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PIMMS! PIZZA! PARTY IN THE PARK!

PIZZA! SUMMER FASHION

SUMMER FOOD

SUMMER NIGHTS

SUMMER SORTED

Get Outside!

SUMMER AT

LIVERPOOL ONE

22 July – 31 AugustShopping & Dining

Picnic Boats on the Park

Captain Pool’s

Adventures

Children’s Rides

The Boardwalk Bar

Piano Festival

Plus much more

11am– 5pm

liverpool-one.com/summer

Contents

In association with: Marketing Liverpool, Liverpool ONE, City Central BID, ACC Liverpool

Editor: David Lloyd Art Director: Matthew Barnes

Writers: David Lloyd, Joe Shooman, Paul RileyCover Photography: Alex Petricca (thanks to The Botanical Garden)

Photography: Pete Carr, Ronnie Hughes, John Currie, Sarah Jones

Fashion: Makeup: Rhiannon Murphy - Shu Uemura. Hair: Phill Gallagher, Electric Hair Lounge, Beauty

Bazaar, Harvey Nichols. Nails: Nails inc., Beauty Bazaar, Harvey Nichols

Photographer: Sane Seven. Models: Lucy and Joshua @ Boss Model Management. Location: Cool Light Ice

Bar, Bierkeller, Liverpool ONE

For sales enquiries: sales@itsliverpool.comFor travel advice, visit: www.visitliverpool.com

4 HAPPENINGS 10 TABLE TALK

13 VILLAGE PEOPLE 16 MY LIVERPOOL

23 PARKLIFE 22 THE MANIFESTO

24 LOOK AT IT THIS WAY

26 FASHION 31 BEACHES

34 SHOWTIME 38 SUMMER NIGHTS

42 THE INSIDER 44 LITTLE LUXURIES

46 STUFF 48 MY STORY

50 THE WAY I SEE IT

it’s liverpool Soft sands, promenade, big wheel, proms in the park, outdoor theatre. It’s safe to say: Liverpool packs all your summer essentials into one bulging holiday suitcase. And the best bit? There’s absolutely no excess baggage charge. Liverpool comes alive in summertime - with the UK’s biggest free music festival, rooftop bars and evening cruises to bring you, blinking, into the light. From how to embark on urban safaris to where to enjoy G&Ts watching the sun set over the Irish Sea, our high summer magazine is crammed with ways to squeeze every last drop of fun from the season. And, as ever, lots of them are free. Summertime, and the living is easy in Liverpool. Wish you were here? Well, what are you waiting for?

Enjoy,

David Lloyd, Editor

Hello!

We really don’t need an excuse to gather together and have a good time. But throw in the world’s most exciting acts, a sunny stretch of Sefton Park, and a clutch of spine-tinglingly original commissions and you’ll find us beaming from ear to ear. You’ll find us at the Liverpool International Music Festival.

This year’s festival sees a celebration of global music, and intercontinental inspirations - and all routes lead to Liverpool.

Heading the charge, Liverpool International Music Festival’s Summer Jam stage will reverberate to the anthemic electronic dance of Basement Jaxx. Labrinth, Katy B, Naughty Boy and Laura Mvula add more than a

dash of style, and Liverpool’s superstar DJ Anton Powers will be bringing the party to the people. Local legends Echo & The Bunnymen will also be performing with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for a euphoric celebration of their career.

Elsewhere, the commissions continue to cement the festival’s reputation as a place where amazing collaborations bubble up and create something really special. Watch out for ‘The Revolution Will Be Live: A Tribute to Gil Scott Heron’ featuring performances by the legendary Mos Def, Aswad, and The Christians and a new documentary, ‘Routes Jukebox’, tracing the lineage

of Liverpool music, now and then. Via Detroit, Dublin and the Deep South. Your guide? Grammy-award winning producer Steve Levine.

‘Next Stop New York’ will be a weekend long exploration of black American music and its ties to the city. But think less ‘history lesson’ and more ‘massive excuse for a party’ with fabled Hacienda DJ Greg Wilson leading the celebrations, as well as Q&As with key figures including Eddie Amoo of The Real Thing and Horace Panter of The Specials. Oh, and it’s free. Of course it is.

Liverpool International Music Festival27-31 Augustlimfestival.com

This September, the city welcomes the newest member of the ACC family - and, at over 8,000 square meters it’s fair to

say it’s quite a bonny new arrival. The £66 million Exhibition Centre Liverpool will

host a year-long programme of consumer shows, conferences and events. Adjacent to the venue, the Pullman Hotel will offer a stylish new place to stay, when it opens

in the autumn.

Watch this space. Already, the venue’s hooked some of the region’s - if not the country’s - premier events. The

waterfront, already home to the Echo Arena and the BT Conference Centre - just got a whole lot more interesting.

Take a look at some of the events heading to the banks of the Mersey in the Exhibition Centre’s opening season, for a

flavour of things to come…

The Liverpool Wedding Show12-13 September

The region’s premier wedding show sees all things flowers, gowns, chocolate fountains jukebox hire and photo booths (or whatever the smart wedding set is

insisting on this season…)

The Telegraph Cruise and Travel Show17-18 October

Planned next summer’s holiday yet? Don’t even think of it until you’ve visited the Telegraph Travel Show - just like your

suitcases, it’ll be bursting at the seams with indispensable stuff. Apart from that dog eared copy of the 50 Shades sequel.

Toytopia24-26 October

Live Shows, entertainment and toys. Lots of toys. Take a selfie with Dennis

The Menace, take a ride on the Miniature Train, or bounce around the test track on the very latest balance bikes. And speak

to a LEGO certified professional (yes, such things exist). But, mostly, have the

best fun you’ve had since you were seven. Take a kid, if you have one - they’ll love it

too!

exhibitioncentreliverpool.com/whats-on

Music for the Masses

04

HappeningsLIVERPOOL NOW

A Right Exhibition

Returning for its fifth summer season, the joyous open-air piano festival, Tickle The Ivories sees a hardy troupe of upright pianos take to the streets and, in their wake, an all-weather ensemble of pianists belting out everything from Bohemian Rhapsody to Barry Manilow, Brahms to the Beatles. The event’s the subject of an award winning documentary, currently touring film festivals across the globe. We chatted to director, Glenn Hanstock.

How did the idea for the film come about?I was walking through the city centre on a beautiful summer’s day last year, and after watching some of the pianists, it hit me that the pianos themselves were responsible for drawing together unique characters from all walks of life and with very different life stories to tell. What is it about the event that inspires you?The fact that it’s in Liverpool ONE puts it right under the nose of the public and, in some cases, perhaps people who wouldn’t normally engage with music festivals. The piano’s long been associated with bringing people together for a singsong. As a director I believe a good documentary, like the festival itself, connects with as many different types of people as possible. To me, Tickle the Ivories seemed the perfect subject to do just that.

What’s the response to the film been like so far? In March the film won Best Documentary at Lift-Off International Film Festivals Liverpool and is screening internationally in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Amsterdam and London. It’s early days but fingers crossed we may be able to get a broadcaster interested in showing the full documentary, too. What surprised you most, in the stories you uncovered? It has to be pianist Frank McFarlane, who’s totally blind. His talent is astonishing. He’s never let his blindness control his life and has a great sense of humour as well. What do you think the festival says about what music means to us all? Of all the art forms, music’s really the one that can instantly take you back to a certain moment in your life, be it happy or otherwise. What Tickle the Ivories says is that on some level; every human being on the planet connects with it. It’s truly the only universal language. Friedrich Nietzsche said it best: ‘Without music, life would be a mistake.’

Tickle The IvoriesLiverpool ONE, until Sept 6culture.org.uk/tickle-the-ivories-2015

A drive-in with a difference, Secret Garden Cinema sprawls across the top floor of a city centre car park this summer promising great views, great movies and delicious wood fired pizzas. On the bill? Summer classics such as Grease, Dirty Dancing, Jaws and The Hangover.

“The rooftop will be transformed with a bar, freshly cooked pizzas and popcorn, music and, of course, big screen films,” says organiser Nic Green.

“Events will run Thursday to Saturday with a different movie showing each night. We’ll be handing over the power to the viewers on the second to last Friday of every month, for them to decide, via social media, what movie they want to see.”

Oh, and one piece of small print you may be interested in: waterproof ponchos and blankets will be provided. Y’know, just in case…

Secret Garden CinemaNCP Queen’s Squaresecret-gerden-cinema.co.uk

While Donovan heads the bill, it’s all about the fab four at

this year’s Beatles Week. The world’s biggest annual festival dedicated to the music of the Beatles sees a roster of ‘Inner

Sanctum’ acts take to the stage this year. Acts who were directly

involved with the Beatles, and who were instrumental in shaping their careers. “We’ve stopped analysing the market. The demographic is...there is

no demographic,” says festival boss, Bill Heckle. “Somewhere in the world, now, a 15 year old

is discovering the Beatles for the first time. It’s up to us to

preserve that story and, when they make a pilgrimage here, give them an experience of a

lifetime.”With Peter Asher, Pattie

Boyd, Neil Innes and the Original Quarrymen on the

bill, chances are that’s exactly what they’re going to get.

Appropriate, considering it would have been John Lennon’s

75th birthday this year.

August 26 - September 1cavernclub.org/beatleweek

On Saturdays 1st August and 5th September from 10am to

3pm Ducie Street in Liverpool 8 hosts Granby 4 Street’s

legendary and now Turner Prize nominated street market. Crafts, art, hot food, cakes, bric

a brac, and fresh bread from the brilliant Homebaked from Anfield. Plus Donkeys! Think

street market, feel ‘street party’.

Granby Street, Liverpool 8

The Piano Man

05

The Fab Seven

Streets Alive

Park and Watch

Liverpool Loves a Festival

Captain Chaos!

06

The best of life, as it’s lived - right here, right now. That’s the promise of the new Liverpool Loves Festival, running over three days at the Pier Head.

Saturday sees entertainment across the waterfront - with dance,

comedy, food and drink, health and well-being, and family fun high on the agenda. A host of local bands will provide a soundtrack to the day - watch out for soulful troubadour Stephen Langstaff (pictured), and R’n’B superstar-in-waiting, Chelcee Grimes. Add a dash of Chinese dance, a vintage festival, Free-Fall circus and made-in-Liverpool comedy, and, yeah, we think Liverpool (and you) will love this new festival.

Liverpool Loves6 - 8 August, Pier Headliverpoolloves.co.uk

Chavasse Park will be centre of the summer action in Liverpool ONE again this year, as Captain Pool’s Adventures transforms the lawns into a wet and wild wonderland for the pocked-sized pirates in your crew. Expect treasure trails, songs and stories from the sea, and lots of nautical fun rides to bring a smile to your little explorers’ face. You? Take a seat in their picnic boats and enjoy an alfresco lunch from the Boardwalk Bar. It’s hard work being a pirate’s parent!

liverpool-one.com

Wake UpThe world’s best wakeboarders will be returning to Liverpool’s Albert Dock this summer for Red Bull Harbour Reach 2015. Expect twists and turns aplenty as the cream of the world’s wakeboarding crop showcase their skills at one of the UK’s best wake parks.

Free to attend, the event features Australia’s James Windsor - two-time winner and reigning Red Bull Harbour Reach champion, and top UK athletes Jonty Green and Freddy Carter, as well as judge, wakeboarding legend Parks Bonifay.

“This year’s course will be like nothing built before,” says the Wake Park’s Tim Woodhead, “we’re trying to merge the famous Liverpool docks history with the sport of wakeboarding. It’s sure to test our athletes’ limits and result in a thrilling event for everyone.”

With 360 degree viewing platforms, you won’t miss a heartbeat of the action. Explosive stunts, breathtaking tricks, jaw-dropping jumps. It’s all in a day’s work down at the docks this summer.

Saturday July 25Liverpool Wake Park, Kings Dockliverpoolwakepark.co.uk

Old Dock on the BlockThree hundred years ago this summer, Liverpool opened the world’s first commercial wet dock. Trade from all corners of the world flooded in, city merchants grew rich, and the city never looked back.

Old Dock Liverpool: Where It All Began, a new book by David Cottrell and John Hinchliffe, brings the story vividly to life.

