Statue of Liberty in Leicester

Did you know that if you can't get to New York city to take a look at the inspirational Statue of Liberty, you could always pop over to Leicester instead? Until recently, the Liberty Shoe Factory had a 17-foot replica statue that perched on top of its roof. According to Leicester council, the statue was built after the directors of the factory made a trip to New York in the 1920s and were so impressed by Lady Liberty, they commissioned an itsy-bitsy, lookie-likie when they came home. The statue was removed at the turn of this century after the factory closed but after some restoration work, you can now see the lady and her flame proudly standing guard over the Swann Gyratory roundabout.
This replica of the statue of Liberty stands on a traffic island by the river Soar in Leicester.

Liberty in Leicester

According to the tale as told to me it stood on top of a shoe factory just across the river for decades. In the early 2000's the warehouse was slated for demolition, and a great hue and cry went up about preserving the historic sculpture. A few elderly residents even came forward presenting their memories of it being painstakingly carved and then hauled to the top of the building.
So arrangements were made to preserve the statue. A plinth was set up and the precious sculpture was carefully lowered from the roof. At which point a number of facts became apparent...
1) The statue had not been painstakingly carved - instead it had been cast in rather cheap concrete.
2) As it had been designed to be seen from several stories below the bottom of the statue was much wider than the top, which at close range made it look patently ridiculous.
3) Again given that the statue was designed to be seen from quite a distance away it was rather deficient in detail and frankly looked rather lumpen and ugly.
Apparently a great deal of money was spent chipping away at it to make it presentable at ground level :)

Leicester City 1-2 Real Madrid

A record crowd watched Leicester City take on Real Madrid in a pre-season game at the newly named King Power stadium. José Mourinho showed off his full bejewelled squad and Cristiano Ronaldo,Kaká and Co dominated a thoroughly entertaining game...


It's not everyday you get to see the likes of Kaká playing against Leicester City




As for the credibility and intentions of the new owners, well, who knows??? But they've not put a foot wrong so far. They talked the talk when they arrived and many were sceptical, but since then they've really put their money where their mouth is and not only that, but they, along with Sven, are investing in an intelligent way by signing a core of solid, experienced players who are young enough to still have their best years ahead of them... Happy Days

Alton Towers

The best ride at Alton Towers without a doubt in my opinion. It never fails to give me the jitters... The G-force is incredible, I can't even describe it. You don't know adrenaline until you've been on Nemesis

Armação de Pêra (Portugal)

One of the most beautiful sea cave systems in world! Only accessible by small boat but well worth the trip.



"This is a truly heroic beer, that does justice to a truly heroic nation".


Banzai Boggan (Aqualand Algarve)


I had a go(of course!)and honestly it looks much steeper when you're at the top!