remembering

Lovely day on Saturday - taking Mum to St Nick's to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of VJ Day.  She'd been on a special invite list, being local and also having been enlisted in the forces all those years ago.

As we approached the church the rain dried up and the sun peeped through

and that's the first time I've been piped in anywhere - felt very important!

Interesting to remember being told that my great grandfather James Waugh was the organist of St Nicolas Church, many moons ago. History of the church to read here with a lovely etching showing ships on the river just in front.  St Nick's is more or less opposite the Liver Building.

The service was lovely and the singing of 'Praise my Soul the King of Heaven' was really rousing with just about everyone in full voice.
As we left the church, Mum had a lovely chat with Dame Lorna Muirhead, Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside and we spotted the sweet little regimental pony!!

 But the day was far from over - our chauffeur awaited to whisk us away for lunch . . .

 so it was bye bye to St Nick's

and off down the Strand in the sun - that Mum remembers so well being flattened in the blitz - the morning she had to report to her smouldering office as usual.

And off past Liverpool Cathedral to Hope Street and the great little 60 Hope Street restaurant (with it's very own super lambanana)

to sample their lunch for the first time.  And totally delicious it was.

 even down to the choc/orange pud Mum and I both chose.

So a lovely, poignant but happy day. And it got Mum and I to thinking about Dad, also conscripted, when he sailed off to India in August 1945 with the army and the war was declared ended before they arrived.  I wondered if he'd sailed from Liverpool, right in the shadow of St Nick's where we'd been today.  Mum didn't know - he hadn't been able to tell anyone at the time - that was the way it was.  
So tonight I got out his Indian journal, which he had re-written up for his first grandchild - to see.  And, yes, he set sail 70 years ago from very close to where we'd all been this morning!!

extract from the first page . . .

and Dad could see the Liver clock as he set sail, presumably from Prince's Dock . . . .

So a bit of writer's liberty here, as he wasn't off to California - but you get the picture ....