Alastair Upton, Chief Executive at the BluecoatThe secret to a successful capital project is all in the planning. With a bit of dead time available from Christmas to New Year I slotted in a serious dose of man-flu and rounded it all off with the norovirus. It felt right to get the whinging and the moaning, of which there was plenty, over before the start of ’08. Yes, the big year has arrived. It seems a bit weird to be here, and perhaps we should remember now all those who set out on the journey but fell by the wayside.

The year has started with another review of the new Bluecoat this time in Architectural Review. This in the words of Hans, our architect, is a ‘world player in architecture land’, (which really is a weird parallel universe) and they have raved about the building, noting how it stands out from the crowd of all the other developments in Liverpool. The article ends with the comment that ‘you don’t have to shout to be heard ……the building proving the power of understatement.’ This should be a good contrast to my screaming from the roof tops about how amazing the new building is.

This weekend is the Arena’s chance to shine with the opening show, ‘Liverpool the musical’. I’m really looking forward to the show and being in the big space. The organisers were over here today filming a scene with Bryan our artistic director for the show in which he re-enacted the Bob Dylan scene from the film ‘Don’t look back’. Dylan had a whole load of words on cards which he dropped as ‘Subterranean homesick blues’ was played. Bryan has re-worded it for the Bluecoat.

Strangely the poet Alan Ginsberg is in the background in the original and I was wondering if he had come to the Bluecoat when he came to Liverpool. So many people do have fond and vivid memories of the Bluecoat and how important a place it is for them and the City. I was pleased to see in the just published ’08 year book Willy Russell saying how the Bluecoat itself was a work of art and for Yoko Ono performing at the Bluecoat ‘was an experience I have never forgotten’.

Now ’08 has started it will make a whole load more memories for everyone.