People around every corner they seem to smile and say we don't care what your name is boy, we'll never turn you away

I was down in Liverpool last week with my mate Kevin. While he was at his meeting I had the chance to do a bit of sightseeing

I have visited Liverpool many times over the years, both for business and pleasure and I have to confess it is not one of my favourite cities. This has always come as a surprise to me given that it is a city with a history steeped in music and football which are the two main vices in my own life

On this occasion I took a drive down into the Albert Dock area and along the side of the Mersey. This area has been majorly redeveloped in recent years and is now an important tourist destination for the city. There is the obligatory Yellow Submarine in the Dock and a Water Bus which I believe is called the Yellow Duckmarine. This appeared to be riding fairly low in the water and I was pleased that a man of my size was not adding to it's already sizable load.

The Mersey looking east...not a ferry in sight

The Mersey looking west and still not a ferry to be seen

The Liverpool Big Wheel and the Echo Arena

I have to say I was impressed by what has been done to this area so I thought I should weigh up my Liverpool influences in life to see if I have misjudged it in the past

MUSIC

You would expect this to be a large tick in the Plus Column with greats from the 60s such as The Beatles, Billy Fury, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers and Billy J Kramer and more recent acts like Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Teardrop Explodes and Echo and the Bunnymen.

But then I give you Frankie Vaughan, Ken Dodd, Cilla Black, The Scaffold, Sonia, Atomic Kitten and Rebecca Ferguson so already that category is tarnished

FOOTBALL

I have seen many football matches on Merseyside but three in particular had a major emotional impact on me.
In 1977 I was at Anfield with my two brothers to see Scotland beat Wales (yes, we used to actually beat Wales) and qualify for the 1978 World Cup. This was one of the best football occasions I have ever experienced and one of the finest goals I have ever seen from Mr Dalglish

A year earlier in 1976 I saw Sunderland lose 2-0 to Everton and suffer relegation on the same night that Coventry and Bristol City contrived to play out a 2-2 draw which saved them both. Not that I am bitter but I shed no tears for the current plight of those two particular teams

A few years ago my three sons and I drove down to Goodison for a game just after Christmas which Sunderland lost 5-0. My friend Dave from Liverpool, who we visited this week, got us tickets for this game. Unfortunately they were in an Everton fans section of the ground. It's not easy looking cheerful when your team is losing 5-0 and you are about to drive back up the road to Glasgow

So even allowing for the genius of King Kenny I would still say that is a tick in the Minus Column

TV

Apart from Z-Cars in the 60s and the wonderful Boys From The Blackstuff in the 80s I cannot think of any TV shows set in Liverpool which I have liked. Conversely we have the truly awful Bread, The Liver Birds, Brookside, Liverpool 1 and Watching (which along with the others mentioned certainly wasn't worth)

The Royal Liver Building with Polly James and Nerys Hughes visible on top of the towers


FILMS

In this category I can only bring myself to mention '51st State' which is undoubtedly one of the worst films I have ever seen and I have no idea what convinced Samuel L Jackson to participate in this movie and to wear a kilt whilst doing so. Unbelievably bad!

COMEDIANS

I can watch John Bishop but the appeal of Jimmy Tarbuck, Tom O'Connor, Paul O'Grady, Ken Dodd, Stan Boardman and Norman Vaughan has always escaped me. Maybe it's just me.

POP SONGS

I have always had a soft spot for 'Ferry Cross The Mersey' and 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever' are songs which reflect well on the city but then you have 'In My Liverpool Home' and 'Liverpool Lou' from our old friends The Scaffold and the truly cringe worthy 'Long Haired Lover From Liverpool' from Little Jimmy Osmond. I cannot decide whether or not I like 'Going Down To Liverpool' by The Bangles. It's certainly no 'Manic Monday' but has a certain strange charm

So there you have it. I am not sure there was enough there to change my initial ruling. In Scotland I think we would call it Not Proven

Notwithstanding it was a most enjoyable trip!