“Without the Old Dock there would be no Liverpool as we know it,” David says. “No history as a mighty port, no famous waterfront. As a piece of civil engineering it has international significance. When it opened in 1715 it was the first wet dock in the world built specifically to handle cargo, leaving other ports like Chester and Bristol in its wake, and rivalling London.”

And what’s particularly thrilling is that

it’s right under our feet - recently exposed during the construction of Liverpool ONE. And tours take you right to the beginning of our story.

“There’s nothing else like it anywhere,” David admits. “The excavated walls of the dock are almost fully preserved under the feet of thousands of shoppers. Every single brick in those walls was hand-made. When you take a guided tour, you’re peering down at the foundations of Liverpool. It’s quite an emotional experience.”

Tours from Liverpool Maritime Museum, Tues and Weds.Booking Essentialliverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/visit/

Spike Your Drinks

Shiver Your Timbers

07

Made from the distilled juice of the prickly agave plant, tequila and mezcal are definitely having a moment. To celebrate World Museum’s brilliant Mayan exhibition (until 18 October) Albert Dock stages the Tequila and Mezcal Festival. Think you know Mexico’s party-starting spirit? Think again. Over one dizzying weekend, agave aficionados and absolute beginners alike can sip the world’s best and enjoy a real latin education.

Expect food pairings and cocktail master classes; music and cocktail making from the experts at basement tequila dive, El Bandito (Slater Street - get there). Salt and lime will be banned at the door. And you can take that sombrero off right now. Saulte!

8-9 August, Liverpool Maritime MuseumAlbert Docktequilafest.co.uk

September sees those dastardly despots of the high seas return to Albert Dock for a weekend of hijinks, history and very, very funny accents.

Centerpiece of the Albert Dock Pirate Festival, once again, will be the live-action battle between Pirate Brigantine ZEBU and Pirate Schooner VILMA - with real cannon and gunpowder! When the smoke’s died down, climb aboard for a tour of these handsome

vessels, and come face to face with a roll-call of some of history’s most notorious plunderers and looters. Expect folklore, sea shanties, face painting and falconry. And, in a bid to clean up their image, the pirates are putting on the show for free! How sweet.

September 12, 13Albert Dockalbertdock.com

Everything’s Coming Up Roses

High summer, and everything in the garden’s looking lovely. For the first time since the city hosted the International Garden Festival, the Liverpool Flower Show will showcase the the region’s best growers in a series of flower and veg shows at Dobbies Garden Centre, Speke. Look out for the Sweet Pea and Rose show on 25-26 July (Dobbies, Speke Hall Road). The event joins the region’s two other prestigious floral festivals - Knowsley Flower Show (9 Aug, Court Hey Park) has designated 2015 The Year of the Sunflower, while the ebullient Southport Flower Show (20-23 Aug, Victoria Park) will see around 70,000 visitors enjoy the event’s stunning show gardens, flower and vegetable displays, specialist foods and celebrity guests.

08

Our Friends in the NorthAward winning playwright and musician Lizzie Nunnery returns to the stage this summer with a haunting, beautiful exploration of love and loss. Weaving memory, music and meditation together to create a visceral new work, Narvik is the story of a Liverpudlian man and a Norwegian woman pulled together and torn apart by war.

Narvik sounds enticing and a little mysterious. Can you tell us how the idea first formed?It started with stories my grandfather (or Grandy as we called him) started telling towards the end of his life. For years he never really talked about the war, and then suddenly he began telling tales about his time in the navy - some wonderful, some horrifying, all fascinating. When Hannah from Box of Tricks Theatre approached me about creating a play with songs I started telling those stories to her and she pointed out that those men who fought in WWII are almost all gone now; we have to make sure we ask them for their version before it’s too late. My grandfather passed away last March, aged 91. I’m so glad to have had those conversations.

The play itself isn’t about him specifically - it’s fictionalised from lots of real accounts. My Grandy was an incredibly brave man and the central character Jim struggles with the idea of courage. But details of Grandy’s life are peppered through the piece, and he was the starting point.

What is it about weaving words and music together – is the sum greater than the parts?Definitely. Music has the power to change an atmosphere, tap into a deep emotional state, mark different locations and time settings, evoke memory. The last one is particularly important in ‘Narvik’ as it’s a play about a man at war with his memories. Memory is disordered and repetitious the way a song can be, and certain words and images come back time and again through the play like the refrain of a song, growing in meaning each time. So the songs and the words are all tied up in each other. And as a singer it’s exciting to get the opportunity to be in one of my plays alongside musician/composers Vidar Norheim and Martin Heslop. I keep forgetting I’m not actually going to be able to sit in the audience and watch it.

Narvik is, like Liverpool, a city that endured a tough and shape-shifting past century - not least because of the war, did you see the cities’ tales as bound together somehow? For the men who served in the British navy in WWII the battle of Narvik was a very significant event because it was a major victory very early in the war, after which the German forces on land quickly overwhelmed the allies and Norway fell under occupation. The character Jim experiences this brief sense of glory before being thrown completely into the darkness and complexity of the conflict. So the title refers to the battle more than the town itself. But Jim falls in love with a girl from Oslo and part of the motivation to write the play was to explore how terrible and compromising it was to be a woman under occupation in Norway. The fact that I’ve got a Norwegian husband (the musician Vidar Norheim) and recently a half Norwegian son means that the country and its past are an ongoing fixation for me in my work. Maybe I regularly write about Norway because I’m always trying to get to know it better.

What’s next for you - you like to keep busy, we hear! I’ve adapted a novel for the Everyman - a book by Georgina Harding called ‘The Solitude of Thomas Cave’, set in the Arctic in the 1600s, and fingers crossed that’ll go ahead in 2017. I’ve been having fun working on a play for young people for the National Theatre too. Both those have songs in them, so it’s clear I’ll get music in wherever possible.

What do you love about Liverpool and summer? Any recommendations?As a resident of Lodge Lane I have to recommend coming over to visit our award winning grocers (L8 Superstore) , as well as some of the brilliant cafes and restaurants dotted around the streets. Kebabs (and chicken pakoras) at the KO are particularly good, too. Take a kebab and a box of strawberries and go sit by the lake in beautiful Sefton Park this summer - really, what more could anyone ask?

Narvik8-19 SeptemberEveryman, Hope Streeteverymanplayhouse.com

09

THEATRE

Table Talk

For Food Lovers Only

Heavenly InspirationSlowly Does It

Liverpool’s Food and Drink Festival returns to Sefton Park (19, 20

September), celebrating the best of the region’s food heroes. Expect fly-in chefs promoting their latest

books, such as the spiralising siblings, Hemsley and Hemsley.

But for us, it’s all about the home grown goodies: the city’s most

exciting food and drink, ready for you to feast on.

Sefton Park, 19 & 20 Septemberliverpoolfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk

One of Liverpool’s best kept dining secrets is also one of its most

inspirational. Now the Welsford Refectory, at Liverpool Cathedral,

is challenging its four talented chefs to develop a menu each

for a series of summer Supper Club evenings. “Over eight Friday

nights customers will have the opportunity to try something

different from one of our chefs,” says Catering Manager Neil

Blackhurst. “Sitting on our patio looking over St James Gardens and the Georgian splendour of

Hope Street has got to be one of the best ways to eat out. This is a challenge the chefs have relished

and risen to.”

Liverpool CathedralBookings: 0151 702 7251

liverpoolcathedral.org.uk

“Our name comes from the Italian word for ‘slow’,” says the man responsible for reigniting our pizza passions, Lento’s Sam Little. “A huge amount of inspiration from Italy’s slow food movement, which puts tradition before speed.” But it’s not about waiting half an hour for your dinner? “Oh no. Our pizzas take around 1-2 minutes to fire in our 400C wood-burning oven,” Sam promises. “It’s about taking time to use the nicest ingredients, and the purest methods.” So think slow-to-rise sourdoughs and salad leaves grown within a 10 mile radius. Go for the gin-cured salmon. Go back for the gorgonzola.

Lento, at The Botanical Garden, New Bird Street twitter/lentolpl

FOOD & DRINK

10

Gods of Small Things

Square Meal

“Tapas are perfect for summer grazing. Grab a board of ham, cheeses, prawns in garlic, nice bread…” we’re sitting in Salt House Bacaro’s pretty new summer terrace. And co-owner Jonathan Poole is reflecting on his time at the helm of Liverpool’s biggest small plate empire.

Located opposite John Lewis on the edge of Liverpool ONE, Salt House has been dishing up those sociable plates of jamon, scallops and salads to happy diners for half a decade. With partner Paddy Smith, they took the concept and opened Salt House Bacaro, Castle Street, a couple of years ago. Venetian tapas every bit as surefooted as its Spanish sibling.

“The whole small plates thing has been really good for us,” Poole admits. “This all day eating, female-friendly, eat at the bar/don’t eat at the bar, relaxed dining trend is everywhere now.”

It’s been good for us too, we suggest. That’ll be the consistently excellent quality, and inventiveness you can rely on at both locations.

“We work with (celebrated London Iberian food heroes ) Brindisa so we know the hams, chorizo and olives are the best in the world,” he says.

“We make everything from scratch. There’s an appetite, in Liverpool, for good food. People can tell the difference between lowest common denominator ingredients and the very best.”

Liverpool’s also got a healthy appetite when it comes to independents too: “Before Liverpool ONE, the big chains never looked at us, which allowed the independents to get a foothold. It’s why our food scene is the best in the UK, I really believe that.”

This from the man who saw, before most of us, Tapas’s second summer of love? Who’d argue against him? Camparis all round...

Salt House Tapas, Paradise Streetsalthousetapas.co.ukSalt House Bacaro, Castle Streetsalthousebacaro.co.uk

Easy-going brunches and leisurely lunches are the order of the day at Exchange Square’s new eatery, The Vincent. Fresh, local produce is the promise, according to Head Chef, Dominic Grundy. Try the Roast Beetroot Salad, Goat’s Cheese, Walnuts, Orange & Brown Bread. Summer on a plate. Serve with chilled Bellini. Repeat.

The Vincent,Exchange Squarevincentcafeandcocktailbar.com

11

More Than CoffeeOne of our favourite coffee stops, Cow & Co is now licenced and open late. Hurrah! Close to Liverpool ONE, they’re offering locally brewed beers - try Liverpool Craft Brewery’s zingy Love Lane - and heartily filled ( freshly made) bagels from the Liverpool Bagelry. Oh, and cakes. Lots of cakes.

Cow&Co Cafe15 Cleveland Squarecowandcocafe.com

5 Best Gin Bars

On The Boardwalk

From New York With Love

The Belvedere5 Sugnall Streetbelvedereliverpool.com

Where the Liverpool Gin story began - try it here with a slice of watermelon. But their ‘Gin-nasium’ has scores of other beauties to fall in love with, too.

Hanover Street Social16-20 Hanover Streethanoverstreetsocial.co.uk

The first dedicated gin bar in the city offers a backbar gleaming with gems - try Caithness’ wild-foraged Rock Rose Gin, with botanicals picked from the cliffs at John O’Groats!

Cedar Food and Drink62 Duke Streettwitter.com/cedarfooddrink

Charcoal grilled steaks and a gin tonica? What could be more civilised. Work your way through their ‘Ginformation’

folder, featuring small batch wonders such as herby Death’s Door, complete with a dizzying selection of appropriate tonics.

Jenever29a Hope Streetthesidedoor.co.uk

Specialising in old-school-style Jenever gins, this smart Hope Street bistro mixes chic tapas plates with a globe-spanning gin selection. Try the citrusy Little Bird, infused with grapefrut and ginger.

The Botanical GardenNew Bird Streettwitter.com/botanicalgardn

Gin tastes better out of doors. That’s just a fact, deal with it. And Mediterranean-made gin, such as Spain’s cool, crisp Mare tastes best of all at this Baltic Triangle urban garden. Pull up a deckchair, and imagine the tide lapping at your toes.

Rob Scott, head chef at the sleek NYL Restaurant, tucked ever so smartly into the Aloft Hotel, North John Street venue, has been busy working on plans for a new Deli Lunch Menu offering a hot and cold sandwich selection (think mac and cheese, meatballs and salami) as well as a decadent Central Park-themed Afternoon Tea, washed down with a loose-leaf Suki Tea or choice of NYC-inspired cocktails.

