Sam Leach - KEEP
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Starr:
Hi Sam good to hear your doing better! good luck with the writing!
Yep, and it's nice to see you here, Sara.
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Hi Lauren thanks good to see you too!
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Good article about Sam's city Liverpool stages comeback Beatles' hometown is on the way up By GLENN FRANKEL The Washington Post -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 10. 2004 801AM LIVERPOOL, England - Two decades ago, when this seaport city was mired in a deep and seemingly endless recession, Mike Byrne, a local musician and businessman, sought public funds to help build an exhibition dedicated to Liverpool's most famous native sons, the Beatles. He argued that the city could capitalize on the group's enduring popularity to attract tourists, but he recalls getting nowhere. "Tourism wasn't in the dictionary of the city fathers," Byrne says. That was then. These days Liverpool is staging a rousing comeback. After decades of economic decline and social unrest, this proud, prickly and distinctive city is undergoing a full-scale revival that is cultural as well as financial. And tourism is at the heart of the boom. In the past four years, a city that once hemorrhaged employment and investment has experienced the creation of 50,000 jobs, an increase of 9 percent per year. Its economy has grown at 5 percent annually per capita and tourism is expanding at a similar pace. For the first time since the 1930s, Liverpool's population - which sank from 800,000 to 450,000 - has registered a small increase. Those are the numbers. What's equally important, city leaders contend, is the revival of Liverpool's spirit. The birthplace of the Beatles boasts more Victorian-era public buildings than any city outside of London, Britain's largest cathedral, two nationally known soccer teams, three universities and a half-dozen major museums. Liverpool has been designated as the European Union's Capital of Culture for 2008, and it is wasting no time in claiming the title. The city boasts its own rhythmic accent, known as Scouse, and its own attitude - wry, defiant and self-deprecating. "What do you call a Liverpudlian in a tie?" goes a local joke. Answer "The defendant." What's happening here in part reflects changes all over the north of England, where cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle are staging comebacks after suffering steep declines as Britain's manufacturing and mining industries collapsed or faded. The buoyancy of Britain's economy, which has been on a 10-year rising tide, and the transformation wrought by high-tech, tourism and service industries, plus an influx of immigrants from South Asia, has meant a rebirth for England's most economically battered region. No place fell farther or faster than Liverpool, and none has climbed back with quite the same spirited and self-conscious determination. "We're seeing a renaissance, and it's very infectious," said Mike Storey, head of the city council. "Anyone who comes here can't help but be caught up in the experience. We've got our flair and our self-confidence back." Once known as the "Second City of the Empire," Liverpool rose on the shoulders of the slave, cotton and sugar trades in the 18th and 19th centuries to become one of the world's dominant seaports and commercial centers. Banks and insurance companies reigned for decades. Liverpool also became a melting pot. Welshmen escaping rural poverty in nearby Wales, Scotsmen pouring down from the north and Irishmen arriving aboard ferries from across the Irish Sea flocked to Liverpool's teeming docksides. A smattering of black slaves freed by King George III for siding with the British during the American Revolution also settled here. "Liverpool always sees itself as apart from the rest of the country,"said Spencer Leigh, a local author and broadcaster for BBC Radio Merseyside. "We look out at the Atlantic, and away from the rest of Britain. And I suppose when you set yourself up like that then you're there to be knocked down." The revival, people say, was slow and hesitant. Some trace its origins to the renovation of the Albert Dock area, which has become a smaller version of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, and the formation of the Merseyside Partnership, a quasi-public nonprofit body, to press redevelopment projects. Others point to a more elusive phenomenon the magnetic power of the Beatles. These days there are local tours of Beatles sites, an annual Beatles week in August that draws tens of thousands, and nightly performances at the reconstructed Cavern Club, where the group got its start. The city's airport has been expanded and renamed after John Lennon. And the Beatles Story, the exhibition that Byrne eventually built with private funds at Albert Dock, is the region's 10th-largest paid-admission attraction. "No doubt we're part of a rising tide throughout the United Kingdom," said Thomas O'Brien, director of the Merseyside Partnership. "But Liverpool's economy has become more competitive. We're less vulnerable to downturns in the cycle." ------ End of article By GLENN FRANKEL The
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Sam C Happy belated birthday. Steelers, ah -- its a good year to be a Steeler fan -- I expect it to be an all Penn Superbowl -- Steelers/Eagles this year. I am a Redskins fan -- tough year for me. Cheers! Mike
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Hi MIke Thanks for the article but many of those taking credit now did little when it really mattered and are jumping on board the Beatles Bandwaggon. Still....btter late than never. Cheers mate Sam.
