SuperLamBanana (No That's Not Mispelled)

Liverpool
Day ?

Another reason that you've got to love Liverpool... Superlambanana! (That's not misspelled either, both are acceptable, yeah.) Here's the deal (in a nutshell) the original sculpture was bright yellow and part of some "Let's art up the North of England" campaign. It's part lamb and part banana, and is supposed to be a warning of the evils of genetic engineering or some such. And based on the fact that bananas and lambs used to come through Liverpool's port. The artist built a little like 4 inch model and then a 17 foot multi-ton monstrosity was built and put on display. Now you have to figure that this Superlambanana-thing must've brought Scousers to scratching their heads and saying, "Fekinell, wot does it mean then?"

Superlambanana was a talking point to be sure, you can almost see the folks in the pubs, on the trains, shopping for trainers discussing this bizarre thing that had sauntered into town.

But in true Liverpool fashion once it was rumored that it might be sold and taken over to The Dark Side (Manchester, yeah) they grabbed a hold of it and made it their own. "Who cares what it is right, it's Ours, yeah." So what they do is they move the big one around the city and for the Capitol of Culture event they made a bunch more that also evidently travel around. We'd seen them around before but never this particular one..

Yep that's yours truly (in my totally cool Elvis t-shirt) and the Bunnymen. Down by the Royal Liver Building. How cool is that. So this is Liverpool, yeah? It may not make sense but it is ours and now we love it. It just shows the spirit of the town. Always the outsider, always the underdog, and always taking care of its own.

You can see here in this other one that they can be quite creative with the Superlambanana, we saw one that looked like a tiger too. You can see one that looks like a clown in the background (for all of you with clown-o-phobia...avert your eyes) there are also cows, and one that has all kinds of little Superlambananas that are dressed like everything from The Beatles to (dare I say it...) Evertonians (worry not dear reader there was a little Red on there with the little Blue, there's even been a full-sized Red, yeah.) So here are me an the Missus with the herd.


So lesson learned, yeah. Take something that may or may not make sense make it your own and never let it go. Lessons of Liverpool 101, yeah. Yet another "Show of Strength" from Merseyside.

We actually were going to buy a bunch of little ones and give them away to folks. You know talismans to give them a little bit of the strength and spirit of Liverpool. But the little buggers are expensive. We'll have to pick one up when we are there during December, maybe a Christmas ornament, yeah. Taking orders now, get your own little slice of weirdness and Spirit of 'Pool {to ward off the Dark Side yeah.)

No interlude tonight, gonna do a whole non-travel thing tomorrow. Taking in some of the suggestions from you the reader as well. The People have spoken!

My dad likes my hat... I do too. I am sure that wearing a hat will probably piss off the same folks who now know I have a full and luxurious head of hair as well. I guess the people who are going a bit bald up top thought I was one of them. Fact was I was just lazy. And the new do is really getting some of their panties in a bunch. (That really was almost an interlude, oh well.)

Last note, you'll all be glad to know that Superlambanana won't be going to Manchester anytime soon. It's home will be Liverpool for the next 80 years. Some places have bears and eagles, or lions and tigers. Not the 'Pool though...SUPERLAMBANANA! And the Reds, yeah.

Cheers,
g