[Note: This first draft may undergo additions, changes and corrections as time goes by -- as Sam might say]
Yes, I know I have used this shot previously to visually establish Ron & Maurene's home, but this was actually taken as we loaded up the Toyota for our drive to Liverpool. Once again Ron transported us flawlessly to our destination.
As luck would have it, the weekend we were visiting was the same weekend some other, perhaps more noteworthy people were in town: including Sir Paul, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison. Paul was performing in his hometown at the Anfield Stadium. The upshot was that Beatle Freaks had inundated the city and lodgings were very hard to come by. The Old Curmudgeon was able, after diligent searching, to secure an apartment over this real estate office in the Orrell Park section of Liverpool.
Here is Lauren performing her duties as official greeter.
This is the view from in front of our building showing the typical rowhouses.
After depositing luggage in our temporary abode, we found our way to the train station and headed downtown where we stopped into the Cavern Club for some refreshment (The Old Curmudgeon sampled the Strongbow Cider) and had a listen to an elderly gentleman serenade us with his guitar. Everyone forgot their camera, so the above shot is a recreation of the event taken the next day.This exertion having worn us all out, we eventually returned to Orrell Park and entered into negotiations about dinner. You know how it is. You're in a foreign country. It's dinner time and nobody can agree on what to have. We found ourselves in that predicament. So we compromised. Everyone went to the takeout location of their choice along the street our apartment was located. Grif wanted a cheeseburger and Lauren wanted pizza. The Greek place offered both of those items. Bobbie opted for Indian cuisine, which she obtained from (oddly, perhaps) from an Indian carry out. The Old Curmudgeon and Ron felt drawn to Fong's Fish & Chips. Ron was in the mood for Chinese food. I wish I could remember what he ordered. The Old Curmudgeon wanted the stereotypical British experience and opted for the fish & chips. It was observed that Liverpudlians apparently sometimes like brown gravy on their chips. The Curmudgeon waved this off, as well as the offer to apply curry to the dish.
He enthusiastically endorsed the addition of onions and malt vinegar, however. The resulting work of art was taken back to our digs where it was, because it seemed so impressive, photographed prior to consumption.
Yep. Those are definitely peas. It was all finger-lickin' good.
Ron enjoys his dinner in our spacious dinning room.
The next morning, bright and early, we tumbled into a cab and headed for Mathew Street. in the Cavern Quarter to join our motorcoach tour. Through careful intelligence work, Ron learned that our cab driver was a supporter of the Liverpool Football Club. We were to meet our tour guide and fellow tourists in front of the Cavern Club. We arrived in the area with plenty of time to spare and looked around a bit.
Around the corner from Mathew street is the Hard Day's Night Hotel.
The hotel gift shop had an exhibit of Beatle-related art, which all seemed to enjoy. The Old Curmudgeon overheard the clerks and a tour bus driver discussing the fact that Yoko was standing outside of John's boyhood addressing a group of people when his bus pulled up.
Well, back to the eavesdropping -- The clerk the bus driver was talking to related a story from a hairdresser who noticed Paul stepping out of a black car and pointing down Admiral Grove (where Ringo's boyhood home is located). She had stepped out of her shop and called over to him to inquire if he needed a haircut. He waved back and told her he had just had a cut.
So much for the stories involving local color. Where were we? Oh, yes, at the Hard Day's Night Hotel. Around the corner from the hotel is:
Mathew Street. From grubby warehouse side street to trendy tourist attraction in only forty years. It boasts some early Beatle hangouts, including the White Star Pub, the Grapes Pub and the famous Cavern Club (well, sort of -- read on).
One of the first things we encountered on Mathew street was this bust. The Old Curmudgeon spent an entire semester of graduate school studying swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. It was nice to see him again in Liverpool.
He enthusiastically endorsed the addition of onions and malt vinegar, however. The resulting work of art was taken back to our digs where it was, because it seemed so impressive, photographed prior to consumption.Yep. Those are definitely peas. It was all finger-lickin' good.
Ron enjoys his dinner in our spacious dinning room.
The next morning, bright and early, we tumbled into a cab and headed for Mathew Street. in the Cavern Quarter to join our motorcoach tour. Through careful intelligence work, Ron learned that our cab driver was a supporter of the Liverpool Football Club. We were to meet our tour guide and fellow tourists in front of the Cavern Club. We arrived in the area with plenty of time to spare and looked around a bit.
Around the corner from Mathew street is the Hard Day's Night Hotel.
The hotel gift shop had an exhibit of Beatle-related art, which all seemed to enjoy. The Old Curmudgeon overheard the clerks and a tour bus driver discussing the fact that Yoko was standing outside of John's boyhood addressing a group of people when his bus pulled up.
We didn't take this picture. Never the less, here is Yoko with Olivia Harrison on the previous day in the doorway of Mendips (251 Menlove Ave.), where John lived with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George from 1945 until 1963. Yoko purchased the house when it came onto the market in 2005 and immediately donated it to the National Trust (cross reference the "soap impression" from Happiness Is A Warm gun.). 
Our tour bus stopped on the street in front of the house but it was raining and the picture potential was not good, in my opinion. The National Trust does not provide tours on Sundays so we could not go inside. For those interested, a photo tour is available here.
Our tour bus stopped on the street in front of the house but it was raining and the picture potential was not good, in my opinion. The National Trust does not provide tours on Sundays so we could not go inside. For those interested, a photo tour is available here.Note that the band Oasis used the Lennon home on the cover of one of their singles (left)
Well, back to the eavesdropping -- The clerk the bus driver was talking to related a story from a hairdresser who noticed Paul stepping out of a black car and pointing down Admiral Grove (where Ringo's boyhood home is located). She had stepped out of her shop and called over to him to inquire if he needed a haircut. He waved back and told her he had just had a cut.
So much for the stories involving local color. Where were we? Oh, yes, at the Hard Day's Night Hotel. Around the corner from the hotel is:
Mathew Street. From grubby warehouse side street to trendy tourist attraction in only forty years. It boasts some early Beatle hangouts, including the White Star Pub, the Grapes Pub and the famous Cavern Club (well, sort of -- read on).
One of the first things we encountered on Mathew street was this bust. The Old Curmudgeon spent an entire semester of graduate school studying swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. It was nice to see him again in Liverpool.
