I Love The Beatles

Did you know that I love The Beatles? That they are my favourite band of all time? No?
Then you don't know me very well.
But it's likely that most of you reading this, did actually know that I think The Beatles are amazing.

So, I went to Liverpool. Because that is what us Beatles' fans do.

And Liverpool is quite proud of their Fab Four. Pictures of the Beatles were everywhere, and there were TONS of different tours I could have taken. I ended up doing a taxi tour set up by my hostel though, because it cost £50 per tour - not per person - and so with all the seats taken, me and 4 others, we only had to pay £10 each!
The taxi driver took us to all the places a Beatles' fan would want to go. All of their childhood homes, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, where John and Paul met, Brian Epstein's house etc...

Where John Lennon was born - now student housing!

Brian Epstein's House

Ringo Starr's first childhood home

"Is in my ears, and in my eyes"

Canadian Penny on the Penny Lane sign

Paul's childhood house

"Strawberry Fields Forever"

Mendips - Where John Lennon grew up with his Aunt Mimi

Eleanor Rigby's Grave

George Harrison's childhood home

There's also a museum on The Beatles, called The Beatles Story - which, I obviously visited!

The museum started at the beginning, with the Quarry Men, and progressed through all the different stages of the Beatles until they split up. Each section had original instruments or replicas, and they recreated different things, like The Casbah Coffee Bar and The Cavern Club. The audio guide had lots of information on each section, and had commentary from John's sister, from his ex-wife Cynthia Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Martin and more that I can't remember right now!

The Original Drumset

Imitation Cavern Club

Just hanging out with Ringo

As you can tell, this was obviously the psychedelic phase section

I then made my way to Matthew St. where the infamous Cavern Club is located. Unfortunately the original was torn down in the 70's, but they have rebuilt a new one just a bit further down, even using some of the original bricks! Of course I went in and had a pint of cider. Yes, I did go into the Cavern and had a drink by myself.. but I wasn't going to miss out just because I'd look like a loner! (I also had a bit of an issue buying the drink, because I didn't have enough cash, but they didn't take my Visa, so I had to go get cash... and my bank in Canada is being a tool.. sigh. Still, I got the cider in the end).

Statue of John Lennon

John Lennon and Me

The band playing in the Cavern Club

I really couldn't have asked for a better time, or a more Beatles filled day!
I did do some other things in Liverpool, but I'll do that in another post. The Beatles deserve to have one all to themselves!

Barnacre

I've been in the UK for just over 5 weeks, and I cannot believe how fast the time as gone. It's been incredible really. And I almost feel as if I'm running out of time to do all the things I want to do! But anyways, I promised to talk about the farm.

It's not exactly the farm you're picturing though. No fields of wheat or cows in a big barn. They have two holiday cottages which they rent out, a trailer storage area, and a fishing lake. They also have a number of sheep, a ton of chickens, some goats and a donkey.

Purdy the Donkey

My accommodations were either in a tipi, or a trailer. I opted for the trailer. I also managed to get the only single bed and the room with a heater! There was running water and electricity, but no bathroom. We could go to the "fisherman's hut" or to the pool area. But since fisherman apparently aren't very interesting in aiming or keeping the bathroom clean in general, I usually used the one by the pool.

As for work, I did everything from helping put up barbed wire fencing, to cleaning cottages, to tearing down stables, to helping make concrete, to oiling wood window frames, to deconstructing and erecting scaffolding. Much of this was done in the dirt, mud, and rain.

This is where the stable was, and this picture is in the middle of the new one being built.

Maria showing off her muddy clothes - this is basically what we all looked like at the end of the day, or worse.

Work was from 9-5, but we did get a tea break at 11, and lunch at around 1:30, so the day was split up pretty well. We also got two days off, which was magnificent. It was nice to have the time to sleep in, and wear clean clothes!

