29-Jul-2026
PART THE FIRST: The Museum of Liverpool, which is beautifully sited on the Waterfront:
This is a very engaging museum, which did several things:
1.
It introduced us to the sadly defunct Liverpool Overhead Railway (1893-1956), and the 57 Lion locomotive, which dates back to 1837
This monument made more sense once we were clued in by our museum visit
The Lion
2.
It reminded us of things we learnt about last time. Here's the superlambanana again...
And here's how the Catholic Cathedral was originally supposed to look
Nothing like a bit of moral blackmail...
More on the great maritime mixture that gave Liverpool its character
3.
It brought to the forefront a few of Liverpool's amazing cultural icons. This is Pete Burns. According to artist Ben Youdan: "[Burns's] artistry was fostered in a unique period in Liverpool's history. In the late 1970s the city was in economic decline. This contrasted with the rich creativity alive on the city's streets... Liverpool itself is an anomaly as it is part of the UK but seems somehow distinct. Perhaps the perfect environment to grow renegades like Pete"
Gizza Job: The catchphrase of Yosser Hughes, an Alan Bleasdale character. Nigel remembers watching The Black Stuff, Bleasdale's 1980 play. We experimented a couple of weeks ago with the spin-off series, Boys From the Blackstuff, "possibly the most famous anti-Thatcher serial of them all". We found it a little too 80s, but maybe we should try again... It was, after all, a huge hit at the time. Alternatively, you can read the scripts here...
Lita Roza (1926-2008) was "Liverpool's first singing star", and regularly topped the "best singer" polls in the 1950s. Her most famous hit was That Doggie in the Window, but she would perhaps have found that annoying, as the song was never part of her set list
Growing up, I was a great fan of Cilla's, largely because my parents enjoyed her show so much that they often forgot about my bedtime, especially if I kept very, very quiet...
4.
Via amateur photographer Bob Howells's pictures, it documented a bit of ordinary Liverpudlian life in the 1950s. These are workers at Campbell and Isherwood, an electrical and mechanical engineering firm
"My Dad," said Bob's son, "was a bit of a nuisance with his camera... He'd come rushing in when you were least expecting it and say, 'don't move, I'm taking your picture!'"
***
PART THE SECOND: The Minton tiles at St George's Hall. Handmade at the Minton Hollins factory in Stoke-on-Trent, and laid in 1852, these tiles are normally covered up, to ensure their longevity. This year, for a few months only, they're spectacularly on view:
The Hall itself is pretty cool...
The angel with the trick head...
This is the only woman to get a statue... She was a laundress, and saved loads of lives in a cholera epidemic by letting people use her boiler to disinfect their clothes. She later became a dedicated public hygiene advocate
But the tiles are really in another league... The designs were inspired by those used in Roman baths, and feature elements of Liverpool's maritime history
The tiles round the edge are not protected, and are in daily use. This is what eventually happens...
***
We've hardly even begun with Liverpool's historic buildings... Plenty of scope for more visits...