#10 Mathew Street is a familiar address to the Beatle Geek. What you see above is the commemorative marker for the original entrance. The Cavern first opened its doors at this address on January 16, 1957. Patterned after Le Caveau Francais, a Paris jazz club, it was intended to present jazz exclusively. Skiffle was so
popular at the time that the rules were soon bent. In fact, the (pre-Paul and George) Quarry Men (then a skiffle group) made their first appearance on Wednesday August 7th, 1957, performing Railroad Bill, Maggie May, Cumberland Gap and other popular skiffle tunes. They attempted some rock and roll and got a note from owner Alan Sytner to `cut the bloody rock'.
popular at the time that the rules were soon bent. In fact, the (pre-Paul and George) Quarry Men (then a skiffle group) made their first appearance on Wednesday August 7th, 1957, performing Railroad Bill, Maggie May, Cumberland Gap and other popular skiffle tunes. They attempted some rock and roll and got a note from owner Alan Sytner to `cut the bloody rock'.Although some rock and roll occasionally was pawned off as jazz, it was not officially sanctioned until the Cavern came to be owned by Ray McFall. A year after taking over he allowed the first "beat night." On stage on that night in May of 1960 were the very popular Cass & The Casanovas and Rory Storm & The Hurricanes (with drummer Ringo Starr). This event marked the beginning of the end of jazz at the cavern and paved the way for popular DJ Bob Wooler to begin his residency as Master of Ceremonies and to make famous his opening line: "Greetings all you cave dwellers. Welcome to the best of cellars."
Their first Cavern performance as The Beatles was on March 21, 1961 when they were the warm-up for the Bluegenes. Later, on December 9th of 1961, during one of the 151 lunchtime sessions they played in the Cavern, the 27 year old Brian Epstien walked down the 18 steps of #10 Mathew Street to see for himself what this wild group of musicians called The Beatles was all about. Brian contracted to manage the lads and immediately worked to clean up their image. Soon they were sporting ties at their gigs:
and unusual art work:
This curious work by sculptor Arthur Dooley was erected in 1974. The guitar playing cherub with the "Lennon Lives" halo was added in 1980.
The Fab Four bench (not to be confused with the Group W bench).
To add to any confusion, there is a Cavern Pub as well as a Cavern Club. Of course all the kids wanted their pictures taken with John:
Nearby is the upscale Cavern Walks shopping area.
OK. Let's cover a couple of sites that we visited that we didn't take pictures of for one reason or another. So here are some stock photos. First of all, there is the Philharmonic Pub, known by regulars as "The Phil." John Lennon would have called it that. It is considered by author Ron Jones to be the best example of "Victorian pub exuberance" in Liverpool. It was frequented by the Fabs as an alternate to Ye Cracke, another favorite nearby. Lennon once complained that the price of fame was "not being able to go to the Phil for a drink."
Another noteworthy location is Lewis's department store. First opened in 1856 by a man named (can you believe it?) David Lewis. It was here that a young Paul McCartney worked for a time. It was also the site of a November, 1962 concert by the Beatles (John, Paul, George & Pete) for a staff "Young Idea Dance."
However, in spite of the Beatles connections, Lewis's store is most famous for its sculpture by Jacob Epstein entitled Liverpool Resurgent but referred to by the locals as Dickie Lewis.
The statue is a popular landmark to meet under and has been immortalized in the 1962 Peter McGovern song, "In My Liverpool Home.":
Now, back to our own pictures:
The "Jac" was once owned by Allan Williams, the diminutive (and Welsh) first "manager" of the Beatles and was a favored hangout for the then struggling group during their student days. The small basement was where people gathered to hear the house band, "The Royal Caribbean" west Indian steel band. The boys, who apparently missed their callings as painters (more about that later), were hired to paint the ladies lavatory at the Jac.
On Monday, May 30, 1960, the Silver Beatles (their name having now evolved from previous names: Quarrymen, Johnny & the Moondogs and Beatals - not a typo) gathered in this "dressing room" to prepare for their first performance at the Jacaranda. It was to be the last performance with the group for Tommy Moore. The Silver Beatles played about a dozen times at the Jac during lunch and on Monday nights when the Royal Caribbean band had the night off. Norman Chapman handled drumming duties.
Lauren and our tour guide Jackie at the basement "stage" area of the Jac. The wall painting in the background is said to be the work of Stuart, although some dispute this assertion.
Whatever the truth about the decor, this is the room in which John, Paul, George and Stuart "auditioned" Pete Best for the job of drummer prior their booking in Hamburg. Here's a look at the band shortly thereafter:
Bobbie noticed this mural on the back side of a ceiling beam and captured the image.
Upon leaving the Jac, we were back on the bus traveling to:
The birthplace of John Ono (nee Winston) Lennon.
John warrants a historical marker, which isn't really there, so there's no need for any hard feelings on the part of anyone else (like Ringo, for example, but wait a bit...).
From the John's birthplace, we travel to #9 (#9, #9, #9, #9) Madryn Street, the birthplace of one Richard Starkey. He was born in the front room of this Victorian terraced house in 1940, just prior to the start of Hitler's Liverpool bombing raids. Richard's parents split when he was 3 years old. His mother found work as a barmaid and little Richie spent most of his time with grandparents and neighbors. Notice there's no official government historical marker. However, if you look closely at the picture below, you will note that the neighbor across the street has unofficially commemorated the site by a clever manipulation of the morter to form the word "Beatles."
Ringo's birthplace was sold at auction in 1997 and restored. However, in 2005 the Liverpool City Council decided to demolish Ringo's street (and nine others). They later stipulated that, although there is no historical significance to this site, they would disassemble the house, brick by brick, for later reassembly at an as yet to be determined location. For similar political foresight, cross-reference the Cavern Club.
A few years after his parents split, Ringo's mother moved from #9 Madryn Street to #10 Admiral Grove. If you are old enough, you may barely remember Ringo's first solo album, Sentimental Journey.
The cover of the album features the Empress pub, located at the end of Admiral Grove. Admiral Grove is to the right of the pub in this picture of the album cover.
The Empress doesn't look much different today from when Ringo's mother used to walk to her job here.
#10 -- the Ringo's boyhood home and base of operations until the Beatles relocated to London.
