Cornelia Rosenthal

Cornelia was born in Hagen, Germany in 1962. During her early school days she developed a passion for English and looks back fondly on this period

"English had always been my favourite subject at school, as soon as I had started learning it at the age of eleven, and I had always loved the impression my English books had given me of England and it had been one of my greatest dreams to go to England"

A few years later, she discovered the music of The Beatles and over the years, she developed a fascination with Liverpool. On her first visit to this city in August 1988 she immediately fell in love with it, has been in love with it ever since and proudly states:

"My love for this city goes way beyond the Beatles."

All you need is love

"As I had been a Beatles fan since about the age of fourteen, I had become more and more interested in Liverpool, the older I had become and the more my knowledge of England (from reading books) had increased. I had 'discovered' the Beatles when our music teacher played 'All You Need Is Love' to us, a song which moved me deeply and which still is my favourite Beatles song today. My two elder cousins, who lived across the road from our family, had two Beatles records which they lent me and which my brother, who is five years younger than me, copied onto cassettes for me. I still have these two cassettes today but unfortunately, the sound quality of one of them was lost only a few years afterwards. Anyway, this is how my love of the Beatles started. 'Magical Mystery Tour' was the first LP I ever bought for myself from my pocket money and I still have and treasure it. It is one of my favourite Beatles albums. It took several more years before I ever got a chance to see their films on television, so I only had the music to go by and I loved it. At about the age of nineteen, I became a George Harrison fan in addition when his song 'All Those Years Ago' from the 'Somewhere In England' album was played on the radio and from them on, I bought all the albums of his I could get hold of."

Foreign exchange student

"The opportunity to work in England had arisen because in Germany I was a student of English and Spanish and I had applied as a foreign language assistant at the PAD (Padagogischer Austauschdienst, an educational exchange service) which offered, and still offers, students of foreign languages the possibility to live and work in the countries speaking the languages they study, so as to give them the chance to improve their command of the foreign language in question and to gain a better knowledge and understanding of their host countries. In return, pupils and students in the host countries get a chance to learn the foreign languages they study from native speakers. Foreign language assistants do not teach entire classes but they support the regular modern languages lessons by repeating and practising what is being taught and possibly coming up with exercises of their own, all of which is conducted with individual pupils and students respectively with small groups of pupils and students."

Liverpool - Port city, Beatle city

"By the time I applied for a job as a foreign language assistant, I had developed a fascination with Liverpool which went beyond the Beatles aspect. The connection with the Beatles was the main reason why I longed to see this city but it also fascinated me because of its status as a major international seaport. As I have always been very interested in other cultures and have always had a great love for the sea and anything maritime and anything to do with water, seaports in general held a great attraction for me and so did Liverpool. By the time I applied, this city had become a mythical place for me. So it was only natural for me to choose Liverpool or Merseyside as my top-priority desired location. When I received the confirmation that my application had been successful, I was overjoyed but at the same time I was also disappointed, as I hadn't been placed in Liverpool but in Leigh, a place I had never heard of before and which I had to look up on a map. Fortunately, I found out that it wasn't too far from Liverpool so that it would be possible to go there at weekends. Naturally I did so regularly, almost every week! I would go to Liverpool for a wonderful day out on most Saturdays."

My own magical mystery tour

"My first visit to the city was overwhelming; I could hardly believe that I was finally walking around in this mythical place and placing my feet on this mythical ground. The broad streets and wide open spaces, the beautiful Pier Head, Albert Dock and river promenade, combined with the refreshing breeze coming in from the sea across the Mersey and the cries of the seagulls, were breathtaking and immensely liberating. Moreover, I soon found out how incredibly friendly and accessible the people in this city were. So, needless to say, it was love at first sight once more and I was hooked from my first visit on.

And then, one Saturday in May 1989 (13 May, to be exact) it so happened that I went to the Cavern Club, my favourite 'haunt', for a drink (Coke, of course, during the daytime) and had my encounter with a local celebrity there! I met Bob Wooler, as well as Eddie Porter who used to write articles for the Beatles magazines available at the Beatles Shop in Mathew Street, and worked for Cavern City Tours. To my knowledge, he still does both today. They gave me their autographs and we had a wonderful conversation about Liverpool and the Beatles. We even exchanged addresses! Then we met Joe Riley, who writes for the Liverpool Echo, and as he played the organ at St George's Hall from time to time, he had a key to this wonderful building and we went there. He played the organ while Bob Wooler and Eddie Porter sang along. I will never forget that wonderful day!"

