When most people think of Liverpool, they think of two things: scousers, and scallies. However, contrary to popular opinion, there is more to the city than this...

The first thing to say about Liverpool is that if you go there, everything you own will NOT be stolen. There is a famous joke "Why does the Mersey run thorough Liverpool? Because if it walked, it'd be mugged". This is ridiculous - rivers can't be mugged (obviously). People can be, though - but they rarely are in Liverpool, which actually has a lower crime rate than most large cities. I have left a bag full of computer equipment unattended in the middle of a fried chicken restaurant for 3 hours, and it was all there when I came back. True, I did this through stupidity and not choice, but the fact is that nothing was stolen.

On the subject of scousers, there is the myth that they are all "lovable rouges". This also is not true - most scousers are very honest, friendly people. When they speak to you, they're not trying to work out which pocket your keys are in, or whether they could steal your shoes - they're just being friendly.

An interesting fact is that the city of Liverpool has more historic buildings per square mile than Bath.

To be continued...