With Jim Stafford on my mind, of course, I took to the Spider and Snake trail this evening. The Snake being Churchill Way flyover which sheltered me from steadily-falling rain all the way onto Dale Street, the Spider being... well the Spider, the one those thousands of little kids massing around the Albert Dock today will be telling their grandchildren about.
The show is a masterpiece - of engineering, of logistics, and of beauty in music and movement. A live orchestra follows La Princesse in a convoy of cherrypickers, as she makes her way through the crowds, paddling her feet inches above the people's heads, playfully prodding umbrellas, giving folk the chance to touch her. Photos and words won't do justice to the experience of following this friendly beast through the city's streets in the company of so many other awed ones. Strangers are walking through Liverpool today smiling broadly at each other. It's because of the Spider. Think about it too much, it's overwhelming.
john davies
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