Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
Three days in Liverpool. We arrive by train and one of the first things you see on coming out of Lime Street is the magnificent set of public buildings. The only equivalent experience that I can compare it to is exiting Santa Lucia and being immediately on the stage set that is Venice. We were here for the 'Tudors : Passion, Power and Politics' exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. But first a light lunch in the highly atmospheric cafe where F. had her first real plate of scouse (much enjoyed). As we had a timed ticket we had chance to have a quick look round the Decorative Art section. I love the local pieces they have in abundance from china......... to pottery......... dresses and fashion.........and much else, including a lot of modern pieces made in Liverpool by contemporary craftsmen. We also had a very brief look in the famous sculpture hall...... But then........the Tudors. This was a huge and significant exhibition with many pieces from the National Galleries but many also from elsewhere. The Tudors start of course with Henry VII. As someone who admires Richard III I find this portrait a bit worrying. Henry seems to be trying to come out of the confines of his frame to see what you are about. Having luckily won at Bosworth, mainly owing to the desertion of the Stanleys from White Rose to Red, he did one excellent piece of business and that was to marry Elizabeth of York, thereby uniting to a large degree the warring families. One thing I liked very much was seeing the transformation of Henry VIII from vigorous and brave Renaissance prince to the bloated monster we are all familiar with. Here he is with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon who, despite her treatment at his hands, would never utter a word against him. But we see too all of his wives including Anne of the Thousand days of course.... Jane Seymour and the rest.........interesting to see all of them one after the other, a whole procession of wives.... Now here's the Henry we all know....... and here's arguably where he made his biggest mistake..........executing his most loyal and shrewdest Minister Thomas Cromwell.......in this portrait he really did ask Holbein to paint him 'as is'. But the exhibition was about so much more than paintings. It had artefacts of all kinds. Beautiful illustrated manuscripts and books.... clothing.........here, for example, a very fine hat complete with ostrich feather (very expensive)........ But the highlight for me was something I didn't even know existed.....the Westminster Tournament Roll made in Sir Thomas Wriothesley's workshop in 1511. It consists of 36 parchment sheets joined together with animal glue, just under 18 metres long. It is only very rarely on public display. It is simply magnificent. and, wonderfully, there was a running commentary on screen to explain what was going on...... Here, as one of the Court trumpeters, is the African John Blanke. He had also been court trumpeter to Henry VII, and was so esteemed by Henry VIII that he gave him a pay rise and when he married in 1512 gifted him fine clothing. He was one of many Africans we now know about living in Tudor England, and there was a lot more diversity and acceptance than I ever thought. The young boy King Edward VI didn't reign long, but goodness did he found many schools... a lot of course with his name in the foundation. If Anne Boleyn was the thousand day Queen, poor Lady Jane Grey was the nine day Queen who we don't even recognise as one of our monarchs...... Edward VI had written his will, explicitly nominating Jane and her male heirs as successors to the Crown, and yet with the uncertainties of Tudor politics, the Privy Council changed sides and favoured the Catholic Mary. Bad mistake. Jane was recognised as one of the most cultured and educated people in Europe. Mary turned out to be a monster. This contemporary engraving shows just one of the hundreds burned at the stake in her reign...the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer....... Now here was another monster of sorts who we all think of as one of our greatest monarchs. And so she was in many ways. But I can never expunge from my mind when thinking about her just one of her letters where she implores the executioner to make one heretic suffer as much as possible when being burned.....easily done - a lot of the time by using damp wood or not stoking the fire and thereby prolonging the agony........... Her chief Minister William Cecil was undoubtedly the person who more than anyone kept the wheels turning in her reign and, cleverly, unlike her father, she let him get on with it. He died quietly in service, and was succeeded by his equally capable son. I thought this a most unusual portrait of Elizabeth, a very early portrait indeed, which prompted the French Queen to say that after all she had been told of how beautiful Elizabeth was, she can't have had very good painters. Very bitchy! This very striking portrait is of the Morrocan ambassador with whom Elizabeth had many dealings, one aspect of which was looking at the possibility of a joint invasion of Spain. There were large sections on coloured people in Tudor England and on the role of women, and very much else. All in all, a terrific exhibition. There was another exhibition on which we then moved to............contemporary Liverpool artists. As is the way with these things some good and a lot of rubbish........ Why on earth would you want to paint of all things a woman crouching and peeing? Obviously the Hockney wasn't part of this exhibition......we had moved to Modern Art, very good a lot of it was too...... A view from Laura Knight's window in Hampstead is very atmospheric.... We wandered through town. Here the library in the Rotunda, and The Empire Theatre where, with my first girlfriend, I saw Ken Dodd perform for hours on end. After midnight he told us that all doors were locked until he had finished! This was the view from our self-catering apartment...there is some lovely plasterwork on the building opposite. The Isle of Man ferry (we must go) looks like a superyacht........ Next day we went to Port Sunlight which never fails to impress The monument to Lord Lever was built following donations from 22,000 of his employees. The four figures at the base are done in a realistic style. Three figures face away from the art gallery, on the left is Industry, represented by a man holding a tool, in the middle is Charity, a woman cradling a child, and on the right is Education, a male scholar holding a book and pointing at a page. On the back, facing the gallery, is Art, a woman with a palette. The figures are intended to represent Lever's qualities and interests As usual we were hugely impressed with the quality of the objects on display. The artist of Boy Blowing Bubbles - Millais - wasn't at all impressed that Lever wanted to use this in his early advertising, but he acceded in the end. We ate later at a terrific find - Rudy's pizzeria. Great food, friendly service, magnificent value. We must seek out the one in Manchester. More strolling round Liverpool shows much more of interest in its buildings........ This garden area right behind Bluecoat School in the city centre is a real oasis. And when you visit the Georgian area............ you must visit the Philarmonic Dining Rooms (Phil for short)....what a wonderful pub. Something we missed on our last visit was the Maritime Museum, so we remedied that. The cafe was in an inspiring spot, but its offerings were distinctly uninspiring. But the museum itself was a revelation..... and the permanent exhibition on the Titanic was thoroughly engaging. The more modern section was of interest too, and there was a gripping section on ships' accidents.........and to be honest much else we didn't encompass in one visit. Having heard about Boujee on 'The Apprentice' we see it everywhere now particularly in Manchester. But if you're in to adult Barbie the it's in Liverpool too.
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If you don't like flowers, trees, shrubs, landscaping...look away now. Arley gardens are thought to be amongst the very best in Europe, and with justification. We had been before, but since we were nearby we called to see the magnificent double herbaceous borders in Summer profusion. There were various sculptures around the gardens of which this was perhaps the most amusing.........the sounds were absolutely terrific.
We were in Preston to have the car serviced and took the opportunity to have lunch at The Ginger Bistro in Fulwood, Preston where my nana and grandad used to live. Unbeknown to the team at Ginger Bistro someone had entered them for the Food Awards 2022. They were even more surprised when they won not only the North West category but also 'Best Cafe Bistro in England'. The food was delicious and unusual, service terrific, and prices low. Good choice! We then walked along to Nooklands the private road where my granddad's house was and here's the house. Even after all these years, and with a new estate built on the country lanes behind the house where we used to go bird nesting, it seemed an idyllic spot. It's still called Chestnut Bank although the huge chestnut tree to the right of the gateway where I used to get my conkers has evidently gone. and at the other end of Nooklands here is one of the pair of posts. The Chief Constable called this Joe Crowley's pillar because of the number of times he hit and damaged it on his boozy way home. Those were the days. Catching the bus back into the centre we walked through the impressive covered market which was just closing, and admired and were yet again surprised at some of the quality buildings in Preston. After picking up our car I did something I have been wanting to do for a long time and that was visit the Cavendish Arms at Brindle a little village outside Preston. The countryside drive was fabulous, and the pub and its setting did not disappoint. This was the pub I drove my Grandad to dozens of times from Manchester when I was learning to drive. He was very well known there and indeed we spent one Christmas there with the publicans. This was where he won a gravel pit in the village in a game of gambling.......he lost it on a later date of course. It's not now run by the Baxendale family but by a small chain based in Chorley. However the history of the place (it used to be the manor house of the village) was evident everywhere. I have tried to find out about this panelling in one of the small characterful rooms which was part of Annie Baxendale's accommodation, but without success. Pretty impressive and probably from an Abbey closed at the Dissolution - it looks Tudor or older. there were also some pretty impressive badges in the plasterwork....... and many stained glass windows like these where we were sitting. The pub had a nice garden and the side of the building was quite substantial too. All in all a visit which gave me a lot of pleasure and brought back many happy memories. We had a little stroll round the village and had a look at the Church of St James...surprisingly it was open and we had to explain we were not there for the 6.30pm service! The glass is some of the finest in the diocese and dominates the interior as you can see. The lady whom I took to be one of the Churchwardens switched on a panel light to show us some of the medieval glass..... The churchyard particularly with its setting with views all around was beautiful..... and the village very pleasant. The drive home past Houghton Tower and through Samelebury Bottoms ( a brilliant name, I wished we lived there) encompassed some of the most idyllic countryside you could wish to see. All in all a really good day.