For the evening menu, Scott is expanding on popular dishes to suit the season including a tempting trio of freshly-made salads from superfood to Caesar, and a dessert selection bursting with tropically-infused flavours from an Orange Tart to a Summer Fondant with strawberry gel.

“Although we are looking to New York to inspire the menu” says Rob, “we look to Liverpool to flavour our new dishes with our great local produce.” A taste of two cities, you might say. NYL, North John Streetnylliverpool.com

With a nod to the beachside bars of Florida’s

Gulf Coast, Liverpool ONE’s Boardwalk is

a promenade bar that promises not to flick sand

in your face. Which is always a bonus. With

bar, sun deck and sister seafood restaurant ‘Claws’,

it is the latest laid-back incursion in the sunny

expanse of Chavasse Park. The perfect excuse for an after-work hangout which

effortlessly drifts into a summer sundowner?

You’ve just found it.

Boardwalk BarChavasse Park, Liverpool ONE

liverpool-one.com

TABLE TALK

We’ve fallen for gin in a big way around these parts. Even going as far as launching our own jaunty juniper infusion - the floral Liverpool Gin (buy it from Whisky Business, Fenwick Street). Need a botanical boost, here are our favourite five:

12

Wrapped around Liverpool lies a scatter of peaceful, historic villages worthy of a day’s exploration. Add fine restaurants, world

class art and a host of family attractions and escaping from the city awhile never looked more tempting.

The Village People

EXPLORING

PORT SUNLIGHT

Housing a vast treasure trove of art collected by soap magnate William Hesketh Lever, who built the gallery in dedication to his late wife Elizabeth, The Lady Lever boasts a fine collection of Pre-Raphaelite works, period furniture, tapestries, Chinese ceramics, rare Wedgwood and Roman sculpture.

With extensive restoration underway - the largest project since the gallery opened almost a century ago - the Lady Lever has a new spring in her step.

Matt Deputy is Visitor Assistant at the gallery. “The restoration work is very exciting,” he tells us. “The gallery’s collections are so impressive they deserve to be showcased in the

best possible way. We want the gallery to stand out, not just as a place of beauty, but also for its warm heart and friendly feel, like the village itself.”

Greeting visitors personally, offering them a map and suggesting a route that they might want to take when exploring, it is all part of the job for Matt and his team. “I have a favourite painting called Lingering Autumn by John Everett Millais, but the team here all have their own personal favourites. We also display a variety of temporary exhibitions and, until 27 September 2015, our free exhibition is Picturing Venice - a collection of works by various artists who’ve been inspired by the city. It’s brilliant!”

So too, Matt says, is the carrot cake in the basement cafe. We’ve

13

WEST DERBY

“I’m north Liverpool, born and bred, and when we decided to open a restaurant, it was important to me to open it in north Liverpool,” says Almond Restaurant’s Kate Dunn.Six and a half years later, Almond sits comfortably at the heart of West Derby’s trim village centre - a leafy, ancient parish far older than Liverpool itself.

Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the village takes its name from the Old Norse for “wild deer park” and refers to the hunting estate (now Croxteth Park)

established here by King Edward the Confessor.

“There was nowhere you could come for a decent meal when we started,” Kate says. “And it did take us a couple of years, to gain people’s trust. But we stuck to our guns. We’re a local restaurant, offering unpretentious, honest food, but with the same levels of service and quality of food you’d get in town.”

With their cooked-from-fresh promise, and their warm welcome, word soon spread. Now the restaurant is expanding - such is the taste of their success.

“We’re lucky that we appeal to families, girls on a night

out, workers grabbing a lunch meeting. We’re the go-to place around here!”

And when you’ve enjoyed Almond’s moist and tender Belly Pork, slow roast with buttered mash and apple jus, there are plenty of ways to walk it all off, north Liverpool style.

“Croxteth Park is great for families, especially its farm,” says Kate, “and if you want to learn more about the area’s history, the Court House is over 430 years old.” In fact, we learn, there’s been a courthouse in the village for over 1,000 years - originally a Viking parliament.

But it’s not all ancient history

around these parts. “The Casbah Coffee Club is just around the corner,” Kate tells us, “and that helps bring visitors from all over the world to us.”

Not that Kate’s recommending a rival restaurant. This just happens to be the basement bar where the Beatles first played - and is now open to visitors.

West Derby. Small village - big impact.

almondwestderby.co.uk

liverpoolcityhalls.co.uk/croxteth-hall

petebest.com

tried it, and we agree.“As the location is so inspiring,

I often advise that our visitors also take a walk around the village. I’d start at Port Sunlight Museum and Garden Village, which tells the story of Lever and how he came to build the village for workers from his nearby soap factory. Just outside of the museum you will come across a large fountain that runs most of the year. It’s quite relaxing to sit by, and locals often try out model boats on the water.

“The village is also home to the popular Port Sunlight Garden Centre. They sell a huge range of outdoor and indoor plants. It is really quite spacious considering the village location and I have never seen the car park empty!

“Not too far from the church is a small park area called The Dell - a lovely public path lined with flower borders and trees, with gentle slopes running up all around. There are plenty of places to sit and relax and it’s always popular with locals.

“Just outside the village, you might notice some signs pointing to the Port Sunlight River Park. It only opened last summer and was the old Bromborough Dock. It initially became a landfill site but has since become a nature reserve - it is astonishing what a bit of time and dedication can do! It overlooks the River Mersey, providing great views back to the city.”

liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever

Croxteth Hall

14

CROSBY

Twenty minutes north of the city centre by train, Crosby’s vibrant local community is home to a clutch of great pubs, restaurants and independent traders, as well as a stunning beach which is the permanent home of Anthony Gormley’s installation ‘Another Place’.

Steven Burgess is part owner of Albina (Coronation Road) - one of the village’s most exciting new eateries. A founding director of the Baltic Triangle’s Camp & Furnace, Burgess decided to move from the city centre back to the streets he grew up on.

‘It seemed the right thing to do to bring our food and ethos into the community,” Steve says. “Albina was set up to be a historical British dining room using as many British ingredients, wines and beers as possible. We have a plethora of rarely used ingredients - mead and malt to

name a few. It excites me to bring something a little bit special to the plate, something Crosby has never seen before.’

Trawling through the depths of Britain’s culinary heritage, Steve and his team faithfully recreate and reimagine recipes from as early as 1390 all the way through to classic dishes from the 1970’s.

Looking over the current menu, the offering is striking in its sense of adventure and a reawakening of tradition, with dishes such as Beef Fillet & Sticky Braised Blade with Pineapple (c. 1655) and Cornflake Scotch Egg with Heritage Tomato Chutney and Watercress (c. 1807). Having been open a mere ten months, Albina have already won their first AA Rosette.

“Crosby is a special place,’ says Steve, “the beach is a major attraction especially with events such as the Three Queens. It offers a new viewing point for all the good things coming in and out of the city. Then there are the

Gormley statues, celebrating their tenth anniversary this year.”

Away from the beach there are indie shops, cafés, restaurants and bars, well supported by the community. “I can only think of a handful of national chains that are in the area,” Steve says.

The Albina team are big fans of local bars such as The Crow’s Nest, Stamps and The Liverpool Pigeon, while Steve also speaks highly of seafood restaurant The Workshop Atelier. Other locations which warrant attention are Tilly Mint Gift Store, Satterthwaites Bakehouse and The Corkscrew wine bar, conveniently located two minutes’ walk from Albina.

‘If I had a last meal, it would be, quite simply, a chip butty. It’s more of a happy memory of growing up in Crosby for me than what’s on the plate. It couldn’t be more perfect.”

albina.co.uk

THREE MORE TO TRY

Parkgate Charming coastal village with one thing missing: the coast.

The Dee’s silted up since this was a busy port, but the prom is still lined with

great pubs, superb ice cream parlours and handsome, idiosyncratic fishermen’s

cottages. The fleet, of course, is long gone.

Thornton HoughSurrounding a huge village green, the handsome half-

tudor houses showcase locally hewn sandstone and clay tiled roofs. It’s an idyllic place. Have lunch at the Red Fox, a manor-house turned

decent gastropub.

Woolton Eleanor Rigby’s grave is the

curious highlight to this pretty south Liverpool village

with a fiercely independent outlook. If you’ve time, catch

a film at the glorious old Woolton Cinema, and enjoy a meal at intimate French

bistro, Caveau.

15

MY LIVERPOOL: JO WRIGHT

16

Refreshing the neurons other galleries don’t reach, it’s all in a day’s work at Wood Street’s FACT. So what lights up the world of its new Executive

Director, Jo Wright? We take a tour of his favourite Liverpool.

Back to the Future

Some galleries are like a well worn pair of slippers. Comfortable, warm, safe. FACT’s not like some galleries. Dive inside and you could be walking into the eye of a photovoltaic storm, witnessing the crackle and hum of a Tesla coil, grinning to a giddy wall of pop videos, or feeling ever so slightly unsettled at a mass rank of twitching, dismembered limbs.

In its restless quest to prod and poke at that place where art and tech meet, FACT’s current exhibition, Build Your Own: Tools For Sharing, brings visitors up close and personal with the curious new world of 3D printing, and the ‘Internet of Things’. What happens when future-tech crashes headlong into traditional DIY? And will robots really care for our herbaceous borders?

It’s another deft example of how, by igniting our curiosity, and firing up our imaginations, FACT cleverly nudges us towards

the future. Because, let’s face it, we’re heading there whether we like it or not. So a trip to Wood Street might be seen as a sneak preview. And, with FACT’s often tender exploration of how new technologies can help the most vulnerable in our communities, it’s a future that can’t come quickly enough.

We caught up with FACT’s newly appointed Executive Director, Jo Wright to get a curated tour of his new home city.

MY SECRET SANCTUARY

One of the benefits of living in Crosby is having the beach within easy walking distance. I find it is a great place to re-energize mind and body, whether that’s through a brisk power-walk around Crosby Marina or a leisurely stroll up the promenade, taking in Anthony Gormley’s Another Place.– crosbylakeside.co.uk

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THE PLACE I FIRST FELL IN LOVE WITH

As a life-long musician and erstwhile record producer, I have always loved spending time in recording studios. For my MBA at the University of Liverpool in 2001, I produced a 20,000-word dissertation entitled: “Does the Professional Recording Studio Have a Future?” In hindsight, I think the choice of topic was mainly to give me an excuse to have a nose around some of the city’s great recording facilities – not least, Parr Street Studios, previously owned by Genesis, and narrowly saved from demolition in 2006.– parrstreet.co.uk

MY FAVOURITE TABLE

I am a big fan of Lucha Libre – conveniently located right next door to FACT. It’s great for lunch or dinner and summons up considerable nostalgia for time spent in Mexico during my previous job at Welsh Government, where I was responsible for developing links between the creative industries of Wales and Mexico. – facebook.com/luchalibreliverpool

ONE NOT TO MISS SIGHT

I am always moved by the view across the Liverpool skyline, over the Mersey Estuary and the Wirral, and on to Wales. There are a number of excellent vantage points across the city – Crosby Beach, the top of the Radio City

Tower, the awe-inspiring grounds of the Anglican Cathedral, and (fortunately for me) my office window at FACT!

WHERE TO GO TO ESCAPE THE CITY FOR THE AFTERNOON

Cycling up the scenic coastal path from my home to Hightown and Formby (or even Southport when we’re feeling energetic!)

FAVOURITE HIDDEN GEM

I’d been in Liverpool for a number of years before I found out about Williamson’s Tunnels – a labyrinth of tunnels underneath the Liverpool streets, constructed at considerable expense by wealthy 19th Century philanthropist Joseph Williamson, seemingly with no purpose other than to provide employment for locals.

Opposite: Crosby Beach

From above: Lucha Libre, Parr Street Recording Studios, Williamson Tunnels

FAVOURITE EVENT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO

There are so many great events coming up, both at FACT and around the city. I’m really enjoying Build Your Own - our current exhibition, especially when we invite children in to explore the world of tech with cutting edge artists. But I must say that the one I’m looking forward to the most is Shona Illingworth’s exhibition Lesions in the Landscape, premiering at FACT in September. The exhibition will explore amnesia through installations, photos, drawings and documentation, bridging between art and science in a fascinating way. Illingworth has been working with renowned neuropsychologists and amnesia sufferer Claire, who can no longer remember the majority of her past.

