Alastair Upton, Chief Executive at the BluecoatThese last few weeks Liverpool has been at its best; the sun has shone, people have been out and there has been so much stuff to do and see.

The upside of not having any offices or meeting rooms due to the fire is that I've made a temporary base looking into the garden and I've held all my meetings in the hub or garden or courtyard.

One man comes into the garden in the morning and sets himself up with a coffee and the newspaper and the smokes a pipe while watching the world go by.

 A superlambanana appeared over the weekend. It was designed by 10 youngsters who won a master-class weekend through our Shine programme which is sponsored by Yorkshire Bank. Every month anyone can take part in a different creative activity, this month is writing a short story, but for 11 to 16 year old there is a competitive element as we look for talented young artists who we can help develop.

The superlambanana which was collaboratively designed is called Lamsa which means touch in Arabic and I’ve noticed people have taken to stopping to look at the beautiful beast and then go up and stroke it on the neck.  

The building and gardens have been full of children recently. The schools programme is bringing in great numbers including 150 last week for Michael Rosen the children’s laureate.  Today we had a group that disappeared down an alley way to a make shift room for a workshop.

There is a tent in the garden and I’m not sure if it is staying or going but underneath Mrs Roscoe’s Garden is being built. This is Liverpool’s silver medal winning entry to the Chelsea Flower Show. It will be open from Thursday so everyone can come and visit it.Let's hope for a long summer this year.