Tag: Liverpool Weekend

As our final pub of the weekend, we decided to visit the Pump House on the Albert Dock. I’ve visited before and clearly shut it out of my mind because I wasn’t delighted to see that it was operated by Greene King.

There were four real ales available, with at least the Hinkypunk from Big Bog Brewery being an interesting option. The service was prompt and friendly, with the pricing being a little above the average for the area.

This was served at almost super-chilled temperatures and it suffered from that because any taste the beer might have had was entirely lost. Real ale isn’t supposed to be served at temperatures more suitable for keg beers and I have to admit to be disappointed that the pub was doing this, it’s a high turnover venue which is well financed and so basic cellar issues shouldn’t really be happening.

This was one of those pubs where it was a struggle to find a table which wasn’t wet, uncleared or had food debris on. I found a clean table for us to spend an hour gossiping about various people we know in my usual style, and the ambience was inviting enough but I can’t say the venue felt comfortable.

Ignoring the grammatical errors, I liked the effort made to explain the history of the building. There are some venues which ignore the marvellous heritage of their building, but this is a really useful effort to given information about the former use of the structure.

The reviews for the venue are broadly negative, but not horrendously so, but it’s a shame they’re so low given the wonderful location of the pub and its heritage. The reviews of the staff are generally very positive, with the primary issue being cleanliness and the quality of the food. If I might be entirely honest, and since it’s my blog I can do what I want as long as my two loyal readers persist, but I can’t help think that matters would be improved if this was run by an operator other than Greene King.

Anyway, moving back on to the Liverpool weekend. It’s now a few weeks after the weekend and I need to wrap this up as otherwise I’ll still be writing about it on the next weekend away (woooo, Hereford in a couple of weeks!). After another little walk into the centre of Liverpool, it was time for Bev and Susan to go back to their slightly odd hotel whilst I went to get a free burger (long story). It was all a marvellous weekend with great company, organised to perfection I thought with no shortage of chat about the meaning of life and all that.

When we were looking for locations for our evening meal, Bev suggested this Liverpool city centre food court and it turned out to be a marvellous suggestion.

I had popped to a couple of pubs on my own, so we all met up at the food court and were all welcomed promptly by an enthusiastic team member. After checking if we had visited before, she then proceeded to take us to an appropriate table and explained the ordering concept.

There are a range of different food suppliers, including ones selling steak, burgers, Mexican food, Spanish food and numerous other options. It works by using a QR code to order via a web-site and I found the whole process well managed and easy to understand.

The list of food stalls and there’s apparently a new one coming soon.

I went for the Painting Rainbows beer from Glen Affric Brewery, which was a really quite decent sour with plenty of rhubarb and raspberry flavour to it.

For food, I opted for the chicken tacos from Big Lola’s Taqueria which were served as a generous portion and were as good as anything I’ve had in the United States. And, I’m aware that Mexico isn’t in the United States, but there are a fair few decent taquerio (is that the plural?) in the United States and especially so in the southern states. The chicken was tender and moist, the lime juice added acidity and the salad foliage added texture. It was suitably filling and I was pleased with my choice, especially as it was complemented by the chips Bev got for the table. I mean, she might not have got them for the table, but that seemed the best way to eat them.

The whole arrangement felt organised and professional, with the food and drink being brought over promptly. Everything felt spotlessly clean and the surroundings were inviting and comfortable. The toilets are unisex which feels unusual given that they’re got quite a lot of space to use, although I can’t say I overly worried about whatever set-up they went for. The food court set-up isn’t for everyone, but it’s certainly on-trend and it lets groups have more choice over what they order. All really rather lovely.

After a busy morning of visiting galleries and museums, Bev demanded that we go to a craft beer bar. Always eager to please, I felt that this was a rather good idea. After rushing Bev and Susan across the road, we went to visit The Dead Crafty Beer Company.

It’s rare to see this set-up now, most venues got rid of it in 2022. We had a little bit of a wait for a team member to see us, but we were then shown promptly to a table.

