Liverpool and fireworks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben-at-home/

On time this week :)

First, as Mick pointed out, I often don't give enough information.
What happened was that last week I was planning on getting to London
this weekend, but I need to book accommodation. So I went to see just
how much money I had left on my credit card as I still hadn't been
paid (more on that later, just for you Mick). When I logged in, My
account balance didn't seem quite right so I had a look at what I had
been charged on the Credit Card and found a value for 500 odd dollars
from 'Origins Internet'. Since I had a foreign exchange fee as well,
it had obviously been used for some English pounds transaction. Or
possibly Euro. Anyway, after a bit of digging I discovered an Origins
store which sells make up. Doing some rough calculations, somebody
used my card to buy A LOT of makeup/accessories. So I called up the
bank and that transaction is now in dispute and I need to fill in a
form. Which means my credit card has been cancelled and I've been sent
a new one. Hopefully with a new pin number.....see previous posts for
the importance of that.

Anyway, after doing a bit more digging, it was going to take me 3
hours to get down there, and about 5 to get back so I gave up on the
whole London thing. When I've got more time I will book ahead and do
the trip properly.

Which brings me to Liverpool. I went on Sunday, which seems to be a
day when all the trains take a snooze, as the usual train every 15
minutes changes to one an hour. Which is kind of odd. Anyway, it was
quite foggy but I assumed it would just burn off during the day. Which
it didn't, have a look at the photos to see what I mean. Even at 2pm
it hadn't cleared off. The plan for the day was to go to Albert Docks,
have a wander and see the Beatles museum. Which I actually managed to
do, so as plans go it was 'all in all, a 100% successful trip' in the
words of the cat (incidentally, Lister is now a soap star on (I think)
Coronation Street).

Following the signs, I went down a hill, up a hill (which felt odd)
and then down another hill and there I was at the dockside. It's
important to point out at this point that a) Liverpool is 800 years
old this year and b) They are the 2008 European town of culture. Which
makes Liverpool the 2007 European town of building/road work. There is
a massive amount of building going on, absolutely massive. Every
second building down by the docks seemed to have some work being done,
and every second road had half of it blocked off. Obviously no one was
working on it, being a Sunday and all.

Albert Docks are pretty impressive. Tourist trap in some places, but
way better then Blackpool. For those who don't know what they are
(which was me), basically they've taken the pool that was there (the
Liver pool) and put walls around it and made it so that the height of
the water inside is constant. Allowing the loading and unloading of
ships whenever people want, not just when the tide did. I had a wander
around the Maritime Museum and learnt a lot (but not as much as I
wanted to) about the history of Liverpool. Worth the time if you're in
Liverpool to have a look. And after that, I went looking for the
miniature British Isles which the map said should be moored inside the
docks but wasn't, and then I went to the Beatles Museum.

The Beatles Museum was very interesting. Basically it charted the rise
of John Lennon and Pauly McCartney and how the group came together,
with a bit of stuff about the other two thrown in. Well worth the
price of admission, although it gets a bit smaltzy at the end in the
John Lennon memorial section. It works by using a narration system,
press a number on your doodad and on comes Lennon's sister who talks
about everything. I've completely forgotten her name though.

The only other things worth mentioning about Albert Docks is HMS
Bangor. It's a proper navy ship, and they don't want visitors. The
security wasn't obvious from the ground, but when I got up in the
maritime museum I could see down on to the bridge, and the guy I
thought was just wandering around trying to stay warm actually had a
rather big gun strapped on. I personally wouldn't have put a navy ship
in dock next to a maritime museum...but I guess there was no where
else to go.

Novermber 5th, for those who aren't aware, is Guy Fawkes night. Or
Bonfire night, depending on how you want to refer to it. In England,
it is still legal to buy fireworks. For the last week or so there have
been random firings going on, so if you're out walking at night every
now and then there is a whoosh, a flash of light and then a bang. A
little different. Given that November 5 is a Monday, all the big
events happened last night (Sunday). So I went down to the Woodlands
Pub, sat around a bonfire with about 500 other people and watched some
fireworks. As displays go it was alright, obviously not up to
Riverfire standards but for what was essentially a private party it
was quite good. I'm thinking there will be quite a few more fireworks
tonight, which will be fun. I'm not quite over the excitement yet, but
I will be by tonight. Most people are shocked at the fact you can't
buy Fireworks back home and the fact we don't celebrate bonfire night,
but then I point out that in early November it's generally pretty
warm, so there's no need to sit around a fire. Makes sense to me. I
haven't bought any fireworks yet, but I'm thinking about doing it just
because I can. If I've been paid of course.

More about that some other post though, I need to get started on some
work. Hope you all have a good week :)