BRIAN PATTEN, one of the original Liverpool Poets and awarded the Freedom of the City alongside Roger McGough and the late Adrian Henri, has written this special 800th birthday poem

Aug 28 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

IT IS the sound of the fog-horns on the long-gone boats

Still haunting our memories, hooting down the years, singing

Happy birthday to you!

It is the sound the wind makes blowing up from the river,

Playing the giant cranes like a flute, singing

Happy birthday to you!

It is the sound of bird-song

Drifting out of St George’s Gardens on misty mornings, singing

Happy birthday to you!

It is the sound of the River Mersey

Lapping the sand banks and mud flats, whispering

Happy birthday to you!

It is the sound of the grey seals barking out in the estuary,

It is the sound of gulls hovering like kites over the ferries,

It is every one of us, proud of our heritage, singing

Happy birthday dear Liverpool,

Happy birthday to you!