Our bus let us off at the Empress, we walked down Admiral Grove and stopped in front of #10. As Jackie began to talk about Ringo's days in residence here she non-nonchalantly rapped her knuckle on the front window. To the surprise of the all of the rest of us, the current resident, Margaret Grose, soon opened the door and invited us all in. It was a bit crowded, but thrilling to The Old Curmudgeon, none the less
Margaret has apparently kept the front room as it was when she took possession from Ringo's family. Pictures of Ringo's friends and heroes adorn the walls, as do what looked like some of his school records. There was a picture of Ringo returning home from Beatleing to visit his mum in white shirt and tie, sitting on the hearth in the room in which we were standing. Margaret chatted with us for a while. She displayed a stuffed bear sporting an Indiana University scarf and cap -- a gift from the I.U. Music of the Beatles class students touring the previous week.
For a trip in Mr. Peabody's Wayback machine to glimpse this location as it was 40 some years ago...
However, it should be noted that things have changed a bit in Ringo's dear, dear old hometown. It seems that the ever-cheeky Fab insulted a significant portion of Liverpool by some remarks
he made while visiting in January of this year. Liverpuddlians apparently do not take kindly to much ambiguity in the area of loyalty to the city. When Ringo cracked that he didn't miss anything about the 'Pool, there was a backlash, culminating in a slight alteration of a noted topiary installation. Although we did not get to see this desicration personally, Jackie's description prompted The Old Curmudgeon to dig around for photographic documentation, which is presented for your perusal. Be warned, there is evidence of brutal decapitation. Parental Guidance is advised:
Let us put this disturbing image out of our minds and return to our tour:
Friday, October 18, 1957 Paul debuted as a Quarryman here at the New Clubmoor Hall at a function hosted by the Conservative Men's Club. John made a special introduction of Paul as a new member of the group. In spite of furious practice of the guitar solos on "Raunchy" and "Guitar Boogey Shuffle," McCartney missed his cue for "Raunchy,"
played all the wrong notes and succeeded in causing Lennon to laugh out loud on stage at his embarrassed countenance. This was to be the last solo entrusted to Paul for a good long time (perhaps until Taxman on the Revolver album). After the show that evening (perhaps to save face), Paul played some of his compositions for John, including "I Lost My Little Girl." John played some of his to Paul and the rest, as they say, well, you know. A month later Paul introduced John to George, who impressed John with his performance of "Raunchy" on the upper level of a double-decker bus. However, John believed George to be too young for the Quarrymen and it was only because of Paul's persistent lobbying that George was eventually hired, apparently after an audition in March of 1958 at Rory Storm's "Morgue Skiffle Club," in which he performed "Guitar Boogey Shuffle."
Interior shot of the hall.
Lauren poses at the shrine on the historic stage.
Shown above at their second performance at the New Clubmoor Hall about a month after their premier performance there: (from left to right) Colin Hanton, Paul McCartney, Len Garry, John Lennon and Eric Griffiths.
Their first Cavern performance as The Beatles was on March 21, 1961 when they were the warm-up for the Bluegenes. Later, on December 9th of 1961, during one of the 151 lunchtime sessions they played in the Cavern, the 27 year old Brian Epstien walked down the 18 steps of #10 Mathew Street to see for himself what this wild group of musicians called The Beatles was all about. Brian contracted to manage the lads and immediately worked to clean up their image. Soon they were sporting ties at their gigs:Above: August 22, 1962
As the years went by, the Cavern fell on hard times. It was closed down in 1966 and reopened six months later. It's doors finally closed in May of 1973. With tremendous foresight regarding the maintenance of cultural treasures and support of tourism, the warehouse above the Cavern was demolished and the space utilized as a work site for the new underground railway system. The former beat club became an air shaft. The current Cavern Club is a replica built using bricks from the original Cavern. The stage area has been recreated. The new Cavern is, thankfully, slightly larger than the original and serves beverages stronger than coffee and Coke. Sir Paul held his final performance of the millennium here on December 14, 1999.
Meanwhile, in 2008, having arrived a bit early for our tour departure, we explore Mathews street. Of course there are gift shops...
Meanwhile, in 2008, having arrived a bit early for our tour departure, we explore Mathews street. Of course there are gift shops...
and unusual art work:
This curious work by sculptor Arthur Dooley was erected in 1974. The guitar playing cherub with the "Lennon Lives" halo was added in 1980.
The Fab Four bench (not to be confused with the Group W bench).To add to any confusion, there is a Cavern Pub as well as a Cavern Club. Of course all the kids wanted their pictures taken with John:
Nearby is the upscale Cavern Walks shopping area.
OK. Let's cover a couple of sites that we visited that we didn't take pictures of for one reason or another. So here are some stock photos. First of all, there is the Philharmonic Pub, known by regulars as "The Phil." John Lennon would have called it that. It is considered by author Ron Jones to be the best example of "Victorian pub exuberance" in Liverpool. It was frequented by the Fabs as an alternate to Ye Cracke, another favorite nearby. Lennon once complained that the price of fame was "not being able to go to the Phil for a drink."
Another noteworthy location is Lewis's department store. First opened in 1856 by a man named (can you believe it?) David Lewis. It was here that a young Paul McCartney worked for a time. It was also the site of a November, 1962 concert by the Beatles (John, Paul, George & Pete) for a staff "Young Idea Dance."
However, in spite of the Beatles connections, Lewis's store is most famous for its sculpture by Jacob Epstein entitled Liverpool Resurgent but referred to by the locals as Dickie Lewis.
The statue is a popular landmark to meet under and has been immortalized in the 1962 Peter McGovern song, "In My Liverpool Home.":
- "We speak with an accent exceedingly rare,
- Meet under a statue exceedingly bare"
Now, back to our own pictures:
The "Jac" was once owned by Allan Williams, the diminutive (and Welsh) first "manager" of the Beatles and was a favored hangout for the then struggling group during their student days. The small basement was where people gathered to hear the house band, "The Royal Caribbean" west Indian steel band. The boys, who apparently missed their callings as painters (more about that later), were hired to paint the ladies lavatory at the Jac.
On Monday, May 30, 1960, the Silver Beatles (their name having now evolved from previous names: Quarrymen, Johnny & the Moondogs and Beatals - not a typo) gathered in this "dressing room" to prepare for their first performance at the Jacaranda. It was to be the last performance with the group for Tommy Moore. The Silver Beatles played about a dozen times at the Jac during lunch and on Monday nights when the Royal Caribbean band had the night off. Norman Chapman handled drumming duties.
Lauren and our tour guide Jackie at the basement "stage" area of the Jac. The wall painting in the background is said to be the work of Stuart, although some dispute this assertion.
