an Egyptian history blog, for one reason I know nothing about it, I was just going to witter on about the age of this, which is from 2686 to 2494 BC making it a remarkable survival given its age. It was discovered by Joseph Sams in 1833 who owned it until 1850 when he sold it to Joseph Mayer, who donated it to the museum in 1867. The number of people who have seen this stone at the museum must outnumber how many saw it when it was in situ.

It’s not known when the excavation took place, but Joseph Sams (1784-1860) was a book-seller and antiquities dealer, so he was likely hawking around the area waiting for these items to be uncovered. Joseph Mayer (1803-1886) made his money as a jeweller and then started to build up an art collection of some considerable size, which he donated in its entirety to the World Museum (or the William Brown Library and Museum as it then was).

I find these exhibits particularly fascinating as a reminder of how advanced the Egyptian civilisation was and wondering what the original stone carver would have thought of thousands of people in Liverpool looking at their handiwork…..

September 22, 2023
Liverpool Weekend (Day Three) – Aquarium at the World Museum

I love a good aquarium and I had hoped to visit the Deep in Hull, but a rail strike put paid to that little plan. Anyway, there’s a small aquarium set-up at the free to enter World Museum which is the first location that we headed to on the Sunday. In this photo, we have some fish.

And some more fish. I’m not a marine biologist, so that’s as far as I’m going on this.

A sea anemone I think. I wouldn’t be surprised if I win some sort of environmental blog of the year award this riveting and penetrating content like this.

This looked like a little shark. Anyway, back to marginally more useful commentary, this set-up is more recent, but the museum received its first aquarium displays in 1857 which was the second such facility in the world. The first was in 1853 when the ‘Marine Vivarium’ opened in Regent’s Park Zoological Gardens in London.

I say nothing but this allowed children and short adults to have a look at the fish from a different angle. It’s a pleasant floor to explore, with the plenty of information about the environmental impact on marine life. I obviously wasn’t entirely observant, as I note the aquarium has chocolate chip starfish, hermit crabs and a lobster, all of which I missed. It’s only a small part of the museum, but probably one of the more popular areas for kids, along the dinosaur displays.

September 21, 2023
Liverpool Weekend (Day Two) – The Globe

The Globe is a city centre pub which is listed in the Good Beer Guide and I was pleased that the area was quieter than Mathew Street. The building is from the 1880s and one of the features is a sloping floor and what could possibly go wrong with that arrangement? The building was once a hotel as well but is now a traditional Victorian pub with one main room and a separate room at the rear.

I went for half a pint of the Lightfoot from Theakston, a very average blonde ale but it was well-kept and I rather suspect that there’s a pubco behind this as the beer choice was a little generic. The service was immediate and friendly, although the front bar was quite wet which was just marginally sub-optimal as I then had a wet sleeve. But it was a Saturday night and the pub was otherwise clean and organised so it seems unnecessary to dwell for long on that.

It’s a cosy and comfortable pub which has won a number of CAMRA community pub awards. It was also unfortunately rather hot and sticky, but we had picked an overly warm weekend to visit Liverpool. I might have mentioned that though. There was a community feel which justified those awards, other customers were engaging and conversational so the environment was beguiling.

Some social history, this is Kitty Wilkinson who became known as the “saint of the slums” and there’s more about her contribution to the local area at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Wilkinson.

The back room is where CAMRA Merseyside Branch was formed in 1974 and there a few plaques noting that, with I imagine a 50th one being added next year. It’s above what CAMRA refer to as a wall length mural of the world, which is relevant to the pub name, but Bev criticised their usage of the word ‘mural’. Mind you, she’d had a few drinks by that point so we didn’t say anything.

It’s a decent pub with a warm welcome although I wasn’t overly engaged with the beer selection, but there was at least a choice. When I leaved I discovered that they had closed the front door and was fortunately told by the team member behind the bar before I looked an idiot trying to get it open. Steve however was less fortunate when trying to depart, but I’m not sure many people noticed so he got away with that.

