ThunderWeb V2.2
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  • Stuff
    • Interesting Stuff >
      • Americana >
        • The Sierra Nevadas
        • The Brooklyn Bridge
        • The Empire State Building
        • Lost Angeles
        • Hollywood Boulevard
        • Jim Thorpe
        • The Alamo
        • The Basketball Museum
        • Sunset
        • Boston Skyline
      • Europeana >
        • Brimham Rocks
        • Liverpool - L7 4LB
        • Liverpool - Tobacco Warehouse
        • Kirkstall Abbey
        • Ilkley Moor
        • Classic Cars and Beartown Radio
        • Bjorn the Polar Bear
        • Dachau
        • Munich Olympiapark - Olympiaturm
        • Munich - BMW Welt
        • Neuschwanstein
        • Munich - Oktoberfest >
          • Shlocktoberfest
          • Fear and Loathing in München
          • When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
        • Munich - Christkindlmarkt 2009
        • Dali
        • Tutanchamun - Munich
        • Tutanchamun - Manchester
    • Walkabouts >
      • Nude Dudes In The Sand
      • Harrogate Walkabout
      • Liverpool Walkabout Sefton Park
      • Leeds Walkabout
      • Blackpool Deco
      • Fenton Town Hall
      • Stoke Minster
      • Beauty and Bursley >
        • The Wedgwood Institute
        • The School of Art
        • Town Hall Tales
        • The Leopard
        • Desolation Boulevard
      • Asbury Park
      • New York Rideabout >
        • New York Rideabout I
        • New York Rideabout II
        • New York Rideabout III
      • Reno
      • San Francisco
      • Atlantic City
      • The OC
      • Philadelphia
      • First Boston Walkabout >
        • First Boston Walkabout - Copley Plaza
        • First Boston Walkabout - Boylston and Boston Common
        • First Boston Walkabout - Downtown Boston
        • First Boston Walkabout - Charlestown Naval Yard >
          • USS Constitution
          • USS Cassin Young
        • First Boston Walkabout - Beacon Hill
      • Final Boston Walkabout
      • Blackpool (Post Apocalypse)
      • Liverpool
      • Manchester - Brief Walkabout
      • Glasgow
      • First Munich Walkabout
      • Munich Faschingsdienstag Walkabout
      • Second Munich Walkabout
      • Munich Walkabout with Firstborn & Lizzie I
      • Munich Walkabout with Firstborn & Lizzie II
      • Munich Walkabout with Pan 'n' Chris
      • Copenhagen
      • Passau
      • Oss
      • First Basel Walkabout
      • Second Basel Walkabout
    • Old Stuff
    • Random Stuff >
      • The Garden of Unearthly Delights I
      • The Garden of Unearthly Delights II
      • The Garden of Unearthly Delights III: Christmas Special
    • Weird Stuff >
      • Top Ten Plagues
      • Top Ten Gangsters
      • Top Ten Ways To Kill Someone
      • Top Ten Hairstyles For The Follicly-Challenged
      • Top Ten Stars on Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame
  • Gigs
    • 2017 Gigs >
      • Iron Maiden - Leeds
      • Norman Beaker Band - Blackpool
      • Ian Hunter - Liverpool
      • Cheap Trick - Manchester
    • 2016 Gigs >
      • Congleton Unplugged 2016 >
        • Congleton Unplugged 2016 - Saturday
        • Congleton Unplugged 2016 - Sunday
    • 2014 Gigs >
      • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2014 >
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2014 - Saturday
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2014 - Sunday
      • Dirty Dozen - Congleton
      • Chantel McGregor - Wolverhampton
      • Chris Bevington & Friends - Wolverhampton
      • Sweet Winn Dixie - Congleton
      • Congleton Unplugged 2014 >
        • Congleton Unplugged 2014 - Friday
        • Congleton Unplugged 2014 - Saturday
        • Congleton Unplugged 2014 - Sunday
      • The Fire Beneath The Sea - Blackpool
    • 2013 Gigs >
      • BearTown Radio 1st Birthday Bash 2013
      • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 >
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 - Friday
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 - Saturday
        • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2013 - Sunday
      • Parklive 2013 >
        • Parklive 2013 - Friday Marquee
        • Parklive 2013 - Saturday Park
        • Parklive 2013 - Saturday Marquee
      • No Strings Attached - Congleton >
        • NSA: Adam French
      • The Dirty Dozen - Congleton >
        • TDD: The Fire Beneath The Sea - Congleton
      • Maschine - Congleton
      • Congleton Unplugged 2013 >
        • CU 2013: Sweet Winn Dixie
        • CU 2013: John Ainsworth
        • CU 2013: Jim Kirkpatrick
        • CU 2013: Phil Maddocks
