Norman's Rockwell

Fifth day of the tour was split in thirds. The first third was spent at the Liverpool Cathedral. Always interesting to visit churches. I had been before and was looking forward to revisiting the Lady Chapel at the Cathedral, which is a divine space. Said a few prayers. Had lunch there, too. The second 2/3rds were Beatle-heavy. We did a repeat of the National Trust's tour of the Beatles' Childhood homes. The NT takes you to 20 Forthlin Rd (the former McCartney residence) and 2 51 Menlove Ave. aka Mendips (where John Lennon was raised). On this tour you are allowed into the homes and are regaled with stories from two expert guides, wife and husband team Sylvia and Colin. Visiting those shrines is moving, inspiring and a marvel. The Beatles lived in Liverpool right up until they broke in the US. They were already famous in the UK, but hadn't fully abandoned there hometown. From there we went to Strawberry Field. Caught a cab and the driver took us to Penny Lane. And th...

Fourth day on the road was a day of rest in Liverpool. We went to check out the Beatles Story museum at Albert Dock. I hadn't been since 2006 and many of the displays had been updated and spruced up. Well worth the revisit. Highlights included George Harrison's first guitar, the Mellotron used by the Beatles on legendary mid-career recordings like the astounding "Strawberry Fields Forever," and George Martin's handwritten tracking notes for the HELP! LP ('me on Hammond'). I a m well-versed in Beatles' lore, but seeing their story told through the lens of their hometown is fascinating. After the visit, Jon, Adam and I talked about the band and their impact. Fun conversation. We also wrote some fan mail with Teresa while we had dinner at Leaf. After that the whole party hiked uphill to the Cathedral. It was 9 o'clock and just dusk. Golden light cast over Liverpool. Perfect for pics with this fun company. All for now. Maybe some more music-making tomo...

The second day of the Pacific Soul Ltd. tour is done. First, three of us met up in Glasgow to catch the train down to Liverpool. Glasgow Central is a beautifully gilded station that reminded me I don't take trains enough. It took several hours to get here, but you glide past beautiful Scottish hills and English countryside. Typically, I have driven in the UK, so it's a relief to take it easy and just ride. Of course, we couldn't resist talking about the Beatles and repeating  dialogue from "A Hard Days Night." Once we got to Liverpool, we checked into our hotel just a few blocks from the Cavern Quarter and literally a block from the Jacaranda. The Jac was a club the Silver Beetles played before becoming the Beatles. Our whole band met up there after dinner, including our drummer Jon Braun who arrived today. The Jacaranda staff was very friendly and wanted to know all about PSLtd and of course, we wanted the history. We got a private tour of the basement stage...