Up to Manchester for the weekend to see Ian, Meg, Joe, Adam and Beth and IWM North.

The museum is housed in a fantastic building designed by Daniel Libeskind which he based upon a shattered globe:

Each of the three main shards represents war in the air, land and sea:

The whole effect is designed to disorientate, giving a sense of what it's like to be inpacted by war:

Consequently there isn't a straight wall or floor in the whole building:

Inside the museum itself, there are some great exhibits:

We were particularly moved by one room which contains wall to ceiling filing cabinets each fronted by the face of someone whose life was ended by war:

Some cabinets were open to reveal personal artefacts and writings:

There was a lift up to a viewing gallery:

With a view of the Lowry Centre:

The see through gantry made for another walk of faith:

Don't look down:

Or up:

The pilar is true, the walls are not!

There was a workshop for the kids, Beth made a nice symmetrical pattern:

and helped Phoebe with her flag:

Whilst Zoë made a friendly tiger:

Jed made quite a good fist of painting the Canadian flag on a large patchwork banner:

The disorientation was working well, but what finally tipped me over the edge into having to go outside and put my head between my knees was the "smells of the trenches" exhibit:

Cordite, Mustard Gas then trench foot .. bleugh ..