It's a beautiful, warm, clear calm morning - 6am and already a few of us are around amongst the gulls and the pigeons. The water is absolutely still, and the spire of St. Mary Redcliffe is mirored in the water which is just edged with gold as the sun breaks through the thin cloud.
The man with the coffee stall by the Arnolfini has arrived. He can park on the double yellow lines at this time. A woman walks over the bridge with her eyes facing forward but her mind on the sounds in her headphones. Inevitably there are joggers. All the cities I've visited haved early morning joggers.
The tall ships are assembling for the harbour festival. There are 4 of them now plus the squat reconstruction of Cabot's ship the Matthew. It looks strange to me to see this apparently 16th century sailing ship chugging along on its motors; more than strange, it takes away its dignity.
There is an air of expectancy. In 2 days time this whole area will be crowded with thousands of people, music everywhere, hundreds of stalls and just here, in the Mud Dock, a huge representation of Ted Hughes' Iron Man - not quite sure what to expect. Watch this space.
No comments:
Post a Comment