By Kaltun Abdillahi,
What makes Liverpool so great? Here on ‘The Liverpool Line’ we wanted to put the question to at least a few people out there living in the city. We got some replies & decided to put it together in a short video, with some good videos of well known places & attractions.
Let us know what you think! Facebook, Tweet us or email us at theliverpoolline@Thereflive.co.uk.
By Kaltun Abdillahi
Our website which has been a running project is soon coming to an end *awww* (we know)
But just before we leave you, with our two upcoming & final projects, we wanted to conduct a little poll to find out “What has been your favourite story on ‘The Liverpool Line’ so far? Our aim and USP from the very beginning was to bring you original features, news and other pieces/articles from around the Aigburth crossing the Liverpool waterfront up to the Crosby area.
The Liverpool Line…
Therefore I hope that we were able to provide this but do VOTE in the poll below & let us see your choices.
Don’t forget you can send us ‘Your Pictures’ from the Liverpool waterfront area that we’ll use & as ever can contact us via any of these Facebook, Tweet us or email us at theliverpoolline@ Thereflive.co.uk.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK? VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!
By Kaltun Abdillahi
That all important Mother’s Day is coming up and not long to go as well. Still looking for ideas or indecisive about what to get your deserving mum? Then you will be glad that ‘The Liverpool Line’ has compiled a list for you of the five best and ideal places to treat your mum on Sunday. (yes, that’s this Sunday…you best hurry…)
1. Cake shop in Aigburth: As nice as flowers are, for a special occasion such as ‘Mother’s Day’ it takes something unique to show your appreciation for your special mother. Personalised and or specially decorated, a little cake goes far and sugar can just about delight any day so this is why we recommend visiting Aigburth’s ‘The Cake Boutique’ which is making all kinds of cakes especially for ‘Mother’s Day’. With cupcakes starting from as little as £4.99, shop worker Angela told us “the competitive prices” is one of the reasons this is the perfect location to pick out a cake for your mum.
The Cake Boutique
Add a little balloon to really wrap up that cake…<3
2. Spa: Being a mother can heap its rewards but taking a break from all the duties and tasks it brings on ‘Mother’s Day’ is possibly every mothers wish. This is why a day at the spa would never go a waste and therefore we recommend booking some time out (for your mum) at the Olympus Health Club & Spa. Situated in the city centre, it means you are not too far from away from town for any other errands.
& relax…
pic @ Wikipedia
Olympus Health Club & Spa: soothe your stresses and reap the benefits of taking time out
3. Take her shopping and for lunch: Mother’s Day could also just mean that your mum just wants to spend time with her children and or family, so taking her for a simple day out for shopping and lunch will more than meet her desires/wishes.
Liverpool has a unique shopping centre in the rather impressive Liverpool One. During the day, you could plan a few surprises and even buy her a few gifts.
Figure out her favourite shops and tease her with the idea of buying that handbag or those shoes she has been looking out for…before wrapping it up for her in a gift set and heading out for some relaxing afternoon lunch, in one of the many city centre eating places/restaurants.
4. Cook for her: And if you do not fancy eating out, a cooked meal is just as appreciated as Liverpool mother Catherine told us: “We are also cooking her (mum) big fancy 3 course meal, which is a tradition in our family on Mother’s day. My daughter has also apparently picked me a surprise, however she is not yet two so I think my family have orchestrated that one. It is lovely being a mum on mother’s day, you feel really loved, and I like spending time with both my mother and daughter on it.”
5. Restaurant: A family meal at the newly re-opened Everyman Bistro restaurant could also go down as a treat this Sunday.
The Everyman Bistro restaurant is offering a menu with a “feast of culture”. (Liverpool Echo quote) You can choose from a variety of courses, including a two meal course for £14.95. As part of a Mother’s Day deal any Bistro visitors who order the day’s special menu will be able to book tickets to see the new play, Hope Place, showing at the Everyman theatre, costing £10 for performances between Friday 9th and May 13th.
Quote Mother’s Day at the box office, or call 0151 709 4776.
