Welcome to the UK update….well, this is my fifth day back home and I am back in the swing of things now after meeting my friends and family, having a few parties, going all over the north-west (the area where I live) visiting cities, taking pictures, shopping, drinking too much coffee and generally having a great time.
Two days ago we went to Liverpool (pictures in the file). We had decided to take the train into the city centre in order to avoid the hassle of having to find a parking place and all that. Before getting on the train, I noticed a sign saying “don’t put your feet on the seats”. I have to admit, I was a little shocked by the sign- I said, “duh, talk about spelling it out”. But as we were riding into the city centre, indeed, there were a few people who were sitting and resting their feet on the seats, the cushion area where people should be sitting- I was really pissed with this. I got to thinking about why this happens here, in the UK. My only answer seems to be is that unfortunately, some elements of the UK population are not proud of where they live. Unfortunately, around the Liverpool area at this time, trash, graffiti and the like were endemic. It was a depressing sight, seeing as we were in one of the main stations of Liverpool, a city in the grip of major regeneration.
However, this was soon forgotten as we made our way into the city centre, surrounded by the tall grand buildings such as the Adelphi. These buildings really hark back to the “grand old days of the Empire” (I read this quote in a book somewhere). But in my opinion, this seems true, when I we were looking at these buildings, I did have a real sense of a great-nation as was…….take a look at the pictures…..
We then made our way down to Matthew Street, which is the, “home of The Beatles”. In the summer time you cannot move for tourists in this part of town, and it has really been developed well in a 1960s theme, with cobbled streets, fronted shops yet with department stores and boutiques- all with one common theme- The Beatles! You could go into the Vivien Westwood store and buy a tee-shirt with the fab four on it or something. I’m just waiting for French Connection to market a tee-shirt saying FCUK the Beatles……
Friday evening was a great night, because my family organised a party (in my honour?) with friends and family- with the addition to our house, we now have quite a large dining area which is roomy and gets lots of light- everybody poured in there, and soon the atmosphere was quite boystrous, with people enjoying Sake (unfortunately bought in the local supermarket, not Kobe) and eating. A nice touch by my mom was to put my Pictures of all my travels, from China right through to Tokyo on a TV and also the computer, so the guests were bombarded with all sort of images. It was a great night, and thanks to everyone who came! For all the people who got given a pair of chopsticks, please practice, and I look forward to seeing you back in Tokyo where you can try out your skills….
