“It’s a privilege for me and it’s a privilege for the station”
One of the things I love about making audio recordings is the medium’s ability to transport the listener straight to a time and place, no matter how long ago it was made. It’s as if time is no object, a notion which sparks intrigue for me in itself.
From the distant rumble of traffic to the proximity of starlings, pigeons and gulls, the five minute recording above takes me right back to those moments in 2022 as Mike and I stood next to his huge portrait in New Brighton, a seaside resort on The Wirral in the northwest corner of England.
Sam Bates (aka SMUG) spray-painted the Unsung Heroes mural to commemorate Mike’s 40-year service as a New Brighton RNLI volunteer. Having immortalised Mike on 12×10 inch glass the previous day, it felt fitting to then meet and discuss the mural with him.
The recording has been percolating in my mind since that time three years ago, waiting in the wings for an appropriate cue to share it with the wider world.
That cue came recently when National Museums Liverpool got in touch to say that they would like to buy some prints of the photographs I made on The Wirral.
Mike features in two of the portraits they selected so, while I was making the prints, our conversation came to the front of my mind once again.
It was great to edit the audio after all this time and be transported straight back to the colourful streets of New Brighton. At one point, you can hear Mike and I discussing the freshly-made wet collodion portraits.
How wonderful to know that those poignant images are now held in the local archives of National Museums Liverpool, yet more acclaim for ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
You can see all nine prints acquired by National Museums Liverpool (and buy prints just like them) on this new dedicated page:
Coincidentally, the National Library of Wales have also just expanded their collection of prints from The Lifeboat Station Project with photographs made a little further round the coast in North Wales in 2019 and 2022.
Flint, Llandudno and Rhyl are the latest additions and you can see the full collection here:
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I love your pictures of course, who could not. But it’s the audio that really floats my boat. The regional accents, the earthy humour, and the ambient sounds that transport me to the very spot. Thank you Jack Lowe Radio!
You’re most welcome…cheers for your ears!
Love the extra large silver-on-glass images. Such depth and volume, as if you could walk into them.
Thank you. That’s how I feel about them too — a sensation that never grows old, especially when you see the plates in the flesh.
I love that mural, I met Mike last year and all he said about it was, “it scares the pigeons away”.
Humble as ever! I love it too…very striking.