Today I went on a specific shopping visit to the Lowry Outlet stores (it was a specific shopping list.. brother and niece's birthday presents, ever so focused). Got our timing right as Man U were playing Wigan at home (12.30 ish kick off) so avoided the traffic travelling in successfully albeit we had to park on the 7th floor!)
So £130 later (spent £25 on Bro and nothing on niece as nothing inspired us) ... yes I had the 'er with me hence the £100 excess... I managed to get a T-shirt, 2 new bras and a pair of knickers in this though..................to avoid the match out spilling we wandered into the Lowry Art bit to see the 'Up North' exhibition. Didn't bother with the permanent Lowry exhibition as it was pointed out to me by the 'er 'Mum I have seen that 100 times' .
What I hadn't realised was there was an exhibition by Harold Riley.
Riley is a Salford lad, a friend of L.S. Lowry as well as him being a distinguished portrait painter of famous folk, he also took some amazing images in the 60s/70s of inner city Salford with mostly a box brownie
There were some great images of the back to back terraced houses and kids doing what they do best .. ...making the most of their environment & above all making it fun. (a wigwam on the path out side the front door, a cart made out of pram wheels, girls dressing up in their Mums shoes and children playing in what was once a Jewish grave yard but was now their back yard)
One of the most moving images for me was a very old lady that sat at her front door waiting for the kids to finish school and she would offer a sweet to them as they passed by her door. This was obviously the only interaction that this kind old lady had in her day and it meant so much to her in her life. She also reminded me of my Nana in the way she was dressed in her round rimmed glasses, wrinkled thick tights, slippers and patterned pinny.
The images eloquently told of the poverty of Salford then .. the unmaintained houses but with much pride in 'cleaning/stoning the step', if you didn't do this then you were deemed to be scruffy. I always thought this was a Liverpool thing (from my up bringing) but have realised now it is much wider than just my family tales.
Also what struck me hard today was the amount of money I had just spent and how easy I have life in comparison ... I & especially my 'er are so lucky
4 comments:
Good point Random [about being lucky].
I don't know why you bought a T-shirt though. I have a suspicion you might win several fairly soon.
Oh yes !!!and I see you have also been giving them away ... why didn't 70s & I get one then?
I think I would quite enjoy taking my suit jacket off at a corporate meeting and seeing the look on the 'stiffs' faces when you peered out at them :-)
I could only afford to make two - they cost a bloody fortune....... and don't be so pushy, that's the sort of behaviour I'd expect from 70's
Pushy!!! ME???????
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