And She'll Never Walk Down Lime Street Anymore

I can't believe that my time in Liverpool is over (I also can't believe how much I didn't write for this blog).  I just can't believe how fast it really went.  Even when time was dragging (and at times it did)  I never imagined this chapter in my life ending.

I remember how unbelievably scared I was before I left Scranton. I was deseperate for someone who was angry to tell me not to go.  That is was a bad idea.  Like my mom.  But, we know Lolly.  She said, "Go and if you need to come home I will get a boat and come and get you myself if I have to."  In fact, I can name the people who didn't want me to go, who told me not to go.  Hindsight, I can see that it was because they were scared that something would happen while I was over here (and some things did happen, aye?) but if anyone really understood how close I was to not going they would know that all they had to do was sit in a room with me for like 30 minutes and drill it into me not to go and I probably wouldn't have.  Of course, I'd never listen to them that long. 

I still can't get over how fresh these Liverpool memories are. From the time I visited in 2010 (which is probably my favorite time) to moments of my last arrival after Christmas.  I can remember my mother getting on the coach to head back to Heathrow outside of the Adelphi.  She put her sunglasses on in order to hide her tears (I did the same) and hugged me quick and got on the bus as if I didn't know she was crying.  There I was left with Dave Jones from Cavern City Tours just watching my number one defender and best friend drive away and leave me in a city where I knew no one besides the Beatles.  I still question both of our sanity in that moment.  Dave was nice enough to put me in a cab and tell the driver where I was going (because I had no clue at the time) and that was that.  It took everything thing I had to not call a cab and chase that  bus all the way back to London.  I took a nap instead.  Then I did my laundry and on my way to the laundry room, I met my first friend, Devon.  He was from Denmark.  We shared a flat for a few weeks and then I went to the Creative Campus (art and music students) and he stayed where he was for his sports science stuff.  Devon and I went to the post office so I could send notes home to my mom and we went for lunch, trying to get used to the place.  If it wasn't for Devon I'd be lost for that first month. 

And how cool was I? I mean this girl from Scranton, who was told she really wouldn't do anything because of the cards Fate dealt her, picked up and moved to England on her own?!  I don't know many people who would do that.  To be honest, I can't believe I did it.  I feel like the Autumn I am now wouldn't do that.  Then again, I do love adventures.  

And the people I've met and the places I've gone.  I mean, inside Abbey Road Studios as if I was just working there. Speaking of working, the day that I spent as a "worker" in Mendips!  Interviewing the man responsible for creating the Beatles Story! And Joe Flannery!  Never mind befriending Julia Baird and getting to spend time with her.  Then the those who aren't related to the Beatles.  My friends and my love, Dann, how would life be if I didn't get on that plane (or didn't take that nap)? 

And all of the concerts!  Jeeze!  Backstreet Boys, Adele, Amos Lee, The Shakers (weekly) and freaking Paul McFreakingCartney! Granted, with exception to the Shakers, I could have seen all of these people and have seen all of these performers but McCartney in Liverpool was the best show I've seen him do.  I could have missed all of this because of fear?  Silly. 

And then there is the second master's degree. I had to work for that one in a different way than I had to work for the first one.  At least in the first one I had a clue about what I was getting into but this one I was up the creek without a paddle. I mastered my baffling skills with this degree. Princess BaMaMa :) The things I learned during that time are pretty much things that I couldn't have learned anywhere else.  They may be irrelevant to some but not to me. 

There are things I am going to miss.  I'm going to miss the simplicity of it (although being here is quite difficult). I think that the sunshine (when it's out) comes out just feels warmer and fresher.  I love the deals that you get over here.  On Wednesdays, you get to go to the movies buy one get one free admission.  Restaurants offer super cheap deals too.  One restaurant (that I just discovered, unfortunately) does 50% off on Mondays!  Dann and I ate for under 10 pounds together.  WHAT?!

I really get taken back when I think about how different my life would be if I didn't stay in Liverpool.  Just meeting the guy who lived next door to me changed my life entirely. By taking that risk of moving to Liverpool, I've discovered so much about myself, that I couldn't possibly do if I had the comforts of home. And I've gained so much! I had no idea that I'd end up dating him, falling in love with him, tricking him into marrying me, and then *surprisingly* finding out we are going to be parents. I used to smile when Dann and I would talk about how we would have never met if it wasn't for the Beatles (pretty fair statement). Recently, I saw a photocopy of the program from St. Pete's Fete, where John and Paul met for the first time, and I couldn't help but think that Pip wouldn't even be on his way if that church picnic didn't happen.  

Can you believe how crazy life is? 