MOST INSPIRING PLACE

The Anglican Cathedral. It is an incredible building and the grounds are awe-inspiring. Even though it is one of the top tourist attractions in the North West, it still remains peaceful, and its grandeur never ceases to amaze and impress me.

FACTWood Streetfact.co.uk

Build Your Own

Lesions in the Landscape

Anglican Cathedral

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Experience our true nature this season, and discover our true nature. We get a guided tour from the RSPB’s Chris Tynan.

Walk on the Wild Side

THE LOWDOWN

There’s more parks than Paris, more miles of riverside walks than London, more Atlantic air, delivered fresh and clean each morning than, frankly, we know what to do with. Liverpool is an outdoor-living, wildlife-loving city. A city where green fields, big blue skies and breezy beaches are just minutes away from the bustle of downtown.

Mid summer is the ideal time to discover our city region’s green heart. Amble through riverside parks, tackle an urban safari, or stroll around the manicured wonderlands of our botanic gardens: but whatever you do, take a pair of binoculars with you. You’ll be surprised at exactly who you’ll be sharing your summer’s afternoon with...

We asked RSPB’s Liverpool Local Group leader, Chris Tynan, to take us on a guided tour of some of his favourite places...

“Born on the banks of the River Mersey, Liverpool has always been a haven for nature and wildlife. The clue’s in the corruption of the name, the lyver pool is Old English for a muddy inlet. The sort of habitat the RSPB is desperately trying to conserve these days!

Maybe that’s why one of the earliest things the first Scousers immortalised was the Liverbird.

The mythical creature watching over the city is in fact a cormorant, a semi waterproof bird which needed to dry out its wings allowing it to reproof itself. When the bird does this action you can easily recognise the shape of the Liverbird. Cormorants can often be spotted perched on a rock or bank in Sefton or on the Wirral.

The Mersey has undergone a huge change in the last 200 years, its wildlife has suffered due to heavy pollution but by the start of the 21st century the river had recovered to full health and now regularly has salmon returning up river to breed.

If you enjoy nature, birds or simply love being in the open air, the region has a superb choice of places to explore. The rivers at the edge of the Irish Sea have a huge tidal range - the Mersey rises and falls up to ten metres - which in turn attracts a tremendous variety of wildlife, making a

visit at any time of day can be very productive. The mud flats and sandbars are an interesting feature of the river. You’ll easily spot them if you walk along the River Mersey to Otterspool and its promenade. I watched a coloured ringed Sanderling on the Mersey in May this year on its return migration to Greenland after it had spent its winter in Namibia - so wherever you’re visiting from, I bet you can’t beat that for a round trip!

Liverpool and the Mersey are linked to three other river estuaries in the Liverpool Bay. The River Dee is to the south, to the north the River Alt and the single most important river estuary for birds in the UK, the Ribble.

The salt marshes of the Ribble in Southport, and the breezy Sefton Coast, with its dunes and beaches are a magnet for wading birds. Vast numbers of waders sift

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THE LOWDOWN

their way through the intertidal areas. From July through to May next year this area will feed a phenomenal numbers of birds returning from their breeding grounds in the Arctic on their migration along the Eastern Atlantic Flyway. This is like a huge motorway service station, a flight stop. Look out for avocet, curlew, dunlin, godwit, (not so) common snipe and even the elusive water rail.

One of the best places to observe the area is the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reserve at Marshside. The hides and screens offer a great way of looking for returning ducks, waders and soon the noisy Pink-footed Goose in their thousands. You could also visit Martin Mere, run by the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, in Burscough, home to almost 100 species of rare and endangered ducks, geese, swans, cranes and flamingos as well as migrating visitors, and an inquisitive family of otters.

But don’t forget the city’s parks. Perhaps the best of all is the sprawling expanse of Sefton Park, offering a wide variety of habitats from lake and streams to

“LIVERPOOL IS AN OUTDOOR-

LIVING, WILDLIFE-

LOVING CITY WHERE GREEN

FIELDS, BIG BLUE SKIES

AND BREEZY BEACHES ARE JUST MINUTES

AWAY FROM THE BUSTLE OF DOWNTOWN ”

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woodlands. Start your exploration at the steamy Victorian Palm House. Restored to its former glory the plants from foreign lands survive well with the care of the Palm House Trust and a supporting cast of robins and wrens eating their way through insects trapped within.

The area at the back of the Palm house has seen the local park users set up a feeding station for the birds and grey squirrels, however, the exotic ring necked parakeets have taken advantage of this additional food source and have started to grow and colonise within the city.

Only got a spare hour in the city? Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral and St James Cemetery is the ideal place to visit, to shake off the noise of the city for a peaceful sandwich. But you’ll have company. In a short time 20 to 25 species of birds can be spotted around this sunken, ten acre site - with a profusion of wildflowers, sheltered from the traffic and bustle above.

If you’re really lucky you’ll find the Peregrine falcon roosting on the main tower of the cathedral. This powerful falcon moved in to the city due to an abundance of

easy prey and has been seen on the Liver Building staring out the Liverbirds!

Another impressive area to visit, if you’ve time, is Leasowe Lighthouse and the common over on the Wirral. Between 1pm and 5pm on the first and third Sunday of each month you can walk up to the top of the lighthouse and experience breathtaking views of the Liverpool Bay. There is a small charge but well worth a visit. The local area has a mosaic of habitats from coastal grasslands to reedbed, horse paddocks and estuaries. The area is well known to birders because prolonged autumn storms from the North West drive in the fabled Leach’s Storm Petrel. Large numbers of birds blown close to shore create a phenomenon called a wreck. It’s quite a site.

With its four estuaries, stunning beaches, coastal pine woods (don’t forget the red squirrels at Formby) and valuable woodlands, the Liverpool region offers a fabulous wealth of habitats.

Nature was here before us and, if we continue to treat our corner of the world with respect, we’ll continue to coexist happy for many years to come.

Five To TryFESTIVAL GARDENS

16 acres of coastal gardens in south Liverpool, rising from the old Garden Festival site, this space offer a wide range of natural habitats in a compact, walkable plot. Enjoy the Zen-like calm of the Oriental Gardens, complete with pagodas and mirror lake. Amble through woodland trails and enjoy the river panoramas from the viewing point. The Garden’s unique biodiversity sees a roll call of dragonflies, butterflies, finches, yellowhammers and willow warblers make this place their summer home in the city. It’s free, and open dawn til dusk.liverpoolfestivalgardens.com

SEFTON PARK, CENTRAL LIVERPOOL

Sefton Park is a magnificent Grade I listed park covering 235 acres, featuring two large lakes popular with wildlife and anglers. The undulating landscape includes extensive areas of mature woodland and clumps of planting that frame views across spacious parkland. The jewel in the crown is the Palm House, a grade II* conservatory with an amazing variety of plants from all over the world, including some specimens no longer growing in the wild.

CROXTETH COUNTRY PARK, NORTH LIVERPOOL

One of the best examples of a historical country estate in Britain, the former home of the Earls of Sefton has been conserved and transformed to become a popular visitor attraction. The Walled Garden displays plants typical of a Victorian garden, including rare trained fruit trees and

greenhouses containing part of the City’s historic Botanical Collection. The rural landscape of woodland, river, ponds and pasture makes a great place to escape urban life – an oasis of countryside in the city.

CALDERSTONES PARK, SOUTH LIVERPOOL

Calderstones Park gets its name from the nationally significant ‘Calder Stones’, six Neolithic sandstone boulders that remain from a burial mound, currently on display here. The site also boasts the thousand year old ‘Allerton Oak’ Tree, a tree with a tale or two to tell. There are a vast range of plants that provide horticultural interest throughout the year with a botanical diversity and great number of mature trees that create a landscape structure seldom found in a public park, including a number of ‘champion trees’ and specimens of national note.

NESS GARDENS, WIRRAL

Beautifully landscaped coastal botanic gardens, world-class planting, sunny lawns, stunning herbaceous borders and plenty of perfect picnic spots, overlooking the hills of North Wales. Ness is an industrious little place - there’s usually something going on here, but losing yourself in the Wilder-Ness trail for the afternoon is also highly recommended. Admission charged.

liverpool.gov.uk/leisure-parks-and-events/parks-and-greenspaces

To book a tour with Chris:rspb.org.uk/groups/liverpool

RSPB MarshsideMarine Drive, Southport Tel: 01704 226190

WWT Martin MereFish Lane, BurscoughTel: 01704 895181

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THE MANIFESTO

It’s reshaped not just the city, but the retail landscape - bringing the shopping mall kicking and screaming into the 21st century, and into the fresh Liverpool air. We speak to Donna Howitt, Liverpool ONE’s Marketing & Business Performance Director, about how they got it so right.

The View From Here: Liverpool ONE

PEOPLE IN LIVERPOOL HAVE A DESIRE FOR THINGS TO SUCCEED - FOR THEIR CITY TO DO WELL.

We’re a naturally proud bunch, and the development of the city over the last few years has given that pride a renewed vigour. People are proud of Liverpool and what it stands for. The city centre looks great these days, and the

Waterfront is truly magnificent. And visitors leave Liverpool with a sense of belonging – they feel part of it and that’s why they keep coming back.

WHEN THE PROJECT WAS ANNOUNCED THERE WAS A REAL FEAR THAT WE COULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE REST OF THE CITY. WE LISTENED.

There was an underlying nervousness from the business and retail community about the impact of Liverpool ONE. It was a worry for some that we would perhaps see other areas of the city centre become run-down or frequented less. In fact the opposite has happened, just look at how well Bold Street’s food scene is doing! Liverpool

ONE was designed to integrate seamlessly with the rest of the city and since its launch we’ve forged strong bonds with our neighbours in Church Street, Albert Dock and beyond. As a result, more people are visiting regularly - and from further afield.

OUR SCHEME WAS AS RADICAL AS IT WAS COMPLICATED. WE WEREN’T BUILDING A SHOPPING CENTRE, BUT A NEW URBAN DISTRICT.

We were determined to build something that integrated with the wider city. Somewhere lively, accessible and beautiful. It was the largest inner city development anywhere in Europe for many years. Developers had to simultaneously consider design quality, heritage, retail

provision, parking and transport, pedestrian links, and access. Have we done it? I think so. Just look at the thousands of people who chose Liverpool ONE as a place to spend their leisure time, work, live and shop.

YOU CAN NEVER PREDICT HOW WELL SOMETHING WILL BE TAKEN TO PEOPLE’S HEARTS. OUR PERFORMANCE FIGURES NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE US.

The growth of Liverpool ONE hasn’t so much been its physical growth as its growth in performance. Sales and visitor numbers continue to rise, and last year was our best ever. Yes, retail has seen tough times, and we’re not immune to that. But what’s amazing is how Liverpool is now attracting brands to the city for

22

the first time. Harvey Nichols and Michael Kors have added to an impressive line-up of new brands, Zara’s added a flash of new fashion to the high street, and Apple is always exciting!

WE ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT LIVERPOOL ONE IS FAR MORE THAN SHOPPING - IT’S A COMPLETE DESTINATION. A GREAT PLACE TO WATCH THE WORLD GO BY.

Our public spaces are the heart and soul of Liverpool ONE. Whether you’re enjoying a coffee or spending time at Chavasse Park in the summer months, we make sure there’s somewhere for visitors to pause and relax. And, while they’re doing it, they can enjoy pianos in the street, fashion shows, flash mobs, public art and photographic exhibitions.

WE’VE LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF NEVER STANDING STILL. EVEN IF THAT MEANS SOMETIMES GETTING SOAKED!

Not everything goes to plan. In our commitment to enliven public spaces, the great Liverpool weather has thwarted us along the way. The installation of the works by ‘Carlos Diaz Cruz’

in front of the Hilton Hotel encountered more challenges due to wet weather than I care to remember. But our passion for ‘pop-ups’ - allowing brands to join our family for a short time - has seen some fantastic new arrivals, from Claremont Farm’s Asparagus restaurant to the Harvey Nichols Food Pop-Up, One Art on Paradise Street and The Interesting Eating Company on Peter’s Lane.

WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER.

I want us continue to inject vibrancy and life into the city centre. Showcasing to visitors many of the grassroots talents the city has to offer is still an area I think we can work on. I believe we’ve only just scratched the surface. I want to look at ways we can better develop great ideas with partners in the arts, universities and other groups. After all, anyone can shop online nowadays but they can’t experience the fun and diversity you get when that can be realised in a city centre when all the right factors come together.

LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE IS A SUREFIRE

WAY TO KEEP THINGS FRESH, AND KEEP OUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY.

Of course we look to London, to places such as Covent Garden or the South Bank for inspiration. London never fails to surprise and delight visitors, all year round. Further afield, Berlin has successfully established their Festival of Light as a key event in the calendar. What is great about Berlin is the scale of private sector partnership and commitment that’s delivered a magnificent festival. Beyond big cities, I often see great things in the least expected of places – sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

THE FUTURE IS...EXCITING

Online is here to stay, but savvy brands are working hard to make sure their high street presence is more engaging, more fun. Look at the spa treatments you can get in Harvey Nichols and John Lewis for example!

THERE IS A REAL GROWTH IN DINING AND LIVERPOOL IS LEADING THE WAY HERE, TOO. PEOPLE GRAVITATE TO THE CENTRE AND THE LEISURE AND DINING CHOICES AVAILABLE TO THEM IN THE HEART OF

LIVERPOOL ONE GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.

High streets up and down the country should be a heart for the community. Destinations that get it right will attract people back time and time again, becoming the places where people choose to spend their leisure time. When we opened, the Echo headline was: Open - All Ours. That’s as true today as it was then.

“HIGH STREETS UP AND DOWN THE

COUNTRY SHOULD BE A HEART FOR

THEIR COMMUNITY. DESTINATIONS THAT

GET IT RIGHT WILL ATTRACT PEOPLE

BACK TIME AND TIME AGAIN, BECOMING

THE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE CHOOSE TO SPEND THEIR LEISURE TIME.”

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY

Where can you head to rise above it all? In Liverpool, you’re never too far away from a terrific view. From twilight tower tours to fine dining with a side order of jaw dropping vistas, we know just the place...

Getting High in Liverpool

ZIPWIRE CHALLENGE

The ‘Liverpool Wire’, a cool 115 foot above shopper’s heads, offers a thrilling, high-flying adrenaline rush of a view. Raise money for charity! Scream yourself hoarse! Act out your Spiderman fantasies as you soar from one end of Church Street to another. Until September 13. liverpoolwire.co.uk

TATE LIVERPOOL

Yes, go for the Pollocks, and the constantly shifting selection of the world’s most exciting contemporary art. But what’s guaranteed to stop you in your tracks are the views from Tate Liverpool’s thick set warehouse windows - perfectly framing the glinting River Mersey beyond.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-liverpool

WHEEL OF LIVERPOOL

Rising above the Echo Arena, the Wheel of Liverpool spins to an incredible 196ft (60m) above the cobbles of the Albert Dock. Fabulous any time of day, but try to visit on a summer’s evening to see the glorious sunsets over the mountains of North Wales.sales.webticketmanager.com/LiverpoolWheel

CENTRAL LIBRARY

Liverpool’s reimagined Central Library is a real page turner - with its soaring central atrium, terrace cafe and XBox gaming suite. But climb (or take the lift) to the rooftop viewing deck and you’ll be rewarded with terrific views over St John’s Gardens and St George’s Hall.liverpool.gov.uk/libraries

RADIO CITY TOWER

Radio City, now ensconced in its St John’s Beacon eyrie, offers tours of this iconic 1960’s landmark. For 360 degree panoramas, this slim skyscraper is hard to beat. But it’s not for the feint-hearted - on a windy day you can feel the tower swaying. Disconcerting, when you’re 138 metres off the ground.yourliverpoolview.com

PANORAMIC 34

The food’s great in the Panoramic restaurant. It has to be, when it’s competing with the best views in Liverpool. Here, at Britain’s second highest dining room, you can feast on the glittering lights of North Wales, and even spy Manchester’s Hilton Hotel.panoramic34.com

EVERTON BROW

Head up to Everton brow - a lofty vantage point just to the north of the city centre - for the best view of the city below. Here, at the top of the town, you only spy glimpses of the Mersey, glinting between the spires and the skyscrapers. Time your visit for sunset and you can watch it sink beneath the wind turbines in Liverpool Bay.facebook.com/EvertonBrowLiverpool3

LIVERPOOL CATHEDRAL

Liverpool Cathedral’s Twilight Tower Tours run throughout the summer - check the times on their website. With two lifts and a further 108 steps to navigate we can’t promise you’re any closer to God, but the climb is rewarded with heavenly views over the twinkling lights of the city below.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/about/the-tower.aspx

LIVERPOOL FLYING

SCHOOL

Of course, if you really want a bird’s eye view, you’re going to have to take to the air. Liverpool Flying School, one of the oldest in the country, offers lessons (£95 for half an hour), where you’ll take the controls of a Tomahawk, rise above the Liverpool skyline and make a fly-by past Everton and Liverpool’s football grounds. liverpoolflyingschool.com

BIRKENHEAD PRIORY

Birkenhead Priory is the oldest surviving building on Merseyside, dating back to 1150. St Mary’s Tower is a later addition (1821) but the views from the top are timeless. Stretching out ahead of you is the mouth of the River Mersey and your best at-a-glance view of Liverpool’s historic waterfront.visitwirral.com/attractions-and-activities/birkenhead-priory-and-st-marys-tower

From top: Zipwire Challenge, Panoramic 34, Wheel of Liverpool, Liverpool Central Library

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GOODNESS GRACIOUS

Standing on the decks of the Goodness Gracious roof garden, above OhMeOhMy feels like you’re on the prow of some huge, stately cruise ship, just before it sets sail for the New World. After a few G&T’s you might even burst into a chorus of My Heart Will Go On. We do.twitter.com/gg_roofgarden

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Summer is here but some days are sunnier than others. We’ve picked out some key transitional pieces that will see you through the ever-changing seasons, letting your wardrobe do all the hard work while you stay looking cool. Whatever the weather.

Shot in Liverpool ONE, these pieces will guide you through the tricky Summer – Autumn period and prevent wardrobe chaos.

Fresh white skirts (John Lewis, £130) look ethereal on a sunny day but can equally be paired with opaques once that summer tan starts to fade and the sea breeze is but a distant memory. 60s knit dresses (Warehouse, £45) are your go-to for glamour whatever the weather.

For the men, think light but smart trousers and more importantly, pieces that will see you through to the next season, as opposed to hanging in the wardrobe until summer comes around again.

Double-Duty Fashion

JOSH –SHIRT, JOHN LEWIS - £45TROUSERS, REISS - £55SHOES, DUNE - £65

LUCY – DRESS, WAREHOUSE £45SHOES, DUNE £85

STYLE

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JOSH –SHIRT, JOHN LEWIS - £45TROUSERS, REISS - £55SHOES, DUNE - £65

LUCY – DRESS, WAREHOUSE £45SHOES, DUNE £85

JOSH WEARS: TOP - £39 TROUSERS £95

BOTH AVAILABLE FROM REISS

LUCY WEARS: DRESS, £99 NECKLACE, £20

BOTH JOHN LEWIS

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JOSH – TOP, REISS - £69TROUSERS, JOHN LEWIS - £29

LUCY –TOP, REISS - £89SKIRT, JOHN LEWIS - £130

29

Summer Skin, SortedWe like a bit of a tan around here. Have you noticed? And, with the right

tools we can stay skin-safe, and build a glow that’ll last until Autumn. Remember, before any lazy day at the beach, prep, polish and protect.

You’ll thank us for it later.

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2

3

4

5

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1. Clarins After Sun Replenishing Cream (Boots) This sophisticated post-sun anti-ager repairs, replenishes and soothes skin

2. Ultrasun Face 50 (John Lewis)There are sun creams, and there’s Ultrasun. Our fave to keep wrinkles at bay

3. Liz Earle Eyebright (John Lewis)Sooth allergy-irritated eyes with this botanical powerhouse

4. Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie (Debenhams)Give your lips a post-sun boost with this antioxidant-packed beauty

5. St Tropez Gradual Tan in Shower (Boots)The safest tan? It’s from a bottle. This gives a subtle shimmer and is easy to apply

6. Aveda Caribbean Therapy Body Scrub (Harvey Nichols)The first step to a beautiful tan? Exfoliate, of course

7. MAC Bronzing Powder, (MAC, Metquarter)A good powder acts like an SPF 15, so bronze your way to beautiful!

How many cities can you name with a brace of cracking beaches within an easy

half hour’s drive away? Us neither. So, what’s your type? Family friendly, Wild and

windswept or chic and sporty….

Life’s a Beach

sEXPLORING

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FORMBY

Waymarked paths lead to dunes, pine forests (look out for those red squirrels) and picnic areas. Soft sands stretch for

miles in either direction. Try the coastal cycle path to Crosby.

Lunch at Sparrowhawk, Southport Old Road

CROSBY

You’re never alone at Crosby beach. Standing sentinel against the tides is Antony Gormley’s 100 strong-army ‘Another Place’. The enigmatic mass sculptures add a dash of drama to this, the closest

stretch of sand to the city.

Lunch at Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre, Cambridge Road

WEST KIRBY

With its sleek marina offering wind and kite surfing lessons, Wirral’s

Dee coast attracts the surfer set. For blissful solitude, head to Hilbre Island Local Nature Reserve, a kilometre off shore, accessible on foot at low water (check the tide times, and follow the

recommended route).

Lunch at Sweet Pea, 2A Acacia Grove

SOUTHPORT

With 12 miles of golden sands (awarded Blue Flag status along the Ainsdale stretch), Southport is a traditional

seaside resort with all the trimmings. Stroll along Britain’s oldest pier, or

brave the rides at Pleasureland fun fair.

Lunch at Fylde Fish Bar, 117 Fylde Road

33

Give us two days, and we’ll give you the heart and soul of Liverpool. Follow our weekend ramble through the best of the city - for more detail,

download the free It’s Liverpool app.

A Weekend to Remember

Saturday Sunday

ITSLIVERPOOL.COM/APP

Stay at 2 Blackburne Terrace

Five star trimmings abound in this plush retreat in the

Georgian Quarter

Morning: Georgian Quarter stroll

Liverpool’s planned 18th century suburbs is a peaceful corner of the city, its streets

lined with elegant townhouses, churches and, yes, pubs!

Brunch at The QuarterTake a leisurely brunch, with the wekend papers, at this Falkner Street favourite.

Shopping in Liverpool ONEBecause you’ve earned it.

Try the fashion boutiques of Peter’s Lane.

Lunch at PanoramicTake to the skies at Britain’s second highest restaurant

Mersey Ferry tourBlow the cobwebs away on a

fascinating cruise back to the start of our history

The Beatles in 4DSee the Fab Four like never

before, at The Beatles Story, Pier Head

Cocktails at ChaoprayaThe perfect start to any

Saturday night’s excursions

Dinner at Art School Restaurant

Paul Askew’s creating a stir at this smart top-of-town

restaurant.

Brunch at MooseThe city’s favourite American breakfast hangout, on Dale or

Hope Street

Stroll around Albert Dock Fresh air abounds, as do

tempting gift shops, at the waterfront

Take in TateWith Jackson Pollock’s vivid,

energetic works bound to excite you.

Lunch at Lunya Liverpool ONE’s surefooted

Spanish tapas bar is made for Sundays

Head to Liverpool Cathedral For a reviving spiritual sojourn

Back into town via the independent shops that line

Bold StreetTry Utility for quirky designs.

Coffee at Golden Square Just off Bold Street, on the

bustling Wood Street

Enjoy a facial at LushTheir signature treatments

are blissfully indulgent

Dinner at PuschkaThis Rodney Street institution is the perfect way to end one

unforgettable weekend.

