After time alone and in silence it’s late Saturday morning and time to step out into the City. To tell you a few things and to take some photographs.
Can’t remember the last time I saw the fountains here working. What’s happening anyone?
Where The Beatles signed their contract with Brian Epstein and, unknown to them, began to colour in my young life.
Why?
At the till here I pay, for the first time, with one of the new Jane Austen £10 notes. A significant moment I feel.
Bold Street is really busy. Town is full of new and curious students and there are queues outside several of the shops and cafés.
I feel like the only customer not getting an Art Student’s discount.
Then, going across to Leaf’s café in FACT I break my conversational silence of today and yesterday when I meet someone I know.
Hannah is an Urban Designer at We Made That and I got to know her when she was a student and interviewed me for her dissertation. Since then, along with her Dad, she’s been a frequent presence at Granby Street Market screen printing tote bags of her own design.
We haven’t spoken to each other since I don’t know when but as soon as I walk into the café she asks me if I’ll take part in something she’s doing. I surprise myself by saying yes immediately. Then she explains what the something is.
Turns out Hannah is now co-editor of a newspaper called ‘The Unlimited Edition’ which ‘explores, celebrates and speculates about the future of particular places.’ Hannah hands me the current edition which is all about Aarhus in Denmark and tells me the next edition, which I’ve now agreed to contribute to, will be about Liverpool. Which will be a pleasure.
Where the new students are being helped by Senior Ambassadors.
Where one of the lifts, strangely, contains an advert that I can only assume is for an old Abba single when they briefly ‘went disco.’
And yes, just a simple walk around on a sunny Saturday with no obvious ‘meaning of life’ musings. And yet this is the meaning of my life. To enjoy and celebrate my place on ordinary days like this and happily take these photographs of its quiet beauty to share on here. I love doing this.
In the City there’s a thousand things I want to say to you.
Yes, yes, yes, I know the title of this post is not grammatically correct, but I’m not about to start arguing with Paul Weller am I?
I can’t think of a better meaning for life than just enjoying the moment. Thank you for sharing your walk round Liverpool and all the photographs.
Thank you, I enjoyed today a lot.
That was sheer pleasure…thank you.
Thank you Helen. Just like Immediate Records (Small Faces and Fleetwood Mac label in the late 60s) I am always ‘happy to add to the sum total of human happiness.’
lovely photos yes why are the sprinklers not on maybe they dont like people walking through them?
I don’t think the sprinklers have human feelings like that Lesley!
I’m an aged American, aspiring writer, and massive footie fan coming to Liverpool for the first time in November. I’ll be writing (NaNoWriMo), blogging, taking pics, and watching as many games as possible during my five weeks. Your wonderful rambles through the streets and neighborhoods have given me a very personal view of what to expect and look forward to. I can’t thank you enough.
Welcome in advance to here then. Let me know if there’s anywhere you’re particularly interested in and I’ll either point you in the direction of something I’ve already written, or I’ll go there?
I’ll look forward to that Liverpool edition! I feel I heard something about the Williamson Square fountains, and that they’re redeveloping the square? Apparently there’s some talk of moving them but seems a bit too premature to be linked to keeping them off.
PS: I do love these rambles. They’ve shifted your blog from my ‘Liverpool history and people’ category into another one with the likes of New Escapologist and the places he links to. Thinkin’ time!
Glad to hear I’ve had a category shift Martin. Didn’t feel a thing.
And glad to hear about this recognition that Williamson Square could do with being a better breathing space (my blog about these didn’t even consider Williamson Square). My friend Jo Harrop and her team at PlacEd have recently done some public consultation work on future ideas for Williamson Square and there is certainly as wish for a friendlier, greener space. But also for places for children to play. So couldn’t the fountain form part of a better breathing space? You’ve never heard a happier sound than the children (and adults) getting soaked in there when it’s working.