Woke up this morning at 7.30am and went out onto the balcony to see what the weather was like. The decking and chairs were wet, showing there had been a shower of rain overnight. Looking at the sky, we could see patches of blue amongst the clouds, and at least it was dry.
We watched for a while as Queen Anne made her way up the River Clyde, where she was due to reach her berth around eight o’clock.
In the meantime, we got washed and dressed and went up to the Artisans’ Foodhall for our breakfast, where we sat with Billy and Carole once again. We were still talking about Sunderland’s amazing victory at Wembley yesterday, and I had woken up to several text messages from friends and family congratulating Sunderland on their achievement. 🙂
We asked Billy and Carole what they planned to do today. Were they going to go into Glasgow, or stay local, or just remain on board today? Carole said she just wanted to look around the shops, as she needed to buy a present for her grand-daughter’s 21st birthday. Trevor and I decided we would stay local and see what Greenock had to offer. As was the case in Invergordon, people tend to overlook Greenock and go further afield, but sometimes you can miss some absolute gems by doing that.
At least we were docked in the town, so there would be no queueing for the liberty boat or the shuttle buses today! 🙂
We disembarked the Queen Anne around 10 o’clock, and walked down the gangplank and through the cruise terminal to the waterfront. We had last visited Greenock on the Adonia in 2013, but a lot had changed since then, with new developments along the sea front. We set off to explore.
People from Clydeside are proud of their shipbuilding heritage, and we saw a series of sculptures called “The Yardmen” which featured shipyard workers next to some huge ships’ screws. The sculpture was outside and at the mercy of the elements (as well as any vandalism) so many of the ‘workers’ had their heads or arms missing, which spoilt the effect somewhat.
The weather had clouded over a little and there was a shower of rain, so we sought refuge in a nearby building which consisted of a lot of glass and proclaimed itself to be the Beacon Arts Centre. It contained a café (which was doing a roaring trade as people came inside to shelter from the rain), a theatre and an art gallery. It reminded me a bit of the Gala Theatre in Durham, the way it was laid out and on the waterfront.
Once the rain stopped and the sunshine reappeared, we went outside and walked along for a while, past the impressive Greenock Customs House. It was originally built in 1818 and acted as the major customs and excise offices for the area, but since the 1980s it houses office accommodation for rent and is a Grade A listed building.
I needed the loo by now, and we spotted a nearby Wetherspoon’s (they’re everywhere!) called The James Watt, after the famous engineer who was born in Greenock. It was open, so while Trevor went to the bar to order us a pint of beer each, I made the most of the restrooms, before taking a seat at a nearby table.
However, Trevor came over and said that the pub didn’t start to serve alcohol until 11.00am, so we needed to come back later if we wanted a beer. We therefore decided to explore further, then come back afterwards. 🙂
We spotted a zigzagging path that went up to a viewing point and a park, so we thought we’d take a slow walk up; it would afford some great views over the sea front as well as the city. As we ascended, there were tended gardens and paths and benches at each level, where you could sit and take in your surroundings or just while away the time. There were also a couple of children’s playparks at the top.
We noticed a memorial garden with a list of names and the message “Remember the 8th April 1820”. The date didn’t mean anything to me, so I looked it up on Google and found out in was the date of the infamous Greenock Massacre.
During what was known as the ‘Radical War’, soldiers opened fire on a crowd in Cathcart Street who tried to free impoverished anti-government protesters being escorted to Greenock jail on 8th April 1820.
Eight people were killed, including an eight-year-old boy and a man aged 65 – the youngest and oldest victims, and a further 10 were seriously injured.
The names of all the victims and the words ‘Remember the 8th of April, that bloody day when many were wounded and carried away’ are inscribed along the wall at Bank Street, near to where the jail was located in 1820, next to a permanent memorial which was installed in 2015.
The Radical War is regarded by many as the starting point of trade unionism in Scotland.
It’s true when people say that “every day is a school day” because we really do learn something new from each of the places we visit.
