How does the old song go?

“Don’t know why, there’s no sun up in the sky,

Stormy weather.

Well it certainly was on Saturday as Storm Darragh blew into town. I had thought about staying in under my own roof for the day but there’ll be time enough and more for that soon enough. I thought that a quickish trip into Liverpool, grab a coffee and a nice cake would be enough to scratch the restless itch. Plus at the time while the weather was a bit bumpy but hadn’t quite been dialled up to 11.

I took the train, driving into any city so close to Christmas is a level of madness I’ve not yet reached. That journey passed off quite easily, plenty people on the train despite the grey skies out of the carriage windows. The sucker punch was to come later.

Leaving Lime Street station it looked like Darragh had already arrived. People were walking across the station frontage in a measured, slow motion way you would associate with astronauts coping with both low G and a really bad case of diarrhoea. Each step battling against competing, unnatural forces well beyond their control.

I made my way down through the city centre in a sort of three four time way, for every three steps forward the wind stole one step back. But I had made it this far and wasn’t going to turn back now. My goal was the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales which was looming impressively down at the Pier Head. At the river the winds were taking no prisoners, even the gulls had given up any thoughts of flying and were sheltering in any nook or cranny that offered even the most meagre of shelter.

I made it to where the Prince of Wales was birthed and grabbed a couple of shots before retreating to the relative calm of the cafe in the Liverpool Museum. I had a bowl of delicious Scouse, eating it in a window seat while watching people being bounced around and about the Three Graces. I had a quick walk around the Museum while I was there, give myself the courage to battle my way back up to Lime Street.

I Made my way back up to the station, the wind whistling past roared in my ears until I made it back to the safety of the station concourse. It was then with both fists raised, the sucker punch made its triumphal entry. Darragh, bless him had taken to throwing trees around during the afternoon and one by one the dreaded word CANCELLED appeared on the departure board. Along with everyone else I stood there and watched my travel options fold like the cards in a badly dealt hand of Poker Then as my last train home option disappeared I did the only sensible thing, I went to the on station Wetherspoon’s and had a drink.

I did make it home, by bus. It’s a longer trip out through the suburbs, Kensington, Old Swan etc. Relatively trouble free, Darragh must have been off playing elsewhere.

• LANCASTER. Lighting Up For Christmas.
• COLWYN BAY to LLANDUDNO. Play Misty For Me

Categories: England, Food, Heritage, history, Nature, Photography, Transport, travel, United Kingdom

Tags: England, extreme weather, history, lifestyle, Liverpool, news, photography, Pier Head, Royal Navy, Storm Darragh, street photography, The Beatles, tourism, travel, travel photography, weather