Whatever the truth about the decor, this is the room in which John, Paul, George and Stuart "auditioned" Pete Best for the job of drummer prior their booking in Hamburg. Here's a look at the band shortly thereafter:
Bobbie noticed this mural on the back side of a ceiling beam and captured the image.Upon leaving the Jac, we were back on the bus traveling to:
The birthplace of John Ono (nee Winston) Lennon.
John warrants a historical marker, which isn't really there, so there's no need for any hard feelings on the part of anyone else (like Ringo, for example, but wait a bit...).
From the John's birthplace, we travel to #9 (#9, #9, #9, #9) Madryn Street, the birthplace of one Richard Starkey. He was born in the front room of this Victorian terraced house in 1940, just prior to the start of Hitler's Liverpool bombing raids. Richard's parents split when he was 3 years old. His mother found work as a barmaid and little Richie spent most of his time with grandparents and neighbors. Notice there's no official government historical marker. However, if you look closely at the picture below, you will note that the neighbor across the street has unofficially commemorated the site by a clever manipulation of the morter to form the word "Beatles."
Ringo's birthplace was sold at auction in 1997 and restored. However, in 2005 the Liverpool City Council decided to demolish Ringo's street (and nine others). They later stipulated that, although there is no historical significance to this site, they would disassemble the house, brick by brick, for later reassembly at an as yet to be determined location. For similar political foresight, cross-reference the Cavern Club.
A few years after his parents split, Ringo's mother moved from #9 Madryn Street to #10 Admiral Grove. If you are old enough, you may barely remember Ringo's first solo album, Sentimental Journey.
The cover of the album features the Empress pub, located at the end of Admiral Grove. Admiral Grove is to the right of the pub in this picture of the album cover.
The Empress doesn't look much different today from when Ringo's mother used to walk to her job here.
#10 -- the Ringo's boyhood home and base of operations until the Beatles relocated to London.
Our bus let us off at the Empress, we walked down Admiral Grove and stopped in front of #10. As Jackie began to talk about Ringo's days in residence here she non-nonchalantly rapped her knuckle on the front window. To the surprise of the all of the rest of us, the current resident, Margaret Grose, soon opened the door and invited us all in. It was a bit crowded, but thrilling to The Old Curmudgeon, none the less
Margaret has apparently kept the front room as it was when she took possession from Ringo's family. Pictures of Ringo's friends and heroes adorn the walls, as do what looked like some of his school records. There was a picture of Ringo returning home from Beatleing to visit his mum in white shirt and tie, sitting on the hearth in the room in which we were standing. Margaret chatted with us for a while. She displayed a stuffed bear sporting an Indiana University scarf and cap -- a gift from the I.U. Music of the Beatles class students touring the previous week.
For a trip in Mr. Peabody's Wayback machine to glimpse this location as it was 40 some years ago...
However, it should be noted that things have changed a bit in Ringo's dear, dear old hometown. It seems that the ever-cheeky Fab insulted a significant portion of Liverpool by some remarks
he made while visiting in January of this year. Liverpuddlians apparently do not take kindly to much ambiguity in the area of loyalty to the city. When Ringo cracked that he didn't miss anything about the 'Pool, there was a backlash, culminating in a slight alteration of a noted topiary installation. Although we did not get to see this desicration personally, Jackie's description prompted The Old Curmudgeon to dig around for photographic documentation, which is presented for your perusal. Be warned, there is evidence of brutal decapitation. Parental Guidance is advised:
Let us put this disturbing image out of our minds and return to our tour:
Friday, October 18, 1957 Paul debuted as a Quarryman here at the New Clubmoor Hall at a function hosted by the Conservative Men's Club. John made a special introduction of Paul as a new member of the group. In spite of furious practice of the guitar solos on "Raunchy" and "Guitar Boogey Shuffle," McCartney missed his cue for "Raunchy,"
played all the wrong notes and succeeded in causing Lennon to laugh out loud on stage at his embarrassed countenance. This was to be the last solo entrusted to Paul for a good long time (perhaps until Taxman on the Revolver album). After the show that evening (perhaps to save face), Paul played some of his compositions for John, including "I Lost My Little Girl." John played some of his to Paul and the rest, as they say, well, you know. A month later Paul introduced John to George, who impressed John with his performance of "Raunchy" on the upper level of a double-decker bus. However, John believed George to be too young for the Quarrymen and it was only because of Paul's persistent lobbying that George was eventually hired, apparently after an audition in March of 1958 at Rory Storm's "Morgue Skiffle Club," in which he performed "Guitar Boogey Shuffle."
Interior shot of the hall.
Lauren poses at the shrine on the historic stage.
Shown above at their second performance at the New Clubmoor Hall about a month after their premier performance there: (from left to right) Colin Hanton, Paul McCartney, Len Garry, John Lennon and Eric Griffiths.After soaking up the atmosphere at New Clubmoor, we boarded our coach again and headed for the West Derby area of Liverpool to visit the home of Peter Best and family. 
Pete and his brother Rory were born in Madras, British India. The family moved to England when Pete was four years old. The family lived in various houses over the years. One day in 1957, Rory told his mother Mona (known as "Mo.") about a large Victorian place for sale at 8 Hayman's Green. Mona liked the house but lacked sufficient capital. The story goes that she pawned all of her jewelry and used the proceeds to place a bet on "Never Say Die," a horse ridden by Lester Piggot in the 1954 Epsom Derby. The horse was a long shot but won at odds of 33-1. Mona used her winnings to secure the property in 1957. Inspired by a news report documenting the "discovery" of several singers in a London coffee bar, Mona decided to create such a place for her sons and their friends in the cellar of their home. Mona established a membership system that involved the payment of dues as well as an admission fee to keep out undesirables. Soft drinks and snacks were served. Dubbed The Casbah Coffee Club, it boasted the only espresso machine in the area. Records were played via a small record player. The Les Stewert Quartet (with George Harrison who apparently had joined this band due to a dearth of gigs for the Quarrymen ) had been booked for opening night but Stewert canceled due to a disagreement with band mate Ken Brown. Brown had missed a rehearsal because he was helping Mona decorate the club. 
