The central character of Lowry's Under the Volcano is a drunken British consul in Mexico during the Day of the Dead on the eve of the Second World War, and this year’s Lounge adopted a consular theme.

In 1927, the year of Lowry’s first sea voyage, Liverpool could boast 43 foreign consulates, most of them now gone. For this year's Lounge, Colin Dilnot researched these ‘lost’ consulates and led a fascinating tour, stopping at each site to reveal their relevance to Lowry and to read short extracts from his work.

The day continued at Bluecoat with presentations on a consular theme from some of the Firminists (organisers of the Lounge), the poets Helen Tookey and Robert Sheppard, and Mark Goodall who gave a talk on British Situationist Ralph Rumney, who was known as ‘The Consul'.

Photos by Sean Halligan (B+W) and Alan Dunn (Colour).