Monday, June 19, 1989

A Stroll Down Abbey Road ...

I woke up bright and early at 6.30 a.m. to begin packing the car with Dr. Morrison. After breakfast, and after bidding farewell to Fiona, Dr. M and I drove off at about half 9, while my parents and sister prepared to leave shortly thereafter by train.

We had a good run on the road from Neston to London, stopping twice along the way: once to eat a very mediocre hamburger at a stop along the motorway, and another stop once we arrived in London to (finally) see the Abbey Road studio.

So between Liverpool and London, I've now seen just about everything I needed to see with regards to The Beatles. Snapped a shot of the street where the Abbey Road album cover was shot (pictured above). Had to move quickly between traffic, and I didn't get a chance to get a photo of myself walking across. Yeah, I'm sure I'd be the first person that thought to do that! (Second photo is the main entrance to Abbey Road Studios. I wonder how many times did John, Paul, George and Ringo pass through that portal?)

We had no traffic problems until we hit London, but we managed OK. Checked into the Royal Society of General Practitioners (thanks to Dr. M, of course), where we plan to stay for two nights. Just as we were all unpacked, Mom, Dad and Angie all showed up.

Once we were all squared away, Dr. Morrison and I took off for Leicester Square, where we came away with five tickets to see the West End musical "Blood Brothers"- at half price, no less! We returned to the room, picked up my parents and sister, then headed for the show. It was marvelous. We enjoyed it tremendously... good music, good story, good acting, and even pretty good seats. (Third picture: The family outside the theatre after the show, sporting a souvenir programme. Next picture is my ticket stub.)

Following the show, we went to Chi-Chis in Leicester Square for dinner, and enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal. We then walked around Piccadilly Circus before grabbing a taxi back to the room, which is located just off of Knightsbridge, across from Hyde Park. It is also right next to the former Iranian Embassy, which was gutted by fire after a bomb exploded following a terrorist overthrow in 1980. For more details, check out the entry in the "Chronicles of the 20th Century" book.

We zonked out shortly after returning to the room.

Sunday, April 30, 1989

Further Annoyances ...

Despite my lack of sleep and not setting my alarm, I still somehow woke up for breakfast. Since I was up I couldn't get back to sleep, so I went to the bank to withdraw some dosh, and bought The Sunday Times (which includes a photography special insert), as well as a copy of Q magazine (featuring an article on Peter Gabriel).

I sat in my room and read, with Sgt. Peppers and Abbey Road playing (a must for a Sunday!), until lunch time, when I went to the refectory for a traditional Sunday roast beef meal.

That afternoon we gathered to play some baseball out in the field behind The Grange, which was fun until Big Jon Whalley started in on his Doug innuendos, and then made a smart remark about me as well. That pissed me off. Even though I was pitching, I just dropped the ball and walked off the field unannounced. It must have caused a stir, because at dinner that evening, several people commented on it. I said nothing.

After dinner, I did some more reading and avoiding work on my essay. Also took a 6.45 p.m. Cosby Show break.

Oh, backtracking to earlier in the day. When I was walking back from the newsagents, I was approached by a poll taker to take part in a broadcasting research survey, which was pretty cool. I got to say what shows I watched and become part of those select few who decide what you get to watch on TV, heh heh.

Anyway, after Cosby, I returned to my room, rearranged it a bit (it's optimum now), let Shannon out, made some coffee and then reflected a bit on my experiences here in England by reading some past excerpts from my journal.

It made me see how much things have changed for me since earlier in the year, mostly not for the better. But as I can see (and you can, too), definite changes. I also wrote a few letters this evening.

Pictured: Adrian Edmonson (Viv on The Young Ones) wrote this book, "How to Be a Complete Bastard." Funny book. Big Jon and Kenny must've taken some tips from it.

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Eternal Flame" - The Bangles
  
  
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Like a Prayer" - Madonna

Sunday, February 12, 1989

Damn Fire Alarm ...

Started another lazy Sunday morning with a copy of The Sunday Times, listening to "Abbey Road." Viv and I spent most of Sunday afternoon hanging out in Paul Mackey's room. Paul has a record player, and he let me listen to some of the vinyl I've purchased, and record some to cassette so I could listen to them again in my room. While we did that, Paul sat in my room playing my guitar. Fair trade. It was an interesting concept, and it worked out rather well for both of us.

