Four Lads and Three Cats

Liverpool UK

We had a couple of days after our Berlin Sit so we decided to spend them in the Home of the Beatles, Liverpool. We stayed at the Hotel Ibis Style, close to the train station and the bar the Beatles played their first show.

We arrived late by cab getting dropped off directly in front of the hotel. The doors opened to a colorful lobby presented with colorful acoustical panels hanging straight down from the ceiling, there were white curvy framed chairs with brightly colored cushions to the left. On the wall behind the seats is a mural with iconic Beatles references on the wall, walrus, a strawberry, tea shades style glasses and others.

Our room was a narrow room with a white rounded door to the left. Just past that door was a queen size bed with two nightstands, one with a full sized sequined high heeled shoe on top. . The white door gave us access to our bathroom. The bathroom had white walls, white ceiling, white flooring and a white vanity. The only color was our reflection in the large square mirror. Without the shower it had slightly more room than a portable bathroom. From the shower I could reach my arm out straight and drop my shampoo bottle and it would land in the middle of the sink while continuing to rinse off. Except for barely adequate space for our toiletries it had everything. There was a plaque on the wall outside the bathroom, “Abbey Road NW8, City of Westminster”. Abbey Road Studio is where the Beatles recorded their last studio album. Their iconic album cover of the fab four crossing the street over the zebra cross walk is directly in front of that studio. The ceiling was painted white in the center with wide black undulating stripes on two sides ending at the wall. But the room had everything we needed and was comfortable the few nights we were there. That night we talked about going to the bar for a drink but we were both overtired and crashed for the night.

We did some research on the Beatles related sites in the city and we decided The Cavern Club was a must. The Cavern Club has been a popular venue for musicians for over 60 years opening in 1957 and the Beatles played lunchtime gigs there, met their manager, Brian Epstein, and it is where they were first filmed playing during one of those shows. The Beatles were loyal to The Cavern throughout their association with them returning many times. The Cavern now has a coffee shop, gift shop and restaurant above the original music venue.

The floors, walls, curved pillars and curved ceiling is all red brick. Almost every brick has been written on with the names of people, dates and sayings from the many people visiting the bar through the years.The Cavern Club is underground. Immediately after descending from the last step you see a full bar and just beyond the bar are display cases of Beatles memorabilia. The room is divided into three sections of arced brick ceiling and separated by brick pillars flaring out as they reach the ceiling. The center section has the stage in the back and the remaining space is dedicated to chairs around tables. The walls have display cases and photos of the many performers that have played and visited there.

Our favorite photo is beside the bar of the Fab Four, late in the band’s career, standing side by side in front of that very bar. The bar looks the same as today, with taps, similar bar top with the same sign, “The Cavern Liverpool”. At the bottom of the frame is a ribbon plague, “Local Group”.

The night we were there the performer played all Beatles tunes much to the delight of the full house of patrons. The crowd was decidedly older but there were many young people. Irrespective of the age it seems almost everyone knew the words to the songs. We stayed for all three sets and decided it was the best attraction we could have seen in Liverpool.

(Barb: With all the amazing museums, monuments, castles and attractions in Europe, I have to say that being in The Cavern Club was one of the highlights of our adventure!)






Woodlesford UK

After leaving Liverpool, we took a train to Woodlesford which is just outside of Leeds. We were met at the train station by Clivia, our host, and we took a short walk to her home where we met her husband Alan and their 3 kitties, Toni, Penny and Lewis.

Clivia and Alan had prepared a wonderful English meal of Bubble and Squeak. The beer and wine flowed throughout the night as did the conversation. We had a wonderful time!

The next morning Clivia and Alan departed for their holiday.

We spent a wonderful week with our 3 roommates. Clivia and Alan fenced in their patio for the kitties who loved being outside. They made no bones about when they wanted out and we got our exercise letting them in and out! We explored Woodlesford and spent a day in the city of Leeds. We could walk to pubs, grocery stores and restaurants in Woodlesford and the train station was a short walk from the house.

We were lucky to see Alan and Clivia before we left for our next sit in Wincanton. More new friends along this incredible journey!

Sunday Music at Carriers Quarters

Barb and I found a bar we like and it is only a five minute walk from our Sit, it is called The Carriers Quarters. 

On our initial visit, there was a black dog in the entrance way looking up and down the street as though he was waiting for someone. We patted him on the head and strolled up to the bar. The room may have been about 13’ X 13’ with a bar to the left of the entrance with seven bar stools and a bench along the wall parallel to the bar with four tables and a chair at each. 

There was one man in his 30’s at the bar just behind the entrance with his bar stool blocking the passage of an old golden retriever from venturing out into the bar. There was a second man beside him at the end of the bar. There was no bartender so we looked over the beer and gin selections thinking the bartender was in the back. After just a few minutes the man blocking the golden, standing on the bar stools bottom rung, leaned over the bar and yelled,

“Customers are here!”. 
A muffled voice came from behind the bar something to the effect of “I’m coming”. 
The man retorted with, “So is Christmas.”

In a few moments, a woman walked up steps from below and behind the bar until she stood midway between the length of the bar, she reached forward pulling a door closed over the steps down under the bar. She smiled and I asked for a Williams’ Joker IPA and Barb requested a Hendricks gin and tonic.

We walked the few feet to one of four tables sitting in front of a cushioned bench along the entire wall with one seat opposite the bench. We enjoyed our drinks and watched the interaction between the bartender, Hannah, and the two younger men talking with two much older men at the other end of the nine foot bar. It was difficult to understand much of what they said because when the locals talk among themselves their pace of speech and choice of slang is not easily understood. They talked for almost 45 minutes before the older men wished them a good day, giving us a nod, and left. Shortly after that the two other men gathered their dogs and departed as well.

