Page 187 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

Our writer would always opt for a day out in Liverpool over its neighbours of Manchester and
Leeds CREDIT: Getty

Anyone over 50 will recall Liverpool’s problem period between 1979-1993: the Derek Hatton-led
Militant council; the Toxteth riots; the explosion of heroin use. People of all ages know about
Heysel, Hillsborough and the murder of James Bulger. More recently, there were smaller
controversies around the city’s losing its World Heritage status, and there is an ongoing sense that
all the investment and media attention not scooped up by London goes to Manchester – the
upstart sister that had to build a canal just to nick a bit of the grande dame’s mercantile trade.
Yet, there are cranes everywhere. Everton’s new stadium is rising up fast on the former Bramley
Moore Dock. Paddington Village is the latest in a long line of “regeneration quarters”. Liverpool
Waters is a £5-billion, 30-year plan to reimagine the northern docks. Hotels are opening all the
time, including – this summer – a swanky new MGallery in the glorious Municipal Buildings.