September 20, 2023
Liverpool Weekend (Day Two) – Slightly Raucous City Centre

It would be something of an omission not to take in the centre of Liverpool during a weekend visit, although I’m pleased to have already visited locations such as the Cavern Club so I didn’t need to return there, exciting as they are. Now that I’ve reached just over 24 I’m far too old to need to return to loud places, I can’t be doing with raucous unless I’ve got muddled up and it’s someone’s birthday or within four months of their birthday when it might be acceptable.

The others in our group seemed more excited by the louder environment as we approached it. Given half a chance I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Bev dive into a bar to show off her dance moves, despite supposedly having a bad back.

Getting busier and there’s the Cavern Club. There’s enough information elsewhere on-line about the history of this venue, but in short it’s a different location to the original club which was closed due to suit the needs of Merseyrail. The replacement club is on a similar footprint and they’ve used some of the original bricks, but it isn’t entirely historically authentic. Sgt Peppers had a tagline of “live music eight nights a week” and it’s open until 01:00 on weekdays and 04:00 at weekends, hours that Julian would be positively delighted by. Both the Cavern Club and Sgt Peppers have formidable reputations and are key parts of Liverpool’s music scene.

The Cavern Pub is run by the same operators as the Cavern Club offering free live music every night of the week. The whole area around Mathew Street (which is named after the local merchant Mathew Pluckington who was about in something like the eighteenth century) is certainly worth visiting for anyone who likes live music, vibrant street scenes and is either deaf or doesn’t mind losing their hearing. I can be very dull 🙂

By this stage I felt that it was best to move the group on from all this excitement as there was a Good Beer Guide listed pub that I wanted to visit and I anticipated it might be rather quieter.

September 20, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 23 and Thai Bubble Tea

It’s week 23 of my eating at every food stall at Norwich Market, this expedition was to Thai Bubble Tea. They specialise in, it’s no surprise to note, bubble tea which first became rather on-trend in the UK during 2021 and 2022, with many shops popping up.

The menu board which seems clear, although I must admit that these drinks are somewhat alien to me. However, nothing ventured and nothing gained with there being plenty of choice. Indeed, one of the advantages with this arrangement is the variety that can be offered in a single drink, something which might encourage customers to return. As I understand, the drink has a tea base which is then mixed with milk and a little ice, with the popping balls then added.

The stall isn’t entirely logically laid out as food service is from the other side only despite menu boards being located on all sides. I didn’t realise this, although then another customer told me as she said she’d found out the hard way. James went around to order for us whilst I reserved the seating, but better signage might prevent the confusion. I’m not sure that James knew what he was doing either, but the team member was helpful and patient, guiding him through the ordering process.

I’m sure that there was almost some alchemy going on here, with so many ingredients around the place.

Not really knowing what I was doing, I ordered the banana milk tea, but I was asked what popping balls I wanted in it and so I went for blueberry without realising I had a choice.

James went for a waffle and the bit I tried seemed to taste fine, although I think he had hoped for something slightly more decadent and rich in flavour. What was evident at this stage was the long delays in service, with the sole team member having taken 19 minutes to serve this.

29 minutes after ordering, my drink arrived. I felt sorry for the sole team member as she seemed to be managing things efficiently and remembering who had ordered what. I wasn’t in any great hurry, but I think some sort of warning of service times might have been useful as this is by far the longest we’ve waited at any market stall.

But, onto the drink. It’s an odd experience as I’ve never had bubble tea before, but the little bubbles (which are more precisely known as tapioca balls) at the bottom go shooting up the straw and they then burst. In terms of adding texture and innovation to a drink I found them rather appealing and the rest of the drink was just a tasty banana milkshake. The drink cost £4.50 and they accepted card purchases.

