Liverpool Menagerie: a Duck, a Lion, and a Dove

Imagine my sense of serendipity when Chris, the young Liverpudlian guide, told his passengers aboard the Yellow Duckmarine that Liverpool’s Chinatown Gate was the largest outside of China. Shanghai, Liverpool’s sister city, gave it to its English port city sibling in 2004, the year Liverpool was awarded World Heritage status. Now it makes perfect sense to me why so many lamppost flags were advertising the Shanghai Expo. I’ll be anxious to see if Liverpool scored a special section in the English Pavilion. As each tourist, surprisingly mostly English, called out his hometown, Chris imitated his area’s accent. He didn’t drop his "r’s " at my shout-out of Boston, Massachusetts; instead he gave us credit for our own Duck Tours, noting our land/river vehicles were red, not yellow. (I suspect an allusion to “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles who are heavily marketed with a Museum and a Magical Mystery tour of their homes and hangouts) Beatlemania is well done here; my friend Glenda Fishman, a huge Paul McCartney fan, was thoroughly satisfied with her tour experience a few years ago.


The Albert Dock, opened by Queen Victoria’s beloved husband in 1848, is a two hour train ride northwest of London. The area has been renovated and gentrified recently, much like the Quincy Markets at Fanueil Hall in the 1970’s. However, Albert Dock’s true waterside location anchored by the Mersey River (Gerry and the Pacemakers' “Ferry Cross the Mersey”) gives it immediate appeal. Sure, the smattering of shops, numerous eating establishments and the many free, first-class museums, among them a thought-provoking International Slavery Museum, make the water’s edge even more alluring. The Tate Liverpool ‘s “Picasso: Peace and Freedom” exhibit was my siren call.

The Holiday Inn Express, not like any American counterpart, has a prime location overlooking the squared dock water enclave on one side and the Mersey River on the other. The hotel’s design was in keeping with the rest of the nautical refitting of commerce in the former warehouses. My room, all red brick, had a calming view of the Dock at an economical price. Not fully booked, the hotel fills to capacity on concert nights at the next-door, newly-built Echo Arena and, of course on game days for Liverpool’s beloved football (soccer) team. In some ways, Liverpool reminds me of our own Foxboro and its new Patriot Place. New England Patriots’ gear is as ubiquitous there as the Red Lion jerseys are at Albert Dock. Next to the Arena is Liverpool’s own Ferris wheel, not as impressive as London’s Eye, but it does add a festive quality to the waterfront.

Having booked online in Boston a spot on the 6pm Curators’ tour for the Picasso exhibit, I was not disappointed. The show highlighted Picasso’s hatred of war and his commitment to the international Communist Party, both motivated by his vehement distaste of Franco’s role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936. Both his paintings Guernica and the Dove of Peace have become iconic anti-war symbols. Remember Picasso would not allow his masterpiece,Guernica, to hang in Spain until Franco died. Franco outlived the 92 year old Picasso by two years dying in 1975 at the age of 83.

I had arrived at the museum early to explore. A thoroughly delightful and engaging video piece by emerging Dutch artist, Rineke Dijkstra, combined the signature Picasso show with the distinct Liverpudlian youth culture. Ms. Dijkstra filmed uniformed middle school children viewing and reacting to Picasso’s Weeping Woman. The audience never sees the painting, only the children’s faces projected on three large side by side screens. We also hear their comments which are captioned in case one can’t quite catch the strong Liverpool accent. The children’s earnest concentration and efforts to figure out why the woman was sad evoked in me both tears and smiles. Particularly poignant were their comments in which they related the woman’s sadness with events in their own lives or in that of their neighbors.  It matters little whether the students know that Picasso painted Weeping Woman in response to the Spanish Civil War.  Someday they may learn about that specific event, but for now, they are unwittingly participating in a great tribute to Picasso--his universality.  And Dijkstra has heartbreakingly shown us the universality of childhood openness.         

It's the Fourth of July, by George!

Today I missed hearing the Boston Pops play the 1812 Overture. Although rousing, Tchaikovsky’s signature piece celebrates a European event 36 years after our John Adams-led Declaration of Independence. No less momentous was the Russian pyrrhic victory over Napoleon, but its subsequent result was quite different. The Russians preserved their country’s rule for the autocratic Czar Alexander I. The Romanovs would continue to dominate until the 1917 revolution and eventual assassination of Czar Nicholas II and his family. America clearly rejected hereditary rule and began a risky experiment in democracy. Today this experiment continues to challenge the role of government and an individual’s rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

My pride was particularly poignant as I walked the streets of London today. A statue of George Washington, our Continental Army’s commander and first elected president, holds a more prominent place than his nemesis, King George III. Washington’s statue is in prestigious Trafalgar Square, named for an earlier Napoleonic loss to Admiral Nelson whose column dominates the Square. The equestrian statue of George III is around the corner on a small traffic island, its inscription barely legible. Again I am struck by irony: George III, who saw no battlefield action, is depicted as a soldier on horseback; George Washington, who also fought in the French & Indian War alongside the British, is sculpted standing regally as a statesman.

The day before was Gay Pride Day in London. After the parade, Trafalgar Square was filled with people celebrating their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Cue the fireworks, by George!

Fact-checking queenly records

As I “mind the gap" stepping out of the tube at Victoria Station, I can’t help but think of the eponymous Queen, England’s longest reigning monarch of 63 years. Among female rulers in history only the sitting Queen Elizabeth II, now in her 58th year, comes closest to breaking Victoria’s record. Queen at 18 years of age, Victoria lived till 82. Elizabeth II, on the throne at age 25, is now 84. If genetics hold true, then Elizabeth II has a shot at record-breaking; her “mum,” also Queen Elizabeth, lived till 101.


Four blocks from the station is Eccleston Square, a leafy park surrounded by a high, intricately designed black wrought iron fence with a gate. Across from that neighborhood enclave is the Elizabeth Hotel, a charming bed &breakfast, named after another English queen. Elizabeth I also began her reign at age 25 and ruled for 45 years. I like to think of her as the original “glass ceiling breaker”-- not wanting to share power with a man, Elizabeth I never married. She preferred the moniker “Virgin Queen” and felt that she was “married” to her country. Elizabeth I, Shakespeare’s Queen, would have been hard-pressed to understand 19th century Queen Victoria’s collaborative ruling style. Victoria welcomed her beloved husband’s guidance and she and Prince Albert were parents to nine children.

Across town today, another queen is holding court and is about to add to her records. Serena Williams, ranked number one in the tennis world, is in the finals at Wimbledon and should she win, she will add a fourth Wimbledon and a 13th Grand Slam to her list. Already she has earned more career prize money than any female athlete in any sport in history.

As I drink my tea and spread strawberry jam on my scone in the breakfast room, I find pleasure in reflecting on these four women who made and are still making history.

China is nuts. . .about nuts!

Diced almonds wrapped in seaweed, crunchy almonds held together by donkey hide glue, and pickled nuts with chili peppers are just three creative ways the Chinese are indulging in their new found passion for American-grown nuts. Chinese nutty tastes are a boon for California's almond, walnut, and pecan industries--China is the top foreign buyer for each nut. William Neuman of the New York Times reports that the Chinese have always been fond of walnuts, most notably found in their moon cakes, and they are the world's number one grower. However, the Chinese consider American-grown walnuts to be of superior quality--that assessment, along with an American creative marketing plan for almonds and pecans, has lifted not only the Chinese palette but also the American nut industry.
Guess I didn't have to make that special trip to the Milton Marketplace for a container of their salted pecans to take on my trip!