Day 9, Sunday, April 23, Liverpool, England

We are briefly in England. We had a shore excursion to Port Sunlight and the Ness Botanical Garden. Port Sunlight is a company town built by William Lever in the early 20th century. Sunlight was the name of the first soap that he produced. It didn’t use the harsh caustics of other soaps and it really made his fortune. He was an extreme Victorian. There was family housing and which he rented to his workers for no more than a quarter of their salary. He had several different architects for different houses. The single men came over on a ferry from Liverpool, and were only qualified for housing if they had a family. We spent a long time driving slowly around the community and hearing about Lever and his wife. Yes, we also did hear about his brother, which is where the company name came from. The old factory is still used by UniLever as a research facility.

After a half hour or so at the museum, we got back on the bus and were informed that it had broken down. So after 10 or so minutes, another bus arrived and drove us to the Ness Botanical Garden. On the drive, we went past the mansion where Lewis Carroll lived. The Botanical Garden was created by another rich merchant, who had samples of flora imported from all sorts of places. The plants which are in bloom are the rhododendrons, lilacs, and magnolias. This place is 10 degrees of latitude north of Kennebunkport and their flowers are about 6 weeks ahead of ours. It is amazing what the Gulf Stream can do.

It was raining when we got back, so we have spent the afternoon reading and having tea in the Wintergarden. At 6:30 there is a lecture on Wales and then we will go to dinner and bed after. Tomorrow we will be in Wales.