We spent most of yesterday in Manchester as Paul wanted to see and photograph the Sopwith Snipe which was part of a display of planes which is travelling the country to celebrate 100 years of the Royal Air Force.
The planes were on display in Albert Square in front of the town hall and as we walked down there from Piccadilly Station we spotted quite a few bees.
'Bee in the City' is an art and sculpture trail of about 100 large bees and many smaller ones across the city.
Each bee has been designed by a different artist to celebrate the unique buzz of the city from its industrial heritage to its vibrant music scene.
Organised by Wild in Art and Manchester City Council the bees are a great learning facility for schools, colleges and community groups and are a source of pleasure for locals and visitors. Above the bee outside Selfridges department store.
We had great fun spotting them along our rather meandering route to Albert Square and down to the Museum of Science and Technology. Above is the Queen Bee by Lee O'Brien in the Royal Exchange which was once the hub of the cotton trade.
The trail of bees has been in the city since 23rd of July and finally closes on 23rd of September. We managed to see just a few of them before they all buzz away. We were told by one of the collectors for the RAF Centenary appeal that all the bees would be brought together to be auctioned for charity later this year.
The bee above, called The Homing Bee, is the artist C'Art Dawes's reflection of her brush with homelessness and the need for everyone to have somewhere to call home.
Above is Rocket the Steam (punk) Bee. It reflects the
growth of industry and transport in the city in the 19th century and also the Victorian inspired Science Fiction popularised by writer Jules Verne.
This was one of my favourite bees. Pablo Bee-Casso created by Jenny Leonard.
Industrious Bee in the garden at the Museum of Science and Industry. The worker bee has been transformed into a mechanical steam machine.
Bee-Live in MCR created by Amy Coney has signatures of some of the artists who have performed in Manchester. Dedicated to the artists and their fans who keep Manchester alive and gigging.
Distiller Bee by Kate- Laura Chapman celebrates the rise in popularity of gin and shows the ingredients used in the process like Juniper berries, thyme and lemon balm.
Above is The Crown Jewels one of the little bees which we spotted in the Manchester Art Gallery. It was created by jewellery artist Ambrin and celebrates the Suffragette movement, reflects on the history of jewellery and wonders that if Manchester had their own crown jewels what they would be like.
I expect you are all bee'd out by now. I'll be back in a few days with another post (non bee related) about our visit.
I expect you are all bee'd out by now. I'll be back in a few days with another post (non bee related) about our visit.
What a delightful display!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo happy you saw it, and were able to share it, with us.
And to be auctioned off for charity. Good, all ways!
🍁🍁🍁
Thank you, it was an added bonus to our visit and the cheerful colours brighted up a dull and rainy day:)
DeleteWhat a wonderful post - thank you so much for posting all the super bee photos. Every single one is delightful although my favourite is the last The Crown Jewels Bee. It is lovely that they are going to be auctioned off for charity at the end.
ReplyDeleteBirmingham has had similar displays with Bears and Owls but I must admit I do like the idea of bees :)
Thank you, glad you like the bees. They were wonderful to see so I'm glad we went before they finish. Being Manchester it rained so they addded so much cheer to the dull, damp day and livened the walk through the city:)
DeleteThese are very creative!
ReplyDeleteThank you William, they are wonderful aren't they?:)
DeleteWhat a joy to visit your blog today and see those delightful bees. I scrolled up and down a few times and still couldn't decide on a favourite. Each one has something...
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed seeing the bees, I'm sure we missed so many lovely ones - there seemed to be one or two around every corner:)
DeleteGreat fun! The artists have come up with some really colourful designs. I expect many people have enjoyed searching for them in Manchester and a number of steps have been clocked up too! 😊
ReplyDeleteWe walked and walked and came home tired but happy. The bees certainly brightened up the dull and damp day:)
DeleteThose bees certainly make a colourful and interesting display.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly brightened up a dull and damp day, Louise:)
DeleteLoved reading about the bees, what a great sculpture tour to see.
ReplyDeleteThank you Julie, glad you enjoyed reading about the bees:)
DeleteThanks for taking us along on your Bee adventure, which I found very interesting. My grandmother came from Manchester. Look forward to seeing & reading more of the day. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan, I'll try and show more in a later post:)
DeleteThe bee sculptures are very creative. You did well to see so many of them on your walk through the city. I expect there will be many events to mark the 100 year anniversary of the RAF up and down the country as well as the display. There was a related service yesterday evening in Sheffield Cathedral and I'm sure there'll be others at this time. I'm looking forward to your post about the Sopwith aircraft display.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda, I didn't take many photos at the RAF display as it was very busy and it seemed that just as I had everything lined up someone would step into the shot so I'm afraid I gave up after a while but I did get some good shots in the Museum:)
DeleteI have never been to Manchester before, looks like a beautiful city to visit someday! I love the different monuments they have of the bee statues! Very cool! Thanks for the share, have a fantastic rest of your day. Keep up the posts
ReplyDeleteWorld of Animals
Thank you for visiting, I'm glad you enjoyed the bees:)
DeleteOh, Rosie, that queen bee is quite fearsome! This is a fun exhibition, though. There is a lot of creativity and imagination in each of these bees. Marie x
ReplyDeleteHi Marie, she is isn't she? She reminds me of the Queen in Alice in Wonderland. We only saw a few of them but they were splendid bees:)
DeleteI love it when cities have a theme like your bees. Many years ago I remember visiting Calgary and there were multi coloured cows everywhere:) B x
ReplyDeleteThank you Barbara. The cows must have been quite a sight across the city! It was great to see the bees:)
DeleteI love bees but I am not sure I would like to see a real one as big as the sculptures! It must have been fun spotting them all. x
ReplyDeleteIt was fun spotting them,we saw barely a quarter of the bees though. Gosh, ones as huge as these bees would be like something out of a horror/science fiction film:)
DeleteBrilliant! Thanks so much for sharing, Rosie. I saw a trail of decorative bear statues in a northern California town, but I love that these bees are more purposeful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gracie. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing the bees:)
DeleteOh, these bees are fab! There was a similar trail of decorated ducks in Telford over the summer but some of them were vandalised, which was so depressing. x
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame about the ducks being vandalised. The bees were wonderful and certainly brought a 'buzz' to the streets:)
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