Town of a night has gone toxic (pre lockdown), I honestly believe that after 7pm you can feel the atmosphere change for the worse.
I just wonder where it went wrong, is it a generation thing? I'm 42, I've been going to town since I was 17, never looked for trouble, never carried a knife, never took beak, never attacked a random person because I was too drunk.
Even now, my mates and I are all in our 40's, we go to town during the day for enjoyment, to sit and drink decent beer, watch footy and horse racing, have a catch up and have a laugh. Not once, not ever, has any of us carried a weapon or got into a brawl.
Now though, people are getting stabbed, slashed or threatened pretty much every weekend, its madness.
I don't think it's ever been any different, really. If anything, I actually feel safer in town these days than I did when I was younger though. What certainly has changed is access to news. At one time, unless you were involved, knew someone who was there, or it was in the Echo, you didn't get to hear about it. Now, everything is online within minutes then shared to all and sundry.
When my girlfriends, mates and I were in town every week back in 1980 onwards it was always moody. We used to go on the alternative/gay/punk/goth/Numan/Bowie scene, and although I was always a massive Liverpool fan going to games since 1971 we'd still run into footy scalls all the time on Victoria and Dale Street. The chippy on Dale street was often a battle ground after 2am. Even a martial arts expert I knew had his face slashed on Stanley (ironic) Street after a gang of Blueshite ran past waving a Stanley knife about and lashing out randomly. We used to stay well away from the usual scally haunts because the scene we went out on was safer, a much better laugh, the music was infinitely better and the girls were amazing. So many stunners used to shun the scall scene in order to avoid the idiots, so it was so easy to get to know a lot of really nice women.
Even if the clubs we went to were safe, the streets afterwards were often not. I remember waiting for a taxi on Stanley Street again, just outside the old Radio City. Some prick and his mates came blazing around the corner from Dale Street brandishing a bottle and looking to do me with it. I was like woah there! What the fuck? Funny really, he backed off and we started talking. Ended up having a good chat and they all walked off without incident. I should have been a diplomat.
It just shows how volatile and unpredictable people can be in drink. It's not a Liverpool thing at all, It's a people thing. It goes off in pretty much every village, town and city from time to time.
One time my brother was in a club in town. He got deliberately tripped up, then got the standard ''you spilled my pint'' line, then a smack for his troubles. Unbeknown to the scallies, he was with my mates upstairs and they were on leave from the navy. They then smashed the scallies all over the place. Unfortunately, walking home late one following Saturday night along St. Annes Street, the very same scallies clocked my brother on his own and did him with an iron bar. He stood his ground, so they shit it and ran off. Par for the course in town back then.
I think much depends on time and place. I'd never choose to go on a night out in Concert Square or Mathew Street, for instance. I've walked through both plenty of times, and I get to see plenty of reasons to give them a swerve. Before lockdown I'd walk through Mathew Street at around 9-10pm on a Friday night and have seen plenty of fights and lots of idiots mixed in with the tourists.
Driving through town last Saturday night I was looking around and thinking to myself that I don't care if I never go out on the town ever again really, but I'm 57 now and had my time anyway, so maybe that plays a big part in that thinking. I don't particularly feel unsafe there these days but, like everywhere else, I think you do need to be vigilant. I think especially as beak is so prevalent now. People seem to think they are the Hulk after a line.
Craig, I'm really sorry to hear about the problems (and idiots) your partner has had to endure. That's outrageous behaviour.
