This morning we have paid for a hotel breakfast, which is
the standard fare, and we need to be around at Jurys Inn for the National
Trust’s Beatles Childhood Homes Tour by 9:45. It’s an easy walk and luckily the
rain holds off. Hubby hurries me along as I’m distracted by the Aqua Park at
the Adventure Dock. That looks like fun.
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| Aqua Park at Adventure Dock |
In keeping with the limited space within the heritage properties,
our group is fairly small. Other tourists envy our pre-purchased guidebooks as
we get our names ticked off and head out to board the small bus.
Commentary is provided along the route, heads swivel as we turn
the corner and St Barnabas Church where Paul sang in the choir as a kid. We
note the location of the barbershop, the building that was previously the place
of business of the banker that never wears a mac.
Our first stop is Mendips, a very nice home indeed in a
beautiful leafy suburban area. As we travel along Menlove Ave we hear of the
changes that have taken place in the area over time and the circumstances of
the death of John’s mother Julia, killed as she went to cross the road. The
whole setting of the home comes as something as a surprise to me. This is a
VERY nice area.
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| Menlove Ave, there used to be a tram running down the centre of the road |
We congregate in the front garden to discuss the outdoor
life of the family and the changes made to the home during the time that Aunt
Mimi and Uncle George owned it. The rules around the blue plaques are explained
so that we understand why Mendips has one but 20 Forthlin Road does not. The
person acknowledged must have been dead for at least 20 years. John’s plaque
was erected on the 20th anniversary of his murder.
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| Lacecap Hydrangeas in the garden at Mendips |
I knew that John
came from a more middle class area than the other Beatles but I really didn’t
know it was as nice as this. The garden is lovely too. It is fascinating to have the relative location of
Strawberry Field and the homes of John’s childhood pals and members of the
Quarrymen pointed out. There’s so much that gives insight into songs that John wrote.
I found it particularly moving to hear of the devotion and sacrifices that Aunt
Mimi and Uncle George made to provide a stable, loving home for John. In John’s
room here is a framed message from Yoko, that says how much the home meant to
John throughout his life. Yoko’s welcome makes visiting all the more enjoyable.
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| Mendips, with our house guide approaching |
After the presentations from our guide are completed, we
have some time to move around the home on our own. It’s a lovely home with a
cosy ambience. I could very cheerfully live here.
Time comes for us to get back onto the bus to travel over to
Paul’s childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton. A similar format is followed
there, with photos outside and then moving into the living room where we have
the luxury of being able to sit down. 20 Forthlin Road actually has bricks
damaged by people going up and literally breaking off chunks of the house! Apparently,
girls just lived on the front lawn and poor Jim couldn’t even open his door.
Paul and John ultimately bought Jim and Mimi new houses elsewhere. Mendips was
bought by Yoko and donated to the National Trust to protect it from
exploitation and commercialisation that John wouldn’t have liked. The National
Trust bought Forthlin Road.
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| 20 Forthlin Road, notice where fans have literally chipped away pieces of the bricks as souvenirs! |
This is a much more modest home, but it’s comfortable and Paul
has made his affection for the home clear in his request that the National
Trust change the wording of the sign out the front. We learn a lot here about Paul’s
early life. Especially memorable were the aspects to his life that are directly
referenced in When I’m 64. Photos taken by Paul’s brother Mike when the boys
were living in the home are on display. Mike was a keen photographer and under
a pseudonym he was a member of the band that recorded the hit song Lily the
Pink. We love the photograph of Paul climbing the drain pipe to get in, which
the boys did if they missed their Dad’s dinner time curfew. Perhaps most
impressive of all, was that Paul’s father converted the dining room of the
small home to be a practice space for Paul and his mates, even going to the
trouble of lining the walls with egg cartons, many donated by the neighbours,
to improve the acoustics and provide some sound proofing!
