How times have changed!

This beautiful Square rigged schooner would have been one of a forest of masts in the early 1800's and then the dock was a busy port of call for the Emigrants from Europe to America (see additional image of the monument to the millions who passed through, then overland to Liverpool and on to the USA)
The we come to my time, early 1950's, when as a child I would cycle here to watch the barges unloading fruit (pretty much on the same spot the image of the schooner was taken) remember that food was rationed, and we were always hungry.
The Conversation went usually like this. We would sit and watch the unloading and try to look pathetic, then ask.
"Any chance of a bruised apple mister'?
The Talley Man would wave his fist and shout "Clear off you cheeky young B******s you're not allowed on here!"
Then usually  we would see him nod to one of the men, and then walk off, and after a quick look round this chap would look to see how many there were of us and lift the cover on one of the crates he kept in a corner, shout "here can you catch!" and throw them to us.
"Thank's mister !" we would shout riding off to the other end of the dock as we didn't want the foreman to see what he had done and get him into trouble.
Forbidded Fruit of  the most delicious kind , one one truly magic day we even got ORANGES!
It was years later before we realised the foreman had told the men to set damaged fruit aside to give to the kids!
The last image is as the Marina is now, but not in my minds eye...