With 300 memberships sold by that time, there seemed to be some urgency to provide live music at the grand opening. Young George mentioned his two friends who had a group. John, Paul, Stuart and George met with Mona and came to terms. It was decided that George and Ken would join John and Paul and play as the drummerless Quarrymen. However, Mona emphasized that the preparations for opening night were not complete and compelled the boys to lend a hand. All four musicians pitched in to help with painting. John's then girlfriend, Cynthia Powell, painted a silhouette of him on the wall based on a picture taken of the band at an earlier audition for impresario Larry Parnes. Above is a shot of opening night at The Casbah with George, Paul, Ken and John.
Pete and his brother Rory were born in Madras, British India. The family moved to England when Pete was four years old. The family lived in various houses over the years. One day in 1957, Rory told his mother Mona (known as "Mo.") about a large Victorian place for sale at 8 Hayman's Green. Mona liked the house but lacked sufficient capital. The story goes that she pawned all of her jewelry and used the proceeds to place a bet on "Never Say Die," a horse ridden by Lester Piggot in the 1954 Epsom Derby. The horse was a long shot but won at odds of 33-1. Mona used her winnings to secure the property in 1957. Inspired by a news report documenting the "discovery" of several singers in a London coffee bar, Mona decided to create such a place for her sons and their friends in the cellar of their home. Mona established a membership system that involved the payment of dues as well as an admission fee to keep out undesirables. Soft drinks and snacks were served. Dubbed The Casbah Coffee Club, it boasted the only espresso machine in the area. Records were played via a small record player. The Les Stewert Quartet (with George Harrison who apparently had joined this band due to a dearth of gigs for the Quarrymen ) had been booked for opening night but Stewert canceled due to a disagreement with band mate Ken Brown. Brown had missed a rehearsal because he was helping Mona decorate the club. 
With 300 memberships sold by that time, there seemed to be some urgency to provide live music at the grand opening. Young George mentioned his two friends who had a group. John, Paul, Stuart and George met with Mona and came to terms. It was decided that George and Ken would join John and Paul and play as the drummerless Quarrymen. However, Mona emphasized that the preparations for opening night were not complete and compelled the boys to lend a hand. All four musicians pitched in to help with painting. John's then girlfriend, Cynthia Powell, painted a silhouette of him on the wall based on a picture taken of the band at an earlier audition for impresario Larry Parnes. Above is a shot of opening night at The Casbah with George, Paul, Ken and John.The Quarrymen played a series of seven Saturday night performances using the solitary available microphone hooked up to the club's small PA system. The musicians received 15
shillings each for their night's work. After word of that first night spread, lines extended from the door along the considerable distance to the street. Ken's career as a Quarryman lasted for six performances. In what appears to be a developing pattern, there was a disagreement with Paul and John about money. It seems Ken showed up for gig number seven and was ill. Mona Best insisted that he not perform but had him take the tickets. She also insisted on paying him his portion of the performance fee for his help at the door. John & Paul insisted that his share of the
shillings each for their night's work. After word of that first night spread, lines extended from the door along the considerable distance to the street. Ken's career as a Quarryman lasted for six performances. In what appears to be a developing pattern, there was a disagreement with Paul and John about money. It seems Ken showed up for gig number seven and was ill. Mona Best insisted that he not perform but had him take the tickets. She also insisted on paying him his portion of the performance fee for his help at the door. John & Paul insisted that his share of theperformance fee should be split among those who actually played. Furious at Mona's refusal, the other three canceled the rest of their residency and stormed out and another musician missed a chance for fame and fortune. He soon joined Pete Best and the Blackjacks, which became the new band in residence. As time went by and tempers cooled, the Quarrymen occasionally returned to play and to visit. Drummers had always been a problem for the group. In 1960, playing under the Silver Beatles moniker Tommy Moore, who some would say was the best drummer the group has ever had, manned the drums briefly. Tommy's girlfriend didn't like him wasting his time with this bunch of losers so he left the band after about a month -- shortly after their unsatisfying tour of Scotland. Norman Chapman
became the next drummer but he was soon called up for military service. The band made do with no drummer for part of that summer ("The rhythm is in the guitars!"). However, on August 6, 1960 they dropped into the Casbah when their gig at the Grosvenor was unexpectedly canceled. There they noticed Pete Best drumming with the Blackjacks. They may have been impressed with his drumming, but they were surely impressed with his blue drum set. Pete joined the Silver Beatles on August 16, 1960 just prior to the band's first stint in Hamburg. As a matter of fact, it was at the Casbah that Lennon and McCartney famously convinced Stuart Sutcliffe to spend the proceeds from the sale of one of his paintings on a Hofner bass guitar so he could join the band, in spite of the fact he was no musician. Other familiar names to play at the Casbah were Cilla Black, Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, The Searchers and Gerry & The Pacemakers. With a membership roll of over 1000 in 1962, Mona decided to close the club.The Beatles performed the final show of the Casbah Coffee Club. The Best home is now a Grade II Listed Building because of its historical/cultural significance. So, let's review. Ringo's birthplace is being torn down and the house of the drummer that was fired from the Beatles is protected by the government for historical significance. The sound you hear is Ringo mumbling to himself.
Upon first entering the former coal cellar, one may see the original microphone used at the club along with numerous photos of performers and performances.
Ron inspects some vintage photos beneath the "Aztec" ceiling painted by John Lennon. According to the story, his first version involved depictions of little cartoon characters of his invention. Pete's mother did not approve and made John paint over it. She found this effort to be satisfactory.
Irrepressible John carved his name into the wall. Mona was angry about the defacement of her woodwork.
Below, the Spider Web room then...
...and now:
Pete's younger brother, Rory, leads the tour and tells amazing stories from the vantage point of eye-witness.
Here's another shot of the Quarrymen on opening night at the Casbah, Saturday August 29, 1959, showing the Rainbow Ceiling painted by Paul. John is to Paul's right and the young brunnette smiling at John is Cynthia Powell, who will soon enough be Cynthia Lennon.
This is the Rainbow Room as it looked on the day we visited. Displayed are an old Vox amplifier and other gear used during the Casbah's heyday
Grif poses in front of the original Casbah fridge, specially imported from the USA because of it's huge capacity compared with its English counterparts
Bobbie waits for the shades of the Quarrymen to open the door to grab a Coke.
The silhouette of John painted by his then girlfriend, and fellow art school student, Cynthia Powell.
The Ron and The Old Curmudgeon wait to take a look at the souvenir stand.
Rory and The Old Curmudgeon compare their knowledge of Beatles trivia.
Jackie, Rory and Lauren happy after a wonderful tour.