Viv and I worked some more on the tape I am making for my parents, and I also worked on my James Joyce report a bit. Then, just as we settled down to watch an episode of "The Cosby Show," the fire alarm in The Grange went off, because some blast fool thought it was funny to set it off. We ended up missing the first 10 minutes of the show while we waited outside in the cold for the fire engines to arrive, and the firefighters to clear the scene and shut off the alarm. Someone also broke the glass in the front door to get into the building.

I swear, there are some really thick people that live around here (I'm not talking about the socialists this time)!

We relaxed before I returned to work on my James Joyce paper some more, then went to bed.

Pictured: Brochure for the historic home of William Wilberforce, one of Hull's favourite sons and a renowned abolitionist. I'll bet he never had to deal with morons setting off fire alarms at all hours of the night!

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" - Marc Almond and Gene Pitney (same as last week)
  
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Straight Up" - Paula Abdul (same as last week)
  

Sunday, February 5, 1989

Here Comes the Sun - day Times ...

Woke up late, picked up the Sunday Times and read it in my room while listening to The Beatles' "Abbey Road." That has been one of my traditions here. Since I can't plug in my stereo (bringing an American stereo here probably wasn't the best idea, in hindsight), I only play music sparingly to preserve my batteries. But I always reserve Sunday for playing "Abbey Road."

Anyway, Vivvy Honey, who is right now looking over my shoulder while I write in my journal, studied like a good little girl for her big bad exams, which are fast approaching.

I watched a good bit of TV throughout the day. Some American shows (ALF, Lost in Space) and some British fare (Only Fools and Horses, The New Statesman). Viv joined me during some of her study breaks.

I went around to see J.P. for a bit in St. Hilda's, and hung out there for awhile. And I finished more of the tape that I will be sending to Scott.

And there you have it.

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" - Marc Almond and Gene Pitney
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Straight Up" - Paula Abdul
  

Monday, November 28, 1988

The Cinema Show ...

Well, I did get up early (with a little assistance from Viv), got breakfast in time, and then did some reading. The laziness of yesterday apparently carried over into today, at least until my afternoon class. When we got to class, we were discussing a play that J.P. and I had not read, called "Miss Julia," because we didn't know that we were supposed to read it. So that didn't work out too well for us.

After dinner I did a bit more bumming around. Talked to Liz a bit. Then Doug and I decided to catch a movie, so we went to the cinema to see "Imagine: John Lennon," a documentary about Lennon's life that used a lot of never-before-seen film footage from Lennon's collection, and clips of Lennon's voice to "narrate" the film. It was well done, interesting, and a must-see for any John Lennon/Beatles fan. Excellent. Doug and I arrived at the cinema a little early, so we sat in the bar until the theatre opened. I had a cider, he had brandy. We had a good discussion about life in general. It'll be sad to see him leave next month.

We caught the bus back to The Grange, and ran into Dave Hart and Karen, who were also returning from the movies. They had just seen Charles Bronson's movie "Messinger of Death." They are bigger movie moguls than me, and seem to go see a lot (they went to see "Colors" three times already!) We talked movies for awhile on the ride back, and when we returned I went and got Viv, and she came back to my room for awhile.

(Pictured: Another photo of York from three days earlier. The Christmas decorations were up and the holiday shopping crowd was rather large as we walked through the streets of York, about 45 miles north of Hull, last Friday.)

Saturday, November 26, 1988

A Lucky Man Who Made the Grade ...

Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a stupid comb across my head. As you may have already guessed, it was just another Day in the Life.

But not just any day... it was Viv's birthday. She went to see "Hamlet" (one of her favorite plays) with Liz and some other friends. So that gave me some time to go into town and get her a birthday gift. I went with Doug and Jodi (one of the American students from Juniata College), but I soon strayed to do my own thing. First, I bought some transfer letters so that I could rub them onto my Yokel tape. It's looking more "professional." The sound, however...

Then I bought Viv a birthday card and a teddy bear (which she eventually named "Eugene." Guess where she got the name!) Then I bought some lunch. Boy, do I hate Christmas crowds!

