Liverpool and Crosby Beach (Another Place Figures - Gormley)

 Back in Liverpool after more than a decade I think. The last time was with Ceri for a fabulous couple of days . At that time, it was such a trip down memory lane, remembering all those amazing teenage years of Beatles, Beatles and more Beatles. Sport and the Fab Four were foremost in my mind. It was a sensational time to grow up.

However, the first two days of this visit were to see other sights, and on the recommendation of the hotel receptionist, and knowing how wonderful our Christchurch library is, I visited the Liverpool library, which reminded me greatly of ours because of its incredible architecture, light and staircases! The restoration was completed in 2013, a few years before ours, at a cost of 50 million pounds, possibly a similar amount. The 1860 s facade was preserved.

The Picton Reading room was preserved and is just a marvellous place to visit as a tourist, reader or student. It was being well used.

Floor to ceiling books!

Whilst the old library and its often rare books were painstakingly preserved, the entranceway was demolished and replaced by an extraordinary glass-domed atrium, connected to the historic reading room. 

What a view down from the fourth floor 

Where there is a rooftop garden area, used at that time only by one tired gull, staring out over Liverpool and its Sky Tower.

What a fantastic introduction to another side of Liverpool I had not imagined visiting.

In the evening, I enjoyed a visit to a rather old theatre, in need of a bit of tender loving care, where I watched a local comedy, called Piste Again. It was cheap and cheerful and lots of fun.

However, the next day was probably one of the most memorable days of my entire trip, a walk, virtually alone, along the beautiful, sandy Crosby Beach, renowned for its 100 figures. The 100 Another Place figures at Crosby Beach are spread out over 3 kilometres along the Beach, some near or in the water and others nearer the entry to the beach. I was there as the tide was going out, so the distant figures could not be reached.

.Each figure is made from casts of Sir Anthony Gormley‘s own body , weighs 650 kilos and can be either fully visible , partially visible or almost completely buried in the sand . However, all stare out to sea. The different tides give onlookers different perspectives of the figures and it is thought that Gormley wanted to explore men’s relationship with the forces of nature.

I spent three hours just soaking up this remarkable place, stopping to stare beside this figure, or that,

Sitting beside the half visible statues to get a similar perspective 

And occasionally venturing out towards the water to see those immersed in the Irish Sea, only to find my feet sinking into the quicksand and mud. A scary feeling. I was pleased I had my poles to help me out. Later I met a guy who had sunk up to his waist and whose wife had rescued him. Later, I met a young guy whose lower half was covered in sand and mud, who had also been rescued by lifeguards. Unfortunately, the warning signs are not all along the beach, so easy to miss, as I had done.

The song, ‘You’ll never walk alone’ came to mind. Here I was, in theory, alone, and yet I really didn’t feel alone at all.

I feel sorry for the lifeguards here because it is so hard to differentiate between a statue in the distance or a person.

What a surreal place this is. I am so thrilled my friend Jayne told me about it.

After a short recovery from an emotional visit to the beach, and a very hot bus trip home, I had another phenomenal experience, a trip to the Empire Theatre, to see Moulin Rouge. The theatre, the music, the set and the costumes were superb and very professional. I can imagine that the Court Theatre would do a great job with this musical too. The only downside was the audience, who seemed to come and go to the bar, and even chatted during parts of the show. The ushers were nowhere to be seen.

My final day was earmarked for The Beatles and Liverpool’s most famous landmarks. There are a number of new attractions, like The Liverpool Eye, and a lot more padlocks everywhere!

A second visit to The Beatles Story didn’t disappoint. I listened to every tape and sat and savoured all the memorabilia.

John in Germany

The Cavern 

The marvellous front cover of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart Band . I met the couple who had started up the museum and chatted about my collection of Beatles books, etc, and am intent now on getting them out to have another look. I have newspaper articles from that era I haven’t looked at for decades.

Outside, by the docks, the padlocks continued. Thousands of them!

A magnificent new Museum of Liverpool 

And the most photographed foursome in the world, I guess.

To think that this area was so badly damaged in the war and to see it now, is remarkable.

I took a cruise on the Merseybeat, not just the Ferry. It’s great to see a different view of the magnificent buildings along Merseyside.

Next stop The Cavern. As I asked someone the way, she very correctly said ‘you’ll know when you get there’. How true, The place was manic, with more Hen and Stag parties, birthdays, etc, than I have ever seen. The Cavern was also ‘rammed’ and unbelievably loud. Wow, am I glad I always have some earplugs in my bag! I could still hear perfectly well with them in. 

The first group were sometimes good and sometimes dreadful but the second group focused entirely on Beatles music which they did very well.

It was a great finish to my stay in lovely Liverpool. I will hopefully be back one day, especially to the Beach.