South of the Border

I've been down south the last two week ends. Both times to places I used to live. A couple of weeks ago I was in Coventry. That's where I grew up and lived until 1972. Like everywhere else, it has changed a lot and that includes the stadium where Coventry City play their football.

That's it out... my guilty secret - I'm a Sky Blues fan. You don't find many of those in my part of Scotland. Anyhow, I was a fan in the glory days of Jimmy Hill, so I always look for the results, which a the moment is a pretty depressing experience. The old stadium at Highfield Road is long gone. The Ricoh arena is the new home of the team and it also has a DeVere hotel and a casino. We stayed at the hotel and during the course of the week end got a tour around the stadium, which included having a look into the managers office and the changing rooms. We even went out onto the pitch through the tunnel. It's a state of the art modern stadium which occasionally hosts concerts and will also be hosting some of the Olympic footy games. I got a good run along the Coventry canal tow path while  I was there. On Saturday we watched a thrilling 1 - 1 draw between Coventry and Birmingham.

Yesterday I was in Liverpool, taking part in the half marathon. This was a trip down memory lane alright. It started near Albert Dock and took a circular route through all the places I used to hang out in the seventies. The best bit for me was running through Sefton Park, where I used to live and run, before the days of mass participation marathons had been thought of. Really pleased to have done the run, especially in view of the recent injuries which I thought would have kept me out of it. Running conditions were ideal... sunny and cool. They said it was the biggest of the 19 half mara's to date, with 7000 people taking part. I got around in 1.43, which was fine. My stamina in the final stages was a bit suspect due the break in my training, but there you go. A nice t-shirt and medal to boot.

Down Sowf

Got into my trusty Berlingro and headed way down south last week. Went past Luton and got into the four stream build up but luckily I got off the motorway at Hemel Hempstead, before I hit the 'Big Smoke.' My trusty Ber. started off with 200,2038 on the clock and came back with 200, 3034. The only hitch came on the M69 when a strange noise  from under the car turned out to be a part of the plastic covering had moved up against a tyre... easily fixed! Apart from the accent, one of the main differences down there was the traffic.Where does it all come from? Guess which motorway was the main culprit for traffic jams out of the following M1, M69, A58, M6 and M74. Yes the M6...  what a nightmare from junction 15 right up to Liverpool. The man on the radio said we were doing an average of 20 miles an hour.
Took a trip down memory lane on the way home. Called into my home town of Coventry and met up with my old neighbours (from 1956 - 1973.) Also caught up with my cousin Maureen, who lives near Loughbourough and chewed the fat over family intrigues of the past. Then it was up the Motorway to Liverpool. I was a student and worked in the area between 1973 and 1978, but I haven't been back for a long time. I went into Liverpool on the East Lancs road, avoiding the M62 which had long tailbacks.and stopped in a layby to get directions to my friends Nita and Pete. That was when I found out that the network coverage on my mob wasn't working, a state which continued till the next day. There were no phones anywhere, so I went into a rough looking shop to ask for help and directions. The Indian shopkeeper gave me his phone to use and then most of the people in the shop gave me directions in thick scouse. I eventually found my way to the house on the other side of the city in a pitiful state, needing strong, hot cups of tea.

Liverpool has changed alot since I lived there, particularly around Pier Head and The Albert Dock. This is because, Liverpool 1, as it is known has been developed. There are now lots of shops and buildings between the city centre and Albert Dock. At the river front a number of high rise building constructions are in evidence. (If you look closely you can see a grand piano in one of the upstairs windows.)


Liverpool boasts the longest established Chinese community in Britain. The ceremonial arch was built by craftsmen from Shanghai

I spent  a few hours in Albert Dock. When I was a student, just up the road from the dock, it was derelict. Quite a difference now - a nice place to sit outside in the sun and have a coffee.

If you look carefully, you can see the Anglican Cathedral between the buildings!


The Tate Gallery were holding an exhibition of the surrealist artist Rene Margritte. Many of his paintings are well known, but I thought that they weren't as challenging or imaginative as Dali's paintings and although they were clever they lacked emotional depth.

One place that hadn't changed was the Liver Buildings, this photo was taken through the windows of the new museum, which is built so that at one end of it you get this view. At the other end you look along the Mersey.


All over town in a new kind of mythical beast called a Superlambabanna. These pop up everywhere in lots of different guises.