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Sam Leach:
Hi MIke Thanks for the article but many of those taking credit now did little when it really mattered and are jumping on board the Beatles Bandwaggon. Still....btter late than never. Cheers mate Sam.
People like that f*** me right off. It is like when a famous person is bullied in school and then when they are famous, years later, the person may bump into them and try and be all nice. Or they'll go to the papers saying "I taught whoever to play violin" or some other bull. ANYWAY....
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Hi, Sam.. everything is fine for you ? hope so.. Do you still has some books if I need to order one ? Hope so cheers,
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Hi Cesar (Cbimbi). No I have no books now until next Spring. I'll keep you posted. Hello Glass_Onion I know how you feel. Back on Sunday everyone. Cheers Sam xx
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Hi Chimbi i'm sorry i think you said hello to me on the other page i missed it, how are you doing? Hope well! Hello to everyone
have a fab weekend!
It's snowing here! Samuel where have you gone again? lol! What happened to paulfan? hehe Greg i know where you are
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Hi Sara (Starr). Got your card thank you very much. Very nice of you. And to everyone else who's posted recently I'll start replying to more posts from next week. I just haven't been quite myself yet.....but getting there. Love to you all. Sam xx
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Have a great weekend, everyone!!
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Starr:
Hi Chimbi i'm sorry i think you said hello to me on the other page i missed it, how are you doing? Hope well! Hello to everyone
have a fab weekend!
It's snowing here! Samuel where have you gone again? lol! What happened to paulfan? hehe Greg i know where you are
Hi Sara Here I am! LOL!! hehe good to see you around
I've been having fun at *you know where*
hehe Have a FAB weekend everyone
Hey! SAM!! How are you?? Hope you're feeling good and ready to run the 5 mile LOL!! Have a fabulous Christmas season *Peace, Love & Happiness*
Cheers!
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Take your time and get well soon, Sam. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmastime
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maccascruff:
Take your time and get well soon, Sam. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmastime
Well YES! I am having a wonderful Christmas time with caring family & friends! I hope you are too
I look back on this year, I've been thru enormous stress, people who lie and treat me with total disrespect! I've lived thru abuse as a child, I've worked extremely for all the things I have today! I plan to move fw and leave behind a past and take on my endeavours to succeed!! Sam Found an interesting website about the Mersey-Beat paper... http://www.mersey-beat.net/ Has archive on The Beatles
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maccascruff:
First day of new job finished. Second day we worked on our computer at home and I passed another test. How many more tests will there be before we are on the job?
The tests must be part of the job. LOL
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Sam Leach:
Hi Sara (Starr). Got your card thank you very much. Very nice of you. And to everyone else who's posted recently: I'll start replying to more posts from next week. I just haven't been quite myself yet.....but getting there. Love to you all. Sam xx
Sam, Take your time and I am sure we all understand. We all just want you to concentrate on relaxing and getting well. I'll see you at the 19th hole soon enough! Cheers! Samcat
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Hope you're all doing OK.
And Sam, take all the time you need to recover. Your health is the most important thing.
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Merry Christmas and Happy H(can't sell it)a to Sam and all. Yes Sam, please do not push yourself. You're too important to us.
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Hi Sam your welcome for the card!
Hope your having a good weekend! Samuel!! Good to see you!! how've you been doing? Greg ahh there you are hehe ah yes i know where to find you!! hehe
Glad your having a good holiday season so far!
Hi Lauren Hope your having a good holiday season! I'm done shopping yay! Just have to wrap presents i'll do that tomorrow it's snowing here too! Hello to Everyone else Happy Holidays!
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Yay!! All I have bought is cards, so far.
ops: It just got too much for me yesterday and I hid in a cafe with my newspaper before going home. I hate crowds and having to walk slowly and wait and getting knocked about. I think I'll buy it all online instead.
ops: