Three Cathedrals

A football themed day for our reunion in Liverpool. Started with a North American style brunch at Moose Coffee - a well-recommended breakfast eatery just along the road from the hotel. Inside was fully booked but we got a table outside in the covered alley. From there P sorted us an Uber up to Anfield for our stadium tour. Quite the commercial operation, with personal guided tour headsets and lots of guides around the building who were happy to help. The tour starts by taking you up to the sixth floor of the main stand via a series of escalators and after some introductory videos and views across Stanley Park towards Goodison it was out into the stadium itself. My picture is looking down on The Kop, with the two Liverpool cathedrals visible in the distance over the stadium roof. Hard not to make the analogy between those two buildings and the football ground - the regular visits of the faithful, the pilgrims visiting from abroad, the images of key moments from the shared narrative on the walls, the communal singing at events. Down in the dressing rooms it was interesting to learn about the differences between the home and the away dressing rooms. They are both the same size but the away one is just that bit less welcoming in a host of different ways. For example, the lighting in the away dressing room is harsh and unchanging while in the home dressing room it varies depending on the conditions outside. The seats for the home players are padded and you can lean back whereas the away players' booths are too deep to comfortably lean back in. Home players can plug in their phones to speakers so they can listen to their own music. In the away dressing room there is noise from outside. Good to see a United connection with ex-United player Andy Robertson's shirt hanging up. Likewise in the museum the display case for the 1984 European Cup Final against Roma, where United could have been if they hadn't lost 0-3 in Rome in the second leg when the Italians attempted to bribe the referee (and United played below their best). By the end I think the feeling that it was fundamentally someone else's circus meant my enthusiasm was starting to wane but interesting none the less. In the afternoon we had always intended going to see some football. Weekend organiser S had been hopeful of getting us tickets for Everton v Palace, until that got moved to Monday night for TV. Plan B was Tranmere v Stockport until table-topping visitors Stockport sold out their allocation and Tranmere decided they would only sell to people who had bought tickets from them before, despite S's attempt to plead our case. Which led us to consider Crewe. In the same league as Tranmere and Stockport and on a decent run of form themselves. The fact it was an easy train trip away was the clincher so shortly after looking round the 60K seater Liverpool ground we found ourselves in the more modest surroundings of the Mornflake Stadium aka Gresty Road (extra). As we had our lunchtime pasties we watched Liverpool winning away in London. The visitors to Crewe were Harrogate Town, who had been thumped 9-2 in the week. We joked that we'd probably see a 0-0 draw. Which we did. Nevertheless it was an entertaining afternoon, especially the second half as the home team put on more and more pressure but couldn't make the breakthrough. The ground had a decent atmosphere with a crowd of c4,400, including a small but noisy group from Yorkshire in the stand opposite us.
Back to Liverpool where we had a table booked at the Cavern Restaurant before heading across the road for the evening's entertainment at the world famous venue. On the way in it felt like a zoo but moving on into the back lounge it was a bit more civilised. We found a place near the bar just as the resident Beatles tribute act were about to start. Interesting to be present at a simulation of an historical event, like participating in a documentary, as the group on stage changed costumes and wigs to tell The Beatles story in music. It was an excellent show and definitely worth checking out if you are ever in Liverpool. Briefly got talking to a couple of Icelandic guys, although they were very drunk, as they said themselves. A short walk back to the hotel afterwards through the rain, avoiding most of the Saturday night mayhem.
Football is my comfort zone, even if I am more at home in the modest surroundings of Crewe in the extra rather than the massive Premier League stadium in my main picture.