My Liverpool trip - Day 2 (late morning) -The Hope Street Quarter - the case history sculpture; the Metropolitan Cathedral - The 27th of November 2015

Upon leaving the Liverpool Cathedral we walked towards the Hope Street Quarter having passed by the Liverpool Oratory until we came across the case history street Sculpture by John King before having reached the Philarmonic House and finally the Metropolitan Cathedral which we visited.

The concrete luggage artistic piece we soon came across right on the corner of Mount Street and Hope Street pays an hommage to all of those who have contributed  to Liverpool's culture in some way and to be honest is rather impressive.

 

Just across the street  on either side another of the "Eight for 8" sculptures and the Philharmonic Hall.

We walked briefly into the Pilharmonic pub opposite the Philharmonic Hall said to be one of the most ornate pubs in Britain., whith its Art Nouveau interior. 

Ahead of us stood the Metropolitan Cathedral whose shape did catch one's attention. There was a  mess going on so we had to sit and wait for a while till we were able to photograph it, despite its mystical and rather dark atmosphere. I wasn't able to "capture" any of the manganese cast sculptures depicting the stages of Christ's journey to calvary which adorn fourteen of the buttresses of the Cathedral and were the work of artist Sean Rice.

 

I was impressed by those but equally by the many  artistic pieces by contemporary artists decorating the various chapels.

 

 

 

We spent some time in the gift shop pertaining to the Church which was richly filled with  smaller scale Christmas related artistic pieces before we headed down the Brownlow hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Christmas ...

We may have been very few around the Christmas table but we did feel the spirit that should guide us through this particular day and (why not) any other day. 

 

We did exactly what we would have done, had there been more where the four of us stood (my mother, one of my brothers and my daughter)... and surprisingly enough (or maybe not) we took pride in - the distribution of the Christmas packs for the four of us.

Miguel and I having been "solid" friends since our childhood don't need much to feel happy in each other's company (an interesting conversation about a given book  ... an image ... just anything ...).

My daughter may have joined in quite a few years later but she is for that matter the element we may have been lacking ... We make a rather special trio, I must say. Despite her old age my mother is nevertheless the "focus" character we gather around ... and the Figueira of our childhood ... the scene setting where most of our gatherings take place ...

My mother's (left). A meaningful landmark in our childhood - The beach clock (right).

May there be many more of these "Christmas" gatherings ...

My Liverpool trip - Day 2 (morning cont.) - St. Vincents Roman Catholic Church façade; Liverpool Cathedral - The 27th of November 2015

(...)

From the Albert dock we went across so as to intiate our climb towards the Catheral. We stopped by St. Vincents Roman Catholic church, which was closed and at whose entrance somebody had left a pair of blue gloves in a rather disrespectful gesture-like position.

The Liverpool Cathedral despite having been commissioned in 19013 was only completed in 1978. Although the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's initial plan was to build two towers it evolved into a single tall one of just overe 101 metres high.

Some works of  contemporary Art displaying completely different styles did catch my attention, from the Risen Christ by the British sculptor Dame Elizabet Frink above the west door to the stained glass windows, many of which were rather modern, the paintings in the choir stalls and some along its corridors of which I would highlight Adrian Wiszniewski's, as well as "the outraged Christ" wooden sculpture by Charles Lutyens.


I am not so sure I'd be in favour of having them incorporated in the Cathedral, once at times it was as if they they didn' fit in there (my personal opinion), though I must say I do admire the person who took the initiative to commission them.