Always great to have visitors, and nice to show Julia and Allan the Trough of Bowland. We started with a drive to Kirkby Lonsdale parking as usual at Devil's Bridge and walking along the beautiful River Lune to the Radical Steps. Unfortunately Ruskin's View is still inaccessible due to land movement but we got an inkling....... We walked through the grounds of St Mary's and popped inside....... visited the characterful Swine Market.... enquired at the Sun Inn (where Ruskin stayed) about food (not available)..... .............which was good because we then found the fantastic Avanti where we had lunch outside and felt as though we were in the middle of some little French or Italian town (the service was a bit peculiar)........ After lunch we strolled through the town admiring the buildings and streetscape....... Next was our drive through the heart of Bowland to Dunsop Bridge (the centre of GB according to the Ordnance Survey)......we were the only people there.... apart from a mother and two children exercising llamas on the village green (just what you would expect)......... Last stop was the Inn at Whitewell for a drink on the beautiful terrace overhanging the river. Another day we walked to Mitton through woods and fields......... ....we didn't go to The Three Fishes or to the Aspinall Arms........ but to Mitton Hall Hotel for lunch on the rear terrace.......... we then caught the Number 5 bus (a new one to us)....to Whalley where we went through the grounds of St Mary's........ ................to the Abbey, one of the richest in England in its day. We had never exlored the grounds before (we thought you could just look at the gatehouse with our English Heritage membership), but it was a revelation and we will undoubtedly return. Our last jaunt was to Houghton Tower which we enjoyed despite the guided tour being rather basic.....a beautiful and historic place undersold and lacking a little imagination and flair in presentation. A brilliant week and we were lucky with the weather............
...to visit Katherine, Nasar, Aiisha and Roxie. We started off waiting for our train in the Black Horse on Friargate dating from 1898 and Grade II listed, a wonderful place. Once safely ensconced in Edinburgh we played games. Some winners, some losers as you can see. There was also a demo of Judo stances.....frightening! On our first full day we went with Nasar to Dalkeith Country Park, a beautiful location and always enjoyable. Whilst we got stuck in to the play area, Roxie and Nasar had a very long walk in the woods..... Next day we were off by rail to Stonehaven and the spectacular Dunnottar Castle. Stonehaven proved an absolutely beautiful seaside resort and fishing village, with a marvellous harbour and beach and quaint buildings. The walk to the castle whilst in theory short was full of very steep ups and downs. It was once linked to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, but this was dug away by hand to increase the castle's defensive position. At the old cistern we got talking to a guide whom I immediately placed as being from Manchester. So it proved. She found a house and this job virtually by accident. Very pleasant and a great talker. The seafood bothy looked fantastic. Another good trip was to Portobello. (The name Portobello comes from Portobello Hut, which was a hut built by a sailor called George Hamilton in 1742. He named it after a battle he fought in Panama in 1739, the Battle of Puerto Bello). A good arcade.... .....and cafe. A couple of brilliant dog walks were taken to Blackford Hill and Glen........beautiful with brilliant views of Edinburgh. One last outing was to a fair on The Meadows......
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August 2023
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