        • CU 2013: The Robin Pierce Band
    • 2012 Gigs >
      • The Post Apocalypse Party 2012
      • Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2012 >
        • CJ&BF: Steve Hayes and Les Hunt
        • CJ&BF: The Beartown Stompers
        • CJ&BF: The Robin Pierce Band
        • CJ&BF: Phil Maddocks
        • CJ&BF: The Hexmen
      • The Rittz and Friends Festival - Congleton >
        • TRAFF: Thomas Twemlow
        • TRAFF: Amy Condrey
        • TRAFF: Phil Maddocks & Nick Bayes
        • TRAFF: Faux Feet
        • TRAFF: John Ainsworth
        • TRAFF: Dirty Green Vinyl
        • TRAFF: Luke Gray & Danny Wilde
        • TRAFF: Hoodie Ledbetter
        • TRAFF: Kill The Young
        • TRAFF: The Rittz
      • The Dirty Dozen - Congleton >
        • TDD: Thought Glands
        • TDD: Fieldhouse
    • 2011 Gigs >
      • Fun House (November) - Congleton
      • Demon - Kingsley Holt
      • Fun House (August) - Congleton
      • Fun House (July) - Congleton
      • Johnnie Walker - Bradford
      • Fieldhouse - Liverpool
      • Kush - Liverpool
    • 2010 Gigs >
      • Wolfmother - Munich
      • Dave Matthews Band - Munich
      • Chris Rea - Munich
      • Dave Matthews Band - Manchester
      • Joe Perry Project - Sheffield
      • Bad Company - Sheffield
      • The Mayhem Effect - Congleton
      • Demon - Leek Arts Festival
      • Mark Knopfler - Munich
    • 2009 Gigs >
      • Sweden Rock Festival >
        • About SRF 2009
        • SRF: The Tubes
        • SRF: ZZ Top
        • SRF: Over the Rainbow
        • SRF: Marillion
        • SRF: Demon
        • SRF: Johnny Winter
        • SRF: Motörhead
        • SRF: Riot
        • SRF: Blackfoot
        • SRF: Journey
        • SRF: Goda Grannar
      • Keep It True
      • Y&T - Munich
      • Foreigner - Munich
      • Bruce Springsteen - Munich
      • Eric Burdon - Munich
      • Gary Moore - Munich
      • Demon - Dudley
      • Hamburg Blues Band - Munich
      • Mott the Hoople - Hammersmith
      • Night at the Flamingo - Blackpool
      • Magnum - Munich
      • Pavlov's Dog - Munich
      • Uriah Heep - Munich
      • Ace Frehley - Munich
    • 2007 Gigs >
      • Little Barrie - Manchester II
      • Demon - Wolverhampton III
      • Diamond Head - Wolverhampton V
      • Demon - Antwerp
      • Demon - Nottingham
    • 2006 Gigs >
      • Helloween - Bradford
      • Yellowcard - Manchester
      • Robin Trower - Manchester
      • Dave Matthews - Manchester
      • Mountain - Manchester
      • Danko Jones - Manchester
      • Monsters of Rock 2006 >
        • About Monsters of Rock 2006
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Roadstar
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Ted Nugent
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Queensryche
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Thunder
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Journey
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Alice Cooper
        • Monsters of Rock 2006: Deep Purple
      • Journey - Manchester
      • Demon - Sheffield
      • Bob Catley - Sheffield
      • Demon - Cheltenham
      • Bob Catley - Leek WM
      • Demon - Leek WM
      • Little Barrie - Manchester I
      • Wolfmother - Manchester
      • UFO - Manchester
      • Demon - Crewe III
      • Demon - Nuneaton
      • Iron Maiden - Sheffield
    • 2005 Gigs >
      • Velvet Revolver - Manchester
      • Megadeth - Manchester
      • Diamond Head - Manchester
      • Fozzy - Manchester
      • Wishbone Ash - Blawnox PA
      • The Midnight Creeps - Providence RI
      • Danko Jones - Cambridge MA
      • Demon - Leek II B
      • Demon - Birkenhead
      • Donington 2005 >
        • About Donington 2005
        • Donington 2005: Fozzy
        • Donington 2005: Megadeth
        • Donington 2005: Billy Idol
        • Donington 2005: HIM
        • Donington 2005: Velvet Revolver
        • Donington 2005: Black Sabbath
        • Donington 2005: Slipknot
        • Donington 2005: The MC5
        • Donington 2005: Motorhead
      • Kings of Leon - Manchester
      • Danko Jones - Philadelphia
      • Sonny Landreth - Ocean City NJ
      • Derek Trucks Band - Ocean City NJ
      • Leeds Festival 2005 >
        • About Leeds Festival 2005
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Funeral For A Friend
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Iggy Pop
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Marilyn Manson
        • Leeds Festival 2005: Iron Maiden
      • Iron Maiden - Hammersmith
      • Diamond Head - Stourbridge
    • 2004 Gigs >
      • Hughes-Turner Project - Dudley II
