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Mr Brocklebank: Is Loyd pasta caring?

LORDY Loydy: Just what is the real reason for the shock resignation of Loyd Grossman, Britain’s best-loved pasta entrepreneur, from his post as National Museums Liverpool chairman, in what should be the city’s finest year and with the huge new Museum of Liverpool imminent? Read

Mistaken identity

Mistaken identity

HOW amusing that the celebrated late sculptor Arthur Dooley was commemorated by the Band of the Irish Guards playing at Liverpool Academy. Read

Stitched up in time

IN THE hurly-burly of creating the “New Liverpool” with skyscrapers breaking out like a rash across the city, the council leader is called upon to bury time-capsules in topping-out ceremonies. But Cllr Warren Bradley had to bury the bad news in the capsule at the new One Park West development. Destined for the capsule was a copy of that day’s Daily Post, complete with front page splash screaming: “Liverpool: England’s worst local authority.” Read

Peaceful thoughts

THE Beatles are not the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s only Merseyside links. Disgusted at Tony Blair’s support for the US war in Iraq, the Maharishi asked followers at his Skelmersdale Transcendental Meditation Centre to beam “peace-loving” thoughts at the UK electorate to overturn the Labour Government. Read

Mr Brocklebank: The nowhere men

THE millions (or is it billions?) of tourists expected in our fair city in the coming months will be interested to see statues of native men perched in improbable poses over one of the new hotels. Read

The price of art

NEW city centre residents desperate for green space for dog walking await with bated breath to see if they will be allowed to exercise pooches on Chavasse Park. After all, posters lining The Strand advertising Grosvenor’s Liverpool One development show a larger than life dog-walker striding over said green space. Evidence, surely, that dogs will be allowed? This is in contrast to Albert Dock’s total ban on dogs, although the riverside walk is legally a public right of way. Clearly, we need a dogs of war campaign, not a dog blanket ban. Read

Mr Brocklebank: Promoting our rivals

THE spirit of Drake and Raleigh blows through Moorfields underground station (along with other debris) with the uplifting posters urging local volunteers to join the next Round the World Clipper Race which Liverpool is so proud to sponsor. Read

Mr Brocklebank: Seeing double

AS IF freshly minted for the first column of the new year, an amazing scheme is whispered in Mr Brocklebank’s exquisite shell-like. Read

Return of the Royals

AFTER the rip-roaring success of the Royal Variety Show, broadcast from the Liverpool Empire, is it not proof that this major annual showbusiness event should be staged here every year? Read

Festive cheer

CHRIMBO-WATCH: as everyone else is “doing Yule”, Brocklebank resident column humorist Peter Moloney has penned readers a seasonal poem entitled A Plea for Sanity Claus, which he boasts was adapted without permission from the author, Lewis Carroll, who was too busy being dead to refuse. Read

Taking the lead

A COLUMN correspondent writes to Mr Brocklebank in praise of Liverpool’s much critically abused Britannia Adelphi Hotel because of its "dog-friendly" attitude, which made his whippet feel so at home during a visit. Read

In Glasgow’s steps

LIVERPOOL often follows in the footsteps of that other historic Atlantic trading city, Glasgow. Read

Popular Python

A CARING Mr Brocklebank paid a call on actor/ traveller Michael Palin at Waterstone’s last week, to ensure he was not bereft of fans at his book-signing after the lukewarm critical reception to his TV series on Europe. Read

Lime Street chaos

HAND-IN-HAND with efforts to make Liverpool city centre motoring and parking nigh on impossible must come improvements to public transport. Read

It’s all in the name

SURELY correct spelling matters, even in this day and age, especially when concerning a school. Now that Liverpool’s Belvedere School is changing its name to Belvedere Academy, could the anomaly with the street in which it stands, Belvidere Road, be resolved? Read

Re-root The Strand

NOW that The Strand access tunnels to the huge new Grosvenor Liverpool One shopping development are finished, we are told that the road will be skewed back to its original position. Read

A dumbstruck Duke

HAD HRH the Duke of Kent taken a vow of silence when he formally and mutely opened the new Princes Landing Stage and City of Liverpool Cruise Liner Terminal? Read

Missing out again?

A NEWS item on BBC Radio 4 about QE2’s 40th anniversary round-Britain cruise mentioned its ports of call as Newcastle, Firth of Forth and Clydeside. Curiously, no mention of Liverpool, Cunard’s former famous home port, especially after overcoming the serious worry that the new landing stage would not be ready in time. Read

Terminal madness

NOW the new City of Liverpool Cruise Terminal is up and running, attention has turned to whether it will be used as a proper terminal, whereby cruises can actually start and finish there, rather than a call-in for cruises from elsewhere. Read

Not quite on song

LIVERPOOL’S favourite agony uncle, Pete Price, was Master of Ceremonies for the 800th pageant parade. Telling the crowds that overseas tourists – oh, was that the visitor waving the Canadian flag? – did not know the words to any local anthems, he invited the throng to sing New York, New York. Read