Saturday, September 27

When I was a boy we sometimes used to go to Port Sunlight on Sundays in the summer. It seemed a long way away. In the last thirty years the Merseyrail underground has been extended, and now Port Sunlight is thirteen minutes by train from James Street station, which is literally next door to the hotel.

When we got to Port Sunlight Irma was completely entranced. She had not realised what I had meant when I had described it, probably because it is very difficultto describe. We walked around the village for an hour or more, and then went into the museum. This is one of the houses on one of the corners.

After this we will cross the wide road to the Lady Leverhulme Art Gallery, where we l spend a couple of hours. The pre-Rapaelite paintings will seem as impressive as I remember them, and the walls as crammed. Finally we will spend some time in the garden centre.

We will catch the train back to Birkenhead Central. I will stand outside the station for several minutes trying to work out where we are, before I manage to locate myself by reference to the few scattered landmarks I can still recognise. We walk over Borough Road to the shopping centre and the market. WE will finish by having a drink in The Laird, a pub by the edge of the market.

We will finish the day with a hotel room snack, purchased from Tesco.