2 minute read
Global Scouse Day founder
Graham ensures Scousers rejoice!
Graham (right) with Dave Critchley
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Once a year, everything that is Scouse is celebrated on Global Scouse Day. We interviewed founder of the day, Graham Hughes, to find out how it was created.
By STEPH COLDERICK
Acelebration that began as a tribute to his favourite taste of home is still going strong 15 years later - to the surprise and pride of Global Scouse Day creator, Graham Hughes.
Global Scouse Day is marked on February 28 every year to rejoice in all things Scouse.
Born and bred Scouser Graham came up with the idea to show his love and appreciation for Liverpool.
He said: “Liverpool is a unique city in the world, it is a truly global city.”
Graham was first inspired by his Scottish friend’s celebration of Burns Day, the day that Scotland uses as a national celebration.
Graham said: “Every year we would go to her house and have haggis, tatties and whiskey and I was just dead jealous, I wanted a Scouse night!”
From there, Graham invited his friends, cooked up a big batch of Scouse to share and called it Global Scouse Day. With the help of his friend Laura Worthington, who Graham credits as “the driving force” of Global Scouse Day, the idea soon became bigger and better and was the perfect way to raise money for local charities.
He said: “She managed to get loads of café and restaurant owners and all the little independent places to put Scouse on the menu and it just snowballed from there.”
It was while Graham was travelling, when he set a record for being the first person to visit every country in the world without flying, that he began to realise Liverpool’s global reputation.
He said: “When I was travelling it didn’t matter where I was, people knew Liverpool…for a non-capital city it is remarkably famous and it is famous because it is such a great place.”
When asked if he is proud of how Global Scouse Day has grown from having a few friends round to a wellknown day that businesses join in with and that helps to raise money for local charities such as the Whitechapel Centre, Graham just laughed.
He said: “I am made up! I’ll put it that way, I am made up that it captured the imagination of people all over the city and that businesses got behind it.”
And with what could have been the most difficult question of the interview, ‘Where is the best place to get Scouse in Liverpool?’ there is more laughter and a simple: “My Mum’s house! I won’t have any argument about that.”
Graham (left) with Dave Critchley and Laura Worthington
