Merseyside poets and musicians headed to the historic Bidston Observatory on Thursday to perform a tribute to space and the planets.

Their new online anthology entitled: A Universe Of Poetry, was inspired by the building and its long history. Editors Barry Woods and Michelle Wright, who are local to the area, wanted to create a community project that embraced one of the Wirral's most important landmarks.

‘We’ve had a great response from Merseyside poets for this project’, says Barry, ‘both professional and novice writers have submitted their thoughts on space and time, with a great mixture of ideas explored. It was fascinating to read at the Observatory, and to be shown around the building, including the domes which are named ‘Time’ and ‘Tide’.

The Observatory was built in 1866 to facilitate the study of astronomy and ocean science; the world’s first tide-predicting machine was invented there. More recently it has become an Artistic Research Centre for creatives.

This is the eighth project by the poets who began their run with the 2018 book and tour The Quality of Mersey.

They have collaborated in the past with original Mersey Poets Roger Mcgough and Brian Patten.

A Universe of Poetry is free to read and can be found on Facebook by following the link here:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557925805129