As
mentioned earlier, I went to Southport this morning. This is neither
in the south nor a port but, anyway. I was there with old friends to
see 3 exhibitions in the beautiful Atkinson Gallery. One on Victorian
Dreamers, one on Japanese 'Girl Manga' works and the last on the
history of the town's mile-long boulevard, Lord Street.
This lovely
main street was, allegedly, the inspiration behind Napoleon III's
decision to order Haussmann to deliver the famous Paris boulevards.
For some reason, Nap 3 lived in a flat just off Lord Street for a
while back in 1846. It's unusually wide for a British street and the
reason for this is rather bizarre. One side of the street – the one
with largely houses – was built on a bank of sand dunes in the 18th. century. The other side – largely shops – was later built on a
parallel bank to the west, closer to the sea. The distance between
these eventually became the famous wide thoroughfare, lined by an
eclectic mix of impressive buildings from several architectural
periods. Sadly, there's the occasional inclusion from the brutalist
60s as well as one or two art deco jewels. All-in-all, well worth a
visit if you're ever in the North West of the UK. On this postcard
of the early 20th century, someone has opined that it was the finest street in the
world. And perhaps it really was back then.
The
exhibitions were all enjoyable but my reaction to great artwork of
earlier times is always the same – increased hatred of Brit-Art in
general and Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst in particular. But I try not
to let my rancour get in the way of my enjoyment.
The
leaflets in the foyer of the gallery suggested Southport is not at
all short of cultural attractions – including a nearby museums of
lawnmowers! But it was this ad which
particularly drew my attention. Especially as I initially thought the
animal at the rear – literally – was a fighting bull.
Finally
. . . That missing ticket for a British lottery ticket worth 33
million quid . . . It was announced yesterday that the 400-plus
phoney claimants faced a prison sentence of up to 10 years for fraud.
I very much doubt this will happen, but I imagine that just the
suggestion of it would reduce most Spaniards to helpless laughter.
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