Bees in Manchester

The flowers in my garden have been beautiful this year, probably all down to the warm spring.  Unfortunately many have been battered this weekend with the heavy showers but it was good to look back over my photographs and remember the tall fox gloves and the heavy headed pink poppies that spread like weeds but create a wonderful splash of colour.  Great plants for attracting the bees.

I discovered yesterday that simple gold coloured linear images of bees are scattered around Manchester and are apparently a symbol of the city that was adopted during the Industrial Revolution.  It was during a guided walk that I had joined to look at the magnificent architecture, when I kept coming across the symbol on small black posts used to direct and protect pedestrians.

The bee denotes Mancunians hard work during the Industrial Revolution and how Manchester was a 'hive' of activity during this period! 
How many times do we walk with a purpose, head down, on a mission and miss so much?  The walk was part of  Manchester's Festival and it certainly helped open my eyes to what is above my head!  Jen