A Day At The Museum

 

I am lucky.

Where I work we are given one day off a year to pursue our passions.

The day is called "Healthy Minds" and we are encouraged to rediscover our passions.

As I run the college writing group and was a journalist for nearly 20 years, I took the opportunity to look for inspiring stories around my local city, Liverpool.

We are well served with museums in Liverpool but I decided to opt for the Museum of Liverpool which is located on the waterfront.

There were exhibitions about the history of "The Pool Of Life", the Overhead Railway, Liverpool Writing, Roger McGough's poetry exhibition about Doors and many, many more.

But it was the East Meets West exhibition that captured my imagination.

Liverpool has long links with China thanks to a shared maritime and trading history and the East Meets West examines this long relationship.

 

However, what really took my breath away was the exhibition about the forced repatriation of Chinese-born seamen who had settled in Liverpool and married local woman.

In 1946 when the local troops returned there was a shortage of jobs and housing.

The authorities decided the easiest way to rid the city of a large number of industrious men would be to round them up and haul them back on a one way boat back to China.

Which they did.

 

Unsuspecting women and children waved goodbye to their husbands and fathers as they went to find work or to meet up with a friend and never saw them again.

For many it was weeks before they realised what had happened and it was hushed up.

 

Even the man I share an office with who is Liverpool born and bred and a political activist had never heard about this until I told him this morning.

You can find out more here.

Hard to believe this happened in our recent history.

 

The exhibition contained dramatised accounts of these womens' stories and I was riveted.

 

After the exhibition I headed off to the newly refurbished library and spent two hours writing a short story inspired by this.

 

So, so sad.

 

Today I wore:

Converse

Dress - Primark

Denim Shirt - Barcelona Shop