As it was now 11.15am, we proceeded back down the hill towards The James Watt, passing a statue of him on the way. 🙂
I found a table next to the window and Trevor went to the bar and ordered a couple of beers. The beer was local and was only £1.59 a pint, certainly a bargain, although it wasn’t my favourite beer. While we were sitting there, Trevor went onto Google to see what other visitor attractions were nearby, and we discovered that a former fire station had been turned into the Scottish Fire & Rescue Museum and Heritage Centre, and was run by volunteer ex-firefighters. We decided we’d go and have a look later on.
Meanwhile, I’d finished my beer, but it had started to rain outside again, so while Trevor went get another beer, I decided to have Aperol Spritz this time. Then we had one more drink each before leaving the pub, as the sun was out once again. 🙂
We only had a five minute walk until we found the Fire Brigade museum. It was interesting because I have just started a new temporary job as an administrator at one of our local fire stations, for Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue.
We were greeted at the door by the friendly volunteers, and we had a look inside. It was fascinating, and had a wonderful collection of vintage fire engines, as well as examples of old uniforms, helmets, hoses and other fire-fighting equipment. Volunteers were always on hand to explain or answer any questions.
We had a good look around before deciding to make our way back to the Queen Anne. But first we wanted to go to Lidl (which we’d spotted earlier) to get something light to eat as we hadn’t had any lunch. We also wanted to pick up a couple more bottles of prosecco for consumption on our balcony. 🙂
While we were in there, Trevor phoned his grandson Ben, who was at Wembley yesterday with his stepfather Neil. What a time they had had! “Sunderland are in the Premier League!” we reminded ourselves, gleefully. 🙂
We arrived back at Queen Anne around 2.30pm, and dumped our bags in 4066, putting the prosecco in the fridge to chill for later on. Then I had a power nap and read my book for a while; I am re-reading The Black House by Peter May, following our visit to Lewis the other day.
Around 3.15pm we made our way to the Royal Court Theatre, where they were showing a a folkloric show called “The Music Scotland”. It featured Scottish singers, dancers and pipers and drummers, in a colourful tartan extravaganza. We really enjoyed it a lot, and I would imagine that our American friends on board would think it was wonderful, as it is just so different.
Afterwards, we had exactly an hour to get washed and changed and ready for dinner tonight. Trevor and I would be dining on our own, because Billy and Carole had received a complimentary meal at one of the speciality restaurants on board, due to their World Club ‘diamond’ status. 🙂
We arrived at table #393 and advised our waiter it would just be the two of us tonight. Looking around the restaurant, it seemed that a lot of people were missing; perhaps they’d decided to dine elsewhere or they were out on deck, watching as Queen Anne prepared to depart. Soon we noticed that we were on the move again, so it was goodbye to Scotland.
We finished dinner quite early, so we went along to the Golden Lion pub for a drink until it was time to make our way to the theatre in time for the show at eight o’clock. Tonight’s artiste was supposed to be an Irish singer and musician called Tara Howley, but the cruise director’s voice came over the tannoy to say that she would be embarking in Liverpool instead. To replace her, they put on a husband-and-wife dancing, juggling and acrobatic team called “Cameo Rascale” who were absolutely fantasic; we enjoyed their show more than we probably would have done the singer. Brilliant stuff.
At nine o’clock we hotfooted it back to the Golden Lion for the quiz. Tonight it was nautical themed, so we certainly fancied our chances more than we would with films or musicals. We were doing quite well with our answers, but a stupid woman (who had had quite a lot to drink) at an adjacent table kept spoiling it by giving out some of the answers in a loud voice. We scored 15/20 which was our best score, but a couple of teams of six got full marks, so it had to go to a tie-breaker.
After the quiz we went up to the Commodore Club and met up with Billy and Carole. There was no sunset for me to catch tonight, as it had clouded over. We enjoyed our drinks as we regaled each other with what we’d been up to today as well as the general chit-chat and gossip that you always get among family members and those in whose company you feel most comfortable.
It was around 11.30pm when Trevor and I returned to 4066 (B & C had left earlier) and we enjoyed a nightcap before settling down. Tomorrow, Queen Anne would be docking in Liverpool, Cunard’s ancestral home, in what was Cunard’s 185th year.
We fell asleep quickly, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.