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description=Open the book of my vanishing memory- Paul Simon I updated this blog on a fairly regular basis for around ten years after I retired from teaching in a further education college in Liverpool in 2008. The blog became a way of remembering places I ve been and walks I ve done, as well as art and…;

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Text of the page (random words):
tober 2011 september 2011 august 2011 july 2011 june 2011 may 2011 april 2011 march 2011 february 2011 january 2011 december 2010 november 2010 october 2010 september 2010 august 2010 july 2010 june 2010 may 2010 april 2010 march 2010 february 2010 january 2010 december 2009 november 2009 october 2009 september 2009 august 2009 july 2009 june 2009 may 2009 april 2009 march 2009 february 2009 january 2009 december 2008 november 2008 october 2008 september 2008 august 2008 july 2008 june 2008 may 2008 april 2008 march 2008 february 2008 january 2008 september 2005 march 2005 february 2005 january 2005 december 2004 november 2004 october 2004 september 2004 august 2004 july 2004 june 2004 may 2004 march 2004 february 2004 tags 1989 africa america americana architecture beatles birds bob dylan books bruce springsteen capital of culture charles dickens china cornwall david hockney ecm environment europe european union exhibitions fiction first world war folk formby france garden germany greece history holocaust human rights israel jazz john berger john lennon leeds liverpool canal leonard cohen live music liverpool liverpool philharmonic london mali manchester middle east migration national trust nazi germany nice novel obituary painting palestine patti smith paul mccartney photography poetry politics racism rebecca solnit refugees river mersey rncm rock music scotland sculpture sefton park shakespeare slavery south africa trees wales walks wildlife william shakespeare world music who are we if not a combination of experiences information books we have read things imagined each life is an encyclopaedia a library an inventory of objects a series of styles and everything can be constantly reshuffled and reordered in every conceivable way italo calvino six memos for the next millennium art art uk dick young google arts culture blog and web arts and letters caught by the river ecm records five books the diary of samuel pepys the orwell diaries liverpool stuff mike royden s local history open the book of my vanishing memory paul simon i updated this blog on a fairly regular basis for around ten years after i retired from teaching in a further education college in liverpool in 2008 the blog became a way of remembering places i ve been and walks i ve done as well as art and photography books and films music and other things that have made an impression on me sometimes i get riled and write about injustices in the world and the destructive nature of the economic system that we live under all these things i put down here so i don t forget remember what you have seen because everything forgotten returns to the circling winds navajo wind chant evening on the beach at formby and the blog s title leonard cohen once explained the meaning of this blog s signature song as follows ring the bells that still can ring they re few and far between but you can find them there is a crack in everything but that s where the light gets in and that s where the resurrection is and that s where the return that s where the repentance is it is with the confrontation with the brokenness of things howard jacobson writing in the independent added this gloss that s how the light gets in savour that at a stroke weakness becomes strength and fault becomes virtue i feel as though original sin has just been re explained to me there was no fall we were born flawed flawed is how we were designed to be which means we don t need redeeming after all light why go searching for light the light already shines from us it got in through our failings so this is all about ringing the bells that can still ring celebrating whatever moves or inspires me and looking for where the light gets in the grave of wilfred owen some pointers posts are organised into the main categories of art film history ideas and politics literature music nature and environment photography places theatre tv and radio some of these main categories especially place and art have sub categories to explore poetry is a page with links to all the poems quoted in posts walking the canal is a journal of walks along the canal from liverpool to leeds walking the mersey is a journal of walks along the mersey and its tributaries from source to sea re reading dickens is a record of a project to re read or in some cases read for the first time every novel by charles dickens the first world war one hundred years on compiles posts on a journey i made in august 2014 to sites of the first world war on the somme and in flanders plus others that are records of exhibitions of work by the war artists and books that i have read on the subject in pursuit of bruegel documents our pursuit of pieter bruegel the