I walked around town searching for Chaplin's Restaurant, a place I heard was quite good and thought it would be a nice place to take Viv for her birthday meal. But lo, it was not to be found. (Later I found out it is outside the center of town, so I gave up my search and just headed back to The Grange. When I returned to my room I worked on the Yokel tape for a bit, and then got ready to go out with Viv. We went to a nice Chinese restaurant instead, where we dined on won-ton soup and chicken dishes. I had kung po, which was excellent, and she had the Peking chicken.

After her birthday meal, it was off to see the new Bill Murray movie, "Scrooged." Unfortunately, we were 15 minutes late, but it was still an excellent movie. Well worth seeing again (especially to catch the parts we missed.)

When we left the theatre, Viv was thirsty, so we stopped at a nice pub for some drinks and chatted for awhile before catching the bus back to The Grange, where I finally gave her the gift. She loved him and gave him the name I mentioned above. (Figure out where it's from yet? It's my middle name.) Good name! I tolder her that he was a Conservative bear and that he, my own Russell the Republican Bear and I were going to start a conservative club. However, she insisted that he was actually a socialist bear. An expensive but infinitely worthwhile day.

(Pictured: A photo of York Minster and an entrance to the wall. Taken a day earlier during my visit to the City of York.)

Friday, September 30, 1988

Good German Girl vs. 'Bad Taste Disco'

Woke up early for breakfast to get ready for a little time in Hull. After a shower and some toast, Doug, J.P. and I hopped a bus to center city Hull, which we found to be a pretty nice section of town. When we arrived, we went through the various shops and took in the scenery. Through the course of the trip, I bought a much-needed towel and washcloth, as well as a cassette tape at the HMV music store: Elvis Costello's "Out of Our Idiot." That's a hard one to find in the U.S. - a collection of mostly previously unreleased songs.

We ate lunch at Wimpy's, a fast food restaurant named after the famed Popeye character (and referenced in the Genesis song "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" - "...chewing through your Wimpy dreams.") After that it was a leisurely walk through town. The last shop we went to was a fabulous Army-Navy store. Doug bought a flag and a pin, and J.P. bought a hat and a Soviet-type pin. I didn't buy anything on this trip, but I'm sure I will be back.

We caught a bus back to to the halls, where we then went out to open up our bank accounts. The school brought in representatives from various banks who were clamoring for the students to open their accounts with them. They offered various incentives, from 10 and 20 pounds, to a fancy filofax to organize your life (they are all the rage here.) I went with Lloyd's Bank, as did Doug. They just gave us the filofax, but I quite like it.

I then went to the International Students meeting, where we learned all about how to be normal. We then ate dinner, came back for the rest of the meeting, and then went to a reception. The reception was very nice. I got to meet a lot of people from abroad, but the highlight came when I met two girls from Germany and one from Holland. I sat and talked to them for awhile, their names being Karin, Suzanne, and Liesel-something (it became "Lisa"), along with Doug and J.P.

Doug and J.P. then left for the "Bad Taste Disco" event, of which I also had a ticket for, but chose instead to stay behind and talk some more, promising to catch up with them later. However, that was not to be the case. The four of us went in Karin's car (with the steering wheel on the normal side!) to get some pizza. Then we took it to Sue and Lisa's flat and ate it with some wine. One thing I've learned is that over here they eat pizza differently. Instead of slicing it, they cut it into bites and eat it. Odd.

On Monday when we ate pizza during our pub crawl in Chester, I sliced it and ate it like a normal pizza, and they found that to be odd. But they ate it the same way I did as well. (Oh, another humorous memory from the pub crawl that I forgot to mention before: Dave offered me a bite of his pizza, which I appeared to fulfill, but then at the last second took a monster bite, leaving him almost no pizza. I wasn't even hungry at that point, but hey, anything for a laugh. Anyway...)

I sat and talked with Karin, Suzanne and Liesel-something about anything and everything, but mostly on cultural differences, the Olympics and horrible landlords. After a couple of hours there, Karin and I left the flat and I was faced with the choice of going to the Bad Taste Disco, or just going home. After a frustrating decision-making process (and noticing that Karin's car arial has been bent up), I decided to return home. When we arrived at the Grange, I invited Karin in for some coffee and she accepted. It was only when we got to the room that I realized that I only had one mug (The Beatles "Blue Meanies" mug that I bought in Liverpool), and no spoon. Fortunately, she drinks her coffee black, because I didn't have any cream and sugar, either. So, being forced to improvise, I made coffee, gave her the mug to use, and stirred the coffee with the opposite side of my toothbrush. In the end it worked out fine and served as a humorous memory of this evening.

