In
April/May 2007 the Vic High R&B Band flew to Liverpool,
England to perform at the famous Cavern
Club and Notre
Dame Catholic College. Here is a written and photographic
record of their trip.
Thursday,
April 26 - Ticket to Ride
Travel
Day. Everyone meets at Vic High, then we travel by bus
and ferry to Vancouver Airport. The long wait begins
at the airport for the 11pm flight to Manchester.The flight is over 8 hours.
We
arrive at Manchester Airport on Friday afternoon to
beautiful weather, and board the bus in Manchester.
Then it's on to Liverpool to the International Inn Liverpool.
Everyone finds their rooms and settle in. After that,
a little exploring and dinner. Lots of excitement as
a team of young Belgian soccer players join everyone
at the Inn. There is a tournament in Liverpool this
week.
Without
warning, events take a bad turn, when Mr. Emde's hair
dryer fries. Fortunately, a replacement is quickly found,
and all travelers are lectured on the differences between
wall plugs in Canada and England. Order is restored.
Today
is a free day. A few of us adjust to the time change
by sleeping in. Others, though, are still on Victoria
time and start their day at 4:30 am(?!). After a group
meeting, everyone walks to the Cavern Club to check
it out. Some spend the day shopping, while others start
their sightseeing through Liverpool. Many are in awe
of the beautiful old architecture in the city.
In the evening everyone walked to the Son et Lumiere
light and sound show at St George's Hall. This event
was to celebrate Liverpool's 800th Anniversary, and
it showed the history of Liverpool from its beginnings.
Very interesting!
Mr.
Emde's borrowed hairdryer continues to function properly.
Today's
focus is the Beatles, with our group starting their
day with "The Beatles Story" museum. No cameras
allowed, so memories will have to do. After lunch at
famous Albert Docks and a little more sightseeing, we
are picked up at Gower St. Bus stop for the Magical
Mystery Bus Tour. We see the homes the four lads grew
up in, and see landmarks made famous in their songs
-- Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, the church where John
and Paul met, and where Eleanor Rigby is buried. We
were dropped off at the Cavern Club and walked back
to the Inn from there. After that, we met for a Chinese
food dinner. Everyone was up late this evening, recapping
the day and anticipating the next.
After
a 10 am meeting to discuss the days events, we prepare
for our two performances and Notre Dame Catholic School,
one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The performance
is very well received by both groups of students at
the school. After the shows, many of the performers
are mobbed by thrilled students, to speak with them
or get their autographs.
Meanwhile,
another group makes their way to Crosby by train where
they take in beautiful sand dunes and statuary. Everyone
meets again at dinner. Afterwards a group of older band
members go to the Metro, a jazz club, and sign up to
perform at the open mike.
Moving
day, as some of us relocate to apartments with parents,
and some to Feathers Hotel. The rest of the day is "free
time" dedicated to shopping and sightseeing until
dinner at the Cafe Latte. After that, 22 of us head
over to the Empire Theatre to see Chicago. By this time,
everyone is feeling a little exhausted, but the great
show picks us up.
Heading
back to our accommodations, a huge roar is heard throughout
the city. Liverpool has just defeated Chelsea, and the
streets are filling with "jubilant" fans.
We make our way back to our rooms...carefully.
Today
was an opportunity to get a bit more far afield, as
the group went by train to Chester, a roman walled town,
with excellent examples of Tudor architecture. We returned
to hear that Sean and Dave had been out busking during
the day. They must have eaten a lot while doing this
-- apparently they gained 20 pounds. Meanwhile, a new
group of Belgian soccer players has moved into the hostel,
replacing the original group.
Thankfully,
Mr. Emde's borrowed hairdryer has not blown up and he
(and the band) are in a good mood, anticipating the
big performance tonight at the Cavern Club. A number
of us have moved back to the hostel (yeah!), and the
rest are hanging out or shopping. It's Megan's birthday,
and we celebrate with a cake. We walk to the Cavern
Club for a soundcheck, but after some confusion around
the times, learn we will have to return before the show
starts for the soundcheck. We do this and all goes well.
We sing "Today It's Your Birthday" for Megan.
Everyone
is pumped and the performance starts, but where is the
audience? Many of them are in the next room (the Cavern
Club has two rooms) listening to a Beatles cover band.
After the first set and during the break a few of our
band go over to the next room to recruit some audience
members. Soon more of the audience is making its way
to our show. Before long the room is filled, and the
audience is enjoying one of Vic High R&B Band's
BEST SHOWS ever.
That evening everyone is still buzzing from the a great
show in the legendary venue. It is late , and the group
is still too excited to sleep. Conversations go deep
into the night. Memories of the week's events are recalled.
New friendships have been made, unique experiences have
been shared. This is no time for sleep. Many of us are
up to see the sun rise.
7
am. Reality check. It's time to leave this great city.
Some have managed a couple hours sleep. Many have not
slept at all since last night's performance. But we
drag our bags out onto the sidewalk to wait for the
bus. We wait. And wait. Lack of sleep is not extending
our patience, nor is it shortening the full day of travel
in front of us. Eventually, the bus arrives and we are
on our way back to Manchester airport. Our flight back
is uneventful, (save for Dr. Geoff having to attend
an ailing passenger) and we arrive back in Vancouver
at 3pm on Friday. Boarding another bus, we catch the
familiar B.C. ferry, and eventually make it back to
Vic High where parents, relatives and friends are waiting
to take us home. To bed. With memories of "Yesteday".
Postscript:
We were all saddened by the passing of Mr. Emde's hairdryer,
which was buried, we believe, in a Liverpool rubbish
bin under a pile of Fanta cans. We hope the toaster
bags he bought will fill the void.
