A 10m marble run and a light projection
5 handpicked cultural things to do this week: Friday 24 July to Thursday 30 July
I spent last Sunday visiting Erdigg, a National Trust stately home near Wrexham - slightly outside Stored Honey’s usual patch but I would definitely recommend it for a day trip. I can’t tell you how many big houses I have visited over the years. Speke Hall alone I must have been to at least 10 times during each of my two maternity leaves as I only live about 20 minutes away and the gardens are good for pram-pushing. But there was something special about Erdigg that I’m still thinking about.
What many of you probably don’t know is that, as well as writing about the arts and heritage as a journalist, for about a year now I have been working as an associate of a company that puts together interpretation plans for heritage buildings and museums.
Seeing interpretation - the stories a museum is telling and the way in which they tell them - from the other side has given me a new perspective, which I think has enriched my arts journalism. At Erdigg, they hadn’t done anything particularly different with the interpretation - information panels, well-informed guides - but their focus on servants who worked there was really engaging, and reflected the way the family who lived there seemed to feel about the people who worked for them.
Along one corridor are photographic portraits of Erdigg’s staff, taken around 1911-1912, properly posed as if they were members of the family. And on the mounts around them are poems written about them by Philip Yorke II, who was following in a tradition started by his father Philip Yorke I. So intriguing - I definitely want to find out more.
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5 things to do this week
EXHIBITION: Linder - The Return of Linderland, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool
A reconceived version of Linder’s landmark exhibition, Danger Came Smiling, which has toured across the UK since premiering at London’s Hayward Gallery in 2025. In collaboration with Grundy Art Gallery, the show has been adapted to reflect her heritage and influences. Linder was born in Liverpool and studied graphic design at Manchester School of Art. It features work by LS Lowry including rarely seen, atypical drawings of mannequins and dancers and a 1952 seascape. A selection of Linder’s trailblazing photomontages explores the range of her artistic practice, while early drawings and ephemera trace the development of her artistic production to her now renowned visual style. Ends 3 October, recommended for ages 16-plus due to depictions of nudity and images of a sexual nature, free entry
EVENT: Spirit of Summer - Rest, Play and Recreation, Chester Cathedral
Who could resist trying out artist Wolfgang Weileder’s 10m marble run/sculpture in Chester Cathedral’s South Transept? It has been created as part of a season-long programme of installations, exhibitions, activities and events, with “something for every age and every pace”. Other highlights include Postcards from Rhyl, a photography exhibition evoking the golden age of the British seaside holiday, a climbing wall at the West Doors and a Roll Into Summer trail through the Cathedral and beyond into the city. Saturday 25 July to Monday 31 August
EXHIBITION: Toxteth - ‘The Harlem of Europe’, Victoria Gallery & Museum, Liverpool
Last chance to see this celebration of black musicians from Toxteth in the 1950s and 1960s, with many of them influencing The Beatles and beyond, featuring portraits by Liverpool-based photographer Ean Flanders. Alongside striking new images of musicians from that era, Flanders also captures portraits of their descendants. You can read my interview with Ean Flanders below. Ends Saturday 1 August, free entry
MUSIC: Re:Sound, The Tung Auditorium, Liverpool
Milap presents Re: Sound, a culmination of young performers’ dedication and hard work in the organisation’s ensembles programme this year. Blending Indian classical music with contemporary music, it will showcase a new generation of artists working between traditions, cultures and sound-worlds. The programme features award-winning ensembles SAMYO & TARANG, made up of exceptional young musicians billed as the future of Indian Music in the UK. Thursday 30 July, tickets pay-what-you-feel
INSTALLATION: Light projection, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool
To mark 180 years since the Royal Albert Dock was officially opened by Prince Albert, the Maritime Museum’s façade will be lit up with a light projection of photographs of dockside moments across the decades. The images are by Mark McNulty, who is renowned for documenting the city’s music, nightlife and cultural renaissance since the 1980s. Thursday 30 July to end-August, 9.45-11pm
And one thing for the diary…
DANCE: Johannes Radebe - Finally Home, various NW dates
The Strictly Come Dancing host and star of the West End smash-hit musical Kinky Boots will be touring the UK next year with his show Finally Home, which he describes as “joy, fun and celebration”. With ballroom classics, South African rhythms and pop anthems, it brings together the music and moments that have shaped his journey. Liverpool Empire Theatre on Sunday 4 April, Blackpool Grand Wednesday 7 to Thursday 8 April, tickets from £50; Manchester Palace Theatre on Friday 9 to Saturday 10 April, tickets from £42; tickets from £42 The Sands Centre in Carlisle on Thursday 29 April, tickets from £46.20.
In case you missed it
Something I’ve created for you to do in the summer holidays (free for all subscribers)…
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I’m off now to find out more about Erdigg’s poetry.
Have a great week,
Laura
If you’re an artist, actor, theatre maker, curator, director or producer who would like to take part in Stored Honey’s regular Meet the Creator feature, please answer the questions in this Q&A or if you don’t like filling in forms I can send you the questions via email.
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