Toxteth Day Of The Dead
Late is the hour this procrastinator has chosen to appear.
Yes, the first inaugural Toxteth Day Of The Dead is almost upon us (or, depending on how late I am, possibly already gone). You could argue I’ve had 15 months to prepare, and you’d be right, but I tried ignoring the speculation. Ignorance may claim to be bliss — bullshit says I.
Friday 23rd November 2018 marks the launch of what’s planned to be an annual tradition: Toxteth Day Of The Dead.
The core idea is simple enough: each year, the past 12 months’ “crop” of Bricks of Mu — fired bricks containing 23 grams of cremated remains of those who’ve chosen to be MuMufied — will be laid into what will one day become the People’s Pyramid.
Over successive 23rds of November, 34,592 Bricks of Mu will be collected and stacked until the pyramid is complete. That’s the nuts and bolts of it, a ritual designed to repeat and build, year after year.
This year’s specific focus: the laying of the Foundation Stone — a 3ft x 3ft slab of “locally quarried” sandstone, capable of holding the first 240 Bricks. The honour of placing Brick No.1 falls to Daisy Campbell, newly qualified bricklayer and all-round legend.
By the end of the day, the People’s Pyramid will exist not just on Paul Sullivan’s blueprints but as a physical, growing thing. Something tangible to point at when people ask, “But is it really happening?”
Where exactly is Toxteth? A deceptively tricky question. Boundaries of Toxteth are contested, redrawn, bargained with, erased and reinstated depending on who you ask.
That task — to “forge traditions that will withstand the next thousand years” — has been taken up by the Liverpool Arts Lab, led by Tom Calderbank. Expect them to carve the day into shape, starting at Toxteth Town Hall at 3pm sharp. Eyes open for Arts Lab activity in the days around the 23rd too.
As is to be expected some familiar faces shall be in attendance too, aside from the 399/99/minus any doubles that make up both etc. Esteemed Undertakers to the Underworld Rupert and Claire will be returning to school us in all things life and death, as will the fine folk from L-13 L ight Industrial Workshop who in the spirit of en masse consumerism that has never been so well hijacked as on Black Friday, are elbowing in on the action and offering bargain basement MuMufication deals for young and old residents of L8, so spread the word and shift some bricks aye.
The final element of the day, still shrouded in mystery as of writing, sees the current living embodiment of The JAMS / K2 Plant Hire Ltd directors Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond present something titled Unexpected Item in Toxteth Town Hall that will, fittingly, be open to the public, whatever it is, at Toxteth Town Hall on the day.
A caveat exists however (of course it does) for those wishing to gain entrance to the Town Hall, with the exception of anyone with an L8 postcode and those who have ‘obtained’ MuMufication . In order to cast your senses over whatever the fuck Unexpected Item in Toxteth Town Hall is you must present one full sized non-returnable supermarket shopping trolley to Tony Thorpe / K2 Security upon entry. My condolences to the local Big Tesco. In case that wasn’t clear enough…
“The one-shopping-trolley-per-person admission rule will be rigorously enforced. No excuses.”
Furthermore, “ There may be other occurrences throughout the day and night.” The provision of Mince Pies and Tea has also been confirmed which personally sounds just awful. I hereby propose Coffee and Doughnuts for the next one.
See you in the streets of L8. If you see me yelling at you, please adhere to all instructions.