Liverpool student Emily Rice says the experience of taking her mother out is wonderful for Mother’s Day and enjoys as a treat for her mum. Emily said: “meals are good because it’s a nice relaxed way to spend time together and it’s nice to be able to treat my mum instead of the other way around.
My sister and I have taken her out for a meal before and it turned out really well and she was happy” she added.
By Catherine Cunningham
“The first night of Russell Howard’s Wonderbox tour reveals a fighting fit show but it’s time he moved out of his juvenile comfort zone.” -The Telegraph report, Dominic Cavendish.
“Wonderbox veers between playful and perverse, somehow finding a middle ground where the two extremes can blend.” – The Echo, Liverpool.
“Russell Howard was definitely one of my favourite comedians and now after his Wonderbox show, I couldn’t stop laughing. From his entrance, to his personal story at the end, he was absolutely brilliant- it was one of the best nights of my life!” – Charlie Black, Wonderbox attendee.
The floppy haired, 33 year old Bristolian comedian has recently been accused of losing his touch, and needing to diversify his act. Sitting in the Echo Arena on the 19th March, I can safely say that this crowd agreed with that in no way, shape or form.
Yes- he does stick to what he knows. Anecdotes about family and friends, childhood memories, fears- however with these base topics come all sort of tangents that could or could not be scripted, and the tangents are the ones that really get you in stitches.
Howard opened the act with a ridiculously stereotypical scouse impression, which was accepted with laughter and applause- one hell of an indicator that the night is going to go well. Then he started talking about tweets he’d received about Liverpool (apparently one of the best things to do here is to walk behind really slow old people.), again mocking the people of this city, however doing it in such a way that we managed to laugh at ourselves.
His dramatic entrance
The rest of the show, I want to say was predictable, but was far from it. He did talk about his usual subjects, but went off on tangents such as a lion and a penguin bar getting worried about royalties on their chocolate bars, what a females private parts would sound like if they could talk, and a heckle that is deflected to dinosaurs and evolution.
After a show with more gyrating and pelvic thrusts than Magic Mike, he brought it to a touching end- first of all opening the audience up to questions and giving out hugs and selfies, then proceeding to tell the inspirational story of a friendship blighted by terminal cancer… a story that showed his charitable, human side.
Want to see other shows coming up at the Echo Arena? Here’s what’s on:
Miranda Hart: My what I call, live show. 24-25th March
Men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics British championships. 28-30 March
Disney on ice presents World of Fantasy. 02-06 April
Tinie Tempah 2014. 07 April
Harlem globetrotters 2014. 08 April
Gary Barlow since I saw you last- the tour. 11th April
Elbow 2014. 12 April
McBusted. 19th April
By Bradd Chambers
It’s been two days since St. Patrick’s Day, which means that the hangovers have (hopefully) gone by now. With Liverpool having the highest proportion of Irish and Northern Irish students, residents and ancestry than any other English city, you can guess that the celebrations were in full swing from the minute the alarm clock was turned off.
With many people taking the day off work and university, pubs had a lot on their plates rather than their traditional ‘pub lunch.’ With people drinking in the day, the streets were filled with green, white and orange.
Flashing tiaras, tricolour flags and green tops littered Liverpool city centre. Drinks were flowing freely and old Irish folk songs were blasting from every direction. Words started to stutter before dinner time and many had Guinness, “the liquid lunch.” Singing and chanting were heard from every Irish bar, including city centre’s O’Neill’s, Shenanigans and McHales Irish/American Bar.
But why do people celebrate ‘Paddy’s Day?’
We all know the legend about Saint Patrick banishing all the snakes from Ireland.
But what did he really do?
It’s believed that St Patrick was born in Roman Britain. He was apparently kidnapped at the age of 16 by Irish raiders and was taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. He allegedly spent six years working as a shepherd when God came to him, telling him to flee to the mainland, where he became a priest.
Following his priest-hood, he returned to Ireland to convert people to Christianity. According to tradition, he converted thousands in the northern half of Ireland.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick’s Day gre
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My St Patrick’s Day was spent in class, but it wasn’t all bad – I was let out early because I’m Northern Irish. I then spent the day drinking in my flat with all my flat mates and friends who were all dressed in green and had their faces painted. It was my first time celebrating it over here and I loved it! How did you celebrate your day?
