Wednesday, 19 April 2023

Sentimental Journey


Driving back from a few days away in Scotland I took a slight detour on the way back down the M6 and spent 24 hours in Liverpool: I've been telling Ian Prowse for ages now that 'one of these days' I'd play his legendary Monday Club - a rather special no-covers Open Mic at the Cavern Pub on Matthew Street, now in its twelfth year. And so on Monday, armed with just my guitar and a stomach full of butterflies, I played my songs in front of what I can only describe as a brilliant audience at one of the finest venues in the city; a commitment filled, a bucket list ticked, my soul enriched. 

The following morning after a mega breakfast at Chantilly's I had somewhere else to be: I wanted to make a sentimental journey: the Empress in Dingle L8, though no longer a pub, is still standing. Trying to picture it in my mind's eye how it would have looked in 1970 I pressed the shutter on my camera - this is what it looks like in 2023.


After paying my respects to Mr. Starkey I then  pointed the car in the direction of Crosby Beach. Ever since Antony Gormley installed his 100 iron men on the Merseyside coast in 2005 I've been promising myself I'd get myself up there and walk along the beach and introduce myself to these spectacular inhabitants. As you can see, I befriended one in particular. If your travels haven't yet taken you to this part of the North West I can't recomend it highly enough.  You really should get along. I could've spent all day there. (I'll be going back soon, I can assure you.)



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14 comments:

  1. Rol20 April 2023 at 08:30

    Congratulations, John. You have reached the status of legend.

    I wasn't aware of the iron men, but I'm rather fascinated by them now. How do they not get washed away? Why haven't they been vandalised or taken to the local scrap metal merchants by some unscrupulous Scouser? (Not that I'm stereotyping, I'd wonder the same thing if they were in Scarborough.)

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    1. John Medd20 April 2023 at 12:42

      Thank you, Rol. BlogCon24 in Liverpool…?

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  2. Charity Chic20 April 2023 at 08:36

    John Medd love at the Cavern!

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    1. John Medd20 April 2023 at 12:44

      Not sure if you mean ‘live’ but there was a lot of love in the room❤️

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    2. Charity Chic21 April 2023 at 08:22

      :⁠-⁠)

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  3. C20 April 2023 at 16:23

    Marvellous! Having joyously witnessed 'John Medd Live at The Mercat Bar', the Cavern crowd were in for a treat. Huge admiration for you doing that. Love the colourful update to the Empress too.
    And those iron men are both stunning and somewhat eerie at the same time. Will the sea gradually erode and/or rust them over time? (Ferrous metals knowledge not my forté)


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    1. John Medd21 April 2023 at 08:50

      Thank you, C! As I said to Rol (above), who's up for BlogCon24 in Liverpool?

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  4. Swiss Adam20 April 2023 at 18:37

    Massive props for appearing at the Cavern John. I know Liverpool pretty well having gone to uni there, 88- 91, been a regular visitor ever since and my daughter is at uni there now. We've been to Crosby beach several times and the iron men always reward

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    1. John Medd21 April 2023 at 08:54

      Thanks, Adam. I've been threatening to get to Crosby Beach for the longest time; re-watching Sometimes, Always, Never recently (Bill Nighy meets his son on the seafront there) reignited me!

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    2. John Medd21 April 2023 at 08:57

      And here's the trailer with the iron men in the background.

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  5. Alyson24 April 2023 at 15:46

    What a fantastic experience for you. Bucket list item well and truly ticked. Never been to Liverpool but so much there I want to see, so one day. Like Rol I wonder how they haven't been disturbed at all but I suspect some clever engineering types have anchored them really well.

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