Chemical not comic - FE not X.

A sure sign I'm getting old manifested itself the other day.

I was chatting with the parents of my godson and quite happily following things when suddenly a reference to Iron Men came up.  I thought I was being hip & trendy and nodded knowingly when they mentioned the Liverpool exhibition.

I naturally assumed a Marvel-Comic's-type display showing the genesis of the superheroes etc.  I must confess I wasn't that enamoured about traipsing around a 2nd-tier city showcase hall over Halloween to see cardboard cutouts of vamps & electrifiers - but being a godfather has its downsides I suppose.

Then the mum referred to the beach.  And the proverbial penny dropped.

Ah, they were talking about the cast-iron statues imposingly studded on the beach at Crosby by the renowned sculpter (http://www.sefton.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=6216 ) Antony Gormley.

Relieved at the prospect of something more high-brow and delfated at not being as hip as I thought I was, I agreed to accompany them all.

We zoomed down the shore to see the tide fully in, lapping happily against the promenade wall.

Almanacs do sometimes come in handy - if only my friends had bothered to consult one...

So we went into town, did some shopping and came back later in the afternoon - bought a 99 flake ice cream, poured red & green sauce over it - and finally gazed into the setting sun glinting off these rather amazing iron figurines standing motionless in the Crosby sands.

Quite a sight...even if embarrassment was a side-journey getting there.