I was writing a piece on another website when I wanted to discover why it was called the mystery so I know now. This is my first post it is from a collection on Penny Lane
The Mystery Park was called the mystery because nobody new why they called it the Mystery, it was in effect a Mystery. One theory was that it was left to Liverpool by a
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Mystery benefactor who was a shipping company owner
However for us the term meant Mystery and we made our own accounts of what the Mystery was about. Tales of murder and bodies and also sightings of lets say the supernatural variety abounded. The park had railings as was closed to the public at night. Sometimes walking through at tea time I would have the anxiety that the park keeper would lock me in for the night, so that meant making a dart for the gates. The fair came about twice a year and that was a big happening. I always remember how smartly dressed everyone was. The boys wore Ben Sherman shirts two tone trousers and Como shoes. Everyone was immaculately dressed. The girls wore short skirts and they all had really attractive legs, and bright colored blouses. Everyone would congregate on the Waltzers or Speedway and the music of Tamala Motown would blare out. I was a young mod so my clothes were the same as the bigger lads only a smaller size. I managed to get a job working on the fair. That made me really important. I would collect the money for the rides. If I liked girls I would pretend I never noticed them sitting in the car and they would get a free ride. I would also spin the car so they would get scared and scream. The fair lasted about two weeks but it was always a big social event.
The Park was a large Park and once a year they hosted the Liverpool show. The Liverpool show was quite a big affair. I could never get my head around all the horticulture stuff, and the Horses, and business tents. It was often quite hot on the day and quite frankly to me quite boring. I remember the local army regiment would have a stand and they would have a mounted machine gun with a magazine belt attached. The size of the bullets would make me shudder to think that they could be fired into a person. The people that attended the show were mostly quite well off in terms of the Liverpool experience, it wasn?t a day out for the poorer class. I never paid as I thought paying was pointless when most of the affair was quite alienating, so we sneaked in through the many ways we knew of. Then the show would go and the Park was ours again. I always sit looking out the window when I arrive in Liverpool on the train as the train skirts the Park and it always appears just after the grey slate roofs of Penny Lane, and I always think no matter what happens in life I am just the kid who grew up around the place, what will be will be success, heartbreak, life, it all comes down to knowing your roots.
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