Me & Cath went back to Liverpool today.
(We were there a couple of weeks ago.) Got me a mess of discount tickets from Northern Rail which 'need using. ......
Although we both had the start of Colds (& I had toothache) If not used today....,they would be lost .
So,....... we went to the Bluecoat Museum.
[Not been there since 1976 when i saw a film there with His Drayness .]
It pissed down. Beggars sat in puddles. England's shame.
Outside Job Centre Plus+ a man with one-leg was begging.I gave him(after much searching) a 50p coin. I told him it was all the change I had on me .
He shook my hand. I could have cried as i left him.....a proud man ,who stands taller than i ever will........
This country is a mess......
Me in the Walker Gallery ,Liverpool ,Yesterday. I studied and lived in Liverpool between 1976-1980. (Teacher Training Certificate & B.Ed(hons) from Lancaster Uniy& C.F. Mott,Huyton.) My life in Liverpool was an in-between time for me. Many memories.Mostly good, tho i never loved the place the way i loved East London where I moved onto afterwards....... Saying that ,Liverpool was,and is ,a Spirited Republic. I wish it well in these dismal times in Dear Old Blighty. God.England is shit at the moment. A type of purgatory.Non?
"The Dinner Party" [1980] by Sam Walsh.
He was a Liverpool lecturer who painted this in the last years of his life.
The sitters , who would never meet all at the same time, are people who from periods in his life.
They include neighbours, solicitor, ex-wife, partner, bank manager & friends.
Me & Cathy went with Capo Martin to St.Michael's de-consecrated church in Ancoats.
It was the first ever gig in a place that the Roman Jesus had just vacated.........
(On the night, I think we all struggled with what the correct ceremony for such an occasion might be......?)
All i can say is that the acoustics in the place are superb.Its clean,it's light & it has a good vibe.
A lovely sweet venue (tho the Bar charges Old Trafford prices!)
Simone was his usual Spiritual Self........a most underrated soul.
He had flown in from New York that morning.He had been detained in a small room alone for 4 hours at Gatwick because of passport irregularities
He seemed unimpressed with UK Border Control.......
I am nearly 65. Yorkshire Born & Bred! I was brought up in Halifax in the 50/60/70's . I always throught it "a grimy republic" . I love the place, but i still think it dark.......
Although ,a case in point, clickthis Martin Parr photograph of Old Halifaxto see a photo very similar to some of B.H.'s photos. Now Martin Parr is probably my favourite English photographer. Remember ,me & Cath went to his curated exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery recently.I beg to suggest that several of B.H. 's unseen photos stand comparison with Parr's?
n.b. I wrote this very brief overview
of Martin's work.
This is a Sepia Saturday post.
My previous post here reports of my visit last Sunday night to Hope Baptist Church in Hebden Bridge .
I heard the political commentator & journalist Owen Jones speak.
He talked about how we English are becoming disenfranchised from the politics in our life.We start to believe poverty ,hunger& unemployment etc are all'Acts of God' .Inevitable ...just like the rain outside......
As it happens, the BBC are filming a new series of Happy Valley at the moment ,in Hebden Bridge.
Two nights ago, on the street that I work, they were filming this scene.
Given the nature of Yorkshire weather,dig the irony.It wasn't raining,so they had to use artificial rain!
As a Halifax child of the 50's, I remember during our Wakes Week some people , not themselves away on holiday, would climb to the top of Beacon Hill to admire the view.
We live in a beautiful place.During Wakes Wake all the factories shutdown spewing smoke,so it was the only time you could see the beauty!
The photos I share here show plenty of washing-lines.All those white clothes! How did they keep'em clean within the smoke & rain?
To me,the clean washing look not like white flags of surrender ,but defiance .
I believe we see the same defiance in the works today of Jeremy Corbyn & that fine American Bernie Sanders.( a tad strained link....but there you go!)
Incidentally,Mr Sanders name was respectfully mentioned several times at the church on Sunday
Halifax
I must admit,i cringed a little when i saw this on the telly live.('seemed a little bit too "Bono" for my taste ) But I agree with the sentiment , and it does make for a cracking end to this post.....