elder in the cities where most of his works are exhibited including brussels antwerp vienna london berlin and madrid the bruegel room kunsthistorisches museum vienna who are we if not a combination of experiences information books we have read things imagined each life is an encyclopaedia a library an inventory of objects a series of styles and everything can be constantly reshuffled and reordered in every conceivable way italo calvino six memos for the next millennium walking a path in dumfriesshire i am a history a memory inventing itself octavio paz share this print opens in new window print email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on whatsapp opens in new window whatsapp like loading 56 thoughts on how the light gets in an imperfect introduction cdalemarilyn says march 17 2016 at 19 49 this is a wonderful amazing blog i can say that already and i ve just begun to explore it thank you reply ross says june 30 2016 at 06 39 agreed absolutely amazing you have acquired one of the most stunning bodies of world war i art history and analysis i have ever had the great privilege to stumble upon the works of paul nash move me like no other keep writing the good fight reply gerry says june 30 2016 at 12 27 thank you both for your kind comments and apologies to marilyn i only discovered your comment today i am very pleased that you have both found worthwhile things here ross i would strongly recommend paul gough s book a terrible beauty british artists in the first world war for an insightful account of the war artists reply ross says july 1 2016 at 03 55 i ll check it out thanks gerry reply claire scott says october 27 2016 at 22 56 this is the best blog i ve ever seen thank you so much so much treasure here reply gerry says october 28 2016 at 09 38 thanks claire i really appreciate that glad you have found much to enjoy here reply william heber percy says july 26 2017 at 07 39 agreed it s a marvelous blog which i visit regularly and have recommended widely to family and friends i love the mix of art literature music and politics it s beautifully illustrated and on a personal note i was happy to discover you had reviewed a book by my uncle karl sabbagh about his palestinian roots i look forward to more posts thank you reply gerry says july 26 2017 at 15 51 i m grateful for your comments william and for your recommendations your uncle s book is very fine my appreciation of it is here http wp me pojrg 5yn reply cdalemarilyn says september 10 2017 at 07 28 gerry i haven t been notified of any posts for a while are you all right reply gerry says september 11 2017 at 10 18 i m fine thanks marilyn very kind of you to enquire not sure why but for the moment i seem to have lost the desire to write so i m taking a sabbatical best wishes gerry reply cdalemarilyn says september 16 2017 at 07 28 i understand completely i miss your blog but these things seem to have their own rhythm glad to know that you are well david says september 14 2017 at 15 46 don t worry folks i ll kick him up the backside and he ll be writing again in no time reply peter cummings says september 20 2017 at 20 43 gerry i was quite struck by your review of the simon and garfunkel bio show this is due to be played on a once weekly basis in london but not i think with the 2 guys who you saw would you say that the programme is interesting enough in itself to play well regardless of who takes the 2 leads reply gerry says september 24 2017 at 22 01 replied by email reply mike royden says november 30 2017 at 16 18 hi gerry continuing to love your site just been reading through the ecm stuff brilliant been a fan since the mid 70s i agree koln concert cert for the desert island plus as wichita and the white album saw metheny for the nth time in warwick arts a couple of weeks ago but thanks for the read yet again can you drop me your address on my email i have a book to send you cheers mike reply gerry says december 3 2017 at 15 20 replied by email reply artyfact2017 says december 18 2017 at 14 18 hi gerry missing getting the updates from your blog but continuing to enjoy it as a wonderful archive as you say lest we forget hope you and your family have a warm and cosy christrmas deirdre reply gerry says december 19 2017 at 10 06 many thanks for your good wishes deidre they are reciprocated though for the time being at least i have stopped posting the blog continues to have a life of its own still drawing visitors often to posts i had forgotten i had written reply yossi says december 22 2017 at 07 17 looking through your archive yet again continues to give much pleasure and erudition i can well understand your need for a sabbatical the amount of work you have put in is truly astounding i wish you and yours a very happy new year reply gerry says december 22 2017 at 12 13 thanks yossi i really appreciate that as i remarked in the reply above the archive continues to draw visitors and though i don t know at the moment how long my sabbatical is going to be i m glad it brings enjoyment seasons greetings to you and yours and let s hope 2018 has better things in store reply mike royden