Let us all know in the comments below. Also send us in your pictures through braddchambers@outlook.com and we’ll put them up on our site!
Happy Paddy’s Day 2014!
Sent in by Luke McCausland
By Kaltun Abdillahi
Social Media is just about everywhere. So what excatly happens when the biggest films awards, biggest celebrity A-listers and selfie all come together? The end result as you probably found out from twitter, is a record breaking re-tweet for a picture.
https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/440322224407314432
Host Ellen DeGeneres made a number of modern day calls whilst presenting the Oscars in a bid to entertain, as she followed on her order of pizza for the evening’s guests with the most famous epic selfie gathering, including Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep. That might explain the record number of people it drew with the biggest audience since 2004 with 43 million viewers.
On a more serious note, the true harrowing story of 12 Years A Slave won the biggest film award there was for BEST PICTURE. Lupita Nyong’o who plays young slave ‘Platt’ picked up Best Supporting Actress award.
And whilst 12 Years A Slave was a decent winner on the night, sci-fi film Gravity scooped seven of the nights awards on the glamorous evening, including Alfonso Cuarón for Best Director and Best Cinematography.
So staying with the film theme, here in Liverpool and on ‘The Liverpool Line’ site we thought we could pick out the top 5 films for you to go see at the LIVERPOOL ONE ODEON this next seven days. Enjoy!
Picture @ Flickr
1. 12 Years A Salve;
Picture @ Flickr
Educational and a sad film but nevertheless you come out of the cinema’s feeling grateful but also glad for that the story was told. Based on a historical tale, it follows the story of author Solomon Northup, played by BAFTA winning British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, a lawyer and a free man who through ill-fated circumstances is sold into slavery. The film is able to explore the full effect of slavery on Solomon because although the loss of his freedom is essential to the story it is also the damage to his identity which makes it ruthless.
The now Oscar-winning film could be described as difficult to watch but this is not only because of its rather exploitation and violence but due to the realisation that it’s based upon a true story. The sadistic truth that a country which eminences itself to be ‘The Land of The Free’ deemed it right for a human being to be a property of another person.
Best tip: Take tissues *we could not REPEAT THIS ANY LOUDER*
2. GRAVITY;
Picture @ Flickr
An Academy Award winner and a Blockbuster make Gravity a rarity in that sense. Only ninety (90) minutes long and more than a spectacle on 3D, the space adventure is like no other film making franchise.
On the 3D level it’s able to take viewers on a personal and intimate ride on the tale of a survival story set in the loneliest place on earth. The story begins on a calm ride but the fairground thrill soon begins as a Hubble-attached shuttle is hit by an avalanche of space debris.
Definitely worth seeing and don’t forget to take your 3D glasses.
As one reviewer put it “Honestly, if you’re not mesmerised by the look of Gravity, then it may be time for you to stop going to the cinema.” – Mark Kermode
We were, just for the record.
3. RoboCop;
Picture @ Flickr
For starters it’s a very good remake of the classic 1987 Film Robocop. Film reviewers were sceptical of Hollywood churning out yet another idea for a remake but to their surprise the film is not a let-down in comparison to the original great. Set in the distant 2028 and similar in ways to the original, the backbone of the story is the struggle between man and machine customs.
If you are of a younger generation it’s likely you have not watched the original so seeing the fully re-polished modern day Robocop would be more than worth seeing. It’s an entertaining film and particularly enjoyable to those who like action-packed and crime investigative genre films.
4. Non-Stop;
Piture @ Wikipedia
Liam Neeson does what he does best now in this mid-air action packed film. Since the actors recent uptake in these action movies, Liam Neeson returns to screen with role of Bill Marks, a US federal air marshal, the surprising kind who hates flying. Logic, right?The tale begins when Liam’s character gets a mysterious message on the secured government texting line, before the series of texts turn more threating and demand a large amount of money in an offshore account or with the result of the death of a passenger on the plane-every 20 minutes.
