floats depicting all the centuries and the important events with people dressed up in costumes,’ Maggie added. ‘I’m really looking forward to seeing them.’
‘I’m not half glad we weren’t chosen to do all those Swedish exercise things! Having to get dressed up in that daft outfit and you’d be worn out and sweating like a pig in this sun,’ young Jimmy muttered thankfully to Eddie.
Agnes heard him and cuffed him smartly. ‘Stop showing us all up, saying things like that! It might have done the three of you lads some good.’ Thousands of schoolchildren from all over the city had been drilled for weeks in what was going to be a spectacle of ‘physical excellence’ as they demonstrated – in unison, it was sincerely hoped – a series of Swedish exercises. Only a handful had been chosen from St George’s and neither Harry, Jimmy nor Eddie had been amongst them, much to their relief.
‘When we’ve seen all these “float” things, can we go down to the river, Mam, to see the ships?’ Eddie asked. Anchored in the Mersey and stretching five miles from the pier at New Brighton to the training ship Conway were the fourteen battleships and three cruisers of the Channel Fleet, which had arrived to celebrate the Liverpool Pageant and Eddie viewed these as a far more interesting spectacle than a parade of floats depicting history.
‘I thought we’d make our way towards Stanley Park for the fireworks. It will get very packed later on,’ Maggie replied.
‘But they’re not until Monday night, Mam!’ Eddie protested. He wanted to see the battleships and he’d heard that all kinds of small boats would be on the river, ready to take sightseers for a closer view.
‘He’s right, Maggie. It definitely said in the paper the fireworks are on Monday night. I’ll miss them, I’m afraid,’ John added a little regretfully, for he was sailing on Monday morning. ‘I suggest that Bertie and I take the lads down to the waterfront to see the fleet after the displays are over and you, Agnes and the girls go back home. You don’t want to be standing in this heat all day and it will take a while to get back home because of the crowds.’ He was looking forward to seeing the ships of the fleet himself, all of which were bigger than the Campania . Still, he wouldn’t be making many more trips on her, he mused. She was an old ship now and Cunard’s latest and biggest ship had been launched on the Clyde in June and he’d been notified that he’d been transferred and was to sail on the new ship’s maiden voyage from Liverpool early next month.
‘He’s got a point, Maggie,’ Agnes agreed; already she could feel beads of perspiration forming on her forehead and was glad of the shade afforded by the brim of her hat. ‘We can’t go hours without a cup of tea and a bite to eat, we’d all be fainting and you’d never get served in a café – those that will be open, and I bet there won’t be many.’
‘What about you two and the lads? Won’t you be parched?’ Maggie asked her brother.
‘I’m sure Bertie and I can manage to find the coppers for a bottle of ginger beer for us all,’ John replied, winking at Agnes’s husband, who grinned back, looking forward to spending an hour with the lads on the waterfront and maybe even taking a trip on a sightseeing boat. It wasn’t every day you got to see the ships of the finest Navy in the world at close hand.
When they at last reached the park it was already very crowded but all the children were hugely excited to see the funfair and the stalls selling sweets and ice cream that had been set up in one area, well away from the grandstand where the main events would take place.
‘Mam, can we have an ice cream, please? It’s so hot!’ Alice begged.
‘Mam, can Jimmy, Harry and me have a go on that stall over there! They’ve got real rifles to shoot and you can win prizes!’ Eddie begged, his eyes wide with excitement. Mae and the Mercer twins added their pleas
‘I’m not half glad we weren’t chosen to do all those Swedish exercise things! Having to get dressed up in that daft outfit and you’d be worn out and sweating like a pig in this sun,’ young Jimmy muttered thankfully to Eddie.
Agnes heard him and cuffed him smartly. ‘Stop showing us all up, saying things like that! It might have done the three of you lads some good.’ Thousands of schoolchildren from all over the city had been drilled for weeks in what was going to be a spectacle of ‘physical excellence’ as they demonstrated – in unison, it was sincerely hoped – a series of Swedish exercises. Only a handful had been chosen from St George’s and neither Harry, Jimmy nor Eddie had been amongst them, much to their relief.
‘When we’ve seen all these “float” things, can we go down to the river, Mam, to see the ships?’ Eddie asked. Anchored in the Mersey and stretching five miles from the pier at New Brighton to the training ship Conway were the fourteen battleships and three cruisers of the Channel Fleet, which had arrived to celebrate the Liverpool Pageant and Eddie viewed these as a far more interesting spectacle than a parade of floats depicting history.
‘I thought we’d make our way towards Stanley Park for the fireworks. It will get very packed later on,’ Maggie replied.
‘But they’re not until Monday night, Mam!’ Eddie protested. He wanted to see the battleships and he’d heard that all kinds of small boats would be on the river, ready to take sightseers for a closer view.
‘He’s right, Maggie. It definitely said in the paper the fireworks are on Monday night. I’ll miss them, I’m afraid,’ John added a little regretfully, for he was sailing on Monday morning. ‘I suggest that Bertie and I take the lads down to the waterfront to see the fleet after the displays are over and you, Agnes and the girls go back home. You don’t want to be standing in this heat all day and it will take a while to get back home because of the crowds.’ He was looking forward to seeing the ships of the fleet himself, all of which were bigger than the Campania . Still, he wouldn’t be making many more trips on her, he mused. She was an old ship now and Cunard’s latest and biggest ship had been launched on the Clyde in June and he’d been notified that he’d been transferred and was to sail on the new ship’s maiden voyage from Liverpool early next month.
‘He’s got a point, Maggie,’ Agnes agreed; already she could feel beads of perspiration forming on her forehead and was glad of the shade afforded by the brim of her hat. ‘We can’t go hours without a cup of tea and a bite to eat, we’d all be fainting and you’d never get served in a café – those that will be open, and I bet there won’t be many.’
‘What about you two and the lads? Won’t you be parched?’ Maggie asked her brother.
‘I’m sure Bertie and I can manage to find the coppers for a bottle of ginger beer for us all,’ John replied, winking at Agnes’s husband, who grinned back, looking forward to spending an hour with the lads on the waterfront and maybe even taking a trip on a sightseeing boat. It wasn’t every day you got to see the ships of the finest Navy in the world at close hand.
When they at last reached the park it was already very crowded but all the children were hugely excited to see the funfair and the stalls selling sweets and ice cream that had been set up in one area, well away from the grandstand where the main events would take place.
‘Mam, can we have an ice cream, please? It’s so hot!’ Alice begged.
‘Mam, can Jimmy, Harry and me have a go on that stall over there! They’ve got real rifles to shoot and you can win prizes!’ Eddie begged, his eyes wide with excitement. Mae and the Mercer twins added their pleas
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