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Until 18 October, World Museum

MAYAS: REVELATION OF AN ENDLESS TIME

Warriors, shaman, treasures and ancient knowledge are all on show here at the only opportunity the whole of the UK has to view an exhibition about an utterly beguiling – and beautiful – civilization.

Until 18 October, Tate Liverpool

JACKSON POLLOCK: BLIND SPOTS

The first exhibition in 30 years of the famous dripper, concentrating on the work of the artist between 1951 and 1953: see how the Black Pourings era came about.

Until 30 September, Beatles Story

THE BRITISH INVASION: HOW 1960s BEAT GROUPS CONQUERED AMERICA

A co-presentation between the Beatles Story and Grammy Museum brings together fab material from the time when all things British – and Scouse for that matter – were groovy, baby.

30 July - 2 Aug, Echo Arena

BRITISH GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Four days of non-stop gymnastics action is on offer showcasing the amazing skill of Britain’s best gymnasts at the height of their game.

17 August and every Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Museum of Liverpool

MUSEUM CRAFTERNOON

Youngsters (and not so youngsters) feeling inspired by the exhibitions? Take some time to let the imagination run wild at the free drop-in sessions running 1.30-3.30pm .

17 August and 21 August, then every Monday and Friday, Walker Art Gallery

TODDLER TIME: BIG ART FOR LITTLE ARTISTS

Geared toward toddlers and even littler tykes, this 10am free drop in session is an hour of creative play, exploration, songs and stories in the gorgeous surrounds of the Walker.

18-19 August, Sefton Park Palm House

GRIMM TALES THEATRE

A perfect venue for the magical forest-based show, in which Pick n Mix Theatre present a journey by Hansel & Gretel through enchantment and fairy tales that’s suitable for kids and adults alike.

20 August, The Magnet

THE SPARE RIB BURLESQUE & CABARET

Compered by the one and only Rock Hart. Performances from Trixie Blue, Scarlet Rose and Dulcie Von Lashes; Music from Jodie Anderson; Comedy by Hannah Platt. Money raised goes to RASA Merseyside.

24-29 August, Empire Theatre

DREAMBOATS AND MINISKIRTS

Back to the early 1960s and early Beatles for a tale of ambition, pop, love, marriage and opportunities aplenty with this touring show.

25 August to 26 September, Merseyside Maritime Museum

WONDROUS WAREHOUSES

Drop in for free between 1pm and 4pm to create your own Albert Dock warehouse in miniature! Great family activity – check liverpoolmuseums.org.uk for loads more kid-friendly happenings.

28-31 August, Riversdale Police Club Grounds

LIVERPOOL FAMILY FUN FESTIVAL

There’s over 32,000 square metres of activity space with loads of rides, games, entertainment and more than 50 food and drink providers on hand in the Urban Food and Drink area; free for under 16 years of age.

29-31 August, Various venues

LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

Echo & the Bunnymen, RLPO, Labrinth and a host of one-off commissions ignite the city in this unique, free music fest.

ShowtimeHIGHLIGHTS

FOR FULL DETAILS, AND HOW TO BUY TICKETS, HEAD TO VISITLIVERPOOL.COM

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30 August, Sefton Park Palm House

GLOBAL ROOTS INTERNATIONAL MIXTAPE

Worldwide DJs celebrate the power of music from Lagos to LA, London to Liverpool. DJ Spoko, Ebbo Kraan, Hannah Faith, Nidia Minaj and Lena Willikens are all lined up to bring the skillz.

31 August-3 September, Open Eye Gallery

LORENZO VITTURI MASTERCLASS

The Milan-based Vitturi is a sculptor and photographer who has won awards for his innovative blend of sculpture, photography and performance. A rare opportunity to learn from a truly unique artist.

5 September, Bluecoat

ABOVE THE BEATEN TRACK

One day celebration of grassroots talent in all its forms (that’s music, art, food, makers and DJs, at the very least)

5 September, Lomax

THE SPITFIRES

The Watford three-piece really do live up to their name as they rail against manufactured talent show acts with their pithy and sharp take on what music really ought to be about.

9 September, Maguire’s Pizza Bar

SPARE SNARE

Genre-defying lo-fi Scottish heroes that have been active for 24 years make a rare live appearance – grab a pizza whilst you enjoy the spectacle.

9 September, Olympia

TAME IMPALA

All the way from Australia come a band that have been compared to Cream and The Beatles but that also has a real sense of the future as they purvey an expansive, dreamy line in psych-poppery.

12-13 September, Exhibition Centre, King’s Dock

THE LIVERPOOL WEDDING SHOW

Brides, grooms, close family, bridesmaids, best men: this is where it’s at. Everything from venue choosing, catering and flowers to honeymoon destinations, clothes and veils is at hand with the country’s finest exhibitors.

15 September, East Village Arts Club

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE

The multi-membered Spree are on a 15th anniversary tour; a choir backed by an orchestration that also draws from electric guitars, there has been nothing like them before or since.

17 September, Kazimer

WILLIAM BASINSKI

Ambient sound artist Basinski hails from America and is at the cutting edge of music concrete, tape loops and audio/visual art. Inventive beyond measure and challenging at times.

18 September, Cavern

THE MERSEYBEATS

It’s Liverpool personified with one of the original acts including founder members Billy Kinsley and Tony Crane. What better venue could there be for one of the most-recognisable 1960s bands out there?

18 September, Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King

THE SIXTEEN

Let’s go back to the golden age of Spanish music with performances by Francisco Guerrero and Alonso Lobo, two Sevillian composers of some power. Choir and period-instrument orchestra in the wonderful cathedral acoustic will be extraordinary.

18 September, O2 Academy

THE ENGLISH BEAT

Two-tone at its finest as the main songwriter, singer and axeman behind The Beat, Mr. Dave Wakeling, brings his latest line-up to Liverpool. All together now: Hands Off, She’s Mine...

OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

It’s still what August Bank Holidays were made for. This year, even more so, as the mighty Chemical Brothers return to their spiritual homeland: Creamfields. Headlining on Saturday, with Swedish superstar DJ Aviici, they’ll bring their head-spinning new set to a faithful crowd of 70,000 for three days of the sunniest electronic dance music on the planet.

“I’ve got very, very kind of shady memories of the first few years that I played and I’ve got a history with this place,” admits Fatboy Slim, who’ll be bringing the party. As will Cream’s adopted son, Paul Oakenfold: “It’s the crowd. It always has been. I’ve been working very

closely with Cream for many years, from my residency in Liverpool to Ibiza and also obviously Creamfields, and the crowd are always completely wonderful,” he tell us. “So for me I’ve got a lot of friends here, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them all.”

The feeling’s mutual. And if you can’t wait til then, Cream are taking Creamfields to Ibiza to celebrate Radio 1’s 20th anniversary on the island, on August 1. The white isle might bring the sun, but the soul? It’ll always be here.

CreamfieldsDaresbury, Cheshire28-30 Augustcreamfields.com

Opposite: Mayas at the World Museum, Jackson Pollock at Tate

L-R from above: Katy B, DJ Spoko, Lorenzo Vitturi

36

19-20 September, Sefton Park

LIVERPOOL FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL

Transforming Sefton Park into a foodie heaven, the festival brings the best of the city’s restaurants and bars together for two days of tastings, demos, masterclass and family fun. Loosen your belt.

19 September, Kazimer

IRATION STEPPAS SOUND SYSTEM

It’s bass all the way from the Steppas, whose dub-hefty sonics are a central part of their ethic. Also appearing are Lazy Habits, an eight-piece with beats and lyrics melding Big Band and jazz.

23 September, The Bumper

TELLISON

After 12 years at the sharp edge of smash n grab rock, Tellison know exactly how to get crowds sweaty and shouting at the sky in sheer thrall at the moments of magic called being alive.

24 - 25 September, Philharmonic Hall

CLASSIC FM HALL OF FAME

Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff - raising the roof: Vasily Petrenko and the RLPO. Ji Liu on piano.

25-26 September, Camp & Furnace

LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA

Three different stages with nigh on 100 acts including headliners Spiritualized (below), Anton Newcombe and tons of other sonic explorers, the Psych fest is truly cutting edge. It also provides art, film, live art and more.

25 September- 17 October, Everyman Theatre

THE ODYSSEY – MISSING PRESUMED DEAD BY SIMON ARMITAGE: ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE

A tale of contemporary politics, time travel, intrigue and classical Greek literature presented by the ETT with its usual panache and stagecraft.

1 October, Epstein Theatre

JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR

Voted Best British Female Vocalist in the 2010 and 2011 British Blues Awards, Taylor’s as adept in rocking the house as she is in leading a soulful connection with her audience.

1 October, 4 October Philharmonic

SONGS FROM DISTANT LANDS

From Alpine symphonies to Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons - with Vasily Petrenko in control 2 October, Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King

HEATHER PEACE

The singer-songwriter and actress is performing a chilled-out set which was originally set for 2 July but had to be rescheduled.

2 October, O2 Academy

STARSAILOR

The Chorley indie veterans are still one of the most reliable providers of folk-tinged rock.

3 October, East Village Arts Club

MARTIN STEPHENSON & THE DAINTEES

A welcome return for The Daintees, who initially split after four albums in 1992 then came back for two very well received LPs in 2008 and 2012. Expect rockabilly, show tunes, pop, rock and a bit of good old punkin’ it up.

6 October, Kazimer

XIU XIU

This show is a performance of the music from Twin Peaks – a sound and aesthetic that is absolutely perfect for the experimental NME favourites.

8 October-14 November, Royal Court Theatre

LET IT BE

Take a trip through Beatlemania with a muiltimedia spectacular featuring 40 songs of the Fab Four in a wonderful theatre show that brings the atmosphere and sounds of the 1960s back to vibrant life.

9 October, Cavern

JOHN LENNON 75TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT

Celebrate the life and music of a true legend with live performances of many of John’s classic tracks as played by the resident artists of one of the venues inextricably linked with the man.

9 October, O2 Academy

BLOSSOMS

The fast-rising Stockport quintet have one foot in psychedelia a la The Doors, one foot in poppy Abba-esque melodies and one foot in smashing riffs to the rafters.

10 October, Epstein Theatre

DEAN FRIEDMAN

The venerable songwriter is approaching forty years in the business; expect the multi-instrumentalist to get you thinking, “I didn’t know he wrote that one too,” over and over again.

11 October, Philharmonic Hall

STEVE NIEVE PLAYS ELVIS COSTELLO First concert in the sublime new Music Room venue, suitably enough celebrating local hero, Costello - with a real life Attraction!

BOOK NOW FOR...

15-25 October, Various Venues

LIVERPOOL IRISH FESTIVAL

There’s a real affinity between Liverpool and its Irish cousins, celebrated

annually with some excellent music and events that

celebrate the cultural links and bring people together in

the very best way.

November, Various Venues

HOMOTOPIA

The country’s foremost LGBT art and cultural festival is an absolute

treasure trove of local,. Regional, national and

international artists working across all disciplines

from music to visual art, performances, street

theatre, debates and more. Unmissable.

13-15 November, Echo Arena

CHINA NATIONAL PEKING OPERA

COMPANY

A rare and wonderful opportunity to experience

the masterpieces of Warrior Women of Yang and Farewell My Concubine – the only time

you can see the company outside of London, in fact.

18-21 November, Empire Theatre

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET

This year the ENB presents Le Corsaire, a tale of

derring-do on the high seas. Expect passion, action and an impressive stage set by

Hollywood designer Bob Ringwood.

24-28 November, Echo Arena

HOW NOW MRS BROWN COW

The gently anarchic phenomenon that is Mrs.

Brown’s Boys comes to the Arena with a brand new

show written by Mrs. Brown himself – Brendan O’Carroll.

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38

When the days never seem to end, why should the fun? Liverpool squeezes every last drop of al fresco summer fun out of the season, with everything from sunset cruises to Shakespeare to feast on, there’s a summer night with your name on it. Image by Pete Carr

Summer Night City

39

Cruise Terminal17 & 28 AugustThere’s always fireworks, and a bit of a party, when the big ships come to the city. Head to the waterfront on August 17 and 28 to welcome P&O’s flagship, the Royal Princess for a pyrotechnic treat.