James was worried about choking on the popping balls and then promptly nearly did as we walked back, adding to everyone’s amusement, or perhaps it would be better to say bemusement. I will say that as soon as there’s no liquid left, they do become more of a challenge to deal with. It’s fair to say that these drinks should be consumed carefully by children or irresponsible adults, preferably under the supervision of a responsible adult.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience but thought that that the service time was excessive for a market stall where no warning was given of the potential wait. I liked the engagement of the team member and she was working hard, although ideally there would have been someone to help here. The stall was clean throughout and everything seemed organised, with the atmosphere feeling inviting and warm. It’s not necessarily something that I’d rush to again, but I enjoyed the experience and it’s worth trying at least once.

September 19, 2023
Liverpool Weekend (Day Two) – Bridewell Pub

Next on our Liverpool drinking agenda was the Good Beer Guide listed Bridewell pub. CAMRA’s Whatpub notes that it’s where the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood was formed and I note this having no idea whether that’s true, but I’m using this fun fact as I’m pleased that I’ve heard of a band.

One of the draws of the pub is its history and that’s evident from its name, it’s a former prison. The word ‘Bridewell’ comes from part of Bridewell Palace in Westminster was used as a jail. The former prison cells are part of the venue and we were hoping to be able to sit in one of them. The venue is very well reviewed on-line and it seemed to attract a diverse range of ages and a mixture of locals and visitors. I liked this review:

“Not allowed to play live or loud music what’s the point”

Good. Anyway, I digress.

The pub has a comprehensive history of their building on their web-site:

“The Bridewell – Argyle Street bridewell and fire station was built in the 1840’s at a cost of £2675 and was mainly used as a lock up, playing host to over refreshed and excitable seamen and dockers, there were 7 cells which housed over 100 “guests” each month, bread was free as was the floor – if you required use of a bed or better food then these would have to be paid for. Charles Dickens was sworn in as a special constable for one night only in 1860 whilst researching his novel “The Uncommercial Traveller”

The Building ceased to be used as a prison in 1932 but was brought back to life during the second world war by the US military – rumours of German POW and conscientious objectors – but as these activities were shrouded in mystery for fear of letting the enemy discover, any evidence has been lost in the passages of time.

A nightly bucket of Guinness was supplied to The Bridewell patrol from the Guinness boats that were tied up at the nearby Salthouse Docks, and there are tales of staff from the nearby Guinness bottling factory on Norfolk Street bringing buckets of Guinness to encourage the Sergeant to let their friends and family out.”

Here’s another of my Untappd photos. The beer is the Three Swords from Kirkstall and it was well kept and at the appropriate temperature, a reliable pale ale.

After a bit of waiting, we were able to sit inside a former cell and I then immediately decided it was too hot. I like to add my constant joy to proceedings. They clearly didn’t worry much about air conditioning for these prisoners in the nineteenth century.

Oooh, another Untappd photo. This beer is the True Grit from Millstone, a slightly thin pale ale where I couldn’t detect the grapefruit aroma that the brewer mentioned.

We got talking, or rather more accurately Bev got talking as is her wont, to a local who gave us a list of places that he thought we should visit. He was a friendly soul and keen to help, although many of his suggestions seemed to involve getting a train to somewhere else which seemed to take away a little from the point of visiting Liverpool. But I always enjoy getting some local insight and I’m impressed him briefly, for around ten seconds, with my knowledge of Everton football club in the 1980s. Always up-to-date I am…..

There were lots of elements to this visit that I liked, although I’ll put how busy and hot it was to one side as that’s not really the venue’s fault that they’re popular. Well, it is, but I can’t be negative about that. The heritage was of course exciting, it reminded me a little of the The Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Keswick. The service was prompt and despite being busy the team members were mostly serving customers in turn, which often isn’t the case and it’s sometimes a little sub-optimal. The landlord was visible throughout the service, whether serving drinks, fixing things or trying to gather customers back in to his licensed area outside the front of the pub. It’s definitely a recommended venue as far as I’m concerned, I’d visit here again as it’s evidently very well run.

