Opening in late September, 2008, this extraordinary building will be the centre of the Arts scene in Derby. Housing the Metro Cinema as well as other venues, it is intended to be the arts hub of the City.
The design is what I call ‘abstract cubist’ (from someone who knows as much about architecture as a fish knows about quantum physics!!)
It is not exactly in keeping with the other buildings in the area but, sad to say, that’s pretty much par for the course in Derby!
The Quad Arts Centre, Derby
I’ve lived in Derby for nearly 30 years now; more than half my life, can you believe? I came here by accident really: I got a job in the area and when my children came along, didn’t really want to uproot them from their friends and their familiar environment. Truth is though, I miss my home town of Bournemouth , on the English south coast, and more particularly, I miss living near the sea.
I loved walking along the promenade in all seasons – there’s nothing more exhilerating than watching the winter waves crash onto the beach or basking in the sunshine with the cool breeze wafting in from the sea. And the smell of the sea, not the sewage, but the ozone and pine trees for which Bournemouth is famous!
This poem by John Masefield always makes me nostalgic for the sea and my home town. Enjoy …
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
From SALT-WATER POEMS AND BALLADS, by John Masefield, published by the Maxmillan Co., NY, © 1913, p. 55.
Known as the “House that Time Forgot”, Calke Abbey was the ancestral home of the Harper-Crewe family.
The family were quite eccentric and, when they no longer had use for a room they locked it up leaving its contents exactly as they were when it was last used.
It is a treasure trove of Victorian and Edwardian history and is now run by The National Trust who had to devote much time and resources in preserving this beautiful, decaying house.
(These pictures are black & white as I think that best conveys its decayed state – the National Trust have preserved the house rather than massively restoring it)
[from my flickr photos collection: you can view the
complete Calke Abbey photo set here]