We say you are most likely to go see this film for Liam Neeson, as he delivers the brusque character faultlessly into action.
5. A New York Winter’s Tale
Picture @ Wikimedia Commons
For those of you who fancy a romantic film, why not go check out the story of ‘A New York Winter’s Tale. This would-be romantic story is set as you’ll have guessed in New York and is also the Feature-film debut for Jessica Brown Findlay, last seen playing the role of Lady Sybil in the Downton house.
Brown Findlay plays the character of Beverly Finn and her star crossed lover is played by Colin Farrell, as the humble Irish born man.
Fans of Downton Abbey show will see similarities without looking too far, one being that this is set in the same era of the 20th century and two, is the tale of Jessica Brown Findlay’s character who falls in love across the class divide, who no does not fall for a chauffeur, but for a thief with a truly warm heart.
That’s it, that’s our Top 5 films that we have picked out for you.
Don’t forget to make your vote count in the poll in this story & please as ever do comment below. Plus let us know what films you might be seeing, or better yet whether we convinced you to go see any of the above. All friendly and thoughtful comments welcome!
You can tell us what you think & contact us @ Facebook, Twitter or email us at theliverpoolline@live.co.uk
By Bradd Chambers
Because ‘The Liverpool Line’ borders the city’s waterfront, we’ve decided to let you in on our top five favourite places to go in the Albert Docks. Whether it be art, music or just a casual drink. Been to the places before? Let us know by leaving us a comment below.
Liverpool’s 800 years of history can be found in the Museum of Liverpool. This replaced the Museum of Liverpool Life in 2011, and won European Museum of the Year in 2013. It’s the first of its kind in the UK, with exhibitions about Liverpudlian architecture as well as its stars in comedy, music and sports. There are also galleries of Victorian slums and rail carriages, as well as the Beatles show, Little Liverpool and a 180-seat theatre. The museum is free of charge and is open from 10am to 5pm.
If that interested you, then take the scenic route further down the dock to the Merseyside Maritime Museum. Built in 1980 and expanded in 86, you can spend an entire afternoon walking around its exhibitions, which are also free. See the rare surviving model of the Titanic, take a historical multimedia tour of the city or learn about the Merchant Navy.
And if you’re interested in music, The Beatles Story is right in the middle of the Albert Dock, dedicating the building to the 1960’s rock band, Liverpool’s home grown talent. The exhibition receives an estimated 300,000 visitors annually since it opened in 1990. There, you can trace the routes of their lives and massive careers with tableaux, memorabilia and artefacts. It opens in the summer from 9am to 7pm, and in winter from 10am to 6pm. Entry fees differ, from £12.95 for adults, £7.95 for students and OAPS and £7 for children.
Bored of museums? Well the wheel of Liverpool is just a stone throw away. When you climb onto one of the 42 capsules you can see beautiful panoramic views of the city, the River Mersey and the Welsh mountains. The wheel, not unlike the London Eye, stands at 196 feet, or 60 metres, and is located beside the Echo Arena. It has a luxury VIP, provided exclusively with glass floors, DVDs and champagne on demand. It opens at 9am every day except Friday and Saturdays, when it’s open a bit later at 11am. The standard adult price for the experience is £7.
After venturing around the docks, you can stop off at the very own Pump House. Built in 1870, it has been the dock’s original pub for thirty years, and since the extended restaurant area was added, we feel it’s a must-go at the end of your tour. You can go there for an after work drink to ease stress, or to spend time with friends on a hot summers day. Whatever the occasion, a drink overlooking the ships and water is a beautiful experience and view. Why not sink your teeth into their famous pub food such as fish and chips or chicken and bacon club sandwiches while you’re there.
The Albert Docks is one of Liverpool’s most cultural and scenic places in the city. Have you been there, or want to go there? Please comment, share and like, we want to hear your opinion on all this Liverpool!
Also; what’s your favourite part of the Albert Dock? Take part in our poll here:
Send us any of your favourite pictures of Liverpool Waterfront to us via Facebook, Twitter or email us at theliverpoolline@live.co.uk
The Liverpool Line 