We left the Casbah and boarded the bus for our luncheon destination. Before detailing that, however, let us note that on June 22, 1957 The Quarry Men made their first public appearance
on Empire Day in Rosebery Street They played on the back of a truck (which they would have referred to as a "lorry") and were not paid for the job. And here they are, left to right: Colin Hanton (drums), Eric Griffiths (guitar), John Lennon (guitar/vocals), Ivan Vaughn ("tea chest " bass), Pete Shotten (washboard) and Rod Davis (banjo).
We were to have lunch at St. Peter's Church where on July 6, 1957, the Quarrymen were scheduled to play at the Woolton Village Fete. As it happened, former Quarrymen bass player Ivan Vaughn knew this guy who played the guitar pretty well, named Paul, and suggested they go have a look at the Quarrymen at the St. Peter's gig. And so it was that a
young Paul McCartney arrived at the church, walked to the adjoining field and beheld the scene at the right: Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton, Rod Davis, John Lennon, Pete Shotton and new tea chest bassist, Len Garry. As the story goes, McCartney noticed that Lennon was performing "Come and Go With Me" by the Del Vikings and didn't seem to know all of the words, but did a great job of making up his own. Indeed, beyond that, Lennon had his guitar tuned like a banjo and was using banjo chords taught to him by his mother. The band was scheduled to play in the church hall later. It was there that Paul and John were introduced and Paul impressed John by being able to play Twenty Flight Rock (and by knowing all the correct words).
That sacred hall of St. Peter's Church was to be the location of our lunch. The Old Curmudgeon was nearly beside himself with excitement!
Having egressed from the bus, we walked past this timeless message on the church grounds.
Entering the historic space, we are welcomed by members of the church who have prepared local delicacies for us. This was an unexpected pleasure to be able to sample some home cooking based on local Liverpool recipes.If you click on the picture, above, it will be large enough to make out the countenance of Ron in the midst of hungry pilgrims. We were in for a surprise as a man carrying a guitar came in out of the Liverpool rain and said a word to our guide Jackie.
A few moments later, Jackie announced that Len Garry, one of the original Quarrymen was present to serenade us and to reminisce about the early days with his old mates. Len played
with the Quarrymen from the spring of 1957 to summer of 1958. Len and John were close friends but Len's musical career was sidelined by meningitis at the age of 16, requiring a seven month hospital stay. Upon discharge, his physician ordered him to avoid crowded, smoke-filled venues toprevent a relapse. Since this was a description of many of the places the Quarrymen played, Len's association with the band came to an end. Being right there at the genesis of arguably the world's most famous popular music quartet, you might wonder why he hasn't written a book. Heck, he could call it John, Paul & Me: Before the Beatles. Well, maybe he'll think of it one day.
Len brought his granddaughter along. She and Lauren had a great time hanging out together.
Even the none Beatle Freaks enjoyed the show.
As we left the church hall, we paused in the cemetery to pay our respects to Elenore Rigby, who was buried along with her name. Someone has come at last.
And now, let me take you down, cause I'm going to...
Originally opened as a Salvation Army Children's home in 1936. The grounds were a favorite haunt of a young John Lennon. Both he and Yoko financially supported the home, which ceased to operate in 2005.
Lauren appears to be surprisingly real. Hmmm. In light of that we hope she will value awareness as she continues her development. As someone once said, "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see."
Grif finds nothing to get hung about.
Although we enjoyed visiting this historic landmark, we couldn't stay at Strawberry Fields forever, so we pushed on to our next destination:
20 Forthlin Road is the boyhood home of Sir Paul McCartney. Paul's bedroom window is above the door. The family moved here in 1955. A year later, his mother Mary was dead of breast cancer and father Jim McCartney was the single parent of two boys. This house was a favorite rehearsal site for John and Paul as well as the location in which they wrote 20-some songs, including "I Saw Her Standing There." The National Trust bought this place when it came on the market in 1996 (sorry Ringo)
12 Arnold Grove, Liverpool 15 where, on February 25, 1945 George Harrison was born into this modest "two up, two down" with an outhouse.
Through the bus window -- a poor picture of a shelter in the middle of a roundabout...that can only mean that we traveling down a famous street...
...it's in our ears and in our eyes.
Wet beneath the blue suburban skies. Is there a portrait of the Queen in that young man's pocket? We may never know. Jackie took us to an out of the way location for this picture opportunity. As you might imagine, the city of Liverpool has a hard time keeping these signs in place because of their souvenir potential. In some locations, the city has just given up on replacing missing street signs (as is the case in London with the Abbey Road signs).
Among all the other passengers on the tour, our party was exceptional in that we had no tickets to the Liverpool Sound concert that night. As luck would have it, we were able to score tickets form some of the Icelandic contingent on the tour bus. We joined the throng entering the Anfield Stadium to see the show. Luckily, my we were able to capture a bit of the experience using the camera on our cell phone:
Wasn't that great? I'm afraid that if you question Ron about this, he will not remember any of it. You see, by the time we got the tickets and helped him into the stadium, he was quite drunk. Much the pity for him, I'm afraid. Alright, alright, I admit it. I made all that up. We were offered tickets to the show, but we had a long drive back to Bath, so we kindly declined the offer. Jackie, the sweetheart that she is, arranged for our very nice and suffering (aka not a fan of the Beatles) bus driver to drop us off at our car on his way back to the garage. We had the coach to ourselves for the drive and learned that our driver was an Everton supporter. Having achieved balance by being driven into town by a Liverpool Football Club fan and driven out of town (in the nicest possible way) by an Everton man, we felt a sense of satisfactory completion.
The drive to Bath was several hours, but the reminiscing about our more youthful days and the resulting laughter made the trip seem short to The Old Curmudgeon (who it should be noted was not driving -- easy for him to say!)
We arrived home in time to watch the concert on the telly:
The Brits are so darned civilized that they broadcast the concert in its entirety at 11:00 PM. We were able to sit in comfort and munch a few McVities digestives while watching the Kaiser Chiefs and Sir Paul with David Grohl. Additionally, the Beebe offered the concert free over the internet the following week. You can't hate that.! Free music. Free health care. We got off to such a good start over here in this country, where did we miss the boat?
The following morning it was time to say our goodbyes to the Garners (and for the Garners to discretely heave a big sigh of relief). The trip had been everything hoped for and more for TOC. To reconnect with Ron and Maurene and bask in their gentle and wise spiritual fields was a balm. It was the trip of a lifetime for our family.