Twilight Tower ToursUntil OctoberLiverpool Cathedral

Thursday nights sees Liverpool Cathedral stay open late for tours to the top of the bell tower. Time it for sunset (the cathedral posts sunset times on its twitter account week by week @livcathedral) and you’ll have a view that borders on heavenly. Bell Nights (Aug 6, Sept 3, Oct 1) give you the chance to see the world’s heaviest, and highest bells up close, too. liverpoolcathedral.org.uk

Late nights at Goodness GraciousOhMeOhMyEast Africa BuildingWater Street

This sublime rooftop garden enjoys the best views of the Liverpool waterfront - with sunsets across the Mersey thrown in for free. Rise above the city for a summer’s evening of fruit-infused gins, chilled beers and funk and soul soundtracks, courtesy of the ever-reliable team behind Bold Street’s Leaf. thisisleaf.co.uk

Much Ado About Nothing22-27 JulyRoyden ParkFrankby

Wirral’s excellent Hillbark Players are promenading around the delightful Royden Park over in Frankby again this summer. For 2015, they’ll be presenting Shakespeare’s comedy of errors, gossip and scandal: Much Ado About Nothing. And, with all seats under cover, this is outdoor theatre at its most reliable!hillbarkplayers.co.uk

Sugarhill Disco25 JulyKazimier Garden

The most freewheeling and genre-busting summer night’s excuse for a bit of a dance? We’d say so. Expect funk, soul, hip-hop, electro and beats of all shapes and sizes in the urban alfresco wonderland that is the Kazimier Garden. Also look out for the gypsy folk shenanigans of Solana, on August 9.thekazimier.co.uk/garden

Liverpool Calling25 JulyVarious venues

Although this one day festival kicks off at noon, it’ll be pulsing until long after the sun’s gone down. Look out for local heroes the Tea Street Band and Silent Sleep, playing at the wonderful Bombed Out Church (St Lukes), before headliners Reverend and the Makers bring the event to its euphoric conclusion.facebook.com/LiverpoolCallingFestival

Summer Night City

Pride and Prejudice: 29 JulySpeke Hall

The Pantaloons bring Jane Austen’s classic tale to life, in the grounds of the mock tudor mansion of Speke Hall. Could there be a better setting for a comedic tale of manners, class and manipulation. Will Mr Darcy and Elizabeth manage to overcome the conniving machinations of all in their path, to live happily ever after among the rose bushes and herbaceous borders of Speke?nationaltrust.org.uk/speke-hall/things-to-see-and-do/

RSPB Big Wild Sleep Out 7th – 9th August 2015

The Big Wild Sleep Out is a fun way to enjoy a wild night out with a difference, and raise money to help Britain’s wildlife. At Merseyside’s RSPB reserve, in Marshlands, near Southport, you’ll enjoy a widescreen view: with big skies full of summer stars while nearby Hesketh Out Marsh enjoys one of the best saltmarsh habitats in the country. rspb.org.uk/thingstodo/sleepout/

The Three Musketeers16th August 2015Ness Gardens

How well do you know this white-knuckle ride of a tale? Follow apprentice musketeer D’Artagnan as he tries to win the respect of Athos, Porthos and Aramis to become an elite Musketeer of the King’s Guard. Set against the glorious backdrop of Ness Gardens in full bloom, this promises to buckle your swash with a night of whirlwind excitement and derring-do.nessgardens.org.uk

Kaiser Chiefs7 AugustHaydock Park

Oh, OK, we’re gonna go for it...we predict a riot of an evening (sorry) as Ricky and the lads rattle through their party-flavoured tunes for a summer’s evening at Newton-le-Willows’ Haydock racecourse. There’s a race or two, too - should you fancy a flutter.

Liverpool Loves Ireland7 AugustPier Head

Liverpool Loves - a brand new festival celebrating the best of the city - sees our strong ties with the Emerald Isle celebrated in the Big Top, specially erected for the event. Iconic Liverpool band, Cream of the Barley, will be performing for the first time in a decade, along with artists from both coasts of the Irish Sea. liverpoolloves.co.uk

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes15 AugustExchange Square

Chapterhouse Theatre Company presents its open-air Garden Theatre Tour to the very heart of Liverpool’s ancient city centre, Exchange Flags. In a packed programme of magical theatre the highlight, for us, sees Detective Sherlock Holmes tackle a mysterious new case. Summoned to a nunnery deep in the English countryside, Holmes and companion Dr Watson join the search for the most elusive piece of treasure known to mankind…chapterhouse.org

Illyria: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice21st and 22nd AugustThe Reader OrganisationCalderstones Mansion

You know the scene - perhaps one of Disney’s most iconic? The young apprentice, bored of chores, waving a wand at a broom? What happens is the quickest way to install a basement swimming pool. But we don’t recommend you try this at home. The show features the original music by Paul Dukas (as used in Fantasia), more water then you have ever seen in a play before - and eye-watering magical illusions designed by Paul Daniels. You’ll like this.thereader.org.uk/events/illyria-the-sorcerers-apprentice.aspx

Twelfth NightAugust 26Rufford Old HallOrmskirk

Join the Lord Chamberlain’s Men this summer to see Shakespeare’s best-loved romantic comedy, Twelfth Night, in the heart of the city this season. A spirited story of love, longing and laughter, this is Shakespeare at its most spellbinding, performed by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men ensemble.nationaltrust.org.uk/rufford-old-hall

Echo 7 the Bunnymen and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra31 AugustSefton Park

As part of the city’s free summer music festival, LIMF, Sefton Park sees seminal Liverpool

psychedelic rockers, Echo and the Bunnymen join forces with the might of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for one unforgettable night. After a first half set of popular classical music, Echo & the Bunnymen will the join the Orchestra to perform a fantastic new interpretation of some of their greatest hits. Spine-tingling stuff, we bet. limfestival.com

Ghost Hunt18 SeptemberAllerton Hall

Then again, you might prefer stumbling around in the semi-darkness, getting scared out of your wits? Join Fourth Element Paranormal Research as they investigate 300 year old Allerton Hall including, should you be brave enough, the dank, dark depths of the cellar. Minimum age 16.fourthelementparanormal.com

Kazimier Garden

41

EYEWITNESS

A Sense of Prideby photographer Pete Carr

“I met a lesbian couple at Pride last year. One of the girls had only just come out a few days earlier. Imagine the joy of a city, your own city, putting on a party in celebration of the freedom to be yourself with your loved ones. Mind blowing.”

Then again, Pete Carr’s documented his fair share of the city’s mind blowing moments. “Then there was the time I saw a T-Rex chase a traffic warden. ..” he muses.

“We’re brilliant at putting on big events. Just look at the 3 Queens. It’s incredible to think that 10 years ago we didn’t even have a cruise terminal. When I was working that

weekend I really felt that it was a culmination of lots of little things that various organisations had been working towards. Look past our big events and you can see that people are trying to do interesting things here…”

All of which must make his manoeuvres especially rewarding?

“Yeah, the energy is amazing. You go in fully briefed but then you run round like a lunatic for six hours and see some unbelievable things. The confidence Pride gives in people to be themselves, that’s such an honour to capture.”

Liverpool Pride1 August

Kazimier Garden

THE INSIDER

Liverpool and music. We got that covered. But to really get acquainted to how we sound, now, you really owe it to yourself to seek out the city’s alternative, independent and off-the-beaten-track venues. Joe Shooman heads out, with fluffy ear defenders engaged...

Follow the Music

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR

Beer. Pizza. A great little back room with all sorts of DIY, punk and independent gigs going on. What more could there be to love? Oh, they’re also obsessed with the not-made-up-honest spectacle of good old WWE wrestling. Quirky doesn’t begin to cover it.

77 Renshaw Street L1 2SJfacebook.com/maguirespizzabar

SOUND FOOD & DRINK

Opened after the sad demise of splendid indie disco Le Bateau by music lovers with a passion for taking Le Bateau’s baton and running with it. Sound not only has delicious, home-spun food sorted but also excellent and intimate acoustic nights with many of the local up ‘n’ comers.

52 Duke Street L1 5AAfacebook.com/SoundFoodandDrink0151 707 6363

EAST VILLAGE ARTS CLUB

There’s been theatre and art here for way over 100 years and most recently the Arts Club was known as the Barfly, then the Masque Theatre. These days, as well as the gigs and arts events you can also grab some decent grub as well – not always the case over the years. All styles are on show here, from bright young indie things to grizzled Americana folk.

90 Seel Street L14BHartsclubliverpool.com0151 559 3773

THE MAGNET

Groovy décor in the boothed bar upstairs where DJs play and a genuine proper dancefloor downstairs, the Magnet has long been a draw for music lovers looking to escape into a world of music. These days you’re as likely to see comedy and burlesque as you are live local bands. Open mic nights here always throw something strange and unexpected into the mix.

45 Hardman Street L1 9ASmagnet-liverpool.co.uk0151 329 0830

THE CALEDONIA

The Caley often hosts blues, roots and jazz and has a definite leaning toward a rootsy side of matters – be that Cajun, Scouse, Irish or hybrids thereof – and all gigs are free entry. All this plus it’s a proper good boozer, too, with some cracking ales on offer. Top.

22 Caledonia Street L7 7DXthecaledonialiverpool.com0151 708 0235

LEAF

The name refers to a rather good selection of teas available but equally satisfying are the open mic nights plus regular gigs from some major names, often supported by the best of the locally-based acts. A relaxed café/restaurant during the day, the excitement at night is palpable in the glorious, Art Deco-inspired upstairs space.

65-67 Bold Street, thisisleaf.co.uk0151 707 74147

THE SHIPPING FORECAST

DJs, record fairs and a very popular Monday night quiz to challenge your knowledge of all things sound, this is a place to see the more stylish and ‘cooler’ bands – whatever that means – but let’s chuck names like Mark Ronson and Four Tet into the ‘played here’ list and that oughta sum it up.

15 Slater Street L1 4BWtheshippingforecastliverpool.com0151 709 6901

CAMP AND FURNACE

This place is massive in size but luckily has three different sized rooms to suit everyone from ground-level indie and acoustica to massive names including the likes of Mogwai and Gruff Rhys. Nestled within the C&F is the smaller music, club and arts space under the moniker Blade Factory which is where we can grab the real bubbling-unders.

67 Greenland Street, L1 0BYcampandfurnace.com0151 708 2890

24 KITCHEN STREET

One of the city’s most exciting new spaces, lurking in the ever-expanding Baltic Triangle district, Kitchen hosts art’n’music’n’club’n – yes even – poetry nights. It’s an intimate, and certainly a no frills sort of place, and its head-rush of anything-goes music policy always ensures your ears are introduced to something new and thrilling. Bhangra electro hip-hop, anyone?

24 Kitchen Streetfacebook.com/24kitchenstreet

Opposite: 24 Kitchen Street

43

BANDS TO WATCH OUT FOR

All We AreThey call themselves ‘Psychedelic boogie’

and ‘The Bee Gees on Diazepam,’ which is

clearly working for this hotly favoured trio.

Bad MedsThe clue’s in the

name: Spiky, off-kilter, streetwise poetry,

post-punk noise and an archly fantastic Fall-ish

tirade of sound.

Clean Cut KidCurrent 6 Music

favourites, this four piece’s Fleetwood Mac meets Prefab Sprout-inspired passionate, guitar driven pop.

Hooton Tennis ClubOne of the fastest-

rising acts, hailing from Ellesmere Port, now signed to Heavenly

Records and looking at the sky.

The Vyrll SocietySigned with Deltasonic, the label who brought

you the Coral, TVS are a krautrock-funk hybrid with a unique

approach.

Silent SleepThe lovely, emotive latest project from 6Music-endorsed singer-songwriter

Chris McIntosh and assorted friends.

From top: The Shipping Forecast, Camp and Furnace, East Village Arts Club

Ten Little LuxuriesAccording to the people who splash these sort of figures around, we’re spending around £36 million a day on ‘little luxuries’. Pocket money perks to give us a lift, even when times are tight. And Liverpool’s not short of mini-me-sized treats. So: how can we tempt you, even when times are tight?