So, to you, Liverpool,  thanks for the ride. =) 

Love Me Do

It was 50 years ago today that "Love Me Do" was released.  Of course, Liverpool is going to go crazy over this and there are gigs all over the city and everyone needs to do all of it.  I am not. But I did participate in an  attempt to break the world record for most people singing in a "Love Me Do"  in a choir-like style.  Dann and I debated whether or not to go because we have been sick and both slept terribly last night. In the end we decided to go.  Called the cab, sat in traffic, go to the scene of the event only to be told that we were too late!  Dann, in his best man tone, cried out to the lady 'She's come all the way from America for this!"  The woman, "You can ask the gatekeeper (Ghostbusters!),"  and pointed to this guy. Mr. Guy just opened the gate and told us to hurry because we need to be counted.  So we got in anyway.  I was hard not to smirk and the lady.

I honestly wasn't sure how they were going to pull this off.  They had about eight "conductors"  scattered among the crowd and many "officials" from the Guinness World Record office board.  I wondered how the heck do you get the job with GWR?  But whateves.  We had a quick practice and then before you knew it (and before it was scheduled) we were all singing along to the happy little tune.  Thank goodness that it's a short song!

We did the first attempt and the GWR professionals and the conductors all got together and checked the video and audio to see if we were sufficient enough to break the record.  Let me tell you,  there were 1,631 folks singing that happy harmonica filled song and we broke that record!  BAM!


So here is the link.  Autumn's debut on the BBC . We are in the beginning, you can find us at the end of the line in the opening. Dann has a green frog hat on, Esmee is on the closer side and I am the one furthest away, and the shorter one. :)


Have a great day.

Don't Let Me Down...

You know it's very hard to have a suitable Beatles song as a title for each post.  I've already repeated one (unknowingly) and when I go to actually post something, the rare times that I do, the hardest bit is trying to come up with a title.


So, anyway, I am back in Liverpool.   Of course, it's been a whirlwind three days.  I lost a whole day just because of the need to sleep. I missed a show I wanted to see Saturday night (actually I've missed every show I wanted to see this year).  But I made it to the Beatles Convention yesterday where I was able to see some old friends.  It's funny the people at the convention are beginning to recognize me.  Maybe I am a bit crazy.  Maybe I have a reason to come back to Liverpool every year?!  But the convention was great.  I saw Charles and Renee which is always a happy time.  I also had the chance to catch up with Julia briefly.  Dann said that she looked genuinely happy to see me so that always makes me smile.

Liverpool is treating me kindly, for the most part.  I have a feeling I've made a huge mistake with my flat. I am looking to get out of the contract. But we will see. In other, big, HUGE, potentially awesome news, I have an interview tomorrow at the Beatles Story.  Goodness how I am hoping that I get it.  An income!  A FREAKING INCOME! The thoughts of having a job (and one that I enjoy) is so exciting it's like someone else has taken over my body and is changing my ideas about life!    I am nervous though because we are going to Greece Sept 10-19 and I'll probably have to start Sept 14!  And I really want to go home for Christmas.  If you saw my mama's eyes when I was getting on the plane Friday you would want to go home too.  And I also need to go home for Christmas because the baby will be arriving mid December!   Oh boy what a year.

And also, this Thursday I hear from Teach of America on whether or not I will get an interview.   It's just first rounds and I am already so nervous I am going to be sick.   It's amazing a year ago I couldn't care any less about having a job and now that's it one of the things I want the most (coming in first is my friend's and family's health).  Do I want to settle down?!?!?!       JEEEEEZE  when did I get old?


So please send good juju out to the universe for me!

There's a Place

So today was particularly interesting in the Beatles side of my life.  It's been so long since I have been excited about anything Beatles related that I have almost forgotten what it felt like. But this evening, after I got home from work, I had a flash of excitement go through me when someone wanted to talk to me about Liverpool and what to do there.  I guess it has been so long since I was able to tell someone what to see while they were there and the gentleman I was speaking to was so stinkin' excited it made me excited all over again.  I actually felt a little silly talking about the places as if it they were any different than any other part of the world.  I acted like it wasn't a big deal that I spent a whole day in Lennon's house "shadowing" and was left unattended. But it is a big deal!  And when I heard that someone was excited for me to be doing this, I got excited all over again! 

It was nice to know I was helping someone, well two someones, that needed some guidance around Liverpool.  Although most people in Liverpool would be more than happy to help them, I was able to tell them where to go and what companies to go with (you know Cavern City Tours over any other Beatles tour etc).  It actually got me a bit excited to get my butt back over there and start all over again looking for jobs and getting turned down and trying all over again but being surrounded by the Beatles.  Jeeze, I can almost smell the Cavern Club's stinky smell. 

This possible has made my dissertation a bit more exciting! 