Relaxing in the living room, one of the older guys on the tour
hesitantly starts to play, struggling to remember the chords to Imagine. This
piano represents the original that the family used for family singalongs, like
so many families did in the days before television. We all feel the pain of
neighbours who refused the offered gift of the piano when Paul’s dad was moving
out. It recently sold for a vast sum.
When I was booking the tour, many months ago to be sure we
didn’t miss out, I wasn't sure what to expect but both tours have been absolutely
fascinating. Of course, I should have known they would be, it's the National
Trust afterall. They have preserved these homes while people who lived in them
are still alive and can be consulted about everything from décor to anecdotes
about the family. Even beyond the Beatles connection, they are interesting as artifacts
of the period.
A lot of Lennon and McCartney’s songs, even stuff from their
later albums, was written in the two houses and/or reference things in their
lives and neighbourhoods. Of course it’s the song writing connection that most
interests the National Trust, so you get the run down on them. Anecdotes about the many iconic music artists that have come to tour the Beatles Childhood Homes are also included. Beatles fandom is a universal leveller. It's impossible not to acknowledge the genius Liverpool gave to the world in the form of these young men.
The guide at 20 Forthlin Road was annoying me in a big way as
we waited to be picked up by the little bus. Possibly in response to a question
from another tourist, she started giving her view on the relative “homey-ness”
of the two houses, 20 Forthlin Road winning of course. In justifying her
opinions she made a number of insulting remarks about Aunt Mimi. Having done
Mendips first we are aware that Mimi made great sacrifices to give John
stability and the opportunity for a better future. Despite her strictness
around house rules, and not tolerating the noise of the boys playing and
writing the songs, it’s understandable she had a boarding house to run afterall,
providing lodgings for students who needed quiet to be able to study. Mimi gave
up good work outside the home to take John in and raise him, determined that he
would have someone at home to see him off to school and be there when he got
back, yet they couldn’t live on Uncle George’s income alone so she continued to
work from home by taking in the lodgers. When Uncle George died, Mimi slept in
the little morning room because she had to give over the room she had shared
with her husband to more student lodgers to make ends meet. John kept his own little
room, where Uncle George had rigged up a small wireless for John to listen to
music. I came away feeling that Mimi had to have been a very good and loving
woman. Mimi set high expectations and was concerned that he didn’t fall in with
a bad crowd, like so many parents, but she never damaged John’s spirit that’s
for sure, nor did John have tales of abuse or neglect by George and Mimi. It’s
absolutely clear from Yoko’s letter that John loved the home and his time
growing up there and in Liverpool in general. By the time the bus arrives I’m
really pretty angry at the disrespect. There really is no need for competition
between the houses.
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| Bruschetta Casa Italia |
We’re pretty shattered, so we can’t face
any prospect of going out tonight, so we head back to Casa Italia and have
lunch as our main meal of the day. It’s quieter today than Saturday and we’re
soon seated and tucking into a serve of Bruschetta Casa Italia: Thick home-made
pizza bread served with a selection of red onions, cherry tomatoes and home-made
pesto. That made a great first round. For our main meals, we both opt for a
pasta bake. I’ve chosen Lasagne: oven baked with tomato, bechamel and
mozzarella with assorted vegetables. Hubby’s gone for the Tortellini Italiana:
Oven baked meat filled pasta, with Bolognese, bechamel and mozzarella. Everything
very nice and filling.
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| Lasagne |
We walk back down to the Albert Dock, occasionally
being tempted into small explorations. I’m tempted by a lolly shop and that’s
worth the time, the price they want for some of the Australian or New Zealand
things is quite extraordinary. Gees you’d need to be desperate to pay those
prices.
Back in our hotel room, we are ready for a sleep. The ferry
from Belfast was just too exciting to go to sleep straight away and a very
early rise and then last night it was at least 2 am before we were starting to
feel actually sleepy after the fantastic show at the Cavern so we are totally
wrecked! Not even the vast array of interesting museums can tempt us to stay on
our feet a moment longer.
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