Looking Back, and Ahead.

Among the highlights of the year for me, was seeing Cunard’s Three Queens wow Liverpool, visiting the Tower of London Poppies at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and of course seeing Jonathan Firth in a starring role in Gaslight, in Northampton. GoGoDragons in Norwich was the only night away from home, yet we enjoyed many days out and even renewed our membership at Chester Zoo whose Islands were outstanding!

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The musical highlight of 2015 has been a new appreciation of Dvorak’s 9th symphony, ‘The New World.’

Looking ahead, there are many art installations to see in 2016, and days out structured around them. Among them are:

• The Herd of Sheffield, where more than 40 sculptures of elephants will grace the city’s streets the summer of 2016
• The Big Read: Birmingham. Like the book benches seen in London in 2014, these new creations will be seen during the summer of 2016.
• #PoppiesTour is coming to Caernarfon Castle in the autumn of 2016

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For many more street art installations follow the link to Wild in Art. Perhaps you will go to see one of the other exhibitions listed?

Chiefly, the event I am most eager to see is Hans Zimmer’s concert at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham this coming April. The tickets are booked (though cost a small fortune) and the car parking is paid for. I simply can’t wait! It should be a fantastic night of music! My expectations are already sky high!!

Though the run up to Christmas this year was not plain sailing, and there will be more worrying times ahead, I don’t want to dwell on the sadness but keep a hold of the positives. Christmas was spent with friends and loved ones and the New Year will be spent in a similar vein.

All that is left is for me to wish you good health and happiness for 2016!

© 2015 Christine Lucas.

One Magnificent City!

This bank holiday weekend coincided with Cunard’s 175 year celebrations here in Liverpool. The city witnessed a three day spectacle as Cunard’s three Queen passenger ships visited the River Mersey.

On Sunday the Queen Mary 2 docked at port and in the evening there was a laser display projected onto the three Graces followed by fireworks.

Monday was the main event! The Queen Mary 2 was to leave Liverpool to meet and greet her sister ships, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. So, David and I decided to go to Crosby Marina in anticipation of seeing the ships. I am afraid I got carried away with all the excitement around this event.

Crosby Beach

So on a cloudy, cold Monday morning (25th May 2015), we headed to Crosby. We arrived just after 9am. We managed to find a street to park the car and walked towards the beach. Other sightseers were walking the coastal path, laden with chairs and binoculars, both of which David and I could have brought with us if we had thought on. However, we had to be content with standing as we overlooked the beach dotted with Sir Antony Gormley’s Another Place statues and brave the relentless onslaught of the chilling wind. It felt more like winter than late spring!

We stood in total for three hours during the spectacle. I could not feel my fingers they were that cold! Other spectators also shivered as we all waited for the Queen Mary 2 to leave her berth and make her way to the mouth of the Mersey to greet her two sisters. The crowed swelled. Many even went out towards the edge of the tide (that was going out) to get a better viewpoint. Where David and I stood was good enough, over looking the coast but high enough so no one could be in the way!

In the Irish Sea out in the distance we could see the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria as they made their joyous approach to the city. Seeing them draw ever closer gave us something to distract from the cold. The sun briefly made an appearance before being blanketed by a thick bank of cloud that did not shift. I was afraid that none of my pictures of the event would come out due to shivering too much!

Then from around the headland the top of the Queen Mary 2 could be seen, she looked so close! She had left Liverpool at 10.45am. The crowd seemed to buzz with excitement. Cameras started clicking and I juggled with three!

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The Queen Mary 2 lead by the mighty Mersey Ferry stopped opposite where David and I stood. She sounded her horns to her sisters. The horns sounded so forlornly to me. The crowed cheered in response! As Queens Elizabeth and Victoria came closer along the coast, Queen Mary 2 pivoted and faced her bow back towards Liverpool. Queen Elizabeth was the first to pass Queen Mary 2 heading along the river, followed by Queen Victoria. Queen Mary 2 brought up the rear as they both followed Queen Elizabeth in a cavalcade towards more awaiting crowds in the city! With the Queens’ departure the spectacle at Crosby was at an end!

While David and I returned home, the Queens paraded up the Mersey and turned 360° before lining up side by side in front of the Cunard building, one of the three Graces. The ships seemed to dwarf the city’s skyline! There was even the obligatory fly over by the Red Arrows en-route to Blackpool! Their flight path took them over our house. A thundering sound announced their approach but it was over too quickly for me to get my camera out. I saw nine red jets flying in arrow formation from my living room window!

I watched the remaining festivities at the Pier Head via webcams. After the three Queens had lined up before the Cunard building the city said its farewell to Queen Mary 2. Queen Victoria docked and Queen Elizabeth anchored in the middle of the river, but she too would leave the city after the second showing of the laser show and fireworks. Queen Victoria would leave the city on Tuesday.

I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the three Queens from Crosby beach, even though I was frozen to the bone. Spectacles like these truly show what a magnificent city Liverpool is. It’s street cred is definitely on the increase and quite rightly too! 😀

© 2015 Christine Lucas