The flight from Bristol to Newark was uneventful until we entered customs. It should be noted that upon our reentry into the USA from Mexico in February a Homeland Security agent stalled The Old Curmudgeon for a bit, asking if he had ever lived in Texas. We were worried then that we might not make our connecting flight. This time, however, it's Bobbie's passport that the agent sets aside as he stalled a bit. Standing in the line of aisle 35, we could not read the computer screen of our agent, of course. That would show a stupid lack of foresight on the part of a government agency charged with protecting our safety. As I turned my head to read several of the other screens easily visible, I noted that they all displayed in huge font: "ARMED AND DANGEROUS IN AISLE 35." Hmmm. That's the aisle we're in. The agent eventually explained to Bobbie that she would have to be separated from our family and take a special elevator to the lower level where she would be questioned. The agent assured us that there was a glass wall through which we would be able to see each other from the baggage claim area. We were all in some form of shock at this point and the Old Curmudgeon (thinking back to February) could not immediately get it through his thick skull that it was his lovely spouse and not him they were separating for special treatment. Students of psychoanalysis may make of this what they will. Bobbie was escorted by a uniformed official to the private elevator, which she entered alone. On the floor below, she exited to find herself to be the only Caucasian joining a throng of people cooling their heels. Asking a man near her how long he had been waiting, she learned, as the man began to weep, that he had been there several hours. Bobbie began to believe that, at this rate, we would not catch our flight to Indianapolis. Fortunately for us, she was summoned to the desk and informed that she was not the correct gender or race to qualify as the Robert Williams they were concerned about. And so, before The Old Curmudgeon could completely wrestle all the luggage from the conveyor belt, Bobbie had rejoined the family. We caught our flight to Indianapolis and returned home in the afternoon, local time, tired and happy, with several hours of sunlight to enjoy.
became the next drummer but he was soon called up for military service. The band made do with no drummer for part of that summer ("The rhythm is in the guitars!"). However, on August 6, 1960 they dropped into the Casbah when their gig at the Grosvenor was unexpectedly canceled. There they noticed Pete Best drumming with the Blackjacks. They may have been impressed with his drumming, but they were surely impressed with his blue drum set. Pete joined the Silver Beatles on August 16, 1960 just prior to the band's first stint in Hamburg. As a matter of fact, it was at the Casbah that Lennon and McCartney famously convinced Stuart Sutcliffe to spend the proceeds from the sale of one of his paintings on a Hofner bass guitar so he could join the band, in spite of the fact he was no musician. Other familiar names to play at the Casbah were Cilla Black, Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, The Searchers and Gerry & The Pacemakers. With a membership roll of over 1000 in 1962, Mona decided to close the club.The Beatles performed the final show of the Casbah Coffee Club. The Best home is now a Grade II Listed Building because of its historical/cultural significance. So, let's review. Ringo's birthplace is being torn down and the house of the drummer that was fired from the Beatles is protected by the government for historical significance. The sound you hear is Ringo mumbling to himself.
Upon first entering the former coal cellar, one may see the original microphone used at the club along with numerous photos of performers and performances.
Ron inspects some vintage photos beneath the "Aztec" ceiling painted by John Lennon. According to the story, his first version involved depictions of little cartoon characters of his invention. Pete's mother did not approve and made John paint over it. She found this effort to be satisfactory.
Irrepressible John carved his name into the wall. Mona was angry about the defacement of her woodwork.Below, the Spider Web room then...
...and now:
Pete's younger brother, Rory, leads the tour and tells amazing stories from the vantage point of eye-witness.
Here's another shot of the Quarrymen on opening night at the Casbah, Saturday August 29, 1959, showing the Rainbow Ceiling painted by Paul. John is to Paul's right and the young brunnette smiling at John is Cynthia Powell, who will soon enough be Cynthia Lennon.
This is the Rainbow Room as it looked on the day we visited. Displayed are an old Vox amplifier and other gear used during the Casbah's heyday
Grif poses in front of the original Casbah fridge, specially imported from the USA because of it's huge capacity compared with its English counterparts
Bobbie waits for the shades of the Quarrymen to open the door to grab a Coke.
The silhouette of John painted by his then girlfriend, and fellow art school student, Cynthia Powell.
Grif listens as Rory shares another memory.
The Ron and The Old Curmudgeon wait to take a look at the souvenir stand.
Rory and The Old Curmudgeon compare their knowledge of Beatles trivia.
Jackie, Rory and Lauren happy after a wonderful tour.We left the Casbah and boarded the bus for our luncheon destination. Before detailing that, however, let us note that on June 22, 1957 The Quarry Men made their first public appearance
on Empire Day in Rosebery Street They played on the back of a truck (which they would have referred to as a "lorry") and were not paid for the job. And here they are, left to right: Colin Hanton (drums), Eric Griffiths (guitar), John Lennon (guitar/vocals), Ivan Vaughn ("tea chest " bass), Pete Shotten (washboard) and Rod Davis (banjo).We were to have lunch at St. Peter's Church where on July 6, 1957, the Quarrymen were scheduled to play at the Woolton Village Fete. As it happened, former Quarrymen bass player Ivan Vaughn knew this guy who played the guitar pretty well, named Paul, and suggested they go have a look at the Quarrymen at the St. Peter's gig. And so it was that a
young Paul McCartney arrived at the church, walked to the adjoining field and beheld the scene at the right: Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton, Rod Davis, John Lennon, Pete Shotton and new tea chest bassist, Len Garry. As the story goes, McCartney noticed that Lennon was performing "Come and Go With Me" by the Del Vikings and didn't seem to know all of the words, but did a great job of making up his own. Indeed, beyond that, Lennon had his guitar tuned like a banjo and was using banjo chords taught to him by his mother. The band was scheduled to play in the church hall later. It was there that Paul and John were introduced and Paul impressed John by being able to play Twenty Flight Rock (and by knowing all the correct words).That sacred hall of St. Peter's Church was to be the location of our lunch. The Old Curmudgeon was nearly beside himself with excitement!
Having egressed from the bus, we walked past this timeless message on the church grounds.
Entering the historic space, we are welcomed by members of the church who have prepared local delicacies for us. This was an unexpected pleasure to be able to sample some home cooking based on local Liverpool recipes.If you click on the picture, above, it will be large enough to make out the countenance of Ron in the midst of hungry pilgrims. We were in for a surprise as a man carrying a guitar came in out of the Liverpool rain and said a word to our guide Jackie.