Champagne Breakfast, BrownsSmoked salmon, scrambled eggs, strawberries and fizz: a glass of Mercier Champagne, Bellinis or Bucks Fizz. We can think of no better start to your day. If you agree, head over to Brown’s Brasserie, Liverpool ONE, before noon. If that’s not too early a start for you...

browns-restaurants.co.uk/locations/liverpool/

JLRExperienceFancy getting behind the wheel of a hulking great Land Rover and heading off road for an afternoon’s pure driving exhilaration? Then the JLR

TREATS

44

Experience is for you. Learn from the best, hone your skills and navigate some of the trickiest terrain in this custom built grin-inducing course. A pretty thrilling summer treat.

landrover.com/experiences

VIP Wheel of Liverpool ExperienceTake to the skies, enjoy one of the best views in Liverpool, and do it in comfort. That’s the deal at the wheel. The Wheel of Liverpool’s luxury VIP capsule features a heart-stopping glass floor, leather interior and DVD player (with the option of champagne) for the ultimate journey above the city.

freijwheels.com/our-wheels.php?city=Liverpool

Decleor Facial, John LewisEver been in the

secret world of the ‘cabines’ at John

Lewis? They’re like Narnia, but without

all that pesky snow. A 60 or 90 minute facial will leave you glowing

and gorgeous. The Decleor

aromatherapy facial guarantees to get your skin glowing and radiant, with

treatments adapted to your skin’s needs. Divine. And, should you buy from their range, the facial’s

free. Sure to bring a smile to your face.

decleor.co.uk/locations

Arena Club ClassRecently refurbished, the Arena Club Class areas offer another level of comfort for concert goers. Rise above it all, enjoy an unobstructed view of the action. Come early, make a night of it, with a buffet and drinks for your friends and family to enjoy. Then head out onto your private terrace to enjoy the show. It doesn’t get better than this.

echoarena.com/hospitality

The Kitchen at MalmaisonCan’t decide between a night at the theatre or a slap-up meal? The Kitchen at Malmaison offers a bit of both. With only a plate glass wall and a live TV feed between you and the busy Chef and his team, this is dining as a spectator sport. Your table is right in the thick of it. Handy, when you want to tell them to hurry up with that fillet steak.

malmaison.com/locations/liverpool/private-dining/

Titanic Spa DayDeep beneath the airy restaurant and bar of the terrific new Titanic Hotel, the Spa at Titanic Hotel is cocooned within the soaring brick-lined vaults of this atmospheric Victorian dock complex. But it’s the treatments, the hydrotherapy pool, experience shower and pedicure stations that will have you floating off into another dimension. Try their Voya Deluxe Facial Experience - harnessing the mineral goodness of hand-harvested seaweed. Sheer bliss.

titanichotelliverpool.com/spa-leisure

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Private Box, PhilharmonicAlways looked over at those posh folk in the box seats with a tinge of jealousy? Don’t be bitter - join them. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra offers box tickets, depending on the concert, from £14 (family concerts) to £36 - £40 per seat for the main series. On film nights, boxes are £7 per seat. Grab six of your mates and you’ve got the box to yourself.

liverpoolphil.com

Odeon GalleryEnjoy the best seats in the house, and a cocktail (and nibbles) in the private bar at the ODEON’s VIP experience, The Gallery. Enjoy extra-wide seats with added legroom, unlimited popcorn, nachos and soft drinks and, of course a fantastic view from your own area of the cinema. An evening with Magic Mike never looked more tempting!

odeon.co.uk/the-gallery

Hotel Chocolat TastingsHotel Chocolat, in Liverpool ONE, has brilliant gourmet chocolate tasting adventures. Over two delicious hours you’ll take your appreciation of chocolate to a whole new level – gaining fascinating insider knowledge and tasting tips. As you progress through the experience you’ll also discover how to pick out the nuances of flavour and texture. And you’ll enjoy a glass or two of bubbly too!

www.hotelchocolat.com/tastingadventures

Blanket on the GroundHigh summer, and it’s high time you rounded up the troops, fired up the barbie and enjoyed a balmy evening in the great outdoors. Or, failing that, we’re sure your equally great patio will do just as well...

OUTDOORS

1. Roberts Revival radio, £129Currys

2. Stripe picnic rug, £15Next

3. Indigo drinks dispenser, £29.50Marks and Spencer

4. Blue stripe deckchair, £15John Lewis

5. Laura Oakes Candle, £16Debenhams

6. Flamingo garden set, £29Utility

7. Waveprint wall candleholder, £25Marks and Spencer

8. Summer Brights Tray, £5Sainsburys

9. Kettle barbeque, £29John Lewis

10. Backpack, £45Cath Kidston

11. Solar Mono lantern, £18Sainsburys

12. Kilner drink dispenser, £19.99Utility

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MY STORY

Yaw OwusuWhile the city watched on, nervously, Yaw Owusu took the reins of the new Liverpool International Music Festival - replacing the unruly scrum the Mathew Street Festival had become with a new, free festival, celebrating the strange and wonderful places music can take us in this city.

Quietly, and with unshakable conviction, Yaw set to work on creating an unmissable, eclectic and thrilling summer hoe-down. We really needn’t have worried. This is his story.

“My mum, Monica is from Jamaica and Henry, my father is from Ghana. They met, oddly enough, in Preston – as medical students. I’m their middle child – I have an older brother and younger sisters – twins. A bit of an inbetweener – middle child, raised between Caribbean, West African and British cultures, and a black kid growing up in suburban Maghull!

I had a great upbringing though. Good school, great experiences and a wonderful network of friends and family.

My folks set me up well for life. They made it abundantly clear, that even though we were different, we were the same and deserved every single thing we worked for.

But one thing was constant. I always loved music. My parents talk about the many family parties and carnivals where I danced the night away as a young kid. My most distinct music memory was when I was five and my parents took me to my older cousin’s house to stay the night. He was older by about six years and was so cool.

He played a rap song on his tiny ghetto blaster. The track was LL Cool J “I Need Love”. That was my introduction to Hip-Hop,

and I loved it. From then on I’d consume anything I could that related to that music and culture. I was hooked. I was buying albums quite early. So from around 11, I would go to HMV with my Dad to buy a tape (then later CD) every single week.

Strangely though, at the same time as listening to hardcore rap, I was basking in the musical culture of my parents as well as British pop of all styles. Looking back, I can see why I’m so open to so many different sounds. There’s beauty in so many styles of music.

At 16 I was clubbing in places like Edwards on Bold Street, Concert Square and Kirkland’s. Once again, very diverse sounds.

My first business was URBEATZ. I set this up after I got my law degree in 2004. At the time I wasn’t ‘ready’ to practice law and still had an urge to do something a bit more fun and free. During 2003 and 2004, myself and my cousin Kof, started illegally downloading music and selling mixtapes that we made – under the name URBAN BEATZ. It was quite a nice business! But when Kof decided to try his hand at writing and performing original songs, we decided to put out music under the name URBEATZ. Since I was the organised one, I managed the business affairs and KOF managed the music production.

Without a doubt our whole aim was doing something creative and starting a bit of a movement. We’ve been around for 11 years

now and have won numerous creative business awards so I’m glad we stuck to our guns. Perhaps more importantly, it was an outlet for our creative ideas and skills. Not just for me and KOF – but for all the young creatives that came through the ranks. Many of whom now work in the creative sector doing some magnificent work.

From those early days, the business grew from being an urban music collective to being a multi-strand business that included music production, a record label, music promotions, education, media, a magazine, a radio show and even an online clothing store.

At the time I didn’t realise what we were doing and I know I couldn’t recreate that now. Our ignorance was amazing - URBEATZ became the strongest original black music collective in Liverpool. A real movement. We changed a lot, and the impact is still alive.

When the council asked me for some informal thoughts on a new music festival, my whole focus was for a festival that really reflected the music scene – its diversity and its vibrancy - but with inspiration coming from the past greats of Liverpool – who were really quite avant-garde in their creations.

Additionally I wanted to see investment in the real movers and shakers within Liverpool, and the city’s new talent. From the beginning the team at Culture Liverpool, Marketing

Liverpool and The Mayor have been receptive to my ideas. They support me with everything I want to try. I think as they have seen success and positive feedback, they have let me stretch further, which is reflected in the programme you see today.

I feel more pressure now than I did at the beginning. I have a lofty goal in my head – not just for LIMF but for the City in terms of music which I want to realise before my tenure runs its course. I do believe I’m representing a music scene and a city and also a minority in a position of influence. I’m proud of this. Emboldened by it. And very humbled by it. I hope I can make people proud – not of me – but of the work being done.

I don’t know how long I’ll do what I’m doing now, so while I’m doing it, I just want to make a mark and enjoy it. I feel blessed that I can do that and that real people rate what I’m doing.

LIMF is exactly what we should be doing. Being bold. Being courageous and taking a risk. The phrase “inherently different” is the key to our development and survival.

I believe the diversity of the festival, the relevance and relatability of the commissions and obviously the freeness of the music. I have a million ideas for what we can do next.

LIMF Festival27-31 AugustLiverpoolwww.limfestival.com

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“LIMF IS EXACTLY WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING. BEING BOLD. BEING

COURAGEOUS AND TAKING A

RISK”

THE WAY I SEE IT

Ian PendletonWith swift strokes and his draftsman’s eye for detail, artist Ian Pendleton

captures a city caught somewhere between a dream and a snapshot.

Like his subject, Ian’s work is bold, inviting and friendly. But there’s a curious, surreal - even psychedelic - edge to it too, not least his drawings of the city in full 60s swing.

How do you work? Do you take preliminary sketches, or do it all in situ?

When travelling I will draw sketches in line and watercolour them or do a number of line drawings and colour them in later. I’m more interested in the drawing, the colour is a bonus. The more detailed architectural drawings I work from reference.

Can you tell us a little bit

about the materials/ the way the different pieces are constructed?

For the small drawings, I draw in black waterproof ink and colour in watercolour. The larger pictures are drawn on my computer using a graphics tablet. This gives me a greater control on the final work.

What is it about your style, do you think, that captures the essence of a place?

I enjoy drawing in my particular way, it’s loose and friendly. I’ve always drawn this way. I think it’s a throwback to when I worked in design - everything had to look like it was suppose to, but when I

drew for myself it was in my style.

What about Liverpool as a subject - what does it offer you? And where are its more fertile places?

I’ve drawn Liverpool scenes from the time I was at the Liverpool Art School. Art assignments would involve drawing the docks or the gravestones in the Cathedral grounds or the front doors in Rodney Street, happy days. Liverpool always surprises me with its changes. All the buildings are friends and the architectural styles are gorgeous to draw.

Find out more at ianpendleton.co.uk

“LIVERPOOL ALWAYS

SURPRISES ME WITH ITS

CHANGES. ALL THE

BUILDINGS ARE FRIENDS”

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Land Rover Experience HalewoodHalewood Visitor Centre, South Road, Liverpool L24 9PZ0151 448 4023 www.halewood.landroverexperience.co.uk

At Land Rover Experience Halewood, you can immerse yourself in the complete Land Rover experience. See right into the heart of our award winning factory, with one of our expert guides talking through the assembly process from start to finish. Afterwards, you’ll be taken out with experienced instructors to get behind the wheel of one of our world class vehicles. Our spectacular course is purpose-built to showcase the outstanding capability of each vehicle, using a combination of steep slopes, slippery surfaces and other challenging obstacles.

Get in touch with us to find out more. When booking please quote ITSLIV2015

SEE HOW THEY ARE BUILT,THEN TAKE ONE OFF-ROAD

fi nd your

UPCOMING EVENTS

ExhibitionCentreLiverpool.com

Get your tickets today or find out what’s on at the city’s exciting new venue.

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This is a truly unique toy show – a magical event for the whole family, with the chance to interact and play with toys and games old and new. From the hottest Toytopia toys topping the Christmas wish lists, to traditional family favourites. Save £5 on general admission use promo code TOYTOPIA514* Valid until 24 October

The hottest fashion trends from boutique ranges to high street brands, the latest beauty treatments, a host of entertainment and a cocktail hour that lasts all day long. This is the ultimate celebration of all things fun & fabulous that the weather can’t spoil.

Each ticket includes a goody bag and two complimentary cocktails.

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