The Albert Dock
at Liverpool is now a World Heritage Site. It consists of a rectangular stretch
of water surrounded by massive 6 storey brick warehouses. Although alongside
the Mersey it is approached via another smaller dock. The idea was that ships
could berth alongside the brick
warehouses and unload high value goods( such as brandy, tobacco and silk ) directly into these warehouses Just south of
Liverpool Pier Head the dock was opened in 1846 by Prince Albert, consort of Queen
Victoria. The construction of the dock was done with materials novel at the
time, particularly the use of iron to the exclusion of timber.
We arrived on
Merseyside in 1965. We lived on the Wirral peninsula which is a stretch of land
about 6-7 miles wide between the Dee and Mersey estuaries. We often visited
Liverpool travelling across the Mersey on a ferry from Birkenhead. At that time
the river was bustling with large passenger ships in the port. The south docks
were still open and freighters were common.
Later in the sixties much of the river traffic disappeared. The large
ships were replaced by air travel and the freight traffic moved downriver to
the new Seaforth dock.
This change in
freight traffic was caused by the container revolution. Until then freight
ships were loaded item by item by teams of dockers. This was replaced by
loading items to be shipped into freight containers, giant steel boxes, at the
point of manufacture. The container was then handled by specialist equipment
and only unloaded at the final destination. This process was faster, cheaper
and far less labour intensive. As a result older fashioned docks where
container handling equipment could not be installed had less and less traffic.
The Liverpool south docks became obsolete and closed.
At this time (
1970-1) I was a student in Liverpool. The future of the Albert Dock was being
discussed. A number of possibilities were being discussed including demolition
and replacement by a tall building. This was overwhelmingly unpopular and a
major plan was initiated to convert into accommodation for students at
Liverpool Polytechnic ( later renamed John Moores University ). Although I was
living in my own house I was interested in this project which seemed a
desirable way of preserving the dock.
A fellow
student, Malcolm, managed to secure entry into the dock via a contact so along
also with Graham we set off to tour one morning. We all arranged our own
schedules as research students so it was possible to set aside the time. We
entered just by Pier Head, just past the Three Graces ie the famous trio of the
Liver building ( with Liver birds on the roof ) the Cunard Building and the
Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Building. It was an eerie experience as the
docks were deserted. We set out to walk the whole length of the south docks, a
distance of a few miles. Almost at the beginning we walked through the Albert
Dock with its gigantic iron pillars skirting the colonnade at the foot of the
warehouses. The warehouses of brick have very thick walls, about a metre thick
at the base. They were built for massive strength. I felt sad that this
magnificent structure could be demolished. We continued through all the
remaining deserted docks before reaching the end and catching a bus back.
Later in the
70’s after rioting in Liverpool the government proposed a series of
regeneration steps which involved clearing most of the south docks and building
a garden festival. Clearance was a gigantic operation and the festival didn’t
open until the mid 80’s. I was working for Castrol at Hyde near Manchester at
the time and my excuse was showing a Danish visitor around. The festival was
truly magnificent. I recall a giant “Yellow submarine” in a Beatles feature. A
number of show houses has been put up for the festival which interested my
visitor and we spent a long time there. Annette later helped supervise a
children’s visit from our children’s school. At the time the dock was still
standing empty with the area around becoming the festival car park.
The bold
decision was taken by the Merseyside Development Corporation to redevelop the
Albert Dock. The upper floors were converted into housing while the walkway
level became shops and restaurants. The block at the south end was converted
into hotels with a Beatles museum in between. At the north end one block became
the Merseyside Maritime Museum while the great coup was to attract the Tate
Northern which occupies part of the west block. For a time the ITV show “This
morning “ was based at the dock with the weather report using a large floating
map.
This was all
part of the great flowering of Liverpool centre with a whole new area (
Liverpool 1 ) stretching from the old city centre almost to the docks New growth has continued but at a less
frantic pace with the new Museum of Liverpool and an exhibition centre between
the Three graces and the Albert Dock.
