Sunday, March 06, 2011

Jingle Belles ... and a little bit of history

Hi there ... I hope you are all well ... I'm not too good today ... feeling rough ... I think I may be coming down with something ... But I wanted to get my card done for this weeks Jingle Belles  ... the theme being "Home for the holidays" ... Ok, so a little history for you 
This city of Liverpool is not only famous for The Beatles ... but we were a vast shipping port ... Once the dockyards were bustling ... the heart of the city ... with trade ships and huge liners coming and going ... many of these liners carried thousands of people across the great Atlantic Ocean  to begin new lives in the USA ... 
Today the ships have all gone ... But the buildings that greeted the ships still remain and none is more famous than The Liver Buildings (pronounced Lie ..ver) ... and standing proud on the top of this building are the 2 famous Liver Birds ... (actually there are 4 in the city ... but the 2 most known are these) ..



This is a close up of one of the birds


These two birds face away from each other ... legend says that one is female and one is male and if they were to face each other they may mate and fly away ... and then Liverpool would no longer exist ... 
It is also said that one faces out to sea to watch for the seafarers and protect them ... whilst the other looks to the city ... protecting all who live here ....
So ... my card ... well this is "my home" ... where the Liver Birds greet us and watch over us so I kept this weeks card CAS with my bird as the centrepiece ...


That pretty background stamp was a gift from Chriss Blagrave  (who sadly has just lost her Mom) ... thinking of you Chriss ... 


... and the little bell represents the two magnificent cathedrals we have here ... the Anglican and the Catholic ...


So there we are ... my "home' card ... 

Till soon

~ Ros ~






18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your card is `beautiful` Ros..love the bird!!!!
Hope you feel better soon:) x

Heather Rogers said...

Beatufiul Ros. Love the gold bird on the front of your card.

Liverpool looks like a great place to visit. Maybe one day...

Hope you are feeling better soon. Drink lots of tea. :)
Hugs,
Heather

Sylvia said...

Ros, so sorry to here your not feeling well. The history is wonderful as are the pistures of the Cathedrals. YOur Christmas card is a perfect tribute to those birds watching over your city! I love your clean and simple card!

Deb Hickman said...

I love this card and the meaning behind it,the stamped background is so pretty. Thank you for the history lesson, I'm fascinated with the history of cities. I've been to Liverpool a couple of times once to the passport office and once shopping I really need to go back and take in some of the history.xxx

Stella said...

It's so lovely to have a look at a piece of Liverpool as historical as this. You know that Liverpool has a special place in my heart ( my hysbands heart to:)!!)
I love your take on this challenge. Nothing is as important as home and your card is gorgeous.
XXXX

SmilynStef said...

Love those fabulous pictures ... and the history of your home ... your translation of that history into this beautiful holiday card is fantastic ... love the striped frame ... thanks so much for joining our jingle belles journey.

~* steph :) *~ said...

i loooved hearing about liver! what wonderful rich history! and what a beautiful card, ros. love the gold dove and the pretty bell. wonderful stitching. thanks for sharing and i hope you feel better soon! *hugs* steph :)

lauren bergold said...

oh my GOSH! ok, miss ros, one could VERY HAPPILY scroll through this post, see your lovely card, and go, "♥WOW♥ that's beautiful!!!" just based on its astonishing good design and pretty look...but then to read your text and discover how much time, thought, cleverness, and symbolism is involved, it's like a whole SECOND LEVEL of total brilliance!!!!!!!!! you *NEVER* cease to amaze me, my practically philosophical friend! ♥♥♥





completely unrelated ps: my two favorite liverpool films are the documentaries "of time and the city" and "SPIDER in the city"...i'm sure you've seen both, but if not... :) :) :)

Rebekah said...

what a wonderful little lesson in history!I would have never known that otherwise! Such a great story behind your card. Lovely!! I think that little bird is just fab! and love the addition of the bell!
Have a great week!

Kirsty Vittetoe said...

That is such a cool post, perfect card for the HOME challenge at Jingle Belles too!

Zue said...

What a lovely idea to tell such an interesting story that inspired your card. I was born in Liverpool!

Your card is amazing too.
Sue xx

Lynnda said...

Hey Ros... Fab card...Hope you will feel better soon...thinking of you...hugs...xoxo

leslie (crookedstamper) said...

This is beautiful. I love the card and the bell and everything! What a lovely story!

Susan S said...

this is a beautiful card

Rose said...

what wonderful history to base your card on! goodness it is absolutely PERFECT! love the little bell with it's meaning also :)

ok those buildings are AWESOME!! always have loved the old styles (the older the better!)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the history lesson, always interesting to have some more background info!! Your card is a stunner, especially now that we have the story behind it. Take care, Ira

Just Me said...

Your card is amazing! TFS!

Lisa said...

Beautiful card, and I loved the photos and history you shared with us!!