We do it a lot here, SRS. So Jeremy Corbyn is Jezza, the notorious footballer Paul Gascoigne is Gazza and Wayne Rooney is Wazza. If your name is Barry you're very likely to be referred to as "Baz," and Sharon as "Shaz" or "Shazza." A slightly anomalous example is that of the Scottish wide boy in The Archers radio soap opera who the Beeb officially refers to as "Jazzer," not "Jazza" as might be expected. His first name is Jack. Apparently, John Lennon called Paul "Macca," so it goes back a long way. Slightly off topic, I find it amusing when any scandal has the suffix "-gate" added to it, ever since Watergate. One of the best was when a Tory MP swore at a policeman and called him a "pleb" when the officer wouldn't allow him through the Downing Street gate with his bike. The incident was referred to as "Gategate."

One thing very easy to understand about Liverpudlians, John, is that most of them support the greatest team in the world, and it ain't the Toffees!