John and Paul's Childhood Homes & ATU Locations

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For Wednesday, May 27, I had booked a tour of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s childhood homes. I booked it for 10:00 am, and the price was 16 pounds. You can’t visit the homes without booking a tour through the National Trust, who owns both of them. Turns out, Yoko Ono bought John’s childhood home a while back and donated it to the National Trust. Apparently Paul McCartney has not been back to his home, which he moved into when he was about 13.

So, I walked over to the docks from my hostel that morning, which was probably like a 20-25 minute walk. We (the people who signed up for the tour) were supposed to meet at the Jury Inn. I took pictures along the way, arrived early, and after asking someone at reception where I needed to be, I sat down in a chair in the lobby and waited. There were others who I presumed were waiting for the tour as well. I asked them, just to make sure I was still where I needed to be, because the driver was a little late. It was raining outside that morning, so I had brought my umbrella, along with my messenger bag, of course.

Because I had only signed up for the tour that past Saturday, I couldn’t print out my confirmation page that they sent me by e-mail. I had read that if I just wrote down the info, it would be ok. So when the driver showed up, he checked all of our names and gave us some little tag to wear that showed we had paid for the tour. We all rode there and back in a van.

There were about 8 of us, and I sat down next to a nice couple in the middle of the van. The tour guide asked us some questions about why we decided to take the tour, etc, and about half-way through the ride, he started playing Beatles music. It was kind of neat listening to their songs as we drove to their homes. Some people were singing along.

We went to John Lennon’s home first, and right away we met the tour guide, who lives in the house. I guess you could say the National Trust hired 1 guy to live in John’s house and give tours and 1 guy to live in Paul’s house and give tours. I don’t know how they do it because they have to keep everything inside the house very neat and in the style of the 60’s. It doesn’t seem like it would be normal living to me. Like, what if they wanted to have guests over or go on a vacation? Not sure how it all works.

In any case, the tour guide led us to the back of the house, where we entered through the kitchen door. He told us that that’s what John’s Aunt Mimi had preferred for guests to do. Plus, that way we wouldn’t get the carpet all dirty since it had been raining. We dropped our umbrellas (or should I say brollies) into the kitchen sink and looked around as the tour guide gave us an introduction. Normally he talks to people outside, but since it was raining, he decided to talk in the kitchen. He talked to us for a pretty good while, just explaining to us John’s living situation, how old he was when he lived there, etc. The kitchen was very small but cozy. I believe they had refurbished the kitchen to make it look like it did in about 1957 or so. There were shelves with old cans and stuff on them.

The next room was one that John spent a lot of time in, writing and drawing, and I remember that at the top of that room’s doorway, there was this little fixture that was supposed to be used to call a maid. The developers of those houses (which were pretty similar in layout) had anticipated that families who had the money for hired help would be living there. All of the houses in that subdivision had a name, and John’s house had been named Mendips.

After that sitting room there was the front entrance area with the stairs leading to the second floor. John’s room, his Aunt Mimi’s room, and a bathroom were all upstairs. There was also another room that was closed off because it was the tour guide’s bedroom. I remember that John’s room was so small…I guess he must have not had many belongings or toys!! It was just a small rectangular room with a twin bed and not too much else. There was a poster of Bridget Bardot on his wall (because he really liked her), and a children’s book lying on the bed from an author that he used to like.

Mimi’s room had a full-sized bed and a fireplace, with a window looking out to the front lawn. There were informational posters on one the walls, one of which I remember talked about how many things in John’s life were connected to the number nine. I don’t believe in numerology or anything like that, but it was interesting. It just so happens that my favorite number is 9. I’ve also heard of quite a few people who have had really major things happen to them at the age of 9…

So anyway, then downstairs there was also a room with a bunch of pictures and other things on display. His Aunt Mimi had rented out a room to students, and they used this room as a study. Then there was the front living room, where at least one of the Beatles’ famous songs was written…I don’t remember which one. In the front of the house, there was a small enclosed porch, where John and Paul would sing, because they thought it had the right acoustic sound.

