Liverpool

A few words this time on Liverpool, in the United Kingdom.

I have been there, and would consider it a failure on my part if I was to ever go there again. It is listed on the UNESCO world heritage sites, and it does have some nice buildings in the centre, but the problem is that right next to it are awful buildings, and all around it are motorways. Other than the pedestrian precinct, which was filled with cheap stores, aggressive track-suited neds, and teenagers with their kids, it may be the least pedestrian-friendly city in the United Kingdom. From the supposedly historically important docks, which were as unpleasant as you can imagine, to the centre of the city, you had to walk along a road which at all times was jammed with cars, which were stationary because of traffic problems. Reaching the city centre, I was amazed by how unpleasant it is. Most stores cheap or chain shops, the streets themselves largely empty, it seems that everyone is stuck in a car driving to the docks. The only place I saw tourists was next to that statue of John Lennon, outside the Tavern, which is in the middle of a surprisingly unpleasant street. The Chinatown, supposedly the first in Europe, seemed to consist of two Chinese restaurants and an arch, it didn't even have a Chinese Supermarket. It was surrounded by stores which suggested Soviet Bloc, in terms of decoration and products. Never before have a seen a city with such a sense of decline and depression, and I've been to Scunthorpe.

Other than the city itself, the people made it even less charming. We tried to go to a bar near our (expensive, but not nice hotel) but were made to feel uncomfortable by the locals. Looking for dinner, we waited 45 minutes in a nearly empty restaurant for our food, before deciding that it wasn't worth it and buying something from a supermarket. Paying for our drinks only, the waiter told us to 'fuckk off' - we did. This brings about something else, the Scouser accent is the worst in the United Kingdom, the people were hideous, and a night to a bar near the supposedly posh part of town near the opera and play houses showed that oompa-lumpa orange is back with a vengeance. I was told 'I can't understand your accent' by a waiter who sounded like he was eating cereal when he talked, and service in every restaurant, bar or shop we went to was appalling.

If any of you have ever met a Liverpool soccer fan, you'll know that they have a persecution complex,
it's a team in decline, filled with racists, a lot like the city itself. I guess this is what you get for a city which built its mercantile strength on slavery, any city which has struggled since abolition is going to end up like this. Other than sports people and awful entertainers for the mentally sub-normal (Cylla Black) the only famous people from Liverpool have been the Beatles, and even they decided to cut their teeth in post-war Germany than stick in Liverpool. They couldn't wait to get to the US either.

Rating: Unbelievable accent, a worse night out than Bristol, the town itself is strangely deserted. To be avoided. A shithole.