A few moments later, Jackie announced that Len Garry, one of the original Quarrymen was present to serenade us and to reminisce about the early days with his old mates. Len played
with the Quarrymen from the spring of 1957 to summer of 1958. Len and John were close friends but Len's musical career was sidelined by meningitis at the age of 16, requiring a seven month hospital stay. Upon discharge, his physician ordered him to avoid crowded, smoke-filled venues toprevent a relapse. Since this was a description of many of the places the Quarrymen played, Len's association with the band came to an end. Being right there at the genesis of arguably the world's most famous popular music quartet, you might wonder why he hasn't written a book. Heck, he could call it John, Paul & Me: Before the Beatles. Well, maybe he'll think of it one day.
Len brought his granddaughter along. She and Lauren had a great time hanging out together.
Even the none Beatle Freaks enjoyed the show.
As we left the church hall, we paused in the cemetery to pay our respects to Elenore Rigby, who was buried along with her name. Someone has come at last.And now, let me take you down, cause I'm going to...
Originally opened as a Salvation Army Children's home in 1936. The grounds were a favorite haunt of a young John Lennon. Both he and Yoko financially supported the home, which ceased to operate in 2005.
Lauren appears to be surprisingly real. Hmmm. In light of that we hope she will value awareness as she continues her development. As someone once said, "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see."
Grif finds nothing to get hung about.Although we enjoyed visiting this historic landmark, we couldn't stay at Strawberry Fields forever, so we pushed on to our next destination:
20 Forthlin Road is the boyhood home of Sir Paul McCartney. Paul's bedroom window is above the door. The family moved here in 1955. A year later, his mother Mary was dead of breast cancer and father Jim McCartney was the single parent of two boys. This house was a favorite rehearsal site for John and Paul as well as the location in which they wrote 20-some songs, including "I Saw Her Standing There." The National Trust bought this place when it came on the market in 1996 (sorry Ringo)
12 Arnold Grove, Liverpool 15 where, on February 25, 1945 George Harrison was born into this modest "two up, two down" with an outhouse.
Through the bus window -- a poor picture of a shelter in the middle of a roundabout...that can only mean that we traveling down a famous street...
...it's in our ears and in our eyes.
Wet beneath the blue suburban skies. Is there a portrait of the Queen in that young man's pocket? We may never know. Jackie took us to an out of the way location for this picture opportunity. As you might imagine, the city of Liverpool has a hard time keeping these signs in place because of their souvenir potential. In some locations, the city has just given up on replacing missing street signs (as is the case in London with the Abbey Road signs).Among all the other passengers on the tour, our party was exceptional in that we had no tickets to the Liverpool Sound concert that night. As luck would have it, we were able to score tickets form some of the Icelandic contingent on the tour bus. We joined the throng entering the Anfield Stadium to see the show. Luckily, my we were able to capture a bit of the experience using the camera on our cell phone:
Wasn't that great? I'm afraid that if you question Ron about this, he will not remember any of it. You see, by the time we got the tickets and helped him into the stadium, he was quite drunk. Much the pity for him, I'm afraid. Alright, alright, I admit it. I made all that up. We were offered tickets to the show, but we had a long drive back to Bath, so we kindly declined the offer. Jackie, the sweetheart that she is, arranged for our very nice and suffering (aka not a fan of the Beatles) bus driver to drop us off at our car on his way back to the garage. We had the coach to ourselves for the drive and learned that our driver was an Everton supporter. Having achieved balance by being driven into town by a Liverpool Football Club fan and driven out of town (in the nicest possible way) by an Everton man, we felt a sense of satisfactory completion.
The drive to Bath was several hours, but the reminiscing about our more youthful days and the resulting laughter made the trip seem short to The Old Curmudgeon (who it should be noted was not driving -- easy for him to say!)
We arrived home in time to watch the concert on the telly:
The Brits are so darned civilized that they broadcast the concert in its entirety at 11:00 PM. We were able to sit in comfort and munch a few McVities digestives while watching the Kaiser Chiefs and Sir Paul with David Grohl. Additionally, the Beebe offered the concert free over the internet the following week. You can't hate that.! Free music. Free health care. We got off to such a good start over here in this country, where did we miss the boat?
The following morning it was time to say our goodbyes to the Garners (and for the Garners to discretely heave a big sigh of relief). The trip had been everything hoped for and more for TOC. To reconnect with Ron and Maurene and bask in their gentle and wise spiritual fields was a balm. It was the trip of a lifetime for our family.
The flight from Bristol to Newark was uneventful until we entered customs. It should be noted that upon our reentry into the USA from Mexico in February a Homeland Security agent stalled The Old Curmudgeon for a bit, asking if he had ever lived in Texas. We were worried then that we might not make our connecting flight. This time, however, it's Bobbie's passport that the agent sets aside as he stalled a bit. Standing in the line of aisle 35, we could not read the computer screen of our agent, of course. That would show a stupid lack of foresight on the part of a government agency charged with protecting our safety. As I turned my head to read several of the other screens easily visible, I noted that they all displayed in huge font: "ARMED AND DANGEROUS IN AISLE 35." Hmmm. That's the aisle we're in. The agent eventually explained to Bobbie that she would have to be separated from our family and take a special elevator to the lower level where she would be questioned. The agent assured us that there was a glass wall through which we would be able to see each other from the baggage claim area. We were all in some form of shock at this point and the Old Curmudgeon (thinking back to February) could not immediately get it through his thick skull that it was his lovely spouse and not him they were separating for special treatment. Students of psychoanalysis may make of this what they will. Bobbie was escorted by a uniformed official to the private elevator, which she entered alone. On the floor below, she exited to find herself to be the only Caucasian joining a throng of people cooling their heels. Asking a man near her how long he had been waiting, she learned, as the man began to weep, that he had been there several hours. Bobbie began to believe that, at this rate, we would not catch our flight to Indianapolis. Fortunately for us, she was summoned to the desk and informed that she was not the correct gender or race to qualify as the Robert Williams they were concerned about. And so, before The Old Curmudgeon could completely wrestle all the luggage from the conveyor belt, Bobbie had rejoined the family. We caught our flight to Indianapolis and returned home in the afternoon, local time, tired and happy, with several hours of sunlight to enjoy.
The End
