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BB2626 : Our
Day Out
Thursday
27th August 2026
Willy Russell’s 1977 play “Our Day Out” is the story
of a group of unruly Liverpool youngsters taking a trip to North Wales.
This BOOTboys’ 2026 report
"Our Day Out" is the story of a group of unruly
Kendal oldies taking a trip to Liverpool.
There were four of us day trippers. We all had our tickets to ride.
OK, sorry, no
more Beatles puns. For once Tony, without
too much moaning, was able to get up early enough to catch the 7:26 train to
Liverpool, change at Wigan. Amazingly we
arrived on time at Lime Street which was a bit of a blow as it meant we had to
kill a few minutes before the St George’s Hall Café opened. Actually I wouldn’t have minded if it had
arrived half an hour late as I was not delighted with the cappuccino they
produced.
The Hall was Tony’s choice. It opened at 10 and we were first in to see
the tiled floor which is only revealed for a short period every three years. The hall is huge and the tiles
magnificent.
Our tickets only allowed us
to walk round the edges. Later, the guided groups would be made to put on blue
shoe coverings to allow them to actually walk on the tiles but I don’t see the
merit in paying a lot extra for that.
Surely they are much better looked at than stood on with a large group
of strangers?
It’s not just the floor that is spectacular. So is the
organ. The walls and ceiling are heavily
decorated with a liberal scattering of Liver Birds.....
..... and the whole is overseen by
a large number of Victorian dignitaries.
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On the way out, we passed the old courtroom where the
first group was assembling, ready to tread the tiles.
Our next stop was the Western Approaches Museum- my
choice. We arrived without getting too
wet.
Having worked in Liverpool for
several years in an office very close to the Museum, it is surprising that I had
never paid it a visit. It looked
rather non-descript from the outside and somehow it had never talked to me. I wanted to put that right.
What a revelation.
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There is room after room after room in what was the
command centre for monitoring the Atlantic during World War II. Each room was well presented with relevant
exhibits for its purpose, including the control room with its massive map on which
the Allied and enemy vessels symbols were manoeuvred.
As most of the men of fighting age were away,
it had been 80% staffed by women. There
was a nice letter from Sir Winston Churchill thanking the ladies for the use of
their bath.
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Our lunch stop was Ma Boyle’s, a characterful old pub with
good ale but unfortunately the fish finger butties didn’t live up to expectations.
Our next port of call (pun intended) was the Museum of
Liverpool which Stephen had wanted to visit.
We found it somewhat disappointing and, for me, not as interesting as I
remember it from years ago.
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I think it
was the nature of the displays rather than the content. Too many cabinets filled with too many items,
not all clearly numbered and the description boards not always being
conveniently placed. Time has moved on
and it’s in need of a refresh.
There was one bizarre incident. The four of us were taking a breather on a
bench when two German men approached and asked if they could take our
photos. Thirty years ago they wouldn’t have
even been allowed into Liverpool, never mind the museum, but that didn’t occur
to me until later. Why us? Did they think we were an exhibit? Maybe representative of what the Beatles
would now look like? Or to show the
Fraus back home how degenerate the old folk in Liverpool are? Naturally,
though puzzled, we obliged. Later, I consulted
Uncle Google's new pal Gemini and was amazed
to read the following:
The Ultimate Souvenir:
To a visiting German fan exploring
the Beatles Story Museum or the Museum of
Liverpool, spotting the actual, living pre-Beatles
history sitting right in front of them is
the ultimate historic photograph.
Fame at last? Yeah, yeah,
yeah.
There was a band playing but they weren’t exactly
Sergeant Pepper's so we left for our next destination- the Anglican
Cathedral. It is massive.
Inside was a total surprise. There was a huge stage and a band practicing.
Again not S.P.’s as we would soon
discover. A sign insisted that
photographs should not be taken whilst a service was being held. Fair
enough. Clearly this was not a service.
Nevertheless,
a very officious policeman sternly told Tony to stop taking pictures. When he protested his innocence, he
discovered that, although unstated, it also applied to rehearsals by someone called Gabrielle who, it transpired, was no relation to the angel
that visited Mary at the annunciation.
Meanwhile Robin and I went up the Tower. This was more of an effort than I
expected. It involved taking a lift to
the fourth floor where you could look down into the church. Then, after climbing a steep flight of stairs,
there was a lift to the tenth floor where we could look down onto the platform
of bells. After a further three long flights
of stairs we emerged onto the roof parapet.
The lady on guard duty said that the previous day had been horrendous
with the crowds, the heat and the flies.
No such problems today. Visibility
wasn’t great but it was good enough to enjoy the fly & human-free views.
Last stop of the day was, inevitably, the Philharmonic
Dining Rooms where the ladies go into the gents’ toilets to admire the urinals. We had a couple of drinks in the room called
Brahms then left before we got Liszt to walk back to Lime Street Station and
the trains home.
We’d had our Magical Mystery Tour.
Our Day Out
had reached The End.
Don, 27th August 2026
With
a little help from my friends Mike and Stephen for their AI contributions
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