Marblng Children

Spent a lovely morning enjoying the sites & sounds in and around Meriken Park. It was busy with car boot sales, loads of stalls selling every type of food and drink imaginable, and with music playing from the main square it had a real party atmosphere. Anyone who has ever lived near the sea will understand why I was so excited to enjoy that special seaside smell that takes me back to long walks on the waterfront where I grew up - it was just lovely!

The park is home to all different kinds of statues and sculptures but this one particularly caught my eye. It was a gift from the port of Rotterdam in 1987 to commemorate sister port links between the two cities. Apparently the Dutch introduced marbles to Japan through the port of Kobe way back when the city was the gateway to Japan for the rest of the world. I thoroughly enjoyed being in such a well used park.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
John Muir