Tom Murphy
Tom Murphy‘s work is all over Liverpool. but at the present time there is an exhibition in St. George’s Hall.
What surprised me was the range of subjects in his sculpture and paintings, including surprisingly to me, Margaret Thatcher and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Funnily enough, when I arrived in Liverpool, I had had to explain who the people were in his twin statues entitled “Chance Meeting” of Ken Dodd and Bessie Braddock, to some puzzled Chinese tourists.
Liverpool incidentally has more public works of art, than any other location except Westminster. There is a list here and Tom Murphy has done twelve of them. He is certainly very prolific!
Inside St. George’s Hall
I’ve been inside St. George’s Hall before, but never with the floor revealed.
I had thought that someone I knew at University had seen the floor in the 1960s, when I was there. A guide confirmed that it had been revealed in 1965! So my recollection might have been correct.
But whatever, it truly is a must-see building, and it is sad, that it is only open until the 18th of August.
Note the statue of Sir Paul McCartney by Tom Murphy.
One strange thing, is that there has been no television report on BBC Breakfast. Surely, something as noteworthy as this, deserves a small report, whilst the floor is revealed. There is a report on the BBC website from when it was last revealed in January 2012.
If You Need To Know The Time Ask A Liver Bird
If you walk out of the station and cross the road to St. George’s Hall, you will see the massive clock on the landward side of the Liver Building.
If You Need To Know The Time Ask A Liver Bird
The Liver Building clocks are visible from a large part of the city centre and is there another city, from where a clock can be seen from so many places? The clock faces are after all, larger than those on Big Ben.
Does Elizabeth Rizzini Ever Wear The Same On-Screen Outfit Twice?
Elizabeth Rizzini is one of the ladies, who do the weather on BBC London.
She is always well-turned out, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear the same on-screen outfit twice.
Unlike the obviously canny Scots lass, who usually does the weather on BBC Breakfast.
At Least There’s No Football Team Like Chastity Bumgardner
It is reported that Charlotte Green is to be the new voice of the football results on BBC Radio 5 Live.
let’s hope that she doesn’t fall into her other persona, where she is described in the Independent as the queen of corpsing. Here’s an extract.
Green almost lost it in 2000 during a story about a woman called Chastity Bumgardner. She had proved less resilient in 1997, however, when an item about the chief of Papua New Guinea’s armed forces, Major General Jack Tuat, led into a story about a sperm whale.
I suppose she might corpse if she got the classic East Fife 4 – Forfar 5, which can happen this year as they are both in Scottish Division One. The dates to note are the September 14 and January 25.
If you don’t believe anybody is called Chastity Bumgardner, just type it into Google and the true story is not funny at all.
The Dalston House Comes Down
I was passing this morning and saw this sad event.
i wasn’t the only one, who thought so, and it is a real pity, that it couldn’t have been up for longer.
They Must Have A Lot Of Burger And Kebab Joints In Kingston
According to lots of reports, like this one in the Metro, the sewers in Kingston have been blocked by a fatberg which is the size of a London bus.
The last report of this type of blockage was in Leicester Square, which I was told on good authority, when I visited the sewers was close to McDonalds.
So I can only conclude that they have a lot of fast food restaurants in Kingston.
If Wet In The Great Court
I went to a Members Party at the British Museum this evening.
It was an absolute joy to wander around some of the galleries, virtually by yourself.
The experience more than justified the cost of being a member.
A Busy Last Sunday At The Dalston House
The last Sunday of the Dalston House was busy as the pictures show.
The Dalston House was one of those exhibitions, that if money could have been found, could have gone on longer.
Sadly, they didn’t let Heidi the basset hound climb the wall. Now that would have been a sight!
Ten Small Things That Would Improve London
As I travel around London, there are various things that would improve things, not just for me, but for everyone.
1. More Rail Ticket Collection Points
Yesterday, I went to Paddington to go to Reading by train. I needed to pick up a ticket that I’d bought on-line. The process isn’t difficult, although it could be improved, but it would certainly help if you could pick up rail tickets in the machines at important Underground and Overground stations. This is particularly annoying, when say I go to Gatwick and need to pick up a ticket for the last leg at Clapham Junction, as I detailed here.
2. There Needs To Be More Clocks
London doesn’t have a large number of clocks and needs more. I would like to see one ion the various displays like those you see at bus stops and on the platforms at Underground stations. After all, most displays on rail stations have the time.
3. There Needs To Be More Litter Bins
London is not a city with plenty of litter bins, although clear plastic ones have started to appear in stations.
4. Chuggers Need To Be Discouraged
At the moment, the numbers of chuggers seems to have decreased. Perhaps, they’ve all gone on their holidays for the summer. It is so much better on the streets. Or have they all gone to fleece tourists by selling timeshares in Spain?
So perhaps a permanent ban on chugging, would improve life for both Londoners and visitors!
5. Persecute Drivers, Who Don’t Obey Rule 170
I wrote about it here, where drivers don’t obey Rule 170 of the Highway Code, which relates to giving way to pedestrians at junctions.
6. Make Buses Easier To Identify At A Distance
Sometimes at places like the Angel, you can see several buses approaching, but except for the New Buses for London, they all look the same, especially, when the route numbers are obscured by a large truck or van.
As I said here, years ago, some London buses had the number at the front of the roof. Alternatively, the various companies might put flashes of colour higher up.
7. Train Direction Arrows On The Underground
This is one I’d really like to see and I talked about it here. It would mean that if you needed to get in the front or back of the train for your destination station, you could do it with ease.
8. Better Indication Of Walking And Bus Short Cuts Between Stations
Often people take the obvious route between two points and to many that is often the Underground, when it might be better to use a bus or walk. A classic is to get from Waterloo to Liverpool Street station. In my opinion, the best way is to use a 26 bus and it is much quicker than going on a more roundabout route by Underground.
9. More Works Of Art In Stations
There is actually a budget for this, but why don’t they use the inherently secure environment of a station to display large bronze sculptures, that are at risk of being stolen in places like parks?
10. Stop Pavement Blocking by Smokers And Drinkers Outside Pubs, Office Blocks And Stations
There are several places I know, where smokers in particular, block the pavement and make walking past difficult. I don’t know how you’d frame a law, but perhaps councils would lay down a line, which customers must stand inside.
Obviously, with office blocks and stations, it’s up to the owners or tenants.