      • Wishbone Ash - Crewe
      • Donington 2004 - Hoobastank
      • Donington 2004 - Danko Jones
      • Donington 2004 - Metallica
      • UFO - Wolverhampton
      • Marillion - Wolverhampton
      • Marillion - Leeds
      • Nazareth - Manchester
      • Bill Nelson - Manchester
      • Nils Lofgren - Wolverhampton
      • Living Colour - Manchester
      • Rush - Birmingham
    • 2003 Gigs >
      • HITS UK - Bradford
      • Demon - Leek I-A
      • Iron Maiden - Donington
      • HITS UK - Morecambe
      • Blue Öyster Cult - Wolverhampton
      • Alice Cooper - Wolverhampton
      • Rat Dog - Wolverhampton
      • Budgie - Crewe
      • Thunder - Wolverhampton
      • Iron Maiden - Sheffield & Birmingham
    • 2002 Gigs >
      • Chris Farlowe - Crewe
      • Diamond Head - Wrexham
      • Budgie - Wrexham
      • The Blues Brother's Band - Manchester
      • Man - Crewe
      • Mountain - Dudley
      • Stray - Dudley
      • Iron Maiden - Brixton >
        • Iron Maiden - Brixton Academy: Getting there
        • Iron Maiden - Brixton Academy: Getting home
      • Diamond Head - Crewe III
      • Rick Derringer - Crewe
      • Pat Travers - Crewe
      • Ian Hunter - Crewe
      • HITS Blackpool 2002
      • HITS USA 2002 - Saturday
      • HITS USA 2002 - Sunday
      • Diamond Head - Hanley
      • 21st Century Schizoid Band - Crewe
      • Diamond Head - Crewe IV
      • Diamond Head - Ashton
      • Hughes-Turner Project - Dudley I
      • Jefferson Starship - Wolverhampton
      • Budgie - Crewe
      • Monsters of Rock - Manchester >
        • Monsters of Rock - Alice Cooper
        • Monsters of Rock - Thunder
        • Monsters of Rock - The Quireboys
        • Monsters of Rock -Dogs D'Amour
    • 2001 Gigs >
      • Demon - Crewe I
      • Demon - Leek Moorlands
      • Diamond Head - Crewe I
      • Black Crowes - Brixton Academy
      • Demon - Newcastle Oxford
      • Rockshield Festival >
        • Rockshield - Wishbone Ash
        • Rockshield - Girlschool
        • Rockshield - Demon
        • Rockshield - Diamond Head
      • Demon - Crewe II
      • Demon - Leek FC II
      • Pat Travers - Wolverhampton
      • Demon - Macclesfield
      • Diamond Head - Crewe II
      • Demon - Camden I
    • 2000 Gigs >
      • Demon - Wolverhampton I
      • Demon - Telford
      • Demon - Newcastle (Rigger)
      • Demon - Leicester
      • Demon - Leek FC I
      • Demon - Stoke
      • Demon - Wolverhampton II
      • Demon - SOM Rehearsal
    • 20th Century Gigs >
      • 1990s >
        • Man - Swansea 1999
        • Man - London 1999
        • Man - Croydon 1999
        • Man - Stoke 1998
        • Man - Blackpool 1993
      • 1980s >
        • Man - Reading 1983
        • Reading Festival 1983
        • RockPop 1982
        • Rockpalast 1982
        • Alice Cooper - London 1982
        • Reading Festival 1981
        • Diamond Head - Leeds 1981
        • Whitesnake - Bradford 1980
        • Iron Maiden - Leeds 1980
        • Monsters of Rock 1980
      • 1970s >
        • Buzzcocks - Manchester 1978
  • Travels
    • 2015 Travels >
      • Toxteth Walkabout
      • Eclipsage - Toxteth Cemetery
      • Crosby - Another Place
      • Crosby - Sunset
    • 2014 Travels >
      • Brimham Rocks
      • Harrogate
      • Liverpool - Divergence I >
        • Liverpool - Sefton Park
        • Liverpool - L7 4LB
        • Liverpool - Tobacco Warehouse
      • Leeds Walkabout 2014 >
        • Leeds 2014 - Kirkstall Abbey
        • Leeds 2014 - Ilkley Moor
    • 2013 Travels >
      • Fenton Town Hall
      • Stoke Minster
      • Beauty and Bursley >
        • The Wedgwood Institute
        • The School of Art
        • Town Hall Tales
        • The Leopard
        • Desolation Boulevard
      • Blackpool - An Alternative View
    • 2011 Travels >
      • Blackpool (Post Apocalypse)
      • Manchester >
        • Manchester - The Trafford Centre
        • Manchester - Tutanchamun
      • Liverpool
    • 2010 Travels >
      • Faschingsdienstag
      • Manchester - Brief Walkabout
      • Manchester/Glasgow
    • 2009 Travels >
      • What Marky did in The Fatherland >
        • Arrival
        • First Munich Walkabout
        • Faschingsdienstag
        • Second Munich Walkabout
        • Dachau
        • Hannover
        • Olympiapark Sealife Centre
        • Olympiapark Olympiaturm
        • BMW Welt
        • Home from Home
        • Würzburg a Mad Manager and a Demon
        • Tutanchamun
        • Back in the UK
        • Neuschwanstein
        • Copenhagen
        • Passau
        • TiPi Fest
        • Potts and The 'Zard Camera 1