Nowhere You Can Be That Isn't Where You're Meant To Be...

I know that I was awful at keeping everyone updated with this blog. I should have done it once a week like I did with my other blog.  But I guess in many ways that blog is easier, albeit more creative. The last one I posted was about a dream about Lennon that I had... in December!  Wow.  Talk about a bad promise maker.    So I suppose I'll begin at the beginning and work my way towards now.  I'll try not to bore you with the silly small stuff, you can ask if you really want to know the deets.

So I came home for Christmas, much to Jacob's surprise.  And much to my surprise I had my very own Romeo by then. So I guess that is the first thing I should talk about even though it's not very Beatle related but very Liverpool related. Romeo is also known as Dann. You know, the guy who told me to shut my window in the last post? He's the reason why I will be returning to stay in Liverpool from August to March.  So I suppose that is the most important thing I should share with you.  Autumn Rose found love.  Just like everyone told her she would.

Anyway, I was in America until January 9th-ish. Then made the journey back to Liverpool to what would be a whirlwind of time flying by. By the end of March I found myself boarding a bus outside of the Adelphi hotel (where it all started) to get to London and actually get inside of Abbey Road Studios!  How flipping cool is that?!?  It isn't something that is often open to the public and definitely isn't something that is as cheap as we got it for. It was kind of surreal to be there.  I am not a sentimental person so I imagine that there could be a few other people who would do a stellar job of writing this but it was cool to be in Studio Two. In the corners and the doorways that I recognized from so many photos of the Beatles. Two Americans (and I swear one was younger than me [what am I doing wrong]) presented us with their research and discussed the history and development of Abbey Road as a studio. My patience was growing thin until they reached the 1960s and I grabbed my attention.  Believe it or not, I learned things that I've never known about the Beatles. At this point, that's becoming a rare thing. Not to toot my own horn or anything (beeeeeeeeeeeeep).
It was a great day!  Oh and there is a cafeteria in there! We had a snack inside and then, somehow, a knife and fork from Abbey Road fell into my purse and made it's way back to Liverpool with me!  Remarkable.

Then one day in early March I had a message in inbox on Facebook from Ms. Julia Baird.  She has been such a wonderful help to me in the last few months.  I cannot express my gratitude towards her enough for helping me wrap my head around the local phenomenon of the Beatles. The point of view that she has given me has definitely opened my eyes up to a more realistic and personal idea of the Beatles rather than this super group that no one could touch. I admit that there is a lot that I will not tell anyone, never mind put it on the internet, but my time spent with Julia was most definitely eyeopening and wonderful. Sometimes the Universe just works itself out for you.  I'm reminded of that each time Dann grabs a hold of my hand and I was reminded of that each time I met with Julia.

And then there was spending an extensive amount of time in John's childhood home.  Thanks to my dissertation topic, I have be allowed to do things (for free) that most people get to do for a charge and have less time with.  I have  been in John's house before but I was there as a fan not as a fly on the wall and what a difference that change is. But it was also amazingly wonderful to be in the house alone and take time to read things that I didn't have time to do before.  I was able to speak with the groundskeeper, Colin, for quite a while and get his point of view on Beatles Tourism in Liverpool. The opportunities that have been given to me in this lifetime are opportunities that I will forever be thankful for.

And to close...
Before I left for the summer, I saw New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys in concert. BAM!

It's a good life.

Dream Sweet Dreams for Me

I wanted to post this when it happened and then I changed my mind. Now, I have some time on my hands and insomnia and I are even better friends the last two days so I figured no better time than the present.

That was a really long sentence.  I tried to make it better but I have had  three hours of sleep since in the last 36 so I don't really care what you think about my sentences!  Maybe I will write something beautiful as I am not worried about punctuation.

J.C.! Get to the point!

So my whole entire life I have never ever EVER dreamt of John Lennon.  I bet, like me, you're wondering how in the world that is possible... especially if you know some of the things that I do dream about. I have dreamt of The Beatles and each individual Beatle, except for Ringo (but let's get real, who wants to dream of Ringo?).   When I would dream of the group, John would always be absent because he's dead, even though Harrison has been in my dreams.  I am also the weirdest dreamer you could ever know because I can tell myself that I am dreaming while I am dreaming. I guess that is beside the point.

About two weeks ago I decided it would be a great idea to sleep with my window open because it would get too hot in here.  I didn't want to turn the heat off because then I would be cold. The best part is I was cold with the window open, it made no sense. Dan tried to tell me to close the window and turn the heat off,  but most of you know me well enough to know I don't listen.  Remember, window is open.

