Things are a bit funny in UK right now. The government has delayed the ease of the lockdown due to the increase in cases in some parts on England. This doesn't seem to have sinked for many people yet. When I went out today, the seafront was quite busy, almost as if people had forgotten we're in the middle of a pandemic. Lots of people weren't wearing a face mask, including when they were inside the shops - that's actually mandatory now, but its hard to enforce.
Despite the fact that I've always hated wearing face masks, I really don't want to take any risk now. It's become more acceptable in UK, compared to say even a month ago and people are gradually accepting its part of life, for others even if they themselves don't like wearing them. Anyway, all this didn't stop me from enjoying a walk around town today and to go on an art trail.
The trail is for a street artist, called Jamie Scanlon who goes by the tag JPS. He's a local guy, homeless and a former addict who decided to clean up his act after seeing the Banksy exhibition in 2009. Since then, he established himself as a local street artist and now spend his time between UK and Germany.
The Playhouse, Weston-super-Mare
I'm not a big Star Wars fan but Yoda and Ewok are so well known that pretty much everyone knows them. I love how Ewok is painting as well. A guy walked passed me when i was taking the photos, and said he thought this was Banksy. He didn't realise our town had our very own artist.
I stumbled across the climber nearby, another one of the smaller murals around town. This is outside a bar/cafe/shared workspace type of place. You can see how little it is compared to the sign on the door. Finally, according to my trail map, Cupid should be around this area. I wasn't sure if this is it, as the style is slightly different and I couldn't see a tag. But I've checked online since i got home and this is in deed JPS Cupid.
My rating: 8/10
Scallys
Scallys is a pub near the seafront. I've never been in before but I hear its popular with bikers. The Balloon Girl is on a swing in the front of the building, but she looks a bit grumpy. Pocket Money is on the left side of the building, I wonder what mischief the kids are up to. Terminator is further along the wall but due to Covid-19, the pub had cordoned off the exterior and I couldn't get closer to take a photo. Not to worry, I will make up with one of my favourite one which is on the other side of the building. If I'm the owner, I'm sure I wouldn't mind!
My rating: 9/10
Richmond Street
I actually posted about this two months ago but I didn't know about JPS back then. Bear Wall has had a make over since and now has a red background, previously the wall was just plain white. Maybe it's been given a new lease of life because it survived Covid-19 😉
My rating: 8/10
Walliscote Road
I love how Skater Boy skates off the road sign towards the clear blue sky today. Opposite Skater Boy is a new find that wasn't on my map. I think it's a great play on words. Who doesn't love Mr Bean?
My rating: 9/10
The Italian Gardens
Before my street art trail, I grabbed some lunch first from my favorite Greggs, sausage rolls of course. I missed them so much when they were closed during lockdown. For the non Brits, Greggs is a chain of bakery and their most well known product is their sausage rolls where they sell 1.5 million a week! The local council have laid out some tables and chairs in the public area by the high street. This is new and I hope they continue to do this even after lockdown as its so nice to sit out in the open.
My rating: 9/10
Join me on Haveyoubeenhere! 😄
[//]:# (!pinmapple 51.35072499999999 lat -2.978839 long d3scr)