        • Potts and The 'Zard Camera 2
        • Pan 'n' Chris
        • Oktoberfest >
          • Shlocktoberfest
          • Fear and Loathing in München
          • When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
        • Blackpool
        • The Flaming Gummi Bär Incident
        • Oberammergau
        • Garmisch
        • Christmas 2009: Christkindlmarkt
        • Christmas 2009: Snow
        • Christmas 2009: Absinthe, Drunkenness and Fireworks
    • 2006 Travels
    • 2005 Travels >
      • Basel
      • Philadelphia >
        • The Krispy Kreme Fiasco
        • King of Prussia
        • Snow
        • Atlantic City
        • Sunset
        • Lancaster County
        • The Philadelphia Cheese Steak Debate
        • Food For Thought
        • More Food for Thought
        • Gideons
        • Dali
        • Culture
        • The Basketball Museum
        • Ocean City NJ
      • Boston >
        • The Cheesecake Factory
        • Copley Plaza
        • Boylston and Boston Common
        • Downtown Boston
        • Charlestown Naval Yard >
          • USS Constitution
          • USS Cassin Young
        • Beacon Hill
        • Call Me Spiderman
        • Providence RI
        • Boston Skyline
        • Final Boston Walkabout
        • The Third Time I Nearly Got arrested
      • Oss
    • 2004 Travels >
      • Basel
      • Philadelphia >
        • First Philadelphia Walkabout Pt I >
          • The Franklin Institute
        • First Philadelphia Walkabout Pt II >
          • The Liberty Bell
          • Monopoly
          • USS Olympia & USS Becuna
    • 2003 Travels >
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 25th Flying In
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 26th Brooklyn >
        • The Brooklyn Bridge
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 26th Baltimore
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 27th New York
      • US Tour 2003 - Mon 28th Oakland
      • US Tour 2003 - Tues 29th Sacramento
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th The Sierra Nevada
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th Reno
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 30th Reno (Later)
      • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st San Francisco >
        • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st SF Walkabout
        • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 31st San Francisco (Later)
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st San Francisco to Lost Angeles >
        • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Hollywood Blvd
        • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Hollywood Blvd - Walk of Fame
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 1st Lost Angeles (South Gate)
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 2nd Costa Mesa & The Beach
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 2nd LA (Corona)
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 3rd San Diego
      • US Tour 2003 - Mon 4th Phoenix
      • US Tour 2003 - Tues 5th Phoenix to San Antonio
      • US Tour 2003 - Wed 6th San Antonio
      • US Tour 2003 - Thurs 7th Austin
      • US Tour 2003 - Fri 8th Dallas
      • US Tour 2003 - Sat 9th Oklahoma City
      • US Tour 2003 - Sun 10th Flying Back
      • US Tour 2003 - Epilogue
    • 2002 Travels >
      • US Tour 2002 - Fri 30th
      • US Tour 2002 - Thurs 5th >
        • US Tour 2002 - Thurs 5th Union & Clifton
      • US Tour 2002 - Fri 6th Providence RI
      • US Tour 2002 - Sat 7th Union NJ >
        • US Tour 2002 Sat 7th Asbury Park NJ
        • US Tour 2002 - Sat 7th Asbury Park NJ (Later)
      • US Tour 2002 - Sun 8th Asbury Park NJ
      • US Tour 2002 - Mon 9th Union NJ >
        • US Tour 2002 - Mon 9th Long Island NY
      • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th >
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th NYC
        • US Tour 2002 - Tuesday 10th ESB
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th NYC II
        • US Tour 2002 - Tues 10th- Manhattan and beyond
      • US Tour 2002 - Wed 11th
  • Music
    • Phuxubtelty Review
  • Movies
    • Skyfall Review
  • Books
    • Ted Simon
    • Charley Boorman & Ewan McGregor
    • Mike Carter
    • Robert Fulton Jr
    • Zoltan Sulkowsky
    • Simon Gandolfi
  • Artworks
    • Diamond Head - Acoustic Cuts
    • The Skeptix - Hate and Fear
    • Demon - Child of the Dark Sky
    • Demon . Better The Devil You Know
    • Demon - Time Has Come
    • Demon - Live at Tiffany's
    • Demon - Live in Germany
    • Demon T-Shirts
    • Mjollnir
  • The 39 Steps
  • New Page

