miss marie's miscellany

Views from the top

A shopping trip to Liverpool  -  next to the smart new shopping centre we found a Big Wheel

 

A chance to see some spectacular  views of Liverpool's skyline; after a bit of persuasion, my dad agreed to take to the air.......look away if you suffer from vertigo!

One cathedral

 

and another! 

 

Below is St. John's Tower, once it housed a revolving restaurant; now it's the home of Radio City, one of Liverpool's local radio stations.

 

  

Looking over towards the Liver building.

 

Looking north

 

and south

 

Back down on the ground; if you've been covering your eyes, you can look now!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunlight

I am visiting Liverpool this weekend, and yesterday made a trip to one of my favourite places, Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight on the Wirral. 

 

The garden village of Port Sunlight was built by William Hesketh Lever in the late 19th-early 2oth centuries to house his workers at the Lever Brothers soap factory.  It's an amazing achievement, the whole village is now a conservation area and most of the buildings are Grade 2 listed. There is a peaceful atmosphere one might not expect to find so close to the bustling city of Liverpool. Along wide tree lined roads,  the houses are built in several different styles (as several different architects were employed). I like these mock Tudor ones

 

 

The quality of life the village must have given those factory workers was unprecedented at that time; it's a marvel of early urban planning, a piece of social history, and a must-see place  in the Liverpool area.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery was dedicated by William Lever  to his late wife and houses his amazing collection of paintings, sculpture, porcelain and furniture. It's an airy and light space

 

Particularly splendid are the collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings

 

 

It's a real treat if you like this kind of painting as there are some beautiful examples, along with 18th and 19th century portraits by, amongst others, Joshua Reynolds, and landscapes by Turner and Constable. There's a very good cafe too, always a necessity after multiple picture viewing. 

 

There are sculptures dotted around the village, this was right outside the gallery;

 

Just up the road from the gallery is a very good garden centre where I bought these lovely souvenirs of my visit; they are primulas(which look like rosebuds).They'll remind me of being here, in this special place, when I look at them.

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

Birthday

Today is my birthday :-) which I will spend at work :-(  However, not to be thwarted in the pursuit of enjoyment, I decided to start celebrating on Saturday and went for a mega-treat, Afternoon Tea at one of Glasgow's loveliest restaurants, Rogano.  Decorated in the Art Deco style, it is just beautiful, like stepping back to the 1930s. And the food?

 Sumptuous! 

It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon with friends, we all enjoyed it immensely. 

Why stop when you're having fun,  Sunday was a big family gathering and trip to Pizza Express for nice food and chat.

 

3 boys on the town in their chefs hats!

 

Birthday cake too!

 

Purple presents 

 

and cards for this purple-loving gal!

I'm having a quiet birthday tea tonight with loved ones to round off an extended birthday weekend.

So that's it, another year older, now I'm 46, an age which sounded positively geriatric to me when a teenager........now I've got here, it's just fine!

Snow keeps on coming

We had more snow during the night here in Glasgow. It's been a good thing though, the pavements were so icy before that it was a nightmare trying to walk anywhere, and drive, for that matter. But the snow has made the paths easier to tread, thank goodness.

I headed to the park for some much needed fresh air. Walking boots on, so no fear of flying!

 

 

 

 

 

I feel better now! Time to head home to take down the Christmas decorations.

 

I hope the weather is being kind to you wherever you are :-)
 
 
 
 
 

December collage

A happy month with Christmas and the preparations beforehand, good times spent with family and friends, some crafty goings-on and lots of glitter and tinsel.........oh yes, and lots of snow!

 

2009 - Review of the year

Another year is almost over, and what have I done? 

I visited all these interesting and beautiful places

 

I've grown all these flowers and enjoyed their colour and beauty

 

I taught myself to crochet and started a new obsession! And I made all these,

 

I have read all the books in this list.

I took 3863 photographs!

And I watched the changing of the seasons

  Starting to write this blog was a big step for me, and it's been quite a journey, gaining the confidence to write and show my photos here. I wouldn't have missed it for anything! Many thanks to everyone who has visited and commented over the year. I really do appreciate you stopping by and all your encouraging words. I hope you'll be back to see what 2010 will bring. Happy New Year to you all :-)

 
 

  

24th

Stained glass at the Burrell Collection. I love the jewel colours, still vivid despite the glass being 500 years old.

 

23rd

Snow everywhere, after a full afternoon's snowfall yesterday. It makes life a bit tricky if you are trying to get to work, but it is very pretty.

 

 

 

Below is the view from the top of the hill near the house. The distant hills you can see are the Campsies. I like the way the sunlight has made the top half appear sepia-tinted and the shadier bottom half appears black and white; all due to the light at that moment, no digital trickery was involved!

 

Sunset with some amazing colour a little later.

 

Too cold for anymore walking, time to go inside!

 
 
 
 

22nd

During this cold, snowy weather we are enjoying(?!)I find myself craving some floral colour; so today for our advent post, we have a horticultural retrospective of this year, some of the lovely blooms I've grown in my garden and seen when out and about. I hope it brightens your day!

 

12th

Isn't this cornicing beautiful?! I love the cherubic faces and the intricate detailing

 

It really caught my eye; and I think it's pretty Christmassy too.