THING OF THE WEEK
LIGHT DISPLAY… The bombed out St Luke’s Church can now be transformed into any colour from the spectrum with the push of a button. Liverpool City Council members have access to the light programme via their laptops and can change the colours as they wish from any location. The architectural lighting system was designed and fitted by local company MJ Quinn, and completes the £500,000 restoration of the 185-year-old city centre church, which was bombed during World War Two. According to the council’s communications team, the lights will be on every evening with bespoke pogrammes for special occasions. The light installation comes as Heritage England yesterday announced the removal of the grade two-listed building from its ‘at risk’ register. The full re-opening of the church and gardens took place on Thursday morning.
NEW NEIGH-BOUR… Bobby the Iron Horse, a 15ft sculpture in homage to South Leyland’s industrial heritage, was craned into position in South Ribble last Thursday. Designer Dave Palmer spent three months in East Lancashire building the beast from stainless steel, COR-TEN and brass, with horse shoes positioned inside, before Bobby was carted down the motorway. Now in situ at the roundabout joining Schleswig Way and Longmeanygate, Bobby was so tall that his ears and mane could only be added after he arrived on site otherwise he wouldn’t have fitted through motorway tunnels.
DANCE CLASS… A Cheshire dance club is inviting residents impacted by dementia in Crewe to join their classes. Targeted at people living with the illness, their carers and those wishing to prevent the disease, Cheshire Dance is welcoming new members. Held on Tuesdays from 3.3opm until 4.30pm at Belong Village and Thursdays from 10.30am until 11.30am at The Wishing Well, classes cost £3.50 a session. The sessions are part of the ‘In THIS Moment’ project, a venture between Cheshire East Council, Leighton Hospital and Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. One participant said: “I really enjoyed the gentle exercises, moving muscles, just doing a little bit, getting your shoulders moving. You’re sitting or in bed a lot usually. I think the breathing exercises too are very good at helping you relax.”
Designs from planning documents
TEE TIME… A golf centre with five simulators will allow up to 132 visitors at a time to play on 100 of the most exclusive courses when it comes to Spinningfields next month. The Range occupies 3,500 sq ft on the first floor of Left Bank, and includes a 1,000 sq ft bar and restaurant. The brainchild of former +2 handicap golfer Andrew McLoughney, the planning application for the centre was approved by Manchester City Council in June. The technology uses stereoscopic cameras aimed at golf clubs to provide accurate data for the simulation. Plans include a raised putting green next to the five simulators. The Range will be open from 10.30am until midnight seven days a week.
POPPY APPEAL… The Tower of London poppy display is coming to Carlisle Castle and the Imperial War Museum North in 2018, two of six sites the poppy installation will visit on its tour. The Wave and Weeping Window are sculptures designed by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, originally shown at the Tower of London in 2014. The 888,246 poppies used in the installation reflect the number of British and colonial lives lost during World War One. At the end of the tour, the sculptures will be permanently installed at the Imperial War Museums in London and Trafford. The Weeping Window will appear at Carlisle Castle from 23 May until 8 July, and the Wave will be at the IWM North from 8 September to 25 November.
PRO-SKETCHER… A drawing titled ‘A Peckham Hospice Care Home’ by Jerome Xin Hao Ng, has won the inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize. Curated by Make Architects, Sir John Sloane’s Museum and the World Architecture Festival, Ng’s drawing, which was part of his final diploma at the Bartlett School of Architecture, won both the hybrid images category as well as the top prize. Jeremy Melvin, curator of the World Architecture Festival praised the drawing for “its technical skill and the sensitivity with which it depicted the spaces found in such institutions as settings for multi-generation social interaction”.
POOCH PARADE… A Halloween-themed dog procession will take place in Manchester on Saturday for 50 canines to showcase the scariest costumes. The dressed-up dogs will make their way from Exchange Square, trotting down New Cathedral Street, through St Ann’s Square to King Street and back again. A hamper and treats from Chorlton’s canine lifestyle shop Betty & Butch are up for grabs for the most fetching dog, along with a meal for three – two humans and one pup – at dog-friendly Albert’s Schloss. The procession starts at 10.30am and dogs must be kept on leads at all times, or else you’ll have to go and retriev-er. How many Staffordshire Bull Terrors or Bloodhounds do you think you’ll see?
BUILDING ADAPTATION… Giant tentacles twitching in the wind on the roof of House of Fraser? No, not something from an apocalyptic film, but the latest inflatable installation by street artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estellas. The pair run Designs in Air, producing hundreds of bespoke commissions around the globe. Ten metres tall, ‘Monster Attack’ will be in the city centre until Sunday as part of the city’s Halloweekend celebrations. The spookfest, organised by Manchester BID, also features cawing crows perched on branches in Spinningfields. Free events include a haunted maze in St Ann’s Square, facepainting on Market Street, and a Gothic string quartet in Exchange Square.