The Liverpool Divergence

I was born in Leek, Staffordshire, in 1963, and lived there for the first three years of my life. In the last 48 years I have resided in (in order):

  • Keighley (W. Yorks) 1966-71,
  • Harrogate (N. Yorks) 1971- 81,
  • Hull (E.Yorks) 1981-82,
  • Münster (W. Germany) 1982-83,
  • Blackpool (Lancs) 1983-85,
  • Wesham (Lancs) 1985-87,
  • Maryport (Cumbria) 1987-95,
  • Congleton (Chesh) 1994-2014,
  • Munich (Germany) 2009-10.

During this time, I've worked away a lot, spending weeks or months away from home, with postal addresses in:

  • Oxford (Oxon) 2006-08,
  • Boston (Mass, USA) 2005 and,
  • Philadelphia (Pa, USA) 2005-06.

(I've also travelled around a bit on my various adventures. I would like to travel a lot more – I still want to ride a motorbike around the world. Lack of money is the only thing stopping me from doing things. I'll be severely pissed off if I die and the only thing that has held me back is money, or the lack of it. But, that's a rant for another time.)
Can't be bothered reading through all these 'words'? Well, you might miss something but, click here to go to the bit with pictures...
So, “How come you've ended up in Liverpool?” is a question I've been asked a lot, of late. It's not that simple to answer; there are a few reasons, some of which should be come evident in the coming months.

Liverpool, believe it or not, was my first choice of university, back in 1981. I came to look around, with the intention of studying German. I wanted to be an interpreter. Sadly, the arrogance of youth, laziness because German came naturally, and the simple fact that I did no revision for my A Levels, changed my plans. Although the results weren't a complete disaster, they weren't good enough for what I had envisaged. With 20-20 hindsight, a little revision would have changed the whole course of my life. Would my life have been better? Who can say. It would probably have been different and I am sure that I would have done 'stuff'. I doubt that I would have done all the unusual things I have done though. We can always say 'what if?'.

  • What if I'd stayed in the civil service? I could probably have retired as a Principle by now, after 30 years of service (I was only 20 when I started work at Lytham Land Registry). I would probably have the life I had imagined, thirty years ago.
  • What if I'd studied harder and become an interpreter? Well, yeah. In reality, I was never going to be a conformist. My childhood was unusual, to say the least. Hey, it was the 1970s.
  • What if I hadn't become a father when I was just 21 (and again at 26)? I wouldn't have my two wonderful, remarkable, beautiful daughters. I may not have planned it that way but, they are the best things I've achieved in my life.
  • What if Munich had not gone tits up? Yep. (Then again, I didn't figure out what was going on during 2009 until 2013!)
 
You can torture yourself with 'What ifs?' ad nauseum. I did what I did and made decisions at the time, given the information and knowledge I had at that time. Some of my choices turned out to be poor, in retrospect. When I made them, they seemed reasonably sane and logical. But, that's in the past and there is nothing I can do to change them, now.
    