September 19, 2023
Liverpool Weekend (Day Two) – Head of Steam

Hmmm, apologies for the blurred photo, that’s somewhat sub-optimal. Anyway, I’m something of an advocate for Head of Steam bars and I’ve visited most of them, including this one in Liverpool which opened in 2017. The chain is operated by Camerons Brewery and most of the venues are in the north of England.

I’m reminded that I haven’t been on an adventure including train beers for some time. When I was at Peterborough Beer Festival this year, a volunteer told me that he had a great idea of branding a series of drinks as Train Beers and I have some sympathy to his intentions. Anyway, I digress already. The service in the bar was polite but all over the place, the server hadn’t heard of Brew York despite them stocking two of their beers and she didn’t know where the third measure was on the glass so just over-poured it to a half. I can’t say that I was disappointed with that arrangement, indeed, I was quite pleased at the lack of staff training.

It was worth coming to the pub for this beer, which is the Adrenalina from Brew York. It had a cinnamon edge and it was a moreish and smooth pastry sour which is one of the better beers of this type that I’ve had. Unfortunately, the other Brew York beer had sold out and the venue wasn’t being that sharp on updating Untappd.

The pizza was adequate, not exactly the explosion of meats that had been mentioned, but it tasted OK although inauthentic. Susan opted for the pizza where the middle was hollowed out and replaced with salad, but the kitchen forgot to hollow out the pizza and just dumped the salad on top. I gained from this as I was given a couple of slices of the pizza, so another win for me there. The beer in the photo is the Pemberley from Chapter Brewing, which I thought was rather lacking in flavour and I struggled to get the hints of roast and molasses.

The on-line reviews for the bar are generally favourable, with a healthy number of complaints to add to the mix, but most praise the venue. They received a complaint:

“Pubs great, a bit dark but I remember it as Halford years ago. However I called in with family just before the lock down and embarrassing I collapsed. It turned out I have Atrial Fibrillation and an irregular heartbeat. This has now classed me as disabled. I called in at the weekend and was embarrassed to be told I was barred and after I explained the situation the reply was your disabled”.

There’s always two sides to every story, evident with the pub manager’s reply:

“Unfortunately there a few inaccuracies in this review and yes indeed you are barred from the venue. The manager didn’t mention anything about being disabled. That was just what you were shouting as you were walked out of the venue.”

There’s something classy about adding “as you were walked out”. I’m pleased to say that I’ve never been walked out of a bar and if I had, I’m not sure that I’d be leaving a review about it.

And a complaint about the music:

“They played Gary Glitter’s Leader of the Gang. Upon objection, the bar staff said “it’s just music”. The ale’s really good. Not that good.”

The manager didn’t reply to that one. Another person was disappointed by the lack of Guinness:

“A wide range of beers but not to my taste, a Guinness substitute no thankyou”

I’d add that there are about ten keg beers, four real ales and plenty of cans, so I’m puzzled as to how not one of them is to someone’s taste, but each to their own. The manager also wasn’t surprised and delighted by the review, noting:

“A 1 star rating for not stocking a product is interesting we have 3 other stouts and porters available”

I still enjoyed my visit here and the environment was surprisingly quiet for a venue in the centre of Liverpool on a Saturday evening. But, I don’t like raucous (unless it’s at an event I organise, in which case it becomes positively desirable and on at least some occasions leads to some form of argument) so that suited our needs. The food was acceptable and the team members were doing their best, but they seemed short staffed and under-trained and that’s not the fault of those hard workers at the bar. Anyway, once again I’ve digressed, but I’m looking forwards to visiting more venues in the chain to complete my list (and as my friend Des comments, I do like ticking things off on lists……) It proved to be a satisfactory start to our evening out in the city centre and to my amazement, Bev liked her food. I suspect that she was probably still quite tired and unable to articulate any issues, as it’s rare that she’s content with her meal (but, of course, I don’t say anything).

September 18, 2023