i increasingly seem to be visiting Liverpool en route to seeing my mother; its a 2 hour train journey from london and then a 45 min drive to manchester. my friend Elise is very taken with the city and takes me to new things each time we visit. this time we found the Bluecoat gardens, with their lovely exhibition space and ceramics shop – it’s a pleasant courtyard garden right in the heart of the shopping centre.
if you have time pop into the tate – Keith Haring is on at the moment – london isn’t the only place to have important art! stop to eat at ‘the quarter’ in the beautiful georgian area around hope street, or the florist for a bite to eat or just for coffee and cake; and then a must see stop are the 2 opposing cathedrals – both architecturally amazing in their own right. if you have more time, take the 15 min drive to Crosby beach to see ‘another place’ by Antony Gormley – a series of life size cast iron figures set along the beach seemingly entering the sea. there is definitely a revival for Liverpool – I really enjoyed the programme about the history of a Georgian house in Liverpool , fascinating social history.
incidentally this opening shot of my book ‘stolen glimpses’ is from the window of Tate Liverpool.