My decision to move to Liverpool was not made in haste. For whatever reason, since 2010, I have been unable to secure full-time employment. After 25 successful years in e-Learning, as Programmer, Graphic Designer, Instructional Designer, and Project Manager, working for some big names in the UK, US, and Europe, nobody is interested in my services any more. Then, there's all the other stuff I've done, alongside my professional life. I have published two novels, had articles, reviews, and photographs published as a Freelance Music Journalist (both in print and online), I've designed artwork for CDs, made a video documentary, worked on an epic Northern Soul movie, spent two years as a Radio Presenter, I've designed web and built websites, yet, no one wants to employ me to do any type of job. Why? Well, that's a good question that I have spent hours trying to understand.

It's not that I don't want to work. I do.

It's not that I'm asking for too much money. I'm not.

It's not that I'm applying for jobs I'm not qualified or experienced for. Why would I bother?

Perhaps, it's my age. Maybe, some of the views I've expressed over the years have come back to haunt me. Perhaps, the way people learn has, indeed, changed more in the last 5 years than in the previous few thousand although, I seriously doubt it.
Liverpool was not a place I had considered moving to. I went to gigs at the Empire, Royal Court, Philharmonic Hall, in the final years of last century but, other than that, and my brief visit in 1981, my knowledge of the city could be embossed on a postage stamp: Beatles, Cilla, Red and Blue, Toxteth riots, Buck Tarbrush, Degsy Hatton, Boys From The Blackstuff, and that is pretty much it. A considerable amount of ignorance, it has to be said.

Secondborn girlchild ended up at university here and extolled the virtues of the city. I visited in 2011 and did a brief walkabout http://www.godofthunder.co.uk/liverpool.html of the obvious sights. When she graduated in 2013, I came to see her get her certificate at a ceremony in the Anglican Cathedral. I became quite taken with the idea of coming to a city with so many amazing buildings; so much Deco and Gothic architecture, a veritable cornucopia of monumental masonry. During 2014, it became clear that Congleton didn't want me. I'd given it twenty years to offer me a reason to stay but, it made no efforts. Liverpool, on the other hand, was teasing me, fluttering it's eyelashes, tempting me with the biggest organ in the country, generally being a bit of a slut. You have to admire that kind of thing and, let's face it, offers aren't flooding in. So, in August 2014, as I had in 2009, when I moved to Munich, I took a scary step and ended up on the Smithdown Road, L15.
Whether this move will work out better than my [second] attempt to embrace The Fatherland, only time will tell (maybe I should try a location that doesn't begin with the letter 'M'?). Hopefully, this time, I won't get involved with a pathological liar and get the blame for whatever shit he pulled. Yes, Karl-Peter Bauer, or whatever name you're going by these days, I'm talking about you. We're not finished yet. I know you'll find this and I want you to know I'm not done with you. Your time will come.
Nevertheless, I'm here and I'm still trying to find a source of income. My hope is that Liverpool will offer an opportunity sooner, rather than later.

In the meantime, I wanted to get to know the area, learn a little about the place and see what all the fuss is about. People from Liverpool love it and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. In the short time I've been here, I can see why. The place may be a little schizophrenic, but it is a great city. You can see where the money has been spent, though. Liverpool One and the touristy bits have, clearly, had big wads of moolah cast in their general direction, and they are pretty impressive. I still think that more could, and should, be done. Why, for example, are the buildings at The Pier Head not gloriously illuminated at night, to showcase their magnificence? Why is Liverpool not buzzing constantly with movie crews, musical events, and other such endeavours? The city of culture from a few years ago appears to have gone off the boil. It is not dead, by any means, but it's not throbbing with global appeal, as it should.

Other parts of the area, not so much love is being lavished. Some sections of the city remind me of those films made in the years after WWII; vast swathes of wasteland abound, seemingly forgotten, abandoned and derelict buildings, desperate for someone to show them some tender, loving care, what appear to be renovation schemes, put on hold or, forgotten. North of the city centre, there are some incredible buildings that are crying out for someone to restore them to their former glory. Sadly, you know that this is unlikely to happen because, as lovely as they are, no one is going to spend money on them, because the surrounding area is not one of the chosen locations for the benevolence of those with the power to make things better. Still, as long as they are there, I shall seek them out.

Hopefully, as I learn more about Liverpool, I shall amend, add to, and extend the content. For now, it is what it is. I hope you enjoy my look at Liverpool.

Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder

15th November 2014


P.S. If you fancy giving me a job, you know, I'm available at reasonable rates... :-)



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