Hooton Station
To get to Leahurst I needed to go to Hooton station and get a taxi.
It is a charming little station, with very much a country feel about it.
I had asked the train staff how you get a taxi and they told me to ask in the Booking Office and get one of the girls to do it. Very country! The system worked well!
Although the recently opened new bridge with lifts was not what you would get in rural East Anglia. It was built under Network Rail’s Access for All program.
Liverpool’s Underground Railway
Liverpool has its own Underground railway and I took the Wirral line from Liverpool Central station to get to Liverpool University’s veterinary campus at Leahurst.
Central station has recently been refurbished to a good standard. You do wonder if Manchester’s chaotic transport system would be better, if they’d tunnelled under the city, like they did in Liverpool.
Liverpool’s network has been talked about as a candidate for years and this section in Wikipedia, shows what could and might be done.
The Only Starbucks I Habitually Visit
I don’t generally go to Starbucks very often, but I will use this one in Bold Street in Liverpool.
The Only Starbucks I Habitually Visit
In the 1960s, I’m fairly certain, it used to be La Bussola, which was the coffee bar, where everybody went.
It’s The Grand National Soon!
April the 6th, sees the Grand National run at Liverpool this year.
It’s The Grand National Soon!
In some ways, I’m surprised, as in the 1960s, it was quietly fading away! But then out of the Book of Unlikely Sporting Heroes came that amazing horse; Red Rum. By winning the race three times in five years, he effectively recreated all of the interest in the race. He must be the only animal, who has single-handedly saved a sporting or other event, that was failing and put it on a sound footing.
Now the Grand National meeting at Liverpool, is one of the biggest events in the city. C and I went once with the kids and some day I’ll go again.
I was once told a tale, that in the 1970s, when it looked like Aintree racecourse might fold, that the Jockey Club had plans in place to recreate the Grand National course on Newmarket Heath.
Luckily Red Rum came along and the rest as they say, is history!
In some ways though, Red Rum had the last laugh, in that he spent several years enjoying himself as a celebrity. He then died at thirty, which is a very good age for a horse.
A Good Pluck
I spotted this sign as I walked down the hill from the hotel to Liverpool Central station.
A Good Pluck
It’s for things like this, I always carry a camera.
Liver Birds In The Mist
Just like from a large part of London, you can see the Shard, from a lot of the central area of Liverpool, you can see the Liver Birds.
Liver Birds In The Mist
Is Liverpool, the only British city, with its own bird?
A Liverpudlian Hotel
I’ve just come back from Liverpool, where I stayed in the Hope Street Hotel. It is one of my favourite city hotels and I would rate it as the best city hotel, I’ve stayed in, in the UK. It certainly magnitudes better than one famous London hotel, C and I stayed in, where we were constantly interrupted all night by the reception wanting someone, with the same name as myself.
What I like most about it, is that it is a real Liverpudlian hotel, where the staff reflect the true nature of the city, where they have a joke and a tale for everyone. So many luxurious city hotels, as the Hope Street Hotel is, are very anonymous and could be anywhere. In some, I’ve stayed in, you find no local staff at all.
It is also an excellent gluten-free hotel, that actually bakes all of its own bread, including the gluten free. How many hotels do that? On Thursday night, I ate in the restaurant and they’d also made their own ice cream. Also, as befits a coastal city, there is always plenty of fish on the menu.
C liked her baths and the bathroom in the room I had was spectacular.
A Spectacular Bathroom
She would have loved it, although despite several tries she never managed to book the hotel.
I have feeling that I got a room upgrade because I booked with a Platinum Amex card. It’s happened to me quite a few times in 4 and 5-star hotels, as often a lot more guests want the cheaper rooms, so those they know or have a decent card get the upgrade.
Every time I go, the hotel seems to get better. This time, they had fitted new televisions which gave access to all the Freeview channels and Sky Sports. So often C and I stayed in a hotel, where her favourite Radio 4 wasn’t available and most don’t have my favourite Radio 5 either. But Hope Street has both and also all of the odd ones like BBC3 and ITV4.
Full Freview Television
Note that the Hope Street Hotel scores 4.5 on Trip Advisor, as opposed to the Lowry in Manchester, which scores 4. Remember too, that the Hope Street Hotel is at the heart of the University and many attractions in the city. Most of the other places you want to go are just a walk down the hill and if you need one a taxi back.
Car Leasing Spam
I’ve been in Liverpool for a couple of days, and in those days, I must have got about ten e-mails trying to lease me a car or a van.
I keep telling the bastards I don’t drive and unsubscribe, but still they keep coming.
I would think that they have a very bad conversion rate.
A New Food Source To Develop
As someone, who has planted more than a few trees in his time, I’ve had the odd runs-in with deer, who feel that the new shoots of saplings are tasty for breakfast, lunch and dinner. C also hit a deer in my car, which to say the least didn’t do it much good.
So although they are nice to see in the countryside, when the University of East Anglia says we have too many deer, as reported here, I tend to agree. The researcher, Dr. Dolman is quoted as follows.
We are not killing something and then incinerating the carcass – what we are talking about is harvesting a wild animal to supply wild free-ranging venison for or tables – for farm shops, for gastro pubs.
“What we are advocating isn’t removing deer from the countryside – what we are advocating is trying to get on top of the deer population explosion and try to control the problems that are being caused.
“And in a way, [venison] provides a sustainable food source where you know where it comes from, you know it is ethically sourced, you know it is safe to eat, and that puts food on people’s tables. As much as I love deer, to be a meat eater but then to object to the culling and harvesting of deer seems to be inconsistent.
That sounds all very sensible, but I suspect that the RSPCA and others will be against the large scale cull, that he suggests. The RSPCA’s view is in this part of the article.
In a statement, the RSPCA said it was “opposed in principle to the killing or taking of all wild animals unless there is strong science to support it, or evidence that alternatives are not appropriate.
“Even if a cull is supported by science, it is very important that it is carried out in a humane and controlled way.
“Any decision to carry out a cull must be taken on a case by case basis based on the specific issues which impact a specific area. We don’t believe this should be rolled out in a uniform way across the whole country. It is certainly not a case of one size fits all.
If we don’t cull the deer to reasonable levels, we will get a double destruction of the countryside. By the deer on the one hand and on the other by farmers and householders putting up more and more secure fences to keep the pests off their land.
With all the trouble over horsemeat, it does strike me, that we ought to develop our taste for venison and support those like Marks and Spencer, who are using it in high-quality ready meals.
After all, venison is supposed to be good for you and certainly doesn’t have the health problems that are being reported today for processed meat.
Sensible Banking Advice From Paul Lewis
Radio 4’s money expert, Paul Lewis, has just said this in the wake of more banking problems from RBS and Natworst.
Make sure your girlfriend or boyfriend uses a different bank to yourself.
Now there’s a question for on-line dating sites!
The Anonymous Widower 