A Week in Liverpool Keeping Mum Company

Pier Head, Liverpool, The Three Graces

Today I’m off to Liverpool to keep my 97-year-old Mum company while my sister has a week’s holiday on Corfu.

My wife is joining me for the first two nights, so we drove over. I usually come by train, but I wanted to visit the large Marks and Spencer store at Gemini Park, Warrington, which is difficult, if not impossible, to reach by public transport. It’s on the way to Alison’s. I also wanted to bring my own bedding to save using Alison’s.

The drive over was uneventful.

Shopping at Marks and Spencer

My sweatshirts are getting old; it’s time to buy some new ones. Last year I bought some T-shirts from Marks and Spencer; the quality was excellent. I’ve decided to buy my new Sweatshirts from them. I could see exactly what I wanted on their website. But I wanted to try one on in-store to get the size right. When buying clothes, I’d rather do this than order online and have to send them back. Call me old-fashioned. As usual, it’s a big problem finding a store that actually stocks what I want. I tried M & S in Lancaster last week, but they didn’t have any in stock.

There’s a huge M & S at Gemini Park, so it seemed like a good idea to try there. They had what I wanted in the right size, but in only one colour that suited me. Still, I know the size now, so I can get another one delivered to their Halifax store for me to collect. Saves £3.99 on delivery and, more importantly, gives me an excuse to go to Halifax for a bevvie.

While in the store, I noticed another type of sweatshirt that seemed suitable; it was a lot cheaper. They had my size in a colour that suited me, so I bought one. Online, I wouldn’t have bought the cheaper one. I preferred the more expensive one.

Peter Kavanagh’s

After a quick hello to Mum and Alison (who was about to leave for the airport), we went to Peter Kavanagh’s for a drink. It’s a Grade II-listed Good Beer Guide pub, well worth a visit. We sat in the front room by the bar, where the walls and ceiling are a dark brown, covered with decades of nicotine. All the brown sucked the light out of the room; the gloomy weather outside didn’t help.

Because the room was so dark, we wanted to move on. But we couldn’t because we’d arranged to meet John there. Luckily, he messaged us to say he would be late (a late delivery of his drugs). We quickly arranged to meet him in the Grapes behind the bombed-out church, and moved on to the Belvedere, an excellent pub on the way.

The Belvedere

The Belvedere is also a Grade II listed Good Beer Guide pub. Not as gloomy as Peter Kavanagh’s (but still a bit gloomy because of the weather). This is an outstanding pub with excellent ale. And a real fire. We sat at the bar and quickly decided we would rather stay here than go to the Grapes. A quick message to John told us he was on the bus here. We quickly arranged to meet him here and give the Grapes a miss.

I was drinking an excellent amber ale (an old style bitter). Polly was on wine. John was drinking bottles of German beer; they had a few Oktoberfest beers, which pleased him no end. They also sold Slatterthwaites Pies, I had one; it was really tasty, a good example of a pork pie. The pub’s a bit expensive, but we stayed because it is such a lovely place to drink in. The three of us sat at the bar, next to the real fire.

The barman was very friendly, a mine of information.

After a long session, we caught a taxi back to Alison’s for a picnic dinner and the dreaded quizzes on the TV (they are all Mum watches now).