Hello from London again,
We are just back from a weekend in Liverpool. Some of our trips are directed toward education, and some are intended as a more general cultural education--that was this weekend. We visited the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, rode the Magical Mystery Tour bus, and visited the Beatles Story museum--and we took a tour of Anfield, home of Liverpool Football Club.
The Anfield tour was wonderful. There were nearly 50 people, ranging from female IWU students who admittedly knew nothing about football, to die-hard Reds fans, and the guide somehow managed to make it fun for everyone. The changing room is tiny--no bigger than the living room of our flat! The players' shirts are hung on the wall by approximate position--defense, midfield, and striker--so that if the coaches want to address one aspect of the game, it's easy. We had lots of time for photographs (somehow I got the seat of honor on the physio table used by Steven Gerrard). The guide took a photo of our IWU group in the interview area, and I got mine taken in front of the "This is Anfield" sign. When we went out to the pitch, my first impression was that it's smaller than the one my daughter plays on back in Bloomington. I thought that was an illusion, because it's bounded by stands, but the guide said no, it actually is small (I think I remember 110 x 74). Whenever they play a European match there, they have to get special permission. Another reason why they need a new stadium (along with limited seating by EPL standards).
It was a fantastic afternoon. We came out of the Museum with only a few minutes in the shop, and so we had to go back the next morning. The students are talking about finding a pub with Sky TV to watch Liverpool play Marseille later this week. Hopefully we've made some new football fans!