We continued to talk for about an hour more, during which time I learned that she was also a conservative (they're everywhere!) We talked a bit of politics, travelling, and whatever else we could think of until she had to leave. Since neither she nor I has a telephone, we could only exchange addresses. Turned out to be a great evening... looks like I made the right choice in taking a pass on the Bad Taste Disco. I wonder how that went?

(Photo taken by J.P.: Doug and Rick take a moment to rest near a fountain in downtown Hull. The backstory on this picture: Back at Millersville, Doug saw a photo in the exchange student brochure of two travelers in this pose, it was his goal to recreate that moment for himself.)

Saturday, September 24, 1988

Magical History Tour - A Day in Liverpool

This is my big day in Liverpool – the Beatles’ fan’s Mecca. Woke up a little before 9 a.m. and left a little before 10 a.m. with Dr. Morrison and Aunt Pauline (I guess I’ve adopted her as well!) The first thing we did was take the legendary Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey (a tribute to Gerry and the Pacemakers and their famed song.). Actually, Dr. Morrison drove his car through the Tunnel Under the Mersey while Aunt Pauline and I rode the ferry. Granted, it was a touristy thing to do, but it was fun and worthwhile… and honestly, how can you not be all touristy when you’re in the birthplace of the Beatles?

When we got across, Dr. Morrison picked us up and drove us to Albert Dock, which reminds me very much of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, though on a slightly smaller scale. Just a few years ago, this was a very depressed and unsightly area full of abandoned buildings. However, those buildings were renovated and turned into small shops and a Liverpool museum. The result is wonderful. It really gives one a different impression of a city that many people simply avoid because of its reputation, when really there’s little difference between what I saw an many other big cities I’ve visited. Sure, there were run-down areas, but I discovered that the city had much to offer… and not just for Beatles fans.

At Albert Dock we went into the Mersey Maritime Museum. Of particular interest there was the Immigration Musuem, which brilliantly explained how a person would immigrate to the United States… many of whom came here before boarding a ship to America. Following that we went to Mathew Street… the location of the famed Cavern Club, where the Beatles played many of their early shows. On Mathew Street we visited The Beatles Shop, which in a word was “bliss.” I bought two record albums that I needed: “Magical Mystery Tour” (with the full booklet included) and “The Beatles” (The White Album). Also bought a cool mug featuring the Blue Meanies from the movie “Yellow Submarine.” I had to be careful not to blow my whole budget right here and now.

We then ate lunch at an Italian restaurant on Mathew Street, which was excellent… I still can’t complain about any of the food I’ve had. We then took a quick look into the Cavern Club, passed by the Eleanor Rigby statue there (very lonely), and another statue of The Beatles.

That was all nothing compared to the Magical History Tour we took… a small tour bus that took us around to many of the important Beatles sites in Liverpool. We visited the homes where John, Paul, George and Ringo lived when they were little, the schools they attended, where Lennon and McCartney first started writing songs together, the hospitals where they were born, the pubs they were kicked out of, and of course, Penny Lane and Strawberry Field. Needless to say, I took a lot of pictures. I was afraid Dr. Morrison and Aunt Pauline would find it boring, but it was quite the opposite… they found it almost as interesting as I did. I guess they never really thought about taking a tour of a place so close to home until an American showed up on their doorstep.

After the tour, we went back to the car, took the tunnel under the Mersey and dropped Aunt Pauline off at her home. We headed back to the house, where after eating dinner, Sean, Stewart, Duncan and another friend of Glen’s, Vicki, invited me to join them on a trip to The Thatch, a pub that dates back to the 17th Century. It was located in the middle of what I can best describe as “nowhere.” The Thatch was quite crowded but an experience I enjoyed, being in such an old place, mingling with the locals. Afterward, we went back to Vicki’s house for coffee (of course) and a little more chatting. Returned home later and sacked out.

I now know what one of my articles to The Snapper (the Millersville University student newspaper) is going to be – “Clearing up the Misconceptions of Liverpool: City of the Beatles and So Much More.” Cheers!