June 26

We broke camp early and went in search of graves on our way to Liverpool, Brian Jones and John Bonham.  Brian Jones was one of the founders of the Rolling Stones but unfortunately his addictions got the best of him and he died in July 1969.  He’d actually been “voted” out of the Stones as his addictions were interfering with his performances.  He is buried in a cemetery near an out-of-the-way church in Cheltenham.  We were grateful as someone came by asking if we’d needed help finding the crematorium, but then directed us to his actual grave when we stated who we'd coming looking for.

John Bonham was the drummer for Led Zeppelin and unfortunately his life also ended prematurely due to addictions.  His death lead to the “death” of Led Zeppelin.  Sad.  His grave was harder to find as there are many St. Michael churches!  Between “Find a Grave” and some luck we located him in a very small, and very old cemetery in the parish of Rushock.  He was born in this area so it was fitting to be buried here.  Inside the church was a “guest” book and it seems that we aren’t the only ones who pay respects to those that impacted Rock and Roll.  His VERY out-of-the-way grave looks to average about two visitors a day, from all over the world, some leaving drumsticks, others flowers or other trinkets or pictures.  This church was another truly old one, being consecrated in 1285 and its first rector being Ricardus Tapping in 1313.  We took a picture of the scroll just to prove it.  

Another shortish drive through the idyllic English countryside (!) and we arrived in Liverpool.  Liverpool is not a huge city but a city just the same.  We opted to book a “Magical Mystery Tour” to see the highlights of the Beatles’ early years versus walking all over the place.  We arrived and were part of a small group to end the day.  Our tour guide was Jay Johnson and he’d grown up and still called Liverpool home, specifically Penny Lane, and was a very great host of our on-and-off bus tour.  His brother is actually Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood fame.  It took about two hours and we got to see where Ringo was born and spent the first years of his life. Cheryl was VERY glad we didn’t have to walk into this area.  Some teens actually covered their faces and threw things at the bus before giving us the finger!!  All of the buildings were all boarded up and neglected.  The guide said they’d been that way a long time as it was being decided what to do with them, either tear them down or renovate.  It was just decided to renovate but nothing’s been done yet.  When Ringo’s father abandoned the family they moved around the block and across the street.   That house is still in use.  We drove by Ringo’s elementary school, which still is a school!  Interesting fact that Ringo didn’t actually learn to read and write until around age 9 as he was hospitalized quite a bit as a child.

We also saw where a young George grew up.  It is amazing that it wasn’t the “best” area then, and it still really isn’t.  George’s neighborhood is better and his house is a private residence that just has to deal with the thousands of people that want to see where he started out and take pictures of it.  

Our guide shared many stories of the Beatles and their youth, how they met and joined the band, their family's histories, and the history of the neighborhoods.  Andrew, being so passionate about music anyway, especially the Beatles, knew these tidbits shared by our guide but it was very interesting to SEE where everything happened.  

We drove by church where a young Paul met a young John and tried to impress John so he could maybe join up with the band.  It worked out well, didn't it?!  

We saw where John grew up with his Aunt Mimi (This house was bought by Yoko and renovated and is now on the historic register); his mother was killed by a car while crossing the street in front of this house.  

We saw where Paul grew up just a 15 minute bike ride away.  His house is also on the Historic register.  They can actually be toured but the group's sizes have to be limited as they really aren’t that big.  They are decorated in the style of the day when they lived there although there aren’t originals to John and Paul there.

We saw the cathedral where Paul wanted to be a choir boy but was told his voice wasn’t strong enough; years later he got to sing there anyway.  That former choir director was invited and proceeded to tell Paul that he was rich and famous because of him. :)  Our tour landed up at the Cavern Club, which, of course, is where the Beatles played and played and played, building up their loyal following.  The actual building had been demolished in the early 70s due to the need of a vent for the underground transportation system but then it was decided the vent wasn’t needed after all.  So they rebuilt it, from the exact plans and using as much of the original bricks from the demolition as they could.  They say it is almost exactly the same and you really can’t tell.  The entry was moved slightly but that was it.  There was someone there performing as John Lennon--he sounded pretty good!  We absorbed the ambiance of this spectacular history and eventually moved on.  

Most of the pubs near here were for drinks only, so we had to wander a few blocks to find a restaurant.  Ironically, we had a choice of quick sandwiches, Italian, or BBQ.  We chose the BBQ and shared the brisket.  It was good, but not as good as PJ’s!

We knew we had an early morning so we walked back to our car where our tour started earlier and then drove to our hotel, remembering “left side!”.  It really takes a conscious effort to stay on the left!!  Our hotel had really weird entry as we had to park on the 4th floor of a neighboring parking garage and then take a lift to the ground floor to find the SMALL area to check in.  It turned out our hotel room was actually an apartment (!) for overnight use as well as extended stay.  We didn’t really need a kitchenette but it was super cheap and we found a washer in the closet!!  Alleluia!  Small things sometimes are big things!  We washed a load and hung them out to dry on the rack (Interesting side note about dryers--you rarely if ever find a dryer in Europe! They believe they are bad for the clothes!). We reorganized our bags for tomorrow as we wouldn’t have access during our 8 hour ferry to Dublin.  The view was great, overlooking the river and Liverpool.

Nighty Night.