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Showing posts from August, 2020

A chance to catch up with some Art - Linda McCartney Retrospective

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August was the first month after the 2020 lockdown , to allow people into the art galleries and museums. One had to make an appointment beforehand, though.  We made one, with Linda . The Walker Art Gallery was hosting Linda McCartney’s retrospective photography exhibition.  We had made our way to the glam and much-loved building.    Gladly immersed in this modern exhibition in the old gallery , we tried to make or even find a point (to ourselves) in our modern covid-stricken life. 'We are connected to the culture and we are hungry for it' - we knew that. The whole exhibit pathway was not disappointing. Followed through different timelines , we could have a look and the feel of the artists that was a participant and observant of the iconic cultural revolution that started in the early 1960s .  From depictions of the music scene of the 1960s where she was involved in the Beatles thanks to Paul's engagement with her...  ... to family life with Paul,  Linda captured her

Blackpool - the First Encounter

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After so many years living in the North West , we finally decided to visit the marvel of British seaside resorts . We parked our car a few minutes walk from the town centre, in the vicinity of Hornby Road, to explore it from the 'backyard'.   It looked promising. The streets are filled with semidetached villas which normally would be residential; in Blackpool, many of them are small hotels or Bed & Breakfasts .  Our first good impression turned a bit sour when we stepped into Central Drive, the main road leading to the town attractions, near the Casino at Coral Island.  The Cigarette Waste Art Gallery - something to make your jaw dropped. The very thought of an invention of such an idea! What a bafflement. The whole vicinity is run down, many businesses closed. Suppose, the cigarettes' ends are dropped nearby, quickly collected and made into an art. The pavements were quite clean. Few steps away we already could see the famous landmark, the Blackpool Tower;  passing by

Beaching Around in a Post-Mid-Covid Post-Viking Formby

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If you are a millionaire on Merseyside, you are most likely to live in Formby. If you are of a lower income living in the area, most likely Formby beach is where you head off for the summer swim. This old Viking settlement has a lot to offer for a one day trip. And you can rub shoulders with some big bucks. The little town is more of a rural character, sitting on its own, surrounded by nothing but miles of arable land and the coast to the west.  Formby famous sand dunes are ever changing, the coastline is on an ongoing threat from the sea erosion. The high tides wash away tons of sand each year. There are different attempts to prevent this. At some parts of the Sefton coast a rubble is put to withhold the erosion, residents are encouraged to donate Christmas trees to be planted by the dunes. And some point, we are advised not to climb. Formby Beach was the location of the first lifeboat station in the UK, established around 1776. The last launch took place in 1916; the foundati