I liked the house and thought it was really charming. We had all placed our bags in a closet underneath the stairs, and when we left, I bought 2 small books from the tour guide: one was about John’s house, and one about Paul’s- I believe for 2 pounds and 50 pence each. We walked out the front door, and then people started taking pictures in front of the house. I’m glad I didn’t forget my umbrella, but wouldn’t that have been something if I could have told people, “Yeah, unfortunately I left my umbrella at John Lennon’s house.”

Next up, we drove to Paul’s home, which wasn’t too far away. For some reason I tried to remember what turns we were taking to get there. Paul’s house was not a regular, stand-alone house; it was connected to other people’s homes. Different people, including myself, thought that the tour guide (who is now living in Paul’s home) looked a lot like Paul himself. In fact, Paul’s brother—Michael—told this guy that he looked more like Paul than he did, even though they’re brothers! So we walked into the house and to our left was the living room, which had like 2 or 3 different wallpapers in it. Apparently Paul, his brother, and his dad had put it up. The tour guide was trying to make sure everyone could see him (we were kind of cramped in), and I was probably standing closest to him, since I always try to make sure I hear and see everything on a tour. So he told me that even though he wasn’t supposed to let people do this, I could sit down in the chair. That was pretty neat! No one else go to do that. Haha. So I was sitting like right in front of the fireplace, and in front of me on the wall, there was a picture of John and Paul standing at the fireplace. Paul’s brother Michael took a lot of pictures back then, and so the house is decorated with them. The pictures are generally coordinated to where if a picture was taken in a certain area of the house, the picture was displayed in that area. The tour guide (I can’t remember what either of the tour guide’s names were!) gave us a little introduction in that room.

The dining room contained pictures and artifacts. The small kitchen had a door that led out to the backyard, which was small as well. It did have a sort of shed-like building, which housed a toilet, tools, and something else. I hadn’t heard him the first time he told us, so right before leaving the house I had asked him what the shed had in it. Just call me Curious Courtney. Right next to the backdoor was a drainpipe hanging on the brick. The tour guide had shown us a picture of the Beatles standing in front of it a few minutes earlier, and he was acting all excited like, “You are standing right here where they took the picture!” People laughed.

We headed up the stairs and saw 2 bedrooms, I believe. Of course, one other one was closed because it’s the guide’s bedroom. There was a picture that was taken by Michael from a bedroom; Paul was sitting in a lawn chair in the backyard, and from that bedroom window, Michael took a picture of him. There were also a couple of pictures from when Paul, his brother, and his mom and dad took a vacation back when the boys were little. Paul’s mom died when he was like 14, so we figure that maybe he hasn’t been back to the house because of painful memories. Plus, John’s gone, and he and Paul had spent a lot of time at Paul’s house, writing music. I’m pretty sure his mom died of breast cancer, and in the song “Let It Be”, where he says “Mother Mary comes to me”, he’s referring to his mom.

Paul’s house was very modest and not as charming, to me. I think it was Bob Dylan who had come by the house just a couple weeks before, but the tour guide had not been the one there, so he didn’t get to see him. He kept on saying he couldn’t believe he didn’t get to see Bob Dylan, whom he loves so much. He was like, “Bob Dylan! Ahh!” I was more impressed when he told us who had stopped by the house 2 years ago—Prince William! The guide said a fancy car pulled up in front of the house, and this woman got out and knocked on the front door. The tour guide didn’t know who it was, so he didn’t open the door. He’s had problems with random people coming to look at the house, and in fact, he said that one time he had accidentally left the door unlocked, only to later find a crowd of people who had just helped themselves inside! So when the lady went back to the fancy car, Prince William got out of the car and looked at the outside of the house for a minute before driving away. The guide didn’t realize it was him in time.

Once again, our bags had been kept in a hall closet, and again, everyone wanted to take pictures before we left. Luckily, someone offered to take my picture. It’s too bad that I couldn’t take pictures inside the houses (we weren’t allowed to). I sort of sneaked (because snuck isn’t a word :P) a picture or two of the guide right before getting into the van. I wanted pictures to back up my story of how much he looked like Paul.

After arriving back at the Jury Inn, I had planned to go find some more filming locations of Across the Universe, among other things. Even though it wasn’t exactly a filming location, my first stop was to see the building where the cast’s wardrobe was kept. Might as well while I’m in Liverpool, right? It was a warehouse called Bogan’s Carpets, and actually they have a new location now, so I guess this warehouse was empty.