We stayed at
one of new hotels one time ( we usually prefer the Staybridge suites ) and were
impressed by the conversion. Unfortunately our sleep was interrupted by a false fire alarm.
I came to know
Liverpool well in the 70’s.and I am amazed at the transformation. Not all
change has been for the better as a 4d ferry ride has been transformed into a
£10 Mersey cruise. Even so the rather depressed city I remember has been
transformed into a bustling and prosperous one. I am very pleased to see the
Albert Dock preserved in its new guise and I’m always impressed when we visit..
I have a
nagging feeling I have written before about visiting the Millennium Dome in
2000 but I can’t find any relevant post. I try and keep a record of my posts
although I must admit this isn’t complete. Way back when I started Annette also
started as well but became disenchanted because the blogging site we used then
only kept a few posts easily accessible.. I did discover a way of accessing
their archive but this was just too much hassle and Annette abandoned blogging.
I was
disappointed by the generally poor public response to the millennium dome and
exhibition. I’m just old enough to remember the Festival of Britain in 1951.
Reading about it at the time I longed to go and indeed I was fortunate enough
to visit some of the permanent buildings on the South Bank and the Festival funfair in 1954. I regarded the Millennium
Exhibition as an essential visit. I have always thought their ancestor, the
Great Exhibition of 1851 must have been a fantastic event. There is another
parallel in that both the Crystal Palace built for the Great Exhibition and The
Millennium Dome both saw later use.
The Crystal
Palace ( in essence a giant greenhouse with prefabricated structure ) was
rebuilt away from Hyde Park but sadly burned down in the interwar years. I am
amused by the story ( probably apocryphal ) that Queen Victoria was worried
about sparrows flying inside the building and asked her Prime Ministers advice.
The PM of the time was The Duke of Wellington, a famously taciturn man. His
answer, “ Sparrow hawks ma’am”.
We went to a
London hotel the day before and set out by tube to the new Dome station.
However our train stopped at an earlier station and we were told to take a bus.
In sight of the Dome this was stopped by police who had closed the road.
Slightly despairing we set out to walk as soon as pedestrians were allowed. We
found out later this was the morning of the big diamond robbery when robbers
had smashed their way into the dome using a digger. The police were waiting and
the robbers were caught red handed. This was the reason for all the delays but
obviously we could not be told until afterwards. However the exhibition opened
late with the “Money” section closed.
We much enjoyed
our visit. I rather amused Annette by queuing with a lot of children to have my
avatar compiled on the BT stand. My reward was to see myself on a bicycle
carrying ET home on their display screen. The avatar was my digital
representation. I was a bit taken aback when during photography I was told to
remove my glasses. Apparently the avatar thinks the glasses are eyes and blanks
them completely when I ( digitally ) blink which gives a very strange effect.
I was very amused by the buskers ( hired to
jazz up the exhibition) as we queued to visit the cinema which was showing a
special edition of “Blackadder” entitled “Blackadder back and forth” ; failed
in some silly quiz, was declared a dunce, and made to stand aside wearing a
dunce’s cap. All very light hearted and passed the queue time easily.
As we waited
there were young ladies passing around like cinema ice cream sales girls with
trays supported by straps around their necks. One I recall was calling out what
sounded like “ices” but on inspection it was “eyes” and the tray contained (
very realistic ) mock eyeballs.
The joke
continued inside as fake workmen ushered us in saying “sit anywhere you like
except on the blue seats” as the chandeliers above were insecure. However ALL
the seats were blue.
This jocularity
continued with the film which was Blackadder back and forth. In an alternative
history Waterloo was lost ( in farcical circumstances ) and England became
French controlled ( with the franc as currency, this was pre euro ) However
later a group of aristos are saying nothing has changed as they regarded paying
for drinks in francs was normal. The audience was left to see the joke. I doubt
that Boris and his cronies would think it funny.
We enjoyed the many
exhibits. For example there was a giant body where one could walk inside We
concluded our visit with the aerial display at the central area of the Dome.
