It was our son's 18th birthday earlier this month and we wondered how we might surprise him with a memorable present. He loves the Beatles and so we decided a trip to Liverpool would be just the ticket to ride! We packed his case and said nothing until 5.30am when we woke him up to tell him he was going on a mystery tour.
Excitement? - you bet!
We did the tourist thing and visited places where the Fab4 grew up, met and performed. We booked the Magical Mystery Tour bus, with a terrific guide who had all the passengers sing Happy Birthday in their various languages and played the Beatles song " they say it's your birthday!" to our son's embarrassment but obvious delight.
It was magical to travel down Penny Lane imagining the pretty nurses and the banker; stopping at Strawberry Field and downing a drink at the Cavern Club on Mathew Street. We spent most of the next day at The Beatles Story - an excellent permanent exhibition on the Albert Dock.
Our weekend trip coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Beatles break-up and there was a lot of media hype surrounding the release of their remastered recordings - some in mono! We caught Beatlemania and arrived back in Belfast with all sorts of merchandise. All in all it was a most memorable and enjoyable family break.
Their song, In My Life, includes the words, "there are places I remember" - Liverpool is one of them.
And the music is improving with age.