It was clean internally and the atmosphere was pleasant. Not being negative as I’m sure it works for most customers, but I didn’t like the table service arrangement. I had already chosen my beer on Untappd on the way there and it meant I was sitting there for some minutes without being able to order, whilst Bev faffed about choosing. Despite my trying to pay for mine individually when he took the order, the team member ignored me. Instead, the team member then came over and tried to charge the entire table for drinks rather than just allowing payment at the bar. Rather than unpick that mess, Susan kindly bought my drink as I think she was impressed with my tour guiding 🙂

I’m not sure I felt the team member was entirely happy with us wanting to pay separately, but there we go. He also didn’t seem entirely impressed at Bev’s choice of drinks for various reasons. The beer I went for was the Separate Self from Verdant which was suitably dank and rather delicious, with the pricing being reasonably for a premium beer. I had wanted to try another two beers, but despite sitting two feet away from the bar I had to wait for table service to be offered and it wasn’t when I needed it and I wasn’t quite sure of the protocol of going to the bar. The beer selection is though well curated and there are some intriguing options on the menu.

I didn’t feel the love here unfortunately. I’m used to going to the bar, engaging with the team member about the options, boring them about my obsession with Untappd and then paying or being offered a tab. Instead the table service just felt a little awkward, although I appreciated that they had their menu on Untappd which made things much easier. Their web-site is also excellent with their range of beers in the fridges being listed, although I only realised they had these after I had left. If I had realised the extent of the beers in the fridges, I would have likely bought a couple, they have some delicious options from Three Hills.

The reviews are generally very positive though, so I have to note that they are surprising and delighting their customers which means that everyone is happy with the arrangement. They’ve also been trading for many years, so it’s evident that they know what they’re doing and they’ve also won numerous awards. It was still a positive experience, but I did feel uncomfortable at some points.

This is a cockleshell made from tin which dates to around 1450 and would have purchased by someone walked a camino to Santiago de Compostela. I didn’t purchase any little trinkets when I walked there as part of a camino a few years ago, but it was the sort of thing that Bev liked collecting up to nail on her walls at home alongside the dead squirrel or whatever it is. Looking at this item dating from so long ago did bring back some happy memories of my brave pilgrimage.

I’m posting this really to show off my new knowledge about the camino, which is that there are estimates of 100,000 to 500,000 people a year completing the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the middle ages. This is a ferociously large total, not that far off the number who walk it today and I discovered recently on YouTube how many English people went to walk this route. They would purchase or acquire a list of locations that they needed to visit and simply seek directions to the next village or town when they reached the previous one. Who needs Google Earth with a strategy like that? It meant that a lot of relatively poor people were completing this pilgrimage route and it is thought that theft from these pilgrims along the way was relatively rare. Theft inevitably happened, but the main issue for many was the rather challenging nature of the walk without resilient clothing and shoes. I’d say though that the bravery someone must have had to embark on this adventure must have been substantial and it would have taken a long time without Ryanair to fly them to a location relatively near to the start.

Welcome to the occasional series of art posts when I know next to nothing about the artwork but merrily write stuff anyway for my two loyal readers. But, it’s rather good (the artwork, not my posts). It’s entitled ‘The Fever Van’ and it’s by Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976), painted in 1935.

The gallery notes:

“‘The Fever Van’ shows an ambulance arriving to collect a patient from a small terraced house. The sufferer probably has diptheria [sic] or scarlet fever, both highly contagious diseases and widespread in industrial Britain in the 1930s. A lack of vaccinations meant that such diseases were frequently fatal.”

Although I particularly like this comment from Lowry:

“Accidents interest me – I have a very queer mind you know. What fascinates me is the people they attract. The patterns those people form, and the atmosphere of tension when something has happened… Where there’s a quarrel there’s always a crowd… It’s a great draw. A quarrel or a body.”

It’s a reminder how prevalent diseases were in the last century, with routine vaccinations against diphtheria not taking place until the 1940s and scarlet fever had only been addressed in the 1930s. I hadn’t realised how effective diphtheria vaccines were, seeing a reduction in cases from 46,000 in 1940 to 962 in 1950, with a corresponding fall in deaths from 2,480 to 49.

With great foresight from the Walker Art Gallery, they purchased it directly from Lowry in November 1943. His mother had died in October 1939, before he had gained the formidable reputation that he now has, and it’s noted that he regretted that she didn’t see the impact that her son’s works were having. The painting just seems bleak to me, there’s the obvious sadness of the ambulance, but the whole atmosphere feels grey and industrial. But, that’s something of the point of the painting and I found myself quite drawn to this snapshot of the age. It’s also reminded me that I must visit the Lowry Museum in Salford at some point, another location that I’ll put on the list that perhaps one day I’ll complete ticking things off.

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.

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…..