This was a circus like display telling a story but writ on a massive scale as
the Dome was hundreds of feet high in the centre. I have never seen an aerial
display as awe inspiring. We were assured that all the performers were not
previously performers but specially trained for the purpose.
There was a lot
of carping at the cost at the time and the controversy dragged on for years.
When I contemplate some of the waste of public money today I feel it was well
spent.
As part of our
village Millennium celebrations we organised an exhibition of old photos in our
“Memory Lane” display. I also wrote and published a village history. This has
since been incorporated into a book about our village.
Something
different
The judge asked
the defendant his occupation
“ Locksmith
your honour”
“What were you
doing in the jewellers at 3 in the morning”
“Making a bolt
for the door”
Usually for my
posts I have chosen one topic. I find however that there are things which I
would like to include but are not enough to fil a post on their own.
Accordingly I’m devoting this post to a couple of separate topics.
Bohemian
Rhapsody
I went to see
this film in the pop up outdoor cinema in a nearby town. It details the life of
Freddie Mercury, the singer with Queen. Frankly we went because of the urgings
of some friends on our village book group who accompanied us. In the event it
was better than I expected. Although we sat fairly near the back after arriving
after most of the audience I could see and hear fairly well. I was a bit cold
towards the end but the rain held off and the wind wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed
the film although I could have done with more music. It finished with a long
passage set in the “Live Aid” concert in the 70’s. Parts had the audience
waving their hands with the music. The punchy stamp, stamp, clap of “we will
rock you” only got a brief showing.
I’ve never been
able to decipher the lyrics by listening to the songs.but I was inspired to
look them up. In particular I often wondered about Radio GaGa. Reading the
lyrics on the internet makes sense of the song. The intro says
“ everything I
had to know, I heard it on the radio”
“ so don’t
become some background noise, a backdrop for the girls and boys”
And finishes by
saying its finest hour is yet to come
The chorus “
all we hear is radio gaga, radio goo, goo …” then is a reference to the
mindless pap of so much present day radio. To see Mercury punching this out on
stage is a reminder that “ when we tire of all this visual….. you’ve yet to
have your finest hour. Radio “
I’ve always
enjoyed the music, now I’ll enjoy the song..
Steampunk
We were with
Frances and family at Whitby for steampunk weekend. It must have been a success
last year because it is now promoted to a full weekend at high season. One
feature of steampunk costume is a pair of goggles. Not worn over the eyes but
pushed onto the forehead or over any headgear. I suppose these are sort of
logical as in a steam era you didn’t want cinders or ash in the eyes.
Going around
the steampunk fair Alice was much taken by the costume so Annette succumbed to
buying her a bowler hat and goggles to go over it. Alice is tall and thin at
nine years old but I must say she looked quite good in this part outfit. I’m
not sure if she will ever be interested enough to look for a complete outfit
although Annette has promised to sew something for her. I guess we are waiting
to see if she will lose interest.
I can sort of
see the interest. It is a fantasy world where you can dress up and act out
without anyone turning a hair. Having said that punkers about town did look
somewhat strange. I think the best I saw was a lady in Edwardian dress with a
tall hat.who looked both imposing and charming.
Blackberrying
Usually I don’t
like picking fruit but I don’t mind picking blackberries. It helps that I like
the fruit particularly cooked in pies with say apple. Fruit picking is a bit
difficult because of the thorns. I always think of my mother when I’m picking. She
enjoyed approaching the task with almost military thoroughness. A curved
handled walking stick for reaching difficult branches, an old coat so snags
didn’t matter plus a pair of stout gloves for any brambles that were necessary
to grasp.. Before getting ready a thorough reconnaissance was conducted to see
where the best bushes were located. One favoured spot was just below our garden
because it was easy to walk to although a fearsome thicket on arrival.
This a
unashamedly nostalgic post for all who , like me, relied on radio for
entertainment in the fifties. As a family we were late to TV which was
impossible until we had mains electricity installed. We had our first TV in
1959.