.
Although!This is a Beautiful Englishman singing the song to its best
.Everytime i hear Robert Wyatt's voice ,i sort of roll myself into a ball & weep gently...it's so beautiful in my humble opinion.
Me ,Cath & Martin Thorpe went to the annual Peterloo Massacre Memorial in Manchester today.
Approx 600 souls attended. A Choir;a folk band and actors Maxine Peake:Christopher Ecclestone (eg Dr Who):John Thompson (eg Fast Show);John Henshaw (eg Early Doors) gave readings.
A minutes silence was observed to respect those who were murdered.
For my American friends, Peterloo (1819) was England's Tiananmen Square(1989): England's Sharpville (1960): England's Kent State (1970 )
Peterloo was the subject of Shelly's poem The Masque of Anarchy
Maxine read Shelley's Masque of Anarchy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masque_of_Anarchy
i took a wee video clip of her reading some of it tonight......(Shelly on a Saturday night!) which i will add here soon.A splendid night.A full house.
same song i recorded live in Heben Bridge Trades Club on Friday night.
Friday, July 31, 2015
It was my Birthday yesterday.
Me , Cathy & Chris went for a meal at The White Lion in Hebden Bridge.
Afterwards, we caught the train into Manchester's Royal Exchange to see Maxine Peake in The Skriker. Here are some photos i took of the day.
David Byrne :Psycho Killer (Also featuring) Joe Henry, Greg Cohen and Duisburg Chamber Orchestra Live at the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum, Germany, August 19, 2006.
Cath took this photo of me in Hebden Bridge last Sunday. I really dont smile a lot, do I ?
What is that all about ? Bad Teeth ?Slavic personality ? a chronic lack of humour & empathy ...?
Its a mystery......
the last time my smile was ever captured on camera was here, 15 years ago, entering a club toilet in Blackpool.So perhaps its better i dont make a habit of it......?
Click [HERE] to see other sepia saturday posts this weekend .....
The Rolling Stones;Start Me Up:
Live at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana; July 4, 2015.
Fuga Hirundinum (Birds Requiem Suite):DHAFER YOUSSEF ظافر يوسف.
Jazz à Vienne, Théâtre Antique, Vienne, France; June 29, 2015
Tunisian Dhafer Youssef is a composer, singer and oud player. He developed an interest in jazz at an early age and clandestinely listened to it during his education at a Qur’anic school. He later left Tunisia to start a jazz career and has lived in Europe since 1990, usually in Paris or Vienna
.[ - wikipedia]
Patti Smith:Live at Glastonbury, Pyramid Stage, Worthy Farm, Pilton, UK; June 28, 2015.
Smith explained that it was the spiritual leader’s 80th birthday on July 6.
“We are grateful to him for all his love of humanity and making people aware of the importance of saving the planet,” she said, before reading a poem she had written for him.
Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis then brought The Dalai Lama onto the stage to huge cheers from the crowd. “I think it would be nice if Glastonbury wished The Dalai Lama a happy birthday,” said Smith, before leading the audience in a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’.
The Dalai Lama then blew out a single candle on a cake made of fruit, before cutting it.
“Thank you, thank you,” he said. “Dear brothers and sisters, I really appreciate so many people’s expression of warm feeling.”
He then went on to joke about the age of Smith and her band. “These singers and musicians have white hair, but they look very youthful! That gives me encouragement, I should be more like you - more active!”
[click below to listen}
Me &Cathy went to Bury Met with Don & Margaret to see Robin & Bina Williamson play
.[Robin is ex-Incredible String Band.]
I love the music.
Robin has a refreshing lack of Ego & a grand sense of humour.
He comes from Portobello , just outside Edinburgh..where my Mam came from.
In one or two of these photos i fancy he looks a little like me.........Something genetic :)?
Here are some of my photos from day (unfortunately,my audio recorded didnt work..I would have like to have shared their music here tonight ...but some fine pix none the less)