The other side of life

"Not only did I visit the city centre of Liverpool but also explored some of its suburbs, such as Aigburth and Woolton. However, I have also seen the poorer areas of this city, Toxteth and the Dingle. I am aware of the fact that life in Liverpool isn't nice for everybody. I knew this before coming to Liverpool for the first time, as in preparing for my stay in England, I had read a book on labour history in the city, as well as a guidebook on England presenting a more critical outlook on social and political issues in the country. Nevertheless, it is still a very different thing to see run-down houses with barricaded doors and windows for yourself. As in most modern, industrialized Western countries, there is a deplorable discrepancy and gap between the rich and the poor and things need to change not only in Liverpool or in Britain at large but also in Germany and other countries.

Unfortunately, I have been affected by unemployment myself and am currently looking for a new job. After my return to Germany in June 1989, I continued my studies but I failed the Spanish part of my exams narrowly twice. I could have taken the Spanish exam a third time but I felt I didn't have the energy to try again. The saying goes that everything happens for a reason and I'm convinced that this was the case in this situation, as shortly afterwards, my nephew, my sister's son, was delivered by caesarean and as both my sister and I were living with our parents at the time, I looked after him and took care of him a lot so that the two of us developed a very close relationship. He is like a son to me and has stayed with me in Dortmund, where I have been living for six years now, several times for a few days each and we have visited museums, parks, zoos and other attractions in the region. I wouldn't miss the closeness we share for anything in the world."

Hamburg and Liverpool

"Of course, I have also been to some interesting places in Germany but unfortunately, I haven’t made it to Hamburg yet. I have been longing to visit it since watching a documentary on it on television sometime after my return to Germany and my main reason for wanting to go is the appearance of its port and dock area reminding me of Liverpool's waterfront. In addition, it hosts a big ethnological museum which I would love to see, as well as the Star Club famous for its Beatles connection. I'm sure I'll manage to go to Hamburg soon.

Since my return to Germany in June 1989, I have been back to Liverpool almost every year. I was back in 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004 and I hope to be able to go back very soon. In particular, I hope to be able to visit Liverpool in 2008 and attend the Capital of Culture celebrations and festivities. Needless to say, I also voted for Liverpool in the bid for this title."

Special place, special people

"What makes Liverpool unique to me and the reason why it will always be like a second home to me is quite complex.

First of all, I have spent some of the happiest moments of my life in this city. Secondly, it has a special atmosphere which is hard to grasp but which, I might say, is made up of its maritime character, its wonderful architecture and wide open spaces and, not least, the mentality of its inhabitants. I have found that the 'Scousers' have a GREAT sense of humour, are immensely proud of their city and stand together like one family, especially in times of crisis or disaster, such as after the Hillsborough tragedy. I witnessed for myself the extent of compassion and generosity when I visited Anfield and saw the masses of flowers and gifts there. Thirdly, I have experienced again and again how friendly, helpful and approachable they are and with these traits, they make you as a visitor feel very welcome. In short, Liverpool is a WELCOMING city!

Despite all of the great places I have visited, Liverpool will always hold a special place in my heart and I will continue to visit it as often as I can and whenever I can. No visit to this country is complete for me without at least a week's stay in Liverpool.

I would love to thank this wonderful city and its great people from the bottom of my heart for making all of my stays so enjoyable."

For the eight hundred lives project, Cornelia has very kindly donated one of her poems inspired by Liverpool and her experiences called 'Touch of Magic'

Touch of Magic

Have you ever seen
Pier Head asleep at night,
the River Mersey gleam
and its banks,
all charmed by golden light?

Have you ever felt
that touch of magic pure
present every day, but most alive
soon after dusk – that calm
which is all worries' cure?

That touch of magic
at the bottom of this city's heart
is most real, most awake
in the quiet evening hours –
and the companion of my heart.

(28 August, 1990)

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