Two weeks ago today (Friday) Alex, Dan, and I decided to have a movie marathon.  We watched Batman, Scream 4, and  Ghostbusters.  By "we" I mean me because they couldn't stay awake for them. Scream 4 kept me guessing, if you want to know. So I was up super late and went to bed at like 6 in the morning, my sleep pattern has been screwy since, if you care. (This paragraph reminds me of Holden Caufield, if you really want to know.)

Alex stole my ID when he went back to his flat and woke me up when he came in to give it back in the morning.  I spoke to him for a few incoherent seconds and went back to sleep. The dream that followed wasn't like any other dream in my whole entire 27 years, 6 months and 20 odd days of life. In said dream, I was at the beach, which I hate the beach so already this is interesting. I'm on a boardwalk all by myself.  There are games, rides, and food stands but it's all vacant.  It's a completely empty boardwalk on this beautiful day.  Suddenly, there is one person, in a white suit, white shoes, a full beard, long hippie hair, and gold granny glasses just walking towards me.  The real Autumn said to the dreaming Autumn, "Aud, this is a dream about Lennon!"   For those of you who do not know, it's him on the Abbey Road cover or the makeshift video in Beatles Anthology for The Ballad of John and Yoko. I'm sure all of you know that though.

The sun was shining on his face and he was smiling so big! There was a seagull or a dove flying over head. I really want to say it was a dove for poetic reasons, but what would a dove be doing on the beach?  Then again, why am I on the beach, with John Lennon for the love of God?  Maybe it was a dove.  He wasn't very far from me but he wasn't very close either.  I could make out his teeth when he smiled so he was at least that close.  The sunshine on him, the smile on his face, and the seadove (see what I did there?) were all amazing.  It seemed as though he was going to say something...

And then...

The garbage truck came, under my open window, in real life.


I was mad about this for a few seconds (aka days). But then, I was happy that Lennon finally made an appearance in my dream, while I was sleeping in Liverpool after a night when I was on Mathew Street.









To be fair, I fell asleep for a little while during Ghostbusters.  But everyone else was already really asleep.


And my window is now closed.

Got To Get You Into My Life

So I disappear more than I would ever like to admit, but you must know that I am having a great time.  I frequent The Cavern Club every Sunday to see the cover band The Shakers (they played at Beatle Week).  I would like to say that I spend most of my time reading things for class but I honestly spend more of my time putzing around town than anyone probably should.  But I am loving it.  I am meeting awesome people, making great friends, and learning a bit about myself while I am at it.

To start - I got a ticket to see Paul McCartney at his show in Liverpool on December 20!  Merry Christmas to me!  I think it is absolutely amazing that I get to see a Beatle (and really the only surviving Beatle that I like) play in Liverpool.  I hope he sings "Wonderful Christmastime."  There aren't many people that get to say they heard that live.  I will be one of those people.  Yes, I wish you were there too.

On November 8 I went on a drive south and west of Liverpool.  I ended up in Wales. Of course I didn't drive, but we drove through different areas of Beatle history, Chester where I saw Roman ruins (freaking cool), and Wales where there was an American diner that had fantastic cheese fries.  We came back through the tunnel but on the way we drove along the Mersey River and I thought of all my Beatle friends that I met over the last two years and realized it's about time that I update you guys.

The sense of community in Liverpool is amazing.  I don't know if it is just this area or if it is anywhere out of Scranton, but I love it just the same.  I mentioned in my other blog, On The Other Hand,that I went to the Christmas Tree Lighting concert with the gang two weeks ago.  I am still warm and fuzzy on the inside from how awesome it was. There was no chaos, no violence or arguing.  I'm not even sure if there were real cops around.  Sometimes I think I really am in a twilight zone, but not a black and white twilight zone... well maybe black and white with a splash of pink. Maybe most importantly, Liverpool has restored my love of Christmas! Those of you who know me in real life know how (impossible, amazing, etc) this was/is! So everyone should be happy that Liverpool has sent The Grinch back to Whoville and restored Autumn to her festive self.  For the love, we all sang along to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town!"

This last Monday I had a great surprise when I went to class!  Joe Flannery (a life long friend of Brian Epstein) was sitting in the front of the classroom ready to tell us stories of Beatle past.  I seriously couldn't get over it the whole time.  I have the lecture recorded and I have to listen to it again because he told stories of John and Paul which were delightful.  He told other stories about The Beatles of course (I might know the truth behind the removal of Pete Best!) and he told of other bands too.  It was just amazing to be in the same room as him!  I just couldn't believe that I got to hear this man talk for two hours!  Do you know how lucky I am?  I bet not. He brought in the most recent birthday gift that Paul McCartney sent to him.  The original hand-written lyrics to "Penny Lane."  I was extremely jealous that this wasn't in my room!