Radio was the
sound track of my childhood. When still young I enjoyed Children’s Hour . I
still recall Uncle Mac’s sign off “Goodbye children , everywhere” Inevitably I
also listened uncomprehendingly to adult radio,
I just about remember “It’s that man again” featuring comedian Tommy
Handley. He introduced many famous characters including Colonel Chinstrap who
interpreted almost everything as an invitation for a drink. “ I don’t mind if I
do” was his regular response. Handley was famous for initializing joke phrases
such as YTYTK ( You’re too young to know ) although most were far more complex.
When I was a
bit older we had “Educating Archie” where bizarrely Archie was a ventriloquist’s
dummy. A series of young comedians tried ( unsuccessfully ) to educate Archie
in his radio personage as a mischievous schoolboy. The ventriloquist ie. The
voice of Archie, was Peter Brough; and one supposed tutor was Max Bygraves.
We heard a
variety of comedians also
I say , why
does a bear wear a fur coat?
I don’t know,
why does a bear wear a fur coat
Look silly in a
mackintosh ( boom,boom).
Another comedy
series was “Take it from here”. Featuring Jimmy Edwards this also had a long
running saga of Edwards daughter, Eth and her courtship in the Glums. Much
humour of the time was based around the common experience of the armed forces.
All adult males served 2 years conscription. A sketch of Roman legionnaires had
them numbering off
I, II, III, IV,
V ….
My father was a
great fan of “Have a go” with Wilfred Pickles as very genial and gentle
question master. The slogan for the show
was “presenting the people to the people”. The format was Pickles first
interviewing the people asking often silly questions like “ if you could say I
love darling but” what would the but be. This produced answers like “why do you
always squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle”. This was then followed by a
series of questions with right answers rewarded by small sums of money. The
questions were designed to be easy and relevant to the person. Thus a miner was
asked “what is colliers ham?” The answer being jam.
I always
remember one comic who gave questions to a specific answer. Thus
Answer:9W
Question : tell
me Mr Wagner do you spell your name with a V
Later we had a
comic travelogue with lines like
“ Here in the
prairie the prairie dogs howl. Aren’t no trees in the prairie, jest cactus”
Later still as
a teenager I was captivated by the Goons. I didn’t understand some of the jokes
but the surreal plots were amazing. At the time eggs were to be branded as a
national standard with a Lion stamp. As Neddy put it
“ It’s all a
lie, they aren’t lions eggs”
The Goons were
not above the classic running gag. One they used was at some point some
character fell in the water to great sounds of splashing and with Eccles saying
“He’s fallen in the water” to great cheers and laughter from the audience( this
was dubbed in )
Hard to imagine
now but the BBC was the monopoly broadcaster. There were three national
services. The Home Service on medium wave and the Light Programme on long wave.
The Third programme was classical music and obscure talks which were ignored by
us.
It was just
possible to reach into the airwaves to hear Radio Luxembourg. This was only
possible in conditions of very good reception particularly in the evening. I
enjoyed “Smash Hits”. The idea was to submit a record you hated which was then
played and finally smashed. In pre vinyl days records were breakable. I was
childish enough to find this enjoyable.
Re-reading this
post I find its mainly about comedy. I listened to a lot of serious radio as
well.I didn’t quite subscribe to Queen
in Radio Ga-ga who say “Everything I need to know I heard through the radio”.
Among many serious programs I see that ”Any questions” is still going( even
that had its lighter moments)
TV
I first saw TV
when I was about 6 in 1948 or 9. TV had come to the Midlands with the opening of
the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station in 1948. TV sets were very few and
households with them had to put up with expense and frequent breaks.. We were
visiting my Aunt Amy and Uncle Jim in Coventry when Amy said that a friend would welcome a
visit to see their new set. Because TV was so new people who had sets were
proud of the fact and were pleased to show off their acquisition
So we trooped
around to Amy’s friends. The programme was the Remembrance Day Service which I
thought stunningly boring as a programme but fascinating to watch the
television. We didn’t have electricity so there was no chance we could have TV.
Not only was the set very expensive but there were frequent technical breaks in
transmission. Some of the gaps were filled with clips which became famous such
as the potter’s wheel.
As time wore on
gradually more people had bought sets. The Queen’s Coronation in 1953 has been
attributed as the reason for a rapid increase just before. Certainly we watched
the Coronation at my Aunt ( actually great Aunt ) Ethels house. It was wonderful and really
made you feel part of the event. The BBC ( the monopoly broadcaster ) pulled
out all the stops and had a huge commentary team anchored by Richard Dimblebly
who was the “goto” man for the type of event.
Dimbleby was
far more versatile than giving commentary at public occasions. He was a
panellist on a very popular show “What’s my Line”. I went with mother to watch
a recording in London. The panel of 4 had to guess the contestants occupation
by a series of yes/no questions. The panel of two men, two women also had Gilbert
Harding who was famously rather grumpy and Lady Isobel Barnett. The panellists
did change a bit throughout the run over 1950-57, I think that Barbara Kelly
was the second lady when I watched. Lady Isobel Barnett was a genuine peer who
was famous for taking the show very seriously and gave some extraordinary leaps
of intuition. The show had Eamon Andrews
as compere who introduced the contestants, and sometimes helped with answers to
awkward questions.
For me as a boy
I was fascinated by TV. The TV series “Quatermass” was much talked about at
school and I felt I was missing out. For me the main attraction on visiting relatives
was to watch TV. I certainly recall a young Bruce Forsyth in a slapstick comedy
routine papering a room. My mother particularly enjoyed the comic “Mr Pastry” (
Richard Hearne ) dancing with himself doing the lancers.
When Aunt Alice
and Uncle Arch had TV I saw more because Alice was mothers closest sister and
we visited often. I seem to recall a Shaw play “When we are married” about a
middle aged couple who discover their marriage was not legal.. Mother was fond
of quoting the wife saying her ( supposed ) husband was a bit stingy when
deciding whether to legitimise the relationship.
Amazon
The retail and
IT giant founded a few short years ago now dominates the retail business. We
recently toured the Rugeley fulfilment centre. This is the Amazon name for its
warehouse and dispatch centre. The first curiosity is that its Amazon name is
BHX1. Apparently this refers to its nearest large airport and the fact it is
the first in the Midlands. There is plenty more Amazon speak inside such as the
workers are all called associates with managers called leadership associates.
The centre is
huge. We stood at a viewing platform for photos ( otherwise forbidden ) and the
building just disappears into the distance with far end barely in view. The
building is so large and maze like that area are labelled with names of US
states to enable associates to find their way around.
BHX1 is devoted
to smaller items, the criterion is whether they fit into tote boxes used to
carry goods around. These are quite large maybe 0.4m x 0.9m. Larger items are
warehoused elsewhere and then either dispatched from there or brought into BHX1
to marry up with the rest of the order.
The major
surprise is how goods are stored. They are stored randomly. Each item is coded
and the location is coded and a computer
marries up the information to guide a stock picker who has a hand held computer
guide. Apparently this not only gives the location but also a picture of the
item to ease stock picking. I was
impressed by the tote box conveyors which maintain precise gaps. Each tote is
coded so that a picker may pick only part of an order in his particular area.
The items are then “wrangled” together at the next stage.( another piece of
Amazons’ own language )
As befits the
highly IT led operation even packing, while a manual operation, is computer
guided; picking the right box, the right wrapping tape length etc. The customer
details by label are added at the final stage in a fenced off area for
confidentiality Then off to a giant automated sorting area ( I imagine like a
post office parcels sorter ) to allocate the final transport.
All very impressive
and the working conditions seemed reasonably pleasant quite unlike those
subject of well publicised complaints. They say after a year Amazon pays 95% of
tuition fees and arranges working times to allow higher level study. I just
wish they paid a more just share of taxes.
