theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Thursday Doors: Birkenhead
This is my home town. I lived there until I was 22. To be honest, it’s not the greatest place on earth and I can’t get sentimental about it.
The heart of it was ripped out many years ago to improve road access to the Mersey Tunnel and to construct a soulless shopping centre. When I was growing up, apart from bingo halls, a few insalubrious cinemas and the kind of pub where even the police needed a police escort, there was very little on offer. On the rare occasions I ‘went out’, it would be far more likely to be over to Liverpool.
I was back recently, however, and had time for a wander round downtown. The cinemas have gone but not much else has changed. This gives you a flavour:
But to finish on a positive note, there’s still a little life and colour in the old place, like this restaurant:
Thursday Doors 13 September 2018
theonlyD800inthehameau 
The hole in the glass of that one diner – a bullet hole? Yes, it gets pretty bad when the police needs an escort!!
Bullet hole? Quite possibly. The surprising thing is that the ATM hasn’t been ram-raided.
Am back to ask a question – I saw your post in 2016 of St Germain de Confolens. – since you seem at home in France – part of my mother’s maiden last name was “de St Germain” One time we went to St Germain-en Laye in Paris to look if they had anything on that name. The only thing I knew from my late uncle was “North of Paris”.
We spent 4 hours waiting in city hall when they went through all the records – nothing came up. My French is nil, which makes it hard to communicate. Is there a list of castles that would be in the North of Paris? Where could I get a hold of it? Thanking in advance for responding:)
You have set yourself a major task. Not only does ‘St Germain’ feature in many place names all over France, but there are (or were) over 30,000 chateaux at one time or another. Have a look at payhip.com, which purports to have a fairly comprehensive list. You have to pay a small amount for it and it’s in French, but c’est la vie (that’s life). Bonne chance (good luck).
The colours are fun on the last one but then there’s that…not sure if it’s a bullet hole, or maybe just a rock?
“Even the police needed a police escort” 😀
It’s always bittersweet to return like this. Your brief description says a lot and I’m glad you found a positive note for the end.