I had looked and studied my maps, trying to figure out the best and most efficient route to go, so that I could see places in the order that I approached them instead of backtracking. My next stop was The Beatles Story, which is this large museum dedicated to…you guessed it…all things Beatles. I went in one door which took me to the gift shop, so I went ahead and bought an Abbey Road magnet there. I went past a Starbucks coffee shop and found myself at the point where the tour clearly ended…before I even began! I asked someone where I could go to get a ticket for the tour. I got a student discount, and I asked him if I was allowed to take pictures. He told me some stuff, and then when I got my audio guide from another guy, he was like, “I don’t know what he was talking about...Blah blah blah.” He told me that I could take pictures, except for where it said you couldn’t. I kind of laughed and thanked him, and went on my way. As you walked along a path, there were posters on the walls which gave you information on all of the Beatles, as well as how they met, etc. There was a recreation of an office from the Liverpool newspaper’s headquarters. Apparently, some guy at the newspaper really helped get the word out on the Beatles by constantly talking about them in the paper. There was also a recreation of the inside of the Cavern Club.

There were places where they had videos you could watch; I remember that one was talking about when their manager, Brian Epstein, had died. Toward the end of the audio tour, they had all kinds of people talking about their own favorite Beatles songs. They had a pair of John Lennon’s glasses on display, as well as a jacket he had worn. The last room was very white…I guess it set the mood for what was on display. It was all about John and Yoko and peace, etc.

I actually was trying to hurry through the museum, even though it said to allow 2 hours. I still had a lot I wanted to do, and it was my last day in Liverpool. My next stop was going to be the dock area where “Jude” arrived in Liverpool in the movie. On my way there, I saw a Toys R Us…who would have thought?

I had to walk a pretty good ways to get there, and at one point, I was thinking I might not be able to cross a bridge. There was a sign that said that cars couldn’t go over it. Once I saw other people crossing it by foot, I figured I could. I probably looked like a crazy person. I was walking past something and then backtracking a little bit because I couldn’t find what I was looking for at first. That area was very old and run-down looking. I didn’t particularly want to walk ALL the way back to the main area of Liverpool, but I also didn’t know which bus to take. I went past a few bus stops and stopped to read where they went to, which I had done the day before, when I walked and walked down Menlove Ave. I was feeling pressed for time. I finally got on a bus and told the bus driver where I was trying to go. A lady on the bus started talking to me, telling me what stop I needed to get off at, etc. Turns out, when she got off the bus, I recognized where we were, so I got off, too. I figured I better explain to her what I was doing so she didn’t think I was dense or just not listening to her. I knew how to get back to my hostel from here, so I figured that was good enough!

I had been told by my new Parisian friends that Liverpool had a really big Primark store that I should check out. Primark is this big clothing store that has extra good prices. I had already been to the one in London, which is nearly impossible to shop in!! It’s CRAZY busy, and you can barely move. The lines to get into the fitting room are just not worth it, so you’re kind of better off just taking a chance that the item fits. And don’t even get me started on the lines to the checkout. It wrapped around so far…

So anyway, I think the Primark in Liverpool is the largest one in England, and it just opened a couple years ago. I wanted to go to it but just didn’t have time. Maybe it would have been possible had I actually known where it was located. I stopped by McDonald’s and Tesco Express really quickly to pick up stuff to eat, and then headed back to the hostel so I could get all of my luggage! I had already checked out that morning, and they were storing my stuff for me in the luggage room. The employee and I talked about Texas as I gathered all my stuff. My coach was leaving at 5:00 pm.

That day I couldn’t stop thinking about John and Paul’s childhood homes. They really made an impression on me, and I would love to go back and visit them again. I was thinking of how humble the homes were, yet 2 people who grew up in them became really successful in their careers. It was just neat. I really enjoyed my time in Liverpool and tried to figure out a way that I could go back before I left England, but it just wasn’t feasible. I had also wanted to go back to the lighthouse at Fort Perch Rock again before I left, but I was just too busy checking out other things. I didn’t get to go inside the cathedral in town, and I also missed one filming location on the Wirral Peninsula, sort of near where the lighthouse was. I definitely want to go back one day, though!

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