Liverpool Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Los Cuadernos de Julia

Liverpool 2008 – Beatles Playlist

I’m back in Manchester. I’ve been back since Tuesday, but caught cold, which is the reason why on the day when Liverpool gets initiated as the European Capital of Culture for 2008 I’m sitting at home in Manchester instead of heading to St George’s Hall to watch the opening gala. However, I watched the BBC North West Today report from Liverpool, and the general feel I have taken away from it was that the pressure on the legendary city comes from two directions. On the one hand, all eyes are on Liverpool to perform at the level no lower (or even higher) than Glasgow. On the other hand, the year of culture is naturally expected to last longer than just 12 months, and the expectations are particularly high as far as the benefit of the culturally and socially disadvantaged communities and areas is concerned.

As a Beatlemaniac who’s been living in Manchester in the past four years, I am first of all sincerely pleased for Liverpool for its 2008 status. I can also say now that one thing that has always perplexed me in these years was this rivalry between Manchester and Liverpool, and for once I hope this bickering, however amicable, will be put aside, or left behind altogether. As someone genuinely impartial, the last thing I want is to stare at articles counting Liverpool’s hick-ups. The hick-ups are inevitable, guys. Let’s focus on the fact that for the whole of 2008 the attention will be drawn not only to Liverpool, but to England’s North West. The capital is now up north, as far as culture is concerned, and that is already a big win.

And yes, the theme that ran in the background but didn’t feature prominently was the status of Liverpool’s culture. We know what it was, and Ringo Starr is headlining the opening night this evening. But what is the state of culture now?

Just as I was thinking about it, having finished watching TV, I checked my email and found there a song sent by one of the friends. It was Brian Eno’s How Many Worlds. I started listening to it, and the opening sounded like an up-tempo opening to A Day in the Life by the Beatles. After that I spent some time browsing through the Beatles’ songs, when I realised that many comments on Liverpool’s potential to perform as the European Capital of Culture sound very much like “don’t let me down“. And, of course, when we look at Liverpool today we still associate it more with the Beatles phenomenon, – yet however important and long-lasting is their legacy, it unfortunately belongs to “yesterday“, as do the relatively peaceful times of the 1960-70s. How to change that? Well, we talk a lot about hope, faith, understanding, support, culture, but in the end, all the most beautiful things that we often assign to a country’s “culture” are born in love. And if we want to give peace a chance, we’ve got to love it. Be that the bigger world or just the city of Liverpool, to make things work “all you need is love“. That’s a job in itself, but it’s worth trying in 2008. Chances are, you won’t let it go after.

http://media.imeem.com/pl/hmzTTPlIvn/aus=false/

…………………..The picture I took in Lime St Station during a day-trip visit to Liverpool (June 2007).

Western Approaches in Schmap Liverpool Guide

I mentioned that I loved photography. I discovered it in my late teens, and I owe the interest not so much to my father, but to my acquaintance with and passion for surrealism. Back then I adored Man Ray. Later I discovered Helmut Newton, and Cecil Beaton, and David Bailey, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and of course Eugene Atget, and so my passion has crystallised. I should note that many of the pictures you see on Flickr were taken with cameraphone, although I’ve recently begun to upload those that were taken with a regular camera.

Quite a few people recently have told me that they liked my pictures, which is very encouraging. Even more so was a Flickrmail from the editor of Schmap Guides a couple of weeks ago telling me that one of my Liverpool pictures was shortlisted for the inclusion in the forthcoming edition of Schmap Liverpool Guide. Then yesterday at work, when I checked my email during lunch, I found out that my photo of the Western Approaches Headquarters was included in the Guide. What a wonderful way to start the weekend!

I am thoroughly delighted and grateful to the editorial of Schmap for this inclusion. I would certainly like more of this and similar things to come, but ultimately, this means that I should finally start taking my passion for photography just as seriously as I take my passion for literature, cinema, and music.

You can navigate the guide below, in the cultural section of which you will find, apart from the Western Approaches Museum, St Georges Hall, Walker Art Gallery, and Liverpool Museum and Planetarium.

http://www.schmap.com/templates/t011g.html?uid=liverpool&sid=tours_tour2&ultranarrow=true&#mapview=Map&tab=map&placeid=106184&topleft=53.41894,-3.00304&bottomright=53.39643,-2.9694&autoplay=1&c=f6f6f6A72122A62122A62122FFF88FFAF5BBffffffFFF88Fd8d8d8A4A7A6A621226990ffECEBBD0000005C5A4E5C5A4E000000929292F0EFDA

As a matter of fact, although I’ve been to Liverpool I haven’t been to many Liverpool museums, and reading about the Western Approaches, which is now a part of Liverpool War Museum, absolutely makes me want to visit it. Bearing in mind that I’m currently on a week-long holiday, this should be a great opportunity to navigate the Schmap Guide. As Liverpool War Museum website tells us,

The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of the United Kingdom. It is roughly the same height as the west coast of Britain, starting directly on the coast and ending in the Atlantic roughly at Iceland. The area is particularly important to the UK, because many of the larger shipping ports lie in this area. (http://www.liverpoolwarmuseum.co.uk/history/)

The bunker, we are told, had played a crucial part in the Battle of the Atlantic, “its role being to ensure the successful delivery of supplies and equipment into wartime Britain from the sea”. Reconstructed by the Walton Group, the bunker “is the original building where the original battle was fought and won. It has been reconstructed exactly how it used to be”.

Below is a bigger version of my picture of the Western Approaches Headquarters.