Don't get the wrong impression though, I had an AMAZING time. The food was excellent. There was a pool and hot tub for after work. There was as much beer, wine and cider as I could drink. But most of all, the people there were incredible. Russell and Helen, who own the farm are wonderful people.

Also, there were many other helpers from around the world! When I arrived, there was a couple from Mexico, an Englishman from York, a guy from Hungary, and an American. By the time I left, there were some more Americans, a guy from Spain, a girl from Italy, two girls from France, and lastly a girl from Chile. I had so much fun hanging out with all of them, talking about traveling and languages, playing the time game, creating Barnacle Ball (basically pool volleyball with some extra rules), and so much more. They really made my experience at Barnacre.
Daniel - Enjoy Canada! Hopefully you can make it to the Island sometime
Chris - I know you'll enjoy wherever you end up, and I wish you the best. Thanks for all the games of Chrononauts!
Jody and Patrick - Good luck on the rest of your trip, and enjoy your cruise home!
Gary - I think I finally got your sense of humour! Thanks for making me laugh, and I hope you liked sleeping on my floor =) Good luck with the job search.
Mikel - Thanks for letting me speak Spanish at you while you're trying to learn English. I can't wait to visit San Sebastien some day - it looks beautiful! Lo siento para el lavado de tu móbil....
Maria - I had a wonderful time singing Taylor Swift with you, and I'm sure neither of us want to oil another window in our lives! Come visit me!
Rose, Hugoline, Floriane, Chris, and Tom - I hope you have as much fun at Barnacre as I did, and good luck on future travels!

Mikel and Maria at the beach (Tom and I went too)

My last dinner

Chris sporting his "asian" inspired look

Me and Maria <3

I miss you all, and I hope we can run into each other again some day!

And that basically sums up my farm time. I've just spent the last couple days with my Dad's cousin, and I will be heading to a B&B in the Yorkshire Dales tomorrow for another HelpX. I realize that I have some more updating to do.. but I'm going to keep the posts separate so you don't have 1000 pages to read at once!

Chester

Sorry everyone, I seem to be slacking on the blog front. But that's because I'm so busy all the time!
I am at the farm now, and I have been for just over a week. It's in the small town of Saughall Massie, and is called Barnacre. It's not too far by train from Liverpool or Chester though.
I'm going to give you a full update on the farm once I leave - specific things that I've been doing, and how the place runs. I know that probably seems like an an empty promise.... sorry!

Anyways! Sailing with my relatives was definitely amazing. Also, they keep their boat in Wales, so I got to drive through Wales for quite awhile. It's a beautiful area of the UK. And we went a more roundabout way home so that I could see more of the area - including Snowdonia National Park. Another thing about Wales, is that all the signs are in Welsh and English. It looks like gibberish...but it's cool that they're trying to keep their culture alive!

My relatives also took me to the Roman city of Chester. It was a race day (horse racing) so the town was really busy. Originally, the whole city was walled, but obviously now it has grown!

Clock on the Wall

View of the Town Centre from the Wall

Old Roman Garden

The day after Chester, I came to the farm. I knew that my relatives and the farm were both near Liverpool, but I didn't know how close to each other they were. Turns out they were about 10 min away from each other! So, luckily for me my Aunt and Uncle were able to drive me here!

Somehow I managed to arrive the day before two days off =)

The first day a couple of other helpers and I took the train to Liverpool, we wandered around a bit and went to two museums (FREE, just like in London). The next day we went to Chester - again. But this time we went because the Olympic Torch was going through! Both days were nice and sunny which was lovely. We followed the crowds of people to a nice park, while we waited for the torch.

Me and some other helpers at the farm

The Torch - another torch came through first, and we were really confused. We didn't know if it was the real thing or not - turns out it wasn't!

Chester Cathedral

Random Teacup Carving

Some Locks

Jody caught a duckling

Playing cards while waiting for a train on the way home

And that's basically what I did until the farm work started! But as I said, I'll give a better update on that on the weekend!