We talked briefly with Hannah and after telling her would be in town for about a month she suggested we come back on Sunday for the music in the back. We told her we enjoyed going to shows and might take her up on the suggestion. I looked down a hall to where I assumed the bathrooms were and noticed a room at the end of the short hall with tables chairs and couches. On the wall above the bar a chalkboard listed “hand pies £2 2-4p”, “Music Sundays 6:30-8:30”. I made a calendar entry so I would be less likely to forget.

On Sunday morning we discussed our plans for the day and agreed we would like to walk to The Carriers Quarters around 17:45 to get a good seat for the music. We arrived earlier than we intended so we sat in the same seats as our initial visit with our drinks. That section of the bar was almost full, 11 people at the bar or at tables. As we were close to finishing our drink I noticed a young man and woman order a couple of drinks and walked down the hallway and around that time Barb pointed out a man coming into the bar with a guitar case so we thought it was time to claim a seat.

The room was small, perhaps the same size as the bar room, with about two dozen places to sit and two green leather couches along the far side of the room along the entire wall. We opted for a table in the far corner with Barb taking the bench and I sat in a chair. The band consisted of three men in their late forties with a bass guitar, acoustical guitar and a saxophone. They tipped the couches on their end and leaned them both against the opposite walls to make way for their two 2’X3’ speakers. By then people began to fill up the seats with a group of young ladies in their 20’s taking tables and chairs in the center of the room. One of them had a milar balloon with “WE’RE GOING TO MISS YOU” on it. She was moving away to London. A group of eight young men occupied a few tables and seats in the front of the room in the area just as you enter the room. Then immediately in front of that group were four older men probably in their 50’s. The couple I noticed earlier were a few seats in front of us toward the stage. Three older men asked if they could sit on the bench beside Barb so that meant all the seats in the room were occupied.

Considering the equipment for a three man band, compared to the size of the room, we were sure it was not going to be the intimate acoustic guitar and singing we anticipated. The crowd was mixed ages so we didn’t think it was going to be a heavy metal show either. But the room was full and the groups talked easily between themselves and the tables always seemed to have full and empty glasses of beer or wine and it was enjoyable just being there.

I guess it was around 18:30 because the band started to play a familiar tune and the singer started with,

"Well I guess it would be nice

If I could touch your body

I know not everybody 

Has got a body like you"

Some talking continued but several people were singing along with the George Michael tune and by the end most of the room was participating. They played two sets covering popular songs and as the first set ended there were more singers than separate conversations but each competed and the room got louder and louder.

The young couple I first noticed were on their second bottle of wine and the men next to us were on their third and fourth rounds. I only noticed a few faces disappear but the room maintained full capacity with several people standing in the remaining spaces. There was no table service so it was tricky maneuvering between the people and chairs to get back to the bar but I managed it successfully a few times.

The second set started and most of the room was singing along with the songs and before we expected the singer thanked everyone and their playing time was over. Then the crowd all stood imploring them, “1 MORE SONG, 1 MORE SONG….”.

Immediately after that song concluded the room emptied, some to the bar but most left for home or their next stop. It was about 21:00 and we decided to get some dinner so we left feeling pretty good from the beer and drinks, listening to familiar tunes but mainly from being in a room full of people enjoying a couple of fun hours. 

We plan on returning next Sunday.  

Cheers from Edinburgh!
John

New Friends of Our Friends at Whiski Bar

Earlier this week, our dear friend Melissa told us about a friend playing at the Whiski Bar in Edinburgh with an amazing fiddler player. We love going out, listening to music and it was recommended by Melissa, so we went! The bus dropped us off about 19:00 just a few doors from the bar, which was nice because it was raining. We went right to the bar thinking we could secure a good seat by getting a bite to eat and a drink until Andrew arrived. Unfortunately, the place was packed and it was a little warm so we walked a short distance to another bar and secured two seats. I got a pint of Williams’ Joker IPA and Barb ordered an Amaretto and OJ, two good choices. Talking about the night we were disappointed we might not get a seat near the music but we wanted to meet Andrew so we said we’d go back to the Whiski Bar around 21:00, ask for a table near the music and wait at the bar. 

When we arrived at the bar it was still full so we asked the hostess for a table near the music, which was not designated anywhere that we could see. We then headed to the bar. They eventually sat us at a table just in front of the door so the breeze felt nice but there was no sign anywhere of where Andrew would play unless they took away a table. Anyway, we ordered some food to justify taking that space, salmon with capers and dills with slices of bread and a few pads of butter. Just before the designated start time, Barb noticed a young guy with a guitar case so we went up to meet them as they came in. Andrew greeted each of us with a hug and introduced us to his friend Louise, we greeted each other with another hug. They both sat at our table and we talked of how much we all love Melissa and Ryan then we told them about our trip. Andrew told us about traveling in the Scottish countryside for hiking and camping to see some extraordinary sights. Louise was from Paris and she told of her city but she enjoyed Scotland, especially Edinburgh. Within a moment Andrew’s band mate, Carrie arrived. They turned around two seats directly in front of us and began playing. Melissa was right! The fiddle playing was fantastic. Andrew played guitar and sang a few songs. In between songs we talked effortlessly with Louise and before seemingly any time it was time to catch the last bus back. We waited for the song to end, thanked and complimented each profusely and told them we would like to host them at our home the next time they were in Asheville.

As we walked outside it was raining heavily so we scurried under the bus shelter. The LED indicated the #35, our bus, was due in three minutes. We looked at each other smiling and said that was a fun night! The music was fantastic and the people were amazing. Thank you Melissa, Andrew, Louise and, of course, Barb. 

 Cheers from Edinburgh!

John

Here is a little snippet from our night (I apologize for the quality of the video, I'm still learning my new camera-Barb)