says december 23 2017 at 16 02 many thanks gerry especially for interrupting your sabbatical very much appreciated best wishes for next year hope it brings forth more research and writing always a great read regards mike reply gerry says december 24 2017 at 11 10 thanks mike seasons greetings to you and yours reply john g cartwright says december 24 2017 at 15 56 dear gerry i mailed you the other day as there had been no blog entries for quite a while a couple of minutes ago i saw your note about taking a sabbatical wish you all the best and seasons greetings john reply janne högrell says january 6 2018 at 06 24 hello gerry i read this and thought of you https www khm at en visit exhibitions bruegel greetings from sweden reply gerry says january 6 2018 at 19 15 so kind of you janne a notable anniversary 450 years since his death and a good reason to visit the kunsthistorisches museum in vienna i wish you all the best in 2018 reply ian jones says january 7 2018 at 20 10 i owe you a big thank you gerry i came across your blog a few years ago when i was doing a bit of research on a stockport artist called ee smith as i own a couple of his paintings you d included stockport from brinksway in your mersey basin piece there was an instant connection as it was uncanny how many subjects you wrote about which were close to my heart i really admire your style of writing and am in awe of the depths of your research you ve opened up new subjects for me and reinforced my love of others even if you never add another piece to your impressive body of work there s plenty there to keep folk like me happy for some time to come cheers gerry reply gerry says january 10 2018 at 09 18 thank you so much for that testimonial ian maybe i ll return someday to the blog we ll have to see but i really happy that you find so much here to inspire you reply andy lancaster says march 5 2018 at 09 41 yes gerry i have so appreciated learning about artists i didnt really know of and music i had not heard you have helped to encourage my exploration and i have found you blog a great joy and inspiration sincerely thank you for posting all this and making profund but accesible reply kaaren whitney says april 20 2018 at 10 21 thank you for all you have written and shown in the past i hope your sabbatical refreshes and nourishes you for all you have given out reply lawson maysoon says october 22 2019 at 04 34 leonard cohen once explained the meaning of this blog s signature song he was not explaining the meaning of your blog s signature song hyperbole talking with helium breath have you been sued yet rhetorical no answer wanted reply caroline french says may 19 2020 at 12 32 how far is it from clayton le moors to burnley please along the canal reply bess martin says october 18 2020 at 14 54 hey there i am looking to walk the leeds liverpool canal once covid restrictions lift i ve been reading your blog i was wondering if i can ask a few quick questions on logistics where you stayed when you walked it i know it s been a few years but i am struggling to find anyone else that has walked it best wishes reply gerry says october 18 2020 at 19 17 as i explain in the posts these were all walks from home to a starting point either by public transport to begin with or by car when i got over the pennines from where i walked to an end point where i could catch a bus or train back to the start there were pubs along the canal where i had lunch and liquid refreshment i d start by exploring which canalside pubs offer accomodation the canal goes through several small towns where overnight accommodation may be also be found have a good trip reply bess martin says october 18 2020 at 19 20 thank you so much i wasn t expecting a reply i thought i hadn t sent this comment in the end as i read your posts a bit more and realised you had used public transport whoops i must have hit send accidentally thank you though for such a quick reply it s definitely helpful i have now read all your posts too which has made planning my trek even easier what a great resource gerry says october 18 2020 at 19 27 also for my walking guide i used collins nicholson waterways guides 5 north west and the pennines which details each canalside pub and may say whether accommodation is available bess martin says october 18 2020 at 19 50 perfect thank you i think a friend has one of those from their time living on a boat i ll get my hands on one thank you so much david stromberg says november 8 2020 at 18 25 wonderful thank you reply nev says december 25 2020 at 23 39 this blog is so a special kind of poetry in this blog it is so beautiful thank you reply jes says march 1 2021 at 14 05 this is quite the blog a standard to which we all could ve aspired back in the days when blogging was the serious thing to do i m a little saddened that your sabbatical has continued so long but i still have a lot to explore so this will just become an occasional deep dive and there s always the notify me of new posts checkbox below fwiw what brought me here was looking for information about the album cover for bringing it all back home what a r...