@Liverpool, Merseyside, England.
Liverpool was one of the first cities of the United Kingdom I knew about, from my school days. It was not about the football club, it was about a chapter in the text about some cheeses from Liverpool, and extract from ‘Three Men in a Boat’ by Jerome K. Jerome. It was about those splendid cheeses with two hundred horse-power scent, able to knock a man over at two hundred yards; those wonderful things which were believed to exist with a hidden ability to awaken the corpses. It was one of the best passages of that time, and along with another story by O. Henry, provided enough fun in the class. If it is not funny for some of you out there, you can compare it to the other passages in that text which might not exist any more as the syllabus has gone to hell. To be frank, everything else in that text, including poems, paled in comparison. The book left me a city name to remember; it was Liverpool, which would come to the scene again with news about it’s teams later in the sports page of the news paper. But the name was written or rather carved into the mind by those fictional cheeses provided the much needed comic relief at a time when there was more tragedy with those evil monsters called Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology hovering around.
Being safe from Maths was always a high priority and when at Liverpool, I knew I was miles and years away from the abominable creature which is always looking for an ‘X’. It could have been Maths’ ex-girl friend, lost twin brother or it might just be mad enough to look for something which never even existed. In my humble opinion, Maths should get an autograph from Vin Diesel and ask him when the next part of XXX would release, and also book a ticket in advance. If it could adjust with an H, may be Triple H could be consulted; being someone with extra ‘H’s, he might be more than just glad to spare Maths with one of them. If Maths was related to Liverpool, that would have left a bad taste; from the Coat of arms of the Liverpool City Council itself, there is the influence of sea and related adventures without the savage Mathematics. It looks somewhat like an allusion to Greek mythology and it’s own Poseidon with a trident as well as a merman creature with a trumphet. The birds are there too, the ones related to the sea, along with the ship. What’s the place for some loathsome demon like Mathematics in such a wonderful place? May be in the waste basket in some random corner unless the basket itself started to complain in such a way as to create the perfect mental strain on the people sitting in the room.
Leaving the monster behind, the journey had to start with the Liverpool Anglican cathedral, the largest cathedral in the United Kingdom and the largest Anglican cathedral in the whole Europe. It is quite tall and claims to be the longest cathedral in the world. The building surely is a huge structure, but the view inside makes the outer view inferior with those wonderful stained glasses which reflects the light and when it falls on the walls of the building creates such an effect as to make one wonder if it is something beyond this world. The structure was bigger than what I had in my mind, and what made it bigger in spirit is the beauty of the chapels which were inside the cathedral. They gave more divine feeling to the building which had become more of a tourist place filled with many people; still the advantage was that the entrance was free, something which would have otherwise emptied the pockets of someone from a world outside Europe, Americas and Middle East. Liverpool cathedral was not really in my initial list of places to visit, but being there was great; getting that feeling free of cost was even a greater thing, and this one became my next favourite cathedral after the Yorkminster cathedral and St. Paul’s cathedral, a position which I would exchange with the Canterbury Cathedral on some occasions.
The wonderful architecture of Liverpool continues to the Roman Catholic side, the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King, the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool; the second cathedral of the city. It is very much near the Anglican cathedral and it’s design was something which was so much different as long as the church buildings were concerned. It would have been so easy to mistake it for a stadium as there were so many on the road, blessing my vision. The interior of the church was special, as there were so many effects produced by the light entering the building from the top. There were different colours and so many angles which provided an effect so magical which was not to be recreated in such a manner in any other churches for me. It was intended to be such a massive structure that would have become the second largest church in the world with the world’s largest dome. But it was not to be; still there is not really a big loss there as what exists there is no lesser creation; after all, God would choose to live in the hearts. For me, I would still wonder what did I just witness, just by getting in and out of the current building itself.
The only other church which was there on the list was the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, which had the Neo-Byzantine architecture style; even as it looked comparitively small with the Anglican church standing behind at a distance, it had that beauty of simplicity which was the first thing out there which brought the Byzantine Empire into my mind with just a stare. Princes Road Synagogue was also located so close to it, but closed during that time. It was another beautiful structure, this time on the other side of the road. Also, there was the Liverpool Football Club and not to forget the Everton Football Club. It was good to be at the city of both these clubs, but for Liverpool Football Club which has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, and for this football club which has won more European titles than any other English club, what I saw there was surely not enough. The closed club store, museum and tour centre along with not so clean surroundings in an abandoned area, didn’t really keep me there for enough. Still, Liverpool is the English team with which I have won most championships in those FIFA games which wandered through my life for a long time. There was surely no addition to my imaginations; a few deductions were made, but nothing too heavy.
I didn’t fail to notice the Liverpool University, Liverpool Daily Post and the Port of Liverpool Building; they were quick to catch the eye. I wished for more, but what I had was still enough, with the two magnificient churches as well as the stadium of the team with which I played too much FIFA games. What came with these were just add-ons as long as I consider it with a view which looks at it from a positive view point. There is always something which is left behind in every trip and a lot of things we always miss. I have been far away from perfection in most of my trips and whenever I got a bonus, it cost me another attraction and it never ceased to be so even after so many journeys. Still, this is about being at Liverpool, drinking tea and also what followed which was explained above, not to include Mathematics which was not part it. This was also where I had my first true McDonald’s burger with I actually enjoyed, along with what they called the McFlurry which I would miss all the time even after so much of drinking tea and milk shakes. The lack of McDonald’s is such a sad thing; it is a huge disappointment not to have one within the state. You don’t go to Liverpool each and every day except in those dreams; that ends my hope for McFlurry.
Diving out —>
TeNy
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